AirPods firmware updates install automatically in the background, and Apple documents exactly what has to be true for that to happen: your AirPods need to be charging, in Bluetooth range of an iPhone, iPad or Mac that is signed in and connected to Wi-Fi, and Apple says to allow at least 30 minutes. There is…
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Which Apple Accessories to Buy Now: Six Published Prices, and Four Apple Has Not Printed
Buy two accessories with this launch and wait on the rest: a $49 Clear or Silicone Case with MagSafe, and the $29 wrist strap if you want one. Those sit inside the six accessory prices Apple actually published on September 9, and everything people most want to spend money on next, the charger above all,…
What Not to Buy From Apple Right Now: Five Purchases With a Published Date Against Them
Five things in Apple’s current lineup are the wrong purchase this week, and in each case the argument is a published date or a published price rather than an opinion: AirPods 4 in either version, iPhone Air at $1,099, iPhone 16 at $799, any coverage decision made before Monday, and an Apple Watch pre-order placed…
Buying Apple Gear to Last Five Years: Take the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro and the $399 Watch
If you want one purchase to still be current in 2031, buy iPhone 18 Pro at 256GB for $1,199 and Apple Watch Series 12 at $399, and do not treat AirPods as a five-year item at any price. That is the whole verdict, and every part of it rests on a figure Apple publishes rather…
The Cheapest New iPhone You Can Get This Month: $699, and the $30 Catch on the Two Above It
The cheapest new iPhone you can buy from Apple this month is the iPhone 17e at $699, and it is the only phone in the lower half of the lineup whose headline price does not lean on activating a carrier plan at checkout. If you want a 120Hz display, the second answer is iPhone 17…
Apple Intelligence on a Budget: $699 Buys In, and $1,099 Buys the Tier Above
If you are buying hardware purely to get Apple Intelligence, buy the iPhone 17e at $699. It is the cheapest device on Apple’s own price list that also appears on Apple’s Apple Intelligence device page, and the software itself costs nothing: iOS 27 arrives free on Monday, September 14. Siri AI is the headline Apple…
Switching From Android to iPhone in 2026: The $899 Verdict and Apple's One Trade-In Number
If you are moving to iPhone this month, buy iPhone 17 at $899 rather than the cheapest model or the most expensive one. It is the entry point in Apple’s lineup that lists a 120Hz ProMotion display, a 48MP main camera with a 48MP Ultra Wide, an 18MP Center Stage front camera and up to…
Apple Buying Guide for Travelers in 2026: Ultra 4 Satellite, a 45-Hour iPhone and the eSIM Rule
For anyone who spends real time in airports, the buy is the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299, and the one add-on worth the money is Apple Watch Ultra 4 at $799. Apple rates the Pro Max at 30 hours of typical use, and the Ultra 4 is the only current Apple Watch with satellite…
Apple Buying Guide for Video Creators in 2026: 4K120, Apple Log 2 and a $129 Audio Add-On
For video, buy the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299 rather than the 6.3-inch model at $1,199. Apple lists the same capture formats on both, so the extra $100 buys the only thing a shoot actually runs out of: Apple rates the Pro Max at 30 hours typical use and 45 hours of video playback…
Apple Buying Guide for Photographers in 2026: Four Apertures, 8x Zoom and One Clear Verdict
If you are buying one Apple product for still photography this month, buy the 6.3-inch iPhone 18 Pro. It is the only iPhone Apple sells with a variable aperture, a 48MP telephoto lens and an 8x optical-quality zoom, and it starts at $1,199 with carrier connectivity selected at checkout. The variable aperture at its widest…
Apple on a Fixed Budget in 2026: The Best Buy at $149, $399, $749 and $899
If the budget is fixed and the category is not, the best value in Apple’s lineup right now is the Mac mini with M6 at $899, or $799 education, because it is the one product where Apple put its newest-generation chip in the cheapest machine of its family. Below $200 the pick is AirPods 5…
iPad or Mac for On-Device AI Work? Apple Publishes Numbers for Only One of Them
If the job is on-device AI work, running and prompting models locally rather than sending everything to a server, buy the Mac. Start at the Mac mini with M6 at $899, or $799 education, and step to the Mac Studio with M5 Max at $2,499 if the work pays for itself, because every AI performance…
Which iPad Should You Buy in 2026? The $749 iPad Air, and the Memory Figure Apple Has Not Published
For most people the iPad to buy is the iPad Air, recorded at $749 for the 11-inch model with M4 and $699 on Apple’s Education Store. It is the cheapest iPad that appears on every capability list Apple publishes, it takes the $100 Back to School gift card that the smaller and cheaper iPads do…
Which Mac Should a Student Buy? The $799 Mac mini, and the Gift Card It Does Not Get
A student buying a Mac should buy it from Apple’s Education Store and buy it before Thursday, September 24, which is when Apple’s Back to School offer ends. If the work happens at a desk, the pick is the Mac mini with M6 at $799 education, against $899 on the consumer store. Mac mini with…
Which Mac Should You Buy? The $899 Mac mini With M6 Is the Pick for Most People
For most people buying a Mac right now the answer is the Mac mini with M6 at $899, or $799 on Apple’s Education Store. It goes on general sale on Tuesday, September 22, after pre-orders opened on August 25, and it is the one machine where Apple has put its newest-generation chip in its cheapest…
Which AirPods to Buy for Calls: The $149 Pick, and the One Number Apple Never Publishes
If calls are the reason you are buying AirPods, buy AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case at $149. It has the same microphone array and the same Voice Isolation as the $129 model, plus an extra hour of playback, a case speaker so you can find it, and a volume swipe you can reach mid-call…
Open-Ear, Sealed or Over-Ear: Which AirPods Shape to Buy, and Who Should Skip the Seal
Apple now sells earbuds in three shapes, and the shape decides the purchase before the price does. If a silicone tip sealing your ear canal bothers you, AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case at $149 is the best open-ear set Apple makes. If it does not bother you, AirPods Pro 3 at $249 is the…
A Child's First Apple Watch: SE 3 at $249, and the Cellular Price Apple Has Not Published
For a child’s first Apple Watch, buy Apple Watch SE 3 at From $249 in the 40mm size. It is the cheapest and lightest watch Apple sells, at 26.3 g for the 40mm GPS model, it runs watchOS 27, and the features a family actually uses are in the software rather than in the $150…
Which Apple Watch for a Swimmer: What $249, $399 and $799 Each Cover in the Water
If you swim, buy Apple Watch Series 12 from $399. It is the cheapest Apple Watch with a depth gauge and a water temperature sensor, and Apple rates it at 50 meters under ISO 22810:2010. Apple Watch SE 3 from $249 is swimproof to the same 50 meters but has neither of those sensors, and…
Which Apple Watch for a Runner: SE 3 at $249, Series 12 at $399 or Ultra 4 at $799
For most runners the answer is Apple Watch Series 12 from $399, because it is the cheapest watch Apple sells with both a published outdoor-workout battery figure and a named GPS system. Apple Watch SE 3 from $249 is the right call only for short sessions, and Apple Watch Ultra 4 from $799 earns its…
Which iPhone to Keep in 2026 Rather Than Replace: The Cutoff Is iPhone 15 Pro, Not iPhone 11
Keep any iPhone 15 Pro or later. Replace an iPhone 13 or anything older. The line that decides it is not iOS 27, which runs on iPhone 11 and later plus iPhone SE from the second generation, but Apple Intelligence, which needs an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or iPhone 16 or later…
Your First iPhone in 2026: Buy the $899 iPhone 17, and Two Reasons to Spend Less
Buy the iPhone 17 at $899. For a first iPhone it removes the two decisions that most often go wrong, because it starts at 256GB rather than 128GB and it carries three usable focal lengths, and it is rated for up to 30 hours of video playback, more than any iPhone below $1,199. iPhone 18…
Pro or Not in 2026: Apple's Pro iPhone Line Is Down to Two, and It Sits $100 Above iPhone Air
Most people should buy non-Pro, and specifically iPhone 17 at $899. Go Pro only if one of five published capabilities matters to you: the 4x and 8x telephoto, the variable aperture, ProRes RAW with Apple Log 2 and Genlock, USB 3 transfer at 10Gb/s, or battery ratings above 30 hours. If any of those does…
The Best iPhone Under $800 in 2026: iPhone 16 at $799, and the $30 That Decides It
Buy the iPhone 16 at $799. It is one of only two iPhones Apple still sells with a starting price under $800, the other being iPhone 17e at $699, and it is the one whose full specification you can read before you pay: an A18 chip, a 48MP Fusion main camera with a 12MP Ultra…