Top Stories: iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate Public Betas, Apple Back to School Promo, and More

Following through on its promise of a July release, Apple delivered the first public betas of iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, and more this week, opening up testing to a broader audience.

This week also saw Apple's annual Back to School promotion go live in a number of countries, ongoing fallout from Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI alleging theft of trade secrets, rumors about Apple's iPad lineup, and more, so read on below for all of the details!

Top Stories

iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 Now Available to Public Beta Testers

Apple this week released the first public betas of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, and more, allowing anyone with a compatible device to download and test the new software. The public betas come after roughly a month of developer beta testing as Apple heads toward an official launch in the fall.

If you're looking to test out the new public betas, check out our install guides for iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate, and then take a look at our guides highlighting the best features to test out on iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate.

Apple's 2026 Back to School Offer Goes Live in the US: Up to $150 Gift Card With Mac or iPad

Roughly a month later than in recent years, Apple's annual Back to School promotion is now live in the United States and many other countries.

The exact promotion varies from country to country with some offers including bonus Apple gift cards and others including a free accessory with the purchase of a new Mac or iPad.

In the U.S., education customers can receive a bonus $150 gift card with the purchase of a new MacBook Pro or a $100 gift card with the purchase of a new MacBook Air, iPad Pro, or iPad Air. The MacBook Neo, all desktop Macs, the iPad mini, and the entry-level iPad are not included in the promotion.

Apple Sues OpenAI for Stealing Trade Secrets to Build AI Hardware

Apple last week filed a blockbuster lawsuit accusing OpenAI of stealing Apple trade secrets in its efforts to recruit Apple employees and build its own AI-driven hardware.

Apple accused OpenAI leadership of creating a culture of hardware theft, and said OpenAI's hardware business is "rotten to its core" because of its reliance on information stolen from Apple.

OpenAI quickly responded to the lawsuit to state that it has "no interest in other companies' trade secrets," later stating that it is "not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit."

New iPad Mini With Four Upgrades Reportedly Launching by October

Refresh timing for Apple's iPad lineup appears to be coming into focus, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reporting that Apple is aiming to introduce a revamped iPad mini with an OLED display and additional upgrades by October of this year.

The rest of the lineup, including updated entry-level iPad, mid-level iPad Air, and high-end iPad Pro models, should follow in the first half of 2027. Gurman says Apple is also working on two new Apple Pencil models to replace the existing lower-end Apple Pencil with USB-C port and higher-end Apple Pencil Pro.

Apple's 2026 Smart Home Lineup: New Apple TV, HomePod, and Home Hub

Now that Siri AI is ready to launch in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple can finally introduce new smart home products built to work with the smarter version of Siri.

Apple has multiple new home devices in development, several of which are rumored to launch before the end of the year. so check out our overview covering a new version of the Apple TV 4K, a smart home hub, a new HomePod, and a new HomePod mini.

Here's Why Apple is Reportedly Skipping M6 Pro and M6 Max Chips

Last month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple is seeking to accelerate its M7 family of chips. It's a move that will see the company forgo releasing Pro, Max, and Ultra variants of its upcoming M6 family, leaving only a base M6 chip that will be quickly followed by an upgraded M7.

Gurman this week provided a bit more color on the situation, describing how significant advancements to AI-related capabilities have long been on Apple's roadmap for the M7 family and that the company wants to bring those to market as quickly as it can.

The M7 Ultra chip in particular is said to be a beast for AI tasks, and could be used by Apple internally to power Apple Intelligence servers. The chip could support up to 1.5TB of unified memory.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!