We got a lot of news from Apple this week, and I shipped a lot in the labs. Busy week.
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
August Deep Dive – Sparky’s Analog Stack
Deep Dive · August 25 · Pathfinder
The recording from this month’s Deep Dive is up: why paper still handles the last mile in an otherwise digital workflow, the daily list scratched onto a Field Notes page or an Ugmonk card, why a wildfire evacuation didn’t change how I think about backup, and the room’s own rabbit holes on Lochby covers, Rhodia paper, and pencil sharpeners.
Design a Cohesive Stream Deck Icon Set with ChatGPT
Video · August 26 · Pathfinder & Insider
A lot of you saw the Stream Deck tour and asked how I make the buttons. This one walks through it. I use a ChatGPT project with a design prompt saved as a resource file, which gets me icons that all look like they belong together, and I show how to pair two of them on a multi-action switch so one button toggles my recording light.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
Accurate Backyard Weather with Eve Weather
Video · August 27 · all tiers
Apple Weather gets close, but it has never been quite right for my backyard. So I solved it with money and put an Eve Weather sensor outside the window. Here’s the setup, what it looks like in Apple Home, and the automations I’m building on top of it.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
The Lab Report for August 28, 2026
Podcast · August 28 · all tiers
Apple shipped new desktop Macs two weeks before the iPhone event. The M6 Mac mini is Apple’s first 2nm chip, the M5 Ultra Mac Studio is its first quad-die design, and both ship September 22 running macOS 27 Golden Gate.
In the Community
Problems with USB-Drives, after Update to macOS 26.6.2 (Labs Discussion Board)
One member spent the week chasing a gnarly macOS 26.6.2 bug with USB Drives.
Meross app (Labs Discussion Board)
A member asked about the Meross app for smart plugs and started a conversation about Meross’s HomeKit-compatible plugs and best practices.
Wispr Flow — editing feature request (Labs Discussion Board)
One member flagged an annoyance with Wispr Flow, which kicked off a discussion of dictation and editing.
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 calendar is loaded out through the end of the year. Here’s what’s on deck through the middle of October.
iPhone Keynote Day Meetup. September 9. We’ll be doing a meet-up of all labs members on Keynote Day. Details to come.
Labs September Meetup (After Dark) · September 10, 18:00 Pacific · Pathfinder + Insider
September Deep Dive – The Mac Studio Home Server · September 17, 12:00 Pacific · Pathfinder
Labs Jam Session – Browsers · September 24, 12:00 Pacific · Pathfinder + Insider + Member
Q4 Quarter Planning Meetup · October 1, 10:00 Pacific · Pathfinder
Labs October Meetup · October 8, 14:00 Pacific · Pathfinder + Insider
October Deep Dive – Local and Private AI on a Mac · October 15, 12:00 Pacific · Pathfinder
Links of Interest
- How The iPad Mini Fixed My Reading Habit. Joe Moyer on why a smaller, single-purpose screen got him reading more than his phone ever did.
- My Annual Performance, as Reviewed by My Dog. Erica Lies with a satirical performance review, dog edition.
- Hands-On with ChatGPT Work’s New Cloud Browser Feature. John Voorhees puts OpenAI’s new cloud browser through its paces.
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.