In iOS 27, the Photos app will gain the Extend feature. It lets you zoom out on a photo, using AI to fill in the information on the four sides of the photo to expand your picture beyond what the camera captured. For some uses, such as adding nothing of consequence to the background simply to make a picture fit better as a lock screen image, I think the feature will be useful and not very controversial. For other uses, it may seem downright icky—such as if it generates new objects or even people who were never in the original photo. David Pogue wrote an interesting post discussing the ethics of this new feature and sharing pictures of the good, the bad, and the ugly. And now, the news of note from the past week:

• Speaking of ethics, Tim Hardwick of MacRumors discusses a Financial Times story about how Meta may add a feature to its smart glasses that would capture images of everything the wearer sees, even when not taking pictures. The idea is that this allows the smart glasses to better understand what you are seeing, so it can provide helpful information, but, of course, there are also privacy implications—especially given Meta’s track record. The rumor is that Apple is developing its own smart glasses, and if so, it will have to grapple with these privacy issues as well.
• You no longer need to be a developer—or pretend to be one—to preview the new Apple operating systems coming this fall. For example, Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reports that the iOS 27 public beta is now available. As always, I don’t recommend installing beta software on a device you depend on, such as one you use for work. But if you have a device just for fun and want a sneak peek into the future, you can now get that.
• Dan Moren of Six Colors wrote an extensive review of the iOS 27 Public Beta—which is also a preview of what is coming to all of us this fall.
• Malcolm Owen of AppleInsider identifies new features coming to the Apple Watch this fall in watchOS 27, including the Dynamic App Grid when you press the Digital Crown, the improved Smart Stack, Workout Buddy that can work without an iPhone close by, new Settings, Siri improvements, and more.
• Jonathan Reed of MacStories also wrote an extensive overview of watchOS 27.
• Devon Dundee of MacStories wrote an extensive overview of visionOS 27.
• Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reports that the AutoMix feature in Apple Music—which can create transitions between songs similar to what an experienced DJ might use—will become significantly improved in iOS 27.
• In another post, Miller discusses many other small but useful features coming in iOS 27.
• Sarah Perez of TechCrunch reports that when Apple starts to incorporate ads into its Maps app, certain categories of ads will be excluded, including “home services businesses, like plumbing, electrical, locksmith, HVAC, pest control, roofing, and general contracting services, among others.”
• Anurag Chawake of Cult of Mac notes that other categories banned from the Maps app include “bail bond and criminal pretrial surety bond services, as well as cryptocurrency ATM operators.”
• Ben Lovejoy of 9to5Mac reports on some of the new emoji coming in early 2027.
• Jeremy Gray of PetaPixel shows off some of the winning pictures from the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards.
• A new show starts on Apple TV this week: Lucky. It stars Anya Taylor-Joy, and Rajat Saini of The Mac Observer says that it is about a skilled con artist trying to escape her criminal life.
• And finally, Apple TV released a trailer for a movie coming to the service on September 4, 2026, called Mayday. It stars Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, and it looks like it could be quite funny. Here is the preview:

The streetcar line that runs on St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world. When it began in 1835, it used steam power. After the Civil War, streetcars were pulled by horses. In 1893, overhead lines carrying electricity were added, and electric streetcars have been used since then. There are currently five different streetcar lines in New Orleans, but the one that runs on St. Charles Ave. is the oldest and my favorite. It can take you to and from Uptown New Orleans, Audubon Park, Tulane and Loyola universities, the Garden District, and downtown (next to the building where I work). It ends at Canal Street, where the French Quarter begins. When you visit New Orleans—and you should! This is a great place to come for business or pleasure!—you should know about Le Pass, the useful app for riding the streetcar.

I’ve ridden the streetcar countless times. When I was in middle school, it gave me the independence to get around the city when I was much too young to drive. (If my memory is correct, the cost was 60 cents.) When I first started practicing law in the mid-1990s, my wife and I shared a car, and I often rode the streetcar back and forth to work for $1.00. In 1999, the cost of a ride increased to $1.25, and it hasn’t changed since then. Tourists ride the streetcar all the time because it is useful, historic, and fun. I used to warn my friends visiting New Orleans to bring exact change for the streetcar; you could use a five-, ten-, or twenty-dollar bill, but you wouldn’t get any change.

There have been numerous attempts over the years to marry the streetcar with an iPhone app. In 2012, the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority launched an app that was supposed to let you track the location of streetcars and buses in real time. That system did not work very well, and in 2018, it was replaced with an app called GoMobile. In 2022, that app was replaced with the current app, called Le Pass.

I’ve taken quite a few streetcar rides this summer because my daughter is using my car before she leaves for college. That has given me multiple opportunities to use this app. For me, it has worked great.

First, it is wonderful that you no longer need to worry about having cash or exact change. You can purchase tickets in the app and pay with Apple Pay. A single ride costs $1.25 (with no additional fees). There are many other fare options, such as a Jazzy Pass for unlimited rides (with prices such as $3.00 for one day and $8.00 for three days).

When you are ready to ride the streetcar, tell the app to activate the ticket. At that point, you will have two hours to use the ticket. To use the ticket, simply board the streetcar and show the screen of the app to the streetcar operator. You don’t need to scan or anything like that.

When you are waiting for a streetcar, the natural question is: when will the next streetcar arrive? During the day, streetcars typically arrive every 10-15 minutes, and this app can give you precise information. The app displays your current location on a map, an icon to show you where the next streetcar is located, and useful information such as the number of stops before the streetcar gets to you, an estimate of how many minutes will pass before it arrives, and information on when the streetcar’s location was last checked via GPS (typically every 30 seconds or so).

Like other transit apps, this app will also help you to plan a journey between two locations. I’ve focused on the St. Charles streetcar line in this post, but Le Pass works with all of the streetcar lines, all of the New Orleans bus lines, and it can also help you use buses in the neighboring Jefferson Parish, a Greyhound bus, the ferry to cross the Mississippi River, and even electric bikes that you can rent. For example, if you want to use public transportation to get from the French Quarter to the airport, this app can help you.

Finally, while you are riding, the app can provide useful information, such as when to exit the streetcar. (Other apps like Apple’s Maps app and Google Maps can provide similar transit information.)

When I was a teenager, I would have been blown away by an app that I could use to pay for streetcar rides and track the streetcar. Of course, at that point in my life, I would have been blown away by any app, let alone the iPhone itself. I love that the Le Pass app makes it so easy to pay for and track a streetcar, bus, and other modes of transportation in New Orleans. If you are headed to New Orleans, download this app.

Click here to get Le Pass (free).

I’m glad we waited until Saturday to record this week’s episode of the podcast because there was breaking news on Friday afternoon: Apple sued OpenAI (maker of ChatGPT) for stealing trade secrets from Apple. The complaint in the lawsuit contains very specific allegations, but even aside from the lawsuit’s legal merit, there are huge implications here now that AI is becoming so important to Apple. It appears that ChatGPT has gone from being Apple’s AI partner to Apple’s AI enemy. We also talk about John Gruber’s hope that when John Ternus takes over as Apple’s CEO in a few months, he reverses Apple’s recent trend towards pursuing ad revenue even if it tarnishes the experience of using Apple hardware and software. We also talk about how iOS 27 will help to protect you from hackers, issues that arise when you buy or sell a home with smart home technology, improvements to the Flighty app, and more.

In our In the Vision segment, I share some of my initial thoughts on the new and improved Siri in the developer beta of visionOS 27.

In our In the Know segment, Brett shares lots of tips for using the Flighty app, and I share tips for avoiding highways in driving directions in Apple Maps.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast, or just listen using your podcast player of choice. You can also watch the episode on YouTube:

Last week, for the Fourth of July on the 250th anniversary of the United States, an iPhone became part of history. America250—which is the bipartisan initiative, not the competing one Trump created called Freedom 250—sealed a time capsule and buried it in Philadelphia to be reopened in 250 years in 2276. The America250 website explains that an iPhone 17 Pro Max was included because it represents “the cutting edge of American innovation and technology in 2026.” I agree. I also agree with another interesting article I read this week on the topic of American inventions. In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Ben Cohen says that when you think about the all-time best inventions in America, you might think of the lightbulb and the iPhone, but one great invention often overlooked is the solid white line on the right side of the road. Commonly called the “fog line,” it was invented by John Dorr in the 1950s and is now used on every road because studies show it saves lives by helping drivers keep their cars in the proper location in a lane. I had never thought to compare the fog line to the iPhone, but I was aware of the invention’s history because it was critical to one of my very first cases. When I served as a student public defender through the criminal justice clinic at Georgetown Law, I defended a person who had been pulled over in Maryland while driving. The officer’s excuse for doing so was that my client’s car crossed the white line. I convinced the court that crossing a fog line is lawful; it serves only to guide drivers. That meant the officer lacked a legitimate reason to pull over my client, so everything the officer found in my client’s car after the stop was the fruit of the poisonous tree and inadmissible. That pre-trial victory led to the dismissal of the entire case against my client. Many decades later, I still spend a large part of my time on pretrial motions that can change the outcome of litigation. And now, the news of note from the past week:

• Public Service Announcement: this week’s episode of the In the News podcast will be recorded and released on Saturday, not today.
• Glenn Fleishman of Six Colors provides tips for hiding and deleting an iPhone app—and how to undo that if you make a mistake.
• The Amazon Prime Day sales are over, but the one deal that I took advantage of during the big sale—buying myself an Anker Prime Wireless Charging Station when this $150 item was being sold for under $100—is happening again. As I type this, it is only $99.74, the same price that I was excited to pay last month. This is my favorite 3-in-1 charger, useful both on a desk and for travel. (My review.) I’m using it right now as I type these words. If you want a small, high-quality, fantastic device that can charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, not to mention let you use StandBy mode on the iPhone, I encourage you to get one before the price goes up again.
• I’ve taken a number of flights over the last few weeks, and the Flighty app has been fantastic. Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reports on a new feature that makes this app even better: a Connection Assistant that provides step-by-step guidance on your connection, including estimated times for each step. Will 45 minutes be enough time to make your connection in Atlanta? Now, Flighty can answer that question.
• The bad guys are coming up with increasingly more effective ways to scam you. Fortunately, David Sparks of MacSparky notes that the scam detection built into Apple’s upcoming iOS 27 attempts to detect and warn you about a scam while the bad guy is actually trying to scam you.
• Juli Clover of MacRumors identifies the new features coming to CarPlay in iOS 27.
• Mahmoud Itani of Macworld provides tips for closing your Apple Watch activity rings every day.
• In a YouTube video, Stephen Robles shows off the new Schlage Sense Pro smart lock ($399 on Amazon), explaining why it may be the best smart lock on the market—albeit the most expensive. It is one of only two smart locks you can currently buy that work with Apple’s Ultra Wideband, so that means it can open your door right when you walk up to it, without you having to do anything else.
• If you install some useful smart home accessories in your house and then want to sell the home along with all of the Apple Home items, Ben Lovejoy of 9to5Mac notes that there is no easy way to do that. I’ve been living in the same home since long before the iPhone was invented, and I don’t plan to move anytime soon, so this isn’t something that I had thought about before, but I understand how it can be a problem for others.
• Sending a text message from one iPhone to another iPhone is always encrypted, but things get more complicated when you send text messages to non-iPhone devices. Max Eddy of Wirecutter explains how to keep these text messages private.
• The shows on Apple TV get better every year, and the streaming service is getting recognition for that. Juli Clover of MacRumors reports that Apple earned a record 87 Emmy nominations this year. The most nominations went to Pluribus, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Widow’s Bay, Shrinking, and Slow Horses—and I agree that every one of those shows is excellent. Your Friends & Neighbors, which is also a great show, was nominated for Best Drama Series. And actor Billy Crudup of The Morning Show was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
• Trying is a delightful series on Apple TV. As Marcus Mendes of 9to5Mac reports, Season 5 is now available.
• I don’t purchase many movies or TV shows from Apple, but I do own a few. For example, back in 2005, when I used an iPod that supported video, I purchased the first season of the show Lost. At the time, I had evacuated from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and I enjoyed being able to watch that show on my portable, albeit small, screen. Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reports that just like Apple has been upgrading previously purchased movies to 4K quality at no additional charge for many years, this week Apple began upgrading TV shows that were purchased in HD quality to 4K. My Lost episodes remain in HD quality—I don’t think 4K versions have ever been created for that show—but other shows like Mad Men should now look better than ever.
• One of the changes coming to visionOS 27 is the ability to turn any panorama photo into an environment. I saw a link to a post—the original is on X.com, but here is the same post on XCancel if you don’t use the former Twitter service—noting that this can be great for watching shows on the Vision Pro. For example, FSK Shots and Tech recommends in that post using a panorama photo from Silo as you watch the Apple TV show Silo—a great Sci Fi show that just started its newest season. I’ll have to try that.
• I will never own a Lamborghini, but now I can have one at my house—as long as I am wearing my Vision Pro. Marcus Mendes of 9to5Mac reports that Lamborghini’s new Vision Pro app lets you interact with full-size cars.
• And finally, what would Snoopy be without his iconic red doghouse? The newest Peanuts movie is coming to Apple TV soon. It is called Snoopy Presents: There’s No Place Like Home, Snoopy, and as this preview shows, it will tackle that important question:

Security was a hot topic this week. First, as reported by Jason Snell of Six Colors, Apple took the security updates originally planned for the upcoming iOS 26.6 and released them early as a new iOS 26.5.2 update. As Snell explained, these security updates were part of the public beta of iOS 26.6, which meant hackers had a chance to see what Apple was planning to update and then think about how to exploit those bugs between now and when iOS 26.6 comes out. In the past, it would have taken the bad guys a long time to do that, but modern AI tools can quickly identify and exploit bugs. As Matteo Wong of The Atlantic wrote just a few weeks ago, with AI “enabling a deluge of cyberattacks the likes of which we’ve never seen before,” the safest approach seems to be to Assume You Will Be Hacked. One recent cyberattack that definitely got Apple’s attention was the data breach at Tata Electronics, the company in India that makes iPhones for Apple. As Jagmeet Singh of TechCrunch reports, over 200,000 files were stolen. And as Malcolm Owen of AppleInsider reports, details of the next version of the iPhone are starting to show up on the Internet as a result of this hack. Hacking is already a big problem for all of us—especially if you work in an industry in which confidentiality is important, such as a law firm—and it looks like the problem is going to get worse. Sigh. And now, the news of note from the past week:

• As a reminder, there will be no new episode of the In the News podcast this week. We are taking a break to celebrate July 4th.
• There’s even more to say about security this week. First, Glenn Fleishman of Six Colors shares tips for securely sharing information, such as a credit card number, with others using your iPhone.
• Second, Marcus Mendes of 9to5Mac notes that iOS 27 will include a framework that developers can use to detect and warn about scams in real time as someone tries to scam you.
• In a big win for privacy rights, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that law enforcement agents cannot force the police to hand over cellphone location information without a search warrant. Lawrence Bonk of Engadget says that this ends the former “search first and develop suspicions later” approach.
• Way back in 2010, I reviewed an app called Courtroom Objections developed by Houston attorney Anthony Shorter. The app contains a list of common trial objections, along with information on how best to make them. I posted an updated review in 2019. This is a useful app to have in your pocket if you handle trials—or if, like me, you are an appellate attorney who frequently works with trial attorneys to ensure that the record is protected. I mention all of this today becuase the app was recently updated to version 9.0. The update adds many new features, such as Favorites and a guide to using the objections, and it also has an improved interface that is easier to navigate. Click here to check out the app.
• John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes that even if you have an iPhone that supports 5G, you might want to turn off 5G and rely on LTE instead. It isn’t quite as fast, but for most uses it is fast enough, and it extends your iPhone’s battery life.
• David Moin of Women’s Wear Daily writes about Ron Johnson, the Apple executive who created the Apple Store. Johnson has a book coming out on September 22 called Shop Different. (If you don’t subscribe to WWD but you do subscribe to Apple News+, you can read the article in News+.) The article reveals some interesting interactions between Johnson and Steve Jobs. (If you want to roll back the clock 20 years, click here to see a picture of Ron Johnson and me that was taken when Apple opened its Fifth Avenue store in New York on May 19, 2006.)
• Click here to see the 2026 winners of the iPhone Photography Awards, which is now in its 19th year.
• Season 3 of Silo, one of the best shows on Apple TV, begins today. Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac notes that Apple launched a website tied to the show’s backstory to coincide with the new season.
• And finally, here are two fun videos from Apple that promote Active Noise Cancellation in the AirPods Pro 3. The original version of the video, embedded below, shows Brazilian soccer player Vini Jr. dancing—with fancy footwork—in a noisy public space as he listens to a song only he can hear. There is also an expanded version of the video that includes the music he is listening to. Both are fun to watch.

This week, Brett Burney and I recorded our 250th episode of the In the News podcast. And if you look at the video version of this week’s podcast, you will see a beautiful lake and mountains behind me because this weekend I am at my law firm’s retreat at the beautiful Broadmoor, celebrating the 75th anniversary of Adams & Reese. Those milestones provided a celebratory backdrop, but unfortunately, we have to start this week’s episode by discussing the numerous price hikes announced by Apple this week. We talk about the price increases that were expected, the ones that are somewhat surprising, and what this may mean for the future. We also discuss the new apps from Apple that will be part of iOS 27, the new and improved icons coming in iOS 27, why lawyers and others will be able to trust Siri AI because of built-in privacy, security settings that you should consider enabling, downloading maps, and more.

In our In the Show segment, we discuss how amazing movies like Avatar: Fire and Ash look on the Vision Pro as well as some of the great shows released on Apple TV this year.

In our In the Know segment, Brett shares a very silly site that he enjoys—a website that lets you virtually cut logs. And I share a tip that New Orleans attorney Jim Nieset shared with us: using the raise to speak function of the Apple Watch to quickly start a run or other workout.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast, or just listen using your podcast player of choice. You can also watch the episode on YouTube:

Last week, I noted that Apple revealed that it would raise prices for its products because of the memory chip shortage. I had hoped that this would not begin until this fall, but it began yesterday. Hartley Charlton of MacRumors notes all of the price changes. The price of the iPad Air went up $150; the iPad Pro went up $200; the already expensive Vision Pro went up $200 to $3,699; and the Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) went up $1,300 from $3,999 to $5,299. In other words, virtually every Apple product saw price increases of 15% to 25% except for the iPhone and Apple Watch—and I’m sure those price increases are coming soon, although perhaps Apple will wait until new models are announced in September. As John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes, if you “purchased a MacBook Neo for $600 (or $500 with education discount),” you may have purchased “the lowest-price MacBook they will ever sell.” Gruber also wrote an interesting post that notes the price changes as a percentage of the price. One of the biggest price increases was for the Apple TV. Why is that? David Sparks of MacSparky has a good theory: Apple is planning to update the Apple TV soon, and they want to raise the price now so that the replacement model can debut at that same price. Of course, Apple is not alone in raising prices because of the RAM shortages. For example, I saw that XBOX prices are going up well. And as Jay Peters of The Verge notes, it’s a bad time to want a new computer. Fortunately, you still have a chance to save money on some products if you take advantage of the Prime Day sales I noted earlier this week. And now, the rest of the news of note:

• In an article for Above the Law, Stephen Embry discusses the impact that Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 will have on lawyers. The article includes some thoughts on the topic that Brett Burney and I shared with Embry as he was writing this article. Lawyers already have access to other impressive AI tools that are vastly improving our ability to represent our clients, but I think that Siri AI and the improvements to Apple Intelligence will definitely be a part of this story for lawyers in just a few months.
• Oliver Haslam of AppleInsider argues that Apple should not have raised the price of the MacBook Neo because the price is the main feature of that device. I understand his point, but since it looks like the entire industry is raising prices, I suspect that the MacBook Neo will remain a good value.
• Hartley Charlton of MacRumors notes that iOS 27 and the other system updates coming later this year will include five new apps: Siri AI, Apple TV Remote, Find My on the Apple Watch, Pass Designer on the Mac, and Claris FileMaker Go for the iPhone and iPad.
• Another change in the updates, as noted by Dan Moren of Six Colors, is updated icons for most apps, and the Basic Apple Guy website shows examples. It’s a subtle change, but I like it.
• I like how the Apple Health app can offer insights on your health based on the data in the app. Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac notes that Apple’s Wallet app in iOS 27 will provide similar financial insights.
• Jason Snell of Six Colors explains why the Shortcuts app in iOS 27 and the other upcoming operating systems will allow you to realize the automation dream: the ability to just tell your device what you want to create and have it created.
• Speaking of Snell, after 38 years, Snell just wrote his last column for Macworld. In it, he provides an excellent overview of Apple’s last two eras under Steve Jobs and Tim Cook and previews Apple’s next era under John Ternus.
• Michael D.J. Eisenberg of The Tech Savvy Lawyer explains how Android devices can now more easily use AirDrop to share files with iPhones.
• Glenn Fleishman of Six Colors explains how to download maps on your iPhone—and why you might want to do so.
• Todd Spangler of Variety reported on remarks made by Apple executive Eddy Cue as he accepted an award from the Cannes Lions festival. Cue discussed the early days of Apple TV, why Apple TV had had so many hits, and more.
• Will Shanklin of Engadget recommends 10 underrated Apple Watch tips.
• Max Eddy of the New York Times recommends several security settings on the iPhone that you should consider enabling.
• If you want to stream a movie at the best possible quality, and if you are watching it by yourself, the Vision Pro often provides the best possible experience. This is especially true for movies created with the best possible digital quality, and it is especially true on Disney+, which offers some of the highest quality for digital streaming. As discussed in this Reddit thread, the Avatar movies are the very best, and the latest in the series—Fire and Ash—is now available to stream on Disney+. The stream size of the 3D movie is over 32GB, and with all of that information streamed to a Vision Pro, you get something that can look incredible with Ultra HD, HDR, high frame rate, and all of the other buzzwords. I was on a plane yesterday, and I started watching the movie on my Vision Pro. It was perhaps the most amazing visuals in a movie that I have ever seen, and I was watching this ON A PLANE, of all places. Hard to believe. Of course, the audio is always better in a big theater with amazing speakers, but thanks to the high-quality OLED screens of the Vision Pro, the image quality on the Vision Pro is as good as it gets.
• Speaking of Reddit, an interesting Reddit post by Hamster-Humble lists all of the shows released on Apple TV in 2026. Looking at this list reminds me of so many shows that I have enjoyed this year: Tehran, Hijack, Shrinking, For All Mankind, Star City, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, and Widow’s Bay. And there are others on that list that I haven’t watched yet, but that I’m thinking of starting.
• And finally, here is a new video from Apple showing how the Apple Watch has made an impact on professional surfing.

Now through June 26, 2026, it is Amazon Prime Day. I suppose that should be “days” with an “s” at the end since it lasts for much of this week. I often find that I can purchase Apple products and related accessories at very good prices on Amazon, and during the Amazon Prime sale, there are some particularly good deals. If you use an iPhone or iPad, here is what I recommend right now on Amazon. These are great products on which you can save yourself some money if you make a purchase this week:

• iPhone 17 Pro. This is it, the best model of the iPhone you can currently buy (my review), unless you want a larger model that is heavier and has a larger screen. The version to which I’m linking is the 512GB model, which is the right amount of storage for most people, even if you take a lot of photos and videos. The MSRP is $1249, but it is currently on sale for only $999.99. A $250 discount would always be a great deal, but this is a particularly good deal right now because Apple recently announced that it will raise prices soon as the cost of memory and solid-state storage has risen sharply. Thus, when the iPhone 18 Pro is announced in a few months, a similar model is going to cost more than that MSRP of $1249: perhaps $1300, perhaps even $1449 if the rumors are true that Apple will raise prices by $200. I’m sure that the iPhone 18 Pro will be better than this iPhone 17 Pro, but the iPhone 17 Pro will remain a fantastic iPhone for a very long time. Getting this excellent model for only $999 is a great deal today, and I suspect that in a few months, it will look like an even better deal.
• Apple Watch Series 11. This is the current top-of-the-line Apple Watch (other than the Ultra), and it is a fantastic device, for all of the reasons that I noted in my full review. MSRP is $399.00, but it is on sale for only $279.00. Note that this version will support Siri AI when it comes out in a few months.
• Apple Watch Ultra 3. Although I currently wear an Apple Watch Series 10 because I prefer a thinner device, I’ve worn an Ultra model in the past, and it is fantastic. As I noted in my review of the Ultra 2, the battery life is amazing, the Action Button on the side is very useful, and the Modular Ultra watch face shows you tons of information. With the Ultra 3, you get all of that and more. The MSRP is $799.00, and it is on sale now for $649.00.
• Belkin BoostCharge Plus. A portable charger with built-in cords is incredibly useful. I’ve used this category of device for years. It is so nice to have everything in one place. Belkin is a company with a good reputation. This 10K charger is particularly versatile because it has both USB-C and Lightning. MSRP is $54.99, and it is on sale for only $37.99.
• Apple AirPods Max 2. I’ve never owned this over-the-head version of the AirPods Pro, but I try them on just about every time I visit an Apple Store. They sound great, and they do a better job of noise cancellation because they fit over your ears. Otherwise, the features are essentially the same as AirPods Pro. With an MSRP of $549.00, the one downside has always been the price. But it is now on sale for an all-time low price of $399.00, which is fabulous.
• Apple AirPods Pro 3. If you prefer something smaller, the AirPods Pro 3 are fantastic. I use mine every day, for the reasons I noted in my review. The MSRP is $249.00, and the lowest price that I have ever seen them is $169.00. They are currently on sale for $179.99, which is still a great deal for this product. If you don’t own these, you should.
• AirTag (2nd generation). The latest version of the AirTag was released earlier this year with an MSRP of $99.00 for a pack of four. And this is a great product; as I noted in my review, everything good about the regular AirTag is better in this second generation. To my knowledge, it has never gone on sale before now. The sale price is $89.00.
• Anker Prime Wireless Charging Station. I gave this product, with an MSRP of $149.99, a rave review a few months ago when I purchased one for my wife. It is a 3-in-1 charger that can charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at the same time, and because it folds up, it is perfect for travel. At the time of my review, the cost was $119.99. It is now at an all-time low price of $99.74, and I just took advantage of that price to buy one for myself.
• Plaud Note Pro AI Voice Recorder. I’ve never used this product, but when I was at ABA TECHSHOW earlier this year, several attorneys told me that it worked great for them. For example, in the audio/video podcast that I recorded during TECHSHOW, attorney Paul Lawless described how he uses a Plaud to record and immediately summarize a deposition to help him prepare a client report. Sounds very useful. MSRP $189.00; now on sale for $159.99.

We now have a lot more information from early reports on how the very early versions of Siri AI work. And the initial reports are quite good. Brett and I start this week’s episode of the podcast discussing how Siri AI will work and what it seems to be doing very well. We also discuss related improvements to Apple’s Image Playground app and the search feature in the upcoming version of the Mail app. Next, we discuss the changes in the Photos app coming in iOS 27, improvements to the Apple One subscription service, watchOS 27, iPadOS 27, why the next iPhone is likely to be more expensive, using an Apple Vision Pro to design rides at Disney World, and more.

In our In the Know segment, Brett discusses the iOS feature that can prevent you from getting car sick, and I share a sad story with a happy ending that involved my Magic Keyboard for iPad and a full glass of iced coffee.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast, or just listen using your podcast player of choice. You can also watch the episode on YouTube:

We are starting to learn more about the hardware Apple is likely to announce this fall. First, the new iPhone will be more expensive. Apple CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal’s Rolfe Winkler that surging costs of computer memory and storage chips will force Apple to raise prices. How much? Apple hasn’t revealed that yet, but Nicole Nguyen and Rolfe Winkler crunched some numbers, and they believe that Apple will increase the cost of iPhone models by $200. John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes that this is the first time that Apple has ever issued a warning about price increases. Second, new tools released by Apple are further evidence that it will soon release a foldable iPhone and a Mac with a touchscreen, as noted by Malcolm Owen of AppleInsider, who shares reporting from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg. Between operating system updates and new hardware, it looks like there will be a lot going on in just a few months. And now, the news of note from the past week:

• The title of this article from David Sparks of MacSparky says it all: The new Siri doesn’t suck.
• Harry McCracken of Fast Company seems to agree, noting that Siri AI is a big step forward.
• Stephen Robles agrees as well, showing off the new Siri AI in a video on his YouTube channel.
• Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac says that thanks to the AI improvements, the Image Playground app in iOS 27 is actually useful.
• Anurag Chawake of Cult of Mac says that the search function in Apple’s Mail app works much better in iOS 27. Amen!
• Joe Rossignol of MacRumors notes the new features coming to Find My this fall, including a new Hide Location option that will discreetly pause your location sharing with specific people for the day. Apple suggests that this new feature could be used to avoid spoiling surprise birthday parties.
• Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac describes the new features for Apple Photos in iOS 27.
• Christoffel also notes the new features of the Apple One subscription in iOS 27.
• Juli Clover of MacRumors notes the new features for the Apple Watch coming in watchOS 27. Her post includes a video from Dan Barbera that shows off the beta version.
• It isn’t available in the beta yet, but Zac Hall of 9to5Mac predicts that Siri AI will be one of the biggest new features in watchOS 27 because it will turn the Apple Watch into an AI wearable device.
• In a similar article, Clover describes the new features coming in iPadOS 27.
• Adam Engst of TidBITS notes all of the tiny details that Apple revealed—very quickly—during the WWDC keynote.
• If you have ever felt carsick while looking at an iPhone or iPad in a moving car, there is a solution. Thomas Ricker of The Verge notes that you can turn on Vehicle Motion Cues, a feature added by Apple in 2024, to put tiny dots on your screen. Ricker says that they really work.
• Last week, I began this Friday post talking about the Apple Vision Pro. Here are two new interesting uses for that device. First, I want to highlight a great comment on last week’s post from Jan that links to a video from Disney that shows off how it is designing the next version of the Soarin ride at EPCOT. Around the 9:30 mark, you can see one of the engineers using a Vision Pro—not to visualize the ride, but instead to access multiple virtual windows so that she can adjust things without carrying heavy monitors on the ride. Thanks, Jan, for the cool link.
• Second, here is an interesting video from a software company in Brazil, R2U | Realidade Aumentada, which uses Vision Pros to help real estate customers visualize apartments under construction.
• The first season of Window’s Bay on Apple TV wrapped up this week, and it was fantastic. The show is funny, quirky, scary, and incredibly well-acted. After you have watched the final episode, I recommend this article by Alison Herman of Variety, in which she interviews star Matthew Rhys.
• Also, Andrew Orr of AppleInsider notes that Apple released a Widow’s Bay playlist on Apple Music. It is called Patricia’s Sunset Cocktails Playlist—which is a reference to Episode 4—and it includes a stunning 811 songs with a total runtime of 60 hours and 32 minutes.
• And finally, in a new video from Joanna Stern called The New Siri is Actually Good, Stern does a fantastic job of showing how Siri AI works, what it does well, what Apple won’t let it do (like diagnose medical issues or have romantic conversations with you), and why it is such a major improvement.