Benjamin Mayo

As part of its exclusive deal with Peanuts, Apple TV+ today premieres Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical. This is the latest original Snoopy special to air on the platform, and this one stands out as it is a song-filled musical. The last time Peanuts premiered a new musical episode was more than 37 years ago.

The new special celebrates summer camp. Charlie Brown is trying to make his last year at camp as special as possible. Meanwhile, Snoopy and Woodstock find a treasure map that leads them on an adventure.

The design revamp brought about with iOS 26 brings all sorts of new animations along with the Liquid Glass visual treatments. With beta 6, Apple overhauled Springboard’s app launch animations for the first time in years.

Apps now launch to full-screen much faster than before, accompanied a minor warp effect that is reminiscent of how Mac windows minimise to the dock. The faster animation speed makes a big difference. It really feels like iOS 26 made your iPhone faster, even several-year old models …

A hardware refresh for the Apple TV 4K set-top box is coming soon. The current generation was released in spring 2022, and is powered by an A15 Bionic chip.

The new generation is expected to feature a new Apple-designed WiFi and Bluetooth chip, as well as a CPU upgrade. A report from MacRumors today cites code references that indicate the box will actually get an A17 Pro chip, the same processor that powers the iPhone 15 Pro.

The iTunes Movies and TV Shows app predate the unified Apple TV app, and go all the way back to the first version of tvOS in 2015. Fast forward to today, and these apps are almost entirely redundant and serve as mere placeholders.

As system apps on Apple TV are not deletable, these husks of times past have somewhat comically stuck around on the Apple TV home screen. With the latest beta of tvOS 26, users will finally have a way to bury these apps for good.

iOS 18 featured a major redesign to the Calculator app, including fancy features like Math Notes. Those changes included adding a back button to the keypad, replacing the traditional C/AC button. This was so frustrating for some, the real hard-core Calculator users I guess, that The Atlantic published an entire column when iOS 18 shipped, decrying the button’s removal.

Apple has seemingly taken those complaints onboard. With iOS 26, the Calculator once again has a dedicated C/AC button.

You can now watch Apple TV+ shows on in-flight entertainment systems across United Airlines’ fleet of planes, thanks to a new partnership announced today.

United travellers can get free access to Apple Originals like Severance, Slow Horses, and Ted Lasso, with more titles being added on a monthly basis.

As part of the overall redesign, Liquid Glass has been implemented throughout iOS 26, changing how app icons, toolbars, tab bars and system controls look and behave.

But Apple is also open to just having a bit of a fun with the new material, like the completely-over-the-top refraction effect when you pull down the Lock Screen. With beta 6, Apple hid another fun Liquid Glass easter egg inside the Preview app on iPad. See the video after the break …

With worldwide government regulations increasingly cracking down on what content is available, and various streaming services increasingly locking content behind geographic paywalls, more and more people are turning to VPNs.

Setting up a VPN used to be complicated, but in the last decade, the process has become incredibly streamlined. Here’s how to set up and use a VPN on your iPhone.

The F1 movie continues its hot streak at cinemas, with the film still widely resonating with audience a month after its theatrical premiere. The Apple Original Film has now crossed the $500 million mark at the global box office, with the running total now standing around $509 million.

F1: The Movie will eventually land on Apple TV+, likely in October. But Apple and distributor Warner Bros. have little incentive to hurry along the secondary release windows if the cinema takings remain as strong as they are.

Apple today announced a new series from Vince Gilligan, the creator of Breaking Bad. The series is called ‘Pluribus’ and stars Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul). It will premiere on Apple TV+ on November 7.

It appears to be a mysterious sci-fi thriller in which “the most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness”. You can watch the 30-second teaser after the break:

The Apple TV 4K set-top box is getting a handful of new features with tvOS 26. tvOS 26 is available now as a public beta, and will be available as a free software update later this year for everyone to install.

tvOS 26 includes updates to Apple Music Sing, easier profile switching, better support for AirPlay speakers that are not HomePods, and a visual design refresh featuring Liquid Glass material. Here’s everything new …

After launching notification summaries as one of the flagship features of Apple Intelligence, Apple disabled the feature for apps in the News and Entertainment categories in the iOS 18.3 update, following backlash from publications like the BBC about Apple Intelligence portraying its news headlines inaccurately.

Having been disabled entirely for these apps since mid-January, Apple announced this week the feature will return as part of iOS 26. Users running the developer have noticed that these notifications get a different visual treatment compared to normal notification summaries generated from other categories of apps.

Apple is expanding the capability of its In-App Purchase framework with a new retention messaging API. This means, for the first time, developers will be able to show offers to users when they go to cancel a subscription in the global Subscriptions screen inside the Settings app.

Apps will be able to show a simple static message, display dynamic progress based on the user’s app state, or present a special offer to try and dissuade the user from cancelling their payment altogether.

The Apple Sports app, which allows users to track sports scores in real-time, today expanded its coverage of soccer. With the new 3.1 update, fans of the FA Community Shield soccer match can now follow along inside Apple Sports.

Also notable is that the app is now available to download in Mexico. This means fans of Liga MX can now use the app for the first time to track the performance of their local teams, as well as how they fare in the MLS Leagues Cup.

Like many people these days, I work from home and use a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an external display. I have been a long-time user of the OWC Thunderbolt Dock which lets me connect my display and various peripherals to the hub’s I/O ports, with only a single cable plugged in to the laptop.

This dock has simply sat atop the desk, until recently. I came across a further improvement to my setup which helps declutter even more. Quite simply, I discovered this cable management tray that lets the dock sit on a shelf just underneath the desk, so all the mess is out of sight …

Last month, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicated that a cheaper model of Apple Vision Pro wasn’t due until late 2027. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has now corroborated that timeline in a new report that says the device, codenamed N100, will be both “lighter and cheaper”.

However, the device’s design has not yet been finalized. Work on the project is apparently expected to be finished in 2026, with a ramp up to a public launch in 2027.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports today that Apple is nearing a release of the first update to the Apple Vision Pro hardware. The new model will feature an M4 chip, offering a significant performance upgrade compared to the M2 chip found in the original Vision Pro.

Perhaps more importantly, the new Vision Pro will apparently include a redesigned strap. This will make the headset more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time.

Apple is in active talks to acquire the rights to broadcast the sport of Formula 1 on its own streaming service platform, through the Apple TV app, according to a new report from the Financial Times. The league’s current deal with ESPN expires at the end of this year.

If a deal materializes, Apple would stream Formula 1 in the US starting with the 2026 season. However, Apple is not believed to be the only bidder and exact nature of the company’s proposal is currently unknown.

With watchOS 26, Apple is upgrading the battery monitoring features on the Apple Watch. The system will observe your average usage patterns, and notify you if your watch battery is draining faster than normal.

This alert gives you a quick shortcut to enable Apple Watch’s Low Power Mode to maximise battery life until you can next get to a charger.

Apple launched Apple TV+ with the flashy drama The Morning Show, starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. With the debut drama about to enter its fourth season in September, Apple is doubling down on Aniston’s star power.

The streamer announced that Aniston will headline a new ten-part dramedy, entitled ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’, based off the bestselling memoir by former iCarly star Jennette McCurdy, recounting her experiences growing up as a child actor and her complicated relationship with her controlling mother.

The MLS Season Pass price is now $49 for the remainder of the season, which lets subscribers stream all MLS regular season and playoff games, live and on-demand. The price drop reflects the fact that the 2025 season is about halfway finished.

As always, Apple TV+ members get an additional discount: MLS Season Pass is now just $39 if you are a TV+ subscriber. The monthly plan price is unchanged.