Two years ago in our MacStories Weekly newsletter for Club MacStories members, I shared a shortcut that enabled creating wallpapers for iPhone and iPad featuring solid colors or gradients of your choice. Given the newfound popularity of the Shortcuts app and the amazing custom Home screens people are putting together with widgets in iOS 14, I thought I’d play my part and revisit the shortcut by simplifying it and adding new features. The shortcut is now called WallCreator and you can download it for free (alongside 220 other shortcuts) from the MacStories Shortcuts Archive.
Introducing WallCreator: A Shortcut to Create iPhone and iPad Wallpapers with Solid Colors and Gradients
One Week After Launch, Users Already Have Several Options for Alternative Browsers and Email Clients on iOS and iPadOS 14
iOS and iPadOS’s 14’s customization options don’t end at widgets. The OS updates also let users change their default email and browser apps for the first time. The feature is a little buggy in iOS and iPadOS 14.0, but I wanted to share how to set it up and explain what your current options are for anyone looking to switch away from the default Safari and Mail apps from Apple.
Switching is simple. The first step is to download a browser or email client that has been approved to serve as an alternative to Apple’s defaults. Developers must request permission to offer their apps as an alternative browser or email app, meeting certain requirements for each type of app. It’s an extra step in the app submission process, so not all browsers and email apps can be swapped in for Safari and Mail from the get-go. Still, less than a week after the public release of iOS and iPadOS 14, users have several options.
New alternatives are being released all the time, but so far, it’s possible to swap out Safari for:
Probably the most popular browser that hasn’t been approved as a Safari alternative yet is Brave, the privacy-focused browser, although The Verge reports that the feature is coming.
Email apps available include:
Between the two quartets of alternatives, a significant portion of the browser and email markets have been covered already.
Getting back to the process of switching apps, once you’ve installed one of the approved alternatives, go to the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. Scroll down to the entry for the app you’ve just downloaded, and tap it. There you’ll find a new entry for ‘Default Mail App’ or ‘Default Browser App,’ depending on which you’re changing. Tap it and pick the alternative you want to use, and that’s it.
As easy as the process of switching is, though, the feature is not bug-free. I have been unable to get iOS or iPadOS to recognize my new default email client after I switch it. I’ve tried several apps and email links in multiple apps and on the web, but every time I tap one, the system Apple Mail-based compose sheet opens. Federico has had the same issue. I read somewhere that switching email apps only works if you change your browser first, but that didn’t work for me either. Perhaps MacStories readers will have better luck than I’ve had, but at the moment, I cannot change email clients.
9to5Mac also reported last week that if you restart your iPhone or iPad, any default browser or email changes you’ve made are lost. It’s not hard to reset your defaults, but it’s an annoying bug that I expect will be fixed in a later update to iOS and iPadOS 14.
Personally, I use both Safari and Mail and am happy with them, though I wish Mail would adopt some of the modern features of apps like Spark. Still, I’m glad users have been given greater choice when it comes to the default app experience.
Widgets and a New Sidebar Design Make Anybuffer a Standout Among Clipboard Managers
I use clipboard manager apps in a couple of different ways on my iPhone and iPad. The first way is as long-term storage. I stash documents, snippets of text, and URLs that I need to send to people over and over, which is easier than digging around in the Files app or Dropbox.
Second, I use clipboard managers as a short-term holding pen for all sorts of information. Sometimes I’m combining an image, some text, and a URL from different apps. Other times, I find something I want to send to someone later, and I don’t want to lose track of it. Lately, I’ve been using Anybuffer for both situations. The app has been great, but with the latest version that supports widgets and the new iPad sidebar design, Anybuffer has taken a significant leap forward.
Creating Your Own Widgets: A New Category of Apps Emerges
This summer, when Apple detailed iOS 14 and the Home screen changes it would bring, the company highlighted personalization as one of the key features of the new widget-populated Home screen. Rather than just containing an assortment of apps, iOS 14 Home screens can feature the information that matters most to you. Whether that’s your Activity rings so you can stay on top of your health, the current weather forecast, your task list, a memory from the Photos app – there are an abundance of options for personalizing your Home screens now.
I’ve tried a ton of Home screen widgets from third parties over the summer, and developers are doing lots of creative things with their apps’ widgets. One of the most exciting trends I’ve seen is the emergence of a new category of apps entirely centered around widgets. While most widgets will come built in to the apps you already know and love, some developers have built brand new apps for the sole purpose of enabling users to create and customize widgets in a hyper-personalized way. The best widgets I’ve tried offer configuration settings so you can tailor them to your exact needs, and these new apps take that idea even further, offering widget creation tools relating to a variety of traditional app categories – like weather, photos, health and fitness, productivity, and more – but in a single centralized app.
Leading the pack in this regard is Widgetsmith from David Smith, which not only covers one of the widest array of different widget types, but also features a power user-friendly scheduling option that sets it apart. The App Store hosts a growing number of other widget creation tools too, such as Widgeridoo, Widget Wizard, Glimpse, and Health Auto Export.
Because each app specializes in providing its own custom set of options, there’s no limit to the number of apps worth trying. Widget needs can be highly personalized, so it’s no surprise that the apps designed for creating widgets all offer their own takes too.
Get ready to upgrade your Home screens.
Tara AI: A Smart and Free Jira Alternative [Sponsor]
Project management software should work for you, not against you. Tara AI eliminates the configuration nightmares and lack of support for cross-functional teams that can make getting up and running with project management apps a headache. It’s the solution for teams that value their time and are looking for a tool that works with their existing Git workflow.
With Tara AI, engineering teams can reclaim valuable time and effort that would otherwise be wasted sifting through a bottomless pit of tickets. Tara accomplishes that through a simple, modern design that gets out of the way, allowing teams to move quickly and efficiently, delivering releases on schedule. The app combines sprint planning with a unified task view to provide a clear, bird’s eye view of your project and priorities, all synced to Git, so everyone from engineering to sales knows what’s happening and when.
From the time you sign up and create a workspace through every phase of your project, it’s the design of the entire process that sets Tara apart from the pack. Tara is loaded with thoughtfully-considered features like quick stats that show the progress you’re making during sprints with daily and weekly progress insights alongside commits and pull requests. Modern teams move fast and expect their tools to just work. Tara AI 1.0 delivers with no user or task limits, completely free of charge.
To learn more and signup to try Tara AI for free today, visit tara.ai now.
Our thanks to Tara AI for sponsoring MacStories this week.
MacStories Unwind: Apple’s Watch and iPad Event, App Reviews, and Club MacStories 5th Anniversary
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Sponsored by: Muse – Tool for Thought on iPad
This week on MacStories Unwind:
MacStories
- Pre-event Stories
- Apple Event Coverage
- Pixelmator Photo Adds ML Super Resolution Powered by Apple’s Neural Engine and Split-Screen Preview Slider
- Apple Announces iOS 14, watchOS 7, and More Available September 16
- Apple’s September 15, 2020 Keynote: By the Numbers
- Replay Apple’s September 15, 2020 Keynote and iPad Air Video
- Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE: The MacStories Overview
- Apple One: The Long-Awaited Services Bundle Is Coming Soon in Three Tiers
- The New iPad Air and 8th Generation iPad: The MacStories Overview
- Apple Fitness+, the Newest Apple Service, Will Arrive in Late 2020 Exclusively for Apple Watch Users
- App Clips in iOS 14: The Right App at the Right Time
- Apple’s September 2020 Event: All The Little Things
- Apple Releases iOS and iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14
- App Reviews
- CARROT Weather Gains Flexibility with iOS 14 Widgets, Watch Complications, and Watch Face Sharing
- Book Track 2 Review: Widgets, Sidebar for iPad, Shortcuts, and More
- LookUp 7 Debuts Widgets on iPhone and iPad Alongside Powerful New watchOS 7 App
- Todoist’s iOS 14 Widgets Make Managing and Creating Tasks Easier than Ever
- MusicHarbor Unveils a New Mac-Ready iPad Design and Widgets
- Things Introduces New Widgets and Scribble for Task Creation on iPad
- Wikipedia’s Widgets Bring Daily Updates to Your iOS 14 Home Screen
- Streaks 6 Brings Habit Tracking to Your Home Screen With Extensively Customizable Widgets
- Soor Offers Beautiful, Customizable Widgets for Apple Music
- watchOS 7 Review
Club MacStories
- MacStories Weekly
* Giveaways
* A sneak peek at tips from Federico’s upcoming iOS and iPadOS 14 review
* A collection of apps with widgets
* Thoughts on the new iPad Air
* An interview with Aaron Pearce, the developer of HomeCam, HomeRun, and other HomeKit apps
* Lots of app updates - Join Club MacStories
AppStories
Unwind
- Federico’s Pick:
- This week’s app reviews on MacStories
- John’s Pick:
- Super Mario All-Stars available as part of Nintendo Switch Online
- Featuring:
- Super Mario Bros.
- Super Mario Bros., The Lost Levels
- Lost Levels
- Super Mario Bros. 2
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Featuring:
- Super Mario All-Stars available as part of Nintendo Switch Online
Soor Offers Beautiful, Customizable Widgets for Apple Music
The formula is tried and true: Apple makes quality software that nonetheless leaves a lot of room for third-party developers to build something more powerful and better tailored for specific needs. In iOS 14, the built-in Music widget is a great example of this. I really like Music’s widget, which shows your recently played albums and playlists so you can quickly get some music going; it offers valuable utility. But if I’m frank, there’s a whole lot more that could have been done with widgets for Music.
That’s where Soor comes in. The third-party client for Apple Music that I recently covered offers not one, not two, but three different widgets to satisfy your music needs. And within those three widgets there’s a lot of customization to help account for a wide assortment of user preferences and desires. Every widget is powerful and also just as beautiful as what Apple’s team built, matching the full Soor app’s identity as a whole.
Streaks 6 Brings Habit Tracking to Your Home Screen With Extensively Customizable Widgets
Habit tracking apps have proliferated across the App Store in recent years, but Streaks by Crunchy Bagel, which is the first one I ever tried and reviewed, is still one of my favorites. This week it’s been updated with a trio of highly-customizable widgets, a library of watch faces, plus some design changes, new iPad features, and other updates.
watchOS 7: The MacStories Review
While a tumultuous software release would have been fitting in a year like 2020, watchOS 7 will find no such infamy. Stoically iterative, this year’s update to the Apple Watch operating system is lacking in surprises. But is that such a bad thing?
We spent years on the wild frontier of watchOS design and experience. As fun as it was to deconstruct each year’s crazy changes, the results were a product that didn’t yet know its purpose. These days that’s no longer the case. The Apple Watch exists primarily as a health and fitness device, and secondarily as a lightweight interface for many of the tasks you do on your iPhone each day. Also, it’s a watch.
watchOS 7 is all about health and fitness, plus some love for the Apple Watch’s watch-ness with a big supply of new faces and face-related features. A few more reasons to use your Watch instead of pulling out your iPhone are also sprinkled in, such as the new Shortcuts app and cycling directions in Maps.
While it may not be the most exciting annual update, there’s not much to complain about with the overall direction of watchOS 7. As always though, we can still dive deep into the implementation of the new features. Let’s break them each down and see how Apple did with watchOS 7.