In partnership with

Hey there!

It's peak back-to-school time at work, and that's been consuming most of my time and energy, so pardon the brevity of this edition, which is a little lighter than usual.

That said, let's not waste any time and get right into it. Coming up:

• Critical Security Updates from Apple

• My Day With Craft on YouTube

• A Few More Thoughts on the Public Betas

And yes, there's a new word scramble and the latest Apple news!

Off we go!

⚙️ Go Install the New Critical Security Updates

Yesterday, Apple released security updates to patch a vulnerability that is being actively exploited:

• iOS 18.6.2

• iPadOS 18.6.2

• iPadOS 17.7.10

• macOS 15.6.1

• macOS 14.7.8

• macOS 13.7.8

You should install the updates as soon as you can through Software Update on your device.

📺️ My Day with Craft on YouTube

I run my life through Craft.

From work projects, meeting notes, and planning, to projects at home and producing the podcast and this newsletter. Craft keeps me sane.

If you're not familiar with Craft, it's a note-taking app that runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, Windows, and the web.

Features include:

• Robust and beautiful documents

• Sub-pages for organizing and layering documents

• Tasks with scheduling and reminders

• Collections (lightweight databases)

• Tables, formulas, templates

• Sketch support with Apple Pencil

• Web publishing (it’s what I use for my Mac buying guide below)

• Slash commands for quickly building and formatting content and so much more 

I absolutely love it.

So I am thrilled to be part of Craft's new "My Day with Craft" series on YouTube. My episode, where I show how I produce the podcast and newsletter, and how I published my Mac buying guide directly in Craft, was just released this week. You can check it out here:

💭 A Few More Thoughts on the Betas

Since the last newsletter, I've loaded the public beta onto my iPhone 16 Pro Max and have some thoughts.

I really like Liquid Glass on the iPhone. It's brought some life back to iOS. Perhaps in a few months I'll be used to it and won't care as much, but right now it's a refreshing change. There are still some areas where it's not quite right, but Apple will get things dialed in.

On iOS 18, I had three rows of app icons in CarPlay. In iOS 26, I've lost a row and have only two, though the icons are bigger. I've filed feedback on this one and hope to see the third row return, but it's not the end of the world if it doesn’t.

Live Activites are a nice addition to CarPlay.

A new public beta of macOS Tahoe was released on Tuesday. Thank goodness. The previous had a bug, perhaps related to Spotlight, that caused my drive (and some other testers' drives) to fill up. At one point, I was down to 250 MB free, so I had to downgrade to Sequoia and wait for an update. So far, no problems with this week's release.

PS: I still love iPadOS 26.

📚️ Still Shopping for a Mac for College?

The start of school is quickly approaching.

Still looking to get that Mac for college? Before you buy, be sure to check out my free buying guide. It includes:

• My recommended configuration for most students

• What to do BEFORE you buy a computer

• Why AppleCare is a must-have

• Money-saving tips

• Backup strategies to protect your schoolwork

And plenty more to help make your buying experience easy and stress-free.

https://tomfanderson.craft.me/best-mac-for-college

🧩 Word Scramble Puzzle

🎙️ Basic AF Show: Beta Tested: Apple’s Big Software Updates

If you’re wondering whether it’s finally safe (or fun) to jump into the Apple public betas, this episode is for you. From iPadOS 26’s dramatic windowing overhaul to macOS Tahoe’s subtle UI tweaks — plus new features in iOS 26 and watchOS 26 — we’ve lived with them all and have thoughts.

Chapter Listing:

00:00 - Intro
01:10 - Tom's Adventure on the High Seas
09:05 - Exploring iPadOS
23:59 - Reflections on iOS 26
34:45 - CarPlay Updates and User Interface
40:05 - Exploring macOS Tahoe 26 Changes
46:02 - watchOS 26
48:55 - Close

Listen to and follow the show in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all the other podcast apps, as well as on YouTube and YouTube Music.

📣 News to Know About

Here’s a quick rundown of noteworthy things that I’ve hand-selected just for you:

🧩 Word Scramble Answer

Shortcuts is Apple's automation app that lets users create custom workflows to perform tasks across apps and services. It integrates deeply with iOS, iPadOS, and macOS for both simple and complex automations.