by Steve Sorbo | Jul 3, 2026 | Uncategorized
There’s no way to put a positive spin on this: Apple has raised prices across most of its product lineup, with increases averaging 20% on Macs, iPads, HomePods, the Apple TV, and even the Vision Pro. The iPhone and Apple Watch remain unaffected… for now.
The price hikes took effect on June 25. In a statement to the press, Apple blamed the AI industry’s insatiable appetite for memory chips, which has caused prices for memory and storage to increase up to sixfold:
The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge. The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly. We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products.
Apple’s price increases vary widely. The base model of the Apple TV 4K took the biggest percentage hit, jumping from $129 to $199—a 54% increase that’s particularly puzzling given the device has only 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of memory. It may be setting a new price floor for the next-generation Apple TV. At the other end of the percentage increase spectrum, the Vision Pro rose just 6%, from $3,499 to $3,699.
Mac and iPad Price Changes
The Mac lineup saw significant increases at both the low and high ends:
- MacBook Neo: $599 → $699 (+17%)
- MacBook Air (13-inch): $1,099 → $1,299 (+18%)
- MacBook Pro (14-inch base): $1,699 → $1,999 (+18%)
- Mac mini (M4): $599 → $799 (+33%)
- Mac Studio (M3 Ultra): $3,999 → $5,299 (+33%)
The $1,300 increase for the M3 Ultra model of the Mac Studio is the largest absolute dollar jump in the lineup—a reflection of just how much high-memory configurations are affected by the shortage.
iPads saw increases of 15–30%, with the base iPad hit hardest:
- iPad: $349 → $449 (+29%)
- iPad mini: $499 → $599 (+20%)
- iPad Air (11-inch): $599 → $749 (+25%)
- iPad Air (13-inch): $799 → $949 (+19%)
- iPad Pro (11-inch): $999 → $1,199 (+20%)
- iPad Pro (13-inch): $1,299 → $1,499 (+15%)
Base prices tell only part of the story. Memory and storage upgrade prices also jumped dramatically, with the 64 GB and 128 GB memory upgrades for M5 Max models of the MacBook Pro doubling in price.
Why iPhones and Apple Watches Were Spared
Apple left the prices for the iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Studio Display unchanged. The Studio Displays and AirPods likely escaped because they use minimal memory. The iPhone and Apple Watch are a different story—Apple may be willing to accept lower margins on its flagship products, betting that stable prices will drive enough additional sales to offset reduced profit per unit.
There’s also the timing factor. New iPhone and Apple Watch models are expected in September, and rumors suggest Apple will introduce only high-end (and higher margin) iPhone 18 models then, with more affordable models held until early 2027. That makes buying a current-generation iPhone now potentially the better deal—new models will almost certainly debut at higher prices.
Apple Isn’t Alone
The memory crisis has hit the entire consumer electronics industry. Microsoft raised prices on all Surface PCs. Samsung is raising prices on its Galaxy smartphones. Lenovo, HP, and Dell have all raised laptop prices.
The culprit is the industry’s rapid expansion into AI. Data centers are consuming memory and storage at a pace the industry wasn’t equipped to handle. Memory chip suppliers like Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix have directed production toward AI chipmakers like Nvidia, who are willing to pay top dollar, leaving consumer electronics to compete for whatever remains. Industry observers expect the shortage to persist through at least 2027 due to the time required to build manufacturing capacity.
What Should You Do?
If you need a Mac or iPad, some retailers may not have updated prices yet, but that won’t last. Similarly, you could look for a refurbished Mac from Apple or a certified pre-owned Mac from retailers like OWC, but those prices have largely increased as well.
For the iPhone and Apple Watch, the calculus is unusual: normally, we’d encourage waiting for September’s new models, but this year, buying now at current prices may save you some money.
Ultimately, the only options may be to bite the bullet and pay current prices, buy a less-expensive model or configuration, or hold on to your existing hardware in the hopes that prices come back down.
(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)
Social Media: Apple just raised Mac and iPad prices by 15–33%, blaming the AI industry’s hunger for memory and storage chips. The iPhone and Apple Watch were spared, but the next new models may be more expensive. Here’s what you need to know.
by Steve Sorbo | Jul 3, 2026 | Uncategorized
At some point, most of our communications shifted from analog to digital: letters and phone calls became emails, texts, and video calls. With analog methods, we could generally assume that our private communications would remain private. Few people were going to steam open a letter or wiretap a phone line. The Internet changed that—digital communications, if not properly protected, can be intercepted in bulk far more easily.
Not all everyday communications require strict privacy. Most of us prefer privacy, of course—few people want their dinner plans published for the world to see—but there are typically no consequences of exposure greater than mild embarrassment (McDonald’s again?). But even ordinary people regularly need to share information that could damage their relationships, finances, or careers if it fell into the wrong hands.
Passwords are the most obvious example because their entire point is secrecy. But other sensitive data includes credit card details, bank account numbers, tax documents, retirement planning materials, and health-related information. When you need to share such data, how do you do it securely?
Data at Rest and in Transit
Before exploring specific solutions, you need to think about how information is protected when it’s in transit between systems and when it’s stored somewhere:
In transit: To prevent eavesdropping, focus on communication channels that are encrypted between you and the destination:
- Between your app and a server: Nearly all Internet-enabled apps, including all Web browsers, use SSL/TLS to protect their connections to servers. A lock icon in a Web browser’s address bar indicates HTTPS encryption, or you can look for https at the start of a website’s URL.
- End-to-end encryption: Even better is end-to-end encryption, which ensures that not even the service provider can decrypt your traffic. iMessage (blue-bubble conversations), WhatsApp, and Signal provide end-to-end encryption protection (though WhatsApp archives are readable by other Meta apps). SMS messages are not encrypted at all, and RCS conversations only support encryption with the latest Apple and Google updates, plus carrier support. Both SMS and RCS appear as green-bubble conversations.
At rest: Stored data—whether on your computer, at remote email servers, or in the cloud—needs protection too. Two approaches help:
- Per-file encryption: Encrypt data before sending so even if an attacker figures out how to access the file, it can’t be decrypted without a password. Send the password through a completely different communication channel (called “out-of-band”)—for example, share an encrypted file via email but send the password via Messages.
- Time- or access-expiring links: Send a link to the information that expires after a short period or after a limited number of views, thereby shrinking the window during which a breach could occur.
Choosing the Right Solution
The best approach for any given communication depends on four factors:
- Audience: What are your recipients’ technical capabilities? Messages is easy and secure, but only Apple users can access it. Email reaches everyone but offers less protection. A password-protected PDF is probably easier for less-technical users than an encrypted disk image.
- Content type: Sharing a password differs from sharing a document, which in turn is different from sharing a collection of files.
- Importance: How problematic would it be if the sensitive information you’re sharing fell into the wrong hands? There’s a world of difference between the password for a club discussion forum and the credentials to your retirement account.
- Persistence: Does your recipient need to glance at something only once, or do they need to retain a copy permanently?
Eight Secure Sharing Methods
With all that in mind, here are eight secure methods of sharing information that you can employ in different situations:
- Use a secure portal when available: Doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals who regularly receive sensitive information often use secure customer portals or services like DocuSign for sending messages, documents, and files. Use whatever system they provide unless you have good reason to doubt their IT competence.
- iMessage, Signal, or WhatsApp: For quick sharing of sensitive information, these end-to-end encrypted messaging services work well. They’re particularly useful for sending information that isn’t useful on its own—for instance, send a login URL and username via email but the password separately via Messages.
- Self-destructing links: Services like 1ty.me and One-Time Secret generate encrypted links that contain text. Once the recipient views the link, the server deletes the data, and the link self-destructs. If the recipient reports the link was already used, you know it was compromised. Be aware that some email systems automatically scan links, which could trigger premature self-destruction.
- Password manager sharing: 1Password, Bitwarden, and some other password managers (but not Apple’s Passwords) offer secure sharing features that make it easy to share credentials with someone who needs to access a particular account. You can create links with expiration dates, limit access to specific email addresses, and cause links to self-destruct after being viewed once.
- Password-protected PDF: For documents that could be printed, create a password-protected PDF. From nearly any app, choose File > Print, click the PDF menu at the bottom, and choose Save As PDF. In the Save dialog that appears, click Security Options, select “Require password to open document,” and enter a strong password (online services can remove weak passwords). Share the file however you like, but send the password through a different channel, preferably via an expiring link.
- Password-protected disk image: For Mac users sharing files that can’t easily become PDFs, or for sharing collections of files, create a password-protected disk image. In Disk Utility, create a new compressed disk image (File > New Image > Image from Folder), choose an encryption option (256-bit for more sensitive information), and enter a strong password. Again, share the password separately, ideally via an expiring link.
- Password-protected Zip archive: A password-protected Zip archive serves the same purpose and may be easier for Windows users to extract. Apps like Keka and BetterZip can create these. For the fastest approach, open Terminal, type
zip -er ~/Desktop/filename.zip (with a space at the end), drag in the files you want to compress, press Return, and enter your desired password when prompted.
- Time-expiring cloud storage links: Some cloud storage services offer links that expire after a specified time. Dropbox Professional supports this feature, enabling you to share files while ensuring that links become useless in the event of a breach.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for securely sharing sensitive information. Match your approach to the sensitivity of the data, your recipient’s capabilities, and how long they need access.
(Featured image by iStock.com/metamorworks)
Social Media: Need to share passwords, financial details, or sensitive documents securely? Email alone isn’t safe enough. Learn eight practical methods—from self-destructing links to encrypted disk images—that protect your data in transit and at rest.
by Steve Sorbo | Jun 9, 2026 | Uncategorized
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote—the final public appearance for outgoing CEO Tim Cook—was different this year. Although it was still a tour of the changes we’ll see in version 27 of Apple’s operating systems, the company broke it into three parts. The first focused on interface refinements, performance improvements, and feature tweaks that smooth rough edges in our current user experience. The second revolved around changes Apple is making to its parental controls and child safety features. And the third was devoted to showing off Apple Intelligence and the new Siri AI.
Apple previewed numerous features during the keynote and listed even more on its website afterward. Below, we’ll focus on those we think are most likely to entice you to upgrade your Apple devices, but we encourage you to read Apple’s pages for each platform to learn more about what’s coming. Those are linked here, along with hardware requirements, so you can determine if your devices can upgrade this fall:
- macOS 27 Golden Gate: Only Macs with Apple silicon, including the MacBook Neo (2026), MacBook Air (2020 and later), MacBook Pro (2020 and later), iMac (2021 and later), Mac mini (2020 and later), Mac Studio (2022 and later), and Mac Pro (2023)
- iOS 27: iPhone SE (2nd generation and later) and iPhone 11 and later (unchanged from iOS 26)
- iPadOS 27: iPad (9th generation and later and A16), iPad mini (6th generation and later and A17 Pro), iPad Air 11-inch (4th generation and later, M2, M3, and M4), iPad Air 13-inch (M2 and later), iPad Pro 11‑inch (2nd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (4th generation and later), and iPad Pro (M4 and later)
- watchOS 27: Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Series 9 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later
- visionOS 27: All Vision Pro headsets
Siri AI Everywhere
The long‑promised “more personalized” Siri, now called Siri AI, is slated to ship later this year as a dedicated app that lets you carry on conversations much like with ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Apple is integrating Siri AI deeply into its platforms, so you can invoke it by swiping down from the Dynamic Island on an iPhone or via Spotlight on the Mac. Contextual menu commands on the Mac will let you focus Siri AI on images, files, and text. You’ll even be able to use Siri AI with AirPods and in CarPlay.
Personal context enables Siri AI to tailor its responses and actions based on your messages, emails, calendar events, photos, and other data. It will also be aware of what’s showing on screen, so you can ask Siri about what you’re looking at or direct it to take actions based on what’s showing. Siri AI will be able to work directly with compatible apps, creating contacts, sending email, calling people, and much more, depending on developer support. Finally, Siri AI will be able to respond with broad-based world knowledge gleaned from Web searches.
On sufficiently powerful devices, Siri AI provides more expressive voices and more advanced dictation. For that, you’ll need an iPhone Air or iPhone 17 Pro, an iPad with M4 or later, or a Mac with M3 or later.
Better Performance
Although we don’t think of our Apple devices as slow, Apple has improved performance across many areas. iPhone and iPad apps launch up to 30% faster, new photos appear in the Photo Library up to 70% faster, files transfer via AirDrop up to 80% faster, and files can be copied from an iPad to an external drive up to 5x faster, matching macOS transfer speeds. People with older iPhones will particularly appreciate the effort Apple put into improving general performance with a new CPU scheduler.
More Reliable Spotlight
We’ve all encountered the frustration of Spotlight failing to find a file we know exists. In response, Apple has rearchitected Spotlight’s search index to make it faster and more comprehensive. Searching in Mail and Photos also benefits from the new search index.
Liquid Glass Refinements
Apple showed several refinements to the Liquid Glass interface that debuted last year, addressing common requests for more control and legibility. Most notably, a transparency slider lets you adjust Liquid Glass from ultra-clear to fully tinted. macOS apps get a new uniform toolbar to improve legibility, and macOS sidebars will extend to the edges of windows and regain colored icons.
Visual Intelligence on More Devices
So far, Visual Intelligence, which can tell you about anything in the camera viewfinder, has been limited to iPhones with the Camera Control. Apple is moving it to a dedicated Siri mode in the Camera app, which brings it to the iPad; on the Mac, you’ll be able to select on-screen items and ask about them.
Automatic Updates to Weak or Compromised Passwords
We all have old accounts with weak or compromised passwords that we’ll get to changing real soon now. Apple recognizes this, so it’s adding Apple Intelligence to the Passwords app, enabling it to log in to eligible websites and change your password to something strong and unique.
More Comprehensive Parental Controls
To address parental criticism and potentially head off governmental regulation, Apple beefed up its parental controls. A new setup assistant helps parents configure child accounts, which now feature Ask to Browse (parental permission to visit specific websites) and communication controls (permission to communicate with people outside the family). Communication Safety now warns about gore and violence along with nudity, and a redesigned Screen Time app provides an at-a-glance view of a child’s device usage.
New Photos Features
The Clean Up tool that debuted with Apple Intelligence has been popular, and Apple says it now does an even better job of removing distractions and filling backgrounds realistically. A new Extend feature expands images outward, adding a realistically generated background around the photo’s subject. Even more impressive is the new Reframe feature, which lets you reposition the virtual camera after taking a photo. You can use it to shift perspective or change the zoom, generating new content only for the shifted areas.
Build Shortcuts with Natural Language
It’s often useful to automate tasks in Shortcuts—say, notifying your spouse when you leave the office—but many people have found it too hard to create those automations. Thanks to Apple Intelligence, you’ll now be able to describe what you want a shortcut to do, and it will be created for you. If it doesn’t work quite right the first time, you can keep iterating until it’s what you want.
Image Playground Gets More Productive
The images Image Playground has been able to create so far have been on the childish side. Apple says that Image Playground will now be able to create photorealistic images, incorporate multiple people from Photos, transform images with natural language descriptions, and generate images in multiple dimensions. It won’t replace a professional illustrator, but it might help you generate quick images for a presentation, website, or invitation.
Apart from Siri AI, these aren’t earth-shaking features, and that’s the point. Apple wants to keep improving the user experience, but part of that is not changing too much too fast. We’ll write more about when we recommend upgrading each of your devices after the beta this summer.
(Featured image by Apple)
Social Media: From a smarter Siri AI to faster app launches and better parental controls, here are 10 reasons Apple’s version 27 updates may entice you to upgrade when they ship this fall.
by Steve Sorbo | Jun 5, 2026 | Uncategorized
Apple’s Dictation feature is a great way to avoid slow typing on the iPhone and iPad, and it can be welcome on the Mac as well. But it struggles with proper nouns—it guesses wildly at unfamiliar names and often fails to capitalize common words that are part of a name (so you get “New York Public library”). Apple doesn’t provide a user-editable dictionary, but there’s a backdoor solution: create entries in Contacts. When you create a fake contact for a troublesome word or phrase, Dictation learns to recognize it correctly across all your Apple devices. Put the word or phrase in the First Name field and add an emoji like 🙉 in the Last Name field so these fake contacts sort to the bottom of your Contacts list and don’t clutter the display. For stubborn words, you may need to train Dictation by dictating a few practice sentences in Notes and correcting mistakes when iOS offers alternatives. This trick works for place names, organization names, technical terms, or any word that Dictation consistently gets wrong.
(Featured image by iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen)
Social Media: Frustrated when Dictation on the iPhone mangles what you meant to say? Create fake contacts for troublesome words, and Dictation will learn to recognize them correctly across all your Apple devices.
by Steve Sorbo | May 1, 2026 | Uncategorized
On the Mac, every file type opens in a particular app by default, but it’s easy to open a PDF, image, or text file in a different app. In the Finder’s Get Info window, you can also reset the default app so that, for example, JPEGs open in Photoshop or Affinity instead of Preview. That’s all now possible in iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 as well. In the Files app on an iPhone or iPad, touch and hold a file to bring up a menu. Tap Open With, then select an app to open the file once in a different app without changing the default. To reset the default app for that file type, tap Get Info, then select an app from the Always Open With list.
(Featured image based on an original by iStock.com/Tippapatt)
Social Media: iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 finally let you choose which app opens your files—just like on the Mac. Here’s how to use Open With and set new defaults in the Files app.
Recent Comments