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Starting today, millions and millions of iPhone users will experience iOS 26 for the first time — and will absolutely hate it!
We’re about to see the same five-stages-of-grief cycle we saw when Apple first released the iOS 26 beta to developers this summer: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, finally, acceptance.
iOS 26 is the biggest visual rebranding of the iPhone interface in more than a decade. Not everyone’s gonna love it at first.
It also includes more than 70 new features, including:
The shiny new Liquid Glass user interface
Redesigned Phone app (which you can roll back)
New Camera app with simplified controls
Preview app on iPhone
Preferred routes and places visited in Maps
Automatic lyric translation in Music
Lock Screen charging estimates
Several new Apple Intelligence features
And a lot more…
As with all major design changes — like iOS 7 in 2013 — the new system will be despised at first. But then, as we get used to it, that initial animosity will almost certainly be replaced by love.
If you’re installing the new OS today, here’s all you need to know about iOS 26. Be sure to check out our video, too.
Also in today’s newsletter:
If you already have an iPhone 16 Pro, is it worth it to upgrade to the iPhone 17 Pro?
And if you do decide to upgrade this year, check out our list of best cases for the iPhone 17 lineup.
For those folks sticking with iOS 18 for now, Apple just released iOS 18.7 and iPadOS 18.7, which patch a long and mildly concerning list of security holes.
Unlike the heart rate monitor in the PowerBeats Pro 2 earbuds that Apple released earlier this year, the HRM in the new AirPods Pro 3 is shockingly accurate. That’s just one revelation from the early AirPods reviews, which are universally glowing.
If you’re planning to upgrade to AirPods Pro 3, consider selling your old AirPods to us. Our buyback program pays cash for old AirPods, something Apple doesn’t do. (It’s not just AirPods, either. We buy all kinds of used Apple gear.)
Apple TV+ won big, big, big at the Emmys, TV’s glitziest award show.
Grid Studio disassembles old iPhones and arranges them beautifully in museum-grade frames. To celebrate its fifth birthday, the company’s having a rare sale of up to 57% off, including the original iPhone (just $299, down from $699). Don’t delay! The deals end September 17. (Here’s a review I wrote of one of Grid’s gorgeous offerings.)
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
A message from Pacaso
Keep This Stock Ticker on Your Watchlist
They’re a private company, but Pacaso just reserved the Nasdaq ticker “$PCSO.”
No surprise the same firms that backed Uber, eBay, and Venmo already invested in Pacaso. What is unique is Pacaso is giving the same opportunity to everyday investors. And 10,000+ people have already joined them.
Created a former Zillow exec who sold his first venture for $120M, Pacaso brings co-ownership to the $1.3T vacation home industry.
They’ve generated $1B+ worth of luxury home transactions across 2,000+ owners. That’s good for more than $110M in gross profit since inception, including 41% YoY growth last year alone.
And you can join them today for just $2.90/share. But don’t wait too long. Invest in Pacaso before the opportunity ends September 18.
Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.
A message from I Hate It Here
HR is lonely. It doesn’t have to be.
The best HR advice comes from those in the trenches. That’s what this is: real-world HR insights delivered in a newsletter from Hebba Youssef, a Chief People Officer who’s been there. Practical, real strategies with a dash of humor. Because HR shouldn’t be thankless—and you shouldn’t be alone in it.
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
The CultCast: The best Apple conversation all week long
Tweets of the day
Congratulations to The Studio, Severance, Slow Horses, and all of the @AppleTV Emmy nominees and winners! Tonight was a testament to their extraordinary storytelling and creativity.
— #Tim Cook (#@tim_cook)
7:57 AM • Sep 15, 2025
Can’t wait for new EU laws
— #Ilya · イリア (#@ilyamiskov)
1:17 PM • Sep 13, 2025
I so love the nod to the OG MacBook Air in the iPhone Air video. Even the same design of interoffice envelope!
— #Dylan (#@DylanMcD8)
6:34 AM • Sep 14, 2025
Wallpaper of the day
Dreams in Color 🌈
— #iOS Background (#@ioswallpaperx)
10:05 PM • Sep 13, 2025
One more thing ...
My observation is that the doers are the major thinkers. The people that really create the things that change this industry are both the thinker and doer in one person. And if we really go back and we examine, you know, did Leonardo have a guy off to the side that was thinking five years out in the future what he would paint or the technology he would use to paint it, of course not. Leonardo was the artist but he also mixed all his own paints. He also was a fairly good chemist. He knew about pigments, knew about human anatomy. And combining all of those skills together, the art and the science, the thinking and the doing, was what resulted in the exceptional result. And there is no difference in our industry.
Today’s poll
iOS 26: Love it or hate it?
Results from last Friday’s poll: Is Apple cheating by ignoring the camera bump when touting the thinness of its devices?
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