Apple has released the third beta versions of iOS 27.2, MacOS 27.2 Golden Gate, and iPadOS 27.2, to users who are enrolled in beta testing Apple system software.

The betas are for iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, and MacOS 27.2, and not iOS 27.1 or MacOS 27.1, but that doesn’t mean that OS 27.1 is being skipped entirely. There is speculation the version differences are because iOS 27.1 and MacOS 27.1 may arrive on upcoming yet-to-be-released hardware, like iPhone Duo, and updated Macs, and the OS 27.2 releases will unify everything back onto the same versions.

iOS 27.2 beta includes a redesigned Health app that takes advantage of new features available on Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, including insights and longevity scores, and support for several new languages to use Siri AI on compatible devices. It’s likely that MacOS 27.2, iOS 27.2, and ipadOS 27.2 will include bug fixes and security updates as well.

The most up to date non-beta versions of Apple system software are currently iOS 27.0.1, iPadOS 27.0.1, and MacOS 27.0.1.

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Amazon is back with some fantastic early Prime Day deals, you’ll want to be sure you have an Amazon Prime Membership (or free trial) to take full advantage of these and expedient shipping options.

Not only are the Mac mini and Mac Studio great Macs for just about anyone, they are also becoming very popular choices for local AI models and agents. The best deal is the beefy upgraded M5 Max Mac Studio with 32GB RAM and a 512GB SSD which is discounted $200, but the Mac mini discounts are compelling as well if you don’t need quite as much power, or your budget is less.

• M5 Max Mac Studio – 32GB / 512GB – $2299 ($200 off, down from $2499)
• M6 Mac Mini – 16GB / 256GB – $779 (down from $899)
• M5 Pro Mac Mini – 24GB / 512GB – $1549 (down from $1799)

The all new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 are available at nice discounts from Amazon:

• Apple Watch Series 12 – $349 ($50 off)
• Apple Watch Ultra 4 – $799 ($100 off)

The latest M5 MacBook Air models are discounted $200 in basically all color and configuration options:

$200 Off M5 MacBook Air 15″

• 15″ M5 MacBook Air – 24GB – 1TB – $1799 ($200 off)
• 15″ M5 MacBook Air – 16GB – 512GB – $1299 ($200 off)

$200 Off M5 MacBook Air 13″

• 13″ M5 MacBook Air – 24GB – 1TB – $1599 ($200 off)
• 13″ M5 MacBook Air – 16GB – 512GB – $1149 ($200 off)

FTC: OSXDaily is an affiliate partner with Amazon, meaning if you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment which goes towards keeping the site running.

If you’re a Mac user who has updated to MacOS 27 Golden Gate, you might have quickly noticed the new “Write with Siri” Siri AI floating button tool that appears alongside basically every text entry point, whether you’re in an email app, Notes, Pages, Safari, or just about anywhere else. This is part of the new Siri AI Writing Tools feature, which you might really like, or might dislike, depending. You’ll also find that when you right-click just about anything, there’s a new “Ask Siri” or “Edit with Siri” item at the very top of the contextual menu. Critics of this feature say it’s intrusive and “Microsoft-esque” whereas fans of the Siri AI Writing Tools appreciate its always-there convenience of the floating button.

Curiously, there’s no easy toggle in the System Settings to disable these features, aside from just completely disabling Siri AI in general on the Mac, but if you don’t mind turning to the command line, you can disable the “Write with Siri”, “Ask Siri”, “Edit with Siri” and related floating button features in MacOS 27 Golden Gate.

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If you’re the type of Mac user who likes to keep track of your system performance and system resource usage and management, an intriguing and full-featured app called Mac Performance Monitor might be for you. As you might have guessed from the name, Mac Performance Monitor lets you see a dashboard, history, and breakdown of what your Mac is doing, allowing you to monitor system resources and usage like CPU, memory / swap, GPU, network activity, disk usage, battery, temperature and sensor readings, as well as processes that are impacting each of these.

What’s particularly neat about Mac Performance Monitor is that you can not only see what’s going on right now, but you can use the history recording feature to go back to whenever either a system slowdown or resource usage spike began, and figure out what caused it. This makes Mac Performance Monitor particularly handy for diagnostics and system resource management.

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Some Mac users who have recently installed MacOS 27 Golden Gate have noticed an unusually laggy and buggy experience with Mission Control, full screen apps, and Stage Manager.

Impacted users complain of a slow lag, delay, or stutter before entering Mission Control and/or Stage Manager, or swiping between spaces or full screen apps, flickering thumbnails, black or empty spaces when switching between them or when using multiple displays, window thumbnails failing to draw, frame rate issues, animation issues and stuttering, or even a complete lack of animations and a sluggish redrawing of the screen elements. These problems may be due to an incompatibility, or perhaps even bug in Mission Control and/or Stage Manager, or even WindowServer, as these features are reported to have been quite smooth and consistent visually for most MacOS users until they installed MacOS 27. It’s also conceivable that these type of visual hiccups and performance issues will resolve themselves over time as MacOS Golden Gate has finished indexing itself and performing background tasks, in a similar way that sometimes just waiting can help to resolve battery life issues experienced with MacOS 27.

If you’re experiencing issues with Mission Control, swiping between full screen apps and spaces, using Stage Manager, and interactions within these features, you’re not alone, and there may be some tweaks and adjustments you can make to improve the performance of these features.

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Apple has released MacOS Tahoe 26.7.1 and MacOS Sequoia 15.8.1 as security updates for Mac users who are still running those operating systems. MacOS Tahoe 26.7.1 and MacOS Sequoia 15.8.1 include security updates only and no other changes.

Separately, Apple also released MacOS 27.0.1 Golden Gate, iOS 27.0.1, iPadOS 27.0.1, iPadOS 26.7.1, and iOS 26.7.1.

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Apple has released iOS 26.7.1 for iPhone and iPadOS 26.7.1 for iPad as security software updates for users who still running the OS 26 series of operating systems and who are not yet interested in jumping into OS 27.

Separately, Apple has also released iOS 27.0.1, iPadOS 27.0.1 as minor bug fix updates, along with MacOS 27.0.1 Golden Gate, macOS 26.7.1 Tahoe, and MacOS 15.8.1 Sequoia.

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Apple has issued iOS 27.0.1 for iPhone and iPadOS 27.0.1 for iPad, the first bug fix updates to the iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 operating systems. The updates include a fix for an issue where the touch screen could become unresponsive when Control Center and Notification Center are opened at the same time, a fix for iPhone 18 Pro Face ID issues, and a fix for an issue where color artifacts might appear on photos taken on iPhone 18 Pro devices.

Separately, Apple has also released MacOS 27.0.1 Golden Gate update, macOS Tahoe 26.7.1, MacOS Sequoia 15.8.1, along with iOS 26.7.1, and iPadOS 26.7.1.

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Apple has released macOS 27.0.1 Golden Gate, the first software update to the new Golden Gate operating system. The update arrives as build 26A434 and includes unspecified bug fixes, and is available to download now. Because the release notes do not mention any particular bugs or issues, it’s a bit of a guessing game as to what is fixed, but if you have recently installed macOS Golden Gate it’s a good idea to install this update as it may address issues that are relevant to you.

Separately, Apple has also released iOS 27.0.1, iPadOS 27.0.1, macOS Tahoe 26.7.1, and MacOS Sequoia 15.8.1, iOS 26.7.1, and iPadOS 26.7.1, some of which contain bug fixes, and some of which are security focused updates instead.

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If you installed iOS 27 at some point recently, and your iPhone has been running hotter than usual, perhaps even with what perceived degradation in performance, and reduction in battery life, you’re certainly not alone. While this can be a frustrating experience, it’s often associated with installing the update itself, and the good news is that it’s almost certainly temporary. Some iPhone users have also reported seeing temperature warnings on their device after installing iOS 27, whether it’s the full standard temperature warning where the iPhone is completely unusable, or a softer temperature warning like one that stalls iCloud and warns the user “Syncing with iCloud is paused. This iPhone needs to cool down.”

If you’re experiencing temperature issues or a hot iPhone since updating to iOS 27, read along to learn what might be causing the issue, and what to do about it.

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Amazon is offering up to a hefty $600 discount on the M5 Max MacBook Pro 16″ model in select configurations including the space black model with 36GB RAM and 2TB of SSD storage.

M5 Max MacBook Pro 16″

• 16″ M5 Max MacBook Pro – 36GB – 2TB – $3799 ($600 Off)

If a MacBook Pro is too much for your needs or budget, the fantastic M5 MacBook Air is also discounted 150% in both 13″ and 15″ display sizes and in most configuration and color options.

$150 Off M5 MacBook Air 15″

• 15″ M5 MacBook Air – 24GB – 1TB – $1849 ($150 off)
• 15″ M5 MacBook Air – 16GB – 512GB – $1349 ($150 off)

$350 Off M5 MacBook Air 13″

• 13″ M5 MacBook Air – 24GB – 1TB – $1649 ($150 off)
• 13″ M5 MacBook Air – 16GB – 512GB – $1199 ($150 off)

As usual, inventory moves around often on Amazon, so if you don’t see what you want available, refresh in a bit so Amazon updates their stock.

FTC: OSXDaily is an affiliate partner with Amazon, meaning if you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment which goes towards keeping the site running.

One of the more useful new small features available to iPad users in iPadOS 27 is the ability to always show the menu bar when using iPad. With this new setting toggled on, the menu bar will always be visible at the top of the screen on the iPad, much like the MacOS default. You can interact with the iPadOS menu bar at any time when it’s always visible like this, whether that is using touch input, or a trackpad, or mouse.

Having the iPadOS menu bar always visible is particularly useful for iPad users who use their iPad more like a typical computer, whether that’s with the iPad Magic Keyboard in semi-laptop mode, or in a desk workstation setup with a stand, external keyboard, and a a mouse or trackpad. This is just one of various new features available in iPadOS 27 (and don’t forget the handy new iOS 27 features are shared with iPadOS 27 too), and it’s a nice workflow option for many users.

Assuming you have already installed iPadOS 27 onto your iPad, here’s how to enable the always visible menu bar.

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The iPad Magic Keyboard is by far the best accessory to add to iPad Air, transforming the tablet into a laptop of sorts by adding a keyboard and trackpad. The discounted price is available on the white model and up to 26% off, which is typically the color variation that does not see big discounts.

• White Magic Keyboard for iPad Air 11″ – $200 (down from $269)
• White Magic Keyboard for iPad Air 13″ – $250 (down from $320)

Save $100 on M4 iPad Air 11″ and 13″

Speaking of iPad Air, the iPad Air M4 is available at a discount for both the 11″ and 13″ display sizes, in multiple color and storage configurations.

• 11″ M4 iPad Air – 128GB – $649 (down from $749)
• 13″ M4 iPad Air – 128GB – $849 (down from $949)

AirTags 2 4-pack for $80

AirTags 2 are handy trackers with many uses , and you can grab a 4-pack of the AirTags 2 $20 off the retail price:

• AirTags 2 – 4-pack – $80 (down from $99)

$150 Off M5 MacBook Air 13″

Amazon is taking $150 off multiple configurations of the M5 MacBook Air 13″ model. You can also save $100 on a few other models including the 16GB/1TB configuration, and the same discount is available on the 15″ Air in 16GB / 1TB configuration as well:

• 13″ MacBook Air M5 – 24GB – 1TB – $1649 (down from $1799)
• 13″ MacBook Air M5 – 16GB – 1TB – $1499 (down from $1599)
• 15″ MacBook Air M5 – 16GB – 1TB – $1699 (down from $1799)

Misc Deals

• M5 Max MacBook Pro 16″ – 32GB RAM – 2TB SSD – $3799 (down from $4399)
• AirPods Pro 3 for $199 (down from $249)
• AirPods Max for $479 (down from $549)
• AirPods 4 for $99 (down from $129)
• Magic Trackpad – $119 (down from $129)
• Magic Keyboard – $89 (down from $99)
• Anker 7-in-1 USB-C hub For $20 (down from $26)

FTC: OSXDaily is an affiliate partner with Amazon, meaning if you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment which goes towards keeping the site running.

While MacOS 27 Golden Gate is overall a great system software release, that’s not to say it’s perfect and without user complaints. One issue that is cropping up for some MacOS 27 users, myself included, is poor battery performance. Battery life issues and complaints are fairly common to crop up during the initial release period of major new operating systems, and macOS Golden Gate is no different in this regard.

Often the complaints about battery life also include perceived sluggishness to the Mac in general, and sometimes the Mac is also warm or hot to the touch. Those are indicators that a lot of system activity is occurring behind the scenes, and that’s all typically related with the reduction in battery life.

If you’re experiencing issues with reduced battery life with MacOS 27 Golden Gate, read along to better understand the issue, what could be the cause, and what to do about it.

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The second beta versions of iOS 27.2, MacOS 27.2 Golden Gate, and iPadOS 27.2, are available for users participating in the beta testing of Apple system software.

While the final versions of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and MacOS 27 Golden Gate just recently became available to the general public, beta testing has already moved on to the next point release updates. And yes, the first available betas are for iOS 27.2 and MacOS 27.2, not iOS 27.1 or MacOS 27.1. There is some speculation that the missing OS 27.1 releases will ship on iPhone Duo and perhaps other soon to be released or unveiled hardware, but nobody outside of Apple knows exactly what’s going on there.

As far as new features and improvements are concerned, iOS 27.2 beta includes a redesigned Health app which includes some new features focused on health insights and longevity based on health and fitness metrics from Apple Watch. There are also birthday reminders and anniversary reminders that appear when you’re on phone calls, and several new languages will support Siri AI on compatible devices. Presumably various bug fixes and other tweaks will be included for MacOS 27.2, iOS 27.2, and ipadOS 27.2 as well.

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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Adobe Photoshop used to be a lightweight image editor and available without an annoying subscription fee, but not anymore. With Adobe Photoshop now a comically bloated sluggish and expensive mess, one rebel spaceship carrying an enterprising developer took it upon himself to challenge the ADOBE GALACTIC EMPIRE and build a simple and super lightweight Photoshop alternative to restore freedom to the Mac image editing galaxy; Compositor.

In Compositor, you will find all the familiar critical Photoshop tools, including layers, folders, layer masks, adjustment layers, clipping masks, blend modes, selection tools, filters, background removal, gaussian and motion blurs, lens correction, grain and noise adjustment, liquify, smear, spot healing, clone stamp, brush tools, and text tools. These combine to give you a fantastic set of powerful tools for post-processing images, image editing, and design work, and should be a workable Photoshop alternative for many Mac users. While it’s obviously not going to have every feature in Photoshop, for image editing and post processing, Compositor is really quite impressive, and freakishly lightweight, making it a worthy addition to just about any Mac.

• Get Compositor for Mac from the developer here
• Check out Compositor on Github here

Not only is Compositor quite powerful, but it’s also exceptionally lightweight at only 12 MB. Yes, megabytes, TWELVE MEGABYTES! That’s it! Staggeringly tiny in this day and age of enormous software bloat.

The video below, via the developer @robbietilton on X/Twitter, shows the app in action:

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World of Warcraft: Forever is currently in beta, and while you can pre-purchase the game to get early beta access to the game right now before it launches to everyone in November, there are also workarounds to install and run World of Warcraft Forever right now on a Mac or Windows PC, without any purchase or opt-in required, and that’s what we’re here to show you how to do.

For some background, World of Warcraft: Forever is a new upcoming take on the famous MMORPG. It’s basically a version of the classic 2004 game with some of those classic limitations (like a level 60 cap), but with new zones, dungeons, and storylines. The focus is intended to be on exploration and socializing and community, rather than just endless level grinding that came to define much of the modern World of Warcraft experience. This has excited a lot of gamers who have fond memories of the earlier days of the wildly popular game, so it’s understandable that many users want to play the WoW:Forever beta right now. So, let’s learn how to do exactly that.

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Looking for a fun unique way to stylize your Mac experience, and also to make it easier to differentiate which windows are which? Window Sweaters might be for you.

Window Sweater is a whimsical little app that wraps your MacOS windows in virtual sweater knitting, with each app window getting its own distinct color and sweater design. This offers not only a fun visual customization to your Mac, but provides for an incredibly creative way to determine which window is which, an issue that some Mac users have lamented about with the newer flat interface designs.

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