iPhone 18 Pro Max review: The best iPhone for about a month

appleinsider.com Sep 28, 2026

iPhone 18 Pro Max review: The best iPhone for about a month

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Sep 28, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

The iPhone 18 Pro Max launches as Apple’s flagship, featuring a 6.9‑inch Super Retina XDR display, A20 Pro processor, and upgraded vapor‑chamber cooling. Its aluminum unibody incorporates 40 % recycled metal and a unified matte finish, while new color options include Burgundy and Glacier Blue. Weighing 8.78 oz, the device retains the familiar dimensions of its predecessor but adds USB‑C with 10 Gbps transfer and 45 W fast‑charging. The camera module remains large, and the phone maintains IP68 water resistance. Despite these enhancements, the model’s reign is brief; Apple’s upcoming iPhone Duo foldable, slated for release weeks after the review, eclipses it as the most exciting product in the lineup. Nonetheless, reviewers deem the 18 Pro Max the best Pro Max iteration to date.

💡 Why It Matters

· Apple’s first foldable iPhone pushes the 18 Pro Max into a transitional role, forcing premium buyers to weigh novelty against incremental upgrades.

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Here’s what I’d like to see Apple do right in a screenless…

Bloomberg reported that Apple is developing a screenless fitness tracker, a thin fabric band with a sensor‑filled module, slated for a possible 2028 launch. The concept mirrors devices like WHOOP and Fitbit Air, aiming for comfort, extended battery life, and the ability to be worn alongside a traditional watch. A 9to5Mac columnist, who has used WHOOP for six months, highlights current shortcomings such as imperfect automatic workout detection and the need to pull out a phone to log activities. He suggests Apple add a physical button and LED indicator for starting and stopping workouts, while still allowing post‑session categorisation on a phone. He also notes that Apple could leverage its health ecosystem to improve activity classification, making a truly hands‑free tracker more appealing.

💡 A seamless, low‑distraction tracker could capture users who find smartwatches too intrusive yet still want accurate health data, expanding Apple’s wearables market beyond its current watch‑centric base.

9to5mac.com · Sep 28

iOS 27 makes a great change to Apple Pay on iPhone

Apple unveiled a redesigned Apple Pay checkout flow in iOS 27, aimed at simplifying card selection and providing richer order details for users on apps and websites. The update lets users swipe between payment cards directly on the main Apple Pay screen and tap a card to open a grid view displaying all stored cards. The new interface also surfaces key data such as rewards, balances, debit account amounts, and pay‑later options, enabling more informed payment choices. Merchants and developers retain control over the information displayed on the payment sheet, tailoring it to transaction requirements. The redesign addresses criticism of iOS 26, where users often tapped the wrong element when trying to change cards, forcing them into the address‑editing screen and requiring an extra button to switch cards. The iOS 27 changes streamline the process and clarify navigation.

💡 By reducing mis‑taps and exposing card incentives, the overhaul can boost conversion rates and user confidence in mobile payments.

9to5mac.com · Sep 27

This is my top feature request for the upcoming A20 Pro iPad…

Apple is poised to refresh the iPad mini after a year of anticipation, with a leak from Aaron Perris revealing an A20 Pro processor, thinner bezels, OLED display, and water‑resistant construction. The reporter notes that while these hardware upgrades are significant, the device’s software multitasking remains lacking compared to the iPhone Duo’s split‑screen and picture‑in‑picture (PiP) implementation. The author argues that the current iPad mini cannot expand a PiP window to full portrait width without obscuring the underlying app, forcing manual resizing. He proposes that Apple adopt the iPhone Duo’s seamless split‑screen with PiP, leveraging the mini’s similar aspect ratio to improve portrait‑mode usability. The suggestion targets power users who frequently consume video while interacting with apps on the small tablet.

💡 Enabling iPhone Duo‑style split‑screen on the iPad mini would turn its portable size into a genuine productivity tool, letting users watch video and work without juggling separate devices.

appleinsider.com · Sep 27

Sunday Reboot: Big Whoop and more Apple Watch nagging

Apple unveiled upgraded health‑sensing hardware for its latest Watch, expanding electrode coverage, adding more sensors and a refined photodiode array that samples heart activity every five seconds. The new “Readiness” score offers a simple daily gauge of fitness and stress capacity, while the Health app on iPhone and iPad integrates Apple Intelligence to present metrics such as Health Age. Concurrently, rumors suggest Apple is prototyping a screen‑free, sensor‑only wearable that streams data to an iPhone, resembling third‑party devices like Whoop. The concept aims to reduce the Watch’s constant notifications while still delivering comprehensive activity tracking. The column notes personal fatigue with the Watch’s frequent alerts and highlights Beats Powerbeats Pro 2’s fitness‑tracking as a partial workaround.

💡 A minimalist tracker could attract users who want Apple’s data accuracy without the intrusive wrist‑screen experience, opening a new product niche for the company.

theregister.com · Sep 27

Apple buried Copland 30 years ago. Now the failed OS boots in…

Apple’s abandoned 1990s operating system, Copland, has been resurrected in a web‑based emulator that runs the final developer build D11E4 directly in a browser. Copland was meant to replace System 7 with a PowerPC‑native microkernel offering protected memory and preemptive multitasking, but three incomplete builds (D7E1, D9, D11E4) never left development before the project was cancelled in favor of NeXT technology. Developer Michael Steil adapted the DingusPPC PowerMac emulator, adding eleven patches—some generated with AI assistance—to enable the June 1996 build to boot online without installation. The emulated system remains unstable; it drops to a debugger on assertions. It demonstrates how tooling can revive legacy software for purposes.

💡 The browser‑based Copland emulator shows how AI‑enhanced development can unlock forgotten code, offering researchers a hands‑on window into a pivotal, yet unseen, chapter of Apple’s architecture evolution.

newatlas.com · Sep 27

Apple’s new music venue is actually a giant high-tech recording studio

Apple has opened the Apple Music Hall at Battersea Power Station, a 600‑seat venue that doubles as a high‑tech recording studio. The space features an immersive audio speaker system and dedicated studios for recording and broadcasting, including Apple Music Radio sessions. Designed by Apple’s in‑house team, the hall blends art‑deco arches, bronze balconies, and exposed brickwork that echoes the building’s exterior. The venue offers performers and listeners a hybrid live‑performance and studio experience within one of the world’s largest brick structures.

💡 By merging a concert hall with a state‑of‑the‑art studio, Apple expands its ecosystem, enabling artists to record and broadcast live from a single location and potentially reshaping how live music is produced and consumed.