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President Trump promised to send every adult citizen $5,000, but only if Republicans maintain control of Congress in the midterm election, setting high expectations for the convention's final night.

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan)

The European climate service Copernicus said the Earth just sweltered through its hottest month on record in August. Scientists said the heat surge is mostly due to human-caused climate change.

(Image credit: Ahn Young-joon)

The Trump administration is making a new push to exclude millions of U.S. residents from a key census count that the 14th Amendment says must include the "whole number of persons in each state."

For nearly two minutes, one of the pilots of the Amazon cargo plane that careened off a Miami runway repeatedly warned his counterpart they were going too fast, according to flight information.

(Image credit: NTSB)

The Pennsylvania Democrat has already had a strained relationship with many inside his party. In the video, he spoke about working with Trump but did not outright praise him.

(Image credit: Kent Nishimura)

The iPhone Air 2 was a no-show at Apple Park on Wednesday.

Researchers say that they exploited the microphone and content recognition features of an LG TV to listen to user conversations.

Some of the most interesting features won’t ship with the iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max and the buzzy foldable iPhone Duo bring some great stuff. But there are some downsides, too.

The iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and iPhone Duo are coming soon, but the baseline model is presumably coming next year, likely for these reasons.

New CEO John Ternus says you already have your personal AI device. It’s called an iPhone.

Siri AI got a few more details during the iPhone Event, including a tie-in with Stuff. Here’s what the third-party app can do for you.

The nearly 230-foot long Bayeux Tapestry is back in England for the first time in 900 years. It depicts the 1066 Battle of Hastings, a turning point in English history that ended Anglo-Saxon rule.

(Image credit: ADRIAN DENNIS)

Part war propaganda, part comic strip, the 230-foot Bayeux Tapestry is back in England for the first time in 900 years. It depicts the 1066 Battle of Hastings, which ended Anglo-Saxon rule.

A camera hiding under Apple’s new folding phone sounds like the future, but comes with compromises too.

RAMageddon comes for the iPhone.

• John Ternus: 'I started the day with the idea of a personal hub'
• This, during Apple's famous 'one more thing' moment, to close its event
• And yet, no HomePod mini 2 — which feels like an oversight

Whether you followed our Apple event coverage or simply streamed the event itself (and referred back to us later for a rundown of what you saw) you'll know that alongside a cracking duo of AirPods 5 new releases and of course our first folding iPhone, Apple's John Ternus seemed to continually tease the idea of a "personal hub" to act as the remote for your life.

At one point during the event, before announcing those ice-white buds, Mr. Ternus also stood in front of a spherical array of speakers (imagine standing right in the center and streaming a bit of Rage Against the Machine…), so I felt sure Apple's "one more thing" moment would be the much-rumored, hotly anticipated HomePod mini 2, which we've been waiting on (and writing about) for quite some time now.

Most of us agreed that Apple's delay in releasing its second-generation HomePod mini would be intrinsically tied to everyone at Apple Park waiting, with bated breath, for the company's overhauled, AI-powered Siri assistant to be fully finished and worthy of some new products.

And it seems that those planets have started to align, with the iPhone Duo, Apple Watch and more all boasting Apple's new Audio Intelligence tech and even Siri Recap (a combination that can now translate things said around you). So surely it was full steam ahead, and this was it?

No HomePod mini 2, no party

(Image credit: Future)

And so I sat there, waiting for the "Behold, Apple's new and improved softball-sized wireless speaker (now in colors fit to grace any softball pitch), the HomePod mini 2! What's new? The chipset, the improved chattiness and the snappier responses".

And then, Ternus' people would wax lyrical about the fact that even six years after the original launched, the 2020 pricing of the new HomePod mini 2 had been put on lockdown (see what I did there?), so the price rise from $99 / £99 / AU$129 to $129 / £129 / AU$199 that was enacted in late June of this year would be reversed — just like the better-value AirPods 5. These, after all, just arrived with wireless charging, ANC and volume-swipe stems for $149 / £149, less than the $179 / £179 of the previous version!

But no.

What else might Apple have unveiled in its compact, Siri-powered "hub" speaker no-show? Oh, maybe an upgraded S9 chip, to replace the original HomePod mini's S5 chipset. Then perhaps deeper integration with Apple Intelligence for a chattier, more context-aware Siri that actually could become a voice to talk to, about music (music commands are all I use Siri for, when I use it at all).

How about stronger Wi-Fi or 2nd-gen Ultra-Wideband (UWB 2) for improved Handoff — something Apple did note at the event?

It seems that what Ternus said after his opening "I started the day with the idea of an intelligent personal hub" bit was most important. What was the end of the sentence? It was " …and why there's no product in the world better-designed to be that hub than iPhone". Ah. There's the rub. Folding phones.

I understand Apple's desire to get a foldable out there, but I have to disagree. A speaking speaker hub that plays music as well as the HomePod mini can, and is able to simply accept your iPhone-and-AirPods audio in one smooth audio handoff as you step in the door? That would be a hub that made your home a better place to be.

And if we look at the definition of the word — a hub is the central component of something — isn't home where the heart is for many of us? So wouldn't a HomePod mini 2 be a great intelligent personal hub, Mr. Ternus?

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♬ original sound TechRadar

Apple's 'Surprise and Shine' event unveiled long-awaited devices including the iPhone 18 Pro and the long-anticipated iPhone Duo, but Apple Watches also had their time in the spotlight.

The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are the latest models to join Apple's family of wearables, and both pack quite a punch on the features- and health-tracking front, thanks to the combination of the new Health Sensing System and deeper Apple Intelligence integration.

Of course every new Apple Watch offers improvements over the previous generation — the question is always whether it offers enough to make it worth the upgrade. To help you decide, I've compared the new Apple Watch Series 12 against its predecessor, the Apple Watch Series 11, so you can see all the changes side-by-side.

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♬ original sound - TechRadar Apple Watch Series 12 vs Apple Watch Series 11: Specifications

Apple Watch Series 11

Apple Watch Series 12

Price

From $399 / £369 / AU$679

From $399 / $369 / AU$649

Dimensions

42mm x 36mm x 9.7mm (42mm), 46mm x 39mm x 9.7mm (46mm)

42mm x 37mm x 9.7mm (42mm), 46mm x 40mm x 9.7mm (46mm)

Weight

30.3g (42mm); 37.8g (46mm)

32.2g (42mm); 39.5g (46mm)

Case/Bezel

Aluminum with a metal back or Titanium (100% recycled)

Aluminum, Titanium or Ceramic

Display

Always-on Retina LTPO3 display Wide-angle OLED at 374 by 446 (42mm) 416 by 496 (46mm). Ion-X scratch-resistant

Always‑On Retina display with wide‑angle OLEDs and LTPO3 at 374 by 446 (42mm) 416 by 496 (46mm)

GPS

L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo, and BeiDou

Precision L1 GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)

Battery Life

24 hours, 38 hours in Low Power Mode

24 hours, 38 hours in Low Power Mode

Connection

Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, second-generation ultra-wideband chip, and 5G (Optional)

Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, Second‑generation Ultra Wideband chip, and 5G (optional)

Water Resistance

IP6X

IP6X

Design

We weren't expecting a visual overhaul with the Apple Watch Series 12, and nor did we get one.

The new model packs the same digital crown and side button that you'll find on most Apple Watch models, and size-wise the only difference is that the Series 12 is 1mm wider; if you can spot that in real life, you have sharper eyes than I do.

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♬ original sound - TechRadar

However, there are some design changes worth talking about. The key one is that as well as being available in Aluminium and Titanium, as the Watch 11 is, there's also now a Ceramic version — the first since the Series 5.

The Ceramic Watch 12 comes in two colors, Pearl White and Night Blue, while the Aluminum model is available in Space Gray, Black, Light Gold and the stunning new Dark Bronze shade, perfect for both casual and smart wear. The Titanium versions come in Radiant Gold and Natural.

Sticking with the Apple Watch 11? Then your choices are between Space Gray, Jet Black, Rose Gold, and Silver for Aluminum, and Slate, Gold, and Natural Polished in Titanium. And to reiterate, there is no Ceramic Watch 11 — so if you want that, you'll need the new model.

Features

Minor design changes aside, the key reasons to upgrade to the Apple Watch 12 relate to its health-tracking smarts.

Many of these stem from its new S11 chip. Apple — inevitably — describes this as its "most powerful wearable chip", and it powers the new Health Sensing System and Audio Intelligence features.

Let's start with the Health Sensing System, the redesign of the previous generation's LED heart rate sensor array. The Series 12's electrode surface area is now bigger, allowing for better skin contact for ECG tracking. It also packs new optical-sensing photo diodes to capture light more efficiently, while its brighter green LEDs support accurate HR in motion. In short, it's the most accurate Apple Watch ever, tied with its sibling the Apple Watch Ultra 4.

It records heart rate continuously, up to every five seconds, and heart rate variability (a key part of sleep tracking and recovery metrics) up to every five minutes. That's a massive 24x more frequently than it did before, ensuring peak accuracy (in theory).

However one of the new standout features is the new Readiness Score, which has finally arrived on Apple Watch. Every other health wearable seems to have one, and Apple's Readiness Score will combine your rings, vitals and other health metrics into a single actionable, frequently updated number.

@techradar

♬ original sound - TechRadar

There are also a significant redesign of the Health app which thrusts Apple Intelligence to the front of the experience. Now, Apple Watch lets you explore health profiles while offering personalized guidance thanks to Apple Intelligence. Once the Health app gets a sense of your health habits, it will tweak its recommendations so that they align with your health levels and data.

Health Age is another new feature that aligns your metrics and fitness level with your actual age, similar to features on Whoop and Garmin.

The Series 12 is packing tons of new fitness features, but Apple Intelligence — or at least, audio intelligence — is brand new and unrelated to health.

Audio Intelligence is comprised of four features. The Series 12 can listen out for sounds, be that a doorbell, traffic, or oncoming pedestrians, and will send alerts right to your watch face — which is ideal for users who are hard of hearing. You can also Shazam songs from your wrist.

Slightly more suspect are Live Rewind and Siri Recaps. Live Rewind allows you to go back 15 seconds to remember parts of a conversation. Didn't catch what the waiter said was new on the menu? Just double-press the digital crown and your watch will generate a transcript for you to read. Siri Recaps is a feature that, when active, listens constantly in the background, providing you with a summary of your day in the evening, including conversations.

We've covered these two features in more detail here, including Apple's privacy assurances and why the Cupertino giant might not be reading the room on this feature, as surveillance-capable wearables are receiving a lot of pushback at the moment.

You can pre-order the Apple Watch Series 12 now, which will be available starting September 18.

The new phone will set you back some $1,999, but enjoying the memes is totally free.

Apple unveils the iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, AirPods 5 and new Apple Watches. Compare prices, release dates, features and buyer trade-offs.

The post Apple Unveils Its 2026 Product Lineup: What Buyers Need to Know appeared first on TechRepublic.