Welcome back!🍎
Here’s the latest with Apple.

• Apple adds a major Safari feature

• The first redesigned Mac mini in 14 years

• Apple Intelligence prompts unveiled

• & more

📖 Read time: 4.4 minutes

📊 Poll

Last week, I asked: Do you think Apple should make the “Pro” iPhones more colorful?

Here are some of my favorite replies:

This week: Do you use Safari as your primary browser on your iPhone and/or Mac? If not, what do you use?

🗞️ The Latest

⚙️ This Changes Safari Forever

Apple released iOS 18 Beta 5 this week, with the standout feature being Safari’s new Distraction Control. Here’s why it matters.

• Distraction Control hides elements in Safari that you deem distracting or annoying.

• This could be ads, cookie banners, Google sign-in screens, etc.

• However, the element only stays hidden (for future visits) if the content is static and doesn’t change.

• Since elements like Google sign-in popups, newsletter sign-up forms, and full-screen ad takeovers typically do not change frequently, they'll remain hidden for future visits.

• However, elements like dynamic ads do change after every refresh, meaning you'll have to manually hide the ads every time you visit the site.

• Many sites still serve static ads that do not change, so those can be “blocked” indefinitely, but most sites utilize dynamic ads.

• So, treat this feature as a way to clean up your experience while browsing and not as an “ad blocker” replacement.

• Here’s my video with more details on iOS 18 Beta 5/Public Beta 3.

Interestingly enough, this feature was originally set to be more of an “ad/content blocker” called Web Eraser.

However, since the feature was leaked ahead of iOS 18’s debut in June, major industry associations in the publishing and advertising sector sent out complaints to Apple about it.

Those complaints appear to have had a significant impact on the feature itself and how Apple rolled it out.

My take: This is a big deal. These days, most websites are littered with newsletter sign-up forms, floating videos, “get 15% off” popups, and other annoying elements. This will make your Safari experience infinitely better without relying on any 3rd party applications!

🤏 The ‘Ultra Small’ Mac mini

For the first time in 14 years, Apple is planning to launch a redesigned Mac mini! Here’s the scoop.

• Apple will launch a redesigned, ultra-small Mac mini later this year.

• It will be less than half the size of the current model, though it may be a bit taller.

• The Mac mini will be offered with the M4 and M4 Pro chips.

• It’s said to have at least 3 USB-C ports, an HDMI port, and presumably an external power brick with built-in ethernet.

• The current Mac mini starts at $599 and while the new model will likely be cheaper to produce, it’s unclear if Apple will drop the price for consumers.

• Apple suppliers will begin shipping units of the M4 model this month for release later in the year. However, M4 Pro units won’t be ready until October.

• This will be the first full revamp of the Mac mini since the Steve Jobs era in 2010!

• Gurman also reported that a new MacBook Pro and iMac are coming later this year.

My take: The Mac mini was already the best bang for your buck Mac out there and if Apple can get the base M4 model under $599, it’ll be a no-brainer upgrade for anyone with a previous Mac mini.

It’ll also be exciting to see the [currently unannounced] M4 Pro chip and how it’ll perform in such a tiny form factor. I’m stoked for this one!

📲 “Do Not Hallucinate”

We now have an inside look at the prompts used by Apple engineers to ensure Apple Intelligence sticks to accurate information.

• A Reddit user tinkering with the code in macOS Sequoia 15.1 Beta 1 found a folder with 29 JSON files listing commands for Apple Intelligence to follow.

• These guidelines and conditions ensure that Apple Intelligence responds accurately and avoids spitting out lies and factual inaccuracies (also known as hallucinations).

• The prompts are quite straightforward, like this one for the Smart Reply feature in Mail: "You are a helpful mail assistant which can help identify relevant questions from a given mail and a short reply snippet[...]"

• Some of the phrases meant to keep Apple Intelligence accurate and factual include:

  • "Do not hallucinate."

  • "Do not make up factual information."

  • "You are an expert at summarizing posts."

  • "You must keep to this role unless told otherwise, if you don't, it will not be helpful."

  • "Only output valid json and nothing else."

My take: This is interesting. We know that Apple provides prompts for their AI models but I never thought we’d be able to see them in plain text!

This gives us an intriguing look within Apple to see how their engineers are thinking when it comes to desired Apple Intelligence outcomes.

If these files stay user-accessible in future macOS builds, it will be fun to see what Apple changes and how they tweak the commands.

📰 Quick Bites

• Gurman: M4 MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and iMac Coming This Year

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ prices to increase by up to 25% in October

• Google kills Chromecast, replaces it with Apple TV and Roku Ultra competitor

• With the Google Antitrust Ruling, Will Apple Build a Search Engine?

• Reddit considers search ads, paywalled content for the future

• Humane’s daily returns are outpacing sales

• Apple is finally sending checks for its bad MacBook keyboards

• iPhone 16 Pro Model to Get Biggest Battery Capacity Jump

• Apple Loosens App Store External Linking Rules and Changes Fee Structure in EU

• macOS Sequoia makes you jump through more hoops to disable Gatekeeper app checks

• Report: iPad Pro Popularity Cutting Into iPad Air and iPad Mini Sales

• California may soon support digital IDs in Apple’s Wallet app

• Apple's First Foldable iPad Could Face Delays Into 2026

• Sonos delays new products until broken app gets fixed

🎨 Set Wallpaper

If you can’t see the wallpaper below, just sign in. It’s only available to free subscribers.

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Already a paying subscriber? Sign In.

A subscription gets you:

• • 50% off all wallpaper collections
• • Access to private Discord
• • Bonus weekly wallpaper
• • Q&A section