MacRumors

If you have an Hermès Apple Watch model, you're going to want to avoid installing watchOS 26 beta 2.

According to Apple's release notes for the update, the beta causes the Apple Watch Hermès to crash continually. Apple says that Hermès Apple Watch owners should not update to beta 2 at this time.

Installing ‌watchOS 26‌ on a Hermès Apple Watch causes the watch to overheat, crash continually, and fail to charge, based on reports. It appears to be the Hermès Apple Watch face that is an issue.

Additionally, reports from MacRumors readers suggest that updating to iOS 26 beta 2 causes problems with the Hermès Apple Watches. Users have found that the Apple Watch app on iPhone will not open after installing ‌iOS 26‌ beta 2 if there is a Hermès watch associated with the iPhone.

Unpairing a Hermès Apple Watch from an ‌iOS 26‌ beta 2 device allows the Apple Watch app to open again, but attempting to re-pair the watch does not work.

Apple will likely address the issue in the next ‌watchOS 26‌ and ‌iOS 26‌ updates, but for now, if you have a Hermès Apple Watch and have not installed the latest developer betas, make sure not to do so.

Porsche's chief designer Michael Mauer told the Financial Times that the luxury car maker remains committed to offering CarPlay Ultra in future vehicle models, but he did not share a timeframe for availability or disclose any other details.

Porsche was on Apple's list of automakers committed to offering the next generation of CarPlay, now known as CarPlay Ultra, when it was first announced in June 2022. Porsche went on to preview what CarPlay Ultra would look like in its vehicles in December 2023, but it had not provided a further update on its plans until now.

CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to luxury Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Apple said that many other automakers around the world are working to offer it over the next year and beyond, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.

Launched last month, CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust the color scheme. The connected iPhone provides app-related data, while the vehicle provides driving data like current speed, and other info like tire pressure.

The report also listed some automakers that said they have no plans to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, Volvo, Polestar, and Renault.

Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Polestar had told MacRumors that it looked forward to "bringing the next generation of CarPlay to cars in the future," but the Financial Times report said otherwise, so they might not be planning to offer it after all.

With the launch of iOS 26 and HomePod Software 26, Apple is adding support for Crossfade, an Apple Music feature that improves transitions between songs.

Beta testers who have the second ‌HomePod‌ Software 26 and ‌iOS 26‌ betas now have an option to enable Crossfade. The toggle is a little bit hidden, but it can be found by opening up the Home app, going to Settings, tapping on a person's name, and choosing ‌Apple Music‌.

Crossfade timing can be set anywhere from one second to 12 seconds, so users can adjust the fade in and fade out period for song transitions. When Crossfade is toggled on, the volume of the song that's ending will lower gradually, while the volume of the song that's coming on will increase. It is designed to prevent silence gaps between songs.

Crossfade is an ‌Apple Music‌ feature, so an ‌Apple Music‌ subscription is required to use it. It has been an option on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac for some time now, but Apple didn't bring it to the ‌HomePod‌ until now.

‌Apple Music‌ in ‌iOS 26‌ and iPadOS 26 has a new AutoMix feature that replaces Crossfade. AutoMix goes beyond simple crossfading, and it uses time stretching and beat matching for a DJ-like song transition experience.

The ‌HomePod‌ 26 software also includes a new feature that allows you to select a Wi-Fi network to connect to, something that wasn't an option before.

(Thanks, Hidde!)

Samsung's upcoming AR/VR headset will feature more advanced displays than Apple's Vision Pro, according to a new supply chain report from The Elec that reveals key specifications and sourcing strategies.

Samsung is preparing to launch its first extended reality (XR) headset later in 2025, and it will reportedly contain displays that surpass the resolution of Apple's Vision Pro. The Elec claims that the device will use 1.3-inch OLEDoS (OLED on Silicon) microdisplays with a pixel density of approximately 3,800 pixels per inch (PPI).

In comparison, the Vision Pro uses 1.42-inch OLEDoS panels from Sony with a pixel density of 3,391 PPI. The increase in pixel density will likely represent a significant improvement in visual clarity over the Vision Pro. Despite having a slightly smaller panel, which could reduce the field of view, Samsung's headset should be able to deliver sharper visuals.

The Vision Pro was the first mainstream consumer device to adopt OLEDoS microdisplays. OLEDoS technology allows for extremely high resolution in compact form factors, making it particularly suitable for immersive virtual reality applications.

Samsung is apparently reviewing plans to source OLEDoS panels from both Sony and Samsung Display, with Sony currently acting as the main supplier. While Sony is recognized for its expertise in microdisplay manufacturing, it has limited its production capacity and previously declined Apple's request to expand output for the Vision Pro. Sony's focus remains centered on its entertainment business, and it is reportedly cautious about committing additional resources to its display operations.

Best Buy this week kicked off a new sale called "Member Deals Days," which is full of deals that are exclusive to those who have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership. The sale will run through Sunday, and new deals are set to appear every day of the event.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

If you don't have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership, you can sign up for one directly from Best Buy's website. Prices start at $49.99 per year and include perks like free two-day shipping, exclusive access to select deals, and more.

Categories with major discounts in this sale include home theater, computers, tablets, video games, headphones, smart home, wearables, smartphones, and more. There aren't many big Apple discounts this time around, but you can find steep discounts on big ticket items like TVs and gaming monitors, which we've rounded up below.

TVs

• 75-inch Samsung 4K Smart TV - $449.99 with membership ($150 off)
• 43-inch Samsung The Frame QLED 4K TV - $699.99 with membership ($300 off)
• 55-inch LG OLED 4K UHD Smart TV - $1,796.99 with membership ($403 off)
• 77-inch LG OLED 4K UHD Smart TV - $1,996.99 with membership ($503 off)

Monitors

• 32-inch Samsung Odyssey G5 Monitor - $299.99 ($50 off)
• 27-inch HP OMEN Gaming Monitor - $329.99 ($150 off)
• 27-inch ASUS Pro Gaming Monitor - $729.99 ($30 off)
• 45-inch LG OLED UltraGear Smart Gaming Monitor - $1,199.99 with membership ($500 off)
• 32-inch LG OLED UltraGear Gaming Monitor - $1,119.99 ($280 off)

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.

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According to a 9to5Mac report this week, citing reliable sources, Apple is now planning to release the AirTag 2 in September or later this year. If so, the updated accessory could be announced at the iPhone 17 event in less than three months from now.

The report also said that iOS 18.6 beta code hints at the upcoming software update being compatible with the AirTag 2, when it is released.

Finally, the report said that the AirTag 2 will provide alerts for both low and very low battery levels. You can already see if the current AirTag's battery level is low in the Find My app, but it sounds like there will now be two tiers of alerts.

9to5Mac speculated that this change could hint at the AirTag 2 featuring a rechargeable battery. However, in a November 2024 edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next AirTag would "certainly not" be equipped with a rechargeable battery, suggesting that Apple will stick with a replaceable battery.

In that same newsletter, Gurman said that Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025, which sounded more like June or July. So, if 9to5Mac is accurate about the accessory's launch timeframe now being September or later this year, then customers will have to wait a little longer for it than expected.

Whenever it launches, the AirTag 2 is rumored to feature up to 3× longer item tracking range compared to the current AirTag. Gurman expects the AirTag 2 to look similar to the current model, but he said the built-in speaker will be more difficult to remove, which would make it harder to covertly stalk people with the accessory.

Apple released the current AirTag in April 2021, so it is now more than four years old. It debuted at an event alongside the iMac with the M1 chip, the iPad Pro with the M1 chip, a new Apple TV, and a purple color for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini.

Apple today announced that it has updated its Sports app with support for tennis, in time for the ongoing Wimbledon tournament.

Tennis fans can view live scores for Grand Slam and 1000 tournaments, and track current and previous men's and women's singles matches.

Apple Sports supports the Live Activities feature, and that extends to tennis scores. This means you can view live tennis scores at a glance on an iPhone's Lock Screen, and in the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and newer.

The app has also gained a revamped "Home" section. Apple says matchups and events are now grouped by league, and there are expanded controls for fans to order them how they prefer. Favorite/starred teams always appear at the top.

Last, you can now view pitcher and batter matchups at the top of every scoreboard.

Launched in February 2024, the Apple Sports app shows scores, stats, standings, upcoming games, and more for a variety of leagues. The free app is currently available on the iPhone only, in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada.

Apple Sports version 3.0 is available now in the App Store.

Xiaomi has filed a trademark for a second-generation custom chip called the "XRING 02," signaling that the company is proceeding with its in-house silicon roadmap mirroring Apple's transition to its own custom chips.

Xiaomi's new filing, first reported by Wccftech and verified via China's TianYanCha trademark database, suggests that development of the XRING 02 system-on-a-chip (SoC) is now underway. The move follows the company's announcement earlier this year of the XRING O1, its first custom processor built with a 3-nanometer process, which debuted in the Xiaomi Tablet 7 Ultra.

Xiaomi openly said that it had looked to Apple as a benchmark for its hardware ambitions and vertical integration across its ecosystem. The company said it had asked itself:

We also want to become one of the top chipmakers, with our phones targeting iPhones, can our chips also be compared against those of Apple's?

The new XRING 02 trademark is one of several filings made by the company in recent weeks. Others include the XRING T1 and XRING 0. Xiaomi likely seeks to build a family of custom processors for use across device categories, similar to Apple's use of the A-series, M-series, and S-series chips in iPhones, Macs, and Apple Watches.

Apple is expected to release new iPad Pro models powered by its latest M5 chip later this year, and both Samsung Display and LG Display have reportedly begun mass production of the devices' OLED panels in preparation.

For last year's iPad Pro models which debuted OLED displays, Samsung handled supply for the 11-inch panels, while LG dealt with the 13-inch panels. This year, ZDNet Korea reports that the two manufacturers will share supply for both panel sizes, likely as a result of Apple's efforts to diversify its supply chain.

The change is also likely related to Apple's need to deepen OLED adoption across its suppliers. Reports suggest plans to introduce OLED panels for the iPad mini in 2026 and the iPad Air in 2027.

Aside from OLED displays, last year's M4 iPad Pro models adopted a thinner and lighter design, support for the new Apple Pencil Pro, and more. This year, the iPad Pro will likely receive a much smaller update, with no major upgrades rumored beyond the M5 chip, which will be manufactured on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process technology for performance and efficiency improvements.

The only other potential change that's been rumored is for the Apple logo on the back to switch to a landscape orientation rather than a portrait orientation. That would make the Apple logo upright when the iPad is in landscape mode, such as when it is used with a keyboard.

Back in March, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the new iPad Pro models could launch around October this year. For reference, the M4 iPad Pro models launched in May of 2024.

(Via DigiTimes.)

Image Playground is Apple's image generation app that launched last year. Most people may not have a lot of use for the cartoonish images that it produces in iOS 18, but you're going to want to take another look at it in iOS 26 because Apple has improved its algorithms.

People look more natural in the images generated by the app, with more realistic eyes and more variation in hair that better matches sample photos.

As a quick recap, ‌Image Playground‌ lets you type in any phrase to generate an image in one of three non-realistic styles. You can also select pre-determined scenes and props that Apple suggests, and generate images featuring your friends and family. It's these images where you will see the biggest difference in ‌iOS 26‌, because the content generated based on images of people has changed quite a bit.

Animation

In iOS 18, photos generated using the Animation style have blunt hair with little variation, lots of contrast, and unnatural looking faces, but in ‌iOS 26‌, features are softer, hair is more varied, and it has more flow. Clothes also look more natural, though ‌Image Playground‌ doesn't often bother matching outfits.

‌Image Playground‌'s Animation style in ‌iOS 26‌ seems to take more liberty with image backgrounds, pose, and body shape, and it's better at small details like specific eyebrow shape.

Sketch

With the Sketch style, ‌Image Playground‌ is again better at matching facial expression, features, and hair style. The image on the right looks more like MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera than the middle image.

Illustration

Illustration has some of the same characteristics as Sketch, better capturing colors and inventing better backgrounds.

Animals and Landscapes

The changes to ‌Image Playground‌ can also be seen in images of animals, food, places, and more, in all three built-in styles.

Emotions

‌Image Playground‌ seems to be better at reflecting emotion, too. For this image, the modifier "sobbing" was added to the image. It didn't quite show tears, but there is more emotion in the ‌iOS 26‌ face on the right. There's even a dedicated "Expressions" menu, with options that include laugh, happy, mad, sad, shocked, thinking, thumbs up, and thumbs down.

ChatGPT Integration

ChatGPT image generation capabilities are included in ‌Image Playground‌ in ‌iOS 26‌, so there are an expanded range of styles to choose from. There are a few suggested options, including anime, oil painting, vector, print, and water color styles, all of which use ChatGPT rather than Apple's capabilities to create the image.

The output is similar to what you get if you use ChatGPT 4o for image generation, and you can make those cute anime-style images that have been floating around the internet.

There's also an open-ended "Any Style" option to create images with ChatGPT, and that adds more range to what's possible with ‌Image Playground‌. ChatGPT can essentially mimic any style that you ask it to, and it can generate realistic images, which is not something that Apple's image generation technology does.

As with standard ‌Image Playground‌ image generation, you can make a text-based request or upload an image to ChatGPT and ask it to use that as the basis for an image. Images that you upload and text requests can be combined.

Creating images with ChatGPT uses up tokens, and if you have a free account, you probably won't be able to create more than one or two images. Taking advantage of ChatGPT image creation features in ‌Image Playground‌ beyond that requires a paid account.

Genmoji

‌Image Playground‌ in iOS 18 does not support creating Genmoji, and that's a separate feature located in the Messages app. In ‌iOS 26‌, you can use ‌Image Playground‌ for ‌Genmoji‌.

‌Genmoji‌ is a style that you can select, and choosing it opens up an interface where you can choose an emoji or multiple emoji to customize. One of the new ‌Genmoji‌ features in ‌iOS 26‌ is the option to combine emoji to make new emoji rather than starting from scratch with a character, and this capability is available in ‌Image Playground‌ in addition to the Messages app.

You can tap multiple emoji to create a new one, or choose an emoji and then add text-based descriptions to make tweaks. There is no option to use photos for ‌Genmoji‌. The ‌Genmoji‌ that you make are added to your emoji keyboard and they can be used in Messages.

Labeling

When you send someone an image generated with ‌Image Playground‌ in ‌iOS 26‌, like over AirDrop, it is labeled as a generated image in the file name.

Nomad today announced the launch of the Leather Mag Wallet for iPhone, which includes an integrated Tracking Card that works with Apple's Find My app.

The Leather Mag Wallet attaches to the back of a MagSafe iPhone using a magnetic connection, and it serves as an alternative to Apple's own Leather Wallet with ‌MagSafe‌. Nomad made the wallet from vegetable-tanned Horween leather that will develop a unique patina over time.

Nomad's Mag Wallet is able to hold up to four standard credit cards, and it connects to ‌Find My‌ so if it comes off of the iPhone and is lost, it can be found with the ‌Find My‌ app. ‌Find My‌ network integration is included, so if you are out of range, it will be able to connect to Apple products owned by others to relay its location. ‌Find My‌ also includes features for playing a sound and getting a notification when the wallet is left behind.

There is a rechargeable battery inside and the Mag Wallet can be charged using any Qi or ‌MagSafe‌ charger. The battery lasts for up to five months. The wallet can be attached to any ‌MagSafe‌ iPhone or iPhone in a ‌MagSafe‌ case, and it comes in black and brown colors.

The Leather Mag Wallet can be purchased from the Nomad website for $79.

Several of Apple's iCloud services are experiencing issues at the current time, with the System Status page reflecting problems with ‌iCloud‌ Mail, ‌iCloud‌ Storage Upgrades, ‌iCloud‌ Web Apps, iWork for ‌iCloud‌, and Photos.

‌iCloud‌ Web Apps and iWork for ‌iCloud‌ are both listed as having an outage at the current time, and Apple says that some users may be experiencing problems.

The other services are shown with a yellow "Issue" warning, but they have the same note about some users experiencing problems with the service. The outages have been ongoing since 2:36 p.m. Eastern Time.

Update 5:53 p.m. ET: Apple added Find My and ‌iCloud‌ account sign in to the list of services experiencing problems.

Update 6:41 p.m. ET: The ‌Find My‌ issue has been resolved, but the other services are still having issues.

Apple today updated its Invites app, adding a new event background options for customizing the look of event invitations that are sent out. Apple says that the added background options are ideal for planning a pool day, drinks with friends, or a watch party for the big game.

There are several new backgrounds in the "Photographic" section, including clouds, a lime slice in soda water, lemon slices in punch, a frosty beer, watermelon slices, a pool inner tube, a disco ball, orchid flowers, bamboo shoots, a zoomed in shot of a chrysanthemum, a colorful set of pickleballs, tennis balls, footballs, soccer balls, basketballs, golf balls, a beach with clear water, a green bokeh background, brocade fabric, grass, colorful flowers, rainbow sparkles, a multi-colored light pattern, and champagne glasses.

Apple launched the Invites app back in February, and this is the second update the app has received. In May, Apple added the option to include links in event invitations.

Invites is an event planning app that supports creating custom invitations with unique background images, fonts, and relevant information like directions and the weather. It also has easy-to-use event managing and RSVP tools.

While Invites is free, it is an iCloud+ service, so an ‌iCloud‌+ subscription is required to create an event. ‌iCloud‌+ plans are priced starting at $0.99 per month, and they include additional ‌iCloud‌ storage and features like Private Relay.

Though an ‌iCloud‌+ subscription is needed for creating an event, anyone can RSVP to an invitation, including those without iPhones.

The Invites app can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Apple today provided developers with new beta firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, with an 8A293c version number. The firmware is only available to developers at the current time, and a device running iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS 26 is required to install the update. This is the second beta so far.

The new firmware adds several features that Apple is debuting alongside ‌iOS 26‌, ‌iPadOS 26‌, and macOS Tahoe.

The AirPods Pro 2 and ‌AirPods 4‌ support improved audio quality for phone calls and video calls, plus studio-quality audio recording for interviews, podcasts, and videos. There's also an option to use the AirPods as a camera remote with the Camera app to take photos or start a video recording.

With the latest updates, Apple added a firmware update installation option that's available from the AirPods settings interface when the AirPods are connected to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Apple today sent out an ad to some iPhone users in the form of a Wallet app push notification, and not everyone is happy about it.

An unknown number of iPhone users in the U.S. today received the push notification, which promotes a limited-time Apple Pay discount that movie ticket company Fandango is offering on a pair of tickets to Apple's new film "F1: The Movie."

Some of the iPhone users who received the push notification have complained about it across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, X, and other online discussion platforms.

"As far as I can tell, Apple is now just sending me ads to my screen now as push notifications, something I hate with an absolute passion and disable across the board in every app that tries this," said one person who received the notification.

Some people are especially upset about receiving a push notification ad through the Wallet app because it is a very important app for personal finances, so simply turning off notifications for the entire app is not a feasible solution.

Worse, Apple seems to be ignoring the guidelines that apply to App Store apps. The company says push notifications should not be used for promotions or direct marketing purposes unless users have explicitly opted in to receive them for said purposes.

The full text of Apple's guideline:

Push Notifications should not be used for promotions or direct marketing purposes unless customers have explicitly opted in to receive them via consent language displayed in your app's UI, and you provide a method in your app for a user to opt out from receiving such messages.

Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Apple has been heavily promoting F1: The Movie, which debuts in theaters on June 25 in Europe and on June 27 in the U.S. and Canada. However, the company may have gone a step too far here based on online reaction from some iPhone users.

One silver lining is that the iOS 26 beta adds an "Offers & Promotions" toggle to the Wallet app, allowing users to opt in or out of receiving special offers and discounts available from Apple and its unspecified partners. However, Apple sent out to the push notification ad to iPhone users on iOS 18 too, and those users seemingly did not explicitly opt in to receive such an ad. For that reason, some people are disappointed in Apple.

Apple has joined China's national digital product subsidy program through its own direct sales channels for the first time, enabling eligible customers in Beijing and Shanghai to receive government-backed discounts on select iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Macs (via South China Morning Post).

Apple customers in Shanghai can access the subsidies by purchasing qualifying devices in one of the city's eight Apple retail stores, while Beijing residents can receive the discount through Apple's online store, provided they use a Beijing shipping address.

The program offers subsidies of up to 2,000 yuan (approximately $278) on certain Apple products, with eligibility criteria determined by product type and price. Devices priced below 6,000 yuan (roughly $835) receive a 15% discount, capped at 500 yuan, while some higher-value items such as Macs are eligible for a bigger discount.

Previously, Apple products were available under the subsidy program only through authorized third-party platforms such as JD.com and Alibaba's Taobao marketplace. This therefore marks the first time Apple's own online and retail stores have participated directly in the scheme.

Data from market analytics companies have painted a consistent picture of Apple's smartphone shipments in mainland China falling in 2025, making Apple the only one among the country's top five smartphone vendors to record a decline this year. By contrast, Xiaomi and Huawei have grown dramatically.

The second developer beta of macOS Tahoe is now available for testing, and it includes a handful of smaller new features and changes on the Mac.

Below, we recap everything new that has been found in macOS Tahoe beta 2 so far.

Redesigned Finder App Icon

Crisis averted: Apple has restored the Finder icon's design to its former glory on the second beta.

On the first macOS Tahoe developer beta, the app icon's colors were inverted, with blue appearing on the right side and white appearing on the left side. That change disappointed some people, and Apple has evidently listened to that feedback.

Redesigned Migration Assistant App Icon

The second beta also gives a fresh coat of paint to the Migration Assistant app icon.

Menu Bar Background Option

Apple removed the frosted background from the menu bar by default on macOS Tahoe, as part of the Liquid Glass redesign. If you miss it, though, the second beta adds a "Show menu bar background" option to the System Settings app under Menu Bar.

AirPods Beta Firmware

As spotted by Federico Trevisani, the second macOS Tahoe beta lets you enroll in beta testing of AirPods firmware updates directly on a Mac.

First, connect your AirPods to your Mac. Next, open the System Settings app and click on the Bluetooth menu. Then, select the (i) symbol next to your AirPods. On the ensuing page, scroll down to the bottom and click on "AirPods Beta Updates. Finally, there is a toggle to enable beta firmware updates on your AirPods. Firmware updates will be installed when your AirPods are in their charging case and near the Мас.

Apple currently offers AirPods beta firmware updates to developers only. However, that will soon change. Apple plans to start offering public betas of AirPods firmware updates in July for the first time, beginning with the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2.

The latest firmware beta for the ‌AirPods 4‌ and AirPods Pro 2 adds support for improved audio quality for phone calls and video calls, plus studio-quality audio recording for interviews, podcasts, and videos. There is also an option to use AirPods as a camera remote with the Camera app to take photos or start a video recording, and these AirPods models can automatically pause audio if it is detected that you fell asleep.

Other Changes

• Apple's release notes for the second macOS Tahoe developer beta mention the same new Recovery Assistant feature that was added to iOS 26. Apple: "Recovery Assistant is a new way to recover your device if it doesn't start up normally. It can look for problems and attempt to resolve them if found."
• There is a new "Your Mac has been updated" notification.
• Developers can test that their Mac apps no longer depend on Rosetta 2, which will be phased out starting with macOS 28.

The first macOS Tahoe public beta will be available in July, and the update will likely be released to the general public in September.

In the iOS 26 beta, Apple has redesigned the alarm screen in the Clock app, giving it a cleaner look with a larger time display and significantly bigger buttons. When the alarm goes off, you'll now see two large, equal-sized buttons for Stop and Snooze placed side by side at the bottom of the screen.

While the redesign fits with Apple's broader visual refresh in iOS 26, it also seems to address a problem the company had already solved: reducing the chances of you hitting Stop instead of Snooze when you're half-awake and fumbling for your phone. Ironically, internal testing once showed that making both buttons the same size actually made that mistake more likely.

According to Jack Fields, a former Apple engineer and head writer at Kernel Extension, the new layout contradicts internal research he was involved in during his time at the company. That testing included a version of the Clock app that logged user interactions to a heat map, tracking exactly where people tapped the screen upon waking.

"It was recording where our sleepy hands were smacking around on the screen in order to see how accurate we were in turning off the alarms," says Fields. What they found was perhaps counterintuitive: when Stop and Snooze were made the same size and placed close together, users were 30% more likely to hit Stop by accident. In other words, it actually increased the chances of oversleeping.

That's why recent versions of iOS feature a prominent, centered Snooze button and a much smaller Stop button tucked further down the screen. "By making the Stop button such a small hit target, it ensures you're awake enough to actually stop it," Fields explains.

"This new design is... interesting," he adds. "It goes against any studies I was a part of, so I'm curious what data they have to support the change. It's terrifyingly large now."

It's worth remembering this is beta software, and Apple could tweak the layout before the final release. But for now, the update makes you wonder whether a more symmetrical, simplified UI is always better, or (at least in this case) is it more likely to make you tap the wrong thing, just faster?

In a related change you may have missed, Apple also now allows users to customize snooze length, choosing a length of time between 1 minute and 15 minutes. (Previously, tapping snooze always snoozed an alarm for nine minutes.) Now that's a change we can certainly get behind.