Text Shortcuts you should be using on iPhone and Mac

Apple’s autocorrect on iPhone and iPad always aims to help when you’re typing a message, but it’s by no means perfect, and some of the replacements it continually spews out can be frustrating. Fortunately, Apple’s software includes a feature called Text Replacement that allows you to specify what word or phrase replaces the specific text you type in.

Even if you haven’t set up Text Replacement, you can try it out with Apple’s pre-set example: In any app that accepts text input, type “Omw” followed by a space, and it will change to “On my way!” automatically.

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Safari’s compact Tab Bar is back on Mac and iPad

When ‌macOS Tahoe‌ and iPadOS 26 launched last September, Apple quietly removed Safari’s Compact tab layout – the option that merged the address bar and the tab bar into a single, space-saving row. If you were a fan of it, you will have been out of luck for months.

The good news is that Apple has brought it back. In macOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, the Compact tab bar is once again available as an alternative to the default Separate layout. Here’s how to enable it on both platforms.

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Bypass Siri AI waitlist on macOS 27 Golden Gate Beta

If you installed the macOS 27 Golden Gate developer beta and have signed up to the Siri AI waitlist but are still waiting to be accepted, there’s a Terminal command workaround that enables the new virtual assistant on your Mac immediately.

If you’re still reading, since you’re on the first macOS 27 developer beta, we’re assuming you are running it on a test machine, and not on your primary Mac. We’re also assuming you’re comfortable with using the Terminal app. MacRumors cannot take responsibility for lost data. You should always have a backup.

With that said, early reports indicate the workaround is safe, and you won’t need to reverse it once officially off the waitlist. Note that while Siri AI is not available in the EU for iPhone and iPad users due to the DMA rules, it is available on Mac and Vision Pro.

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Add a Volume Slider to your iPhone Lock Screen

Your iPhone’s Lock Screen has built-in media playback controls that appear whenever music, a podcast, or other audio is playing. What you might not realize is that those controls can also include a volume slider that lets you adjust the volume without you having to unlock your iPhone or fumble for the physical buttons.

Originally, Apple included a volume slider in the Lock Screen media player by default, but it quietly removed the function in iOS 16. It eventually returned as an option in iOS 18.2, but Apple decided to bury it in Accessibility settings, where it’s easy to overlook. The setting is still available in iOS 26, and it’s super-simple to enable.

Here’s how to turn it on:

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Stop Chrome browser from downloading a Hidden 4GB AI File

If your Mac’s storage has been mysteriously shrinking recently and you use Google Chrome, you may have already identified the culprit. The browser has been downloading a 4GB AI model file onto computers without explicit user consent.

The file in question is called “weights.bin,” which powers Google’s on-device Gemini Nano AI model – the engine behind Chrome features like scam detection, autofill suggestions, and the “Help Me Write” tool. Local models tend to be pretty big storage-wise, and this one is no different. The problem is that Google hasn’t clearly signposted the fact that it’s eating 4GB of your drive with training data.

The issue only recently came to light thanks to security researcher Alexander Hanff, who noticed that Chrome installs the model on any device meeting the minimum hardware requirements, only without prompting you whether you’d like it there in the first place.

How to Check if the File Is on Your Mac
The first thing to do is confirm that the model is actually taking up space on your machine. While there’s no clear answer in Google’s release notes, recent reports suggest that the file started appearing after updating to Chrome version 148.0.7778.97. Here’s how you can find out if your computer was affected:

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Check who’s using your iPhone Hotspot Data

If you regularly share your iPhone’s data connection with your laptop or iPad, or let family members piggyback on your device’s data, you’ll be glad to learn that Apple recently made it a lot easier to keep tabs on who’s burning through your monthly allowance.

In a welcome change with the release of iOS 26.4, Apple has moved Personal Hotspot data usage info out of its previous hiding spot and put it in a much more convenient location.

Before the latest update, Personal Hotspot’s per-device breakdown was secreted away inside cellular settings, where it was easy to miss. Now it sits right inside the Personal Hotspot menu, making it way more practical for anyone on a capped data plan who’s keen to keep an eye on usage.

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Make your MacBook battery last longer with this setting

If you own a MacBook and work from home, it’s easy to have your laptop plugged in for hours on end without thinking about the long-term battery life implications. Fortunately, Apple recently added a setting that lets you cap how high your Mac’s battery charges, and if you own an iPhone that was released in the last few years, you may already be familiar with it.

Lithium-ion batteries generally degrade fastest when held at a high state of charge, which means keeping your iPhone or your Mac’s battery at 100 percent accelerates the chemical wear that permanently reduces its actual capacity over time.

To mitigate this on iPhone 15 and newer models, Apple lets you set a Charge Limit that prevents your device from charging beyond 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100 percent. And in macOS Tahoe 26.4, Apple has brought over the same Charge Limit feature to Macs for the first time.

This option differs from Optimized Battery Charging, which learns your daily routine and delays charging past 80 percent until you’re likely to need a full battery. Depending on your usage, however, your Mac may still regularly reach 100 percent.

Setting a charge limit prevents that. Obviously a lower charge cap means less time you’ll be able to work away from a power outlet. But if you mostly sit at a desk with your MacBook plugged in, the trade-off is worth the long-term battery gains. That said, if you regularly rely on your Mac away from power, then you may want to opt for a higher cap, which should hopefully still curb battery wear without leaving you completely stranded. Either way, here’s how to set the feature:

Set a MacBook Battery Charge Limit in macOS

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This music selection tweak in iOS 26.4 will save you bags of time

If you often find yourself adding a track to an Apple Music playlist, going back, and then adding it to other playlists, iOS 26.4 includes an option that could save you bags of time: You can now select multiple playlists when adding a song.

Previously, tapping Add to Playlist would take you to a list of your playlists, and you could only pick one at a time. In iOS 26.4, there’s a new multi-select option that lets you check off as many playlists as you like in one go.

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Stop your iPhone suppressing background audio in Videos

In iOS, Apple’s Audio Zoom feature automatically focuses your iPhone’s microphones on whatever you’ve zoomed in on while recording video. It’s great for isolating a subject in a noisy environment, but it can also strip away the ambient sound that can give your footage a broader context. Fortunately, iOS 26.4 adds a dedicated toggle for Audio Zoom so you can decide for yourself when it’s truly required.

Audio Zoom is likely to be most useful if you’re recording at a concert, sporting event, or any scenario where you want to isolate a specific sound source from a noisy environment. But what if you want to capture the full acoustic experience rather than just the subject you’ve zoomed in on? In those situations, the audio narrowing effect could risk making your video sound flat and unnatural.

In iOS 26.4, Audio Zoom is on by default, but now you can also turn it off. If you haven’t updated yet, head to Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update on your iPhone to download the latest version. Once you’re up and running, here’s how to find the setting:

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