MacBreak Weekly 977: A Slab of Ham on a Box

This week's episode dives deep into the post-WWDC hangover, exploring Apple's remarkable software improvements across platforms. The hosts examine the first third-party immersive video production using Blackmagic's new camera, celebrate major Vision Pro persona upgrades, and discuss Apple's complete re-architecture of iPad windowing. The conversation reveals how Apple's software teams seem to have hit their stride after years of criticism, delivering substantial improvements from terminal apps to AI integration. • Canal+ MotoGP Documentary for Vision Pro - First third-party Apple immersive video production shot entirely with new Blackmagic URSA camera, featuring French motorcycle racer Johann Zarco • Spatial Personas Get Major Upgrade - visionOS 26 delivers dramatically improved personas that actually look like real people, though beards still cause mouth-tracking issues • Geographic Persistence and Room Mapping - visionOS 26 features allow virtual objects to stay in place across reboots and sessions • Apple Home Hub Smart Display Discovery - Code found in iOS 26 dev beta reveals upcoming HomePod with screen, expected by the end of year • iPad Multitasking Revolution - Craig Federighi explains the complete re-architecture of iPadOS 26 windowing system, bringing full Mac-style window management to iPad • Background Task Processing - iPadOS 26 introduces finite background tasks for exports and file operations, finally allowing users to switch apps during long processes • Software Quality Renaissance - Discussion of Apple's apparent software turnaround, from improved backend infrastructure (40% improvement moving from Java to Swift/Rust) to new developer APIs • New Speech-to-Text APIs - Apple provides developers access to on-device transcription that's twice as fast as Whisper, though slightly less accurate • Third-Party App Integration Improvements - Apple now allows music apps to show animated artwork on lock screen and provides access to various ML models • Terminal and Spotlight Updates - macOS 26 features the first meaningful Terminal app update in years, plus pro features added to Spotlight, including clipboard history • F1 Movie Marketing Blitz - Deep dive into Apple's $200+ million investment in the F1 film, including custom iPhone cameras built for race cars and haptic trailer experiences Picks of the Week: • Leo's Pick: Classic Sega iOS games going free before delisting on the App Store, including Crazy Taxi, Sonic titles, and Super Monkey Ball • Jason's Pick: PlugShare app for electric vehicle owners to find compatible charging stations across all networks and plug types • Andy's Pick: Usagi Yojimbo comic collection Humble Bundle featuring Stan Sakai's acclaimed samurai rabbit series, with proceeds supporting the Hero Initiative • Alex's Pick: Perla iOS camera app designed to give iPhone footage an authentic 16mm film look and feel Hosts: Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, Andy Ihnatko, and Jason Snell Download or subscribe to MacBreak Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/macbreak-weekly. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: storyblok.com/twittv-25