What will Apple’s Home Hub be like?

I’ve wanted Apple to make a home hub with a screen, perhaps as long as anyone. MacRumors has a great roundup of recent discoveries about what it will be like. There won’t be an App Store, but it will instead be able to run widgets and use some Apple apps like News, Safari, Music, Photos, and Calendar. There are also rumors of a watch face style kit as part of this.

So many of Apple’s devices are designed for a single user and are not as perfect when they are shared. Personal requests on HomePod are good, but only when they work. Profiles on Apple TV don't fit with how families I know share Apple TV. I hope Apple does a good job making the new smart display fit naturally in a house with more than one person. Their priority of privacy and single-user tech could get in the way of an easy ambient calendar and photo library, alongside home controls.

In other news, a new HomePod mini is likely coming soon based on recent information leaked in the recent macOS 26.7 Developer Beta.

Things 3.23

One of the best-looking apps for Apple platforms, Things 3, got a big update last week with some great improvements for overachievers. You can now complete recurring tasks ahead of schedule, that is, if you aren’t like me and usually end up doing them two days late!

Things 3 has an old-school business model of being a paid-up-front app. It’s expensive, but there’s no subscription.

Get macOS Golden Gate Wallpapers now

You don’t have to wait for macOS Golden Gate this fall to get the great new wallpapers. There were also some new ones added in the recent betas last week. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t make one detail clear - to easily download the full resolution PNG from 9to5Mac, you need to right-click on the image and choose to open it in a new tab. Then go to the web address bar and remove the last part of the URL, like ?resize=2048,1080 . Otherwise, you’ll download a compressed WEBP version instead of the original PNG.

The page does give clear instructions on how to make a folder of these that your Mac can rotate through. Of course, to get the full dynamic effect and, I hope, a paired aerial screen saver, we’ll have to wait for the fall.

The Schedule

Last week, we had a live stream discussing the new HomePod mini rumors, among other things. This week should have a lot more videos and stuff coming your way. I'm also taking advantage of the summer to update some other important things on my channel, like my logo and channel banner.

I hope you have a great rest of your Sunday,
Eric