iOS 27 finally adds a few text-editing commands to dictation—something Adam Engst suggested six years ago. A broken bone in his wrist gave him the chance to test these improvements extensively, along with macOS Voice Control’s capabilities and quirks.

We’re taking a brief break from building an email issue of TidBITS next week for the Labor Day holiday in the United States, so look for the next issue in your mailbox on 14 September 2026. Check our website for coverage of Apple’s iPhone announcements on 9 September 2026.

The TidBITS search engine now sports AI-generated summaries above the usual results, courtesy of a beta feature from Jetpack Search. The question is whether these AI Answers are worth the screen real estate—what do you think?

AI has made it vastly easier to build apps and pitch them to publications like TidBITS for review. But we don’t have the time or brain space to look at everything, so here’s how developers can improve their chances of catching our attention.

A poll of 668 readers confirms what we’ve always suspected: TidBITS readers stick around. Fully 64% have been reading for over 30 years, 87% for more than 20 years, and 94% for at least a decade.

TidBITS is celebrating 36 years and 1800 issues of continuous publication. Rather than rehash past anniversary themes, Adam Engst uses this milestone to focus on the importance of community and invites readers to share how TidBITS has affected their lives.

Adam Engst recounts what went wrong when some subscribers received up to 10 copies of TidBITS last week. Unfortunately, we don’t know why it happened and can only hope it doesn’t recur.

We’re reviving VidBITS with a new format—informal video conversations where developers demo their apps while Adam Engst asks the questions TidBITS readers would want answered. Here’s what to expect.

How many subscriptions do you pay for, and are you typical? Our poll results reveal surprising patterns in subscription spending, along with thoughts about why different subscription types provoke such different reactions.

Subscriptions have become an inescapable part of digital life, but how many do you pay for? Take our five-question poll to audit your subscriptions, tally your spending, and see how you compare with other TidBITS readers.

Matt Neuburg’s free TidBITS News app gets a notable update with a complete rewrite for iOS 26 and Swift 6.2, plus Dark mode support. Even better, he has open-sourced the code on GitHub for curious developers.

We will be taking a few weeks off to spend time with family and friends over the holidays. You can expect the next email issue of TidBITS on 5 January 2026. Thank you for reading TidBITS, and we hope our articles have enriched your year!

We don’t peddle your personal information to advertisers or rely on deep-pocketed corporate backers, so would you contribute to keep TidBITS vibrant in the next year?

We’re taking the next email issue of TidBITS off to celebrate Thanksgiving, although we’ll continue to publish articles on our website. You can look forward to the next email issue on 8 December 2025.

Thanks to a reader request, PayPal is now available for TidBITS memberships. It’s a convenient alternative to using a credit card for renewals or new sign-ups. Stripe keeps things simpler for our administrative operations, but if you prefer PayPal, you’re welcome to use it.