I’m the sort of person who has a long list of tech projects that I want to start, but due to life, they often get put off. Recently, I was able to get around to a project with my parents that I’ve had on my radar for a long time. My parents are in their...
Home Screen Titling, Off-Hand Phone Usage, and More
Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: Tommertron shared a clever idea to avoid getting lost amongst multiple home screens of apps. (Link) Paul showed off his new home screen, which sparked a conversation about using your phone with your non-dominant hand. (Link) Nicolas captured some incredible moonrise shots. (Link) Want to join the...
HomeKit App Roundup
While writing my review of the Aqara G410 Video Doorbell last week, I found myself browsing through the many third-party HomeKit apps available on the App Store. I was surprised to see a couple of clever new ones, as well as to rediscover significantly updated versions of apps I hadn’t touched in months. Here’s a...
One Month with the Aqara G410 Video Doorbell
Last month, after an advanced preview at CES back in January, Aqara released an update to its G4 smart video doorbell dubbed the Doorbell Camera Hub G410 Select. I had been keeping my eye out for this release ever since its announcement, and it just so happened to coincide with the passing of my existing smart doorbell from Netatmo. That was more than enough reason to purchase the G410, and over a month of daily usage, I’ve been enjoying several of the camera’s excellent new features while also wishing for some improvements in other areas.
Macrowave
A few weeks ago, I wrote about an update to one of my favorite apps (at least design-wise), Poolside FM. In talking about it, I marvelled at the minor design details and reminded myself that I need to use more apps whose UI design delights me. Enter Macrowave, the new app from developer Lucas Fischer,...
Browser Engines, Funky Keyboards, and More
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.