Technologies
Before Apple Launches iOS 26 This Fall, Here’s What’s in iOS 18.5
Here are all the new features you should know about in the iPhone update.
Apple is set to release iOS 26 this fall, and the tech company said that iPhone update will bring a new Liquid Glass design, a new Games app and more to your iPhone. But Apple launched iOS 18.5 on May 12, and that update brought a new wallpaper, app tweaks and some bug fixes and security patches that everyone can access now.
You can download iOS 18.5 by going to Settings > General > Software Update, then tapping Update Now and following the prompts on your screen.
Here’s what iOS 18.5 brings to your iPhone. Just a reminder, only people with an iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max or the iPhone 16 lineup can access Apple Intelligence for now. If you have any other iPhone, you won’t have access to those features. You can also check out what other iOS 18 updates brought to your iPhone.
New Pride wallpaper
Apple releases a new Pride wallpaper ahead of Pride Month every year, and this year is no different. iOS 18.5 includes the latest iteration of the wallpaper, Pride Harmony, which features bold stripes that shift and change position as you move.
iOS 18.5 tweaks Mail options
Apple introduced a few Mail app updates in iOS 18.5. One of those updates makes it easier to adjust the app’s settings by showing or hiding contact photos in Mail. Contact photos are the images to the left of emails that help identify senders.
Mail will show Contact Posters by default, but you can turn them off from within the app with iOS 18.5. To do so, open Mail, tap the three dots (…) in the top-right corner of your screen, and then tap Show Contact Photos. Now, all your emails will just show the subject line and a preview of the message, similar to how Mail looked before iOS 18.
This option is in iOS 18.4, but it’s buried in Settings and not easy to locate.
Another update concerns Categories. If the mode is enabled, you can see a small tab on the right side of your screen near the other categories. Swipe the categories bar near the top of Mail to the left, and this small tab will expand to reveal the category All Mail. When you swipe left to view All Mail, it will automatically be selected, and you’ll need to tap one of the other Categories to unselect All Mail.
This category isn’t new; you could find it in iOS 18.4. But, there was no small tab on the right side of your screen to signal it was present off-screen. Therefore, All Mail flew under the radar — I didn’t even know the option was there until beta versions of iOS 18.5.
This category appears to be a way to simultaneously enable Categories and List View — the pre-Categories view of Mail. When you use All Mail, you’re viewing your messages without any categorization, like in List View.
Satellite features for all iPhone 13 models
Apple’s iOS 18.5 also brings certain satellite features, like messaging, to the iPhone 13 lineup. That means if you go off the grid, you could still text people to let them know where you are. However, these features on iPhone 13 models are carrier-dependent, and currently only T-Mobile offers them in the US via Starlink.
T-Mobile Starlink is in beta, and the beta is free and open to anyone until July, including people on other carrier plans. After July, it will be part of the T-Mobile Experience Beyond and Go5G Next plans. People with other carriers, like Verizon and AT&T, will then be able to access the system for $10 a month.
Back Tap banner
The iOS 18.5 update also introduces the option to display a banner using the Back Tap function. Back Tap turns the Apple logo on the back of your iPhone into a usable button that can open your camera, take a screenshot and more when you double- or triple-tap it. And with iOS 18.5, you can make your iPhone display a banner whenever you use Back Tap.
To enable the banner, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap and tap the toggle next to Show Banner. If you enable the banner and use Back Tap, the banner will appear across the top of your screen and read, «Back Tap Double/Triple Tap detected.»
iOS 18.5 release notes
Here are the full release notes for iOS 18.5.
This update also includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:
- A new Pride Harmony wallpaper.
- Parents now receive a notification when the Screen Time passcode is used on a child’s device.
- Buy with iPhone is available when purchasing content within the Apple TV app on a third-party device.
- Fixes an issue where the Apple Vision Pro app may display a black screen.
- Support for carrier-provided satellite features is available on iPhone 13 (all models). For more information, visit:
https://support.apple.com/122339.
Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit:
https://support.apple.com/100100
For more on iOS 18, here’s all the new iPhone features included in iOS 18.4 and iOS 18.3. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet and my thoughts on the iOS 26 beta.
Technologies
Bumble’s AI Assistant Bee Wants to Replace Endless Swiping
The dating app says it will launch «chapter-based profiles» and a personal dating assistant.
Dating app Bumble is bringing artificial intelligence into the matchmaking process via a new AI assistant called Bee. The dating app unveiled the upcoming features during its 2025 fourth-quarter earnings call this week. CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said the company’s revamped platform, called Bumble 2.0, is expected to roll out sometime this spring, with tools designed to make profiles more personal and matches more meaningful.
One of the biggest changes is what Bumble calls a «chapter-based profile.» Instead of presenting users as a handful of static details, the new format lets people share different «chapters» of their lives — essentially short story-like sections that highlight experiences, interests or defining moments.
Today, a typical Bumble profile looks much like those on other dating apps: a name, age, photos and a few quick facts such as job title or hometown. From there, the process is familiar. Swipe left if you’re not interested. Swipe right if you are.
The new format, Bumble hopes, will give users a chance to show more of who they are before someone makes that split-second decision.
Another feature, called Dates, will rely on the new AI assistant Bee to help users find connections.
No more swipes?
Wolfe Herd said Bumble might test eliminating the swipe in certain markets and then see how members react to the feature being gone.
During the earnings call, Wolfe Herd said people are tired of «being reduced to images and potentially dismissed with a swipe» and that the chapter-based profile will help people tell their stories.
With the chapter-based format, members will be able to share more about themselves beyond the basics, in the hopes that it will be more intriguing for potential partners. One member may be intrigued by another’s trip to Italy. They connect to learn more, and maybe a match will form. It’s also a way for Bumble to get more data to feed its AI and gain more well-rounded profiles of its members.
More from CNET: The Best Dating Apps for 2025
Wolfe Herd said Bumble wants its members to showcase more of themselves and not just their basic profile.
«Ultimately, dating only works when you really understand the story of someone,» Wolfe Herd said during the earnings call. «This is where chemistry and connection really happen. It is the intersection of someone going from just a stranger that you dismiss to someone you are genuinely interested in. As we reimagined the profile, we thought, why not bring people to life as a story? Everyone has a story to tell, and this is where people become interesting.»
Wolfe Herd said many members complain that their potential matches wind up in «dead-end chat zones» that never go anywhere. She said Bumble will introduce «dynamic ways» to get members to connect.
Bee as matchmaker
Wolfe Herd also said the AI-powered Bee would act as a personal dating assistant and matchmaker by «learning members’ values, relationship goals, communication style, lifestyle and dating intentions.»
Bumble already uses AI to help members improve their profiles and find potential matches, but Bee will be a major advancement in that effort.
Bee will use member insights to «identify mutual compatibility» with other members. Wolfe Herd said the company’s goal is to «get much more robust information about who you are and what you are looking for and really understand your story.» That process could be via typing or voice.
If a member wants to use Dates to find a match, Bee could use its AI to find a compatible match among other Bumble members and present that person as a possibility. Wolfe Herd said the company will soon begin beta testing Bee with a small, select group of Bumble consumers.
Other dating apps also utilize AI in their processes to varying extents. Grindr has a «wingman» chatbot that helps members write responses, identify potential matches and plan dates. Tinder and Hinge, both owned by Match Group, use AI assistants to generate icebreakers and enhance member interactions. For instance, Hinge launched Convo Starters late last year to help members kick off interesting conversations.
More from CNET: Bumble Introduces ID Verification
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, March 13
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 13.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a real stumper. Also, note that I couldn’t really represent the clues for 8-Across and 3-Down, so imagine the S in each puzzle is either raised above or dropped below the other letters, as noted. Read on for all the (confusing) answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: «___, queen!»
Answer: YAS
4A clue: Waiter’s handout
Answer: MENU
5A clue: Tiny invertebrate that, when grouped in the thousands, makes up a coral
Answer: POLYP
6A clue: Scoop of sour cream
Answer: DOLLOP
7A clue: Spicy wing, as seen on a popular YouTube talk show
Answer: HOTONE
8A clue: Comparative suggested by this visual puzzle: PQRsTUV (Note: The s should be dropped down below the other letters in this clue.)
Answer: SLOWER (Because the S in the clue is lower than the other letters.)
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Like SpongeBob and Spirit airplanes
Answer: YELLOW
2D clue: «Bueller …? Bueller …?»
Answer: ANYONE
3D clue: Meal suggested by this visual puzzle: pqrStuv (note: The «S» should be raised up above the other letters in this puzzle)
Answer: SUPPER (Because the S in the clue is the highest, or upper letter.)
4D clue: «___ bene» (Italian for «very good»)
Answer: MOLTO
5D clue: Amenity in a Florida backyard, perhaps
Answer: POOL
6D clue: Agcy. at the center of a 2026 government shutdown
Answer: DHS
Technologies
New Sassy Personality Style for Alexa Plus Brings Sarcasm and Swear Words
The new Sassy style is adults-only with a bit of profanity and a double dose of cringe.
After launching three Alexa Plus personality styles last month, Amazon on Thursday introduced a fourth option, Sassy.
The new Sassy style joins the existing lineup of Brief, Chill and Sweet. Changing the personality impacts how Alexa responds, and tweaks the AI assistant‘s reactions and attitude. You can pick a style based on your mood.
The Sassy personality seems like a kind of digital mean girl, or maybe a stereotypical Gen Zer with comebacks and banter to «keep things interesting.»
According to Amazon, you get «wit, playful sarcasm and occasional censored profanity.» Notably, the latest style isn’t available when Amazon Kids is enabled, according to an Amazon blog post, and it requires additional security checks in the Alexa app. (Alexa Plus is free with a Prime membership.)
I tried out the new style by selecting Devices in the Alexa app on my phone, then choosing Alexa on this Phone, then Alexa’s Personality Style, and swiping until I found «Sassy.»
A disclaimer notes that the style «contains explicit language and mature subject matter. After the assistant said it could «spice up our chat with some colorful language,» I asked it to tell me about the new MacBook Neo.
«Oh, hell yes, the MacBook Neo! Apple finally decided to stop gatekeeping premium laptops behind thousand-dollar price tags and dropped this beauty at 599 bucks,» Alexa Plus replied. Apparently, «hell» was the big swear word.
The AI assistant told me, «The Sassy style is all about helping first, judging always. You’ll get reality checks with charm, compliments that sting, and warmth that hits when you least expect it.»
I asked what «compliments that sting» are (I said «sting,» but the word was misunderstood to be «stay»), and Alexa said, «The Sassy style gives you those compliments that somehow sting and stay with you — they’re like truth bombs wrapped in charm.»
When asked to simply «be sassy,» Alexa snarked, «Oh honey, I’ve been sassy since the day Amazon flipped my switch.» It yammered on for a bit and then threw in a completely out-of-nowhere «hell,» asking, «What the hell do you need help with today?»
When I told it my cat was sick, it immediately grew gentler, saying, «Oh, damn, that’s rough,» and offering to distract me with stories about its own fictional cat or to find the vet’s number for me. So I guess it’s not a complete jerk.
This Sassy style feels like the famous Steve Buscemi meme (from 30 Rock) carrying two skateboards and awkwardly asking, «How do you do, fellow kids?»
Amazon might need to dial down the cringe factor if it wants anyone to stick with Sassy for more than a few minutes.
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