8 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Apple

Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, Apple is best known for making some of the world’s most ubiquitous consumer devices, software, and services: the iPhone, iPad, iMac and MacBook computers, Apple TV, Apple Watch, iOS, iCloud, iTunes, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and many more. Led by CEO Tim Cook since 2011, Apple is one of the largest technology companies in the world alongside Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Facebook.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Apple updated the Siri app icon in its latest iOS 27 developer beta.

Now, it’s a glassier orb. I like it.

With beta 5, Apple also tweaked the Safari, Preview, Settings, and Remote app icons, according to 9to5Mac. I grabbed a screenshot of the new icons — what do you think?

A screenshot of new icons in iOS 27 developer beta 5.
Image: Apple
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The boss of Apple Pay is retiring.

Jennifer Bailey will be leaving Apple in October, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports. That means she’ll be leaving shortly after incoming CEO John Ternus takes over on September 1st.

In a memo to staff included in Gurman’s article, SVP of services Eddy Cue said that a succession plan will be announced before Bailey departs.

David Pierce
David Pierce
‘We have Formula 1 at home.’

ESPN lost Formula 1 rights last year, when Apple spent big to get the rights for Apple TV. Now, Disney is replacing F1 with… Formula E, the all-electric (and increasingly Formula 1-ish) racing series, starting this December on Disney Plus and ESPN Plus. Shockingly, this deal might come with less talk about battery management than whatever’s happening with F1.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Gurman says the glass iPhone is still on track.

An analyst report yesterday claimed Apple had canceled plans for an all-glass iPhone to mark its phone’s 20th anniversary. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman disagrees. He says the phone is still due to launch in 2027, it just won’t be all glass, with a slim metal frame connecting the two curved glass panels.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Apple is considering a screen-free wearable.

With the success of Whoop and other screen-free fitness bands like the Fitbit Air, Polar Loop, and Helio Strap, it’s not a surprise that the company is weighing its options. But nothing is set in stone yet. According to Mark Gurman:

The company is considering new devices with no displays, as well as different types of screens and various sizes. While unlikely to hit the market, round screens have even been considered. I’m told the work also includes potentially adding premium models beyond the Ultra and Hermès variants. On the lower end, Apple is considering more affordable concepts besides the current SE model.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Apple’s private browsing feature isn’t good at its job.

Private Relay is supposed to conceal your IP address when browsing Safari, but security researchers discovered that several WebKit browser engine quirks actually allow any website that supports passkeys to bypass the privacy feature entirely and expose your device’s IP. This comes just a month after Apple’s Hide My Email feature also failed to hide emails.

IP and DNS Leaks in WebKit Affecting Proxy Browsers and Apple iCloud Private Relay

[Mysk Blog – In-Depth Cybersecurity & Mobile App Privacy Research]

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
CarPlay, but on a boat.

Saw this from a MacRumors headline that I keep chuckling at: “CarPlay is Coming to Pontoon Boats.” Maybe Apple should have built a boat instead of failing at a car? (I’m kidding…. unless?)

An image of someone using CarPlay on a boat.
Image: MasterCraft Boat Holdings
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Apple’s limiting bug report submissions after getting flooded with “AI slop.”

According to the Financial Times, Apple “has introduced a cap and a 30-day cool-off period” for researchers’ vulnerability reports for its operating systems due to an uptick in reports using AI that “can hallucinate security risks.” Apple is also reportedly using AI internally to help manage the recent “upsurge” in bug reports.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Who needs IMAX when you have iMacs?
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Apple fights the UK’s iCloud backdoor order (again).

The Cupertino company has reportedly launched another legal challenge against the UK government’s attempt to force Apple into providing it with backdoor access to encrypted iCloud data. While the UK dropped its initial demands in August 2025, it apparently issued a second order last October that specifically targets British user data.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
The MacBook Air is looking scarce.

Apple is struggling to keep the laptop in stock, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, with new orders on some configurations experiencing “essentially unprecedented” delays of roughly a month. This joins the shortages for the Mac Mini and Studio, all of which are seemingly connected to the ongoing memory crisis.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Who’s bankrolling Trump’s projects?

The Wall Street Journal gets into the “staggering” fundraising efforts launched by President Donald Trump and his team, including the tech giants making multimillion-dollar donations:

SoftBank donated $50 million toward Trump’s presidential library. Apple cut a check for around $25 million toward his White House ballroom project, while Microsoft gave around $10 million and Amazon chipped in around $5 million, according to people familiar with the contributions. Meta Platforms recently gave $10 million to a Trump-aligned political committee, people familiar said, on top of a multimillion donation to the ballroom and a prior $22 million payment to the planned presidential library.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Senators call on Apple to not buy Chinese-made RAM chips.

Apple has reportedly been seeking permission to buy memory from CXMT, a blacklisted Chinese supplier.

“We urge Apple to abandon any effort to incorporate memory from CXMT, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), or any other Chinese state-backed supplier into any of its products,” the Senators wrote in a letter to CEO Tim Cook.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The Epic Games Store launches on iOS in Brazil.

Apple recently started allowing alternative app marketplaces in Brazil following a long legal dispute, during which Epic originally announced that the store would be launching in the country.

The store will have Fortnite and Rocket League Sideswipe, Epic says.

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Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Nothing to see here.

Apple says the “restricted mode” that 9to5Mac uncovered in iOS 27 beta code won’t be used for missed lease payments in the new Apple Upgrade scheme. That does leave some pretty big questions about why Apple reportedly coded it in the first place though.

wtfjohnson:

So they just built this feature into the OS for funsies? 👀

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

David Imel
David Imel
Samsung is rushing to make more RAM to stop Apple from looking elsewhere.

As we trudge through RAMageddon, Samsung is allegedly rushing to create new production lines, at least in part, to keep Apple from pursuing other vendors. Just yesterday, Chinese memory company CXMT became the most valuable company on Shanghai’s STAR market, and Tim Cook has reportedly been asking for permission to buy memory from the company amid the shortage.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Football is life?

While season 3 sure seemed like a finale, Ted Lasso is nonetheless back on Apple TV next week. The upcoming season sees Ted taking charge of a new women’s football team, and it’s coming just in time for those of us suffering through post-World Cup withdrawal.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Apple is sunsetting the iPhone Upgrade program.

Instead, Apple says users can either finish making payments on their device or switch to its new Apple Upgrade program, which will allow them to lease an iPhone, Mac, iPad, or Apple Watch. The company notes that customers can also finance a new device with monthly installments on the Apple Card.