Siri, iOS 19, and making a portable Mac mini

Now it's reportedly going to be in iOS 19 that Siri gets better, but in the meantime, Apple is celebrating the best developers' apps, and we're turning the Mac mini into a truly portable device, on the AppleInsider Podcast.

It's not true that the fancy new animation on iPhones is the only update we'll see to Siri for a while, but it feels like it. Even as Apple promises improvements are coming alongside Apple Intelligence, a new report says there's to be a major Siri update in iOS 19.4 — in 2026.

We may celebrate when that happens, but actually there's plenty to raise a glass to right now as Apple has announced its shortlist for the apps of the year. They range from games to productivity, and they range across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Even before Apple announces its winners some time in December, the list is worth looking at for some great apps.

Macs, iPhones, and iPads would be nothing without apps, but still it is the hardware that we get excited about — and which we possibly get just too obsessed with. Since the last episode, host Wesley Hilliard has gone down a rabbit hole and constructed a working, functional, but not ideal portable Mac mini. It's not ideal yet, but he's working on it.

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