On This Day: My New Favorite Way to Revisit Old Photos

If you’ve followed my work for long, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I’m a nostalgic person. I love to relive old memories, share old stories, and look at old pictures. It’s just the way I am.

That’s why I’m a big fan of Apple’s Memories feature built into the Photos app. You’re telling me my phone can deliver a slideshow of great pictures from my library anytime I want, and with a cheesy soundtrack to boot? Count me in. Photos is an amazing app for resurfacing pictures that otherwise might have been forgotten.

But there’s always been one feature I felt was missing from Photos: a roundup of every picture you’ve taken on a particular date in past years.1 While automatically-generated memories are great, I don’t want to limit my nostalgic photo viewing to the pictures my phone thinks are the best. I want a way to review all my pictures from the past, and an “on this day” approach is one that works well in other contexts, like journaling. Why not photos?

Enter a new app for the iPhone and iPad from developer Florian Grossmann fittingly called On This Day. It’s a simple, nicely-designed way to revisit photos you took on a particular date in previous years, and it’s quickly become a go-to for me. In fact, On This Day is now a part of my regular morning routine because it enables me to quickly do something I love to do: look at old photos and reminisce about fun moments, amazing trips, and milestones in the lives of myself and my loved ones.

The app’s UI is a simple grid of pictures, much like the one you’re used to seeing in Photos, except instead of showing every picture in your library, the app only includes images and videos from a particular date, which is displayed at the bottom center of the screen. The grid is broken up into years by headings that stick to the top of the screen as you scroll, ensuring you always know which year you’re browsing. By default, scrolling down the screen moves you backwards in time towards older photos, though you can reverse this order in the app’s settings.

Tapping on a picture will open it in a full-screen view that not only allows you to see the photo in finer detail, but also to learn more about it and act on it. I like how much information and functionality is packed into this simple screen. At the top of the screen is the photo’s time and date (as well as a count of how many photos you took on that particular day), and at the bottom of the screen, the app shows the location of where the photo was taken on a map. If you prefer to view your photo without these overlays, a single tap will dismiss them, and you can swipe left and right to move between photos in the full-screen view.

In the upper-right corner of this view, there are four buttons: Info, Favorite, Share, and Delete. Favoriting a picture in On This Day adds it to your Favorites collection in Photos. This can come in handy since the app doesn’t have the ability to actually open an image in Photos; the developer says this is due to technical limitations of the Photos app itself. But at the very least, you can favorite a photo to refer to later in the Photos app as a workaround.

The Photo Details pane includes a variety of technical information about a photo.

The Photo Details pane includes a variety of technical information about a photo.

If you want to dig into the technical details of a picture, you can tap the Info button to open the Photo Details pane. There, you’ll find the photo’s resolution, camera and lens information, focal length, and more. It’s great to have this data close at hand when reviewing photos, especially if you want to see which iPhone you were using at a particular time in the past.

This core functionality is all I’ve ever wanted out of this kind of tool. It’s fast, it’s easy to use, and it’s designed well to help me find the photos I want and then get out of the way so I can fully enjoy them. It fits right in with current iOS aesthetics, as well, with Liquid Glass headings and buttons that blend naturally with your photos and adapt to the varying content behind them. The experience of reviewing pictures in On This Day is simply great, and I enjoy opening the app every day to see what memories it has to offer.

If you want to review photos from other days, you can do so by tapping the arrow buttons on either side of the date at the bottom of the screen or by tapping the date itself to open up a calendar to select from. Once you’ve navigated away from the current date, the app will offer a Today button above the calendar to quickly get you back to your starting point.

The app’s settings include a number of customization options, too. There, you can adjust the density of the photo grid, change how images are ordered, disable the optional streak count, and schedule notifications to remind you to review your photos each day. On This Day also offers the unique ability to decide what content the app sends when you share a photo; you can include the date in various formats, customized text, or no text at all. For me, part of the fun of looking at old photos is sending them to other people, so I appreciate the option to customize what gets shared.

Finally, On This Day also offers widgets in small, medium, large, and extra-large sizes so you can see photos from past years right on your Home Screen. You can adjust how many pictures appear within a widget, and photos can be displayed in full color even if, like me, you’re a user of the Clear or Tinted appearance for app icons.

This is the sort of app that I’ve been wanting on my devices for a long time, and the fact that it’s been made with such care and attention to detail just makes the experience of using it that much sweeter. I love revisiting old photos in the app every day, and if you’re the type of person who’s built up years of pictures in your library and delights in having them resurfaced for you, I think you’ll enjoy it, too. I recommend giving it a try.

On This Day is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad as a free download, and the iPad version can also be run on the Vision Pro. The app displays photos from the past three years for free. You can unlock all past years and the app’s full range of customization options with a one-time payment of $4.99 or a $0.99/month subscription.

  1. You can technically achieve this by entering the current date (e.g., “April 7”) in the search bar and even automate this search with Shortcuts, as cleverly demonstrated to me recently by reader Miles Jefford. Personally, though, I think Photos should just include an On This Day collection. ↩

Podcast Rewind: Apple’s AI Future, the Legion Go’s Return, Niléane’s App, and an Interview with MacSparky

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John draw from their experiences using AI agents to imagine the sort of agent Apple could build with tight hardware and software integration if it had a LLM to orchestrate the pieces already in place.

On AppStories+, John asks where artificial intelligence falls on the spectrum of historical technology milestones.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, a PlayStation Portable update, Honda and Sony call off car-based gaming, Epilogue shows of the SN Operator and makes an app, the fate of Windows handhelds, Federico’s Legion Go makes a comeback, and more.

On NPC XL, Federico finally received his OhSnap MCON controller, John has the Genki Convert Dock 3, and a conversation about how to make handheld gaming accessible to a broader audience.

First, Last, Everything

Jonathan is joined by David Sparks, productivity writer, podcaster, and creator behind MacSparky, best known for the Mac Power Users podcast and his Field Guides, on getting the most from Apple devices and apps.

Comfort Zone

Niléane built an awesome Mac app, Chris bought a new monitor (but it’s not what you thiiiiink), and Matt grills the group on what they’d install if they could only install three new apps on their Macs.

On Cozy Zone, the gang has to guess what Matt subscribes to on YouTube by just the thumbnails.

MacStories Unwind

This week, space exploration, workflow shakeups, a buddy movie, and more.

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Coming Soon: What’s Next on Apple TV and Apple Arcade in April 2026

It’s a new month and you know what that means: time for a roundup of everything coming to Apple TV and Apple Arcade for April 2026.

Apple Arcade (April 2)

Apple Arcade is debuting a trio of games this month:

Dredge+

First off is Dredge+ a Lovecraftian fishing adventure game. Federico and I had the pleasure of interviewing two members of the Dredge team at WWDC last year and were impressed with the thought and care that went into the Apple Design Award-winning game. The Arcade version includes all of Dredge DLC content that has been released, too. If you’re an Arcade subscriber and haven’t played Dredge yet, check out Dredge+ on Arcade, because it’s a treat.

Unpacking+

Unpacking, which won an Apple App Store Cultural Impact Award in 2023, is another game worth checking out this month. It’s a low-key puzzle game that revolves around removing possessions from boxes and arranging them in your home, which is surprisingly relaxing.

My Very Hungry Caterpillar+

Parents will will know Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar from the classic 1969 children’s book. In the game, My Very Hungry Caterpillar+, that same beloved caterpillar becomes a pet you care for and play with, unlocking new activities along the caterpillar’s jounney to becoming a butterfly. Having had a bookshelf of Eric Carle books when my kids were little, I’m sure this game will be a hit with Arcade subscribers too.

Also, on April 9th, Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop is slated to get a new Puyo Puyo Garden mode to celebrate the franchise’s 35th anniversary.

Your Friends & Neighbors, Season 2 (Friday, April 3)

Jon Hamm is back as Coop Cooper, a hedge fund manager turned burglar who steals from his neighbors to cope with his messy life. The new season picks up where the last left off with 10 new episodes that reveal even deeper, darker secrets of the super-rich.

Add to Your Calendar:

Outcome (Friday, April 10)

Outcome is a new dark comedy from Jonah Hill who write, directed, and produced the show staring Keanu Reeves, who plays Reef Hawk, a Hollywood actor whose life is upended by someone who tries to blackmail him with a mysterious video. The show also stars Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, and Hill, himself, as they try to uncover the identity of Reef’s extortionist.

Add to Your Calendar:

Margo’s Got Money Troubles (Tuesday, April 15)

Elle Fanning stars in a comedy-drama about a college dropout with money problems and a newborn baby. Fanning, who plays Margo, is joined by Nick Offerman, who plays Margo’s former pro-wrestler father, and Michelle Pfeiffer, as Margo’s mother, a former Hooters waitress. Also staring Nicole Kidman and Greg Kinnear, the show promises to be an offbeat drama full of unconventional characters that I can’t wait to see.

Add to Your Calendar:

Criminal Record, Season 2 (April 22)

I’m really looking forward to the return of Criminal Record, a thriller set in London. Season 1 was fantastic, so I’m looking forward to seeing Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo reprise their roles as detectives navigating another high-stakes mystery.

Add to Your Calendar:

My Brother the Minotaur (Friday, April 24)

Apple has been quietly building a large catalog of high-quality family-friendly show. This month it’s My Brother the Minotaur, a story about a half-bull, half-boy raised among humans. The show follows the young minotaur and his friends as they seek to uncover his past.

Add to Your Calendar:

Widow’s Bay (Wednesday, April 29)

Apple will close out April with Widow’s Bay a new horror-comedy starting Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis, the mayor of an island town off the cost of New England. Loftis comes up with a plan to make his island home a tourist destination, despite legends of a curse that haunts the community.

Add to Your Calendar:

That’s it for April. It’s not as busy as some, but there are what look to be some excellent debuts alongside the returning favorites. I’m personally looking forward to Outcome, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, and Criminal Record the most. If you’re a Club MacStories Plus or Premier member, drop by the TV and Movies channel in Discord to chat about what you’re looking forward to from Apple TV this month, and be sure to listen to MacStories Unwind, where I’m sure Federico and I will cover some of these shows along with our other media recommendations every week.

For Apple’s 50th Anniversary, Tim Cook Looks Back to Move Forward→

Today is Apple’s 50th anniversary, and for the occasion, Tim Cook sat down with Ryan D’Agostino of Esquire for a lengthy interview about Steve Jobs, Apple’s values as a company, and where the company’s next big idea will come from.

It’s an interesting read that doesn’t cover much new ground, but does reveal some of Cook’s personality, which is sometimes hard to gauge because he’s such a reserved person. During the interview, Cook addressed critics who would prefer that he not meet with politicians who don’t share Apple’s values, noting that:

These things [Apple’s values] can’t move around as the world is moving. They have to stay. They’re our rails—but that doesn’t mean that you don’t communicate and engage with people that have different views. That’s where I always come from, anyway. So you’ll see me everywhere, and you’ll wonder, Oh, he’s meeting with somebody that has a different view than him. I think that’s good. I think it’s good. I think a problem in the world right now is that it’s so polarized and different views aren’t shared or discussed. They just become hardened. And I don’t think that’s good.

Apple may not be a company that looks at its past often, but there’s a wisdom in Cook’s approach that’s ripped straight from a past when respectful debate of issues and compromise helped move society forward in a way we haven’t seen for quite some time. Maybe Cook is naive to believe that approach can still work or is looking at the past through rose-colored glasses, but it’s a perspective that’s aligned with Apple’s values, is deeply rooted in its culture, and gives me hope for its future.

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Moods Faster: Effortless Mood Tracking

I’ve said over and over that the most important feature of any habit tracker is being able to get in and out of the app quickly. For some developers, that doesn’t always come naturally. After all, doesn’t every developer want their customers to use their app more than others? Sure they do, but it’s not always the right instinct.

That’s something Nick Leith has understood for a long time. Leith is the developer of Remind Me Faster, a companion app for Apple Reminders that accelerates task entry. I’ve moved in and out of Reminders annually for my macOS reviews and every time, the first app I download after the move-in is Remind Me Faster because it makes using Reminders much easier.

Leith has been thinking about how to make data entry simple and fast for years thanks to that app, and it shows with his brand new app, Moods Faster (Get it? Moods Faster -> Move Faster). Okay, you probably didn’t need that nudge, but I like the name. It’s fun.

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OpenAI Bets Big on Building an Everything App→

OpenAI is making a big bet. One as old as time – at least time as measured by the course of app history. Having abandoned Sora and SmutGPT, the company has put all of its chips on an everything app, raising $122 billion to build it and fund its other operations.

If you listen to AppStories, you know this is a topic that goes back to our earliest episodes. Everything apps, known more commonly these days as superapps, have beguiled companies big and small forever. The temptation of “what if we stuffed so much in our app that nobody would leave” is hard to resist, but often fails. Just ask Mark Zuckerberg.

OpenAI is up front about its ambitions:

As models become more capable, the limiting factor shifts from intelligence to usability. Users do not want disconnected tools. They want a single system that can understand intent, take action, and operate across applications, data, and workflows. Our superapp will bring together ChatGPT, Codex, browsing, and our broader agentic capabilities into one agent-first experience.

Maybe. Look, I think AI is one of the most significant innovations of my lifetime, but for my money, I also think this a classic example of the mismatch between what users sometimes say they want and what companies want to hear.

However, I’m willing to entertain the idea that AI might be different. After all, it’s closer to a natural language OS than your typical productivity app in just enough ways that it may just work as a sort of super-layer that sits on top of “real” OSes like macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android.

Part of what OpenAI is imagining is straight out of the iOS playbook:

Our consumer scale becomes the front door for enterprise usage, as familiarity in daily life drives adoption at work.

I remember when my old law firm finally caved and swapped Blackberries for the iPhone its employees were demanding. So, it’s not unprecedented that consumer demand can drive enterprise adoption, but historically, it’s rare.

And, while I agree with OpenAI that “Moments like this do not come often,” its comparison of its product to electricity and highways strikes me as a bit much. Will the app that OpenAI is imagining be something that will fundamentally reshape your life or will it be just another thing that competes for your attention, like TikTok? That’s the $122 billion bet OpenAI is making, and based on my experience with everything apps, I’ll take the other side of that bet.

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NVIDIA GeForce NOW Adds 4K 90 FPS Game Streaming on Apple Vision Pro

Source: NVIDIA.

Source: NVIDIA.

NVIDIA has released version 2.0.83 of its GeForce NOW game streaming service with a couple of upgrades for Vision Pro users. First, games can now be streamed at up to 4K resolution at 90 FPS. Gaming at this quality requires a subscription to the service’s Ultimate tier and a Wi-Fi connection with a speed of at least 55 Mbps, and users have to enable 4K resolution manually in their settings. Still, it’s great that game streaming of this quality is available to those who want to play cloud-streamed games on a huge virtual screen, and the 4K option is a Vision Pro exclusive not available on other headsets. It’ll really put the device’s powerful screens to good use.

This version of GeForce NOW also coincides with the gradual rollout of H.265 video encoding in supported browsers. Because the service is still accessed via Safari on Vision Pro rather than a native app, H.265 browser encoding will be beneficial for the efficiency and quality of game streaming on the device.

This news comes on the heels of foveated streaming support coming to Vision Pro with last week’s release of visionOS 26.4. Apple and NVIDIA worked together to include support for NVIDIA’s CloudXR technology in the framework, giving developers a way to take advantage of foveated streaming in their own VR games and apps. Flight simulator X-Plane, motorsport simulator iRacing, and 3D visualization tool Autodesk VRED have already committed to adopting the feature on visionOS, and I imagine we’ll hear more similar announcements soon.

The full gaming story on Vision Pro is yet to be told, but these developments – along with the integration of spatial controllers into visionOS last fall – point towards a bright future for gamers on Apple’s newest platform, and I’m happy to see Apple working with partners like NVIDIA to make the experience as enjoyable and immersive as possible.