Researchers at Paradigm shift discover a new SecureROM exploit which affects A12 and A13 chips, an engineer at Microsoft crafts a fix to keep Network Time Capsule working in macOS 27, watchOS 27 drops support for a number of watches including the Apple Watch Ultra Gen 1, and the new Siri AI is slowly rolling out to those who joined the waitlist.

The Low End Mac Newsletter is a consolidation of some recent events, announcements, OS updates, etc; into a single article for the convenience of our readers, and to keep our website up to date.

Unpatchable A12 and A13 chip exploits

An article recently published on Paradigm Shift details the new vulnerability, how they managed to exploit it, as well as some of the implications this has on anyone using a device powered with an A12, A13, S4, or S5 chip.

• Affected Devices:
  • iPhones: iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR
    iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE 2
  • iPads: iPad Air (3rd Gen), iPad mini (5th Gen), iPad (8th Gen), iPad (9th Gen)
  • Apple TV: Apple TV 4K (Second Generation), the 2021 model not the 2017/18
  • Apple Watch: Series 4, Series 5, Watch SE, HomePod mini
  • Displays: Apple Studio Display (First Gen), 2021

What you need to know

• The vulnerability works only under specific circumstances.
• This is an unfixable hardware level bug which specifically affects the A12, A13, S4 and S5 SOCs, and have been demonstrated to not work on earlier or newer chips.
  • Researchers believe it’s a bug with the USB controller itself combined with a configuration flaw in the device firmware.

(Pictured: A gold iPhone XS Max, and a gold iPhone 11 Pro Max.)

watchOS 27 drops support for multiple models

This coming fall, several models of the Apple Watch will not be receiving watchOS 27, including: the Series 6, 7, 8, the SE 2, and first-generation Ultra.

• Apple Watch Ultra, SE 2, and Series 8: Released in September 2022, this means just 3 years  of full support, however they will continue receiving basic security support.

“With every software release across every single one of our platforms, we always want to ensure that you have the best experience, so we make power and performance a priority. The great new features in watchOS, including the capabilities of SIri AI and the new tap gesture, work best with the processing power that is in Apple Watch Series 9 and later, Ultra 2 and later, and SE 3.” Cait Dooley said in an interview with TechRadar.

• You’ll still be able to pair those watches and use them with the latest iOS. Essentially, the devices didn’t have the resources necessary for the new Siri AI, but can continue being highly useful in other ways.

Beats Studio Buds, AirPods Pro 2 & 3 Firmware Updates

Recently for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 and Beats Studio Buds line of headphones by Apple, came out a new firmware update.

• AirPods Pro 2 & 3: New Firmware Version 8B41
• Beats Studio Buds: New Firmware Version 1B211

The update focuses on under-the-hood quality-of-life improvements such as: stability, fixing bugs, and just making sure they work as they’re supposed to.

• Make sure the AirPods are inside the charging case, plugged in, connected to the iPhone, that the iPhone is hooked up to Wi-Fi, and just leave the headphones there for a half hour. Afterward, check the firmware version to see if the update was applied in the background.

macOS 27, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and more are out in Developer Beta

On June 8th 2026 at WWDC, Apple announced macOS Golden Gate, iOS & iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27.

• If you’re interested in trying out the iOS 27 Developer Beta, you must first register as an Apple developer here. Then, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates to make sure.

Low End Mac Impressions:

• A look at Golden Gate Developer Beta 1: Build 26A5353q
• iOS 27 Beta 1: Impressions on Build 24A5355q after 1 week

Editor’s note: Keep in mind, the impressions in both articles have nothing to do with Siri AI and there was a waitlist to join in order to use it. I recently received the notification that the new Siri AI is ready on both the MacBook Air and iPhone, and plan to make an impressions article on this soon!

macOS 27 Network Time Capsule Fix

While macOS Golden Gate drops support for AFP (Apple File Protocol) and Network Time Capsule support, this didn’t stop an engineer from Microsoft from implementing a way to get it working again via SMB. Known as “TimeCapsuleSMB“, it turns the device into a Samba 4.24.3 server. Since SMB is still supported in macOS 27, this means Bonjour can broadcast it over the network and macOS can still see it.

• See more: Time Capsule survives macOS 27, but Apple really should make a new one – 9to5mac

The iPhone Air 2 may get a second Camera

As someone who upgraded to an iPhone Air in September of last year to replace an iPhone 14 Pro, I’m very much looking forward to a second generation iPhone Air while simultaneously eyeing the Pro lineup again. As of right now any future changes are pure speculation, but having a second camera would be a major upgrade which many users (myself included) have been desiring, which could potentially delay the phone.

• Most online mock-ups/renders look like the one one the left, which I found googling. The one one the right was posted by someone in Reddit very recently, giving a glimpse into another interpretation of what a second camera could look like.
  .
• Telephoto Vs. Wide Angle lens: On a telephoto lens you can take pictures of faraway subjects clearly, making them appear larger. Ultrawide on the other hand is very useful in enclosed spaces where taking a step back isn’t doable.

RC Builds for Sonoma & Sequoia updates

Recently last week, Apple sent out RC builds of up and coming updates to macOS Sonoma and macOS Sequoia, which released alongside a flurry of OS 26.6 Developer Betas.

• macOS Sonoma: 14.8.8 (Build 23J607)
• macOS Sequoia: 15.7.8 (Build 24G809)
• OS 26.6: macOS, tvOS, iOS & iPadOS 26.6, watchOS & visonOS.