Yesterday was full of excitement, even over here near the East Coast. I didn’t get to bed until nearly 2 AM and had bleary eyes and a head full of imaginations of a spatial computing-filled future. It felt like a momentous day — I loved digging in and feeling part of it.
But after a night’s sleep, I feel like I can think more holistically about the day’s announcements — particularly about our step into the era of spatial computing. I’m still bullish1 about Vision Pro and it cementing its role in our everyday computing in the not-too-distant future. But, there are bits about how Apple presented visionOS that give me some pause upon a second review.
We didn’t see a lot of in-depth work being done in visionOS. Sure, there was a version of Microsoft Word shown and we know that the Mac’s interface can be streamed into Vision Pro, but I don’t feel like we saw much of anyone creating anything within the apps. It was mostly moving around windows, consuming content, or scrolling through views. I know that it’ll be useful for much more than that, but I would have liked to see Apple show off a start-to-finish workflow demo. Or at least typing into the interface!
Previous new device categories have come been centered around their brand-new user interface paradigm — mouse for Mac, Click Wheel for iPod, Multi-touch for iPhone, and Digital Crown for Apple Watch — and Vision Pro uses the most advanced, yet natural interface yet in our hands and eyes. So I would have liked to see a “real” demonstration of someone using the device, and explaining in real-time the interaction options, such as how they manipulate items, pull up menus, and switch apps. The transition to pre-recorded videos for these product introductions has been a positive change, but it does leave room for a healthy amount of skepticism without the live demos of yore.
And I’ll reiterate how I think that Apple narrowly missed the mark they were aiming for in presenting Vision Pro as a device that doesn’t cut you off from the world. As I said yesterday:
However, it was a bit off-putting when Apple showed a parent wearing the Vision Pro to their child’s birthday party to capture spatial video. That scenario was a step too far, even if the technology is jaw-dropping.
I realized today just how many of the scenarios that Apple showed using Vision Pro were someone all by themselves in an expansive home or office. Sure, it’s a personal computing device, but I hope it’s not a lonely computing device. It’s a fine line, and while I think Apple is keenly aware of it, I’m a bit surprised we didn’t see an example of people using Vision Pro together.
I’ll say it again, I do think that visionOS is the future of computing. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not realistic about the challenges both we and Apple face along the road to get there.
Other Lingering Questions
Will we ever see a macOS mode on the Vision Pro? With a paired keyboard and mouse, or virtual ones, the user input problem is already solved.
Did we lose the Dock in watchOS with Control Center taking over the side button? What about watch faces that used scrolling (solar, pride, etc.), did those lose out too with the widget stack?
Will Safari on visionOS be capable of streaming from Xbox Game Pass? Could it be saved as a web app like Safari on macOS 14? And if not, how will the experience be to play through that expanded macOS desktop on Vision Pro?
Can we keep an empty desktop space full of widgets to recreate Dashboard in macOS 14?
I wonder how Vision Pro will be serviced. Probably like the Apple Watch or iPad, which have to be shipped out for nearly any repair.
2-hour battery life won’t get you through even a full movie these days. Will the battery pack be hot-swappable if you have two?
Does the Mac Pro provide good value at $3000 more than the Mac Studio for the same M2 Ultra chip specs? For that three grand, you get a massive (and, admittedly, beautiful) case, more I/O ports, the PCI slots for expansion cards, and…? Without an extendable graphics or memory story, I think the starting price — an increase from the outgoing Intel model — misses the mark.
Update: More questions on Wednesday, June 07
Does the Vision Pro come with any sort of cellular capability? Seeing as they didn’t mention it, I doubt it. But that limits where and when it can be used if you don’t want to further constrain battery life by tethering to a phone. Apple-designed cellular modems can’t come fast enough; at that point, they’ll have no excuse not to build cellular internet access into all their mobile devices.
What happens when you take the Vision Pro outside? Can it keep up with a wide open environment in bright sunlight?
What’s the multi-user story on visionOS? Most households won’t be able to afford one of them, let alone one per person!
Can you have multiple groups of shared passwords? I share almost everything with my wife, but only a subset of streaming service and other passwords with my parents using 1Password. We’re not all part of the same iCloud Family Sharing group, so I wonder if that’ll be possible.
I always second-guess myself on “bullish” vs. “bearish”. Bullish = optimistic, for those who also need a translation.↩︎
The first developer sessions have been released and ever more new software bits that didn’t make the keynote or marketing pages are emerging. Like yesterday, I’ve rounded up the ones that piqued my interest and will continue to append new discoveries throughout the rest of the day.
Now that’s how you do pronouns. Best implementation I’ve seen so far.
I’m glad to see Apple opening up the macOS developer betas to those without paid developer accounts.
Before you could always sneak in with the command line enroll, now you can download the image from your browser
You’ve heard that Security Code AutoFill is coming to email, but the SMS version gets two huge buffs in iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma:
Filled codes are automatically deleted! (Controlled by a preference. You’ll be prompted to enable on first AutoFill. Yes, there’s a “Recently Deleted” safety net.)
Text Message Forwarding is now automatically enabled between devices with Messages in iCloud turned on! No manual setup. If you’ve never used AutoFill in Safari on macOS, you’re in for a treat!
More thoughts on Apple: I wonder how the feud with Epic will affect the Vision Pro, given that Epic makes one of the biggest 3D engines and has a lot of VR expertise and would almost certainly have gotten some airtime a few years ago.
Stage Manager in iPadOS 17:
Much more freedom for window placement, finally windows can overlap - Much more fluid window resizing - Shift-clicking to add a window to the stage now works from the dock and strip!
🥰
Regarding the Podcasts app:
Plus, you can now double tap the Search tab to immediately bring the search bar into focus and begin typing.
God I hope this is because a system-level feature for any app implementing a Search tab! But there’s more:
Apple also announced that this fall, users will be able to connect eligible subscriptions to top apps on the App Store with Apple Podcasts to access new shows. This includes news apps, such as Bloomberg and The Washington Post; health and fitness apps, such as Calm; along with kids and family apps, like Lingokids. Apple Podcasts will automatically recognize these App Store subscriptions and add the corresponding channel or show to a listener’s Library.
Now that’s system integration. I doubt third-party podcast apps will get that synergy with other apps’ subscriptions. And a final Podcasts nicety:
Apple also announced that this fall, users will be able to connect eligible subscriptions to top apps on the App Store with Apple Podcasts to access new shows. This includes news apps, such as Bloomberg and The Washington Post; health and fitness apps, such as Calm; along with kids and family apps, like Lingokids. Apple Podcasts will automatically recognize these App Store subscriptions and add the corresponding channel or show to a listener’s Library.
I much prefer this episodic content in my podcast app rather than News or Music. Hopefully — and I suspect they will — these podcasts will be accessible via a standard RSS feed.
some huge improvements to App Intents framework in iOS 17!
App Shortcuts via Siri will be a lot more forgiving to natural language variation
Flexible Matching (aka ”Semantic Similarity Index”), so Siri will accept phrases similar to an AppShortcut’s provided trigger phrases
– synonyms API (!) for AppEntity and AppEnum values — so you could build in explicit NLU coverage for things like “Chi Town” or “the windy City” for the value Chicago for example
If you have an Apple Watch paired to your iPhone, Apple has added an optional button in Control Center that enables you to ping your watch if you have misplaced it. (H/T Aaron.)
You can now also toggle certain system settings directly from within [Spotlight’s] Siri Suggestions results. You can, for example, enable a Focus, turn on Airplane Mode, or disable your iPhone 14 Pro’s Always On Display.
In Safari, Apple has added a new “Listen to Page” option to the aA menu in the address bar. Tap it, and Siri will read the contents of the currently loaded webpage out loud.
When
Siri is reading it to you, the same option changes to “Pause Listening,” and if you choose to pause, it switches to “Resume Listening” so you can pick up where you left off.
I was just looking for this sort of option the other day when hoping to hear my draft of an article read aloud to me.
Apple’s upcoming iOS 17 update will add daily crossword puzzles to the Apple News app, but only for News Plus subscribers, the company said on its iOS 17 preview website. The addition of crosswords could make News Plus a more enticing subscription offering — right now, the main benefits to News Plus are access to digital versions of publications and audio versions of some articles.
Hmmm…I might actually start using a feature of that News+ subscription I’m paying for through Apple One.
Shortcuts is getting a redesign:
Image Credits: Apple
In addition, the redesign makes it easier to identify the actions associated with an app and simplifies the process of creating automation.
And is that an addition of the ‘Scan Document’ action that I’ve been searching for? ☝️👀 And it looks like launching shortcuts via voice will be more flexible:
Plus, Apple made some subtle changes to Siri to make it easier to use spoken commands to trigger App Shortcuts. Where before, users would have to speak the exact phrase designated as the Shortcut’s trigger phrase, now they can speak more naturally. Even if the exact wording isn’t used, Siri will be able to understand the phrase as the Shortcut’s trigger, thanks to on-device machine learning that will allow similar phrases to also work. (A new tool, App Shortcuts Preview, will allow developers to test phrases that they think users might try with Siri to launch their app.) This feature won’t yet work on Apple Watch, though.
Apple added #DX12 support to macOS and Apple Silicon via its Game Porting Toolkit. It’s basically a 20k patch to Wine that will make it easy to play AAA Windows games on macOS without using a VM. https://github.com/apple/homebrew-apple
Unlike iPad, there is very little reason to prevent AppKit apps running on visionOS 👀 Use a mouse and keyboard, job done. I do want to see somebody try to use the ornaments API to build a pull-down menu bar at the top of a visionOS app (if I don’t get there first)
i’m a bit bummed that Apple basically completely ignored the Home app in the software updates this year, because it’s still a hot mess
Most, if not all, WWDC videos refer to visionOS as xrOS. That means the name was changed super late, doesn’t it? #WWDC #WWDC23
The crown will allow you to assign a shortcut to the #accessibility option of your your choice. Tripple tap it on the #VisionPro device to launch.
Reality Kit has a new accessible component, which allows the assigning of accessibility properties. There are custom labels, values, and traits as well as custom rotors, custom actions, and custom content. Activate and ajustable system actions can also be assigned.
Direct manipulation of UI in visionOS is going to be a fascinating playground for novel ideas. And see how apps scale down as you bring them close. I’m glad that remote gestures aren’t the only way to interact with apps
Wow, what a day. First of all, hats off to all the teams at Apple who poured themselves into creating and presenting all these software and hardware goodies to and for the world. Y’all knocked it out of the Park today.
As expected, the keynote blazed by with so many platforms and products to cover. Barely 30 minutes had passed and we’d already covered new Mac hardware and the flagship iOS.
Apple had way more to say about Mac hardware than I anticipated today. I thought we’d hear about the Mac Pro, and maybe the 15-inch MacBook Air, but I wasn’t thinking we’d get a Mac Studio update to boot. The Mac Pro kept its case design, which I was glad about, but did not have a third-party graphics story. Is there more to come? PCI expansion is certainly welcome and helps differentiate it from the Mac Studio, but it feels like part of the story has been left untold. I’m sure the M2 Ultra is an absolute beast, but the lack of expandable graphics and the cap at 128 GB of unified memory are two notable limitations when compared to the outgoing Intel-based Mac Pro.
Whoever said that this would be a quiet year for Apple’s other operating systems while they focused on the AR headset software must not have known how big a splash the deluge of quality-of-life features could make! Honestly, if we did this sort of cadence introducing big features one year and then filling in a bunch of gaps the next, I’d be a happy camper. Nearly every feature they mentioned for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, got an “Oh, cool!” reaction from me. The enhancements to communication apps — some of our most used, for sure — plus Notes, AirDrop, Check In, interactive widgets, password sharing, and so much more are all things I’m going to use the hell out of. That doesn’t always happen with the stuff they show off.
watchOS got a big refresh, but perhaps not the complete overhaul that I’d been led to believe was coming. I don’t think that’s a bad thing since I wasn’t necessarily unhappy with watchOS. I might have been more upset if they really simplified the UI to be too widget-focused. As it is, I’m really excited about the scroll-down smart stack of widgets that live alongside every watch face. The new features for cycling workouts and hiking look like they were custom-made just for me.
We didn’t see much of Tim today, except for the brief intro and then to kick off the Vision Pro segment. That’s okay, too, because I’m always glad to see them spread the stage time out to more of the team members who crafted what they’re introducing. Except for Craig, who continues to hold down the fort on all the major OS unveilings. That’s a hard-working guy!
Despite all those good things, Vision Pro and visionOS, predictably, stole the show. I think we all just saw the start of something very special. I truly believe that visionOS is going to be the talk of the next decade (alongside generative AI).
Speaking of which, I think I would have preferred “realityOS” and “Reality Pro”, but I can get used to Vision. It’s not a bad brand name.
I’d been hoping for a kick-ass media consumption device that could also be a great VR gaming rig, and expand my computing workspace when I wanted. It seems that’s exactly what Apple delivered — save for the VR-specific gaming, but I choose to believe that there’s more to come on that front and Apple just didn’t want to show off the Vision Pro as too isolating. I also noted that we didn’t see much in the way of people typing in visionOS, or doing more than resizing or swiping around in apps. It’d have been nice to see a more in-depth workflow demo.
Seems like most initial reactions to the EyeSight outward screen are that it’s too Uncanny Valley, but I have to disagree. I was very much again the rumor of an external screen based on the rumors, but after seeing the “real thing”, I’d concede that Apple was absolutely right to pursue that technology. I’m so impressed at how it makes it look like you’re looking into the goggles at their real face and completely solves the problem of knowing when the wearer is or isn’t aware of their surroundings. However, it was a bit off-putting when Apple showed a parent wearing the Vision Pro to their child’s birthday party to capture spatial video. That scenario was a step too far, even if the technology is jaw-dropping.
All in all, I’m seriously impressed and I’ll be saving my pennies — nay, dollars — every day with the goal of purchasing one next year sometime.
My Favorite Pint-Sized Features
Live voicemail transcription
FaceTime voicemails
Last cell service location
Catch up in Messages
Bumping for AirDrop and NameDrop
Improved AutoCorrect
Interactive widgets that can be dragged to the macOS Desktop
Video conferencing effects
Password/passkey sharing with friends and family
App-powered AirPlay through Siri
FaceTime on Apple TV (I scoffed at first, but quickly came around to it)
Smart stack of widgets on watchOS
Cycling features and iPhone integration during workouts
Offline and topographical maps
Collaborative Music playlist and SharePlay in CarPlay
Sharing Find My devices
Stickers in the Emoji drawer
In-line sentence predictions (I’ve grown to like this on Windows)
One of my favorite things after any Apple event is scouring the product pages, accompanying videos, and social media timelines for all the little things that didn’t make the keynote. Here’s my roundup of stuff I’ve found so far. I’ll append more that I find today to the bottom, and will consider posting more throughout the week!
#macOS 14, #iOS and #iPadOS 17: “Music. Invite friends to join your playlist and everyone can add, reorder, and remove songs. In Now Playing, you can use emoji to react to the song choices.”
Hopefully, it works with Mail closed! I use Spark, but keep accounts enabled in Mail for just such OS integrations.
That’s right — iOS 17 finally adds the option to cross-fade songs. That means when one track ends, rather than abruptly stopping and starting the next song in your playlist, there is a gradual fade transition instead, with the current track getting quieter as the next track gets louder.
Might have to try this out, but I’ve never been a crossfade person before…
Other new tvOS 17 features include […] an option to immediately switch to your profile when you use the Apple TV with your iPhone remote […]
Now that you mention it, it’s a little funny that this wasn’t already the case.
In the Find My app, you can select an AirTag and choose the “Share This AirTag” option to invite a contact of yours. The invited person will be able to see the location of the AirTag just as you can, which is useful if you’re lending an item with an AirTag attached to it to a friend or family member because it eliminates those annoying tracking alerts.
Thank goodness!
That means someone who has access to your unlocked phone and opens your Safari browser won’t be able to get to your private browsing history without secondary authentication. Face ID or a passcode can be used to access the Safari private tabs.
Private browsing also completely blocks known trackers from loading on pages and removes tracking added to URLs as you browse, improving privacy. Websites are prevented from tracking or identifying your device with these new additions, plus Apple also offers improved extension control.
Smart!
The iOS 17 update includes a new option to delete verification codes in Messages (and Mail) after they’ve been inserted into an app or website through the Autofill feature.
“Clean Up Automatically” can be toggled on for verification codes in the Passwords app under Password Options.
I expect this will be less necessary with passkeys as the future of authentication, but it’s a welcome addition in the interim.
With its machine learning technology, iPad OS 17 can identify fields in a PDF so that you can fill them out quickly — that’s big for people who don’t have easy access to Adobe Acrobat. This also functions with photos of documents that you scan onto your iPad.
I hadn’t even thought about scanned documents!
I swear, the Apple TV remote is designed, specifically, to slip between cushions and fall into the black hole of a couch. The remote is tiny, thin, and so smooth. But I have great news. Today, during Apple’s 2023 World Wide Developer’s Conference, a quick mention brought hope to my life: Siri will soon be able to locate your lost Apple TV remote.
With just Bluetooth? Not the precision finding integration that we wanted, but pretty close! And coming to all of the 2nd gen Siri Remotes. 
Apple Maps will gain new topographic maps with trailheads, contour lines, hill shading, elevation gains, and more, starting in the U.S. You’ll also be able to search to discover nearby trails and Trailhead categories so you can review additional information such as trail name, difficulty level length, elevation gain, and more before heading out to hike.
Check out the screenshots. I’m partial to the topographical map view with an estimated walk time radius that makes so much sense that I can’t believe I haven’t seen that kind of UI before in other mapping solutions.
Your phone will monitor your progress and if something seems off, it’ll ask you if things are OK — if not, you can send an alert.
To be clear, Check In doesn’t share your location in real time — you can do that separately if you want, but that’s up to you. However, if you don’t arrive at home on time, and don’t disable it, your friends will be able to see your current location, the route you took getting home and your phone’s battery and signal levels. All this is encrypted, by the way!
When you return, everyone you’ve included on your Check In thread will get a notification that you’re back. Of course, it’s still possible to miss this on their end, but it minimizes the chance you go straight to bed without letting someone know you made it. And if anything goes awry, they’ll know right away.
My parents will love this.
Your phone will monitor your progress and if something seems off, it’ll ask you if things are OK — if not, you can send an alert.
To be clear, Check In doesn’t share your location in real time — you can do that separately if you want, but that’s up to you. However, if you don’t arrive at home on time, and don’t disable it, your friends will be able to see your current location, the route you took getting home and your phone’s battery and signal levels. All this is encrypted, by the way!
When you return, everyone you’ve included on your Check In thread will get a notification that you’re back. Of course, it’s still possible to miss this on their end, but it minimizes the chance you go straight to bed without letting someone know you made it. And if anything goes awry, they’ll know right away.
Child Safety features for all! Good to have them available.
There isn’t much detail about how it will work, though it appears to be fairly straightforward from the looks of it. In iOS 17, photos of food will be identified, and you’ll then be able to search for similar dishes. For instance, in the photo illustrating this on the page, photos of bowls of quinoa lead to suggested recipes for other quinoa meals, and specifically breakfast foods, as shown in the photo. If this works as described, it could be a handy way to get inspiration about what to cook, without having to search across the web, though it likely won’t be able to guide you to the specific recipe for the dish pictured.
AKA the “empty the fridge” feature.
During WWDC, Apple also announced other updates to SharePlay. Instead of connecting through FaceTime, users can bring devices together to instantly start a shared activity using SharePlay. For example, if you’re going on a run with a friend and want to jog to the beat of the same tunes, you can link up your music.
I wonder if this will work through the Apple Watch sans iPhone. I never run with my phone anymore.
Yes, you heard that right! iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma add support for sharing passwords and passkeys in groups with friends and family.
share passkeys, passwords, verification codes, and notes - edits and updates seamlessly sync between group members - end-to-end encrypted - share with family, friends, and other close contacts - the password manager that’s built in to iPhone, iPad, and Mac is free to use and easy to switch to :)
Sounds like everything I need to make my switch. Can’t wait to go back to system integrations.
Can’t quite tell if the new Apple Watch cycling mode can figure out your assist level on an ebike. Hopefully.
At the moment I get WAY too much credit for fitness if just riding to the shops with the assist mode turned up.
iSight/EyeSight joins Macs/Max, iBook/iBooks, etc. in the pantheon of Apple name-siblings.
If you see a controller, they blew it.
This is exactly how I wanted this UI to look/work. I’ve been putting iPads and phones taped onto my closet door next to my desk and it’s a perfect setup. Mac in the center, iPhones and iPads to the sides.
“I wish I could see through the gaps between them” THEYDIDIT. They gave me a bunch of floating iPhone apps.
🍎🥽💦
Is the real-time subsystem another…leaving…from Project Titan?
Glad to see some tech make its way out of that project. Wasn’t Mike Rockwell part of Titan, too?
Apollo getting a lot of screen time. Maybe Apple will pick up those api charges.
No VR games with controllers? Does Vision Pro really not support the one product market fit we’ve seen for VR?!
Also Apple does not seem to be promoting any actual VR or AR games — just flatscreen games that you can play on a big screen inside the headset. Which makes sense given that there are no hardware controllers, but might also mean you still need something like a Quest if you want Beat Saber or whatever.
All in all, I would say this was a keynote for the ages. A lot of really cool stuff. I’m just still smarting at the price of that thing, but everything else about it seemed pretty cool.
I quite enjoyed the ‘grab bag of features’ nature of all of Apple’s existing OSes this WWDC. If ever you were going to take a ‘Snow Leopard’ year, it’s while everybody is distracted with visionOS. Fixing big problems with iOS, like the keyboard, is a win from me
the announcement today that will have the greatest impact in my family’s day to day life:
Now this is interesting; why would we need to be using TestFlight to test with visionOS unless Vision Pro developer hardware is coming very soon?
If any of this were true, why wouldn’t they announce it in either of the keynotes? 🫨#WWDC23
Of note: “When the App Store becomes available, compatible apps will be available automatically with no action needed, giving people more options in visionOS.”
#iOS and #iPadOS 17: “Notes. Quickly add links from one note to another. It’s a powerful way to connect research notes, reference a recipe, or even create wikis for your team.”
I’m not a heavy inter-note linker, but I’d be very glad to have easy access to a URL back to a specific note that I can paste elsewhere.
WorkoutKit makes it easy to create, preview, and schedule planned workouts for the Workout app on Apple Watch. Learn how to build custom intervals, create alerts, and use the built-in preview UI to send your own workout routines to Apple Watch.
Wait a sec, are apps going to be able to send their custom workouts into the Workouts app?
The folks in my Micro.blog timeline are a witty bunch. One day I hope to quip as well as them. I’ve rounded up a collection of my favorite jokes from during the (most of) keynote.1 Unofficial Master of Mirth: Lex Friedman
My favorite announcement of #WWDC was Game Porting Toolkit. Eager to learn more. Hope it’s… game changing.
Officer, yes, I was wearing my Apple Vision Pro while driving, but my tesla was in self driving mode, so what’s the problem?
If any more posts get a chuckle out of me, I’ll append them to the bottom of this page. Hopefully, I’ll be able to go back on my timeline to the start of the keynote to mine for some more gold!↩︎
It’s like Christmas morning for all the Apple junkies out there! I hope you’ve hit the bathroom and that you’re prepared with snacks and drinks because I think it’s going to be a long, fast-paced ride.
00:21:15 - Every timeline app needs a catch-up feature. So smart.
00:21:49 - Damn. They really did take this year to focus on little life improvement features. I love it! Check in is going to be so helpful for me when I’m out and about while out of service hiking.
00:22:46 - Hell yes, so ready for that plus button.
00:23:39 - Haha, are emoji stickers the response to the call for emoji reactions?
00:24:27 - I think Live Stickers were created so that Apple didn’t have to take a stance on the pronunciation of GIF.
00:28:51 - I love that all these ML-powered features like Dictation are just going to keep getting better year after year as the underlying models improve.
00:32:33 - Will Journal mark the end of me being a Day One subscriber? I don’t use it much, but the integrations with IFTTT are pretty handy for archiving stuff.
00:32:33 - While everyone wondered if iPad and Mac were merging, Apple was quietly morphing watchOS and iOS. Seriously, Standby looks like a bigger watch, but so nice.
00:33:45 - Dropping “Hey” from Siri and continued conversations with it would have been a big segment in other years, with demos. So much to cover!
00:34:04 - Can’t wait to dive into all of this stuff even more!
00:35:07 - 36 minutes in and we’re already off of iOS, the flagship software.
00:35:31 - Starting with bringing iOS 16 to iPadOS17.
00:35:54 - Alert! Interactive widgets! It’s about time these came back. This makes them so much more useful.
00:37:53 - Don’t tease me with that left-sided Widget view on the Lock Screen. I miss being able to relegate them to the left on the Home Screen.
00:39:33 - I’m glad the Health app is coming to iPad, but I can’t imagine that I’m going to use it much there.
00:40:23 - Was anyone expecting PDF improvements making the cut for the Keynote?
00:42:37 - If those collaboration features are as real-time as that demo, I’ll be impressed.
00:42:47 - Better Stage Manager, on the other hand, got just a mention. Wonder how much they’re improved with better resizing.
00:43:34 - I hope Craig got to take a week off after recording all of this. He’s killing it.
00:44:56 - Woohoo! Widgets are breaking out of their jail cell. They’re on the desktop right where they belong.
00:46:13 - Fading out the color is a clever way to make widgets accessible while less distracting.
00:46:55 - Making widgets interactive was probably necessary for them coming to the headset.
00:47:53 - Apple’s been putting a lot of wood behind the gaming arrow. I never thought we’d see something like Game Mode. Let’s see if it pays off.
00:48:58 - I think that toolkit is going to come in handy for the headset, too.
00:51:46 - Content overlay screams a being feature that Apple has wanted for their own remote collaboration. It’s like how Keynote has always been great because they use it so much internally.
01:06:07 - Do I spy topographical mapping coming to watchOS? Yes, please!
01:06:51 - Hell yeah, such a better use of the Digital Crown on the watch face than Time Travel or zooming into the app view. I’ve always liked the Siri watch face, but it wasn’t pretty. Now we can use the best of it with any face!
01:08:31 - Looks like they’re doubling down on the Digital Crown for input. I’m not mad about it.
01:09:42 - watchOS is much more colorful these days! 😁
01:10:01 - I’ve been a runner for a while and Apple Watch has been great. Now that I’m a cyclist too, this is intriguing.
01:10:41 - 😮 I just got Cadence and Speed sensors and could only pair them effectively by using the Cyclometer app. This is going to be so much easier!
01:11:35 - I just bought a bike mount for my phone so that I could easily see all these metrics while cycling. I. Can’t. Wait!!
01:12:06 - Oh man, they’re speaking my language. I literally hike for a living! Noting the last cellphone point is so so smart.
01:12:56 - 🔔🔔🔔 Topographical maps. So great. I suspect this stuff came directly from Tim and all the hiking he does in the National Parks.
01:14:26 - I know I have recency bias, but this might be my favorite WWDC so far, even before we get to the headset. So much of this stuff will make using all my devices notably better every day.
01:15:59 - I’ll give this mental health stuff a shot. Hopefully, it sticks! The beautiful animations will help draw me in.
01:16:33 - I could see suggesting mental health help blowing up in Apple’s face with a single incorrect assumption. I hope, and suspect, they’ll be treading carefully with it. It has the potential to help a lot of folks.
01:18:13 - Wow, helping vision health related to holding devices too close shows just how seriously they take their responsibility as a tech company creating those devices.
01:19:00 - I would say that they nailed the evolution/refresh of watchOS. Good job Watch team!
01:19:31 - At least 40 minutes left. I wonder what more they could introduce… 😝
01:23:17 - Holy smokes, I want that giant movie screen.
01:23:49 - Hmm. “Spatial Computing” Yeah, I suppose it is.
01:24:57 - I mean, that UI looks incredible. Will it be that well integrated into the environment in practice?
01:26:00 - Exploring the world with Vision Pro is something that I was hoping they’d incorporate.
01:27:12 - Whoa, there’s the outward eye display that sounded so creepy. But…I don’t hate it. I suppose that people will be able to tell that you can see through the display.
01:28:16 - Yup, exactly. EyeSight. Very clever. Hopefully not creepy in person. Not to be confused with iSight.
01:30:48 - All of Apple’s work with AR over the years (those tabletop demos) is paying off.
01:31:22 - OH! Looking at that floating keyboard! Can’t wait to try that.
01:31:46 - But will the keyboard and trackpad come with quick-swap?
01:32:17 - Yeah, so I’m no longer saving up for a new display. These will do.
01:33:10 - That must be bone conduction audio. I bet pairing with AirPods will make it even better.
01:35:02 - The panoramic photos thing is so smart!
01:35:28 - Oh my gosh. All of that depth data we’ve been capturing with our phones for years. I wonder if they’ll be able to be explored like the spatial camera ones.
01:37:10 - Yup. I want to watch IMAX movies on a mountain. That sounds fantastic.
01:37:42 - Am I dreaming? They’re nailing everything I wanted in this device.
01:38:49 - Apple Arcade is going to pay off with all those titles on day one. I expected controller support, but I’m still glad to see it.
01:39:36 - Bob Iger totally took back the CEO job just to get to do this introduction with Apple.
01:40:18 - You know what would be awesome? Being able to experience future Apple Keynotes from a virtual Steve Jobs Theater with Vision Pro.
01:41:40 - Disney is a fantastic partner to have aboard on day one. This feels momentous. “What if you could bring DisneyWorld to your world?”
01:44:44 - I don’t think we’ve heard Richard Horvath’s voice before. I feel like he could take the mantle from the Jony Ive voiceovers. His speech is similarly calming and precise.
01:46:35 - Well done. They’re gonna have lenses right from the start.
01:47:20 - 3D Woven. Audio Pods. I’m gonna have to do a deep dive into all these lovely new terms.
01:47:38 - Congrats Mike Rockwell! One of your products gets to ship!
01:51:27 - New chip day x2! Welcome, R1, the Apple silicon family.
01:52:08 - Damn. They really thought through that external display. A 3D external screen. Incredibly wild stuff going on here.
01:52:48 - Wait, I only expected Memoji for now. This 3D rendering of the wearer is…so very cool.
01:54:24 - My head is spinning. I can’t imagine how developers feel. I can’t wait to see what they do with it. 😉
01:55:28 - I wonder if visionOS can give me a virtual guitar to (learn to) play?
01:56:51 - No one else can boast such an app platform for a brand-new device like Apple. They’ve been playing the long game, and been laser-focused on today’s announcements.
01:58:47 - LOL OpticID. Because they couldn’t do EyeID.
01:59:51 - Hearing Apple mention all the privacy features like no access to surroundings makes me wonder what the other AR headsets have access to.
02:00:44 - Okay, making the case for replacing other expensive devices… What’s it gonna cost?
02:01:44 - Fuck. Even higher than expected at $3499. Gotta start saving those pennies.
02:03:02 - So many OSes. “appleOS” would save some syllables.
02:04:41 - Haha perfect matching with that Everything Everywhere All at Once scene. 👏
02:05:11 - I’m thrilled with how seriously Apple took the wearer not being isolated from their surroundings with Vision Pro. Hopefully, people around you will feel the same way, that you are still actually present.
02:05:41 - And that’s it! Wow, what a show. So much to learn and unpack, starting in 3, 2, 1…
A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.
I’ve already published a wish list of bug fixes and product improvements I’d like to see Apple make this year starting at WWDC, which I think of as Day 1 of the Apple year. But what follows are the things that I predict we actually will see in the keynote tomorrow.
Organized from what I think is most likely to least likely.
1️⃣A preview of the AR headset is shown off, and attendees get to try them on. I expect the headset to steer Apple for the next decade, at least. They’ve got a lot riding on it and will need developers on board. The try-on logistics will be pretty wild (prescriptions, cleaning the units, the space needed, etc.), but I think this introduction needs some hands-on time.
2️⃣iPad apps on the headset that take advantage of Stage Manager and the Apple Pencil hover support introduced last year. Full credit to Federico Viticci and John Voorhees nailed this on their xrOS wish list episode of AppStories. I wasn’t so sure about the hover feature before, but it makes perfect sense as an interaction layer for the hand-tracking-focused headset. And Stage Manager seems specially made for organizing unaltered 2D iPad apps in a 3D environment.
3️⃣While many AI-like features are announced, none are labeled as powered by “AI”; they’ll be powered by “Machine Learning (ML)”, instead. Despite their recent job posting, “Artificial Intelligence” doesn’t seem like it will make the cut into Apple’s vernacular when speaking to the public. It comes with too much baggage and isn’t accurate to the actual technology. They’ll be missing out on the AI hype, but I don’t think they’ll care. (I also don’t think the “metaverse” will be mentioned at all.)
4️⃣The headset is called the Reality Pro and its operating system is called realityOS. Coming out with the Reality “Pro” suggests that there will be a more affordable option coming later, which I think will be important given how fancy and expensive this first one sounds likely to be. I know we’ve seen a bunch of hints that “xrOS” will be the name of the software, but that sounds so clunky and means nothing to someone who doesn’t know that “XR” stands for “mixed reality”. realityOS sounds cooler, incorporates the name of the product it powers, and better follows their recent naming conventions. xrOS → Mixed Reality Operating System? Bleh. (But this is the company that has dolled out M1 Max Macs and iPhone 14 Pro Max as product names, so 🤷♂️)
5️⃣The headset pricing is announced and starts at $2499 or less. I’m on the bandwagon that thinks (and hopes) that the rumored $3000 starting price has been seeded by Apple so that they can waltz in and severely undercut it. Granted, $2499 is hardly “affordable” compared to the $499 Meta Quest. But Apple’s never been afraid to come in at a premium price point and then have the technology trickle down to more affordable options over time.
6️⃣All the OSes feature a refreshed design language with more texture and shadows that nods toward the 3D environment for the realityOS UI. I think we got a little tease with this year’s accessibility announcements that showed more prominent and shadowed buttons. And since the headset will need a brand-new 3DUI paradigm, a refresh across the board will keep Apple’s overall software design language in step.
7️⃣New AirPods Max are announced that pair with the headset for an even more immersive setting. This is my risky pick since there haven’t been any rumors about new AirPods Max coming. But I think AirPods Max will pair perfectly with the headset for media and other environments that you want to get lost in. And since it’s been four years(!) since they were introduced, AirPods Max are due for a redo. I’d like to see them designed to be lighter-weight, in different colors, and more portable. And they need to introduce something that’s capable of playing the lossless audio that Apple Music now streams. Maybe using Ultra Wideband?
Stay tuned for when I grade the results after the keynote.
I gotta hand it to Gentler Streak, the health app that encourages more sustainable exercise. Its pricing tactics got $70 out of me when I was considering dropping the app altogether. I’d heard goodthings about it and was giving the free version a try, but didn’t feel like ponying up another subscription fee1 for the full version. I checked in tonight thinking I would just delete it and move on since I wasn’t getting all that much out of the app without their premium features. But with a massive limited-time discount off a lifetime unlock, I sprung for it.
The design of this payment flow could make for an excellent case study. ⌘
Two things pushed me over the edge — developers, pay attention because, apparently, this strategy works: First, the unlock included Family Sharing, so I felt like I was buying for “us” rather than for “me”. Second, the lifetime was close enough to the annual2 subscription price that it felt like a “no brainer”. For “just” $20 more, I could use the app forever and never have to think about another fee.
I absolutely recognize that $70 is a bunch of money to spend somewhat spontaneously on an app, especially since I wasn’t already enamored by it. But I have a feeling that I’m going to like using Gentler Streak, and I feel good about compensating developers fairly for their software. My typical threshold when I start second-guessing a subscription is when it passes $10 per year. Why there? Probably because that’s what Marco Arment charges for Overcast Premium, which is one of my most-used apps. Honestly, it feels like a bargain at that price, so it’s probably unfair that I hold other apps to that standard.
With that admittedly convoluted-yet-still-compelling logic, I feel like I just paid for seven years of Gentler Streak usage upfront (at a substantial discount off their typically yearly fee!) and then I still get to keep using it. Even if the app goes defunct or they renege on the “lifetime” unlock after that time, I’ll still feel good about the deal.
One last note. I wish I could have done the week-long free trial to make sure I actually do want and use the premium feature set. But with the limited-time deal, I didn’t want to get stuck with a more expensive price by waiting. My gut says that there would have been another substantial deal offered down the road if I had prolonged the purchase, but who knows?
In the end, the Gentler Streak developers earned $703 when they very nearly earned $0. And, as I’m fully aware, they largely earned it with good old-fashioned sales tactics. Their good reputation paved the way, but it was the pricing strategy that sealed the deal. Something to consider.
I should note here that I don’t bemoan subscription pricing for worthwhile apps. I typically prefer them for all the same reasons that developers like offering them: they get reliable, ongoing income and can continue to develop and support their app that I like to use. I want the app to get updates and to still be available for me to use 5 or 10 years down the road. I’m usually a bit dubious of lifetime unlocks for that reason — what will happen when that initial payment money runs out?↩︎
I prefer annual subscriptions to monthly ones because it typically ensures some savings and I don’t feel as nickeled-and-dimed.↩︎
Minus Apple’s cut, of course. And since it’s not a subscription, they won’t be able to take advantage of the drop from 30% to 15% commission on the second and subsequent years’ transactions. Hopefully, they’re already part of the Small Business Program!↩︎
This is my third and final letter exchange with José, as summarized by ChatGPT:
Jarrod expresses excitement for Jose’s upcoming post about his recent trip and shares the aftermath of his own intense trail run. He discusses the finale of “Ted Lasso” Season 3, acknowledging mixed feelings about the outcome. The conversation shifts to Puerto Rico, touching on the challenges of living in a territory, voting limitations, and shipping issues. They exchange insights on their respective backgrounds in graphic design and website development, with Jarrod complimenting Jose’s site and design choices. The discussion includes their daily routines, the inspiration behind HeyDingus, and thoughts on board games. Jose shares his routine, hobbies like Lego building and tennis, while expressing interest in ice climbing. Jarrod expresses appreciation for their ongoing conversation and looks forward to future exchanges.
If you’d like to be a penpal for this project, please reach out! I’d love to get you on the schedule.
My search for the perfect read—later app may never be complete, but along the way, I find delightful features that become very had to live without the next time I sample a new app. For most of 2023, I’ve been using Readwise Reader and there’s a lot to like. Enough that I’ll probably do a full review of it someday.
But for today, I’d like to express my gratitude for two relatively minor features in their mobile app that perform way above their weight class and that bring me a little bit of joy every time I use them.
They may seem obvious, but these two features are uncommon in read-later apps. ⌘
A super-fast share extension with inline options. My RSS subscription list is over full, so it’s very important to me to have a speedy workflow to save the signal and discard the noise. Reeder (the other one) is the fastest draw on the block with a fluid, one-gesture swipe option to save an article for later. The problem is that the built-in save later options don’t include Readwise Reader. Instead, I use it to instantly activate the Share sheet which is where Reader shines.
Reader’s share extension loads faster than perhaps anything else I’ve seen on the market. I used to be annoyed that it was full screen, but I’ve come to realize that when paired with the ability to tap anywhere to dismiss it, it enables part of the extension’s superpower. With two quick taps — first on the extension icon, wait for half a beat to give it a chance to finish loading, and then in any empty space — I’m back to browsing.
The pièces de résistance are the actions you can take on a saved article right from the share extension. With a single additional tap, I can delete the item if I saved it by mistake, tag it, save a comment on it, move it to my Shortlist for priority reading, or send it to archive if it’s something I’ve already read but want to save for reference. Or if I’m trying to read an article from a chaotic webpage, I’ll hit the ‘Read Now’ button to jump directly into Reader’s beautiful and clear reading view.
Archive and next. My other favorite feature needs less explanation. When I get to the end of an article, I love that Reader provides a single prominent button to both archive the current item and open up the next one. I’m already in my personally curated list of things I want to read, so I sometimes find it tedious that other apps make you go back and forth to the saved list to choose a new item each time. Going directly into the next article keeps me from getting distracted by all the choices. Sure, sometimes I do want to pick a particular piece to read, so thankfully Reader also has a traditional archive button at the bottom. But I generally get more reading done and feel less overwhelmed when I go directly from item to item with that big, beautiful button.
I don’t use every feature of Reader by any means — the Home, Feed, and Views tabs are largely wasted space for me — but the things it gets right — the share extension, reading view, narration, web app, and highlighting — it gets really right. If you haven’t tried it out, now’s a great time to try it out for free.
