Apple today announced that it is celebrating America's national parks in August ahead of the 103rd anniversary of the US National Park Service, introducing new parks-related content to encourage park attendance.
"The beauty in our parks is obvious to all observers but their most profound contribution is to our spirit," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We are proud to support them."
As announced over the weekend, from August 17 to August 25, Apple is making a $10 donation to the National Park Foundation for each purchase made with Apple Pay at an Apple Store, Apple.com, or the Apple Store app in the United States.
Apple says that its donations will help support programs across the United States designed to help connect young people who wouldn't otherwise have the means with "transformative park experiences" ranging from classroom field trips to immersive multi-day experiences and multi-week service corps for young adults.
During August, Apple is also encouraging people to explore their national parks through several special collections coming to Apple's services.
In the Apple TV app, there's a collection of park-related content such as "Free Solo," and the Smithsonian's "National Parks Exploration Series," while Apple Music has a new "Nature Awaits" playlist inspired by the "extraordinary beauty of the country's parks."
Apple Podcasts will feature a collection of shows focused on national parks, and Apple Books will feature an "Our National Parks" themed collection guiding readers through notable parks in the United States. The App Store will also highlight essential apps to help users plan for their next national park visit.
Apple on August 25 will challenge Apple Watch owners to participate in a walk, run, hike, or wheelchair workout of at least three miles to earn an activity award and animated stickers inspired by Grand Canyon National Park's 100th anniversary.
Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps.
More features and changes will follow in future ...
Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by Juli Clover
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass.
The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings.
iOS 26.4 will...
Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The update will likely be released by the end of next week.
Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more.
With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by Juli Clover
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year.
The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below.
Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle
Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...
Monday October 20, 2025 1:42 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Kohler is expanding its line of bathroom products with Dekoda, an iPhone-connected device that's designed to be attached to a toilet rim (via The Verge). The device's included "sensors" point into the toilet bowl, allowing it to analyze what goes on in the bathroom.
According to Kohler, Dekoda is a health tracker that can monitor gut health and hydration, as well as detect the presence of...
I visited Arches National Park this summer to do some hiking and photography. I went there once as a kid and hadn't been back in 20 years. I'm glad to see that it has been preserved well so that my own children were able to witness the beauty. This is why we fund our National Parks system.
This is one of my favorite places in the world, climbed up inside Double Arch late in the evening. It was so peaceful.
I visited Arches National Park this summer to do some hiking and photography. I went there once as a kid and hadn't been back in 20 years. I'm glad to see that it has been preserved well so that my own children were able to witness the beauty. This is why we fund our National Parks system.
This is one of my favorite places in the world, climbed up inside Double Arch late in the evening. It was so peaceful.
I think this is one of many facets of Apple that people tend to overlook when comparing to the competition. Does Google, Amazon and Samsung directly participate in connecting people with our world in the same way that Apple does? Genuine question. Apple is the only company that I regularly see demonstrating their efforts to better the environment. They have the largest solar installation in the US, and include an environmental report in every product release. I never see this from the other guys.
If you have the choice of going to a national park or to Disneyland, go to a park. Nothing Disney fabricates can equal the majesty and awe of these spaces. My first park was the Grand Canyon. I assumed I would take a few pics and be back on the road in half an hour. Instead, I stared at that canyon until sundown with everyone else.
If you have the choice of going to a national park or to Disneyland, go to a park. Nothing Disney fabricates can equal the majesty and awe of these spaces. My first park was the Grand Canyon. I assumed I would take a few pics and be back on the road in half an hour. Instead, I stared at that canyon until sundown with everyone else.
The Grand Canyon is beautiful but I don’t think anything can beat the majesty of Yosemite.
My breath is always taken away coming out of the tunnel.