Apple News 8 Hours

Last updated: September 18, 2026, 10:05 PM ET

Apple Watch Series 12

The Apple Watch Series 12 launched today, and early hands-on impressions highlight a refined design alongside familiar software. Buyers upgrading from Series 11 will notice larger bezels and a Digital Crown that now protrudes more noticeably from the case, a subtle hardware change that affects the device's overall feel.

iPhone Duo & Xcode

Apple has opened the starting gate for iPhone Duo development, shipping the first Xcode 27.1 beta with dedicated tools for the foldable. The company released the beta to registered developers, giving them the runway needed to adapt apps ahead of launch. For those wanting to match the hardware's look, the official light and dark wallpapers are now available to download, even though Apple omitted them from iOS.

Apple Intelligence & Air Pods

iOS 27 brings a sweeping Apple Intelligence update, packing more than 20 new features powered by next-generation on-device models. Air Pods Pro 3 owners also benefit, with new iOS 27 features that are exclusive to the latest earbuds and continue to expand their capabilities.

Chips & Supply Chain

The first GPU benchmark results for Apple's M5 Ultra and M6 chips have surfaced, revealing notable graphics performance gains over prior generations. On the supply side, SK Hynix-owned Solidigm is weighing a US NAND factory for storage chips, a move that could reshape supply but won't benefit Apple in the near term.

Smart Home

Homey's new Device Updates feature is being praised as what Matter promised, finally addressing firmware updates that have been the weakest link in smart homes for a decade.