I already messed up my iPhone by installing the iOS 27 beta, and now I’m about to screw up my Mac.
In fact, the only reason I’m still able to type this newsletter is because there’s not enough room on my M1 iMac to install macOS Golden Gate.
As soon as I get around to clearing some space — a task I dread because it’s a gigantic PITA — I’ll be bricking my Mac in a New York second.
Even though I know it’s an enormous mistake, and I’ll be kicking myself down the line, I’m doing it for two reasons:
Better search in Mail that now — reportedly — finally works.
Jumping the waitlist for Siri AI.
Wanting better search in email is odd for me, because I hate email and barely look at it.
Years ago, I declared email bankruptcy. Email had turned into an other-people’s-to-do-list, where I spent most days performing tasks or answering questions other people sent. (And tbh, it was my own to-do list, too. I often emailed myself reminders of things I had to do. Steve Jobs reportedly used to do this as well.)
On top of that, my email address has been public for years, so my inbox is overrun with spam, solicitations, PR pitches and the like.
However, I do monitor email notifications. Then I go looking for a message I saw flash by. So a good search engine is essential. It’d be great if it finally worked in Mail.
The other motivating factor is jumping the queue for Siri AI. I joined the waitlist more than a week ago after downloading the iOS 27 beta, but I’m still waiting.
There’s a way to skip the waitlist entirely in the macOS Golden Gate beta — see our roundup of the best “hidden” Mac features that Apple didn’t broadcast during WWDC26. There are some other juicy nuggets in there, too.
Also in today’s newsletter:
Ouch! Apple’s been keeping prices down with various tricks, but the party’s over — and this time, the bad news comes straight from the horse’s mouth.
Here’s some news not from the horse’s mouth: According to the president, Apple and Intel are teaming up on chips.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: Woot runs some crazy-good refurb sales on Apple goods, like this awesome Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $379. Here’s the full list of Apple gear on sale. Things are selling out fast! #affiliate
The latest betas are full of clues about upcoming Apple hardware. The latest deals with the shape of the new Siri AI.
Former Apple CEO John Sculley is unfairly maligned, in my opinion, and a confluence of forces — some outside his control — sealed his fate.
Oh wow, I love the way this new travel mouse from Logitech folds up. See our hands-on review.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
P.S. If you saw some dodgy casino posts yesterday, it’s because the Cult of Mac website was hacked. Our great tech team plugged the hole (we think!), but boy, modern hacks are clever and tricky. This one cleaned up after itself in all kinds of smart ways to avoid detection, and even installed a backdoor that harvested admin passwords as we logged in! Yikes! AFAIK, this wasn’t even part of the new AI-powered wave of hacks that are widely predicted to be coming. It’s gonna be a fun summer!
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One more thing ...
On our latest iMac, I was adamant that we get rid of the fan, because it is much more pleasant to work on a computer that doesn’t drone all the time. That was not just “Steve’s decision” to pull out the fan; it required an enormous engineering effort to figure out how to manage power better and do a better job of thermal conduction through the machine. That is the furthest thing from veneer. It was at the core of the product the day we started.
Today’s poll
If Apple prices go up, will you skip upgrading?
Results from yesterday’s poll:
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