Daring Fireball★ My 2025 Apple Report Card
https://daringfireball.net/2026/02/my_2025_apple_report_card
https://daringfireball.net/2026/02/my_2025_apple_report_card
Steven Op de beeck@daringfireball John, I'd like to point out a copy-paste error in the first sentence: This week Jason Snell published his annual Six Colors Apple Report Card for 2024.
MarkV@daringfireball @gruber Is it possible you’re missing a section header for Vision Pro? It seems to be grouped under Apple Watch.
nizmow
John Gruber
Walden Wilde 🦝@daringfireball I sure hope Tim Cook reads this. 😤
Jeff@daringfireball It must be nice having a larger presence profile in this space, to where bugs that you may report with Apple get looked at to some degree, and they may even acknowledge you! Seems pretty cool.
I haven’t had any acknowledgment of any feedback I’ve filed since 2019. Starting to wonder why I even pay for this Developer account…
I haven’t had any acknowledgment of any feedback I’ve filed since 2019. Starting to wonder why I even pay for this Developer account…
matt sephton@daringfireball surprising that you gave software a C and also said "Tahoe is the worst regression in the entire history of MacOS”. They still got a passing grade? What would have to happen to warrant an F?
Cory Birdsong@daringfireball what would Tahoe have to do to get an F?
old man and the cbowns@gruber as a fellow tabs traveler, I will warn you specifically about the OS upgrade transition for window restoration. For three years running, Notes and Safari have restored zero windows across major OS upgrades, and only screenshots of the Window menu (or restoring Sessions.db) has saved me from what is effectively a small data loss bug. (@daringfireball)
Nit@daringfireball some good points and well done on that F for Social.
Some parts I disagree with…
Watch gets an A. But WatchOS 26 is a mess - e.g. https://mastodon.social/@andrewwade/116131942103618020
Never have I had as many non-tech friends complain about an iOS update as with iOS 26. And never have I had to enable as many accessibility settings.
Services quality and value remain high and fair with no mention of the ham fisted approach to Creative Studio. UIs becoming ad space should be a ding too.
@daringfireball just this should get the Watch a low score. Annoys me every time I see it.
“Can’t have custom watch faces as you’ll ruin the carefully curated look”.
Todd Heberlein (social)@daringfireball Another amazing Apple Vision Pro feature that Apple doesn't talk about is website environments for Safari.
Anyone can create an immersive experience for Apple Vision Pro users using Safari. It could be porn (no Apple review). You could put it behind a paywall to make money from it (no Apple cut).
Not sure why Apple doesn't promote this.
Work in Progress on Trench Cafe - using HDRI
@daringfireball Anyone with an Apple Vision Pro, you can give it a try at the link below. In the hands of real 3D modelers, this could be amazing.
Stuart Breckenridge@daringfireball @gruber It is no longer a strategy of “engagement”, it’s a strategy of appeasement.
Derek Martin@daringfireball re: SERVICES: B (LAST YEAR: B) —- IIRC, Apple said “AI” would be on device and free to users. The first serious AI features to launch are in the Creator Studio, which requires people to pay to access the AI features. Seeing features you can’t use in an app is baked-in advertising. This feels like a bait-and-switch Services Revenue Play to me, and I really don’t like what it may be foreshadowing!
Bret Carmichael@daringfireball @gruber This was a well-measured summary with one exception, if I may. I think Apple’s seeming complicity in allowing X’s CSAM-creator, Grok, to remain in the App Store was worth a mention. If not in Society, then Services would be a good fit. Its level of egregiousness far exceeded the trophy.
@bretcarmichael You've fallen into the “writing your report card in January/February" trap. The report card is for 2025, and that whole Grok-generated porn thing started in 2026.
@gruber Argh, indeed I have. I stand corrected.