The name “Black October” took hold among security researchers the week of October 19, amid a run of serious security flaws that had been surfacing since mid-October. Many were found with the help of AI models, some had gone unnoticed for a decade or more, and all of those below have now been fixed:

• PHP: PHP2Shell is a pair of flaws in PHP, the programming language behind WordPress and many other websites. The security firm Calif first found the vulnerability class on August 11 while working in OpenAI’s Patch the Planet program (according to OpenAI’s Clint Gibler, quoted by TechTarget), and Wiz Research later found the bug independently with Google’s Gemini 4 Argon and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol. The vulnerable code was more than a decade old, and after PHP fixed it on October 21, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed on October 26 that attackers were exploiting it.
• Brotli: OpenAI’s Codex Security reported a flaw in Brotli, Google’s widely used library for compressing Web pages and other data, that could let malicious compressed data run code. Google released a fixed Brotli 1.2.1 on October 21, the same day Node.js fixed its built-in copy (Node.js runs many Web servers and apps), and CISA added the flaw to its list of actively exploited bugs on October 27.
• Chrome: On October 27, Anthropic’s Frontier Red Team reported that an unreleased Claude model had found 62 Chrome flaws, all in Google’s two most severe categories, and had chained four of them into an attack that ran code on a Mac within seconds of a Web page loading. Anthropic says Google has fixed all 62 as of Chrome 156, though the fixes arrived across several Chrome 156 builds, so the earliest one isn’t enough.
• Safari: The same Anthropic model built an attack in which a malicious Web page could read data from other sites you’re signed in to, such as your email or bank account. Anthropic says Apple acknowledged the report the day it arrived, and The Hacker News reports that the fix shipped in Apple’s June 29 updates.
• Firefox: Mozilla’s Firefox 159, released October 27, fixed 167 security flaws, and Mozilla credits 34 of them to OpenAI’s Codex Security and 7 more to an OpenAI researcher.
• Windows and Office: Microsoft fixed a record 1,411 flaws in its October 13 updates, a jump that BleepingComputer and Infosecurity Magazine attribute to Microsoft’s own use of AI to find and fix bugs.
• Linux: Anthropic says its model also found a flaw that would let an attacker take over Linux servers that use a networking feature called multipath TCP, with no password and no action by anyone on the server. Linux developers have patched every maintained version of the Linux kernel, but each server still needs its distribution’s kernel update and a restart.

Many of these finds came from AI companies’ own security teams or from researchers working with them, and Apple’s security notes show the same pattern. Its notes for iOS 27, released September 14, credit two fixes to “Calif.io in collaboration with Claude and Anthropic Research,” and its June 29 updates credit a Safari fix to “Milad Nasr and Nicholas Carlini with Claude, Anthropic.” In iOS 27.2 and macOS 27.2 Golden Gate, at least five fixes for WebKit, the engine behind Safari, credit OpenAI’s Codex Security, Anthropic Research, or both.

You may wonder what all this means for your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. On October 26, Apple shipped security updates for macOS 27.2 Golden Gate, macOS 26.7.2 Tahoe, and macOS 15.8.2 Sequoia, along with iOS and iPadOS 27.2, 26.7.2, and 18.7.11. Install them now if you haven’t already.

If you use Chrome or Firefox on a Mac, make sure you have Chrome 156.0.8078.79 or later (released October 29) and Firefox 159.0.1 or later (released November 3). To check, choose Chrome > About Google Chrome or Firefox > About Firefox, which also downloads any available update, and then relaunch the browser when asked. (Chrome and Firefox on an iPhone or iPad use Apple’s WebKit engine, so the iOS and iPadOS updates cover them.)

If your business also has Windows PCs, make sure they’ve installed Microsoft’s October updates (check in Settings > Windows Update). The PHP, Brotli, and Linux flaws sit in server software, not on your devices, but if you installed Node.js or PHP on a Mac yourself, update those too (if you used Homebrew, run brew upgrade in Terminal). Then work through the steps below, because experts expect more weeks like this one.

Why Experts Expect More

On May 1, Ollie Whitehouse, chief technology officer of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), predicted a “patch wave” because AI in skilled hands can exploit decades of “technical debt” at scale.

On October 22, Jason Clinton, Anthropic’s deputy chief information security officer, posted on X that things will get “a lot worse” before they get better, adding, “we need to hold on for ~18 months,” CNBC reported.

The next day, Chris Krebs, a former director of CISA, told CNBC that smaller companies should “constantly” scan for flaws, deploy patches as fast as possible, or take legacy systems offline. If your business has a website, a server, or network equipment that nobody has looked at in years, that advice applies to you.

Kevin Roose, co-host of NPR’s Machine Gods podcast, said on October 24 that security people expect “every week is going to feel like a new crisis” for the next year or two. But he added, “I don’t think it’s time to panic for most people.”

Australian Web security expert Troy Hunt told ABC News to expect “elevated instances of the data breaches that we’re already seeing every day.” A faster pace makes Apple’s updates matter more, and more breaches mean more leaked passwords, so your accounts need attention too.

Most of the steps below take only a few minutes.

Let Your Apple Devices Update Themselves

On an iPhone or iPad, turn on Automatically Install in Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates (updates install overnight while it’s charging on Wi-Fi).

On a Mac, open System Settings > General > Software Update, click the More Info button next to Automatic Updates, and turn on every option, including security updates and system data files.

Also turn on Automatically Install in Settings > Privacy & Security > Background Security Improvements (System Settings > Privacy & Security > Background Security Improvements on a Mac). It delivers smaller fixes for Safari, WebKit, and system libraries between regular updates (iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1 or later).

Update Everything Else on Your Network

The NCSC recommends automatic updates “including for embedded devices,” such as routers, network storage devices, printers, and cameras. If a device’s app or Web admin page offers automatic firmware updates, turn them on.

The FBI’s April 7 router warning also says to change default usernames and passwords and turn off remote management from the Internet.

Switch to Passkeys, Starting with Email

The NCSC said on April 23 that passkeys should be the “first choice of login.” They resist phishing and can’t be reused or guessed, so a breach at one site doesn’t expose your other accounts. When a site offers a passkey, accept it, starting with your email account, since whoever controls it can reset many of your other passwords.

Apple’s Passwords app (iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15 Sequoia, or later) stores passkeys if AutoFill Passwords and Passkeys is on in Settings > General > AutoFill & Passwords. It syncs them to your other devices if iCloud Keychain is on in Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Passwords and Keychain (on a Mac, find both settings in System Settings).

Use Two-Factor Authentication Everywhere Else

Where passkeys aren’t offered, the NCSC’s fallback is two-step verification plus a password manager, and CISA lists both among its four core steps. Most Apple Accounts already use two-factor authentication, but confirm in Settings > [your name] > Sign-In & Security (System Settings > [your name] > Sign-In & Security on a Mac).

The Passwords app can also generate verification codes, so you don’t need to rely on text messages.

Be Wary of Unexpected Requests

CISA puts avoiding phishing scams first on that list, and ABC’s advice after PHP2Shell was to be “extra wary of unexpected prompts to log in or download something, even on sites you trust.”

If an email, text, or call says an account has a problem, don’t follow its link or call the number it gives—go to the site or app yourself. Also watch your card and bank statements over the coming weeks.

Turn On Stolen Device Protection

With this iPhone feature (iOS 17.3 or later), a thief who learns your passcode still needs your Face ID or Touch ID to use your saved passwords away from familiar places, where changing your Apple Account password also requires an hour’s delay. It may already be on, so check Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Stolen Device Protection (Touch ID & Passcode on iPhones with Touch ID).

Set Up Account Recovery Now

A recovery contact can get you a code if you’re locked out of your Apple Account but can’t access it. The contact needs iOS 15, iPadOS 15, or macOS 12 Monterey or later, with iMessage on. Add one in Settings > [your name] > Sign-In & Security > Recovery Contacts (System Settings > [your name] > Sign-In & Security > Recovery Contacts on a Mac).

Apple’s optional recovery key is riskier, since it turns off standard account recovery and losing it can lock you out permanently. If you create one, print it and store it outside Passwords, Notes, and iCloud Drive.

Keep Backups You’ve Tested

Make sure iCloud Backup is on in Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup. Apple gives you 5 GB of iCloud storage free, but that space is shared with iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive, so it’s seldom enough for a full backup, and you’ll probably need to buy more.

On a Mac, set up Time Machine in System Settings > General > Time Machine with an external drive, ideally at least twice the size of the Mac’s storage. Occasionally, restore a file to confirm the backup works.

Skip Lockdown Mode Unless You’re a Target

Apple built Lockdown Mode for the very few people at risk of sophisticated spyware, and it restricts Messages, FaceTime, and Web browsing. If that’s you, turn it on in Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode (System Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode on a Mac).

Get PHP Updated on Your Website

If a hosting company manages your site, ask it to confirm that the server runs PHP 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36, or 8.2.35 (or a later release in the same branch). Also ask whether it has turned off session.upload_progress.enabled, which PHP recommended on October 23 to block a remaining attack path until its next regular release, which hadn’t shipped as of November 3.

If you or an IT provider runs the server, make those changes directly, and install your Linux distribution’s latest kernel update and restart the server, too. On October 28, CISA added a Linux kernel flaw (CVE-2026-46300) to its list of actively exploited bugs, warning that attackers can chain it with PHP2Shell to run commands as root. On Windows servers, install PHP’s October 26 rebuilds (8.5.12-1, 8.4.27-1, 8.3.36-1, or 8.2.35-1), which also fix the Brotli flaw.

PHP 8.1 and older are past end of life, and the PHP project posted only emergency source patches for 7.4, 8.0, and 8.1 (some Linux distributions provide their own fixes). If your site runs PHP 8.2 (security fixes end December 31, 2026) or older, plan a move to PHP 8.3 or later.

If a Device Can’t Update

The NCSC advises replacing end-of-life technology, and the FBI urges upgrading end-of-support routers, because flaws found in them going forward won’t be fixed.

Apple’s October 26 updates covered Macs running macOS 15 Sequoia or later and iPhones from the iPhone XS on. The last macOS 14 Sonoma update was 14.8.9 on August 6. If a Mac on Sonoma can run a newer version of macOS, upgrade it; if it can’t, plan to replace it, and until then, keep banking and email off it.

The iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X last got a fix with iOS 16.7.16 on May 11. Older iPads stopped the same day, with iPadOS 16.7.16 for the fifth-generation iPad, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and first-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and iPadOS 17.7.11 for the sixth-generation iPad, 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro. (The seventh-generation iPad got iPadOS 18.7.11 on October 26.) Plan to replace those too, keeping banking and email off them in the meantime.

Routers and network storage devices often go years unchecked, so look up each one’s end-of-support date with its manufacturer and replace anything that no longer gets firmware updates, especially if it’s reachable from the Internet.

If you’d like help working through this list—update settings, passkeys, recovery contacts, or which older devices to retire—we’re happy to go through it with you.

(Featured image by Trusted Content Network)

Apple has announced a redesigned iPad mini with an A20 Pro chip, a larger 8.5-inch OLED display, and a thinner, lighter, water-resistant body. Pre-orders opened on October 28, and the new model arrives in stores and on doorsteps starting November 6. It’s a much bigger change than the 2024 update, which left the design alone and swapped in an A17 Pro chip for Apple Intelligence.

It’s also more expensive. The iPad mini now starts at $699 for the 128 GB Wi-Fi model and $849 with cellular. That’s $100 more than the $599 Apple charged for the A17 Pro model after its June 25 price increase, and $200 more than that model’s $499 launch price in 2024. (College students and educators pay $649 through Apple’s education store, and Canadian prices start at C$949.) At these prices, it pays to choose the configuration carefully, because three details on the order page are easy to miss.

What You Get

The OLED display is the headline feature. OLED provides much deeper blacks than the old LED-backlit screen, and Apple says the 8.5-inch display fits in essentially the same footprint as the previous 8.3-inch one thanks to thinner bezels. Brightness rises to 600 nits for ordinary content (up from 500), with peaks of 1200 nits reserved for HDR video and photos. Apple doesn’t claim a faster refresh rate: its comparison chart says the iPad mini has no ProMotion, unlike the iPad Pro. Apple says it has more memory inside, but it doesn’t say how much.

Just as welcome for anyone who carries an iPad mini all day, the new model is 5.4 mm thick and weighs 255 grams (263 grams with cellular), compared to 6.3 mm and 293 grams for the A17 Pro model. It’s also rated IP67 for water and dust resistance (up to 1 meter for 30 minutes), which the A17 Pro model lacked, though Apple’s warranty still doesn’t cover liquid damage. The 12-megapixel front camera has moved to the long landscape edge, so during video calls you’ll be looking at the camera when the iPad mini is turned sideways. Wi-Fi 7 (if you have a Wi-Fi 7 router) and Apple’s C2 cellular modem should speed up connections. Touch ID remains in the top button, and the USB-C port is still limited to 10 Gbps. Color options shrink to midnight and starlight, down from four on the A17 Pro.

As for accessories, both the Apple Pencil Pro ($129) and the Apple Pencil (USB-C) ($79) work, as they did with the A17 Pro model, so an existing pencil carries over. Because the dimensions changed, don’t assume an old case or Smart Folio will fit; Apple sells a new $79 Smart Folio. There’s no Magic Keyboard for the iPad mini, either, since Apple lists only Bluetooth keyboards. Finally, the 20-watt adapter in the box won’t deliver the advertised fast charging (50% in about 30 minutes), which requires a USB-C adapter rated at 35 watts or more.

Which Storage Tier?

Ordering gets confusing because Apple uses the same chip name at every tier, but not the same chip, and it measures its claim of “up to 60 percent faster performance than the previous model” on the 6-core CPU that only the 512 GB model gets. The 128 GB and 256 GB models have a 5-core CPU (two of what Apple calls super cores plus three efficiency cores), which is one core fewer than the 6-core A17 Pro in the iPad mini they replace.

• 128 GB ($699, $849 cellular): A 5-core CPU, a 7-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. The nano-texture glass option isn’t available.
• 256 GB ($799, $949 cellular): The same 5-core chip. Nano-texture glass, which cuts glare in bright light, adds $100.
• 512 GB ($999, $1149 cellular): The only model with a 6-core CPU and Apple’s Dual 16-core Neural Engine, which matters mostly for on-device AI apps (the 7-core GPU is the same at every tier). With nano-texture glass and cellular, it reaches $1249.

For most people, we still recommend the 256 GB model, since 128 GB fills up quickly with photos, offline video, and downloaded maps, and 256 GB is the least expensive way to get nano-texture glass if you plan to use the iPad mini outdoors or under harsh office lighting. That advice rests on storage and glass, not speed, because Apple hasn’t published performance figures for the 5-core models. We expect them to be plenty fast for reading, email, notes, and video calls, but pay for 512 GB if you need the storage or run AI-heavy apps like Draw Things, which Apple cites.

Cellular Means eSIM

Cellular models use eSIM only and have no SIM card tray. That isn’t new with this model (the A17 Pro iPad mini was also eSIM-only), but it will surprise anyone coming from a sixth-generation or older iPad mini who planned to move a physical SIM card over. According to Apple’s carrier list, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Boost Mobile, FirstNet, GCI, and Puretalk support eSIM on the iPad in the United States, as do Bell, Fido, Rogers, Telus, and Virgin Mobile in Canada. Several carriers on the list, including Xfinity Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, and SaskTel, aren’t marked as supporting eSIM, and the list predates the new model, so confirm with your carrier before ordering. If your organization provisions iPads in bulk with physical SIM cards, talk with your carrier and us about eSIM activation before buying a batch.

Should You Upgrade?

If your A17 Pro iPad mini does what you need, there’s no reason to spend $699 or more to replace it. The upgrade makes sense if the old LCD screen bothers you, if you’d appreciate a lighter iPad mini, or if it lives in a kitchen, workshop, truck, or anywhere else it might get wet. Owners of a sixth-generation or earlier iPad mini will notice a much bigger difference. Don’t buy it just for Siri AI, either, since Apple still labels that feature a beta in iPadOS 27.2 and doesn’t offer it in the EU. If you want the new iPad mini in hand on November 6, pre-order now, and if you’d like help choosing between configurations or setting up eSIM on a new iPad, please get in touch.

(Featured image by iStock.com/TBD)

After 16 years of insisting that touchscreens don’t belong on the Mac, Apple has changed its. On October 28, it introduced the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, which combines a touchscreen with a tandem OLED display and an iPhone-style Dynamic Island, in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes starting at $2899. It arrived a day after two quieter updates: a 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 and an iMac with M6. All three are available to pre-order now, with deliveries and in-store availability starting November 6.

Despite the timing, the touchscreen MacBook Pro isn’t an M6 Mac. It uses the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips as the MacBook Pro with a conventional display, and the only M6 MacBook Pro is the 14-inch base model, which keeps the existing design. So choosing among these Macs has less to do with speed than with screens, ports, and easy-to-miss configuration details.

MacBook Pro Gets a Touchscreen

The PROLED model is the first Mac you can touch. In macOS 27, you can swipe to scroll, pinch to zoom, and double-tap a window to fill the screen or flick it to tile it into place, and your keyboard shortcuts and trackpad gestures still work. Apple says many existing apps work with touch right away, because macOS translates touches into clicks. Apple names Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Zoom, Adobe Lightroom, DaVinci Resolve, and Blender among the apps that will take fuller advantage of touch, but a footnote says those versions “will be available later this year.”

Apple also changed the hardware around the screen. A redesigned hinge is meant to keep the screen steady when you touch it, the 12MP Center Stage camera adds video stabilization, so your feed doesn’t shake when you tap the screen during a video call, and the glass has a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating (welcome on a screen you’ll be poking all day). Above the screen, a Dynamic Island shows Live Activities and Siri AI, much as it does on the iPhone, so you can answer a phone call, accept an AirDrop request, or pause music with a tap.

Spotlight also moves into the Dynamic Island, but only if Siri AI is available and enabled. Siri AI is still in beta, and since macOS 27.2 arrived on October 26, it has worked in English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish, so if your Mac uses any other language (or you turn Siri AI off), Spotlight won’t move. Siri AI and other features that rely on Apple’s servers are subject to daily usage limits, with expanded access to be available “for a fee in the future.”

With M5 Pro, the PROLED model starts at $2899 (14-inch) or $3399 (16-inch); with M5 Max, it starts at $4499 or $4799. At matching configurations, it costs $400 more (CA$500 for the 14-inch and CA$600 for the 16-inch) than the M5 Pro and M5 Max models Apple still sells with the Liquid Retina XDR display. Only the PROLED M5 Max model offers 16 TB of storage, though (the Liquid Retina XDR models top out at 8 TB).

Because the chips are identical, that $400 buys the screen, touch, and a thinner, lighter laptop rather than performance. The tandem OLED display peaks at 2000 nits for both HDR and SDR content, whereas the Liquid Retina XDR display manages 1600 nits for HDR and 1000 nits for SDR, a difference that should be most obvious outdoors. It also offers a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio, Adobe RGB in addition to P3, and ProMotion refresh rates from 10 Hz to 120 Hz. Slimmer borders stretch the 16-inch screen to 16.3 inches (from 16.2), and Apple’s tech specs put the 14-inch M5 Pro model at 3.0 pounds and the 16-inch at 4.0 pounds, compared to 3.5 and 4.7 pounds for the Liquid Retina XDR versions. If you work in bright light, nano-texture glass adds $150 (CA$225) to any MacBook Pro, PROLED or not.

Longtime Mac users will spot one change from across the room. The Apple logo on the lid glows again, something no MacBook Pro has done since the 2016 redesign. Apple’s materials don’t mention it, but the logo was lit on the units Apple showed at launch, as AppleInsider reported. Otherwise, the PROLED model will feel familiar. It comes in space black or silver and keeps three Thunderbolt 5 ports, HDMI, an SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3, a headphone jack, and the backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Force Touch trackpad. Apple says a new woofer design gives the six speakers 50% deeper bass. For the first time, the speakers also get their own tuning for when the lid is closed and an external display is connected. Like the M6 MacBook Pro and iMac, Apple’s N1 chip supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

Apple’s “up to 24 hours” battery claim comes from a 16-inch M5 Pro model. For the 14-inch PROLED model, Apple lists 22 hours of video streaming with M5 Pro and 20 hours with M5 Max, the same figures it gives for the 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR models, so the OLED screen won’t buy you extra time away from a charger. Apple also says the PROLED models can charge to 50% in 30 minutes, but only with a 96W or higher adapter. The base 14-inch model (with the 15-core M5 Pro) comes with a 70W adapter, so add $79 for Apple’s 96W Power Adapter if you want fast charging. (Other configurations include a 96W or 140W adapter.)

Steve Jobs set the tone for Apple’s long opposition at the Back to the Mac event in 2010, saying that “touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical” and that after a while “your arm wants to fall off.” Craig Federighi told CNET in 2014 that touch wasn’t “the right interface” for what he called “a sit-down experience,” told Wired in 2018 that “lifting your arm up to poke a screen is a pretty fatiguing thing to do,” and in 2020 brushed off speculation that the roomier controls in macOS 11 Big Sur were preparation for touch. (Apple’s compromise in the meantime, the Touch Bar, arrived in 2016 and was gone by 2023.)

In an interview with Wired, Apple explained that the technology finally caught up. “The Mac is first and foremost an indirect input device,” CEO John Ternus said. “But I think there’s times when it’s comfortable and handy to have touch.” Hardware chief Johny Srouji said displays, Apple silicon, and software have finally “met our bar,” and marketing chief Greg Joswiak said pros who use iPhones and iPads all day now expect to touch their Macs, too. Apple also seems to have addressed Phil Schiller’s 2016 objection that touch would require a menu bar redesigned for fingers, since Wired reports that menus and the window buttons expand when a finger reaches them. Nobody outside Apple can yet judge whether the steadier hinge solves Jobs’s tired-arm problem, because no independent reviews have appeared.

M6 MacBook Pro Keeps the Familiar Design

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1999 (CA$2799) with 16 GB of memory and 1 TB of storage (there’s no 512 GB configuration). That’s the same price as the M5 model it replaces, because Apple raised the base MacBook Pro from $1699 to $1999 on June 25 amid a memory shortage. The M6 has a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU (two more cores in each than the M5), and Apple claims up to 30% faster graphics than the M5. Its specs also list up to 24 hours of video streaming, the longest of any 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Apart from the chip and new support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, it’s the MacBook Pro you already know, in space black or silver, with the Liquid Retina XDR display and no touchscreen. Its three Thunderbolt 4 ports are slower than the Thunderbolt 5 ports on the M5 Pro and M5 Max models; it supports two external displays (M5 Pro supports three and M5 Max four), and it weighs 3.4 pounds. It also comes with a 70W adapter, so fast charging requires the $79 96W Power Adapter. Apple’s “up to 170 GB/s” memory bandwidth figure applies only with 24 GB or 32 GB of memory. The base 16 GB model gets 153 GB/s, a difference that’s unlikely to matter unless you run local AI models or heavy graphics work.

iMac Details to Check Before Ordering

The iMac with M6 replaces the M4 model and keeps its 24-inch 4.5K Retina display in seven colors (blue, purple, pink, orange, yellow, green, and silver). It gains Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and 2.5-gigabit Ethernet, which Apple says is up to 2.5 times faster than the previous model’s wired connection. It starts at $1499 (CA$2099) for a model with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, or $1699 (CA$2299) for a 12-core model, both with 16 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage. The $200 difference buys more than two extra cores, as Apple’s iMac tech specs show:

• Ports: The 10-core model has two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, whereas the 12-core model has four Thunderbolt 4 ports.
• External displays: The 10-core model supports one external display, and the 12-core model supports two.
• Ethernet: 2.5-gigabit Ethernet is standard on the 12-core model and an option you can add to the 10-core model when you order.
• Touch ID: The 12-core model includes the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. The 10-core model’s Magic Keyboard lacks it, and the only Touch ID upgrade is the larger Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad.
• Upgrade limits: The 10-core model tops out at 24 GB of memory and 1 TB of storage, and only the 12-core model offers 32 GB, 2 TB, and nano-texture glass.

Ports, display support, memory, and storage can’t be changed later, so if an iMac might someday need a second display or more than two Thunderbolt or USB-C devices without a hub, the 12-core model is the safer choice. Both come with a color-matched Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse that charge over USB-C (a Magic Trackpad is optional). If the iMac will hang on a wall or an adjustable arm, order the version with the built-in VESA Mount Adapter.

Which New Mac Should You Buy?

As big a change as touch is for the Mac, most people won’t need it, so we’d choose based on what you do with your Mac:

• Email, Office, and the Web: The $1999 M6 MacBook Pro is plenty of laptop. If the Mac never leaves the desk, get the iMac.
• Photo, video, and 3D work: If you need Adobe RGB, extreme contrast, or a lighter machine to carry to shoots, the PROLED model is the one to get. Touch support in Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro comes through Apple Creator Studio updates due “this November” (possibly after November 6), and Creator Studio costs $12.99 per month or $129 per year after the three free months that come with a new Mac.
• The 16-inch touchscreen model: At $3399 and up, it makes sense only if you want that screen, since the $2999 Liquid Retina XDR 16-inch model has the same M5 Pro chip and the same 24-hour battery rating.
• Multi-monitor desks: If you drive three or more displays or use Thunderbolt 5 storage and docks, skip the M6 and choose an M5 Pro or M5 Max model with either display.
• Waiting for touch: If you want the PROLED model mainly for touch, there’s no harm in waiting for reviews and for touch-ready versions of the apps you rely on.

If you want a new Mac on November 6, order now, and if you’d like help choosing a configuration or moving your data from an older Mac, please get in touch with us before you order.

(Featured image by Apple)

Has an older app stopped opening after you upgraded to macOS 27 Golden Gate? The missing piece may be Rosetta, Apple’s software that lets Intel-based apps run on Macs with Apple silicon. Even if you installed Rosetta years ago, Apple’s release notes say it isn’t automatically restored after the upgrade. Fortunately, macOS 27 still supports it. With your Mac connected to the Internet, open the affected app. If you’re prompted to install Rosetta, click Install and enter your Mac login credentials when requested. You can also install Rosetta using Terminal: open Terminal from Applications > Utilities, enter softwareupdate –install-rosetta, press Return, and follow the on-screen instructions. Then try the app again. Installing from Terminal lets you set it up before you need it. Reinstalling Rosetta won’t resolve every compatibility problem, but it’s worth checking before replacing software you rely on. Also check whether the developer offers an Apple silicon or Universal version, since general Rosetta support ends after macOS 27.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Claudio Caridi)

The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro have a notch at the top of the screen that contains the Center Stage camera, camera indicator LED, and True Tone and ambient light sensors. Unfortunately, that notch obscures menu bar icons as they pile up. Utilities such as Bartender and Ice offered solutions, but in macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple provides a built-in answer. When icons overflow the menu bar, click the left-pointing double arrow《 to the right of the notch (top). The hidden icons appear on the left (bottom), temporarily covering other menu items if necessary.

(Featured image by Apple)

Want a quiet ringtone without making your kitchen timer easy to miss? In iOS 27, you can set alarm and timer volume separately from ringtone volume. By default, they’re still linked, so you’ll need to change a setting. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics, find Alarms and Timers, and turn off Match Ringtone Volume. Drag the slider below it to your preferred volume, then adjust the Ringtone slider for incoming calls. Alarms and timers share their own volume setting, so you can keep them loud without making every phone call announce itself across the room. Once you’ve adjusted the sliders, set a short timer in the Clock app to check that the volume suits your surroundings.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Olga Demina)

The new Live Rewind and Siri Recap features in the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 sound convenient enough. Live Rewind lets you recall anything said in a conversation in the past 15 seconds, while Siri Recap takes notes throughout the day to create an Apple Intelligence summary.

That’s fine unless a meeting covers sensitive information like a personnel dispute, trade secrets, legal advice, or patient information. Before a watch turns workplace conversations into saved notes, employees need to know when that’s appropriate and where the notes may go.

Apple says it will release both features in beta later in 2026, giving businesses time to set rules and tell employees when they can use them.

Understand What the Features Will Do

Apple describes two different ways to help people remember conversations:

• Live Rewind: Double-pressing the Digital Crown will display text from the previous 15 seconds of conversation. You’ll be able to ask Siri about it or save the snippet to the Siri app.
• Siri Recap: When enabled, this feature will generate a title and key points from conversations for later review. It’s intended to provide a summary, without identifying which person said what.

Both features require opting in, and Apple says users will be able to control when and where Siri Recap runs or turn it off from Control Center. Live Rewind will play a chime even when the watch is silenced, accompanied by an on-screen animation and microphone indicator.

Apple says these features won’t create stored audio recordings: protected hardware processes the audio and then deletes it. Saved text will be end-to-end encrypted when synced through iCloud in the Siri app.

These are sensible protections, but they don’t cover every concern a business might have.

Decide Which Conversations Are Appropriate

Start with situations your employees actually encounter. A discussion about arranging the break room carries different expectations from a performance review or a client explaining an unreleased product.

We recommend a short written policy that addresses the following:

• Permitted uses: Identify the kinds of conversations for which employees may use these features. Consider starting with explicitly approved, non-sensitive meetings.
• Confidential discussions: Establish where the features must remain off, such as personnel meetings, legal consultations, and discussions involving client secrets.
• Notice and permission: Tell employees how to explain the intended use and obtain permission before a conversation begins. Give participants an easy way to decline.
• Personal devices: Apply the policy to employees’ own watches and phones as well as company equipment. Explain whom to contact about accessibility needs or exceptions.

A chime is no substitute for asking permission, and a colleague’s Apple Watch isn’t proof that note-taking is active.

Have legal counsel review how applicable privacy and consent rules affect your policy. Employees also shouldn’t assume that a missing audio file makes every use acceptable.

Plan for the Notes That Remain

According to Apple’s support documentation, unsaved Siri Recap summaries will automatically disappear after 7 days. Users will also be able to save or export summaries and Live Rewind snippets to other apps. Deleting an item in Siri will remove it from synced devices. Don’t assume that will retrieve copies already exported or shared.

Decide which accounts and apps may hold work-related notes, who may receive them, and how long they should be retained. Include a process for reporting accidental capture of confidential information, making it clear whom to notify when violations occur.

Apple warns that generated summaries and snippets may omit or misunderstand important details, and that sensitive-information filtering may not catch everything. Require employees to verify commitments, deadlines, and prices before acting on a summary or adding it to an official record.

Healthcare Businesses Need a Closer Review

A patient conversation requires more scrutiny than an ordinary staff meeting. A medical practice considering these features should involve its privacy or compliance lead and IT adviser before allowing employees to use them around patient information.

HHS guidance explains that a cloud provider maintaining electronic protected health information on behalf of a HIPAA covered entity is a business associate—even if it cannot decrypt the information—and must comply with the HIPAA requirements that apply to business associates. Appropriate business associate agreements and other HIPAA safeguards are still required.

Apple’s current iCloud terms also pose a contractual problem. Under Requirements for Use of the Service, they prohibit covered entities, business associates, and their representatives from using the service to create, receive, maintain, or transmit protected health information.

Before approving any proposed use, ask:

• Where will patient information travel? Apple says Siri Recap will use Private Cloud Compute to produce summaries. Review processing, syncing, and exports separately rather than assuming everything stays on the watch.
• Do the applicable agreements permit this use? Identify which services are involved and whether the necessary contractual protections exist for those specific services.
• Can the organization control the resulting notes? Consider access, retention, correction, employee departures, and accidental sharing from personal accounts.
• Who will verify clinical details? Don’t treat an automatically generated memory aid as an approved clinical documentation system.

Until those questions are resolved, we recommend keeping these features off for work conversations involving patient information. Address patients’ own use separately through an appropriate notice and discussion process.

Prepare Now, Test after Release

Apple currently lists Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4, a supported paired iPhone, Apple Intelligence, and Siri AI as requirements for these features, with additional language and regional restrictions.

For now, appoint someone to update your device and confidentiality policies. Ask your IT provider to confirm which management controls will be available when these features launch, especially for personally owned devices.

If your business approves a trial, begin with a small group and non-sensitive conversations. Check how activation, saved notes, exports, and deletion behave before expanding access. Employees should have a clear answer to “May I use this here?” before their watches can offer to help.

(Featured image by Apple)

Quitting a Mac app doesn’t always stop everything it’s doing. Some apps leave background processes running to sync files, check for updates, or finish other work. In macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple makes this activity more visible: you’ll see a notification the first time an app continues running after you quit, and hovering over its Dock icon reveals a Running in Background label. The notification doesn’t mean anything is wrong; the app may be finishing work you asked it to do. If you don’t need its background activity, or suspect it’s slowing your Mac, Control-click its Dock icon and choose Stop Running in Background. To prevent future background activity, go to System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions and turn off the app under Background App Activity. Be selective: turning off this permission can interfere with syncing or automatic updates. If an app stops working as expected, turn its permission back on.

(Featured image created with ChatGPT)

If you use Shared Albums to collect job-site photos or share progress with clients, new options in macOS 27, iOS 27, and iPadOS 27 change image quality and whose iCloud storage the photos use.

New permanent shared albums preserve the full resolution of your photos and videos, but count against the album owner’s iCloud storage, including photos and videos uploaded by other participants. That means a busy project album can fill your account even when you haven’t added anything yourself. Apple’s Shared Albums limits explain the new rules.

What Changed and What Didn’t

Previously, Shared Albums reduced most photos to 2048 pixels on the long edge and delivered videos at up to 720p resolution. The new albums preserve original formats and full resolution, making them more useful when you need to inspect a detail in a job-site photo or provide images for a client’s publication. Apple documents the quality differences.

The storage rules now depend on the album:

• New permanent albums: On an iPhone or iPad running version 27, open Photos, tap Collections, scroll to Shared Albums, tap Shared, and tap the Add button. Name the album, leave Make Album Temporary turned off, and tap Done. New albums created on a Mac or Apple Vision Pro running version 27, or on iCloud.com, use the same storage rules: everything added, including contributions from other people, counts against the creator’s iCloud storage. Apple shows how to create an album.
  

• Existing older albums: Updating your device does not upgrade albums created in version 26 or earlier. Their shared copies remain stored in iCloud without counting against anyone’s allowance. To check one on an iPhone or iPad, open the album and tap More. On a Mac, Control-click the album in the sidebar. If you see Upgrade Shared Album, leave it alone to keep the old storage and image-quality rules.
• Older albums you upgrade: To change a Shared album deliberately, open it in Photos on an iPhone or iPad running version 27, tap the More button, then tap Upgrade Shared Album. On a Mac, select the album under Shared Albums in the Photos sidebar, Control-click the Shared Album, then click Upgrade Shared Album. Photos and videos already in the album remain exempt; anything added afterward counts against the owner’s storage and will be shared at full resolution. Upgrading does not restore detail lost from older uploads. See Apple’s upgrade instructions.
  
• Temporary albums: Follow the new-album steps above, but turn on Make Album Temporary before tapping Done. These albums don’t use your iCloud storage and can hold up to 5000 items, but they expire after 30 days. Save anything you need to keep. If you later turn off Make Album Temporary in Manage Shared Album, its contents begin counting against the owner’s storage. Apple explains temporary albums.
  

Why a Shared Album Can Disrupt Other Work

If you create a renovation album and invite subcontractors to contribute, their uploads use your storage allowance, not theirs. Buying more storage for a contributor will not give your album more space.

A full iCloud account can also cause trouble beyond the project photos. Apple says that running out of storage prevents iCloud backups, stops new uploads to iCloud Photos, and keeps iCloud Drive and other iCloud apps from updating across devices. It also prevents sending and receiving messages through an iCloud email address.

Permanent Shared Albums in version 27 also require iCloud Photos to be enabled. Apple includes that requirement in its iPhone and iPad setup instructions. If you turn on iCloud Photos to use the new albums, your photo library also starts uploading to iCloud. Review its size before enabling it, especially on a device containing years of photos.

What to Check When Storage Fills Up

Before deleting anything or changing a subscription, work through these checks:

1. Identify which storage is full. On an iPhone, Settings > General > iPhone Storage shows the device’s capacity. Settings > Your Name > iCloud shows cloud storage. On a Mac, open System Settings > Your Name > iCloud. Deleting an unused app from the phone won’t free space for an album stored in iCloud. Apple explains the distinction.
   
2. Check the album owner’s account. On the owner’s iPhone or iPad, open Settings > Your Name > iCloud, then tap Storage or Manage Account Storage. On a Mac, open System Settings > Your Name > iCloud, then click Manage. Review which apps and features consume the most space. Apple provides these storage-checking instructions.
3. Ask what changed recently. Look for a new permanent album, an older album that was upgraded, a temporary album made permanent, a batch of videos, or iCloud Photos turned on for the first time. Any of these can explain an increase the owner didn’t cause directly.
4. Check the cause of an upload failure. Apple’s Shared Albums troubleshooting guide specifically recommends checking the owner’s available iCloud storage. Also check the Internet connection and whether other participants can access the album. If only one person can’t contribute, review their Can Add Photos permission. Participants using older software may have read-only access to new or upgraded albums; they can use iCloud.com or update their devices.
5. Choose how to make room. You can increase the owner’s iCloud+ allowance or remove content you no longer need after preserving required project records. Optimize Storage frees space on the device, not in iCloud, because the full-resolution originals stay there. Apple explains how iCloud Photos handles storage.

If you contact us for help, include the exact warning, the album’s owner, whether it’s temporary or permanent, and any recent album changes.

Set Up the Next Project to Avoid Surprises

Before creating an album, agree on who will own it and provide the storage. For business projects, follow your organization’s account policy and consider what happens when the employee who created the album leaves.

Ask contributors to upload useful selections. A few clear photos of an installation may serve the project better than every shot taken that afternoon. Agree on when videos are necessary and where completed project records will be retained.

Before deleting any shared album, save and verify the material your business needs. Deleting the album removes it for participants too; copies already saved to their own libraries remain. Apple describes the deletion effects.

For long projects, review storage use periodically, so syncing doesn’t stall.

(Featured image by iStock.com/fadfebrian)