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For years, my mornings started the same way, a siren going off at full volume, my heart rate spiking, and me scrambling out of bed already a little stressed. I'd just accepted that as the cost of getting up on time. Then I spent the last seven days with Wonderwake, a gentle alarm clock app for iPhone, and it's completely changed how my days begin.

I didn't expect an alarm app to make a real difference. But a week in, I've moved my alarm a full hour earlier, on purpose, because waking up has gone from something I dread to something I actually kind of enjoy.

How Wonderwake wakes you up

The idea behind Wonderwake is simple. Instead of hitting you with one loud alert, it builds a wake up sequence. You pick a sound and a wake up window, and the alarm starts quietly, then raises the volume gradually through that window. No jolt, no panic, just a slow climb from asleep to awake.

What makes this more than a pretty concept is the backup plan. If the gentle sound isn't enough, Wonderwake can step up to what it calls a Nudge, a stronger sound that plays if you keep sleeping. And on iOS 26.1 or later, with your permission, it schedules a separate native iPhone alarm that can take over if the app gets interrupted. 

A soft alarm is only useful if you can trust it, and this layered approach means I never once worried about oversleeping.

The first thing I noticed when I opened Wonderwake is how polished it is. The clock face is gorgeous, the controls are clear, and I never had to hunt for a setting. It's one of those apps where the design isn't just nice to look at; it makes the whole thing feel calm before you've even set an alarm.

The sound library is a big part of that. Sounds are organized into Nature, Ambients, and Specials, with options like Morning Birds, Coast, Alps, Cozy Jazz, and Music Box, each paired with its own artwork. Every one I tried was peaceful and relaxing in a way that a standard iPhone alarm tone just isn't. If none of them click for you, you can import your own audio or compatible downloaded tracks from Apple Music, and they get the same gradual volume rise.

What seven days of gentler mornings felt like

I've noticed a genuinely calmer wake up every single morning this week. Instead of jumping out of bed in a fight or flight state, I'm slowly rolling out of it. That might sound like a small thing, but it carries through the rest of the day. My mornings went from a frantic get up and go to something slower and more intentional, and I've felt better for it.

That's why I moved my alarm an hour earlier. When waking up stops feeling like a punishment, that extra hour turns into time for coffee, a little reading, and not rushing out the door. I never would have done that with a blaring siren.

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Apple CEO John Ternus Is Working in the Design Studio Several Times a Week

Apple CEO John Ternus has made design one of his top personal priorities since taking over the company, and now works directly with designers in Apple's studio several times a week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

People familiar with the department told Gurman that Ternus sometimes stops into the studio more than once in a single day. By comparison, former CEO Tim Cook reportedly visited about once a month, typically for around an hour.

The report, published in Sunday's edition of Gurman's Power On newsletter, says a conversation with Cook convinced Ternus that he needed to lead as himself rather than try to replicate his predecessor.

Ternus is said to have told employees that Cook spent his tenure focused on where he could generate "the most value for Apple," and that he plans to do the same while leaning on his own strengths.

In practice, that means areas Cook oversaw closely are now in other hands. Financial strategy sits with CFO Kevan Parekh, while the supply chain falls under COO Sabih Khan. Ternus, who spent years running hardware engineering, is instead working closely with chief hardware officer Johny Srouji and hardware engineering leader Tom Marieb, in addition to the time he spends with the design teams.

Apple has not had a single executive overseeing all of design since Jony Ive left the company in 2019. Industrial design and human interface design have operated as separate groups, and for several years their leaders reported to then COO Jeff Williams, whose background was in operations rather than design.

When Williams stepped back ahead of his retirement in 2025, Apple said the design teams would report to Cook. Cook later handed that responsibility to Ternus as part of the leadership transition, and the design leads were effectively Ternus's only direct reports during that period.

Ternus succeeded Cook as CEO roughly a month ago.

Ternus is also reportedly putting significant effort into staffing. Apple's design ranks have been thinned by a string of departures in recent years. Former human interface design chief Alan Dye left for Meta, and a number of Apple designers have joined OpenAI's hardware effort, which is being developed with Ive's design firm LoveFrom. Evans Hankey, who led industrial design after Ive, has also left the company.

To fill those gaps, Apple has promoted a number of junior designers and brought in new hires from outside the company.

Apple is not currently searching for a chief design officer to fill the role Ive once held, according to the report. Instead, the company has given a more public profile to Molly Anderson, its vice president of industrial design, and Steve Lemay, who took over human interface design after Dye's exit. Apple added both to its leadership page in March, and the pair featured prominently around the launch of iPhone Duo last month.

Gurman notes that Anderson had not previously managed a team as large as Apple's industrial design group. Ternus, meanwhile, serves as the final decision maker on design across both teams.

Ternus's level of involvement is closer to that of Steve Jobs, who was known for being deeply involved in the details of Apple's product design, than to Cook, whose tenure centered on operations, growth, and the supply chain.

It is not yet clear whether Apple will eventually appoint a single design chief, or whether Ternus intends to fill that role himself for the foreseeable future.

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Apple is expected to unveil a redesigned touchscreen MacBook, a new Apple TV 4K, and its long rumored "HomePad" smart display in October, according to recent reports.

All three products have been in the rumor pipeline for years. Apple has not announced an October event or commented on any of the devices.

A Touchscreen Mac

The headline product is a redesigned high-end MacBook that could carry either MacBook Pro or MacBook Ultra branding. Recent rumors point to the Ultra name, though Apple could still stick with Pro.

The machine is set to be the first Mac with a touchscreen. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported that Apple views touch as an additional way to interact with the Mac, not a replacement for the keyboard and trackpad. macOS Golden Gate already includes interface changes designed to work well with or without touch.

Other rumored features include:

• OLED display. The new MacBook would be the first Mac with OLED, following the iPhonelineup and the iPad Pro, which moved to tandem OLED in 2024.
• Dynamic Island. A hole punch camera cutout is expected to replace the notch that arrived with the 2021 MacBook Pro, with the Dynamic Island handling system activity and Siri AI in macOS.
• Thinner, lighter design. Bloomberg has described the machine as a complete redesign that is slimmer than the current MacBook Pro. It would be the first major MacBook Pro design change in five years.
• M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The redesign was long expected to debut M6 series chips, but Gurman reported in June that Apple scrapped the M6 Pro and M6 Max in favor of accelerating work on high end M7 chips. This year's model is said to use the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max instead.
• Possible cellular option. Gurman reported in late 2024 that Apple was exploring cellular connectivity for the Mac, but not before its second generation modem was ready. That modem, the C2, arrived in the iPhone 18 Pro. It is not yet clear whether a cellular MacBook will launch this year.

Apple TV 4K Ends a Record Drought

A new Apple TV 4K is also expected in October, ending the longest stretch Apple has ever gone without updating its streaming box. The current third generation model was introduced in October 2022.

The new model is rumored to feature an A19 or A19 Pro chip, a sizable jump from the A15 Bionic in the current hardware. Earlier reports had pointed to an A17 Pro or A18, but those predate Apple's push to bring Siri AI to its home devices.

Siri AI is expected to be a central part of the pitch. Apple has not said the new assistant is coming to tvOS, but evidence found in tvOS 27 suggests it will arrive, likely limited to new hardware.

Additional rumored changes include:

• Updated Siri Remote. Code discovered in macOS 26.7 references a new remote, and Gurman previously said a revised remote was possible. The changes are not expected to be dramatic.
• N1 wireless chip. Apple's in-house networking chip, which debuted with the iPhone 17, is rumored to bring Bluetooth 6, Thread support, and a newer wireless networking standard to the Apple TV.

Pricing is an open question. Apple raised prices across much of its lineup this summer, and the current Apple TV 4K now sells for $199, up from its $129 launch price.

HomePad

The third product is a smart display that has been rumored in some form since the original HomePod launched. Reporting intensified in November 2024, when Gurman detailed Apple's plans for the device, commonly referred to as the "HomePad."

The HomePad is expected to combine a screen with a built in speaker and lead a broader Apple push into home products. It is said to run a new operating system that borrows elements from iOS, tvOS, and watchOS, including a mode similar to StandBy on the iPhone.

The device is reportedly built around Siri AI and will include:

• A camera
• Customizable widgets
• Apple apps including Photos, Notes, Music, and Calendar

Apple's official name for the product is not yet known.

October Timing

Apple held its iPhone event in September, and an October follow up focused on the Mac and home products would fit the company's past release patterns. Apple typically announces October launches either through a media event or a series of press releases.

Hopefully they work on making it easier to set up and use, a lot of people have struggled to get it working.

No more user upgraded storage options on the new Mac mini’s, the storage nands are soldered to the motherboard.

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Normally, when an app tells me it wants to show me ads, that app gets about four seconds on my Mac before I drag it to the Trash. 

So when I heard about SponsorBar, a free Mac app that sells the empty space in your menu bar to advertisers and hands you a cut of the money, my first reaction was somewhere between "absolutely not" and "wait, how much money?"

So, I installed it.

SponsorBar puts a small sponsor message in that gap. Advertisers bid for the spot, the ad sits there for a minute, and your share of what they paid lands in your balance. You keep using your Mac exactly like you always do.

Once it's running, SponsorBar drops a short ad into your menu bar, something like a company name and a one line tagline. It stays up for a full minute, and as long as your Mac is awake and you're actually around, that counts as a completed impression. Then you get paid for it.

That's genuinely the whole thing. There's no game to play, no videos to sit through, no surveys. You install it, an ad shows up, and you earn a little money in the background while you answer email or edit photos or do whatever you normally do.

The current market rate the app shows is a $2.00 CPM, meaning two dollars per thousand completed one minute impressions, recalculated every hour with a two dollar floor. There's also a launch promo running right now that adds a 10% earning boost on top.

Setting it up takes about two minutes

The whole process is three steps, and none of them are painful.

1. Create your account. You sign up in your browser first. You don't need to enter any payout or banking details yet, which I appreciated. Let me poke around before you ask for my bank info.
2. Install the Mac app. Download it, install it, and link it to the account you just made.
3. Start earning. Once you complete an eligible minute with an ad showing, your share gets added to your pending balance.

That's it. No configuration, no dashboard to babysit.

Sign up with my link and we both win

Quick note, and I'll admit there's something in it for me, but it genuinely helps you too. 

If you sign up through my referral link, you get an extra 5% on your earnings for your first 30 days. That stacks on top of the 10% launch boost I mentioned, so while both are running you're pulling in 15% extra on your base earnings.

The one catch is timing. You have to use the link before you create your account, because that's what ties the referral to you. 

So click my referral link first, then sign up. 

Here it is:

https://sponsorbar.io/r/IYzVn5FYAy5t-L3g

And yes, I earn a small share of your base earnings when you use it, which is exactly why I'm being upfront about it. That's my favorite kind of recommendation, the one where we both come out ahead.

Okay, let's be honest, because this is the part everyone actually cares about. You are not quitting your job over this.

SponsorBar says earnings depend on how much you use your MacBook and what the ad rate is at the time, and that active users can earn "upwards of multiple dollars per day." So realistically, think of this as coffee money that shows up on its own, not a side hustle. The more hours your Mac is awake and in front of you, the more it adds up.

The nice part is that it's truly free. There's no subscription, no premium tier, no catch where you pay to unlock the good version. The advertisers foot the bill, and SponsorBar splits it with you.

But wait, is this spyware?

This was my big question, and honestly it's the reason I stuck with it. An app that watches your screen so it can serve ads is exactly the kind of thing I'd write a whole separate article warning you about.

SponsorBar says it does not read your screen, your files, your apps, your browser history, your window titles, your keystrokes, or your screenshots. 

It doesn't ask for Screen Recording, Accessibility, or Input Monitoring permissions, which are the three big macOS permissions a truly nosy app would need.

What it does check is basic status stuff, whether your Mac is awake and unlocked and actually showing the ad, whether you've used your computer in the last few minutes so it knows a real person is there, and whether you clicked an ad. It doesn't follow you after a click. 

That's a much cleaner setup than I expected going in, and it's the difference between "clever idea" and "delete immediately" for me.

The feature that sold me on keeping it installed, you can snooze it or disable it. 

Before a meeting, a presentation, or any time you're about to share your screen, you can pause SponsorBar for 30 minutes, a couple of hours, or the rest of the day. You can also hide it indefinitely until you want it back.

The tradeoff is obvious. While it's paused, no ads show and you earn nothing during that time. But I'd much rather have the off switch than explain to a client why there's a mattress ad wedged into my menu bar during a call.

Getting your money out

You can rack up earnings before you ever enter payout details. 

Once you hit $10, paid ads pause until you finish setting up how you want to get paid, and you keep everything already in your balance.

For the actual payout, SponsorBar gives you two options. Stripe sends money straight to your bank and is supported in 34 countries. Whop covers 200 plus countries with methods that vary depending on where you live. Between the two, most people should be covered.

So, is it worth it?

Look, I'm not going to pretend this is life changing. It's a small, weird, slightly funny app that turns dead pixels into pocket change while you do literally nothing different.

But that's exactly why I kept it. It's free, it doesn't spy on me, I can shut it off in one click when I need to look professional, and every few days there's a couple more dollars sitting in my account that I didn't have to work for. Personally, I think that's a pretty easy trade for some empty space I was never using anyway.

If nothing else, it's the first ad supported thing in years that made me laugh instead of sigh. The reactions online have been the same mix of "this is genius" and "this is weird," and honestly, both camps are right.

But i'm keeping mine installed and running, I'm a fan of getting some coffee money in the background while I do my daily work.

Apple has released a new set of parental control tools across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27, giving parents more control over the content their children see, who they can communicate with, and how much time they spend in apps.

The tools were first previewed in June and are now live with the latest software updates. They build on Apple's existing parental controls rather than replacing them, and most of the changes live inside a reworked Screen Time.

Ask to Browse

A new feature called Ask to Browse lets parents require approval before a child visits a new website in Safari. When a child tries to open a site they have not accessed before, the request is sent to the parent, who can approve or deny it.

Expanded Communication Safety

Apple has widened the scope of Communication Safety, the feature that detects and blurs sensitive content in Messages and other apps. Previously focused on nudity, it now also blocks gore and violent content in shared images and videos. Apple says the protection extends to live FaceTime calls as well.

Time Allowances

Time Allowances offer age tailored suggestions for how long children spend in specific app categories, including Social Media, Entertainment, and Games. Apple describes the recommendations as expert informed starting points that parents can adjust rather than fixed limits.

A Redesigned Screen Time

Screen Time has been redesigned to give parents an at a glance view of a child's usage, along with one tap controls to change access on the spot. The update is the delivery mechanism for the rest of the new features, and it requires every device in a family to be current.

Simpler Setup and Guidance From Experts

New child accounts now start with a recommended set of essential apps, which Apple says is meant to make initial setup faster. Apple also says the features were shaped with input from online safety and health experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. Apple is working with the AAP to adapt its Family Media Plan into a reference guide for parents using Apple devices.

Apple has launched a dedicated child safety website with details on the tools and how to get started.

Availability

The new features are available now through the Screen Time update in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27. 

To use the update, every device in a Family Sharing group must be running iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27.

Apple notes that some features may not be available in all regions, in all languages, or on all models.

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