This is Technology Bytes, episode 158, for March 15th, 2026.
Technology Bytes is a microcast where I share brief bites on interesting technology.
Enjoy and here we go.
I really struggled this week to come up with a topic to discuss on this microcast.
I use technology every day.
I use my Apple products every day.
I enjoy using them.
I use them to get work done.
All kinds of things.
I listen to technology podcasts, but none of those really sparked an interest.
I read some technology blog things and I just really struggled.
We talked last week about the hardware that came out.
I read a lot about the new MacBook Neo and that technology and where it sits and who’s it for.
There’s been lots of talk.
David Pogue came out with a book, Apple’s First 50 Years.
I don’t think that’s the official title.
I can’t remember what it is, but he’s been making the rounds.
People have been talking about that.
I’ll probably talk about that, but a little closer to the anniversary date.
And so I was like, what in the world am I going to talk about this week?
So I’m going back to the wishing well, and I’m going to talk about 26.5 beta that should be coming fairly soon.
So as you know, I run all the developer betas.
I’m in them early.
It hasn’t burned me yet.
And if you remember a few weeks back, I was talking about the 26.4 beta having some of the new Siri stuff coming with it.
And of course that didn’t happen.
Even when I look at it, it’s like, what was the point of 26.4 beta?
What?
I don’t know.
It added some emojis or something.
I don’t know.
It felt like there was very little in it.
So maybe some stability.
I’m not 100% sure, but it just was the next beta.
So I installed it.
It hasn’t hurt.
It hasn’t really offered all that much.
So just on the train, I guess.
Then last night I was just reading before I went to bed and I saw a little blurb about the new Siri coming in 26.5 beta.
And I’m like, oh, I wonder if that’s actually going to happen.
I really don’t expect it till 27 comes out in the fall.
WWDC, lots of announcements there, I think.
But I’m always holding my breath, hoping they do something, hoping that Apple moves into the realm where everybody else is playing.
Not that they necessarily have to compete at the same level, but to just make some progress, to see something different, to see some offering of improvements on how you react with your Apple devices and the technical smarts, maybe, of it.
There’s a lot of things to be disappointed with how Apple does their intelligence work and even their machine learning.
There’s a lot to like as well.
But I’m thinking when I’m in my car and it gives the Apple Maps and it says, here’s your preferred route.
And it always has me take this goofy exit off the freeway that I never, ever take.
It’s halfway to work and it just says, oh, get off here.
This is your preferred route.
And then get right back on the freeway.
I never do that.
And it knows I never do that.
And yet it never changes that preferred route.
Not very intelligent.
It doesn’t offer much in the way of interacting with information that’s on my phone, almost next to nothing.
And I’m an Apple apologist, I guess.
And I really like what they do.
And I rarely complain about them.
But this is getting to be ridiculous.
So I keep hanging on every single little silly rumor about them getting better, about them offering something better.
And I don’t know why.
I guess I’m hopeful that they will join the fray.
And when they do, it will be something worthwhile.
Not just, I don’t know, not just a play thing, but something that will have some meat to it.
Now, I know they’ve worked with Google now because their models are much better than what Apple has developed in-house.
I know that Apple’s still working on things.
But at this point, maybe when we’re talking next week, I’ll have received something from Apple in the way of some kind of intelligence that makes my devices more fun to use.
I’m not sure.
I keep holding my breath.
I keep holding on.
I keep giving them the benefit of the doubt.
I probably will do that ad infinitum.
Is that how you say that?
And so that’s just who I am.
I like Apple products.
They’re so funny.
I saw an article this week about the latest offering of a Google phone from Samsung or whatever.
It’s like, this may be the year I switch to Android.
It’s like, there’s no way.
It’s so silly.
If you’re in the Apple ecosystem and you have a Mac and you have an iPad and you have an iPhone and you have an Apple Watch, there’s no way you’re switching unless Apple just totally fails.
Because the way all of that technology works together is so cool.
Even if it’s not living up to what I want it to be in the latest betas.
Even if their intelligence isn’t where I want it to be.
The things that it does today are so far superior to any other thing on the market.
You can’t run Windows and run a smartwatch and run a smartphone and have them interact at any level comparable to what Apple’s doing.
You can’t run Android and run a Google, you know, whatever computer they want you to run.
And there’s just nothing, nothing in the world that works the way that Apple’s gear works together.
Because they own everything.
Because all of it is together.
And their hardware is fantastic.
And now their software needs to catch up.
And so I’m waiting.
26.5.
Bring it, baby.
Well, that is all I have for today.
If you have comments, suggestions, or questions, you can send them to technologybytes at marriedfamily.com.
As always, I want to thank you for listening to the Technology Bytes microcast.
And I look forward to the next time we are together taking another bite of technology.
