Messages Now Offers Shared Conversation Backgrounds
A potentially surprising and fun new feature in Messages in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26 Tahoe is conversation backgrounds. To set one, tap the person or group icon at the top of the conversation, then tap Backgrounds, select an image, and tap the blue checkmark to save. What you might not realize is […]
Reminders (Finally) Adds Time Zone Support
Apple’s latest operating systems have eliminated a longstanding annoyance for frequent travelers: the lack of time zone support in Reminders. If you had set a reminder to alert you at 9 AM Eastern and then traveled from Virginia to California, your alert would go off at 6 AM, which is likely unhelpful and potentially sleep‑disrupting. […]
Backups: Trust but Verify
It’s easy to assume your backup app—whether it’s Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner, Backblaze, Retrospect, or something else—is quietly doing its job. But it’s possible for a bug to corrupt backups or for a destination disk to fail silently, such that you can’t restore backed-up data. We’ve seen this happen! For peace of mind, set […]
Be Alert for Deepfake Phishing Scams
Phishing scams have entered a new, AI-powered phase and can now convincingly mimic real people. Attackers can generate fake voice or video deepfakes to impersonate CEOs authorizing urgent payments, IT staff requesting access, or family members needing help. If you receive a voice or video call from someone you know at an unknown number who […]
Charge Your MacBook with the Right Power Adapter
If you lose or break the power adapter that came with your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, make sure to replace it with a charger that meets or exceeds the machine’s required wattage. A charger with too low a wattage may result in little or no charging (or even battery drain while working), and it […]
Canva’s Free Affinity App Takes on Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe’s Creative Cloud apps—Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign—are best-in-class, and for many people, they’re essential. But if you’re paying $70 per month for a Creative Cloud subscription even though you don’t need the full power of Adobe’s apps, consider Canva’s new Affinity app, available for free for macOS and Windows, with iPadOS coming soon. The extremely […]
Updated Passwords App Adds History
One small way Apple’s Passwords app lagged behind top password managers like 1Password was in its lack of a password history. It’s sometimes helpful—such as when trying to figure out why a seemingly correct password isn’t being accepted—to see previous passwords for a site and when they were changed. In macOS 26 Tahoe, iOS 26, […]
macOS 26 Tahoe Introduces New Recovery Assistant
If a Mac running macOS 26 Tahoe experiences certain kinds of problems, it might automatically restart and launch a new Recovery Assistant. It will prompt you to unlock your disk if needed and to connect to a Wi-Fi network—an Internet connection is required. Apple doesn’t specify precisely what Recovery Assistant will do to recover your […]
How to Customize the iPhone and iPad Home Screen with Liquid Glass
When describing its new Liquid Glass design language, Apple spoke only generally about how users could change the look of icons and widgets on their iPhone and iPad home screens to be dark, clear, or tinted, without specifying how to do that. The trick is to touch and hold an empty spot on the Home […]
App Store Gains Accessibility Nutrition Labels
Apple does a good job providing accessibility options for users who experience issues with vision, hearing, motor control, and other accessibility needs. Nearly everyone will benefit from these features at some point in their lives. To encourage support for Apple’s accessibility features and assist users in finding compatible apps, the App Store now includes Accessibility […]
