iOS

Technology News

  • iOS 26.2 beta updates Apple News with top quick links and a new Following tab
    November 4, 2025, 4:24 PM EST. Apple's iOS 26.2 beta 1 reimagines the News app with a cleaner navigation. Four new quick links appear at the top of the Today screen for Sports, Puzzles, Politics, and Food, each jumping straight to its section. Sports shifts from the bottom tab into the top row, freeing space for a new Following tab that groups content previously tucked behind Search. Tapping Search now surfaces recommendations similar to other Apple services like Music and TV. While the overall look remains familiar, these changes streamline access for frequent News users, making popular features easier to find and use. What do you think of the redesign?
  • Amazon vs Perplexity: The AI Shopping Battle Reshaping E-commerce
    November 4, 2025, 4:20 PM EST. In a high-stakes clash over AI shopping features, Amazon and Perplexity are contending over how chat-style AI should power product discovery, recommendations, and checkout. The dispute centers on data use, model integration, and brand control, with implications for privacy, accuracy, and user trust. If unresolved, shoppers could see divergent experiences on pricing, search quality, and assistant functionality across platforms. Industry observers say the feud could redefine partnerships, app ecosystems, and the future of natural language processing-driven shopping.
  • Art, AI, and the Abundant Mindset: A Teacher's Framework for Creative Learning in the Classroom
    November 4, 2025, 4:12 PM EST. In this piece, a middle-school art teacher describes how time slows when students create, whether with acrylics, origami, or Lego. As art education meets artificial intelligence, she crafts a framework that preserves the tactile joy of making while exploring AI's potential. She starts by modeling a patient timeline, letting students move at their own pace as she learns how AI works and how it reshapes the world. She tests tools selectively-focusing on targeted prompts for a single class rather than scalable, whole-school deployment. She leans into the "why not" of handcraft and notes that the productive struggle of making by hand remains deeply satisfying even as machines can help. Finally, she relies on AI as a thought partner to support teaching constraints and equity.
  • iOS 26.1 Adds Customizable Liquid Glass Controls for iPhone
    November 4, 2025, 4:10 PM EST. Apple's iOS 26.1 introduces a new Liquid Glass setting that lets you tailor how glassy UI elements appear on your iPhone. Accessible via Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass, you'll find two options: Clear (more transparent) and Tinted (higher opacity). Clear remains the default, while Tinted reduces transparency and adds more contrast to items like the Notification Center and certain search bars without changing your overall Light/Dark mode. You can use Tinted in Light mode or Clear in Dark mode-the pairing is flexible, and the change doesn't rewrite the OS theme. For many, Dark mode with Tinted looks clean and more legible. This small control lets you dial in visuals after iOS's long design refresh that began with iOS 7.
  • Fitbit Still Has a Place in the Smartwatch Era - Lessons from the Apple Watch SE 3
    November 4, 2025, 4:06 PM EST. Despite a rocky track record with data use and feature reductions, Fitbit still has a place in the smartwatch era. The piece traces a fraught relationship with Google and points to EU data-privacy limits, yet notes current trackers like the Inspire 3 remain practical and lightweight, with standout battery life. The new AI personal health coach and refreshed Fitbit Premium add value for casual users, even as some features were culled. With rivals like Apple Watch SE 3 and Pixel Watch applying pressure, Fitbit's focus on simplicity and ongoing health insights keeps the ecosystem relevant for many lifestyles.