How to Share Sensitive Information Securely over the Internet

At some point, most of our communications shifted from analog to digital: letters and phone calls became emails, texts, and video calls. With analog methods, we could generally assume that our private communications would remain private. Few people were going to steam open a letter or wiretap a phone line. The Internet changed that—digital communications, if not properly protected, can be intercepted in bulk far more easily.

Not all everyday communications require strict privacy. Most of us prefer privacy, of course—few people want their dinner plans published for the world to see—but there are typically no consequences of exposure greater than mild embarrassment (McDonald’s again?). But even ordinary people regularly need to share information that could damage their relationships, finances, or careers if it fell into the wrong hands.

Passwords are the most obvious example because their entire point is secrecy. But other sensitive data includes credit card details, bank account numbers, tax documents, retirement planning materials, and health-related information. When you need to share such data, how do you do it securely?

Data at Rest and in Transit

Before exploring specific solutions, you need to think about how information is protected when it’s in transit between systems and when it’s stored somewhere:

In transit: To prevent eavesdropping, focus on communication channels that are encrypted between you and the destination:

• Between your app and a server: Nearly all Internet-enabled apps, including all Web browsers, use SSL/TLS to protect their connections to servers. A lock icon in a Web browser’s address bar indicates HTTPS encryption, or you can look for https at the start of a website’s URL.

• End-to-end encryption: Even better is end-to-end encryption, which ensures that not even the service provider can decrypt your traffic. iMessage (blue-bubble conversations), WhatsApp, and Signal provide end-to-end encryption protection (though WhatsApp archives are readable by other Meta apps). SMS messages are not encrypted at all, and RCS conversations only support encryption with the latest Apple and Google updates, plus carrier support. Both SMS and RCS appear as green-bubble conversations.

At rest: Stored data—whether on your computer, at remote email servers, or in the cloud—needs protection too. Two approaches help:

• Per-file encryption: Encrypt data before sending so even if an attacker figures out how to access the file, it can’t be decrypted without a password. Send the password through a completely different communication channel (called “out-of-band”)—for example, share an encrypted file via email but send the password via Messages.

• Time- or access-expiring links: Send a link to the information that expires after a short period or after a limited number of views, thereby shrinking the window during which a breach could occur.

Choosing the Right Solution

The best approach for any given communication depends on four factors:

• Audience: What are your recipients’ technical capabilities? Messages is easy and secure, but only Apple users can access it. Email reaches everyone but offers less protection. A password-protected PDF is probably easier for less-technical users than an encrypted disk image.

• Content type: Sharing a password differs from sharing a document, which in turn is different from sharing a collection of files.

• Importance: How problematic would it be if the sensitive information you’re sharing fell into the wrong hands? There’s a world of difference between the password for a club discussion forum and the credentials to your retirement account.

• Persistence: Does your recipient need to glance at something only once, or do they need to retain a copy permanently?

Eight Secure Sharing Methods

With all that in mind, here are eight secure methods of sharing information that you can employ in different situations:

1. Use a secure portal when available: Doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals who regularly receive sensitive information often use secure customer portals or services like DocuSign for sending messages, documents, and files. Use whatever system they provide unless you have good reason to doubt their IT competence.

2. iMessage, Signal, or WhatsApp: For quick sharing of sensitive information, these end-to-end encrypted messaging services work well. They’re particularly useful for sending information that isn’t useful on its own—for instance, send a login URL and username via email but the password separately via Messages.

3. Self-destructing links: Services like 1ty.me and One-Time Secret generate encrypted links that contain text. Once the recipient views the link, the server deletes the data, and the link self-destructs. If the recipient reports the link was already used, you know it was compromised. Be aware that some email systems automatically scan links, which could trigger premature self-destruction.

4. Password manager sharing: 1Password, Bitwarden, and some other password managers (but not Apple’s Passwords) offer secure sharing features that make it easy to share credentials with someone who needs to access a particular account. You can create links with expiration dates, limit access to specific email addresses, and cause links to self-destruct after being viewed once.

5. Password-protected PDF: For documents that could be printed, create a password-protected PDF. From nearly any app, choose File > Print, click the PDF menu at the bottom, and choose Save As PDF. In the Save dialog that appears, click Security Options, select “Require password to open document,” and enter a strong password (online services can remove weak passwords). Share the file however you like, but send the password through a different channel, preferably via an expiring link.

6. Password-protected disk image: For Mac users sharing files that can’t easily become PDFs, or for sharing collections of files, create a password-protected disk image. In Disk Utility, create a new compressed disk image (File > New Image > Image from Folder), choose an encryption option (256-bit for more sensitive information), and enter a strong password. Again, share the password separately, ideally via an expiring link.

7. Password-protected Zip archive: A password-protected Zip archive serves the same purpose and may be easier for Windows users to extract. Apps like Keka and BetterZip can create these. For the fastest approach, open Terminal, type zip -er ~/Desktop/filename.zip (with a space at the end), drag in the files you want to compress, press Return, and enter your desired password when prompted.

8. Time-expiring cloud storage links: Some cloud storage services offer links that expire after a specified time. Dropbox Professional supports this feature, enabling you to share files while ensuring that links become useless in the event of a breach.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for securely sharing sensitive information. Match your approach to the sensitivity of the data, your recipient’s capabilities, and how long they need access.

(Featured image by iStock.com/metamorworks)

Apple Raises Prices on Macs and iPads, but not iPhones or Apple Watches… Yet

There’s no way to put a positive spin on this: Apple has raised prices across most of its product lineup, with increases averaging 20% on Macs, iPads, HomePods, the Apple TV, and even the Vision Pro. The iPhone and Apple Watch remain unaffected… for now.

The price hikes took effect on June 25. In a statement to the press, Apple blamed the AI industry’s insatiable appetite for memory chips, which has caused prices for memory and storage to increase up to sixfold:

The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge. The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly. We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products.

Apple’s price increases vary widely. The base model of the Apple TV 4K took the biggest percentage hit, jumping from $129 to $199—a 54% increase that’s particularly puzzling given the device has only 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of memory. It may be setting a new price floor for the next-generation Apple TV. At the other end of the percentage increase spectrum, the Vision Pro rose just 6%, from $3,499 to $3,699.

Mac and iPad Price Changes

The Mac lineup saw significant increases at both the low and high ends:

• MacBook Neo: $599 → $699 (+17%)

• MacBook Air (13-inch): $1,099 → $1,299 (+18%)

• MacBook Pro (14-inch base): $1,699 → $1,999 (+18%)

• Mac mini (M4): $599 → $799 (+33%)

• Mac Studio (M3 Ultra): $3,999 → $5,299 (+33%)

The $1,300 increase for the M3 Ultra model of the Mac Studio is the largest absolute dollar jump in the lineup—a reflection of just how much high-memory configurations are affected by the shortage.

iPads saw increases of 15–30%, with the base iPad hit hardest:

• iPad: $349 → $449 (+29%)

• iPad mini: $499 → $599 (+20%)

• iPad Air (11-inch): $599 → $749 (+25%)

• iPad Air (13-inch): $799 → $949 (+19%)

• iPad Pro (11-inch): $999 → $1,199 (+20%)

• iPad Pro (13-inch): $1,299 → $1,499 (+15%)

Base prices tell only part of the story. Memory and storage upgrade prices also jumped dramatically, with the 64 GB and 128 GB memory upgrades for M5 Max models of the MacBook Pro doubling in price.

Why iPhones and Apple Watches Were Spared

Apple left the prices for the iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Studio Display unchanged. The Studio Displays and AirPods likely escaped because they use minimal memory. The iPhone and Apple Watch are a different story—Apple may be willing to accept lower margins on its flagship products, betting that stable prices will drive enough additional sales to offset reduced profit per unit.

There’s also the timing factor. New iPhone and Apple Watch models are expected in September, and rumors suggest Apple will introduce only high-end (and higher margin) iPhone 18 models then, with more affordable models held until early 2027. That makes buying a current-generation iPhone now potentially the better deal—new models will almost certainly debut at higher prices.

Apple Isn’t Alone

The memory crisis has hit the entire consumer electronics industry. Microsoft raised prices on all Surface PCs. Samsung is raising prices on its Galaxy smartphones. Lenovo, HP, and Dell have all raised laptop prices.

The culprit is the industry’s rapid expansion into AI. Data centers are consuming memory and storage at a pace the industry wasn’t equipped to handle. Memory chip suppliers like Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix have directed production toward AI chipmakers like Nvidia, who are willing to pay top dollar, leaving consumer electronics to compete for whatever remains. Industry observers expect the shortage to persist through at least 2027 due to the time required to build manufacturing capacity.

What Should You Do?

If you need a Mac or iPad, some retailers may not have updated prices yet, but that won’t last. Similarly, you could look for a refurbished Mac from Apple or a certified pre-owned Mac from retailers like OWC, but those prices have largely increased as well.

For the iPhone and Apple Watch, the calculus is unusual: normally, we’d encourage waiting for September’s new models, but this year, buying now at current prices may save you some money.

Ultimately, the only options may be to bite the bullet and pay current prices, buy a less-expensive model or configuration, or hold on to your existing hardware in the hopes that prices come back down.

(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)

Understanding AI Today: No Longer Just a Chatbot

When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, using it was simple: you typed a prompt, and it generated text in response. That text came from a statistical model trained on data available at the time. If you asked ChatGPT about anything that had happened more recently, it either couldn’t help or would confidently make stuff up.

The chat interface that today’s AI systems still rely on has become more of a control panel than the system itself. What happens after you press Return may involve Web searches, file analysis, code execution, connected accounts, and even digital-world actions—all orchestrated behind the scenes. You need to understand what’s happening behind the chat box to evaluate the accuracy, quality, and utility of the answers that appear there.

Under the Hood of an AI System

The capabilities of a modern AI system include:

• Models generate text, analyze images, and work through problems. This is the traditional “AI” part, but it has improved hugely through better training techniques, longer conversations and documents, and extended reasoning time. Cutoff dates for training models remain an issue—some AIs think macOS 26 is still in beta.

• Retrieval pulls information from the Web, uploaded documents, or connected data sources. When an AI cites a source, it’s usually because retrieval happened. However, it’s still essential to check cited sources carefully because the URLs may be broken, and even when pages exist, they may not support the claims.

• Tools handle tasks the model can’t do on its own, such as analyzing numeric data, running code, creating visualizations, or searching databases. For many types of requests, the AI will write a script or call a tool to handle the work, dramatically increasing the likelihood that the results will be correct and making it easier to refine them.

• Connectors link AI systems to external platforms such as email, calendars, file storage, and Internet-hosted applications. They’re necessary so a system can work on personalized data (“Give me a timeline of the deliverables on the MacDavis project from our email conversations.”) and to connect with business data.

• Actions let AI systems do things in the digital world: send messages, create events, modify files, and interact with other software. Here is where AI stops merely advising and starts affecting real systems, so the safeguards need to be much stronger.

These capabilities don’t always appear together. A simple chatbot exchange may rely only on the model’s training. A research request may add retrieval and tools so the AI can search current sources, summarize what it finds, and run calculations or create charts. A workplace copilot may add connectors to email, calendars, cloud storage, customer records, or internal databases. A full-fledged agent adds actions, enabling the system to operate on your behalf.

It’s important to understand all the possibilities because each layer changes both what the AI can do and how much you should trust it. A model-only answer calls for skepticism (and perhaps a search). A search-based answer needs source checking. A tool-generated answer requires checking the inputs, method, and results. A connector-based answer warrants attention to the source of the data (and whether the permissions are too broad). And an action deserves a preview, an approval process, and ideally a way to undo mistakes.

What This Means for Trust, Privacy, and Control

This evolution from chatbot to assistant generally yields better results, but it also comes with new risks:

• Privacy isn’t just about what you type. It’s about what files you upload, what accounts you connect, and what the AI system can access. Putting confidential data into an AI could be problematic in numerous ways, not least regulatory compliance.

• Accuracy varies by task. Responses drawn purely from training data may be outdated or flat-out wrong, while search-informed answers reflect current sources. Asking an AI to “Confirm with a search” is a good way to get it to reassess what it has written with current information.

• Actions have consequences. When AI can send email, modify files, change settings, or interact with business systems, mistakes can have outsized impacts. This is why we strongly recommend caution about OpenClaw-style agents: giving any AI broad access to email, messaging, calendars, files, and applications creates security and reliability risks. Always preview any action—or AI-generated script you’re running externally—whose results could be difficult or impossible to reverse.

• Confidence isn’t correctness. AI outputs can sound polished and authoritative even when they contain errors, outdated information, or subtle misunderstandings of your intent. Any AI-generated work that informs decisions or will be seen by others deserves human review. Just as you wouldn’t base anything important on the work of a summer intern without checking first, you don’t want AI-generated work to go out if you can’t stand behind it.

For individuals, how you react to these risks mostly comes down to verification and restraint: check important sources, review important outputs, and don’t let AI take irreversible actions without approval. For organizations, the same principles must become policy because employees may already be using AI tools with company data without IT’s knowledge. To get ahead of the issue, organizations should:

• Audit what’s already happening. Talk with employees to find out what they’re already using, inventory online apps with embedded AI features, and check browser extensions, which often fly under the radar.

• Classify workflows by risk. Not all workflows need the same level of attention. Low-stakes tasks like brainstorming and text editing can proceed with commonsense guidelines. High-stakes outputs—client communications, financial analysis, security configurations—need human review before they go live.

• Evaluate tools carefully. Before approving any AI tool for general use, understand what data it accesses, whether it trains on your inputs, what actions it can take, and what logging is available. Most paid tools won’t train on your data, or can at least be configured not to, but the more important your data, the deeper your research should go.

• Create clear policies and train employees. Define which tools are approved, what data can be entered into AI systems, when human review is required, and what’s prohibited. Employees need practical guidance on how to apply the policies to their actual workflows. Don’t assume that an email or two is sufficient—training is essential.

The biggest mistake people make about AI today is underestimating both its risks and rewards because they’re still thinking about ChatGPT from 2023. The chat box may look the same, but it now sits in front of systems that are vastly more powerful, meaning that it’s more important than ever to consider when to trust them, when to verify them, and when to keep them at arm’s length.

(Featured image by iStock.com/tadamichi)

Choosing the Best Mac for a College-Bound Student in 2026

If you have a college-bound student, it’s time to think about whether they need a new Mac. Perhaps their current computer is showing its age, or it was a high school loaner, or it would be better handed down to a younger sibling. Whatever the reason, navigating Apple’s current Mac lineup can feel overwhelming, especially given the wide range of price points. Here’s how to choose.

First, you (or your child) will need to do some homework. Check with the college for any technical requirements. Some programs or majors mandate specific processor types, memory amounts, or storage capacities based on the software their students use. Current Macs can usually meet or exceed these specs without issue. A more pressing concern is whether a particular field of study requires Windows. If so, dig deeper—is the requirement driven by specific Windows-only software, or is it simply the IT department’s preference for a uniform support environment? It’s also worth checking if the college offers educational pricing. Most do, and you can usually save a few hundred dollars. Apple also typically runs a Back to School promotion that may be interesting.

For college students, a laptop makes far more sense than a desktop Mac. Students rarely stay put—they work in lecture halls, libraries, the quad, coffee shops, and wherever they can find a seat. There’s also the matter of breaks: when students head home, they need a computer that travels with them so they can keep working on assignments. A student who’s already comfortable taking notes on an iPad with a keyboard and Apple Pencil could potentially supplement that with a desktop Mac, but for the vast majority, a laptop is best.

Apple’s MacBook Choices

Happily, Apple’s current lineup offers something for nearly every student. We see four primary scenarios:

• Most students: Buy Apple’s MacBook Air, the company’s most popular laptop. The 13-inch and 15-inch M5 MacBook Air models, refreshed in March 2026, now start with 512 GB of storage and feature faster SSDs. The 13-inch M5 MacBook Air features a 13.6-inch screen, a memory ceiling of 32 GB, and up to 4 TB of storage, starting at $1,099. For those who want a larger display, the 15-inch M5 MacBook Air is a great choice, starting at $1,299. Otherwise, it’s nearly identical to its smaller sibling.

• Better specs: If performance is more important than price, consider the 14-inch MacBook Pro. It features M5, M5 Pro, or M5 Max chips. The entry-level M5 model starts at $1,699, but there’s little reason to choose it over the M5 MacBook Air. For students who need more power, the M5 Pro ($2,199) and M5 Max ($3,599) can be configured with significantly more memory—up to 64 GB with the M5 Pro or 128 GB with the M5 Max. Students majoring in film production, computer science with a focus on machine learning, or other fields involving heavy computation may benefit from an M5 Pro and more memory. (There’s also a 16-inch MacBook Pro in M5 Pro and M5 Max configurations—the larger screen is nice for video work, but it’s heavy and way more expensive.)

• Budget choice: If budget is the primary constraint, look at Apple’s new $599 MacBook Neo. It handles basic tasks like Web browsing, writing papers, and video streaming without issue. However, it has significant limitations: only 8 GB of memory, an iPhone-class A18 Pro chip that’s notably slower than the M5, and a limited port selection. The Neo is adequate for students whose coursework involves only word processing, Web research, and light productivity apps—but it won’t suffice for students who discover a passion for video editing, data analysis, or 3D modeling.

• Windows compatibility: The only downside of Macs with Apple silicon is that it’s more challenging to run Windows using virtualization software like Parallels Desktop (available at half price for students) or VMware Fusion (free for personal use). If Windows is a bonus but not essential, Windows 11 for Arm should work for most apps. However, if Windows compatibility and performance are crucial, your best option is—much as we hate to say it—a PC laptop.

Choosing Processor, Memory, and Storage Options

No matter which laptop you choose, you’ll need to select a processor, memory size, and storage capacity:

• Processor: For the most part, processor choice tracks with model and budget. The low-end MacBook Neo only offers an A18 Pro with a 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU. The mid-range MacBook Air models have an M5 with a 10-core CPU and either an 8-core or 10-core GPU; the extra GPU cores offer a little more performance for an extra $100. The powerful 14-inch MacBook Pro offers a choice between the M5 and multiple configurations of the M5 Pro and M5 Max. The base M5 model performs the same as the M5 MacBook Air, but students with significant computational needs will benefit from an M5 Pro or M5 Max, with price being the main constraint.

• Memory: The MacBook Neo has 8 GB of memory with no upgrade option—sufficient for basic tasks but limiting for demanding apps or heavy multitasking. The M5 MacBook Air models start at 16 GB and offer 24 or 32 GB options. On the 14-inch MacBook Pro, memory capacity varies by chip. The M5 Pro comes standard with 24 GB, with upgrade options to 48 or 64 GB. The M5 Max has a standard memory spec of 36 GB, with upgrade options to 48, 64, or 128 GB. Students can typically stick with 16 GB or choose 24 GB for more demanding tasks—a few will require 32 GB or more.

• Storage: The MacBook Neo starts at 256 GB ($599) or 512 GB ($699, which also adds Touch ID, a welcome feature for a college student using their laptop in public spaces). For both MacBook Air models, 512 GB is the minimum storage option, with upgrades up to 4 TB. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at 1 TB, while M5 Max models start at 2 TB, with upgrades up to 8 TB. Choose the storage capacity based on two factors: budget (storage gets expensive quickly) and anticipated usage (audio and particularly video production can consume a lot of space, as can large numbers of images). It’s easy to offload large, infrequently used files to an external SSD or hard drive, but external storage prices have skyrocketed lately, making Apple’s prices for internal storage less extreme.

Our Recommendation

For most students, the best choice for a Mac likely to last four years of college is the 13-inch or 15-inch M5 MacBook Air, equipped with 16 GB or 24 GB of memory and either 512 GB or 1 TB of storage. While the 15-inch model has a larger screen, it’s heavier and takes up more space in a backpack, so consider portability when making your final decision. Be sure to budget for AppleCare+ as well; it’s almost certain that a mishap will occur with a student laptop, and AppleCare+ covers up to two incidents of accidental damage per year.

Be sure to talk with your child to learn more about what they think they’ll need—and compare it to the college’s recommendations—but if you have any questions afterward, feel free to reach out to us.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Zbynek Pospisil)

10 Reasons to Upgrade to Apple’s Version 27 Operating Systems This Fall

Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote—the final public appearance for outgoing CEO Tim Cook—was different this year. Although it was still a tour of the changes we’ll see in version 27 of Apple’s operating systems, the company broke it into three parts. The first focused on interface refinements, performance improvements, and feature tweaks that smooth rough edges in our current user experience. The second revolved around changes Apple is making to its parental controls and child safety features. And the third was devoted to showing off Apple Intelligence and the new Siri AI.

Apple previewed numerous features during the keynote and listed even more on its website afterward. Below, we’ll focus on those we think are most likely to entice you to upgrade your Apple devices, but we encourage you to read Apple’s pages for each platform to learn more about what’s coming. Those are linked here, along with hardware requirements, so you can determine if your devices can upgrade this fall:

• macOS 27 Golden Gate: Only Macs with Apple silicon, including the MacBook Neo (2026), MacBook Air (2020 and later), MacBook Pro (2020 and later), iMac (2021 and later), Mac mini (2020 and later), Mac Studio (2022 and later), and Mac Pro (2023)

• iOS 27: iPhone SE (2nd generation and later) and iPhone 11 and later (unchanged from iOS 26)

• iPadOS 27: iPad (9th generation and later and A16), iPad mini (6th generation and later and A17 Pro), iPad Air 11-inch (4th generation and later, M2, M3, and M4), iPad Air 13-inch (M2 and later), iPad Pro 11‑inch (2nd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (4th generation and later), and iPad Pro (M4 and later)

• watchOS 27: Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Series 9 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later

• visionOS 27: All Vision Pro headsets

Siri AI Everywhere

The long‑promised “more personalized” Siri, now called Siri AI, is slated to ship later this year as a dedicated app that lets you carry on conversations much like with ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Apple is integrating Siri AI deeply into its platforms, so you can invoke it by swiping down from the Dynamic Island on an iPhone or via Spotlight on the Mac. Contextual menu commands on the Mac will let you focus Siri AI on images, files, and text. You’ll even be able to use Siri AI with AirPods and in CarPlay.

Personal context enables Siri AI to tailor its responses and actions based on your messages, emails, calendar events, photos, and other data. It will also be aware of what’s showing on screen, so you can ask Siri about what you’re looking at or direct it to take actions based on what’s showing. Siri AI will be able to work directly with compatible apps, creating contacts, sending email, calling people, and much more, depending on developer support. Finally, Siri AI will be able to respond with broad-based world knowledge gleaned from Web searches.

On sufficiently powerful devices, Siri AI provides more expressive voices and more advanced dictation. For that, you’ll need an iPhone Air or iPhone 17 Pro, an iPad with M4 or later, or a Mac with M3 or later.

Better Performance

Although we don’t think of our Apple devices as slow, Apple has improved performance across many areas. iPhone and iPad apps launch up to 30% faster, new photos appear in the Photo Library up to 70% faster, files transfer via AirDrop up to 80% faster, and files can be copied from an iPad to an external drive up to 5x faster, matching macOS transfer speeds. People with older iPhones will particularly appreciate the effort Apple put into improving general performance with a new CPU scheduler.

More Reliable Spotlight

We’ve all encountered the frustration of Spotlight failing to find a file we know exists. In response, Apple has rearchitected Spotlight’s search index to make it faster and more comprehensive. Searching in Mail and Photos also benefits from the new search index.

Liquid Glass Refinements

Apple showed several refinements to the Liquid Glass interface that debuted last year, addressing common requests for more control and legibility. Most notably, a transparency slider lets you adjust Liquid Glass from ultra-clear to fully tinted. macOS apps get a new uniform toolbar to improve legibility, and macOS sidebars will extend to the edges of windows and regain colored icons.

Visual Intelligence on More Devices

So far, Visual Intelligence, which can tell you about anything in the camera viewfinder, has been limited to iPhones with the Camera Control. Apple is moving it to a dedicated Siri mode in the Camera app, which brings it to the iPad; on the Mac, you’ll be able to select on-screen items and ask about them.

Automatic Updates to Weak or Compromised Passwords

We all have old accounts with weak or compromised passwords that we’ll get to changing real soon now. Apple recognizes this, so it’s adding Apple Intelligence to the Passwords app, enabling it to log in to eligible websites and change your password to something strong and unique.

More Comprehensive Parental Controls

To address parental criticism and potentially head off governmental regulation, Apple beefed up its parental controls. A new setup assistant helps parents configure child accounts, which now feature Ask to Browse (parental permission to visit specific websites) and communication controls (permission to communicate with people outside the family). Communication Safety now warns about gore and violence along with nudity, and a redesigned Screen Time app provides an at-a-glance view of a child’s device usage.

New Photos Features

The Clean Up tool that debuted with Apple Intelligence has been popular, and Apple says it now does an even better job of removing distractions and filling backgrounds realistically. A new Extend feature expands images outward, adding a realistically generated background around the photo’s subject. Even more impressive is the new Reframe feature, which lets you reposition the virtual camera after taking a photo. You can use it to shift perspective or change the zoom, generating new content only for the shifted areas.

Build Shortcuts with Natural Language

It’s often useful to automate tasks in Shortcuts—say, notifying your spouse when you leave the office—but many people have found it too hard to create those automations. Thanks to Apple Intelligence, you’ll now be able to describe what you want a shortcut to do, and it will be created for you. If it doesn’t work quite right the first time, you can keep iterating until it’s what you want.

Image Playground Gets More Productive

The images Image Playground has been able to create so far have been on the childish side. Apple says that Image Playground will now be able to create photorealistic images, incorporate multiple people from Photos, transform images with natural language descriptions, and generate images in multiple dimensions. It won’t replace a professional illustrator, but it might help you generate quick images for a presentation, website, or invitation.

Apart from Siri AI, these aren’t earth-shaking features, and that’s the point. Apple wants to keep improving the user experience, but part of that is not changing too much too fast. We’ll write more about when we recommend upgrading each of your devices after the beta this summer.

(Featured image by Apple)

Speed Up Mac and iOS Typing with Text Expansion

Silicon Valley thinks everyone wants to delegate writing to AI, which is why Apple Intelligence constantly suggests replies for you in Messages and Mail. But there’s an excellent way to supercharge your typing speed without sounding like a chirpy chatbot or resorting to teenage texting abbreviations: text expansion.

Text expansion speeds up typing words or phrases that you use regularly, and it’s especially helpful for character combinations that your fingers find awkward—just try touch-typing “Hyundai IONIQ 5” or “acetaminophen.” Apple has long offered text expansion capabilities in macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, and third-party utilities take them even further.

Configuring and Using Text Expansion

To configure the built-in text expansion on the Mac, look in System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements; in iOS and iPadOS, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. In each, a text replacement consists of a shortcut and a replacement phrase.

Then, in almost any app, type the shortcut, followed by a space or a punctuation character, and its phrase will replace it. If text expansion doesn’t work in a Mac app like Mail or Safari, make sure Edit > Substitutions > Text Replacement is selected.

If you’re signed into the same Apple Account on all your devices, text expansions sync between them automatically. So, you can type omw and tap the Space bar to have “On my way!” typed out for you, regardless of what device you’re using.

Tip: To create replacements more quickly, you can export a list of text replacements, edit the list, and re-import it; Apple provides instructions. This export/import capability also lets you share text replacements with someone else.

What Text to Expand

Replacements can be as short or long as you like—up to about 1900 characters—and can contain anything you can type from the keyboard, including spaces, returns, symbols, accented characters, and emoji. It can be hard to know where to start, but once you try text expansion, possibilities quickly become obvious. A few common categories include:

• Your email address, phone number, and postal address

• Boilerplate text for common email replies (“To subscribe to our mailing list…”)

• Email signoffs (“Sincerely, your close personal Internet friend…”)

• Frequently shared URLs or email addresses (https://www.apple.com/feedback/)

• Long scientific, medical, or technical terms (esophagogastroduodenoscopy)

• Proper nouns with unusual spelling, capitalization, or accents (Zoë Saldaña)

• Words you consistently misspell or mistype (teh)

• Unix commands with arguments (ls -la)

Shortcuts are usually shorter than their replacements, but you can also use text expansion to simplify entering individual characters that are hard to access.

• Commonly used emoji (🙄 or 👍)

• Special characters (½ or →)

One helpful convention is to start shortcuts for special characters with a colon. For example, :roll for 🙄 or :tu for 👍. The colon prefix makes these shortcuts easy to remember and prevents accidental expansions. Make sure not to create shortcuts that you’ll also want to type normally. It might seem like a good idea to use mm for “Mickey Mouse,” but that will get in the way of writing about 35mm film.

Third-Party Text Expansion

With such a useful feature built into macOS and iOS, why would you want to spend money on a third-party utility like TextExpander (macOS and iOS), Typinator (macOS and iOS), or TypeIt4Me (macOS)?

Apple’s built-in text expansion works well for most everyday uses, but it has some limitations—its interface is cramped, it doesn’t work in every app, and you can’t include formatted text or images in your expansions. Third-party utilities fill those gaps.

They can include styled text and graphics in expansions, insert the current date and time, respect case when expanding abbreviations, include the contents of the clipboard in expanded text, automatically fix common typos, and much more.

So think about which bits of text you might want to expand automatically, and give Apple’s built-in text expansion feature a try today! If it seems constraining after a while, a third-party app can take text expansion to the next level.

(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)

Get to Your Files Faster by Choosing the Best Finder View

If you can work comfortably with the Mac’s four Finder views, you’ll enjoy an easier experience when you try to get to your folders and files. Each view has its pros and cons, so using the best view for the job at hand will make you more productive. Here’s a look at the Icon, List, Column, and Gallery views, plus tips on quickly switching views and setting up default views. 

You switch between views in the active window by choosing View > as Icons, as List, as Columns, or as Gallery. Alternatively, click one of the view icons in a window’s toolbar. It’s worth memorizing the keyboard shortcuts for List (Command-2) and Column (Command-3) views so you can switch to them quickly if a particular window isn’t in your preferred view.

Icon View

Viewing files and folders as thumbnails is the most visual approach and works best for people who think spatially—this icon is below that other one. Such people often prefer to arrange icons manually to create memorable groupings, but the Finder can also automatically arrange them in a grid, sorted by different criteria. Icon view works well for:

• The Desktop: The desktop can only display its contents in Icon view, though you can open the Desktop folder in a window and use any view in that window.

• Folders with few items: When a window shows only a handful of items, icons make selection easy. That’s why most software distribution disk images use Icon view to display the app and an icon in the Applications folder.

• Photos or other images: Because icons for images can show a preview of the image (rather than just the document type thumbnail), Icon view with a relatively large icon size provides a useful visual preview.

To customize Icon view, choose View > Show View Options. You can adjust icon size, grid spacing, text size, label position, and background color—or even a background photo. Group By organizes icons into categories, while Sort By keeps them organized by name, date, or other metadata. For folders containing images, increasing the icon size creates a more useful visual preview.

The main limitation of Icon view is that it shows minimal metadata—just the filename and, optionally, item info such as image dimensions. It also becomes unwieldy with more than a few files, since scrolling through numerous icons is inefficient.

List View

When a folder contains more than a few items, List view is usually the most efficient way to work with it. It displays files in rows with sortable columns showing metadata such as date modified, size, kind, and more. List view is ideal for users who think about files in terms of attributes—when something was created, how large it is, or what type it is—rather than visual appearance. Use it for:

• Folders containing many items: Once a folder has more items than fit without scrolling, List view makes it easier to view and select items.

• Sorting folders by date or size: Whenever you want to see the most recent files at the top, or quickly identify which consume the most disk space, you can click the Date Modified or Size column header to sort by that criterion.

• Work with nested folders: Disclosure triangles let you view the contents of multiple nested folders without opening a new window, making it easier to see and move items between them.

Customize the visible columns by choosing View > Show View Options or by Control-clicking any column header. You can add columns for tags, version, comments, and other metadata. Drag column headers to rearrange their order, and drag the dividers between headers to adjust column widths. Sort columns by clicking a column header; click it again to reverse the sort.

Column View

Column view shows your folder hierarchy as a series of columns, with each column representing one level of the hierarchy. Selecting a folder reveals its contents in the next column to the right, while selecting a file displays a preview and metadata in the rightmost column. Column view is popular with power users who frequently navigate between folders and appreciate seeing the path to the current location. It’s perfect for:

• Navigating deep folder structures: Move through nested folders quickly without opening multiple windows.

• Understanding file locations: The column layout shows exactly where a file sits in your folder hierarchy.

• Quick previews: Select any file to see a preview without opening it or using Quick Look.

• Drag-and-drop organization: Easily drag files between folders visible in different columns.

One useful option in View > Show View Options is “Resize columns to fit filenames,” added in macOS 26.1, which automatically adjusts column widths to accommodate the longest visible filename. Alternatively, you can manually resize all columns at once by Option-double-clicking any column divider. You can also set a default column width and choose whether to show icons and the preview column.

Gallery View

Gallery view dedicates most of the window to a large preview of the selected file, with a row of thumbnails along the bottom and a metadata sidebar on the right. Those who work primarily with images find it useful. It’s designed for:

• Reviewing photos and videos: The large preview makes it easy to evaluate images without opening them.

• Previewing documents: PDFs, presentations, and other documents display their first page, which can help with identifying similarly named files.

• Quick Actions: The sidebar includes Quick Action buttons for common tasks such as rotating images, using markup tools, creating PDFs, and trimming video.

• Checking metadata: The sidebar can show detailed information, including EXIF data for photos.

Gallery view becomes less useful for folders containing mostly text documents or applications, where the large preview adds little value. Honestly, we seldom use it.

Setting Default Views

The Finder remembers your view preferences for each folder individually, so once set, they should stick. However, if you’re in Column or List view and open a folder set to appear in Gallery view by selecting it or clicking its disclosure triangle, you’ll stay in the previous view. To open the folder in its assigned view, double-click its icon.

When you create a new Finder window with File > New Finder Window, it opens the folder specified in Finder > Settings > General. Set that folder to your preferred view so new windows open as you like.

To ensure a specific folder always opens in a particular view, select it, choose View > Show View Options, and select the Always Open In checkbox. To have its subfolders open in that view too, also select Browse In, if available.

You can also apply view settings to other folders. In View Options, configure the settings exactly as you want—icon size, text size, visible columns, and so on—then click Use as Defaults. This makes those settings the default for any folder displayed in that same view type (Icon, List, or Gallery) that doesn’t have its own custom settings. You must set defaults separately for each view type; Column view lacks this option entirely. To revert to system defaults, hold the Option key and the button changes to Restore Defaults.

There’s no need to commit to one view. Switch freely based on what you’re doing—List view for finding recent files or cleaning up, Column view for navigating a folder hierarchy, or Gallery or Icon view for reviewing images. The best view is whichever helps you accomplish your current task most efficiently.

(Featured image generated by Adam Engst with ChatGPT)

Understanding New MacBook Battery Charging Features

The just-released macOS 26.4 Tahoe introduced two battery-related features for MacBook users, helping them understand and control MacBook charging. A Slow Charger indicator now appears in the battery status menu and in Battery settings when your Mac is connected to a charger that isn’t delivering the minimum recommended wattage. More significantly, a new Charge Limit feature lets you manually set a ceiling for what the Mac considers a full charge—between 80% and 100%.

These additions are the latest in Apple’s ongoing effort to extend battery lifespan. Understanding how these features work—and when to override them—can reduce frustration and help keep your MacBook battery healthy.

Why Apple Limits Charging

A battery’s lifespan depends on its “chemical age,” which is affected by charging patterns and temperature history. Lithium-ion batteries degrade faster when they spend extended time at full charge or when they generate excess heat during charging. As batteries chemically age, they hold less charge and deliver reduced performance.

Apple’s solution is to reduce the time batteries spend fully charged. This is particularly important for MacBooks that spend most of their time plugged into power at a desk—a scenario that would otherwise keep the battery at 100% and generate heat, both of which shorten battery life.

Optimized Battery Charging

Apple has rolled out optimized battery charging features on the Mac. The Optimized Battery Charging algorithm uses on-device machine learning to learn your daily charging routine, aiming to ensure your Mac is fully charged by the time you actually need to disconnect it from power and leave for the day.

If your MacBook spends most of its time plugged in at your desk, macOS may keep the battery at 80% and charge to full only when it predicts you’ll need to use it away from a power source. When Optimized Battery Charging is holding your battery at 80%, you’ll see Charging On Hold in the battery status menu. (The iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch have similar features that learn when you typically unplug and delay charging past 80% until shortly before that time.)

The New Charge Limit Feature

Charge Limit in macOS 26.4 takes a different approach. Rather than relying on machine learning to predict when you’ll need a full charge, it lets you explicitly set a maximum charge level. Your Mac will charge to within a few percentage points of your chosen limit, then stop. If the battery drops more than 5% while connected to power, charging resumes until it reaches the limit again.

To set a charge limit, go to System Settings > Battery, click the ⓘ next to Charging, and choose a limit between 80% and 100%. When the limit is active, the battery status menu shows Charged to X% Limit.

Using Charge Limit is ideal if your MacBook rarely leaves your desk. Setting an 80% limit reduces battery wear while ensuring you always have enough charge for brief periods away from power.

When You Need a Full Charge

What about when you want your MacBook’s battery to be at full strength for an unpredictable day away from power, such as for a long flight? You can override both Optimized Battery Charging and Charge Limit when you need maximum battery life:

• For immediate needs: Click the battery icon in the menu bar and choose Charge to Full Now. Your Mac will charge to 100% regardless of current settings.

• To disable limits temporarily: In System Settings > Battery, click the ⓘ next to Charging, turn off Optimized Battery Charging, and click the Turn Off Until Tomorrow button when prompted. Also set Charge Limit to 100%.

• To disable limits permanently: Follow the same steps as the bullet above, but click the Turn Off button in the warning dialog instead. Also set Charge Limit to 100%. Remember, this will likely reduce your battery’s overall lifespan.

(Similar charging limits and workarounds also apply to the iPhone and Apple Watch. On the iPhone, go to Settings > Battery > Charging and turn off Optimized Battery Charging. For the Apple Watch, look in Settings > Battery > Battery Health on the watch itself.)

About That Slow Charger Warning

The new Slow Charger indicator helps explain why your MacBook might be charging slowly or even draining while in use. If the power adapter doesn’t deliver enough wattage for your Mac model, you’ll now see a warning in the battery menu and in System Settings > Battery.

You can check your current power adapter’s wattage by reading the fine print on the charger itself, or by opening the System Information app and checking the AC Charger section in the Power screen. It’s safe to use an adapter with a higher wattage than required, but don’t go below the wattage of Apple’s included adapters.

For optimal charging, use an adapter that delivers at least the minimum wattage recommended for your Mac:

• MacBook Neo: 20 watts (no fast charging available)

• 13-inch MacBook Air: 30 or 35 watts standard, 67 watts for fast charging

• 15-inch MacBook Air: 35 watts standard, 70 watts for fast charging

• 14-inch MacBook Pro: 70 watts standard (or 96 watts for M4 Pro and M4 Max chips); 96 watts for fast charging

• 16-inch MacBook Pro: 140 watts for both standard and fast charging

Using your iPhone’s 20W charger with a MacBook Pro might technically work, but you’ll now be warned that it’s not delivering adequate power.

Finding the Right Balance

Apple’s battery optimization features represent a trade-off between immediate convenience and long-term battery health. For most users, leaving Optimized Battery Charging enabled makes sense—it learns your patterns and charges to full when needed. The new Charge Limit feature offers more explicit control for those who prefer it, particularly those whose MacBooks rarely leave the desk and can be locked at 80%.

If you frequently fight these features, you may have an unpredictable schedule that the algorithms can’t anticipate. In that case, consider turning off Optimized Battery Charging or setting a higher Charge Limit. Just remember that keeping your battery at 100% more often will shorten its lifespan—a trade-off that might be acceptable depending on how long you plan to keep your laptop.

(Featured image by iStock.com/shirophoto)