The iPhone Air reveal was a load of hot air. That’s the central premise of my column for Stuff, which explores what Apple said and what it delivered. Now, it’s not like Apple isn’t prone to hyperbole. Yet for this phone, the gap between spin and reality was greater than we’ve seen in a long time. And of all the compromises Apple made that I mention in the piece (and there are many), I didn’t even mention that the Air has a single speaker, like a budget Android blower from five years ago. I regret the omission. (Apple probably doesn’t, given that it wasn’t even mentioned during the launch keynote.)

The iPhone 17, however, is boring. Yet in another column, I argue why I reckon it’s the best option for most people this year – and (surprisingly) even closer to the iPhone Pro than ever.

The iPhone 16 cannot be upgraded. Which is quite funny. Last year, Apple provided a couple of storage upgrades for the 15. But if it had done the same today, potential buyers would end up with the option of a 256GB iPhone 16 or a 256GB iPhone 17 for the same price. It’s strange. Last year, the 16 seemed like solid value. Now, 12 months later, it’s not worth considering.

Spotify Lossless hi-fi audio won’t cost extra. Good. That’s the only way I’d ever use it. I outline why over at Stuff, in a column guaranteed to eject me from Spotify’s Christmas card list – and that of those types of audiophiles.

Replacing your Mac with an iPad? I did that. And, last week, I chatted about it for Marketplace Tech.

iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 are out on Monday. My sympathies to anyone who has to use them. But if you do, here are some tips to make the best of them.

Love books? Can’t remember what you own or have read? Then you need Book Tracker, a top-notch app for iPhone, iPad and Mac. I dig into its excellent feature set for TapSmart.

The UK government is looking to expand the Online Safety Act. Because of course it is. Again, it’s hard to argue against the premise. Of course no one wants vulnerable people to be able to access content that encourages self-harm. But there is no magic wand that will make all this go away. Although Labour appears to think one exists, by saying it is “compelling platforms to use cutting-edge technology to actively seek out and eliminate this content before it can reach users and cause irreparable harm, rather than simply reacting after someone has already been exposed to it”. So it was never about porn. It was never about children. And I do wonder what will be next on the list.

Apple Music can’t get any worse, right? Wrong. [Edit: I’m told this isn’t new. I hadn’t noticed because I use Reduce Motion. But still… yikes.]

I never liked OutRun much. Sorry. I thought it was a quite clunky racing game, despite the lovely visuals and excellent music. The sequel, however, remains my favourite racing game ever. If anything might change my mind about the original, it’s people doing amazing things with the concept, squeezing it into places it shouldn’t go, such as a C64 PETSCII version and this amazing fan effort for the Game Boy Color. Do-do do-do-do-do do-do-dooooooo!

Subscribe to Design Thinking. It’s an ace comic strip about being in the world of design. But when the creator asked if maybe people might chuck him some cash over Ko-Fi, he lost subscribers. Too many people are entitled. If you’re not one of them, please show this cartoonist some love.