It’s been another onboarding week in the MacSparky Labs community. This week we’ve crossed over the line to 6,000 members!
Below you’ll find the week’s new videos and podcasts, a few of the conversations happening in the member community, and what’s coming next week. Most of those links lead straight into the Labs community on Circle, so they’ll only open if you’re a member. If you’re a Labs member who hasn’t set up your Circle access yet, send me a note and I’ll get you in. For members, this is your week at a glance. If you’re not one yet, it’s a peek at what you’re missing.
The Week’s Releases
Siri Beta Check-In
Video · July 7 · All tiers
I’ve been living with the Siri AI betas a bit longer than most of you, so I put together a batch of new tricks: chaining commands together, digging into personal context, and asking it things I used to have to type into Google.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Soulver 4 Update
Video · July 9 · Pathfinder & Insider
Soulver, one of my favorite Mac utilities, got its first paid update in about seven years. I walk through what makes it click and the version 4 additions: tags, working with time and dates, taxes on a single line, and pulling in weather and stock prices.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
The Lab Report for July 10, 2026
Podcast · July 10 · All tiers
The iOS 27 public beta lands this month, and this week’s developer betas gave us a real look at what’s coming. The Siri voice sliders finally work, the Golden Gate wallpaper is back on the Mac, and the rebuilt Siri showed up on the Apple Watch.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
In the Community
Redundant Apps? (Labs Discussion Board)
Andy asks whether AI is making old favorites like Keyboard Maestro, Hazel, and BetterTouchTool redundant, and raises a good point about the environmental cost of the data centers behind that AI.
Scariest example ever of phone getting hacked (Labs Discussion Board)
Stephen shared an Apple News piece on a phone getting hacked despite Apple’s security track record, and it sparked a good discussion on what that means for the rest of us.
If you’re a Labs member and haven’t joined the Circle community yet, let me know and I’ll get you set up.
Coming Up
The Labs July Meetup is July 11 at 10:00 AM Pacific, the monthly gathering of the tribe. Pathfinder | Insider
The July Deep Dive, Hidden Gems in the Beta Software, is July 16, a closer look at the small features hiding in this year’s betas. Pathfinder
The Q3 Quarter Planning Meetup is July 23 at 10:00 AM Pacific. We’re running it a few weeks into the quarter this time, so come with your own plan already in shape. Pathfinder
The Labs Book Club is discussing The Creative Act by Rick Rubin on July 30 at 12:00 PM Pacific. Pathfinder | Insider | Member
Links of Interest
- M.G. Siegler: Spyglass: The First True AI Chatbot (Spyglass)
- Mike Schmitz: The Case for Delusional Confidence (Practical PKM)
- Austin Kleon: Typewriter interview with Vijay Gupta
The videos, podcasts, and live sessions above are inside MacSparky Labs. Join at macsparky.com/join.
I write about getting more from your Apple gear. If this was useful, go deeper in the Labs or grab the weekly newsletter.