Archive for September 16, 2025

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

ToothFairy 2.8.7

ToothFairy 2.8.7 is a maintenance update of my Bluetooth menu bar utility. This was the easiest of my apps to update for macOS Tahoe 26.

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Xcode 26

Apple (xip, downloads):

Xcode 26 includes Swift 6.2 and SDKs for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and visionOS 26. The Xcode 26 release supports on-device debugging in iOS 16 and later, tvOS 16 and later, watchOS 8 and later, and visionOS. Xcode 26 requires a Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later.

Enhance your development workflow with coding intelligence features that help you write code, generate tests and documentation, fix errors, refactor existing implementations, and navigate codebases. Xcode has integrated support for ChatGPT and Claude user accounts. You can also use your API key for any model provider that supports the Chat Completions API, or download and run a local model on Macs with Apple silicon.

The build number is the same as for the release candidate, though I found that the .xip files differ slightly in size and content.

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iPadOS 26

Apple (feature list, release notes, security, enterprise, developer):

iPadOS 26, the biggest iPadOS release ever, takes a huge leap forward and unlocks powerful productivity updates that transform what users can do on iPad. A beautiful design brings a new look to iPad, plus an entirely new, powerful, and intuitive windowing system helps users control, organize, and switch between apps — all while maintaining the simplicity of iPad. With a new menu bar, users can access the commands available in an app with a simple swipe down from the top of the display, or by moving their cursor to the top. The supercharged Files app offers new ways to organize files and customize folders. Also, with folders in the Dock, users can conveniently access downloads, documents, and more from anywhere. The Preview app comes to iPad, giving users a dedicated app to view and edit PDFs, with Apple Pencil Markup and AutoFill built in. iPadOS 26 also unlocks new capabilities for creative pros with Background Tasks, more control over their audio input, and the ability to capture high-quality recordings with local capture. Journal comes to iPad, making it easy for users to capture and write about the details of everyday moments or special events using Apple Pencil or touch.

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Update (2025-09-29): Nicholas Riley:

Typeahead find visualization also appears when typing to find a file in Files in iPadOS 26. This makes visible a feature that’s existed forever, in which the timeout was typically completely hidden from the user. Some apps (including Pester’s alarm list) exposed this by displaying the typed text, but this is more elegant and a genuine improvement.

Nathan Manceaux-Panot:

In Preview in iPadOS 26, you can drag the loupe around, complete with zoom and color aberration effects. Feels like a tiny dose of the old Apple whimsy.

James Thomson:

iPadOS multitasking was really tricky to get right - I’d say about half my development time went into that.

There are so many edge cases to deal with, particularly trying to get everything looking nice.

[…]

Redoing fifty alternative icons proved to be quite a challenge, because not only did I need to do light and dark (and tinted) variants in the new vector icon format, I also needed to redo all the same icons again for iOS 18 and earlier.

watchOS 26

Apple (release notes, security, developer):

watchOS 26 offers even more intelligence to deliver more personalized ways to stay healthy, active, and connected, all within a beautiful new software design. A new sleep score feature comes to Apple Watch, so users can better understand the quality of their sleep and take steps to help make it more restorative. FDA-cleared hypertension notifications are now available on Apple Watch, which can alert users if signs of chronic high blood pressure — also known as hypertension — are detected, so they can begin making potentially lifesaving behavioral changes, or start treatment to reduce their risk of serious, long-term health events. Hypertension notifications are powered by a machine learning-based algorithm, and the feature was validated in a large clinical study.

A redesigned watch face gallery includes two new watch faces: Flow and Exactograph. And Workout Buddy, a first-of-its-kind fitness experience powered by Apple Intelligence, provides personalized, motivational audio insights during workouts — with a dynamic generative voice built using voice data from Apple Fitness+ trainers — and the Workout app debuts the biggest update to its layout since introduction. Additionally, watchOS 26 makes everyday interactions even more convenient with Smart Stack hints, offering proactive prompts for actionable suggestions that are immediately useful; Live Translation in Messages allows texts to be translated automatically into a user’s preferred language; wrist flick, a new one-handed gesture, can be used to dismiss notifications and calls, silence alarms, plus return to the watch face; and the Notes app comes to Apple Watch.

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visionOS 26

Apple (release notes, security, enterprise, developer):

visionOS 26 brings powerful new spatial experiences to Apple Vision Pro, including widgets that integrate seamlessly into a user’s space and reappear every time they put on Vision Pro; more expressive, realistic Personas; and spatial scenes, which offer a new viewing experience with lifelike depth for photos. Spatial browsing transforms articles on Safari and lets developers embed 3D objects directly into web pages, plus users can share Vision Pro experiences with people in the same room — like watching the latest movie together or supercharging collaboration with coworkers. Users can unlock and view their iPhone while wearing Vision Pro, and can save their hand and eye data on iPhone to make sharing Vision Pro easier than ever. A new interactive Environment, Jupiter, lets users speed up time to see the planet’s enormous storms swirl across its surface. visionOS 26 also adds support for native playback of 180-degree, 360-degree, and wide field-of-view content from action cameras, including select models of Insta360, GoPro, as well as Canon, letting users enjoy their exciting 2D action footage the way it was meant to be seen.

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Update (2025-10-06): Jason Snell:

The ultimate fate of Apple’s vision products remains unclear. I have to assume that the long-term goal is a pair of lightweight glasses that we can use to overlay software on top of our world. Everything between now and then is about developing the technology to make that possible. And with visionOS 26, Apple is doing what it needs to be doing: iterating, making everything better, and building out an entirely new operating system one block at a time.

[…]

But the pace of change is sometimes frustrating. Apple has made great strides with some of its best features, like Spatial Personas, while others seem to be moving more slowly. The new Jupiter Environment is technically impressive, but the feature needs more attention.

As always with visionOS, it comes back to the long game. As long as Apple keeps pushing forward and building out its AR platform of the future, I’ll be confident that the company is on the right track. visionOS 26 offers robust evidence that the work remains ongoing, but the to-do list remains a mile long.

Dan Moren:

So, I’ve tried using the Vision Pro for a variety of work tasks over the past few months. I’ve written in it. I’ve revised. I’ve even edited a podcast. I’ve put it through its paces. I’ve tried to get things done. And while it does offer some capabilities that you won’t find anywhere else, that emphasis on “tried” has all too often been well-earned.

[…]

I really do love the immersive environments; it’s the number one thing that brings me back to the Vision Pro. But even they aren’t all upside. They can feel a bit static after a while—one reason that I’m intrigued about Jason’s visionOS 26 theory that the Jupiter environment, where there is actually a passage of time, might be a tech demo for more advanced environments in the future.

[…]

But if there’s one thing holding me back more than any other from working on the Vision Pro, it’s the tools. Or, more specifically, the lack thereof.

In some ways, the current state of the Vision Pro reminds me of the very earliest days of the iPad, when “doing work” meant you had to either find new apps that took the places of those you used on your Mac or come up with clever workarounds to make your workflows function.

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tvOS 26

Apple (release notes, security, developer):

tvOS 26 makes Apple TV even more immersive, enjoyable, and convenient with a beautiful design along with engaging new features. Sing-along sessions reach a new level of fun with Sing in Apple Music, allowing users to transform their iPhone into a wireless microphone for Apple TV. Friends can join in with their own iPhone to queue up songs or react with onscreen emoji, all while real-time lyrics and visual effects bring the performance to life on the biggest screen in the home. Contact Posters on FaceTime simplify starting a call and spending time together from the comfort of the living room. Also, updates to profiles allow users to quickly return to their personalized recommendations, playlists, and watchlists.

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audioOS 26

Juli Clover (release notes):

HomePod Software 26 adds support for crossfade, a feature that’s designed to more smoothly transition between songs. It also includes AirPlay improvements[…]

It still claims that lots of the albums I’ve purchased from Apple aren’t available.

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