With macOS Tahoe, Apple will introduce a new UI design in line with its other OSes: Liquid Glass. Along with the new UI come updates to the way app icons are presented. While the changes aren’t too dramatic on iOS and iPadOS, icons on macOS will undergo some significant modifications. Most notably, Apple will soon...
Speedy Mice
Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: Inspired by a request from Evan, members discussed the best ways to get low latency with a mouse. (Link) Want to join the Club MacStories+ Discord?Upgrade toClub MacStories+ or Club Premier, then visit theAccount page....
watchOS 26: The MacStories Public Beta Preview
Author’s Note: Apple released the public beta of watchOS 26 last Thursday, two days after developer beta 4. Instead of immediately publishing a preview of watchOS 26, I took the time to review the OS again to ensure my preview accurately reflected the version released as a public beta.
Last year, watchOS 11 emerged from the bumpy launch of Apple Intelligence completely unscathed due to the fact that it included precisely zero AI features. Instead, what Apple Watch users got was a fully formed OS update that took some big swings in addition to refining many areas of the Apple Watch experience. It was a good year with notable updates across the system, particularly when it came to the Smart Stack and health and fitness features.
It’s unfortunate, though perhaps not surprising, that this year’s new watchOS release – dubbed version 26, like its OS brethren – is what might be considered a quiet year. However, after living with the beta for over a month, I’m happy to report that while there aren’t any substantial new features, there are still clever flourishes here and there that make my daily use of the Apple Watch more enjoyable.
Here’s a preview of what you can expect from watchOS 26.
iOS Design History, an Anthropic Server, and More
Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: Nicolas found an Anthropic server in the wild. (Link) There was plenty of debate about Liquid Glass in the #summer-betas channel, including this post from member rar, who was prompted to revisit old versions of iOS going back as far as iOS 5 to see the progression...
Are We Okay with “Good Enough?”
Something that has been bothering me recently is the idea of “good enough”. By that, I mean the acquiescence we have for something being “fine” for its purpose, even though we very well know that it could be better. Generative AI is the area where I find it most prevalent. The fact that a computer...
Object of Desire: The Native Union (Re)Classic Power Bank
I love accessories. Batteries, travel cases, AirTags, charging cables, iPhone stands, MagSafe wallets – you name it, I’ve owned or tried many versions of it. The number one determining factor for whether I keep a product or return it is always how well it does the job; however, almost equally important is how it looks....
A Retro 3D-Printed Case, Feelings About the Tech Space, and More
Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: Member rar was working through some thoughts about the era of the tech space we’re in, which prompted some great conversation about current levels of enthusiasm. (Link) Jonathan (no, the other one) wondered why more iOS and iPadOS apps don’t feature full file system integration. (Link) Members...
The Ups and Downs of WWDC
Well, WWDC is over for another year. Going into it, my expectations weren’t terribly high, and, like many, I was just very tired of all the goings-on at Apple over the last year. I was excited for pretty new things, but I wasn’t confident the company would be able to land the plane. Thankfully, this...
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.