Apple released the public betas of its next round of operating systems, all ending with OS27 today for Mac, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and goodness knows what else.
Following close on the heels of the release, a slew of reviews and first looks were published on the usual blogs and websites, with I’m sure more to come. All of that will make interesting reading in the days ahead, but as to the big SiriAI come from behind update it appears from quick glances at some of those articles that things are very much on the right track, but not quite there yet. Most of that is being chalked up to things still being in beta. Keep in mind that SiriAI itself is also still a beta, nestled within a beta. It’s suspected to be released as a beta this fall when the official release happens.
I don’t find that strange, because regarding anything AI these days, things change so much so frequently that it seems like all of those who are chasing the constant changes for the other AI platforms are perpetually running in beta mode, even though the software is not advertised as such.
But to a large degree, we’ve all been in a perpetual beta mode with most software releases since before the AI explosion hit. It’s not that I expect things to ever be “finished.” But I do expect things to at least move forward and not break what was working before. “New” is only great if it works. Who knows, perhaps one day we’ll retire the beta label as meaningless.
As for me, this is going to be one of the first years in a long time that I install a beta. After buying and setting up a MacBook Neo for a client earlier this year, I picked up one for myself just to run the macOS Golden Gate beta. Fortunately, before the price hike. Given that I have some travel to do in the next few weeks, I’ll probably wait until the next public beta version is released before giving it a go.
It will be an adventure, I’m sure.
Thanks for reading. You can subscribe to this blog if you care to.You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above. This site does not use affilate links.
The AI Tax is about more than the cost of a computer
Now that the dust is settling a bit after Apple unsurprisingly announced price increases across its hardware lineup, I have to say that I’m quite bemused to see the pocket book hit being called the AI Tax.
I wasn’t clever enough to use that descriptor when I posted about the news shortly after the announcement, but I had been paying enough attention to immediately point the finger of blame at the costs associated with Artificial Intelligence. I think Jonny Evans was the first to coin the phrase AI Tax. For what it’s worth, I hope the phrase AI Tax sticks. Sticks hard and deep. And twists the knife. Because it’s going to affect much more than just the cost of MacBooks, iPads, Apple TVs, and other gear designed in California.
While other tech companies had already started raising prices due to the AI Tax, (talk to anyone in the gaming market) Apple’s announcement is one that brought real shivers and shakes to consumers, the stock market, and boardrooms around the globe. Whether mostly myth or prescient business practices, Apple’s reputation for being ahead of the curve when it comes to purchasing large supplies of chips to withstand market pressures is and was such that tech companies in other sectors often found themselves facing sold out inventories or higher prices when it came time to make their orders. The “Apple Tax” extended far beyond the high cost of Apple products.
That rep and Apple’s stock took a dive on the news. Apple recorded its second biggest market drop in its history, dragging the NASDAQ down with it. Heading into the weekend there’s consternation brewing about all of the chip releated businesses going forward. (Hint: that’s most businesses these days.) But then again, the stock market is not much more than a wild ride in an aging prediction market, so who knows how that will unfold as a holiday week begins on Monday.
Word came via The Financial Times Friday night that Tim Cook was calling in some chits on chips with the Trump administration, attempting to circumvent chip bans balled up in the trade war to and fro with China. If successful, that would allow Apple to buy banned chips that the Pentagon is hesitant about, given that they are built by state controlled Chinese companies. According to the report this lobbying had been going on for a month or so prior to Cook’s first warning a week before the price hike announcement on Thursday.
The timing hints at a bit of public hardball lobbying from Apple. (Note that the price increase announcement wasn’t a Friday news dump after the market closed. However, The Financial Times article came after no known action from the administration post Apple’s announcement.) Shake the markets and try to wrest the attention of the administration fighting losing battles of its own making with bodies of water in the Middle East and in its own backyard. I’m almost surprised Apple hasn’t been called a vandal yet.
As I said earlier, this is going to have far reaching implications beyond the consumer gadget markets. Chip capacity has to increase, or the demand for higher bandwidth memory has to decrease before any of the predictions that this will subside in a few years. (There’s a good read on this from Imran Valianihere.) On the current trajectory, fueled by still increasing hype to combat building blowback, I don’t see that timeline materializing. This news might bobble the bubble, but I don’t think it’s ready to pop.
Costs are going to rise across the board. It’s not just consumers that purchase computers who will take the hit. And it’s not just the purchase of computers that will drive an inflationary spiral. Yep, that’s the I-word that no one likes to hear, especially politicians. Everything is a computer these days, or at least has some form of chip in it. And, in my opinion, too many companies have jumped on the AI bandwagon far too soon to understand the long term ramificatinos. All of those costs will be passed down the line to consumer pocket books.
I also don’t think we’re going to see these price pressures subside to pre-AI Tax levels. I’m old enough to remember when new cars used to have price ranges well below $5,000. That obviously makes me prehistoric, but I can remember watching The Price is Right featuring cars as the grand prize with contestants guaranteeing at least their first guess was accurate by chosing the number two for cars that would be priced at $2995. That’s a memory that doesn’t require a chip. Although streaming those old shows does.
Like it or not, Apple’s success since the launch of the iPhone, has been a key piece of U.S and global economic growth with much of the tech sector following along and prospering in its wake. Apple’s recent announcements are probably one day going to be viewed as just as big a marker going forward as the release of that first iPhone.
It feels to me that we’re entering into a price curve trajectory for computing on all levels that will follow a similar trajectory as the automobile market. The financial markets will find ways to love it as financing will become a key driver to cover costs while the markets get used to price points for signature hardware starting much higher than the $1000 price point today. There’s got to be a way for the bankers to cover all of the borrowing associated with the build out of data centers.
Over the years the myths of Apple being doomed have largely been just that. Myths. Apple always found a way. This turbulence probably won’t change that. But the AI Tax will change things for all of us in ways that we’re just beginning to understand. Inept global political and corporate leadership easily taken advantage of by hype-masters and hucksters have paved the way to this moment.
And all of this for a still largely unproven technology.
Thanks for reading. You can subscribe to this blog if you care to.You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above. This site does not use affilate links.
That’s the summary of my thoughts for Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference this year. That event happens next week. The waiting and seeing will happen over the summer, possibly all the way until this time next year.
I’m not talking about what Apple will talk about at the conference and in the keynote. I’m talking about what they actually deliver down the road and when they deliver it for the numerous operating systems with 27 tagged on at the end. Some will get love. Some won’t. That’s nothing new. (Ask iPad users.) For a company with so many resources each year’s releases always seem to curiously remind me that Apple picks a platform to focus on, and seems content to let others wither on the vine for a time.
To be fair, I’ve always had a wait and see attitude towards most tech announcements, because what looks sexy and is hyped in the demos, press releases, and podcasts, sometimes makes it into the hands of users, sometimes not. Prior to 2024, Apple usually delivered on what it promised. But that changed with Apple Intelligence. A name I bet they wish they’d never let see the light of day. They didn’t deliver then and haven’t since. They promise they will this time, although who knows what that will really mean. The weight of wait and see has become heavier.
This also comes at a time when there’s a burgeoning backlash building among consumers against anything related to Artificial Intelligence. So the climate is not nearly as inviting as it was two years ago. For what’s it worth, I think it’s becoming harder and harder to sell any product or feature that guarantees its inaccuracy up front, promising to do better in the future. But there sure seem to be enough takers and talkers thinking different on that than I.
Curiously, Apple seems to be hedging its bets, apparently set on using Google’s AI as the foundation. Some say that’s a place holder until Apple rolls its own AI after it’s mistaken first rollout, the way it did with Maps. Some say it’s a wise move for the future because it might save Cupertino some cash and more blowback from having to build out its own data centers. I say, wait and see.
From what I read Google may be reinventing itself and the Internet with its efforts, but those efforts aren’t meeting with thunderous applause and accolades. At least compared to Google’s competitors. Besides effectively putting Google in the catbird (chatbot?) seat driving all AI chatbot activity on the majority of handsets sold on the planet (Android and iOS), who knows how it will turn out. No chatbot can predict, nor can any human. That said, the marketing puzzle about what’s Apple and what’s Google is going to be fun to watch play out, even in the end it’s going to be meaningless to most consumers.
There’s also word that this year’s OS releases will also focus on fixes and not new features the way Snow Leopard did for Leopard on Macs back in the day. Intriguingly there were quite a new features for Macs in that release. Speaking of Macs, there’s also talk that they will see more of Liquid Glass than we saw the first time around. To be honest, I’m grateful for last year’s comparative neglect of Liquid Glass on the Mac. I’m waiting and seeing with a bit of trepidation how attention is focused on that this year. I’m also waiting on the day when someone finds a way to sell me on rounded corners on rectangular displays.
I would welcome fixes. Boy, would I welcome fixes. I’ve long maintained that the cadence of Apple’s OS release cycles is too rapid to allow it to effectively address problems. I get that there’s a long view and a necessity to look ahead, but when you’re hearing leaks about the next year’s efforts before this year’s are announced I think the tempo is too fast and it becomes too tempting to push things off until the next year.
I’ve written about a number of things that bug me off and on. Because they bug me off and on. I’ll list some that stand out that I wish would get attention. That said, most seem to fall back on issues with iCloud. Hearing talk that however Apple rolls out the new Siri or chatbot feature will allow that feature’s chat history to sync across devices via iCloud gives me a shutter. I’m guessing that will lead to more unexplainable stops and stutters in iCloud syncing in general.
So, here’s a small list of things I hope, but am not counting on, seeing addressed.
iCloud syncing. Just make it reliable and give us Sync Now buttons. We get one is Messages. How about the rest of the core apps?
Perpetual Betas: I know, and respect that Apple is continuing to work on each new operating system throughout the year. Kudos. It can’t be easy. That said, find a way to keep from mucking things up on the backend for users who don’t participate in betas. Perpetual beta weirdness is hell for normal users.
Phone app. Apple made significant changes last year. They need to make more. There’s no reason in the world I can see for not going all in to help users more efficiently get rid of unwanted or fraudulent calls.
Error Messages. Tell us more. Yes, I know something failed. Tell me more about what failed and point to a solution or information that can help me find out more.
Apple Mail. Rules in Apple Mail need to work consistently, or just be done away with. Features in Apple Mail on iPhones and Macs need to be brought into line with each other. It makes a mockery of trying to unify things between iOS and macOS.
Shortcuts. Yesterday’s future is probably some tomorrow’s further fading feature. Shortcuts are great when Apple doesn’t change things behind the scenes that cause them to break. That happens too often. Rumors that you’ll be able to create them via a chatbot sounds potentially promising. But if they are still going to randomly break, what really is the point?
Contacts. A small amount of attention could do wonders with this seemingly forgotten, yet essential app.
Apple Music on the Mac. Why is this app so bad for a company that says over and over again that it loves music?
Reminder Notifications for Shared Reminders. There has to be a way to programmatically dismiss a shared reminder notification once it has been completed and marked off. Fix it. It is just simply annoying. Especially in the context of all of the improvements in the Reminders app the last few years.
App Store. For a company that spends untold amounts of money on its brick and mortar stores, I remain shocked at how they can be proud of the software versions of any of its App Stores.
watchOS Software UI: We’ve already heard there won’t be much in the way of changes for the Apple Watch this year. But at least pay attention to some of the software design.
Settings. Find a way to clean up this mess. There has to be a way.
Note that many of the issues listed above are still hanging around and are the same as in my list last year.
As much as the attention will be on whatever Apple attempts with Apple Intelligence after WWDC 26, attention will also quickly pivot to the fall when new devices are announced. Given that we’ve heard countless times that devices like Apple TV and HomePods, and other home related products, are waiting in the wings for software focused on AI features to catch up, it will be curious to see what attention, if any, they get during WWDC. I don’t think those devices will be announced until the fall. I don’t expect any hardware announcements of any kind next week.
Speaking of waiting in the wings, much will also be made about this being Tim Cook’s final WWDC as CEO with John Ternus due to take spotlight this September. Much attention will be paid to the semiotics surrounding all of that during WWDC and after. That will be interesting to watch, but since WWDC 2026 feels more and more like a catch up year all around, I’m guessing next year’s event might be more telling. We’ll have to wait and see.
So, there’s my thoughts. That and nickel won’t buy you anything.
You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above. This site does not use affilate links.
Since I don’t run betas on any of my devices, I’ve been somewhat anxiously waiting for the release of iPadOS 26.1 which returns the Slide Over multi-tasking feature to the iPad. It got here just in the nick of time.
iPad OS 26.1 arrived yesterday afternoon, about 2 hours before rehearsal began and I quickly set things up for the evening’s rehearsal, using Notes in Slide Over to quickly jot down notes as rehearsal went along.
I use an 11 inch iPad Pro in my theatre work as my primary device. It contains the script I’m working on and ever since Slide Over was available I would use that multi-tasking feature to keep one or more apps tucked away for quick access conducting rehearsals.
I do question why Apple only allows one app in this returning version as opposed to multiple apps as it did before. It was always handy to keep multiple apps available throughout rehearsal, given that I prefer to have my script open full screen on the 11 inch iPad Pro.
As a side note, I’m not a fan of the Liquid Glass border around the window in Slide Over. It waists screen real estate, almost begging you to look at the feature. Even switching Liquid Glass to the new Tinted version, now also available in iOS 26, doesn’t erase or lessen that border or its distracting impact.
In fact, setting the border aside, switching back and forth I don’t really see any significant difference in the apps I’m currently using between the Clear and Tinted versions of Liquid Glass. I won’t call that a complaint, but I will say it might all be much ado about nothing. At least on the iPad.
You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above.
New iPhones have been released, are being delivered, and I assume being used. Some of the usual sources have already reviewed the devices and the new operating systems and I’m guessing you’ve seen many of those.
I’m enjoying reading reviews that are sort of off of the beaten track, assuming the Internet has one of those, and thought I’d link to a few of them.
Next up is Sebastian de With’s look at the iPhone 17 Pro cameras. Sebastian is one of the developers of the team Lux that developed the Halide camera app for the iPhone.
And finally Rakhim Davlekali has written a review of macOS in reverse starting with the now current Tahoe and going backwards through time. Benjamin Button Reviews macOS is worth a read for a few laughs.
I still think it’s early for any real judgements to be made about the new devices and new operating systems. But the links above are worth a look.
You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above.
Bubbles. My grandkids love bubbles. It’s a kid’s delight. Apparently bubbles also delight some Apple designers. My first impression of the look of iOS 26 on the iPhone was bubbles.
I watched the OS 26 round of operating system betas over the summer as things evolved and have now installed the first release on all my devices. I’ve seen and heard the reactions so I was reasonably prepared for what would happen once the updates occurred. These are some first impressions after taking a look.
Liquid Glass
I’m not putting down bubbles. Bubbles are fun, whimsical, and joyful. But my overwhelming impression on the iPhone 16 Pro with iOS 26 installed was that the Liquid Glass design language, (that supposedly isn’t a design language,) felt very bubbly and child-like. To my eye I associate it more with bubbles than I do glass, liquid or not.
I also thinks Liquid Glass looks and feels better on the iPad Pro than it does on the iPhone. There’s more space for the chunkier, bubblier UI elements to float around. By and large things look cleaner on the iPad.
On the Mac, Apple didn’t go quite as far with Liquid Glass as they did with the iPhone and iPad regarding transparency and bubbly things, but there is still a more cartoonish feel to macOS 26 than the previous version. I think most of that is due to the rounded corners, rounded buttons and tab bars. I will say in this early going, I miss what I felt was a cleaner design in Sequoia on the Mac than what I see in this early going with Tahoe.
Bubbles are also messy things. Messier than glass in solid form certainly. Perhaps applying liquid properties to this glass like interface provides a license to keep things messier. That’s certainly true in some cases on the iPhone. For example, in the Phone app the reflective (or is it refractive) qualities around the buttons make it feel like light is leaking through a misapplied sticker than I think was the intent.
On both the iPad and the iPhone you’ll have to be careful what you choose for a wallpaper, because that same light leaking through means photos that have many colors or light contrasts within them appear more distracting than pleasing. (I like to use my own photography for wallpapers).
The issues of legibility have been discussed quite a bit over the summer, and I don’t think Apple has a complete solution for that yet when it comes to complex backgrounds, other than seemingly to force users to make simpler choices with wallpaper backgrounds. In early use, I think what we see on iPhone and iPad completely renders useless the statement of letting your content shine through. It might bleed through, but if it shines it does so in a distracting manner.
Here’s an example of one of my Home Screens that I think makes things look more bubbly than Liquid Glassy, especially in the upper two rows of folder icons.
Alan Dye, the VP of Human Interface Design, the Apple guy who spearheaded this UI change, is quoted as saying that Liquid Glass is “the foundation for new experiences in the future.” All well and good when you have a fuller view of the future as one assumes he would. But for those looking at their devices today, that means as much or as little as any tech promise or vision that have been dropped on us these last few years.
Liquid Design, in my very early looks is not to my taste. It may be to yours. the good news is that everything still appears to be functional. But to me, it’s a child-like appliqué on sophisticated devices that seem to beg for something more mature. I’m sure Liquid Glass will evolve, but until it does, I don’t think these bubbles will be popping soon.
Other Changes
I haven’t explored many of the new features of any of these new operating systems, only attempting to get things up and running. Most things appear to be running well.
A few changes I like include:
I prefer this iteration of the Photos app in iOS
I like the big multi-tasking changes for iPad and look forward to working with them more, although count me as one who will miss Slide Over. It was handy in my work in rehearsals.
I like the new Trash Can icon on the Mac. That’s the kind of whimsy I can support.
I love the wrist flick gesture on the Apple Watch.
Things I’m not a fan of:
On the Mac I miss the Shortcuts item in the menu bar. Yes, you can add one, but instead of getting a straight drop down of clickable Shortcuts, it now opens a new window that requires not only the selection of the Shortcut you want to execute, but another separate action to run the Shortcut. Adding clicks isn’t much of a shortcut to me. I see where Apple is going with this, trying to move things out of the Menu Bar into the Control Center. That’s going to require developers to make that move successful.
I’m not a fan of some of Apple’s redesigned icons.
I tried out the Tinting feature for icons. I could see myself using this, if the feature didn’t tint widgets. What’s the point of a tinted Photos widget?
Some things I’m on the fence about:
I’ve previously used independent apps Bartender and Ice to control the large number of Menu Bar icons I like to have available. Both are currently in beta so I’m testing out Apple’s feature to hide the Menu Bar until things change on those fronts. Simply put, that means the Menu Bar disappears until I hover over or click on it, revealing the icons. In using this feature when windows are at the top of the screen, Menu Commands sometimes disappear requiring some window rearrangement. This doesn’t happen consistently, so I’m guessing it’s a bug. I’m not sold on this in the early going but I’m giving it a try.
I’ve been using Raycast as an application and Shortcut launcher, along with some of its other features. I’m giving Apple’s new Spotlight features a try including the long overdue Clipboard Manager. This will require some muscle memory retraining, and it might mean leaving Raycast behind. It would be easier to do so if that Clipboard Manager copied across devices.
It’s early going. For me, as well as these new operating systems. I’ll discover more as I go along. I’m hoping the evolutionary pace for this software from Apple and most certainly developers will come close to matching mine in the days to come. I’m guessing it’s going to be sometime in 2026 before we can really evaluate what’s what in these OS 25 releases.
You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above.
The folks at Meta must have something up their sleeve. The reason I say that is they have finally, after all of these years released an iPad version of the app, long after most folks just figured it would never happen. Other than speculating on what might be behind the late to the party move, at this point it begs the question, Who cares?
I’m sure plenty do care. I’m not one of them. Instagram is one of a few apps that I begrudgingly use. Begrudgingly because I hate it. I use it because my family on all sides continues to do so and it’s a way to keep up with grandkids, nieces, nephews, and other family news. But I honestly despise that I have to. Believe me I’ve tried to wean them off onto other apps and services, but it never sticks.
Every time I do open Instagram I have to block somewhere between 5 and 10 spam accounts (too often porn or ridiculous come ons.) And of course the algorithm doesn’t show me what I want to see, but what it wants me to see. There’s even an increased sense of desperation from both Instagram and Facebook sending out notifications telling me someone replied, is waiting for my reply, or commented on something I haven’t seen yet. It’s like begging in the street. Apologies to those who might actually need to do so.
Sure I could turn off the notifications, but sadly, that’s the least worst way to use the app to keep up with family happenings.
I’d say that since it took 15 years for Meta to finally roll this out that perhaps the adolescents in charge finally are growing up. But then, there are those porn accounts that pop up with the frequency like prepubescent zits.
I won’t be putting it on my iPad. It’s troubling enough that I still have it on my iPhone. And as I watch the over excited coverage rolling in, I haven’t seen any image of the iPad version that makes it look the least bit appealing. It’s like Meta didn’t really care based on what I’ve seen so far.
So, Instagram is on the iPad. What’s the point and who cares?
You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above.
We’re technically out of the Dog Days of Summer, but it doesn’t feel much like it. It’s the kind of hot Summer I remember as a kid when the dogs would spend the hot part of the day lazing under the porch. I’m spending mine traveling (too much traveling) and sharing what I can here and there. Find some shade and check out this week’s Sunday Morning Reading.
Peter Wehner thinks the only way out of the wreckage we’re in is to rewrite the cultural script. Tall task. He spells it out in The Virtue of Integrity.
Knowing is half the battle. What you do with knowledge is an altogether different story as knowing and knowledge are two different things. Check out Jim Stewartson’s piece The War on Knowing.
Somehow in all of the wreckage we’re sorting through, empathy became a bad thing for those doing the wrecking. NatashaMH thinks this crazy Artificial Intelligence race we’re in is taking the human out of being human. If you ask me it’s all a bit too human as we look to foist off responsibility for the choices we make. The Risks of Synthetic Empathy is a great piece. Give it a read.
Apple’s about to unleash new operating systems for its devices in a few weeks and the one that has my interest is for iPads. From what I’ve seen (I don’t run the betas) the changes to the multi-tasking capabilities will be a positive step forward. Craig Grannell takes a look at how long it took for Apple to finally make these changes in Apple Finally Destroyed Steve Jobs’ Vision of the iPad. Good.
If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Readinghere. If you’d like more click on the Sunday Morning Reading link in the category column to check out what’s been shared on Sunday’s past. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.
iPadOS 26 beta reactions are making me think twice about installing
As I continue to live vicariously, watching from the sidelines through this summer’s Apple beta season, two interesting takes on iPadOS 26 have crossed my radar and are worth sharing.
First up, Harry McCracken says what most using iPadOS 26 are saying that Apple has made the iPad more Mac-like. But he also wonders where that might lead? Check out his post here.
Both gentlemen delve deeper than the “what’s a computer?” discussion into other facets of the betas and both posts are worth your time, if iPads are your thing. That “what’s a computer?” question is going to probably be with us through most of the next year.
FYI. I’m adding an iPad category to this little corner of the web. I have a feeling we’re going to be talking quite a bit about iPads in the months to come.
You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above.
Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3 