LJPUK

macOS Sequoia wallpapers for your iPad and iPhone

2026-09-27T06:52:38Z

macOS Sequoia still has my favourite wallpaper of all of the operating systems but I don’t really use a Mac much anymore. I had to port it over to my main devices, iPad Pro and iPhone Air.

A nice camera or a new phone?

2026-09-18T06:51:51Z

I’ve been thinking about how to do more creative work and I see my YouTube numbers growing each month but do nothing about it. This always leads me to think I need a Pro iPhone but for the investment in money I’m trying to decide if it’s better to use my already bought camera, I just need to figure out how to use it for video. I am having RSI issues with pretty much any phone I use so am probably going to be changing my setup. iPhone Air is most likely going back and I’m trying to decide to get an iPhone Pro again with that money or a used old SE 3 and a Sony RX100. I am using my Sony a6700 a lot more now I have it set up on my desk for when I see something out of the window but for video creation it’s not ideal.

Apps I use to see the world around me

2026-09-16T04:30:40Z

I try to be in wonder of the world around me even as I’m getting older, I think it’s important. For as long as I can remember I’ve always looked up and been in awe of the skies. Two apps I use to help me do this are Zephy and Sky Guide.

Zephy allows me to see the planes overhead in an intuitive and playful UI. It’s not as detailed as some apps but it has everything you need to quickly reference what you are hearing or seeing overhead.

Sky Guide is my app of choice when it comes to spotting stuff in the night sky. Like this morning seeing a planet from my bed, so I grab the app and realise it’s Saturn. This then leads me to reading more about the planet within the app.

End of an evening

2026-09-15T18:54:43Z

iPhone Air

How did Apple manage to break the Journal app in iOS 27?

2026-09-15T15:27:13Z

Since moving to the iPad last year I have been handwriting my journal entries with the Apple Pencil but since the last couple of iOS 27 beta cycles and in the final release there are bugs that have stopped me using the app.

I am handwriting my entry and at some point the app will change from handwriting mode to handwritten to text without me asking, this then causes the entire passage of text to be selected and 80% of the time it gets deleted and I lose the entry.

I have been reporting this for the last month or so and nothing, no changes to address it.

Moving Apple Photos to an external hard drive

2026-09-15T12:26:38Z

For years I’ve been wanting to move my iCloud photo library of 53,000 items and 500GB to an external hard drive, so much so that when I bought my MacBook Pro in 2025 I made sure it had 1TB so I could avoid the whole thing. Well, that MacBook Pro is now with my daughter and I am on a 256GB M1 MacBook Air that has become a desktop with my 11” iPad Pro becoming my main device these days. This obviously isn’t going to store 500GB of data… for the last few months I have only had iCloud as my backup…

I had to take the plunge somehow to resolve this. I did what I immediately thought of, put the MacBook Air on eBay for £200 and looked at replacing it. But thanks to the AI bubble all RAM is in demand and super expensive so anything I looked at was out of reach. After a bit of searching that gave me some confidence I decided to keep the Air and use an already in the drawer doing nothing external spinning Samsung 2TB drive to fulfill the need of having a desktop that could store my iCloud Photo Library locally.

I took the plunge, I had to address it and here are the steps I took

I did a fresh restore of macOS 27 just to clear the whole machine back down
Logged into iCloud once the machine was restored but I didn’t sync iCloud photos
Plugged in the external hard drive and formatted it (APFS)
Held down the OPTION key and clicked on Photos app icon
Clicked create new and created a new library on the external hard drive
On loading Photos I went to ‘Photos’, ‘Settings’ and under General clicked ‘Use as system photo library’
Clicked on the iCloud tab and checked iCloud Photos and then download originals

This now forces all images to download and will use the external drive as the source location from now on. Given I am using an external spinning hard drive rather than SSD it will be slower to navigate through my library but I am ok with this as it is only meant to be a desktop machine that is mainly used for backing up. I prefer to use my iPad or iPhone for photo editing and management anyway so not a big deal for me at the moment.

Taking a break from text based social media

2026-09-14T03:32:05Z

I’m struggling a lot in life, I’ll admit it. I’m not able to properly write down my thoughts on what’s going on but just know it’s a challenging time. This has led me to drop almost everything I enjoy. However my blog is an outlet that I’ve enjoyed over the years and will continue to do so but text based blogging services are something that isn’t helping my overall mental health anymore. I appreciate the friends that I’ve met on social media and still interact with but my use is passive these days mainly, I don’t find I’m engaging like I used to. I’m in protective mode right now and anything that I can do to help keep my mood a bit more level is where I’m going to have to concentrate, at least for a little while.

I’m still going to be writing here and posting my photography and thoughts but having a text based social media app on my devices is going to need to stop.

I find that I struggle to

stop comparing myself to others
be influenced by others and make decisions that aren’t healthy for me or my finances
have my mood changed almost every time I check in, a habit that removing the apps will curb almost completely
spend more time on my phone

See, my neurodivergent brain makes this 10 times worse and I want to concentrate my limited energy on the challenges I’m facing.

I’ll still be posting here so make sure I’m bookmarked or in your RSS and there’s a contact page on the blog that you can use if you want to reach out.

My posts have stopped aggregating to social media so you’ll stop seeing them after this post in your timeline so I’ll need to get my head around how to fix this.

This is a break not my deleting my bluesky or mastodon accounts it’s just something I feel like I need to do at the moment.

Why I returned the Casio F-B100w

2026-09-12T07:02:22Z

This image summarises why I ultimately returned the Casio F-B100w - the digit size.

Casio have wasted space on their larger display by making the time element smaller than the F-91w, I couldn’t easily see the time or date when I started to wear it full time so it had to go back.

Does the iPhone Air have an overheating problem on iOS 27?

2026-09-11T04:40:53Z

I’m on my third iPhone Air this year and I’m starting to see more issues around mine in particular overheating. I’ve never had a warning before that the phone actually stops charging because it’s too hot but I get it with my current one. This is a replacement for one where the camera stopped working completely.

On iOS 26 it was ok and my previous use in Nov-Apr was ok too but my current phone on iOS 27 gets really warm. This is with anything I’m doing, just pop into Safari to get the football scores and it starts to get hot. It’s to the point I don’t want to even hold it.

This unit is going to be going back and I’ll have to decide what to do next.

How to customise the camera app in iOS 27

2026-09-10T13:18:27Z

I’ve been using the release candidates of iOS 27 since launch yesterday and I am pleased to see a new feature that has been added since the last beta, the ability to customise your camera app. I saw this as part of the iPhone 18 Pro introduction and am glad that isn’t a feature exclusive to that model.

To do this

Open the camera app
Tap the icon with the 6 small circles to the right of the shutter button
At the top left you will now see ‘Edit’
You can then add photo controls as you need from the panel

Walk to the post office

2026-09-10T10:00:04Z

What the iPhone Duo tells us about the iPhone Air 2

2026-09-10T06:06:54Z

I was really interested in seeing what Apple did with a folding phone as I’d always been curious to try one and with the iPhone Duo we got a look. At this point in time I’m not considering an order due to it’s weight but as an iPhone Air user it’s got me thinking about where the iPhone Air 2 will borrow features from it.

Personally I haven’t felt restricted by the camera or the battery on my iPhone Air but I do believe, price aside the one camera cost it a lot of sales. With that consideration it gives us our first look at what the back of an iPhone Air 2 will look like.

So Imagine the camera plateau above going across the entire width of the phone but still two lenses and that’s your iPhone Air 2 back. A wide and ultra wide will be your two lenses on the iPhone Air 2. I’d prefer a zoom instead but ultra wide seems most popular.

The sides of the iPhone Duo could be mistaken for an iPhone Air. It’s very slightly slimmer but this confirms to me that the iPhone Air 2 will stick with its existing material and more importantly width, I don’t feel like it’ll be thinner than the existing model or as the Duo.

The Duo uses both sides to give all day battery life, I don’t see any improvements in the iPhone Air 2 over the current model. Apple will keep the same capacity but use adaptive power mode in software to sell us as it having more battery life.

Given the RAM shortage only getting worse I look at the price increase on the current model as a guide. I see the iPhone Air 2 starting at £1099.

I see an April 2027 release in the same colours as we get today.

iPhone weight gains

2026-09-10T04:26:35Z

I was disappointed to see that the iPhone 18 Pro has gotten heavier again, up from an already heavy 204g to 211g. At 204g on the 17 Pro I could no longer manage it as you most probably know I have hand and wrist pain. The 165g Air I swapped it for is ok but the device is wide and causes it’s own issues but I’m still testing and have added a pop socket and very thin case. I might end up back on the 13 Mini or SE but I’ll see how this week goes.

With the introduction of the 254g iPhone Duo and 211g 18 Pro I realise that Apple no longer makes a flagship phone I can go near, which is great for my wallet but not my tech enthusiasm. I have a dedicated camera so photography from my iPhone is something that I no longer rely on but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want the option.

But for me I’m on the base model or Air upgrade cycle and I until titanium comes back to the Pro I’ll be looking elsewhere.

Apple Audio Intelligence: Before we talk is your Apple Watch recording this?

2026-09-10T03:38:52Z

General privacy in 2026 I feel is at an all-time low. When I say general privacy I mean the amount of times we are under surveillance in our day-to-day lives.

GPS in our pockets
The most surveillance cameras in existence, especially in the UK
Ring doorbells on every house you seem to walk past taking video that you haven’t agreed to
People wearing meta glasses in public, yes I’ve seen them at personal appointments and in toilets when at the mall
Now Apple Watch

Yes, that’s right. Add Apple Watch to your list of devices to check with the people you are with that they aren’t recording your conversations. This is especially important for work situations where personally I’m in client confidential meetings a lot of the day and there is already a lot of security training we go through. Meta glasses are starting to join the discussion so we’ll need to add Apple Watch, in fact I’ll be flagging it so it’s understood that it’s an attack vector.

I’m am glad thought it’s there for accessibility (as someone close to getting hearing aids I can see the benefit) and I’m also glad it’s opt in so suddenly hundreds of thousands of people aren’t unsuspectingly recording themselves and the people around them.

Apple is going to have to walk a tight line here, especially with the general suspicions around AI that I hear from the younger generation and gives me some hope it’s bubble is getting even closer to bursting with each day. It’s early days but this is clearly leading the way for those rumoured glasses, that are also going to be recording everything you say and do, it’s an uncomfortable future I’m not into but I fear the general publics views on privacy and mine don’t match up.

iPhone Duo Wallpapers

2026-09-09T18:46:19Z

Let’s stop buying new phones

2026-09-04T04:45:00Z

Over the last few years my interest in Apple and smartphones has slowly but surely been reduced, especially in the wake of AI and the lack of spine in any tech CEO. I’m also very aware of the heatwaves we’ve had this summer and the climate crisis we are going to be facing. I’m tired of all of it and following it has become more stressful. Seeing a post on MacRumors this morning titled “Six sleeps until iPhone 18 Pro” made me realise how weird this timeline is, it’s a new phone…

I’m sure the phone you’re most likely reading this on is perfectly fine and doesn’t need replacing, let’s stand up a little to consumerism this year and make a small dent in these companies wallets and show them they some of at least still have morals.

we can do our bit for the planet by reducing our carbon footprint
we can stand up and say that AI price increases are unsustainable (I still think it’s bubble will burst in a couple of years time)

I trust my audience already know this stuff but for those that will complain about the prices then still immediately order, for those that think they are fan of a corporation (it’s not a sports team and they don’t care about any individual over profit regardless of who they are) and those that think they need the best camera - take a break from this cycle even if it’s just for this iPhone. Watch the keynote, enjoy it even but then take a step back and instead of the usual habit of preparing for an order, take a moment to appreciate your current device and the satisfaction of having some money for other things and sending that little micro signal that you’ll no more be part of the machine.

Once you skip a phone year, like I did skipping the 12, 14 then again then 16 series you realise that you don’t need the latest and greatest. I think it’s more important than ever to skip and stand up with what we know are going to be at least £100 increases.

I appreciate this might come across as a strange post given I had to move phones recently for RSI reasons so you may think I’m part of the problem but remember the preowned market.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this or how to finish but please consider keeping the device you have for another year or buying used.

My most used Safari extensions

2026-09-03T12:48:26Z

These are the Safari extensions I have to enable anytime I set up my iPad or iPhone.

DeArrow for YouTube, let me use YouTube without the mostly terrible thumbnails
Firefox Focus for ad blocking
Hush for cookie and tracker blocking
Noir forces all websites to dark mode

What are some of your favourite extensions?

Where do I share my photography?

2026-09-03T09:18:13Z

I really enjoy any sort of photography, if you have read my blog for a while you will probably know this already. I don’t mind which camera I have on me I’m always on the hunt for a nice photo or interesting angle to take. What I’ve found over the years of using different services is that I have really settled into three places

My blog, I find this is a secondary place or if I have an interesting image that makes for a nice wallpaper. I don’t want to use all of the storage on here or to bog the site down too much
Unsplash, I know it might seem controversial to put them somewhere for free but to be honest I like that they are being used in various places and at least gets my name out there a little bit. It’s not had any negative impact on me, allows me to build a portfolio and whilst I haven’t had anyone reach out yet you never know
Glass, this is a recent addition having been on there from the beginning. I find it increasingly difficult to be on text based social media platforms and sharing photography never makes me feel bad about myself or what I should be doing.

These are my defaults and whilst I did have ambitions to try to make something of the photography commercially to help pay the bills or see my images in a gallery somewhere I simply think I am not good enough to even entertain that so I stay in my lane and keep to the hobby side of things.

Casio F-B100W review

2026-09-03T04:29:55Z

I’ve had the Casio F-B100W for a couple of weeks and I feel I know enough about wearing it to write a review of it in real world use. Due to my ongoing wrist and hand injury I’ve been recommended to only wear thin and light watches so picking one up was good timing, it’s been the watch I’ve gravitated to the most these past couple of weeks.

If you are trying to imagine what it’s like think F-91w but a tiny bit bigger, a softer strap, slightly smaller digits, a better backlight, a useable stopwatch and some Bluetooth smarts like time sync and step tracking.

Even though it’s very very slightly bigger than an F-91w you won’t notice, it’s still a super light watch that you simply forget you’re wearing even if like me your nerves around that area are easily flared up.

There are a couple of big wins over the original (1) the backlight as you can see is literally night and day better (2) the stopwatch now counts over the hour mark and can be used for timing medications, my main use as I’m very forgetful of when I took one last.

The main attraction though most probably for those interested in this model is step tracking and Bluetooth,

Setting it up is easy but Casio want your always on location data for activity and time sync, not great. What I would say is allow it to let you set up the watch then immediately turn it off within the phone settings. This is what I have done and despite warnings within the app it works fine. I’m able to manually sync my data and time. It tries to do it in the background but I try to remember each day before bed to manually sync my steps to the app. It is integrated with Apple Health so if you set this up within the app you’ll also see your data in the health app. Sync has been rock solid for me in both iOS 26 and 27 Beta. If I don’t sync my steps each day I currently don’t know how many days worth of data the watch can store but I’m sure it’s enough to cover me off should I forget I just need to test this more.

Step tracking isn’t too bad, about 15% difference between actual steps, which I think is reasonable. None of these step trackers are 100% accurate given they are on the wrist but it adds motivation if you’re trying to be a bit more active without going down the often distracting smartwatch path. Unlike G-Shock models that have Bluetooth this one doesn’t allow for phone notifications, which is great. One issue I have with smartwatches is how distracting they are, I just wanted something that gets out of the way but allows for tracking activity and this does that well. I’m not an athlete I just want a gentle reminder to move more, which this watch can do with a feature like the stand when inactive one on the Apple Watch. Step tracking is a double edged sword if like me you beat yourself up a lot but I’m working on being more accepting of myself and using the data as a guide not a stick to use when I don’t achieve my goal.

What can be improved? (1) adding an option to change date format to dd-mm-yyyy (2) the screen has a pretty useless top portion showing seconds or steps vs goal that takes up unnecessary space (3) Casio don’t update the watch firmware much based on my previous experience.

Lastly let’s talk price. £55 is more than double what you’ll find an F-91w for and that is a big step up for some. For me having something with the lineage to that comfortable original with the step tracking, improved backlight and a stopwatch I can actually use is worth the increase. It’s about half the price of the G-Shock range like the GBD-200 but to be honest those models are bulky, uncomfortable (for me) and have less reliable Bluetooth so I’d take an F-B100W over one any day of the week.

You really can’t go wrong with this watch, if like me you want something simple and does basic tracking. It’s a much better F-91w and if you can find one in stock then I think it’s a good buy. If you aren’t interested in step tracking though and don’t need a stopwatch that goes past one hour save your money and go for an F-91w.

The camera on my phone didn’t matter as much as I thought

2026-09-02T07:14:32Z

Switching between different iPhone models this year I’ve come to realise something about the camera I wasn’t expecting - it doesn’t matter as much as I thought. I’ve always wanted the best camera on my phone and have been sacrificing my own health for it in terms of how these heavier Pro models make my wrist and hand pain worse. This led me to the iPhone Air (my current phone) and it’s 1 camera that lets me do wide and 2x telephoto, this perception of less had me rethink my whole approach to buying a phone. I do this based on:

I’m not really going back through my photo library much
When I do go back through I’m seeing memories, I’m not pixel peeping
I’m a photo guy, I almost never take video or look back on it
I’m not printing them off on a large canvas
A 1x and 2x covers most of everyday photography
I’m mostly sharing online where compression is happening anyway
When I want to consciously take photos I’m reaching for my dedicated camera
If I’m not printing then wI’m filling a drive somewhere, I want to take more intentional photos regardless of the camera I have
I’m making a conscious effort to print a small photo as a keepsake rather than leave it in a digital vault on an Apple server

These thoughts have me no longer looking at a phone thinking if only I had that better camera, I’m now thinking ergonomics first before anything then the rest is secondary. It makes deciding on a phone so much easier and with my current hand pain I can even consider something like an iPhone 17e if I want smaller and lighter and it takes the stress of the camera completely out of the equation.

The M1 MacBook Air (in 2026) appreciation post

2026-09-01T10:38:54Z

With all of the switching between iPhone models over the last two weeks I have used my M1 MacBook Air a lot, like a lot a lot. When I tested out a new device I immediately put iOS 27 on it but when I returned to a previous model or returned it I had to bring it back to iOS 26 - this means a restore via the MacBook Air. This on top of some heavy note taking for some personal stuff I just ended up leaving the MacBook Air out on the table rather than it being tethered to my desk. I was previously on an M4 Pro MacBook Pro (now with a family member) and didn’t think much of using this MacBook Air given 90% of what I have been doing is now done on an M5 based 11” iPad Pro.

What surprised me is how quick this 8GB M1 still feels all these years later, it still does everything I need with ease. I am editing photos, general computing and listening/watching media. I am yet to push with any video editing but I may get into that soon, depends on my creative mood but not to digress too much this is still a good buy in 2026. I haven’t looked at the used market but I’d image they are pretty affordable. This is all with the MacOS 27 Golden Gate beta too, it runs just fine.

It really does show what a step forward Apple Silicon was and still is, I can’t see this machine being replaced anytime soon even now. I just need to hand some drives off it so that I can store my iCloud Photos locally - at the moment my only backup is iCloud nothing local…

Apps I’ve enjoyed using this month (August 2026)

2026-09-01T05:35:43Z

I want to start to share a bit more about apps and developers, I’m still figuring it out but a good starting point I thought would be sharing the apps I’m using each month. It’s the start of a new month so here are my most used apps, the ones I’ve enjoyed using in August. Part of me wanting to do this is the move away from this by a lot of sites that seem to just want to talk about AI 24/7 and have forgotten about the development community and sharing cool apps and tools. I’m writing what I want to see myself.

Acme Weather

From the team behind Dark Sky, they have now left Apple and released a new app Acme Weather. I don’t want to talk about heatwaves but I found it was the most reliable during our 5th one in August and I like the lock screen widget where I could see when the temperature was rising or dropping to know when to take my daily walk. A thoughtful and intuitive UI that gets out of the way and doesn’t bombard me with options. Subscription at £25 a year, which I think is reasonable. My only issue has been when rain is starting or if it is currently raining seems a little off at the moment but so is Apple Weather.

Indigo

I’ve completely switched to Indigo for Mastodon and Blue Sky. It’s got an intuitive design and sync between devices has been good. The subscription at £22 a year is reasonable and I feel I’m getting my money’s worth so far. It does what it says on the tin, which is a compliment as I can quickly get in and out and mute things I don’t want to see.

Zephy

Zephy is by far the best looking plane tracker app out there and works well. It’s data does seem to differ from FlightRadar sometimes but it’s been reliable 90% of the time. Even if you aren’t into aviation give it a try to see the UI, it’s free so no harm in trying it.

Things 3

I’ve been a user of Things since it came out but repeating items have been an issue for me until now. I can complete them early and the repeating items don’t show up in the lists confusing the UI. 90% of my issues with previous versions of Things have been addressed in the last few years including the big one of being able to increase font size. I’m back using it 100% of the time for my productivity and it’s been working well for me.

That’s it for now, let me know if you’d like me to continue talking apps. Also, if you’re a developer with a new app or big update let me know.

iPhone Air: A phone with a camera that gets out of the way

2026-09-01T03:49:03Z

This might seem like a strange title but through my own experience of wrist and hand pain I’ve come to discover that I all I really want is a phone with a camera, not the other way around. Let me explain. As a hobbyist photographer I thought I always wanted the best camera with me at all times but after carrying the iPhone 17 Pro for the last few months what I’ve come to realise is that I want my phone to get out of the way mostly but have a camera that I can use to capture every day, a functional point and shoot but not thinking about how great the resolution might be if say pushing it like zooming in. what highlighted this most (aside from the wearing of a wrist brace experiencing more twitching joints!) was on a recent trip where due to mechanical issues I gave my daughter my Sony a6700 for the day and the only phone I had was the iPhone Air as I had been going back and forth testing. Having a limitation helped me think about the shots more and I’m impressed with the way it turned out. This made me realise that if I had the Pro I’d have always been conscious of the weight, the resulting hand fatigue and I’m not sure I would have had any better photos.

Most days my photos come from walks around town and the Air deals with these just fine. I’m not displaying them or printing them out. If I want a more focussed photography walk I’ll just take my mirrorless camera. I am looking at a compact but that’ll be when I have some money available to me but like I say the Air deals with it just fine. I didn’t get to an airshow this year so to be fair the Sony hasn’t had much use, that’s where it gets the most use with a zoom lens. This last year has been challenging for other reasons so I have been trying to heal through photography and I had been trying to use hardware in the iPhone 17 Pro as an excuse to take more photos but now I’m back on the Air I realise that I’m still taking photos, it’s the process not quality that inspires me. For keeping memories or sharing online it doesn’t matter how many megapixels I have or if I have to occasionally use digital zoom. Having a device that is a phone first that gets out of the way and has a perfectly serviceable camera is what I needed all along.

(To relieve my decision fatigue I already sold the 17 Pro to MusicMagpie to stop me constantly switching between devices).

Differences between the Casio F-91w and F-B100W

2026-08-29T03:56:14Z

I’ve been testing both of these watches over the last couple of weeks and I feel now that I can talk about the differences in real life use. I wanted to share my thoughts in short form if you’re trying to decide which one to buy, the aim is to share what I’ve found so far that may line up with what you consider important.

The backlight is much better on the F-B100W
The stopwatch is much better on the F-B100W, it goes past the one hour mark so can be used for more things
The straps are the same between models
The date format isn’t UK friendly on the F-B100W, it can’t be changed to DD-MM-YY
The digits are larger on the F-91w
The Bluetooth function for automatically syncing time on the F-B100W is unreliable and often fails to update
Step tracking on the F-B100W is about 15% above that you actually do, not available at all on F-91w

I like both models but if you aren’t interested in step tracking and don’t rely on a stopwatch then get the F-91w, else get the updated F-B100W. For me, I need a better stopwatch and backlight so my money goes to the F-B100W.

ADHD Podcast recommendation

2026-08-28T09:48:33Z

I’m getting more comfortable talking about ADHD and being neurodivergent as I hope it’ll help both myself and others. As with a lot of things I fall back to podcasts to learn more about a subject, this has been the case for ADHD and I have another recommendation for you.

In a bid to try to get out of decision paralysis I came across this podcast that has been really helpful in learning practical ways to help with a lot of topics, including decision paralysis.