Wanted: Your Gift Ideas and "The Setup" is Coming Soon

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Hey there!

It's that time of year again! It's dark at 5 o'clock (at least where I am), the holidays are about to kick off, and cold and flu season is creeping in. I've been under the weather with a cold for the last week, so this edition is a little lighter than usual. Sorry about that, but I'm on the way to feeling better, so we should be back to normal in the next edition.

Coming up:

• Wanted: Your Holiday Gift Idea Suggestions!

• What’s on the Horizon for the Newsletter

• The Setup: Featuring You!

• Basic AF Show: New M4 Macs and Apple Intelligence

Let’s jump into it!

🎁 Wanted: Your Holiday Gift Idea Suggestions

I'm working on my second annual Holiday Gift Ideas list, which I will send to you in the next edition on November 27th (the day before Thanksgiving here in the US). And while I can put together a pretty sweet list on my own, I know there is a lot of great stuff out there that I haven't discovered yet—and that's where you come in! 

I would love your suggestions!

Have a favorite thing you've been using this year that you absolutely love and think others will too? Perhaps it's an accessory for your iPad, a favorite Apple Watch band, a book you've read, or a nice pen and notebook for journaling. Reply to this email with your suggestions, and I'll include your tip in the guide (plus a shoutout to your social links, if you'd like.)

Anything related to tech, self-improvement, productivity, etc., is a good fit. Hit reply and let me know what it is!

Meet your own personal AI Agent, for everything…Proxy

Imagine if you had a digital clone to do your tasks for you. Well, meet Proxy…

Last week, Convergence, the London based AI start-up revealed Proxy to the world, the first general AI Agent.

Users are asking things like “Book my trip to Paris and find a restaurant suitable for an interview” or “Order a grocery delivery for me with a custom weekly meal plan”.

You can train it how you choose, so all Proxy’s are different, and personalised to how you teach it. The more you teach it, the more it learns about your personal work flows and begins to automate them.

Meet your Proxy here

🔭 What’s on the Horizon for the Newsletter

As we finish out 2024 and head into the new year, here's what I have coming up!

• Can Apple’s Writing Tools Replace Grammarly?

• Unlocking Apple Watch Face Automations with Shortcuts

• My Daily Essentials: Calendar, To-Do, & Notes Apps That Power My Day

• How to Set Up Your Legacy Contact and Protect Your Family’s Access to your Apple Account

• Looking Ahead: What’s Next for Apple Intelligence & Siri in 2025

Coming in Early 2025: The Setup

I've always really liked seeing what other people are doing with their Apple gear—whether it’s a creative desk setup, a unique home screen layout, customized watch faces, favorite apps, or inventive workflows. Seeing how others personalize and optimize their tech often inspires me to try something new.

So in 2025, I’m excited to introduce a new feature to the newsletter that I'm tentatively naming The Setup. Each month, I'll highlight one of you—a reader of this newsletter—to share how you’re using your Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, your desk setups, and more.

Your tips and approaches could spark new ideas for others, helping all of us make the most of our Apple devices. And honestly, sharing ideas is what makes this community great.

If you’re interested in being featured, just reach out and let me know—I’d love to hear from you.

🎙️ Basic AF Show: New M4 Macs and Apple Intelligence

Jeff and I look back at the voice that defined a generation online, alongside discussing Apple’s latest tech, from the refreshed M4 iMac and compact Mac mini to the powerful new MacBook Pros. We also share thoughts on the first available features of Apple Intelligence and what's to come in December with macOS Sequoia 15.2, iOS 18.2, and iPadOS 18.2.

Chapter Listing:

00:00 Intro

02:11 RIP Elwood “You’ve Got Mail!” Edwards

07:36 New Macs

08:10 iMac with M4

10:52 USB-C “Magic” Accessories

12:17 The New Mac mini!

19:41 Updated MacBook Pro 14” and 16”

25:05 Apple Intelligence

47:05 Close

Episode Transcript

Listen to and follow the show in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all the other podcast apps, as well as on YouTube and YouTube Music.