As we observe Independence Day in America—our annual celebration of the hard-fought freedom to not be subject to the unchecked whims of a monarch—the #1 app in the “Social” category of the App Store sits at the intersection of the iPhone and the law. Amid recent reports that the federal government has shifted its focus from violent illegal immigrants to legal immigrants with viewpoints that the Trump administration disagrees with, and with the President himself discussing plans to deport even U.S. citizens, Joshua Aaron decided to create an iPhone app. In an interview with Callum Sutherland of Time magazine, Aaron explained: “When I saw what was going on in this country, I just really felt like I had to do something.” Aaron’s free app is called ICEBlock. The app displays a map of the user’s current location and shows any reported ICE sightings in that area. A user can report an ICE sighting by tapping a button. Reece Rogers of Wired reports that the Trump administration has responded not only by threatening to prosecute the developer, even though there is nothing illegal about the app, but even by threatening to prosecute CNN for simply reporting the news that the app exists. Fox News also reported the news that the app exists, and speaking on Fox News, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi mentioned the app’s developer Joshua Aaron and remarked, “we are looking at him, and he better watch out.” And now, the other news of note from the past week:
- There are lots of new features coming to the Photos app when iOS 26 comes out this Fall, and Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac runs down what is new in Photos.
- Nick deCourville of The Mac Observer has been using the beta version of iOS 26 for several weeks, and he lists his favorite features so far, including new app icons and new folders for spam texts.
- The headline features in the upcoming iOS 26 have been getting lots of attention in the tech press, but Sanuj Bhatia of Make Use Of reports on eight less obvious features that are also very interesting, such as the ability to create custom snooze times for alarms and an indication on the lock screen of how much longer it will take to charge your iPhone.
- When iPadOS 26 comes out this Fall, we will also see a major new update to the GoodNotes app, my go-to app on the iPad for taking handwritten notes. As noted on the GoodNotes blog, the app will include a Whiteboard feature with an infinite canvas size, so if you need more space on the edge of a page, it is there for you. The app will also let you use AI to do things like transform your scribbled handwriting into organized meeting notes. I’m also excited to use a new Text Documents feature, which is a block-based editor that looks like it will vastly improve adding typed notes to a notebook.
- Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac reports that the new “hints” feature of the upcoming watchOS 26 is an especially nice improvement.
- If you want Apple Watch bands in some new colors, Woot is once again offering a deep discount. Apple’s Solo Loop bands, normally $50, are on sale for $14.99 each. Apple’s Braided Solo Loop bands, normally $100, are only $29.99. The Braided Solo Loop is my current favorite Apple Watch band because its stretchy woven yarn is incredibly comfortable. I’m wearing one as I type these words. The only criticism that I noted in my review is that I think the $100 price is too high. But $30 is much more reasonable. I’ve purchased numerous Apple Watch bands from Woot during previous sales, and the buying experience was excellent. If you are interested in adding to your collection—perhaps by purchasing some red, white, and blue bands today?—this is worth checking out.
- José Adorno of BGR explains why visionOS 26 will vastly improve the Apple Vision Pro. I’m running the beta now, and I agree that these are all fantastic new features.
- Being able to unlock your Mac just because you are wearing your Apple Watch is a pretty cool feature. But sometimes, it doesn’t work, and Glenn Fleishman explains in a post on Six Colors how you can get it working again.
- If you have travel plans this summer—either for vacation or for business—Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac recommends his favorite travel gadgets, including chargers, hubs, and more.
- Speaking of travel, Brett Burney and I recorded a special edition of the In the News podcast three years ago to recommend tips and accessories for travel. Most of those recommendations are still good today, although there are now updated versions of many of the accessories that we praised. For example, I recommended the Weego Jump Starter 22 (which I still use today), but you can now get the Weego 44S for $99.99 on Amazon. And while I previously recommended the eufyCam 2 Pro for keeping an eye on your house while you are away, you can now get the eufyCam S3 Pro, which comes in a 2-pack for $549.99 on Amazon. I purchased a 4-pack of the eufyCam S3 Pro a few months ago to upgrade my home security cameras, and while I haven’t written a formal review yet, I can tell you that I really like that product.
- Speaking of Brett Burney, his wife shared with Brett, and Brett shared with me, this report from Josh LaBella of the CTPost in Connecticut. Two people from Kentucky were camping in Rhode Island when thieves broke into their car and stole numerous items, including AirPods. The couple was able to track their AirPods to a location in Connecticut, which led the police to execute a search warrant, and most of the stolen items were recovered.
- Maddie Rhodes of KDVR in Denver reports that a man in Colorado became injured as he was over 10,000 feet and climbing down a mountain, and was no longer able to climb down on his own. Although he had no cellphone service, he was able to use his iPhone’s satellite texting feature to contact a family member, and he was subsequently rescued by a mountain rescue team.
- And finally, here is a video from Apple called Camera Control that shows off how much more quickly you can take pictures using an iPhone that has a Camera Control button.