Apple has issued a release candidate build of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and macOS Tahoe 26.4, to users who are participating in the beta testing program for Apple system software.

The RC (release candidate) build typically matches the final release version, unless any critical bugs or issues are discovered, and usually marks the end of the beta testing period and an imminent public release. Assuming this RC build ends up being the final release version, we will likely see iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and macOS Tahoe 26.4 debut to all users in the near future, likely within the week or two.

There are some new features and changes in macOS Tahoe 26.4, ipadOS 26.4, and iOS 26.4, including a few new Emoji icons like a Bigfoot, new playlist options for Apple Music, RCS messaging support for texts, a compact tab option for Safari on Mac, a new charge limit feature for MacBook battery, and a variety of bug fixes, including a change aimed at fixing the iOS 26 keyboard problems that have been broadly reported by some iPhone users particularly when typing quickly. Release notes are included below.

For non beta users, the latest available system software is the macOS Tahoe 26.3.1 (a) and iOS 26.3.1 (a) security improvements that can be installed onto macOS Tahoe 26.3.1, iOS 26.3.1, and iPadOS 26.3.1.

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Apple has released what they are calling a “Security Improvement” as a software update for macOS Tahoe 26.3.1, iOS 26.3.1, and iPadOS 26.3.1. The update, err, improvement, is being labeled as macOS Tahoe 26.3.1 (a), macOS 26.3.2 (a), iOS 26.3.1 (a), and iPadOS 26.3.1 (a), and though it installs just like a software update, you won’t find it available as one.

Curiously, the “Security Improvement” is not available through the standard Software Update mechanism on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, so if you go looking there you will not find any updates available. Instead, the ‘improvement’ is buried inside of a completely different section of settings where almost no user is going to look or even accidentally stumble into it. It would make a lot more sense to my plebeian logic to place all system updates inside of the regular “Software Update” section of Settings, but here we are.

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Using multiple displays with a Mac is a very common setup, whether that’s using a larger external monitor with a laptop, or running a multi-display desktop setup. It’s well known that large screens and external displays can really boost some peoples productivity, and one way to further improve your multi-screen Mac setup is by choosing which of your displays is the “primary display”. For the unfamiliar, the Primary Display in MacOS is the screen that shows the Dock, menu bar, desktop icons, and where apps and alerts open to by default, and yes, this can be changed in multi-monitor Mac configurations.

MacOS makes it pretty easy to adjust the Primary Display, but it’s also a fairly subtle feature that is easy to overlook, especially in modern MacOS versions like MacOS Tahoe, MacOS Sequoia, and macOS Sonoma.

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A clean install of macOS Sequoia installs the operating system onto a freshly erased Mac, removing all existing data, settings, and even the previous MacOS versions from the Mac. This approach is sometimes preferred by advanced users who want a completely fresh start, are troubleshooting persistent system issues, or simply want to run MacOS Sequoia without any leftover files from an earlier installation. And, if you don’t mind starting from scratch with none of your files, apps, or data, you can even use a clean install of MacOS Sequoia as a way to downgrade a Mac from MacOS Tahoe.

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The new iPhone 17e features a new set of default wallpapers, as is customary with new iPhone models from Apple.

This time around Apple has come up with three different wallpapers, for each color of iPhone 17e; black, silver, pink. The wallpapers themselves look like overlapping glass arranged in an overlapping ring pattern, giving a kind of nifty flower-ish vibe. If that’s up your ally, then enjoy these new default wallpapers on your iPhone right now, no need to get a new phone to get a new wallpaper right?

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The all new MacBook Neo is already a huge hit, and is likely to be one of the most popular Macs of all time. With unique colors, a premium build, a surprisingly powerful processor, and an incredibly compelling price point starting at just $599, it’s easy to see why the MacBook Neo is taking the internet by storm (and likely your local coffee shops and schools soon too).

If you’re in the market for a MacBook Neo and you missed pre-orders and initial delivery, you might have noticed that the shipping times from Apple for basically every MacBook Neo are pushed back a week or several, and many other retailers have the same delays. But Amazon is constantly cycling in and out of stock on the Neo in various colors, with many delivery times available just two days away. Stock rotates fast, so if you don’t see a color and storage combination that you’re after with a delivery date you’re thrilled about, check again and refresh an hour or two later, and you might find one is available much sooner.

• MacBook Neo – 256GB – Indigo Blue – $599
• MacBook Neo – 512GB w/ Touch ID – Indigo – $699
• MacBook Neo – 256GB – Silver – $599
• MacBook Neo – 512GB w/ Touch ID – Silver – $699
• MacBook Neo – 256GB – Citrus – $599
• MacBook Neo – 512GB w/ Touch ID – Citrus – $699
• MacBook Neo – 256GB – Blush pink – $599
• MacBook Neo – 512GB w/ Touch ID – Blush pink – $699

At the moment, the Indigo model is available with a quick delivery, while the Citrus model has the most actively changing shipping/delivery times, but again all of this seems to change pretty often, so check back often.

You can also grab a MacBook Neo in person at an Apple Store in many places, so if you don’t mind going to a physical store you might be able to get your hands on one the same day.

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.

Some Mac users have noticed an annoying issue with recent MacOS updates (including both MacOS Tahoe and Sequoia) where Bluetooth accessories like a mouse or keyboard randomly disconnect, briefly stop responding, or disconnect for 10-30 seconds and then reconnect leading to lengthy lags in using the cursor or keyboard. Some users even report that some Bluetooth devices refus to connect after installing a recent MacOS update to Tahoe. The issue seems to most commonly affect Bluetooth input hardware, including Apple’s own peripherals and third-party devices, and some users will say a mouse or keyboard will randomly drop the connection.

If your Bluetooth mouse or keyboard keeps disconnecting at random in MacOS Tahoe or MacOS Sequoia, there are several troubleshooting steps that can often resolve the problem.

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Apple has released a series of new software updates with important security fixes for various older iPhone and iPad models, versioned as iOS 16.7.15, ipadOS 16.7.15, iOS 15.8.7, and iPadOS 15.8.7.

Specifically, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPad 5th generation, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, and iPad Pro 12.9-inch 1st generation have iOS 16.7.15 and ipadOS 16.7.15 available to them, while the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and iPad 7th generation has iOS 15.8.7 or iPadOS 15.8.7 available to those devices.

Curiously, the main Apple security update page lists iOS 15.8.7 as available for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and iPad 7th generation, while the specific page for iOS 15.8.7 lists iPhone 6s (all models), iPhone 7 (all models), iPhone SE (1st generation), iPad Air 2, iPad mini (4th generation), and iPod touch (7th generation) as the devices it is available for. Make of that discrepancy what you will, but either way if you have an older iPhone or iPad, you should check to see if any updates area available for it.

All eligible devices should install these iOS/iPadOS updates to patch the security issues for those devices.

For all other iPhone and iPad users, iOS 26.3.1 and iPadOS 26.3.1 remain the latest stable versions of system software available, and iOS 26.4 is expected to be finalized and arrive soon, in the coming weeks.

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Apple has released MacOS Tahoe 26.3.2 as a software update specifically and only for the all-new MacBook Neo. This makes the MacOS 26.3.2 update a day-one update for the Mac, and should therefore be installed right away for any new MacBook Neo owner. This update is not available for any other Mac.

The update apparently includes bug fixes, and likely includes support or patches specific to the Neo model. Apple is concurrently working on macOS Tahoe 26.4 beta, so presumably that update will bring all compatible Macs to the same system software version, and include any universally applicable bug fixes.

If you’re in the market for a MacBook Neo, you can grab one on Amazon for just $599 in different color options for delivery this week, whereas many shipping times from Apple and other retailers have slipped by a week or few.

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If you’re a Mac user planning on performing a clean install MacOS Sequoia, or you’d like to have a MacOS Sequoia boot drive for troubleshooting reasons, then you’ll find that creating a bootable installer drive for macOS Sequoia is useful to have on hand.

Making bootable install disks is a little technical in that it uses the command line of MacOS, but this walkthrough will be straight forward enough for anyone to follow. When you’re done, you’ll have a Sequoia installer boot disk that you can use for any Sequoia compatible Mac.

And yes this is for creating an installer for MacOS Sequoia 15, if you’re looking to do this for MacOS Tahoe 26 read here instead.

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Apple is marching along with beta releases, now issuing the fourth beta of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and macOS Tahoe 26.4, for anyone participating in the beta testing programs for Apple system software.

The newest betas of macOS Tahoe 26.4, ipadOS 26.4, and iOS 26.4 include a few new emoji icons including Bigfoot, support for RCS messaging, a mood playlist feature for Apple Music, compact tab bar option for MacOS Safari, some battery charging tweaks for Mac users, minor changes to the wallpaper section of iOS, along with what are expected to be bug fixes and security patches.

The most recently available stable builds of system software are currently macOS Tahoe 26.3.1, iOS 26.3.1, and iPadOS 26.3.1.

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Some iPhone, iPad, and Mac users may have noticed a message that appears suddenly on their device that reads something like this;

“Device Added to Your Account – An iPhone/Mac/iPad now has access to FaceTime. If you don’t recognize this device you can remove it in System Settings.”

Getting this notification out of the blue can be a bit alarming, especially if you did not just add a new device to your Apple ID, or you don’t recall doing so. The purpose of this message is to serve as a security notification to make sure devices that are logged in are yours, and authorized to do so.

Fortunately, this message is usually from a legitimate situation that reflects device usage, though it shouldn’t be ignored because it could theoretically indicate a problem.

Let’s dive into what this “Device Added to your Account” message means and what you should do if you see it.

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MacBook Neo is available in four color options, and each color choice also has a color matched default wallpaper that if you look carefully kind of spells out “Mac”. And while the MacBook Neo is already a popular Mac for it’s colorful enclosures and impressive price tag, you don’t necessarily need to buy a MacBook Neo just to enjoy the new wallpapers that are available for the new Mac laptop.

If you want to enjoy the new MacBook Neo default wallpapers right now, you can do so by clicking on the thumbnails or links below to open the full sized image in a new window.

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Apple has released iOS 26.3.1 for iPhone and iPadOS 26.3.1 for iPad. The new software updates include support for the new Apple Studio Display and Studio Display XDR. There are also unspecified bug fixes included in the small software updates.

Separately, Apple has also released macOS Tahoe 26.3.1 update with support for the same displays, and also with nonspecific bug fixes.

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Apple has released macOS Tahoe 26.3.1 with support for the newly updated Apple Studio Display and Studio Display XDR. The update also apparently includes bug fixes, though none are specified in release notes. No security patches are included in this update.

Unless you plan on getting one of the new Apple Studio Displays for your Mac in the near future, these updates are probably not super urgent to install for most Tahoe users, especially given there’s no specificity to which bugs are addressed. Keep in mind that macOS Tahoe 26.4 is under active development, and will likely be released this month to all users as well.

Separately, Apple also released iOS 26.3.1, iPadOS 26.3.1, iOS 18.7.6, and visionOS 26.3.1, all also with support for the new 27″ Studio Display from Apple.

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Apple has introduced the much-anticipated MacBook Neo, a colorful light and affordable 13″ Mac laptop, that starts at $599 retail, or just $499 for students.

The MacBook Neo runs on the A18 Pro chip, which is the same chip the iPhone 16 Pro runs on, which is apparently faster than the M1 chip. Base models include 256GB of storage, but for another $100 you can get 512GB storage and Touch ID on the keyboard.

All MacBook Neo models include 8GB RAM that can not be upgraded, which is realistically the biggest limitation for the Mac laptop, because you need at least 16GB RAM to run many pro level apps, including Apple’s own Xcode.

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Apple has released spec-bumps to the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lineup, bringing all of the laptops into the M5 chip world, with faster memory and storage. Additionally, the company has released two new 27″ Apple Studio Display models.

The updated Macs include nice new internal specs and options but are not redesigned, so the hardware enclosures and color options remain the same as prior models.

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Apple has released the third beta versions of iOS 26.4, iPadOS2 26.4, and macOS Tahoe 26.4, for users enrolled in the beta testing programs for Apple system software. The last beta was released a week ago, and the prior a week before that, suggesting an accelerated pace for releasing the final versions of these system software updates.

There are a few smaller new features and changes that are included in the betas for macOS Tahoe 26.4, ipadOS 26.4, and iOS 26.4, including support for RCS messaging to have end-to-end encryption with Android users over text, a compact tab bar option for Safari on the Mac, new battery charging options for Mac laptops, and a slightly redesigned Wallpaper section on the iOS/ipadOS side of things. There will likely be bug fixes and security patches coming with these releases as well.

Currently, macOS Tahoe 26.3, iOS 26.3, and iPadOS 26.3, are the most recently available versions of system software for major Apple devices.

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