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There's a new version of macOS coming later this year — macOS 26, aka Tahoe. Apple showed off the newest version of its laptop operating system at WWDC on Monday, with a focus on the new design elements.

So, let's talk about all the changes coming to your MacBook with Tahoe and macOS 26. Per Apple, you can expect to see the new OS on your MacBook in the fall.

Featured Video For You WWDC 2025: Everything revealed in 10 minutes A new look for the new macOS

It's called macOS Tahoe and, similar to iOS 26, it brings a new, more translucent design language to your Mac computer, which Apple dubbed Liquid Glass. UI elements like the dock at the bottom of the display are translucent now, and in a big change, there is no longer a visible menu bar along the top of the display. Those functions are still there, of course, but now the display feels bigger than before. You can also customize which controls appear at the top right of the display when the controls menu is active, and certain third-party apps like Zoom have controls you can place in that menu.

Introducing macOS 26 Tahoe. Credit: Apple Liquid Glass is gorgeous. Credit: Apple

Liquid Glass is an entirely new design concept for Apple. And while it's not a radical departure from the signature Apple style, it does bring new customization features. In these images published by the Apple Newsroom during WWDC 2025, you can see some of the design and personalization possibilities with Liquid Glass. This is a big change for Apple, as it's introducing Liquid Glass not just for macOS 26 and Tahoe, but also for ipadOS and iOS26.

We expect the new clear settings to be very popular.

Liquid Glass includes more translucent properties. Credit: Apple Liquid Glass also offers more personalization for your Apple display. Credit: Apple

According to the official press release announcing Tahoe: "There are more ways to customize what controls appear in the menu bar and Control Center, along with how they’re laid out. The new design also unlocks more personalization on the Mac. App icons come to life in light or dark appearances, colorful new light and dark tints, as well as an elegant new clear look. Users can also change the colors of folders and add a symbol or emoji to give them a unique identity."

More connectivity with other Apple devices

One of the bigger updates regards Continuity, the feature that allows users to connect their iPhones to their Macs to share functionality between the two. For starters, the Phone app is coming to Mac, so you can make regular phone calls instead of relying exclusively on FaceTime. Live Activities (the little widget on your iPhone lock screen that tells you when a food delivery will arrive) are also coming to Mac, which is lovely.

Changes to Spotlight Search

Spotlight Search, which you activate on a Mac by pressing CMD+space, has also gotten a big update. All of your search results, be they folders, files, messages, or apps, are now grouped together on one screen, arranged by relevance to your query. If you want to filer a search to strictly show you PDFs, for example, you can do that, too.

The new Spotlight Search features for macOS Tahoe. Credit: Apple

Interestingly, Spotlight can also be a launching point for various actions now. If you want to send someone an email, for instance, you can type a shortcut into Spotlight to do that instead of opening your Mail app. It looks very convenient.

A new Games app

Apple has also brought its new Games app (introduced for iOS 26) to macOS 26 as well.

The new Games app. Credit: Apple Your iPhone and MacBook gets a new Games app. Credit: Apple

Games brings together all the Mac games you own into one interface, and you can bring up a little control center widget during gameplay to do things like message friends or adjust settings.

More about macOS Tahoe 26

There are also a bunch of other broader changes across Apple's entire software ecosystem, such as live translation in calls and background images in the Messages app, which are coming to macOS Tahoe, as well.

New translation features courtesy of Apple Intelligence. Credit: Apple

Apple says macOS Tahoe will launch this fall.

“macOS is the heart and soul of the Mac, and with Tahoe, we’re building on what users love most. Whether you’re a power user or just getting started on Mac, there’s something for everyone, with even more features to turbocharge productivity and make working across Mac and iPhone more seamless than ever before,” said Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi in a press release. “With its gorgeous new design, amazing Continuity experiences, powerful enhancements to Spotlight, more intelligent shortcuts, and updates to Apple Intelligence, the Mac experience is better than ever.”

Marvel fans got to know genius inventor Riri Williams (Domique Thorne) in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in which her armored suit proved a vital asset in Wakanda's fight against Talokan. That film also cemented Riri as more than just her tech, with Thorne portraying her as a whip-smart, wise-cracking prodigy with a lot more to offer the MCU.

SEE ALSO: Summer TV preview: All the TV shows you need to know, and where to stream them

Now, Riri gets the spotlight all to herself in Marvel TV's Ironheart, a six-episode series created by Chinaka Hodge and executive produced by Black Panther and Sinners director Ryan Coogler.

Ironheart sees Riri return to her hometown of Chicago, where she continues to refine her armor in the hopes of leaving her mark on the world. However, she finds trouble in the form of the mysterious Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), aka "the Hood."

The trailer above gives viewers a better idea of what to expect from Parker, teasing his red hooded cape — an essential accessory for anyone nicknamed "the Hood" — as well as some foreboding magical abilities. These magical abilities send dark marks crawling across his skin and unleash massive red, glowing explosions. Yet Riri seems determined to channel this magic in some way, with the trailer teasing a suit that combines magic and technology to form something wholly new. Could Riri's next creation be a game-changer for the next phases of the MCU?

Ironheart also stars Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Manny Montana, Matthew Elam and Anji White.

Ironheart premieres June 24 on Disney+.

Apple’s WWDC is underway and one of Cupertino’s first big announcements is Liquid Glass, which is what Apple is calling its new design language. Yes, it’s the one that has been rumored for months and is now official. 

Apple describes Liquid Glass as a material that sits above the user interface (UI) on your phone. The material moves based on how you interact with it. For example, if you grab a Liquid Glass window and pull, it’ll jiggle and move with your finger. Liquid Glass UI elements also refract light like real glass and is heavily influenced by whatever is underneath it on the screen. 

Apple's new Liquid Glass changes its user interface. Credit: Apple

Liquid Glass is not a massive departure from what was already there, but that’s not the big news. This new design language will be what Apple uses moving forward on all of its major operating systems, including macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and more. It was inspired by visionOS, and it’ll be what you see on everything made by Apple starting later this year. 

On top of looking pretty, Apple says that it’s also functional. Liquid Glass UI elements will be able to expand and contract with nice-looking animations to adapt to what the app needs it to do. It also works with light and dark modes along with Apple’s new clear mode, which makes all of your icons look like glass.

Apple's Liquid Glass is coming to all its major operating systems. Credit: Apple

With Liquid Glass, Apple aims to make all of its operating systems look more lively. During the WWDC presentation, Apple showed off how responsive the new UI would be to everything from user touch to the background on the screen. 

As part of the redesign, Apple tweaked some other things as well: the lock screen, Notifications, and Control Center. UI elements are also edited to align with the screen's curve to make things look more symmetrical. App icons also got a redesign with “multiple layers of Liquid Glass,” per Apple. 

Liquid Glass is the first major overhaul to iOS’s visual design language since its skeuomorphic design was introduced with iOS 7 in 2013.

Liquid Glass: Get jiggly with it. Credit: Apple

Apple announced iOS 26 at its 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday. The new iOS will bring a major design change powered by "Liquid Glass," which also means big changes for Apple Maps.

That big redesign means, first and foremost, that Maps will look a bit different. The embedded images below, for instance, show that Maps notifications will remain partially visible while you do other tasks.

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The other major changes are basically aimed at making Maps smarter.

Visited Places

A new tool called Visited Places will help users remember places they've been. If you enable the tool, it'll automatically remember places you've been, such as shops and restaurants. The company wrote in a press release that Visited Places will be "protected with end-to-end encryption and cannot be accessed by Apple."

Credit: Apple Better directions

Apple said on Monday that iOS 26 would improve your daily commute.

It wrote in a press release that "iPhone can now use on-device intelligence to better understand a user’s daily route, presenting them with their preferred route when they’re headed home or to the office, along with notifying them of delays and offering alternate routes."

That means your iPhone should understand which route you like to drive, walk, or take transit and warn you when a different route is more efficient.

Hopefully, that means iOS 26 will lessen the time wasted in traffic.

Apple just announced a host of new changes coming to Messages, voicemail, and more at its 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference.

From attacking spam callers and texts — which have been rampant in the last few months — to making emojis more customizable, Apple's WWDC is full of improvements and new features for connecting with family, friends, lovers, and even enemies.

Here's what the tech giant announced at WWDC 2025 for Messages and more:

SEE ALSO: Apple WWDC 2025 keynote event: live updates A new approach to spammers A new approach to spammers Credit: WWDC 2025

Apple is improving its Call Screening feature by making its voicemail-based system even more robust. Now, when someone calls you, you'll immediately see a message describing who's on the other line — so you can decide if you want to pick up as soon as the first ring sounds.

iMessage is also getting more robust on-device spam detection. With this new feature, you can ask for more info and mark that messages are coming from unknown senders, then put them all in their own folder.

Can I put you on hold? Can I put you on hold? Credit: WWDC 2025

Darin Adler, the Vice President of Internet Technologies at Apple, announced that you can put your phone calls on hold now. Google Pixel can already do this.

SEE ALSO: Google's 'hold for me' feature makes the digital assistant wait on your calls Customize your group chat Customize your group chat Credit: WWDC 2025

Fans of WhatsApp's customizable backgrounds will be happy to hear that feature is finally available on iMessage. Users can change the background of their shared spaces in Messages with their own photos or a picture from Apple Intelligence.

Plus, group chats will have Apple Cash and group typing indicators (huge for Slack fans).

Take a poll Take a poll Credit: WWDC 2025

We've been hoping for this chaotic update, and now it's here: polls. You can ask a group chat exactly what dates or times work for a hang out, which outfit is the best option to wear going out, or who really wore it best at the 2025 Tony Awards.

Genmoji can be made by combining emojis DIY Emojis Credit: WWDC 2025

The director of input experience at Apple, Leslie Ikemoto, announced that you can combine two emojis in Genmoji and you can describe an addition you'd like to see on an existing Genmoji to create your own personalized emojis. You can even change the expression of a Genmoji's face.

Translate that, please Translate that, please Credit: WWDC 2025

Live Translation is now integrated into Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. It can be used to automatically translate your messages, video captions, phone calls, and even lyric translation and pronunciation guides for songs.

Apple's new watchOS is here with an all-new design and a smarter, AI-powered way to do your workouts.

Like all other Apple software, watchOS 26 (yes, it's named by year now) comes with a more translucent "Liquid Glass" design. It's hard to tell from images alone, but Apple's see-through buttons and popups seem tailor-made for the Watch's tiny display.

Smart Stack got a bit smarter, surfacing the app that the Watch thinks you need at any given moment.

Ready to start your snowboarding session? Apple Watch will show you a snowboading widget first. Credit: Apple

Perhaps the biggest improvement is Workout Buddy, an AI-powered rethinking of the company's Workout app. It uses your workout history and fitness data to generate personalized insights during your workout sessions, such as telling you you're running faster than you usually do. And after your workout, the Workout Buddy will recap your workout with stats and achievements. It can even give you encouragement along the way.

Notes app is now available on Apple Watch, too. Credit: Apple

Other new watchOS 26 features include Live Translation in messages, a better way to manage notifications (you can dismiss them with a wrist flick gesture), the addition of the Notes app, and an updated Photos watch face, which now shuffles images based on Featured content from your Photos.

SEE ALSO: Apple updates CarPlay with widgets and Liquid Glass

Apple watchOS 26 will be available to developers today, with a public beta starting next month. The final version of watchOS 26 will be available this fall for Apple Watch Series 6 or later, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), and Apple Watch Ultra (all models).

Apple's WWDC this year focused on design changes with iOS 26 and Liquid Glass, but we also saw some updates and new announcements for Apple Intelligence, the company's suite of AI features.

New Apple Intelligence announcements build on existing AI-powered features like Writing Tools, Message and Mail summaries, the ChatGPT integration, and others.

Foundation Models Framework

Apple unveiled a way for third-party apps to tap into Apple Intelligence called the Foundation Models Framework. This means developers can use Apple's API to integrate their features into Apple Intelligence.

New AI features for iOS 26Voicemail features

Apple Intelligence already provides voicemail transcripts, but now it's adding call screening for scammers and Hold Assist, which conveniently notifies you when you're off hold.

Hold Assist will let you know when you're off hold. Credit: Screenshot: Mashable Polls and emojis in Messages

Within group chats, you can now create polls and Apple Intelligence will compile the results. Using Genmoji, you can also mix together emojis and use Image Playground to make new emojis. Image Playground also got a ChatGPT integration, so you can create images with OpenAI's model too.

AI-assisted polls on iOS 26. Credit: Screenshot: Mashable Live translation

Apple Intelligence now supports live translation for real-time text and voice translations.

Live Translation for real-time text and voice translation. Credit: Screenshot: Mashable Visual Intelligence for screenshots

iOS 26 is getting a visual search feature by combining Visual Intelligence with Apple Intelligence. By taking a screenshot of any app you're looking at, you can use a new search function on the bottom of your screen. It can also recognize screenshots like events and pre-populate your calendar.

Use screenshots to search visually. Credit: Screenshot: Mashable

This story is developing...

The company also introduced artificial intelligence features with its devices.

Apple confirmed at its 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday that its new operating system would be called iOS 26, instead of the previously expected iOS 19. It marks a total rebrand for Apple's iOS that will update annually — get it, next year is 2026.

It's an interesting change and one aimed at continuity: all of Apple's operating systems will now operate within that naming convention. So, that means we'll also be getting watchOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, iPadOS 26, and so on.

It's not just a name that'll be different with iOS 26, however. There are lots of other changes. You can follow Mashable's comprehensive live blog for updates as they come in, but a key shift in iOS 26 is a total redesign, which had been widely expected. The big evolution in design relies on what Apple has dubbed "Liquid Glass." It incorporates see-through elements in an effort to have a crisper, easier-to-use interface.

So, for instance, you might be able to see the song you're currently playing while also keeping what's going on in the background visible.

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Apple is so hyped about the new design that it's calling "Liquid Glass" a "software-based material," which basically just means it looks different.

Credit: Apple

In a press release, Apple said:

"The elegant new design gives developers the opportunity to make their apps more expressive and delightful, while being instantly familiar. It’s crafted with a new software-based material called Liquid Glass, which combines the optical qualities of glass with a sense of fluidity. This gorgeous new material extends from the smallest elements users interact with every day — like buttons, switches, sliders, text, and media controls — to larger elements, including tab bars and sidebars for navigating apps."

iOS 26 isn't simply a shift in aesthetics. We'll get more details as it rolls out, but Apple has already shown how it'll change how your iPhone works. For instance, you'll get new call screening tools (great for stopping scammers), an improved CarPlay with new widgets, updates in iMessages (like group chat polls), new camera experiences, and a revamped Photos app, to name a few. The Camera app also features a sleeker look and changed functionality when you take a picture.

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Perhaps most importantly, iOS 26 will finally bring much-needed updates to your iPhone's Photos app.

Credit: Apple

Or, if you're like me and quite forgetful, Apple Maps' new "Visited Places" tool will be a welcome relief when you try to remember a spot you loved.

Credit: Apple

There will certainly be lots to explore in iOS 26, as it's one of Apple's biggest software changes in quite some time.

Apple's iOS 19 is now officially known as iOS 26, matching the last two digits of the upcoming year. But, the bigger change is the huge redesign that Apple just introduced at this year's WWDC event.

Introducing Apple's Liquid Glass Credit: Apple

Apple has introduced Liquid Glass in its upcoming iOS 26 update. Liquid Glass provides a "see-through" visual of a glassy surface throughout iOS 26's interface. The liquid part comes into play with how the see-through visuals adapt to the screen depending on what the user is doing.

For example, the iOS 26 dock and widgets will no longer exist as boxes with sharpened edges. Instead, these new docks and menus will be rounded and fit the phone's shape. 

Apple Liquid Glass lockscreen Credit: Apple

The redesign will especially be noticeable on the lockscreen, with the time and controls now being displayed in the Liquid Glass design. The typeface for the time and date will adapt based on the lockscreen wallpaper. In addition, spatial 3D photos can be used on the lockscreen as well. When listening to music, the lockscreen will also display an animated version of the music album that the user is playing.

Apple Liquid Glass lock screen adapts Credit: Apple

On the homescreen, icons will now look like Liquid Glass. The interface will also adapt when dark mode is used. Plus, there's a new all-clear mode that really shows off what Liquid Glass is all about.

Apple Liquid Glass all-clear mode Credit: Apple

Apple also shared its redesigns for some of its own default apps. The Camera app will now highlight its most-used modes: Photo and Video. Swiping the mode menu will reveal other modes, like Portrait and Spatial. Swiping up in the Camera app will reveal all the other settings, like aspect ratio and timers.

Apple iOS 26 Camera redesign Credit: Apple

Safari will now extend web pages from edge-to-edge so the website takes up the entire screen. The tab bar will float above the web page in a semi-translucent state, once again utilizing Liquid Glass.

Photos is bringing both a photos and collections tab, in somewhat of a reversal from the controversial Photos redesign from the last update. Spatial photos will also be viewable from within the app.

Apple iOS 26 Photos redesign Credit: Apple

In the FaceTime app, video messages will now be displayed in a grid that autoplays as the user scrolls through the clips.

Apple WWDC 2025 is ongoing, and this piece will be updated as more is announced…

TL;DR: Get hands-on hacking lessons from the All-in-One Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle on sale for A$54 through July 20.

Some tech skills you can learn on your own. Others, like ethical hacking, are a little harder to practice without a controlled environment. That's why it's nice when you find something like the All-in-One Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle. This set of 18 courses takes you from beginner to expert in everything from basic hacking to penetration testing, Burp Suite, and BitNinja, and it's on sale for A$54 (for now). 

Ethical hacking classes

A big part of what makes this bundle valuable is the range of practical hacking lessons. You won’t just read about ethical hacking concepts. You’ll get to actually practice them. The courses guide you through setting up your own hacking environment with tools like Virtual Box and Kali Linux, learning to identify vulnerabilities, and even building your own tools for penetration testing. This practical, project-based approach helps make sure you’re not just memorizing theories but actively learning by doing.

You’ll also get a solid understanding of how to approach real-life scenarios, whether it’s using Python to build penetration testing tools, working with Burp Suite for advanced web testing, or diving into Metasploit to exploit vulnerabilities and practice post-exploitation techniques.

The bug bounty training also gives you the chance to learn how ethical hackers make money by legally identifying and reporting flaws to major companies like Facebook and Google. If you're looking for a solid side hustle, that's the way to go. 

Through July 20 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can get the All-in-One Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle on sale for A$54. 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Aleksa Tamburkovski The All-in-One Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle AU$54
AU$1,697 Save AU$1,643 Get Deal

TL;DR: Upgrade your PC with Windows 11 Pro for only $14.97 (reg. $199) before codes sell out. Fewer than 50 are left in stock, and there's only one more day for this all-time low price.

If you haven't heard already, Microsoft has officially announced the countdown clock on Windows 10. Are you still running your PC on this dated operating system? Now might be the perfect time to finally upgrade your device's performance, because the latest operating system, Windows 11 Pro, is now less than $15. However, codes are limited.

With these Windows 11 Pro keys, you can completely revamp two compatible PCs, whether they're your personal or work computers. For starters, you'll enjoy a refreshed user interface that's been designed to be intuitive and aesthetically pleasing with rounded corners.

This updated operating system provides more than just an improved navigation experience. New productivity tools like snap layouts, easy redocking, and improved voice typing can help you complete personal and professional tasks, and you'll even have a more powerful search experience to get you further.

Digital safety is paramount for anyone online, which is why Windows 11 Pro is outfitted with enhanced security measures like Smart App Control, TPM 2.0, BitLocker device encryption, and more for greater peace of mind as you browse, stream, or game. And speaking of gaming, this operating system is designed to improve PC gaming graphics with DirectX12 Ultimate.

Since this is the Pro version of Windows 11, you'll additionally get remote work-friendly features, such as remote desktop access for viewing files and running programs from your mobile device. There's also Azure AD, Hyper-V, and Windows Sandbox for extra professional usage.

Act while the price is still at an all-time low, or before codes sell out for good.

StackSocial prices subject to change

Opens in a new window Credit: InterPlein Microsoft Windows 11 Pro $14.97
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Need to translate something? With Apple's new iOS 26, it should be easier than ever.

During its opening WWDC keynote on Monday, Apple detailed a host of new Live Translation features built right into iOS and powered by in-house models that run on iPhones.

Credit: Apple

Now, Live Translation can automatically translate your text in Messages, live captions in FaceTime, and even your phone calls as you talk. In this last instance, the person on the other side of the call will simply hear a spoken, translated version of whatever you said.

The best part: This will work even if you're calling someone who doesn't have an iPhone.

SEE ALSO: Apple updates CarPlay with widgets and Liquid Glass Credit: Apple

Apple also said it's adding a new Call Translation API, so developers can also use this technology in their apps.

This is a developing story...

Apple is trying to fix the problem it created with the iOS Photos app interface. Let's just say Photos leaves something to be desired, at present.

At its annual WWDC keynote on Monday, Apple revealed updated looks for both the Camera and Photos apps that will come with iOS 26 later this year. Like everything else on iOS 26, these updates bring the apps' aesthetics more in line with the new "liquid glass" concept Apple also introduced at WWDC. That basically means some UI elements are translucent now.

SEE ALSO: This app turns your iPhone into a scanner, and it's yours for life

The new camera app seems like it functions much like it does now, but it does look sleeker. You have two options on the bottom of the display now, photo and video, but sliding your finger left or right will give you other options, like panorama shots or portrait mode. Changing resolution can be done with a tap near the top of the display, but it looks much faster than the way it works at the time of writing.

Perhaps the bigger change is to the Photos app, which has famously been a disaster since it was changed last year. It looks to have been cleaned up significantly, with two tabs on the bottom: library and collections. I presume your library is just everything in your phone, while collections will feature any folders you've made. In function, it's not that different from the current Photos app, but it does look much easier to navigate.

Credit: Apple Credit: Apple

Hopefully, Apple doesn't break it again next year.

The WWDC keynote also teased a new 3D photos feature, which creates a holographic-type effect with your photos. We're eager to see that one in person.

The new 3D feature. Credit: Apple

Apple's redesigning all of its software this year, and CarPlay's no exception.

In a short recap of new features, during the company's opening keynote at WWDC Monday, Apple gave CarPlay a nod, mentioning it's a feature that's used "more than 600 million times per day."

Notice how everything's a little more see-throughy? That's Liquid Glass. Credit: Apple

Just like iOS 26, CarPlay has been updated with the company's new Liquid Glass look.

There are also a couple of new features, including a compact design during a call, as well as support for Live Activities.

SEE ALSO: WWDC 2025 keynote livestream: Watch Apple's iOS 26 announcements and more live

CarPlay is also getting support for widgets, meaning the widgets from your iPhone will now work on your car's infotainment's display. Neat!

Apple said the updates are coming to CarPlay Ultra, the company's new infotainment experience that's only live in an Aston Martin car (for now).

Developing...

SAVE $15: As of June 9, you can grab a $100 DoorDash gift card at Best Buy for only $85. That's 15% in savings.

Opens in a new window Credit: DoorDash $100 DoorDash gift card $85 at Best Buy
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Just like practically everything else, food delivery is expensive. But let's be honest: that doesn't stop us from ordering it anyway. If you're looking to save a little bit of cash next time you splurge on dinner delivered to your door, check out this deal on a DoorDash gift card.

As of June 9, Best Buy is offering $100 DoorDash gift cards for only $85. That's 15% or $15 off of food you were going to order anyways. You might as well keep an extra $15 in your pocket.

DoorDash gift cards also make great gifts for practically anyone in your life — a recent graduate, your dad for Father's Day, a friend's birthday, a family member who just had a baby, the list goes on. Sure, it's not the most glamorous gift around, but everyone's gotta eat.

The deal is valid on both physical and digital gift cards. If you're gifting it to someone else, you can ship a physical gift card in the mail or email a redemption code to your recipient. If you're gifting it to yourself, just follow the instructions in your email after purchase. The only stipulation is that you need a Best Buy account to purchase. But don't fret; it's free to create an account.

Whether you choose to keep it for yourself or bless someone else in your life, $100 worth of meals delivered to your door for $85 is a deal worth grabbing.

The best home and kitchen deals to shop this week

• Skylight Frame 10-inch Digital Picture Frame — $139.99 (List Price $159.00)

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New artificial intelligence research from Apple shows AI reasoning models may not be "thinking" so well after all.

According to a paper published just days before Apple's WWDC event, large reasoning models (LRMs) — like OpenAI o1 and o3, DeepSeek R1, Claude 3.7 Sonnet Thinking, and Google Gemini Flash Thinking — completely collapse when they're faced with increasingly complex problems. The paper comes from the same researchers who found other reasoning flaws in LLMs last year.

The news was a bucket of cold water for artificial general intelligence (AGI) optimists (and welcome news for AI and AGI skeptics), as Apple's research seemed to show damning evidence about the limitations of reasoning model intelligence. While the much-hyped LRM performed better than LLMs on medium-difficulty puzzles, they performed worse on simple puzzles. And according to Apple's research, when they faced hard puzzles, they collapsed completely, giving up on the problem prematurely.

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Or, as the Apple researchers put it, while AI models perform extremely well at math and coding, when it comes to more complex problems, they only provide "The Illusion of Thinking."

Apple was slow to develop large language models and implement AI in its devices, largely staying out of the conversation. The company has added Apple Intelligence AI features, though they have generally been considered underwhelming. With that in mind, this research might explain some of Apple's reticence to go all-in on AI, unlike Google and Samsung, which have frontloaded their devices with AI capabilities.

How Apple researchers tested reasoning skills

The problems researchers used to evaluate the reasoning models, which they call LRMs or Large Reasoning Models, are classic logic puzzles like the Tower of Hanoi. The puzzle consists of discs, stacked largest to smallest on one of three pegs, and the goal is to move the discs to the third peg without ever placing a larger disc on top of a smaller disc. Other puzzles included jumping checker pieces into empty spaces, the river-crossing problem (the one usually involving a fox, a chicken, and a bag of grain), and stacking blocks in a specific configuration.

You probably recognize these logic puzzles from math class or online games, since it's a simple way of testing humans' ability to reason and problem-solve. Once you figure it out, it's a simple matter of following the logic even as the complexity increases, which in this case means more discs, checkers, animals, or blocks. However, researchers found that LRMs start to fail after a certain point.

"Results show that all reasoning models exhibit a similar pattern with respect to complexity: accuracy progressively declines as problem complexity increases until reaching complete collapse (zero accuracy) beyond a model specific complexity threshold," researchers wrote. In the results shown, Claude 3.7 Sonnet + thinking and DeepSeek R1 start to fail when a fifth disc is added to the Tower of Hanoi problem. Even when more computing power is applied to the LRMs, they still fail at the more complex puzzles.

What's more, researchers found that reasoning models initially apply more thinking tokens as complexity increases, but they actually give up at a certain point. "Upon approaching a critical threshold — which closely corresponds to their accuracy collapse point — models counterintuitively begin to reduce their reasoning effort despite increasing problem difficulty," the paper read. So when the problems get harder, they spend less tokens, or "think" less.

But what about when the LRMs are given the answers? Nope, accuracy doesn't improve. Even when researchers included the algorithm in the prompt, so all the models need to do is follow the steps, they continued to fail.

But before you fire up the grill because LLM reasoning is so cooked, season these findings with a grain of salt. The research doesn't mean LRMs don't reason at all, it just means they may not currently be much smarter than humans. As AI expert Gary Marcus pointed out on his blog, "(ordinary) humans actually have a bunch of (well-known) limits that parallel what the Apple team discovered. Many (not all) humans screw up on versions of the Tower of Hanoi with 8 discs." As others have pointed out online, the research does not compare results from human attempts at these puzzles.

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Essentially, LLMs have their uses for tasks like coding and writing, but they also have weaknesses. "What the Apple paper shows, most fundamentally, regardless of how you define AGI, is that LLMs are no substitute for good well-specified conventional algorithms," wrote Marcus, who has been very vocal about the reasoning limitations of AI models.

That's to say, take the findings from Apple researchers for what they are: important data to be considered within the context of other LLM research. It's tempting to categorize AI's overall advancements as overhyped when new research like this comes out. Or, on the flip side, for AGI boosters to claim victory when research has discovered new advancements. But the reality is usually somewhere in the boring middle.

Here's a concerning revelation amidst the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump:

Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, installed a Starlink Wi-Fi terminal at the White House in March – despite warnings from security officials that doing so could open the administration to potential data leak and espionage risks.

Starlink is the satellite internet service provided by Elon Musk's space exploration company SpaceX. The Starlink terminal installed at the White House was originally reported by the New York Times earlier this year. As they reported in March, a DOGE official who also worked for Musk's companies originally tripped a security alarm when going up onto the roof of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House complex in order to survey the installation site. At the time, the White House said that Starlink was being installed to "to improve Wi-Fi connectivity on the complex."

Although the Trump administration approved the installation, a new report from the Washington Post has revealed that they provided that approval against the wishes of White House communications experts and security officials.

According to the report, White House communication system administrators were not even informed of the Starlink installation in advance of DOGE officials ascending to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building rooftop to install the terminal. Because these officials were unable to monitor the Starlink installation, there is concern among these White House communication experts that there are potentially security issues that could lead to intrusion from hackers or sensitive information leaking out of the complex.

Further concerning officials about the potential for espionage was the lack of security protocol involved with Starlink's services. According to one official, White House Wi-Fi networks typically require a guest to sign in so that their device and any transmissions could be tracked and monitored. However, after the Starlink installation, those identifiers were no longer a requirement and data transmission was no longer being tracked. 

Starlink, according to this official, could allow anyone to bypass security measures that are designed to curb unauthorized data transmissions.

According to whistleblowers who spoke to The Washington Post, Starlink has reportedly been installed at other government agencies as well such as the National Labor Relations Board and the General Services Administration.

In a statement provided to the paper, the Secret Service said that it was "aware of DOGE’s intentions to improve internet access on the campus" through the Starlink installation and that the Secret Service "did not consider this matter a security incident or security breach."

Although Musk and Trump's feud could change the government's ongoing relationships with Musk's companies and services in the future, including Starlink, White House visitors have reported that the Startlink Wi-Fi network was still accessible as of this week.

Save $100: As of June 9, Amazon marked down the Dyson OnTrac headphones to $399, giving them a rare 20% discount on their $500 list price.

Dyson OnTrac headphones $399 at Amazon
$499 Save $100 Get Deal

Dyson is known for making expensive products, but they're intended to perform at the top of their field.

As their (re-)entry into the headphone space, their OnTrac headphones checked both boxes. But at $499, they were hard to recommend without some stipulations. Thanks to a discount from Amazon, as of June 9, you can grab the Dyson OnTrac headphones for just $399, putting them at a slightly more accessible price point on-par with other premium options on the market.

A few quick points of comparison: at full price, the Apple AirPods Max go for $549, the recently released Sony WH-1000XM6 go for $450, and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones go for $429. In other words, the OnTrac headphones aren't wildly out of line with their price point.

SEE ALSO: I tried my AirPods Max headphones' new lossless audio ability: Does it really work?

Like their competitors, these headphones come with excellent active noise cancellation and sound quality. In his review, Mashable Tech Editor Timothy Beck Werth wrote of these headphones: "The sound really does sound true to life, and I've been listening on the Bass Boost mode because I have weak hearing on the low end of the spectrum. I can appreciate entirely new details in some of my favorite songs, and I've been listening to more music than I have in years thanks to these headphones."

However, these headphones blow the battery life of their competition out of the water, offering 55 hours with noise cancelling on. From the group above, the best battery life clocks in at about 30 hours with ANC.

That's not to say they're perfect: the design is definitely bold, and won't be to everyone's taste. You do have some degree of customizability with swappable ear plates and cushions, but you will have to purchase additional components separately. They also prominently feature the Dyson logo on the headphone, which isn't a vibe for people who prefer more understated headphones. Werth also found the multipoint pairing to be especially lackluster, which really shouldn't be an issue on $500 headphones.

Still, some of these cons are much easier to live with at a more palatable $400 price point.

Best deals on Amazon's best books of 2025 Best non-fiction deal 'No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson' by Gardiner Harris $14.99 (Save $17.01) Get Deal Best fiction deal 'Dead Money' by Jakob Kerr $17.15 (Save $12.85) Get Deal Best memoir deal 'Memorial Days' by Geraldine Brooks $17.84 (Save $10.16) Get Deal Best YA deal 'Sunrise on the Reaping' by Suzanne Collins $19.17 (Save $8.82) Get Deal

If you can believe it, we're nearly halfway through 2025, meaning we're halfway through all the new releases the year has brought thus far. Because we're collectors, we've already started to round up the best of lists for 2025, covering memes, books, and Netflix movies.

Amazon has jumped on board rounding up the best of the year. Its editors have released its ranking of the 20 best books of 2025. It includes exposés on giant corporartions like Johnson & Johnson and Meta, plus the return of best-selling authors S.A. Cosby, Suzanne Collins, and Taylor Jenkins Reid. As we were browsing through the list, we happened to noticed that every book on the list (besides one) is on sale. You can score up to 53% off the best books of the year, just in time for your summer reading plans.

Plus, Amazon is offering an extra good deal. Right now, you can buy two and get one 50% off at Amazon on applicable media — including books. Many of the books on this list are included in the deal, giving you even more savings. We've rounded-up the deals on these books exclusively for physical copies. You can find each of these books in e-book format, too. Kindle book prices are naturally lower than physical book prices, however, we haven't noticed any Kindle specific deals on these titles.

Here are the best books of 2025, according to Amazon, and the deals you can get on them now.

Deals on Amazon's Best Books of 2025

✨ denotes books included in Amazon's buy two, get one 50% off deal.

1. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy — $23.91 $28.99 (save $5.08)

2. King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby — $25.99 $28.99 (save $3)

3. No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson by Gardiner Harris — $14.99 $32 (save $17.01)

4. The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong — $21 $30 (save $9)✨

5. Sunrise on the Reading by Suzanne Collins — $19.17 $27.99 (save $8.82)✨

6. The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley — $28

7. Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks — $17.84 $28 (save $10.16)✨

8. Dead Money by Jakob Kerr — $17.15 $30 (save $12.85)✨

9. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid — $21 $30 (save $9)✨

10. Matriarch by Tina Knowles — $24.49 $35 (save $10.51)✨

11. Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride by Will Leitch — $22.39 $27.99 (save $5.60)✨

12. Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash by Alexander Clapp — $26.56 $32 (save $5.44)

13. When We Ride by Rex Ogle — $17.66 $18.99 (save $1.33)

14. Mark Twain by Ron Chernow — $31.50 $45 (save $13.50)✨

15. Heartwood by Amity Gaige — $23.88 $28.99 (save $5.11)✨

16. Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams — $21.56 $32.99 (save $11.43)✨

17. The Names by Florence Knapp — $21 $30 (save $9)✨

18. The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick — $29.76 $32 (save $2.24) 7

19. Seeking Shelter: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America by Jeff Hobbs — $16.32 $29.99 (save $13.67)✨

20. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune — $26.97 $29 (save $2.03)✨