Another 12 months has zoomed by. As ever, it was a busy year for Apple. No doubt we’ll see a lot of writing about what Apple got wrong. So I figured some festive cheer would be better, digging into my favorite Apple moments from the past 12 months.
Using an iPhone 16
Using a ‘vanilla’ iPhone has always been a compromise – and it still was this year, notably with the 60Hz display that has no business being on a phone this expensive. But. This is the closest the standard iPhone has ever been to the Pro, with its souped-up camera smarts and speedy chip. Moreover, I found it in some ways better than its pricier sibling, with more arresting colors and less heft.
Customizing everything
Apple’s opinionated nature when it comes to software design has, over the years, shifted from potential benefit to limiting constraint. That all changed in 2024. Which is not to say iOS and iPadOS became a free-for-all. They still lack the freedoms afforded to Android. But changes Apple made were meaningful, and I was very happy to rearrange and add buttons to Control Center, along with having more flexibility regarding what goes where on my Home Screens.
Mirroring an iPhone on Mac
It’s unlikely Apple will ever give us its take on DeX, letting your iPhone be the one device to rule them all. Instead, its efforts focus on seamless transitions between its platforms. And it’s hard to get more seamless than iPhone mirroring, which does feel a little bit magical. Lock your iPhone, fire up the Mac app, and you can use (and receive notifications from) your phone right on your Mac’s display.
Taking a hearing test
I get regular accusations from my family that my hearing is going south. Which was why I was keen to try an AirPods Pro 2 hearing test. It felt identical to – but more private than – hearing tests I’ve had in medical centers. And despite suffering from tinnitus (which makes certain tones hard to pick out), I passed with flying colors. Clearly, I’m merely terrible at parsing words. Maybe Apple will test for that one day…
Spotting Reminders in Calendar
Sometimes it’s the small things that count. Apple’s long had an enthusiasm for deeper integration and links between apps. But there had long been a disconnect in tasks defined in Reminders not being readily accessible in Calendar. Now, tasks in Reminders can be viewed and checked off directly in Calendar. This has made a world of difference to tracking everything from jobs to personal errands, and gives me multiple ways to view what’s coming up.
Using the Passwords app
It’s not like Apple ever made it hard to get at your passwords, but they were somewhat buried in Settings. Now, there’s a dedicated Passwords app. For me, this offers greater convenience. But as an advocate of better personal security, I love that Apple is pushing this to the fore, recommending users beef up their passwords, and making it easier to spot when existing logins might have been compromised.
Checking out Audio Mix
We’re getting to the point where advances in video picture quality will be impossible to identify from what went before. Except for the huge files captures demand. And although this year’s iPhones did nonetheless make yet more improvements to video capture image quality, I was more impressed by Audio Mix. This feature lets you boost dialog in various ways, long after you shoot – ideal if you have designs on Hollywood, but I also found it helpful for boosting clarity in captured family moments.
Making a memory movie
Speaking of family moments, Apple supercharged those built from your Photos library. I’ve been lukewarm on Apple Intelligence, but custom memory movies are excellent. You state with a simple text prompt what you’d like in the video, and Apple automates an edit. The results aren’t perfect, but they can later be manually tweaked. And as a shortcut to reliving precious memories based around specific themes, it’s a winner – and gave me without doubt my favorite Apple moments of 2024.