Vision Pros: Review Prep, AppleCare One, and an Alien Environment

I had a fun chat with my friend Tim Chaten on the latest episode of the Vision Pros podcast. We talked about our experiences with the visionOS 26 beta so far, how I’m preparing for my review this fall, Apple’s new device warranty program (a great deal for Vision Pro owners), and the new Alien: Earth environment in Disney+. Our Alien discussion also prompted a hilarious segment on this week’s Magic Rays of Light. 😅

My thanks to Tim for having me back on the show.

An App Intents Reset

Widgets, controls, and Shortcuts – oh my! In the most recent Club MacStories Monthly Log, I wrote about the amazing things I can do on my devices thanks to developers’ adoption of app intents… and how I took them too far, making my workflows too complicated and confusing. Thankfully, I found a solution that works for me, so if you’re interested in learning more, check out the story over at Club MacStories.

On This Day in Collections

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since I first wrote about the Collections app for Club MacStories, but it’s true. Now, I’m back to share a new way I’m using the app: an On This Day view to resurface entries from the current date in previous years. I love this type of feature for my journal and photo library, so I thought it would be worth exploring if I could replicate it with my Collections databases. It turned out to be a fun experiment and one I now get to benefit from every day.

If you’re interested in learning more about how I added an On This Day feature to Collections, check out my story in the Club MacStories Monthly Log.

One Feed to Rule Them All

I’ve been a fan of the new Reeder for a long time, but one thing I’ve always resisted is using the app to read my social media timelines. That changed recently, and I wrote about how it’s working out in the most recent Club MacStories Monthly Log.

It’s true: I’m down to checking just one feed for news articles, videos, and social media. And it’s awesome.

Sound Therapy

I was slightly terrified when Federico asked me to cover Apple Music’s new Sound Therapy feature because music isn’t a topic I write about often. Trying to explain and test scientifically enhanced songs that are supposed to help you focus was certainly a new challenge. But I enjoyed diving into the feature and actually found it to be beneficial; I might even stick with it now that my testing is over.

You can read my full impressions of Sound Therapy over at MacStories.