This week, I was faced with an unenviable task: creating 162 region-specific logos. My team and I had made the design for one – London – but as part of the set of assets we were making for the client, we needed versions where the word “London” was replaced with names of other locales like...
Grammarly + Superhuman, Workout Buddy Quirks, and More
Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: Members discussed Grammarly’s acquisition of Superhuman and how they’re using AI models to spell check their work. (Link) Member fastballspecial had an interesting theory about the possible A18 MacBook. (Link) Tony has been getting some pretty wild motivation from Workout Buddy, which raises questions about how the...
(Not Boring) Camera
[[jonathan]] I’ve been a fan of Not Boring Software’s apps for a while, as I’ve detailed in MacStories Weekly before. So when I heard they were releasing a camera app, I was intrigued, to say the least. Not Boring Software have pitched themselves as developers of useful, intuitive software that is visually wild and expressive....
Stephen Hackett on Opening Up a ‘Macintosh’ Screensaver Treasure Trove→
As detailed on 512 Pixels, Stephen Hackett managed to break into the beautiful ‘Macintosh’ screensaver and uncover the details of how it was constructed.
When looking for macOS Tahoe’s wallpapers, I was reminded of this project. I went digging through the SSD on my MacBook Pro, and my journey through Finder has yielded great fruit.
The screen saver is actually an Extension, residing at /System / Library / ExtensionKit / Extensions / WallpaperMacintoshExtension.appex (spaces added for legibility).
Right-clicking to “Show Package Contents” unveils a treasure trove:
The screensaver itself is not a video one, as evident by the way it randomly displays its designs when activated. Until now, it was somewhat of a mystery how this was dynamically created, so it’s great to peek behind the curtain.
I won’t spoil the details as they are pretty fun, and not really what you would have expected. Stephen has also collected all the image files in HiRes, should you wish to download them.
As someone who absolutely adores these designs to this day (so much so that I have not one but two of them as tattoos - the pixelated cursor and the smiling Mac), this was a delightful little discovery.
“Opinionated Design”: Early Reactions to Apple’s Liquid Glass Design Language
If there was one thing you could guarantee to come out of a major OS redesign, it’s that people would have opinions, and lots of them. Combine that with the fact that the new Liquid Glass design stretches across every Apple platform, and you’ve got a recipe for many, many hot takes.
Amidst the big reactions, both positive and negative, there has been some excellent commentary on not just the content of this new design, but also the whys and wherefores of one of the largest redesigns Apple has ever carried out.
One thing I think we should all be reminded of is the fact that this is the very start of the beta period. This is a time when much is broken, and a lot will change before the update is released to the general public. What is clear about Liquid Glass is that it is an opinionated design that, certainly at this point of development, will not please everyone.
WWDC 2025: Subsequent Discoveries
After the initial rush following a WWDC keynote, the next few days are typically spent mulling over new features and design changes. This is often a fruitful time for discovering modifications and additions that weren’t covered in the keynote. This year is no different, so I’ve collated a roundup of some of the most significant ones below.
watchOS 26: The MacStories Overview
Earlier today, Apple announced watchOS 26 and with it, a selection of updates and new features for the Apple Watch. Alongside all of Apple’s other platforms, watchOS will adopt the new Liquid Glass design language, albeit in a less significant way.
watchOS didn’t feature any Apple Intelligence features when it launched last year, and that continues to be the case, even though it is merely a technicality now. That’s because the new Workout Buddy feature, which you interact with from your Apple Watch, still requires an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone nearby. This is presumably a technical limitation that may be overcome in the future with a more advanced Apple Watch chipset.
iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and Liquid Glass: The MacStories Overview
During today’s WWDC 2025 keynote, held in person at Apple Park and streamed online, Apple unveiled a considerable number of upgrades to iOS and iPadOS, including a brand-new design language called Liquid Glass. This new look, which spans all of Apple’s platforms, coupled with a massive upgrade for multitasking on the iPad and numerous other additions and updates, made for packed releases for iOS and iPadOS.
Let’s take a look at everything Apple showed today for Liquid Glass, iOS, and iPadOS.
WWDC 2025: All the Small Things (Bento Box Version)
Every keynote, Apple is well-known for summarizing sections of the presentation with immaculately laid-out bento boxes containing key features. They often serve as good, easily digestible overviews of all the new features for each OS.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at all the bento boxes from today’s WWDC 2025 keynote.