2025-12-19 05:12:37
Mac users with the Studio Display have been complaining about intermittent flickering since the [macOS Tahoe] update launched in September. There are also complaints from users who have other kinds of displays, so it might be a bug that is affecting more than one type of external monitor.
I’m glad this is finally gaining some attention because I have been seeing this since the earliest betas of Tahoe back in June (I complained about it again more recently). And that’s been on multiple Macs, including my Mac mini attached to a Studio Display, my old M1 MacBook Air, and my current M4 MacBook Air. I’ve tried deactivating several of the display features to see if makes a difference (TrueTone, Night Shift, automatically adjusted brightness); it felt like maybe turning off Night Shift helped, but it’s one of those frustrating intermittent issues that can be hard to track down.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard from others with this problem, and it’s definitely only been happening to me since Tahoe. I’m surprised Apple hasn’t squashed this bug yet, but hopefully gaining more attention will shed some more light on it.
2025-12-18 08:31:06
Tim Goodman pops down the chimney again to reunite with Jason and discuss the Oscars on YouTube, finding balance in the TV review game, the rise of international content, episode deconstructions, “Pluribus,” and his top shows of the year.
2025-12-18 04:29:23
iPhone rumors — under-glass Face ID and a foldable, the iMac Pro’s possible return and our ideal pro Mac lineup, automations that solve problems, and what we do when the power goes out.
2025-12-18 03:04:57
Harry McCracken of Fast Company has a great, in-depth story about how Apple is working with filmmakers and other creators to help them build more immersive content for the Vision Pro:
…much of the progress the Vision Pro has made hasn’t stemmed from the routine tick-tock of software and hardware updates. Apple has also been throwing itself into the equally vital work of getting third-party developers and creators to build experiences that will help the rest of us understand what, exactly, its headset is good for. That was the goal of a Vision Pro developer event the company held at its Cupertino campus in late October.
I wrote a little about this event at the time, and met some of the creators Harry interviewed for his story, which really captures the current state of Apple’s immersive content evangelism.
2025-12-17 06:42:48
Last week Apple released 26.2 updates to its operating systems, and if you’re on the 26 train, you should install .2 because it includes a bunch of security updates including some zero-days.
In its list of security update details, Apple credits a bunch of security researchers for discovering the issues. Among them is Rosyna Keller of Totally Not Malicious software—fantastic name—who found bugs in MediaExperience, Messages, and Telephony. Keller says that the Messages fix alone is worth updating to iOS 26.2, or if you’re still on iOS 18, updating to iOS 18.7.3.
Related: Due to health and other reasons, Keller has fallen on hard times and apparently hasn’t been compensated by Apple for the security reports. There’s a GoFundMe campaign to help the long-time Mac developer.
2025-12-17 01:32:59
I didn’t have this on my bingo card, but here’s Hartley Charlton at MacRumors with a report about Apple testing a high-end iMac configuration:
Apple is developing a high-end iMac featuring the M5 Max chip, according to information from leaked internal software… The software contains references to an iMac with the identifier J833c running platform H17C. H17C is associated with the codename “Sotra C,” which relates to the expected marketing name “M5 Max.” This suggests that an iMac with the M5 Max chip is in active testing.
As Charlton notes, this isn’t the first we’ve heard about Apple potentially doing a high-end iMac. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported back in 2023 that Apple had initially planned an M2-based iMac Pro, but tabled it “due to cost concerns.” However, Gurman emphasized that a pro iMac was still on Apple’s agenda:
It’s worth noting that the pro version was tabled but never canceled. This larger model is still poised to follow the 24-inch one, coming in either late 2024 or 2025. It will have a 32-inch display, making it the biggest iMac in Apple’s history.
Well, it’s very late 2025 and it’s not here, but sometimes these things slip. Perhaps 2026 will be the year of a true large-screen iMac Pro. I have to admit I’m a bit surprised—I was a very happy iMac Pro owner, but I thought the model (introduced eight years ago this month) was just too niche and that Apple would prefer to refer pro users to a MacBook Pro or Mac Studio attached to an external display. Maybe the iMac Pro might once again be used to soften the blow of the possible discontinuation of the Mac Pro?
