Apple

Sep 15, 2026 products

iOS 27 code hides hooks that let rival AI models plug into Siri

On September 13, 2026, researcher @itspdfu shared findings from private frameworks in iOS 27 and macOS, which MacRumors reported on September 14. One mechanism, Model Delegation, lets a third-party AI appear as a Siri extension, so a user could ask Claude to set a reminder and Siri would create it. A second lets an outside inference provider replace Apple's server-side Siri model, receiving Siri's planning prompt and tools; in the researcher's demo, that replacement ran on OpenAI's GPT-5.6. Apple hasn't opened either mechanism to outside developers, and Claude isn't available to users.

Sep 12, 2026 privacyproducts

Apple Watch's Live Rewind has to listen continuously to work

Live Rewind is a new feature on Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4: a double-press of the Digital Crown returns a text transcript of the last 15 seconds of nearby speech. Because it runs after the words were spoken, the watch must continuously process the sound around it. Apple says the Audio Intelligence features generate no audio recordings, that the feature activates only on a deliberate double-press, and that the watch then sounds an audible chime which plays even on silent or with headphones connected, so it cannot be used covertly.

Sep 10, 2026 productspolicy

iPhone 18 Pro signs camera data at the sensor to prove a photo is real

Apple introduced Apple Reference Image alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max on September 9, 2026. In the opt-in Reference mode the Main camera's sensor signs its data at the pixel level at the moment of capture, and that signed data goes to Private Cloud Compute, which develops it into what Apple calls an unalterable reference image, like having a digital negative. It sits in the Photos app beside the ordinary shot for direct comparison. Apple is opening APIs in iOS, iPadOS and macOS 27 so other apps can display reference images, and says SynthID support for flagging AI-generated and AI-edited images arrives later this year. The feature is unavailable at launch in China, and in the EU capture is unavailable at launch though reference images can still be developed and viewed.

Sep 1, 2026 policymodels

Apple accuses OpenAI of destroying evidence in trade secrets case

On August 31, 2026, Apple escalated its trade-secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of destroying evidence. Apple says ex-iPhone engineer Chang Liu downloaded a confidential circuit schematic and, two months after leaving, ran it through the LTspice chip simulator at OpenAI, writing that his AI agent learned to run the simulations and cut a day of engineering to two hours. Apple also says Liu sent a colleague instructions for destroying evidence. OpenAI calls the suit careless and personal. The hearing is set for October 1.

Sep 1, 2026 infrastructuremodels

OpenAI bought tens of thousands of Mac minis to train AI agents

The Information reports that OpenAI and other AI labs have bought tens of thousands of Mac minis and Mac Studios. Reinforcement learning for computer-use agents needs thousands of cheap, independent, real desktops running in parallel, where an agent clicks, types, waits and gets scored, and a Mac mini is a small, power-efficient real computer that stacks by the thousand. Anthropic rents the same machines through AWS. The most powerful configurations have reportedly been sold out for months amid the memory shortage.

Sep 1, 2026 culturemoney

Tim Cook steps down and John Ternus takes over as Apple CEO

August 31, 2026 was Tim Cook's last day as Apple CEO after 15 years in the role. He stays as executive chairman. Under Cook, Apple's market value grew from about $350 billion to about $4.7 trillion. John Ternus, at Apple since 2001 and the hardware chief behind the Apple Silicon era, runs the company from September 1. His first event is expected September 9, with the iPhone 18 Pro line and, per multiple reports, Apple's first foldable.

Aug 22, 2026 productsculture

A third of Apple Music uploads are AI and must now be labeled

On August 20, 2026 Apple emailed its music partners about a Made With AI label that will be visible to every listener. Content tagged as "materially generated using AI" gets the label, and tags are required in any instance where AI created a material portion of a track, including anything primarily derived from a generative AI service. Apple introduced optional Transparency Tags for artwork, tracks, lyrics and music videos in March; this makes disclosure mandatory, with rollout set for later this year. In April Apple Music vice president Oliver Schusser told Billboard that over a third of monthly uploads are entirely AI-generated, while AI music accounts for less than 0.5 percent of actual listening.

Aug 9, 2026 productspolicy

Apple Intelligence cleared Chinese approval with Qwen under the hood

On July 15, 2026, Apple Intelligence was registered with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the approval Apple needed to switch on AI features for mainland iPhone users. Alibaba's Qwen model will power Apple Intelligence across iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS, handling text and image generation, with Baidu helping develop additional AI tools. No launch date yet; registration usually precedes rollout by a few months, lining up with Apple's fall software cycle.

Aug 9, 2026 productsprivacy

Apple targets 2027 for smart glasses built around privacy

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported on July 26, 2026 that Apple plans to unveil its first smart glasses at WWDC in June 2027, with shipments targeted for late 2027. The open question inside Apple is the camera: drop it entirely, or restrict it so it cannot capture user-initiated photos and video at all, serving only as the eyes of Siri's visual intelligence. Apple is expected to position the glasses directly against Meta's Ray-Bans on privacy.

Aug 9, 2026 policy

Apple asks a court to block OpenAI before trial

On August 3, 2026, Apple filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court seeking to bar OpenAI and two former Apple employees from accessing, acquiring, using or disclosing information Apple claims as trade secrets, along with a motion for expedited discovery. Named deponents include defendants Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan plus two OpenAI employees. A hearing on both motions is set for October 1, 2026. OpenAI denies the allegations, and no court has ruled on either side's claims.

Aug 9, 2026 productsmoney

Apple Upgrade turns the iPhone and Mac into monthly subscriptions

On July 28, 2026, Apple launched Apple Upgrade in the US, a leasing program run with Klarna covering iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. iPhone starts at $17.99 a month and Apple Watch at $11.99, with 24-month terms for iPhone and Watch and 36 months for iPad and Mac. At the end of the term you upgrade, return or keep the device, early payoff is allowed, and the old iPhone Upgrade Program is being wound down.

Aug 9, 2026 products

ChatGPT Health is asking US users to connect their medical records

Since July 23, 2026, OpenAI has been rolling out Health in ChatGPT to US users 18 and over on Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, on web and iOS. It connects Apple Health and supported medical records (US hospital systems, One Medical, Function Health) so ChatGPT can compare labs over time, track medications, and link sleep and activity to how you feel. OpenAI says connected health data is not used for training and Health supports care rather than diagnosing.

Aug 9, 2026 cultureproducts

Unicode locked the final Emoji 18.0 designs

Unicode has locked the final artwork for all nine Emoji 18.0 additions ahead of the standard's September 16, 2026 release: Cracking Face, Leftwards Thumb, Rightwards Thumb, Monarch Butterfly, Pickle, Lighthouse, Meteor, Eraser, and Net With Handle. Pixel phones are expected to get them in late 2026 and most other devices in spring 2027. The flaming rock emoji is now officially the meteor, while the blue ice streak returns to being the comet.

Aug 9, 2026 culture

Musk and Altman traded insults after Apple sued OpenAI

After Apple sued OpenAI for trade secret theft on July 10, 2026, Elon Musk posted on X on July 12 accusing Sam Altman of stealing Apple's phone technology, adding a jab about a parole officer and an invite to watch SpaceX's AI1 compute satellites fly next year. Altman shot back that Musk is 'selling public market investors on short-term space datacenters.' Behind the memes, OpenAI faces a federal lawsuit over its hardware program.

Aug 9, 2026 policy

OpenAI published its rebuttal to Apple's lawsuit, with receipts

Apple sued OpenAI on July 10, 2026, alleging former employees systematically took hardware trade secrets. OpenAI has responded in a blog post titled 'Apple is getting this wrong', saying Apple's outside lawyers emailed the wrong person in February after mixing up two last names, claimed a discussion with OpenAI's General Counsel that never happened, then went silent for five months. OpenAI also argues any leftover file access came from Apple not cutting off departing employees. Nothing is settled.

Aug 9, 2026 policyproducts

Apple briefly pulled Telegram from the App Store

On the night of August 3, 2026, Telegram disappeared from the iOS App Store with no announcement. Apple later confirmed it briefly removed the app after review found content violating its guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material, restoring it after Telegram removed the content and banned the user who posted it. Existing installs kept working throughout, and the app stayed on the Mac App Store and Google Play.