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If you've updated your iPhone to iOS 27, you might have already put Siri AI to the test or tried out some of Apple's AI-powered photo editing features. But you may have also noticed something else: Your iPhone's battery isn't lasting as long between charges. While I can't say this is a universal experience (I'm don't believe my iPhone is dying faster on iOS 27 than it did on iOS 26), some users are adamant the update has had a detrimental effect on their battery life. And while there are many possible factors here, some think they have found the culprit: a feature called Connectivity Assist.

What is Connectivity Assist?

Connectivity Assist's mission is noble. The feature is designed to tap into cellular data any time your wifi connection grows too weak. In theory, it should be particularly useful when you're leaving an area with wifi; rather than deal with the slow loading times a weak wifi connection forces you to endure before it disconnects outright, your cellular network would kick in to maintain your speed. (Once you've left wifi range, you'd be back on cellular completely either way, of course.)

Technically, this feature isn't new. Before iOS 27, Apple called it "Wi-Fi Assist," but it worked a bit differently. In iOS 26, Wi-Fi Assist simply switches over to cellular when your wifi signal is too weak. With iOS 27's Connectivity Assist, it seems your iPhone can tap into both networks at the same time. If so, that may play some role in why this rejiggered feature seems to be dragging down people's batteries more than it used to.

There's another new addition with Connectivity Assist that could also be part of the problem: Unlike Wi-Fi Assist, Connectivity Assist sends DNS requests over cellular data, which can bypass the rules that ad blockers put in place to stop pop-ups from making their way into your iPhone. As such, even Apple recommends that you disable Connectivity Assist if you use an ad blocker. So, if your iPhone is constantly sending out DNS requests while on cellular data, bypassing your active ad blockers, that could be putting extra strain on your battery, too.

How to disable Connectivity Assist in iOS 27

Reddit user ZoteTheMitey shared their experience on the r/iPhone subreddit, claiming that their iPhone 15 Pro Max, with 89% battery health, was only lasting for three to four hours following the switch to iOS 27. Once they disabled Connectivity Assistant, they claim their battery usage time jumped to seven hours. Some users in the thread shared similar experiences, and one even claimed disabling the feature fixed an issue with their device overheating.

If you want to try the potential solution yourself, here are two ways to disable Connectivity Assist: First, you can disable it on a per-network basis. To do so, head to Settings > Wi-Fi, then tap the (i) next to your network name. Here, scroll down, and make sure the toggle next to "Use Connectivity Assist" is turned off. That was, you can make sure your battery isn't experiencing faster drain when you're away from a charger—say, at a cafe you frequent.

If you'd rather disable the feature globally for your iPhone, head back to the Wi-Fi settings page and ensure the toggle next to "Connectivity Assist" is set to off. Note: if this feature was previously enabled, you'll be able to see the amount of cellular data the feature has used to date, which will give you an idea of how often it has been active on your device. More data could mean more potential battery drain.


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When Apple releases a new watch, it’s not always worth upgrading. Last year’s Series 11 only had a few barely noticeable features to recommend it over the 10, and we said it’s probably one to skip if you’re happy with your current watch. But the Series 12 is different, and this one is worth the upgrade no matter which Apple Watch you’re coming from.

One of the biggest reasons to upgrade is that the Series 12's new processor (called, confusingly, the S11 chip) can support some features older Apple Watches can't. That's why only the new models are getting step counts, for example; Apple chose to implement those in a way that only the new hardware can calculate. Whenever there's a break in software compatibility, it makes sense to get the newer model. I'd expect more features are coming in future years that will be back-compatible with the 12 but not earlier models.

The heart rate sensor is a big upgrade

Apple upgraded the hardware on the back of the watch that optically reads your heartbeats. (This new sensor is in both the Series 12 and the Ultra 4.) I’ve tested its accuracy, and found it’s substantially better than the sensors in previous Apple Watches like the Series 10 and 11. If you train by heart rate during workous, or if you use heart rate data after the fact to evaluate and plan your training, the upgrade is worth it.

Apple claims it provides the most accurate heart rate of any wearable. I tested that claim and can partially agree: It’s as good as Garmin’s top-of-the-line sensor. I wouldn’t say it’s better than Garmin’s, but the two are tied in my book for the best wrist-worn sensor. (Chest straps are better than any wrist-based system, of course.) 

Steps on the watch face are a nice plus

I wouldn’t buy a new Apple Watch just for the step count, but it’s a nice upgrade and one I deeply appreciate. I can add a step count complication to my watch face (I have it in a corner of the Modular face right now) and I have step count pinned to my Smart Stack. 

If you don’t upgrade, you use use a third-party step counter to provide a complication for your watch face. But it’s nice that Apple finally has this feature built in. Apple says its step counts are the most accurate; I’ll be testing that claim soon.

Readiness and recovery HRV are another nice extra

The Apple Watch was always capable of measuring HRV, but until the Series 12 (and Ultra 4), it didn’t use the RMSSD version, which is most useful for gauging how stressed or recovered you are. (Instead, it used the SDNN version that can provide some information about cardiac health; the newer Apple Watches can do both.)

This means you can now get an overnight HRV reading that matches the kind of data you can get from the Oura ring or Whoop. I find HRV useful in monitoring how stressed or fatigued I am, so if you already wear an Apple Watch, it’s nice to be able to get that data from the watch instead of needing a second device. Apple has added a readiness score that uses HRV to tell you how “ready” you are for the day. 

What I’m less excited about in the Series 12

Besides the features above, Apple has announced a few things that it’s using as selling points for the Series 12, but I wouldn’t put too much weight on these. Some are software features, like a small upgrade to Workout Buddy and a big upgrade to the Health app on the phone; you don’t need a new watch for these. Others are actually tied to the watch, but they wouldn’t be a reason to upgrade, at least for me personally. They include: 

Siri AI

There’s a new AI-based version of Siri, and it’s available on the watch. It can do a few things better than the old Siri, like searching your messages and emails, but it seems to have gotten worse in some respects. I wrote about my experience trying Siri AI on the watch; I got plenty of delays and errors that negated any small benefit of the new algorithm. I suppose it will get better over time, but right now, it's not very good.

Rewind and recaps

Apple touted two features on the new watches that feel a little more creepy than useful to me: Live Rewind, which gives you a text transcription of whatever audio it heard in the last 15 seconds; and Siri Recaps, which summarize meetings. Despite Apple’s assurances about privacy, it’s still a feature that's always listening to you and to bystanders who didn’t consent to be rewound or recapped. This feature isn’t live yet on my watch, so I can’t comment on what it’s like to use—but I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea.




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No, you're not having déjà vu: Amazon did just have a big sale in July. This time, though, it's their fall sale—Prime Big Deal Days, better known as October Prime Day. The sale is officially underway from Oct. 6-7, but there have been an abundance of early sales, and we're all over it. Remember to check price tracking tools so you can trust that the sales we're talking about are actually good deals, and not just hype.

Remember, you need to be a Prime Member to have access to all of Amazon's Prime Day deals and to get free shipping. Prime membership starts at $14.99 per month ($139 per year) and comes with more benefits than people think. It's easy to figure out if a yearly Prime membership is worth it for you, but remember, you can always cancel your Prime membership once the sale is over, as Amazon offers free 30-day trials. In theory, you can shop the whole event and still have time to cancel before you get charged.

For a glimpse at the best deals as we find them, check out our live blog of the event below, which features the Lifehacker team's coverage of Prime Day. We'll continue highlighting new deals as we find them. Our sister brands have live blogs worth checking out too, including CNET, PCMag, ZDNET, and Mashable.


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On paper, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are Apple's best smartphones yet. They run the new A20 chip, feature cameras that use a revolutionary variable aperture, and, according to Apple, have the longest battery life of any iPhone ever. And yet, the iPhone 18 Pro's launch has been a rocky one, beset by glitches and hardware issues that range in severity. Some have been fixed by simple software updates, while others remain unresolved.

None of this is to encourage you to return your iPhone 18 Pro or discourage you from buying one if you have your sights set on Apple's newest Pro phones. However, it's important to note that this has hardly been a drama-free rollout. As of this article, these are the four major problems I've seen with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

iPhone 18 Pros were randomly rebooting

The first iPhone 18 Pro issue that I saw was random reboots. Users complained that, after a failed Face ID attempt, their iPhones would freeze up and, after a short period of time, reboot. Curiously, Apple's newest Apple Watches, the Series 12 and Ultra 4, had similar reboot issues. While annoying, this was clearly just a glitch with Apple's newest iPhones running iOS 27 and Apple Watches running watchOS 27. The company quickly released patches for all devices in iOS 27.0.1 and watchOS 27.0.1, each of which only mentioned this singular patch in the release notes.

iPhone 18 Pro Max might not be able to dial 911

While Apple says iOS 27.0.1 only patches this reboot glitch, AT&T says otherwise. The company sent alerts to iPhone 18 Pro Max users this week urging them to update to this latest version of iOS, warning that iPhone 18 Pro users might not be able to text, call, or connect to data at times, including when dialing 911. The full message reads: "Hi, it's AT&T. Action needed: An important Apple software update for your iPhone 18 Pro Max is available. Some phones may be unable to complete calls/text/data, including to 911. Update to iOS 27.0.1 immediately — Settings > General > Software Update. Please contact AT&T or Apple if you have questions."

As it happens, iPhone 18 Pro users are not included in this alert. As MacRumors speculates, it might have something to do with the iPhone 18 Pro Max's modem. This is the only new iPhone this year to ship with a Qualcomm modem rather than Apple's own C2 modem. As MacRumors notes, affected iPhone 18 Pro Max users can lose service, forcing their phones to drop into SOS mode.

Some iPhone 18 Pros have a cracking or popping noise

Some iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max users are reporting strange "cracking" or "popping" noises coming from their new smartphones' speakers. This Redditor shared that the sound comes intermittently from the upper speaker, and sounds like someone pulling an aux cable out of a headphone jack. Users in the thread concurred: One user complained of a light buzzing when the volume is set to 100%, while another said their iPhone has a crackling sound when on calls with "mono speaker." According to one Redditor, updating to iOS 27.0.1 didn't fix the issue.

While the thread is full of users complaining of similar issues, not everyone has the same experience. Some Redditors say they haven't heard the sounds on their iPhone 18 Pros, including multiple Mashable reporters. Another user noted that they're experiencing the issue on their iPhone 16 Pro Max since they updated to iOS 27.

Some iPhone 18 Pros are already losing their color

As Mashable highlights, some iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max users are noticing that the finish on their devices is starting to wear away, particularly around the camera lens. It seems the majority of the complaints, if not all of them, are from users with burgundy and black iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max devices, and it's not clear how widespread the issue is. Some users have claimed that cleaning the affected area with a Q-tip is enough to fix the issue, while others say the finish itself has worn away.

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Sports, romance, and the drama of starting over: Netflix's Crew Girl has it all, or at least everything you could ask for in a coming-of-age YA drama. Miku Martineau (Bet, The Miniature Wife) stars as Teagan Tao, a champion rower who flees a family scandal with her mother and ends up at a private school—but the school has no girls' rowing program, so, despite a lack of experience, she signs on as a coxswain on the boys' team, intending to show 'em all how it's done (while also managing a teen love triangle for the ages). If you're looking for more angsty teen dramas—some also with a sporty edge—try these other shows.

Finding Her Edge (2026 – )

Another coming-of-age sports drama, this one shares with Crew Girl not just a Canadian origin but an executive producer in Jeff Norton. Oh, and also a love triangle—this time involving ice dancing partners. Madelyn Keys is Adriana Russo, scion of a family of competitive ice skaters fallen on hard times. Adriana and her sister hope to reclaim past glory, but things are complicated by her developing feelings for her new skating partner, Brayden, as well as reawakening feelings for her ex-boyfriend, now a competitor. Stream Finding Her Edge on Netflix.

The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022 – 2025)

Less about sports, but nevertheless one of streaming's most compelling teen love triangles. And it takes place near water, so I'm counting it. Adapted from the trilogy of YA bestsellers by Jenny Han, this series focuses on the coming-of-age of teenager Belly Conklin (Lola Tung), who is 16 as the series starts. Belly and her family spend every summer at Cousins Beach with the Fisher family, a tradition that's all well and good until she starts to develop a romantic attraction for first one Fisher brother (Christopher Briney), and then the other (Gavin Casalegno), planting the seeds for a love triangle that unfolds over the course of several summers, and which sees Belly grow into young adulthood to a soundtrack made up largely of Taylor Swift tunes. The three-season run is over, but there's a continuation movie on the way. Stream The Summer I Turned Pretty on Prime Video.

Gossip Girl (2007 – 2012)

Crew Girl co-star Thomas Cadrot (Coach Hayden) described the show as "Gossip Girl and Friday Night Lights on a boat," so our next couple of entries will follow that train. Teen drama at its finest and most bitchy, Gossip Girl follows the many, many scandals of a group of young Upper East Side socialites and hangers-on. The tangled teenage lives of Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), her best frenemy Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), scholarship kid Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley), and plenty more pretty young boys and girls are chronicled in meticulous detail by the title's mysterious, omnipresent Gossip Girl (voiced by Kristen Bell). The short(-er)-lived 2021 follow-up is also available on HBO Max. Stream Gossip Girl on HBO Max and Netflix.

Friday Night Lights (2006 – 2011)

Speaking of: A show that survived on viewer affection and critical acclaim more than ratings (at a time when such a thing was still possible), Friday Night Lights ran for five seasons without ever being a particularly big hit, but it's had an impressive afterlife. A drama about small-town high school football rather than a comedy, the show nonetheless stays positive and inspirational, even as it captures the highs and (often heartbreaking) lows of life for the kids, coaches, and families around tiny Dillon, Texas. It's one of TV's most successful sports dramas, expanding the tragedy and triumph of the original movie into a long-form narrative. A reboot is in the works. Stream Friday Night Lights on Prime Video and Paramount+.

Bet (2025 – )

Not so much with the athletics here, unless we're going to count underground gambling at a private school, which, why the hell not? Our biggest link to Crew Girl is in series leads: both star (the very busy) Miku Martineau, here playing Japanese transfer student Yumeko Kamamoto. Based on a manga series, this one's a bit less grounded, but it's an awful lot of fun: St. Dominic's is an exclusive prep school where the social hierarchy is dictated by success or failure in its highly organized secret betting pools. Luckily, Yumeko is a pretty good gambler, which is no coincidence: Her parents were murdered by a member of the school's board of governors, and her motivation is to climb the ranks, figure out who the killer is, and get revenge. It's returning for a second season. Stream Bet on Netflix.

Off Campus (2026 – )

More mature (meaning only that there's a bit more sex) than Crew Girl, Off Campus plays in the Heated Rivalry/horny hockey sandbox. The show stars Ella Bright as Hannah Wells, a music student who has a meet-cute with Boston Bruin-in-waiting Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli) when she accidentally walks in on him naked in the gym showers. He needs a tutor; she needs to make the guy she has a crush on jealous...you get the picture. Stream Off Campus on Prime Video.

All American (2018 – 2026)

Lots of romantic entanglements over the course of this show's eight seasons, but the heart of All American (for most of its run) is Spencer James (Daniel Ezra), based on real-life NFL linebacker Spencer Paysinger. A star player for his high school team in Crenshaw, he's recruited by the coach (Taye Diggs) of a team in Beverly Hills to come and play for them, forcing Spencer to navigate two very different worlds while trying to build a life and potential career. Stream All American on Netflix.

My Life with the Walter Boys (2023 – )

Not much of a sports angle here, but the premise and vibe are similar nonetheless. Nikki Rodriguez is Jackie Howard, a 15-year-old NYC kid whose parents and sister have recently died in a car accident. With nowhere else to go, she's invited to live with her mom's best friend and family on a ranch in Colorado—a very different world. Starting over almost from scratch at a young age, Jackie has to adapt to her new environment while grieving her loss; though, of course, there's some comfort to be found in hot brothers Alex and Cole, each of whom takes an interest in Jackie. Stream My Life with the Walter Boys on Netflix.

Forever (2025 – )

Who does teen coming-of-age drama better than Judy Blume? This adaptation of her widely censored 1975 novel updates the setting to current-day Los Angeles and expands the novel's exploration of the complexities of teen love and sex to include the challenges of being young, exceptional, and Black in 2020s America. Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) attends a predominantly Black private school and is working toward a track scholarship at Howard, while Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) goes to school with white kids and is on his parents' track to go to Northeastern, ideally on a basketball scholarship. The smart show follows their budding romance in a way that feels real and compelling. Stream Forever on Netflix.

Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022)

The setting is very different both in time and place, but all that only serves to remind us that some experiences are universal. Told in flashbacks via a rediscovered diary, we revisit 1998, when Na Hee-do (Kim Tae-ri) was a champion fencer at her high school, until the IMF crisis that devastated the Southeast Asian economy forced the team to disband. Transferring to a new school, she meets Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk), heir to a chaebol family that went bankrupt during the crisis, who's readjusting to a life with no financial means to speak of. Career and romantic complications intersect with history over the following several years as we follow Hee-do's life into the (nearly) present day. Stream Twenty-Five Twenty-One on Netflix.


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A Kindle for Kids is a reliable birthday or holiday gift, and it’s even more affordable ahead of the October Amazon Prime Day sales event. The Kindle Kids encourages learning in budding bookworms, works within the Amazon ecosystem, and comes with a free case in a bunch of colorful, unique styles.

Unlike Kindles for adults, this kids’ version comes with a protective case, has an ad-free lock screen, and comes with a two-year replacement warranty that takes the stress out of spills and other unforeseen accidents. Right now, the Amazon Kindle Kids is 32% off and down to an all-time low price of $122.99 (originally $179.99) and is one of the best Kindle deals Prime Day has to offer, particularly following the Amazon price hike earlier this year.

Along with the two-year warranty, the Amazon Kindle Kids comes with a free six-month subscription to Amazon Kids+, but it automatically renews starting at $5.99 a month plus tax unless canceled. PCMag describes its six-inch, 300-ppi glare-free display as “bright” and “evenly lit”, reaching 94 nits of brightness yet resembling printed paper. Unlike more general tablets, it’s intentionally limited, making it great for young minds that tend to wander away from their books on a Fire tablet or iPad.

At just over nine ounces, it’s lighter for smaller hands and more compact for backpacks than adult e-readers, yet 16GB of storage can hold thousands of ebooks. It also comes with a Parent Dashboard, which provides content and bedtime controls. Battery life lasts up to six weeks, though that depends on brightness and usage. If you don’t mind spending a bit more, the Kindle Paperwhite Kids is also 26% off during this sales event and it’s faster, longer-lasting a larger display with a longer battery life. 

That said, at a lower price point, the Amazon Kindle Kids strikes the ideal balance for parents hoping to encourage more reading and entertain their kids without introducing another game- or app-filled device. At a record-low price and nearly $60 discount, it’s one of the best Amazon Prime Day Kindle deals available right now.

October Prime Day FAQs

What goes on sale on Prime Day?

Since Prime Big Deal Days happens in the fall, you're likely to see more deals on gaming and indoor gym equipment. Amazon has already announced some of the 35 categories that will be on sale, including beauty, tech, kitchen, fashion, and home. Some brands Amazon has already mentioned are: Shark, Princess Polly, Soundcore by Anker, UGG, Nest New York, Sony, Tarte, Adidas, and Barefoot Dreams.

Will Kindles be on sale for Prime Day?

This 2026 October Prime Day, you won’t likely see Kindles on sale like in previous years. Kindles have gone up in price recently, but there are other non-Kindle e-readers that will be on sale.

Will iPads be on sale for Prime Day?

Yes, you’re very likely to see iPads on sale for Prime Day. 

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Attackers have compromised a self-hosted JFrog Artifactory instance operated by OpenInfra Europe, the regional hub of the OpenInfra Foundation warned in a security notice prominently displayed on its homepage.

OpenInfra JFrog Artifactory compromised

OpenInfra Europe’s security incident notice

“Anyone who downloaded or installed artifacts from https://ift.tt/NmhfQ0L from August 28 and September 15, 2026 should immediately stop using them, remove them from their pipelines, and treat these packages as potentially compromised,” the message says.

Compromise through CVE-2026-82329

The OpenInfra Foundation is part of the non-profit Linux Foundation. It hosts and supports open source projects for running cloud and datacenter infrastructure. (Its best-known project is OpenStack, the open source platform for building private and public clouds.)

JFrog Artifactory is a binary repository manager that’s used for storing and serving the build outputs and dependencies that software development teams use. Organizations can self-host it or choose to go the Software-as-a-Service route.

According to the security notice, the compromised instance was running a vulnerable JFrog Artifactory version, which allowed unauthenticated attackers to exploit CVE-2026-82329, an authentication bypass vulnerability, to gain access to the instance and obtain admin privileges (and thus the capability to tamper with the deployment and the artifacts, credentials and integrations it manages.)

CVE-2026-82329 was publicly disclosed on August 28, 2026, and was added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on September 2.

According to various sources, in-the-wild exploitation began on August 31.

OpenInfra Europe says that the compromise of their Artifactory instance happened on that day, but that the breach was discovered on September 15, “after a legitimate user was denied access.”

The affected system was immediately isolated and investigation began, it added, but the full scope and impact of the incident is still undetermined.

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