2025-11-21 02:34:31
Today, we’re introducing a way for Quick Share to work with AirDrop. This makes file transfer easier between iPhones and Android devices, and starts rolling out today to the Pixel 10 family.
It’s currently only available on the Pixel 10 family, though Google says it is “expanding it to more Android devices.” It also requires you to set your AirDrop visibility to “Everyone for 10 minutes”, as it presumably has no visibility into your contacts.
Interestingly, there’s no indication that Apple did anything to make this possible. The provisions of the Digital Markets Act in the European Union do currently stipulate that Apple will have to allow for competing standards to AirDrop (which might very well include the Android Quick Share feature that Google is leveraging here) as well as bring interoperability to the feature. Of course, the company has made its disagreement with the DMA known, so it’s unclear if this development has any bearing on that. Apple hadn’t responded to my request for comment at the time this article was published.
While this feature is hardly seamless, it is nice to have a cross-platform file transfer system. It’s unclear whether or not Apple will (or can) alter AirDrop to block this. The most recent beta versions of Apple’s platforms do contain a new AirDrop feature for sharing temporarily with people via one-time codes but it’s unknown whether or even if that will interact with Google’s feature.
2025-11-21 02:27:07
Apple’s been making interesting tweaks to its operating systems after the release of the 26.0 versions in September. Back in October, the 26.1 beta cycle brought Slide Over back to iPadOS, a feature that’s now released for everyone. We’re now three betas into the 26.2 beta cycle, and this week brought interesting new features for both Mac and iPad users.
On the iPad side, Apple continues to tweak the edges of its new multitasking model, most notably the reborn Slide Over feature. This week’s feature updates all seem to be focused on kicking off multitasking functionality by dragging apps out of the Dock while in multi-window mode.
While the new Slide Over still doesn’t offer a built-in app switcher like the old one (which, personal opinion, still seems like a bridge too far and a metaphor too mixed), in 26.2 beta 3 there’s a new way to quickly replace which app is in Slide Over: You just drag an app’s icon out of the Dock and drop it on the Slide Over spot. That’s it. The app you dragged replaces the app that was there.
In 26.1, you could kick an app into Slide Over via the menu bar or by tapping and holding on the Stoplight buttons or via a keyboard shortcut. The 26.2 beta brings the Dock into the mix: if you drag an app icon out of the Dock and drag it to the left or right edge of the screen, you can drop it and it’ll be added to Slide Over.
Finally, if you’re in multi-window mode and you drag an app icon to one side of the screen, but not to the edge, the preview of the app window will change from more horizontal to more vertical (when holding the iPad in horizontal orientation, anyway), and an arrow will appear on the edge of the screen. These are both indicators that if you drop the window, it’ll automatically be tiled to that half of the display. So it’s a quick gesture to add a window already in one half of Split View.
Meanwhile, Apple has made good on some of its M5 chip speed claims that were previously hard to verify because they relied on pre-release software. Apple’s open-source MLX frameworks now support the M5’s Neural Accelerator, which enables dramatic speed improvements.
Federico Viticci of MacStories was also able to test the pre-release MLX frameworks on an M5 iPad Pro and reports some pretty spectacular results. Obviously, these are the earliest days, and it’s a prerelease framework, but it seems like the 26.2 updates will unlock a lot of the promised horsepower of the M5—at least on the AI-related GPU front.
Another Apple update in 26.2 will enable even higher-speed Mac performance in clusters of Macs. This new feature uses the 480Gb/s of the Mac Studio’s six Thunderbolt 5 ports to run shared workloads across (for example) multiple M3 Ultra Mac Studios, creating AI clusters that have enormous processing power while using potentially an order of magnitude less electricity than a more traditional processing cluster.
I have no idea how practical that is, but it’s clear that Apple sees a place where high-end Apple silicon Macs can play in the AI space, and it’s moving further in that direction with these 26.2 updates.
All of this stuff is in beta right now, but you should expect 26.2 final to ship before the end of the year.
2025-11-21 01:42:36
Veteran TV critic Alan Sepinwall joins Jason to discuss the current state of TV criticism, the future of scripted TV, why streamers can’t make sitcoms, the difference between recaps and reviews, and the best shows of the year.
2025-11-20 23:00:34
A new iPhone accessory available in the U.S. Apple Store prioritizes accessibility for users with a variety of physical and motor disabilities.
The Hikawa MagSafe Phone Grip and Stand functions as both a stand for the phone, and a tool for gripping it, for users with limited muscle strength or ability to hold a phone independently.
The silicone grip and stand snaps onto any MagSafe-capable iPhone, and works in portrait or landscape mode. It’s available in chartreuse and crater – a recycled colorway exclusive to Apple’s U.S. Online Store.
The grip and stand was created by Bailey Hikawa, a Los Angeles-based designer who has also designed iPhone cases. It sells for $69.95.
2025-11-20 04:36:46
Black Friday tech deals we’re eyeballing, Meta features that should go retro, whether decentralized internet was better, and how we troubleshoot tech issues.
2025-11-19 00:00:00
Apple hints at Tim Cook’s retirement, Dan has some controversial opinions on food, Moltz has problems and Lex is our number one content creator.
