Apple today announced it will donate $1 to the National Park Foundation for every purchase made with Apple Pay at any Apple Store, on Apple.com, or through the Apple Store app in the United States from July 1 through July 15.
Apple Watch challenge inspired by U.S. National Parks
Apple said proceeds will support the National Park Foundation's mission to help protect and preserve national parks.
“America’s national parks are an inspiration to us at Apple, and we know they are as important to many of our customers as they are to us,” said Apple’s CEO Tim Cook. “Our goal is to leave the world better than we found it, so this July we’re making it easier for anyone to help preserve the beauty of our natural, cultural and historical treasures.”
Additionally, on July 15, Apple Watch users around the world can complete a walk, run, or wheelchair workout of 3.5 miles to earn an award and stickers for Messages inspired by national parks. Apple said the distance matches the length of a hike from Old Faithful to Mallard Lake in Yellowstone National Park.
iMessage stickers inspired by U.S. National Parks
Apple said the App Store will highlight a collection of some of the best apps to help users easily navigate and explore the country's national parks.
Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve).
The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26.
The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now.
It...
Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers.
Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.
When the...
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier.
Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player.
With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever.
Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta.
Widgets Top or Bottom
In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode.
Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer."
The full description of...
Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...
I also enjoy these activity challenges. They are not too often, either, so they rarely get in the way of my own workout plan, but they aren't so rare that I stop caring. Very nice balance Apple.
So in all these National Parks there are no animals other than a lonely eagle? Or is that a vulture? Either way it must be hungry with no prey around. Heh. Seriously, if you are going to pay tribute to National Parks then why not give a shout out on the sticker or badge to the endangered species that those parks seek to protect? Seems it would better highlight the work and purpose of the parks.
I wonder if the achievement can be unlocked if we are based in Australia and complete the challenge. I know there has been countless times Apple has set challenges but they haven’t opened it up for Australia and other countries except for the US.
From the article:
On July 15, Apple Watch users around the world can complete a walk, run, or wheelchair workout…
I guess paying people good money + befits to work is a bad thing?
I think the Sentiment is that when more money is spent internally than makes it to the end group in need, it appears to be corruption, i.e. United Way, etc. where the scandals showed high salaries and only pennies making it to the people and projects in need.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
