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.

Let’s go!

---

00:00:01 - Back to an opening video! Hooray!

00:01:21 - “Dream it. Chase it. Code it.” Very nice.

00:01:59 - 15 years, huh?

00:02:50 - “Biggest WWDC ever”

00:03:03 - Straight into the Mac with John Ternus! Must be a hardware day!

00:04:01 - Oh yeah, gotta be the 15-inch Air!

00:05:45 - Oh man, they’re gonna sell so many of these Airs. People have been wanting it for years and years.

00:08:14 - Whoa! They already dropped the 13-inch M2 Air. Didn’t see that coming and shows they still are aiming to hit that magical $999.

00:09:08 - I didn’t have a Mac Studio update on my Bingo board. I figured it’d be an every-other-year product.

00:11:15 - 192 GB of memory. Very nice. Let’s see how much memory the Mac Pro gets…

00:12:47 - Pushes 100 million pixels. 😲

00:13:06 - Wait, are they gonna let us put cards in the Mac Studio? Wouldn’t need the Mac Pro then.

00:13:24 - Nope! MAC PRO DAY!!!

00:13:53 - I love that they kept the same case design. It’s already iconic and leaves so much headroom. Good return on that design.

00:14:33 - 😳 The equivalent of 7 Afterburner cards? That’s wild.

00:15:33 - Looks like no graphics card expansion at this point and much less RAM capabilities. Looks like that higher-level chip was axed after all.

00:17:29 - iOS, let’s go.

00:18:16 - Oh, that’s cool! But I wonder if it’ll be abused to be able to put graphics on someone else’s phone.

00:19:25 - Yes! Pixel did live voicemail first and I’ve wanted it ever since.

00:20:05 - “Power of the neural engine…” Not “AI”.

00:20:32 - Yay! Video messages!

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.

00:25:32 - Hold on, gonna NameDrop you.

00:28:51 - It’s the reincarnation of Bump!

00:29:39 - All I want here is a fixed autocorrect.

00:27:17 - Oh, would you look at that! It better be drastically, notably better or they’re gonna get (rightfully) dragged.

00:28:02 - 😲 Craig went there. 🦆ing word. Hahaha!

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.

00:29:39 - Aw, what a cute icon for Journal.

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.

00:32:00 - Bring Standby to iPad, you cowards!

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.

00:54:11 - Yaaaaas! Password sharing! Buh-bye 1Password.

00:54:47 - I don’t need Profiles for Safari right now, but I certainly would have liked it back in my corporate job.

00:55:28 - Apple just killed Unite for me. I guess their embracing of web apps closes the door to Xbox Game Pass coming to the App Store.

00:56:35 - OMG, this year’s Craig gag. Look at that guitar and those rings!! 🤣

00:57:30 - I kind of love that the AirPods system is getting elevated to the OS level of attention.

00:58:17 - Adaptive Audio and personalized volume are fascinating.

00:58:48 - Holy shit, you can just start talking to turn on transparency. I love all of this!

00:59:46 - Wait, did they just mention better Handoff for music? Is it finally coming?

01:00:35 - Siri will be able to grab audio from apps on other devices through AirPlay? That’s pretty wild.

01:01:22 - Come on collaborative playlists… Come on…

01:01:43 - Damn, SharePlay in the car is going to be one of those game-changing features that we won’t remember how we lived without.

01:02:27 - Wait, how are they doing Find My with the remote? Is that built-in to the USB-C version?

01:03:00 - FaceTime on Apple TV: AKA the Parent Feature.

01:03:45 - Okay, this is awesome. SharePlay + FaceTime. Well done, Apple TV team. 👏 (I’m gonna have to get one of those mounts, aren’t I?)

01:05:22 - I’m so ready for a refreshed watchOS. Let’s hope they don’t mess it up…

01:06:07 - Looks like the Siri watch face!

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… 😝

01:20:04 - I predict a Tim Cook “One more thing.”

01:20:54 - Nailed it.

01:21:25 - Let’s go!!!

01:21:37 - First look impression: Beautiful. Sleek. I want to wear that.

01:24:57 - Well shit! They went with “Vision”!

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?”

01:43:40 - Okay Richard, gimme the specs!

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…

WWDC Live Blog

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.

---

1️⃣ A 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.

2️⃣ iPad 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.

3️⃣ While 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.)

4️⃣ The 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 🤷‍♂️)

5️⃣ The 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.

6️⃣ All 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 3D UI paradigm, a refresh across the board will keep Apple’s overall software design language in step.

7️⃣ New 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.

---

Take a Chance

---

Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know.

7 Things WWDC

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 good things 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.

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.

---

1. 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?↩︎

2. I prefer annual subscriptions to monthly ones because it typically ensures some savings and I don’t feel as nickeled-and-dimed.↩︎

3. 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!↩︎

Apps

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.

Read the entire conversation →

---

If you’d like to be a penpal for this project, please reach out! I’d love to get you on the schedule.

PenPals

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.

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.

Apps

WWDC23 is officially one week away, and my anticipation is building. After a year of being somewhat checked out of the beta train, I’m ready for some good ol’ fashioned keynote day buzz. Rather than a detailed explanation of each thing I’m hoping for this year like I did in 2021, you’ll have to be satisfied with pretty much a copy-and-paste of my running wish list straight from the Notes app.

I’ve yet to listen to many podcast episodes or read many articles with other people’s wish lists and predictions, and we haven’t yet had the annual last-minute rumor dump before the keynote. So you’re getting my uninfluenced hopes and dreams.

I wouldn’t consider the following a set of “predictions” since I highly doubt we’ll get most (or even many) of these requests fulfilled. It’s just that I write down the annoyances I feel throughout the year (using a shortcut, of course), and they all end up on this wish list. Let’s dive in.

Hardware

• Preview of AR/VR headset
• Mac Pro gets a reveal
• Larger iMac returns, but probably isn’t called ‘iMac Pro’

Software

• Let me use the full maps application on iPhone when navigating with CarPlay rather it being stuck on the text directions
• Let me choose the destination quick links when searching for a stop in CarPlay
• Option to sync CarPlay app home screens between cars
• Lock any app or folder of apps with passcode/FaceID
• Pinned playlists in Music
• PiP video for Apple News videos
• ‘Quick Open’ in more apps (based on Files Go-To menu? CMD-Shift-G)
• Extensions and Safari shortcuts actions available in Safari View Controller
• Smart rotation lock (based on face recognition?) that can be specified per app
• Health widgets with trends
• Shortcuts actions for TV app (and/or widget to search TV app)
• System-wide highlighting (bonus points for allowing to hook into an API like Readwise)
• Allow alternate launch phrases for shortcuts for Siri (like synonyms for menu items)
• Option to pull notification settings from other devices using iCloud upon app install
• When adding shortcuts to folders, add them to the bottom so as not to disrupt widgets and other shortcuts which display from folder order
• On-device transcription (offline) for watchOS
• Clipboard manager support for iOS/iPadOS
• SF symbols everywhere 
• Add to Control Center option for Shortcuts
• Fix handed-off music playback via third-party apps and widgets
• Dismiss Share Sheet after completing a shortcut (could be an action to be added in the shortcut)
• Reorder spotlight results
• Multiple conversations with the same person in Messages
• Downloadable Offline Maps
• Make the Now Playing app on Apple Watch launch to the currently playing audio regardless of device. I don’t need an empty Now Playing for audio on the Apple Watch.
• Let me name Shortcuts Automations
• Select arbitrary shortcuts for medium and large Shortcuts widgets rather than just the first few shortcuts in a folder
• Make running shortcuts on the Apple Watch vastly faster, require fewer confirmations, and build out more actions that can change settings on the watch itself rather than changing a paired iPhone’s settings
• Overhaul widgets on macOS. They suck being constrained to Notification Center
• Overhaul Notification Center in general, starting with syncing dismissed notification and usable button targets. It’s sucked since Big Sur.
• Bring on a Passwords/Credentials/Authentication app with family-sharing support
• Always-on system extensions to iOS/iPadOS to enable things like third-party clipboard managers, text expansion, and launcher apps
• Music app overhaul that focuses on speed, Handoff support, and slicing and dicing my music library
• A compelling fitness story for the XR headset
• The Reality headset will run ‘realityOS’
• Gotta let me turn off the ‘Hide My Email’ feature; I never use it and it gets in the way
• Capturing and sending photos in Messages has to be fast; it’s very slow right now

Services

• Improvements to in-app purchases with third-party payment processing
• Solution for cloud gaming services in the App Store
• In-personal group workout support in Fitness+ (multiple Watch metrics on screen, both get credit)
• Personal training plans, like a working up to a marathon, that adapt over time to your actual performance and workouts

Initiatives

• Overhaul of Bug Bounty Program with promises of faster turnaround and better communication/transparency
• Overhaul of Feedback/Radar system with promises of better communication/transparency (The Casey Liss request)

---

Well, there you have it. I’d say my imagination for exciting new things is somewhat lacking as I’ve settled into how I use my devices day-to-day. This list, as noted above, is mostly a collection of bug fixes or feature enhancements I’d like to see.

Either way, I’ll likely come back and grade again these after the keynote. And I’m considering doing an old-school live blog of my reactions throughout the keynote. Stay tuned, I have a feeling it’s about to get wild for the summer.

WWDC

If you didn’t check out Apple’s Accessibility page earlier this month when they announced new updates coming to their operating systems for Global Accessibility Awareness Day, you owe it to yourself to make a visit. For one, it’s an impressive testament to the dedication Apple’s had to improving and expanding the accessibility features that they’ve built into their software over the last several decades. More on that below. But I also wanted to draw your attention to the lovely hero animation that plays when you open the page. Below is a GIF of it, and I’ve also recorded a video for posterity.

If this style looks familiar, it might be because it harkens back to that exquisite “sign our work” Apple keynote opener video from a decade ago, which is when I feel Apple started going all-in on text-based animations.¹ They’ve only gotten better and more ubiquitous over the years.² Nowadays, most Apple Support videos lean on text that fades, jumps, expands, and morphs to drive and summarize the content. And the style makes the content itself more accessible. You can follow along with these videos without needing to listen to them.

Speaking of making things more accessible, let’s get back to what else you’ll find at www.apple.com/accessibility. Seriously, you’ll be astounded by all the features that they’ve built up. Voice Control. Eye-tracking support. Live Listen. AssistiveTouch. Back Tap. VoiceOver. Dynamic Type. Sound Recognition. These are just a few of the features that have become mainstays in the Apple ecosystem and that people use every day to make their devices work better for them. Odds are good that everyone will use an accessibility feature in their lifetime — I know I use a few today! — so it’s worthwhile to stay on top of what’s added each year. Apple’s been at the top of their game in the accessibility field for years, and I’m always happy to see them pushing forward in this area.

By the way, did you catch the “make something wonderful” reference? Very tasteful.

---

1. Although, you could argue that the style’s true origins rest with the Keynote application, which has always had the best animations and transitions. Magic Move, baby. 👌↩︎

2. Here’s a bonus favorite video of mine that doesn’t use text, but instead beautifully morphs Apple’s physical products and UI elements into one another. I’m always struck by the incredible cohesion they’ve achieved between the software and hardware throughout their lineup these days.↩︎

I’ve had some things bouncing around my mind for a while that I’ve wanted to try out on HeyDingus. I’ve also been feeling under the weather the last few days. So, naturally, instead of taking my afternoon off to rest, I did a bunch of typing and formatting and tweaking, and am putting several of those ideas out all at once!

I’m considering them “experiments” so that I don’t feel pressured to fancy up their pages, promote them too much, or stick to a regular update schedule. And to give me the wiggle room to change my mind about them later. I hope you’ll charitably consider them the same. 😉

Lists of lists

This is the one that’s been clattering around my head for the longest. I’m always noticing funny little things and phrases, and thinking “I should write that down. I could make a good list of things like that one day!” Well, today’s that day. You can find it linked on my Projects page.

A primary list published there that I want to call out is the ‘Where Have I Been?’ one. It was Manton Reece’s post today that put a pep in my step to get all these projects out. I wrote up my places list but it needed a home, so the Lists page came together. But the List page would have been sparse with just the places entry, so I filled it out with the other bits I’ve had waiting in the Drafts wings. There are lists of icebreaker questions, business name puns, secret weird things, and more.

Should be fun!

Custom shortcuts commissions

I’m making fewer shortcuts for the Shortcuts Tips collection these days because the reality is that my day-to-day life is less computer-focused than it used to be. And I use a Windows computer at work, so it wouldn’t benefit me to try to optimize those workflows with my Apple devices. But I like making shortcuts. It engages the problem-solving bits of my brain as few other things do. And I like helping people. So I thought I’d smoosh those interests together, and try to make a few bucks along the way by accepting commissions for made-to-order shortcuts.

If you’ve got a workflow problem that you’re trying to solve — like massaging data around, getting things formatted the right way every time, or trying to get several apps to play nicely together — I’d love to try to help you find an automated solution. You’ll get a shortcut that saves you time and effort, and I get to use my favorite tool to solve new and interesting problems. I’ve got a collection of shortcuts housed on RoutineHub, and detailed write-ups here at heydingus.net/shortcuts if you want to check out my work.

Commission requests are open at my BuyMeACoffee page, and they start at just $5.

(There are a couple of bonus new experiments hiding there, too. 🥇 🎁)

‘7 Things’ goes serial

After 95 issues of the 7 Things weekly roundup, I’m adjusting the naming scheme. Rather than each post being identified by the publish date, I’ll be swapping it with a publication number in the title instead. I’ve never quite been satisfied with the date being in the title since the items contained within are rarely day-dependent. The publish date will still be visible on the post, just like every other entry here, so I don’t see the point of having it listed twice.

The new scheme will bring the project more in line with how I think of 7 Things: An ongoing, newsletter-like web series that catalogs what’s capturing my interest over time. ‘7 Things This Week [#96]’ is out now under the new format, and I’ll be working on refreshing the back catalog without, fingers crossed, breaking any permalinks.

And, to be frank, I’ll be pretty jazzed to see that number go up each week.

Chronicling updates with a changelog

Inspired by Jose Munoz’s version, I made a last-minute addition late this tonight (read: early this morning). I created a changelog where I’ll keep track of the major updates for this site. Things like new pages, changes to the header or footer, and design updates will make their way onto this page. I’ll personally use it as a reference, but perhaps others, too, will find it interesting to see how the site evolves over time.

If I get a wild hare and can track down approximate dates, I’ll try to add notable updates from the first two years of HeyDingus onto the log as well.

---

Although they’re not revolutionary, I am pretty excited to be getting these projects off the ground. If you have ideas, questions, or suggestions, I’m all ears.

Blogging Shortcuts

A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.

---

1️⃣ The idea that any species on Earth could be older than Saturn’s rings is absolutely bonkers. [🔗 phys.org] (via Jason Kottke)

2️⃣ I don’t use the Arc browser, but this showcase by Matt Birchler of the Boosts and Zaps you can do to webpages looks pretty awesome. The visual interface of just clicking the things you don’t want to see is so smart. [▶️ A Better Computer // youtube.com]

3️⃣ Elon Musk’s (and many others) facade of standing for “free speech” really grinds my gears. It’s too bad that terms like “free speech” and “censorship” have become so loaded and so widely misunderstood. They give me that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when invoked these days. The classic McSweeney’s dry humor takes the sting off while pointing out the absurdity. [🔗 Mike Langley // mcsweeneys.net] (See also, Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales’ response to Musk)

4️⃣ I’m fascinated by how Manton’s I-don’t-want-to-call-it-a-throwaway-post-but-I’m-sure-he-didn’t-expect-it-to-take-off-like—this post listing all the places he’s visited has taken Micro.blog by storm today. Check out all the replies to his post, and others his inspired. [🔗 Manton Reece // manton.org]

5️⃣ I happened across a sped-up version of ‘This Is The Life’ in a random Instagram Reel and then proceeded to listen to the normal version and faster one on repeat. I’m listening again now. It’s simple but there’s something extra catchy about it, and I like both versions. [🎵 Amy MacDonald // album.link]

6️⃣ Squarespace is now the granddaddy of drag-and-drop website building, but there’s a flashy new kid on the block. MMM takes the dragging mechanism to the next level with everything being movable to any arbitrary position. No snap-to-grid constraints. It’s a beta, but the demo edit page you can try is super solid and easy to use even on an iPhone mini. [🔗 mmm.page] (Via Vincent Ritter)

7️⃣ Lex Friedman’s Avenue Q audition saga has finally come to a close. It sounds like I wasn’t the only one on the edge of my seat wondering if he’d get a part. I won’t spoil it because the Your Daily Lex podcast episodes are super short, and it’s an entertaining arc that you should listen to. The final episode is linked. [🎧 Lex Friedman // lex.micro.blog]

---

Take a Chance

---

Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know.

7 Things

Not too long ago, Greg Morris asked, “I need some more RSS feeds in my life. Who’s in your feed that you can’t live without?” I didn’t have an answer for him at the time, but it prompted me to start to build out my own RSS feed list with more diverse voices than I was used to getting. One feed that made its way into my RSS reader (and I wish I could remember where I discovered it) was the one for the top trending posts using Bear Blog.

I don’t know much about Bear Blog, but I understand it to be a drop-dead simple blogging platform. With little room for CSS tweaks or much customization at all, instead, Bear Blog simply encourages folks to fill the blank page with words and publish to the web. Bear Blog posts can be upvoted, or “toasted” in their parlance, and the ones receiving the most toasts each day end up in this RSS feed.

It’s a pretty genius idea. It’s like bare-bones blogging meets upvote-only Reddit. And since I’m subscribed to this aggregation feed rather than ones for individual authors, I never know what’s going to end up in my lap. It could be an intimate account of one’s day. It could be a brain dump for one’s personal knowledge management system. It could be a lovely short essay about the nature of blogging itself and sharing things online.

One thing that I appreciate about this random assortment of letters from the web is that they don’t all come from internet nerds like myself. Many of these writers just wanted a text box to funnel thoughts into. They didn’t set out to fiddle with their pages, themes, feeds, and links. They don’t worry about where each particular post should live. They just needed an outlet for their thoughts. They write about things far outside the tech-related bubble I’ve formed around myself. It’s refreshing.

I often find myself tapping through to get to the author’s home page and getting lost in their archives. Rarely do I subscribe to a Bear Blog author’s feed — I’m trying to cut down on inputs — nor do I read every trending post. But I can tell you that it feels like I’m opening a delightful little mystery box every time I tap into a Bear Blog post in my feed reader. You just never know what you’re gonna get.

Blogging