It was another fun week in the MacSparky Labs community. Here’s 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
Labs August Meetup Recording
Podcast · August 11 · Pathfinder & Insider
The room went straight at the iPhone event a month out, and nobody’s ready to buy the folding phone (except maybe me 😏). We got into the RAM squeeze that may have pushed Apple from the M6 to the M7, and closed on browsers, a conversation that’s getting its own jam session.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
Apple Wallet in iOS 27 – Bill Splitting and Custom Passes
Video · August 12 · all tiers
iOS 27 finally does bill splitting, and I’ve been using it under fire. Point the camera at the receipt, check off what you ate, and either request money from your friend or send your share. Wallet also lets you build your own passes now, by hand or by pointing the camera at a card.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Paperman – A Paper Texture for Your Screen
Video · August 13 · Pathfinder & Insider
This delightful little app lays a soft paper texture over your whole screen, and somehow that changes how it feels to sit in front of a Mac all day.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
The Lab Report for August 14, 2026
Podcast · August 14 · all tiers
iOS 27 beta 5 is out, and it is mostly a Siri release. Apple is also putting Friday Night Baseball into Apple Immersive Video on Vision Pro, starting with Red Sox versus Yankees.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
In the Community
Password Management (Labs Discussion Board)
One member asked whether they even need 1Password anymore, or if the built-in Apple Passwords app covers them.
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
I loaded the calendar all the way through the end of the year. Here are the events through September.
August Deep Dive – Sparky’s Analog Stack · August 20, 12:00 Pacific · Pathfinder
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
Links of Interest
- Why I Let Claude Cowork Interview Me Every Day. Jim Eagar on using AI to interview himself out loud, and how saying his thinking out loud beats letting the AI think for him.
- App report: Talk back and track on a Mac. Philip Michaels at Six Colors rounds up five small Mac utilities for dictation, clipboard management, weather, price tracking, and the menu bar.
- Beating yourself up. Seth Godin on why self-criticism deserves the same resistance we’d give criticism from anyone else.
Join the Labs
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.