Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max pair the faster A20 Pro chip with a variable-aperture Fusion Main camera, a smaller, more capable Dynamic Island, longer battery life, and higher prices, while otherwise changing surprisingly little from last year.

Apple’s new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 pair redesigned health sensors with the S11 chip for denser heart-rate data, Readiness scores, and Audio Intelligence, while Ultra 4 gains substantially longer battery life and Series 12 brings back ceramic cases.

Apple’s AirPods 5 bring Active Noise Cancellation to both models, improve water resistance to IP57, and add more AirPods Pro features, while the higher-end version offers longer battery life, wireless charging, and stem-based volume control at a lower price.

Major upgrade for the screenshot utility adds new editing and video enhancement capabilities. ($35 new, free update, 77.7 MB, macOS 13+)

Calendar app adds the ability to extract events from images. ($57 annual subscription, free update, 60.8 MB, macOS 12+)

Comcast is promoting the WiFi Motion feature of its free Xfinity Shield service, which uses Wi-Fi signals to detect movement in your home. It’s opt-in, but the underlying technology could theoretically do far more than Comcast acknowledges—including identifying individuals.

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Apple has raised Apple TV subscription prices by $2 per month, marking the second significant increase in as many years. The annual plan jumps $20, from $99 to $119.

We’re taking a brief break from building an email issue of TidBITS next week for the Labor Day holiday in the United States, so look for the next issue in your mailbox on 14 September 2026. Check our website for coverage of Apple’s iPhone announcements on 9 September 2026.

Brings significant performance improvements when reading large files. ($59.99 new, free update, 32.2 MB, macOS 14+)

Upgrades the virtualization software with support for macOS 27 Golden Gate and adds OpenGL 4.3 graphics driver support. ($99.99 Standard Edition subscription, free update, 5.4 MB, macOS 14+)

Three Rogue Amoeba audio apps add initial compatibility with macOS 27 Golden Gate. ($69/$49/$29 new, free updates, various sizes, multiple system requirements)

Adds the ability to to take a layered screenshot of all your open windows from the Dock menu. ($29.99 new, free update, 36.9 MB, macOS 14+)

Allows 1Password for Claude to sign in to supported sign-in providers. ($47.88 annual subscription, free update, 4.8 MB, macOS 12+)

Apple has announced its annual iPhone event for 9 September 2026. The “Surprise and Shine” event will be CEO John Ternus’s first product launch, with rumors pointing to a foldable iPhone alongside iPhone 18 Pro updates, new Apple Watch models, and the expected iOS 27 release.

A Vermont road trip in the Hyundai IONIQ 5 revealed the joy of the car’s speed limiter feature, the frustration of short Tesla Supercharger cables on older stations, the importance of downloading offline maps before venturing into rural areas, and the utility of ChatGPT in finding a restaurant on the route.

On 2 September 2026 at 11:30 AM EDT, veteran tech journalist David Pogue discusses his latest book, “Apple: The First 50 Years,” at a free NMUG presentation.

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Apple surprised everyone with a late August announcement of the M6 and M5 Ultra chips, along with updated Mac mini and Mac Studio models. The new Macs deliver substantial performance gains—but at prices that have increased even since June.

Reduces flickering and reloading of embedded content in the live preview window. ($59.95 new, free update, 23.8 MB, macOS 10.15.4+)

Brings improvements and bug fixes to the Swiss Army knife of graphics programs. ($39.95 new, free update, 251.8 MB, macOS 10.13+)