Today Federico Viticci published his now legendary annual iOS and iPadOS review. Something that a lot of folks don’t realize is that over the years, Federico has gotten a lot better at this. Specifically, in the early years, Federico’s opus felt like it was written for developers. Now it’s written for users (at least to my eyes).
I find these reviews more informative and enjoyable each year. This year is no different.
Today, Apple publicly released iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. I’ve got plenty of content coming about the new releases, but if there is one thing you should check out that you may have missed, it’s watchOS 10.
This year, Apple made some significant changes to the way watchOS works, and it may end up being divisive. You no longer swipe up for Control Center but instead, you press on the Side Button. When you turn the Digital Crown up from the main screen (or swipe up from the bottom edge of the display), you get you a dynamic scrolling list of Widgets (Apple calls it Smart Stack) with information like upcoming events, running timers, and whatnot. Long pressing on an app’s card in this view allows you to pin it at the top this list.
A bonus is that because good, contextual information is now a dial spin away, you don’t have to rely on information-dense watch faces anymore.
Happy Monday!
My Apple FineWoven case showed up over the weekend. This is their replacement for their previous premium leather cases. I’m interested. I never really liked the way the leather cases held up…
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
This week MacSparky is sponsored by a killer Mac utility, TextSniper. TextSniper is a Mac OCR app that can extract text anywhere on your Mac’s screen and automatically save it to your clipboard, so you can paste it anywhere you need it. It can even read the text to you. The whole thing works a lot like the built-in screen capture on the Mac, just way more powerful. You know those websites that won’t let you copy text? With TextSniper, you can. Do you know the pain of getting a phone number out of a document? It’s easy with Text Sniper.
That’s not all. With TextSniper, you can:
I use this app often. It’s made by a developer who spends much time making it the best capture utility on the Mac. You can even use your iPhone or iPad camera to take a photo for TextSniper to perform its magic.
Moreover, in an era where so much software is more about data mining than giving you a service, TextSniper doesn’t collect your data. The text recognition is processed on your Mac and does not require an internet connection.
I personally use this app multiple times a week. My uses for it in the last week include: getting a UPS number without a link for package tracking (hooray!), getting a different number out of a “locked” PDF for my accountant to help pay my taxes (ugh.), and grabbing some clever chisel sharpening instructions from an ancient website that POSTED TEXT IN A JPG IMAGE! TextSniper can be just as helpful to you.
TextSniper works with macOS Catalina and later and also works with Parallels Desktop
Get TextSniper now and enjoy the fastest way to copy uncopyable text, wherever you find it. Use promo code TSMS2023 to get an additional 25% off.
It’s time for the latest Lab Report from MacSparky, covering this week’s Apple news and updates…This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
I have always been a Merlin Mann fan. We’ve become friends over the years, but first, I was a fan. I think of Merlin in the way that I imagine contemporaries thought of Mark Twain. He’s observant, good-hearted, and can do amazing things with a pen or, in Merlin’s case, Markdown.
For some time now, Merlin has been collecting little bits of wisdom that range from helpful advice, “Buy the nicest screwdrivers you can afford.“, to paradigm-shifting deep thoughts:
The best part is that he’s sharing them with the world.
Do Not Disturb was nifty little sign you could hang on the doorknob of a hotel room to let other people know they weren’t supposed to knock on your door or enter your room. You can also stick out a Do Not Disturb sign on your inbox with the help of this week’s MacSparky sponsor, SaneBox. SaneBox helps you keep your email sanity, and with Do Not Disturb, you can keep the distraction of email at bay when you don’t want to be disturbed and want to concentrate on what you need to do.
Do Not Disturb is a feature you turn on. You choose a start and stop time, and during this time, emails won’t appear in your inbox. It’s like they saw the sign hanging on your doorknob that said, “Do Not Disturb,” and they didn’t disturb you. Where did they go? The emails that you were supposed to receive during your scheduled quiet time are moved into a Do Not Disturb folder. And this is all customizable, so you can set your desired start and end dates and times. You can also set up delivery exceptions so that if you have someone or something important you need to get through, you can enable exceptions.
Manage your inbox and reduce the interruptions throughout the day with SaneBox. See if it works for you with a free 14-day trial, and if you decide you like it, you’ll get a $10 credit you can use towards a SaneBox subscription. Spend less time on email and more time on what really matters.
Mere hours after Apple’s iPhone 15 event, Stephen and I break down the news surrounding the iPhone 15 line, the Apple Watch Series 9, and the updated Apple Watch Ultra on this episode of Mac Power Users.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
We’ve got Focus Course creator and small business owner Shawn Blanc back on Focused to talk about margin, sabbaticals, and focusing like a boss.
This special episode of The Lab Report was recorded following the Wanderlust Apple Announcement from 12 September 2023.…
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?