Everyone has their own unique way of dealing with the apps on their phone. Some are very organised, keep everything in folders, download an app, try it, store it or immediately delete it. Others, like me, are a bit more haphazard about things: lots of apps that have been downloaded to try, lots of things taking up space that don’t need to, half-hearted folders and a bit of a mish-mash of everything going on.

You know how people often say that technology can fix problems they didn’t even know they had? Well, Apple have fixed a problem that I definitely didn’t have – not enough access to games. Their recent launch of Apple Arcade is interesting and exciting for many reasons, but more than anything, when am I going to find time to play all of these titles? On the one hand, I never really thought the app gaming world needed a revolution or a boost – there was plenty out there to play, free games, paid games, lots of choice, lots of variety.

So the new trailer for Apple TV+ series The Morning Show looks gooood. I didn’t want it to be good because I have too much TV to watch as it is, but trust Apple to dive in with some quality TV straight from the off. It’s some of my favourite people and it looks dramatic and interesting and dammit… gonna have to clear some time in my schedule.

I’ve recently started catching up on podcasts again, and this time I’ve discovered Rene Ritchie’s Vector. It’s officially a YouTube show, covering the latest news and insights into the world of Apple and technology, but there’s also an audio-only podcast which is my preferred method. As I’m a little behind, I was listening to the shows released around WWDC, and this episode about the new tvOS caught my attention. Specifically this bit towards the very beginning:

Two recent conversations about movies have made me realise there’s a key component of the digital rental process that is missing and would make life so much better. At the moment, on Apple in particular, you can buy a film for a high price initially that drops the longer a film has been in the world. Or you can rent a film for a slightly lower price but only keep it for a certain amount of time.

Every year, Mr C and I sit down and watch the Apple Design awards. Every year we download several of the apps that we’ve missed over the months. And every single year, Mr C says: “They should do more with the design awards, a podcast, a TV show. You should blog it.” I was confident I already had, and looking through the archives proves me right, but I can’t quite believe it was four years ago.

I’ve been watching Apple WWDC keynotes for a few years now, and they’re often quite interesting with bits and pieces that make a difference to me and how I use my devices. This year seemed different – perhaps because I made strides towards learning Swift and being a developer myself, but perhaps also because they announced such a lot of things. I was hooked, and afterwards my brain was buzzing.

It doesn’t matter what you think of Apple or their offerings this week from the latest announcement event. This video, that kicked off the reveal of their TV+ programming, is special. Simple and pure, somehow moving and momentous, really digging into the wonder that is creativity. I could watch it over and over, I really could. And whilst we’re on the subject, I’m fascinated to see what Apple’s foray into content reveals.

My Swift journey so far has been stop/start in nature, but recently it has become one of those hobbies that occupies a significant portion of my mind, one that I think about a solid 90% of the day. That’s good, really, because it’s a useful skill, coding, and one I am still very much at the early stages of grappling with. I’m never quite sure how much detail to go into here, really, because is it interesting to read about someone else learning how to code?

There’s quite a few neat things that have been introduced in Apple’s latest software update for iPhones and iPads, but today I’ve been thinking about the new Screen Time feature. It’s on my mind today because Sunday morning is when the report pops up and tells you just how well you’ve managed to waste your week. As a concept, Screen Time is a really good addition. More information is always better, and when I got the very first Screen Time report, I immediately deleted an app that was clearly taking up far too much of my daily life.