iOS, macOS, and iPadOS 26.5 updates arrive with encrypted RCS messaging and more

Apple has released version 26.5 of all of its operating systems today: iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and version 26.5 of the HomePod software (whew). None of these are particularly momentous updates, which is pretty normal this late in their lifecycle, but they add a small batch of new features alongside the pile of patches outlined on Apple’s security vulnerabilities page. This is…

May 11, 2026
Read More >>

Chaos erupts as cyberattack disrupts learning platform Canvas amid finals

Chaos erupted at schools and colleges throughout the US on Thursday as a cyberattack disrupted online learning platform Canvas just as students were due to take final exams. Canvas parent company Instructure said that as of Friday morning, the platform was back online. Instructure said it temporarily took Canvas offline on Thursday after identifying unauthorized activity in its network. The threat actor was the same one responsible for a data…

May 8, 2026
Read More >>

Which Macs are suffering from shortages—and where are things getting worse?

The Apple Macintosh is more than 40 years old, but it’s still going strong, and its recent success was significant enough that Apple CEO Tim Cook called it out during the company’s earnings call last week. In particular, Cook credited the new low-cost MacBook Neo, which Apple says is attracting a fair number of new Mac buyers rather than simply prompting upgrades from previous customers. But Cook also noted that…

May 8, 2026
Read More >>

The Nintendo Switch 2 is getting more expensive later this year

When we reviewed the Switch 2 just after its launch last year, we warned that interested customers might want to buy in early, as the launch price could go up. That potential price hike became a reality today, as Nintendo announced the Switch 2’s MSRP will increase to $499.99 on September 1, a $50 (and about 11 percent) increase from the $449.99 launch price. In an announcement of the impending…

May 8, 2026
Read More >>

Mozilla says 271 vulnerabilities found by Mythos have “almost no false positives”

The disbelief was palpable when Mozilla’s CTO last month declared that AI-assisted vulnerability detection meant “zero-days are numbered” and “defenders finally have a chance to win, decisively.” After all, it looked like part of an all-too-familiar pattern: Cherry-pick a handful of impressive AI-achieved results, leave out any of the fine print that might paint a more nuanced picture, and let the hype train roll on. Mindful of the skepticism, Mozilla…

May 7, 2026
Read More >>

Google unveils screenless Fitbit Air and Google Health app to replace Fitbit

May 7, 2026

Wearables have really come full circle. The early Fitbits didn’t have screens, but the move to smartwatches put a screen on everyone’s wrist. Now, devices like Whoop and Hume are designed as data trackers first and foremost without so much as a clock. Google’s newest wearable jumps on that trend: The Fitbit Air doesn’t have a screen, but it does have a suite of health sensors that pipe data into…

Read More >>

TSMC taps wind power as AI chip demand soars, Taiwan feels energy crunch

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC is raking in record profits during the AI boom—but it is also racing to help Taiwan develop wind power and other energy alternatives to fossil fuels amid a global energy crisis. The chipmaker has signed a 30-year corporate power purchase agreement for 100 percent of the power produced by the Hai Long offshore wind project. The deal between TSMC and Northland Power, a Canada-based global power producer,…

May 6, 2026
Read More >>

Ars Asks: Share your shell and show us your tricked-out terminals!

I spend more time today than ever before interacting with terminal windows, which is something I don’t think Past Me would have believed in the early ’90s. Back then, poor MS-DOS was the staid whipping boy of the industry, and at least on the consumer side, graphical environments like Windows (and maybe even odder creatures like AmigaOS) seemed poised to stamp the command line into oblivion, leaving text interfaces behind…

May 6, 2026
Read More >>

Widely used Daemon Tools disk app backdoored in monthlong supply-chain attack

Daemon Tools, a widely used app for mounting disk images, has been backdoored in a monthlong compromise that has pushed malicious updates from the servers of its developer, researchers said Tuesday. Kaspersky, the security firm reporting the supply-chain attack, said it began on April 8 and remained active as of the time its post went live. Installers that are signed by the developer’s official digital certificate and downloaded from its…

May 5, 2026
Read More >>

Google Home gets upgraded Gemini voice assistant and new camera controls

Google launched its big AI-fueled redesign of Google Home late last year, and it has been adding features here and there ever since. Today, the company announced a bigger update that might take care of some of your smart home woes. Camera feeds will be easier to navigate, and the AI event labeling should be more straightforward. The move to Gemini 3.1 for Home voice assistance should also mean the…

May 5, 2026
Read More >>