Wired reviews the best hearing aids, and it’s no surprise which ones are the best dual-purpose hearing aid/Bluetooth earbuds.

It’s no surprise that the best hearing aids cost thousands of dollars, with the top rated one being the Jabra Enhance Select 300 at a whopping $1,700 a pair, which is cheap compared to the Edge AI RIC RT’s $4,000 asking price. The best budget hearing aid? The JLab Hear at $100 that also doubles as wireless earbuds.

The overall best hearing aid and Bluetooth earbuds combo? AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C. They’re always on sale for $169, making them an excellent value with a low barrier of entry.

Here is Wired’s take:

OTC hearing aids have been around for more than three years now, but it might be Apple that really kickstarts this market into gear, now that hearing aid features are available on its AirPods Pro 2 wireless earbuds (8/10, WIRED Recommends). A software update is all you need to turn your existing earbuds into hearing aids, giving them a second job of helping you hear better, even when you’re not streaming.

All the expected features common to OTC hearing aids are here and more, including the ability to upload an existing audiogram to tune them to your specific needs. The units quickly and effectively shift between hearing aid mode and streaming mode, and—unique to Apple—iOS now automatically applies your hearing aid settings to streaming media, which can make a difference to the clarity of dialog and other sounds. For the most part, they do the job as intended.

Mind you, AirPods Pro 2 aren’t perfect as hearing aids, and they may not be the best choice for everyone. There’s a lingering hiss and some audio artifacts that need to be ironed out, and the built-in hearing test feature needs some work. With just six hours of battery life (plus 24 more in the case), they aren’t a great solution for people who need uninterrupted hearing help all day long. But the big news is that, at $249, Apple is now producing some of the least expensive products in the category, a position in which it rarely finds itself. As a first step toward investigating a solution for hearing loss, the price alone makes them worth strong consideration, presuming that you have an iPhone.

Also, former MythBuster Adam Savage who personally uses AirPods Pro as hearing aids had this to say:

I think Apple turning the AirPod Pros into a substitute hearing aid is one of the best sub-features I've seen out of this consumer product in a long time. Having been a very public hearing aid wearer for 15 years, I have been sent a lot of people’s versions of earbud-hearing-aids and I’ll, I’m not naming any names but everything I have tried sucked. Everything I have tried had a very bad user experience in the calibration, in the testing, in the integration. These (the AirPods Pro 2) were really really just as advertised by Apple, straightforward, simple to understand, fast to execute, and awesome to use […]

If you have people in your life who need hearing aids, this might be a great gateway drug to hearing aids, given that it is a lot less expensive and it carries a lot less of the, stigma of hearing aids. One of the rhetorical flourishes I gave people a few years ago that a lot of folks have told me worked on people in their lives, is to explain that no one who ever got hearing aids thought to themselves, “well that was a bad idea.”

REEVUS water bottle is great for workouts

I was too lazy to go upstairs and try to find my iPad for working out, so I decided to just use my iPhone and prop it up with the MagSafe compatible lid on the REEVUS water bottle and get the job done. I knew I would get side tracked if I went upstairs so I just had to grind it out on the small screen.

Quick access to water without having to open a lid.

Cap stays clean + phone stays in place = happy runner.

Small but helpful update to Smart Stack in watchOS 26.

New quality of life update - you can click on the date in Smart Stack to enter your calendar. Now you can free up a widget if you had a dedicated “Your Schedule” widget set up.

You can also click on the time to go back to your watch face.

Taiwan’s TSMC chip technology leak is a bigger deal than you think.

Bloomberg (paywalled article):

Taiwan prosecutors arrested six people suspected of stealing trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., opening an investigation into a potential breach of national security involving a global tech industry linchpin.

The chipmaker to Nvidia Corp. reported a number of former and current staff to authorities on suspicion they illegally obtained core technology. A total of six people were arrested, with two posting bail and one released afterwards, said Taiwan High Prosecutors Office spokesman John Nieh. Prosecutors searched the homes of some staff between July 25 and July 28, the agency said in a statement. It’s now trying to find out if data had been leaked to other parties.

TSMC is the world’s most advanced maker of semiconductors, from Nvidia AI accelerators to Apple Inc. iPhone processors. The case coincides with a quickening race by the likes of Meta Platforms Inc.and DeepSeek to develop artificial intelligence in the post-ChatGPT era, which requires billions of dollars in servers and datacenters.

On Tuesday, the Nikkei reported that TSMC fired several employees suspected of trying to obtain critical information on 2-nanometer chip development. That next-generation semiconductor process is entering mass production in the second half of this year.

TSMC is more than just a chip maker. They’re literally responsible for running the global economy. China believes Taiwan is part of China, and are very eager to seek “reunification” with the island, calling it sacred territory.

An excerpt from Apple in China by Patrick McGee:

When on October 1, 2024, the Communist Party celebrated seventy-five years of ruling China, Xi reiterated his desire to "reunify" with the island democracy, saying "Taiwan is China's sacred territory" and that the two are connected by blood. "It's an irreversible trend, a cause of righteousness and the common aspiration of the people," he told thousands of supporters. "No one can stop the march of history.”

Any military action would immediately threaten TSMC, which is responsible for making at least 80 percent of the world's most advanced chips. In war games involving an invasion of Taiwan by China, Taiwan's semiconductor industry doesn't survive. "It would go out of business on day one of the war," according to Chris Miller, author of Chip War. "The moment fighting starts, TSMC facilities would stop producing. It would never be reopened." Such a cessation in production would have disastrous effects on the world economy. Avril Haines, US director of national intel-ligence, estimates that if Taiwan were prevented from exporting chips, the global loss would be "somewhere between $600 billion to more than $1 trillion, on an annual basis, for the first several years." Indeed, the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has credibly called TSMC "the only corporation... in history that could cause a global depression if it were forced to halt production." For Apple alone, the impact would be the equivalent of a meteor strike.

According to the article, China is still manufacturing 7-nanometer chips while TSMC is working on more efficient 2-nanometer chips.

The headline sounds like another routine stolen trade secrets scandal, but it’s more cutthroat than that (pun intended).

They don’t call it the Chip Wars for nothing.

A little easter egg in the new Mail icon.

Just caught it today, thinking I had a scratch on my phone. It’s technically there on the Apple Watch, but it’s so small you can’t read it.

Apple Park, California, 95014

Icon placement needs to be unique for each wallpaper on iOS.

Icon customization has improved over the last few iterations of iOS. You can customize each of the following attributes:

1. Icon size

2. Truly placing icons anywhere on your Home Screen

3. Icon color (default, dark, clear, tinted)

When you switch wallpapers, your icon size and color can be different for each, but your icon placement always stays the same. It would be nice to have custom icon placement for each wallpaper so you can actually see the people or objects in the background.

I can see my daughter clearly, but I can’t see my future ride since icon placement for each wallpaper is not customizable, yet.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 regains its title (barely) for the biggest Apple Watch display size.

Juli Clover from MacRumors:

The latest iOS 26 beta includes imagery that confirms Apple's work on a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra, which is set to come out this fall. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris found an Apple Watch image with a resolution that does not correspond to any current Apple Watch models.

The image suggests that the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra 3 could have a slightly larger display size, with a display resolution of 422 x 514. The current Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a 410 x 502 resolution.

Apple Watch Series 10 in 46mm has a resolution of 416 x 496, making it the current king of displays.

The math doesn’t lie:

Series 10 in 46mm: 416 by 496 pixels; 1220 sq mm display area; 331 PPI

Ultra 2 49mm: 410 by 502 pixels; 1185 sq mm display area; 335 PPI

Ultra 3 (rumored resolution): 422 x 514 pixels; 1246 sq mm display area; 335 PPI

It’s no surprise that Apple Watch Ultra 3 should have the biggest display, and it will if this rumor is true. Not by much, but it’s perfect for the marketing team:

“Ultra Watch, Ultra display. The biggest display ever on Apple Watch, in an all-new 50mm titanium case.”

Apple Watch needs to have Continuity with iPad, but iPadOS is holding it back.

I love running on my treadmill and watching videos on my iPad, and that setup is perfect to project my Apple Watch metrics onto the iPad. It makes perfect sense, and would allow me to be more intentional with my running instead of repeatedly looking at my watch.

This feature already exists on the iPhone when I noticed my biking workouts project real-time metrics onto the Lock Screen and the Fitness app. Gym equipment also connects with Apple Watch, giving you more accurate information.

There is a general lack of compatibility (or Continuity per Apple lingo), between iPad and Apple Watch, even at this turning point where all of Apple’s platforms have now unified their naming scheme. Apple Watch is already intimately linked to the iPhone, and provides crucially convenient features for Mac users such as Apple Pay and Auto Unlock with Apple Watch. I use both of these Mac features on my 12-year-old, 2013 MacBook Pro, and it still works flawlessly.

The iPad doesn’t have a true clamshell mode, so it would need to be updated before Auto Unlock with Apple Watch and Apple Pay could be a feature. Hopefully we can see an update in iPadOS 27 for more Continuity features starting with these two, and yes, projecting workout metrics to the iPad screen.

The new Skechers sneakers with a hidden AirTag compartment won’t work like you think it will, but it could get rid of your parental clinginess.

Great summary of how AirTags work, and how they’re not good for pinpoint accuracy (via Jake Peterson from Lifehacker):

Contrary to popular belief, AirTags are not homing beacons that can update their location 24/7. Alone, these tags have no way of updating their location. They lack a GPS chip, or any way to communicate with the internet themselves. Instead, they rely on other devices to update their location for them.

Any Apple device connected to Apple's Find My network can update the location of your AirTag when it comes within Bluetooth range of the tracker. The whole system is passive and anonymous, so no one, not even Apple, knows which devices update the location of your AirTag. But it works: If you leave an item with an AirTag on a bus, for example, anyone on the bus with an iPhone can, unbeknownst to them, refresh your AirTag's location.

The magic behind how AirTags work is also the reason why they're not reliable for live tracking. Without another internet-connected Find My device within Bluetooth range, your AirTag won't be able to update its location. If your kid isn't within Bluetooth range of another person with such a Find My device, for example, you won't see their latest location—just the last known location where they were within range of a Find My device.

But even when they are in range, AirTags tend to be pretty sporadic in how often they refresh their location. As Lifehacker deputy editor Joel Cunningham discovered, sometimes locations wouldn't update for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Occasionally, the AirTag wouldn't update its location at all. So much for tracking.

I tried using an AirTag for tracking my son a couple of years ago (9 years old at the time) when he went on solo bike rides, but its performance was less than stellar to say the least exactly for the reasons stated above.

I was using it wrong.

Biking in the countryside didn’t bring enough Bluetooth traffic to get a reliable approximation of his location. A cheap iPhone SE 2nd gen is infinitely better and is our current solution.

I still think this idea has other benefits, especially for parents who are hesitant to let their kids be on their own and explore the world by themselves as they get older.

The AirTag (as poorly as it performed), removed a psychological barrier from us (mainly my wife), and made it ok to let our kids go out on their own and be kids. No direct supervision and an opportunity to experience life on their own.

Kudos for Skechers for trying. Who knows, maybe Skechers has some inside scoop on the next generation of AirTags having full GPS support?

Amazon’s app lets you save your returns to the Wallet app.

Not sure when this update was rolled out, but it’s a heck of a lot easier now to keep track of your Amazon returns. I started two returns recently, and I was given the option to add the barcode into the Wallet app.

No more random screenshots with barcodes scattered in my Photo Library.

Comparing icons: iOS 18 vs iOS 26

9to5Mac has a nice comparison showing the updated icons. Of course all the new icons have Liquid Glass inspiration, but the Clock icon is by far the best upgrade we get.

Does AppleCare+ or AppleCare One cover damage, theft, or loss to Hermés bands?

I’ve got bad news for you.

If you damage your expensive, overpriced Hermés watch band, don’t expect Apple to replace it for you under AppleCare (per the fine print):

For Apple Watch, the band that is covered for accidental damage and defects in material or workmanship under your plan is the band that came in the same box as the covered Apple Watch. Apple Watch Hermès bands, other than the Hermès Sport Band supplied in the same box as the covered Apple Watch, are not covered. Any replacement band will be an Apple-branded band in a style, material, and color that is subject to Apple’s discretion.

What if someone steals your watch, or the more likely scenario, you lose it?

For any covered Apple Watch theft or loss incidents, including those involving Nike and Hermès watch bands, the replacement band will be an Apple-branded band, which may differ in band style, material, and/or color from the band lost with the covered Apple Watch, subject to Apple’s discretion. Theft or loss claims cannot be made for watch bands only; bands are covered only when the Apple Watch is lost or stolen.

Even though Apple will replace the band at their discretion, you could still end up on top and negotiate your replacement band. Talking to Apple customer service over the phone is the best way to negotiate, and they might be able to slide you a Titanium Milanese or Link Bracelet since the cheapest Hermés band you could lose is $349.

I was able to return my Vision Pro after the 14 day period, and even got them to refund me for my Jet Black Apple Watch since the replacement they sent was worse.

Just do yourself a (huge) favor - don’t lose your $999 Grand H band.

iPhone 17 leak theory.

We are about 40-ish days from new iPhones being announced, and we got presumably our first look at a test unit out in the wild. From what is visible, the hardware matches what the rumors have mentioned for months, with an elongated camera bump with the flash and LiDAR sensor further away from the camera lenses.

A recent tip given to MacRumors also suggests a new Camera Control button which I didn’t believe initially, but could still be a feature:

The tipster claimed to be familiar with an iPhone 17 Pro commercial that is allegedly being produced by a film company that has publicly listed Apple as one of its clients. […]

The tipster revealed three alleged iPhone 17 Pro features that have not been rumored previously:

• An upgraded Telephoto lens with up to 8× optical zoom, compared to up to 5× optical zoom on the iPhone 16 Pro models. The lens can apparently move, allowing for continuous optical zoom at various focal lengths.

• An all-new pro camera app from Apple for both photos and videos. This app would compete with the likes of Halide, Kino, and Filmic Pro. It is unclear if the app would be exclusive to the iPhone 17 Pro models.

• An additional Camera Control button on the top edge of the devices, for quickly accessing the camera and related settings. This would complement the Camera Control button on the bottom-right edge of all iPhone 16 models.

Could this additional Camera Control button exist exclusively as an iPhone 17 Pro Case? The iPhone 17 Air is expected to have a case with extended battery capabilities for days when you just need that extra power, so why not a more Pro-oriented case for days when you’re expected to really push the camera to its limits?

It doesn’t seem out of the blue to have a dedicated case that has additional camera controls. Apple did have a battery case for the iPhone 11 models that included a Camera button.

iPhone 11 Smart Battery Case.

The Files app conundrum in iOS 26 has been solved (for real this time).

I jumped the gun and didn’t tinker around hard enough yesterday, but you can get the default, Quick Look view back as your default in the Files app:

1. Tap and hold on any file type in Files.

2. Select “Open With.”

3. Select “Preview with Quick Look.”

This will immediately make all files with that extension open with Quick Look by default.

iPhone 17 Pro devices might get their own dedicated Pro Camera app and new Camera Control button?

Joe Rossignol via MacRumors who got an anonymous tip from a film company:

The tipster claimed to be familiar with an iPhone 17 Pro commercial that is allegedly being produced by a film company that has publicly listed Apple as one of its clients. MacRumors has not independently confirmed any of the information shared by the tipster, so skepticism is obviously warranted for now.

The tipster revealed three alleged iPhone 17 Pro features that have not been rumored previously:

• An upgraded Telephoto lens with up to 8× optical zoom, compared to up to 5× optical zoom on the iPhone 16 Pro models. The lens can apparently move, allowing for continuous optical zoom at various focal lengths.

• An all-new pro camera app from Apple for both photos and videos. This app would compete with the likes of Halide, Kino, and Filmic Pro. It is unclear if the app would be exclusive to the iPhone 17 Pro models.

• An additional Camera Control button on the top edge of the devices, for quickly accessing the camera and related settings. This would complement the Camera Control button on the bottom-right edge of all iPhone 16 models.

For the pro camera app, the tipster warned there is a chance Apple is planning a major update to its existing Final Cut Camera app instead of an all-new app.

The film company’s name was removed per their request, but I did see it earlier (and of course I can’t remember their name). Apple does give professionals a preview of their new iPhones to showcase camera features in their keynotes and videos, so I would think this information is pretty solid.

What surprises me the most is another Camera Control button. I hope this got mistranslated and what actually happens is the current Camera Control button juts out more and mimics the pill-shaped Touch ID button found on the iPad.

The Final Cut Camera app allows you to truly select which lens you want for recording, but we need the same option for photos. I want to take detailed telephoto shots in darker environments without the iPhone selecting the standard 1x lens and digitally destroying my image, like this example here (zoom into the window screen).

The Files app conundrum in iOS 26 continues.

The Files app is very versatile, but having to go through multiple steps just to look at a file, photo, video, etc., adds to the complexity of a very capable yet simple app.

Instead of tapping a file or photo to view it, now you have to tap and hold and select Quick Look in order to view said file or photo without exiting the app. I deleted the Preview app so I wouldn’t have to deal with this issue, and it worked for a while, until I realized that different file types open in different apps that you have installed:

If you tap a PDF - it opens Preview as the default. If you delete Preview, then it opens in Apple’s Books app.

If you tap an image file - it opens in Preview, but if you delete Preview, it opens in the Files app like iOS 18.

If you tap a video file - it opens in VLC by default, but if I delete VLC, it opens in Files.

I can live without the Preview app, but I don’t want to delete Books, VLC, and whatever other app that also opens documents, videos, etc.

The UI should be the other way around. A standard tap should open the respective file in Files, and a tap and hold should bring up an “Open with…” option to select another app of your choice.

Someone I know finally upgraded from their iPhone 5S, to this...

I had a family member do some sleuthing for me when they were away on vacation. There is this legendary guy who is completely antithetical to me (from a tech perspective at least), and he’s been carrying an iPhone 5S for as long as I can remember.

He couldn’t care less about technology, but begrudgingly uses it because he has to. He was rocking a gold iPhone 5S, and yes, it was a 5S because it had the shiny chamfered edges and not the matte ones. Matte chamfered edges were only on the iPhone SE 1st generation.

If you know, you know.

I wanted some photos of that device just out of curiosity to see its condition over the years, but he upgraded (gasp)!

iPhone 5S, a device that came out in September 2013, almost 12 years ago, has finally been retired for a new generation of iPhone, and as Tim Cook said, “I am thrilled to show you the newest iPhones…”

And here it is…

wait for it…

iPhone…

6S Plus!

Talk about a historical upgrade, with one of the biggest performance upgrades (not being sarcastic):

1. Last flagship iPhone with a headphone jack.

2. First iPhone in Rose Gold.

3. Last iPhone with a Home Button that was actually a button.

4. The introduction of 3D Touch, a truly under appreciated feature.

5. New aluminum alloy ended the bendgate controversy.

6. Huge performance upgrade - the first iPhone with a whopping 2GB of RAM, a 100% increase from the previous generation!

Let’s see how long the iPhone 6S can keep chugging. With 2GB of RAM, there are still many years left, but it really comes down to Battery Health limiting performance.

Acura NSX office chairs up for grabs.

Put these in your office, next to your iPhone wall art.

Just beautiful.

How to properly backup your iPhone before installing iOS 26.

Before you install iOS 26 on your iPhone, follow this procedure to backup your device:

1. Update all your apps to the latest version in the App Store.

2. Force quit all your apps in the app switcher.

3. Restart your iPhone to remove any software gremlins running in the background.

4. On bootup, backup your iPhone to iCloud.

5. Install the most current version of iOS 18 on your device. This is in case iOS 26 becomes a problem for you and you need to revert back to iOS 18.

6. Once the latest version of iOS 18 is installed on your device, repeat steps 1 thru 4, and then finally install the iOS 26 public beta.

There is no 100% failsafe solution, but this method has always worked for me and gave me a reliable backup to go back to, even though I never needed it.

Workout Buddy in watchOS 26 is too nice.

She needs to have a more serious attitude and just tell it to you like it is. I did a couple of 15 minute workouts this week, and she was being passive-aggressive about my progress. We don’t need full Samuel L. Jackson mode, but something in the middle or at least the option to be more aggressive.

She needs more of a “GOYA” attitude.

That won’t happen of course, but as a healthcare provider, one of the best ways to motivate people to be more conscious and intentional about their health is to put their life into perspective. Think of things they want to do, and how their health could impact their ability to do that thing.

For example:

1. If you don’t start eating right and exercising more, don’t expect to be there when your daughter walks down the aisle.

2. If you want to go hiking with your grandkids, you need to lose weight and get your physical therapy sessions done regularly.

It would be crazy (but effective) if Workout Buddy starts telling you to keep running, or else you’ll never make it to enjoy retirement.