visionOS 1.1 prompt to recapture your Persona via Dylan McDonald
After installing visionOS 1.1, Vision Pro users are immediately prompted to recapture their Personas to get the "latest appearance updates" included in the update. Some users shared screenshots of their updated Personas in social media posts today, and the new versions generally appear to be more detailed and lifelike.
Apple still labels Personas as a "beta" feature on visionOS 1.1, and hopefully it will continue to improve the way they look over time.
Quinn Nelson's updated Persona (top) and original Persona (bottom)
As a refresher, Apple says a Persona is an "authentic spatial representation" of a person that shows their facial expressions and hand movements in real time. Personas fill in for you during video calls on the Vision Pro, since the headset covers your actual face. When you set up a Persona, your eyes are also captured for the EyeSight feature, which allows others to see a render of your eyes on the Vision Pro's outward display.
Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
Meta's latest Codec Avatars are way better than Apple's:
Ah yes. Let's compare something that generates an Avatar on a High-end Researcher's computer vs. something that happens on device in minutes. Call me when the Quest 3 can generate something that looks like that with needing to use a High-end, top of the line PC and graphic cards
They've gone from PlayStation 3 to PS4 quality. Weird that this happened so fast, they could've saved themselves a bunch of negative press by just delaying a few weeks. March would still be early 2024.
I bet it needed training data from real world use.
