WWDC 2025: My Wishlist for Apple’s Software Fixes

June 3, 2025
WWDC 2025 is almost here, and while I still love using Apple products daily, there are a bunch of small (and not-so-small) annoyances across iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and watchOS that just haven’t been addressed for some years. I’ve put together a list of 15 things that annoy me in the Apple ecosystem, and I’m hoping at least a few of them get fixed this year. I break it all down in the video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq10aJsJ64E I am new to this YouTube thing and I am not really proud of this video. But you got to start somewhere right? If you…

From Pocket to Instapaper

June 3, 2025
The news about Pocket shutting down hit us a couple of weeks ago, and I was on the hunt for an alternative. I came across this Reddit thread, and the most recommended service seemed to be Raindrop.io. I, however, went with Instapaper. The reasoning behind this is that I use Feedly as my RSS service, and I use the Reeder app on my devices to actually read my RSS feeds. Reeder also lets you choose Read Later apps like Pocket and Instapaper. I never used Pocket as the Read Later service on Reeder, but seeing Instapaper there made the decision…

The Dream of Haptic Buttons on iPhones Lives On

May 30, 2025
Tim Hardwick, writing on MacRumors about why Apple paused its plan to bring haptic buttons to iPhones: The project was believed to be on hold while Apple prioritized display and battery technology advancements for upcoming models. While the feature is still not expected to arrive in the iPhone 17 lineup, Project Bongo has indeed "restarted" at the company, according to Instant Digital. On the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple dropped the traditional mechanical Home button in favour of a haptic-enabled button that simulated a press. I remember being pretty mesmerised by it. And then Apple completely ditched the Home…

Apple Rumoured to Rename Operating Systems to Match the Year — and I Have Questions

May 28, 2025
As per Bloomberg, Apple will rename all of its operating systems this year to have the year as the suffix, so iOS 26 instead of iOS 19, watchOS 26 instead of watchOS 12 and so on. Chance Miller, writing for 9to5Mac: My first reaction to this news was confusion. The more I think about it, though, the more it makes sense. It’s always been tricky to remember version numbers across Apple’s platforms, especially when the version numbers are close, but not exactly the same (think iOS 18 vs macOS 15 vs watchOS 12). Those numbers are just close enough to make you…

German Court Rules: Cookie Banners Must Include ‘Reject All’ Button

May 25, 2025
Skye Jacobs, on Techspot writing about the German court ruling that cookie banners must offer a "reject all" button: The judgment reinforces that websites must not nudge users into agreeing to cookies or make refusal unnecessarily difficult. Instead, the option to reject all must be as prominent and accessible as "accept all." The best approach is to require users to opt in to cookies, so they are not included by default but only by giving explicit consent. This is the second-best option. I’ll take the second-best option over having to deal with 19 different toggles.

Google I/O 2025: Real AI, No Waiting

May 23, 2025
https://youtu.be/bDVpI23q8Zg?si=3p4uLW-7tBGTCIC1&utm_source=ZTQxO I just watched this recap of Google I/O. I’m currently on holiday and didn’t/couldn’t watch it live—so glad Verge does recaps like these. There are a number of really impressive features. Some are uniquely possible for Google, while others are simply exciting and innovative. A few are reminiscent of Black Mirror, evoking that famous quote from Jurassic Park: “scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” That said, the most impressive aspect was how many of the new products and features weren’t announced as “coming this fall,” “coming soon,”…

Goodbye, Pocket — and Thanks

May 23, 2025
Emma Roth, writing for The Verge: Mozilla is shutting down Pocket, the handy bookmarking tool used to save articles and webpages for later. The organization announced that Pocket will stop working on July 8th, 2025, as Mozilla begins concentratingits “resources into projects that better match their browsing habits and online needs.” Following the shutdown, you’ll only be able to export saves until October 8th, 2025, which is when Mozilla will permanently delete user data. Mozilla says it will start automatically canceling subscriptions as well, and will issue prorated refunds to users subscribed to its annual plan on July 8th. I've been using Pocket since I…

When Will macOS Drop Support for Intel Macs?

May 21, 2025
Stephen Hackett, writing on 512 Pixels about when Apple will drop support for Intel Macs: By the time Snow Leopard shipped in September 2009, the very last PowerPC Macs ever sold were just over three years old. If Apple holds to that precedent, the earliest the company would drop support for Intel Macs would be in next year’s macOS release. I’ve been thinking about this as well, and next year seems very plausible. The redesigned MacBook Pro models are expected next year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the OS version that comes preinstalled on them no longer supports Intel-based Macs. There’s no direct…

iPhone 17 Air: Charging Port Still Included, a Practical Choice or a Missed Innovation?

May 20, 2025
A few years ago, there was a rumour that Apple was working on a fully port-less iPhone. This was before Apple switched to USB-C. At that time, the rumour mill suggested that Apple would never go USB-C, but the Lightning port was going to disappear, and that we were all going to get another “courage” moment where Apple kills the charging port just like it did with the 3.5mm headphone jack. Apple was supposedly figuring out a way to transfer data and charge the device without a port, signalling a future where iPhones would be completely port-free. There were even…

CarPlay Ultra Is Finally Here

May 15, 2025
Something that Apple initially demoed in 2022 has finally made its way in 2025, and I think it looks really cool. The biggest question I had about this next-gen CarPlay in 2022 was whether the carmakers would be on board. Will they want another third party (even one as great as Apple) to come in and essentially take over the UI on the car? This wasn't as simple as taking over the UI on the secondary screen or the centre console on the car, but the whole UI including the clusters on the dashboard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQlLjVraA9g I just watched this almost…