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
Get Clear App Icons on Your iPhone Home Screen
When Apple released iOS 26 in September 2025, it introduced the new Liquid Glass design overhaul, which adopts translucent elements throughout the system interface and in stock apps. iOS 27, available now, builds on Liquid Glass by refining the visual effect to make contents more readable and the interface more consistent, but the overall style remains the same.
On the Home Screen, the search ...
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Reminder: macOS 27 Ends Time Machine Backups to Time Capsule
If you're upgrading to macOS Golden Gate and you have an AirPort Time Capsule, Time Machine won't be able to back up to it. macOS 27 removes support for AFP, the legacy file-sharing protocol that Time Capsule relies on for Time Machine backups. Said backups now exclusively use the SMB protocol, which Apple's discontinued Time Capsule hardware does not support in the form required by macOS 27.
...
EU's Kids Act to Ban Social Media for Under-13s, Curb Chatbot Access
The EU will ban children under 13 from using social media platforms, some gaming platforms, and AI chatbots without parental supervision. The ban is set to be outlined in the Kids Act, which will be published on Thursday, reports Financial Times.
"No social media under the age of 13. No personal account under the age of 15," said the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in a...
How to Pre-Order iPhone 18 Pro and Get the Model You Want
Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max on September 9 at its "Surprise and shine" event. If you're keen to be among the first to get your hands on one, here are some tips on how to give yourself the best chance. If you're looking to grab a foldable iPhone Duo, check out our separate guide.
Pre-orders for the new iPhone 18 Pro models opened on Saturday, September 12 at 5:00...
Apple One Winds Down in Over 100 Countries on Its Sixth Anniversary
Apple One turned six years old today, but Apple is selectively winding down the bundle, which is no longer open to new subscribers in more than 100 countries after Apple reshuffled its iCloud+ offerings as of Tuesday.
Apple introduced Apple One subscriptions on September 15, 2020, asking users for a once-monthly payment for Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage.
...
Spotify Now Lets You Keep Kids' Music Out of Your Wrapped
In a move that should be welcomed by parents and guardians of young children, Spotify has announced a new feature that lets you keep kids' and family music played on the service out of your taste profile.
Starting today, Spotify is rolling out a new toggle in the app's settings that prevents kids' music from affecting your personalized recommendations. This includes, for example, songs you...
'Widow's Bay' Leads Apple TV to Record 29 Emmy Wins
Apple TV shows swept the board at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards last night as the streaming service received 29 wins overall to become the most awarded network of the year.
It was Apple TV's best-ever Emmy Awards haul, thanks to the likes of Widow's Bay, Pluribus, Slow Horses, Margo's Got Money Troubles, Palm Royale, and Mr. Scorsese.
Widow's Bay was the most awarded show of the night,...
iCloud+ Gains Three Additional Perks in Select Countries
If you pay for iCloud+ in one of more than 100 countries, your storage plan is about to get a lot more interesting.
Apple is folding Apple TV and Apple Arcade into every paid iCloud+ plan in select markets, including the lowest 50GB tier. If you have Family Sharing enabled, iCloud+ passes the same benefits along to five other people.
There's a third perk, too. Apple Music Select is a new...
Apple's Weirdest iTunes Walk-Back Turns 12 Today
12 years ago today, Apple published a web page with one job: to make a U2 album go away. On September 9, 2014, at Apple's iPhone 6 event, Tim Cook revealed that "Songs of Innocence" would be given to every iTunes customer for nothing. The album was directly linked to accounts, and devices set to "download automatically" got it without asking.
Complaints quickly followed, and on September 15,...
Moof! Apple Snuck a Dogcow Into iOS 27 - Here's How to Find It
If you have installed iOS 27 on your iPhone or iPadOS 27 on your iPad (download it via Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update), Apple left a fun little easter egg for you to discover.
Open the Settings app, then tap through to Appearance ➝ Liquid Glass. Scroll to the bottom of the "Welcome to Apple Park" sample images, and when you hit the last image, keep dragging up with your finger...
iPhone 18 Pro Pre-Orders Off to a Muted Start, Analyst Says
Initial wait times for Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models in the pre-order phase are "lukewarm," according to GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu, who has subsequently trimmed his production estimates for both the company's Pro lineup and the foldable iPhone Duo.
iPhone 18 Pro pre-orders opened on September 12 in the U.S. and many other countries, and there's now a 3-4 week wait time for iPhone 18 Pro...
iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries.
In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....
iOS 27 Brings These Five New Features to Your iPhone Lock Screen
Apple released iOS 27 on Monday, September 14, and while the headline-grabbing Siri overhaul has received the most attention, the Lock Screen has picked up several refinements that you may not have heard about.
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....
iOS 27: Access the New iPhone Recovery Screen
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, now available to download, Apple has removed that limitation, and you can now manually boot into a Mac-style recovery screen whenever you like.
The new...
iOS 27 Lets You Hide the Messages Button Everyone Hits by Mistake
If you accidentally press the dictation or voice icon after sending a text in Messages, your music may pause while your iPhone starts listening. It's a small annoyance, but a frequent one, since the dictation/audio icon sits so close to the send arrow that stray taps are almost inevitable. In iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, Apple has finally given you a way to get rid of it.
The issue is one that...
iOS 27: Tone Down Liquid Glass Transparency
If you've never been a fan of Liquid Glass – Apple's glass-like interface effect introduced in iOS 26 – then there's some good news in iOS 27. Apple has added a setting that lets you finely adjust the level of translucency, giving you more control over the look and feel of your iPhone.
Perhaps you find notifications too see-through, or you want to see more of your wallpaper through...
iOS 27 Finally Unlinks Alarm Volume From Your iPhone Ringer
For the better part of two decades, an iPhone's alarm volume has matched its ringer. In other words, if you slide the ringtone volume down to silence your iPhone overnight, you're also turning your alarm's volume down with it. That's no longer the case in iOS 27, which is available to download now.
Settings now includes an "Alarms and Timers" section with its own Match Ringtone Volume...
Set a Custom EQ for Your AirPods in iOS 27
Sony, Bose, and Sennheiser owners have been able to adjust the audio frequency spectrum of their headphones for years, whereas AirPods owners have had to make do with Apple's default tuning. That's no longer the case in iOS 27, which adds a three-band equalizer to the AirPods settings screen. You can download the new update in the Settings app via General ➝ Software Update.
It's worth...
iOS 27's New Compact Clock Gives Your Wallpaper Room to Breathe
In iOS 26, Apple let you stretch the Lock Screen clock down your iPhone's display until it dwarfed everything else. In iOS 27, now available to download, Apple has a new clock option that does the opposite, with the introduction of a compact mode that shrinks the time to roughly the size of the date and tucks it into the row at the top of the screen.
The result is a Lock Screen that...
iOS 27: Find My App Lets You Hide Location From Others Temporarily
Apple's first iOS 27 developer beta, released on Monday, includes a new feature in the Find My app that lets you temporarily hide your location from select people.
A new "Hide Location" option appears in the user's Find My card in the People section, under "My Location." Tapping it hides your location temporarily for 12 hours before reverting to your previous shared location state. When...
