On this feedback episode, David and I revisit the smart home, iPadOS 26, the lack of a big iMac, charging stations, and much more.
Seriously, much more:
Connected 582: The Biggest Chunk of the Smallest Chunk →
The guys catch up on more Apple leadership changes and talk about music streaming services before the alarm goes off for another round of The Quizzies.
On Connected Pro, my initial review of the Analogue 3D.
State Department Goes Back to Times New Roman for… Reasons →
I promise this is not from The Onion, but rather Michael Crowley and Hamed Aleaziz at The New York Times:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio waded into the surprisingly fraught politics of typefaces on Tuesday with an order halting the State Department’s official use of Calibri, reversing a 2023 Biden-era directive that Mr. Rubio called a “wasteful” sop to diversity.
While mostly framed as a matter of clarity and formality in presentation, Mr. Rubio’s directive to all diplomatic posts around the world blamed “radical” diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs for what he said was a misguided and ineffective switch from the serif typeface Times New Roman to sans serif Calibri in official department paperwork.
In an “Action Request” memo obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Rubio said that switching back to the use of Times New Roman would “restore decorum and professionalism to the department’s written work.” Calibri is “informal” when compared to serif typefaces like Times New Roman, the order said, and “clashes” with the department’s official letterhead.
They continue:
Mr. Rubio’s directive, under the subject line “Return to Tradition: Times New Roman 14-Point Font Required for All Department Paper,” served as the latest attempt by the Trump administration to stamp out remnants of diversity initiatives across the federal government.
Then-Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken ordered the 2023 typeface shift on the recommendation of the State Department’s office of diversity and inclusion, which Mr. Rubio has since abolished. The change was meant to improve accessibility for readers with disabilities, such as low vision and dyslexia, and people who use assistive technologies, such as screen readers.
Update: John Gruber has published the entire memo, writing:
It seems clear to me that The New York Times did Rubio dirty in their characterization of the directive.
Having read the full memo, it’s hard to disagree.
Sponsor: Audio Hijack from Rogue Amoeba →
The audio experts at Rogue Amoeba are back to sponsor 512 Pixels this holiday season with Audio Hijack, their powerful app for recording any audio on your Mac.
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Whether you’re a podcaster, musician, content creator, or just someone who needs to save audio from time to time, Audio Hijack is a gift that keeps on giving.
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My thanks to Rogue Amoeba for sponsoring 512 Pixels, and for making audio on the Mac so much better.
Mac Power Users 826: 2025 State of the Platforms (Part 2) →
The guys wrap up their review of Apple’s 2025 with a look at the iPhone, Apple TV, iCloud, and Apple’s other services. They then zoom out and look at the overall ecosystem.
Chamberlain Closing the (Garage) Door on Smart Home Integration
If you live in America and have a garage, you probably know the name Chamberlain. They dominate the garage door market with their two consumer brands, Chamberlain and LiftMaster. (They own a bunch of related companies, too.)
If you live in America and have a garage and want smart home control of your garage door, you probably already know that Chamberlain is pretty hostile to folks using its openers with HomeKit and other smart home ecosystems.
The Empire and the Rebellion
In 2023, MyQ (Chamberlain’s garage door app) cut off API access, as reported by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy at The Verge:
The Chamberlain Group — owners of the MyQ smart garage door controller tech — has announced it’s shut off all “unauthorized access” to its APIs. The move breaks the smart home integrations of thousands of users who relied on platforms such as Homebridge and Home Assistant to do things like shut the garage door when they lock their front door or flash a light if they leave their door open for 10 minutes, or whatever other control or automation they wanted to do with the device they bought and paid for.
The move comes a year after Chamberlain discontinued its official Apple HomeKit integration and a few months after it finally killed support for Google Assistant. It’s sadly another example of how the company continues to be hostile to the interoperable smart home.
Even though MyQ had cut off official access, third parties stepped in to bridge the gap. Products like as Tailwind, Meross, and Ratgdo restored smart home capability to MyQ-powered openers.
Sadly, even that has changed. Here is Jennifer Pattison Tuohy again, writing today:
Garage door opener manufacturer The Chamberlain Group has launched a new version of the communication platform that powers its connected garage door openers — and it’s bad news for smart home users.
The new Security+ 3.0 platform, launching alongside Chamberlain’s latest openers, shuts down the workarounds that third-party accessory makers such as Tailwind, Meross, and Ratgdo developed to let you integrate your garage door with Apple Home, Home Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and others.
Instead, you’re pushed into Chamberlain’s ad-stuffed MyQ app and a short list of partners and integrations, nearly all of which require paid subscriptions and none of which are the major ecosystems. (Controlling your door in the MyQ app itself is still free).
Here’s how the company announced Security+ 3.0:
Chamberlain Group (CG), a Blackstone portfolio company and a global leader in intelligent access and monitoring solutions, is reimagining the garage door opener for the modern, technology integrated home with the launch of its new LiftMaster and Chamberlain smart garage door openers. The new line offers enhanced tech features and incorporates next-gen video functionality, creating a new standard for the industry.
With this new lineup, Chamberlain Group cements the leadership position in access control providing video monitoring via built in cameras as a standard across the new line and convenient smart control with the myQ app making access and monitoring convenient and effortless for today’s homeowners.
“Garage door openers have come a long way from simple motors that open and close your door to becoming the central hub for monitoring and access control in the modern home,” said Erich Struckmeyer, Chamberlain Group EVP and Chief Product Officer. “This new lineup represents a major leap forward in the industry, combining our powerful legacy performance with important standard smart features like built-in video, myQ app-based control, and seamless integration with other myQ devices. We’re excited to lead the evolution from analog garage access to intelligent, secure, and convenient home entry and monitoring.”
I am shocked that the announcement doesn’t mention AI anywhere. Really seems like it would have been in there.
Time will tell whether third parties will find a way to work with these new openers. I hope something can be worked out.
An Elegant Weapon for a More Civilized Age
I’ve been keeping up with this story because my garage door is almost 40 years old, and I will have to replace it at some point. I recently changed a burned-out lightbulb in it, and the plastic shroud around the bulbs fell apart in my hands.
I’m a massive fan of HomeKit and, naturally, added my opener to my setup via a Meross MSG100. It plugs into an outlet and has a pair of wires that piggyback on the wires coming from the opener’s wall button. I’ve used this Meross gear for over three years, and it’s been mostly reliable. Every few months, I need to power-cycle it, so I plugged it into a smart plug so I don’t have to drag out my ladder if it needs to be restarted.
Modern garage door openers may have fancier features, but I love my noisy old one. It’s dumb as a brick, and bringing it into HomeKit was as simple as could be. That’s how I prefer things. I’d rather have a lamp with a normal bulb controlled by a smart plug than the same lamp with a Hue light bulb in it. Adding brains to traditional household gear is the way to go, but Chamberlain clearly disagrees.
No… There is Another
While Chamberlain enjoyed a vast market share, they are not the only game in town.
Genie is another popular garage door opener. Some of their products support smart home ecosystems through their Aladdin Connect app, but HomeKit is noticeably absent. Like with previous Chamberlain openers, there are workarounds, but as always, unofficial support can prove fragile in the long run.
Security is more important at home than anywhere else, and I understand that these companies are trying to harden their openers against unauthorized use. I hope that a middle ground can be found before I have to replace my opener.
I hope I can find a reasonable opener when I need it.
Connected 581: I’m Going to LoveFrom →
It has been a bonkers week of Apple news, and on this episode of Connected, we mostly just talk through feelings about rich people we’ve never met:
Big shifts are underway at Apple. Myke, Federico, and Stephen talk through to the exits of Alan Dye and John Giannandrea … and what might happen next. Later, they deal with some follow up and consider how to define the modern iPhone.
If you like what we do and want to support Connected directly, we have annual membership plans on sale right now. Get 20% off with this link. (Or give it to a friend!) Memberships come with longer, ad-free versions of the show each week, access to the Relay Discord, and a lot more.
So, Three Things
When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone in January 2007, his words made their way into history:
Today, we’re introducing three revolutionary products of this class. The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device.
So, three things; a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough Internet communications device. An iPod, a phone and an Internet communicator… an iPod, a phone and an Internet communicator… are you getting it? These are not three separate devices. This is one device, and we are calling it iPhone.
Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.
If you go back and watch the video, it’s clear that the audience was much more excited about the first two things, but the third one is what changed the world.
image via Basic Apple Guy
The first iPhone was pretty limited. EDGE networking was slow, but Safari felt like magic, even if we all had to wait for pages to load. Mail and Messages were basic, but worked. The biggest piece of the puzzle was the App Store, which came a year later in 2008. It was then that the Internet Communicator began to come into its own.
For a lot of folks today, the Phone app is an afterthought. Some iPhone users have never even held an iPod, let alone remember the yearning we all had for a widescreen iPod back in the day. Instead, we spend our times in apps, doing everything from doomscrolling and ordering burritos to watching videos and reviewing our checking accounts. For a growing number of people, their iPhone is their only computer, which would have been mind-blowing to those of us watching Apple back in 2007.
This leads me to a question. In 2025, what are the three things that make up the iPhone? After some thought, I think the list is something like this:
- A Camera
- An App Platform
- A Communications Device
I have often wondered if Apple was surprised at how popular the original iPhone’s camera proved to be. By today’s standards, it’s a joke, but for many people, the iPhone marked the first time they had a camera in their pocket. To its credit, Apple saw this usage, and has worked to improve the camera every year since. When talking to someone about new iPhones, the conversation always turns to camera improvements.
I may ignore most phone calls, and Apple Music and Spotify may have eaten the widescreen iPod, but the iPhone is still the Internet Communicator Steve promised nearly 19 years ago.
We often don’t think about the Internet when we’re using Instagram or Discord or Venmo or Overcast, but the web powers almost every app we use today. Having such a broad range of experiences and services just a few taps away is truly amazing, and the app ecosystem on iOS is still the best in the industry. The world is available through a grid of apps in our hands.
Gonennandrea
Apple today announced John Giannandrea,1 Apple’s senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, is stepping down from his position and will serve as an advisor to the company before retiring in the spring of 2026. Apple also announced that renowned AI researcher Amar Subramanya has joined Apple as vice president of AI, reporting to Craig Federighi. Subramanya will be leading critical areas, including Apple Foundation Models, ML research, and AI Safety and Evaluation. The balance of Giannandrea’s organization will shift to Sabih Khan and Eddy Cue to align closer with similar organizations.
Since joining Apple in 2018, Giannandrea has played a key role in the company’s AI and machine learning strategy, building a world-class team and leading them to develop and deploy critical AI technologies. This team is currently responsible for Apple Foundation Models, Search and Knowledge, Machine Learning Research, and AI Infrastructure.
Subramanya brings a wealth of experience to Apple, having most recently served as corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft, and previously spent 16 years at Google, where he was head of engineering for Google’s Gemini Assistant prior to his departure. His deep expertise in both AI and ML research and in integrating that research into products and features will be important to Apple’s ongoing innovation and future Apple Intelligence features.
Giannandrea’s time at Apple has been … complicated. I have a feeling that his role wasn’t quite what he expected, and it is not a secret that there was friction between him and other executives. This was no doubt made worse when Apple put Mike Rockwell in charge of Siri back in the spring, but I doubt we’ll hear the whole story.
Apple was late to AI, and has little to show for its years of work. Google and Microsoft were slow too, but they’ve been able to move more quickly than Apple. Some suspect Apple’s stance on privacy has been a roadblock, but that’s one I’m personally okay with. We’ll see what Amar Subramanya can do once he’s unpacked in Cupertino.
At 60 years old and with a mountain of money, perhaps Giannandrea saw the writing on the wall and decided now was the time to step aside, but John Gruber raises a good point:
If, as Gurman reported back in March, “Tim Cook has lost confidence in the ability of AI head John Giannandrea to execute on product development”, why was he still there?
- All credit to Myke Hurley for my headline. ↩
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Mac Power Users 825: 2025 State of the Platforms (Part 1) →
This week on MPU, David and I start our annual tour of Apple’s products, beginning with the Mac, then we consider the Apple Watch, the Vision Pro, and the company’s lineup of audio products.
Connected 580: Lick it Twice →
I missed this week’s recording due to Thanksgiving, and while the title worries me, I’m excited to listen to this episode of Connected:
Federico and Myke discuss the rumours of a ‘Snow Leopard year’ for iOS 27, why they think Sam Altman and Jony Ive might benefit from saying less, and share a few things they’re thankful for in the world of technology.