I’ll cut to the chase: Aqara’s G5 Pro is the best HomeKit-compatible camera I’ve ever used. The device’s capabilities go far beyond its HomeKit integration, and I’ll touch on those below. However, given how hard it can be to find high-quality hardware like the G5 Pro that works with HomeKit Secure Video, that’s been my primary focus while testing this camera.
5 for 5: Five Predictions, Five Years
FedericoThis week, Federico and John make five app predictions for the next five years covering everything from App Intents and automation to the fate of the App Store.
On AppStories+, John talks through a very specific use case for Apple’s new iPhone 16e.
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AppStories Episode 424 - 5 for 5: Five Predictions, Five Years
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The Latest from Comfort Zone, MacStories Unwind, and Magic Rays of Light
Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
Comfort Zone
Matt has a lot of feelings about podcast players, Niléane has gone on an adventure where the sounds are just warmer and somehow better but she can’t quite explain why, and Chris tries to make an all-out war break out.
MacStories Unwind
This week on Unwind, Federico and I offer a peek behind what it’s like to wait for an Apple press release to drop, Federico critiques an Italian’s recommendations of what to buy at Costco and shares a videogame pick, and I have a new movie for listeners.
Magic Rays of Light
Sigmund and Devon check in after the Netflix “bug” that briefly enabled integration with TV app. Then, they highlight the return of Surface, share their thoughts on the Apple TV app coming to Android, and discuss the new iPhone 16e.
Interesting Links
After one year of ownership, Castro’s developers share a behind-the-scenes look at the improvements made to the podcast app’s backend infrastructure, including faster feed updates and increased reliability. (Link) In a fascinating deep dive into their Apple Health data export, Kieran Healy discovers nearly eight million entries of personal health metrics collected by the...
App Debuts
Peek Peek is a new iPhone app that lets developers track their App Store sales data and trends. The app integrates with App Store Connect and displays key metrics like active subscriptions, revenue trends, and top-performing apps through a widget-based UI (both inside the app and with actual widgets on the Home Screen). What...
My Everyday Watch Face
Recipes Are Coming to Apple’s News+ Service
Apple continues to layer new features into its News+ service. With iOS and iPadOS 18.4, the company says the service will add recipes from well-known publishers including Allrecipes, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Good Food, and Serious Eats:
With the new Food feature, users will be able to find stories curated by Apple News editors, as well as browse, search, and filter tens of thousands of recipes in the Recipe Catalog — with new recipes added every day. The beautifully designed recipe format makes it easy to review ingredients and directions, and a new cook mode takes step-by-step instructions to the full screen. Users can also save their favorite recipes for later and access them offline.
Interestingly, Apple’s press release makes no mention of the Mac. I’d rather use my iPhone or iPad in the kitchen, but a Mac is a great place to browse recipes, so hopefully News+ Food will be brought to the Mac eventually.
Vision Pro to Gain Apple Intelligence, Spatial Gallery App, and Companion iPhone App
Apple announced today that visionOS 2.4 will add some big features to the Vision Pro.
For starters, Apple Intelligence is coming to the Vision Pro. When I was at WWDC, I was surprised when there was no mention that Apple Intelligence would be added to visionOS. Since then, visionOS 2.0 and three subsequent releases have debuted without any sign of Apple Intelligence. However, that will change with the release of visionOS 2.4 in April.
Apple says visionOS 2.4 will include:
- Writing Tools;
- ChatGPT integration;
- Genmoji;
- Image Playground; and
- Other unspecified features
In addition, visionOS will debut Spatial Gallery, a new Vision Pro app that Apple says will feature “a curated collection of spatial photos, spatial videos, and panoramas from artists, filmmakers, photographers, and more,” including new Immersive video titles.
Apple is also releasing a Vision Pro app for the iPhone that adds:
a new way to download apps and games from the App Store; discover experiences from Apple TV, Spatial Gallery, and more; easily find helpful tips; and quickly access information for their Vision Pro. Enhancements to Guest User make it easier than ever for users to share apps and experiences with family, friends, and colleagues using a nearby iPhone or iPad.
Apple says you’ll be able to queue a download from your iPhone for your Apple Vision Pro. I gave up trying to share my Vision Pro with my family almost immediately because it was such a cumbersome process, so better sharing will be welcome. If it works as promised, this sounds like a much better approach:
With new enhancements to Guest User in visionOS 2.4, users can start a Guest User session with their nearby iPhone or iPad. When their device is unlocked, they can choose which apps are accessible to their guest and start View Mirroring with AirPlay, making it easy to guide a guest through their Vision Pro experience.
It’s great to see Apple continue to push the Vision Pro forward with better user experiences, new content, and additional ways to enjoy its unique features.
Apple Intelligence to Expand to New Languages, the EU, and Vision Pro in April
Apple has announced that its personal intelligence system dubbed Apple Intelligence will debut in additional languages in April when iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 are released.
In addition to the currently supported languages, Apple will add French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (simplified), and localized English for Singapore and India. Developers running the latest betas can start testing their apps in these languages today.
The updates in April will also bring Apple Intelligence features to the iPhone and iPad for EU users and Apple Vision Pro users.
It’s great to see that Apple Intelligence will expand in so many ways soon. For the feature to be widely adopted, localization is important, as is availability in the EU and on as many devices as possible, including the Vision Pro.