New Photos app FTW!

At WWDC earlier this month, Apple said apart from Siri AI, updates to iOS 27 would focus mostly on performance and stability, rather than new features.

That’s not exactly true of the new Photos app. As we’ve played around with the developer beta, we’ve found there’s actually a bunch of great new things you can do.

My personal favorite is turning a video frame into a photo — no more pausing and screenshotting for me.

It’s just one of a bunch of worthy new stuff.

Also in today’s newsletter:

It looks like Apple Watch is finally getting a major redesign that will allow for a bigger battery — yay! But wait, what?
Over the weekend we reported how licence plate cameras could be getting sensor updates that would tie your iPhone or AirPods to the vehicle you’re travelling in — a potential privacy nightmare. Luckily, the Supreme Court just made that pretty unlikely.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: This cool SSD enclosure that perfectly matches the latest Mac mini is nearly 50% off, matching the previous Prime Day low. #affiliate
Better hurry, I’m seeing reports on the socials that there’s a big rush to reserve WhatsApp usernames, before someone else snags them.
Boo! Apple already disappeared this award-winning prototyping app from the App Store after reportedly acquiring it.
I just bought a great little travel router, but boy, this new one from TP-Link looks like the bee’s knees: See our hands-on review.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

Tons of new features in Photos help sort your massive library in iOS 27

The new Photos app in iOS 27 clearly did not get the memo that this was a small year of bug fixes — there are tons of excellent new features.

Leaker warns coming Apple Watch redesign will make your bands obsolete

A leaker says Apple Watch 13 will bring a major redesign, which is great -- except it make your band collection useless.

AirDrop vulnerability lets anyone nearby knock it offline, no tap required

A newly discovered AirDrop vulnerability lets someone nearby crash it on your iPhone, along with AirPlay, Handoff and more.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

Sick of cloud storage subscriptions? Grab a 2TB portable SSD at a steep discount.

The SanDisk Extreme is a pocket-size 2TB portable SSD that hits read speeds up to 1050 MB/s and write speeds up to 1000 MB/s.

Supreme Court says police can’t access iPhone location data without warrant

A Supreme Court ruling changes how police can access data tracking your phone's location. Find out what this means for your privacy.

New iPhone and Mac updates offer dozens of security fixes

Update your iPhone to iOS 26.5.2 today for a wide range of security fixes. Apple also released equally important macOS and iPadOS updates.

^{A message from}^{the Cult of Mac Deals team}

Check your blood pressure, and sync data to your iPhone, with this $25 device

This $24.99 blood pressure monitor syncs to your phone, tracks trends, and gives you real health data at home. Save on iHealth Track.

WhatsApp usernames are here, and you can reserve yours today

Meta is opening early WhatsApp username reservations, giving you a chance to secure you preferred handle before the global launch.

Apple Creator Studio updates sharpen editing tools and tighten app integration

Apple Creator Studio updates bring new tools, smarten up existing ones and let you access Pixelmator Pro from inside other apps.

Apple acquires Play, award-winning SwiftUI prototyping tool

Apple acquires the Play SwiftUI app from Rabbit 3 Times. The app won the Apple Design Award for Innovation in 2025.

Today in Apple history: Apple Music 1 radio station brings free 24/7 radio to Apple Music

On June 30, 2015, Apple launched Beats 1, a 24/7 music radio station as part of Apple Music. It's still streaming daily as Apple Music 1.

TP-Link Roam 7: Don't leave home without this reliable travel router [Review]

The TP-Link Roam 7 router is outstanding for travelers. Our testing found fast wireless connections thanks to Wi-Fi 7 support.

Cult of Mac’s buyback program

We pay top dollar for used Apple gear

Sell your old iPhone, iPad, MacBook and more through Cult of Mac. Free shipping, fast payment!

^{A message from Beehiiv}

Everything is coming into focus.

Join beehiiv live on July 16th at 1PM ET for a first look at the future of audience-led business.

This isn’t just another feature launch (though there will be plenty of those). It’s a look at a more connected future for creators and brands that are tired of juggling disconnected tools, platforms, and data.

If you care about building an audience online, this is worth your time.

Reserve your spot.

Tweets of the day

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Wallpaper of the day

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One more thing ...

❝

People get stuck as they get older. Our minds are sort of electrochemical computers. Your thoughts construct patterns like scaffolding in your mind. You are really etching chemical patterns. In most cases, people get stuck in those patterns, just like grooves in a record, and they never get out of them. It's a rare person who etches grooves that are other than a specific way of looking at things, a specific way of questioning things. It's rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something amazing. Of course, there are some people who are innately curious, forever little kids in their awe of life, but they're rare.

— Steve Jobs, 1985.

Today’s poll

Apple Watch redesign that's incompatible with current bands: Yea or nay?

Results from yesterday’s poll:

Best reader comments

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