Writing Catchup

I’ve not done the best job of linking to my writing here lately, so here we go. This is what I’ve been up to:

In December, I got to take part in the annual MacStories Selects Awards, honoring some amazing apps and writing about a couple of my absolute favorites from 2025.

I’ve done quite a bit of Vision Pro coverage on MacStories, writing about sitting digitally front row at Lakers games, an immersive dog show, YouTube finally coming to visionOS, and the continued progress of gaming on Vision Pro.

It’s not Vision Pro-related, but when it was announced, I did get to write about Apple Creator Studio, a software bundle I’m still excited to see from Apple.

I’ve written about a variety of topics in the Club MacStories Monthly Log, like my optimism for Apple software developments in 2026, my hope that AI doesn’t take away the joy of discovering new apps, my continued reliance on the M1 generation of chips in my workflow, and a quirk of the iPhone Air that didn’t ultimately deter me from keeping the device.

I’ve been working more in the background than the foreground as of late, and that’s certainly reflected in my personal creative output. Still, in times like these, I remind myself that the background work counts and these things tend to come in phases. At least the next time you hear from me, you won’t be reading about months-old writing – or, at least, let’s hope not!

My visionOS 26 Review

Once again, I had the privilege of reviewing this year’s major visionOS update on MacStories. It’s a great release with a bunch of new features worth diving into:

  • widgets
  • spatial web browsing
  • spatial scenes
  • wide field-of-view video support
  • persona improvements
  • in-person shared experiences
  • spatial accessory integration
  • new capabilities for the Developer Strap
  • and more

Testing and reviewing visionOS this summer has been a pleasure, and I’m so grateful I get to cover this platform for my favorite website. You can read my full review on MacStories now.

Also, be sure to check out the other OS 26 reviews from the rest of the team, all of which I got to edit:

It’s new OS week, and this is how we celebrate! Let’s have some fun.

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.

Vision Pro’s New Guest User Mode

One last link post today, I promise. My effort to write more about the Vision Pro continues, this time with an article at MacStories detailing the changes to Guest User mode in visionOS 2.4. Guest User has been a significant pain point for me personally and for the Vision Pro user base as a whole since the device’s launch, so it’s refreshing to see the feature improved so much in this update. I wouldn’t say it’s perfect, but it’s certainly come a long way, making the Vision Pro much more sharable in the process.

Writing this article was a reminder to me of how different it is covering visionOS than any other operating system. Testing Guest User required me to recruit Katherine as an assistant – at least, until I figured out how to trick Optic ID by squinting my eyes. Also, the screenshot you see at the top of the article took way more effort than you might think. It involved an Xcode update, changing out the physical strap on my Vision Pro, and trying to hold my head just right to catch the window level and straight on. It made me appreciate the ease of screenshots on my other devices, for sure.

I’ll just consider this article a warmup for my summer coverage of visionOS 3, which by all indications seems like it’s going to be a big update.

Vision Pros Appearance

Tim Chaten was kind enough to have me back on the most recent episode of Vision Pros to talk about visionOS 2.4 and changes to my Vision Pro setup. It’s always a pleasure to chat with Tim, especailly regarding a platform we’re both so enthused about. If you’re interested in what’s happening with the Vision Pro, his podcast is a great place to start. You can listen to our conversation in your podcast player or on YouTube.