Your iPhone Has a New Way to Spot Scams

Your iPhone Has a New Way to Spot Scams

Your iPhone has a new security feature designed to recognize signs of scams before you make a payment or change sensitive account information. Learn how Apple's Impersonation Risk Detection works, where to turn it on, and why it could provide another layer of protection.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 29, 2026

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Imagine receiving an urgent phone call from someone claiming to represent your bank. They know your name, sound professional, and insist that someone is trying to steal your money.

Their solution? Transfer your savings immediately to a supposedly secure account.

You open your banking app and prepare to send the money. Everything looks legitimate, except for one important detail: The caller is a scammer.

Traditional security features might not catch this situation because you're the person authorizing the transaction.

Apple is addressing this problem with Impersonation Risk Detection, a security feature introduced in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.

The feature helps participating apps recognize suspicious activity associated with scams, potentially giving you an opportunity to reconsider before making a costly mistake.

Here's a Cool Tip: Enable Impersonation Risk Detection to help supported apps recognize suspicious activity before you complete sensitive transactions.

Make iPhone Reminders Smarter With iOS 27

Make iPhone Reminders Smarter With iOS 27

Your iPhone can do more than remind you about appointments and deadlines. With iOS 27 and Apple Intelligence, Reminders can understand everyday instructions, suggest tasks from emails and webpages, and help organize your to-do lists.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 22, 2026

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How often have you read an email, noticed something you needed to do, and promptly forgotten about it?

Maybe it's a bill to pay, an appointment to schedule, or something you promised to pick up at the store.

Apple's built-in Reminders app can help keep those little obligations from slipping through the cracks.

With iOS 27, Reminders offers a more intelligent way to create tasks. 

On supported iPhones, Apple Intelligence can interpret a simple description and fill in reminder details automatically.

The app also includes AI-powered suggestions, automatic organization, and quick ways to capture tasks without interrupting what you're doing.

Some of those capabilities arrived in iOS 26, but together they make Reminders a more useful productivity tool.

Here's a Cool Tip: Use Apple Intelligence to create reminders with everyday language and keep your tasks organized with less effort.

Save the Perfect Photo Hiding in Your iPhone Video

Save the Perfect Photo Hiding in Your iPhone Video

Your favorite photo might be hiding inside a video you already recorded. Apple Photos lets you save that moment as a separate picture, making it easier to share a smile, a travel memory, or a useful detail.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 15, 2026

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You recorded someone blowing out birthday candles but missed the perfect photograph of the grin afterward. 

Or your vacation video caught a beautiful view you would rather share as a picture.

Before settling for a screenshot, check Photos. Apple lists saving a video frame as a photo among the Photos improvements in iOS 27.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Save your favorite video moment as a photo directly in Apple Photos.

Change iPhone Alarm Volume Without Changing Your Ringtone in iOS 27

Change iPhone Alarm Volume Without Changing Your Ringtone in iOS 27

Keep your ringtone quiet while giving your iPhone alarms the volume they need. Set a shared volume for alarms and timers that is separate from your ringtone, and check the dedicated control for your Sleep schedule’s Wake Up alarm.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 8, 2026

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You lower your iPhone’s ringtone before a meeting. 

Later, while setting tomorrow’s alarm, you wonder whether that quieter setting also means a quieter wake-up call.

Calls and alarms serve different purposes. 

A comfortable ringtone during the day may be too quiet for an early start.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Turn off Match Ringtone Volume for alarms and timers.

In iOS 27, Apple now provides a way to give alarms and timers their own sound level. 

Rescue Your iPhone Photos With Clean Up, Extend, and Reframe

Rescue Your iPhone Photos With Clean Up, Extend, and Reframe

A distracting background or awkward angle does not have to ruin a favorite photo. Discover how Apple’s iOS 27 Photos tools can help you tidy the scene, add breathing room, and rethink the perspective on a compatible iPhone.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 1, 2026

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You finally get the vacation photo you wanted. 

Then you notice a stranger behind you, a cramped edge, or an angle that makes the scene feel off.

Before writing off that picture, consider what needs fixing. 

A small distraction calls for a different approach than a tight composition.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Use Clean Up, Extend, and Reframe in iOS 27 Photos to give a favorite iPhone picture another chance.

Stop Refreshing Webpages: Let Safari Notify You

Stop Refreshing Webpages: Let Safari Notify You

Safari Notify Me can watch a webpage for a change you care about, such as a restock or price drop. Describe what you want Safari to find, choose how often it checks, and receive an alert when it detects an update.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

September 24, 2026

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You find the right product, but it is out of stock. Or registration for a class has not opened yet. 

You could keep returning to the webpage, hoping to catch the change before everyone else does.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Ask Safari to watch the page for you.

iOS 27 Gives Siri the Upgrade iPhone Users Wanted

 iOS 27 Gives Siri the Upgrade iPhone Users Wanted

iOS 27 introduces Siri AI, a more conversational assistant that can use personal context, understand what is on your screen, and take action across supported apps. The upgrade is significant, but hardware, language, region, age, beta status, and daily usage limits determine who can use it.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

September 17, 2026

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Siri has long handled timers, calls, directions, and simple questions. 

Ask it to find an old email, understand what is on your screen, or continue a complicated conversation, however, and the experience could quickly fall apart.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Update to iOS 27, enable Apple Intelligence, then give Siri a task with context.

iOS 27 changes that equation. Apple’s new Siri AI combines conversational answers, personal context, onscreen awareness, broader knowledge, and actions inside supported apps. 

It also adds a dedicated Siri app that stores conversations and syncs them through iCloud across compatible Apple devices.

This is not a universal upgrade for every iPhone that can install iOS 27. 

Apple lists the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone Air, and iPhone Duo as supported. Some regions, languages, devices, and features have additional restrictions.