Zac Hall

Apple released iOS 27 beta 6 today, giving developer beta testers the next preview update since iOS 27 debuted at WWDC. Developer beta testers can download the new beta now.

iOS 27 is a major iPhone update centered around Siri AI, Apple Intelligence, Liquid Glass refinements, and a long list of quality-of-life changes. Here’s what we’ve found so far in iOS 27 beta 6.

macOS 27 Golden Gate beta 6 introduces redesigned traffic light window controls. The new look resembles older Mac OS X systems with more detail in each button.

Apple has released the sixth iOS 27 beta for developer testing. iOS 27 beta 6 continues Apple’s summer beta cycle ahead of a public release in September. We’ll update our devices and share what we discover.

Claude Code auto mode has become the default permission setting for users starting today.

Sessions for Pro, Max, and Team users now use it unless a user or administrator has pinned another setting.

Earlier this year, I replaced my battery-powered push mower with an iPhone-controlled robot lawn mower. That machine creates a virtual map by letting you manually steer it around the perimeter of your yard. Once everything is configured, it takes over mowing duties on a schedule.

More recently, I’ve been testing another system called the TerraMow V1000. It takes a substantially different approach to navigation, and after several weeks of testing, I think it may be the more user-friendly option for a lot people.

Less is more when it comes to how I use the Apple Watch. The best experience, for me, requires few notifications and intentional focus on what I want out of the device. This approach applies to Apple Watch faces too. While there are no new watch faces in watchOS 27 yet, I’ve been loving a scaled-back version of a very information-dense option.

Apple is reportedly taking a new route to bring artificial intelligence features to customers in China: training a large language model of its own with help from Alibaba.

Overcast developer Marco Arment just launched a brand-new app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Called Unforgetful, the new task-management app is built for people who struggle to keep reminders from slipping through the cracks. Unforgetful is designed around persistent notifications, flexible snoozing, and a deliberately simple interface.

OpenAI is giving ChatGPT and Codex a new way to learn from and remember how you use your Mac, even when that work happens outside the app.

HomePod mini arrived in 2020, and nearly six years later, Apple is reportedly preparing a long-awaited second generation. Here is everything we know so far.

Matic has added voice and gesture control to its robot vacuum and mop through a software update called Matic Cues. After testing both features, the short and sweet of it is that voice control is really good.

Just say, “Hey Matic, vacuum the kitchen,” and Matic gets to work. There is no phone to unlock, app to open, or smart home intermediary involved. You speak directly to the robot, and it responds.

Matic Cues understands commands in more than 70 spoken languages. The feature is rolling out to every existing Matic through an over-the-air software update and will be included on all new robots.

OpenAI is previewing a new way to run its most capable GPT-5.6 model at dramatically higher speeds. The company says its new Ultrafast service tier can run GPT-5.6 Sol up to 14 times faster than standard processing.

While my preferred way to use an iPhone is with no case or screen protector, I’m actually enjoying both on iPhone 17 Pro and can recommend them. They’re inexpensive enough to try without committing for a year or more.

Apple TV 4K is finally expected to get its first hardware refresh in nearly four years. If the latest reports are right, Apple’s next streaming box could arrive this fall with a much faster chip, possibly the new Siri, upgraded wireless connectivity, and more.

Here is everything we currently know about the next Apple TV 4K.

Claude is turning its Chrome side panel into a full Cowork session, allowing browser-based tasks and conversations to follow users across Claude’s other apps.

If you use an Apple Watch with cardio equipment, GymKit should be on your radar. It’s the best way for Apple Watch and a fitness machine like a treadmill or elliptical to exchange workout data, producing more accurate measurements than either device can provide alone.

Apple introduced GymKit with watchOS 4 in 2017, but compatible equipment has remained surprisingly difficult to find. The good news is that, nearly a decade later, you no longer need to spend around $15,000 on a GymKit treadmill.

Instead, you can spend around $1,000 on an excellent home treadmill that works with Apple Watch. I’ve been testing the BowFlex T6 treadmill this summer, and its combination of GymKit support, approachable pricing, and dial controls makes it easy to recommend.

SpaceXAI seems to be in the process of repairing Grok’s reputation. From the recent Cursor acquisition to yesterday’s Grok Bot agent release, the company is getting more serious about its models. Today’s Grok 4.6 release builds on that effort with what SpaceXAI says is intelligence comparable to OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol and Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5.

Apple Watch includes a built-in sleep tracking feature. Just wear your Apple Watch to bed, and it works automatically. No need to install apps or enter a special mode.

watchOS 26 takes sleep tracking further with Apple’s sleep score feature. Sleep score is a great way to visualize the quality of your sleep from night to night. There’s one setting in particular that has made sleep score especially useful for me.

The third iOS 27 public beta is now available for iPhone. It gives users an early chance to try Apple’s biggest software update of the year.

Siri AI is the headline feature. The release also includes a redesigned Screen Time experience, Liquid Glass refinements, performance upgrades, and dozens of quality-of-life changes.

Here’s how to install the beta, what’s new, and which features you should try first.