[[stephen]] Apple released a lot of things in 2019, but a few of them have really made a difference for me in the last year. Apple Watch Series 5 A little over a year ago, I came to a point where I wasn’t wearing my Apple Watch very often. I didn’t have a good handle...

[[stephen]] We’ve seen the future of the high-end MacBook Pro, and it seems pretty great. Sure, the Touch Bar is largely unchanged and Thunderbolt 3 ports are the same, but a redesigned keyboard, improved thermals, and a larger display are all welcome changes. …if you like having a big MacBook Pro. For many, many customers,...

[[stephen]] When Apple announced that its Reminders application was receiving a much-needed overhaul this year with iOS 13 and macOS Catalina, I was excited. I think Apple has done an amazing job at modernizing the Notes app, and I was hopeful Reminders would become an equally useful application across Apple’s platforms. I’ve tried just about...

[[stephen]] With the new automation triggers in Shortcuts that came with iOS 13.1, I have been experimenting a good bit with using NFC stickers. There are a bunch of NFC stickers out there to order. I went with these off of Amazon, but just about any blank ones will work, and you don’t need to...

[[stephen]] I think it’s time Apple starts thinking about Health.app-powered devices beyond the Apple Watch. In a recent report on CNBC, Christina Farr wrote that Apple’s Health team is fractured over the direction the company should go with its future products: Tension has been increasing within the team in recent months, according to eight people...

[[stephen]] Earlier this month, Apple quietly discontinued the 12-inch MacBook, marking the second time in the company’s history that it has killed off a machine bearing that name. I mean, does anyone remember this computer? As that white plastic computer is a story for a different time, the modern MacBook was set to usher in...

[[stephen]] Every few years, the call for an xMac, a mid-range, upgradeable-but-not-too-expensive Mac desktop comes back around. The last time was in 2013, just before the unveiling of the trash can Mac Pro. The idea dates back 15 years or so. Here’s John Siracusa writing in 2005 at Ars Technica: My own personal conception of...

[[stephen]] From the outside, I imagine that WWDC looks pretty weird. The conference is for software developers to attend a bunch of presentations and meetings to hear from the world’s largest electronics company what they’ll need to work on for the next few months, years, and even beyond. There are lines to get into these...

[[stephen]] The built-in Reminders app first shipped on iOS devices way back in 2011 with iOS 5. Like many of Apple’s default apps, it seems to have been initially designed for the masses, with Apple willing to leave power user features at the door. Still to this day it lacks things like tags and smart...