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
iPhone 17 Pro Cases Fit iPhone 18 Pro - Or At Least Otterbox Thinks So
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman noted on X (Twitter) today that Otterbox is already selling iPhone 18 Pro cases at Best Buy. While the timing is early for a new iPhone that isn't expected to launch until mid-September, what's more interesting is that Otterbox's packaging indicates the iPhone 18 Pro will fit iPhone 17 Pro cases and vice versa.
Gurman passed on the packaging detail without saying...
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OpenAI Announces ChatGPT for Teens With Built-In Safeguards and Learning Prompts
OpenAI is adding a ChatGPT mode for teenagers that includes parental controls, enhanced content safeguards, and a focus on learning.
ChatGPT for Teens is "designed to help teens learn, think critically, deepen understanding, and use AI with confidence," said the company in a blog post announcing the feature.
The feature includes learning-focused starter prompts for facilitating studying,...
Apple's US App Store Commission Revenue Down 18% This Year
The commission Apple earns from the App Store is shrinking in markets where it has been forced to relax its grip on in-app purchases, based on new analytics data.
According to Appfigures, cited by the Financial Times ($), Apple's U.S. commission revenue has fallen 18 percent since the start of 2026. It also found App Store revenue declining in Brazil and Japan since both countries...
Sonos iPhone App Finally Gains Live Activities Support
Sonos just updated its iOS app with new Live Activities support, providing quick access to playback controls from your Lock Screen.
Image credit: MajorAtmosphere
Sonos shared a Reddit post announcing the new feature, which appears after you initiate playback on a Sonos device and then close the app.
The Live Activity shows the current room or group you were last playing audio from and...
Unreleased AirPods 5 Models Referenced in macOS 26.7
In a notable addition to the unreleased Apple products referenced in yesterday's macOS Tahoe 26.7 software update, AirPods 5 models have also been spotted. Internally codenamed B868M and B868E, the models almost certainly refer to AirPods 5 and AirPods 5 with Active Noise Cancellation. Current AirPods 4 models, launched in September 2024, have the codenames B768M and B768E.
While...
iPhone 18 Pro Max Rumored to Get Exclusive Camera Upgrade
Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models may be differentiated by a new camera feature that could be exclusive to the larger Pro Max model, if a Chinese leaker is to be believed.
Since 2024, we've been hearing rumors about Apple's plans to introduce a variable aperture camera on the iPhone 18 Pro models – a first for any iPhone – but it was understood until now that the feature would come to...
iOS 27 Finally Fixes Replying to Android Texts
When iOS 27 arrives next month, you'll be able to reply to a specific green chat bubble (aka an Android message) in a Messages conversation on your iPhone.
All you need to do is press and hold the message, tap Reply, then type your response. It will be received by the recipient as a real threaded reply (i.e. an inline reply), tying it directly to the message in question. It's the same with...
Apple's macOS Screen Sharing Flaw Is Being Exploited in the Wild
The screen sharing flaw that Apple rushed out a fix for earlier this month has already been exploited in the wild, according to the Netherlands' National Cyber Security Center (NCSC-NL).
On August 6, Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.6.1, an update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out last year. The update came a little over a week after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.6.
In its s...
Tim Cook Reflects on His Legacy in Final Weeks as Apple CEO
Apple CEO Tim Cook once said that what Steve Jobs stood for, in a word, was "innovation." In a CBS News interview conducted yesterday, Cook – in his final weeks at the helm of the company – was asked what his legacy stood for, and this was his response:
"In my view, your legacy is described by others, not yourself. And so, I hope that people will say that I was a good and decent man. And...
30 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27
Apple will release iOS 27 in September, and despite the company's focus this year on refining its flagship operating system and nixing bugs, there are still many additional features on the way, not least of which is Apple's new context-aware Siri, re-tooled for the generative AI era.
This year's major iPhone software update isn't all about AI, though, as the following feature list...
Apple Trained Own AI Model for China Market With Help From Alibaba
Reuters reports that Apple has trained its own large language model for the China market, rather than relying on a third-party model to power its Apple Intelligence features in the country.
The LLM has been developed with the help of Alibaba, according to the report's sources. The development marks a break from Apple's previous strategy of relying on domestic models to bring generative AI to ...
Apple Is Working on a Screenless Fitness Band
Apple is considering bringing to market an Apple Watch-style fitness band with no screen, according to a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Image credit: Whoop
The approach is said to be part of a broader re-evaluation of the Apple Watch lineup within the company, as it seeks "something that transforms the product for a new era."
The Apple Watch has been a market leader in the smartwatch ...
'iPhone Ultra' Could Face Staggered Market Rollout, US Only at Launch
Apple's upcoming foldable "iPhone Ultra" may see a staggered country-by-country launch over several months, with initial availability limited to the U.S. market, according to an Australian publication.
In a report labeled "exclusive," ChannelNews said today it has been told by local carriers and one major retailer that Apple's first foldable iPhone will be a "no show" when the iPhone 18 Pro...
Base iPhone 18 Tipped to Get These Two Pro-Level Upgrades
The base iPhone 18 model that Apple is expected to release by March 2027 will be equipped with 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB in the iPhone 17, according to analyst Jeff Pu.
Pu's latest assessment, if accurate, would see the iPhone 18 gaining the same amount of memory as the iPhone 17 Pro models. Analyst Dan Nystedt claimed the same RAM upgrade for the iPhone 18 back in April.
That said, their ...
WhatsApp Now Lets You Save a Contact's Username
Following its username feature rollout, WhatsApp is now letting users save a contact's username when they add their name and phone number. The username field is shown between the first and last name fields and the phone number section.
You can add a new contact in WhatsApp by tapping the + button in the navigation bar of the Chats tab. According to WABetaInfo, when usernames become more widely ...
Apple's 2026 Back to School Offer is Now Live Across Europe
Apple's annual Back to School promotion is now live in the United Kingdom and 18 other European countries: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.
The European launch follows the company's back-to-school promotion rollout in the United States and several other...
iPhone Ultra's Two Selfie Cameras Could Sit in the Same Corner
With Apple's upcoming iPhone Ultra there's been a lingering question over the exact placement of the selfie cameras in the device's folded and unfolded states – but today we may have stumbled upon the answer.
Dummy units have suggested a top-centered cut-out for the selfie camera on the outer display of Apple's foldable, while locating the selfie camera for the inner display in the...
Claude Outage Currently Affecting Multiple AI Models [Update: Fixed]
Update: The issues have been resolved as of 18:07 UTC.
Anthropic is currently dealing with a service outage affecting multiple Claude models.
The company's status page flagged the issue at 13:50 UTC on August 12, listing elevated errors across several models.
Four of six monitored services on status.claude.com are showing "degraded performance": claude.ai, the Claude API, Claude...
Microsoft Edge Browser to Get Apple Account Sign-In Support
Microsoft is testing support for signing into its Edge browser using your Apple Account, avoiding the need to create a Microsoft account. Two new flags related to the support were spotted by MacMagazine in the latest Edge Canary build, with the feature also rolling out to Edge Beta users.
One of the flags enables Apple Account sign-in for Edge profiles, while the other adds an Apple sign-in...
Leaker: All-Glass 2027 iPhone Still on Track Despite Cancellation Rumors
There's been more pushback against the recent analyst report that claimed Apple's all-glass 20th-anniversary iPhone next year has been canceled. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has already responded by saying the "glass-centric" redesign is still on track for 2027, and now a prominent Chinese leaker says the commemorative device indeed remains in active development.
Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat...
