Topic · 8 posts

iOS

If you take away AI and the new Siri, is there anything new in Apple’s OS 27?

This year, unlike 2025, I updated my computer as soon as macOS 27 Golden Gate was released. The positive feedback during the testing period was encouraging, and deep down I figured that the original Liquid Glass, from macOS 26 Tahoe, was so bad that it couldn’t get any worse.

No surprise: macOS 27 looks better. Aesthetically and in actual use: buttons look like buttons again, there are visible dividers in windows, the comically rounded windows’ corners, and the sidebar no longer floats around for… whatever reason it was floating.

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Block ads in Firefox for iOS 
support.mozilla.org

Firefox for iOS has gotten a native ad blocker, with a fixed list based on EasyList. Better than nothing, but falling short of what a standalone solution offers: aside from the lack of customization, Firefox’s blocker doesn’t block ads in web search engines or the ones on the browser’s own homepage — Mozilla’s bread and butter. The rollout is gradual, meaning it may take a while to show up on your end.

Why does WhatsApp drain so much phone battery?

Scarcity makes us pay more attention to details. A clear reflection of living with limited resources, one of the things that has intrigued me is the tiny battery capacity of my phone.

It wasn’t the biggest when it was new and, four years later, reduced to ~82% of its original capacity and more demanded by major annual software updates, it now requires some planning on the days I know I’ll be away from power outlets for long stretches.

It’s not quite a problem because I work from home. Still, sometimes I find myself playing battery babysitter.

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Apple Intelligence may become mandatory in iOS and macOS 27

Until now, Apple has kept Apple Intelligence — the suite of artificial intelligence tools baked into its operating systems — entirely optional. If you don’t want it, you can simply skip it during a new device setup or when updating the system.

That show of respect for its customers may change with iOS/macOS 27. Reports suggest that, at least in the first beta, Apple Intelligence is mandatory:

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Wipr 2 expands Safari ad blocking to all other apps

App

Wipr 2 icon.Wipr 2, the Safari ad blocker created by Kaylee Serena (and the one I use), got a new feature that extends its functionality system-wide: Filtr.

Developed over the past ten months, it makes use of a new technology introduced in version 26 of Apple’s operating systems, the URL Filter. According to Kaylee, it allows you to “to block network requests system-wide without having access to any network traffic at all, and with more granularity than previous solutions.” She says this is the first app to make use of the URL Filter.

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Indigo unifies Bluesky and Mastodon in one app

App

Indigo app icon: purple, with a white circle in the middle and the top of the letter “i” cut out within the circle.I had the opportunity to test Indigo before its launch — on the 12th — a social media app that unifies the timelines of Bluesky and Mastodon.

The duo of developers, Aaron Vegh and Ben McCarthy, have experience in the field. They’re also behind Croissant, an older app that lets you post simultaneously to Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads. Seen together, it’s as if Indigo were an evolution of Croissant — you can also post to Bluesky and Mastodon at the same time from Indigo.

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