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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

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways Beats’ latest Pill speaker is available for $150 in five colorways: Statement Red, Matte Black, Champagne Gold, Navy Blue, and Blush Pink. An impressive battery life and a subtle, clean design set the Beats Pill apart from its competitors. However, Beats’ overemphasized, bass-forward sound can mask the other aspects of a […] More

marian / Getty Images Proxy servers are the middlemen of cyberspace. Acting as gateways between our devices and the Internet, proxy servers are used by businesses and individuals worldwide for a variety of tasks. While proxy servers were once almost exclusively used by companies to redistribute traffic and load or for caching purposes, they now […] More

Jack Wallen/ZDNETThere are so many Linux distributions on the market, and they range from the command line only all the way to functioning works of art. The majority of distros fall somewhere in the middle, of course, and that’s perfectly fine because most users prefer a blend of aesthetics and functionality. That’s why the likes of Linux Mint, ZorinOS, elementaryOS, and Ubuntu are so popular.But every once in a while, a team releases an update to its distribution that reminds you that Linux is capable of so much more. Also: 5 MacOS-like Linux distros that can rescue your old Intel Mac before support endsSuch is the case with the latest release of BlueStar Linux: a distro that essentially takes KDE Plasma and twists it into a different kind of desktop, one with a highly functional top bar, a well-designed dock, desktop icons, and more. You’re getting the best of all worlds:A Linux-like top barA MacOS dockWindows-like desktop iconsYou might think of BlueStar Linux as the chimera of operating systems. I’ve covered BlueStar Linux before, and, like many Linux distributions, there’s a new release available. The best thing about the new release is that little has changed on the aesthetics front. BlueStar is still the gorgeous, Arch-based desktop distribution that we’ve all come to know and love. More

Lance Whitney / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETOne cool ChatGPT feature you might not know about is Projects. With ChatGPT Projects, you can organize all the chats, files, and other content for a specific topic into a project folder. The goal is to bring order to your chats so you can more easily find and work with particular ones. And now, OpenAI has added six cool new updates to Projects that collectively make it even more useful.Announced by OpenAI both on its website and through a post on X, the new capabilities are available to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users. If you’re a subscriber, here’s what you’ll find. Deep Research mode: You can now tap into ChatGPT’s Deep Research mode to arrange your chats, uploaded files, custom instructions and public web sources into a single project.Voice mode: Instead of typing at the prompt, you can now verbally ask for information about an uploaded file or other content in a project chat.Share individual chats: You can now create a URL to share any chat from a project.Mobile upgrades: In a project chat, you can upload files and switch models from the mobile app. Just make sure you’re running the latest version of the app.Improved project memory: With ChatGPT’s memory option, you can now reference past chats in a project.Project creation: You can now transform any chat into a project either from the sidebar menu or by dragging the chat into the project folder. More

ZDNETI’ve been using Firefox, on and off, for a very long time. After all, it’s been the default web browser for Linux for as long as I can remember. But I’m finally moving on from Firefox and all of its clones.Also: Love Arc browser? You can get early access to its new AI-powered replacementThis time it feels permanent. Every other time I migrated away from Firefox (or a Firefox fork), it felt temporary, like I’d soon return, after using whatever browser I adopted, because Firefox was always there for me (and Linux).The problem is MozillaBut this time… I can’t imagine going back. Even to a clone, like Zen Browser, which I’ve really enjoyed using. The problem isn’t Zen Browser or any of the Firefox forks. The problem isn’t really a Firefox issue (more on that in a bit). The problem is Mozilla.You see, Mozilla is a company, and companies have to have income to keep the lights on. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when those running said company have shown signs that they don’t quite understand how to steer an open-source ship. Also: The fall of Firefox: Mozilla’s once-popular web browser slides into irrelevanceTake, for instance, back in 2022, when Mitchell Baker, Mozilla’s CEO (at the time — she’s now gone), was found to have received a significant pay raise of over $6.9 million. This drew criticism and ire from people around the world, especially given A) how Firefox was struggling to keep up with other browsers’ market share, and B) how Mozilla’s income was suffering. It was not a good look then, and it’s not a good look now. And there were all the layoffs, even during a time when Mozilla was flush with cash. That was a move no one could understand. It was looking as if Firefox was about to reclaim its glory days, and then, wham, the staff was cut. About the same time, it seemed Mozilla decided to shift its focus away from its core user base. Yes, I’m talking Linux and open-source enthusiasts. You see, when Mozilla and Firefox were in their glory days, it functioned with a Linux-first frame of mind, and it worked very well. Firefox was, hands down, the best browser on the market for Linux, and it always seemed the Mozilla team was working to make Firefox the Linux browser. It listened to the open-source community and worked hard to ensure Firefox worked perfectly on the open-source operating system.Also: The Firefox I loved is gone – how to protect your privacy on it nowBut then things started to change, and it seemed Mozilla was no longer a champion of the open-source community. What was once a blazing-fast browser on Linux has become doggedly slow. On top of that, features started to disappear (such as Do Not Track). As well, the development team seems to be ignoring the fact that every browser on the market has moved ahead of Firefox with regards to Tab Management. It’s almost as if Mozilla doesn’t care that browsers like Opera, Safari, Edge, and others have made tab management a work of art. Firefox can’t competeAnd let’s not talk about how much faster Chrome has become. Firefox can’t compete with that speed. As well, there’s the fact that so many Linux distributions have opted to go the Snap or Flatpak route with Firefox, and Mozilla has done a less-than-stellar job on that front (the Snap version of Firefox is slow and buggy). Ultimately, however, the biggest problem for me is that Mozilla is floundering as a company, and that has had a negative impact on the browser. That negative impact is far-reaching because of all the browsers based on Firefox. If Mozilla fails Firefox, Firefox will fail every browser to use it as its core. What does that mean? If apps like Zen Browser are to remain successful, they might have to go it on their own and maintain their own core. That’s a big ask for a small team.Also: 5 MacOS-like Linux distros that can rescue your old Intel Mac before support endsAnd because of the constant drama with Mozilla, users are no longer able to trust the future of Firefox. I don’t, and I need a browser I can rely on. I need a browser built by a company that actually listens to its users and understands the importance of workflow and creating a browser that is efficient, reliable, and forward-thinking. I can’t keep using a browser that’s stuck in the past. More

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETBecoming a successful manager is far from straightforward. Leading people requires a series of crucial characteristics, and research suggests one of the most important is positivity.A Harvard Business Review survey found that team members felt more highly respected when leaders expressed positivity during the early stages of a project. Also: 5 ways to make assertive decisions in uncertain times, according to business leadersSo how can leaders develop the right tone and be seen by their staff as positive leaders? Five business leaders give their top tips. 1. Showcase great results Richard Masters, VP of data and AI at Virgin Atlantic, said the best way to be a positive leader is to highlight your team’s achievements. “It’s about letting people, whether or not you’ve reached the full business outcome, showcase what they’ve done and highlighting how there is always something we’re learning from the failures as well as the successes,” he said. “I think that approach helps bring everyone along and think, ‘Okay, I’m curious. I’m going to iterate more on this.'” Also: 5 secrets to achieving your goals, according to business leadersMasters told ZDNET that people working in data science and machine learning, for example, must experiment and be unafraid to fail. Great leaders show how their team’s efforts create broader business benefits. “You’ve got to get them to analyze the results and bring out failures in a positive light. That approach is about showing people that we are always learning something,” he said. “It’s also about saying, ‘I’m showing people what you have done in my data science team as an analyst. I’ll discuss that work with the C-suite team. I’m going to show them how your efforts have helped us develop an understanding.'” More