The MacRumors Show
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PodcastThe MacRumors Show
Publisher/creatorThe MacRumors Show
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About this episode
Apple's first 27.3 betas bring expanded Siri AI actions, a redesigned Health app, and new fitness tools, alongside conversation summaries on the Apple Watch. This week's episode of The MacRumors Show takes a closer look at the updates.
Siri AI gains additional actions across Apple's apps, including unsubscribing from mailing lists, organizing files, and managing Safari tabs. In Weather, Siri can add saved locations and toggle severe weather or next-hour precipitation notifications. The additions extend the assistant's usefulness for everyday tasks, although the full range of supported requests can still be difficult to discover.
A new developer preview also enables more flexible third-party integrations. Developers can supply custom actions and app skills that help Siri coordinate multiple steps, potentially improving its handling of more complicated requests. App Store submissions for these integrations are scheduled to open in the spring.
Safari adds vertical tabs and Adaptive Dark Mode, allowing websites without their own dark appearance to adopt one automatically. The iPhone Duo also gains horizontal Reachability and a revised keyboard, making its wider outer display easier to operate with one hand.
Apple Fitness+ gains Gym Strength, which creates personalized four-week plans based on available equipment and workout preferences. Short videos from Fitness+ trainers demonstrate proper form, extending the service beyond workouts that require following an entire video session. The initial beta's equipment selection and scheduling options nevertheless leave room for improvement, particularly for users whose routines vary from week to week.
The redesigned Health app returns with Insights and Longevity sections, turning collected measurements into more accessible guidance and longer-term health assessments. Updated StandBy displays bring more customizable clocks, Calendar views, and Weather information to additional iPhones. Apple Music also gains enhanced transitions, concert recommendations, and Selfie Sing karaoke videos.
On the Apple Watch, Live Rewind and Siri Recap introduce new ways to recover and summarize spoken information. Live Rewind provides a transcription of the preceding 15 seconds, while Siri Recap creates detailed conversation summaries that can be useful for meeting notes.
The features also raise questions about privacy in everyday conversations. Leaving summarization enabled throughout the day is a different proposition from deliberately starting a recording for a particular meeting, especially for other people nearby. Time- and location-based scheduling provides more control over when Siri Recap operates.
Episode summary
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Welcome back to the MacRumors Show. It’s gray British autumn for Hartley, while Ohio is still in the sixties. Packed week, though: 27.3 beta, new hardware, then probably quiet before CES.
I don’t mind autumn; January is the depressing bit. After this rush, we’ll be looking toward 2027 and the next versions of everything almost immediately.
The big 27.3 story is more capable Siri AI across Apple apps, with third-party multi-app skills due in spring. The new actions work well, if permission prompts are a little much. Beach-day playlists are cute; clearing mailing-list subscriptions and checking another city’s weather are things I’d actually use.
I’m relieved Siri AI isn’t untouched until WWDC. Developers can describe app actions through a skill file, and Files and Finder gain useful batch options. Apple still never gives us a complete inventory, so you’re guessing what Siri can do.
You can ask Siri what it can do inside an app, which helps. I’m most excited for developers: Siri managed single requests before, but stacked requests confused it. Skills should clarify what an app handles.
Point-three releases often deliver delayed features, so this feels substantial. Siri AI still feels sluggish beside other tools—but we were recently complaining it could barely manage a timer. Progress.
I’m not ready to return from the iPhone Duo to a slab. The 18 Pro Max camera, especially telephoto, is better, but hilariously huge. 27.3 brings horizontal reachability, a nicer keyboard, vertical Safari tabs, and adaptive dark mode.
The Duo’s outer screen and weight impressed me, but cameras are my deal-breaker. I use variable aperture deliberately. Duo 2 probably won’t radically change; Apple usually refreshes chips, durability, and perhaps cameras gradually.
Fitness Plus now builds a four-week strength plan from your equipment, schedule, and goals, with form demonstrations. I was trying another gym-plan app, and this might get me into Fitness Plus.
It’s a good start, but beta one is rigid: limited equipment, four fixed days, little room for life. It could be great for casual users overwhelmed by third-party apps. The form videos are genuinely useful.
Health’s redesign is back. StandBy gets customizable clocks, calendar, and weather; I love those on the Duo, though I wonder about unplugged always-on battery use.
The weather StandBy view is already on my desk: easier to edit and more readable. A MagSafe stand improves a normal phone, even if it can’t match the Duo’s positions.
Apple Watch gets fifteen-second Live Rewind and Siri Recap. In an argument with my wife, I can back up ten seconds and be like, look—dangerous. It could help us assemble a transcript.
Fifteen seconds is tiny. Siri Recap suits meetings, but continuous summaries of private conversations or TV dialogue feel creepy. I’d enable it intentionally; scheduling by time or location helps.
Tell us if you’re creeped out—and if you’ll use it against your spouse, tell me that too. The OLED XDR MacBook Pro, OLED iPad mini, iMac, and M6 MacBook Pro are out today. We’ll cover them next week. See you then.
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