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After Steve Jobs returned to save Apple, one of his biggest early projects was launching a chain of retail stores.
This is before the web and online shopping took off. Apple was starting to make great computers again, but they got short shrift at most retailers. The machines were often relegated to a dusty back shelf and salespeople actively steered shoppers away from them and towards Windows PCs.
Jobs tried to recruit Ron Johnson from Target to run the stores they were planning, but at one of their first meetings, Johnson was shocked that Jobs wanted to fill 20,000-square-feet retail spaces with only a handful of products.
“At that time, our product line you could fit on one conference-room table," Johnson later said.
My, how times have changed.
In the next nine months, Apple will likely release nearly 20 new products. Yeah, that’s right: almost 20!
We have a roundup of what to expect from Apple this fall, next spring, and summer — before the cycle begins again in the fall of 2026. Yes, many of these nearly 20 products are updates to existing gadgets, but there may also some exciting surprises in store.
Also in this edition of The Weekender:
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The big news of the week was the release of the first public betas of all of Apple’s operating systems: iOS 26, macOS Tahoe, watchOS 26 and more. If you’re daring enough to test them out, there’s a lot of new features to try.
The other big news is a new AppleCare insurance bundle, AppleCare One, that covers three devices for $19 a month — and you can add more. It looks like a great program if you’re all in on Apple and tend to break or lose your gear.
The new M4 Mac mini is on sale right now, offering even better bang-for-buck on a great little machine. And we have a pretty good deal on a lifetime license for Microsoft Office for Mac. Don’t rent, buy!
This week we reviewed a powerful new Thunderbolt 5 hub that’s one of the best available right now; and a new AirTag alternative that we think is better than Apple’s tracker in almost every way.
If you have a MacBook, check out this featured setups post that details some of the ways to mount it on (or under) your desk.
And don’t miss this week’s episode of The CultCast, the best Apple conversation you’re going to hear all week long. This week guest Graham Bower has some interesting things to say about the folding iPhone, and Cult of Mac writer D Griffin Jones gives a great demo of some new features in the latest iOS 26 beta 4. Watch the video; or listen on the Podcasts app. Tell all your friends! And please give us feedback or ask a question for next week’s show by leaving a comment on YouTube. We’re here to serve!
Enjoy your weekend!
— Leander Kahney, EIC
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