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AI agents are reshaping how software is written, scaled, and experienced, and many expect the technology to unlock the gains AI firms have long promised. While most companies today remain in the “testing” phase, as agents make their way throughout the organization, workers will need to figure out how to integrate them into their workflows. That’s particularly true of developers, who can use agents to boost efficiency and in many cases will be also responsible for building, maintaining, and integrating them.

Agents are autonomous programs relying on underlying AI models like language models or planning systems that are capable of executing tasks without constant human orchestration. (As Chip Huyen has pointed out, many consider them “the ultimate goal of AI.”) It might sound obvious, but what distinguishes this as a novel approach is “agency”: operating independently according to preestablished goals, memory, and tools.

Agents can be simple, making a single API call based on user input, or complex, orchestrating multiple services, collaborating with other agents, and learning over time. But they’ll only ever be as useful as the data and systems they connect to, and that means that APIs will continue to play an outsize role. As the bridge between agents and the digital world, APIs make it possible for AI agents to access data, perform actions, and integrate with external systems to achieve their goals. But what does it mean to build for a world where agents, fueled by APIs, act on their own? 

APIs aren’t a new technology; the concept dates back to the 1940s. And AI hasn’t changed the objective of a well-thought-out API: easily delivering valuable functionality to third parties. However, traditional APIs have always been designed with human developers in mind. Agent-compatible APIs don’t have the same requirements. For APIs to effectively serve agents, they need to be machine-consumable, self-describing, and semantically rich. This requires developers to prioritize clear functionality, descriptive metadata, and real-time error handling, all while maintaining accessibility for human users. There are also new protocols to consider, including the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and the Agent2Agent Protocol (A2A), which can be used to communicate with external data sources, tools, and other agents.

APIs aren’t going away any time soon, but developers intent on optimizing their systems and software should learn the new protocols that will help them connect agents with their systems and data. They also must consider the technical environment in which their APIs now circulate and design for both humans and agents. There’s no time like the present to get started.

Want to learn more? Join host Mike Amundsen and an esteemed lineup of API experts on July 17 for the O’Reilly API Superstream, all about creating APIs optimized for AI agents. Over four packed hours, you’ll explore issues with current APIs; how to integrate your APIs with AI and MCP; enterprise-grade agentic ecosystems; the synergy between APIs, LLMs, and XAI; Azure API Management; and much more. It’s free for O’Reilly members. Register here.

Not a member? Sign up for a free 10-day trial to attend—and check out all the other great resources on O’Reilly.

A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device.

Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors.

Rumors

Faster Wi-Fi Support

The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple’s own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV’s standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 to the 6 GHz band with a compatible router. This can contribute to faster Wi-Fi speeds and lower latency compared to Wi-Fi 6.

The chip might even support Wi-Fi 7 instead, which can provide peak theoretical speeds of over 40 Gbps, a 4× increase over Wi-Fi 6E.

Newer Chip

The current Apple TV is powered by the A15 Bionic chip, which debuted in all iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro models in 2022. It is very likely that the next Apple TV will have a newer chip, such as an A18 or A19 chip, and this would result in faster overall performance and potentially even Apple Intelligence support on tvOS.

FaceTime Camera and Gesture Controls

tvOS 17 added a FaceTime app to the Apple TV, allowing for video calls with the rear camera on a connected iPhone or iPad. If the Apple TV gained a built-in camera, users would no longer need to rely on an external device for video calls on the TV.

In April 2024, Gurman said Apple had “discussed” offering an Apple TV with a built-in camera for FaceTime and gesture-based controls, but it is unclear if Apple is moving forward with that plan for the next model in particular. He did not elaborate on the gesture aspect, but it sounds like the next Apple TV would recognize various hand movements.

Apple says tvOS 26 enhances FaceTime in several ways — fitting for an Apple TV with a camera:

With tvOS 26, users can enjoy a more personalized FaceTime experience that’s consistent with iOS. Contact Posters on Apple TV make it easier and more personal by displaying a contact’s customized photo and name when starting a FaceTime call on Apple TV. Live Captions expand to include French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish, enabling Apple TV to use on-device intelligence to display Live Captions for FaceTime conversations, so users can follow what’s being said in even more languages. Additionally, FaceTime audio and phone call notifications will appear onscreen for the active profile, allowing users to answer on connected HomePod speakers or their iPhone, and ensuring that communication with loved ones remains at the forefront.

Lower Price

On the same day as the current Apple TV was announced in October 2022, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that he expected the next Apple TV to be “more affordable.” He said that a sub-$100 price would be the “sweet spot” for the Apple TV, but he did not say if Apple will actually achieve that price point.

Both the 2010 and 2012 versions of the Apple TV were priced at $99 in the U.S. at launch, and Apple eventually lowered the price of the 2012 model to $69, so there is precedent for a sub-$100 Apple TV. Other companies like Amazon and Roku offer low-priced streaming sticks, with sale prices going as low as $19.99.

In the U.S., the current Apple TV starts at $129 with 64GB of storage, and a 128GB model with an Ethernet port for wired internet is priced at $149.

Timing

The next Apple TV will be released “toward the end of the year,” according to Gurman. If so, it is likely that the device will launch in September or October, but November or December cannot be entirely ruled out at this point.

Here is when the previous four Apple TV models were announced:

• Apple TV 4K (3rd generation): October 2022
• Apple TV 4K (2nd generation): April 2021
• Apple TV 4K (1st generation): September 2017
• Apple TV HD: September 2015

Read our Apple TV roundup for more details.

In iOS 18 and macOS 15 Sequoia, Apple added a feature called iPhone Mirroring. This gives you a virtual version of your iPhone that you can interact with on any Apple silicon or Intel Mac with a T2 security chip. It might seem like the feature isn’t particularly useful; why use a virtual iPhone when you have the real one at hand?

It turns out there are plenty of helpful ways that I use iPhone Mirroring on a daily basis.

Authenticating Payments From Banking Apps

When I make payments with bank or credit cards, I am often asked to verify the payments using the banking or credit card apps on my phone. By signing into these apps with a passcode, I can then confirm that I am making a payment, which protects me from other people using my cards fraudulently.

If I’m paying for something online on my Mac, however, then it can be a little frustrating. I have to stop using the computer, find my iPhone, open the banking app, authenticate with Face ID, confirm the payment, and then return to my Mac to complete the process. There are no Mac versions of these apps, so the only way to authenticate is using the iPhone apps.

Using iPhone Mirroring, however, I can do it all from my Mac. When I need to authenticate a payment, I can open the payment app using iPhone Mirroring, sign into the app with my passcode (since I can’t use Face ID through iPhone Mirroring), and confirm the payment directly from my Mac. The whole process can be done from my Mac without touching my iPhone once.

Dropping Files Directly Into Apps

AirDrop is a really useful tool that I use all the time. It still feels like magic that I can tap AirDrop and a file will wirelessly transfer from my iPhone to my Mac or my Mac to my iPhone.

I can also use iPhone Mirroring to transfer files from my iPhone to my Mac or vice versa. All I need to do is drag and drop files from my Mac into the iPhone Mirroring window or drag them from the virtual iPhone onto my Mac desktop, and they will automatically be transferred.

There’s a key reason why this method can be more useful than using AirDrop. When using AirDrop, I have very little control over where the file being transferred ends up. If I transfer a file from my iPhone to my Mac, for example, it will end up in my Downloads folder, even if this isn’t where I need it to go. When I AirDrop a photo from my Mac to my iPhone, it’s automatically sent to the Photos app even if I want to use it somewhere else.

Using iPhone Mirroring, I have much more control. Transferring files from my iPhone to my Mac, I can drag them from the virtual iPhone into any folder I want, rather than them always going to the Downloads folder. When I’m moving files from my Mac to my iPhone, it can be even more useful because I can drag and drop files directly into apps.

For example, if I’m sending a WhatsApp message, and I have the perfect reaction GIF saved on my Mac, I could AirDrop the GIF to my iPhone, where it would be saved to the Photos app, and then manually add the GIF to my WhatsApp message before sending it. With iPhone Mirroring, I can drop the GIF directly into the WhatsApp conversation and send it without having to mess around with AirDrop at all.

I can use Universal Clipboard to copy and paste files between my Mac and iPhone, but if I try to copy a GIF from my Mac and paste it into WhatsApp, all that gets pasted is the name of the file. Using iPhone Mirroring lets me paste the GIF itself directly into the chat.

Generating 2FA Codes From My Mac

Another thing that I regularly use iPhone Mirroring for is two-factor authentication. I use two different 2FA apps (Duo and Google Authenticator), both of which offer iPhone apps but don’t have Mac apps. It means if I’m signing into an account with two-factor authentication on my Mac, I have to pull out my iPhone, open the relevant app, generate the code, copy it, paste it into my Mac, and then continue to log in.

Using iPhone Mirroring, I can generate the codes directly on my Mac, despite the authenticator apps not offering Mac apps. It means I can do everything I need to log in from my desktop without having to switch back and forth to my iPhone.

Making Journal Entries Using a Keyboard

Apple’s native Journal app is an excellent free journaling app. It offers useful suggestions based on my activity, can automatically select photos to add to my entries, provides useful writing prompts if I can’t think of what to say, and even allows me to log my state of mind in the journal and have it automatically saved to the Health app.

There’s one major flaw, however. The app is currently only available on iPhone and iPad, which isn’t ideal for typing out my journal entries. If you have an iPad keyboard, it’s a little easier, but having to tap out your innermost thoughts on an iPhone screen is far from ideal.

Thankfully, with iPhone Mirroring, I can open the Journal app on my Mac and type out my journal entries using my physical Mac keyboard like a civilized human being. It makes adding entries so much quicker and easier that iPhone Mirroring is almost worth it for using Journal alone.

The Journal app is finally coming to the Mac in macOS 26, but not until September or October of 2025. In the meantime, I’ll be using iPhone Mirroring for typing up all my journal entries.

Playing Slay the Spire Without Squinting

This is a huge one for me. I have become hopelessly addicted to the excellent roguelike deck-building game Slay the Spire, which I was able to download for free on my iPhone with my Apple Arcade subscription. I moved on to Slay the Spire after enjoying the vaguely similar Balatro.

The trouble with Slay the Spire on iPhone, however, is that some of the text is just far too tiny for my ever-deteriorating eyesight. I find myself squinting to try to see what the three cards I’m being offered at the end of a brutal round of combat are. I can use iPhone accessibility features to zoom in on the screen, but doing so means that other parts of the screen go out of frame, so it’s not really workable.

Having installed the Balatro on my Mac for a similar reason, I assumed that I’d be able to do the same with Slay the Spire, but unfortunately, there’s no Mac app available via Apple Arcade. I could buy the Steam version, but it would mean paying out another $25, and I wouldn’t be able to carry on the same run on my iPhone. It’s not all bad news, however, because I can play Slay the Spire on my Mac using iPhone Mirroring.

The size of the text using iPhone Mirroring is the same as on the iPhone. However, when I increase the zoom on my Mac screen (using Cmd+Option+=), there’s enough screen real estate for the entire game to remain visible. It means I can play Slay the Spire on my Mac with text that’s actually big enough to read, which gives me even less excuse for dying on yet another run.

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When iPhone Mirroring was first introduced, I thought it was really impressive, then stopped using it almost immediately because I couldn’t think of anything that I could do with it that I couldn’t just do with my iPhone. However, over time, I’ve started to use it more and more, and now I find it hard to imagine how I lived without it. If you’ve been sleeping on iPhone Mirroring, I recommend taking it for another spin; it’s far from perfect, but it can be genuinely useful.