Articles on MacRumors by Tim Hardwick
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Tim Hardwick

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Tim is a Senior Editor at MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2016. Formerly a magazine journalist, his work has appeared in over 30 newsstand print publications and online brands covering a range of topics, from the latest trends in technology to the mysteries of ancient history.

Based in the UK, Tim's current role at MacRumors involves editorial oversight and how tos, in addition to covering daily news and contributing occasional reviews. Tim can be reached at tim@macrumors.com, Telegram (@waxeditorial) or Twitter.

Tim Hardwick's Articles

ios 26 volume slider lock screen

Add a Volume Slider to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Friday July 24, 2026 7:55 am PDT by
Your iPhone's Lock Screen has built-in media playback controls that appear whenever music, a podcast, or other audio is playing. What you might not realize is that those controls can also include a volume slider that lets you adjust the volume without you having to unlock your iPhone or fumble for the physical buttons. Originally, Apple included a volume slider in the Lock Screen media...
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iOS 27: Access the New iPhone Recovery Screen

Friday July 24, 2026 7:45 am PDT by
Since iOS 26, a malfunctioning iPhone has been able to boot itself into Recovery Assistant, with no Mac or PC required. However, you could only get there if your device failed to start up and dropped into recovery on its own. In iOS 27, currently in beta, Apple has removed that limitation, and you can now manually boot into a Mac-style recovery screen whenever you like. The new recovery ...
claude voice

Claude Voice Mode Gains Opus and Sonnet Model Support

Friday July 24, 2026 5:10 am PDT by
Anthropic has updated Claude's voice mode to support its more powerful Opus and Sonnet models, expanding a feature that was previously limited to the company's fastest-but-simplest model, Haiku. Voice mode lets users hold full spoken conversations with the chatbot rather than having to type prompts and read responses. Users can switch between Claude's models mid-conversation, and can also...
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max Feature

Apple Seeking 20% OLED Panel Price Cut for iPhone 18 Pro Max

Friday July 24, 2026 3:31 am PDT by
Apple is pushing OLED panel suppliers to lower their prices for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, as the cost of memory chips and other components rises, reports The Elec. According to the Korea-based report, Apple has proposed paying around $70 for OLED panels, but it might end up paying even less. Industry estimates suggest that Samsung Display and LG Display will supply the panels for around $66.50...
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Opera One Browser Adds Vertical Tabs - Should Safari Follow?

Thursday July 23, 2026 8:51 am PDT by
Opera One browser just pushed an update adding a Vertical Tabs option that moves the tab bar from the top of the window to a resizable panel down the left-hand side. The feature aims to solve the perennial horizontal tab problem where too many open tabs makes each one shrink to an unreadable sliver of the webpage's favicon. By contrast, in the vertical layout, page titles always stay...
european commission

Google Fined $1 Billion by EU for Search Bias and App Store Restrictions

Thursday July 23, 2026 5:39 am PDT by
Google was today fined €890 million ($1 billion) by the European Union for breaching antitrust rules with regard to its search and Google Play store services. The European Commission found that Google had broken the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by using its dominant position in the search market to favour its own services, like shopping and hotel deals, over those of rivals. The Commission ...
ios 27

iOS 27 Brings These Five New Features to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Thursday July 23, 2026 4:05 am PDT by
Apple unveiled iOS 27 at WWDC this week, and while the headline-grabbing Siri overhaul has received the most attention, the Lock Screen has picked up several refinements that you may have missed. Some are brand-new additions, while others are tweaks to features Apple introduced in iOS 26, but together they give you more control over how your Lock Screen looks and behaves. Here are five...
macOS iOS 27 Siri App Feature

macOS 27 Beta Hides Trippy Siri 'Voice Pad' Interface With 13 Voices

Thursday July 23, 2026 3:53 am PDT by
For macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple appears to be working on an immersive new interface for choosing Siri AI's voice, based on findings in the latest beta. MacRumors forum member "mactracker" has shared what they call a hidden "voice pad" in the macOS 27 beta 4, which was released on Monday. When enabled, the interface replaces the System Settings menu for Siri's voice options with a nearly...
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WhatsApp Announces New CarPlay Experience, iPad Sign-Up, and More

Wednesday July 22, 2026 6:00 am PDT by
WhatsApp just announced a raft of new features spanning CarPlay, iPad, and iPhone that are "designed to work wherever you do, across your devices and the other apps you use." First up, WhatsApp for CarPlay and Android Auto has been completely refreshed. Now you can hear and respond to messages, make calls, see your call history, and reach your favorites, all hands-free directly from your...
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The iPhone 18 Pro's Rumored Camera Upgrade, Explained

Wednesday July 22, 2026 2:15 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to feature a variable-aperture camera. The upgrade has been rumored repeatedly and would be a first for Apple's smartphone lineup, but what would it actually change for everyday users? An aperture is the opening inside a camera lens that lets in light. A natural comparison would be the pupils of your eyes, which open wider in...
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Apple Chipmaker TSMC Plans Price Hikes of Up to 10% in 2027

Tuesday July 21, 2026 4:01 am PDT by
Apple's principal chipmaker TSMC plans to raise prices by as much as 10 percent starting in 2027, according to a new report from Nikkei Asia. The Taiwan-based foundry has reportedly held talks with clients about base price increases of 5 to 10 percent, covering both mature nodes and the more advanced processes at 7-nanometers and below that Apple relies on for its A-series and M-series...
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Apple Testing 7-Inch Display for Largest 20th Anniversary iPhone Model

Tuesday July 21, 2026 2:08 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly prototyping a larger iPhone display measuring roughly 6.96 inches, which would likely be marketed as a 7-inch panel if it reaches production. According to Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station, Apple is testing the display internally in preparation for the 20th anniversary iPhone, which is expected to launch next year. The leaker said that the screen ratio is the same as...
macOS Malware Feature

'ClickLock' Malware Coerces Mac Users Into Giving Up Passwords

Monday July 20, 2026 6:17 am PDT by
Security firm Group-IB has identified a new piece of macOS malware in the wild that pressures users into surrendering their passwords via a barrage of fake system prompts. Dubbed "ClickLock Stealer," the malware needs no exploits and no elevated privileges to work. Instead, the attack depends on the victim pasting a command into Terminal and running it. The command then executes a script,...
iOS 27 Feature

Which iPhones Support Every iOS 27 Feature?

Monday July 20, 2026 5:22 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iOS 27 update is compatible with the iPhone 11 and later, including the second-generation iPhone SE and newer models, but only three iPhones will support the full set of features when the update arrives in September. Apple's latest software carries over the same device compatibility list as iOS 26, so no iPhones have been dropped this year. However, iOS 27's headline...
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Apple's Secret Siri Interface Buried in macOS 27 Beta: How to Enable

Monday July 20, 2026 4:09 am PDT by
Apple appears to be testing a hidden popover interface for Siri AI in the macOS 27 Golden Gate beta that surfaces Writing Tools and contextual actions whenever the user selects some text. Spotted by a member of Reddit's r/MacOSBeta community, the floating icon appears at the top-left of the selected text, expanding when the pointer hovers over it to a compact popover of the tools and...
digital car key iphone

Apple Car Key Support Coming to Future GWM Tank SUVs

Friday July 17, 2026 5:43 am PDT by
Apple's Car Keys feature appears to be coming to TANK vehicles made by Chinese maker Great Wall Motor (GWM), based on code changes discovered by MacRumors in Apple's Wallet app backend. GWM Tank is a dedicated off-road luxury SUV brand produced by the Chinese automaker. Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch with NFC capabilities to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital...
Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp Begins Rolling Out New Username Feature

Friday July 17, 2026 5:32 am PDT by
WhatsApp has started rolling out its new username feature, reports WABetaInfo. Some users who reserved their username have started receiving a notification that their username is active, and that they can now use it to send and receive messages to other users without revealing their phone number. When someone creates a username, WhatsApp will notify people who already have an active chat with...
How to Downgrade From iOS 27 Beta to iOS 26 Feature

How to Downgrade From iOS 27 Beta to iOS 26

Friday July 17, 2026 5:10 am PDT by
If you installed iOS 27 Beta or iPadOS 27 Beta through Apple's Developer Program, you may decide you want to downgrade because of usability or stability issues. Keep reading to learn how it's done. Apple's beta versions of its major software updates can be buggy, especially the early releases. While that isn't necessarily the case for the latest iOS 27 beta, you may still find apps not...
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Report: Apple Sends Legal Letters to Dozens of OpenAI Employees

Friday July 17, 2026 3:56 am PDT by
Apple has reportedly sent legal letters to dozens of former Apple employees now working at OpenAI, telling them to preserve potentially relevant documents and communications as it continues to pursue its trade secret lawsuit against the AI company. The Financial Times ($) reports that Apple has targeted around 40 former employees with legal preservation letters, acting on its belief that...
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iPhone 20 Rumors Point to These Seven Big Changes

Friday July 17, 2026 1:07 am PDT by
In 2017, Apple celebrated the iPhone's 10th birthday with the iPhone X, the biggest redesign in the product's history. For the device's 20th anniversary, all the rumors indicate that the company is preparing another landmark redesign. The commemorative "iPhone 20" model isn't expected until September 2027, but leaks have been piling up for months. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple...