2025-08-11 10:26:22
Breathtaking aerial wallpapers from macOS Tahoe, ready for your Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
Apple recently added several new aerial wallpapers in the latest macOS Tahoe Beta as the operating system barrels towards release in early fall. Aerial screensavers & wallpapers were first announced for macOS with Sonoma (2023), and Apple has steadily added new locations with each release. This time, Apple heads east with 11 stunning new videos featuring the Himalayas, the Ganges, lush tea gardens, and sweeping coastal views.
All told, the videos total some 10.49 GB, but ahead of Tahoe's release, I have taken them, found 2-3 of my favourite stills from each video, upscaled them to fit a 6K monitor, and added iPhone & iPad variations.
Steps involved:
Install macOS Tahoe Beta
Download aerial wallpapers
Track down the tucked-away folder containing the aerial wallpapers.
Select 2-3 frames from each video.
Save each frame.
Resize & Sharpen (from 3840 × 2160 to 6016 × 3900) each frame.
Create separate iPhone & iPad variations
Upload all 50 wallpapers to site.
These 11 new wallpapers are all available below to download and use across your device. Enjoy!
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | Mac V.3 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | Mac V.3 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | Mac V.3 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | Mac V.3 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | Mac V.3 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | Mac V.3 | iPhone | iPad
Mac V.1 | Mac V.2 | iPhone | iPad
P.S. I have no idea how to spell aerial (thanks autocorrect).
2025-08-10 03:26:45
From dawn to dusk, macOS Tahoe’s shoreline follows your day.
As the Apple betas near their final release, it's not uncommon for Apple to update their wallpaper offerings ahead of launch. And in the latest betas for macOS Tahoe, Apple did just that, adding a slew of absolutely gorgeous Aerial wallpapers. Additionally, they updated their Tahoe lakeside wallpaper with dawn, dusk, and nighttime variations. The only catch? They didn't make them dynamic. That's where I stepped in.
These images came from the 4K videos Apple is including with macOS Tahoe. I upscaled them to fit a 5K display, adjusted the sharpness, and built two dynamic wallpaper options: a classic Day/Night version for Mac, and a time-of-day version that shifts through Dawn (06:00-10:00), Day (10:00-18:00), Dusk (17:00-21:00), and Night (21:00-06:00). I've also resized all four for iPad and iPhone. Enjoy!
Mac: Dawn | Day | Dusk | Night
Dynamic Day/Night (19.4 MB HEIC file)
Dynamic Time-of-Day Version (38.1 MB HEIC file; Google Link)
Tip for best results: On Mac, go to System Settings → Wallpaper → Add Photo to set the dynamic wallpaper. Avoid setting it directly from the image preview or the menubar, as that sometimes won’t preserve its dynamic behaviour.
2025-08-06 00:49:29
How I made the biggest design changes to my site in five years, despite not knowing how to code.
I've dipped my toes into coding and web design more times than I can count. I've started the courses, followed the tutorials, and even made a few brave attempts of my own. But at this point, I'm convinced I'm a lost cause. My brain seems determined not to retain any of it.
This puts me at a real disadvantage, as understanding code feels as essential as speaking the language of the place you live in. This was one of the reasons I run this website through a provider rather than try to design it myself: the site takes care of all coding and under-the-hood stuff, while I get a friendly WYSIWYG editor. But seeing as the site has been around for half a decade, I wanted to make some design changes that I realized were outside the host's standard features, and to remedy that, I needed to figure out some custom CSS.
We all have opinions about AI, not only whether using it is defensible but also where and how. One area where it has proven incredibly helpful is guiding and troubleshooting me through adding new features to the site. Using AI, specifically ChatGPT, I was able to request changes I wanted to make, it would suggest code, and we would dialogue and troubleshoot about whether the code worked. The process, as much as troubleshooting can ever be, was almost fun. The process was was almost like having a dedicated teacher in the room who could interactively offer suggestions based on my requests for feedback. I can't say I am much more proficient at web design, but the hours I spent learning through AI taught me more about it than any previous instruction.
As a result of all my tinkering through the first part of the summer, I have five changes to the aesthetic of the blog that I am excited to share below. These changes help modernize and refine the overall look while staying true to the original design it launched with.
Thumbnails now have rounded corners and drop shadows.
Beginning in 2022, I started rounding the corners (10 px) of images across my blog posts. But there was no system way of doing this to thumbnails on the main blog page. My first small step into AI-assisted CSS editing fixed that, bringing the rounded look to images on the homepage, the Haberdashery, and the post archives.
At the same time that I added the rounded corners, I also added a subtle drop shadow underneath the images of the homepage, the Haberdashery, and the post archives.
Subtle drop shadows, rounded corners, and a slight pop over hovered thumbnails improves the liveliness of the site.
It's subtle, but another change I implemented around the time of WWDC25 was to have images on the homepage feel a bit more lively, which was achieved by adding a slight animated pop and increasing the drop shadow when the mouse hovers over them. This helped give an otherwise static-feeling page a more lively appearance and feeling.
Old v. New dropdown list inspired by Liquid Glass.
This change relied less on AI and more on good old-fashioned internet sleuthing: digging through forums, copying snippets of code from here and there, and using a fair bit of brute force to make it all work. The old list in the menu bar felt a bit drab, so I gave it a refresh to match the rest of the design better. It now features a frosted, opaque look that complements the menu bar, rounded corners for consistency, and subtle contrast highlights to indicate which item you're hovering over.
It's important to state here that my successful implementation of the first three pieces above, with the assistance of AI, did begin to give me the confidence and rudimentary understanding to cobble together this more complicated piece myself. It's not something I created from scratch. Still, through previous interactions with AI, I had begun to understand enough to take pieces from other projects to modify and formulate this menubar myself.
Retina’s Rejoice! Dark Mode is here!
Gruber's recent social poll on how many people use Light and Dark Mode on their devices may have finally pushed me to bite the bullet and bring Dark Mode to the site. I've always been #TeamLightMode through and through, but according to his survey, 36% of respondents are Dark Mode purists, and another 49% switch based on the time of day. That means 85% of people are spending at least some of their day in Dark Mode, while my site has been out here assaulting their retinas with a blinding white (well, technically #FAFAFA) background for years.
That changes now. And as of August 04, I have added Dark Mode to the site that users can manually toggle or which will change based on their device settings. I’m still working out a bit of the kinks across all my pages, but I am thrilled to finally offer this feature. Surprisingly, Squarespace does not have a native Dark Mode utility, and so I relied on the Dark Mode code kit by Fenix to enable Dark Mode on my site. Again, I didn't do anything except buy the plug-in, but previously I had so much fear around CSS and HTML editing that I never would've considered this. I think part of what ultimately led me here was seeing some small successes that didn't explode my site, and then venturing a little bit further out each time.
I hope you enjoy the slightly refreshed site. These five updates mark the only real cosmetic changes I've made in the past half-decade, and all of them came together over the last three months. A big part of that is getting to play and dialogue with AI, which helps me better understand and use CSS, and from there, doing more independent creations, benefiting from acquired confidence.
2025-08-05 01:55:05
Why I’m making room for EarPods in a world ruled by AirPods.
For nearly the past decade, I have exclusively used Apple's AirPods and long ditched Apple's iconic wired earbuds. Whether getting caught on door handles, jammed in zippers, or the countless hours spent detangling them, EarPods became a menace I was all too happy to leave behind when AirPods debuted in 2016. And in my opinion, AirPods are one of the most most important products to come out of Apple, because just like the iPod & iPhone, they, in their own small way, revolutionized the industry when they arrived. But now I'm returning to the wired EarPods, at least part time, and felt it warranted a short little entry.
The reason for the return stemmed from a few frustrating moments with the AirPods. They'd be little things, like forgetting them on the way to the gym, wanting to play PlayStation late at night without waking the family, or even needing to listen to audio on my janky windows work computer which doesn’t allow any Bluetooth connectivity. Enough of these moments began to be sprinkled across my days that I decided to get a few pairs of EarPods and keep them scattered in the places I'd be most likely to need them.
For $28, I picked up a pair of EarPods with a 3.5mm headphone jack and Apple's 3.5mm-to-USB-C adapter. Apple sells a USB-C version of the EarPods, but this combo is way more versatile. If I'm using them with my iPhone, then the adapter is necessary. However, it can easily come off and I can use the 3.5mm jack plugged into my PlayStation, work computer, or any other device still sporting the old headphone port.
Tucked into a small pouch, a pair of EarPods can live in my gym bag and another in my everyday carry, so I'm covered no matter where I am; I'll never have to go to the gym and spend time with my thoughts again!
But wait, there's more! Here are a few more reasons to consider the EarPods:
I've found every AirPods model comfortable for my ear shape, but they're bulkier than standard EarPods. If AirPods never seem to fit quite right, you might find the slimmer EarPods slip into your ears more comfortably than the plumper wireless AirPods.
This remote still remains the best and most convenient way of managing volume and playback on an Apple Device.
I always hated tapping the stem to manage playback in the first two generations of AirPods, and despite years of practice, I still don't have much of a knack for the volume up/down of the AirPods Pro. I know you can manage the playback on the phone, or watch, or with Siri, but the EarPods really gave us the best solution decades ago - a dedicated play/pause, volume up/down, skip forward/back remote built right onto the cord itself.
People assert that the EarPods feature Apple's best mic for call quality over any other Apple wireless headphones. The one criticism I have is that while the mic is indeed good, EarPods lack the sound isolation smarts found in other AirPods and will pass along every bit of ambient noise. So if I'm on a call while cooking, tidying up, or walking outside on a windy day, every bit of that background noise makes its way to the person on the other end.
I have a good charging routine, but I like having a pair of headphones that require no thought. If my AirPods run out after a long travel day, or I've gone a few days without charging them, it's reassuring to have a backup in my pocket that works with zero upkeep.
The absence of a battery can also appeal to those looking to make an environmental or sustainability statement. Unlike AirPods, whose non-replaceable batteries eventually die and send millions of tiny cells to landfills each year, wired buds avoid that problem entirely.
Wired headphones seem to be making a bit of a comeback. Even the eye test around town seems to suggest an increasing number of people are using wired headphones. With wireless earbuds everywhere, some folks reach for wired buds to stand out. They've also even crossed into retro/vintage territory, carrying a nostalgia along with them in the same way that point-and-shoot cameras and vinyl records do. I'm probably too far gone for any of this cool to rub off on me, but that's not to say you won't benefit.
Nothing quite like the thrill of untangling wires for twenty minutes before enjoying a three-minute song.
Don't get me wrong, I am still very much on team AirPods, but I have increasingly found use cases and situations where having a pair of good olde wired EarPods has proven quite useful. They don't need charging, they work with just about anything, and they've quietly aged into a little slice of tech nostalgia. They will still tangle and will snag a few door handles, but for the price of a couple of coffees, they've earned a permanent spot in my bag. Sometimes, the simplest tech still has a place in our very wireless world.
2025-07-28 10:16:49
Five of my favourite non-Apple accessories for all my Apple tech.
Although I tend to skew towards Apple-branded accessories, there are times when Apple doesn't have the accessory I'm looking for or when their accessory sucks (looking at you, Apple Leather Sleeve with MagSafe). In this entry, I wanted to share five non-Apple, Apple-adaptive accessories. These are all products I have tried, tested, and loved for years.
Disclosure: None of the products mentioned below are sponsored or part of any paid promotion.
This is by far the Apple accessory I get asked about the most. The Satechi DeskMate is a 23 x 12.2-inch vinyl mat that I use under my keyboard and as a trackpad in the office. Why do I love it? Because it closely resembles the brown leather mats used in Apple Store setups, such as the Apple Watch Studio try-on stations. It features a beautiful stitching around the border that adds to the premium look and feel of the device. For under $40, it's a fantastic deal.
Pros
Looks incredible & premium feeling
Durable vinyl resists discoloration
Easy to clean
Great value for cost
Solid mousepad
Cons
Mat tends to move & slide around on the desk
Where to Buy?
You can always get them off Satechi website. I got mine off Amazon.
I have a penchant for putting my Apple products in cases and then putting those cases in other cases. Spare me your armchair psychology, but I like having my devices well protected.
Take my iPad Pro, for example. It lives in a Magic Keyboard case, and when I travel, I slip the whole setup into a Byrd & Belle felt sleeve. Made from thick wool in grey or charcoal, the sleeve offers complete coverage against dust and scratches and is sized to fit the iPad with both the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil attached. It does add some bulk, but it still slides easily into most tablet pockets in bags.
The particular model I have has a full flap closure, but the company also makes slide-in sleeves that leave one edge of the iPad exposed. The build quality is terrific - I've been using Byrd & Belle products for years, and all their cases and stitching have held up wonderfully. And because the iPad dimensions haven't changed significantly, I've been able to use this particular sleeve for multiple generations of iPad. Lastly, the sleeve can also serve as a mat to place the iPad on, although it can be a tad wobbly.
If you're ordering from outside the US, please note that the product can be subject to higher delivery fees and potentially tariffs, which can add to the overall cost of the order.
Pros
High-quality, thick wool provides all-around protection
Includes a small front pocket for storing a cable or document
Sized up to fit Apple Pencil & Magic Keyboard.
Cons
Slightly bulky
Duties & taxes outside of the US can increase costs significantly.
Where to buy?
You can buy them off Byrd & Belle’s website though as of July 27 their shop features very limited stock due to a move.
A tilting iPhone charger & Standby display, an Apple Watch dock, and a MagSafe pad for your AirPods. A phone charger, an Apple Watch dock... are you getting it? These are not three separate devices; this is one device... the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe!
The HiRise has replaced my old MagSafe Duo as an all-in-one charging hub for my pocketable Apple gear. It sits neatly on my nightstand, with a small footprint of 3.4 x 6.3 inches. Thanks to its tilting MagSafe charger, it also doubles as a great StandBy display for weather, calendar, or photos. The magnets hold the phone securely in place (except for the iPhone SE, which doesn't use MagSafe), and after more than two years of use, I can't recall ever accidentally knocking it off the elevated platform. Additionally, the Apple Watch charging puck can fold down, allowing the watch to charge flat for those who prefer it parallel to the nightstand.
If you're looking for a minimalistic charging station and have at least an Apple Watch & MagSafe iPhone, this is a great option to consider.
Pros
Minimal, sleek vegan leather design.
Small footprint leaves more room on the nightstand for snacks.
Strong magnets keep the iPhone and Apple Watch in place.
Simultaneously charges three devices at once.
MagSafe and Apple Watch chargers also support compatible AirPods.
Cons
Expensive (retail price of $150, but can be found on sale)
Not very travel-friendly (doesn't fold up).
iPhone SE can’t attach magnetically to the MagSafe charger.
Where to buy?
You can find this stand on Twelve South’s website or through Apple or Amazon.
It's a soft silicone Apple Pencil sleeve that resembles an HB Pencil. What more do I need to say to convince you to stop reading and buy it immediately?
First, I love the look of the sleeve. Second, it makes the Apple Pencil a bit grippier and easier to hold and fidget with. And third, I had issues in the past when the pencil was docked, which, over the years, led to a few scratches from dust appearing on the iPad's chassis (though this doesn't seem to be a problem I regularly see online). The sleeve doesn't inhibit you from using the squeeze function of the Apple Pencil, with a slight indentation exists to help you tacitly locate it. And while some reviews raised concerns about reduced magnetic grip to the iPad, I haven't experienced this as a problem.
Pros
It looks like a HB pencil.
Cheap (under $10)
Improved grip of Apple Pencil
Cons
Slight decrease in magnetic attachment
Where to buy?
You can buy these pencil sleeves off Amazon.
Over the years, I've dabbled with all types of cases from Native Union to Woolnut, Herschel to Waterfield, but for the past year I've been using the carrying case by tomtoc.
At around $35 CAD ($24 USD), the tomtoc case is affordable and offers some of the best corner protection and durability. Its outer shell is water-resistant and has proven incredibly durable in repelling stains, grease, and signs of wear, while the inner padding and added corner protection makes me feel confident that my laptop is safe from any forms of abuse (tomtoc claims this case passed the MIL-STD-810H drop test which involves 26 drops from a height of 4-5 feet onto a hard wood or concrete surface).
But why I picked this case over others I've tried is, oddly enough, the handle. I move my laptop around all the time: from bedroom to office to living room, to work and beyond. And I liked the idea of having a laptop case that I could grasp without needing to securely cradle from room to room (you're beginning to see that I'm a little paranoid about my tech). Additionally, the case features an oversized front pocket, allowing you to toss in a charger or cable and turn this into a portable briefcase.
However, Tomtoc also sells a pocketless/handleless laptop sleeve, the Defender-A13 Laptop Sleeve, so check that out if anything I've written about this case has piqued your interest in the brand.
Pros
Water & grime resistant.
Extremely well padded corners and all-around protection
Cost effective (around $35)
Retractable Handle
Expanded front pocket for storing cables and accessories.
Cons
Bulkier (because of padding and front pocket)
Where to buy?
You can find these on the tomtoc website or through a retailer like Amazon
2025-07-25 04:35:16
Introducing Crystals, the perfect wallpaper complement to usher in the new era of Liquid Glass.
Maybe it's all the Final Fantasy XVI I've been playing lately, or perhaps it's just been thinking about what to make for Apple's Liquid Glass UI overhaul, but I've had crystals on the brain, and the result is this tiny wallpaper pack, Crystals.
The collection of Crystals wallpapers is available below, free of charge and in full resolution, but if you can support the work I do, I am also making the collection available as a donation gift of $2.99.
The Crystals collection includes five wallpapers: Sky Blue, Slate, Silver, Aqua, and Off Air for your Mac, iPad, and iPhone. This set also comes bundled with three dynamic Day/Dark versions for Mac (Aqua/Slate, Silver/Slate, Sky Blue/Slate) that automatically switch to match your system’s Light or Dark mode. Thank you so much for your continued support.
Read more about my approach to making wallpapers available for purchase over at The WinRAR Approach.
Once purchased, a download link will be emailed to you to download the .zip file (137.2MB) containing all five versions for Mac (6016 × 3900), iPad (2752 × 2064), and iPhone (1320 × 2868) along with three dynamic .HEIC files for the Mac.
The digital download link will expire 24 hours after the first download. If your link expires and you need to redownload the files, please send me an email with your order number and I can send along a new link for you.
Crystals comes in the middle of a creative doldrum. Summer has made it harder to find time to sit down and create, and a mix of work and family stress hasn't exactly helped me get into the right creative headspace either. To get back into the groove, I've been experimenting with a few designs in different styles and revisiting some older wallpaper concepts, and I've slowly found myself generating more new ideas for late summer and early fall. So stay tuned.
Crystals is a small wallpaper pack consisting of one design in several different colours: Sky Blue, Slate, Silver, Aqua, and Off Air. Each is available for the Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Enjoy!
iPad | Mac | iPhone | Dynamic Mac (Aqua/Slate)
iPad | Mac | iPhone | Dynamic Mac (Aqua/Silver)
iPad | Mac | iPhone | Dynamic Mac (Aqua/Sky Blue)
I’m a one-person operation, working in healthcare by day & running this site as a passion project in my off time.
If you enjoy what I do, the articles, the wallpapers, or just the overall vibe, consider leaving a tip to support the site. Your generosity helps keep everything I create ad-free and freely available. I’ve also started offering the option to purchase wallpaper packs as another means to support my work when and if you can. Every bit is truly appreciated!
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