On this feedback episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I revisit the smart home, iPadOS 26, the lack of a big iMac, charging stations, and much more.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
In our latest installment of the MacSparky Labs Book Club, we read Apple in China. This one sparked an interesting discussion about Apple and how they find themselves in this pickle. It’s a great book and a great discussion. Enjoy.
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Here’s the audio from our recent Jam Session on careers and retirement. Enjoy!… This is a post for the MacSparky Labs Pathfinder and Insider members. Care to join? If you’re already a member, you can log in here.
There’s a lot of head-scratching going on outside Apple right now with all the management changes over the last few weeks. Many of these changes were predictable.
As people get older, they tend to retire and want to spend some of their Apple wealth enjoying life. John Giannandrea’s departure was also predictable, given the public criticism following the problems with Siri.
The only real surprise has been Alan Dye. The reaction from the cheap seats has been mixed. The more traditional press sees this as another feather in Mark Zuckerberg’s cap as he continues to poach Apple employees. Apple fans aren’t necessarily sad to see Alan Dye leave.
I’m somewhat mixed on that. I think Alan Dye and his team did a good job on visionOS but a subpar job on the Mac over the last few years. (My wife is still giving me grief over her Safari tabs all looking the same.) I have to admit, when I heard he’d left, I felt a general sense of relief. Not that he’s the villain, but perhaps it’s time to turn over UI design to someone else at Apple.
The bigger picture is all the hand-wringing that takes place when Apple gets management changes. My advice: cool your jets.
In a prior life, I was a business attorney and represented many companies. None of them were Apple’s size, but I can say that in all those years, I never saw anyone leave who couldn’t be replaced by someone else who may have had a different view on things, but was still able to keep the company on track and, with a little time, maybe even improve things.
If Apple could survive Steve Jobs leaving, they can certainly survive these changes. So, as an outsider, don’t get too upset as Apple changes management. It will always happen, and it will continue to happen.
The bigger question should be: what is the overall company ethic toward its products and customers? And do they care enough about you and the things important to you for you to continue caring about them?
For years I’ve been publishing my “Yule” playlist, which is a collection of jazz covers of holiday songs. I’ve heard from many people who are enjoying this playlist.
Indeed, I’ve been doing this so long that I’ve kept a list of things people tell me they use the list for, including: decorating the tree, wrapping presents, assembling Christmas toys, and, yes, debugging code. One reader wrote to explain how he deployed this playlist to annoy non-jazz-fan relatives, which I don’t entirely approve of.
In the past year, I largely shut down my legacy iTunes account, and I’ve been operating only from my iCloud account. So the Yule playlist has moved to a new link. I’ve also updated it and added even more songs. Enjoy!
Note: The above image was created by Google Gemini 3. As an experiment, I’ve been doing these annual posts with an AI-generated image with the prompt “Santa playing the saxophone.” AI image generation has come a long way.
In this week’s episode: Apple’s Fitness+ service expands to more markets around the world, the App Store Award winners are announced, and I recommend my Tech Travel Gear video.
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The rumors just keep dropping for Apple releasing a folding iPhone next September. This would presumably be in addition to the standard iPhone, the iPhone Pro, and (maybe) the iPhone Air. The interesting thing about that folding iPhone is that there would then be two “premier” iPhones.
The iPhone Pro
The Folding iPhone
There will be trade-offs. Interestingly, there will no longer be a clear best iPhone.
I use a lot of Rogue Amoeba software and I didn’t come to SoundSource until a few years ago, but in hindsight I have no idea why I waited so long. Because I work constantly with audio, I switch audio sources constantly and SoundSource gets you complete control of audio on your Mac right from the menu bar.
Version 6 brings major improvements, including Grouped Output Devices that let you play audio through multiple outputs simultaneously, comprehensive AirPlay Support for routing individual apps to HomePods and other AirPlay devices, a powerful new Audio Devices Window with extensive control over device settings and preferences, and Quick Configs that save and instantly switch your entire audio setup with one click.
The update also includes a Recent Noise Indicator, new Balance & Pan Effect, per-app “Headphone EQ”, Shortcuts automation support, a system-wide “Cough” button, enhanced effects management, multi-channel support, per-app menu bar icons, keyboard device switching, and per-app volume control from the keyboard. The interface now offers eight accent colors, customizable menu bar icons, and resizable windows.
SoundSource 6 is available now for $49 for new users, with upgrades from version 5 at $25. You can read more details in Rogue Amoeba’s announcement.
Right now, Apple’s Private Cloud Compute model is uniquely available to Shortcuts users. In this example, I show how to parse a meeting transcript to find tasks assigned to me and then automatically add them to Reminders using Private Cloud Compute.
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For years now, I’ve been iterating on an AppleScript to copy a link for the currently selected Apple Mail message to the clipboard. You can then paste the link elsewhere and get a link back to the source message.
This came up during a recent webinar on the Apple Productivity Field Guide. Since the last time I published this script, I’ve added a few new features:
Enjoy!
tell application "Mail"
try
set selMessages to selection
if (count selMessages) > 0 then
-- Handle multiple message selection
set msgCount to count selMessages
if msgCount > 1 then
display notification (msgCount as rich text) & " messages selected. Using first message." with title "Mail Link" sound name "Pop"
end if
set thisMsg to item 1 of selMessages
set thisMsgID to message id of thisMsg
set thisMsgURL to "message://%3C" & thisMsgID & "%3E"
set the clipboard to thisMsgURL
-- Truncate sender and subject for cleaner notifications
set senderText to sender of thisMsg
if length of senderText > 30 then
set senderText to (rich text 1 thru 30 of senderText) & "..."
end if
set subjectText to subject of thisMsg
if length of subjectText > 40 then
set subjectText to (rich text 1 thru 40 of subjectText) & "..."
end if
display notification "From: " & senderText & " - " & subjectText with title "Message Link Copied" sound name "Pop"
else
display notification "Please select a message first." with title "No Message Selected" sound name "Basso"
end if
on error errMsg
display notification errMsg with title "Error Copying Link" sound name "Basso"
end try
end tell