Apple's upcoming tvOS 26 update brings some neat new features to Apple TV, including a redesigned TV app, a new profile selector on wake, and a design overhaul matching Apple's new multi-platform spanning Liquid Glass aesthetic. However, another of its less talked-about enhancements has to do with Apple TV's visually impressive Aerial screen savers.
With tvOS 26, you can now manually select and deselect individual Aerial screen savers that you want to appear on the screen, bringing new levels of customization to the experience.
If you go to the Screen Saver menu in Settings, you'll find new granular controls over specific screen savers within the Cityscape, Earth, Landscape, and Underwater collections. The new "Choose Aerials" option lets you curate a personalized playlist of your favorite scenic vistas – much like Mac users have enjoyed since macOS Sonoma launched in 2023.
For lovers of Aerial screen savers, an added bonus is that Apple is also adding new aerial footage captured across India, including landscapes from Goa and Kerala, expanding the collection of high-quality screen savers that have become a signature feature of Apple TV.
If you've registered with Apple's Beta Program, you can try tvOS 26 early by going to Settings ➝ System ➝ Software Updates and selecting Get Beta Updates. The official release of tvOS 26 is coming in the fall, and we are also expecting a refreshed Apple TV 4K to launch sometime between September and December.
On an earnings call today, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the company will be opening new stores in India and the United Arab Emirates later this year.
Cook did not share specific grand opening dates for these new stores, or any other details.
Apple last year announced that it would be opening a new store in the Emirati city of Al Ain at some point this year. The company has four other stores in the country — two in Dubai and two in Abu Dhabi.
In India, Apple told TechCrunch that it planned to open four new stores in Bengaluru, Delhi (National Capital Region), Mumbai, and Pune.
Apple's first two stores in India opened in 2023, in Mumbai and New Delhi.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook today said the iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26 developer betas are the company's most popular developer betas ever.
"It's wonderful to see great momentum building for our platforms," said Cook, on a conference call discussing Apple's quarterly earnings results. "iOS 26, macOS 26, and iPadOS 26 are by far the most popular developer betas we've had."
Apple released the developer betas immediately following its WWDC 2025 keynote in June. Cook did not provide any specific installation numbers, nor did he comment on the public betas of the updates, which were released last week.
Jason Snell shared a transcript of Cook's full remarks on Six Colors.
Two years ago, Apple dropped the requirement to pay $99 per year for an Apple Developer Program membership in order to access its developer betas, allowing anyone who creates an Apple Developer account to install them for free. This change has surely resulted in a larger number of non-developers installing the developer betas, even though Apple recommends that average customers wait for the public betas.
In addition, the new Liquid Glass design across Apple's platforms is a major visual change, which developers might want to prepare for. And many non-developers likely wanted to play around with the new design too, without having to wait until the public betas were released in July, or the final releases come out in September.
While Apple largely won the lawsuit that Epic Games levied against it back in 2020, Google hasn't been as lucky. Google today failed to win an appeal in the ongoing Epic Games v. Google case, handing another victory to Epic.
As noted by Reuters, a federal appeals court rejected Google's claim that the original court overseeing the antitrust case had made legal errors when finding in favor of Epic, which means Google will need to implement Play Store changes. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said the company had scored a "total victory" in the appeal.
Epic Games first sued Google in 2020, right around the same time that it sued Apple. In 2023, a jury unanimously agreed that Google had abused its power by operating an app store monopoly and charging developers exorbitant fees. Google then appealed, leading to today's loss.
As a result of the Epic Games lawsuit, Google will be forced to allow Android users to download rival app stores from the Play Store. Google will also be required to make the Play app catalog available to competitors.
Sweeney says that the Epic Games Store for Android will be coming to the Google Play Store, but Google plans to appeal again.
Thunderbolt 5 is a technology that's only recently been adopted by Apple, and Thunderbolt 5 SSDs aren't yet common. Other World Computing, or OWC, has one of the first Thunderbolt 5 SSDs on the market.
The bus-powered Envoy Ultra is priced starting at $330, and it comes in 2TB or 4TB capacities. The SSD has a premium feel, with a black aluminum enclosure and an internal design meant to dissipate heat. It's not the most compact SSD, measuring in at 5.1 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 0.8 inches thick. It weighs 0.75 pounds, so while it tucks away easily in a bag, you're not going to want to haul it around in a pocket.
According to OWC, the SSD has an IP67 dust and water resistance rating, so it can hold up to temporary immersion in water (though make sure the cable end is dry before use). It's hefty and durable, but on a negative note, it has a built-in 9-inch Thunderbolt 5 cable that is not detachable. I am not a fan of built-in cables, but it does feel securely attached. How it'll hold up for years of use remains to be seen. If the Envoy Ultra's cable is damaged, the SSD can be sent in to OWC for repair. At this time, the cable is not sold separately for self repairs, but the enclosure does open to facilitate a cable swap.
The cable is fixed because of Thunderbolt 5 certification requirements and power draw, with a shorter cable able to mitigate power loss and deliver more power to the SSD for better performance.
The SSD can reach speeds up to twice as fast as Thunderbolt 4/USB4 SSDs, maxing out at over 6,000MB/s. In testing with an M4 Pro MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 5, I didn't quite hit that maximum. In benchmark tests with BlackMagic, it maxed out around 5,255MB/s write and 5,347MB/s read. Real world file tests were super quick, with 50GB transferring in about 15 seconds.
According to OWC, with sustained file transfers, write speeds will drop to around 1,350MB/s for the 2TB model and 1,700MB/s for the 4TB model, while read speeds stay consistent. I saw that dip in write speeds at around the 55GB mark.
Even when transferring large amounts of data, the Envoy Ultra did not get more than lukewarm, and since there's no fan inside, it offers silent operation.
To take advantage of the full speed of the Envoy Ultra, you need a computer that supports Thunderbolt 5. On the Mac side, that's Apple's latest Mac models with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips or the M3 Ultra found in the Mac Studio. Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 Macs are backwards compatible with the SSD and you can still use it with them, but you're probably only going to want to opt for a Thunderbolt 5 SSD if you have the equipment for one.
If you do have a Thunderbolt 5 Mac and want the fastest transfer speeds you can get for tasks like moving huge video files around, you're not going to go wrong with the Envoy Ultra. It's well built, and comes from a reputable company known for its drives.
You could get the Envoy Ultra for use with an older Mac for the purpose of future proofing, but the price difference may not be worth it. There are so few Thunderbolt 5 SSDs on the market right now, so prices are on the higher side. Of course, USB4/TB4 SSDs are also not super affordable, and the Envoy Ultra will give you maximum Thunderbolt 4 speeds, too.
With an M1 Max MacBook Pro, I got consistent read/write speeds right around 3,000MB/s, so I did hit the Thunderbolt 4 limit.
2TB USB4 SSDs that operate at half of the Envoy Ultra's speed are priced at $180 to $250, and if you don't even need USB4 speeds, 2TB SSDs can be under $100.
Bottom Line
If you have a Thunderbolt 5 Mac or are going to get one in the future and you need super fast transfer speeds, check out the Envoy Ultra. It's a solid product and the only downside for some may be the attached cable.
How to Buy
The Envoy Ultra can be purchased from the OWC website. The 2TB model is priced at $330, and the 4TB model is priced at $549.
Note: OWC provided MacRumors with a 2TB Envoy Ultra for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
Apple held an earnings call for the third fiscal quarter (second calendar quarter) of 2025 today, beating expectations with revenue of $94 billion. During the call, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh shared insights into device sales, tariffs, and more.
iPhone Popularity
The iPhone 16 models were more popular than the iPhone 15 models were last year. Cook said that iPhone 16 sales increased "strong double digits" compared to the iPhone 15, with the iPhone 16 popular with users upgrading to a new model.
Apple set a June quarter record for upgraders, and Cook said that was because of the "strength of the product."
Apple recently shipped its 3 billionth iPhone since the device debuted in 2007.
3 billion iPhones sold!
Thank you to everyone who's made iPhone such an important part of their lives. I'm incredibly excited for what's ahead!
— Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) July 31, 2025
AI
Cook said that Apple is "very open" to an acquisition that would accelerate its AI development roadmap. AI is "one of the most profound technologies of our lifetime," Cook said, adding that Apple is "significantly growing" its investments and reallocating people to work on AI at the company. "We're putting all of our energy behind it," Cook said.
"We're not stuck on a certain size company," Cook added during the call. "We basically ask ourselves whether a company can help us accelerate a road map, if if they do, then we're interested, but we don't have anything to share specifically today."
Cook also said that Apple is "making good progress" on developing a more personalized version of Siri that is powered by Apple Intelligence. Apple is on track to release the features next year.
Cook was asked whether large language models like ChatGPT could be a commodity in the future. Cook declined to talk speak on he subject because "that gives away some things in our strategy."
The way that we look at AI is that it's one of the most profound technologies of our lifetime, and I think it will affect all devices in a significant way. What pieces of the chain are commoditized and not commoditized? I wouldn't want to really talk about today, because that gives away some things on our strategy.
Tariffs
According to Cook, approximately one percentage point of Apple's 10 percent sales growth can be attributed to customers buying more products to get ahead of tariffs.
"We saw evidence in the early part of the quarter, specifically, of some pull-ahead related to the tariff announcements," Cook told Reuters.
Cook said that tariffs cost the company $800 million in the June quarter, and that the impact could be $1.1 billion in the September quarter.
To mitigate tariffs in the future, Apple is optimizing its supply chain, and Cook said the company "will do more in the United States."
Post iPhone Devices
Cook was asked about AI development and what Apple would do if dependence on screens diminishes. Cook said that it's "difficult to see a world where iPhone's not living in it."
He said that Apple is "thinking about other things," but those future devices are likely to be "complementary devices" not substitutions.
Services
Services revenue was $27.4 billion, up from $24.2 billion in the year-ago quarter, marking an all-time revenue record. Apple TV+ viewership was up strong double digits year over year.
App Store revenue grew double digits year over year, and cloud services also saw an all-time revenue record. Paid accounts and paid subscriptions grew double digits year over year, and Apple has "well over a billion" paid subscriptions across services.
Apple customers afraid of massive price hikes because of tariffs helped Apple's device sales during the fiscal third quarter of 2025, Apple CEO Tim Cook said today.
Speaking to Reuters, Cook said that approximately one percentage point of Apple's 10 percent sales growth in Q3 2025 can be attributed to customers buying more products to get ahead of tariffs.
"We saw evidence in the early part of the quarter, specifically, of some pull-ahead related to the tariff announcements," Cook said.
When U.S. President Donald Trump first announced tariffs in April, there were reports suggesting that iPhone prices could increase significantly as a result, going as high as $2,300. Customers who were worried about higher prices opted to make a purchase before the tariffs went into effect.
Cook said that Apple incurred $800 million in tariff related costs in the June quarter, and it expects $1.1 billion in tariff costs in the September quarter if the current tariffs do not change and if no new tariffs are added.
Apple is "open" to an acquisition that would accelerate its AI roadmap, Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC today. Cook said that Apple sees AI as one of the "most profound technologies of our lifetime," and that the company is "significantly growing" its AI investments.
"We're embedding it across our devices, across our platforms and across the company," Cook said. Apple has already purchased seven companies in 2025. "We're open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap," Cook added.
Apple has been losing key members of its AI team to Meta in recent weeks, and the company is already far behind competitors in AI development.
There have been rumors that Apple is considering working with Anthropic or OpenAI to develop an LLM version of Siri rather than using its own AI technology, but Apple hasn't moved forward with a partnership as of yet.
Many of the high profile AI companies would not be feasible for Apple to purchase, but the company has considered purchasing Perplexity AI. Perplexity is valued at $18 billion, so if Apple did acquire the company, it would mark Apple's largest acquisition to date.
On an earnings call today, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is "making good progress on a more personalized Siri" that is powered by Apple Intelligence, and he reiterated that the features will be available next year.
"We're making good progress on a more personalized Siri, and as we've said before, we expect to release these features next year," said Cook.
Apple today reported record earnings results for the third quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, with revenue of $94 billion exceeding Wall Street expectations.
Apple first announced the personalized Siri features during its WWDC 2024 keynote, but in March it announced that they were delayed. The new capabilities will include better understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps.
Apple today reported its earnings for the third fiscal quarter of 2025, and iPhone sales saw significant growth. iPhone revenue was at $44.6 billion, up 13 percent from $39.2 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Speaking to CNBC, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that iPhone revenue was up because the iPhone 16 turned out to be more popular with consumers than the iPhone 15 was during the same time period last year.
iPhone 16 sales increased "strong double digits" compared to the iPhone 15, and Cook said the iPhone 16 models were particularly popular with current iPhone users upgrading to a new model. Cook's statement covers the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, though he did not provide specific insight into which devices were the best sellers.
Apple also saw growth in Mac sales thanks to the M4 Mac lineup, but iPad sales and sales in the Wearables, Home and Accessories category were down.
Apple today announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter of 2025, which corresponds to the second calendar quarter of the year.
For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $94.0 billion and net quarterly profit of $23.4 billion, or $1.57 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $85.8 billion and net quarterly profit of $21.4 billion, or $1.40 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
Apple set new June quarter records for total revenue, as well as iPhone revenue and earnings per share. The company also set an all-time record for Services revenue.
Gross margin for the quarter was 46.5 percent, compared to 46.3 percent in the year-ago quarter. Apple also declared a quarterly dividend payment of $0.26 per share, payable on August 14 to shareholders of record as of August 11.
"Today Apple is proud to report a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in iPhone, Mac and Services and growth around the world, in every geographic segment," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "At WWDC25, we were excited to introduce a beautiful new software design that extends across all of our platforms, and we announced even more great Apple Intelligence features."
As has been the case for over five years now, Apple is once again not issuing guidance for the current quarter ending in September.
Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q3 2025 financial results conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.
Walmart still does not accept contactless payment options like Apple Pay and Google Pay at its more than 4,500 stores across the United States.
It is not the first time that we have reported on this topic, but Walmart has still not changed course, despite endless customer complaints.
Earlier this year, a Walmart spokesperson told MacRumors that the retailer remained focused on its own payment technologies in the Walmart app, including Walmart Pay and Scan & Go. We have followed up with Walmart today to see if that remains the company's position, and we will update this article if the company responds.
Of course, Walmart's payment systems also allow it to track a customer's purchase history.
Walmart Pay allows customers to scan a QR code displayed at checkout to pay for their purchase with a payment card stored in the Walmart app. Scan & Go allows Walmart+ members to save time by scanning barcodes on items while they shop, rather than having to scan all of the items at a self-checkout register later.
Apple Pay launched more than 10 years ago, and it was accepted at more than 90 percent of U.S. retailers as of 2022, according to Apple. Some other major Apple Pay holdouts in the U.S. have reversed course and started accepting it over the past few years, including The Home Depot, Lowe's, Kroger, and Texas grocery store chain H-E-B, leaving Walmart as one of the country's only major retailers that does not accept Apple Pay.
There is an exception: Walmart has accepted Apple Pay in Canada since 2020.
Amazon today has the USB-C AirPods Max on sale for $449.99 in all colors except Purple, down from $549.00. This is an overall second-best price on the headphones.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Colors available on sale include Blue, Midnight, Orange, and Starlight. All colors have an estimated delivery date of early August, with most providing a delivery estimate around August 5 for free shipping options. Prime members in certain cities should be able to see same-day delivery options.
It's also worth noting that Best Buy is matching these prices and has every color on sale, if you prefer shopping at that retailer. If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
Deals Newsletter
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Google is expected to unveil its latest Pixel 10 smartphones during its August 20 event, and it appears the devices will feature MagSafe-like charging without a case.
Alleged image of Pixel 10 shared by Evan Blass, background added by MacRumors
As spotted by The Verge, reputable leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks) this week shared an alleged Pixel 10 marketing image that shows what appears to be a magnetic wireless charger affixed directly to the back of the device. In fact, the Pixel charger looks nearly identical to Apple's MagSafe Charger for iPhones.
Blass has a proven track record with leaks — mostly for Android devices, but occasionally for Apple devices too. In 2020, for example, he shared iPhone 12 and HomePod mini images a few hours before Apple announced those devices.
Apple introduced MagSafe on iPhone 12 models in 2020, so Google is five years late to the party.
Proton today launched Proton Authenticator, a free two-factor authentication app available across all major platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux.
The open-source app generates time-based one-time passwords as an additional security layer beyond regular login credentials. Unlike competitors such as Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator, Proton Authenticator also offers end-to-end encrypted backup and cross-device sync without ads or tracking, just like Proton's other products.
The Swiss-based company claims users can import existing 2FA tokens from other apps within seconds, while the app works offline and automatically backs up authentication codes.
"Two-factor authentication is necessary for everyone – not just those who care about their privacy," said Eamonn Maguire, head of account security at Proton. "We believe strong security should never come at the cost of your convenience or privacy. That's why we've developed Proton Authenticator: to give users peace of mind that their 2FA codes are available wherever they need them, without relying on Google or Microsoft."
Proton notes that account takeover attacks cost billions annually, making 2FA increasingly important. App-based authentication is also more secure than using SMS codes, which are vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks.
Proton Authenticator can be downloaded from the Proton website. The launch continues the company's recent product expansion – earlier this week it introduced Lumo, a privacy-focused AI chatbot that doesn't store conversation records or use user data for model training.
Dropbox has announced it will discontinue Dropbox Passwords on October 28, ending the five-year run of its credential management service.
The shutdown is going to follow a phased approach, according to the company. The password manager will become view-only from August 28, meaning new entries and autofill features will be disabled. The mobile app will then stop working on September 11, but the browser extension is set to remain functional until the final closure.
Users must export their data before October 28, which is when Dropbox says it will be permanently deleting all stored passwords, usernames, and payment information from its servers. Dropbox is recommending users transfer their credentials to another app like 1Password before the final end date, and has provided export guides on its support site.
The company claims the closure will allow it to "focus on enhancing other features in our core product." However, Dropbox Passwords has had increasingly stiff competition over the years from the likes of 1Password, LastPass, and built-in solutions from Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
Dropbox acquired password manager Valt in 2019, and then launched Dropbox Passwords in 2020 for paid subscribers before expanding to all users in 2021.
The iOS 18.6, iPadOS 18.6, and macOS Sequoia 15.6 updates that Apple released yesterday address a major zero-day attack that targeted Chrome users, according to Bleeping Computer.
Apple says that CVE-2025-6558 was a vulnerability in open source code that also affected Apple software. The flaw could allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code using HTML pages created for that purpose, escaping Chrome's sandboxing. Google patched the issue on July 15, and said that it had been actively exploited.
In Safari, Apple said that the issue could cause unexpected crashing, but it wasn't known to have been used in attacks against Safari users.
Google hasn't offered up technical details on how the exploit worked, and the company said that additional information would be restricted until the majority of users have updated their devices. Chrome users who have not installed the latest version of Chrome should do so.
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Alleged image of Pixel 10 shared by Evan Blass, background added by MacRumors
