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
UK to Ban Social Media for Under-16s Starting in 2027
The British government will introduce a ban on social media access for all users under 16 years of age, set to take effect in 2027. UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced the plans on Monday, calling the move "the right step for Britain" and the best way to keep children safe online.
"This is not something I do lightly, and I will not present it as cost-free, as if social media has [brought ...
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watchOS 27 Improves Apple Watch Performance in Seven Ways
Apple's software updates previewed during WWDC 2026 this week have followed a distinct pattern: introduce a handful of key new features, while maintaining a focus on refining the underlying platform architecture. watchOS 27 is no different in this respect, with the majority of changes being performance improvements under the hood.
That said, one of the most obvious user-facing changes is a...
iOS 27 Features You Can't Use in the EU
Apple announced a range of new iOS 27 features at WWDC this week, but some of them won't be available in the European Union at launch.
The biggest glaring omission is Siri AI on iPhone and iPad. Apple says the new chatbot-style Siri experience, the dedicated Siri app for revisiting conversations, expanded Visual Intelligence features, integrated Writing Tools, and the new Siri mode in the...
macOS 27 Golden Gate Reverses a Divisive Tahoe Design Choice
In macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple has removed many of the menu item icons that are so prevalent throughout macOS 26 Tahoe, as spotted by Nikita "Tonsky" Prokopov (via Daring Fireball). The developer shared before-and-after screenshots on Mastodon to evidence the reversal.
Menu item icons in macOS 26 (left) vs. macOS 27 (image: Nikita Prokopov)
Tahoe was the first version of macOS to place a...
Touchscreen MacBook '100% Confirmed,' Says Reputable Leaker
Apple's first touchscreen MacBook is now "100% confirmed," according to the prolific Chinese leaker known as Instant Digital, who appears to have insider information from sources in the supply chain. The leaker made their definitive statement this morning in a Weibo post.
Instant Digital has a good track record for Apple rumors and has provided some strikingly accurate information in the...
Deezer Launches AI Music Detector for Apple Music, Spotify, and More
French music platform Deezer has launched a free online tool that can detect AI-generated tracks in Apple Music playlists, as well as playlists created on other streaming platforms.
"No other company has followed our lead yet, so we decided to make it possible for everyone to check if their playlists include synthetic music, no matter which streaming platform they use," Deezer CEO Alexis...
Apple Watch's Quirkiest App May Be Gone for Good
Remember Walkie-Talkie? Apple is apparently betting you won't.
The push-to-talk app has vanished from the first developer beta of watchOS 27, disappearing from both the app list and Control Center, with no way to bring it back. Apple hasn't said why, but it's probably because not many people used it.
If you include yourself in that cohort, here's a quick explainer.
Walkie-Talkie...
These Older iPhones Will Need an Update to Keep Running WhatsApp
Some older iPhone models will need a software update to keep running WhatsApp from the end of November 2026, after Meta confirmed it is raising the app's minimum system requirements.
From November 30, WhatsApp will require iOS 15.5 or later, up from the current requirement of iOS 15.1.
The models affected are the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE (1st generation), iPhone 7, and iPhone...
iCloud+ Is Starting to Look Like Apple's Paid AI Tier
iCloud+ has traditionally been something you paid a few dollars a month for so your iPhone would stop nagging you about storage limits. But with iOS 27, Apple appears to be giving it a second job.
Several of the new Apple Intelligence features in iOS 27 run on what Apple calls "powerful server models," and those come with daily usage caps. Everyone is set to get access, but iCloud+...
Bypass Siri AI Waitlist on macOS 27 Golden Gate Beta: Here's How
If you installed the macOS 27 Golden Gate developer beta and have signed up to the Siri AI waitlist but are still waiting to be accepted, there's a Terminal command workaround that enables the new virtual assistant on your Mac immediately.
If you're still reading, since you're on the first macOS 27 developer beta, we're assuming you are running it on a test machine, and not on your primary...
14 Ways Apple Is Improving Messages in iOS 27
Apple at this year's WWDC emphasized that its approach to iOS 27 development was to add fewer newer features and instead make existing features better. Examples of that approach can be seen across the operating system, but it is arguably most obvious in the changes coming to Messages.
That's not to say there's nothing original coming to Messages in iOS 27. For instance, one new Apple...
iOS 27 Brings New Functionality to HomePod
With the launch of iOS 27 and HomePod Software 27, Apple is adding support for AutoMix, Apple's AI-powered Apple Music feature that blends songs using matching key and tempo.
Apple says it has improved AutoMix's underlying algorithms to generate new transition types, making for more seamless blends between tracks, so this should also benefit the newly introduced feature for HomePod....
iPhone 17's 8GB Limit Costs It These Two Siri AI Features in iOS 27
Apple this week revealed what its most advanced on-device AI model does, and the feature list is shorter than the hardware requirements might suggest.
In its Siri AI announcement during WWDC 2026, Apple confirmed that the model powers two things: more expressive Siri voices and a major accuracy gain for systemwide dictation.
Both require 12GB of unified memory. Among current iPhones, that ...
tvOS 27: Apple Music Gains Hi-Res Lossless Audio on Apple TV 4K
Apple Music is bringing Hi-Res Lossless Audio to tvOS 27, in addition to standard Lossless Audio.
Apple says subscribers with compatible external speaker outputs will be able to enjoy their favorite songs in the highest audio quality and experience studio-quality sound directly through their Apple TV 4K.
As of tvOS 26, Apple TV 4K supports Apple Music Lossless audio up to 24-bit/48 kHz,...
visionOS 27: Siri AI, Eye-Aware Notifications, Curved Windows, and More
Apple's WWDC 2026 keynote may have seemed relatively quiet on the Vision Pro front, but the visionOS 27 beta contains a decent amount of new features and quality of life improvements that are likely to be welcomed by the headset's user base.
As you'd expect, visionOS 27 is getting the new Apple Intelligence and Siri AI features that Apple has brought to iOS 27 and macOS 27, but this time...
iOS 27 Introduces Overhauled AirPods Settings Menu
When AirPods owners connect to their iPhone running iOS 27, they'll see a completely revamped settings menu for their earbuds that does a better job at organizing all of the feature options that Apple has added over the last few years.
In the first iOS 27 developer beta, released on Monday, the new settings menu can be accessed in the same way as the old one – i.e. by appearing only when...
iOS 27 Lets You Dismiss the 'Now Playing' Lock Screen Widget
Apple in iOS 27 has made a small but significant change to how the Now Playing widget works on your iPhone's Lock Screen – you can now swipe it away to get rid of it.
Previously, there was no way to dismiss the Now Playing interface on the Lock Screen. But in the first iOS 27 developer build released yesterday, a leftward swipe on the playback controls slides in a Clear button from the...
visionOS 27 Gains New Icelandic Environment Called 'Thórsmörk'
Apple made the visionOS 27 beta available to Vision Pro developers after Monday's WWDC 2026 keynote, and in this version there is a new Environment that allows you to immerse yourself in the Icelandic highlands.
"Thórsmörk" is a mountain ridge in Iceland that was named after the Norse god Thor. It offers a nighttime and daytime experience of the icy landscape surrounding a lake, complete...
Apple Pay for Transit Now Works in These 14 U.S. Cities
Apple has expanded the number of major U.S. cities where its Apple Pay for transit feature is supported, providing a simple way for those who use public transportation to pay for rides.
Apple Pay for transit now works in Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington, DC.
Some...
Here Are the Macs Compatible With macOS Golden Gate
Apple today unveiled macOS Golden Gate, the next major version of its Mac operating system, during its WWDC 2026 keynote.
As expected, the update confirms the end of Intel Mac support. Apple said last year that macOS Tahoe would be the final release to run on pre-Apple silicon machines, and macOS 27 makes that official – you'll need an Apple silicon Mac to install it.
Here are the Macs...
