Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: T.G. Cid made a funky new keyboard. (Link) Members compared the battery health on their iPhones. It’s more interesting than it sounds. (Link) Niléane’s post about Japan forcing Apple to lift restrictions on browser engines on iOS started a discussion on the subject. This is a good...
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....
macOS Tahoe Icons: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
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...
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.
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...
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...
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...
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....
New Betas, Home Assistant Displays, and More
Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: With new versions of all the OS 26 developer betas released this week, members were busy discussing what’s changed. (Link) Jezza linked to an excellent article about “second brains” and why it might be good to change your approach to personal knowledge management apps. (Link) In response...