The new iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max have been out for a week, and they have been amazing devices to use and test. While the actual footprint and visual design remain unchanged, Apple spiced things up with new colors like Glacier, Burgundy, and a true Deep Black version. These colors are a nice new addition to the iPhone lineup, but, of course, the main question I get asked is: What case should I get to protect my new $ 1,200+ device? Luckily, there are already hundreds of case options for the new 18 Pro lineup, and I have been lucky enough to test a bunch. I know cases are purely subjective and a matter of preference, but I figured I would share some of my favorites! more…
Apple released watchOS 27 on September 14. The features and changes aren't limited to owners of new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 models. If you have an Apple Watch model that supports the latest update, here are 12 features and changes to check out after installation. To do so, open the Watch app on your iPhone, then tap General ➝ Software Update, strap your watch into a charger, and follow the onscreen prompts. Check Out the Dedicated Siri App Siri has finally caught up with the AI revolution, and apart from having contextual awareness, it now has an app of its own that collects every conversation in a single view and syncs them privately across your devices over iCloud. Just ask something on your iPhone and you can pick the thread up again on your Apple Watch, as well as pin conversations worth keeping, or even start a new chat directly from your wrist. Try Siri Modular Watch Face The new Siri watch face is a genuinely useful one. Its rectangular complication shows you whatever sits at the top of your Smart Stack, and it automatically updates through the day based on time, location, and other factors. The Dynamic App Grid Pressing the Digital Crown no longer produces the honeycomb app view by default. Now, watchOS 27 shows a dynamic grid made up of suggested apps, your most-used apps, and your most recently used ones. The Siri app sits in the middle, but the alphabetical list remains available – simply turn the Digital Crown to navigate through all of your apps. New Tap Gesture Apple has added a third gesture to Double Tap and Wrist Flick. The new one is simply called Tap. A single tap of your index finger and thumb opens the highlighted widget in the Smart Stack. You can still navigate the Smart Stack with Double Tap and dismiss notifications with Wrist Flick. Walkie-Talkie Has Been Deleted Walkie-Talkie is gone, and not merely hidden. The app is unavailable after updating to watchOS 27 and cannot be reinstalled from the App Store. You can keep the app by staying on watchOS 26, but you won't be able to start a conversation with a contact who has updated. Live Rewind (Not Yet) This is the change most likely to catch people out. In watchOS 26 and earlier, a double press of the Digital Crown opens the App Switcher, where you can jump back to the previous app, scroll through recent ones, and swipe to force-quit anything misbehaving. That's changed in watchOS 27, in which a double press shows the new dynamic app grid instead. The gesture has been reserved for Live Rewind, an upcoming feature (exclusive to Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4) that produces a transcript of the last fifteen seconds of speech in your environment. Fortunately, the App Switcher will still be available when watchOS 27.2 is released later this year, but it will open with a different gesture. If you're already on the latest beta, simply long press on the bottom of the app that you're in, and that should open the App Switcher. Find My is Now One App Find Devices, Find Items, and Find People have been folded into a single Find My app with a map-centric layout, which also includes shortcuts for directions and for items nearby. Workout Buddy No Longer Needs Your iPhone Introduced in watchOS 26, Workout Buddy previously required your iPhone within range. In watchOS 27, your Apple Watch can run it if Wi-Fi or cellular is available. It also draws new insights from your training history, tracking gradual gains in pace, distance and workout duration, and it now speaks Spanish as well as English. New Cycle Tracking Features Cycle Tracking in the Health app can now notify you if your logged patterns are suggestive of perimenopause, alongside symptom tracking and educational material. The notifications only draw on your logged cycle history and apply to users aged 40 and over. Apple says the feature is not a method of birth control and is not a diagnosis. Treadmill Distance Is More Accurate In watchOS 27, new machine learning motion algorithms measure distance more precisely for indoor runs and walks, and Apple says the improvement starts from the first step, as opposed to settling after a few minutes. Fitness route maps are more accurate too, and step counts finally stay in sync between the Fitness and Health apps. The Smart Stack Gets More to Say The Smart Stack's contextual suggestions are now a lot smarter. A few examples provided by Apple include new widgets surfacing your parked car's location, a close contact's birthday, a change in your transit card balance, the Noise app immediately after a loud-noise alert, a reminder that Theater Mode is still on, pinned messages, celebrations, and identity cards. New Models Get a Steps Counter On Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, the redesigned pedometer model and S11 chip allow watchOS 27 to provide more accurate step counts. There's also a new Steps complication on the latest models to track your steps in real time, right from your watch face. Will we see the feature come to older devices? Your guess is as good as ours. Related Roundups: Apple Watch 12 , watchOS 26 , watchOS 27 Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now) Related Forum: Apple Watch This article, " watchOS 27: 12 New Things To Check Out on Your Apple Watch " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
An antitrust lawsuit accusing Apple of blocking tap-to-pay competition is moving forward and will see banks and credit unions able to band together to sue Apple. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White this week certified a class in the lawsuit. It will include any U.S. entities that issued any payment card enabled for Apple Pay and paid Apple a fee for ‌Apple Pay‌ transactions on that payment card. He also denied a motion from Apple to exclude expert testimony that plaintiff attorneys allege offers proof Apple has monopoly power over the mobile wallet market. First filed in 2022, the suit claims Apple illegally collects up to $1 billion annually in fees by preventing rivals from accessing the iPhone's NFC chip to build mobile wallets that would compete with ‌Apple Pay‌. When an iPhone user buys something with a card linked to ‌Apple Pay‌, the card issuer has to pay Apple a 0.15 percent fee for credit cards and half a cent for debit cards, according to the lawsuit. If you make a $1,000 purchase via ‌Apple Pay‌, Apple collects $1.50 from the card issuer. The complaint alleges that Apple forces card issuers to pay fees by making ‌Apple Pay‌ the only tap-to-pay option. It points to Google's Android, which supports multiple wallets and does not collect a fee from card issuers for contactless payments. It suggests Apple would not be able to continue to charge "substantial fees" if it were forced to support other mobile wallets on Apple devices. Apple has changed its policies since the lawsuit was filed. As of iOS 18.1 , developers are able to offer NFC contactless payments in their apps. Developers have access to the NFC chip in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, the European Economic Area, and many other countries. Attorneys are seeking repayment of the fees card issuers have paid and injunctive relief to "put an end to Apple's policies." Related Roundup: Apple Pay Tag: Apple Lawsuits Related Forum: Apple Music, Apple Pay/Card, iCloud, Fitness+ This article, " Banks and Credit Unions to Team Up Against Apple Pay Fees " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
