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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Michael Tsai</title> <atom:link href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog</link> <description></description> <lastBuildDate>Sun, 26 Oct 2025 02:05:29 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2</generator> <item> <title>Sky Acquired by OpenAI</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/sky-acquired-by-openai/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/sky-acquired-by-openai/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2025 19:11:01 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Acquisition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ChatGPT]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[OpenAI]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sky]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49775</guid> <description><![CDATA[OpenAI (Hacker News): We will bring Sky’s deep macOS integration and product craft into ChatGPT, and all members of the team will join OpenAI. John Voorhees: I’m not surprised by this development at all. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity have all been developing features similar to what Sky could do for a while now. In addition, […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://openai.com/index/openai-acquires-software-applications-incorporated/">OpenAI</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45684236">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://openai.com/index/openai-acquires-software-applications-incorporated/"><p>We will bring Sky’s deep macOS integration and product craft into ChatGPT, and all members of the team will join OpenAI.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macstories.net/news/sky-acquired-by-openai/">John Voorhees</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macstories.net/news/sky-acquired-by-openai/"><p>I’m not surprised by this development at all. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity have all been developing features similar to what Sky could do for a while now. In addition, Sam Altman was an investor in Software Applications Incorporated, the company behind Sky.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/10/openai-acquires-the-team-that-made-apples-shortcuts/">Samuel Axon</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/10/openai-acquires-the-team-that-made-apples-shortcuts/"><p>That includes SAI co-founders Ari Weinstein (CEO), Conrad Kramer (CTO), and Kim Beverett (Product Lead)—all of whom worked together for several years at Apple after Apple acquired Weinstein and Kramer’s previous company, which produced an automation tool called Workflows, to integrate Shortcuts across Apple’s software platforms.</p><p>The three SAI founders left Apple to work on Sky, which leverages Apple APIs and accessibility features to provide context about what’s on screen to a large language model; the LLM takes plain language user commands and executes them across multiple applications. At its best, the tool aimed to be a bit like Shortcuts, but with no setup, generating workflows on the fly based on user prompts.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://taoofmac.com/space/links/2025/10/23/2040">Rui Carmo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://taoofmac.com/space/links/2025/10/23/2040"><p>Well, guess what: OpenAI did what Apple should have done and acquired them.</p><p>[…]</p><p>At the time it was announced I ranted on about how Apple had managed to mis-manage this kind of talent and vision for Mac automation so badly that they ended up leaving the company <em>and</em> not having any of what they showed at the time incorporated in Apple Intelligence, and I am sticking to my guns on that one[…]</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/23/openai-shortcuts-creators/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/23/openai-shortcuts-creators/"><p>OpenAI’s Sky acquisition comes just a day after OpenAI announced ChatGPT Atlas, a new browser that’s designed to compete with Safari and Chrome.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/rjonesy/status/1980714870283858246">Ryan Jones</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/rjonesy/status/1980714870283858246"><p>It’s a chatbot.<br />It’s a browser.<br />It’s an OS.</p><p>Are you getting it yet @Apple?</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/22/chatgpt-atlas/">ChatGPT Atlas</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/03/sky-preview/">Sky Preview</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/sky-acquired-by-openai/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Europe vs. App Tracking Transparency</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/europe-vs-app-tracking-transparency/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/europe-vs-app-tracking-transparency/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2025 19:10:53 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Antitrust]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Tracking Transparency]]></category> <category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category> <category><![CDATA[France]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Germany]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Italy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49773</guid> <description><![CDATA[Marcus Mendes: In its statement issued earlier this week to the German Press Agency, Apple said the following:“Intense lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy and other countries in Europe may force us to withdraw this feature to the detriment of European consumers. (…) We will continue to urge the relevant authorities in Germany, Italy and across […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/23/apple-decries-intense-lobbying-threatens-to-turn-off-app-tracking-transparency-in-europe/">Marcus Mendes</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/23/apple-decries-intense-lobbying-threatens-to-turn-off-app-tracking-transparency-in-europe/"><p>In its statement issued earlier this week to the <em>German Press Agency</em>, Apple said the following:</p><blockquote><p>“Intense lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy and other countries in Europe may force us to withdraw this feature to the detriment of European consumers. (…) We will continue to urge the relevant authorities in Germany, Italy and across Europe to allow Apple to continue providing this important privacy tool to our users.”</p></blockquote></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/23/apple-app-tracking-transparency-europe/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/23/apple-app-tracking-transparency-europe/"><p>Germany launched a probe into App Tracking Transparency <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2022/06/14/apple-faces-antitrust-probe-into-att/">back in 2022</a>, and in February 2025, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office preliminarily ruled that Apple abused its market power with ATT, giving itself preferential treatment, even though Apple says it does not collect data from third-party apps. The cartel said that Apple’s restrictions made it “far more difficult” for app publishers to access user data relevant for advertising.</p><p>In March 2025, Apple was <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/31/apple-hit-with-162-million-fine-over-att/">fined 150 million euros</a> by France’s Competition Authority. French regulators said that Apple complicated the process for users to opt out of tracking and unfairly disadvantaged third-party developers and ad providers. Apple is facing a similar investigation in Italy, with a ruling expected later this year.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115429614583696738">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115429614583696738"><p>Apple would rather disable app tracking prevention in Europe entirely than to have to conform to the rules in its own apps that it imposes on third party developers.</p><p>And then it tries to blame regulators and lobbyists for the situation.</p><p>At every turn, Apple is determined to prove that it’s a scummy company that can’t remotely be trusted</p><p>“Apple (…) holds itself to a higher standard than it requires of any third-party developer. [Just trust us, bro 🤞]”</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@joshcalvetti/115430068647873280">Josh Calvetti</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@joshcalvetti/115430068647873280"><p>Apple does LOTS of telemetry and tracking in their apps. They just believe that it’s okay because they are trustworthy because they said so.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mas.to/@carnage4life/115427394492531747">Dare Obasanjo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mas.to/@carnage4life/115427394492531747"><p>You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.</p><p>Regulators are now catching on how Apple uses protecting users as an excuse for anticompetitive practices.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/meta-allegedly-bypassed-app-tracking-transparency/">Meta Allegedly Bypassed App Tracking Transparency</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/">Lessons From San Bernardino and ICEBlock</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/04/03/france-fines-apple-over-app-tracking-transparency/">France Fines Apple Over App Tracking Transparency</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/11/26/app-store-search-queries-appear-to-violate-data-minimization-practices/">App Store Search Queries Appear to Violate Data Minimization Practices</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/04/15/keeping-your-data-from-apple-is-harder-than-expected/">Keeping Your Data From Apple Is Harder Than Expected</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/02/15/lawsuits-over-apple-analytics-switch/">Lawsuits Over Apple Analytics Switch</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/08/12/apple-is-building-a-demand-side-platform/">Apple Is Building a Demand-side Platform</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/08/11/french-publishers-make-app-store-antitrust-complaint/">French Publishers Make App Store Antitrust Complaint</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/06/29/german-antitrust-probe-into-app-tracking-transparency/">German Antitrust Probe Into App Tracking Transparency</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/04/20/plenty-of-tracking-despite-app-tracking-transparency/">Plenty of Tracking Despite App Tracking Transparency</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/12/17/expectations-when-opting-out-of-tracking/">Expectations When Opting Out of Tracking</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/05/07/does-apple-news-track-you/">Does Apple News Track You?</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/05/05/facebook-educates-about-app-tracking-transparency/">Facebook Educates About App Tracking Transparency</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/04/02/snapchats-app-tracking-transparency-workaround/">Snapchat’s App Tracking Transparency Workaround</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/europe-vs-app-tracking-transparency/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>10</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>What Happened to Apple’s Legendary Attention to Detail?</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/what-happened-to-apples-legendary-attention-to-detail/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/what-happened-to-apples-legendary-attention-to-detail/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2025 19:10:33 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Software Quality]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Files.app]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS 15 Sequoia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Multiple Displays]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Reminders]]></category> <category><![CDATA[WebKit]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49771</guid> <description><![CDATA[John Ozbay (Hacker News): In my mind, “Apple” as a brand used to be synonymous with “attention to detail” but sadly, over the course of the last 8 - 10 years, their choices have become anything but detail oriented.[…]If you are privacy conscious like me, and don’t give the Reminders app permission to access your […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://blog.johnozbay.com/what-happened-to-apples-attention-to-detail.html">John Ozbay</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45685551">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://blog.johnozbay.com/what-happened-to-apples-attention-to-detail.html"><p>In my mind, “Apple” as a brand used to be synonymous with “attention to detail” but sadly, over the course of the last 8 - 10 years, their choices have become anything but detail oriented.</p><p>[…]</p><p>If you are privacy conscious like me, and don’t give the Reminders app permission to access your location, it will ask you for location permissions <em>every single damn time</em> you launch it.</p><p>[…]</p><p>For some reason, Mac OS X doesn’t have a standard and consistent design for tabs.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Here’s the iOS 26 Files app in dark mode, and light mode side by side. Notice anything missing? Like the folder name or the barely visible down arrow? It’s almost as if they haven’t tested iOS 26 in dark mode at all.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I fired up Settings to disable transparency, and none of the icons showed up there at first. […] Feeling frustrated beyond measure, I enabled “reduced transparency” mode, which fixed the icons but broke other things even further.</p></blockquote> <p>There are just a huge number of little problems, which really degrade the experience of Apple’s platforms. This morning, the “d” key on my keyboard stopped working. This has happened several times over the last few months. I know it’s a software issue because the problem also occurs with other keyboards (both Bluetooth and USB). Restarting the Mac always fixes it. When I tried that today, the Mac showed the login prompt on the wrong display and in the wrong resolution. After a few seconds it moved to the proper display. I started typing my password but, even though I use a USB keyboard, the first few characters were dropped, and I had to backspace and start again. There was a little glitch where nothing happened for a second or two after I pressed Delete. After booting finished, everything was extremely slow for no apparent reason. The cursor was jumpy. Moving between messages in Mail took several seconds even though it was otherwise idle. LaunchBar took a few <em>minutes</em> to finish launching. I clicked on iStat Menus to see what was going on, and it took 30 seconds for the menu to pull down. Activity Monitor showed little CPU use and disk activity, and samples just seemed to show various apps spending lots of time waiting. Eventually, everything returned to normal speed.</p> <p>A few years ago, I started collecting links for a massive post about design paper cuts. I never found the time to write it all up, and many of the posts have since been deleted, but it seems worth including some of the relevant links here instead of letting them languish in a draft:</p> <ul><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110198664922088029">The “…” button in Music.app</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@chockenberry/110306632254824163">The play button on icons</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/110313810815576613">Buttons in Control Center</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@gruber/110313691364236126">Learn Spelling</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@cocoadog/110328936518981825">Focus stealing in Maps</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/110328543489115762">Zombie apps in Settings</a></li><li><a href="https://social.dezinezync.com/@nikhil/110333391794665073">Catalyst breakage</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/110346962545916999">Menu shortcuts that look disabled</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/110364210066644315">Final Cut Pro’s preferences</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@caseyliss/110361361422410207">Hiding controls upon scroll</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@andrewabernathy/110358041965649646">Safari auto-completion</a></li><li><a href="https://annoying.technology/posts/e39b394c859a39f0/">Zombie Apple Arcade notifications</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/110367892591218301">Hidden Help buttons in System Settings</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@_inside/110385553093519850">Emoji truncation in Terminal</a></li><li><a href="https://twit.social/@glennf/110413296951854813">Apple Watch calling 911 instead of shutting down</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/krzyzanowskim/status/1659972468038041602">iOS navigation in macOS apps</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/krzyzanowskim/status/1660614306843574273">Music forgetting what was playing</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110458019066053754">Numbers search failures</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/110458426185322127">“Empty Junk” in iCloud Mail </a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/110453877721896607">System Settings modal sheet navigation</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110587683758191917">Volumes disappearing from Spotlight Privacy</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110589093142600263">Numbers ignoring clicks</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110595069385896512">Safari security sheet</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110595445890055568">Failure to eject disks</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110610497074592547">? icons in Finder toolbar</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110613629533102312">Search in System Settings</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110627775783607393">Disks missing from Disk Utility and Startup Disk</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110627943007713717">Windows moving to the wrong display after restarting</a></li><li><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@command_tab/110625999686110676">Music playing the wrong version of songs</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@tolmasky/110652431063281464">Safari Find in Page</a></li><li><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/110746842528318790">Accessing windows from hidden apps</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/110827048985100494">Inconsistent window layouts</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@chbeer/110830179774673009">Radio buttons without clickable titles</a></li><li><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/110849707542840481">Pop-up buttons without arrows or highlighted state</a></li><li><a href="https://ruby.social/@collin/110930078140724919">Terminal layout bug</a></li><li><a href="https://stevejobsdied.com/post/717219620509106176/look-im-really-trying-not-to-nit-pick-here-but">More…</a></li></ul> <p><a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/creative-neglect-what-about-the-apps-in-apple/">Joe Rosensteel</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/creative-neglect-what-about-the-apps-in-apple/"><p>One of the things that I think about from time to time is Apple’s collection of apps. Some are the crown jewels, like Apple’s pro apps, and others help an everyday consumer to tackle their iLife. All are pretty starved for attention and resources, outside of infrequent updates aligned with showing off the native power of Apple Silicon, Apple Intelligence, or demos of platform integration that never quite get all the way there.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/liquid-glass-toggle-in-appleos-26-1-beta/">Liquid Glass Toggle in appleOS 26.1 Beta</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/clips-discontinued/">Clips Discontinued</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/03/28/apple-needs-a-snow-sequoia/">Apple Needs a Snow Sequoia</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/06/01/wwdc-2023-wish-lists/">WWDC 2023 Wish Lists</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/06/01/centering-the-macos-ventura-form-layout/">Centering the macOS Ventura Form Layout</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/05/26/disabling-quick-look-in-icon-previews/">Disabling Quick Look In-Icon Previews</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2017/11/29/why-little-bugs-need-to-get-fixed/">Why Little Bugs Need to Get Fixed</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/what-happened-to-apples-legendary-attention-to-detail/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>29</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Excel for iOS Borked</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/excel-for-ios-borked/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/excel-for-ios-borked/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2025 19:08:46 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Microsoft Excel]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49769</guid> <description><![CDATA[Thomas Claburn: Microsoft Excel for the past week has been hanging or crashing on iOS and iPadOS devices, to customers’ great annoyance.The problems appear to have begun following the release of Excel version 2.102.1 for iOS and iPadOS on October 13, 2025. The release added support for Apple’s Liquid Glass design, which debuted with the […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/23/microsoft_excel_for_ios/">Thomas Claburn</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/23/microsoft_excel_for_ios/"><p>Microsoft Excel for the past week has been hanging or crashing on iOS and iPadOS devices, to customers’ great annoyance.</p><p>The problems appear to have begun following the release of <a href="https://apps.apple.com/ro/app/microsoft-excel/id586683407">Excel version 2.102.1 for iOS and iPadOS</a> on October 13, 2025. The release added support for Apple’s Liquid Glass design, which debuted with the September 15, 2025 release of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 – also credited with <a href="https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/all-reported-ios-26-bugs-and-issues-with-fixes/">dozens of bugs</a>.</p><p><em>The Register</em> downloaded Excel for iOS, version 2.102.2, released three days ago, and found the app non-functional. The “+ Create” icon did not respond to touch events, which prevented the creation of a new spreadsheet from the menu of provided templates.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Reports of problems began surfacing about a week ago and have continued since then.</p></blockquote><p>Poor testing and communication from Microsoft, and because of the App Store customers have no way to revert to the last stable version.</p><p id="excel-for-ios-borked-update-2025-10-24">Update (<a href="#excel-for-ios-borked-update-2025-10-24">2025-10-24</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.cloud/@Schwieb/115431270677835945">Erik Schwiebert</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.cloud/@Schwieb/115431270677835945"><p>This has been addressed. It was unfortunately the intersection of a latent client-side bug (been there for a long time) and a change in a server-side policy that exposed the latent bug; the issue was not connected to the monthly update and Liquid Glass changes. It took more time than desired to identify the server-side change as the root cause.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/24/excel-for-ios-borked/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>9</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>General Motors Doubles Down on Removing CarPlay</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/23/general-motors-doubles-down-on-removing-carplay/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/23/general-motors-doubles-down-on-removing-carplay/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2025 19:01:59 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Music]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Car]]></category> <category><![CDATA[CarPlay]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Google Gemini/Bard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49756</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover: General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down.In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/22/gm-phasing-out-carplay-all-cars/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/22/gm-phasing-out-carplay-all-cars/"><p>General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down.</p><p>In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with <em><a href="https://www.theverge.com/transportation/804562/gm-apple-carplay-android-auto-gas-cars-mary-barra">The Verge</a></em>, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the change will eventually expand across the entire GM portfolio.</p><p>[…]</p><p>GM Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson <a href="https://www.theverge.com/podcast/803379/gm-ceo-mary-barra-sterling-anderson-cadillac-iq-ev-autonomy-interview">suggested</a> that GM’s decision to embrace its own system is a “very Jobsian approach to things” that he likened to phasing out the disk drive.</p></blockquote> <p>I would just be laughing at this except I worry about getting stuck with a GM rental car.</p> <p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/22/gm-carplay-android-auto">John Gruber</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/22/gm-carplay-android-auto"><p>Someone should investigate whether Mary Barra is a mole planted at GM by Ford.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://joe-steel.com/2025-10-22-Why-GM-Will-Give-You-Gemini-But-Not-CarPlay.html">Joe Rosensteel</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://joe-steel.com/2025-10-22-Why-GM-Will-Give-You-Gemini-But-Not-CarPlay.html"><p>Allow me to summarize this: Mary really wants to sell services, or have recurring revenue from partnerships and deals with companies in services to earn money over the lifespan of the vehicle. She cites how disorienting it is to jump in and out of CarPlay, but that’s hardly a hurdle that justifies the development work they’re putting into <em>not</em> supporting CarPlay and Android Auto projection systems.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The only salient point he raises is that there are features of the car that do not currently integrate with CarPlay, or CarPlay Ultra. It can’t do anything with Super Cruise. Apple, as far as I know, has no real plans for integrating Maps on a phone with any kind of assisted driving, or autonomous technology. I hope that they are working on something for that.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I do think Mary Barra would love to cut a deal with Apple to have Apple Music as an app on their own platform. Apple currently offers Apple Music apps for Tesla and Rivian and neither has ever supported CarPlay, because it is far more important to Apple to get the recurring services revenue than it is for them to use Apple Music as some kind of wedge issue for car shoppers.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I’m not going to sign up for a GM federated ID that stores my login credentials in their cloud. I’m not going to individually sign into apps in the car like Google Maps with my Google ID that I use for way more than just navigation.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/testing-carplay-ultra/">Testing CarPlay Ultra</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/carplay-in-ios-26/">CarPlay in iOS 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/04/04/general-motors-to-phase-out-carplay/">General Motors to Phase Out CarPlay</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/01/27/the-enshittification-of-all-things/">The Enshittification of All Things</a></li></ul> <p id="general-motors-doubles-down-on-removing-carplay-update-2025-10-24">Update (<a href="#general-motors-doubles-down-on-removing-carplay-update-2025-10-24">2025-10-24</a>): See also: <a href="https://talk.macpowerusers.com/t/gm-is-ditching-apple-carplay-and-android-auto-on-all-future-cars/43226/13">Mac Power Users</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://sfba.social/@drahardja/115425088933576060">Dave Rahardja</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://sfba.social/@drahardja/115425088933576060"><p>My interest in buying new cars is already at an all-time low. Now GM products are crossed off the list.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The main benefit for me is that I carry the <em>state</em> with me. Podcasts, for example, will pick up where I left off. Text messages read/unread state will update accordingly, and so on.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/23/general-motors-doubles-down-on-removing-carplay/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>10</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>UK: Commission Lawsuit Ruling and Strategic Market Status</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/23/uk-commission-lawsuit-ruling-and-strategic-market-status/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/23/uk-commission-lawsuit-ruling-and-strategic-market-status/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2025 19:01:55 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Android]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Antitrust]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category> <category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Google]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lawsuit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[United Kingdom]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49754</guid> <description><![CDATA[Sam Tobin: Apple abused its dominant position by charging app developers unfair commissions, a London tribunal ruled on Thursday, in a blow which could leave the U.S. tech company on the hook for hundreds of millions of pounds in damages.[…]Thursday’s ruling comes after Apple was hit with a complaint to European antitrust regulators over the […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/apple-loses-uk-lawsuit-over-app-store-commissions-2025-10-23/">Sam Tobin</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/apple-loses-uk-lawsuit-over-app-store-commissions-2025-10-23/"><p>Apple abused its dominant position by charging app developers unfair commissions, a London tribunal ruled on Thursday, in a blow which could leave the U.S. tech company on the hook for hundreds of millions of pounds in damages.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Thursday’s ruling comes after Apple was hit with a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/apple-hit-with-eu-antitrust-complaint-over-app-store-terms-2025-10-22/">complaint to European antitrust regulators</a> over the terms and conditions of its App Store under rules aimed at reining in Big Tech.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Rachael Kent, the British academic who brought the case, argued Apple had made “exorbitant profits” by excluding all competition for the distribution of apps and in-app purchases.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/22/u-k-designates-apple-and-google-as-having-strategic-market-status-opening-door-for-more-regulation/">Sarah Perez</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/22/u-k-designates-apple-and-google-as-having-strategic-market-status-opening-door-for-more-regulation/"><p>The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday that it’s designating Apple and Google with strategic market status in their respective mobile platforms. The decision, which affects the companies’ operating systems, app stores, browsers, and browser engines, will enable the regulator to take targeted actions to enhance competition in the space.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Among other findings, the CMA discovered that U.K. mobile device owners are unlikely to switch between Apple and Google’s mobile platforms once they have adopted the ecosystem of their choice. It noted that both platforms require businesses to distribute apps through their app stores to reach consumers.</p><p>Notably, it also said that new technologies, like AI, were “unlikely to eliminate Apple or Google’s market power over the five-year designation period.”</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/app-store-china-uk/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/app-store-china-uk/"><p>Pretty soon it may be easier to list the significant markets in which Apple is still able to exercise complete control over iOS app distribution.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/03/google-search-remedies/">Google Search Remedies</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/12/06/uk-app-store-commission-lawsuit/">UK App Store Commission Lawsuit</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/12/04/uk-cma-vs-apples-browser-rules/">UK CMA vs. Apple’s Browser Rules</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/09/06/dma-gatekeepers-designated/">DMA Gatekeepers Designated</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/07/27/uk-antitrust-lawsuit-over-app-store-fees/">UK Antitrust Lawsuit Over App Store Fees</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/01/27/apple-appeals-uk-cma-decision/">Apple Appeals UK CMA Decision</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/03/11/apple-responds-to-uk-cma-interim-report/">Apple Responds to UK CMA Interim Report</a></li></ul> <p id="uk-commission-lawsuit-ruling-and-strategic-market-status-update-2025-10-24">Update (<a href="#uk-commission-lawsuit-ruling-and-strategic-market-status-update-2025-10-24">2025-10-24</a>): <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/23/apple-loses-uk-app-store-lawsuit/">Juli Clover</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45688006">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/23/apple-loses-uk-app-store-lawsuit/"><p>According to the CAT, Apple had a monopoly over iOS app distribution and in-app payments. Apple’s argument that Android and other platforms were viable alternatives for consumers and developers was rejected. The Tribunal also did not accept Apple’s argument that its rules and fees were required for user security and privacy.</p><p>[…]</p><p>A damages trial is scheduled for November. Apple said it will appeal the ruling.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/23/uk-commission-lawsuit-ruling-and-strategic-market-status/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Regulatory Complaint About App Store in China</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/23/regulatory-complaint-about-app-store-in-china/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/23/regulatory-complaint-about-app-store-in-china/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2025 19:01:49 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Antitrust]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[China]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49752</guid> <description><![CDATA[Hartley Charlton: A law firm in China has filed a new antitrust complaint accusing Apple of abusing its control over iOS app distribution and payments, escalating a dispute that previously failed in civil court by seeking action from state regulators instead, Reuters reports. […] Wang has now re-opened the case more broadly via a different […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/20/apple-faces-app-store-challenges-in-china/">Hartley Charlton</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/20/apple-faces-app-store-challenges-in-china/"><p>A law firm in China has filed a new antitrust complaint accusing Apple of abusing its control over iOS app distribution and payments, escalating a dispute that previously failed in civil court by seeking action from state regulators instead, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/china-consumers-file-antitrust-complaint-against-apple-over-app-store-practices-2025-10-20/"><em>Reuters</em> reports</a>.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Wang has now re-opened the case more broadly via a different channel, telling the media that the new administrative complaint is intended to prompt regulatory enforcement rather than a civil judgment. Unlike the 2021 filing, this complaint incorporates a comparative argument based on changes made in other jurisdictions. The filing asserts that Apple is continuing to operate a closed App Store in China while permitting alternative payment methods and sideloading in the European Union following enforcement of the Digital Markets Act and a U.S. court ruling that obliges Apple to allow outside payment links.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/02/apple-in-china/">Apple in China</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/13/chinese-app-store-antitrust-probe/">Chinese App Store Antitrust Probe</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/23/regulatory-complaint-about-app-store-in-china/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>ChatGPT Atlas</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/22/chatgpt-atlas/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/22/chatgpt-atlas/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2025 20:28:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[AppleScript]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ChatGPT]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ChatGPT Atlas]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Chromium]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[OpenAI]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web Browser]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49735</guid> <description><![CDATA[OpenAI (MacRumors, Reddit): Today we’re introducing ChatGPT Atlas, a new web browser built with ChatGPT at its core. […] With Atlas, ChatGPT can come with you anywhere across the web—helping you in the window right where you are, understanding what you’re trying to do, and completing tasks for you, all without copying and pasting or […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-atlas/">OpenAI</a> (<a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/21/chatgpt-atlas-browser/">MacRumors</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1ociphv/openais_aipowered_browser_chatgpt_atlas_is_here/">Reddit</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-atlas/"><p>Today we’re introducing ChatGPT Atlas, a new web browser built with ChatGPT at its core.</p><p>[…]</p><p>With Atlas, ChatGPT can come with you anywhere across the web—helping you in the window right where you are, understanding what you’re trying to do, and completing tasks for you, all without copying and pasting or leaving the page. Your ChatGPT memory is built in, so conversations can draw on past chats and details to help you get new things done.</p><p>[…]</p><p>ChatGPT Atlas is launching worldwide on macOS today to Free, Plus, Pro, and Go users. Atlas is also available in beta for Business, and if enabled by their plan administrator, for Enterprise and Edu users. Experiences for Windows, iOS, and Android are coming soon.</p></blockquote> <p>Alas, it doesn’t support AppleScript and has System Settings–style preferences.</p> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/chatgpt-atlas/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/chatgpt-atlas/"><p>Atlas, like <a href="https://www.perplexity.ai/comet">Perplexity’s Comet</a>, is a Chromium-based browser. You cannot use it without signing in to ChatGPT.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The <a href="https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12574142-chatgpt-atlas-data-controls-and-privacy#:~:text=We%20use%20these%20summaries%20to%20update%20the%20browser%20memories%20that%20users%20see%20and%20control.%20We%20delete%20web%20contents%20right%20after%20they%20are%20summarized%2C%20and%20delete%20the%20privacy%2Dfiltered%20summaries%20within%207%20days.">company says</a> it only retains pages until they have been summarized, and I am sure it thinks it is taking privacy as seriously as it can. But what about <a href="https://pxlnv.com/blog/carelessness-of-perplexity/">down the road</a>? What could it do with all of this data it <em>does</em> retain — information that is tied to your ChatGPT account?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://birchtree.me/blog/the-next-big-browser-is-here/">Matt Birchler</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://birchtree.me/blog/the-next-big-browser-is-here/"><p>The new tab page is predictably a text box that intelligently does what you ask it to do, routing your queries to perform web searches, start a standard ChatGPT chat, or simply load a website from your bookmarks or history. You can, of course, also just paste in the URL and go.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I’m also a big proponent of the “show full URL in address bar” feature in all browsers, and I’m happy to see this is here as well. It’s a little thing, but I’m always worried it’s on its way out.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The app does not have an agent mode as of yet, but it sounds like that will be coming in the relatively near future. My experience with these modes in other browsers has been a major letdown, so we’ll see if OpenAI can do any better, but I’m not holding my breath here.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://thejollyteapot.com/2025/10/22/not-my-kind-of-web-browser/">Nicolas Magand</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://thejollyteapot.com/2025/10/22/not-my-kind-of-web-browser/"><p>I use the ChatGPT app at work, and I actually like having a separate window for all A.I. shenanigans: I can switch apps quickly, I can close it, and I can call it with a keyboard shortcut. Sure, it’s way more limited, and I need to jump from one app to another more often, but I actually see this as a feature.</p><p>This is not just about Atlas; I haven’t read about any cool use case of an A.I. browser, whether it is Dia or Comet. Maybe this new browser will change things, maybe it will reach more people and we will see good examples, but so far, it feels like even folks at OpenAI struggled to find compelling use cases. Or maybe I was too bored by the video to pay attention?</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/ai-in-chrome-neon-and-dia/">AI in Chrome, Neon, and Dia</a></li></ul> <p id="chatgpt-atlas-update-2025-10-23">Update (<a href="#chatgpt-atlas-update-2025-10-23">2025-10-23</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@lvalenta/115421766737219182">Lukas Valenta</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@lvalenta/115421766737219182"><p>I can confirm there is an agent mode - alas, it is hard to find (at least to me) - it is hidden in “chat rectangle” preferences.</p><p>I’ve tried it for two tasks - finding ticket and filling the whole booking for me (worked great), and then create a new identifier + app in Apple developer / AppStore Connect. Had to manually step in once (didn’t change account), had to confirm once.</p><p>I think with correct prompts, this may be the way to optimize these tasks we don’t like anyway.</p></blockquote><p>Certainly interesting, but I’m skeptical about giving an LLM this sort of access to my accounts.</p> <p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/22/openai_defends_atlas_as_prompt/">Thomas Claburn</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/22/openai_defends_atlas_as_prompt/"><p>OpenAI’s brand new Atlas browser is more than willing to follow commands maliciously embedded in a web page, an attack type known as indirect prompt injection.</p><p>Prompt injection vulnerability is a common flaw among browsers that incorporate AI agents like Perplexity’s <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/09/perplexity_comet_browser/">Comet</a> and <a href="https://fellou.ai/">Fellou</a>, as noted in <a href="https://brave.com/blog/unseeable-prompt-injections/">a report</a> published by Brave Software on Tuesday, coincidentally amid OpenAI’s handwaving about the debut of Atlas.</p><p>[…]</p><p>A spokesperson pointed to a lengthy X <a href="https://x.com/cryps1s/status/1981037851279278414">post</a> published Wednesday by Dane Stuckey, OpenAI’s chief information security officer, that acknowledges the possibility of prompt injection and touches on various mitigation strategies.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/22/chatgpt-atlas/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>16</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Radiccio 1.0</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/22/radiccio-1-0/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/22/radiccio-1-0/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2025 20:27:58 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Music]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MusicKit]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49733</guid> <description><![CDATA[Crispy Crunchy Computerware (Mastodon): I wanted to go back to a simpler time. I wanted a music app that gives me easy access to my music – organized the way I want – and provides a comfortable, peaceful environment to listen to it. I wanted an app that provides an abundance of useful tools, but […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://radiccio.music/news/2025/10/22/introducing-radiccio">Crispy Crunchy Computerware</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@Radiccio/115418289235622152">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://radiccio.music/news/2025/10/22/introducing-radiccio"><p>I wanted to go back to a simpler time. I wanted a music app that gives me easy access to my music – organized the way I want – and provides a comfortable, peaceful environment to listen to it. I wanted an app that provides an abundance of useful tools, but doesn’t insist upon using them a certain way. I wanted an app that could help me remember the joy of collecting and listening to digital music.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Radiccio supports playing music from multiple types of sources, including files on your Mac, Apple Music, Plex, and Jellyfin. It includes features both new and familiar, including Librarian, pins, favorites, auto skip, journal, and more.</p><p>You can use Radiccio with one “On My Mac” source and an Apple Music source for free, with no time limit. If you want to add additional sources, we offer a paid subscription called Radiccio Plus!, and a free trial is available for eligible customers.</p><p>[…]</p><p>This is also important to me: Your files are yours. Your data is yours. Radiccio doesn’t modify your audio files. The Librarian data file also belongs to you; that’s why I put it out in the open, where you can easily find it. […] I designed Radiccio to be the opposite of lock-in; I want you to feel like you can leave at any time.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I have done my best to provide the best Apple Music experience I think I can. However, it was quite a challenge. In fact, Apple Music was the most difficult part of building Radiccio, by far. There were several times that I thought the Apple Music experience in Radiccio could not reach my personal standard of software quality, and I seriously considered shipping Radiccio without it. In the end, I was mostly able to make it work, but not without some significant limitations.</p></blockquote> <p>I’m really excited to see development in this space, and I’ll be following Radiccio with interest, but at the moment it doesn’t seem like the app for me. Radiccio seems to be at its best when using the Librarian feature and <a href="https://guide.radiccio.music/sources/#how-to-choose">On My Mac sources</a>, but I prefer to use an Apple Music source (i.e. music managed by the OS, even if you don’t subscribe to the Apple Music service) so that my music and metadata will sync to my iPhone and be available to third-party apps there such as <a href="http://appaddy.wixsite.com/marvis">Marvis</a>. Apple Music sources rely on MusicKit. In theory, this is supposed to let Apple handle the syncing and other hard stuff while third-party apps focus on the user experience. But the reality is that MusicKit has all sorts of problems and limitations. I feel like I’m still locked into Music.app until either MusicKit improves or someone makes a complete system (Mac, iPhone, watchOS, CarPlay) that’s compelling enough to get me to leave Apple’s world (though I would still use Music.app for purchasing).</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/16/longplay-for-mac/">Longplay for Mac</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/11/01/coversutra-is-back/">CoverSutra Is Back</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/22/radiccio-1-0/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>7</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>MailMaven 1.0</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/mailmaven-1-0/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/mailmaven-1-0/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:03:20 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[E-mail Client]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MailMaven]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49718</guid> <description><![CDATA[SmallCubed (Scott Morrison): 🎉 MailMaven Version 1.0 Official Release! 🎉 Joe Kissell’s Take Control of MailMaven is now available as a free download. Previously: MailMaven Public Beta Update (2025-10-24): See also: TidBITS-Talk.]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://mailmaven.app/support/release_notes.html">SmallCubed</a> (<a href="https://mstdn.ca/@smorr/115419942116893361">Scott Morrison</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://mailmaven.app/support/release_notes.html"><p>🎉 MailMaven Version 1.0 Official Release! 🎉Joe Kissell’s Take Control of MailMaven is now available as a <a href="https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/mailmaven/?pt=MAVENDOCS">free download</a>.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/05/mailmaven-public-beta/">MailMaven Public Beta</a></li></ul> <p id="mailmaven-1-0-update-2025-10-24">Update (<a href="#mailmaven-1-0-update-2025-10-24">2025-10-24</a>): See also: <a href="https://talk.tidbits.com/t/mailmaven-a-promising-new-email-contender/32202">TidBITS-Talk</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/mailmaven-1-0/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Liquid Glass Toggle in appleOS 26.1 Beta</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/liquid-glass-toggle-in-appleos-26-1-beta/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/liquid-glass-toggle-in-appleos-26-1-beta/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:03:14 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS Beta]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49716</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover: Even though we’re at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we’ll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. Juli Clover (Hacker News): With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/20/ios-26-1-beta-4-features/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/20/ios-26-1-beta-4-features/"><p>Even though we’re at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we’ll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/20/ios-26-1-liquid-glass-toggle/">Juli Clover</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45648266">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/20/ios-26-1-liquid-glass-toggle/"><p>With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that’s designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass.</p><p>The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted increases the opacity of Liquid Glass and adds more contrast.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/20/ios-26-1-transparency-option-liquid-glass/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/20/ios-26-1-transparency-option-liquid-glass/"><p>We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Apple’s new option looks different in both light and dark mode, increasing opacity in color consistent with each option. It works for Lock Screen notifications and within apps to make menu and navigation bars less transparent, but there is little to no change with other parts of the OS like Control Center, the App Library, and app icons and widgets on the Home Screen.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://512pixels.net/2025/10/os-26-1-beta-4-adds-liquid-glass-transparency-toggle/">Stephen Hackett</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://512pixels.net/2025/10/os-26-1-beta-4-adds-liquid-glass-transparency-toggle/"><p>This toggle being in the display settings with things like Dark Mode is interesting to me. I would have thought that a control like this would land in Accessibility…</p></blockquote> <p>I guess they expect a lot of people to want this.</p> <p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/21/ios-26-1-beta-4-liquid-glass-tinted-option">John Gruber</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/21/ios-26-1-beta-4-liquid-glass-tinted-option"><p>I’m trying it out on iPhone, but for the most part, I really haven’t minded the Clear appearance. Clear feels more fun. But I’m glad Apple added this setting.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/liquid-glass-opacity-setting/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/liquid-glass-opacity-setting/"><p>Here we are with yet another theme built around translucency, and more complaints about legibility and contrast — Miller writes “Apple says it heard from users throughout the iOS 26 beta testing period that they’d like a setting to manage the opaqueness of the Liquid Glass design”. Now, as has become traditional, there is another way to moderate the excesses of Apple’s new visual language. I am sure there are some who will claim this undermines the entire premise of Liquid Glass, and I do not know that they are entirely wrong. Some might call it greater personalization and customization, too. I think it feels unfocused. Apple keeps revisiting translucency and finding it needs to add more controls to compensate.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@tolmasky/115409342649415862">Francisco Tolmasky</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@tolmasky/115409342649415862"><p>Liquid Glass has now transcended to Universal Allegorical Status in iOS 26.1, somehow managing to serve as an example of every possible bad design pattern. Fitting that the final puzzle piece was where all bad design eventually ends up: “If all else fails, make it a setting!”</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://birchtree.me/blog/liquid-glass-gets-a-slider-and-why-liquid-metal-should-be-next/">Matt Birchler</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://birchtree.me/blog/liquid-glass-gets-a-slider-and-why-liquid-metal-should-be-next/"><p>Apple’s never going to put out a press release that says we fucked up. So you have to look at their actions to see when they have made a miscalculation. For the Photos app, that meant seeing the company effectively completely revert the redesign from iOS 18 in iOS 26, and in the case of liquid glass, it’s seeing this new setting coming just weeks after the public got their hands on the new UI element.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@garrettmurray/115408834110093008">Garrett Murray</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@garrettmurray/115408834110093008"><p>Think about how many collective millions of dollars in time and effort have been spent by developers and designers to try to adopt Liquid Glass in the past year, only to have Apple start to walk it back on the very first minor release since launch. This is an admission, and embarrassing.</p><p>Alan Dye told us this was the future of all platforms, critical, amazing, and beautiful. And here we are, at 26.1, allowing users to just totally opt-out. They didn’t even make it ONE CALENDAR QUARTER before starting to roll it back. Why would anyone invest in Liquid Glass now?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marcoarment/115408895356136068">Marco Arment</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marcoarment/115408895356136068"><p>This is significant.</p><p>I bet iOS 27 drops this setting and adopts something very much like the right-side version as the new default look.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@evanfreeze/115408932536671235">Evan Freeze</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@evanfreeze/115408932536671235"><p>I was almost thinking the opposite 😅 the presence of this gives them cover to make the default more glass-y like WWDC since people can opt out easily & gracefully</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.online/@tclementdev/115410763886888334">Thomas Clement</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.online/@tclementdev/115410763886888334"><p>Don’t get too excited about the Tinted option. I think it’s disappointing. This is just a slight change of material, not frost. There’s still distracting glass distortion effects, controls are still changing unexpectedly from light to dark to light when scrolling, etc… It’s still liquid glass.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/ClassicII_MrMac/status/1980371673623982194">Mr. Macintosh</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/ClassicII_MrMac/status/1980371673623982194"><p>macOS Tahoe 26.1 Beta 4 introduces a new Liquid Glass toggle. You can now choose between clear or tinted.</p><p>Can you spot the difference?🤷‍♂️</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/novikoff/status/1980591255462801563">Dimitri Novikov</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/novikoff/status/1980591255462801563"><p>At this point, do we even need these square shapes on the background?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/howardnoakley/status/1980381057179594806">Howard Oakley</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/howardnoakley/status/1980381057179594806"><p>So “tinted” actually means “slightly more opaque with increased contrast”? Just like “Reduce transparency” means “increased contrast”, and “increased contrast” means “lots of outlines”.And does any of them actually make the interface less bleached out?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@ethanschoonover/115409995985702339">Ethan J. A. Schoonover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@ethanschoonover/115409995985702339"><p>Liquid Glass out here getting me to consider moving back to desktop linux, good job apple design team</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/on-liquid-glass/">On Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/">How to Turn Liquid Glass Into a Solid Interface</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-is-cracked/">Liquid Glass Is Cracked</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/shipping-liquid-glass/">Shipping Liquid Glass</a></li></ul> <p id="liquid-glass-toggle-in-appleos-26-1-beta-update-2025-10-22">Update (<a href="#liquid-glass-toggle-in-appleos-26-1-beta-update-2025-10-22">2025-10-22</a>): <a href="https://blog.viditb.com/solving-liquid-glass-accessibility/">Vidit Bhargava</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://blog.viditb.com/solving-liquid-glass-accessibility/"><p>I think Apple can do better. I think they can take inspiration from their own pre-iOS 26 “Materials” design language and put them into Liquid Glass.</p><p>For Liquid Glass, IMHO Apple should provide a way to pick the type of Liquid Glass, Clear (i.e. the default Liquid Glass), Tinted (with greater blur and a color tint), and Frosted (a new type of material with even greater blur, but also a fun frost texture).</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.curbcuts.co/blog/2025-10-22-ios-261-beta-4-adds-liquid-glass-appearance-toggle">Steven Aquino</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.curbcuts.co/blog/2025-10-22-ios-261-beta-4-adds-liquid-glass-appearance-toggle"><p>Anyway, the fact the new Liquid Glass in iOS 26.1 Beta 4 is not a true accessibility feature is sensible in the same way the Display Zoom options (also under Display and Brightness) isn’t found in Accessibility. They’re more about personal preference than absolute necessities like, say, the <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/09/iphone-17-pro-pwm-toggle/">PWM toggle for iPhone 17 models</a>.</p><p>[…]</p><p>And for those who need the utmost contrast and visual fidelity, they can go into Accessibility and flip on Reduce Transparency to extend the Tinted look even further.</p></blockquote> <p id="liquid-glass-toggle-in-appleos-26-1-beta-update-2025-10-24">Update (<a href="#liquid-glass-toggle-in-appleos-26-1-beta-update-2025-10-24">2025-10-24</a>): <a href="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/21/ios-26-1-to-add-optional-opacity-to-liquid-glass/">Adam Engst</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/21/ios-26-1-to-add-optional-opacity-to-liquid-glass/"><p>As you can see in the Notification Center screenshot from my previous article, the Tinted version on the right is far more readable. It places a light, opaque background behind notifications and swaps the white text for black. (That’s in Light mode; in Dark mode, they gain a darker background and retain the white text.) However, the Notification Center pane of glass is also lighter, which can make the Flashlight and ChatGPT buttons somewhat less readable than in the default Clear version on the left.</p><p>I also took a Clear/Tinted screenshot of a particular photo on my Lock Screen after updating to iOS 26.1b4. The Clear version on the left has so much white in the upper third that “Enter Passcode” and dots are completely invisible, and the 3 is difficult to make out. In contrast, the Tinted version reduces the overall brightness to make everything readable.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/eternalstorms/status/1981288058193432751">Matthias Gansrigler-Hrad</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/eternalstorms/status/1981288058193432751"><p>I think a way that Liquid Glass could be improved is having “aggregate states”. Liquid when there’s movement, and frosted (“solid”) when static.</p><p>That way you get the cool effect when you’re scrolling, and legibility is better when you’re not.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115427246631843315">Mario Guzmán</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115427246631843315"><p>Then it just gets bat shit crazy when you have content flowing behind the sidebar. </p><p>To Apple designers who made thins particular change, I promise you no one was getting lost because the UI wasn’t visually stacked this way. I <em>promise</em> you this change wasn’t needed.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/liquid-glass-toggle-in-appleos-26-1-beta/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>10</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>XCSSET Is Back</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/xcsset-is-back/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/xcsset-is-back/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:03:05 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Malware]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Pasteboard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Xcode]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49714</guid> <description><![CDATA[Lawrence Abrams: Microsoft Threat Intelligence reports that a new variant of the XCSSET macOS malware has been detected in limited attacks, incorporating several new features, including enhanced browser targeting, clipboard hijacking, and improved persistence mechanisms.XCSSET is a modular macOS malware that acts as an infostealer and cryptocurrency stealer, stealing Notes, cryptocurrency wallets, and browser data […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/microsoft-warns-of-new-xcsset-macos-malware-variant-targeting-xcode-devs/">Lawrence Abrams</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/microsoft-warns-of-new-xcsset-macos-malware-variant-targeting-xcode-devs/"><p>Microsoft Threat Intelligence reports that a new variant of the XCSSET macOS malware has been detected in limited attacks, incorporating several new features, including enhanced browser targeting, clipboard hijacking, and improved persistence mechanisms.</p><p>XCSSET is a modular macOS malware that acts as an infostealer and cryptocurrency stealer, stealing Notes, cryptocurrency wallets, and browser data from infected devices. The malware spreads by searching for and infecting other Xcode projects found on the device, so that the malware is executed when the project is built.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The malware also includes new persistence methods, such as creating LaunchDaemon entries that execute a ~/.root payload and create a fake System Settings.app in /tmp to masquerade its activity.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/08/30/active-mac-malware-scans/">Active Mac Malware Scans</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/06/04/tcc-bypass-in-xcsset-malware/">TCC Bypass in XCSSET Malware</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/03/19/xcodespy-malware/">XcodeSpy Malware</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/08/14/xcsset-mac-malware/">XCSSET Mac Malware</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/21/xcsset-is-back/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>AWS Outage</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/aws-outage/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/aws-outage/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2025 20:52:23 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amazon SES]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amazon Web Services]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Domain Name System (DNS)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mailgun]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Outage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web API]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49703</guid> <description><![CDATA[Amazon (Reddit, Hacker News, 2, 3): We are investigating increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region. I like how, unlike Apple’s status page, you can see a history of outages and updates. Jess Weatherbed: A major Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage took down multiple online services for several hours […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status?ts=20251020">Amazon</a> (<a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/aws/comments/1obd3lx/dynamodb_down_useast1/">Reddit</a>, <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45640838">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45646649">2</a>, <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45642951">3</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status?ts=20251020"><p>We are investigating increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region.</p></blockquote> <p>I like how, <a href="https://developer.apple.com/system-status/">unlike Apple’s status page</a>, you can see a history of outages and updates.</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/802486/aws-outage-alexa-fortnite-snapchat-offline">Jess Weatherbed</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.theverge.com/news/802486/aws-outage-alexa-fortnite-snapchat-offline"><p>A major Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage took down multiple online services for several hours this morning, including Amazon, Alexa, Snapchat, <em>Fortnite</em>, <a href="https://status.openai.com/incidents/01K80CBJD5Z64DF82KGT3K3QE0">ChatGPT</a>, <a href="https://x.com/EOSStatus/status/1980194104115150858">Epic Games Store, Epic Online Services</a>, and more. Some of the impacted platforms, including <em><a href="https://x.com/FortniteStatus/status/1980249794502082948">Fortnite</a></em>, <a href="https://x.com/EOSStatus/status/1980226546607726916">Epic Games Store</a>, and <a href="https://x.com/AravSrinivas/status/1980239929189036222">Perplexity</a> had announced that they are fully recovered and back online earlier this morning, while others are still having issues.</p><p>The AWS dashboard first reported issues affecting the US-EAST-1 Region at 3:11AM ET, and eventually said that “The underlying DNS issue has been fully mitigated.”</p></blockquote> <p>I noticed this through problems with Amazon SES, which seemed to continue <a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115406571187976968">long</a> <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15208111/Snapchat-Roblox-Duolingo-Fortnite-outage.html">after</a> Amazon reported it as fixed. Also, the status page said the outage was confined to Northern Virginia, but I saw reports that other zones were affected, too.</p> <p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45645912">caymanjim</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45645912"><p>This is the real problem. Even if you don’t run anything in AWS directly, something you integrate with will. And when us-east-1 is down, it doesn’t matter if those services are in other availability zones. AWS’s own internal services rely heavily on us-east-1, and most third-party services live in us-east-1.</p><p>It really is a single point of failure for the majority of the Internet.</p></blockquote> <p>Normally, my site and store will failover to using Mailgun, but this ran into two problems:</p> <ul><li><p>SES was not failing right away, so it wouldn’t try Mailgun until after some sort of timeout.</p></li><li><p>Mailgun failed with “Connection unexpectedly closed” errors. It’s <a href="https://status.mailgun.com">unclear</a> to me whether this is because part of their SMTP service relies on other AWS services that were also down.</p></li></ul> <p>See also: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/davemark.com/post/3m3n3yv3ryk2y">Dave Mark</a>, <a href="https://mastodon.social/@bwebster/115408068307301571">Brain Webster</a>, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/20/major-aws-outage">John Gruber</a>, <a href="https://x.com/rjonesy/status/1980127572601258140">Ryan Jones</a>, <a href="https://x.com/film_girl/status/1980195651070915008">Christina Warren</a>.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/05/02/google-cloud-services-outages/">Google Cloud Services Outages</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2017/03/06/amazon-s3-outage/">Amazon S3 Outage</a></li></ul> <p id="aws-outage-update-2025-10-21">Update (<a href="#aws-outage-update-2025-10-21">2025-10-21</a>): The cause of my Mailgun problem was, apparently, that they disable your account if you haven’t logged in in a while. After logging into the Web interface, SMTP support was automatically reactivated.</p> <p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/20/aws_outage_amazon_brain_drain_corey_quinn/">Corey Quinn</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45649178">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/20/aws_outage_amazon_brain_drain_corey_quinn/"><p>And so, a quiet suspicion starts to circulate: where have the senior AWS engineers who’ve been to this dance before gone? And the answer increasingly is that they’ve left the building — taking decades of hard-won institutional knowledge about how AWS’s systems work at scale right along with them.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Once you reach a certain point of scale, there are no simple problems left. What’s more concerning to me is the way it seems AWS has been flailing all day trying to run this one to ground. Suddenly, I’m reminded of something I had tried very hard to forget.</p><p>[…]</p><p>You can hire a bunch of very smart people who will explain how DNS works at a deep technical level (or you can hire me, who will incorrect you by explaining that it’s a database), but the one thing you can’t hire for is the person who remembers that when DNS starts getting wonky, check that seemingly unrelated system in the corner, because it has historically played a contributing role to some outages of yesteryear.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/alpennec/status/1980531015660834834">Axel Le Pennec</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/alpennec/status/1980531015660834834"><p>Should we have a fallback to plain StoreKit in case RevenueCat, Superwall or Adapty are down? 🤔 </p><p>I guess apps that are only using StoreKit weren’t affected by the AWS outage.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/aws-crash-causes-2000-smart-beds-to-overheat-and-get-stuck-upright-3272251/">Calum Patterson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/aws-crash-causes-2000-smart-beds-to-overheat-and-get-stuck-upright-3272251/"><p>A major Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage on October 20 had the unexpected side effect of causing chaos in bedrooms across the US, as owners of Eight Sleep’s $2,000+ ‘Pod’ mattress covers found their smart beds had no offline mode and were stuck at high temperatures and odd positions in the night.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://writing.exchange/@davepolaschek/115408256669846725">Dave Polaschek</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://writing.exchange/@davepolaschek/115408256669846725"><p>The outage today reminded me of July 28, 1995, when <a href="https://www.skypoint.com/members/gimonca/burnin.html">almost all of Minnesota fell off the Internet</a>.</p></blockquote> <p id="aws-outage-update-2025-10-22">Update (<a href="#aws-outage-update-2025-10-22">2025-10-22</a>): See also: <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/amazons-dns-problem-knocked-out-half-the-web-likely-costing-billions/">Ashley Belanger</a>, <a href="https://stratechery.com/2025/resiliency-and-scale/">Ben Thompson</a>, <a href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/corporate-sludge-what-the-aws-outage">Matt Stoller</a>.</p> <p id="aws-outage-update-2025-10-23">Update (<a href="#aws-outage-update-2025-10-23">2025-10-23</a>): <a href="https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/what-caused-the-large-aws-outage">Gergely Orosz</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/what-caused-the-large-aws-outage"><p>Today, we look into what caused this outage.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/aws-outage/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>7</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Tahoe Won’t Unload Network Extensions</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/tahoe-wont-unload-network-extensions/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/tahoe-wont-unload-network-extensions/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2025 20:51:30 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Password Manager]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bug]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Little Snitch]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Network Extensions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49701</guid> <description><![CDATA[Norbert Heger: Back in our pilot Deletion Impossible, you learned about a bug in macOS 15.3 where dragging an app to the Trash did not reliably uninstall its system extension. Despite macOS promising to “remove the associated system extension,” the extension often stayed behind. With macOS 26 Tahoe, this problem has reappeared. Once again, moving […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://obdev.at/blog/deletion-impossible-2/">Norbert Heger</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://obdev.at/blog/deletion-impossible-2/"><p>Back in our pilot <a href="https://obdev.at/blog/deletion-impossible">Deletion Impossible</a>, you learned about a bug in macOS 15.3 where dragging an app to the Trash did not reliably uninstall its system extension. Despite macOS promising to “remove the associated system extension,” the extension often stayed behind.</p><p>With macOS 26 Tahoe, this problem has reappeared. Once again, moving an app to the Trash does not always remove its embedded system extension, even though the system dialog claims it will. The result: a system extension still running on your Mac long after you thought you had uninstalled the app.</p><p>[…]</p><p>You can confirm whether an extension is still present by opening a Terminal window and running the following command:</p><pre>systemextensionsctl list</pre></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/releasenotes.html">Little Snitch 3.3</a> has some improvements, though:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/releasenotes.html"><p>Connections made by an app on behalf of Password AutoFill (typically to fetch website icons) are now attributed to the Password AutoFill helper process instead of the app itself.</p><p>Connections from XPC helper processes used by app extensions are now attributed to their corresponding extension.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/macos-26-0-1/">macOS 26.0.1</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/01/27/macos-15-3/">macOS 15.3</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/tahoe-wont-unload-network-extensions/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Password Manager Browser Extension Clickjacking</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/password-manager-browser-extension-clickjacking/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/password-manager-browser-extension-clickjacking/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2025 20:51:15 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[1Password]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Password Manager]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Exploit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Firefox]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Google Chrome]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iCloud Keychain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[LastPass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Secrets]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49699</guid> <description><![CDATA[Michael Simon (via Ric Ford): If you use Firefox on a Mac or PC, Apple offers a handy browser extension that puts your iCloud passwords right at your fingertips without needing to open a separate app. However, a new warning might make you think twice before you use it next time.As reported by The Hacker […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/2889403/if-you-use-icloud-passwords-on-chrome-or-firefox-your-data-may-be-at-risk.html">Michael Simon</a> (via <a href="https://www.macintouch.com/post/47997/icloud-passwords-security-problems/">Ric Ford</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macworld.com/article/2889403/if-you-use-icloud-passwords-on-chrome-or-firefox-your-data-may-be-at-risk.html"><p>If you use Firefox on a Mac or PC, Apple offers a handy browser extension that puts your iCloud passwords right at your fingertips without needing to open a separate app. However, a new warning might make you think twice before you use it next time.</p><p>As <a href="https://thehackernews.com/2025/08/dom-based-extension-clickjacking.html">reported by The Hacker News</a>, a new Document Object Model vulnerability has been discovered by security researcher Marek Tóth that could allow attackers to steal users’ credit card details, personal data, and login credentials through so-called clickjacking or UI redressing.</p><p>[…]</p><p>While some flaws have been patched, several popular <a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/668938/best-password-managers-2.html">password manager</a> extensions are at risk, including 1Password, LastPass, and iCloud. With iCloud Passwords, researchers specifically point to version 3.1.25, which <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/icloud-passwords/">Firefox</a> uses. <a href="https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/icloud-passwords/pejdijmoenmkgeppbflobdenhhabjlaj">Chrome</a> uses a newer version, 3.1.27, though it appears as though the flaw still exists.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://thehackernews.com/2025/08/dom-based-extension-clickjacking.html">Ravie Lakshmanan</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://thehackernews.com/2025/08/dom-based-extension-clickjacking.html"><p>To pull off the attack, all a bad actor has to do is create a fake site with an intrusive pop-up, such as a login screen or a cookie consent banner, while embedding an invisible login form such that clicking on the site to close the pop-up causes the credential information to be auto-filled by the password manager and exfiltrated to a remote server.</p><p>“All password managers filled credentials not only to the ‘main’ domain, but also to all subdomains,” Tóth explained. “An attacker could easily find XSS or other vulnerabilities and steal the user’s stored credentials with a single click (10 out of 11), including TOTP (9 out of 11). In some scenarios, passkey authentication could also be exploited (8 out of 11).”</p></blockquote> <p>I dislike this whole architecture of integrating password managers via browser extensions. I don’t want the page content to be able to fool the extension, and I don’t like the extension being able to read the page content.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/03/19/apple-passwords-phishing-vulnerability/">Apple Passwords Phishing Vulnerability</a></li></ul> <p id="password-manager-browser-extension-clickjacking-update-2025-10-21">Update (<a href="#password-manager-browser-extension-clickjacking-update-2025-10-21">2025-10-21</a>): <a href="https://secrets.app/blog/2025/09/dumb-extensions/">Paulo Andrade</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@pfandrade/115412224386368319">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://secrets.app/blog/2025/09/dumb-extensions/"><p>Secrets’ browser extension does not automatically drop down or insert credentials when a login or form field is detected. Instead, it requires the user to explicitly trigger a fill (click its icon, or invoke it via the toolbar or a keyboard shortcut) and select which credential to fill on the main app itself.</p><p>Such a “dumb” mode reduces the attack surface, especially for these kinds of UI/overlay, clickjacking, or pointer manipulation attacks. If autofill doesn’t happen automatically, there’s no invisible dropdown to trick. The attacker can’t overlay or capture clicks if nothing is shown by default.</p><p>By requiring consent in the main app, Secrets minimizes exposure. You hold back the credential until absolutely necessary. That reduces what malicious scripts on the page could grab.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/password-manager-browser-extension-clickjacking/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>7</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Meta Allegedly Bypassed App Tracking Transparency</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/meta-allegedly-bypassed-app-tracking-transparency/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/meta-allegedly-bypassed-app-tracking-transparency/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2025 20:50:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Advertising]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Tracking Transparency]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 18]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lawsuit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Meta]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy Nutrition Labels]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49697</guid> <description><![CDATA[Ben Lovejoy: A former Meta product manager has claimed that the social network circumvented Apple’s privacy protections, as well as cheating advertisers, and fired him when he repeatedly raised the issue internally.[…]It was quickly alleged that Meta was using workarounds to continue to track users who had denied permission, alongside other privacy violations. A class […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/21/meta-allegedly-bypassed-apple-privacy-measure-and-fired-employee-who-flagged-it/">Ben Lovejoy</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/21/meta-allegedly-bypassed-apple-privacy-measure-and-fired-employee-who-flagged-it/"><p>A former Meta product manager has claimed that the social network circumvented Apple’s privacy protections, as well as cheating advertisers, and fired him when he repeatedly raised the issue internally.</p><p>[…]</p><p>It was quickly alleged that <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2022/09/22/app-tracking-transparency-workaround/">Meta was using workarounds</a> to continue to track users who had denied permission, alongside <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2022/08/24/facebook-privacy-3/">other privacy violations</a>. A class action lawsuit followed.</p><p>A fired product manager at the company, Samujjal Purkayastha, has now taken his case to an employment tribunal claiming he was unlawfully dismissed for raising concerns about the practice, reports the <em><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/be6a99d2-22de-48ec-9afa-1d2e2f709afc">Financial Times</a></em>.</p></blockquote> <p>Meta, of course, says this is nonsense and that he wasn’t fired for being a whistleblower. My takeaway continues to be that Apple should not be presenting privacy information to its customers that sounds authoritative but which it has no way to verify or enforce.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/31/tea-and-the-app-store/">Tea and the App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/09/29/app-tracking-transparency-doesnt-stop-trackers/">App Tracking Transparency Doesn’t Stop Trackers</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/09/28/app-tracking-transparency-affecting-facebook/">App Tracking Transparency Affecting Facebook</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/08/02/app-tracking-transparencys-honor-system/">App Tracking Transparency’s Honor System</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/02/01/misleading-and-inaccurate-ios-privacy-labels/">Misleading and Inaccurate iOS Privacy Labels</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/20/meta-allegedly-bypassed-app-tracking-transparency/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Swift Profile Recorder</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/17/swift-profile-recorder/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/17/swift-profile-recorder/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2025 19:36:32 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Developer Tool]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Open Source]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Optimization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Swift Programming Language]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49685</guid> <description><![CDATA[Johannes Weiss and Mitchell Allison (forum): Swift Profile Recorder, an in-process sampling profiler for Swift services, is now available as an open source project.[…]Swift Profile Recorder enables you to:Adopt profiling without extra privileges or system dependencies, allowing you to add profiling across a variety of compute environments with constrained permissions.Collect samples using curl, allowing you […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.swift.org/blog/swift-profile-recorder/">Johannes Weiss and Mitchell Allison</a> (<a href="https://forums.swift.org/t/introducing-swift-profile-recorder-identifying-performance-bottlenecks-in-production/82536">forum</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.swift.org/blog/swift-profile-recorder/"><p><a href="https://github.com/apple/swift-profile-recorder">Swift Profile Recorder</a>, an in-process sampling profiler for Swift services, is now available as an open source project.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Swift Profile Recorder enables you to:</p><ul><li><strong>Adopt profiling without extra privileges or system dependencies</strong>, allowing you to add profiling across a variety of compute environments with constrained permissions.</li><li><strong>Collect samples using <code>curl</code></strong>, allowing you to easily read profiler output via an HTTP endpoint without needing to learn specific tooling like perf, sample, DTrace, or eBPF (bpftrace).</li><li><strong>Integrate with existing tools for visualization and analysis</strong> by supporting multiple industry-standard formats, including Linux perf script format, both the pprof file format as well as the <code>/debug/pprof/profile</code> endpoints, and also the collapsed format as used by the original FlameGraphs.</li></ul><p>Apple has used Swift Profile Recorder at scale for several years as a tool for operating and debugging Swift services in production. Alongside the recent announcement of <a href="https://forums.swift.org/t/announcing-swift-parca-low-overhead-continuous-profiling-for-swift-on-server/81823">swift-parca</a>, the Swift server ecosystem now has multiple profiling tools and approaches.</p></blockquote><p>I’m intrigued by the idea of an app being able to profile itself.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/17/swift-profile-recorder/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Swift Proposal: Module Selectors for Name Disambiguation</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/17/swift-proposal-module-selectors-for-name-disambiguation/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/17/swift-proposal-module-selectors-for-name-disambiguation/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2025 19:36:25 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Language Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Swift Programming Language]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49683</guid> <description><![CDATA[SE-0491 (via Becca Royal-Gordon): We propose that Swift’s grammar be extended so that, wherever an identifier is written in source code to reference a declaration, it can be prefixed by ModuleName:: to disambiguate which module the declaration is expected to come from. This syntax will provide a way to resolve several types of name ambiguities […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://github.com/swiftlang/swift-evolution/blob/main/proposals/0491-module-selectors.md">SE-0491</a> (via <a href="https://queer.party/@beccadax/115199896810020566">Becca Royal-Gordon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://github.com/swiftlang/swift-evolution/blob/main/proposals/0491-module-selectors.md"><p>We propose that Swift’s grammar be extended so that, wherever an identifieris written in source code to reference a declaration, it can be prefixed by<code>ModuleName::</code> to disambiguate which module the declaration is expected tocome from. This syntax will provide a way to resolve several types of nameambiguities and conflicts.</p><p>[…]</p><p>That may sound like a farfetched edge case, but it’s surprisingly common for amodule to contain a type with the same name. For instance, the <code>XCTest</code> moduleincludes an <code>XCTest</code> class, which is a base class for <code>XCTestCase</code> and<code>XCTestSuite</code>. To avoid this kind of trouble, developers must be careful togive modules different names from the types inside them—the <code>Observation</code>module, for example, might have been called <code>Observable</code> if it didn’t have atype with that name.</p><p>[…]</p><p>We could allow a special token, or no token, to be used in place of the module name to force a lookup to start at the top level, but not restrict it to a specific module.</p><p>[…]</p><p>There is currently no way to add a module selector to a use of a subscript.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/17/swift-proposal-module-selectors-for-name-disambiguation/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>End of Support for Windows 10</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/17/end-of-support-for-windows-10/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/17/end-of-support-for-windows-10/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2025 19:36:17 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Boot Camp]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac Pro]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Microsoft Edge]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Microsoft OneDrive]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sunset]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Windows]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Windows 10]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Windows 11]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49681</guid> <description><![CDATA[Fight to Repair: A coalition of businesses, nonprofits, and elected officials (including Fight To Repair’s parent organization, the Secure Resilient Future Foundation) has formally petitioned Microsoft to extend Windows 10 support, which is currently slated to end on October 14th. With more than a billion Windows 10 devices operating globally, it is estimated that hundreds […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://fighttorepair.substack.com/p/the-windows-10-zombie-apocalypse">Fight to Repair</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://fighttorepair.substack.com/p/the-windows-10-zombie-apocalypse"><p>A coalition of businesses, nonprofits, and elected officials (including Fight To Repair’s parent organization, the <a href="https://secure-resilient.org">Secure Resilient Future Foundation</a>) has formally petitioned Microsoft to extend Windows 10 support, which is currently slated to end on October 14th. </p><p>With more than a billion Windows 10 devices operating globally, it is estimated that hundreds of millions fail to meet the minimum hardware requirements needed to upgrade to Windows 11.</p></blockquote> <p>Via <a href="https://www.scottrlarson.com/publications/publication-windows-move-towards-surveillance/">Scott Larson</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45600338">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.scottrlarson.com/publications/publication-windows-move-towards-surveillance/"><p>Microsoft’s design of Windows 11 is a concern because:</p><ol><li>Computer manufacturers, due to pressure from Microsoft, are designing new computers with artificial limitations like TPM and Secure Boot. These unnecessary add-ins push consumers to unnecessary hardware upgrades.</li><li>In the setup of newly purchased consumer-grade computers, there is obfuscation in the installation language. Many of the default choices are aimed at confusing customers into selecting options that share data with vendors:<ul><li>The process of setting up OneDrive to act as a backup of data. Without consent, the setup of this configuration moves all customers’ data to the cloud service, re-points all the user folders to a cloud-specific OneDrive folder that’s very difficult to revert.</li><li>The process of selecting a browser is obfuscated by Microsoft’s Edge Browser setup</li></ul></li><li>The AI tool Co-pilot is installed and enabled without consent. Removal is difficult or nonexistent.</li><li>The history tracking tool “Recall” that is due to be released, sometime in the future, saves snapshots of your user experience into Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud. It looks great on paper, but in reality, this feature, along with others, will be used to move forward a surveillance state.</li><li>Windows 11 prevents the complete uninstall of many of its built-in features. They can be removed from one user account, but they can be reinstalled during an update, or if you upgrade your computer, without your consent.</li><li>Microsoft Edge is forced on users as a replacement by obfuscating choice in various ways.</li></ol></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@colincornaby/115380357192658441">Colin Cornaby</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@colincornaby/115380357192658441"><p>One of the biggest values of my 2019 Mac Pro has been having a single machine that can run Windows and macOS. With Windows 10 losing support that’s basically the end of Boot Camp. Sort of grumpy Apple never added Windows 11 support.</p><p>Intel Macs are on the way out anyway. And I built an Intel Windows box last year. But what an inauspicious end for a killer setup. Can’t even repurpose it as a pure Windows box without hacking the Windows install to bypass the TPM check (which may not work forever.)</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/04/04/windows-11-install-to-require-internet-and-microsoft-account/">Windows 11 Install to Require Internet and Microsoft Account</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/03/privacy-of-windows-copilot-recall/">Privacy of Windows Copilot+ Recall</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/17/end-of-support-for-windows-10/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>12</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>How to Turn Liquid Glass Into a Solid Interface</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:12:11 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Accessibility]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Screenshots]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49670</guid> <description><![CDATA[Adam Engst (Hacker News): Apple’s new Liquid Glass interface design brings transparency and blur effects to all Apple operating systems, but many users find it distracting or difficult to read. Here’s how to control its effects and make your interface more usable. Although the relevant Accessibility settings are quite similar across macOS, iOS, watchOS, and […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/09/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/">Adam Engst</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45583787">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/09/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/"><p>Apple’s new Liquid Glass interface design brings transparency and blur effects to all Apple operating systems, but many users find it distracting or difficult to read. Here’s how to control its effects and make your interface more usable. Although the relevant Accessibility settings are quite similar across macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS, I separate them because they offer different levels of utility in each.</p><p>[…]</p><p>For those who take a lot of screenshots, like I do, Reduce Transparency is essential because it ensures that all screenshots have a consistent background. It would be highly distracting if screenshots had noticeably different colors due to being taken over different wallpapers or windows.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I find the Increase Contrast setting jarring, but it might be a significant help for those with low vision.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I can’t recommend turning off Liquid Glass entirely in this way. Although it does make macOS 26 look more like macOS 15, it suffers from several glaring mistakes that Apple has no incentive to fix. Stick to Reduce Transparency and add Increase Contrast if your eyes would appreciate it.</p></blockquote> <p>There are lots of good comparison screenshots.</p> <p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/14/engst-liquid-glass">John Gruber</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/14/engst-liquid-glass"><p>A useful guide for today — and, I bet, a useful look back at the first versions of Liquid Glass for the future.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/engst-nng-liquid-glass/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/engst-nng-liquid-glass/"><p>A notable issue with these settings is that some properties of Liquid Glass are not truly the fault of transparency. Instead, a Liquid Glass element — <a href="https://pxlnv.com/extras/2025/2025-10-control-centre-compare.jpg">like Control Centre</a> — might be reflecting the colours around it, giving the impression of translucency without actually being translucent. This effect does not appear in window-specific screenshots when you have “Reduce Transparency” turned on so, as Engst writes, it makes it better for creating screenshots for documentation. But it does mean that, while the “Reduce Transparency” setting is literally true, it feels dishonest.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@rosyna/115237326930317388">Rosyna Keller</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@rosyna/115237326930317388"><p>Don’t forget you can override and set Reduce Transparency on a <a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/customize-per-app-visual-settings-iph1f48544ab/ios">per-app basis</a>[…]</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@chockenberry/115228012740256582">Craig Hockenberry</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@chockenberry/115228012740256582"><p>If you think that turning on Reduce Transparency will fix all the problems with Liquid Glass, you’re wrong.</p><p>Here’s a standard bar button item drawn with reduced transparency. It goes from being dark (the system setting) to light the first time you use it.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/10/12/last-week-on-my-mac-tahoes-elephant/">Howard Oakley</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/10/12/last-week-on-my-mac-tahoes-elephant/"><p>This still has no effect on controls below the toolbar, and fails to demarcate text entry fields or the list view below.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115220901410015369">Mario Guzmán</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115220901410015369"><p>Ewww. When you enable reduce transparency in iOS accessibility settings, certain things are just so bad. Look how the back button touches the background border at the bottom now.</p><p>Sigh.</p><p>Apple really said “you don’t get world out class design if you enable any of the accessibility options.”</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://layer8.space/@teilweise/115382872803325210">Der Teilweise</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://layer8.space/@teilweise/115382872803325210"><p>It’s almost comical if you think about Apple marketing Liquid Glass to bring “more focus to content” and switch between [<a href="https://tidbits.com/uploads/2025/10/macOS-Liquid-Glass-start-scaled.jpg">on</a>] and [<a href="https://tidbits.com/uploads/2025/10/macOS-Liquid-Glass-disabled-scaled.jpg">off</a>].</p><p>The later one shows more content or the same content bigger in almost all parts of the screen: Look at the calendar in the top left (even the iCal icon shows the more useful “Wed” instead of “Oct”) or the sidebar.</p><p>Event the main content gets a few pixels extra space – obscured content behind the sidebar does not count IMHO.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/on-liquid-glass/">On Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-content-vs-controls/">Liquid Glass: Content vs. Controls</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-is-cracked/">Liquid Glass Is Cracked</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/shipping-liquid-glass/">Shipping Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/30/assorted-notes-on-liquid-glass/">Assorted Notes on Liquid Glass</a></li></ul> <p id="how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface-update-2025-10-20">Update (<a href="#how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface-update-2025-10-20">2025-10-20</a>): <a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115392681189608899">Pierre Igot</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115392681189608899"><p>No matter which version of this I am looking at (with or without reduced transparency, with or without increased contrast), I just don’t understand how, intuitively, I am supposed to understand that clicking on any of the three buttons in the top-right corner of the sidebar is going to affect not just the sidebar, but the whole window that the sidebar is a small subsection of.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>9</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Liquid Glass Is Cracked</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-is-cracked/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-is-cracked/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:11:33 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music.app]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Search]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49665</guid> <description><![CDATA[Raluca Budiu (Hacker News): One of the oldest findings in usability is that anything placed on top of something else becomes harder to see. Yet here we are, in 2025, with Apple proudly obscuring text, icons, and controls by making them transparent and placing them on top of busy backgrounds.[…]And then comes Apple’s boldest (or […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/liquid-glass/">Raluca Budiu</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45544044">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/liquid-glass/"><p>One of the oldest findings in usability is that anything placed on top of something else becomes harder to see. Yet here we are, in 2025, with Apple proudly obscuring text, icons, and controls by making them transparent and placing them on top of busy backgrounds.</p><p>[…]</p><p>And then comes Apple’s boldest (or dumbest) experiment: <strong>text on top of text. </strong></p><p>[…]</p><p>In iOS 26, controls insist on animating themselves, whether or not the user benefits. Carousel dots quietly morph into the word <em>Search</em> after a few seconds. Camera buttons jerk slightly when tapped. Tab bars bubble and wiggle when switching views, and buttons briefly pulsate before being replaced with something else entirely. <strong>It’s like the interface is shouting “look at me” when it should quietly step aside and let the real star — the content — take the spotlight.</strong></p><p>[…]</p><p>Apple has also decided it’s time to crowd and shrink touch targets. The long‑standing guideline of at least 0.4cm between targets (and <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/touch-target-size/">1cm × 1cm tap areas</a>) seems to have been tossed out the window. Either <strong>Apple believes our fingers are getting smaller,</strong> or it assumes years of practice with smartphones have magically trained us to hit tiny targets with perfect precision.</p><p>[…]</p><p>This signals another transition (this time for the worse) to Android-style design, where page titles are left-aligned (instead of center-aligned), thus displacing the breadcrumb next to the back button.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/engst-nng-liquid-glass/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/engst-nng-liquid-glass/"><p>However, I found the argument against the more prominent Search button in many apps unconvincing[…]</p></blockquote><p>Me, too. I don’t like that it floats on top of content, but I think people did have trouble discovering it when you had to swipe down. Maybe the placement at the bottom also makes it easier to tap.</p> <blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/engst-nng-liquid-glass/"><p>What <em>is</em> disappointing is that the hidden search field still exists in a handful of places. Most notably, Music on iOS 26 still has two different kinds of Search: the one you can get to by tapping on the button in the bottom-right, and the locally-scoped one you will find at the top of views like Playlists.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/on-liquid-glass/">On Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/">How to Turn Liquid Glass Into a Solid Interface</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/shipping-liquid-glass/">Shipping Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/30/assorted-notes-on-liquid-glass/">Assorted Notes on Liquid Glass</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-is-cracked/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Liquid Glass: Content vs. Controls</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-content-vs-controls/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-content-vs-controls/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:11:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Safari]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49660</guid> <description><![CDATA[Adam Engst: Here’s where I take exception to Liquid Glass, and to Apple’s positioning of content as the most important aspect of our digital devices, and thus of our digital lives. Yes, many people are largely passive consumers of content, whether we’re talking about Web pages, podcasts, or streaming videos. For those people, there is […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/06/apples-liquid-glass-design-prioritizes-content-over-tools/">Adam Engst</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/06/apples-liquid-glass-design-prioritizes-content-over-tools/"><p>Here’s where I take exception to Liquid Glass, and to Apple’s positioning of content as the most important aspect of our digital devices, and thus of our digital lives. Yes, many people are largely passive consumers of content, whether we’re talking about Web pages, podcasts, or streaming videos. For those people, there is little beyond content, and Liquid Glass’s deprecation of controls may allow them to continue their consumption with less distraction. But that’s not a lifestyle to aspire to, reminiscent as it is of the humans in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E">WALL-E</a>—perpetually reclined in floating chairs, mindlessly consuming entertainment.</p><p>[…]</p><p>But there’s an important point to make here: controls are not tools. Controls allow you to adjust settings—change channels, select colors, pause playback, and more. Tools enable you to create, modify, delete, or give a performance. It’s the difference between a volume knob and a violin.</p><p>[…]</p><p>So, no, I don’t want tools that “give way to content” or “shrink to bring focus to the content.” When I’m cooking, I want my knives, spatulas, measuring spoons, and the like exactly where they belong, so they’re instantly at hand.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/engst-nng-liquid-glass/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/engst-nng-liquid-glass/"><p>Engst pointedly differentiates “productivity apps — real tools” from apps permitting a more passive consumption of media. It may make more sense for controls to fade away in something like a media player. In most of the apps I use every day, however, I want to have obvious and immediate access to the tools I need.</p><p>Here is another cooking analogy: a minimum requirement, for me, for a stove is for it to be equipped with physical knobs. I do not want to be hunting for the magic capacitive spot or pressing a +/– toggle to change a burner’s setting. The latter options <em>seem</em> more elegant; they give the impression of refinement. But they are less effective for the same job because they do not allow for real-world practicality.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/blog/on-liquid-glass/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/blog/on-liquid-glass/"><p>Apple justifies these decisions by saying its redesigned interfaces are “<a href="https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2025/06/apple-introduces-a-delightful-and-elegant-new-software-design/#:~:text=bringing%20greater%20focus%20to%20content">bringing greater focus to content</a>”. I do not accept that explanation. Instead of placing tools in a distinct and separated area, they bleed into your document, thus gaining a similar level of importance as the document itself. I have nothing beyond my own experience to back this up. Perhaps Apple has user studies suggesting something different; if it does, I think it should publicly document its research. But, in my experience, the more the interface blends with what I am looking at, the less capable I am of ignoring it. Clarity and structure are sacrificed for the illusion of simplicity offered by a monochromatic haze of an interface.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://underpassapp.com/news/2025/9/8.html">Jeff Johnson</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115237814669261428">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://underpassapp.com/news/2025/9/8.html"><p>A customer recently contacted me to report that the “Show native video controls” feature makes videos darker on macOS Tahoe, and I was able to reproduce the issue myself. At first I believed that the phenomenon was some kind of Liquid Glass nonsense, because I couldn’t reproduce it on macOS Sequoia. On further testing, however, I noticed that the darkening of videos also occurs on iOS 18, which my iPhone still runs (for as long as I can hold out). Indeed, the darkening of videos has nothing in particular to do with StopTheMadness Pro and occurs even when the extension is disabled entirely. Safari itself darkens videos on iOS 18, iOS 26, and now macOS 26 when its native video controls are displayed.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Seriously, why??? I thought Liquid Glass was supposed to “bring greater focus to content”? Darkening videos brings <em>less</em> focus to content!</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/on-liquid-glass/">On Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/">How to Turn Liquid Glass Into a Solid Interface</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/tahoe-window-corners/">Tahoe Window Corners</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-is-cracked/">Liquid Glass Is Cracked</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/shipping-liquid-glass/">Shipping Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/05/one-size-does-not-fit-all/">One Size Does Not Fit All</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/08/no-part-2/">“No” Part 2</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/30/assorted-notes-on-liquid-glass/">Assorted Notes on Liquid Glass</a></li></ul> <p id="liquid-glass-content-vs-controls-update-2025-10-21">Update (<a href="#liquid-glass-content-vs-controls-update-2025-10-21">2025-10-21</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@colincornaby/115410193597838118">Colin Cornaby</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@colincornaby/115410193597838118"><p>If seeing content is so important I don’t know why Apple insists on adding corners to it. (This is the system video miniplayer which has no reason to have any rounded corners at all.)</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-content-vs-controls/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Tahoe Window Corners</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/tahoe-window-corners/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/tahoe-window-corners/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:10:12 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Finder]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Preview.app]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49656</guid> <description><![CDATA[Mario Guzmán: I can’t stop laughing at how comically large the corner radii are on #macOSTahoe windows. Clownish. Dominik Wagner: Preview? These are white, A4 PDF pages, they don’t have round corners. We are not on battlestar galactica. I need my pdf preview to show me my paper as it is, not with different rounded […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115220197925326025">Mario Guzmán</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115220197925326025"><p>I can’t stop laughing at how comically large the corner radii are on #macOSTahoe windows. Clownish.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@monkeydom/115252342595033774">Dominik Wagner</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@monkeydom/115252342595033774"><p>Preview? These are white, A4 PDF pages, they don’t have round corners. We are not on battlestar galactica. I need my pdf preview to show me my paper as it is, not with different rounded corners based on my zoom factor 😡</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@krzyzanowskim/115276780228935315">Marcin Krzyzanowski</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@krzyzanowskim/115276780228935315"><p>after I upgraded to macOS26 literally the only thing that annoys me the most is hikarious windows curvature. no content really fits in.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://taoofmac.com/space/notes/2025/09/15/2359">Rui Carmo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://taoofmac.com/space/notes/2025/09/15/2359"><p>I can see <strike>four</strike> <em>five</em> different sizes of window corner radius on my Mac desktop. The overall visual design for menus and dialogs is still a joke, and is so badly executed that Apple should be ashamed of shipping it.</p></blockquote> <p>See also: <a href="https://x.com/ConfusedVorlon/status/1971944618108624985">Rob Jonson</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/blog/on-liquid-glass/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/blog/on-liquid-glass/"><p>Perhaps I am taking this too literally. Then again, Apple is the one <a href="https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2025/06/apple-introduces-a-delightful-and-elegant-new-software-design/#:~:text=Previously%20configured%20for%20rectangular%20displays%2C%20they%20now%20fit%20perfectly%20concentric%20with%20the%20rounded%20corners%20of%20modern%20hardware%20and%20app%20windows%20%E2%80%94%20establishing%20greater%20harmony%20between%20hardware%2C%20software%2C%20and%20content.">saying</a> application windows are no longer “configured for rectangular displays”, and that they now fit the “rounded corners of modern hardware”. Regardless of the justification, I quite like the roundness of these windows. Perhaps it is simply the newness, but they make applications seem friendlier and softer. I understand why they are controversial; the large radius severely restricts what can be present in the corners, thus lowering the information density of an application window. It seems Apple agrees it is more appropriate in some apps than in others — app windows in System Information and Terminal have a much smaller corner radius.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Even on a device with four rounded display corners, this dedication to concentricity is not always executed correctly. My iPhone 15 Pro, for example, has corners with a slightly smaller radius than an iPhone 16 Pro. The bottom corners of the share sheet on my device are cramped, nearly touching the edge of the display at their apex.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Then there are the issues caused by this dedication to concentricity. Look again at that Finder window screenshot above and pay attention to the buttons in the toolbar. In particular, notice how the icon in the item grouping button — the solitary one between the view switcher, and the group that includes the sharing button — looks like it is touching the rounded edge.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-content-vs-controls/">Liquid Glass: Content vs. Controls</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/shipping-liquid-glass/">Shipping Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/05/one-size-does-not-fit-all/">One Size Does Not Fit All</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/08/no-part-2/">“No” Part 2</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/30/assorted-notes-on-liquid-glass/">Assorted Notes on Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/28/rounded-quick-look-corners/">Rounded Quick Look Corners</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/tahoe-window-corners/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>On Liquid Glass</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/on-liquid-glass/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/on-liquid-glass/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:09:23 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Menu Bar]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49653</guid> <description><![CDATA[Nick Heer (Mastodon): I do not think all these effects necessarily help legibility, which is as poor as it has ever been in translucent areas. The degree to which this is noticeable is dependent on the platform. In iOS 26, I find it less distracting, I think largely because it exists in the context of […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/blog/on-liquid-glass/">Nick Heer</a> (<a href="https://c.im/@nickheer/115291123189879736">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/blog/on-liquid-glass/"><p>I do not think all these effects necessarily help legibility, which is as poor as it has ever been in translucent areas. The degree to which this is noticeable is dependent on the platform. In iOS 26, I find it less distracting, I think largely because it exists in the context of a single window at a time (picture-in-picture video being the sole exception). That means there is no expectation of overlapping active and inactive windows and, so, no chance that something overlapping <em>within</em> a window’s area could be confused with a different window overlapping.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Though these animations are not nearly as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrGYUq1mklk&t=4m45s">fluid as they were first shown</a>, they seem like they help justify the “liquid” part of the name, and are something Apple has enough pride in to be called out in the press release. Their almost complete absence on MacOS is therefore notable. There are a handful of places they appear, like in Spotlight, but MacOS feels less committed to Liquid Glass as a result. When menus are summoned, they simply appear without any dramatic animation. Buttons and menus do not have the stretchy behaviour of their iOS counterparts. To be sure, I am confident those animations in MacOS would become tiresome in a matter of minutes. But, so, if MacOS is better for being less consistent with iOS in this regard, that seems to me like a good argument against forcing cross-platform user interface unification.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I am spending an awful lot of words on the MacOS version because I think it is the least successful of the two Liquid Glass implementations I have used. MacOS still works a lot like MacOS. But it looks and feels like someone dictated, context-free, that it needed to reflect the redesign of iOS.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I kept asking myself “why?” as I used iOS 26 and MacOS 26 this summer. I wanted to understand the rationale for a complete makeover across Apple’s entire line of products. What was the imperative for unifying the systems’ visual interface design language? Why <em>this</em>, specifically?</p><p>[…]</p><p>These new operating systems do not feel like they are achieving that level of consistency despite being nominally <em>more</em> consistent across a half-dozen platforms. MacOS has received perhaps the most substantial visual changes, yet it is full of workarounds and exceptions. The changes made to iOS feel surface-level and clash with the visual language established since iOS 7. I am hopeful for the evolution of these ideas into something more cohesive. Most software is a work-in-progress, and the user interface is no exception. But all I can reflect upon is what is before me today. Quite simply, not only is it not ready, I am concerned about what it implies about Apple’s standards.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://schwarztech.net/snippets/nick-heer-on-liquid-glass">Eric Schwarz</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://schwarztech.net/snippets/nick-heer-on-liquid-glass"><p>This is one of those posts that I recommend taking some time (perhaps cozy up with a coffee?) and simply enjoying the thoughtful analysis provided.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I’ve upgraded all of my devices, with the sole exception being my Mac at work. I’ll get around to it, but waiting for a lull. For the most part, everything <em>works</em> about the same and there isn’t a jarring change from when I’m at my desk at work and my desk at home. Contrast that with someone adapting from Windows 10 to Windows 11 across devices, as many interface elements <em>work</em> differently. Yes, there are visually differences between macOS 15 and macOS 26, and I think the changes to macOS 26 are my least favorite of all the updates. I’ve grown to actually enjoy the iOS/iPadOS 26 changes, especially the added depth in icons and buttons and little animations to make the entire operating system feel more fluid—it’s interesting and a bit of a shift away from the minimalism trend that we’ve had over the past decade and change.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://tidbits.com/2025/09/30/nick-heer-peers-through-liquid-glass/">Adam Engst</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://tidbits.com/2025/09/30/nick-heer-peers-through-liquid-glass/"><p>I highly recommend reading Heer’s extensively documented criticisms of Liquid Glass. He offers numerous examples of what he likes and doesn’t like about Liquid Glass, though there is much more of the latter, leading to this delicious line, “I could keep going with my nitpicks, so I shall.” Nevertheless, it’s essential to acknowledge that Liquid Glass is here to stay, while also offering constructive criticism that can help push Apple to improve the user experience.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I’m also intrigued by Heer’s idea that Liquid Glass might signal a broader “Apple OS” branding, since I’ve been using OS as a shorthand for Apple’s stable of operating systems for some time now.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/liquid-glass-why-now/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/liquid-glass-why-now/"><p>Twenty-five years after alpha channels began appearing in our user interfaces, I think many of us have taken for granted the soft shadows and smooth corners enabled by translucent pixels. Back then, there were plenty of people who were worried about the performance impact of all these effects, just as there are now about Liquid Glass.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/new-office-icons-copilot/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/new-office-icons-copilot/"><p>This try-hard justification made me think of Johnson’s post. It is over a thousand words and I do not believe I view these icons differently after finishing it. The new icons are fine — very Microsoft, in that the company has produced some spectacular-looking 3D renders and illustrations completely unrelated to the actual icons I will be seeing on my desktop when this update is released.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/">How to Turn Liquid Glass Into a Solid Interface</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/tahoe-window-corners/">Tahoe Window Corners</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-content-vs-controls/">Liquid Glass: Content vs. Controls</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-is-cracked/">Liquid Glass Is Cracked</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/shipping-liquid-glass/">Shipping Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/05/one-size-does-not-fit-all/">One Size Does Not Fit All</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/08/no-part-2/">“No” Part 2</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/30/assorted-notes-on-liquid-glass/">Assorted Notes on Liquid Glass</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/on-liquid-glass/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Shipping Liquid Glass</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/shipping-liquid-glass/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/shipping-liquid-glass/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:08:17 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Accessibility]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Final Cut Pro X]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Icons]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iWork]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music.app]]></category> <category><![CDATA[NetNewsWire]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[SwiftUI]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Things]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49651</guid> <description><![CDATA[Jason Kottke: I’m usually pretty go-with-the-flow as far as OS updates go, but iOS 26 / Liquid Glass is terrible: incoherent, ugly, and difficult to use. Obviously a massive design effort, but they missed the mark IMO. Juli Clover: It’s been two days since iOS 26 was released, and Apple’s new Liquid Glass design is […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://kottke.org/25/09/0047552-im-usually-pretty-go-with">Jason Kottke</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://kottke.org/25/09/0047552-im-usually-pretty-go-with"><p>I’m usually pretty go-with-the-flow as far as OS updates go, but <a href="https://www.apple.com/os/ios/">iOS 26</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGztGfRujSE">Liquid Glass</a> is terrible: incoherent, ugly, and difficult to use. Obviously a massive design effort, but they missed the mark IMO.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/17/ios-26-liquid-glass-critiques/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/17/ios-26-liquid-glass-critiques/"><p>It’s been two days since iOS 26 was released, and Apple’s new Liquid Glass design is even more divisive than expected.</p><p>Any major design change can create controversy as people get used to the new look, but the <a href="https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/i-absolutely-loathe-ios-26.2465877/"><em>MacRumors</em> forums</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Design/comments/1niq261/apple_liquid_glass/">Reddit</a>, <a href="https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256136473?sortBy=rank">Apple Support Communities</a>, and social media sites seem to feature more criticism than praise as people discuss the update.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@chockenberry/115220551720477566">Craig Hockenberry</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@chockenberry/115220551720477566"><p>Here’s my guess what happened in the lead up to WWDC25:</p><p>Apple realized it was deep in the weeds with Apple Intelligence (and associated PR) and needed a tentpole feature that wasn’t AI.</p><p>Liquid Glass was in development for some upcoming edgeless hardware. It needed another year of work, but management/marketing was fucked.</p><p>A thing that wasn’t ready got moved up. Bug fixing took a back seat. Everyone grabbed paint brushes, not screwdrivers.</p><p>The next year is going to be rough for EVERYONE.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115208170115739986">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115208170115739986"><p>My review of Liquid Glass: generally, I love it. </p><p>It’s gorgeous on the right device in the right circumstances. iPadOS, in particular, on a large screen in windowing mode is, by far, my favorite.</p><p>But it also has a ton of problems with real-world content that weren’t fully accounted for in concepts before announcement, which has lead to a pile of fixes and hacks to try to make it work for all the edge cases. It’s this which brings the majority of bugs and major issues into all areas of the UI.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://talk.macpowerusers.com/t/a-bit-mystified-by-some-of-the-design-in-ios26/42932">DaveyGravy</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://talk.macpowerusers.com/t/a-bit-mystified-by-some-of-the-design-in-ios26/42932"><p>What is the design thinking here for displaying the time over my wallpaper? Letting the wallpaper bleed through in this way makes it hard to see and in no way pleasant.</p><p>What is going on here exactly?</p><p>Also, what effect is the highlighting/shading meant to be achieving? I don’t see it - if it is a layer of something liquid I don’t feel it works at a basic level. What am I missing?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://wien.rocks/@noheger/115265021440885221">Norbert Heger</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://wien.rocks/@noheger/115265021440885221"><p>Liquid Glass now also ruins screenshots under some circumstances. Compare the left margin of these two screenshots, which just include a slightly different portion of the sidebar.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.scot/@mattgemmell/115225734768793630">Matt Gemmell</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.scot/@mattgemmell/115225734768793630"><p>I’ll say this for the macOS Liquid Arse update: the Finder windows are nicer to look at. Somehow they have more contrast rather than less. And coloured folders again; what a time to be alive and trapped in a Kaleidoscope theme.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115332857633907996">Jeff Johnson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115332857633907996"><p>Liquid Glass is not an aberration. It’s continuation of everything Apple has been getting wrong about UI for more than a decade.</p><p>Apple was never perfect, but they used to get things right more often than anyone else, and right or wrong they sweated over the details.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pdx.social/@louie/115233912408986400">Louie Mantia</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pdx.social/@louie/115233912408986400"><p>Liquid Glass is perhaps the most getting-in-the-way user interface I’ve experienced in my lifetime. It never shuts up. It’s constantly vying for attention. Because it’s constantly animating, it never lets the content be the focus.</p><p>I don’t think I realized until now that UI could be so narcissistic.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@jessegrosjean/115214601151347958">Jesse Grosjean</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@jessegrosjean/115214601151347958"><p>Are any of Apple’s larger productivity apps updated for Liquid Glass yet? Pages doesn’t seem to be.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115294704313959585">Mario Guzmán</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115294704313959585"><p>I’ve been wondering when iLife, iWork, and Pro Apps are going to be released with Liquid Glass updates.</p><p>Or are they unable to ship something… suitable with the new design language? 🤭</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115294712876732724">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115294712876732724"><p>The Pro apps shipped with the new SDK, but they’ve opted out of the design language…</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@mrudokas/115214875955445995">Mindaugas Rudokas</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@mrudokas/115214875955445995"><p>Cultured Code’s Things says “no thank you” to the Liquid Glass’ sidebar and toolbar style.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://netnewswire.blog/2025/10/07/the-liquid-glass-plan.html">Brent Simmons</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://netnewswire.blog/2025/10/07/the-liquid-glass-plan.html"><p>We’re hearing from folks eager for the Liquid Glass update to NetNewsWire. The bad news is that it’s not coming this week or next (who knows when, really) — but the good news is that it is very much in progress.</p><p>[…]</p><p>If you’d like a sneak peak of what NetNewsWire 7 will look like, check out these posts [<a href="https://stuartbreckenridge.net/adopting-liquid-glass-part-ii-netnewswire-mac/">1</a>, <a href="https://stuartbreckenridge.net/adopting-liquid-glass-part-iii-netnewswire-ios/">2</a>] by Stuart Breckenridge, who’s done great work on our Liquid Glass adoption[…]</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macstories.net/stories/jump-into-the-liquid-glass-pool-a-macstories-os-26-app-roundup/">MacStories</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macstories.net/stories/jump-into-the-liquid-glass-pool-a-macstories-os-26-app-roundup/"><p>Today, we wanted to share some of our favorite implementations of Liquid Glass and other features debuted this fall by indie developers.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://infosec.exchange/@pasi/115272172334135688">Pasi Salenius</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://infosec.exchange/@pasi/115272172334135688"><p>As far as I can tell all major iOS apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Spotify just enabled the compatibility Info.plist flag for Xcode 26 and went on with their life.</p><p>While indie devs sweated all summer trying to make Liquid Glass UI work in their apps, telling themselves they “need to be ready on day one”. The iOS dev echo chamber repeated this message to death.</p><p>I don’t think the general public cares one bit. Nobody gives a 5 star review because an app supports the new iOS UI. Nobody buys an app because of that.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/AdamWhitcroft/status/1974153514042699952">Adam Whitcroft</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/AdamWhitcroft/status/1974153514042699952"><p>I think it’s sad we can’t make macOS icons like this anymore.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/sdw/status/1974156793388675123">Sebastiaan de With</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/sdw/status/1974156793388675123"><p>I have seen very little grief for this but the sadness is very real. It’s the end of a really special era.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pdx.social/@louie/115341915888060776">Louie Mantia</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pdx.social/@louie/115341915888060776"><p>So here’s my question: a lot of these things were pointed out for months—and besides how I don’t think Apple should be outsourcing bug reporting to the rest of us—do they just not have a good QA team anymore? Or is it just that they don’t care about the bugs they ship anymore?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://juniperphoton.substack.com/p/adopting-liquid-glass-experiences">JuniperPhoton</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://juniperphoton.substack.com/p/adopting-liquid-glass-experiences"><p>Instead of spending the whole summer reworking my apps’ designs, I recently adopted the new design in some of my apps while maintaining the same look on older platforms. I’ve learned a few lessons and pitfalls along the way that might help.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/10/12/last-week-on-my-mac-tahoes-elephant/">Howard Oakley</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/10/12/last-week-on-my-mac-tahoes-elephant/"><p>Even a few minutes exposure to a screenful of macOS Tahoe’s windows demonstrates how its new design goes out of its way to ignore those essential insights, and present us with controls that are either bleached- or blacked-out depending on our choice of appearance mode.</p><p>In light mode, with default transparency, tool icons and text are clearly distinguished tonally, as are some controls including buttons and checkboxes. However, text entry fields are indistinguishable from the background, and there’s a general lack of demarcation, particularly between the controls and the list view below.</p><p>Oddly, dark mode outlines some controls better than light mode, but text entry fields and the list view below still lack demarcation.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115369005537650590">Mario Guzmán</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115369005537650590"><p>The inconsistency of Apple Music’s toolbar in #macOSTahoe is annoying. Sometimes you get the blur, sometimes you get the solid toolbar, and other times you get nothing.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@ChrisPirillo/115379301190842985">Chris Pirillo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@ChrisPirillo/115379301190842985"><p>Ȩ̵̣̹̗̥̳̩͇͌̎̀̋̄̈́͌̚͜͠n̵̢̢̧̛̦̫̘̜̞̻͍̫̆̐̀̐̃j̷̢̢̨̦͔̲͓̻̬͕̼̥̲͎̏̒̈́͐̈̓́ȫ̶̦͎y̴͍͐̉̌̒ ̷̢̛̤̖̺͓͉͓͔̜̥̑̅͐̈́͑̒̈́͐̌̚͝ͅḀ̴̡̘̝̊̈́̐̎̈́͒̊̅p̸̬̮͇̘̞̣̣̤̹͚̪͍̤̰͋̽͌̄̆̆̎̈́̑̍̈́́̌͘͜͠p̴͎̼͖̥͈̞̼͊̓̈́̿͗̂̾̌̚l̸̢̨͔͕̦͉͖͓͕̦̰̠̝̾e̴̙̹͛͑̊͌̅̓͒̏͛̀̊̓̕'̴̛͇̫̙͋̓͑͐͌̂͜ͅś̵̡̺̬͇̠̺͎͗ ̵̟̭̠̦̺͎̯̪̪͎͔̩̜̺͛̆͊̈́̓̏́̀͑̏͒͘̚͝N̸̺̟̳̙̝̺̪͉͋̈́͐̃̑͋̓̂̅̾ͅe̷̩͑̑w̶̗̫̱̥͓̳͌̾̿̅̾̌̊̅̕ͅ ̶̢̧̼̘̼͆̏̐̈́͝M̶̢̻̘̻̱͚͙̭̚5̷̡̛͔͇̭͚̯̞̪̍́͋̀̀̈́͋̏͑͛͆͘͝!̷̥̭̠̗͋̂͐̓͑͋͆͑̐̇</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115378300404836827">Jeff Johnson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115378300404836827"><p>The debate over Liquid Glass needs to be put into context. It’s not just an isolated incident. Apple has been systematically wrecking the Mac UI for many years: System Settings, Big Sur, Catalyst, etc. To evaluate Liquid Glass “on its own merits” is to ignore history.</p><p>Any theory you formulate that Apple has some unstated “good” reasons for its UI choices now has to account for ALL of the data, i.e., the historical data, the history of obviously bad UI choices.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115377668456835693">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115377668456835693"><p>Statistically, nobody cares about Liquid Glass. There has been no user revolt, no viral TikToks, no nothing. Nobody’s even complaining about the Music app. On the flipside, nobody is proclaiming its virtues, either. It just kinda… is, and everybody is moving on with their lives.</p><p>The only thing anybody seems to care about is transparent & tinted icons — which a certain kind of person seems to <em>love</em></p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/on-liquid-glass/">On Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/how-to-turn-liquid-glass-into-a-solid-interface/">How to Turn Liquid Glass Into a Solid Interface</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/tahoe-window-corners/">Tahoe Window Corners</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-content-vs-controls/">Liquid Glass: Content vs. Controls</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/liquid-glass-is-cracked/">Liquid Glass Is Cracked</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/ipados-26/">iPadOS 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/ios-26/">iOS 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/30/assorted-notes-on-liquid-glass/">Assorted Notes on Liquid Glass</a></li></ul> <p id="shipping-liquid-glass-update-2025-10-17">Update (<a href="#shipping-liquid-glass-update-2025-10-17">2025-10-17</a>): <a href="https://crafted.numericcitizen.me/apple-liquid-glass-fails">JF Martin</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://crafted.numericcitizen.me/apple-liquid-glass-fails"><p>I started working on this website after Apple’s WWDC conference in early July with the following goals in mind.</p><ol><li><p>Demonstrate that the beta cycle that follows the initial release at the WWDC conference doesn’t bring substantial improvements. </p></li><li><p>Demonstrate that Liquid Glass is a serious regression and that it will not age well over time.</p></li><li><p>Apple painted itself in the corner with Liquid Glass and the desire for UI-unification across its platforms. </p></li></ol></blockquote><p>Lots of screenshots and videos.</p> <p id="shipping-liquid-glass-update-2025-10-20">Update (<a href="#shipping-liquid-glass-update-2025-10-20">2025-10-20</a>): <a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115392665961695058">Pierre Igot</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115392665961695058"><p>How these sliders are supposed to be perceived as <em>not</em> disabled and actually clickable, I simply do not know. It goes against all my intuitions and decades of experience using a Mac.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/16/shipping-liquid-glass/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>13</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>MacBook Pro (M5, 2025)</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/macbook-pro-m5-2025/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/macbook-pro-m5-2025/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:49:13 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Hardware Announcement]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple M5]]></category> <category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MacBook Pro]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[United Kingdom]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49640</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (Hacker News, MacRumors, Slashdot): With M5, the 14-inch MacBook Pro gets even faster, more capable, and delivers a huge leap in AI performance. […] Additionally, it offers phenomenal battery life of up to 24 hours, so users can take their pro workflows anywhere. With the latest storage technology, the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-unveils-new-14-inch-macbook-pro-powered-by-the-m5-chip/">Apple</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45591902">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/15/apple-announces-macbook-pro-with-m5-chip/">MacRumors</a>, <a href="https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/10/15/1745223/new-macbook-pro-does-not-include-a-charger-in-the-box-in-europe">Slashdot</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-unveils-new-14-inch-macbook-pro-powered-by-the-m5-chip/"><p>With M5, the 14-inch MacBook Pro gets even faster, more capable, and delivers a huge leap in AI performance.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Additionally, it offers phenomenal battery life of up to 24 hours, so users can take their pro workflows anywhere. With the latest storage technology, the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 brings faster SSD performance than the previous generation for tasks like importing RAW image files or exporting large videos.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Altogether, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 delivers an industry-leading combination of capabilities for the same starting price of $1,599 — making it an even better value and upgrade for current and new Mac users.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Up to 2.1x faster build performance when compiling code in Xcode when compared to the 13‑inch MacBook Pro with M1, and up to 1.2x faster than the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/new-apple-m5-is-the-centerpiece-of-an-updated-14-inch-macbook-pro/">Andrew Cunningham</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/new-apple-m5-is-the-centerpiece-of-an-updated-14-inch-macbook-pro/"><p>But unlike the last couple MacBook Pro refreshes, Apple isn’t ready with Pro and Max versions of the M5 for higher-end 14-inch MacBook Pros and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Those models will continue to use the M4 Pro and M4 Max for now, and we probably shouldn’t expect an update for them until sometime next year.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Aside from the M5, the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro has essentially identical specs to the outgoing M4 version. It has a notched 14-inch screen with ProMotion support and a 3024×1964 resolution, three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and a 12 MP Center Stage webcam. It still weighs 3.4 pounds, and Apple still estimates the battery should last for “up to 16 hours” of wireless web browsing and up to 24 hours of video streaming. The main internal difference is an option for a 4TB storage upgrade, which will run you $1,200 if you’re upgrading from the base 512GB SSD.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-debuts-new-14-macbook-pro-with-the-m5-chip/">John Voorhees</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-debuts-new-14-macbook-pro-with-the-m5-chip/"><p>Although I’m impatient to see what an M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro are capable of, and I’m dying to see a Mac Studio configured with the M5 generation of chips, I’m glad Apple didn’t wait to release the M5 in the 14” MacBook Pro. If the chip is ready, why not?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/krzyzanowskim/status/1978477415950155965">Marcin Krzyzanowski</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/krzyzanowskim/status/1978477415950155965"><p>MacBook Pro M5 comes without a charger in the Europe (not eu), and with a charger in the US. for the same base price 🤡</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/zusor_io/status/1978521880966393993">Tobi</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/zusor_io/status/1978521880966393993"><p>EU requires that buyers have the option to buy products without a charging brick. Apple just decided to remove it entirely to fulfill that requirement.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@rosyna/115379563125367959">Rosyna Keller</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@rosyna/115379563125367959"><p>The new iPad gets the N1 but the MBP is stuck with Bluetooth 5.x?!</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-m5/">Apple M5</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/10/30/macbook-pro-2024/">MacBook Pro 2024</a></li></ul> <p id="macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-16">Update (<a href="#macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-16">2025-10-16</a>): <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2025/10/m5_chip_launches_with_macbook_pro_ipad_pro_vision_pro">John Gruber</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/115380230717659605">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/2025/10/m5_chip_launches_with_macbook_pro_ipad_pro_vision_pro"><p>The base 14-inch model, with the no-adjective M-series chip, is for people who probably would be better served with a MacBook Air but who wrongly believe they “need” a laptop with “Pro” in its name.</p></blockquote><p>These days, I think the base MacBook Pro seems less like an odd duck and more like a natural fit between the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro with the Pro processor. Compared with the MacBook Air, you get a larger and better display, longer battery life, more ports, an SD card slot, better sound, HDMI. If you need one or more of these things, but don’t need more RAM or CPU cores, you can save $400.</p> <blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/2025/10/m5_chip_launches_with_macbook_pro_ipad_pro_vision_pro"><p>Here’s a timeline of no-adjective M-series chips and when they appeared in the 14-inch MacBook Pro[…]</p></blockquote> <p id="macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-17">Update (<a href="#macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-17">2025-10-17</a>): <a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/macbook-pro-charger-brouhaha/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/macbook-pro-charger-brouhaha/"><p>In Ireland, the MacBook Pro <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250810174211/https://www.apple.com/ie/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/14-inch">used to start</a> at €1,949; it <a href="https://www.apple.com/ie/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/14-inch">now starts</a> at €1,849; in France, it <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250604085352/https://www.apple.com/fr/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro">was €1,899</a>, and it is <a href="https://www.apple.com/fr/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro">now €1,799</a>. As mentioned, the adapter is €65, making these new Macs €35 less with a comparable configuration. The same is true in each Euro-currency country I checked: Germany, Italy, and Spain all received a €100 price cut if you do not want an A.C. adapter, and a €35 price cut if you do.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Countries with a charger in the box, on the other hand, see no such price adjustment, at least for the ones I have checked. The new M5 model starts at the same price as the M4 it replaces in Canada, Japan, Singapore, and the United States.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Maybe Apple was already planning a €100 price cut for these new models. The M4 was €100 less expensive than the M3 it replaced, for example, so it is plausible. That is something we simply cannot know. What we do know for certain is that these new MacBook Pros might not come with an A.C. adapter, but even if someone adds one at checkout, it still costs less in most places with this option.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/17/eu-didnt-stop-apple-including-charger/">Hartley Charlton</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/17/eu-didnt-stop-apple-including-charger/"><p>Apple’s decision to remove the charger entirely from the EU boxes therefore goes beyond what the law requires. The company could, for example, offer customers the option to include a charger at checkout for no additional cost, as long as it also sells a version without one. The lack of charger in the UK is even more unnecessary, since it is not part of the European Union.</p><p>The move to charge separately for adapters is therefore a business choice by Apple, not a legal necessity. The company’s approach simplifies logistics and packaging, avoiding the need for separate SKUs in Europe, but it also shifts the cost to customers who do not already own a compatible charger.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/17/m5-chip-macbook-pro-geekbench-benchmark/">Joe Rossignol</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/17/m5-chip-macbook-pro-geekbench-benchmark/"><p>Based on a single unconfirmed result uploaded to the Geekbench 6 database today, the M5 chip has pulled off an impressive feat. Specifically, the chip achieved a score of 4,263 for single-core CPU performance, which is the <strong>highest single-core score</strong> that has ever been recorded in the Geekbench 6 database for any Mac or PC processor.</p></blockquote> <p id="macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-20">Update (<a href="#macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-20">2025-10-20</a>): <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/17/m5-mbp-vs-m4-mba">John Gruber</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/115391346948832465">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/17/m5-mbp-vs-m4-mba"><p>In my defense, I did say “probably” in my post. My understanding is that the base MacBook Pro is a huge seller for Apple. So of course some very well-informed users are buying them for good reasons. But I really do think an awful lot of base MacBook Pro buyers are spending an extra $600 and carrying 0.7 pounds of extra weight for features they don’t actually notice or care about. They just think they need a “pro” laptop, and underestimate just how incredibly capable MacBook Airs are.</p></blockquote><p>It probably goes the other way, too. Once you get all the advantages of the base MacBook Pro over the Air, how many people really need the Pro or Max processor? The regular M4/M5 is really good. Before Apple Silicon, I had typically bought the fastest or second-fastest processor, but since then I’ve been getting the Pro instead of the Max and haven’t regretted it.</p> <p id="macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-21">Update (<a href="#macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-21">2025-10-21</a>): <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/20/uk-eu-hardware-directives-macbook-chargers">John Gruber</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/115408715338651601">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/20/uk-eu-hardware-directives-macbook-chargers"><p>I wondered why the U.K. — which left the EU five years ago — was affected. DF reader C.A. wrote, via email[…] Something similar (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area">the EEA</a>) is the reason why the power adapter isn’t in the box for Norway, either — a country that has never been part of the EU.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/20/heer-m5-mbp-charger">John Gruber</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/115408782128815045">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/20/heer-m5-mbp-charger"><p>The fact that the new M5 MacBook Pro costs less than the M4 models, even when paying extra to include a new power adapter, leads me to suspect that Apple was planning price cuts in these countries regardless.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The problem I see with the MacBook power adapter situation in Europe is that while power users — like the sort of people who read Daring Fireball and Pixel Envy — will have no problem buying exactly the sort of power adapter they want, or simply re-using a good one they already own, normal users have no idea what makes a “good” power adapter. I suspect there are going to be a lot of Europeans who buy a new M5 MacBook Pro and wind up charging it with inexpensive low-watt power adapters meant for things like phones, and wind up with a shitty, slow charging experience.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/m5-macbook-pro-review-the-ultimate-computer/">Jason Snell</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/m5-macbook-pro-review-the-ultimate-computer/"><p>The biggest disappointment is probably wireless connectivity. The MacBook Pro still doesn’t support Wi-Fi 7 or Bluetooth 6 (it’s Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3). We all know that Apple doesn’t always rush to support new connectivity standards, but in this case, Apple <em>is</em> supporting those standards—on the iPhone and iPad, but not the Mac. Apple is justifiably proud of its new N1 chip, which provides that connectivity to those other products—and yet it’s apparently going to be another product cycle where Macs are lagging behind.</p><p>I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the fact that we’re now entering another Mac release cycle with no cellular option on Apple’s laptops. This has been a perplexing omission for years—tethering to a phone is not a cure-all, and Apple’s been offering cellular iPads since the very beginning. But it’s now officially extra baffling, because Apple is shipping its very own C1 and C1X chips in iPhones and iPads. Apple now makes its own cellular radios, but still refuses to put them in Macs. If not now, when?</p></blockquote> <p id="macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-22">Update (<a href="#macbook-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-22">2025-10-22</a>): <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/review/14-inch-macbook-pro/">Joe Rossignol</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/review/14-inch-macbook-pro/"><p>The first reviews of the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip have been shared by selected publications and YouTube channels, ahead of the device launching this Wednesday.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://creativestrategies.com/research/m5-apple-silicon-its-all-about-the-cache-and-tensors/">Max Weinbach</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://creativestrategies.com/research/m5-apple-silicon-its-all-about-the-cache-and-tensors/"><p>With this generation and M5, I think it’s one of the larger changes in recent history for Apple Silicon! Let’s talk about it in 3 parts: CPU, GPU, and cache!</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/22/m5-macbook-pro-first-impressions/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/22/m5-macbook-pro-first-impressions/"><p>On Geekbench 6 tests, the M5 MacBook Pro earned a single-core score of 4220 and a multi-core score of 16781, while the M4 MacBook Pro earned a single-core score of 3834 and a multi-core score of 15453. Apple says that M5 CPU speeds are up to 15 percent faster than M4 speeds.</p><p>As for the GPU, the M5 earned an OpenCL score of 48101 and a Metal score of 75536, while the M4 earned a score of 38023 and a Metal Score of 57822. Apple says that GPU speeds are up to 30 percent faster.</p><p>SSD speeds have also improved, and Apple says it's up to 2x faster. That proved to be correct in our Blackmagic disk speed tests.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/macbook-pro-m5-2025/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>9</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>iPad Pro (M5, 8th Generation)</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/ipad-pro-m5-8th-generation/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/ipad-pro-m5-8th-generation/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:49:06 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple C1X]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Hardware Announcement]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple M5]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple N1]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS Multitasking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPad]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPad Pro]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49638</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (Hacker News, MacRumors, MacStories): M5 unlocks the most advanced iPad experience ever, packing an incredible amount of power and AI performance into the ultraportable design of iPad Pro. […] N1, the new Apple-designed wireless networking chip, enables the latest generation of wireless technologies with support for Wi-Fi 7 on iPad Pro. The C1X modem […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-introduces-the-powerful-new-ipad-pro-with-the-m5-chip/">Apple</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45591905">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/15/apple-debuts-new-ipad-pro-with-m5/">MacRumors</a>, <a href="https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-announces-new-m5-ipad-pros/">MacStories</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-introduces-the-powerful-new-ipad-pro-with-the-m5-chip/"><p>M5 unlocks the most advanced iPad experience ever, packing an incredible amount of power and AI performance into the ultraportable design of iPad Pro.</p><p>[…]</p><p>N1, the new Apple-designed wireless networking chip, enables the latest generation of wireless technologies with support for Wi-Fi 7 on iPad Pro. The C1X modem comes to cellular models of iPad Pro, delivering up to 50 percent faster cellular data performance than its predecessor with even greater efficiency, allowing users to do more on the go. Available in space black and silver, iPad Pro comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, and features the Ultra Retina XDR display for an unparalleled viewing experience.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/the-ipad-pro-gets-the-m5-treatment/">Dan Moren</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/the-ipad-pro-gets-the-m5-treatment/"><p>Other than the new processor and networking chips, the specs of the M5 iPad Pro remain largely identical to its predecessor, including its accessory support, physical dimensions and weight, color options (space black and silver, naturally), and 10-hour battery life for surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video. The M5 model, however, does support fast charging of up to 50 percent in 30 minutes with Apple’s 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max or other compatible adapter.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/15/psa-m5-ipad-pro-models-come-with-different-ram-and-cpu-core-counts/">Ryan Christoffel</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/15/psa-m5-ipad-pro-models-come-with-different-ram-and-cpu-core-counts/"><p>This year, it’s a similar story in terms of differentiated models, but Apple is actually disclosing all the details of the M5 iPad Pro SKUs up front.</p><p>[…]</p><p>As you can see, the two lower-tier storage options include only 12GB of memory and 9-core CPUs.</p><p>But if you go with a 1TB model or higher, you get a full 16GB of memory and 10-core CPU.</p><p>One other detail worth noting: just like on the M4, you can only order a nano-texture M5 iPad Pro if you opt for a 1TB version or higher.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://birchtree.me/blog/this-is-a-mac-sorry-an-ipad/">Matt Birchler</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://birchtree.me/blog/this-is-a-mac-sorry-an-ipad/"><p>I couldn’t help but be struck by the hero image Apple used in their M5 iPad Pro announcement. In several ways, it laughs in the face of core tenets of the traditional iPad experience.</p><ol><li>It’s explicitly sold as a device you will use in a laptop form factor.</li><li>Touch input may be implied, but the use case they’re demonstrating is keyboard and mouse.</li><li>There are many windows.</li><li>Those windows are overlapping each other.</li><li>Several windows clip off the screen.</li></ol></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@BasicAppleGuy/115378712930783832">BasicAppleGuy</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@BasicAppleGuy/115378712930783832"><p>Looks like Apple has removed the “iPad Pro” branding from the back of the iPads which appeared in 2022 with the M2 iPad Pro.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-m5/">Apple M5</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/05/07/ipad-pro-7th-generation/">iPad Pro (M4, 7th Generation)</a></li></ul> <p id="ipad-pro-m5-8th-generation-update-2025-10-22">Update (<a href="#ipad-pro-m5-8th-generation-update-2025-10-22">2025-10-22</a>): <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/review/ipad-pro/">Joe Rossignol</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/review/ipad-pro/"><p>The first reviews of the iPad Pro with the M5 chip have been shared by selected publications and YouTube channels, ahead of the device launching this Wednesday.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/m5-ipad-pro-review-promise-fulfilled/">Jason Snell</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/m5-ipad-pro-review-promise-fulfilled/"><p>I did my testing across two days on AT&T’s 5G network, and while speeds were all over the place, on average, the M5 iPad Pro was a little slower at download and a whole lot faster at upload. Obviously, your mileage will vary depending on your carrier and geography. It’s certainly a viable chip, and that 6.8× improvement in upstream speed was especially surprising.</p><p>I do have to commend the little guy for actually getting a single bar of Verizon, something that no plumber or HVAC installer has ever managed at my house. It managed to download data at 30Mbps, though it could barely upload anything. Still, the fact that it managed to connect at all is pretty inspiring.</p><p>Apple’s N1 chip offers Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, including Wi-Fi 7. I tested the M4 and M5 iPads on my local Wi-Fi 7 network, and it went pretty much as you might expect: the M4, which only supports Wi-Fi 6E, lagged behind the M5 with its pure Wi-Fi 7 power.</p><p>[…]</p><p>There’s certainly more work to be done on iPadOS. But when I take the M5 iPad Pro out for a spin, powered by iPadOS 26, I am reminded that all my angst about the iPad’s hardware outpacing its operating system is beginning to fade away. The hardware is still amazing, to be sure, but it <em>does</em> feel like the operating system loves it back. […] I don’t know where this is all headed, but between iPadOS 26 and the M5 iPad Pro, it feels like the iPad Pro has finally fulfilled the promise it showed a decade ago.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macstories.net/stories/m5-ipad-pro-review/">Federico Viticci</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macstories.net/stories/m5-ipad-pro-review/"><p>How do you review an iPad Pro that’s visually identical to its predecessor and marginally improves upon its performance with a spec bump and some new wireless radios?</p><p>[…]</p><p>Unfortunately, while Apple’s claims sound enticing, and the Neural Accelerators should improve AI tasks on a variety of fronts, such as token generation per second and <a href="https://huggingface.co/blog/tngtech/llm-performance-prefill-decode-concurrent-requests">prefill time</a> (for <a href="https://www.emergentmind.com/topics/time-to-first-token-ttft">time-to-first-token</a> evaluations), these improvements have little to no practical use on an iPad Pro compared to a Mac right now. And it all comes down to the fact that, despite better multitasking and <a href="https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-and-ipados-26-the-macstories-review/9/#ipados">other features in iPadOS 26</a>, <strong>there isn’t a strong app ecosystem</strong> to take advantage of local LLMs on iPad, beginning with Apple’s own models.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Naturally, I wanted to test these models myself and see if I would have any practical use cases for them with my iPad Pro workflow. But I immediately ran into a series of problems, for which only Apple is to blame[…]</p><p>[…]</p><p>The multitasking and windowing experience of the M5 iPad Pro is essentially the same as the M4, despite the improvements to the new chip and faster memory. I’m not ready to say that Apple has hit a performance wall with their new iPadOS windowing engine already, but at the same time, I’m not sure why Macs with 16 GB of RAM and much older chipsets could keep a lot more windows open at once back in the day.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/viticci-m5-ipad-pro/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/viticci-m5-ipad-pro/"><p>Viticci’s frustration with the state of A.I. models on the iPad Pro is palpable. Ideally and hopefully, it is a future-friendly system, but that is not usually the promise of Apple’s products. It usually likes to tell a complete story with the potential for sequels. To get even a glimpse of what that story looks like, Viticci had to go to great lengths, as documented in his review.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/ipad-pro-m5-8th-generation/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Apple Vision Pro (M5, 2025)</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-vision-pro-m5-2025/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-vision-pro-m5-2025/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:49:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Hardware Announcement]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple M5]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple R1]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Vision Pro]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category> <category><![CDATA[visionOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[visionOS 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49636</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (Hacker News, MacStories): Apple today introduced Apple Vision Pro with the powerful M5 chip that delivers a leap forward in performance, improved display rendering, faster AI-powered workflows, and extended battery life. The upgraded Vision Pro also comes with the soft, cushioned Dual Knit Band to help users achieve an even more comfortable fit, and […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-vision-pro-upgraded-with-the-m5-chip-and-dual-knit-band/">Apple</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45591801">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-reveals-the-m5-apple-vision-pro/">MacStories</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-vision-pro-upgraded-with-the-m5-chip-and-dual-knit-band/"><p>Apple today introduced <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/">Apple Vision Pro</a> with the powerful <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-unleashes-m5-the-next-big-leap-in-ai-performance-for-apple-silicon/">M5 chip</a> that delivers a leap forward in performance, improved display rendering, faster AI-powered workflows, and extended battery life. The upgraded Vision Pro also comes with the soft, cushioned Dual Knit Band to help users achieve an even more comfortable fit, and visionOS 26, which unlocks innovative spatial experiences, including widgets, new Personas, an interactive Jupiter Environment, and new Apple Intelligence features with support for additional languages. There are over 1 million apps and thousands of games on the App Store, hundreds of 3D movies on the Apple TV app, and all-new series and films in Apple Immersive with a selection of live NBA games coming soon.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/798962/apple-m5-vision-pro-headset-mixed-reality">Victoria Song</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.theverge.com/news/798962/apple-m5-vision-pro-headset-mixed-reality"><p>But aside from the chip upgrade, nothing about the Vision Pro’s design has changed. Instead, Apple’s press release claims that the M5 chip will bring faster processing and more detailed image rendering. Specifically, the M5 renders 10 percent more pixels on the OLED displays and can increase refresh rates up to 120Hz. Previously it maxed out at 100Hz. As for processing, AI-powered features like a Persona or spatial photos are up to 50 percent faster. Battery life is also improved by about 30 minutes, up to 2.5 hours of general use and three hours of video playback.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/apple-launches-m5-powered-vision-pro-with-new-dual-knit-band/">Dan Moren</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/apple-launches-m5-powered-vision-pro-with-new-dual-knit-band/"><p>Those hoping for a price change will be disappointed: it still starts at $3,499 with storage tiers in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB at the same prices as before. In addition to the new Dual Knit Band, it includes the same Light Seal, pair of Light Seal Cushions, cover, polishing cloth, battery, and USB-C cable. However it also includes Apple’s recently announced 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max, though it seems like an expensive way to get that if you want it.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/15/apple-announces-vision-pro-with-m5-chip/">Joe Rossignol</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/15/apple-announces-vision-pro-with-m5-chip/"><p>The new Dual Knit Band comes in small, medium, and large sizes. It is <a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/product/DUAL_KNIT_BAND_SA/apple-vision-pro-dual-knit-band">available to purchase separately for $99</a>, and it is compatible with the previous-generation Vision Pro. You can find your preferred size by using the Apple Store app on the iPhone.</p><p>Apple says the Dual Knit Band features two straps knitted into a single piece. The upper strap goes across the top of the head, and the lower strap goes across the back of the head. The lower strap has tungsten inserts that provide a counterweight for additional comfort, balance, and stability. You can adjust the fit of both of the straps with the Fit Dial.</p><p>Another new accessory is the <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/15/new-accessories-for-vision-pro-now-available/">Logitech Muse spatial stylus</a>, and Apple will begin selling the PlayStation VR2 Sense controller starting Tuesday, November 11.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/115378434296190934">Federico Viticci</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/115378434296190934"><p>They literally did an official version of the <a href="https://www.macstories.net/stories/vision-pro-chronicles-my-custom-dual-knit-open-setup-for-maximum-comfort-and-awareness/">custom "dual-knit" accessory</a> for the Vision Pro from Etsy last year!</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/markgurman/status/1978492907855503771">Mark Gurman</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/markgurman/status/1978492907855503771"><p>The M5 Vision Pro is advertised as quite a bit heavier than the M2 Vision Pro -- Likely because of the new strap (which is clearly heavier but solves the comfort problem).</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115378358360636638">Jeff Johnson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115378358360636638"><p>0.3% of Vision Pro apps are built for visionOS. And this is Apple’s own marketing!</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115377962800946195">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115377962800946195"><p>Vision Pro is rapidly coming on 2 years old now and Apple still hasn’t ported Pages or Numbers to it, and half the built-in apps on the OS are emulated iPad apps. It would be embarrassing if it weren’t so very desperately sad. They effectively halted all in-box-app progress the moment it was shown off at WWDC23 — nothing new has been announced since</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115378426929136686">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115378426929136686"><p>2 years on and Apple still hasn’t figured out a deal with Netflix for the Vision Pro?</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-m5/">Apple M5</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/meta-ray-ban-display/">Meta Ray-Ban Display</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/18/netflix-and-the-initial-apple-vision-pro-apps/">Netflix and the Initial Apple Vision Pro Apps</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/06/05/apple-vision-pro/">Apple Vision Pro</a></li></ul> <p id="apple-vision-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-16">Update (<a href="#apple-vision-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-16">2025-10-16</a>): <a href="https://birchtree.me/blog/screen-oddities-and-the-m5-vision-pro/">Matt Birchler</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://birchtree.me/blog/screen-oddities-and-the-m5-vision-pro/"><p>Maybe I’m misunderstanding something here, but it seems like the original model was unable to take full advantage of the displays, otherwise how would we be getting better display “specs” with the same hardware?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/2025/10/m5_chip_launches_with_macbook_pro_ipad_pro_vision_pro">John Gruber</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/2025/10/m5_chip_launches_with_macbook_pro_ipad_pro_vision_pro"><p>It’s a tacit acknowledgement that physical comfort has been a real problem for many people who’ve tried Vision Pro. (Me, personally, I find using it with the Solo Knit Band comfortable for as long as I care to use it — which is typically just 2–3 hours, tops.)</p><p>[…]</p><p>No price drop, no change to the form factor. But Apple’s interest in the platform is very much alive.</p></blockquote> <p id="apple-vision-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-17">Update (<a href="#apple-vision-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-17">2025-10-17</a>): <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/17/apple-vision-pro-dual-knit-band-popular/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/17/apple-vision-pro-dual-knit-band-popular/"><p>It appears M2 Vision Pro owners are eager for an accessory that makes the headset easier to wear, because the $99 Dual Knit Band is now backordered for at least a month. As of yesterday, new Dual Knit Band orders were delivering between November 7 and November 14, and wait times could get even longer.</p></blockquote> <p id="apple-vision-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-22">Update (<a href="#apple-vision-pro-m5-2025-update-2025-10-22">2025-10-22</a>): <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/review/vision-pro-m5-chip/">Joe Rossignol</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/review/vision-pro-m5-chip/"><p>The first reviews of the Vision Pro with the M5 chip have been shared by selected publications and YouTube channels, ahead of the device launching this Wednesday.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-vision-pro-m5-2025/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>13</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Apple M5</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-m5/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-m5/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:48:47 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Hardware Announcement]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple M5]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Processors]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thunderbolt]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49634</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (Hacker News, MacRumors): Built using third-generation 3-nanometer technology, M5 introduces a next-generation 10-core GPU architecture with a Neural Accelerator in each core, enabling GPU-based AI workloads to run dramatically faster, with over 4x the peak GPU compute performance compared to M4. The GPU also offers enhanced graphics capabilities and third-generation ray tracing that combined […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-unleashes-m5-the-next-big-leap-in-ai-performance-for-apple-silicon/">Apple</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45591799">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/15/apple-unveils-m5-chip-with-next-generation-gpu/">MacRumors</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-unleashes-m5-the-next-big-leap-in-ai-performance-for-apple-silicon/"><p>Built using third-generation 3-nanometer technology, M5 introduces a next-generation 10-core GPU architecture with a Neural Accelerator in each core, enabling GPU-based AI workloads to run dramatically faster, with over 4x the peak GPU compute performance compared to M4. The GPU also offers enhanced graphics capabilities and third-generation ray tracing that combined deliver a graphics performance that is up to 45 percent higher than M4. M5 features the world’s fastest performance core, with up to a 10-core CPU made up of six efficiency cores and up to four performance cores. Together, they deliver up to 15 percent faster multithreaded performance over M4. M5 also features an improved 16-core Neural Engine, a powerful media engine, and a nearly 30 percent increase in unified memory bandwidth to 153GB/s.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/macbook-pro-m5-2025/">MacBook Pro (M5, 2025)</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/ipad-pro-m5-8th-generation/">iPad Pro (M5, 8th Generation)</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-vision-pro-m5-2025/">Apple Vision Pro (M5, 2025)</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/05/07/apple-m4/">Apple M4</a></li></ul> <p id="apple-m5-update-2025-10-16">Update (<a href="#apple-m5-update-2025-10-16">2025-10-16</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@dimitribouniol/115382223281089233">Dimitri Bouniol</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@dimitribouniol/115382223281089233"><p>M5 seemingly only supporting Thunderbolt 4 ruins the hope I had that the base M5 Mac mini would support Thunderbolt 5 next year 😔</p></blockquote> <p id="apple-m5-update-2025-10-20">Update (<a href="#apple-m5-update-2025-10-20">2025-10-20</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@BasicAppleGuy/115406887900836842">BasicAppleGuy</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@BasicAppleGuy/115406887900836842"><p>Apple Silicon: M1 to M5</p></blockquote> <p id="apple-m5-update-2025-10-21">Update (<a href="#apple-m5-update-2025-10-21">2025-10-21</a>): <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/guide/m4-vs-m5-chip/">Hartley Charlton</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/guide/m4-vs-m5-chip/"><p>Compared to the M4 chip that Apple launched in May 2024, the M5 delivers[…]</p></blockquote> <p id="apple-m5-update-2025-10-22">Update (<a href="#apple-m5-update-2025-10-22">2025-10-22</a>): <a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/charting-the-course-of-the-m5-processor/">Jason Snell</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/charting-the-course-of-the-m5-processor/"><p>It reminded me, though, that I have tried to build some charts to help visualize how Apple’s chip progress is going. I wrote about this <a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/09/charting-the-path-of-the-a19-pro/">for the A series of chips</a> back in September. Here are the requisite M series charts[…]</p><p>[…]</p><p>So the very, very broad overview of what the M5 brings is a lot like the overview of the A19: In this generation, the CPU cores got a bit better, and the GPU cores took a much larger jump.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macstories.net/linked/max-weinbach-on-the-m5s-neural-accelerators/">Federico Viticci</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macstories.net/linked/max-weinbach-on-the-m5s-neural-accelerators/"><p>Looking at Max’s benchmarks with Qwen3 8B and a ~20,000-token prompt, there is indeed a <strong>3.65x speedup</strong> in tokens/sec in the prefill stage – jumping from 158.2 tok/s to a remarkable 578.7 tok/s. This is why I’m <em>very</em> excited about the future of MLX for local inference on M5, and why I’m also looking forward to M5 Pro/M5 Max chipsets in future Mac models.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/15/apple-m5/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Neo Network Utility 2.0</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/neo-network-utility-2-0/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/neo-network-utility-2-0/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 18:57:05 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Network Utility]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49627</guid> <description><![CDATA[Eric Böhnisch-Volkmann: Here’s Neo Network Utility 2.0 with a refreshed yet familiar design for macOS Tahoe, including menu icons, pill-shaped buttons, and a modern tab view. It actually looks good in Liquid Glass.Of course we didn’t just touch it up a bit. The new version lets you open multiple windows and run commands in all […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.devontechnologies.com/blog/20251014-network-utility-20">Eric Böhnisch-Volkmann</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.devontechnologies.com/blog/20251014-network-utility-20"><p>Here’s <a href="https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/freeware">Neo Network Utility 2.0</a> with a refreshed yet familiar design for macOS Tahoe, including menu icons, pill-shaped buttons, and a modern tab view. <em>It actually looks good in Liquid Glass.</em></p><p>Of course we didn’t just touch it up a bit. The new version lets you open <em>multiple windows</em> and run commands in all the tabs <em>simultaneously</em>. Switch between the tools from the menu or via key commands. On the Info tab, a <em>visual link status indicator</em> immediately tells you that the network connection is active, and with location services enabled, you can now see the interface’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_set_(802.11_network)">SSID and BSSID</a>. For looking up DNS data, Neo Network Utility uses the ICANN’s latest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registration_Data_Access_Protocol">RDAP</a> implementation.</p></blockquote> <p>This is a free replacement for Apple’s discontinued Network Utility.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/12/11/where-have-the-network-tools-gone/">Where Have the Network Tools Gone?</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/neo-network-utility-2-0/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>8</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Juice Jacking Protection Setting Broken in iOS 26</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/juice-jacking-protection-setting-broken-in-ios-26/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/juice-jacking-protection-setting-broken-in-ios-26/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 18:57:02 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bug]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Power]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USB]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49625</guid> <description><![CDATA[Ric Ford (PDF): Researchers at Graz University of Technology discovered severe, unpatched vulnerabilities in iPhones, Android phones and other devices that facilitate attacks and data theft via malicious USB chargers. Previously known and addressed as “juice jacking,” the effective new technique has been titled “ChoiceJacking.” Adam Engst: This vulnerability exists because USB ports can simultaneously […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macintouch.com/post/47108/device-compromise-via-usb-chargers-choicejacking/">Ric Ford</a> (<a href="https://tugraz.elsevierpure.com/ws/portalfiles/portal/89650227/Final_Paper_Usenix.pdf?is=0655bffd3b0155455e4c3215bfaeba9d238939d3ce718b1b3f5ee13407e44a9f">PDF</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macintouch.com/post/47108/device-compromise-via-usb-chargers-choicejacking/"><p>Researchers at Graz University of Technology discovered severe, unpatched vulnerabilities in iPhones, Android phones and other devices that facilitate attacks and data theft via malicious USB chargers. Previously known and addressed as “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juice_jacking">juice jacking</a>,” the effective new technique has been titled “ChoiceJacking.”</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/13/juice-jacking-protection-setting-broken-in-ios-26/">Adam Engst</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/13/juice-jacking-protection-setting-broken-in-ios-26/"><p>This vulnerability exists because USB ports can simultaneously transfer both power and data, potentially allowing a compromised charging station in an airport, hotel, or other public place to attack a connected iPhone.</p><p>Although there are <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/05/fearmongering-over-public-charging-stations-needs-to-stop-heres-why/">no</a> <a href="https://archive.is/20240430104307/https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/1/23850809/public-phone-charging-station-juice-jacking-airport-battery-fbi">reports</a> of juice jacking attacks in the wild, Apple added protection against this vulnerability years ago with a setting that explicitly prompts you to allow wired accessories to connect. You can configure iOS to handle accessories in four ways: ask every time, ask only for new accessories, automatically allow connections when the device is unlocked, or always allow connections.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Unfortunately, as a post on a private mailing list alerted me, there’s a bug in iOS 26.0.1 related to the accessory protection controls in <strong>Settings > Privacy & Security > Wired Accessories</strong>. The bug also affects iPadOS 26. For some iPhones and iPads, including both my iPhone 17 and fourth-generation iPad Air, the accessory connection control is locked to Always Allow, and a note below says, “This setting is managed by your organization and cannot be changed.”<a href="https://tidbits.com/uploads/2025/10/Wired-Accessories-protection-scaled.jpg"></a></p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/macos-26-0-1/">macOS 26.0.1</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/juice-jacking-protection-setting-broken-in-ios-26/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Apple TV, Apple TV, Apple TV, and Apple TV</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/apple-tv-apple-tv-apple-tv-and-apple-tv-2/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/apple-tv-apple-tv-apple-tv-and-apple-tv-2/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 18:56:59 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple TV]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple TV+]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Icons]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[TV.app]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49623</guid> <description><![CDATA[Eric Slivka: Buried in its announcement about “F1: The Movie” making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV.[…]Apple of course offers its set-top box hardware under the Apple TV name while also offering the Apple TV app across various platforms as a […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/13/apple-tv-plus-rebrand/">Eric Slivka</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/13/apple-tv-plus-rebrand/"><p>Buried in its <a href="https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2025/10/apple-original-films-blockbuster-feature-f1-the-movie-from-joseph-kosinski-to-make-global-streaming-debut-on-friday-december-12-2025/">announcement</a> about “F1: The Movie” making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-tv/">Apple TV</a>+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Apple of course offers its set-top box hardware under the Apple TV name while also offering the Apple TV app across various platforms as a hub for Apple TV + and other content. As a result, offering Apple’s streaming service itself under the same name may lead to some confusion, and the reason for the change is unclear.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/film_girl/status/1977781397277569494">Christina Warren</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/film_girl/status/1977781397277569494"><p>lol so I can watch Apple TV on the Apple TV app on Apple TV</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/bzamayo/status/1977763965275980035">Benjamin Mayo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/bzamayo/status/1977763965275980035"><p>No normal person ever referred to it as “Apple TV+”. Most people just called it Apple TV, and now that’s what it is called. Way better.</p></blockquote> <p>I thought “Apple TV+” made sense in that there are other “+” services like Disney+ and Apple News+. But, as with iCloud+, I don’t think the name really caught on. People just call them “Apple TV” and “iCloud” and then maybe mention that they’re subscribed or which plan they have.</p> <p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/13/apple-tv-minus">John Gruber</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/115367714685530051">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/13/apple-tv-minus"><p>Like, if you’re telling someone how much you enjoy <em>Slow Horses</em> and they ask how to watch it, it’s more natural and conversational to just say “It’s on Apple TV”. That’s what most people say.</p><p>[…]</p><p>But right there in Apple’s own “About Apple TV” description, you see just how overused “Apple TV” now is. You can watch Apple TV in Apple TV on Apple TV — the paid service in the free app on the set-top box. But you can watch any streaming service you want on the box, in that service’s own app. But many of those services are also available in the Apple TV app. And the Apple TV streaming service is also available on just about all other popular set-top hardware platforms. So you don’t need an Apple TV to watch Apple TV.</p></blockquote> <p>If anything, it’s the hardware that feels like it needs a new name now. But, as with the app, I guess people will just add a suffix (“box”) when they need to disambiguate.</p> <p><a href="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/13/apple-tv-rebranded-to-just-apple-tv/">Adam Engst</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/13/apple-tv-rebranded-to-just-apple-tv/"><p>While “Apple TV+” may not have been the most inspired name, removing the “+” hardly qualifies as creating a “vibrant new identity.” Craig Federighi’s WWDC jokes about Apple’s “crack product marketing team” being “fully baked” are starting to feel less like humor and more like accurate commentary.</p></blockquote> <p>I <em>guess</em> the “vibrant” is meant to refer to the new icon, but Apple did not make this clear.</p> <p><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/13/ios-and-tvos-26-1-will-introduce-vibrant-apple-tv-app-icon-following-rebranding/">Zac Hall</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/13/ios-and-tvos-26-1-will-introduce-vibrant-apple-tv-app-icon-following-rebranding/"><p>The Apple TV app only just got <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/09/15/new-ios-26-iphone-apps-icons-compared/">a refreshed icon</a> with iOS 26 and Apple’s Liquid Glass redesign.</p><p>Starting with iOS 26.1, Apple is adding a splash of color to the recently updated icon.</p></blockquote> <p>They’re also changing the <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/13/macos-26-1-beta-3-changes-polarizing-macintosh-hd-icon/">hard drive icon again</a>.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/11/04/apple-tv-apple-tv-apple-tv-and-apple-tv/">Apple TV, Apple TV, Apple TV, and Apple TV+</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/apple-tv-apple-tv-apple-tv-and-apple-tv-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Cultivated Task Cancellation</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/cultivated-task-cancellation/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/cultivated-task-cancellation/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 18:56:52 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Swift Concurrency]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Swift Programming Language]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49621</guid> <description><![CDATA[Max Seelemann (on his new blog): So how do you tell if a task supports cancellation? That’s tricky to answer per-se because cancellation is voluntary behavior and needs to be represented in the task’s value or error type. If you’re lucky, cancellation support (or lack thereof) is documented.[…]The designated way to check for cancellation is […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://macguru.dev/cultivated-task-cancellation/">Max Seelemann</a> (on his <a href="https://macguru.dev/and-now-i-blog/">new blog</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://macguru.dev/cultivated-task-cancellation/"><p>So how do you tell if a task supports cancellation? That’s tricky to answer per-se because cancellation is <em>voluntary behavior</em> and needs to be <em>represented</em> in the task’s value or error type. If you’re lucky, cancellation support (or lack thereof) is documented.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The designated way to check for cancellation is to use static properties like <code>Task.isCancelled</code>. Using static properties may seem odd at first, but it’s clever: APIs <em>called inside the task</em> can check for cancellation without knowing where they’re running or taking task handles as arguments. In fact, such APIs are probably the best way to handle cancellation, as we’ll see shortly.</p><p>[…]</p><p>You might be thinking, “okay, nice and all. But why go to all this effort to explain something that’s baked into the system anyway?” Well, I fear here comes an inconvenient truth. Not many things in the Standard Library and Foundation have cancellation support built in. In fact, as far as I know, it’s just <strong>three</strong>.</p></blockquote> <p id="cultivated-task-cancellation-update-2025-10-15">Update (<a href="#cultivated-task-cancellation-update-2025-10-15">2025-10-15</a>): <a href="https://macguru.dev/the-task-cancellation-trap/">Max Seelemann</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://macguru.dev/the-task-cancellation-trap/"><ul><li>The <code>Task</code> initializer is declared as <code>@discardableResult</code>, which means you can create a task and let go of its handle without a warning, like <code>Task {…}</code>. This makes it too easy to unintentionally set up a task that’s forgotten and runs forever.</li><li>It’s too easy to forget to call the cancel method. Especially when the task is stored in an array or dictionary rather than a single instance variable. Every task handle would need to be cancelled individually when removed or replaced.</li></ul><p>[…]</p><p>To solve number 2, we wrote a little wrapper called <a href="https://gist.github.com/macguru/d39e78a9a7f3c5a9ba742a6759d700c5"><code>ScopedTask</code></a>, which handles cancellation automatically.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I published the <a href="https://gist.github.com/macguru/d39e78a9a7f3c5a9ba742a6759d700c5">source for <code>ScopedTask</code> on GitHub</a>—feel free to use or adapt it to your needs.</p></blockquote> <p id="cultivated-task-cancellation-update-2025-10-21">Update (<a href="#cultivated-task-cancellation-update-2025-10-21">2025-10-21</a>): <a href="https://macguru.dev/task-cancellation-handlers/">Max Seelemann</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://macguru.dev/task-cancellation-handlers/"><p>The signature of the cancellation handler is <code>@Sendable () -> Void</code>—a synchronous sendable non-throwing non-isolated closure with no arguments and no return value. Which means:</p><ul><li>You cannot “return” or “throw” out of the main operation from the handler; you can only influence its course of execution.</li><li>To achieve that, you must use only sendable (thread-safe) constructs.</li><li>And these constructs must be synchronously accessible.</li></ul><p></p><p>[…]</p><p>The only standard library construct that fulfills all these requirements out of the box is <code>Task</code> itself. We’ll see an example shortly. But for anything else, you have no choice but to go to lower-level mechanisms…like <em>locks</em>.</p><p>[…]</p><p>So that is a simple function that suspends until cancelled. 😅 Only that, in my opinion, it’s not simple at all—it’s really complex with numerous pitfalls small and large. Should this keep you from implementing cancellable tasks? It shouldn’t, but you should sharpen your senses.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/14/cultivated-task-cancellation/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Clips Discontinued</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/clips-discontinued/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/clips-discontinued/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2025 00:18:45 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Clips]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sunset]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Video]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49614</guid> <description><![CDATA[Eric Slivka: Apple has essentially discontinued Clips, its video-editing app designed to allow users to combine video clips, images, and photos with voice-based titles, music, filters, and graphics to create enhanced videos that can be shared on social media sites.The app has been removed from the App Store, and a support document on Apple’s site […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/11/apples-clips-app-discontinued/">Eric Slivka</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/11/apples-clips-app-discontinued/"><p>Apple has essentially discontinued Clips, its video-editing app designed to allow users to combine video clips, images, and photos with voice-based titles, music, filters, and graphics to create enhanced videos that can be shared on social media sites.</p><p>The app has been <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/clips/id1212699939">removed from the App Store</a>, and a <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/123359">support document on Apple’s site</a> says that the app is no longer being updated and would no longer be available for download for new users as of yesterday.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@deeje/115359462387828994">Deeje Cooley</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@deeje/115359462387828994"><p>I never understood who Clips was for.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://duck.haus/@joesteel/115357459350332558">Joe Rosensteel</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://duck.haus/@joesteel/115357459350332558"><p>I would like someone at Apple to explain how the company that has the best smartphone video recording experience can’t make any good video editing apps for smartphones.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/Alex4D/status/1977101385947922691">Alex Gollner</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/Alex4D/status/1977101385947922691"><p>The effects, transitions and even transcribing titles in Clips were made in Motion.</p><p>Apple didn’t enable third-party toolmaking for Clips.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/bzamayo/status/1977090014459855025">Benjamin Mayo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/bzamayo/status/1977090014459855025"><p>speaking of Apple video editors, iMovie hasn’t received new features for like three years …</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/clips-sunset/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/clips-sunset/"><p>Before it was pulled offline, it was <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20251005133011/https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clips/id1212699939/">most recently updated</a> in May 2024.</p><p>I am truly curious about the likely lifespan of a few recent Apple apps. How much longer will Invites last? Sports seems like it could be around for longer, but I am a little worried about Classical, which still does not have a Mac app.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.curbcuts.co/blog/2025-10-11-apple-discontinues-clips-app">Steven Aquino</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.curbcuts.co/blog/2025-10-11-apple-discontinues-clips-app"><p>I remember covering Clips at the time of its introduction because, as ever, there were accessibility ties. To wit, Apple was boastful of the fact the app could generate real-time captions for its short-form videos; the captions were useful, of course, to Deaf and hard-of-hearing people so as to make dialogue more accessible and inclusive. Back then, I remember thinking how inspired it was given TikTok and Instagram Reels had yet to pervade the mainstream consciousness. Nowadays, the vast majority of these videos I see all have live captions enabled by default, and it’s heartening to notice the change as a lifelong disabled person who, coincidentally, has a level of congenital hearing loss.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/01/24/edits-and-clips/">Edits and Clips</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/12/11/apple-retiring-music-memos-app/">Apple Retiring Music Memos App</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2017/04/07/clips-1-0/">Clips 1.0</a></li></ul> <p id="clips-discontinued-update-2025-10-14">Update (<a href="#clips-discontinued-update-2025-10-14">2025-10-14</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@craiggrannell/115368792862706617">Craig Grannell</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@craiggrannell/115368792862706617"><p>I always rather liked Clips. It was fun, simple and creative. I used it for a few YouTube shorts. But then I liked Music Memos too – another smart little app that was also unceremoniously canned.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/13/apple-discontinues-clips-video-app/">Adam Engst</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://tidbits.com/2025/10/13/apple-discontinues-clips-video-app/"><p>I apparently recorded 19 seconds of test video in Clips in 2017, when it was introduced, but haven’t thought about it since editing Julio Ojeda-Zapata’s review (see “<a href="https://tidbits.com/2017/04/26/apples-new-clips-app-is-imovie-for-the-social-age/">Apple’s New Clips App Is iMovie for the Social Age</a>,” 26 April 2017). Although Julio liked Clips at the time, it didn’t seem to resonate with users, perhaps because it was never clear what you were supposed to do with the videos you created.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/clips-discontinued/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>8</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>NSO Group Acquired</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/nso-group-acquired/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/nso-group-acquired/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2025 00:18:40 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Acquisition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[NSO Group]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49612</guid> <description><![CDATA[Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai (via Hacker News): NSO spokesperson Oded Hershowitz told TechCrunch on Friday that “an American investment group has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership.” Confirmation of the deal came soon after Israeli tech news website Calcalist reported Friday that a group led by Hollywood producer Robert […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/10/spyware-maker-nso-group-confirms-acquisition-by-us-investors/">Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45555570">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/10/spyware-maker-nso-group-confirms-acquisition-by-us-investors/"><p>NSO spokesperson Oded Hershowitz told TechCrunch on Friday that “an American investment group has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership.” </p><p>Confirmation of the deal came soon after Israeli tech news website <a href="https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/s1jgvmitgx#google_vignette">Calcalist reported</a> Friday that a group led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds agreed to purchase the surveillance tech maker in a deal valued in the tens of millions of dollars.</p><p>[…]</p><p>NSO has long claimed that its spyware is designed to not target U.S. phone numbers, likely to avoid hurting its chances to enter the U.S. market. But the company <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/27/spyware-diplomats-us-pegasus/">was caught in 2021</a> targeting about a dozen U.S. government officials abroad. </p><p>Soon after, <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2021/11/03/us-bans-trade-with-security-firm-nso-group-over-pegasus-spyware/">the U.S. Commerce Department banned</a> American companies from trading with NSO by putting the spyware maker on the U.S. Entities List.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/evolution-of-apple-security-bounty-program/">Evolution of Apple Security Bounty Program</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/12/23/whatsapp-v-nso-group/">WhatsApp v. NSO Group</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/18/apple-drops-lawsuit-against-nso-group/">Apple Drops Lawsuit Against NSO Group</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/nso-group-acquired/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>AI in Chrome, Neon, and Dia</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/ai-in-chrome-neon-and-dia/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/ai-in-chrome-neon-and-dia/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2025 00:18:33 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dia Browser]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Google Chrome]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Google Gemini/Bard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Neon Browser]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web Browser]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49610</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover: Google today said that Gemini AI is being integrated into the Chrome browser for the Mac and PC. Chrome users in the U.S. will get the functionality first, with Gemini able to clarify complex information on any webpage. There will be a small Gemini symbol in the upper right side of the browser […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/18/google-adds-gemini-ai-to-chrome/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/18/google-adds-gemini-ai-to-chrome/"><p>Google today said that Gemini AI is being <a href="https://blog.google/products/chrome/new-ai-features-for-chrome/">integrated into the Chrome browser</a> for the Mac and PC. Chrome users in the U.S. will get the functionality first, with Gemini able to clarify complex information on any webpage.</p><p>There will be a small Gemini symbol in the upper right side of the browser that will offer options like learn about the page or explore a topic when clicked. By default, the Ask Gemini interface will answer questions about the tab that you have open.</p></blockquote><p>There’s also a big <strong>AI Mode</strong> button in the address bar to initiate searches.</p> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/30/opera-ai-browser-neon-launch/">Tim Hardwick</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/30/opera-ai-browser-neon-launch/"><p><a href="https://www.operaneon.com/">Opera</a> today launched its subscription-based, AI-focused <a href="https://www.operaneon.com/">Neon browser</a>, which joins a growing field of companies touting agentic browsing capabilities.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Available to early access users at $19.99 per month, Neon aims to go beyond traditional browsing by using AI to execute tasks directly within the browser. Neon can open and close tabs, compare information across multiple sources, and even complete transactions on a user’s behalf.</p><p>Central to Neon’s design is the Tasks feature, which creates self-contained workspaces for different projects. Each Task functions like a mini-browser with its own context, allowing the AI to act across multiple sources without accessing information from other parts of the browser.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/09/ai-browser-dia-launches-publicly-on-mac/">Tim Hardwick</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/09/ai-browser-dia-launches-publicly-on-mac/"><p>The Browser Company’s <a href="https://www.diabrowser.com/">Dia</a> app is now open to anyone on Mac. It’s the first time the AI-powered browser has been widely available since its beta launch in June.</p><p>Dia is another AI-first browsing experience that’s centered around tab-based chat functionality. The browser includes Skills, which are a mix of user-created and built-in shortcuts for everyday tasks like planning, learning, writing, and coding. Current Skills include summarization, fact-checking, browsing history analysis, outlining, and productivity planning.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/04/atlassian-acquires-the-browser-company/">Atlassian Acquires The Browser Company</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/03/google-search-remedies/">Google Search Remedies</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/30/arc-and-dia/">Arc and Dia</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/12/16/gemini-2-0/">Gemini 2.0</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/ai-in-chrome-neon-and-dia/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Script to Detect Slow USB-C Cables</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/script-to-detect-slow-usb-c-cables/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/script-to-detect-slow-usb-c-cables/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2025 00:18:27 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cable]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Claude]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Open Source]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USB]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USB-C]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49608</guid> <description><![CDATA[Kaushik Gopal (via Hacker News): You have a drawer full of USB cables. Half are junk that barely charge your phone. The other half transfer data at full speed. But which is which? […] The script parses macOS’s system_profiler SPUSBHostDataType command, which produces a dense, hard-to-scan raw output[…] […] The first version was a bash […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://kau.sh/blog/usbi/">Kaushik Gopal</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45489317">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://kau.sh/blog/usbi/"><p>You have a drawer full of USB cables. Half are junk that barely charge your phone. The other half transfer data at full speed. But which is which?</p><p>[…]</p><p>The script parses macOS’s <code>system_profiler SPUSBHostDataType</code> command, which produces a dense, hard-to-scan raw output[…]</p><p>[…]</p><p>The first version was a bash script I cobbled together with AI. It worked, but was a mess to maintain. Because I let AI take the wheel, even minor tweaks like changing output colors were difficult.</p></blockquote><p>But then he asked Claude to rewrite it to be easier to maintain.</p><blockquote cite="https://kau.sh/blog/usbi/"><p>That’s the real story. Not the script, but how AI changes the calculus of what’s worth our time.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/03/21/vibe-coding/">Vibe Coding</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/10/18/usb-c-cables-comparison/">USB-C Cables Comparison</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/10/05/avoid-overspending-for-iphone-15-usb-c-cables-and-chargers/">Avoid Overspending for iPhone 15 USB-C Cables and Chargers</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/10/05/usb-simplifies-branding-but-reintroduces-active-cables/">USB Simplifies Branding But Reintroduces Active Cables</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/12/20/usbefuddled/">USBefuddled</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/07/16/how-many-kinds-of-usb-c-to-usb-c-cables-are-there/">How Many Kinds of USB-C to USB-C Cables Are There?</a></li></ul> <p id="script-to-detect-slow-usb-c-cables-update-2025-10-14">Update (<a href="#script-to-detect-slow-usb-c-cables-update-2025-10-14">2025-10-14</a>): <a href="https://information.garden/@benfry/113221766338597625">Ben Fry</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://information.garden/@benfry/113221766338597625"><p>Quick hack to detect the speed of plugged-in USB devices on macOS, then write a simple HTML page with the info and open it in a browser. Very basic Python script now posted as a <a href="https://gist.github.com/benfry/304938b9a4e27ded65c0b36eb70b8272">GitHub gist</a>.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/12/script-to-detect-slow-usb-c-cables/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Evolution of Apple Security Bounty Program</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/evolution-of-apple-security-bounty-program/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/evolution-of-apple-security-bounty-program/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 20:52:35 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Security Bounty]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Exploit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Gatekeeper]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Transparency Consent and Control (TCC)]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49604</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (Wired, MacRumors): We’re doubling our top award to $2 million for exploit chains that can achieve similar goals as sophisticated mercenary spyware attacks. This is an unprecedented amount in the industry and the largest payout offered by any bounty program we’re aware of — and our bonus system, providing additional rewards for Lockdown Mode […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://security.apple.com/blog/apple-security-bounty-evolved/">Apple</a> (<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/apple-announces-2-million-bug-bounty-reward/">Wired</a>, <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/10/apple-bug-bounty-program-overhauled/">MacRumors</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://security.apple.com/blog/apple-security-bounty-evolved/"><p>We’re doubling our top award to $2 million for exploit chains that can achieve similar goals as sophisticated mercenary spyware attacks. This is an unprecedented amount in the industry and the largest payout offered by any bounty program we’re aware of — and our bonus system, providing additional rewards for Lockdown Mode bypasses and vulnerabilities discovered in beta software, can more than double this reward, with a maximum payout in excess of $5 million. We’re also doubling or significantly increasing rewards in many other categories to encourage more intensive research. This includes $100,000 for a complete Gatekeeper bypass, and $1 million for broad unauthorized iCloud access, as no successful exploit has been demonstrated to date in either category.</p></blockquote><p>They’re referring to a Gatekeeper bypass “with no user interaction,” but I don’t really understand what that would mean. Doesn’t Gatekeeper only come into play when there <em>is</em> user interaction? If there’s no user interaction, that seems like it would be a zero-click exploit, which should be worth way more than $100K.</p><blockquote cite="https://security.apple.com/blog/apple-security-bounty-evolved/"><p>In addition to increasing reward amounts and expanding bounty categories, we’re making it easier for researchers to objectively demonstrate their findings — and to determine the expected reward for their specific research report. Target Flags, inspired by capture-the-flag competitions, are built into our operating systems and allow us to rapidly review the issue and process a resulting reward, even before we release a fix.</p><p>When researchers demonstrate security issues using Target Flags, the specific flag that’s captured objectively demonstrates a given level of capability — for example, register control, arbitrary read/write, or code execution — and directly correlates to the reward amount, making the award determination more transparent than ever. Because Target Flags can be programmatically verified by Apple as part of submitted findings, researchers who submit eligible reports with Target Flags will receive notification of their bounty award immediately upon our validation of the captured flag. Confirmed rewards will be issued in an upcoming payment cycle rather than when a fix becomes available, underscoring the trust we’ve built with our core researcher community.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115350004211533182">Jeff Johnson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115350004211533182"><p>A major evolution would be if Apple actually paid people who submitted bugs instead of arbitrarily deciding “nope”</p></blockquote> <p>The changes sound good, but this was my first thought, too. I think the problem with the bounty program wasn’t that it didn’t <em>claim</em> to pay enough or in enough categories. It was that Apple has a history of not counting exploits that seem like they should count, downgrading them to lower categories, delaying fixes and thus payments, and withholding payments until after being called out in the press. If you discover an exploit, it should be a no-brainer to write it up and submit it through the proper channels because you trust that Apple will take it seriously and that you’ll get paid. But that’s not the case from what I’ve seen.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/10/21/tcc-and-gatekeeper-bypasses/">TCC and Gatekeeper Bypasses</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/05/14/no-bounty-for-kernel-vulnerability/">No Bounty for Kernel Vulnerability</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/01/19/an-examination-of-the-bug-bounty-marketplace/">An Examination of the Bug Bounty Marketplace</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/10/29/denis-tokarevs-four-zero-days/">Denis Tokarev’s Four Zero-Days</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/09/09/security-researchers-unhappy-with-apples-bug-bounty-program/">Security Researchers Unhappy With Apple’s Bug Bounty Program</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/07/13/more-trouble-with-the-apple-security-bounty/">More Trouble With the Apple Security Bounty</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/06/23/password-reset-icloud-account-vulnerability/">Password Reset iCloud Account Vulnerability</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/12/07/tcc-doesnt-prevent-protected-folders-from-being-listed/">Sandbox Doesn’t Protect Files From stat()</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/10/08/we-hacked-apple-for-3-months/">We Hacked Apple for 3 Months</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/07/02/safari-privacy-protections-bypass/">Safari Privacy Protections Bypass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/05/19/apple-vs-security-researchers/">Apple vs. Security Researchers</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/10/09/file-system-events-privacy-protections-bypass/">File System Events Privacy Protections Bypass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/02/07/keysteal-mac-keychain-exploit/">KeySteal Mac Keychain Exploit</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/01/29/major-facetime-privacy-bug/">Major FaceTime Privacy Bug</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2016/08/15/apple-security/">Apple Security</a></li></ul> <p id="evolution-of-apple-security-bounty-program-update-2025-10-15">Update (<a href="#evolution-of-apple-security-bounty-program-update-2025-10-15">2025-10-15</a>): See also: <a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/10/apples-bug-bounty-program.html">Bruce Schneier</a>.</p> <p id="evolution-of-apple-security-bounty-program-update-2025-10-20">Update (<a href="#evolution-of-apple-security-bounty-program-update-2025-10-20">2025-10-20</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@rosyna/115395295346331948">Rosyna Keller</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@rosyna/115395295346331948"><p>I’m going to write a blog post about a privacy leak Apple fixed reluctantly, didn’t get a CVE, and then Apple decided wasn’t worth a bug bounty despite the very important information it leaked.</p><p>It’s gotta be responsible to disclose it by now. But it was damn hard to find a phone that’ll run iOS 18.7, because Apple decided not to fix it there.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/evolution-of-apple-security-bounty-program/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>DEICER Removed From the App Store</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/deicer-removed-from-the-app-store/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/deicer-removed-from-the-app-store/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 20:52:30 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store Rejection]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store Takedown]]></category> <category><![CDATA[DEICER]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Law Enforcement]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49602</guid> <description><![CDATA[Pablo Manríquez: Apple has quietly removed DeICER, a civic-reporting app used to log immigration enforcement activity, from its App Store after a law enforcement complaint — invoking a rule normally reserved for protecting marginalized groups from hate speech. […] Apple told developer Rafael Concepcion that the app violated Guideline 1.1.1, which prohibits “defamatory, discriminatory, or […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://migrantinsider.com/p/scoop-apple-quietly-made-ice-agents">Pablo Manríquez</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://migrantinsider.com/p/scoop-apple-quietly-made-ice-agents"><p>Apple has quietly removed DeICER, a civic-reporting app used to log immigration enforcement activity, from its App Store after a law enforcement complaint — invoking a rule normally reserved for protecting marginalized groups from hate speech.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Apple told developer Rafael Concepcion that the app violated Guideline 1.1.1, which prohibits “defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content” directed at “religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, national/ethnic origin, or other targeted groups.”</p></blockquote> <p>Some people are upset about this part because government officers aren’t normally considered a protected class. But that’s not the language the guideline uses. And I see no reason to allow this sort of content targeted at <em>any</em> group, be it teachers, Supreme Court justices, people who look a certain way or live in a certain state, whatever. Apple’s reasoning isn’t bogus because it’s protecting the wrong people; it’s bogus because that’s not what the app is doing.</p> <blockquote cite="https://migrantinsider.com/p/scoop-apple-quietly-made-ice-agents"><p>But Apple’s justification went further. “Information provided to Apple by law enforcement shows that your app violates Guideline 1.1.1 because its purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers <strong>that</strong> can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group,” the company wrote in its removal notice.</p></blockquote> <p>Since that’s not the stated (or designed) purpose of the app, the “that” should have been a “which.” And then Apple’s justification doesn’t make any sense.</p> <blockquote cite="https://migrantinsider.com/p/scoop-apple-quietly-made-ice-agents"><p>Concepcion’s appeal to Apple emphasized that DeICER was “a tool for education and lawful civic engagement, not the targeting or tracking of law enforcement.”</p><p>“Users cannot follow, locate, or monitor officers in real time,” he wrote in his memo to Apple’s App Review Board. “Any observation entered in the app represents a single moment in time, not a persistent or live tracking function.”</p></blockquote> <p>Via <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/09/apple-app-store-deicer">John Gruber</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/115345458633268915">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/09/apple-app-store-deicer"><p>There’s not one story about any of these apps being used to harm ICE agents. And even if such an attack happened, that wouldn’t imply it’s the purpose of these apps.</p></blockquote> <p>I haven’t seen such a story, either. The Dallas gunman is reported to have <em>used</em> the app, but he didn’t it need to find the agents, as the attack took place at their office.</p> <p><a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2025/10/10/apple-decides-ice-agents-are-a-protected-class-because-apparently-government-accountability-is-now-hate-speech/">Mike Masnick</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.techdirt.com/2025/10/10/apple-decides-ice-agents-are-a-protected-class-because-apparently-government-accountability-is-now-hate-speech/"><p>And, yes, I’ll be the first to tell you that content moderation at scale <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2019/11/20/masnicks-impossibility-theorem-content-moderation-scale-is-impossible-to-do-well/">is impossible to do well</a>, and that applies to app stores as well. But when you see a pattern this consistent—and this convenient for state power—pointing to scale problems feels inadequate. This looks less like algorithmic confusion and more like Apple systematically bending its policies to accommodate government preferences while trying to maintain plausible deniability.</p><p>This reasoning is deeply problematic on multiple levels. First, it treats documentation of public officials’ public actions as equivalent to hate speech against marginalized groups. Second, it accepts law enforcement’s own assessment of what constitutes “harm” to them without any independent review. Third, it creates a precedent where any app that allows citizens to track government activity could be banned as “discriminatory” against public officials.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/apple-took-down-ice-tracking-apps-their-developers-arent-giving-up/">Reece Rogers and Lily Hay Newman</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.wired.com/story/apple-took-down-ice-tracking-apps-their-developers-arent-giving-up/"><p>While gone from Apple’s App Store, DEICER is also still available via Google Play and a <a href="https://deicer.org/">website</a>.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/eyes-up-removed-from-the-app-store/">Eyes Up Removed From the App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/">Lessons From San Bernardino and ICEBlock</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/evolving-altstore-pal/">Evolving AltStore PAL</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store/">ICEBlock Removed From the App Store</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/deicer-removed-from-the-app-store/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Qualcomm Acquires Arduino</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/qualcomm-acquires-arduino/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/qualcomm-acquires-arduino/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 20:52:11 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Acquisition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Arduino]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Qualcomm]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49600</guid> <description><![CDATA[Qualcomm (Hacker News): Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced its agreement to acquire Arduino, a premier open-source hardware and software company. The transaction accelerates Qualcomm Technologies’ strategy to empower developers by facilitating access to its unmatched portfolio of edge technologies and products.[…]By combining Qualcomm Technologies’ leading‑edge processing, graphics, computer vision, and AI with Arduino’s simplicity, affordability, […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2025/10/qualcomm-to-acquire-arduino-accelerating-developers--access-to-i">Qualcomm</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45502541">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2025/10/qualcomm-to-acquire-arduino-accelerating-developers--access-to-i"><p>Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced its agreement to acquire Arduino, a premier open-source hardware and software company. The transaction accelerates Qualcomm Technologies’ strategy to empower developers by facilitating access to its unmatched portfolio of edge technologies and products.</p><p>[…]</p><p>By combining Qualcomm Technologies’ leading‑edge processing, graphics, computer vision, and AI with Arduino’s simplicity, affordability, and community, the Company is poised to supercharge developer productivity across industries. Arduino will preserve its open approach and community spirit while unlocking a full‑stack platform for modern development—with Arduino UNO Q as the first step.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/arduino-retains-its-brand-and-mission-following-acquisition-by-qualcomm/">Andrew Cunningham</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/arduino-retains-its-brand-and-mission-following-acquisition-by-qualcomm/"><p>Qualcomm didn’t disclose what it would pay to acquire Arduino. The acquisition also needs to be approved by regulators “and other customary closing conditions.”</p><p>The first fruit of this pending acquisition will be the Arduino Uno Q, a Qualcomm-based single-board computer with a <a href="https://www.qualcomm.com/products/internet-of-things/robotics-processors/qrb2210">Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 processor</a> installed. The <a href="https://www.qualcomm.com/products/internet-of-things/robotics-processors/qrb2210">QRB2210</a> includes a quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU and a Qualcomm Adreno 702 GPU, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and combines that with a real-time microcontroller “to bridge high-performance computing with real-time control.”</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://makezine.com/article/technology/arduino/live-arduino-announce-uno-q-app-lab-and-qualcomm-acquisition/">David Groom</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://makezine.com/article/technology/arduino/live-arduino-announce-uno-q-app-lab-and-qualcomm-acquisition/"><p>During a press briefing last night, their commitment to remaining agnostic (i.e. not removing support for other silicon) was made clear, although my question of “for how long?” did not have a definitive answer. Optimistically, the new resources, access to other acquisitions like Edge Impulse, and ability to leverage Qualcomm’s own IP (the €44 retail price tag on the Q was another clue before the announcement that Qualcomm had a particular interest in this board!) may indicate an exciting new era for the now two-decade-old project.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://taoofmac.com/space/links/2025/10/07/1800">Rui Carmo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://taoofmac.com/space/links/2025/10/07/1800"><p>Lots of mixed feelings. Qualcomm has been promoting quite a few new development kits over the past year or so, and of course <a href="/space/hw/arduino">Arduino</a> has tremendous mindshare, but that was built upon pretty agnostic and far-reaching microcontroller support, so it will be interesting to see how this evolves.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://arduinohistory.github.io/">Hernando Barragán</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://arduinohistory.github.io/"><p>The history of Arduino has been told by many people, and no two stories match. I want to clarify some facts around the history of Arduino, with proper supported references and documents, to better communicate to people who are interested, about Arduino’s origin.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/10/qualcomm-acquires-arduino/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Synology Reverses Ban on Third-Party Hard Drives</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/synology-reverses-ban-on-third-party-hard-drives/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/synology-reverses-ban-on-third-party-hard-drives/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2025 17:49:05 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[DRM]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Storage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Synology]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49594</guid> <description><![CDATA[Hilbert Hagedoorn (via Hacker News): Synology has backtracked on one of its most unpopular decisions in years. After seeing NAS sales plummet in 2025, the company has decided to lift restrictions that forced users to buy its own Synology hard drives. The policy, introduced earlier this year, made third-party HDDs from brands like Seagate and […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.guru3d.com/story/synology-reverses-policy-banning-thirdparty-hdds-after-nas-sales-plummet/">Hilbert Hagedoorn</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45513485">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.guru3d.com/story/synology-reverses-policy-banning-thirdparty-hdds-after-nas-sales-plummet/"><p>Synology has backtracked on one of its most unpopular decisions in years. After seeing NAS sales plummet in 2025, the company has decided to lift restrictions that forced users to buy its own Synology hard drives. The policy, introduced earlier this year, made third-party HDDs from brands like Seagate and WD practically unusable in newer models such as the DS925+, DS1825+, and DS425+. That change didn’t go over well. Users immediately criticised Synology for trying to lock them into buying its much more expensive drives. Many simply refused to upgrade, and reviewers called out the move as greedy and shortsighted. According to some reports, sales of Synology’s 2025 NAS models dropped sharply in the months after the restriction was introduced.</p><p>Now, with the release of DSM 7.3, Synology has quietly walked the policy back. Third-party hard drives and 2.5-inch SATA SSDs can once again be used without triggering warning messages or reduced functionality. Drives from Seagate, WD, and others will work exactly as they did before—complete with full monitoring, alerts, and storage features.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macstories.net/linked/synology-drops-branded-drive-requirement/">John Voorhees</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macstories.net/linked/synology-drops-branded-drive-requirement/"><p>The change of direction was revealed in <a href="https://www.synology.com/en-eu/company/news/article/dsm73/Synology">a Synology press release</a> announcing DiskStation Manager 7.3, the OS that runs the company’s Plus line of NAS hardware.</p><p>This is great news for Mac users who felt betrayed by Synology’s previous announcement. However, as <a href="https://liliputing.com/synology-backtracks-and-adds-3rd-party-hard-drive-support-to-its-2025-nas-lineup-network-attached-storage/">Linder also points out</a> it does not change the fact that the same “Plus” series of 2025 NAS hardware does not include hardware-accelerated transcoding of H.264 and HEVC video, which previous models supported.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://taoofmac.com/space/links/2025/10/09/0823">Rui Carmo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://taoofmac.com/space/links/2025/10/09/0823"><p>I’m happy that sanity prevailed, although not in time to prevent me from getting a second (non-Synology) NAS–which I suspect is what many serious customers went out and did, if only to test the waters.</p><p>This was an amazingly bad own goal, especially it being absurdly obvious that their target audience would be knowledgeable enough to see through a lock-in strategy[…]</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/04/28/synology-hard-drive-locking/">Synology Hard Drive Locking</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/synology-reverses-ban-on-third-party-hard-drives/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>6</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Eyes Up Removed From the App Store</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/eyes-up-removed-from-the-app-store/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/eyes-up-removed-from-the-app-store/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2025 17:48:58 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store Takedown]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Eyes Up]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Law Enforcement]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49592</guid> <description><![CDATA[Joseph Cox (Bluesky, Reddit): Apple removed an app for preserving TikToks, Instagram reels, news reports, and videos documenting abuses by ICE, 404 Media has learned. The app, called Eyes Up, differs from other banned apps such as ICEBlock which were designed to report sightings of ICE officials in real-time to warn local communities. Eyes Up, […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.404media.co/apple-banned-an-app-that-simply-archived-videos-of-ice-abuses/">Joseph Cox</a> (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/josephcox.bsky.social/post/3m2pdx3pris2u">Bluesky</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1o1k0u8/apple_banned_an_app_that_simply_archived_videos/">Reddit</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.404media.co/apple-banned-an-app-that-simply-archived-videos-of-ice-abuses/"><p>Apple removed an app for preserving TikToks, Instagram reels, news reports, and videos documenting abuses by ICE, 404 Media has learned. The app, called Eyes Up, differs from other banned apps such as ICEBlock which were designed to report sightings of ICE officials in real-time to warn local communities. Eyes Up, meanwhile, was more of an aggregation service pooling together information to preserve evidence in case the material is needed in the future in court.</p><p>[…]</p><p>“Our goal is government accountability, we aren’t even doing real-time tracking,” the administrator of Eyes Up, who said their name was Mark, told 404 Media. Mark asked 404 Media to only use his first name to protect him from retaliation.</p></blockquote> <p>I’ve not seen an official statement from either Apple or the government. Perhaps there was a direct government request/demand about Eyes Up, but it’s also possible that there was a copyright concern (since the app collected content already uploaded to other platforms) or that Apple just took down everything related to ICE without specifically considering Eyes Up.</p> <p><a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/10/08/iceblock-isnt-the-only-ice-tracking-app-that-apple-and-google-have-removed">Wes Hilliard and Mike Wuerthele</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/10/08/iceblock-isnt-the-only-ice-tracking-app-that-apple-and-google-have-removed"><p>So, it’s not as if you can switch to another product or service in hopes of escaping these issues or voting with your wallet without going totally off grid. The problem doesn’t lie with the companies — it lies with those in power taking the actions, and making the “requests.”</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/">Again</a>, I think there’s a double standard here. If the government were requesting private customer data stored on Apple’s servers, you would blame the government (if the request were in fact unreasonable) but also blame Apple for not storing it securely. But design a system tailor-made for the government to control app distribution and it’s only the government’s fault for (ab)using it? This is not a recently discovered vulnerability. It was obvious in theory from the dawn of the App Store, and governments have been putting it into practice for almost as long.</p> <p><a href="https://tapbots.social/@paul/115340289403708333">Paul Haddad</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://tapbots.social/@paul/115340289403708333"><p>At the rate things are going, I expect an “Apple provides government with list of users who downloaded ICEBlock app” headline in a few more weeks.</p></blockquote> <p>It’s also a flaw in the system that Apple <a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/complying-with-texas-age-verification/">gets a list</a> of all the apps everyone’s installed, even for free apps.</p> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@RichardHyde/115340909929328072">Richard Hyde</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@RichardHyde/115340909929328072"><p>It won’t just be a list of users though, thanks to “Find My” they’ll have their current location too.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mister.computer/@kyle/115340573790197721">Kyle Hughes</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mister.computer/@kyle/115340573790197721"><p>I am complicit for having spent my career trying to make this platform attractive to users—drawing them out of places where their rights had more resilience.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I fixate on clear examples that make it easy to think about nuanced topics.</p><p>That it is federally illegal to distribute TikTok, yet it remains in the App Store, and that it is not illegal to host or share videos of law enforcement activity, yet these apps are being removed, is one such example.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://warnercrocker.com/2025/10/08/apple-bans-eyes-up-a-video-archival-app-for-perserving-video-of-ice-actions/">Warner Crocker</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://warnercrocker.com/2025/10/08/apple-bans-eyes-up-a-video-archival-app-for-perserving-video-of-ice-actions/"><p>The <a href="https://eyesupapp.com">Eyes Up website</a> is still up and can be used for the same video archiving purposes with content uploaded from TikTok, Instagram or X and include “a mix of professional media reports and user-generated clips of ICE arrests.”</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/complying-with-texas-age-verification/">Complying With Texas Age Verification</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/">Lessons From San Bernardino and ICEBlock</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/evolving-altstore-pal/">Evolving AltStore PAL</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store/">ICEBlock Removed From the App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/14/tiktok-back-in-the-app-store/">TikTok Back in the App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/10/09/musi-for-youtube-removed-from-the-app-store/">Musi for YouTube Removed From the App Store</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/eyes-up-removed-from-the-app-store/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>7</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Complying With Texas Age Verification</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/complying-with-texas-age-verification/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/complying-with-texas-age-verification/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2025 17:48:34 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple ID]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Children]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Family Sharing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49590</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (MacRumors, Slashdot): Beginning January 1, 2026, a new state law in Texas — SB2420 — introduces age assurance requirements for app marketplaces and developers. While we share the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=btkirlj8">Apple</a> (<a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/08/app-store-changes-texas-age-verification/">MacRumors</a>, <a href="https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/10/09/2044214/apple-and-google-reluctantly-comply-with-texas-age-verification-law">Slashdot</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=btkirlj8"><p>Beginning January 1, 2026, a new state law in Texas — SB2420 — introduces age assurance requirements for app marketplaces and developers. While we share the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Once this law goes into effect, users located in Texas who create a new Apple Account will be required to confirm whether they are 18 years or older. All new Apple Accounts for users under the age of 18 will be required to join a <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/108380">Family Sharing group</a>, and parents or guardians will need to provide consent for all App Store downloads, app purchases, and transactions using Apple’s In-App Purchase system by the minor. This will also impact developers, who will need to adopt new capabilities and modify behavior within their apps to meet their obligations under the law. Similar requirements will come into effect later next year in Utah and Louisiana.</p></blockquote> <p>The way Apple wrote this, it sounds like they aren’t going to require verification of existing accounts. They also don’t say which “sensitive” information they’ll need to collect, and the legislation leaves this vague. I don’t like the idea of being forced to give Apple my driver’s license (or whatever), but neither do I like the longstanding system where Apple gets to see which apps I’ve <a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115339618252267113">installed on my iPhone</a> or <a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/10/03/apple-memory-holes-ocsp-preference/">launched on my Mac</a>.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/">Lessons From San Bernardino and ICEBlock</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/25/bluesky-blocking-access-to-mississippi/">Bluesky Blocking Access to Mississippi</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/28/updated-age-ratings-in-app-store-connect/">Updated Age Ratings in App Store Connect</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/30/free-speech-coalition-v-paxton/">Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/23/tim-cook-opposes-app-store-age-verification-bill/">Tim Cook Opposes App Store Age Verification Bill</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/28/ios-declared-age-range-api/">iOS Declared Age Range API</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/12/age-verification-and-the-app-store/">Age Verification and the App Store</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/complying-with-texas-age-verification/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>French Siri Spying Lawsuit</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/french-siri-spying-lawsuit/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/french-siri-spying-lawsuit/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2025 17:48:30 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Audio]]></category> <category><![CDATA[France]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 13]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lawsuit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Siri]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49588</guid> <description><![CDATA[Océane Herrero: The investigation, led by the country’s cybercrime agency OFAC, follows a complaint in February by the French NGO Ligue des droits de l’Homme, based on the testimony of a whistleblower and former employee of an Apple subcontractor Thomas Le Bonniec.As an employee of Globe Technical Services in Ireland in 2019, Le Bonniec analyzed […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/paris-prosecutor-opens-investigation-into-apples-voice-assistant-siri/">Océane Herrero</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.politico.eu/article/paris-prosecutor-opens-investigation-into-apples-voice-assistant-siri/"><p>The investigation, led by the country’s cybercrime agency OFAC, follows a complaint in February by the French NGO <em>Ligue des droits de l’Homme</em>, based on the testimony of a whistleblower and former employee of an Apple subcontractor Thomas Le Bonniec.</p><p>As an employee of Globe Technical Services in Ireland in 2019, Le Bonniec analyzed recordings made by Siri to improve the quality of the voice assistant’s responses. That involved listening to thousands of user recordings, which Le Bonniec said could reveal intimate moments and confidential information, and could be used to identify users.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The February complaint also paved the way for an ongoing class action in France. That was inspired by a class action in the United States, which saw Apple accused of recording private conversations without consumers’ knowledge. Apple agreed in December 2024 to settle the case for $95 million. The company denied any wrongdoing.</p></blockquote> <p>Via <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/08/apple-france-siri-opt-in-recordings">John Gruber</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/08/apple-france-siri-opt-in-recordings"><p>Sending recorded Siri voice interactions to Apple <em>is</em> opt-in, and the opt-in screen is very clear and cogent.</p></blockquote> <p>That’s the case today, but it seems like this investigation is based on the same time period as the American lawsuit. Back then, it was <em>not</em> clear to customers that the recordings were retained and used outside of Apple, and the generic iOS opt-out control did <em>not</em> affect Siri recordings. Apple later added a Siri-specific opt-out switch, and then made it opt-in. Here <a href="https://www.apple.com/jo/newsroom/2025/01/our-longstanding-privacy-commitment-with-siri/">Apple’s response</a> from January. I wish Apple had not <a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/01/03/apple-settles-siri-spying-lawsuit/">settled the lawsuit</a> then because it made them look like they had something to hide. Le Bonniec is called a whistleblower. Does he have any new information, or is the French lawsuit just piggybacking and trying to get its own settlement?</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/04/03/france-fines-apple-over-app-tracking-transparency/">France Fines Apple Over App Tracking Transparency</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/01/03/apple-settles-siri-spying-lawsuit/">Apple Settles Siri Spying Lawsuit</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/04/15/keeping-your-data-from-apple-is-harder-than-expected/">Keeping Your Data From Apple Is Harder Than Expected</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/01/04/siri-suggestions-and-privacy/">Siri Suggestions and Privacy</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/05/21/lack-of-action-on-siri-recordings/">“Lack of Action” on Siri Recordings</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/10/13/opting-out-of-sharing-siri-audio-recordings/">Opting Out of Sharing Siri Audio Recordings</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/07/29/apple-contractors-regularly-hear-confidential-details-on-siri-recordings/">Apple Contractors “Regularly Hear Confidential Details” on Siri Recordings</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/04/11/amazon-employees-review-small-sample-of-alexa-audio/">Amazon Employees Review “Small Sample” of Alexa Audio</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/09/french-siri-spying-lawsuit/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Customer Support Scams</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/customer-support-scams/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/customer-support-scams/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 19:44:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[E-mail]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Phishing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Spam]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49576</guid> <description><![CDATA[Daniel Jalkut: I’m seeing more of a scam directed at customer support addresses, where the scammer pretends to be a customer who is having trouble with the app, and asks you to look at a screenshot of the problem, which is a link to a page that coaxes you into running a nefarious program on […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@danielpunkass/115333424146095396">Daniel Jalkut</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@danielpunkass/115333424146095396"><p>I’m seeing more of a scam directed at customer support addresses, where the scammer pretends to be a customer who is having trouble with the app, and asks you to look at a screenshot of the problem, which is a link to a page that coaxes you into running a nefarious program on your computer.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://iosdev.space/@johnbrayton/115333561807321502">John Brayton</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://iosdev.space/@johnbrayton/115333561807321502"><p>I just got this one yesterday. It initially asked about a cookie consent dialog on my website. (Of course my websites do not have cookie consent dialogs.)</p></blockquote> <p>Other Mac developers have reported this, too. I haven’t gotten this one yet, but I’ve seen some targeted messages that seem to be AI-generated.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/08/fake-mac-apps-on-github/">Fake Mac Apps on GitHub</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/customer-support-scams/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Evolving AltStore PAL</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/evolving-altstore-pal/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/evolving-altstore-pal/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 19:43:55 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ActivityPub]]></category> <category><![CDATA[AltStore]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Marketplaces]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Code Signing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Digital Markets Act (DMA)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Emulator]]></category> <category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mastodon]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Notarization]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49574</guid> <description><![CDATA[Riley Testut: In April of last year, we launched AltStore PAL in the European Union as one of the first official alternative app marketplaces on iOS thanks to the Digital Markets Act. We launched with just 2 apps — my Nintendo emulator Delta and clipboard manager Clip — yet Apple immediately changed their App Store […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://rileytestut.com/blog/2025/10/07/evolving-altstore-pal/">Riley Testut</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://rileytestut.com/blog/2025/10/07/evolving-altstore-pal/"><p>In April of last year, we <a href="http://rileytestut.com/blog/2024/04/17/introducing-altstore-pal/">launched AltStore PAL</a> in the European Union as one of the first official alternative app marketplaces on iOS thanks to the Digital Markets Act. We launched with just 2 apps — my Nintendo emulator <a href="https://faq.deltaemulator.com/">Delta</a> and clipboard manager <a href="https://www.macstories.net/reviews/altstores-clip-is-the-best-clipboard-manager-on-ios-yet/">Clip</a> — yet Apple immediately <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2024/04/17/what-to-know-about-iphone-app-store-emulators/">changed their App Store rules to allow emulators</a> worldwide for the first time ever.</p><p>[…]</p><p>By far our number one request, we’re planning to launch AltStore PAL in more countries later this year in response to various regulatory changes around the world. Specifically, we plan to launch in Japan, Brazil, and Australia before the end of the year, with the UK to follow in 2026.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Using ActivityPub, we plan to federate apps, app updates, and news alerts from AltStore to the open social web. Each AltStore source will receive its own ActivityPub account, which can then be followed by any other open social web account. You’ll be able to like, boost, and reply to everything, and most importantly all these interactions will appear natively in AltStore.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Pace Capital is investing $6 million USD in AltStore in exchange for 15% equity. We will use this money to hire a few employees and build out a team, giving us the necessary bandwidth to finalize Fediverse integration and expand AltStore worldwide, while also releasing betas and app updates on a more regular basis.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Alternative app marketplaces are needed more than ever now, with new reasons for them popping up <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/10/03/nx-s1-5561999/apple-google-iceblock-app-removal">every week</a>. If there’s one constant though, it’s that Apple <a href="https://rileytestut.com/blog/2020/10/14/thoughts-on-app-store/">simply cannot be trusted</a> to be the sole distributor of apps on the iOS platform.</p></blockquote> <p>Even with app marketplaces, though, Apple still controls distribution through code signing and notarization. There is no equivalent of the Mac’s Gatekeeper override.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/">Lessons From San Bernardino and ICEBlock</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store/">ICEBlock Removed From the App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/02/google-to-require-developer-verification-for-android-sideloading/">Google to Require Developer Verification for Android Sideloading</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/19/slow-testflight-beta-app-review/">Slow TestFlight Beta App Review</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/08/altstore-pal-2-2/">AltStore PAL 2.2</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/10/eu-ios-envy/">EU iOS Envy</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/07/05/sequoia-removes-gatekeeper-contextual-menu-override/">Sequoia Removes Gatekeeper Contextual Menu Override</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/05/16/deltas-10-year-journey-to-the-top-of-the-app-store/">Delta’s 10-Year Journey to the Top of the App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/03/17/ios-notarizations-human-review/">iOS Notarization’s Human Review</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/evolving-altstore-pal/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Lessons From San Bernardino and ICEBlock</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 19:43:33 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store Takedown]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ICEBlock]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sideloading]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Tim Cook]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49572</guid> <description><![CDATA[Wiley Hodges: I used to believe that Apple were unequivocally ‘the good guys.’ I passionately advocated for people to understand Apple as being on the side of its users above all else. I now feel like I must question that. […] The event that represented a turning point for that skeptical view of Apple was […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://substack.com/inbox/post/175351960">Wiley Hodges</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://substack.com/inbox/post/175351960"><p>I used to believe that Apple were unequivocally ‘the good guys.’ I passionately advocated for people to understand Apple as being on the side of its users above all else. I now feel like I must question that.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The event that represented a turning point for that skeptical view of Apple was the stand against the FBI over the San Bernardino case. You took a risky stand that was in keeping with the principles you had articulated for the company. The result was bigger than the one case: that act of lawful, principled defiance of government intimidation and jawboning helped to convince people that Apple’s actions and stated ideals were in alignment; that the company was walking the walk as well as talking the talk.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Acceding to a government ‘demand’ without demanding that the government follow legal process in order to back up its request (or at least shedding light on how the government did follow such process) raises the question of how easily Apple will accede to other requests.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Will Apple give data on the identities of users who downloaded the ICEBlock app to the government? Will Apple block podcasts that advocate points of view opposed to the current US administration? I imagine and hope that these are ridiculous questions, but without a clearer demonstration of Apple’s principled commitment to lawful action and due process, I feel uncertain.</p></blockquote> <p>Via <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/07/altstore-state-of-the-union">John Gruber</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/07/altstore-state-of-the-union"><p>But, exactly as many critics of the App-Store-as-exclusive-distribution-point-for-native-software model have long warned, it’s proven to be a choke point that Apple was unwilling to defend.</p></blockquote> <p>I don’t think the problem is really Tim Cook or whoever at Apple made the ICEBlock decision last week. The current situation is just the symptom of a decision made long ago: for Apple to be a choke point for app distribution. If your solution to government overreach is to depend on the <em>right</em> person being in charge, who will say <em>no</em>, you’ve already lost.</p> <p>Apple understands this with customer privacy. If you don’t want to have to give up user data, you design the system to store as little of it as possible, and you try to store everything else in such a way that you can’t actually access it. There have been flaws in the execution, but Apple has clearly articulated this principle and worked towards it. What you <em>don’t</em> do is upload the user’s most private data to iCloud, encrypt it with a password that only Tim Cook knows, and hope that he’ll never access it, because you trust him. Maybe <em>he</em> wouldn’t, but he won’t be there forever, and ultimately there’s not much Apple can do if it gets a legally valid request for something it can easily provide.</p> <p>Yet that’s what Apple’s done with app distribution. They designed a system with a kill switch, and now people are surprised and upset that they used it. The problem is not that they pressed the button this one time when you didn’t want them to. The problem is that there <em>is</em> a button and Apple <em>likes</em> having it. They value it more than your right to use your own device as you see fit. They justify it by saying that the button is there for your protection.</p> <p>Hodges is asking Tim Cook and his team to “more clearly explain the basis on which” they pressed the button, but I don’t think that’s the right question at all. If we were talking about privacy, would you be satisfied with a secure golden key accompanied by an essay about when it would be OK to use it? Would you even take such a proposal seriously?</p> <p>The lesson of San Bernardino is not really that Tim Cook said “no.” It’s that he <em>could</em> say “no” because asking Apple to exploit an iPhone/iOS backdoor (build an “entirely new operating system,” as Apple put it) was different from asking Apple for data that it already had. (The FBI asked for that, too, and Apple provided it, as I believe it should have.) But Apple realized that the backdoor made the system insecure and removed it in subsequent iPhones. Now, at least in theory, no one has to rely on Cook saying “no” because he <em>can’t</em> say “yes.” Obviously, the analogy with app distribution is that the only way to prevent the kill switch from being used is to remove it.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/evolving-altstore-pal/">Evolving AltStore PAL</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store/">ICEBlock Removed From the App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/uk-again-wants-icloud-backdoor/">UK Again Wants iCloud Backdoor</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/02/itorrent-removed-via-notarization-due-to-sanctions/">iTorrent Removed via Notarization Due to Sanctions</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/02/google-to-require-developer-verification-for-android-sideloading/">Google to Require Developer Verification for Android Sideloading</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/07/clip-rejected-via-notarization/">Clip Rejected via Notarization</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/12/07/apple-abandons-csam-scanning/">Apple Abandons CSAM Scanning</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/04/17/the-time-tim-cook-stood-his-ground-against-the-fbi/">The Time Tim Cook Stood His Ground Against the FBI</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2016/02/25/use-itunes-not-icloud-to-back-up-your-iphone/">Use iTunes, Not iCloud, to Back Up Your iPhone</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2016/02/17/fbi-asks-apple-for-secure-golden-key/">FBI Asks Apple for Secure Golden Key</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>14</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>ToothFairy 2.8.8</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/toothfairy-2-8-8/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/toothfairy-2-8-8/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2025 19:08:10 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[AirPods]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bluetooth]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ToothFairy]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49557</guid> <description><![CDATA[ToothFairy 2.8.8 is a maintenance update of my Bluetooth menu bar utility. As annoying as Bluetooth is as a user, it’s even more so as developer. Seemingly straightforward APIs don’t work as advertised. I don’t just mean that they can fail with an error. They can fail but say that they succeeded. They can succeed […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://c-command.com/blog/2025/10/07/toothfairy-2-8-8/">ToothFairy 2.8.8</a> is a maintenance update of my Bluetooth menu bar utility.</p> <p>As annoying as Bluetooth is as a user, it’s even more so as developer. Seemingly straightforward APIs don’t work as advertised. I don’t just mean that they can fail with an error. They can fail but say that they succeeded. They can succeed but say that they failed. Sometimes the synchronous API will work when the asynchronous one doesn’t or vice-versa. Sometimes the async API never calls back.</p> <p>With each major new macOS release, I hope it will fix some of this, but each seems to add its own new wrinkle that requires a workaround. With Tahoe, the issue is that <code>IOBluetoothDeviceSelectorController</code> sometimes doesn’t show devices even though they are paired with the Mac. They work and show up in System Settings but not in the Bluetooth chooser dialog to add them to a third-party app. This never seems to happen with AirPods, perhaps because their pairing is handled differently and syncs via iCloud, but it seems to be reasonably common with third-party headphones and input devices (and even Apple’s own Magic mouse/keyboard/trackpad).</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/toothfairy-2-8-7/">ToothFairy 2.8.7</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/toothfairy-2-8-8/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>iOS 26.1 Alarm Buttons: Slide to Stop</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/ios-26-1-alarm-buttons-slide-to-stop/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/ios-26-1-alarm-buttons-slide-to-stop/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2025 19:08:01 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Clock.app]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49555</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover: With the second beta of iOS 26.1, Apple updated the design of alarms set on the iPhone, making them harder to dismiss than before. Stopping an alarm in iOS 26.1 beta 2 requires a new Slide to Stop gesture rather than a simple tap. You can continue to tap to snooze an alarm, […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/06/apple-fixes-alarms-in-ios-26-1/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/06/apple-fixes-alarms-in-ios-26-1/"><p>With the second beta of iOS 26.1, Apple updated the design of alarms set on the iPhone, making them harder to dismiss than before.</p><p>Stopping an alarm in iOS 26.1 beta 2 requires a new Slide to Stop gesture rather than a simple tap. You can continue to tap to snooze an alarm, but if you want to turn it off entirely, you need to use a swipe.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The new Slide to Stop button is still as large as the Snooze and Stop buttons, so Apple keeps its updated design, while solving the problem that it introduced.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marcoarment/115329141523971014">Marco Arment</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marcoarment/115329141523971014"><p>The Alan Dye era: a new design creates problems, requiring more hacks and complexity to evade, ending up less usable and elegant than the old design.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@Wensh/115330916066862048">Wensh</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@Wensh/115330916066862048"><p>Hard disagree, new design is much better than the old design. Makes it easier to hit the buttons, adding a slide action is good to avoid accidental hits.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@happystriker/115329654559022980">Happy Striker</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@happystriker/115329654559022980"><p>Honestly, I hate the snooze feature and I wish for a setting, that will disable snooze for all new alarms i create once and for all 😅</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.nz/@zkarj/115329216570663050">zkarj</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.nz/@zkarj/115329216570663050"><p>I thought the old design was worse because I couldn’t read either button! I thought maybe I’d learn not to hit the bright orange thing, but no, I never did. I vastly prefer what we have in 26.0. Even if I can only read the orange button through bleary, just-woken eyes, I know it’s the wrong one to hit.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/23/ios-26-alarm-buttons/">iOS 26 Alarm Buttons</a></li></ul> <p id="ios-26-1-alarm-buttons-slide-to-stop-update-2025-10-09">Update (<a href="#ios-26-1-alarm-buttons-slide-to-stop-update-2025-10-09">2025-10-09</a>): <a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115339791511501336">Pierre Igot</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115339791511501336"><p>Why is there some kind of shadow that makes “slide to stop” almost impossible to read?</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/ios-26-1-alarm-buttons-slide-to-stop/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Testing CarPlay Ultra</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/testing-carplay-ultra/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/testing-carplay-ultra/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2025 19:07:59 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[CarPlay]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Rivian]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49553</guid> <description><![CDATA[Michael Teo Van Runkle: Connecting to Ultra via Bluetooth takes a minute or two longer than traditional CarPlay and includes more consent screens to cover the additional legal ramifications of the operating system sharing data with the car, and vice versa. […] Once initiated, though, Ultra fired up straightaway every time. Much faster than the […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/07/everything-we-learned-from-a-week-with-apple-carplay-ultra/">Michael Teo Van Runkle</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/07/everything-we-learned-from-a-week-with-apple-carplay-ultra/"><p>Connecting to Ultra via Bluetooth takes a minute or two longer than traditional CarPlay and includes more consent screens to cover the additional legal ramifications of the operating system sharing data with the car, and vice versa. […] Once initiated, though, Ultra fired up straightaway every time. Much faster than the typical lag to boot up traditional CarPlay.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Call me old-fashioned, but I still enjoy seeing a tachometer, speedometer, drive modes, and fuel level versus range remaining and a digital speed—especially on an engaging performance vehicle like the DB12 Volante. Apple might be skilled at making new tech easy to use, but it’s hard to beat the power of millions of minds adapting to analog gauges over the past century or so. And in this case, Ultra’s tach(s) showed a bit of latency or lag while ripping that 671-hp twin-turbo V8 up through the revs, something I never noticed in the native UI.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Ultra’s biggest improvements over preceding CarPlay generations are in the center console infotainment integration. Being able to access climate controls, drive modes, and traction settings without leaving the intuitive suite of CarPlay makes life much easier.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Plus, over the course of my eight days with Ultra, I experienced one moment where both the infotainment and gauge cluster went totally black.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/onefahadx/status/1946307294389559535">Fahadx</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/onefahadx/status/1946307294389559535"><p>Finally, someone tested what would happen to the CarPlay Ultra UI when your iPhone restarts or is shut down.</p><p>It’s what I expected, but a reboot still has annoying connectivity issues[…]</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN-IC91y1oU&t=345s">TheStraightPipes</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN-IC91y1oU&t=345s"><p>Yuri and Jakub Test Drive the 2026 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster[…]</p></blockquote> <p>They find that CarPlay Ultra is laggy, both switching between different modes and also just updating the gauges. They ask Siri to play music from channel 9, but it plays channel 18 instead.</p> <p><a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/09/29/ford-doesnt-think-carplay-ultra-is-worth-using-now-but-will-look-at-future-versions">William Gallagher</a> (<a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/09/29/ford-ceo-talks-carplay-ultra-and-offers-new-update-on-support/">9to5Mac</a>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/transportation/786376/ford-jim-farley-apple-carplay-ultra-decoder">The Verge</a>, <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/29/ford-ceo-provides-update-on-carplay-ultra/">MacRumors</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/09/29/ford-doesnt-think-carplay-ultra-is-worth-using-now-but-will-look-at-future-versions"><p>The Ford Motor Company has <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/05/03/ford-will-stick-with-carplay-as-gm-exits-for-google-tech">previously committed</a> to staying with the basic Apple CarPlay, but it won’t be adopting the newer CarPlay Ultra. Speaking to Joanna Stern on the <em>Decoder</em> podcast, CEO Jim Farley says he’s talked with <a href="https://appleinsider.com/inside/tim-cook" title="Tim Cook">Tim Cook</a> many times about the future of integrated systems, but expects Ford may decide to make its own custom software.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/09/29/bmw-ui-chief-busts-carplay-myth-over-in-car-navigation">Malcolm Owen</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/09/29/bmw-ui-chief-busts-carplay-myth-over-in-car-navigation"><p>Referring to a so-called “CarPlay myth” that drivers use it considerably, BMW SVP of UI/UX Development Stephan Durach insists that it is not true. Instead, BMW drivers really prefer using the car maker’s system.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Durach refers to BMW’s in-car data, collected from 10 million cars, as proof to bust the myth. “We can see what our customers are doing,” he adds.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/06/rivian-ceo-doubles-down-on-skipping-carplay/">Joe Rossignol</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/06/rivian-ceo-doubles-down-on-skipping-carplay/"><p>On the <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rivian-ceo-on-carplay-lidar-and-affordable-evs/id1011668648?i=1000730386697">latest episode of <em>The Verge</em>’s Decoder podcast</a>, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told guest host Joanna Stern why the EV maker continues to pass on Apple’s CarPlay — both the standard version and the more advanced <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/05/15/first-look-at-carplay-ultra/">CarPlay Ultra</a>.</p><p>Echoing his <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2024/07/23/rivian-explains-why-no-apple-carplay/">previous comments on the matter</a>, Scaringe said Rivian is focused on offering a “seamless digital experience,” where customers do not need to switch between its own software and CarPlay. Instead, he said Rivian prefers to provide an à-la-carte selection of built-in apps, such as Apple Music, Google Maps, Spotify, and YouTube.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.caseyliss.com/2025/10/6/youre-missing-the-point">Casey Liss</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@caseyliss/115329133490817115">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.caseyliss.com/2025/10/6/youre-missing-the-point"><p>RJ is <strong>wrong</strong>: customers <em>do not</em> want a seamless digital experience within the apps on their car.Customers want a seamless digital experience with their smartphones. Everywhere.</p><p>CarPlay is the way you get it.</p><p>[…]</p><p>But what if RJ is wrong? There’s no reason Rivian can’t have their bespokeand <em>seamless</em> experience for those that prefer it, and offer CarPlay forthose that want it.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/16/carplay-ultra/">CarPlay Ultra</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/07/09/carplay-at-wwdc24/">CarPlay at WWDC24</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/04/04/general-motors-to-phase-out-carplay/">General Motors to Phase Out CarPlay</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/testing-carplay-ultra/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>CarPlay in iOS 26</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/carplay-in-ios-26/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/carplay-in-ios-26/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2025 19:07:50 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[CarPlay]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS Widgets]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49551</guid> <description><![CDATA[Jonathan Reed: Apple brings much more customization to our in-car displays, mainly by letting the much heralded features of CarPlay Ultra trickle down to regular CarPlay. […] CarPlay has taken on the visual qualities of Liquid Glass. Since CarPlay is essentially a mirror for your iPhone, this is to be expected, but it’s been done […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macstories.net/stories/carplay-in-ios-26-the-macstories-review/">Jonathan Reed</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macstories.net/stories/carplay-in-ios-26-the-macstories-review/"><p>Apple brings much more customization to our in-car displays, mainly by letting the much heralded features of CarPlay Ultra trickle down to regular CarPlay.</p><p>[…]</p><p>CarPlay has taken on the visual qualities of Liquid Glass. Since CarPlay is essentially a mirror for your iPhone, this is to be expected, but it’s been done in a way that hasn’t created any legibility issues.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Legibility issues can be further improved with a new Large Text option. Quite simply, it makes text larger system-wide in 100, 110, 120, and 135% increments. While this is good to have, what’s stopped me from increasing my text size is that very implementation: system-wide.</p></blockquote><p>I want to <em>decrease</em> the font size.</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macstories.net/stories/carplay-in-ios-26-the-macstories-review/"><p>Lastly, Smart Display Zoom aims to resize elements of the UI to better fit your car’s screen. It’s unclear how it determines this, and I’ve seen as many people have their UI reduced as have their UI increased in size, which is what happened to me. Unfortunately, this made apps like Maps difficult to use, so I turned it off. It’s certainly worth checking out, but as with mine, you might not get the result you want.</p><p>[…]</p><p>CarPlay has created a new screen that you can access by swiping right from the multi-view layout. On this screen, you can have either one or two stacks of widgets (depending on your screen size).</p></blockquote><p>This seems cool because it lets you see content from iOS apps that don’t have CarPlay versions.</p> <p><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@command_tab/115098074924126807">Collin Allen</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://hachyderm.io/@command_tab/115098074924126807"><p>Nothing but improvements here, particularly the adjustments to UI sizing. More like this, please.</p><p>On my particular display size, they got bigger and are much more tappable 😍</p><p>[…]</p><p>I think Smart Display Zoom is the feature that’s making the most difference for me.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115098092861703586">Mario Guzmán</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115098092861703586"><p>Things on my display got way smaller and there’s way more density it seems.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macintouch.com/post/47087/severe-airplay-carplay-security-flaw/">Ric Ford</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macintouch.com/post/47087/severe-airplay-carplay-security-flaw/"><p>Oligo Security discovered severe security flaws in Apple’s AirPlay and CarPlay software and Apple’s code embedded in third-party products. Apple eventually patched its own software after Oligo responsibly disclosed the security flaws to the company, but many millions of unpatched Apple devices and third-party devices remain vulnerable to wireless zero-click attacks and more.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/ios-26/">iOS 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/08/26/carplay-spinning-its-wheels/">CarPlay Spinning Its Wheels</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/classical-music-and-carplay/">Classical Music and CarPlay</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/05/03/carplay-in-the-age-of-large-screens/">CarPlay in the Age of Large Screens</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/07/carplay-in-ios-26/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Epic Games Sees Benefits From Streamlined Install Flow</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/epic-games-sees-benefits-from-streamlined-install-flow/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/epic-games-sees-benefits-from-streamlined-install-flow/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2025 18:10:03 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Android]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Android App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Antitrust]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Marketplaces]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dark Patterns]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Digital Markets Act (DMA)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Epic Games]]></category> <category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 18]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49537</guid> <description><![CDATA[Epic Games (Tim Sweeney, MacRumors, The Verge, TechCrunch): In response to ongoing Digital Markets Act enforcement, Apple has significantly improved the process for installing alternative app stores from the web in the European Union with iOS 18.6 in July. They’ve reduced the install flow from 15 steps to 6, eliminating their former scare screen and […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/apple-s-improved-6-step-install-flow-proves-that-scare-screens-and-deceptive-design-undermine-competition">Epic Games</a> (<a href="https://x.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/1973536995420119473">Tim Sweeney</a>, <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/01/epic-proof-apple-scare-screens-deterred-users/">MacRumors</a>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/789421/epic-games-store-ios-android-installations">The Verge</a>, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/01/epic-games-says-apples-new-install-process-cuts-user-drop-offs-by-60/">TechCrunch</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/apple-s-improved-6-step-install-flow-proves-that-scare-screens-and-deceptive-design-undermine-competition"><p>In response to ongoing Digital Markets Act enforcement, Apple has significantly improved the process for installing alternative app stores from the web in the European Union with iOS 18.6 in July. They’ve reduced the install flow from 15 steps to 6, eliminating their former scare screen and its misleading message, and eliminated a dead-end that left the user stranded in iOS Settings. As a result, we’ve seen a stunning 60% decrease in player drop-off during attempts to install the Epic Games Store.</p><p>Prior to Apple’s update, around 65% of users attempting to install the Epic Games Store on iOS were thwarted by Apple’s deceptive design. After the update, the drop-off rate has gone from 65% down to around 25%, and continues on a downward trend as users upgrade to the new version of iOS.</p><p>For the first time, we are starting to see iOS users install the Epic Games Store with a success rate approaching Windows users and Apple’s own Mac users.</p></blockquote><p>They have screenshots of the new and old iOS install flows, as well as the Android one, which remains at 12 steps. Epic still doesn’t like Apple’s business terms for App Marketplaces.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/29/ios-18-6-and-ipados-18-6/">iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/27/eu-app-store-tiers-and-core-technology-commission/">EU App Store Tiers and Core Technology Commission</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/14/critical-warning-for-external-purchases-in-app-store/">Critical Warning for External Purchases in App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/12/apple-appeals-epic-anti-steering-injunction/">Apple Appeals Epic Anti-Steering Injunction</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/26/testimony-on-external-purchase-fee-and-scare-screens/">Testimony on External Purchase Fee and Scare Screens</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/08/17/epic-games-store-for-ios-in-the-eu/">Epic Games Store for iOS in the EU</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/08/15/epic-games-pays-altstore-pals-ctf/">Epic Games Pays AltStore PAL’s CTF</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/04/12/effects-of-the-dmas-browser-choice-requirement/">Effects of the DMA’s Browser Choice Requirement</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/29/app-marketplaces-altstore-and-epic-games-store/">App Marketplaces: AltStore and Epic Games Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/08/17/epic-sues-over-google-play-store-too/">Epic Sues Over Google Play Store, Too</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/epic-games-sees-benefits-from-streamlined-install-flow/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Helm 2.0</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/helm-2-0/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/helm-2-0/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2025 18:09:54 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Developer Tool]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iTunes Connect]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Localization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Screenshots]]></category> <category><![CDATA[TestFlight]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49535</guid> <description><![CDATA[Modum (tweet): The all-in-one iOS and macOS app that enhances App Store Connect, supercharging your app updates, localization, and ASO with AI-powered tools.[…]Using Helm is up to 12x faster than using the App Store Connect website.[…]It’s easier than ever to respond using templates, translations, and AI assistance. Additionally, Helm will automatically translate the review and […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://helm-app.com/">Modum</a> (<a href="https://x.com/helm_app/status/1972642198156988540">tweet</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://helm-app.com/"><p>The all-in-one iOS and macOS app that enhances App Store Connect, supercharging your app updates, localization, and ASO with AI-powered tools.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Using Helm is up to 12x faster than using the App Store Connect website.</p><p>[…]</p><p>It’s easier than ever to respond using templates, translations, and AI assistance. Additionally, Helm will automatically translate the review and generate a quick pros and cons list, so you’ll know exactly what to work on next.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Easily arrange & replace screenshots, auto-remove alpha channels, visionOS simulator support and Magic upload!</p></blockquote> <p>It’s $9.99/month or $49.99/year.</p> <p><a href="https://helm-app.com/changelog/helm-2-0">Helm 2.0</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://helm-app.com/changelog/helm-2-0"><p>The Launch List is one of our most used and loved features, as it gives users a quick overview of all the work they need to do before submitting their app. It also reduces friction with Apple’s services as you no longer need to keep trying to submit to see what’s missing.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Along with Screenshots, we have also taken the opportunity to improve the experience of one of our most used features, TestFlight. This is still an ongoing effort, but we have already made some wins in stability and streamlining the user experience.</p><p>[…]</p><p>More importantly, we didn’t just want to <em>“support”</em> iOS 26 and macOS 26. We wanted to rethink Helm for the new era of Apple’s platforms. The design system, the APIs, and the platform capabilities introduced in 26 have shaped how we approached this update. Starting fresh on the new baseline lets us focus on delivering the best possible experience without the complexity of maintaining older OS versions.</p></blockquote> <p>In fact, they’ve dropped support for previous OS versions.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/09/04/tokens-2/">Tokens 2</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/04/22/nativeconnect-in-the-mac-app-store/">NativeConnect in the Mac App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2016/08/16/itunes-connect-reporter/">iTunes Connect Reporter</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/helm-2-0/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Bartender 6</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/bartender-6/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/bartender-6/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2025 18:09:50 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Menu Bar]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49533</guid> <description><![CDATA[Applause Group: We’ve re-built Bartender from the ground up to be beautiful, performant, and reliable. Bartender has been a staple of Mac users for years, and that brought with it lots of old hacks & tricks. We’ve modernised everything, from the algorithms used to move your items, through to the design of the entire app.The […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macbartender.com/Bartender6/blog/">Applause Group</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macbartender.com/Bartender6/blog/"><p>We’ve re-built Bartender from the ground up to be beautiful, performant, and reliable. Bartender has been a staple of Mac users for years, and that brought with it lots of old hacks & tricks. We’ve modernised everything, from the algorithms used to move your items, through to the design of the entire app.</p></blockquote><p>The design seems to have been inspired by System Settings.</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macbartender.com/Bartender6/blog/"><p>We’ve also brought our new movement system to Bartender 5, so you’ll get all the speed & reliability improvements for free on Sequoia. And yes, we’ve fixed the Apple menu bug.</p><p>[…]</p><p>We’ve maintained a strict commitment to privacy throughout the new Bartender. We know that granting screen recording permissions can be intimidating, so we’ve maintained our policy of the app not sending anything anywhere. Your menu item images are stored in memory to show them in Bartender Bar or the layout screen, and they aren’t persisted. We’ve also reduced the amount of times Bartender has to capture the bar too, so you’ll see the purple dot even less. For people who don’t want this at all, you can re-arrange your items once, then disable screen recording permissions and use Bartender in a locked-down mode.</p></blockquote><p>I saw lots of <a href="https://talk.macpowerusers.com/t/bartender-6-oh-look-applause-finally-dropped-the-other-shoe/42814">speculation</a> that after the acquisition it would switch to a subscription, but the new version is still a regular purchase at $20 ($12 for upgrades) vs. $16 ($8) for Bartender 5.</p> <p><a href="https://x.com/roustem/status/1972017172416548910">Roustem Karimov</a> reports high energy use.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/08/08/sequoia-screen-recording-prompts-and-the-persistent-content-capture-entitlement/">Sequoia Screen Recording Prompts and the Persistent Content Capture Entitlement</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/05/bartender-acquired-by-applause-group/">Bartender Acquired by Applause Group</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/12/08/bartender-5/">Bartender 5</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/06/08/system-settings/">System Settings</a></li></ul> <p id="bartender-6-update-2025-10-09">Update (<a href="#bartender-6-update-2025-10-09">2025-10-09</a>): <a href="https://talk.tidbits.com/t/bartender-6-on-tahoe-being-problematic/32061">Tommy Weir</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://talk.tidbits.com/t/bartender-6-on-tahoe-being-problematic/32061"><p>I don’t know if others on the latest Tahoe (non beta) have issues with Bartender 6, but it’s been the sole problem I’ve had since the upgrade. Endlessly re-indexing the apps, and slowing the Mac down to a crawl, only fixable by quitting.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/bartender-6/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>7</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Apple Files Another Anti-Steering Appeal</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/apple-files-another-anti-steering-appeal/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/apple-files-another-anti-steering-appeal/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2025 18:09:38 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Antitrust]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Epic Games]]></category> <category><![CDATA[External iOS Payments]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lawsuit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49531</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover: Startup accelerator and venture capital firm Y Combinator (YC) today filed an amicus brief supporting Epic Games in Epic’s continued legal fight with Apple. Y Combinator says that Apple’s “anti-steering restraints” have long inhibited the growth and development of technology companies that monetize goods and services through apps.The company calls on the court […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/21/y-combinator-epic-games-amicus-brief/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/21/y-combinator-epic-games-amicus-brief/"><p>Startup accelerator and venture capital firm Y Combinator (YC) today filed an amicus brief supporting Epic Games in Epic’s continued legal fight with Apple. Y Combinator says that Apple’s “anti-steering restraints” have long inhibited the growth and development of technology companies that monetize goods and services through apps.</p><p>The company calls on the court to deny Apple’s appeal and uphold the order that required Apple to change its App Store linking rules in the United States.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/29/apple-app-store-epic-games-appeal-filing/">Juli Clover</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44979687">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/29/apple-app-store-epic-games-appeal-filing/"><p>The court order that required Apple to collect no fees from developers who link to purchases outside of the App Store is unconstitutional, Apple said today in a reply brief directed at Epic Games and filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Apple argues that it has been stripped of its rights to be compensated for its intellectual property in a ruling that sets a dangerous precedent for all companies.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Should the Ninth Circuit Court find the updated injunction lawful, Apple suggests that the recent Trump v. Casa Supreme Court ruling [<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a884_8n59.pdf">PDF</a>] needs to be considered. The ruling said courts do not have the authority to issue universal injunctions that are “broader than necessary to provide complete relief” to the plaintiffs in the case. Epic Games is the only plaintiff in the case, so Apple also argues that the injunction changing the App Store rules for all developers is too broad. Apple says that the injunction should be tailored to Epic and Epic’s interests alone.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/29/in-a-new-filing-apple-fights-back-against-courts-indefensible-epic-games-ruling/">Marcus Mendes</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/29/in-a-new-filing-apple-fights-back-against-courts-indefensible-epic-games-ruling/"><p>The company also says that while the new injunction should be reversed because it relies on privileged documents (which we covered <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/21/tech-groups-back-apple-in-fight-over-attorney-client-privilege-limits-in-epic-games-case/">here</a>)[…]</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/22/microsoft-supports-epic-against-apples-appeal/">Microsoft Supports Epic Against Apple’s Appeal</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/21/fortnite-returns-to-us-app-store/">Fortnite Returns to US App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/19/epic-files-motion-to-enforce-injunction/">Epic Files Motion to Enforce Injunction</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/12/apple-appeals-epic-anti-steering-injunction/">Apple Appeals Epic Anti-Steering Injunction</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/02/app-review-guidelines-updated-for-epic-anti-steering/">App Review Guidelines Updated for Epic Anti-Steering</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/01/court-orders-apply-to-comply-with-anti-steering-injunction/">Court Orders Apple to Comply With Anti-Steering Injunction</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/06/apple-files-another-anti-steering-appeal/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>SpamSieve 3.2.1</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/spamsieve-3-2-1/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/spamsieve-3-2-1/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2025 18:19:03 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Mail]]></category> <category><![CDATA[AppleScript]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Core Data]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Key-Value Observing (KVO)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Menu Bar]]></category> <category><![CDATA[POP]]></category> <category><![CDATA[SpamSieve]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49478</guid> <description><![CDATA[SpamSieve 3.2.1 is a maintenance release of my Mac e-mail spam filter. This fixes the previously mentioned problem with AppleScript timeouts and POP accounts on macOS Tahoe 26. I found a workaround, but it’s still a mystery exactly what was causing the problem. First, why was AppleScript delaying and then timing out rather than just […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://c-command.com/blog/2025/10/03/spamsieve-3-2-1/">SpamSieve 3.2.1</a> is a maintenance release of my Mac e-mail spam filter.</p> <ul><li><p>This fixes the previously mentioned problem with AppleScript timeouts and POP accounts on macOS Tahoe 26. I found a workaround, but it’s still a mystery exactly what was causing the problem. First, why was AppleScript delaying and then timing out rather than just reporting an error? I still think there’s a general Tahoe issue that causes this in a variety of apps. Second, what is the underlying error and why does it only affect some POP accounts? I was not able to find any pattern in the configurations that were getting the error vs. working normally.</p></li> <li><p>Oddly, with macOS 15.7, I got a few reports of <code>errAETimeout</code> with the Mail extension talking <em>to</em> SpamSieve. This had never happened before, and, again, there did not seem to be evidence that the target app was actually delayed in responding to AppleScript. It seems unlikely, but it’s almost as if whatever’s going on with AppleScript in Tahoe got backported to Sequoia.</p></li> <li><p><code>NSStatusItem</code> in Tahoe is sending KVO notifications that it became visible even when it’s been set to be hidden (and seemingly is correctly hidden).</p></li> <li><p>I’ve been using <code>Thread.callStackSymbols</code> to stash some context information in my errors, but I had to reduce this practice because sometimes <code>_NSCallStackArray</code> (the lazy class that calculates the symbols) is many times slower than normal and was blocking real work from getting done.</p></li> <li><p>I continue to receive occasional reports of Core Data crashes in <code>_thereIsNoSadnessLikeTheDeathOfOptimism</code>, where it seems like there’s no constraint conflict or optimistic locking failure, just a damaged database file. It’s unfortunate that Core Data can’t report this as a normal error when saving and instead takes down the whole app.</p></li> </ul> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/how-to-export-a-mac-icon-file-with-the-proper-margins/">How to Export a Mac .icon File With the Proper Margins</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/tahoe-applescript-timeouts/">Tahoe AppleScript Timeouts</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-15-7-and-macos-14-8/">macOS 15.7 and macOS 14.8</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/spamsieve-3-2/">SpamSieve 3.2</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/spamsieve-3-2-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>EagleFiler 1.9.19</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/eaglefiler-1-9-19/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/eaglefiler-1-9-19/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2025 18:18:51 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Help]]></category> <category><![CDATA[EagleFiler]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Keychain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS 14 Sonoma]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Notarization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49476</guid> <description><![CDATA[EagleFiler 1.9.19 is a maintenance release of my Mac digital filing cabinet and e-mail archiving app. Importing from DEVONthink works again. They’ve changed some terminology, but EagleFiler’s import AppleScript didn’t have to change. EagleFiler just didn’t know—until now—how to recognize DEVONthink because its bundle identifier changed. I had thought that macOS Sequoia was when opening […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://c-command.com/blog/2025/10/03/eaglefiler-1-9-19/">EagleFiler 1.9.19</a> is a maintenance release of my Mac digital filing cabinet and e-mail archiving app.</p> <ul><li><p>Importing from DEVONthink works again. They’ve changed some terminology, but EagleFiler’s import AppleScript didn’t have to change. EagleFiler just didn’t know—until now—how to recognize DEVONthink because its bundle identifier changed.</p></li> <li><p>I <a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/11/20/spamsieve-3-1/">had thought</a> that macOS Sequoia was when opening direct Apple Help links broke, but I’ve now gotten reports that the problem also affects Sonoma. So this version of EagleFiler will use the Web browser workaround there, too.</p></li> <li><p>I continue to have issues with notarization. The latest is that for the last few months I’ve gotten intermittent errors like this:</p><pre>Error: No Keychain password item found for profile: AppleNotaryProfile Run 'notarytool store-credentials' to create another credential profile.</pre><p>I’m not sure whether this is the actual problem, though, because it <em>looks</em> like the keychain entry is still there. Nevertheless, I keep the <code>notarytool</code> command in PasswordWallet, and I run it when I get this error message, and then things work again—sometimes for a week or two, sometimes for just a few minutes.</p></li> </ul> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/19/eaglefiler-1-9-18/">EagleFiler 1.9.18</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/eaglefiler-1-9-19/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>ICEBlock Removed From the App Store</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2025 18:18:33 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store Takedown]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Department of Justice (DOJ)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ICEBlock]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Law Enforcement]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sideloading]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49474</guid> <description><![CDATA[Ashley Oliver (Hacker News, MSN, The Verge, 9to5Mac): Apple dropped ICEBlock, a widely used tracking tool, from its App Store Thursday after the Department of Justice raised concerns with the big tech giant that the app put law enforcement officers at risk.[…]Controversy surrounding ICE tracking apps intensified after last month’s deadly shooting at an ICE […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-app-after-pressure-from-ag-bondi">Ashley Oliver</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45457333">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-apps-after-pressure-from-bondi-doj/ar-AA1NLm7i">MSN</a>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/791170/iceblock-app-store-removed-by-apple">The Verge</a>, <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/02/following-doj-pressure-apple-pulls-iceblock-from-the-app-store/">9to5Mac</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/apple-takes-down-ice-tracking-app-after-pressure-from-ag-bondi"><p>Apple dropped ICEBlock, a widely used tracking tool, from its App Store Thursday after the Department of Justice raised concerns with the big tech giant that the app put law enforcement officers at risk.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Controversy surrounding ICE tracking apps intensified after last month’s deadly shooting at an ICE field office in Dallas, Texas, the latest in a series of attacks that appeared to be targeting immigration enforcement officers.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Apple said in a statement it removed ICEBlock and other apps like it.</p><p>“We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps. Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store,” Apple said.</p></blockquote><p>I’m <a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/10/apples-iceblock-capitulation-is-business-as-usual/">surprised</a> it lasted this long, since Apple also doesn’t allow apps for <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/senators-apple-pull-dui-checkpoint-dodging-apps/story?id=13196717">crowdsourcing DUI checkpoints</a>, even though to my knowledge neither type of app is actually illegal. This is pretty much exactly how the HKmap Live situation played out, except that there Apple noted that the Web site could still be added to an iPhone user’s home screen. ICEBlock has no Web site (or Android app), so removing it from the App Store will eventually kill the service. I guess if you’ve already downloaded the app you can keep using it, but it won’t get any updates and can’t be transferred to new devices.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/07/apple-announces-american-manufacturing-program/">Apple Announces American Manufacturing Program</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/24/iceblock-an-ios-exclusive/">ICEBlock, an iOS Exclusive</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/01/11/parler-removed-from-app-stores-and-aws/">Parler Removed From App Stores and AWS</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/10/09/apple-forces-telegram-to-close-channels-run-by-belarus-protestors/">Apple Forces Telegram to Close Channels Run by Belarus Protestors</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/10/25/hkmap-live-removed-from-the-app-store/">HKmap Live Removed From the App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/07/23/app-store-takedown-demands-by-governments/">App Store Takedown Demands by Governments</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/05/31/apple-hasnt-blocked-telegram-app-but-wont-allow-updates/">Apple Hasn’t Blocked Telegram App, But Won’t Allow Updates</a></li></ul> <p id="iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store-update-2025-10-04">Update (<a href="#iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store-update-2025-10-04">2025-10-04</a>): <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2025/10/iceblock_removed_from_app_store">John Gruber</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/115312251522977721">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/2025/10/iceblock_removed_from_app_store"><p>Fox, in its opening paragraph, describes Bondi as having “asked” Apple to remove ICEBlock from the App Store, but Bondi’s own statement uses the verb “demand”. The difference is not nitpicking. No one, not even Bondi, is claiming any aspect of ICEBlock is illegal.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Reporting and publishing where police are policing is free speech and fundamental to the civil rights and liberties of a free society.</p><p>[…]</p><p>We can all wish Apple had fought this “demand”. I certainly do. […] But I can also <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2025/08/gold_frankincense_and_silicon">see why it’s not</a>. Pick your battles.</p></blockquote><p>You could look at this as a story about the Trump DoJ, and I don’t think that would be wrong. And you could argue that ICEBlock is more in the public interest than the DUI checkpoint apps, even though both are legal and both are free speech. But, zooming out, this is the same government-Apple pattern as before. Here, there were months of complaints from the administration about the app, then the recent shooting provided the justification for AG Bondi’s “demand,” after which Apple caved. Back in 2011, a group of Democrat senators, including the Majority Leader, “ask[ed]” Apple to remove DUI checkpoint apps from the App Store. Apple’s position at the time was that these apps were a “net positive” in terms of public safety. Then the government brought Bud Tribble before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, where Senator Schumer “<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2011/05/senators-press-apple-google-for-answers-about-location-tracking/">demanded</a>” and Senator Udall “<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/05/senator-to-apple-google-why-are-dui-checkpoint-apps-still-available/">lambaste[d]</a>,” and Apple changed its mind and banned the apps. The throughline is that Apple will stand up for customer <em>privacy</em>, unless that conflicts with a local <em>law</em> or Apple <em>already has</em> the requested data. But when it comes to <em>apps</em> that governments <em>don’t like</em>, it <a href="https://mastodon.social/@film_girl/115313176565921574">generally</a> seems to remove them (as <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/791533/google-apple-ice-tracking-app-store-red-dot-iceblock">does Google</a>).</p> <p><a href="https://mastodon.nu/@dmitriid/115312452271583449">dmitriid</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.nu/@dmitriid/115312452271583449"><p>Imagine if there were independent stores on iOS or that users could install these apps from different sources.</p></blockquote> <p>Users <a href="https://onefoottsunami.com/2025/10/03/iceblock-blocked/">should</a> be able to just download and install the apps they want to run on their devices. Once, this was normal and expected, but now there’s a scary term for it: sideloading. <a href="https://cosocial.ca/@timbray/115311601073376642">The Web</a> is sort of an escape hatch, but even its openness is in question, as both Apple and Google are working on attestation, which limits what users can do with their browser.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/uk-again-wants-icloud-backdoor/">UK Again Wants iCloud Backdoor</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/02/google-to-require-developer-verification-for-android-sideloading/">Google to Require Developer Verification for Android Sideloading</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/11/03/google-abandons-web-environment-integrity-api/">Google Abandons Web Environment Integrity API</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/07/27/web-environment-integrity/">Web Environment Integrity</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2017/01/05/apple-removes-new-york-times-apps-from-chinese-app-store/">Apple Removes New York Times Apps From Chinese App Store</a></li></ul> <p id="iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store-update-2025-10-06">Update (<a href="#iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store-update-2025-10-06">2025-10-06</a>): <a href="https://inessential.com/2025/10/04/why-netnewswire-is-not-web-app.html">Brent Simmons</a> (<a href="https://indieweb.social/@brentsimmons/115317563699131947">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://inessential.com/2025/10/04/why-netnewswire-is-not-web-app.html"><p>I can picture a future, as I bet you can, where RSS readers aren’t allowed on any app store, and we’re essentially required to use billionaire-owned social media and platform-owned news apps.</p><p>But there are issues with making NetNewsWire a web app.</p><p>[…]</p><p>A world where everything is on the web and nothing is on the machines that we own is a sad world where we’ve lost a core freedom.</p><p>[…]</p><p>What I want to see happen is for Apple to allow iPhone and iPad users to load — not <em>sideload</em>, a term I detest, because it assumes Apple’s side of things — whatever apps they want to. Because those devices are computers.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pluralistic.net/2025/10/06/rogue-capitalism/#orphaned-syrian-refugees-need-not-apply">Cory Doctorow</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45492410">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://pluralistic.net/2025/10/06/rogue-capitalism/#orphaned-syrian-refugees-need-not-apply"><p>Apple does not permit its iPhone customers to install software unless it is delivered via their App Store. They claim they do so in order to protect their customers from their customers’ own bad choices about which apps to install. But time and again, Apple has shown that they exercise this control over their users to pursue their own ends, blocking:</p><ul><li>A dictionary (because it contained swear words);<p></p></li><li><p>A game that simulated working in an Apple sweatshop;</p></li><li><p>An informative app that cataloged civilian casualties of US drone strikes;</p></li><li><p>The Tumblr app because some Tumblr blogs contained adult content; and</p></li><li><p>Working VPN apps for the entire nation of China.</p></li></ul></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115317192860905579">Jeff Johnson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115317192860905579"><p>Should anyone in the world be able to distribute iPhone apps? Yes.</p><p>Should anyone in the world be able to distribute iPhone apps with the explicit backing of Apple? No. Absolutely not.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The only reason this totally fucking nutty situation exists is that the purpose of the iOS App Store lockdown is NOT to protect Apple users but rather to extract money from developers.</p></blockquote><p>I’ve always thought it was a mix of wanting money and control. But, in a way, Apple ends up with less control because, with no alternative distribution, it can’t really make the store the highly curated experience that you’d imagine it would want. Instead, the store is missing some apps that customers (and maybe Apple) would want but that governments don’t, and the store is also full of junk apps that customers don’t really want but that don’t really violate any rules so Apple kind of has to let them through.</p> <p id="iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store-update-2025-10-08">Update (<a href="#iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store-update-2025-10-08">2025-10-08</a>): <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/07/altstore-state-of-the-union">John Gruber</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/07/altstore-state-of-the-union"><p>The only content ICEBlock contains is the location of law enforcement activity. Waze — and more notably, Apple’s own Maps app — do the exact same thing for highway speed traps.</p></blockquote><p>This gets back to my earlier point that Apple has gone down a slope of policing apps based on how people choose to use them vs. based on what the binary actually does.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/08/lessons-from-san-bernardino-and-iceblock/">Lessons From San Bernardino and ICEBlock</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/iceblock-removed-from-the-app-store/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>45</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Web Apps in iOS 26</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/web-apps-in-ios-26/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/web-apps-in-ios-26/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2025 18:18:29 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Safari]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49472</guid> <description><![CDATA[Jen Simmons et al. (Mastodon): For the last 17 years, if the website had the specific meta tag or Web Application Manifest display value in it’s code, when a user added it to their Home Screen on iOS or iPadOS, tapping its icon opened it as a web app. If the website was not configured […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://webkit.org/blog/17333/webkit-features-in-safari-26-0/#every-site-can-be-a-web-app-on-ios-and-ipados">Jen Simmons et al.</a> (<a href="https://front-end.social/@jensimmons/115295185446528941">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://webkit.org/blog/17333/webkit-features-in-safari-26-0/#every-site-can-be-a-web-app-on-ios-and-ipados"><p>For the last 17 years, if the website had the specific <code>meta</code> tag or Web Application Manifest <code>display</code> value in it’s code, when a user added it to their Home Screen on iOS or iPadOS, tapping its icon opened it as a web app. If the website was not configured as such, tapping its icon opened the site in a browser. Users had no choice in the matter, nor visible way to understand why some sites behaved one way while others behaved another.</p><p>On Mac, we took a different approach. When introducing <a href="https://webkit.org/blog/14205/news-from-wwdc23-webkit-features-in-safari-17-beta/#web-apps">Web Apps on Mac</a> in Sep 2023, we made the decision to always open websites added to the Dock as web apps. It doesn’t matter whether or not the website has a Web Application Manifest. Users get a consistent <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/104996">experience</a>. Add to Dock creates a web app.</p><p>Now, we are revising the behavior on iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. By default, every website added to the Home Screen opens as a web app. If the user prefers to add a bookmark for their browser, they can disable “Open as Web App” when adding to Home Screen — even if the site is configured to be a web app. The UI is always consistent, no matter how the site’s code is configured. And the power to define the experience is in the hands of users.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/27/the-tyranny-of-apps/">The Tyranny of Apps</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/30/an-abridged-history-of-safari-showstoppers/">An Abridged History of Safari Showstoppers</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/06/23/safari-17-web-apps/">Safari 17 Web Apps</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/06/19/safari-17-link-tracking-protection/">Safari 17 Link Tracking Protection</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/03/web-apps-in-ios-26/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>8</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>How to Export a Mac .icon File With the Proper Margins</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/how-to-export-a-mac-icon-file-with-the-proper-margins/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/how-to-export-a-mac-icon-file-with-the-proper-margins/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 02 Oct 2025 22:09:42 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Icon Image Format (.icns)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Asset Catalog (.car)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Graphics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Icon Composer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Icons]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PNG]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Xcode]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49469</guid> <description><![CDATA[Tahoe Mac app icons are supposed to have margins/padding so that there’s empty space around the edge of the squircle. The opaque pixels don’t touch the edge of the canvas. Icon Composer and Xcode handle this detail for you. You design your icon without having to worry about the margin, and Xcode automatically adds it […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Tahoe Mac app icons are supposed to have margins/padding so that there’s empty space around the edge of the squircle. The opaque pixels don’t touch the edge of the canvas. Icon Composer and Xcode handle this detail for you. You design your icon without having to worry about the margin, and Xcode automatically adds it when compiling your asset catalog.</p> <p>The issue is, how do you get the proper margin on icon images used in other contexts (documentation, marketing, etc.)? If you export from Icon Composer, it generates PNG files with no margin, so the icon appears too large, even though the outer pixel dimensions are the same. For example, on the <a href="https://c-command.com/spamsieve/screenshots">SpamSieve screenshots page</a>, the Light icon is generated by Xcode, and the Dark/Clear/Tinted variants are exported from Icon Composer. The difference is substantial.</p> <p>I posted about this <a href="https://mastodon.social/@mjtsai/115304823124540239">on Mastodon</a> and also found an old post <a href="https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/788830">in the Apple Developer Forums</a>, but no one seemed to know the answer.</p> <p>Back in June, I learned from <a href="https://micro.virtualsanity.com/2025/06/20/icon-composer-notes.html">John Brayton</a> that you don’t have to manually export from the Icon Composer app. It has a command-line tool called <code>ictool</code> (formerly <code>icontool</code>) that can convert <tt>.icon</tt> files to <tt>.png</tt>. So I have a Makefile that generates all the different sizes and variants for all my apps using commands like this:</p> <pre>"/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Applications/Icon Composer.app/Contents/Executables/ictool" AppIcon.icon --export-preview macOS Light 128 128 1 AppIconLight.iconset/icon_128x128.png</pre> <p>Unfortunately, <code>ictool</code>, like Icon Composer itself, does not add the transparent margin.</p> <p>I checked Xcode’s build log to see if there were other options it was passing but didn’t find anything. It looks like it’s not using <code>ictool</code> and instead compiles the icon directly into the asset catalog.</p> <p>So far, the only solution I’ve found is to actually build my app with Xcode and then extract the icons it generated. You can view the contents of an asset catalog using <a href="https://github.com/NSAntoine/Samra">Samra</a>, but it doesn’t export. <a href="https://github.com/insidegui/AssetCatalogTinkerer">Asset Catalog Tinkerer</a> has some export problems—it shows constituents of the <tt>.icon</tt> as having the same name and only exports one of them—but it’s fine for the purposes of extracting the fully rendered icons.</p> <p>The method I prefer is to take the <tt>.icns</tt> file in the <tt>.app</tt> package and use <code>iconutil</code> to convert it to a folder of PNGs:</p> <pre>iconutil -c iconset -o AppIcon.iconset AppIcon.icns</pre> <p>Note that, by default, Xcode only generates the <tt>.icns</tt> file with sizes up to 256px. To get the larger sizes, you need to add to your <tt>.xcconfig</tt> file:</p> <pre>ASSETCATALOG_COMPILER_STANDALONE_ICON_BEHAVIOR = all</pre> <p>Unfortunately, relying on Xcode to apply the margins only works for the standard (Light) icon. This is the only one that it pre-generates. If you know how to get it to compile Dark/Clear/Tinted variants—or how to properly export those directly without using Xcode—please let me know.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/08/separate-icons-for-macos-tahoe-vs-earlier/">Separate Icons for macOS Tahoe vs. Earlier</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/23/icon-composer-notes/">Icon Composer Notes</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/19/macos-tahoes-new-theming-system/">macOS Tahoe’s New Theming System</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/03/06/samra-1-1/">Samra 1.1</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/04/29/actool-strips-larger-icon-sizes/">actool Strips Larger Icon Sizes</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/how-to-export-a-mac-icon-file-with-the-proper-margins/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Sora App</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/sora-app/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/sora-app/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 02 Oct 2025 22:09:27 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Audio]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ChatGPT]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Copyright]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Graphics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Video]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49466</guid> <description><![CDATA[OpenAI: Today we’re releasing Sora 2, our flagship video and audio generation model.The original Sora model from February 2024 was in many ways the GPT‑1 moment for video—the first time video generation started to seem like it was working, and simple behaviors like object permanence emerged from scaling up pre-training compute. Since then, the Sora […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://openai.com/index/sora-2/">OpenAI</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://openai.com/index/sora-2/"><p>Today we’re releasing Sora 2, our flagship video and audio generation model.</p><p>The <a href="https://openai.com/index/video-generation-models-as-world-simulators/">original Sora model </a> from February 2024 was in many ways the GPT‑1 moment for video—the first time video generation started to seem like it was working, and simple behaviors like object permanence emerged from scaling up pre-training compute. Since then, the Sora team has been focused on training models with more advanced world simulation capabilities. We believe such systems will be critical for training AI models that deeply understand the physical world. A major milestone for this is mastering pre-training and post-training on large-scale video data, which are in their infancy compared to language.</p><p>With Sora 2, we are jumping straight to what we think may be the GPT‑3.5 moment for video. Sora 2 can do things that are exceptionally difficult—and in some instances outright impossible—for prior video generation models: Olympic gymnastics routines, backflips on a paddleboard that accurately model the dynamics of buoyancy and rigidity, and triple axels while a cat holds on for dear life.</p><p>Prior video models are overoptimistic—they will morph objects and deform reality to successfully execute upon a text prompt. For example, if a basketball player misses a shot, the ball may spontaneously teleport to the hoop. In Sora 2, if a basketball player misses a shot, it will rebound off the backboard.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/30/openai-sora-ai-video-app/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/30/openai-sora-ai-video-app/"><p>The Sora app for iOS <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sora-by-openai/id6744034028">is available to download now</a>, and it can be used in the United States and Canada. Those invited to the app will be able to use Sora 2 on the Sora website.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/01/openais-new-social-app-is-filled-with-terrifying-sam-altman-deepfakes/">Amanda Silberling</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/01/openais-new-social-app-is-filled-with-terrifying-sam-altman-deepfakes/"><p>People on Sora who generate videos of Altman are especially getting a kick out of how blatantly OpenAI appears to be violating copyright laws. (Sora will <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openais-new-sora-video-generator-to-require-copyright-holders-to-opt-out-071d8b2a?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=ASWzDAjS6naAdRhkkRLbxwErQ8J9JkfHRZVT2siTRcs36_pROOYcELqFv9mMFmWNfGY%3D&gaa_ts=68dc95f5&gaa_sig=lHf1Acy8xPOzXsXT2oabK-9PhESEEExxVh155AQv7CHv-5eSfrB6ty8y3A_3Xd-K5ZCGKhP-xRwzDye2-Tny7g%3D%3D">reportedly require</a> copyright holders to opt out of their content’s use — reversing the typical approach where creators must explicitly agree to such use — the legality of which is debatable.)</p><p>[…]</p><p>Aside from its algorithmic feed and profiles, Sora’s defining feature is that it is basically a deepfake generator — that’s how we got so many videos of Altman. In the app, you can create what OpenAI calls a “cameo” of yourself by uploading biometric data. When you first join the app, you’re immediately prompted to create your optional cameo through a quick process where you record yourself reading off some numbers, then turning your head from side to side.</p><p>Each Sora user can control who is allowed to generate videos using their cameo. You can adjust this setting between four options: “only me,” “people I approve,” “mutuals,” and “everyone.” </p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://spyglass.org/openai-sora-2-app/">M.G. Siegler</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://spyglass.org/openai-sora-2-app/"><p>It’s been a long time since I’ve been <em>this</em> sucked into an app. Such was the situation I found myself in last night with OpenAI’s <a href="https://openai.com/index/sora-2/?ref=spyglass.org">new version of Sora</a>. Once I got access, <a href="https://sora.chatgpt.com/profile/mgs?ref=spyglass.org">I found it nearly impossible</a> to put it down. I just kept wanting to remix everything I scrolled past. Yes, it was incredibly dumb. Yet highly amusing! And technically, very interesting, albeit in mildly troubling ways. But everyone else will write about that aspect, <a href="https://spyglass.org/ai-copyright-debate/">and rightfully so</a>. My angle here is simply that OpenAI remains so good at creating these types of viral products. Underlying tech aside, that team <a href="https://spyglass.org/openai-product-launches/">continues to seem to know</a> how to productize better than anyone else in the space.</p><p>Case in point: Meta launched a similar foray just days before <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/25/meta-launches-vibes-a-short-form-video-feed-of-ai-slop/?ref=spyglass.org">in the form of “Vibes”</a>. Now, did they rush it out the door to get ahead of this Sora 2 launch? Hard to say for sure, but it sure <em>feels</em> that way. The product, if you even want to call it that, is so half-baked and obtuse to use that it’s more like an employment quiz.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mas.to/@carnage4life/115302464811964755">Dare Obasanjo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mas.to/@carnage4life/115302464811964755"><p>Started using the Sora app and it’s like TikTok for AI generated videos.</p><p>I used to think it would take a year or two for AI videos to become as popular as influencer content on social media but I can see this app causing that to happen by the end of the year.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/02/sora-launch">John Gruber</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/02/sora-launch"><p>Sora, though invitation-only at the moment, is currently #3 in the U.S. App Store.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Also, I’m sure Sora will eventually come to Android. But, to play with it now, you need an iPhone.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/nano-banana/">Nano Banana</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/12/28/how-much-of-the-internet-is-fake/">How Much of the Internet Is Fake?</a></li></ul> <p id="sora-app-update-2025-10-06">Update (<a href="#sora-app-update-2025-10-06">2025-10-06</a>): <a href="https://blog.samaltman.com/sora-update-number-1">Sam Altman</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://blog.samaltman.com/sora-update-number-1"><p>First, we will give rightsholders more granular control over generation of characters, similar to the opt-in model for likeness but with additional controls.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Second, we are going to have to somehow make money for video generation. People are generating much more than we expected per user, and a lot of videos are being generated for very small audiences.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/sora-app/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Nano Banana</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/nano-banana/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/nano-banana/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 02 Oct 2025 22:09:18 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Google Gemini/Bard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Graphics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Nano Banana]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49464</guid> <description><![CDATA[Wikipedia: Nano Banana (officially Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is an artificial intelligence image generating and editing tool created by Google. “Nano Banana” was the codename used on LMArena while the model was undergoing pre-release testing, allowing the community to evaluate its performance on real-world prompts without knowing its identity. When the company publicly released it […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_Banana">Wikipedia</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_Banana"><p>Nano Banana (officially Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence_visual_art" title="Artificial intelligence visual art">artificial intelligence image generating and editing</a> tool created by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google" title="Google">Google</a>. “Nano Banana” was the codename used on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMArena" title="LMArena">LMArena</a> while the model was undergoing pre-release testing, allowing the community to evaluate its performance on real-world prompts without knowing its identity. When the company publicly released it in August 2025, it was part of their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(chatbot)" title="Gemini (chatbot)">Gemini</a> line of AI products. The model became known for its editing skills and for starting a social media trend of styled “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_figurine" title="3D figurine">3D figurine</a>” photos.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation/">Google</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation/"><p>Imagine yourself in any world you can dream up. Our latest AI image generation update, Nano Banana, lets you turn a single photo into countless new creations. You can even upload multiple images to blend scenes or combine ideas. And with an improved understanding of your instructions, it's easier than ever to bring your ideas to life.</p></blockquote> <p>There are tons of apps <em>called</em> Nano Banana <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nano-banana-ai-image-editor/id6747897909">in the App Store</a>, some of them with <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ai-art-generator-edit-photos/id6752353789?mt=12">Google-style icons</a>, but none seems to be an official Google app. Neither is the <a href="https://nanobanana.ai">nanobanana.ai</a> Web front-end from Google.</p> <p><a href="https://github.com/PicoTrex/Awesome-Nano-Banana-images/blob/main/README_en.md">PicoTrex</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45215869">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://github.com/PicoTrex/Awesome-Nano-Banana-images/blob/main/README_en.md"><p>We present Nano-consistent-150k — the first dataset constructed using Nano-Banana that exceeds 150k high-quality samples, uniquely designed to preserve consistent human identity across diverse and complex editing scenarios. A key feature is its remarkable identity consistency: for a single portrait, more than 35 distinct editing outputs are provided across diverse tasks and instructions. By anchoring on consistent human identities, the dataset enables the construction of interleaved data that seamlessly link multiple editing tasks, instructions, and modalities around the same individual.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrY_WoleAJs">Fstoppers</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45159798">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrY_WoleAJs"><p>Google Just Made Photography Obsolete</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://developers.googleblog.com/en/gemini-2-5-flash-image-now-ready-for-production-with-new-aspect-ratios/">Google</a> (<a href="https://x.com/googleaidevs/status/1973781293977735435">tweet</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://developers.googleblog.com/en/gemini-2-5-flash-image-now-ready-for-production-with-new-aspect-ratios/"><p>Our state-of-the-art image generation and editing model which has captured the imagination of the world, Gemini 2.5 Flash Image 🍌, is now generally available, ready for production environments, and comes with new features like a wider range of aspect ratios in addition to being able to specify image-only output.</p><p>Gemini 2.5 Flash Image empowers users to seamlessly blend multiple images, maintain consistent characters for richer storytelling, perform targeted edits with natural language, and leverage Gemini’s extensive world knowledge for image generation and modification. The model is accessible through the <a href="https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/image-generation">Gemini API</a> on <a href="https://aistudio.google.com/prompts/new_chat?model=gemini-2.5-flash-image">Google AI Studio</a> and on <a href="https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/studio/multimodal?model=gemini-2.5-flash-image">Vertex AI</a> for enterprise use.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/sora-app/">Sora App</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/13/app-store-promotion-and-x-grok/">App Store Promotion and X/Grok</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/12/16/gemini-2-0/">Gemini 2.0</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/10/apple-intelligence-announced/">Apple Intelligence Announced</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/09/28/dall-e-now-available-without-waitlist/">DALL-E Now Available Without Waitlist</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/09/23/midjourney-and-stable-diffusion/">Midjourney and Stable Diffusion</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/nano-banana/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Meta Ray-Ban Display</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/meta-ray-ban-display/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/meta-ray-ban-display/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 02 Oct 2025 22:09:08 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Vision Pro]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Meta]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Orion AR Glasses]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Rumor]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49462</guid> <description><![CDATA[Meta (Hacker News): The wait is over. Meta Ray-Ban Display hits shelves in the US today! Priced at $799 USD, which includes the Meta Neural Band, these breakthrough AI glasses let you interact with digital content while staying fully present in the physical world. […]Today at Connect, Mark Zuckerberg debuted the next exciting evolution of […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.meta.com/blog/meta-ray-ban-display-ai-glasses-connect-2025/">Meta</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45283306">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.meta.com/blog/meta-ray-ban-display-ai-glasses-connect-2025/"><p>The wait is over. <a href="https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/meta-ray-ban-display/?intern_source=blog&intern_content=meta-ray-ban-display-ai-glasses-connect-2025">Meta Ray-Ban Display</a> hits shelves in the US today! Priced at $799 USD, which includes the Meta Neural Band, these breakthrough AI glasses let you interact with digital content while staying fully present in the physical world.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Today at <a href="https://www.meta.com/blog/connect-2025-day-one-keynote-ai-glasses-ray-ban-display-neural-band-metaverse-news/?intern_source=blog&intern_content=meta-ray-ban-display-ai-glasses-connect-2025">Connect</a>, Mark Zuckerberg debuted the next exciting evolution of <a href="https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/?intern_source=blog&intern_content=meta-ray-ban-display-ai-glasses-connect-2025">AI glasses</a>: the all-new <a href="https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/meta-ray-ban-display-glasses-and-neural-band/?intern_source=blog&intern_content=meta-ray-ban-display-ai-glasses-connect-2025">Meta Ray-Ban Display and Meta Neural Band</a>.</p><p>Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are designed to help you look up and stay present. With a quick glance at the in-lens display, you can accomplish everyday tasks—like checking messages, previewing photos, and collaborating with visual <a href="https://ai.meta.com/meta-ai/?intern_source=blog&intern_content=meta-ray-ban-display-ai-glasses-connect-2025">Meta AI</a> prompts — all without needing to pull out your phone. It’s technology that keeps you tuned in to the world around you, not distracted from it.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/18/meta-launches-ai-glasses/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/18/meta-launches-ai-glasses/"><p>Meta placed the display off to the side to prevent it from obstructing the view through the glasses, and the display is also not designed to be on constantly. It is meant for short interactions.</p><p>The AI glasses are meant to be used with the Meta Neural Band, a wristband that interprets signals created by muscle activity to navigate the features of the glasses. With the band, you can control the glasses with subtle hand movements, similar to how Apple Vision Pro control works.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The AI glasses have a six hour battery life, but that can be extended to up to 30 hours with an included charging case. The Neural Band has an 18-hour battery life.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/01/apple-ai-smart-glasses-focus/">Juli Clover</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45443885">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/10/01/221223/apple-shelves-vision-headset-revamp-to-prioritize-meta-like-ai-glasses">Slashdot</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/01/apple-ai-smart-glasses-focus/"><p>Apple has decided to stop work on a cheaper, lighter version of the $3,499 Vision Pro to instead focus its resources on smart glasses, reports <em><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-01/apple-shelves-vision-headset-revamp-to-prioritize-meta-like-ai-smart-glasses">Bloomberg</a></em>. Apple wants to speed up development on a glasses product to better compete with Meta.</p><p>There were rumors that Apple was developing a <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/02/vision-air-2027/">a much lighter, more affordable</a> “Vision Air” for launch in 2027, but Apple is now transitioning engineers from that project to its smart glasses project.</p><p>[…]</p><p>While work on a lighter version of the Vision Pro has been paused for now, Apple still plans to refresh the current model with an M5 chip later this year.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://spyglass.org/apple-vision-pro-mistake-smart-glasses/">M.G. Siegler</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://spyglass.org/apple-vision-pro-mistake-smart-glasses/"><p>Anyway, admitting – again, even if implicitly – that the Vision Pro strategy to date has been a mistake is a good first step here. It’s too bad because they were <a href="https://spyglass.org/submerged-in-apple-vision-pro/">starting to see</a><a href="https://spyglass.org/vision-pro-metallica-concert/">some success</a>, making the device actually <a href="https://spyglass.org/the-vision-pro-starts-to-come-into-focus/">start to make some sense</a>. But the hardware reality <a href="https://spyglass.org/vision-pro-start-up/">remains what it is</a>. And what it is, remains far away.</p><p>[…]</p><p>With Meta now seemingly <a href="https://spyglass.org/meta-quest-pro-no/">continuing to</a> back off their VR strategy as well <a href="https://spyglass.org/meta-ray-ban-hypernova-glasses/">in favor of smart glasses</a>, they’re sort of forcing Apple’s hand here. And Meta remains dangerous because <a href="https://spyglass.org/the-iphone-is-the-thing/">they <em>need</em></a> this market <a href="https://spyglass.org/can-meta-make-vr-ar-headsets-happen/">to happen</a>, whereas Apple does not.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/01/the-tim-cook-era/">The Tim Cook Era</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/14/one-year-with-the-vision-pro/">One Year With the Vision Pro</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/26/metas-orion-ar-glasses/">Meta’s Orion AR Glasses</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/02/meta-ray-ban-display/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>UK Again Wants iCloud Backdoor</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/uk-again-wants-icloud-backdoor/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/uk-again-wants-icloud-backdoor/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2025 20:24:20 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iCloud]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iCloud Advanced Data Protection]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iMessage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[United Kingdom]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49458</guid> <description><![CDATA[Jess Weatherbed (Hacker News, Reddit, MacRumors, 9to5Mac): The UK government is reportedly once again demanding that Apple provide it with backdoor access to encrypted iCloud user data, following claims that the effort had been abandoned in August. The Financial Times reports that a new technical capability notice (TCN) was issued by the UK Home Office […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/789985/apple-uk-revived-secret-order-encryption-backdoor">Jess Weatherbed</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45440226">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/1nvabm3/uk_government_issues_new_order_to_access_icloud/">Reddit</a>, <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/01/uk-issues-new-order-for-icloud-data/">MacRumors</a>, <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/01/the-british-government-is-still-insisting-apple-has-to-create-a-backdoor-into-icloud/">9to5Mac</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.theverge.com/news/789985/apple-uk-revived-secret-order-encryption-backdoor"><p>The UK government is reportedly once again demanding that Apple provide it with backdoor access to encrypted iCloud user data, following claims that the effort had been abandoned in August. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d101fd62-14f9-4f51-beff-ea41e8794265"><em>The Financial Times</em></a> reports that a new technical capability notice (TCN) was issued by the UK Home Office in early September, this time specifically targeting access to British citizens’ iCloud backups.</p><p>[…]</p><p>While US officials raised concerns about the order during President Trump’s state visit to the UK last month, according to <em>The Financial Times</em>, the publication reports that two senior British government figures said the UK was no longer facing US pressure to drop its demands.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://x.com/dafacto/status/1973355594758115614">Matt Henderson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://x.com/dafacto/status/1973355594758115614"><p>Just returned from the UK, where a digital ID is about to be enforced on all adults. Soon, my Signal messages may be scanned. Financial policing co-opted to the institutions with KYC and draconian source-of-funds investigation.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/28/uk-online-safety-act/">UK Online Safety Act</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/21/uk-backing-down-on-apple-encryption-backdoor/">UK Backing Down on Apple Encryption Backdoor</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/04/03/france-rejects-backdoor-mandate/">France Rejects Backdoor Mandate</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/25/fbi-also-wants-to-break-icloud-advanced-data-protection/">FBI Also Wants to Break iCloud Advanced Data Protection</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/21/apple-pulls-icloud-advanced-data-protection-from-uk/">Apple Pulls iCloud Advanced Data Protection From UK</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/07/uk-orders-apple-to-break-icloud-advanced-data-protection/">UK Orders Apple to Break iCloud Advanced Data Protection</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/04/proposed-eu-chat-control/">Proposed EU Chat Control</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/01/21/apple-dropped-plans-for-end-to-end-encrypted-icloud-backups-after-fbi-objected/">Apple Dropped Plans for End-to-End Encrypted iCloud Backups After FBI Objected</a></li></ul> <p id="uk-again-wants-icloud-backdoor-update-2025-10-04">Update (<a href="#uk-again-wants-icloud-backdoor-update-2025-10-04">2025-10-04</a>): <a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/uk-icloud-adp-redux/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/uk-icloud-adp-redux/"><p>Reporters like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/technology/britain-apple-back-door.html">Tripp Mickle</a>, at the <em>New York Times</em>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/08/19/uk-apple-backdoor-data-privacy-gabbard/">Annabelle Timsit and Joseph Menn</a>, of the <em>Washington Post</em>, were too eager to claim the U.K. would wholly abandon its pursuit of customer data. Neither allowed for different interpretations of Gabbard’s tweet. Journalists like these have sources who could have offered clarity. It is unclear in either article whether they did reach out to their contacts; if they did, their stories were misleading even with — or perhaps because of — that information.</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/122234">Apple</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://support.apple.com/en-us/122234"><p>Withdrawing <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/12/apple-advances-user-security-with-powerful-new-data-protections/">Advanced Data Protection</a> from the UK will not affect the <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/102651">15 iCloud data categories</a> that are end-to-end encrypted by default. Data like iCloud Keychain and Health remains protected with full end-to-end encryption.</p><p>Our communication services, like iMessage and FaceTime, remain end-to-end encrypted globally, including in the UK.</p></blockquote><p>We’re back to the same situation as before, where Apple insists that iMessage is E2EE, which is technically true for the iMessage service. But unless you and everyone you message with opts out of iCloud Backup, Apple stores the encryption key and can access all of your message data.</p> <blockquote cite="https://support.apple.com/en-us/122234"><p>For users in the UK who already enabled Advanced Data Protection, Apple will soon provide additional guidance. Apple cannot disable ADP automatically for these users. Instead, UK users will be given a period of time to disable the feature themselves to keep using their iCloud account.</p></blockquote><p>So Apple is currently not complying in full, but it plans to.</p> <p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/0x0.boo/post/3m262lj734k2i">0x0.boo</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://bsky.app/profile/0x0.boo/post/3m262lj734k2i"><p>󠀁󠁿It’s probably the TCN’s that are in place, that you don’t know about, that are the current biggest threat.</p><p>That’s not to take away anything from this new TCN, or make light of it, it’s a big deal.</p><p>But think about what’s likely already in place with other companies as you go about your business.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/01/14/reminder-imessage-not-meaningfully-e2e/">Reminder: iMessage Not Meaningfully E2E</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/uk-again-wants-icloud-backdoor/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>14</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Adobe Premiere for iOS and iPadOS</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/adobe-premiere-for-ios-and-ipados/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/adobe-premiere-for-ios-and-ipados/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2025 20:24:14 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Adobe Premiere]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Subscriptions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Instagram]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[TikTok]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Video]]></category> <category><![CDATA[YouTube]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49456</guid> <description><![CDATA[Adobe: Adobe announced that the company is bringing its industry leading Adobe Premiere video editor to mobile in a powerful new iPhone app that empowers creators to make pro-quality video on the go. The Adobe Premiere mobile app makes it fast, free and intuitive for creators to edit their videos with precision editing on a […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://news.adobe.com/news/2025/09/adobe-premiere-now-delivers-fast-pro-quality-video-editing-mobile">Adobe</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://news.adobe.com/news/2025/09/adobe-premiere-now-delivers-fast-pro-quality-video-editing-mobile"><p>Adobe announced that the company is bringing its industry leading Adobe Premiere video editor to mobile in a powerful <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/adobe-premiere-video-editor">new iPhone app</a> that empowers creators to make pro-quality video on the go. The <a href="https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/app.html">Adobe Premiere mobile app</a> makes it fast, free and intuitive for creators to edit their videos with precision editing on a lightning-fast multi-track timeline, produce studio-quality audio with crystal clear voiceovers and perfectly timed AI sound effects, generate unique content and access millions of free multimedia assets, and send work directly to <a href="https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html">Premiere desktop</a> for fine tuning further on a larger screen. The new mobile app offers all the video editing essentials for free, with upgrades available for additional generative credits and storage.</p></blockquote> <p>This makes it sound like the upgrades are à la carte, but in the App Store listing there seems to just be a generic subscription available for different terms ($7.99/month or $69.99/year).</p> <p>It’s unclear whether it has the same limitation as Final Cut Pro, where you can bring files from mobile to desktop but not back to mobile.</p> <p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/30/adobe-launches-premiere-for-iphone/">Hartley Charlton</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/30/adobe-launches-premiere-for-iphone/"><p>Adobe has also built in a speech enhancement tool that removes background noise to isolate voices, as well as automatic captioning with stylized subtitles. The app supports 4K HDR export and allows direct one-tap publishing to platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Users can also generate sound effects and other creative assets using Adobe Firefly AI, the company's generative AI platform, which is fully integrated into the app.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The app is positioned as a replacement for Premiere Rush, the company's previous lightweight mobile editor. Existing Rush users will retain access only on devices where it is already installed until the service is fully discontinued on September 30, 2026.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/11/final-cut-camera-2-0/">Final Cut Camera 2.0</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/05/07/final-cut-pro-2-and-logic-pro-2-for-ipad/">Final Cut Pro 2 and Logic Pro 2 for iPad</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/11/18/does-apple-smell-blood-in-the-water/">Does Apple Smell Blood in the Water?</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2015/12/17/adobe-premiere-final-cut-pro-imove-08-and-final-cut-pro-x/">Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, iMovie ’08, and Final Cut Pro X</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/adobe-premiere-for-ios-and-ipados/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Electronic Arts Acquired by Private Equity</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/electronic-arts-acquired-by-private-equity/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/electronic-arts-acquired-by-private-equity/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2025 20:24:01 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Acquisition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Electronic Arts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49454</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover (2022): Apple is one of several companies that have held talks with Electronic Arts (EA) about a potential purchase, according to a new report from Puck.EA has spoken to several “potential suitors,” including Apple, Amazon, and Disney as it looks for a merger arrangement. Nicholas G. Miller and Lauren Thomas (Hacker News, MacRumors): […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2022/05/23/ea-apple-alleged-acquisition-talks/">Juli Clover</a> (2022):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2022/05/23/ea-apple-alleged-acquisition-talks/"><p>Apple is one of several companies that have held talks with Electronic Arts (EA) about a potential purchase, according to a new report from <em><a href="https://puck.news/brian-roberts-one-that-got-away/">Puck</a></em>.</p><p>EA has spoken to several “potential suitors,” including Apple, Amazon, and Disney as it looks for a merger arrangement.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/electronic-arts-to-go-private-in-55-billion-deal-a4a4479c"> Nicholas G. Miller and Lauren Thomas</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45413767">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ea-confirms-it-will-go-private.2467874/">MacRumors</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/electronic-arts-to-go-private-in-55-billion-deal-a4a4479c"><p>Videogame maker Electronic Arts said it would go private in a $55 billion deal with a group of investors including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, private-equity firm Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Electronic Arts publishes The Sims, football game Madden NFL and FIFA, the soccer videogame now known as FC. It has been boosted by sales of its marquee sports games and is expected to release “Battlefield 6,” the latest edition of its popular shooting game.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/EA-Announces-Agreement-to-be-Acquired-by-PIF-Silver-Lake-and-Affinity-Partners-for-55-Billion/default.aspx">Electronic Arts</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45413083">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/EA-Announces-Agreement-to-be-Acquired-by-PIF-Silver-Lake-and-Affinity-Partners-for-55-Billion/default.aspx"><p>PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners bring deep sector experience, committed capital, and global portfolios with networks across gaming, entertainment, and sports that offer unique possibilities for EA to blend physical and digital experiences, enhance fan engagement, and create new growth opportunities. The transaction represents the largest all-cash sponsor take-private investment in history, with the Consortium partnering closely with EA to enable the Company to move faster and unlock new opportunities on a global stage.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/23/apple-games-app/">Apple Games App</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/08/07/inside-apple-arcade/">Inside Apple Arcade</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/04/apples-mac-gaming-push/">Apple’s Mac Gaming Push</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/11/07/microsoft-finalizes-activision-blizzard-acquisition/">Microsoft Finalizes Activision Blizzard Acquisition</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/electronic-arts-acquired-by-private-equity/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Kindle Scribe 2025</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/kindle-scribe-2025/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/kindle-scribe-2025/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2025 20:23:40 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[E Ink]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Kindle]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49452</guid> <description><![CDATA[Andrew Liszewski (Hacker News): Amazon announced new versions of the Kindle Scribe today, including the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, which features a larger version of the customized E Ink screen technology that Amazon uses in its color e-reader. The new Scribes feature a major redesign that does away with the asymmetrical chin on one side, making […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/788289/amazon-kindle-scribe-e-ink-digital-notepad-stylus">Andrew Liszewski</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45427829">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.theverge.com/news/788289/amazon-kindle-scribe-e-ink-digital-notepad-stylus"><p>Amazon <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-amazon-kindle-scribe-color">announced new versions of the Kindle Scribe</a> today, including the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, which features a larger version of the customized E Ink screen technology that Amazon uses in its color e-reader. The new Scribes feature a major redesign that does away with the asymmetrical chin on one side, making the devices look sleeker and more like a tablet.</p><p>The new Scribes feature larger 11-inch, glare-free E Ink screens — up from 10.2 inches previously — but Amazon has managed to make the new versions lighter than the first two. They now weigh just 400 grams compared to 433 grams for last year’s version, and at 5.4mm thick, they’re thinner than the iPhone Air.</p><p>[…]</p><p>A new quad-core processor and additional memory improve the performance of the new Kindle Scribes, which now offer a writing experience and page turns that feel 40 percent faster than previous versions.</p><p>[…]</p><p>All three of the new Kindle Scribes come with steeper price tags. Last year’s Kindle Scribe started at $399.99, but the cheapest of the new additions is the Scribe without a front light, which will <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3BLPFS9/?tag=theverge02-20&ascsubtag=__vg1001awD__788289__________________">start at $429.99</a> when available early next year. If you plan to write or read at night, then you’ll want the standard Kindle Scribe, which <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FC1ZS9QZ/?tag=theverge02-20&ascsubtag=__vg1001awD__788289__________________">starts at $499.99</a>, and if you want a splash of color, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Kindle-Scribe-Colorsoft/dp/B0DWRBVDN6/?tag=theverge02-20&ascsubtag=__vg1001awD__788289__________________">starts at $629.99</a>, with both arriving later this year.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/30/amazon-unveils-new-kindle-scribe-and-kindle-scribe-colorsoft/">Aisha Malik</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/30/amazon-unveils-new-kindle-scribe-and-kindle-scribe-colorsoft/"><p>The devices feature a new Home experience that lets users jot something down, and open recently opened and added books, documents, and notebooks. Amazon anticipates both devices being used for handwritten notes, and the devices include significant product integrations to enhance that experience. One feature will let users search their notes across their notebooks and get simple AI summaries. Next year, users will be able to send their notes and documents to Alexa+ and have a more involved conversation about them.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The devices will also feature new AI reading features. A new “Story so Far” feature will let users catch up on the book they’re currently reading up until where they have read. An “Ask this Book” feature will let users highlight any passage of text while reading a book and get spoiler-free answers to questions about things like a character’s motive or the significance of a scene.</p><p>These features will be available on books users have purchased or borrowed on the Kindle iOS app later this year and on Kindle devices early next year.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/05/remarkable-paper-pro-move/">reMarkable Paper Pro Move</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/10/17/kindle-colorsoft-and-2024-updates/">Kindle Colorsoft and 2024 Updates</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/10/03/kindle-scribe/">Kindle Scribe</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/10/01/kindle-scribe-2025/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Explaining Regex Locally With Xcode</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/30/explaining-regex-locally-with-xcode/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/30/explaining-regex-locally-with-xcode/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2025 20:18:07 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Regular Expression]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Swift Programming Language]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Xcode]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49441</guid> <description><![CDATA[Paul Samuels: My approach when needing to figure out what an old regex was doing was to paste it into whatever the top search result for “Explain regular expression” was.Something that I’ve been doing for a while but hadn’t really thought about was using Xcode’s Refactor > Convert to Regex Builder as a way to […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://paul-samuels.com/blog/2025/09/28/explaining-regex-locally-with-xcode/">Paul Samuels</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://paul-samuels.com/blog/2025/09/28/explaining-regex-locally-with-xcode/"><p>My approach when needing to figure out what an old regex was doing was to paste it into whatever the top search result for “Explain regular expression” was.</p><p>Something that I’ve been doing for a while but hadn’t really thought about was using Xcode’s <code>Refactor</code> > <code>Convert to Regex Builder</code> as a way to explain a regular expression without having data leave my machine.Yes, it’s a shocker but one of Xcode’s refactoring tools actually works for me.It works surprisingly well and as a bonus gets those endorphins flowing knowing that my data is safe from some AI drivel.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Depending on your level of experience with regex you might think this is actually more wordy/overkill (in this case I’d agree) but the point is each part of the regex is broken out into smaller parts that have names explaining what they are doing.</p></blockquote> <p>And you can manipulate it using Code Folding.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/18/xcode-key-bindings-to-make-refactoring-less-painful/">Xcode Key Bindings to Make Refactoring Less Painful</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/06/10/swift-regex/">Swift Regex</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/30/explaining-regex-locally-with-xcode/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Electron Apps Causing System-Wide Lag on Tahoe</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/30/electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/30/electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2025 20:17:48 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cocoa]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cursor]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Discord]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dropbox]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Electron]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Private API]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Visual Studio Code]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49438</guid> <description><![CDATA[ToxicLand (via Hacker News): Using an M1 Max MacBook Pro, having Electron-based apps open / not minimized causes a huge lag.CPU and GPU usage remains low, but if I have Discord and VS Code open, moving windows, scrolling is stuttery. It happens even when only Discord is open but it gets worse if I open […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/48311">ToxicLand</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45376977">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/48311"><p>Using an M1 Max MacBook Pro, having Electron-based apps open / not minimized causes a huge lag.</p><p>CPU and GPU usage remains low, but if I have Discord and VS Code open, moving windows, scrolling is stuttery. It happens even when only Discord is open but it gets worse if I open a second Electron app.</p><p>This is kind of weird because while having Discord open and I’m in Chrome, the lag still occurs, but it’s fixed if I minimize.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/48311#issuecomment-3332181420">avarayr</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/48311#issuecomment-3332181420"><p>After a lot of digging, I believe I’ve found the root cause of the WindowServer GPU spike on macOS 26 when shadows are enabled.</p><p>It turns out Electron was <a href="https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/shell/browser/ui/cocoa/electron_ns_window.mm#L313">overriding a private AppKit API</a> (<code>_cornerMask</code>) to apply custom corner masks to vibrant views.</p><p>This method is called by WindowServer to calculate the shadow of the window. I’m speculating that Apple uses some sort of memoization by reference, and this method breaks the memoization and forces WindowServer to repeatedly recalculate and repaint the shadow.</p><p>🤔 What’s particularly funny is that <em><strong>even a simple override</strong></em> that does nothing but call <code>super</code> still presents the issue.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/macos-26-0-1/">macOS 26.0.1</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/01/nsautofillrequirestextcontenttypeforonetimecodeonmac/">NSAutoFillRequiresTextContentTypeForOneTimeCodeOnMac</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/04/25/is-electron-really-that-bad/">Is Electron Really That Bad?</a></li></ul> <p id="electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe-update-2025-10-01">Update (<a href="#electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe-update-2025-10-01">2025-10-01</a>): <a href="https://gist.github.com/tkafka/e3eb63a5ec448e9be6701bfd1f1b1e58">Tomas Kafka</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://gist.github.com/tkafka/e3eb63a5ec448e9be6701bfd1f1b1e58"><p>This script detects apps with not yet updated versions of Electron.</p></blockquote><p>See also: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45437112">Hacker News</a>.</p> <p id="electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe-update-2025-10-06">Update (<a href="#electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe-update-2025-10-06">2025-10-06</a>): <a href="https://avarayr.github.io/shamelectron/">shamelectron</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45469468">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://avarayr.github.io/shamelectron/"><p>Tracking problematic Electron apps macOS Tahoe.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://furbo.org/2025/10/06/tahoe-electron-detector/">Craig Hockenberry</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://furbo.org/2025/10/06/tahoe-electron-detector/"><p> I took that script, <a href="https://github.com/tkafka/detect-electron-apps-on-mac/pull/1">updated some parts</a> that required Xcode to be installed, and wrapped it up in an Apple Script applet that’s easy to download and run[…]</p><p>[…]</p><p>We’re hearing from customers that some of our apps are running slowly on Tahoe and I suspect that this bug has something to do with it.</p></blockquote> <p id="electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe-update-2025-10-14">Update (<a href="#electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe-update-2025-10-14">2025-10-14</a>): <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/11/macos-26-tahoe-electron-gpu-slowdown-bug-fix-rollout/">Michael Burkhardt</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/11/macos-26-tahoe-electron-gpu-slowdown-bug-fix-rollout/"><p>Now, the Electron team has fixed the issue, and said fix is beginning to roll out in popular third party apps that utilize the framework.</p><p>[…]</p><p>There are also a lot of major apps that haven’t yet updated their Electron version, including 1Password, Bitwarden, Cursor, Dropbox, Windsurf, and more. You can check out the <a href="https://avarayr.github.io/shamelectron/">tracker</a> for a more comprehensive list.</p></blockquote> <p id="electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe-update-2025-10-21">Update (<a href="#electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe-update-2025-10-21">2025-10-21</a>): <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/20/electron-apps-slow-down-tahoe">John Gruber</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/115408955174122173">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/10/20/electron-apps-slow-down-tahoe"><p>So, yes, Theo Browne, “software dev nerd”, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdmfFmwsGDo&t=435s">Electron really is “that bad”</a>. It’s actually, if anything, worse.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@pmcg/115410485538976997">Paul McGrane</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@pmcg/115410485538976997"><p>My main Mac is still not on Tahoe and judging by the linked tool, I have made a wise choice.</p><p>Should we expect Apple to quietly address it in the next Tahoe update, or leave the bad apps in the wind? Especially since DropBox is an offender, that must be installed on nearly everybody’s Mac even if they don’t primarily use it!</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/30/electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>24</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>iOS 26.0.1 and iPadOS 26.0.1</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/ios-26-0-1-and-ipados-26-0-1/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/ios-26-0-1-and-ipados-26-0-1/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:58:38 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS Release]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS Release]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPhone 17]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPhone 17 Pro]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPhone Air]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49421</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover (iOS/iPadOS release notes, security, enterprise, no developer): According to Apple’s release notes for the update, iOS 26.0.1 addresses a bug that could cause aberrations in photos captured with the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro models. It also fixes ongoing cellular and Wi-Fi issues that iPhone 17 owners have been dealing with, […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/29/apple-releases-ios-26-0-1-with-fixes-for-wi-fi-cellular-and-camera-issues-on-iphone-17-models/">Juli Clover</a> (<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/123075">iOS</a>/<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/123074">iPadOS</a> release notes, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125326">security</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125073">enterprise</a>, no <a href="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ios-ipados-release-notes/ios-ipados-26-release-notes">developer</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/29/apple-releases-ios-26-0-1-with-fixes-for-wi-fi-cellular-and-camera-issues-on-iphone-17-models/"><p>According to Apple’s release notes for the update, iOS 26.0.1 <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/17/apple-iphone-17-camera-glitch-fix/">addresses a bug</a> that could cause aberrations in photos captured with the <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-air/">iPhone Air</a> and the <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-17-pro/">iPhone 17 Pro</a> models. It also fixes ongoing cellular and Wi-Fi issues that <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-17/">iPhone 17</a> owners have been dealing with, and addresses a bug with tinted icons.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/ios-26/">iOS 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/ipados-26/">iPadOS 26</a></li></ul> <p id="ios-26-0-1-and-ipados-26-0-1-update-2025-10-23">Update (<a href="#ios-26-0-1-and-ipados-26-0-1-update-2025-10-23">2025-10-23</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115419520303868751">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115419520303868751"><p>Apple keeps putting iOS-26-updated versions of iWork on its product pages, but they still haven’t shipped any of it. At what point does it become false advertising? 😛</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/ios-26-0-1-and-ipados-26-0-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>macOS 26.0.1</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/macos-26-0-1/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/macos-26-0-1/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:57:54 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple M3 Ultra]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Mail]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bug]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Disk Image]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac Studio]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Release]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music.app]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Safari]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49419</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover (release notes, security, enterprise, no developer, full installer, IPSW): According to Apple’s release notes, macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 addresses a bug that was preventing Mac Studio machines with an M3 Ultra chip from being upgraded to macOS Tahoe. A failed hardware check was causing macOS Tahoe installation attempts to be aborted, with Mac Studio […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/29/apple-releases-macos-tahoe-26-0-1-with-m3-ultra-bug-fix/">Juli Clover</a> (<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/122868">release notes</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125328">security</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/124963">enterprise</a>, no <a href="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-26-release-notes">developer</a>, <a href="https://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/27/44/093-50844-A_ADFZL6MD5J/3p92a0vzjzewywyitfwajte1w5t8t4pzts/InstallAssistant.pkg">full installer</a>, <a href="https://updates.cdn-apple.com/2025FallFCS/fullrestores/093-50898/60AE7E97-3E60-441B-9B34-E603C694C5C1/UniversalMac_26.0.1_25A362_Restore.ipsw">IPSW</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/29/apple-releases-macos-tahoe-26-0-1-with-m3-ultra-bug-fix/"><p>According to Apple’s release notes, macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 addresses a bug that was <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/17/macos-tahoe-m3-ultra-mac-studio-bug/">preventing Mac Studio machines</a> with an M3 Ultra chip from being upgraded to macOS Tahoe. A failed hardware check was causing macOS Tahoe installation attempts to be aborted, with <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/mac-studio/">Mac Studio</a> users ultimately stuck on macOS Sequoia.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/26/tahoes-mac-app-store/">Tahoe’s Mac App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/tahoe-filevault-icloud-keychain-and-ssh/">Tahoe FileVault: iCloud Keychain and SSH</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/tahoes-new-recovery-assistant/">Tahoe’s New Recovery Assistant</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/tahoe-applescript-timeouts/">Tahoe AppleScript Timeouts</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li></ul> <p id="macos-26-0-1-update-2025-09-30">Update (<a href="#macos-26-0-1-update-2025-09-30">2025-09-30</a>): <a href="https://retrorewind.social/@laurentgiroud/115290048004241193">Laurent Giroud</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://retrorewind.social/@laurentgiroud/115290048004241193"><p>This is just incredible. That this bug had to be fixed in a new release means they never tested it on that Ultra configuration.</p><p>That or they knew it prevented installation and chose to kept users of that setup to bang their heads against the wall when trying to upgrade.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://hachyderm.io/@rmondello/115289447031935389">Ricky Mondello</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://hachyderm.io/@rmondello/115289447031935389"><p>Today’s update to macOS Tahoe (26.0.1) resolves an issue in apps where AutoFill for Mac apps could make apps slow down over time due to improper handling of event taps, causing them to accumulate over time. People particularly noticed this in Chromium-based web browsers and Electron apps. If your app or framework decided to work around this issue by using an internal AppKit defaults key to turn off AutoFill, I recommend you re-test on macOS 26.0.1, then limit that workaround only to macOS 26.0.0, and remove it for macOS 26.0.1 and above.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/30/electron-apps-causing-system-wide-lag-on-tahoe/">Electron Apps Causing System-Wide Lag on Tahoe</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/01/nsautofillrequirestextcontenttypeforonetimecodeonmac/#comments">NSAutoFillRequiresTextContentTypeForOneTimeCodeOnMac</a></li></ul> <p id="macos-26-0-1-update-2025-10-01">Update (<a href="#macos-26-0-1-update-2025-10-01">2025-10-01</a>): <a href="https://www.macintouch.com/post/48309/26-0-1-bug-security-patches/">Ric Ford</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macintouch.com/post/48309/26-0-1-bug-security-patches/"><p>Another MacInTouch reader emailed us about a tricky Tahoe change to music file handling that continues in the 26.0.1 release.</p><blockquote><p>Dragging songs from the Music library window to the Desktop (or presumably anywhere outside the app) in MacOS 26 <em><strong>moves</strong></em> the file from its iTunes Music location. In prior versions, dragging would <em><strong>copy</strong></em> the file. Note this isn’t true for the TV app – it still copies the file.</p><p>I’m traveling and discovered this while away from backups. I deleted the song that I’d moved and will have to wait until I get to backups to restore.</p></blockquote></blockquote> <p id="macos-26-0-1-update-2025-10-07">Update (<a href="#macos-26-0-1-update-2025-10-07">2025-10-07</a>): <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/10/06/apple-mail-breaks-outlook-sign-ins-but-only-if-youre-unlucky">Andrew Orr</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/10/06/apple-mail-breaks-outlook-sign-ins-but-only-if-youre-unlucky"><p>A handful of Mac owners say they can’t add Outlook accounts to Apple Mail after recent macOS updates, but the scope and cause of the problem remain murky.</p><p>The reports in the Apple forums describe failed authentication when trying to add Outlook.com, Hotmail, or Live accounts to Mail. Errors range from “Authentication Failed” to “Unable to verify account name or password.”</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@ednl/115306722796171300">ednl</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@ednl/115306722796171300"><p>One (other) very annoying thing Safari 26.0.1 does is flash a white page when navigating to any new site, despite MacOS using dark mode and regardless of the website’s background colour. That didn’t happen in previous versions.</p><p>I now developed a habit of closing my eyes before clicking a link to a new website to avoid the bright flash :-/</p></blockquote> <p id="macos-26-0-1-update-2025-10-20">Update (<a href="#macos-26-0-1-update-2025-10-20">2025-10-20</a>): <a href="https://warnercrocker.com/2025/10/17/more-thoughts-and-issues-with-macos-26-tahoe/">Warner Crocker</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://warnercrocker.com/2025/10/17/more-thoughts-and-issues-with-macos-26-tahoe/"><p>Since the release of macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 I’ve seen strange memory leaks increasing for what I think are odd reasons. For example, a process known as IconServicesAgent increases the longer I go between rebooting sessions. According to documentation I’ve found online, one of the causes of this can be an overly large or corrupted icon cache, or specific icon causing the problem. A solution is to clear the icon cache, which I’ve done, but the problem reoccurs.</p><p>[…]</p><p>There’s another memory leak that I see less frequently and seems a bit more random. You can see in the image above the amount of memory NotifcationsCenter is consuming.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Prior to macOS 26 Tahoe I had long ago turned off Apple Intelligence’s Notification Summaries on macOS Sequoia. I turned them back on with this new release to see if things improved. They did not. In my experience they are just as bad and just as useless as they were previously.</p></blockquote> <p>I have a customer reporting that something changed and one of his <tt>.sparsebundle</tt> disk images won’t mount on Tahoe even though the same file works on other macOS versions.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/macos-26-0-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Other appleOS 26.0.1 Releases</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/other-appleos-26-0-1-releases/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/other-appleos-26-0-1-releases/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:57:47 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[audioOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[audioOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[audioOS Release]]></category> <category><![CDATA[tvOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[tvOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[tvOS Release]]></category> <category><![CDATA[visionOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[visionOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[visionOS Release]]></category> <category><![CDATA[watchOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[watchOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[watchOS Release]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49417</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover: Note that watchOS is 26.0.2 because there was a watchOS 26.0.1 update designed to add Messages and Find My support to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in Mexico.According to Apple’s release notes, the software provides bug fixes and important security updates. Only the visionOS update has documented security content. Previously: audioOS 26 tvOS […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/29/apple-releases-watchos-26-0-1-and-more/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/29/apple-releases-watchos-26-0-1-and-more/"><p>Note that watchOS is 26.0.2 because there was a watchOS 26.0.1 update designed to add Messages and <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/guide/find-my/">Find My</a> support to the <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-watch-ultra/">Apple Watch Ultra 3</a> in Mexico.</p><p>According to Apple’s release notes, the software provides bug fixes and important security updates. </p></blockquote><p>Only the <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125338">visionOS update</a> has documented security content.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/audioos-26/">audioOS 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/tvos-26/">tvOS 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/visionos-26/">visionOS 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/watchos-26/">watchOS 26</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/other-appleos-26-0-1-releases/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>macOS 15.7.1 and macOS 14.8.1</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/macos-15-7-1-and-macos-14-8-1/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/macos-15-7-1-and-macos-14-8-1/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:57:41 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dark Patterns]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS 14 Sonoma]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS 15 Sequoia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Release]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Software Update]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49415</guid> <description><![CDATA[macOS 15.7.1 (full installer, security): This update provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users. macOS 14.8.1 (full installer, security): This update provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users. Previously: macOS 15.7 and macOS 14.8 Update (2025-10-04): Jezmund_Berserker: A few people in our company have been running into the same […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/120283">macOS 15.7.1</a> (<a href="https://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/38/22/093-52107-A_OOVIFW6D5T/fze2nzd9lci8ook2pmu37mw39no53j6kyi/InstallAssistant.pkg">full installer</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125329">security</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://support.apple.com/en-us/120283"><p>This update provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/109035">macOS 14.8.1</a> (<a href="https://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/35/20/093-53928-A_KHU5CMCSVU/a6n7xv7lgs90nra9g6swk8iv8qq5wp1ah3/InstallAssistant.pkg">full installer</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125330">security</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://support.apple.com/en-us/109035"><p>This update provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-15-7-and-macos-14-8/">macOS 15.7 and macOS 14.8</a></li></ul> <p id="macos-15-7-1-and-macos-14-8-1-update-2025-10-04">Update (<a href="#macos-15-7-1-and-macos-14-8-1-update-2025-10-04">2025-10-04</a>): <a href="https://talk.macpowerusers.com/t/macos-15-7-1-update-issues/43009">Jezmund_Berserker</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://talk.macpowerusers.com/t/macos-15-7-1-update-issues/43009"><p>A few people in our company have been running into the same issue since updating to 15.7.1 and I’m curious if any of you have seen it.</p><p>The update appears to work fine and the computer reboots into macOS and then:</p><ul><li>Computer runs unusually slowly</li><li>At some point the computer shuts itself off</li><li>Computer will not turn on unless you hold the power button for several seconds</li></ul></blockquote> <p><a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115311421629853882">Pierre Igot</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115311421629853882"><p>For good measure, after the very minor update from macOS 15.7 to macOS 15.7.1, macOS warns me… that a new device has been added to my Apple account!</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/04/device-added-to-your-account/">Device Added to Your Account</a></li></ul> <p id="macos-15-7-1-and-macos-14-8-1-update-2025-10-08">Update (<a href="#macos-15-7-1-and-macos-14-8-1-update-2025-10-08">2025-10-08</a>): <a href="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115328604845077651">Pierre Igot</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://toot.community/@betalogue/115328604845077651"><p>Another very minor macOS update (from 15.7. to 15.7.1), another arbitrary reset by Apple of the destination folder setting for downloads, which, on my Mac, reverted back from my destination of choice to the default ~/Downloads.</p><p>What’s the point of giving the user a choice if you don’t respect that choice?</p></blockquote> <p id="macos-15-7-1-and-macos-14-8-1-update-2025-10-20">Update (<a href="#macos-15-7-1-and-macos-14-8-1-update-2025-10-20">2025-10-20</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.nl/@doekman/115407894155132674">doekman</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.nl/@doekman/115407894155132674"><p>I spotted a dark pattern on my Sequoia machine. macOS tricking me into installing Tahoe instead of the security update… </p><p>When clicking on the (i) symbol at the “Also available” section, the major-upgrade option is checked, instead of the minor-upgrade one would expect.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/macos-15-7-1-and-macos-14-8-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Patreon Autopilot</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/patreon-autopilot/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/patreon-autopilot/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:57:12 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Patreon]]></category> <category><![CDATA[This Blog]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49413</guid> <description><![CDATA[Patreon: Autopilot is an easy and automatic way to give your fans promotional offerings to drive your growth on Patreon.[…]Autopilot is now automatically enabled for all creators. To change this setting, check the Autopilot section in the Promotions tab. They’d previously sent an e-mail saying it would be activated on October 1, but I found […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/28030768415629-Automate-your-growth-with-Autopilot">Patreon</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/28030768415629-Automate-your-growth-with-Autopilot"><p>Autopilot is an easy and automatic way to give your fans promotional offerings to drive your growth on Patreon.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Autopilot is now automatically enabled for all creators. To change this setting, check the Autopilot section in the <a href="https://www.patreon.com/promotion">Promotions tab</a>.</p></blockquote> <p>They’d previously sent an e-mail saying it would be activated on October 1, but I found that <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mjtsai">my Patreon</a> already had it switched on. I turned it off.</p> <p>Via <a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/patreon-autopilot/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/patreon-autopilot/"><p>As an extremely casual user, I do not love this; I think it is basically spam. I am sympathetic toward those who make their living with Patreon. I turned this off. If you have a Patreon creator page and missed this email, now you know.</p><p>And if you are a subscriber to anyone on Patreon and begin receiving begging emails next week, please be gracious. They might not be aware this feature was switched on.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/07/external-payments-from-the-patreon-app/">External Payments From the Patreon App</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/01/27/the-enshittification-of-all-things/">The Enshittification of All Things</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/29/patreon-autopilot/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Tahoe’s Mac App Store</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/26/tahoes-mac-app-store/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/26/tahoes-mac-app-store/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 26 Sep 2025 20:46:39 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bug]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49389</guid> <description><![CDATA[Mario Guzmán: All throughout the beta of #macOSTahoe, the Mac App Store app doesn’t show me updates. I have to use Latest.app to update my Mac App Store purchases. I was hope it would only be a beta issue but it seems to affect the RC as well. Anyone else seeing this?And no, Command + […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115209202292424244">Mario Guzmán</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115209202292424244"><p>All throughout the beta of #macOSTahoe, the Mac App Store app doesn’t show me updates. I have to use Latest.app to update my Mac App Store purchases. I was hope it would only be a beta issue but it seems to affect the RC as well. Anyone else seeing this?</p><p>And no, Command + R or the Reload menu item doesn’t help or work either.</p><p>I’ve also tried rebooting and signing out/in Mac App Store.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@siracusa/115214196550926333">John Siracusa</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@siracusa/115214196550926333"><p>Love to work to get all my apps updated for Tahoe only to have Apple to break the Mac App Store so badly in Tahoe that people can’t update or install my apps.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115209405734598163">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115209405734598163"><p>It’s becoming apparent that macOS Tahoe has a number of issues that completely break the Mac App Store for installing and updating apps, some of which that can only be fixed by booting to Recovery mode and using the command line 😅 That is an <em>extraordinary</em> state to launch an OS in.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@moervyo/115218314611471101">Marvin U.</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@moervyo/115218314611471101"><p>I reported it multiple times via feedback but no response from them. It only shows me updates if I search for the app and go to the apps store page. The update tab is always empty and refreshing it doesn’t do anything.</p></blockquote> <p>There are also reports on Reddit of apps not <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/1nhuma9/unable_to_install_apps_from_the_app_store_with/">installing</a> or <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOSBeta/comments/1lbgned/macos_tahoe_app_store_apps_not_updating/">updating</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/235532-compromised-mac-app-store-in-tahoe/">yonz</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/235532-compromised-mac-app-store-in-tahoe/"><p>I have downloaded Affinity Designer 2 from the Mac App Store under the recently launched macOS 26 Tahoe, in a M4 MacBook Pro. Mac App Store says that the app size is 2,89GB (screencap attached). Now, I have just seen that the same Affinity Designer 2 at the Mac App Store under a M2 MacBook Air at home (running macOS Sequoia) is just 546,4MB (also screencap attached). What is going on?</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-app-store-apps-in-tahoe-compromised.2466858/">leyonz</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-app-store-apps-in-tahoe-compromised.2466858/"><p>Ok, so considering that I am not the only one seeing this “size increase” in Tahoe’s Mac App Store, it is fairly safe to conclude that Apple has decided to make a few changes in how the MAS displays the estimated sizes of their apps in the new OS. I can confirm too that Whatsapp, Canvas, Lightroom and other apps appear bigger in Tahoe’s MAS as well. Or maybe all of this is just a temporary bug.</p><p>[…]</p><p>BTW, are MAS downloaded apps in not listed anymore in System Info > Applications in Tahoe? Because the ones that I have downloaded from the MAS don’t show anymore.</p></blockquote> <p>Tahoe’s store shows EagleFiler as <em>slightly smaller</em> than Sequoia’s store does, but it shows ToothFairy as more than <em>twice as large</em> as Sequoia’s store does.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/06/mac-app-store-broken-on-macos-10-14-and-earlier/">Mac App Store Broken on macOS 10.14 and Earlier</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/12/29/mac-app-store-updates-failing-on-mojave/">Mac App Store Updates Failing on Mojave</a></li></ul> <p id="tahoes-mac-app-store-update-2025-09-29">Update (<a href="#tahoes-mac-app-store-update-2025-09-29">2025-09-29</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115207587154244452">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115207587154244452"><p>Happy macOS Tahoe release day! 🎉🥳</p></blockquote> <p>Some of the reported app sizes <a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/26/tahoes-mac-app-store/#comment-4311544">have changed</a> for me.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/26/tahoes-mac-app-store/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>15</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Apple’s Thoughts on the DMA</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/apples-thoughts-on-the-dma/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/apples-thoughts-on-the-dma/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2025 20:32:30 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Intelligence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Maps]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Digital Markets Act (DMA)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPhone Mirroring]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Natural Language Translation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sideloading]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49366</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (Slashdot, MacRumors): The DMA requires Apple to make certain features work on non-Apple products and apps before we can share them with our users. Unfortunately, that requires a lot of engineering work, and it’s caused us to delay some new features in the EU: Live Translation with AirPods uses Apple Intelligence to let Apple […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/the-digital-markets-acts-impacts-on-eu-users/">Apple</a> (<a href="https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/09/25/0410249/apple-asks-eu-to-scrap-landmark-digital-competition-law">Slashdot</a>, <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/25/eu-dma-apple-challenge-response/">MacRumors</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/the-digital-markets-acts-impacts-on-eu-users/"><p>The DMA requires Apple to make certain features work on non-Apple products and apps before we can share them with our users. Unfortunately, that requires a lot of engineering work, and it’s caused us to delay some new features in the EU:</p><ul><li><strong>Live Translation </strong>with AirPods uses Apple Intelligence to let Apple users communicate across languages. Bringing a sophisticated feature like this to other devices creates challenges that take time to solve. For example, we designed Live Translation so that our users’ conversations stay private — they’re processed on device and are never accessible to Apple — and our teams are doing additional engineering work to make sure they won’t be exposed to other companies or developers either.</li></ul><ul><li><strong>iPhone Mirroring</strong> lets our users see and interact with their iPhone from their Mac, so they can seamlessly check their notifications, or drag and drop photos between devices. Our teams still have not found a secure way to bring this feature to non-Apple devices without putting all the data on a user’s iPhone at risk. And as a result, we have not been able to bring the feature to the EU.</li></ul><ul><li>We’ve also had to delay useful features like <strong>Visited Places </strong>and <strong>Preferred Routes</strong> on Maps, which store location data on device so it’s only accessible to the user. So far, our teams haven’t found a way to share these capabilities with other developers without exposing our users’ locations — something we are not willing to do.</li></ul><p>We’ve suggested changes to these features that would protect our users’ data, but so far, the European Commission has rejected our proposals.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The DMA also isn’t helping European markets. Instead of competing by innovating, already successful companies are twisting the law to suit their own agendas — to collect more data from EU citizens, or to get Apple’s technology for free.</p></blockquote> <p>Some of Apple’s specific complaints above don’t make much sense to me. For example, with the Live Translation feature, are they against both using Live Translation with third-party earbuds <em>and</em> using third-party translation apps with AirPods? They seem to be saying that it’s not acceptable for a third-party app to have access to the same audio that Apple does, even if it’s kept on-device. And they don’t want third-parties using (potentially superior) online translation services, either. They don’t want any option besides AirPods with their model, even if the user approves of the privacy implications.</p> <p>For iPhone Mirroring and Maps, they seem to be setting an impossible standard that they themselves don’t really meet. If your starting assumption is that it’s OK for Apple’s code to access the data, but not OK for anyone else’s to, obviously there’s never going to be a way for this to work. But I don’t think that’s what people are actually asking for. They know that, if they had iPhone Mirroring on Windows, the pixels from the iPhone screen would appear on non-Apple hardware. That is, in fact, the point. They’re already using third-party earbuds for their sensitive phone calls, even though in theory they could be nefariously sending the audio to other Bluetooth devices.</p> <p>I find the way Apple is communicating this really frustrating. It reads like either a bad faith smokescreen or that something got lost in the translation between engineering and marketing. I would have a lot more respect if they just said that DMA compliance is too slow or too expensive or that they don’t believe in interoperability. Instead, we get this nonsense where we’re supposed to believe that their teams are actively working on a way to share data without actually sharing data, but they haven’t quite cracked it yet.</p> <p><a href="https://tidbits.com/2025/09/25/apples-dma-criticism-highlights-tech-government-power-struggle/">Adam Engst</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://tidbits.com/2025/09/25/apples-dma-criticism-highlights-tech-government-power-struggle/"><p>Apple’s claim of “the same standard we provide in the rest of the world” rings somewhat hollow, given that it often adjusts its technology and services to comply with local laws. The company has made significant <a href="https://archive.is/20250124190021/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html">concessions to operate in China</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/118609#:~:text=VoLTE4-,FaceTime%20isn%27t%20available%20in,this%20country%20or%20region.,-Might%20include%20an">doesn’t offer FaceTime in the United Arab Emirates</a>, and <a href="https://applecensorship.com/news/unveiling-the-extent-of-vpn-app-removals-by-apple-from-the-russia-app-store-an-analysis-of-silent-removals-and-the-need-for-transparency">removes apps from the still-functional Russian App Store</a> at the Russian government’s request. Apple likely pushed back in less public ways in those countries, but in the EU, this public statement appears aimed at rallying its users and influencing the regulatory conversation.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Ultimately, we’re witnessing a clash between two immense power structures—the European Union, a democratic federation of 27 countries representing 450 million people and the world’s third-largest economy—and Apple, one of the world’s most influential and valuable companies, with a market capitalization of about $3.7 trillion and roughly $100 billion in net income over the past 12 months.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/25/apple-calls-for-changes-to-anti-monopoly-laws-and-says-it-may-stop-shipping-to-the-eu">Robert Booth</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45372515">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/25/apple-calls-for-changes-to-anti-monopoly-laws-and-says-it-may-stop-shipping-to-the-eu"><p>Apple has called for the European Commission to repeal a swathe of technology legislation, warning that unless it is amended the company could stop shipping some products and services to the 27-country bloc.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/09/25/petulant-eu-hints-it-wont-listen-to-apples-complaints">William Gallagher and Mike Wuerthele</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/09/25/petulant-eu-hints-it-wont-listen-to-apples-complaints"><p>“Apple has simply contested every little bit of the DMA [Digital Markets Act] since its entry into application,” said Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-commission-apple-digital-markets-act/">in a statement</a> seen by <em>Politico</em>. “This undermines the company’s narrative of wanting to be fully cooperative with the Commission.”</p><p>[…]</p><p>Significantly, Regnier also says that Apple has refused the European Commission’s attempts to have positive talks about complying with the DMA. That is the exact opposite of Apple’s claim that its proposals have been ignored.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/09/apple-demands-eu-repeal-the-digital-markets-act/">Barbara Moens</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/09/apple-demands-eu-repeal-the-digital-markets-act/"><p>“Despite our concerns with the DMA, teams across Apple are spending thousands of hours to bring new features to the European Union while meeting the law’s requirements. But it’s become clear that we can’t solve every problem the DMA creates,” the company said.</p><p>A European Commission spokesperson said it was normal that companies sometimes “need more time to make their products compliant” and that the commission was helping companies to do so.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/25/apple-blames-eus-digital-markets-act-for-feature-delays/">Ram Iyer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/25/apple-blames-eus-digital-markets-act-for-feature-delays/"><p>“It’s been more than a year since the Digital Markets Act was implemented. Over that time, it’s become clear that the DMA is leading to a worse experience for Apple users in the EU. It’s exposing them to new risks, and disrupting the simple, seamless way their Apple products work together. And as new technologies come out, our European users’ Apple products will only fall further behind,” the company wrote.</p><p>[…]</p><p>“Nothing in the DMA requires companies to lower their privacy standards, or their security standards. It is just about giving our users more choice, opening up the European market and allowing companies to compete on an equal footing,” Regnier added.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/12/airpods-live-translation-blocked-for-eu-users/">AirPods Live Translation Blocked for EU Users</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/05/apple-appeals-eu-digital-markets-act-interoperability-rules/">Apple Appeals EU Digital Markets Act Interoperability Rules</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/03/19/dma-compliance-watch-and-headphone-interoperability/">DMA Compliance: Watch and Headphone Interoperability</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/01/17/apples-dma-compliance-criticized/">Apple’s DMA Compliance Criticized</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/01/03/apple-settles-siri-spying-lawsuit/">Apple Settles Siri Spying Lawsuit</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/12/23/metas-ios-interoperability-requests/">Meta’s iOS Interoperability Requests</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/11/26/app-store-search-queries-appear-to-violate-data-minimization-practices/">App Store Search Queries Appear to Violate Data Minimization Practices</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/10/eu-ios-envy/">EU iOS Envy</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/08/05/apple-intelligence-privacy-dark-patterns/">Apple Intelligence Privacy Dark Patterns</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/24/apple-found-in-breach-of-dma/">Apple Found in Breach of DMA</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/21/no-apple-intelligence-or-iphone-mirroring-in-eu-at-launch/">No Apple Intelligence or iPhone Mirroring in EU at Launch</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/04/15/keeping-your-data-from-apple-is-harder-than-expected/">Keeping Your Data From Apple Is Harder Than Expected</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/26/dma-compliance-interoperability-requests/">DMA Compliance: Interoperability Requests</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/02/15/lawsuits-over-apple-analytics-switch/">Lawsuits Over Apple Analytics Switch</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/10/06/eu-passes-law-to-switch-iphone-to-usb-c/">EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/10/15/apples-threat-analysis-of-sideloading/">Apple’s Threat Analysis of Sideloading</a></li></ul> <p id="apples-thoughts-on-the-dma-update-2025-09-26">Update (<a href="#apples-thoughts-on-the-dma-update-2025-09-26">2025-09-26</a>): <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/784477/apple-ios-26-beta-third-party-smartwatch-notifications">Emma Roth</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.theverge.com/news/784477/apple-ios-26-beta-third-party-smartwatch-notifications"><p>Apple could soon improve the interoperability between iPhones and third-party smartwatches. The latest iOS 26.1 beta hints at a new “notification forwarding” feature that could surface iPhone notifications on a non-Apple device or accessory, <a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/2917201/ios-26-1-beta-suggests-the-iphone-will-soon-support-third-party-smartwatches.html">as spotted by <em>Macworld</em></a>.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://sixcolors.com/link/2025/09/apple-posts-thoughts-on-the-dma/">Dan Moren</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://sixcolors.com/link/2025/09/apple-posts-thoughts-on-the-dma/"><p>Yes, you heard it here: Apple says that the iPhone are essentially identical to Android.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Threading the needle of “things Apple really should be doing to improve interoperability and competition” and “things that might have unforeseen consequences that actually fly in the face of the EU’s intentions” is a tricky proposition, and the mechanisms in place to challenge the rulings are, admittedly, restrictive.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/apple-rallies-against-dma/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/apple-rallies-against-dma/"><p>I did not account for a cynical option: Apple is launching with these languages as leverage.</p><p>The way I read Apple’s press release is as a fundamental disagreement between the role each party believes it should play, particularly when it comes to user privacy. Apple seems to believe it is its responsibility to implement technical controls to fulfill its definition of privacy and, if that impacts competition and compatibility, too bad. E.U. regulators seem to believe it has policy protections for user privacy, and that users should get to decide how their private data is shared.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115266939576225671">Jeff Johnson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115266939576225671"><p>I’m starting to suspect Apple’s PR is a signal that they’re going to deliberately defy the DMA and hope for cover and pressure from the US President.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/2025/09/apple_on_the_digital_markets_act">John Gruber</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@daringfireball/115271400351791449">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/2025/09/apple_on_the_digital_markets_act"><p>I think Apple structured this piece exactly right, by emphasizing first that the most direct effect of the DMA is that EU users are getting great features late — or never. And that list of features is only going to grow over time.</p></blockquote> <p>Apple says that the DMA “is not living up to those promises [of competition and choice]. In fact, it’s having some of the opposite effects[…]” but that’s ignoring its own role in the story. Instead of choosing to comply in a way that benefits its customers, Apple is focused on trying to make the DMA look bad. This reminds me of the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-20-fi-404-story.html">Microsoft antitrust case</a>, where Judge Jackson asked Microsoft to produce a version of Windows 95 that did not have Internet Explorer preinstalled. Microsoft chose to interpret this as a directive to remove all the shared libraries that IE used and concluded that compliance meant offering an OS couldn’t boot.</p> <blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/2025/09/apple_on_the_digital_markets_act"><p>If Apple were to just switch the iPhone’s OS from iOS to Android, these DMA conflicts would all go away. Apple’s not going to do that, of course, but to me it’s a crystalizing way of looking at it.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-europe/the-digital-markets-act-time-for-a-reset/">Google</a> actually made a similar argument on the same day, saying that the DMA is forcing them to put Android users at risk.</p> <blockquote cite="https://daringfireball.net/2025/09/apple_on_the_digital_markets_act"><p>How in the world would that increase competition? iOS’s unique and exclusive features — which, yes, in many cases, are exclusive to the Apple device ecosystem — <em>are competition</em>.</p></blockquote> <p>This really is the crux of the dispute. Does a duopoly constitute competition? Imagine a culinary world where you can only choose between a Big Mac and a Whopper, and you’re not even allowed to go to both drive-throughs to combine the flame-grilled patty with the crispy fries.</p> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@AnimeAndVisial/115267548938047263">AnimeAndVisial</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@AnimeAndVisial/115267548938047263"><p>I hope the EU forces Apple to allow users to install other operating systems on iPads and iPhones. Let people unlock the bootloader if they want to. Like sure keep it locked by default but let people unlock it if they want to. Old iDevices don’t have to be e-waste.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/riley.social/post/3lzo542dm6c2t">Riley Testut</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://bsky.app/profile/riley.social/post/3lzo542dm6c2t"><p>IMO if Apple’s worst, most egregious example of a harmful and dangerous app that’s now available through sideloading is <em>checks notes</em> porn…I think we’re doing OK </p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://myf.one/@via/115266409662876715">Sophia</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://myf.one/@via/115266409662876715"><p>the pearl clutching is insane. have they <em>seen</em> the predatory stuff on the app store these days?</p></blockquote> <p id="apples-thoughts-on-the-dma-update-2025-09-29">Update (<a href="#apples-thoughts-on-the-dma-update-2025-09-29">2025-09-29</a>): <a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/google-dma-feedback/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/google-dma-feedback/"><p>Like Apple, Google clearly wants this law to go away. It might say it “remain[s] committed to complying with the DMA” and that it “appreciate[s] the Commission’s consistent openness to regulatory dialogue”, but nobody is fooled. To its credit, Google posted the <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog-publish-prod/documents/DMA_Public_Consultation_-_Alphabet_-_September_2025.pdf">full response</a> (PDF) it sent the Commission which, though clearly defensive, has less of a public relations sheen than either of the company’s press releases.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar">Cory Doctorow</a> (2022):</p><blockquote cite="https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar"><p>If you think the future of technology is a battle is between Google’s approach and Apple’s, think again. The real fight is between the freedom to decide how technology works for you, and corporate control over technology.</p><p>Apple and Google are like the pigs and the men at the end of <em>Animal Farm</em>: supposed bitter enemies who turn out to be indistinguishable from one another. Google also has “privacy” switches in its preference panels that do nothing[…]</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115287535384890007">Jeff</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115287705583505586">Johnson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115287535384890007"><p>The specious defense of Apple’s iOS lockdown has two elements that ultimately come into conflict:</p><p>1. Apple has a right to do what it wants with its platform</p><p>2. If you don’t like Apple’s lockdown, just switch to Android</p><p>But following from 1:</p><p>3. Google has a right to do what it wants with its platform</p><p></p></blockquote><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/115287705583505586"><p>“Vote with your feet” was never a good argument in a duopoly.</p><p>It depends too much on the magnanimity of the powerful, for which there is little incentive when there is little competition.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/26/empty-threats/#500-million-affluent-consumers">Cory Doctorow</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45404783">Hacker News</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/applesucks/comments/1nr3yvq/apple_threatens_to_stop_selling_iphones_in_the_eu/">Reddit</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/26/empty-threats/#500-million-affluent-consumers"><p>Apple has threatened to stop selling iPhones and other devices in the European Union (home to over 500,000,000 affluent consumers) if the bloc doesn’t rescind the Digital Markets Act[…]</p></blockquote><p>I’ve seen a bunch of articles stating this, but as far as I know Apple has not actually said or even really implied that its devices wouldn’t be available, just that certain features would be delayed or missing.</p> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@juri/115275354258453705">Juri Pakaste</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@juri/115275354258453705"><p>Apple’s latest PR bullshit about EU and DMA has been met with uniformly negative reaction in my circles. Apple is in a hole, imagewise, and keeps digging deeper.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://appdot.net/@morrick/115276362460995188">Riccardo Mori</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://appdot.net/@morrick/115276362460995188"><p>Here’s what the Apple apologists don’t get. Apple has to comply with EU’s laws if they want to operate there. Apple keeps deflecting and framing the matter as, “But the DMA sucks and it’s hard to comply with”. The matter is, you have to follow the law. You’re not above the law. Technology should not be above the law.</p><p>The excuses are ridiculous. “We can’t do these technological changes you require! We’re a trillion-dollar big tech company with unlimited resources but these things are too hard!”</p></blockquote> <p>Apple thinks that removing the contested features <em>is</em> complying with the law. I see its statements as mostly as an attempt to <em>change</em> the law, which is entirely reasonable for them to lobby for, even though the strong spin is regrettable. There’s no doubt that the EU is asking Apple to do extra work, but Apple is acting like this is almost to the level of when it was asked to do the impossible—create a “secure golden key”—and I don’t think this is that.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2014/10/10/secure-golden-key/">Secure Golden Key</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/apples-thoughts-on-the-dma/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>40</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Xcode 26.1 Beta 1</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/xcode-26-1-beta-1/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/xcode-26-1-beta-1/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2025 20:31:48 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Testing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Xcode]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49363</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple: Xcode 26.1 beta requires a Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later.[…]The ‘devicectl’ command line tool now supports gathering a sysdiagnose from a connected device. To use this functionality, run ‘xcrun devicectl device sysdiagnose’[…]When enabling Hardware Memory Tagging under Enhanced Security (Capabilities editor -> Enhanced Security -> Memory Safety -> Enable Hardware Memory Tagging), […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode-release-notes/xcode-26_1-release-notes">Apple</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode-release-notes/xcode-26_1-release-notes"><p>Xcode 26.1 beta requires a Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The ‘devicectl’ command line tool now supports gathering a sysdiagnose from a connected device. To use this functionality, run ‘xcrun devicectl device sysdiagnose’</p><p>[…]</p><p>When enabling Hardware Memory Tagging under Enhanced Security (Capabilities editor -> Enhanced Security -> Memory Safety -> Enable Hardware Memory Tagging), all applications will currently run under Soft Mode irrespective of the Soft Mode for Memory Tagging option.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Fixed: If an issue is recorded during a Swift Testing test via an API such as <code>#expect</code> or <code>Issue.record()</code> in a context which is unassociated with the test, such as via <code>Task.detached { … }</code> or a <code>DispatchQueue</code>, the test process no longer unexpectedly terminates and Xcode shows the issue.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/xcode-26-0-1/">Xcode 26.0.1</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/11/memory-integrity-enforcement/">Memory Integrity Enforcement</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/xcode-26-1-beta-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Xcode 26.0.1</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/xcode-26-0-1/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/xcode-26-0-1/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2025 20:31:34 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Icon Composer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Icons]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iWork]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Metal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Simulator]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Testing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Xcode]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Xcode Cloud]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49361</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple: Xcode 26.0.1 requires a Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later. […] Fixed: Icon Composer documents that use “Lighten”, “Darken” or “Screen” blend modes incorrectly encode as “Normal” when compiled. Blend modes will look correct in Icon Composer, but not at runtime. I don’t think this was affecting my icons, but I’ve seen a […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode-release-notes/xcode-26_0_1-release-notes">Apple</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode-release-notes/xcode-26_0_1-release-notes"><p>Xcode 26.0.1 requires a Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Fixed: Icon Composer documents that use “Lighten”, “Darken” or “Screen” blend modes incorrectly encode as “Normal” when compiled. Blend modes will look correct in Icon Composer, but not at runtime.</p></blockquote><p>I don’t think this was affecting my icons, but I’ve <a href="https://www.lux.camera/rewrites-and-rollouts/">seen</a> a bunch of developers and designers distressed that their icons were not looking the same in the Dock as in Icon Composer.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/xcode-26/">Xcode 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/30/assorted-notes-on-liquid-glass/">Assorted Notes on Liquid Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/23/icon-composer-notes/">Icon Composer Notes</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/19/macos-tahoes-new-theming-system/">macOS Tahoe’s New Theming System</a></li></ul> <p id="xcode-26-0-1-update-2025-09-26">Update (<a href="#xcode-26-0-1-update-2025-09-26">2025-09-26</a>): <a href="https://mas.to/@avidrissman/115267950727494248">Avi Drissman</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mas.to/@avidrissman/115267950727494248"><p>I’m seeing Icon Composer not matching the Finder with Combined mode, and that’s not fixed in 26.0.1. Hopeful now that a different display bug was fixed.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/timschmitz.bsky.social/post/3lzr2gn2t2q2c">Tim Schmitz</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://bsky.app/profile/timschmitz.bsky.social/post/3lzr2gn2t2q2c"><p>If you used the Xcode 26 betas, make sure to go into Xcode settings and clean out the iOS 26.0 beta simulators that you no longer need. Mine didn’t get deleted automatically and each one consumed about 10 GB. 😳</p></blockquote> <p id="xcode-26-0-1-update-2025-09-29">Update (<a href="#xcode-26-0-1-update-2025-09-29">2025-09-29</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@krzyzanowskim/115272559013350615">Marcin Krzyzanowski</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@krzyzanowskim/115272559013350615"><p>I WANT TO SCREAM. Apparently #Xcode 26.0.1 has problems building Metal on macOS 26, too!</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@christianselig/115288832628683522">Christian Selig</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@christianselig/115288832628683522"><p>The year is 2045, robots walk among us, but connecting a new device to Xcode still prevents you from being able to do any work until it’s finished.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@nicklockwood/115196961942626332">Nick Lockwood</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@nicklockwood/115196961942626332"><p>I could find absolutely no option anywhere that would make my existing (~7 years old) app project use the IconComposer.icon file in preference to the XSCAsset. In the end I just recreated the project from scratch, which worked.</p><p>I can’t meaningfully diff the project files, so I guess it will forever remain a mystery why it didn’t work before.</p></blockquote> <p id="xcode-26-0-1-update-2025-09-30">Update (<a href="#xcode-26-0-1-update-2025-09-30">2025-09-30</a>): <a href="https://www.polpiella.dev/metal-toolchain-ci-cd/">Pol Piella Abadia</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.polpiella.dev/metal-toolchain-ci-cd/"><p>As of Xcode 26, the Metal toolchain is no longer included in Xcode’s installation by default. This means that, if your app or one of your dependencies needs to use the toolchain, you will need to install it manually before building your app.</p><p>[…]</p><p>However, if you happen to be using a CI/CD runner that is not provisioned with the Metal toolchain installed, you will get the same error as above, but this time, <strong>you will likely not have access to Xcode</strong> to be able to install the toolchain.</p><p>You might be surprised <a href="https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/802155">to learn that this is the case for Xcode Cloud</a>, as I recently discovered the hard way when migrating my CI/CD workflows to use Xcode 26.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@caseyliss/115293217522664476">Casey Liss</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@caseyliss/115293217522664476"><p>When WWDC happened, I remember thinking to myself, “Finally, Xcode tabs will make sense”.</p><p>I’m not sure what happened — nor if it’s a me-problem or an Xcode-problem — but they continue to not make any goddamn sense to me.</p></blockquote> <p id="xcode-26-0-1-update-2025-10-17">Update (<a href="#xcode-26-0-1-update-2025-10-17">2025-10-17</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115386021486536175">Steve Troughton-Smith</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/115386021486536175"><p>Not something I’ve seen before — Xcode 26 has a hotfix you can install inside the Components settings pane that will add new device support to the Simulator, without downloading a new version of Xcode.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/25/xcode-26-0-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Lawsuit About WhatsApp Security</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/24/lawsuit-about-whatsapp-security/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/24/lawsuit-about-whatsapp-security/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 18:53:23 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Federal Trade Commission (FTC)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 18]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lawsuit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Meta]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Privacy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[WhatsApp]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49355</guid> <description><![CDATA[Bruce Schneier: Attaullah Baig, WhatsApp’s former head of security, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that Facebook deliberately failed to fix a bunch of security flaws, in violation of its 2019 settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission. Dan Goodin: The suit, filed in US District Court for the District of Northern California, recites a […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/09/lawsuit-about-whatsapp-security.html">Bruce Schneier</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/09/lawsuit-about-whatsapp-security.html"><p>Attaullah Baig, WhatsApp’s former head of security, has filed a <a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/09/former-whatsapp-security-boss-sues-meta-for-systemic-cybersecurity-failures/">whistleblower</a> lawsuit alleging that Facebook deliberately failed to fix a bunch of security flaws, in violation of its 2019 settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/09/former-whatsapp-security-boss-sues-meta-for-systemic-cybersecurity-failures/">Dan Goodin</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/09/former-whatsapp-security-boss-sues-meta-for-systemic-cybersecurity-failures/"><p>The suit, filed in US District Court for the District of Northern California, recites a litany of purported security and privacy flaws that Meta not only didn’t fix after becoming aware of them, but also kept secret, allegedly in violation of a <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/07/ftc-fines-facebook-5-billion-imposes-new-privacy-oversight/">$5 billion settlement</a> then-Whatsapp parent company Facebook reached with the Federal Trade Commission.</p><p>[…]</p><p>During a red-team exercise designed to find and exploit security vulnerabilities so they can be fixed, Baig said he found that roughly 1,500 engineers inside the messenger division had “unrestricted access to user data, including personal information covered by the FTC Privacy Order, and could move or steal such data without detection or audit trail.”</p><p>[…]</p><p>The letter further alleged Meta leaders were retaliating against him and that the central Meta security team had “falsified security reports to cover up decisions not to remediate data exfiltration risks.”</p><p>[…]</p><p>As a result, the former WhatsApp head estimated that pictures and names of some 400 million user profiles were improperly copied every day, often for use in account impersonation scams.</p></blockquote><p>He says that Meta thought the fixes would hamper user growth. Meta says his claims are distorted and that he was dismissed for poor performance.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/03/whatsapp-and-instagram-for-ipad-finally/">WhatsApp and Instagram for iPad, Finally</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/12/23/whatsapp-v-nso-group/">WhatsApp v. NSO Group</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/05/18/ftc-says-facebook-violated-2020-consent-decree/">FTC Says Facebook Violated 2020 Consent Decree</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/10/17/whatsapp-more-private-than-imessage/">WhatsApp More Private Than iMessage</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/04/15/how-a-whatsapp-status-loophole-is-aiding-cyberstalkers/">How a WhatsApp Status Loophole Is Aiding Cyberstalkers</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/24/lawsuit-about-whatsapp-security/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Screen Time Brokenness</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/24/screen-time-brokenness/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/24/screen-time-brokenness/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 18:53:21 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bug]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Children]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iCloud]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 18]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS 14 Sonoma]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS 15 Sequoia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Minecraft]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Safari]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Screen Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Syncing]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49353</guid> <description><![CDATA[I’ve recently been using Screen Time more to manage my son’s Mac and iOS usage, and it’s been really frustrating. On the Sonoma Mac where he plays Minecraft, we wanted to restrict which Web sites could be viewed. But this doesn’t just affect what you can do in Safari; it also restricts which network connections […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I’ve recently been using Screen Time more to manage my son’s Mac and iOS usage, and it’s been really frustrating.</p> <p>On the Sonoma Mac where he plays Minecraft, we wanted to restrict which Web sites could be viewed. But this doesn’t just affect what you can do in Safari; it also restricts which network connections apps can make. Approving all the various servers that Minecraft uses filled up the Safari bookmarks with junk URLs that are not actual Web sites, and even then Screen Time would keep reporting that Minecraft was trying to access disallowed sites. It also kept trying to block connections macOS itself was trying to make, e.g. via searchparty. The only solution seemed be to turn Screen Time off on the Mac. However, turning it off on the Mac would also (without telling us) turn it off on the iPhone, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/1epz7qq/screen_time_share_across_devices_continues_to/">even though</a> it was set not to sync. Enabling it on the phone would also inevitably enable it on the Mac. The only way I found to prevent this was to sign the Mac out of iCloud. Even that proved to be difficult because Screen Time would try to block that sort of change, even though I knew the passcode and even if I temporarily turned Screen Time off. Eventually, after several restarts, I was able sign out, but that means no access to the photo library or iMessage or Safari bookmark syncing.</p> <p>On an iOS 18 iPhone, we kept running into problems where Screen Time would be active but did not actually enforce most of the restrictions. It would allow access even during Downtime. When browsing to an unapproved site in Safari, it would show an <strong>Allow Website</strong> button, and he could <em>just click it</em> and it would add the site to the approved list, without asking a parent or prompting for a passcode. My iPhone continued to show the list of approved sites that I had initially created, not the actual list that was in use on his phone. In fact, his phone even allowed changes to the Screen Time <em>settings</em> without prompting for the passcode. Yet the usage information <em>did</em> sync back to my phone, so it appeared as though things were working, unless I looked more closely to see that the reported usage times and sites were incompatible with the restrictions that were supposedly in place. After many restarts and tours through the settings to try to get Screen Time to work, the solution ended up being on <em>another</em> device. My son’s iCloud account is also signed in on a Mac mini that we use to download everyone’s photos for backup. Even though my phone showed that Screen Time’s passcode was in effect, the Mac mini showed the <strong>Lock Screen Time Settings</strong> option unchecked. When I enabled the lock there, suddenly the phone started enforcing the restrictions and prompting the passcode.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/05/screen-time-bugs/">Screen Time Bugs</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/04/30/losing-screen-time-settings/">Losing Screen Time Settings</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/12/31/screen-time-communication-limits-workaround/">Screen Time Communication Limits Workaround</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/06/04/apple-reverses-course-on-mdm-and-parental-control-apps/">Apple Reverses Course on MDM and Parental Control Apps</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/06/03/proposed-screen-time-api/">Proposed Screen Time API</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/04/29/apple-cracks-down-on-screen-time-apps-that-use-mdm/">Apple Cracks Down on Screen Time Apps That Use MDM</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/12/12/apple-puts-third-party-screen-time-apps-on-notice/">Apple Puts Third-party Screen Time Apps on Notice</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/09/26/screen-time-issues/">Screen Time Issues</a></li></ul> <p id="screen-time-brokenness-update-2025-09-25">Update (<a href="#screen-time-brokenness-update-2025-09-25">2025-09-25</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@cortig/115261581466235296">Corentin Cras-Méneur</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@cortig/115261581466235296"><p>The thing is just broken: My youngest can use apps that are supposed to be blocked most of the day and my oldest can’t use apps when everything is supposed to be allowed. I’ve spent sooooo much tie trying to get it to work it’s not even funny!</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.tapsmart.com/features/screen-time-needs-a-kill-switch/">Craig Grannell</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.tapsmart.com/features/screen-time-needs-a-kill-switch/"><p>Too often, the result is a stalemate, with me wanting my kid to stop on the iPad nicely (or risk not having it the next day), and her figuring out the absolute limit of what she can get away with. (For the record: she is a <em>fantastic</em> kid and very well behaved on the whole, but she is also a kid. Any parent reading will know exactly what I mean.) And there have been times when I’ve just had to yank the iPad away.</p><p>A lot of this could be resolved with a remote off switch that can be activated <em>immediately</em>, when a line is crossed. Ideally, this would be presented in Screen Time as a massive red button. The Nintendo Switch has this (well, the remote off switch – not the red button), but Apple has determined one is not needed. It really is.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/24/screen-time-brokenness/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>15</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Rapid Security Responses Become Background Security Improvements</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/rapid-security-responses-become-background-security-improvements/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/rapid-security-responses-become-background-security-improvements/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2025 19:58:18 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Background Security Improvements]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Rapid Security Response]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49341</guid> <description><![CDATA[Mykola Grymalyuk (PDF, via Mr. Macintosh): The talk was a look into Apple’s Rapid Security Response system unveiled back at WWDC2022, discussing the design and challenges of the system. But Apple seemingly abandoned the system a year after its introduction. Filipe Esposito (Aaron): With iOS 26.1 beta 1, which was released to beta testers on […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://khronokernel.com/macos/2024/12/06/OBTS-v7-2024.html">Mykola Grymalyuk</a> (<a href="https://khronokernel.com/assets/Conferences/OBTS-v7-2024/OBTS-v7.0-RSR-Hell.pdf">PDF</a>, via <a href="https://x.com/ClassicII_MrMac/status/1970221651561226584">Mr. Macintosh</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://khronokernel.com/macos/2024/12/06/OBTS-v7-2024.html"><p>The talk was a look into Apple’s Rapid Security Response system unveiled back at WWDC2022, discussing the design and challenges of the system.</p></blockquote> <p>But Apple seemingly abandoned the system a year after its introduction.</p> <p><a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/2917043/apple-rebrands-rapid-security-responses-in-ios-26-1-beta-with-new-background-updates.html">Filipe Esposito</a> (<a href="https://x.com/aaronp613/status/1970198601830723601">Aaron</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macworld.com/article/2917043/apple-rebrands-rapid-security-responses-in-ios-26-1-beta-with-new-background-updates.html"><p>With iOS 26.1 beta 1, which was released to beta testers on Monday, the company is rebuilding how Rapid Security Responses work. According to code discovered in the beta by <em>Macworld</em>, the system will soon be called Background Security Improvements. The feature doesn’t seem to be available to users running the beta, but its existence in the code suggests it’s coming soon.</p><p>Essentially, the new system serves the same purpose: to deliver quick and urgent security patches that do not require a new version of iOS, which takes longer to develop. But there’s a key difference between Rapid Security Responses and the new Background Security Improvements: The new Background Security Improvements will be installed silently on the device without needing to manually update. Previously, users had to download Rapid Security Responses through the Settings app just like any other iOS update.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/11/30/macos-14-1-2/">macOS 14.1.2</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/09/01/how-software-update-works-in-ventura/">How Software Update Works in Ventura</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/05/08/rapid-security-response-version-numbers/">Rapid Security Response Version Numbers</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/06/16/rapid-security-response/">Rapid Security Response</a></li></ul> <p id="rapid-security-responses-become-background-security-improvements-update-2025-09-24">Update (<a href="#rapid-security-responses-become-background-security-improvements-update-2025-09-24">2025-09-24</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@BucciaBuccia/115255419593613254">Buccia</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@BucciaBuccia/115255419593613254"><p>Rapid Security Response was used only once and it broke many websites due to parenthesis in the OS version included in the User-Agent header.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/rapid-security-responses-become-background-security-improvements/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Ruby Central Takes Over RubyGems</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/ruby-central-takes-over-rubygems/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/ruby-central-takes-over-rubygems/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2025 19:58:10 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[GitHub]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Open-source Software]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ruby]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ruby on Rails]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shopify]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49339</guid> <description><![CDATA[André Arko (via Reddit): As chronicled by my teammate Ellen, the RubyGems team is no more. I wish the best of luck to everyone taking on the herculean task of keeping package management functional and working for the entire Ruby community. Ellen Dash (PDF, Lobsters): On September 9th, with no warning or communication, a RubyGems […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://andre.arko.net/2025/09/19/goodbye-rubygems/">André Arko</a> (via <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ruby/comments/1nkzszc/ruby_centrals_attack_on_rubygems/">Reddit</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://andre.arko.net/2025/09/19/goodbye-rubygems/"><p>As chronicled by my teammate Ellen, <a href="https://pup-e.com/goodbye-rubygems.pdf">the RubyGems team is no more</a>. I wish the best of luck to everyone taking on the herculean task of keeping package management functional and working for the entire Ruby community.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://pup-e.com/goodbye-rubygems.pdf">Ellen Dash</a> (PDF, <a href="https://lobste.rs/s/jin16z/ruby_central_s_attack_on_rubygems">Lobsters</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://pup-e.com/goodbye-rubygems.pdf"><p>On September 9th, with no warning or communication, a RubyGems maintainer unilaterally:</p><ul><li>renamed the “RubyGems” GitHub enterprise to “Ruby Central”,</li><li>added non-maintainer Marty Haught of Ruby Central, and</li><li>removed every other maintainer of the RubyGems project.</li></ul><p>[…]</p><p>On September 18th, with no explanation, Marty Haught revoked GitHub organizationmembership for all admins on the RubyGems, Bundler, and RubyGems.org maintainer teams.</p><p>By doing this, he took control for himself and other full-time employees of Ruby Central.</p></blockquote> <p>She calls it a “hostile takeover.”</p> <p><a href="https://rubycentral.org/news/strengthening-the-stewardship-of-rubygems-and-bundler/">Ruby Central</a> (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ruby/comments/1nl4ova/strengthening_the_stewardship_of_rubygems_and/">Reddit</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://rubycentral.org/news/strengthening-the-stewardship-of-rubygems-and-bundler/"><p>As the nonprofit steward of this infrastructure, Ruby Central has a fiduciary duty to safeguard the supply chain and protect the long-term stability of the ecosystem. In consultation with legal counsel and following a recent security audit, we are strengthening our governance processes, formalizing operator agreements, and tightening access to production systems. Moving forward, only engineers employed or contracted by Ruby Central will hold administrative permissions to the <a href="http://rubygems.org/?ref=rubycentral.org"><u>RubyGems.org</u></a> service. </p><p>In addition, with the recent increase of software supply chain attacks, we are taking proactive steps to safeguard the Ruby gem ecosystem end-to-end. To strengthen supply chain security, we are taking important steps to ensure that administrative access to the RubyGems.org, RubyGems, and Bundler is securely managed. This includes both our production systems and GitHub repositories. In the near term we will temporarily hold administrative access to these projects while we finalize new policies that limit commit and organization access rights.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Looking forward, our goal is to move these projects into a healthier, more transparent and community-centered governance model that is more in line with OSS development.</p></blockquote> <p>It seems natural be skeptical since they started out with the opposite of transparency.</p> <p><a href="https://apiguy.substack.com/p/a-board-members-perspective-of-the">Freedom Dumlao</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://apiguy.substack.com/p/a-board-members-perspective-of-the"><p>People are asking for some kind of statement from the Ruby Central board, but this is a small group of volunteers spread out all over the globe. We are software developers and makers and builders first. We don’t have some big PR machine or communications team. It’s just us. And we’re suddenly overwhelmed by feedback from our community that we aren’t equipped to quickly respond to.</p><p>[…]</p><p>So what really happened? From my perspective it’s far more boring (or should have been) than anyone is making it out to be. Ruby Central has been responsible for RubyGems and Bundler for a long time. This isn’t a new development, and I’m honestly very confused about the confusion.</p><p> What isn’t confusing is that supply chains are under attack. We can see this in <a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/60-malicious-ruby-gems-downloaded-275-000-times-steal-credentials/">recent attacks on RubyGems</a> and also in <a href="https://www.sonatype.com/blog/ongoing-npm-software-supply-chain-attack-exposes-new-risks">major attacks on other ecosystems</a> that have made global news. Companies that depend on Ruby count on Ruby Central to ensure they are not at risk. Some of those companies are sponsors of Ruby Central and some are not, but all have a legitimate need to know that they can tell their users that the software they are using is safe.</p><p>[…]</p><p>If Ruby Central made a critical mistake, it’s here. Could these conversations have been happening in public? Could the concerns we were hearing from companies, users and sponsors could have been made more apparent? Probably. But I remind you we don’t have a “communications team”, no real PR mechanism, we are all just engineers who (like many of you I’m sure) go heads down on a problem until it’s solved.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/martinemde.com/post/3lzeprf5tzs2h">Martin Emde</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://bsky.app/profile/martinemde.com/post/3lzeprf5tzs2h"><p>You say “What isn’t confusing is that supply chains are under attack.”</p><p>Then you remove the people most prepared to respond. The attack surface are was increased by changing the ownership from people who have owned and maintained these repositories independently for decades.</p><p>You said “Ruby Central has been responsible for RubyGems and Bundler for a long time.”</p><p>But this is incorrect. Ruby Central has been a gracious sponsor of PEOPLE who work on an OSS library.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Again, sorry to be a broken record, but how did you propose to control the repositories to which you had no access until Sep 9? You needed someone to add you first by breaking our existing OSS governance model.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://joel.drapper.me/p/rubygems-takeover/">Joel Drapper</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45348390">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://joel.drapper.me/p/rubygems-takeover/"><ol><li>Ruby Central was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S6l_RZwuxM">struggling for money</a>.</li><li>Sidekiq withdrew its $250,000/year sponsorship for Ruby Central because they <a href="https://ruby.social/@rubycentral/114585914969796428">platformed DHH at RailsConf 2025</a>.</li><li>Shopify demanded that Ruby Central take full control of the RubyGems GitHub repositories and the <code>bundler</code> and <code>rubygems-update</code> gems, threatening to withdraw funding if Ruby Central did not comply.</li><li>HSBT jumped the gun and implemented the takeover plan adding Marty Haught as an owner and reducing maintainers permissions before Marty had discussed this with the maintainers.</li></ol><p>[…]</p><p>The RubyGems source code and GitHub organisation was <em>not</em> owned by Ruby Central, even though Ruby Central operated a service with the same name.</p><p>[…]</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/rmfranca.bsky.social/post/3lz7alpobhc2x">Bluesky threads</a> reveal that Rafael França (Shopify / Rails Core) saw this [<a href="https://andre.arko.net/2025/08/25/rv-a-new-kind-of-ruby-management-tool/">rv</a>] tool as a threat[…]</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/24/automattic-vs-wp-engine/">Automattic vs. WP Engine</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/07/04/longstanding-cocoapods-vulnerabities/">Longstanding CocoaPods Vulnerabilities</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/03/21/npm-packages-sabotaged/">NPM Packages Sabotaged</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/11/24/githubs-commitment-to-npm-ecosystem-security/">GitHub’s Commitment to npm Ecosystem Security</a></li></ul> <p id="ruby-central-takes-over-rubygems-update-2025-10-17">Update (<a href="#ruby-central-takes-over-rubygems-update-2025-10-17">2025-10-17</a>): <a href="https://jaredwhite.com/articles/ruby-central-is-not-operating-in-good-faith">Jared White</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45357222">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://jaredwhite.com/articles/ruby-central-is-not-operating-in-good-faith"><p>I will offer my own timeline of events which transpired earlier this year.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://gist.github.com/simi/349d881d16d3d86947945615a47c60ca">Josef Šimánek</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45352432">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://gist.github.com/simi/349d881d16d3d86947945615a47c60ca"><p>I understand there have been <strong>real problems in the community</strong> over the years.Some of the maintainers who were removed had conflicts, and there were <strong>reasonable reasons why a demand for change existed</strong>.</p><p>But this is <strong>not the way</strong> to fix those problems. Ruby Central acted with a <em>deus ex machina</em> approach — coming down like a “hand of God” to forcibly reset the situation. That is not how you contribute to a community. That is not how open source works.</p><p>So while I can acknowledge some of Ruby Central’s <strong>concerns</strong>, their actions have left me no choice.</p><ul><li>I am leaving any cooperation with Ruby Central.</li><li>And since they will most likely require a <strong>CLA (Contributor License Agreement)</strong> for future work, I will no longer be able to contribute at all.</li></ul></blockquote> <p><a href="https://justin.searls.co/posts/why-im-not-rushing-to-take-sides-in-the-rubygems-fiasco/">Justin Searls</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45405221">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://justin.searls.co/posts/why-im-not-rushing-to-take-sides-in-the-rubygems-fiasco/"><p>I don’t have the answers to what’s going on in 2025. A few details have been shared with me—details that would contradict fact-checks and timelines others have pieced together and published—but I can’t pretend to have a clear picture of what actually happened, why no one is setting the record straight, or when we’ll have clarity on what the future holds. All I can do is offer a little bit of context to explain why I’m dubious of the dominant narrative that has taken shape online. Namely, <strong>I don’t believe this is a cut-and-dry case of altruistic open-source maintainers being persecuted by oppressive corporate interests.</strong></p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2025/10/17/rubygems-repository-transition/">Yukihiro Matsumoto</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45615863">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2025/10/17/rubygems-repository-transition/"><p>Despite this crucial role, RubyGems and Bundler have historically been developed outside the Ruby organization on GitHub, unlike other major components of the Ruby ecosystem.</p><p>To provide the community with long-term stability and continuity, the Ruby core team, led by Matz, has decided to assume stewardship of these projects from Ruby Central. We will continue their development in close collaboration with Ruby Central and the broader community.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Repository ownership will transition to the Ruby core team to ensure long-term stability and alignment with the broader Ruby ecosystem. It will continue being managed by Ruby Central, now jointly with the Ruby core team.</p></blockquote><p>This makes sense, though I wonder what “jointly” really means here. What happens if at some point Ruby Central and the core team disagree?</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/ruby-central-takes-over-rubygems/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Images Corrupted When Importing to Photos.app</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/images-corrupted-when-importing-to-photos-app/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/images-corrupted-when-importing-to-photos-app/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2025 19:58:07 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bug]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Concurrency]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Darktable]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Data Integrity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Datacide]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS 15 Sequoia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MicroSD]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Photos.app]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Raw Image Format]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49337</guid> <description><![CDATA[Aaron Patterson (via Hacker News): I’m pretty sure I’d been getting corrupted images for a while, but it would only be 1 or 2 images out of thousands, so I thought nothing of it (it was probably my fault anyway, right?)But the problem really got me upset when last year I went to a family […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://tenderlovemaking.com/2025/09/17/apple-photos-app-corrupts-images/">Aaron Patterson</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45274277">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://tenderlovemaking.com/2025/09/17/apple-photos-app-corrupts-images/"><p>I’m pretty sure I’d been getting corrupted images for a while, but it would only be 1 or 2 images out of thousands, so I thought nothing of it (it was probably my fault anyway, right?)</p><p>But the problem really got me upset when last year I went to a family member’s wedding and took tons of photos.Apple Photos combines RAW + jpg photos so you don’t have a bunch of duplicates, and when you view the images in the photos app, it just shows you the jpg version by default.After I imported all of the wedding photos I noticed some of them were corrupted.Upon closer inspection, I found that it sometimes had corrupted the jpg, sometimes corrupted the RAW file, and sometimes both.Since I had been checking the “delete after import” box, I didn’t know if the images on the SD card were corrupted <em>before</em> importing or not.After all, the files had been deleted so there was no way to check.</p><p>I estimate I completely lost about 30% of the images I took that day.</p><p>[…]</p><p>I was worried this was somehow a hardware problem. Copying files seems so basic, I didn’t think there was any way a massively deployed app like Photos could fuck it up (especially since its main job is managing photo files). So, to narrow down the issue I changed out all of the hardware.</p><p>[…]</p><p>However, after I got home from RailsConf and imported my photos, I found one corrupt image (the one above).I was able to verify that the image was <em>not</em> corrupt on the SD card, so the camera was working fine (meaning I probably didn’t need to buy a new camera body at all).</p></blockquote><p>It sounds like some sort of concurrency bug. It’s unclear to me whether the camera itself—which he seems to be using instead of a separate SD Card reader—is a factor, but the same setup worked when importing to <a href="https://www.darktable.org">Darktable</a> instead of Photos.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/images-corrupted-when-importing-to-photos-app/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Australian Court Finds iOS App Store Monopoly</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/australian-court-finds-ios-app-store-monopoly/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/australian-court-finds-ios-app-store-monopoly/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2025 19:57:58 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Antitrust]]></category> <category><![CDATA[App Store]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Australia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Digital Markets Act (DMA)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Epic Games]]></category> <category><![CDATA[External iOS Payments]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 18]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Legal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sideloading]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49335</guid> <description><![CDATA[Juli Clover: Back in August, Australia’s federal court ruled that the Apple App Store had violated competition laws by prohibiting sideloading and alternative payment methods.At the time, the court had not shared a written judgment, but now the 900-page document has been published and additional information on the court’s decision is available. In a statement […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/11/epic-games-apple-australia-ruling/">Juli Clover</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/11/epic-games-apple-australia-ruling/"><p>Back in August, Australia’s federal court ruled that the Apple App Store had violated competition laws by prohibiting sideloading and alternative payment methods.</p><p>At the time, the court had not shared a written judgment, but now the 900-page document has been published and additional information on the court’s decision is available. In a statement to <em>MacRumors</em>, Apple said that it does not agree with the court’s decision and will continue to argue its position in court.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The court adopted a narrow definition of the markets in play, viewing iOS as its own ecosystem and concluding that Apple has a monopoly over iOS app distribution and in-app payment processing.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The Australian court used Europe’s Digital Markets Act as evidence that alternative app distribution is possible, but Apple says that the viewpoint ignores the risks associated with skirting the App Store’s security and privacy protections.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/09/15/epic-games-versus-apple-australia-ruling-published-apple-calls-it-harmful/">Ben Lovejoy</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://9to5mac.com/2025/09/15/epic-games-versus-apple-australia-ruling-published-apple-calls-it-harmful/"><p>Regulators tend to take the view that the relevant market is “iOS apps,” and here Apple has a 100% monopoly on their sale and distribution. Edge cases aside, there is no way for a developer to bring an iOS app to market without selling it through the App Store.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The court did agree that Apple has a right to charge for its intellectual property, and that the company’s prohibition of third-party app stores is justified.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/21/fortnite-returns-to-us-app-store/">Fortnite Returns to US App Store</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/05/03/eu-and-australia-on-app-store-antitrust/">EU and Australia on App Store Antitrust</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/09/08/apple-antitrust-investigations-in-italy-and-australia/">Apple Antitrust Investigations in Italy and Australia</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/23/australian-court-finds-ios-app-store-monopoly/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Amazon to End Inventory Commingling</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/amazon-to-end-inventory-commingling/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/amazon-to-end-inventory-commingling/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:25:12 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shopping]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49332</guid> <description><![CDATA[Allison Smith (via Hacker News): Amazon revealed at its annual Accelerate seller conference in Seattle that it is shutting down its long-running “commingling” program — a move that drew louder applause from sellers than any other update of the morning.The decision marks the end of a controversial practice in which Amazon pooled identical items from […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.modernretail.co/operations/amazon-to-end-commingling-program-after-years-of-complaints-from-brands-and-sellers/">Allison Smith</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45319463">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.modernretail.co/operations/amazon-to-end-commingling-program-after-years-of-complaints-from-brands-and-sellers/"><p>Amazon revealed at its annual Accelerate seller conference in Seattle that it is shutting down its long-running “commingling” program — a move that drew louder applause from sellers than any other update of the morning.</p><p>The decision marks the end of a controversial practice in which Amazon pooled identical items from different sellers under one barcode. The system, intended to speed deliveries and save warehouse space, had also allowed counterfeit or expired goods to be mixed in with authentic ones, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/on-amazon-pooled-merchandise-opens-door-to-knockoffs-1399852852?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=ASWzDAiZbYLm-LvlaASayqYTmvMWfb-qdRGHHKlm3_5BIn7U53VG944J9C3Qyus3G6I%3D&gaa_ts=68caf984&gaa_sig=t6Otz2sjG7ZW-9cLpvqEPESE3o13I9rccCZaqNEWHVdMhpBVKHC-i7qpYOuZ4Plp-8EB8f5VMm-xmMbY_tE7-g%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>. For years, brands complained that commingling made it difficult to trace problems back to specific sellers and left their reputations vulnerable when customers received knockoffs.</p><p>[…]</p><p>With the company’s logistics network now capable of storing products closer to customers, the speed advantage of pooled inventory has diminished. At the same time, Amazon estimated brand owners spent $600 million in the past year alone through re-stickering products, the process of placing new labels or barcodes over existing ones on products.</p></blockquote> <p>Finally.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/08/23/amazon-has-ceded-control-of-its-site/">Amazon Has Ceded Control of Its Site</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/06/18/what-does-amazons-choice-mean/">What Does “Amazon’s Choice” Mean?</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/03/05/amazon-to-give-power-to-brands-to-remove-fakes/">Amazon to Give Power to Brands to Remove Fakes</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/02/06/amazon-and-fake-books-and-filtered-reviews/">Amazon and Fake Books and Filtered Reviews</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/11/12/amazon-kicks-off-unauthorized-apple-refurbishers/">Amazon Kicks Off Unauthorized Apple Refurbishers</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/03/02/amazon-is-complicit-with-counterfeiting/">Amazon Is Complicit With Counterfeiting</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2017/03/22/sellers-printing-counterfeit-books-and-selling-under-amazons-brand/">Sellers Printing Counterfeit Books and Selling Under Amazon’s Brand</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2016/10/20/amazon-selling-fake-apple-chargers-and-cables/">Amazon Selling Fake Apple Chargers and Cables</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2016/07/12/amazons-chinese-counterfeit-problem-is-getting-worse/">Amazon’s Chinese Counterfeit Problem Is Getting Worse</a></li></ul> <p id="amazon-to-end-inventory-commingling-update-2025-10-04">Update (<a href="#amazon-to-end-inventory-commingling-update-2025-10-04">2025-10-04</a>): <a href="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/amazon-inventory-commingling/">Nick Heer</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://pxlnv.com/linklog/amazon-inventory-commingling/"><p>I had no idea Amazon did this until I <a href="https://c.im/@nickheer/115221553499670444">complained</a> on Mastodon about how terrible its shopping experience is, and <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/@ai6yr/115233236338869872">Ben replied</a> referencing this practice, nor did I know it has been doing so for <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/business/jj-pulled-products-from-amazoncom-over-third-party-dispute-wsj-idUSBRE9AA01S/">at least twelve years</a>. I am certain I have received counterfeit products more than once from Amazon, and I think this is how it happened.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/amazon-to-end-inventory-commingling/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Tahoe FileVault: iCloud Keychain and SSH</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/tahoe-filevault-icloud-keychain-and-ssh/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/tahoe-filevault-icloud-keychain-and-ssh/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:25:04 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple ID]]></category> <category><![CDATA[FileVault]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iCloud Keychain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[SSH]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49330</guid> <description><![CDATA[Glenn Fleishman: When setting up FileVault, you used to be presented with two choices:View the Recovery Key, write it down, and keep it safe. It’s never presented again. (But as long as you can log in, you can toggle FileVault and get a new key.)Use your iCloud account to store the key in escrow. However, […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/09/filevault-on-macos-tahoe-no-longer-uses-icloud-to-store-its-recovery-key/">Glenn Fleishman</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/09/filevault-on-macos-tahoe-no-longer-uses-icloud-to-store-its-recovery-key/"><p>When setting up FileVault, you <em>used to be presented</em> with two choices:</p><ul><li>View the Recovery Key, write it down, and keep it safe. It’s never presented again. (But as long as you can log in, you can toggle FileVault and get a new key.)</li><li><p>Use your iCloud account to store the key in escrow. However, the key is <em>not</em> end-to-end encrypted, so there was always the slight potential that the key could be recovered by anyone who gains access to your Apple Account and unlocks that escrow.</p></li></ul><p>Neither choice was great; I always opted for the first.</p></blockquote><p>Read the whole post for details about how booting with FileVault works.</p><blockquote cite="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/09/filevault-on-macos-tahoe-no-longer-uses-icloud-to-store-its-recovery-key/"><p>Now the key can be shown after it’s first created, which makes it easier to retrieve it without cycling FileVault off and on to regenerate the Recovery Key. And, instead of using basic Apple Account encryption, protected just by a password, the Recovery Key is now stored in your end-to-end encrypted iCloud Keychain and accessible via the Passwords app.</p></blockquote> <p>So you now need a trusted device rather than just your Apple Account password to get at the recovery key.</p> <p><a href="https://keith.github.io/xcode-man-pages/apple_ssh_and_filevault.7.html">apple_ssh_and_filevault(7)</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45294440">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://keith.github.io/xcode-man-pages/apple_ssh_and_filevault.7.html"><p>When FileVault is enabled, the data volume is locked and unavailable during and after booting, until an account has been authenticated using a password. The macOS version of OpenSSH stores all of its configuration files, both system-wide and per-account, in the data volume. Therefore, the usually configured authentication methods and shell access are not available during this time. However, when Remote Login is enabled, it is possible to perform password authentication using SSH even in this situation. This can be used to unlock the data volume remotely over the network. However, it does not immediately permit an SSH session. Instead, once the data volume has been unlocked using this method, macOS will disconnect SSH briefly while it completes mounting the data volume and starting the remaining services dependent on it. Thereafter, SSH (and other enabled services) are fully available.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSLBkZB5o1o">Jeff Geerling</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@geerlingguy/115232379441641693">Mastodon)</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSLBkZB5o1o"><p>macOS 26, despite all its visual warts, lets you manage Macs with FileVault drive encryption enabled, even after a hard reboot or cold boot (like after a power outage).</p><p>I’ll show you how it works in this video.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/24/macos-tahoe-beta-forces-sharing-filevault-key/">macOS Tahoe Beta Forces Sharing FileVault Key</a></li></ul> <p id="tahoe-filevault-icloud-keychain-and-ssh-update-2025-09-24">Update (<a href="#tahoe-filevault-icloud-keychain-and-ssh-update-2025-09-24">2025-09-24</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@arroz/115214974855505705">Miguel Arroz</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@arroz/115214974855505705"><p>macOS Tahoe UI has a HUGE new feature for folks like me who have 24/7 Mac Minis running and access them remotely: you can now type the boot password remotely via SSH!</p><p>Power on the Mac, then SSH to it. A simple SSH server will handle your request. Typing the password there is equivalent to typing it on the keyboard. The connection then closes and the machine boots normally.</p><p>Combine this with “Start up automatically after a power failure” and you can ditch that KVM!</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/tahoe-filevault-icloud-keychain-and-ssh/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Vimeo Acquired</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/vimeo-acquired/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/vimeo-acquired/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:24:54 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Acquisition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Video]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Vimeo]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49328</guid> <description><![CDATA[Jamie Lang (Hacker News): Vimeo, once the internet’s most prestigious stage for independent filmmakers and animators, is being acquired by Milan-based app developer Bending Spoons in a $1.38 billion all-cash deal. The sale, expected to close later this year, will end Vimeo’s turbulent run as a public company.[…]Bending Spoons CEO Luca Ferrari promised “ambitious investments” […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/vimeo-1-38-billion-sale-end-of-an-era-254428.html">Jamie Lang</a> (<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45209645">Hacker</a> <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45197302">News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/vimeo-1-38-billion-sale-end-of-an-era-254428.html"><p>Vimeo, once the internet’s most prestigious stage for independent filmmakers and animators, is being acquired by Milan-based app developer Bending Spoons in a $1.38 billion all-cash deal. The sale, expected to close later this year, will end Vimeo’s turbulent run as a public company.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Bending Spoons CEO Luca Ferrari promised “ambitious investments” in Vimeo’s future, citing enterprise video services and AI-enabled features. But given the company’s track record — including significant staff cuts and restrictions at Evernote and WeTransfer — many in the creative community are skeptical.</p></blockquote> <p>Via <a href="https://www.manton.org/2025/09/16/says-something-about-vimeos-decline.html">Manton Reece</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.manton.org/2025/09/16/says-something-about-vimeos-decline.html"><p>Says something about Vimeo’s decline that I heard about them being acquired not from the tech news websites that I read all the time, but <a href="https://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/vimeo-1-38-billion-sale-end-of-an-era-254428.html">from Cartoon Brew</a> in my RSS reader[…]</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/27/vimeo-returns-to-apple-tv/">Vimeo Returns to Apple TV</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/15/meetup-and-iac-apps-acquired/">Meetup and IAC Apps Acquired</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/12/05/filmics-entire-staff-laid-off/">Filmic’s Entire Staff Laid Off</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/07/10/evernote-acquisition-and-layoffs/">Evernote Acquisition and Layoffs</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/03/18/vimeos-pivot/">Vimeo’s Pivot</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/vimeo-acquired/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>MarsEdit 5.3.7</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/marsedit-5-3-7/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/marsedit-5-3-7/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:24:46 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MarsEdit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[This Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49326</guid> <description><![CDATA[MarsEdit 5.3.5: Fix a crash when opening the main window or document sidebars on macOS 26 My sympathies. “Duplicate Post” can now be invoked to duplicate more than one selected post This feature also works much better in general, being smarter about how it handles the post’s metadata. I appreciate the quick 5.3.6 and 5.3.7 […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://redsweater.com/blog/4230/marsedit-5-3-5-fix-for-macos-tahoe-crashes">MarsEdit 5.3.5</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://redsweater.com/blog/4230/marsedit-5-3-5-fix-for-macos-tahoe-crashes"><p>Fix a crash when opening the main window or document sidebars on macOS 26</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/dropdmg-3-7/">My sympathies.</a></p><blockquote cite="https://redsweater.com/blog/4230/marsedit-5-3-5-fix-for-macos-tahoe-crashes"><p>“Duplicate Post” can now be invoked to duplicate more than one selected post</p></blockquote><p>This feature also works much better in general, being smarter about how it handles the post’s metadata.</p> <p>I appreciate the quick <a href="https://redsweater.com/blog/4232/marsedit-5-3-6-quick-fix-to-restore-browser-integration">5.3.6</a> and <a href="https://redsweater.com/blog/4236/marsedit-5-3-7-yet-more-followup-fixes-2">5.3.7</a> updates to fix regressions with bookmarklets and HTML editing. I wouldn’t be able to write this blog without MarsEdit.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/25/marsedit-5-2-1/">MarsEdit 5.2.1</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/22/marsedit-5-3-7/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>iTerm2 Web Browser Profiles</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/19/iterm2-web-browser-profiles/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/19/iterm2-web-browser-profiles/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 20 Sep 2025 01:23:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iTerm2]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Passkeys]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Web Browser]]></category> <category><![CDATA[WKWebView]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49322</guid> <description><![CDATA[George Nachman (via Hacker News): iTerm2 includes built-in web browsing capabilities. Web browser sessions fit into iTerm2’s existing window > tab > split pane hierarchy just like terminal sessions, allowing you to browse the web alongside your terminal work.[…]Passkeys Not supported due to Apple-imposed WKWebView restrictions.Advanced ad blocking: Limited by Apple’s resource fetching API restrictions.[…]This […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://iterm2.com/documentation-web.html">George Nachman</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45298793">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://iterm2.com/documentation-web.html"><p>iTerm2 includes built-in web browsing capabilities. Web browser sessions fit into iTerm2’s existing window > tab > split pane hierarchy just like terminal sessions, allowing you to browse the web alongside your terminal work.</p><p>[…]</p><ul><li><strong>Passkeys</strong> Not supported due to Apple-imposed WKWebView restrictions.</li><li><strong>Advanced ad blocking:</strong> Limited by Apple’s resource fetching API restrictions.</li></ul><p>[…]</p><p>This feature exists because:</p><ul><li>Many iTerm2 features translate well to web browsing</li><li>It provides a unified terminal and browser experience</li><li>A former colleague suggested this idea in 2014 and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.</li><li>I am maybe having a midlife crisis and this is cheaper than a sports car.</li></ul> </blockquote> <p>macOS doesn’t let you mix tabs—let alone split panes—from different apps in the same window, yet you may want to keep a particular group of terminals and Web browsers together. This lets you do that.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/08/02/rethinking-window-management/">Rethinking Window Management</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/19/iterm2-web-browser-profiles/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Third-Party Apps Missing From Tahoe’s Control Center</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/19/third-party-apps-missing-from-tahoes-control-center/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/19/third-party-apps-missing-from-tahoes-control-center/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 20 Sep 2025 01:23:14 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bug]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Control Center]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Drafts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Widgets]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49320</guid> <description><![CDATA[John Voorhees: Before the public beta of Tahoe was ever released, I saw controls for Sequel and MusicHarbor in Control Center. That set my expectations that over the course of the summer I’d see more.Instead, those controls disappeared with the release of the Tahoe public beta. […] September rolled around and third-party controls were still […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macstories.net/stories/mystery-solved-why-third-party-apps-vanished-from-the-macs-control-center/">John Voorhees</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macstories.net/stories/mystery-solved-why-third-party-apps-vanished-from-the-macs-control-center/"><p>Before the public beta of Tahoe was ever released, I saw controls for <a href="https://www.getsequel.app">Sequel</a> and <a href="https://marcosatanaka.com">MusicHarbor</a> in Control Center. That set my expectations that over the course of the summer I’d see more.</p><p>Instead, those controls disappeared with the release of the Tahoe public beta. […] September rolled around and third-party controls were still nowhere to be seen.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Then yesterday I heard privately from a developer who’d been keeping in touch as they tried to implement controls. They told me their code was substantively the same as Drafts’ code, but their controls wouldn’t show up until they tried something that I’d never thought of doing myself: they opened the widgets gallery.</p><p>[…]</p><p>My hope is that Apple will fix this bug quickly.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/19/third-party-apps-missing-from-tahoes-control-center/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>SpamSieve 3.2</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/spamsieve-3-2/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/spamsieve-3-2/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 18 Sep 2025 18:41:44 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Help]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Mail]]></category> <category><![CDATA[AppleScript]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[E-mail]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Icons]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Menu Bar]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Microsoft Outlook]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Multiple Displays]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Software Rewrite]]></category> <category><![CDATA[SpamSieve]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sunset]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Swift Programming Language]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Unicode]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49315</guid> <description><![CDATA[SpamSieve 3.2 includes lots of updates for macOS Tahoe 26 and adds remote training and improvements to the filtering accuracy. I love the new app icon that Kenichi Yoshida designed. To avoid jail, the sieve is now within the squircle. It’s also enlarged, and there’s once again room to see the envelope coming out the […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://c-command.com/blog/2025/09/18/spamsieve-3-2/">SpamSieve 3.2</a> includes lots of updates for macOS Tahoe 26 and adds <a href="https://c-command.com/spamsieve/help/train-messages-in-train">remote training</a> and improvements to the filtering accuracy.</p> <ul> <li><p>I love the new app icon that Kenichi Yoshida designed. To avoid jail, the sieve is now within the squircle. It’s also enlarged, and there’s once again room to see the envelope coming out the bottom. One thing we had to let go was the custom badging from the previous design. It used to start out showing a large envelope glyph in the top-left corner, and this would change in the Dock to indicate when SpamSieve was filtering or training messages. As far as I can tell, this is no longer possible with Tahoe and Liquid Glass. We can set the Dock icon at runtime, but only if we know the exact pixels, which we don’t because we don’t know whether the user has selected Dark or Clear or Tinted icon mode, and because there’s no API to load a <tt>.icon</tt> file with those variants. So SpamSieve now does the badging using the system API (like the unread count in Mail).</p></li> <li><p>As <a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/tahoe-applescript-timeouts/">previously discussed</a>, something is wrong with Apple Mail’s AppleScript support and POP accounts in Tahoe.</p></li> <li><p>It does look like there were some AppleScript improvements in Tahoe, though. Recent versions of Mail had a terrible performance regression where accessing <em>one</em> message via AppleScript would make Mail load <em>every</em> message in its mailbox, all at once. Then when your script accessed the next message it would do it all again, even if the script was supplying the unique ID of the desired message, which is also the database primary key. (Sidenote: there’s also a longstanding bug in Mail’s AppleScript terminology that makes it hard to look up messages in this way; whenever you recompile your script the source text becomes invalid.) Anyway, what should have been quick operations could be slow, and operating on multiple messages could be accidentally quadratic. With Tahoe, Mail once again seems to be able to do database queries for information about a single message.</p></li> <li><p>I’m sorry to say that Microsoft will be temporarily <a href="https://c-command.com/spamsieve/help/end-of-support-for-lega">removing AppleScript support</a> from Outlook on November 1. Mac Outlook (and its predecessors Entourage and Outlook Express, from members of the Claris Emailer team) have a history of being great Mac citizens but then started removing features and feeling more like cross-platform Office apps. Five years ago, Microsoft shipped an in-progress rewrite of the app using Web technologies, with many of the key features removed. It was still possible to run the “legacy” version of the app (which was shipped in the same binary), and we were told that this would be supported until AppleScript and other features had been reimplemented in the new codebase. However, now they’re killing the legacy version, even for customers who already have that version of the app installed and are current with their Microsoft 365 subscription. AppleScript support is slated to return in December, and they assure me this will actually happen, but I’m a bit skeptical because the announced schedule has <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4748727/when-will-applescript-be-fully-supported-by-micros">slipped</a> several times already. Interestingly, and sadly, it look like rules in Outlook are gone for good. They’re not even on the public roadmap. I also miss schedules, database rebuilds, and import/export.</p></li> <li><p>There are huge RAM and performance improvements with SpamSieve’s handling of large table view selections. These come from more pervasive use of custom collection types, to delay fully realizing objects that might not be needed and to only realize batches of them at a time. Also, it fixes a bug in my implementation of <a href="https://github.com/swiftlang/swift/blob/c8b281ce6bb9e586728e2eda978d338b2b7dae27/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift#L1134_customIndexOfEquatableElement">_customIndexOfEquatableElement()</a> that in some cases defeated the intended optimization. The bottommost override must call <code>firstIndex(of:)</code> rather than delegating to the protocol extension implementation of the same method! (Also, be careful when implementing this family of protocol overrides, as Swift will not tell you if you spell them wrong or have the signature slightly off.)</p></li> <li><p>On previous versions of macOS, you could round-trip a Swift string to UTF-8 data and back, and it would remain the same. With Tahoe, if it starts with a Unicode BOM that gets stripped.</p></li> <li><p>There’s a Tahoe issue with multiple displays where the menu bar icon’s menu sometimes opens on the opposite side of the screen (i.e. disconnected from the icon) and slightly off-screen.</p></li> <li><p>Opening Apple Help links to a particular anchor remains broken in Tahoe.</p></li> </ul> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/tahoe-applescript-timeouts/">Tahoe AppleScript Timeouts</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/06/xcode-26-beta-5/">Xcode 26 Beta 5</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/29/spamsieve-3-1-3/">SpamSieve 3.1.3</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2020/09/22/new-look-outlook-shipping-in-october/">“New Look” Outlook Shipping in October</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/spamsieve-3-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Nvidia Buys $5B in Intel</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/nvidia-buys-5b-in-intel/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/nvidia-buys-5b-in-intel/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 18 Sep 2025 18:41:39 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Intel]]></category> <category><![CDATA[NVIDIA]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Processors]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49313</guid> <description><![CDATA[Paul Alcorn (via Hacker News): In a surprise announcement that finds two long-time rivals working together, Nvidia and Intel announced today that the companies will jointly develop multiple new generations of x86 products together — a seismic shift with profound implications for the entire world of technology. Before the news broke, Tom’s Hardware spoke with […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/nvidia-and-intel-announce-jointly-developed-intel-x86-rtx-socs-for-pcs-with-nvidia-graphics-also-custom-nvidia-data-center-x86-processors-nvidia-buys-usd5-billion-in-intel-stock-in-seismic-deal">Paul Alcorn</a> (via <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45288161">Hacker News</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/nvidia-and-intel-announce-jointly-developed-intel-x86-rtx-socs-for-pcs-with-nvidia-graphics-also-custom-nvidia-data-center-x86-processors-nvidia-buys-usd5-billion-in-intel-stock-in-seismic-deal"><p>In a surprise announcement that finds two long-time rivals working together, Nvidia and Intel announced today that the companies will jointly develop multiple new generations of x86 products together — a seismic shift with profound implications for the entire world of technology. Before the news broke, Tom’s Hardware spoke with Nvidia representatives to learn more details about the company’s plans.</p><p>The products include x86 Intel CPUs tightly fused with an Nvidia RTX graphics chiplet for the consumer gaming PC market, named the ‘Intel x86 RTX SOCs.’ Nvidia will also have Intel build custom x86 data center CPUs for its AI products for hyperscale and enterprise customers. Additionally, Nvidia will buy $5 billion in Intel common stock at $23.28 per share, representing a roughly 5% ownership stake in Intel.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Nvidia emphasized that the companies are committed to multi-generation roadmaps for the co-developed products, which represents a strong investment in the x86 ecosystem. But representatives tells us it also remains fully committed to other announced product roadmaps and architectures, including the company’s Arm-based <a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/nvidias-project-digits-desktop-ai-supercomputer-fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand-usd3-000-to-bring-1-pflops-of-performance-home">GB10 Grace Blackwell processors for workstations</a> and the <a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-unveils-144-core-grace-cpu-superchip-claims-arm-chip-15x-faster-than-amds-epyc-rome">Nvidia Grace</a><a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-details-grace-hopper-cpu-superchip-design-144-cores-on-4n-tsmc-process">CPUs for data centers</a>, as well as the next-gen <a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/nvidias-rubin-gpu-and-vera-cpu-data-center-ai-platforms-begin-tape-out-both-chips-in-fab-and-on-track-for-2026">Vera CPUs</a>.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/25/us-government-takes-10-stake-in-intel/">US Government Takes 10% Stake in Intel</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/10/nvidias-market-cap/">Nvidia’s Market Cap</a></li></ul> <p id="nvidia-buys-5b-in-intel-update-2025-09-25">Update (<a href="#nvidia-buys-5b-in-intel-update-2025-09-25">2025-09-25</a>): <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/technology/intel-apple-talks-investment.html">Lauren Hirsch and Tripp Mickle</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/technology/intel-apple-talks-investment.html"><p>Intel, the embattled chipmaker, has talked with Apple about investing in its business as it tries to improve its financial standing.</p><p>[…]</p><p>The conversations are part of a furious effort by Intel to raise cash and find customers for its ailing business.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/nvidia-buys-5b-in-intel/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Tahoe’s New Recovery Assistant</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/tahoes-new-recovery-assistant/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/tahoes-new-recovery-assistant/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 18 Sep 2025 18:41:29 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[File Permissions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Recovery]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49311</guid> <description><![CDATA[Joe Rossignol: If your Mac experiences an issue that prevents it from starting up properly, macOS Tahoe includes a new Recovery Assistant that can attempt to identify the issue and resolve it, according to an Apple support document published this week. […] Recovery Assistant is also available from the Utilities menu in macOS Recovery mode. […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/16/macos-tahoe-recovery-assistant/">Joe Rossignol</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/16/macos-tahoe-recovery-assistant/"><p>If your Mac experiences an issue that prevents it from starting up properly, macOS Tahoe includes a new Recovery Assistant that can attempt to identify the issue and resolve it, according to an <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/123922">Apple support document</a> published this week.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Recovery Assistant is also available from the Utilities menu in macOS Recovery mode.</p></blockquote> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/04/ios-26-recovery-assistant/">iOS 26 Recovery Assistant</a></li></ul> <p id="tahoes-new-recovery-assistant-update-2025-09-29">Update (<a href="#tahoes-new-recovery-assistant-update-2025-09-29">2025-09-29</a>): <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/09/26/new-in-tahoe-recovery-device-recovery-assistant/">Howard Oakley</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/09/26/new-in-tahoe-recovery-device-recovery-assistant/"><p>DRA <em>requires</em> an internet connection to function. If you’re asked to choose a connection, opt for a Wi-Fi network if possible.</p><p>[…]</p><p>When your Mac restarts, it may show a notification that you need to recover iCloud data. If so, open System Settings and you should see a new item in its sidebar to <strong>Recover iCloud Data</strong>.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/09/28/last-week-on-my-mac-panacea-or-placebo/">Howard Oakley</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/09/28/last-week-on-my-mac-panacea-or-placebo/"><p>Although in a different league, our novel treatment of the week is Device Recovery Assistant, as <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/09/26/new-in-tahoe-recovery-device-recovery-assistant/">I showed here</a> on Friday. It’s sufficiently new that Apple hasn’t quite gone firm on what to call it. Its <a href="https://support.apple.com/123922">sole account</a> refers to it as <em>Recovery Assistant,</em> in accordance with the menu command used to open the app in Recovery mode. But when it’s running, it claims to be <em>Device Recovery Assistant,</em> which sounds like it might also be good for your iPhone or iPad, but isn’t. That’s a similar feature added to iOS and iPadOS 26, as <a href="https://support.apple.com/123114">explained here</a>.</p><p>I’m still a little wary of magic healing tools in Recovery mode. The first is there even now, waiting to catch those who’ve taken AI a little too seriously, and think running <code>repairHomePermissions</code> might be a good idea. Whatever you do, please don’t try this one at home, as its effects can be devastating.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Far from repairing them, each time I have tried this it locks me out of every folder in my Home folder and wreaks havoc elsewhere.</p><p>[…]</p><p>(Device) Recovery Assistant doesn’t appear to do anything so disastrous, but Apple is completely opaque as to what it actually does.</p></blockquote> <p id="tahoes-new-recovery-assistant-update-2025-10-22">Update (<a href="#tahoes-new-recovery-assistant-update-2025-10-22">2025-10-22</a>): <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/10/22/gain-access-to-a-locked-mac-with-recovery-assistant/">Howard Oakley</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://eclecticlight.co/2025/10/22/gain-access-to-a-locked-mac-with-recovery-assistant/"><p>All of us at some time or other find our mind has gone blank and we can’t remember the password we’ve typed in so often before. Or the person who did know that password may no longer be there to recall it for us. At times like these we may need to gain access to a locked Mac. This article looks at how you can do that in an Intel Mac with a T2 chip, or an Apple silicon Mac, running Big Sur or later, in particular macOS Tahoe.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/tahoes-new-recovery-assistant/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Official Overcast Reddit</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/official-overcast-reddit/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/official-overcast-reddit/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 18 Sep 2025 18:41:05 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Audio]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Overcast]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Podcasts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Reddit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[SwiftUI]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49309</guid> <description><![CDATA[Marco Arment (Mastodon): Frankly, I’m taking a risk, and am considering it an experiment. I know almost nothing about Reddit, but I want to learn.I want Overcast to have an official presence here, where I can just tell you what I’m working on, what I’m considering, which bugs I’m trying to tackle, and how things […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/OvercastApp/comments/1neq7jx/what_im_doing_here/">Marco Arment</a> (<a href="https://mastodon.social/@overcastfm/115188704532464491">Mastodon</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.reddit.com/r/OvercastApp/comments/1neq7jx/what_im_doing_here/"><p>Frankly, I’m taking a risk, and am considering it an experiment. I know almost nothing about Reddit, but I want to learn.</p><p>I want Overcast to have an official presence here, where I can just <em>tell</em> you what I’m working on, what I’m considering, which bugs I’m trying to tackle, and how things work behind the scenes.</p><p>And you can tell me how you use Overcast, what’s working for you, what’s not, and what you’d like to see.</p><p>I can’t respond to most posts, and depending on volume, I might not always even be able to read them all.</p></blockquote> <p>The early <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/OvercastApp/comments/1nepzbd/bug_hit_list/">posts</a> and replies are encouraging. I hope this works out.</p> <p>After the <a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/07/18/overcasts-new-foundation/">Overcast rewrite</a>, just over a year ago, I got scared reading—on Mastodon, Twitter, and the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/OvercastFm/comments/1neqx0c/marco_just_started_a_different_overcast_subreddit/">unofficial Reddit</a>—of all the problems people were having. It seemed to work fine for the majority, but it was hard to know in advance whether I would be affected, so I didn’t want to go through that one-way door. With many bugs now squashed, I finally updated last month and it’s been working well for me. There are some minor issues, like not being able to reorder pinned podcasts, but overall it seems to be reliable and at least as fast as before. I still think this app has the best audio engine.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/13/generated-transcripts-in-pocket-casts/">Generated Transcripts in Pocket Casts</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/08/23/apple-podcasts-on-the-web/">Apple Podcasts on the Web</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/07/18/overcasts-new-foundation/">Overcast’s New Foundation</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/31/castro-sold-again/">Castro Sold Again</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/official-overcast-reddit/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>11</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Tahoe AppleScript Timeouts</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/tahoe-applescript-timeouts/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/tahoe-applescript-timeouts/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 17 Sep 2025 20:34:41 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Apple Mail]]></category> <category><![CDATA[AppleScript]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bug]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Finder]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MsgFiler]]></category> <category><![CDATA[POP]]></category> <category><![CDATA[SpamSieve]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49307</guid> <description><![CDATA[A reader writes: As a fellow AppleScripter, I thought you might enjoy knowing about a small Tahoe Finder bug that I have not seen mentioned anywhere and that caused all my carefully crafted (and expertly developed, of course) automations to grind to a halt and collapse, seemingly at random. For some unfathomable reason, it is […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A reader writes:</p><blockquote><p>As a fellow AppleScripter, I thought you might enjoy knowing about a small Tahoe Finder bug that I have not seen mentioned anywhere and that caused all my carefully crafted (and expertly developed, of course) automations to grind to a halt and collapse, seemingly at random.</p><p>For some unfathomable reason, it is no longer permitted to <code>tell application "Finder" to empty trash</code> when the trash is already empty: instead of erroring out or, as before, working silently, the operation now hangs indefinitely. This means that scripts that include this seemingly throwaway line to clean up after themselves will randomly start failing with no error message. In Keyboard Maestro, inline scripts fail quickly with a timeout message, but external scripts just hang.</p><p>The trick is simply to substitute <code>if ((items of trash) as list) is not {} then empty trash</code>.</p></blockquote> <p>For me, running that script through Script Editor or other means fails with a timeout (error -1712, a.k.a. <code>errAETimeout</code>) after 2 minutes. Recording an Activity Monitor sample of Finder seems to show that Finder is not busy doing anything related to the script. It’s as if it never received the command or else it replied but the reply got lost.</p> <p>A small percentage of SpamSieve users are seeing a similar issue with Apple Mail on Tahoe. Some very basic/quick commands to Mail time out, with Mail also looking like it’s not even processing the command. Sometimes AppleScript reports error -600 (a.k.a. <code>procNotFound</code>) instead of a timeout. Oddly, this seems to almost exclusively happen with POP accounts.</p> <p>There was a similar bug in macOS Bug Sur, but it only affected apps running in Rosetta.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/05/24/remaining-issues-in-big-sur/">Remaining Issues in Big Sur</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2021/05/04/script-debugger-8/">Script Debugger 8</a></li></ul> <p id="tahoe-applescript-timeouts-update-2025-09-24">Update (<a href="#tahoe-applescript-timeouts-update-2025-09-24">2025-09-24</a>): I’ve now seen several more cases of macOS Tahoe reporting AppleScript timeouts when it should be reporting other types of errors. For example, scripts that ask Mail for properties that don’t exist will intermittently hang for 2 minutes and then time out. This also seems to be the case with the POP errors that some SpamSieve users are seeing. The underlying issue seems to be a new error that Mail is encountering when accessing the <code>junk mailbox</code>, but instead of reporting the error back to the script it waits and then times out.</p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/18/spamsieve-3-2/">SpamSieve 3.2</a></li></ul> <p id="tahoe-applescript-timeouts-update-2025-10-04">Update (<a href="#tahoe-applescript-timeouts-update-2025-10-04">2025-10-04</a>): <a href="https://msgfiler.wordpress.com/2025/09/23/msgfiler-4-2-0s-new-mailbox-reloading-algorithm/">Adam Tow</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://msgfiler.wordpress.com/2025/09/23/msgfiler-4-2-0s-new-mailbox-reloading-algorithm/"><p>In macOS 26 Tahoe, it’s the retrieving of the error which is dramatically slower over the same code running on macOS 15 Sequoia. I had hoped that Apple would fix this bug (FB20174869), but the later betas and GM release brought no relief.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/tahoe-applescript-timeouts/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>15</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>DropDMG 3.7</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/dropdmg-3-7/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/dropdmg-3-7/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 17 Sep 2025 20:34:29 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Auto Layout]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bug]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Disk Image]]></category> <category><![CDATA[DropDMG]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Icons]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49305</guid> <description><![CDATA[DropDMG 3.7 updates my app for creating and working with Mac disk image files for macOS Tahoe 26. This version adds support for Apple Sparse Image Format (ASIF) disk images and Liquid Glass icons. Some interesting issues were: Kenichi Yoshida redesigned the app icon, keeping the same concept but adapting it for the Liquid Glass […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://c-command.com/blog/2025/09/17/dropdmg-3-7/">DropDMG 3.7</a> updates my app for creating and working with Mac disk image files for macOS Tahoe 26. This version adds support for Apple Sparse Image Format (ASIF) disk images and Liquid Glass icons.</p> <p>Some interesting issues were:</p> <ul> <li><p>Kenichi Yoshida redesigned the app icon, keeping the same concept but adapting it for the Liquid Glass style and macOS’s new volume icon. As a utility app, it uses a gray squircle.</p></li> <li><p>I’m not in general a fan of Tahoe’s menu item icons, but I think they work pretty well in DropDMG’s <a href="https://c-command.com/dropdmg/help/the-file-menu">File menu</a>. These are concrete commands that straightforwardly map to icons, and most of them already used these same icons in the toolbar, anyway.</p></li> <li><p>Tahoe changes the mounted disk image icon for the first time since Big Sur, so DropDMG’s <a href="https://c-command.com/dropdmg/help/custom-volume-icon">badged icons</a> now use a different size and perspective.</p></li> <li><p>ASIF disk images ended up being a lot more work to support than previous new formats. This is because they’re manipulated using <code>diskutil</code> instead of <code>hdiutil</code>. The two tools take different command-line arguments and don’t support all the same features or handle edge cases in the same way. I’ve tried to make ASIF appear in the user interface as just another format, but under the hood it’s using different tools (or combinations of tools) for different operations. There are lots of different combinations of source and destination formats, some of which require special handling.</p></li> <li><p>There seems to be a Tahoe bug related to Auto Layout for toolbar overflow that can cause a crash. It doesn’t like directly resizing the window to a much smaller size, e.g. because of restoration at launch or because you dragged the window corner too quickly. If the app is crashing at launch, you can <a href="https://forum.c-command.com/t/dropdmg-crash-at-launch-on-macos-tahoe-26/17246">reset the saved window size</a> to avoid the problem. I’ve also adjusted the initial window size for new installs.</p></li> </ul> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/23/asif-disk-images-in-macos-tahoe/">ASIF Disk Images in macOS Tahoe</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/05/28/dropdmg-3-6-9/">DropDMG 3.6.9</a></li></ul> <p id="dropdmg-3-7-update-2025-09-26">Update (<a href="#dropdmg-3-7-update-2025-09-26">2025-09-26</a>): <a href="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115226856044238125">Mario Guzmán</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@marioguzman/115226856044238125"><p>I’m so ready for #macOSTahoe 26.1 or 26.2 because damn, the amount of bugs 26.0 is pretty crazy.</p><p>I’ve already had 3 native, first-party apps crash when attempting to modify their toolbars.</p><p>As soon as I add or remove item and click OK, boom. Crash.</p><p>This has included Finder, Mail, and Notes.</p></blockquote> <p>I just got a customer report saying that a particular disk image file doesn’t mount on Tahoe but that the very same file works just fine on multiple Macs with other OS versions.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/17/dropdmg-3-7/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>ToothFairy 2.8.7</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/toothfairy-2-8-7/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/toothfairy-2-8-7/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 20:31:36 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bluetooth]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Design]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Icons]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Liquid Glass]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac App]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Swift Programming Language]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ToothFairy]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49301</guid> <description><![CDATA[ToothFairy 2.8.7 is a maintenance update of my Bluetooth menu bar utility. This was the easiest of my apps to update for macOS Tahoe 26. One issue was that building it with Xcode 26 triggered a bug (since fixed) that would crash the compiler. More visibly, the icon has been updated for Liquid Glass. Though […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://c-command.com/blog/2025/09/16/toothfairy-2-8-7/">ToothFairy 2.8.7</a> is a maintenance update of my Bluetooth menu bar utility. This was the easiest of my apps to update for macOS Tahoe 26.</p> <ul><li><p>One issue was that building it with Xcode 26 triggered a bug (since fixed) that would crash the compiler.</p></li> <li><p>More visibly, the icon has been updated for Liquid Glass. Though I’m sorry to see the magic wand confined to the squircle, I think Kenichi Yoshida did a great job of preserving the important elements while also simplifying it for the new design language.</p></li></ul> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/15/macos-tahoe-26/">macOS Tahoe 26</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/08/06/xcode-26-beta-5/">Xcode 26 Beta 5</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/05/toothfairy-2-8-6/">ToothFairy 2.8.6</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/toothfairy-2-8-7/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Xcode 26</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/xcode-26/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/xcode-26/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 20:30:35 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Programming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category> <category><![CDATA[macOS Tahoe 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Swift Assist]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Xcode]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49299</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (xip, downloads): Xcode 26 includes Swift 6.2 and SDKs for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and visionOS 26. The Xcode 26 release supports on-device debugging in iOS 16 and later, tvOS 16 and later, watchOS 8 and later, and visionOS. Xcode 26 requires a Mac running macOS Sequoia […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode-release-notes/xcode-26-release-notes">Apple</a> (<a href="https://developer.apple.com/services-account/download?path=/Developer_Tools/Xcode_26/Xcode_26_Universal.xip">xip</a>, <a href="https://developer.apple.com/download/all/">downloads</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode-release-notes/xcode-26-release-notes"><p>Xcode 26 includes Swift 6.2 and SDKs for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and visionOS 26. The Xcode 26 release supports on-device debugging in iOS 16 and later, tvOS 16 and later, watchOS 8 and later, and visionOS. Xcode 26 requires a Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later.</p><p>Enhance your development workflow with coding intelligence features that help you write code, generate tests and documentation, fix errors, refactor existing implementations, and navigate codebases. Xcode has integrated support for ChatGPT and Claude user accounts. You can also use your API key for any model provider that supports the Chat Completions API, or download and run a local model on Macs with Apple silicon.</p></blockquote> <p><strike>The build number is <a href="https://xcodereleases.com">the same</a> as for the release candidate, though I found that the <tt>.xip</tt> files differ slightly in size and content.</strike></p> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/10/xcode-26-rc/">Xcode 26 RC</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/19/swift-assist-part-deux/">Swift Assist, Part Deux</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/xcode-26/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>8</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>iPadOS 26</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/ipados-26/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/ipados-26/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 20:30:26 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Files.app]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iOS Multitasking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[iPadOS Release]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PCalc]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Preview.app]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49297</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (feature list, release notes, security, enterprise, developer): iPadOS 26, the biggest iPadOS release ever, takes a huge leap forward and unlocks powerful productivity updates that transform what users can do on iPad. A beautiful design brings a new look to iPad, plus an entirely new, powerful, and intuitive windowing system helps users control, organize, […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/new-versions-of-apples-software-platforms-are-available-today/">Apple</a> (<a href="https://www.apple.com/os/pdf/All_New_Features_iPadOS_26_Sept_2025.pdf">feature list</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/whats-new-in-ipados-26-ipad8d9d296d/ipados">release notes</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125108">security</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-al/125074">enterprise</a>, <a href="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ios-ipados-release-notes/ios-ipados-26-release-notes">developer</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/new-versions-of-apples-software-platforms-are-available-today/"><p><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/06/ipados-26-introduces-powerful-new-features-that-push-ipad-even-further/">iPadOS 26</a>, the biggest iPadOS release ever, takes a huge leap forward and unlocks powerful productivity updates that transform what users can do on iPad. A beautiful design brings a new look to iPad, plus an entirely new, powerful, and intuitive windowing system helps users control, organize, and switch between apps — all while maintaining the simplicity of iPad. With a new menu bar, users can access the commands available in an app with a simple swipe down from the top of the display, or by moving their cursor to the top. The supercharged Files app offers new ways to organize files and customize folders. Also, with folders in the Dock, users can conveniently access downloads, documents, and more from anywhere. The Preview app comes to iPad, giving users a dedicated app to view and edit PDFs, with Apple Pencil Markup and AutoFill built in. iPadOS 26 also unlocks new capabilities for creative pros with Background Tasks, more control over their audio input, and the ability to capture high-quality recordings with local capture. Journal comes to iPad, making it easy for users to capture and write about the details of everyday moments or special events using Apple Pencil or touch.</p></blockquote> <p>See also:</p><ul><li><a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/09/ipados-26-review-a-computer/">Six Colors</a></li><li><a href="https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-and-ipados-26-the-macstories-review/">MacStories</a></li><li><a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/09/15/ipados-26-arrives-with-controversial-liquid-glass-and-mac-like-multitasking">AppleInsider</a></li><li><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/15/apple-releases-ios-26/">MacRumors</a></li><li><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/09/15/ipados-26-now-available-with-huge-upgrades-heres-whats-new/">9to5Mac</a></li></ul> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/16/ipados-18/">iPadOS 18</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/25/ipados-26-developer-beta-4/">iPadOS 26 Developer Beta 4</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/24/appleos-26-public-betas/">appleOS 26 Public Betas</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/10/ipados-26-announced/">iPadOS 26 Announced</a></li></ul> <p id="ipados-26-update-2025-09-29">Update (<a href="#ipados-26-update-2025-09-29">2025-09-29</a>): <a href="https://mstdn.social/@nriley/115214304561421212">Nicholas Riley</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mstdn.social/@nriley/115214304561421212"><p>Typeahead find visualization also appears when typing to find a file in Files in iPadOS 26. This makes visible a feature that’s existed forever, in which the timeout was typically completely hidden from the user. Some apps (including Pester’s alarm list) exposed this by displaying the typed text, but this is more elegant and a genuine improvement.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mas.to/@Cykelero/115284050382629129">Nathan Manceaux-Panot</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mas.to/@Cykelero/115284050382629129"><p>In Preview in iPadOS 26, you can drag the loupe around, complete with zoom and color aberration effects. Feels like a tiny dose of the old Apple whimsy.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@jamesthomson/115194009598164836">James Thomson</a>:</p><blockquote cite="https://mastodon.social/@jamesthomson/115194009598164836"><p>iPadOS multitasking was really tricky to get right - I’d say about half my development time went into that.</p><p>There are so many edge cases to deal with, particularly trying to get everything looking nice.</p><p>[…]</p><p>Redoing fifty alternative icons proved to be quite a challenge, because not only did I need to do light and dark (and tinted) variants in the new vector icon format, I also needed to redo all the same icons again for iOS 18 and earlier.</p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/ipados-26/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>watchOS 26</title> <link>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/watchos-26/</link> <comments>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/watchos-26/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Tsai]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 20:30:15 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[watchOS]]></category> <category><![CDATA[watchOS 26]]></category> <category><![CDATA[watchOS Release]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=49295</guid> <description><![CDATA[Apple (release notes, security, developer): watchOS 26 offers even more intelligence to deliver more personalized ways to stay healthy, active, and connected, all within a beautiful new software design. A new sleep score feature comes to Apple Watch, so users can better understand the quality of their sleep and take steps to help make it […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/new-versions-of-apples-software-platforms-are-available-today/">Apple</a> (<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/123002">release notes</a>, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/125116">security</a>, <a href="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/watchos-release-notes/watchos-26-release-notes">developer</a>):</p><blockquote cite="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/new-versions-of-apples-software-platforms-are-available-today/"><p><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/06/watchos-26-delivers-more-personalized-ways-to-stay-active-and-connected/">watchOS 26</a> offers even more intelligence to deliver more personalized ways to stay healthy, active, and connected, all within a beautiful new software design. A new sleep score feature comes to Apple Watch, so users can better understand the quality of their sleep and take steps to help make it more restorative. FDA-cleared hypertension notifications are now available on Apple Watch, which can alert users if signs of chronic high blood pressure — also known as hypertension — are detected, so they can begin making potentially lifesaving behavioral changes, or start treatment to reduce their risk of serious, long-term health events. Hypertension notifications are powered by a machine learning-based algorithm, and the feature was <a href="https://www.apple.com/health/pdf/Hypertension_Notifications_Validation_Paper_September_2025.pdf">validated</a> in a large clinical study.</p><p>A redesigned watch face gallery includes two new watch faces: Flow and Exactograph. And Workout Buddy, a first-of-its-kind fitness experience powered by Apple Intelligence, provides personalized, motivational audio insights during workouts — with a dynamic generative voice built using voice data from Apple Fitness+ trainers — and the Workout app debuts the biggest update to its layout since introduction. Additionally, watchOS 26 makes everyday interactions even more convenient with Smart Stack hints, offering proactive prompts for actionable suggestions that are immediately useful; Live Translation in Messages allows texts to be translated automatically into a user’s preferred language; wrist flick, a new one-handed gesture, can be used to dismiss notifications and calls, silence alarms, plus return to the watch face; and the Notes app comes to Apple Watch.</p></blockquote> <p>See also:</p> <ul><li><a href="https://www.macstories.net/stories/watchos-26-the-macstories-review/">MacStories</a></li><li><a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/09/watchos-26-review-wrist-reward-ratio/">Six Colors</a></li><li><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/15/apple-releases-watchos-26/">MacRumors</a></li><li><a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/09/15/watchos-26-is-here-and-features-ai-coaching-improved-health-tools">AppleInsider</a></li><li><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/09/15/watchos-26-is-now-available-heres-whats-new-for-apple-watch/">9to5Mac</a></li></ul> <p>Previously:</p><ul><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/07/29/watchos-11-6/">watchOS 11.6</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/06/10/watchos-26-announced/">watchOS 26 Announced</a></li><li><a href="https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/09/16/watchos-11/">watchOS 11</a></li></ul>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/09/16/watchos-26/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> </channel></rss> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
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