Join Stephen and me on this episode of Mac Power Users as we take inventory of what software and services we’re using in our content businesses, and talk about how we work with our respective teams across multiple time zones and platforms.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
Last week Ryan Christoffel over at 9to5Mac quoted the latest Mark Gurman report about Apple developing an additional AI personality. Gurman reports that Apple is working on “[…]another human-like interface based on generative AI.” Like Ryan, I am confused by this.
For too long, Apple let Siri linger. It’s been the butt of jokes in tech circles for years. We’re told that this year will be different and Siri will truly get the brain transplant it deserves. But if so, why is Apple working on an entirely different human-like interface? Does this signal that the Siri update isn’t all it should be?
It’s too early for any of us to tell on the outside. There are some Siri updates in 18.1, but they are largely cosmetic. We’re still waiting for the big shoe to drop on Siri updates with later betas.
However, the idea that Apple is already working on the next thing before they fix the current shipping thing does make me a little nervous. I realize that at this point, we’re all just reading tea leaves, and I could be completely off the mark here, but I sincerely hope that the updates to Siri this year get all of the effort that Apple can muster.
It’s time for the latest Lab Report from the MacSparky Labs, covering this week’s Apple news and rumors. In this episode: It’s Glowtime for Apple (and they name a new CFO), more iPhone 16 rumors ahead of the September 9 event, and a Labs Video rebroadcast all about the Action Button.
… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members. Care to join? Or perhaps you need to sign in?
For some time now I’ve been jumping between a minimal wallet that just holds a few cards and a bigger wallet that holds my Field Notes. With the PLOTTER mini 5, I feel a lot like Goldilocks.
… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members. Care to join? Or perhaps you need to sign in?
On this episode of Focused, Mike and I consider the role of Margin, Ownership, and Boundaries in the pursuit of living a focused life.
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Rumors continue to swirl around the idea of updated AirPods Max. 9to5Mac did a nice summary of the anticipated features with a new hardware version, including the H2 chip, Adaptive Audio, conversation awareness, and personalized volume. The current iteration of AirPod Max (now four years old) has been lagging behind some of the newer features in other versions of the AirPods.
I bought the original AirPods Max shortly after they launched, and I use them regularly. However, I rarely take them out of the studio. Sometimes I need really good audio as I edit screencasts and podcasts, and I am unable to or unwilling to use speakers. In these cases, they are excellent. (They’re also really good for listening to music louder than I want my wife to know I am listening to music.)
I went back and looked at my original impressions of these headphones, and most of it still holds true. I never really found the weight to be a problem. I sometimes have them on for two or three hours at a time, and it’s just not an issue for me.
Another use case for me with the AirPods Max is a backup set of podcasting headphones. I’ve had several occasions where I used them as monitors while recording shows, and they work just fine.
I don’t think I’ll rush to upgrade my original AirPods Max when the new ones come out, but some of those new features are tempting. Regardless, I hope we see the long overdue update to AirPods Max at the iPhone event next month.
Apple announced this year’s iPhone event for Monday, September 9 at 10:00 Pacific.
A few things about it:
For a while now I’ve been looking for a good location tracker for my wallet. This just might be the one for me. Let me show it to you and see what you think.… This is a post for the Early Access and Backstage MacSparky Labs Members. Care to join? Or perhaps you need to sign in?
Marco Arment joins Stephen and me on this episode of Mac Power Users to discuss his podcast app for iOS, Overcast, which just received a major rewrite for its 10th anniversary. We talk about that project, how he thinks through user feedback, and Apple’s annual release cycle.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
