eXtensions - Sunday 15 January 2025
By Graham K. Rogers
Apple made some interesting announcements at the WWDC Keynote presentation. Most notable were the numbering changes, which may reduce confusion; and the new interfacing, which immediately brought out the naysayers despite Liquid Glass being an option. I have picked my way through some of the more interesting comments and have my own opinions on these.
I have been reading scores of articles about the announcements from Apple at WWDC earlier this week. In general, the operating systems are being updated, the numbering of each OS will change to reflect the year, which will reduce confusion over the current numbering systems, and the interfaces are to be updated: Liquid Glass. Apple is sensibly offering interface options for those who object to the semi-translucent interface. Some specific changes to iPadOS will reflect the tasks it does and bring it nearer to the Mac, but mercifully, it remains separate. That all sounds simple enough, but this is no cosmetic change. As I have found in the articles I have looked at, and from comments online, Apple has been hard at work, although no one has been able to offer a reason for why the Finder icon on the Mac has been reversed (Christian Zibreg, iDownloadBlog).
Although some have criticised the translucent interface of Liquid Glass on macOS Tahoe, William Gallagher (AppleInsider) outlines several ways in which the new look, coupled with the underlying features - the sort of thing that Apple is really good at - improve the user experience with productivity benefits. He does concede that the new look may take some time for users to familiarize themselves (noting the Dock especially), but overall is positive about this. Jonathan Reed (MacStories) summarizes some of the opinions on Liquid Glass. From what I have seen (screenshots and comments) this has a Marmite feel to it: love it or hate it. I am looking forward to it, and I am wondering whether to install a beta version.
One of the changes to macOS is an updated version of Terminal. Roman Loyola (MacWorld) outlines the changes, but despite his comments it has changed. Initially it was only available with a white on black interface, but a later update provided color options. It does look a little flashy. UNIX users tend to be somewhat traditional, methinks. Until Apple silicon, it was possible to start the Mac and display a UNIX interface. A lot of fixing was done in Single-user mode (Command + S at startup). This is not for the faint of heart and much damage can be done using the wrong commands. However, on one occasion I was able to help a user (with no Internet), who had deleted a critical folder, by sending a series of SMS messages which he typed in to the Single user interface.
To access Single-user mode on the latest Macs (Intel Macs with the T2 chip are different), a user must shut down the Mac, then press the power button until the Apple logo appears. Using the Utilities menu, select Disk Utility. Select the startup volume and press Mount. Enter the Admin password. Quit Disk Utility, access Utilities in the menu bar and select Terminal (Denis Sellers (Rocket Yard). In a detailed outline of the startup options available, Howard Oakley (Eclectic Light Company) writes, "Not readily available. Use Terminal in regular Recovery mode."
The new version of macOS has an improved option for Linux users. Wesley Hilliard (AppleInsider) writes that the coming update will provide "native support for running Linux containers without the need for third-party apps like Docker". This appears to be less draining than the current solution.
Every update moves the technology on. As we noted with the first release of Apple Intelligence, those iPhones before the iPhone 15 were excluded because of the processing power needed. Changes to macOS in the future will mean that after this next update (Tahoe), Intel Macs will not be able to run macOS. They will still be able to use Tahoe and earlier versions, but nothing after that. Juli Clover writes that "Apple wants to put all of its focus and innovation on Apple silicon machines." Support for older hardware has a negative affect on what may be coming in future hardware offerings.
Despite all the moans from online commentators, these wide-sweeping changes do not suggest (as some often do online) that Apple has been sitting on its ass. The new features and options system wide, suggest that a lot of time has been spent on integration across the several operating systems. A clear example of this is the new type of disk image format that only works on Tahoe (not previous macOS versions). That is described in some detail by Howard Oakley (Eclectic Light Company). Hartley Charlton (MacRumors) also reports on changes coming to Reminders and Notes. which will be available for handheld devices as well as Macs. Notes will be able to record and transcribe phone calls, which should be useful. Notes will also have support for Markdown export with additional export options.
Apple has also clearly spent some considerable time on the iPad. Rather than release a version of macOS for the tablet, the next version (iPadOS 26) looks as if it will be less of a super iPhone, still retaining several non-Mac features, while borrowing some lessons from the Mac. To confirm what he has said on several occasions in the past - and despite the insistence of some tech writers that the iPad needs to be more like the Mac - Craig Federighi confirmed in an interview that, "the goal is not to merge platforms" (Andrew Orr, AppleInsider). He said a lot more about this, of course, including, "The iPad isn't a lightweight Mac. It is a distinct product with its own design goals." There is a video link in the Orr report.
An example of borrowed features that pleases me is the new Files app layout, that will help users see more information about the files in a hierarchical display. That will be an improvement on the hard press to select a menu item (such as Get Info) and will save time. The other part to this is the arrival of Preview on the iPad. I hope that this will cure the clumsy automatic file-saving that has lost content markup when I am editing countless times. Rather than run the risk of losing comments and advice on writing (this week a complete thesis), I tend to save the file every few minutes, which in itself wastes time, particularly if the internet is having an off day. The markup and the frequent saving add to the file size, so it may be when I am finished I have a file of over 100MB. Fortunately there is an Optimize feature in Files, but if it is still too big for Mail (as with that thesis) I can also use Compress.
In some cases, I have to switch to the Mac and manage the file there in Preview, before continuing the edit. That may include splitting the file into two (copy half the pages, create a new file from the clipboard). Preview on the iPad sounds like a step in the right direction and Malcolm Owen (AppleInsider) provides an early look with some useful comments.
There is also a list of the 20+ new features coming to the iPad, which Hartley Charlton writes, "is moving the iPad closer to the Mac than ever before". It is still not a Mac, and that is just fine for me. It brings across some useful features that will help productivity, but it is not yet a Mac. I would still like to see user accounts on the iPad so that friends could play without having access to my information. I also want flatbed scanner access; and (a long shot) the ability to tether a camera. I can already link my DSLR and download the images (I can do that on the iPhone too), but taking high quality shots with the camera directly from the iPad is what a Pro device should be able to do.
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The iPhones also see some of the same updates and more with the new iOS26. The interfacing will be changed in line with the other operating systems, but with the iPhone, the camera is always important. William Gallagher (AppleInsider) reports that the camera app will be redesigned so that it will be faster, while the interface highlights the two most-used options: photo and video. The others, like Portrait, Slo-Mo or Panorama can be accessed by swiping left or right. Other new iPhone features include call-screening and other improved phone features.
There were plenty of comments about the new Liquid Glass interface and not all were positive. Note that this is an option. Users can also choose, normal, dark or tinted mode. Several suggested that there could be a readability problem with the semi-transparent interface. Steve Jobs was also cited (David Snow, Cult of Mac). Does anyone remember the Ballmer criticism of the original iPhone? Not the pricing, the keyboard. Microsoft decided that the design and style made it unusable and plastic keys were the way to go. I had tried one of the first iPhones somewhere in the bowels of the Moscone Center, the day after the original announcement of the device. This was most certainly not unusable. The preposterous claim was repeated by column writers worldwide (including here) who had not had any hands-on experience. Neither Blackberry nor Microsoft sell phones now, of course.
There is an observation from Alex Cooke (FStoppers) regarding a "Lens Cleaning Hint" in a list of features not being covered. There is no information at present if this appears before or after a photo is taken. I have seen these lists before and noticed the new feature of RAW when it was coming to iOS 14 that had not been highlighted in the Keystone presentation. I went back and rewatched this keynote, looked at some slides to have a look at what else could be coming.
At the end of the Keynote presentations, Apple would usually have a musical finale. I saw some stars that I might not ever seen if it were not for these brief sessions like John Mayer (2007 iPhone event), and Tony Bennet. This year there was a slight difference as "singer-songwriter Allen Stone" put together a musical interlude using "unfiltered reviews users leave behind in the App Store" (Marcus Mendes, 9to5Mac).
To end this commentary, I saw an article by Will Shanklin (Engadget), entitled, "Apple's walled garden is the iPad's biggest roadblock to becoming a Mac". I have two problems with that: I do not want the iPad to become a Mac; and I am really OK with the walled garden, despite installing 3rd party apps on the Mac (from developers I know and trust) despite them not having Apple authorization. I know that he has said this many times before, but once again this week confirmed that "Apple remains committed to keeping iPadOS and macOS separate" despite the new Mac-like features. "[T]he goal is not to merge platforms", and "By keeping iPadOS simple and intuitive, the company avoids overwhelming these users with macOS's complexity" (Andrew Orr).
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader.
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