Eliana Willis

Can I downgrade from iOS 26 beta to iOS 18 without resetting my iPhone?You can’t uninstall iOS 26 beta to use iOS 18 without resetting your iPhone. As an operating system, iOS is your iPhone’s bedrock software. Simply removing a beta profile or deselecting beta updates won’t revert the changes you made when upgrading to iOS 26. iOS updates to the latest version, and if you have beta updates enabled, those will also be included. If you want to downgrade from iOS 26 to the stable public version of iOS 18, you’ll need to restore your iPhone.Also: Some apps are battery vampires – how to root them out and shut them downThis is why you should always back up your device before installing a beta version of iOS — not after. Backups made on a beta version are generally incompatible with older available software versions and will result in lost data.Do I need to use a computer to uninstall iOS 26 beta?You will need a computer to uninstall iOS 26 developer beta, either a Mac or a Windows computer with iTunes. If you choose to reset your iPhone from within its Settings without a computer, it will just delete your data but maintain the iOS 26 version already installed. Putting your device in Recovery Mode lets you use the computer to erase it and install the latest public iOS version.What problems does the iOS 26 developer beta have?iOS 26 developer beta is no more buggy and unstable than other developer beta versions of software. Any time you install a beta version of a software, either a public beta or a more exclusive developer beta, you’re installing pre-release software that hasn’t been perfected. Using a developer beta on an iPhone may present diminished battery life, unreliable app performance, suddenly unresponsive screens or applications, glitching, and overall sluggishness. However, these are expected bugs that developers and users report to Apple so the company can correct them before the stable release of the software. More

Harrison Chase, LangChain CEO and co-founder, takes the stage at Cisco Live! to discuss ambient agents.  Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETUntil recently, AI solutions that can execute tasks on your behalf seemed futuristic. Now the era of AI agents is here, with nearly every company offering its own solution. On the horizon, though, is a more advanced and even more promising milestone — ambient agents.   On day three of the Cisco Live! conference, LangChain CEO and co-founder Harrison Chase took the stage to discuss ambient agents, a concept pioneered by his San Francisco-based company. As the name implies, these agents take cues from their environment to commit actions rather than waiting for human input. Also: Why ads are coming to your favorite AI bots and you’ve only got yourself to blameWhat are ambient agents (and the perks)?Currently, the AI assistance that users receive is deterministic; that is, humans are expected to enter a command in order to receive an intended outcome. With ambient agents, there is a shift in how humans fundamentally interact with AI to get the desired outcomes they need; the AI assistants rely instead on environmental cues. “Ambient agents we define as agents that are triggered by events, run in the background, but they are not completely autonomous,” said Chase. He explains that ambient agents benefit employees by allowing them to expand their magnitude and scale themselves in ways they could not previously do. Rather than 1:1 interactions between human employees and agents, ambience enables up to millions of agents to run in the background simultaneously. Instead of being limited to the number of chat windows you can use, you can instead rely on the agents to initiate their own, in response to environmental cues. More

Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images If you use the Meta AI app, be careful you’re not accidentally sharing anything personal. Think that’s something you’d never do? Tell that to the many, many people who are apparently exposing their private prompts on the app. Recently, users have been reporting that the app’s Discover feed has been […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Bose QuietComfort Headphones are available in seven colors for $349, and are often up to $100 off. They are true to the QuietComfort namesake, providing excellent noise cancellation and all-day comfort. However, like all of Bose’s over-ear headphones, the QuietComfort have a short, 24-hour battery life. –> The Bose QuietComfort […] More

Nina Raemont/ZDNETThe Nothing Ear (a) More

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETHere at ZDNET, we consider the Google Pixel Watch 3 to be one of the best smartwatches of 2025. If you’ve been thinking of buying one, now is a great time because the wearable is on sale at Best Buy. The Pixel Watch 3 is available in four configurations, split between Wi-Fi and LTE devices. Let’s start with the former.Also: The best Android smartwatches you can buy: Expert testedBoth size options for the Wi-Fi wearable have received a $50 discount. The 41mm Wi-Fi Pixel Watch 3 More

Jada Jones/ZDNETThe Sonos Roam 2 More

Which iPhones are compatible with iOS 26? Apple removed the iPhone XR and XS from its list of supported devices with iOS 26, so any iPhone 11 or newer is compatible with the new operating system, including the iPhone SE. When will iOS 26 be released? Apple is releasing the iOS 26 developer beta during WWDC 2025, and the public beta version will likely be released in July. If past years are any indication, the general release of iOS 26 will take place in September. What to do before installing the iOS 26 developer beta? You can always join the Apple Beta program to get the latest beta versions of iOS. Before you download a beta version of an operating system, keep these housekeeping items in mind: Back up your device and personal information.Don’t download beta software, which will likely have bugs and glitches, on your everyday iPhone.Beta versions are released so you can test new features and share feedback to improve iOS. How do I install the iOS 26 public beta version? You’ll need an iPhone running iOS 16.5 or later. Since not all iPhones are compatible with iOS 18, you’ll also need a model newer than the iPhone 11. Go to your iPhone’s Settings and select General.Go to Software Update in Settings.Enable Beta Updates. To enable Beta Updates, go to Beta Updates and select the iOS version you’d like to access. This setting is turned off by default on iPhones.Select iOS 26 Public Beta. Then you’ll begin receiving automatic software updates to the latest beta version of iOS 26. By the time the public beta is released, Apple will have two beta versions of iOS: iOS 26 public beta and iOS 26 developer beta. Once you do this, return to the previous page. If an update is available now, your iPhone will prompt you to download and install it.Get the morning’s top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter. More