OS X Daily

5/1/2026

The Calendar app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac offers a handy automatic event detection feature, able to find details like dates, times, and locations, through the Messages app and even Mail app, of presumed events and appointments. The auto detection system is part of Siri, and recognizes dates as potential events, placing them in a ... Read More

4/30/2026

The Passwords app, Apple’s built-in password manager for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, not only stores your logins and passwords for easy authentication, but it can also alert you to security risks. Passwords app makes it easy to quickly find compromised, reused, or weak passwords, and take action to secure your accounts. If you’re a Passwords ... Read More

4/29/2026

The MacBook Neo remains incredibly popular, so much so that the Apple Store’s delivery window is around three weeks out for any model in any color or storage configuration… But if you’re in the market for a MacBook Neo now and you don’t want to wait several weeks for delivery, Amazon has the answer, plus ... Read More

4/29/2026

Performing a clean install of macOS Tahoe can be a necessary task in some situations, offering a way to start fresh on a Mac. Since a clean install removes everything and reinstalls MacOS from scratch, you are presented with basically a brand new Mac from a software standpoint. Clean installations can be useful for users ... Read More

4/28/2026

The newest versions of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 have another Accessibility toggle that can help to further reduce the intensity of the Liquid Glass interface appearance for iPhone and iPad, called “Reduce Bright Effects”. As you might have guessed by the name alone, toggling the switch on will eliminate the brighter and flashier effects ... Read More

4/28/2026

Apple is back with an accelerating beta timeline, with the fourth beta version of iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, and MacOS Tahoe 26.5, now being available for developers to test. Anyone participating in the beta testing programs, developer or public, for Apple system software can get the newest beta releases on their enrolled devices. Presumably the ... Read More

4/27/2026

MacOS includes a built-in way to assess memory usage, called Memory Pressure, and it can give you a lot of insight into your Macs performance, and whether or not you need more RAM. This is particularly informative if you feel like your Mac is slow, apps and media are stuttering, or you’re experiencing the annoying ... Read More

4/26/2026

ASCII art is a unique plain text art style that you might have seen over the years when connecting to a remote server via the command line, or perhaps a BBS, or something silly like watching Star Wars in ASCII art from the Terminal. It’s a distinct style of artwork for plain text situations on ... Read More

4/25/2026

If you’ve ever heard a bird and wondered what it was, the free Merlin Bird ID app for iPhone offers one of the easiest ways to find out. Developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Merlin has quietly become a favorite among everyone from casual birdwatchers and more serious enthusiast birders alike, thanks to its ... Read More

4/24/2026

AirPods 4 are available at 22% off Apple’s retail price, offered for just $99. AirPods 4 feature the iconic design, and many great features like gesture support, spatial audio, voice isolation, water and sweat resistance, Siri support, USB-C charging, and more. Get AirPods 4 for $99 (down 22% from $129) MacBook Neo from $589, Rapid ... Read More

4/23/2026

iOS 26.4.2 has been released by Apple for iPhone, along with ipadOS 26.4.2 for iPad. Both updates include important security fixes, as well as unspecified bug fixes, for the iPhone and iPad. The security patch apparently addresses an issue with data being retained in notifications, which had allowed extraction of deleted Signal messages from notifications ... Read More

4/22/2026

If you have felt your Mac is curiously sluggish, you may have opened Activity Monitor to investigate at some point and noticed a process called “WindowServer” using a large amount of CPU or memory. High CPU usage and memory consumption of WindowServer has been a long reported issue on MacOS with various system software versions, ... Read More

4/22/2026

Are you looking to resize your photos captured on iPhone or iPad, and make them smaller in size? This may be necessary if you want to upload images to a site where there’s a size limit or you want to fit your image into a certain space on a web page. As complicated as this ... Read More

4/21/2026

Apple has announced that longtime Apple CEO Tim Cook will be stepping down from his role on September 1, 2026, concluding a 15 year tenure that has coincided with Apple become one of the largest and most influential companies in the world. Tim Cook will transition to the role of executive chairman of the Apple ... Read More

4/21/2026

The third developer beta versions of iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, and MacOS Tahoe 26.5, are now available to those engaging in the beta testing programs for Apple system software. The new beta build is initially available to developers but typically soon followed by public beta access. The new beta versions of system software continue to ... Read More

4/20/2026

The Liquid Glass interface is highly translucent and layered with various depth and visual effects, and while some users may like the glitz and shine, there are others who find the transparency and reduced contrast to be difficult to use. Introduced with iOS 26, the Liquid Glass look has been a hit with some and ... Read More

4/17/2026

Using a game controller with an iPhone or iPad can make playing games feel much more like a traditional gaming console experience, and both iOS and iPadOS fully support modern controllers. The Xbox Series X controller connects easily over Bluetooth and works with many popular iPhone and iPad games, whether that’s popular classics like Fortnite ... Read More

4/17/2026

The MacBook Neo is sold out for delivery this month from Apple, and though you may have mixed success finding a Neo in select Apple Stores, Amazon offers select MacBook Neo models available within a day to a week, and you get a little discount with the purchase too. The MacBook Neo is a huge ... Read More

4/16/2026

Many people think of game controllers on iPad as something only used inside games, but modern versions of iPadOS allow you to use a Bluetooth controller to navigate the system interface itself, including the Home Screen. This allows you to launch apps and games directly with the controller, right from the iPad, and is a ... Read More

4/15/2026

If you have ever been on a phone call and tried to adjust the volume on iPhone and found the volume buttons aren’t responding, you’re not alone. This is a frustrating presumed bug that can happen on iPhone, and the volume buttons seem to stop working during phone calls, even though they can sometimes still ... Read More

4/15/2026

Amazon is offering a small discount and quick delivery on all color models and configurations of the MacBook Neo. This Mac is already a huge hit and is set to be even more popular as time goes on, and with the Amazon discount bringing it down to just $589 for the 256GB model or $689 ... Read More

4/13/2026

One common complaint of MacOS Tahoe users is that it can be difficult to determine which window is active or in the background. With all of the flatter and low contrast design elements in Tahoe, there is a significant reduction in contrast between background and foreground apps and windows, which can make visual focus less ... Read More

4/13/2026

Apple has released the second beta versions iOS 26.5, MacOS Tahoe 26.5, and iPadOS 26.5, to those who are participating in the beta testing programs of Apple system software. The latest betas continue to work on RCS messaging support for encrypted text messages (this is a separate feature from iMessage, which is already encrypted), and ... Read More

4/12/2026

Remember Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah? If you’re a super longtime Mac user you just might, and you might also remember the Nintendo Wii gaming console too. Well because the Nintendo Wii runs on PowerPC architecture, the theoretical possibility of running original Mac OS X versions has always existed, but were largely impractical. That didn’t ... Read More

4/12/2026

Amazon is offering the latest M5 MacBook Air in both 13″ and 15″ display sizes at up to $150 off the retail price, starting at just $949 for the 13″ and $1149 for the 15″ model. M5 MacBook Air 13″ 13″ M5 MacBook Air – 16GB – 512GB – $949 ($150 off) 13″ M5 MacBook ... Read More

4/10/2026

Some Mac users who are sensitive to eye strain and PWM display flickering have turned to a small free utility called StillColor to modify how MacOS renders colors on their screen. The StillColor tool has a feature that can disable something called “temporal dithering”, a usually imperceptible display technique that alternates pixel colors at the ... Read More

4/9/2026

Apple has released MacOS Tahoe 26.4.1 as a software update for Mac users running the Tahoe operating system. The update includes unspecified bug fixes, making it recommended for all Tahoe users to install. The MacOS Tahoe 26.4.1 update is particularly important for users of the new M5 MacBook Air and M5 MacBook Pro series to ... Read More

4/8/2026

Apple has released iOS 26.4.1 for iPhone, along with ipadOS 26.4.1 for iPad, both to address unspecified bug fixes. Because no specific bug fixes are mentioned in the release notes or with the download, it’s unclear as of now what exactly has been addressed, but obviously Apple felt it important enough to issue a software ... Read More

4/7/2026

A significant number of iPhone users run into situations where they discover their iPhone is not ringing or making sounds with incoming phone calls, text messages, and alerts, leading to missed calls and texts. This is hugely frustrating, but for most situations the reason why this happens is pretty simple; the iPhone has accidentally been ... Read More

4/7/2026

The all new M5 MacBook Air is available at up to $150 off retail price on most models, in both 13″ and 15″ display sizes. If you’re considering a new MacBook Air, these are some great deals: M5 MacBook Air 15″ 15″ M5 MacBook Air – 24GB – 1TB – $1549 ($150 off) 15″ M5 ... Read More

4/5/2026

If you miss the early internet dialup days of AOL (America OnLine), you can dial back the tech clock and enjoy some retro computing nostalgia by checking out the fantastic Dialtone project. Dialtone lets you sign in to a fully functional reverse engineered AOL experience with an original AOL 3.0 client, running inside a web-based ... Read More

4/2/2026

Apple has issued an important software for iOS 18 users who are holding out and avoiding iOS 26 for whatever reason. Specifically, iOS 18.7.7 for all iPhone models running iOS 18 (not running iOS 26 or newer), along with iPadOS 18.7.7 for all iPad users with iOS 18 (also not running iPadOS 26 or newer), ... Read More

4/1/2026

If you have ever looked at your MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Neo, and thought to yourself “I wish this Mac was a theremin. I wish that when I moved the lid at any angle, to open or close, it played sounds like a theremin” then gosh all golly you just rubbed a magic ... Read More

3/31/2026

Apple CEO Tim Cook is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apple Inc being born, which was officially founded on April 1, 1976, with a nice note and dedicated page on the Apple.com site: “50 Years of Thinking Different”. The anniversary post discusses Apple’s humble origins in a garage, to the first Apple computer, the Mac, ... Read More

3/31/2026

Apple has issued the first beta versions of iOS 26.5, MacOS Tahoe 26.5, and iPadOS 26.5, for users who are participating in the developer beta programs for Apple system software. The new versions of beta system software don’t include any major new features thus far, except for laying the groundwork for including advertisements in Apple ... Read More

3/31/2026

Amazon has a great Spring Day Deal discount on AirPods Pro, bringing them down to just $199 from the $249 MSRP: AirPods Pro 3 for $199 (down from $249) Apple Watch Series 11 is discounted $100, bringing the price down to just $299 in select band and color combinations: Get Apple Watch Series 11 for ... Read More

3/30/2026

macOS Tahoe 26 has been a controversial release of MacOS system software, mostly due to it’s completely redesigned interface built around what Apple calls Liquid Glass, which has a new look, but includes some major usability and legibility issues. Tahoe is also just buggier and less refined than other Mac operating systems like Sequoia. Accordingly, ... Read More

3/28/2026

If you’ve been a longtime web user or web developer, then long ago you probably wouldn’t have imagined how complex the modern web would become, nor how capable just HTML and CSS would evolve to be. Likewise, if you’re a lifelong Nintendo fan, could you have imagined you would one day play a Mario game ... Read More

3/28/2026

The MacBook Neo is wildly popular, and while it’s already priced quite aggressively, you can save a little cash on the top end model from both Amazon online store, and from some Costco locations if you’re a member. That brings the MacBook Neo 512GB model with Touch ID to $689, taking $10 off the $699 ... Read More

3/26/2026

Amazon is offering a ridiculously huge discount on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 in select models and band sizes, taking the price down to just $499, from $799. That’s a whopping 38% off the retail price for Apple’s high end premium rugged watch model, which is rarely discounted in general. Apple Watch Ultra 2 – ... Read More

3/26/2026

If you’re an iPhone user in the UK, you might want to hold off on the latest iOS 26.4 update for a bit, as many UK users are reporting problems with the new mandatory online Age Verification system that is included in the latest versions of iOS. Failures and issues with the age verification system ... Read More

3/26/2026

Apple has released software updates for various older Apple devices, some of which are simple security patches that include important fixes to potential exploits, while others allow continued usage of core features like iCloud, iMessages, and FaceTime. These updates arrive as iOS 18.7.7, iPadOS 18.7.7, iOS 18.7.7, watchOS 8.8.2, and watchOS 5.3.10. Specifically, older Apple ... Read More

3/25/2026

If you’re the type of Mac, iPhone, or iPad user who likes to update their operating systems manually, you will want to pay attention to your devices after you have installed the latest iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and MacOS Tahoe 26.4 software updates, because installing those updates will enable automatic updates for system software. If ... Read More

3/25/2026

Apple has released MacOS Sequoia 15.7.5 and MacOS Sonoma 14.8.5 as software updates for Mac users running the Sequoia or Sonoma operating systems. These updates focus entirely on security patches, and do not include new features or changes. Mac users who are running Tahoe can grab the macOS Tahoe 26.4 update instead. Separately, Apple released ... Read More

3/25/2026

iOS 26.4 for iPhone and iPadOS 26.4 for iPad have been released by Apple as software updates. The new versions of system software include a few minor new features and changes, a handful of new Emoji icons like Bigfoot, along with various bug fixes and security enhancements. One specific bug that is mentioned in the ... Read More

3/24/2026

MacOS Tahoe 26.4 has been released as a software update for all Mac users running the Tahoe operating system. The update includes a few mission critical new Emoji icons like the cryptid Bigfoot, and some unspecified bug fixes, along with security updates, and is therefore recommended for all macOS Tahoe users to install. There are ... Read More

3/23/2026

Apple has announced their annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) for 2026 will begin on June 8, and extend through the 12th of that week. The keynote is set for June 8, which will give developers and users a look at what’s coming next from the software side of Apple. Historically, WWDC is where Apple introduces ... Read More

3/23/2026

Amazon is blowing out first-get AirTags as a 4-pack for just $60. AirTag personal trackers are incredibly useful for all sorts of things, whether you’re tagging your car keys, luggage, briefcase, purse, dog, cat, chinchilla, goat, your pet armadillo, car, bike, backpack, or just about anything else you can imagine. At just $15 an AirTag ... Read More

3/21/2026

Camera app received a dramatic redesign with iOS 26, and many iPhone users have found that the new interface is confusing, leading them to believe that some prominent features of iPhone Camera have been removed. For example, many iPhone users running iOS 26 now think Portrait Mode camera has been removed or is no longer ... Read More

3/21/2026

The new M5 MacBook Air has received its first discount from Amazon, taking $50 off all configurations in both the 13″ and 15″ display sizes. M5 MacBook Air 15″ 15″ M5 MacBook Air – 24GB – 1TB – $1649 ($50 off) 15″ M5 MacBook Air – 16GB – 1TB – $1449 ($50 off) 15″ M5 ... Read More

3/19/2026

Apple has issued a security advisory to all iPhone and iPad users, urging them to update their devices to the latest available versions of iOS / iPadOS system software to keep their data protected. In the support document, Apple specifies web-based attacks that are aimed at older versions of iOS and iPadOS, potentially allowing malicious ... Read More

3/18/2026

If you’re interested in grabbing a great deal on AirPods Pro 3, Amazon is offering a hefty $50 discount and bringing the price down to just $199 (down from $249). AirPods Pro 3 are exceptionally popular wireless earbuds with many great features, and are widely loved for a reason. AirPods Pro 3 for $199 (down ... Read More

3/18/2026

Apple has issued a release candidate build of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and macOS Tahoe 26.4, to users who are participating in the beta testing program for Apple system software. The RC (release candidate) build typically matches the final release version, unless any critical bugs or issues are discovered, and usually marks the end of ... Read More

3/17/2026

Apple has released what they are calling a “Security Improvement” as a software update for macOS Tahoe 26.3.1, iOS 26.3.1, and iPadOS 26.3.1. The update, err, improvement, is being labeled as macOS Tahoe 26.3.1 (a), macOS 26.3.2 (a), iOS 26.3.1 (a), and iPadOS 26.3.1 (a), and though it installs just like a software update, you ... Read More

3/17/2026

Using multiple displays with a Mac is a very common setup, whether that’s using a larger external monitor with a laptop, or running a multi-display desktop setup. It’s well known that large screens and external displays can really boost some peoples productivity, and one way to further improve your multi-screen Mac setup is by choosing ... Read More

3/16/2026

A clean install of macOS Sequoia installs the operating system onto a freshly erased Mac, removing all existing data, settings, and even the previous MacOS versions from the Mac. This approach is sometimes preferred by advanced users who want a completely fresh start, are troubleshooting persistent system issues, or simply want to run MacOS Sequoia ... Read More

3/13/2026

The new iPhone 17e features a new set of default wallpapers, as is customary with new iPhone models from Apple. This time around Apple has come up with three different wallpapers, for each color of iPhone 17e; black, silver, pink. The wallpapers themselves look like overlapping glass arranged in an overlapping ring pattern, giving a ... Read More

3/12/2026

The all new MacBook Neo is already a huge hit, and is likely to be one of the most popular Macs of all time. With unique colors, a premium build, a surprisingly powerful processor, and an incredibly compelling price point starting at just $599, it’s easy to see why the MacBook Neo is taking the ... Read More

3/12/2026

Some Mac users have noticed an annoying issue with recent MacOS updates (including both MacOS Tahoe and Sequoia) where Bluetooth accessories like a mouse or keyboard randomly disconnect, briefly stop responding, or disconnect for 10-30 seconds and then reconnect leading to lengthy lags in using the cursor or keyboard. Some users even report that some ... Read More