Featured: iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate public betas, Apple back-to-school promotion, and more

Delivering on its promise of a July release, Apple this week delivered the first public betas of iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate and more, opening testing to a wider audience.

This week also saw Apple’s annual back-to-school promotion in a number of countries, the continued fallout from Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI alleging trade secret theft, rumors about Apple’s iPad line, and more, so read on below for all the details!

Featured

iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 now available for public beta testers

Apple this week released the first public betas of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, and more, allowing anyone with a compatible device to download and test the new software. The public betas come after about a month of developer beta testing as Apple moves toward an official fall launch.

If you want to test the new public betas, check out our installation guides for iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate, then take a look at our guides highlighting the best features to test on iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate.

Apple’s 2026 back-to-school offer launches in the United States: gift card up to $150 with Mac or iPad

About a month later than in recent years, Apple’s annual back-to-school promotion is now available in the United States and many other countries.

The exact promotion varies by country, with some deals including bonus Apple gift cards and others including a free accessory with the purchase of a new Mac or iPad.

In the United States, education customers can receive a $150 bonus gift card with the purchase of a new MacBook Pro or a $100 gift card with the purchase of a new MacBook Air, iPad Pro, or iPad Air. MacBook Neo, all desktop Macs, iPad mini, and entry-level iPad are not included in the promotion.

Apple sues OpenAI for stealing trade secrets to create AI hardware

Apple filed a blockbuster lawsuit last week accusing OpenAI of stealing Apple trade secrets as part of its efforts to recruit Apple employees and build its own AI-based hardware.

Apple accused OpenAI executives of creating a culture of hardware theft and said OpenAI’s hardware business was “rotten to the core” because of its reliance on information stolen from Apple.

OpenAI quickly responded to the lawsuit by stating that it had “no interest in the trade secrets of other companies,” later stating that it was “not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit.”

New iPad Mini with four upgrades reportedly launched by October

Apple’s iPad line refresh schedule appears to be focused, with BloombergMark Gurman of , reports that Apple aims to introduce a revamped iPad mini with an OLED display and additional upgrades by October this year.

The rest of the lineup, including the updated entry-level iPad, mid-range iPad Air, and high-end iPad Pro models, is expected to follow in the first half of 2027. Gurman says Apple is also working on two new Apple Pencil models to replace the existing low-end Apple Pencil with a USB-C port and the high-end Apple Pencil Pro.

Apple Smart Home range 2026: new Apple TV, HomePod and Home Hub

Now that Siri AI is ready to launch on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple can finally introduce new smart home products designed to work with the smarter version of Siri.

Apple has several new home devices in development, several of which are expected to launch before the end of the year. so check out our preview covering a new version of the Apple TV 4K, a smart home hub, a new HomePod, and a new HomePod mini.

Here’s why Apple allegedly ignored the M6 ​​Pro and M6 Max chips

Last month, BloombergMark Gurman of , reported that Apple is looking to speed up its M7 family of chips. It’s a move that will see the company forgo the release of the Pro, Max, and Ultra variants of its upcoming M6 family, leaving only a base M6 chip that will quickly be followed by an upgraded M7.

Gurman this week provided a little more color on the situation, describing how significant advancements in AI-related capabilities have long been on Apple’s roadmap for the M7 family and that the company wants to bring them to market as quickly as possible.

The M7 Ultra chip in particular is considered a beast for AI tasks and could be used by Apple internally to power Apple Intelligence servers. The chip could support up to 1.5TB of unified memory.

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