Tim Hardwick
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.
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
Apple Reportedly Ramps Up Vapor Chamber Orders for Foldable iPhone
Apple has ramped up orders for vapor chamber cooling components said to be destined for its upcoming foldable iPhone and 20th-anniversary iPhone models, according to a Chinese leaker.
The Weibo account known as "Fixed Focus Digital" claims the increased order volume will first support the manufacture of Apple's book-style foldable, or "iPhone Ultra," which is expected to debut in September....
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How to Install macOS 27 Golden Gate Public Beta
Apple has made the first macOS 27 Golden Gate public beta available for testing before the new Mac operating system's official release in the fall. Keep reading to learn whether you should install it on your Mac, and if so, how to go about it.
Getting access to the macOS Golden Gate public beta is simple, and can be done by enrolling your Mac in Apple's free Apple Beta Software Program. The...
Apple's 2026 Back to School Offer Goes Live in the US: Up to $150 Gift Card With Mac or iPad
Apple's annual Back to School promotion is now live in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, following earlier rollouts in Asia. This year's promotion offers a free Apple gift card with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad.
Apple is offering a $150 gift card with any new MacBook Pro, and a $100 gift card with any new MacBook Air, iPad Pro, and iPad Air. The gift card can be used towards...
OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect
According to the latest rumors, Apple is close to launching its next-generation iPad mini. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over 20 months ago. Read on to find out.
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in...
Upcoming OLED iPad Mini Allegedly Uses 60Hz 8.4-Inch Display Panel
Apple is allegedly using a 60Hz 8.4-inch display panel in the upcoming OLED iPad mini, which is expected to be released later this year.
The information comes courtesy of a hit-and-miss tipster running the account "yeux1122" on the Korean Naver blog. The leaker claims to have been told by a source in Apple's supply chain that the unreleased iPad mini is equipped with a low-temperature...
iPhone 17 Pricing Helped Apple Buck China's Q2 Smartphone Decline
Apple grew iPhone shipments in China by 24.4 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2026, making it the fastest-growing smartphone brand in a market that shrank overall, according to preliminary figures released today by research firm IDC.
Total shipments in China fell 4.3 percent to roughly 66 million units, amounting to a fifth consecutive quarter of decline. Apple and Huawei were ...
WhatsApp Beta Reveals iCloud Backup Alternative for iPhone
WhatsApp is developing a first-party cloud storage option for chat backups on iPhone, providing users with an alternative to iCloud for the first time, according to app tinkerer WABetaInfo.
Code found in the WhatsApp beta for iOS (version 26.28.10.16), available through TestFlight, suggests that users will eventually be able to pick their preferred backup destination directly from the app's...
Google Chrome's Gemini AI Features Roll Out to UK Users
Google has announced the rollout of Chrome's latest AI features to Mac and PC users in the U.K., indicated by a new "Ask Gemini" button with a sparkle icon in the upper right side of the browser.
Gemini in Chrome can work across multiple tabs, which is supposed to make it useful for comparing and summarizing information from several websites at once.
It also integrates with Google...
iPhone 18 Pro: Three Ways Apple's Chip Redesign Boosts Performance
An unconfirmed image of the iPhone 18 Pro's motherboard was recently shared online that appears to suggest that the A20 Pro chip is built on a new packaging technology. It might not sound exciting, but it could deliver an instant jump in real-world performance over the A19 Pro currently used in the iPhone 17 Pro models.
The image shows an apparent A20 Pro chip integrated using TSMC's...
How to Install iOS 27 Public Beta on Your iPhone
Apple has made available the first public beta of iOS 27, bringing a more stable version of the software to a wider audience following lengthy testing by developers. Keep reading to learn how to prepare your device for the beta software and how to install it.
Signing up to get the iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 public beta is simple once you know how – it can be done by enrolling an iPhone or...
Apple Stock Hits Record Territory as Traders Sour on AI Spending
Apple shares have rallied 15 percent since their worst day on the stock market in more than a year, adding almost $600 billion in value since June 25 and returning the stock to record territory (via Bloomberg).
The rebound comes as investors grow uneasy about the mind-boggling sums of cash continually being poured into the AI data center buildout, despite there being no obvious indicator for ...
Meta Pulls AI Image Feature From Instagram Days After Launch
Remember that new feature Meta announced last week that let people use public Instagram posts and reels to generate AI content? It didn't last long. Meta pulled the feature from Instagram late on Friday, following widespread criticism over privacy concerns.
"Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in...
5 New Waze Features Rolling Out Now: Here Are All the Details
Google today announced that Waze is getting a handful of new features, including some Gemini-powered personalization enhancements for Conversational Reporting.
Conversational Reporting already uses Gemini when users report traffic incidents like slowdowns, but now you can use it to suggest map updates like road closures or outdated addresses. Saying something like "The road is closed here"...
Report: Apple Agreed to Intel Chips Amid White House Tariff Talks
Apple faced pressure from the White House to use Intel's chipmaking plants while it was negotiating relief from semiconductor tariffs last summer, reports The Wall Street Journal ($).
In August 2025, Apple CEO Tim Cook was in Washington to lobby the Trump administration to drop its proposed 100 percent tariff on semiconductor imports – a levy that would have raised costs across Apple's...
EU: Facebook and Instagram's Infinite Scroll May Break Digital Rules
Meta has been warned by the European Commission that its endlessly scrolling Facebook and Instagram feeds may violate the EU's new Digital Services Act rules.
In preliminary findings published on Friday, the Commission said that its investigation into features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommender systems, found that Meta "did not...
OpenAI's ChatGPT Atlas Browser Is Shutting Down
OpenAI says it is shuttering its ChatGPT Atlas browser. When it was released last October, the company said the agentic browser was designed around the question "What if you could chat with your web browser?" The query was at least novel, but the answer was apparently not all that compelling.
As part of a slew of ChatGPT Work-related announcements on Thursday, OpenAI confirmed plans to...
Apple Reportedly Slashes iPhone 17 Demand Forecast Amid Rising Costs
Apple has significantly lowered its demand expectations for the standard iPhone 17 because of rising hardware costs, a Chinese leaker claimed today.
According to the account "Fixed Focus Digital" on Weibo, some production lines for the standard iPhone 17 this week shifted from an earlier 15 percent reduction to plans to suspend roughly one-third of their capacity. The leaker also claimed...
Foldable iPhone Ultra Battery Capacity Allegedly Registered by Supplier
Apple's battery supplier has registered two new battery cells believed to be destined for the company's rumored foldable iPhone, according to a prolific Chinese leaker.
In a post on Weibo, the leaker known as Digital Chat Station said that the two cells have rated capacities of 1,921mAh and 2,962mAh, for a combined minimum rated capacity of 4,883mAh. "The supply chain is also predicting a...
Stop Others Using Your Instagram Photos in AI Prompts: Here's How
On July 8, Meta launched Muse Image, an AI image generator now built into Meta AI, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It can do the typical text-to-image generative trick, but one feature in particular is causing controversy: Anyone can mention (@) a public Instagram account inside the Meta AI app, and it will use that account's photos as the basis of an AI-generated image.
If your Instagram account...
DuckDuckGo Browser Now Blocks YouTube Ads on iPhone and Mac
DuckDuckGo's free web browser now blocks most video ads on YouTube, and the feature is on by default for iPhone and Mac users running the latest version of the app.
Announced on Wednesday, YouTube Ad Blocking stops ads that play before and during videos on YouTube's website, and DuckDuckGo says the result is the regular YouTube experience minus the interruptions, so features like viewing...
