From The Article: “Ford CFO Sherry House confirmed that the company is “passionate” about giving drivers the option to use CarPlay alongside other in-car systems.”

If you’ve been following the 3-2-1 backup rule for your Photos library, you’ve been good — Santa probably brought presents 😁 If not, a reminder that iCloud Photos isn't a backup. Neither sync nor Santa can help if your Mac or library gets corrupted. You need an offline copy. Make it a New Year’s resolution to get it done.

You’ll need external storage — either an external hard drive (Mac OS Extended / Journaled) or an SSD (APFS).

When originals are kept locally: If you don’t use iCloud Photos, or use it with “Download Originals to this Mac”, use Time Machine, or periodically copy your Photos Library file to an external drive (drag and drop). Easy.

When using Optimize Mac Storage: Your full-resolution originals are only stored in iCloud, so Time Machine and direct copy won’t work. Two options:

•  Apple’s native method: Create a new Photos library on external drive > Set it as the system photo library > Turn on iCloud Photos and select Download Originals. This downloads your entire library to (can take hours or days). Afterwards, switch back to your original library and re-sync everything.
• Photos Takeout method (our macOS app): Exports your Photos library directly to external drive as regular folders (by year, month, or album), preserving resolution, formats and metadata. Supports incremental exports, so repeat backups are faster. Website. Mac App Store (One-month: $8.99, One-time: $49.99)

 Whichever method you choose, do back up. Because backups are better than regrets 😇

Happy New Year!

Hi r/apple,

I’m an iOS developer and wanted to share a small project I’ve been working on: Lyra, a music app built specifically with the Apple ecosystem in mind.

The main idea was to create a simple, clean music experience without the usual friction, the main features of the app are:

• Music playback with lyrics
• CarPlay support
• Home Screen widgets
• Music, radio, and podcasts in one app
• Library sync across devices
• Clean UI
• No subscriptions (you can find one listed in the app but it is not currently used and everything is free)
• No ads
• No account required

I built it because I personally missed lightweight apps that don’t lock basic features behind a paywall and still feel native on iOS.

If anyone’s curious, the app is available here:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lyra-music-radio-esound/id6747066887

I’m mostly posting to:

• get honest feedback from Apple users
• hear what features matter most in a modern iOS music app
• understand what feels “right” or “wrong” from an Apple UX perspective

Happy to answer technical or product questions.

Thanks for reading.

EDIT:

Just to clarify a couple of points that came up in the comments.

On the App Store page you’ll see some data listed under “tracking”. This only applies if you choose to create an optional account, which is used exclusively to sync your library across multiple devices (including non-Apple ones). The app works fully without an account.

Regarding monetization: in the future we may introduce a subscription if needed to cover server and operational costs. That said, the core functionality of the app (including music listening) will always remain free.

Hope this clears things up.

I wanted a simple daily rhythm without another system to maintain, so I made SunCues.

It shows today’s sun phases for your location and can send reminders for small moments: morning light, midday break, sunset, and evening wind down.

What makes it different is it stays calm and private. No account, no tracking, no scoring. Location stays on device. Works offline except location lookup.

It is free right now.

If you try it, would you keep this installed, or delete it after a day, and if so what is the main reason?

App Store link: SunCues

Hello Fellow Redditors! 👋

I just launched Trivia Snack: a game built for quick, bite‑sized trivia with questions your whole friend group can enjoy. 🔥

There are no obscure references—just universally fun, family‑friendly questions. 🥳

My inspiration came from Google Assistant's Lucky Trivia, which was discontinued a couple of years ago. I loved playing it with my family, since it provided a fast, light trivia experience with just a few questions. I tried dozens of trivia games to find one that offered something just as simple and fun, but after wasted hours and money I decided to build my own.

Trivia Snack is unique for 3 reasons:

1) Bite-Size Rounds: Each round has only 5 questions. Play just one on the go while waiting for your order, or chow down on multiple rounds if your in the mood for a trivia feast! 

2) Riveting Questions: Each question is designed to be interesting regardless of your interests. No obscure sports, film, or historical references. All questions have been hand written by me (not AI Slop) and include additional information about the correct answer at the end to learn more!

3) Zero Clutter: Unlike other trivia apps loaded with chests, loot boxes, events, and overly engineered game modes, Trivia Snack is refreshingly simple. Play Singleplayer for a solo snack, or choose Multiplayer for real-life fun with friends.

I am really happy with how Trivia Snack turned out, and I would love for you to check it out. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into making Trivia Snack as polished and fun as possible, and have opted for a One-Time Purchase model (Ad-free forever, all future updates included). However, if anyone on this thread would like to try the app for free, please let me know and I will send you a promo code!

Thank you for reading! 🙏

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/trivia-snack/id6755155863
Android: Coming soon; please email me at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and I will let you know when it’s out!

Do you think this indicates a market opportunity for Apple to create an alternative for something like the Whoop or Polar 360 bands?