397 - USB Drives Live On, Vision Pro Evolves, and Plex Locks Down

The latest In Touch With iOS with Dave he is joined by Patrice Brend’amour, Jill McKinley, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Guy Serle. A post-Thanksgiving Apple tech roundtable: Vision Pro M5 vs M2, spatial video, iOS 26 beta updates, USB drives vs digital media, AirTag travel upgrades, Plex limitations, Spotify price hikes, the $149 iPhone pocket, Peanuts specials on Apple TV+, and plenty of laughs between the full panel.

The show notes are at InTouchwithiOS.com

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Summary

In Episode 397 of In Touch With iOS, Dave is joined by Patrice Brend’amour, Jill McKinley, Marty Jencius, Jeff Gamet, and Guy Serle for a lively post-Thanksgiving discussion covering Vision Pro updates, iOS 26 developments, media format debates, travel tech improvements, and plenty of humor.

The panel begins with Apple Vision Pro, diving into the M5 vs. M2 comparison, app support concerns, frozen iPad-based apps, spatial vs. 3D video, and why personas remain one of the Vision Pro’s most underrated features. Several panelists challenge a recent critical article about Vision Pro, noting that the platform is still early and evolving.

Next, the group covers iOS 26 beta updates and Apple’s Invites app, leading to a comedic sidebar about who exactly uses the app — if anyone. This transitions into a deep (and funny) debate over USB thumb drives, CDs/DVDs, Blu-rays, and digital vs. physical media. From enterprise security to indie concert CDs, everyone shares stories illustrating why physical media is “dead”… or maybe not so dead.

More news includes AirTag upgrades that help airlines locate lost luggage, Spotify preparing another round of price increases, and Plex restricting free users from sharing library access — which sparked concerns among Plex users on Apple TV.

The crew also reacts to Apple’s limited-run $149 iPhone “pocket” accessory, Pocket Casts adding smart playlists, and Peanuts holiday specials becoming Apple TV+ exclusives. The episode wraps with chat room highlights and each panelist sharing where they can be found online.

Topics and Links

In Touch With Vision Pro this week.

Vision Pro M5 review: It’s time for Apple to make some tough choices

TRON Legacy is Finally in 3D on Disney+ for Apple Vision Pro! #applevisionpro #tron #disney

Beta this week.

iOS 26 Beta 3 continues this week.

iOS 26.2 adds convenient new feature designed for Apple’s Invites app

In Touch With Mac this week

4 storage types I think no longer make sense in 2025

Other Topics

AirTag’s newest feature could work even better now for many travelers

Pocket Casts app introduces smart playlists feature to organize your podcasts

Plex's crackdown on free remote streaming is starting with its Roku app

News

Apple News Loses CNN - MacRumors

Spotify planning price increase for US subscribers

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Want to watch ‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’? You’ll need an Apple TV subscription

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Dave Ginsburg is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users and shares his wealth of knowledge of iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and related technologies. Visit the YouTube channel    / intouchwithios   follow him on Mastodon @daveg65, , BlueSky @daveg65 and the show @intouchwithios



Our Regular Contributors

Jeff Gamet is a podcaster, technology blogger, artist, and author. Previously, he was The Mac Observer’s managing editor, and Smile’s TextExpander Evangelist. You can find him on Mastadon @jgamet Pixelfed @[email protected] and Bluesky @jgamet.bsky.social‬ Podcasts The Context Machine Podcast Retro Rewatch Retro Rewatch His YouTube channel    / jgamet  

Marty Jencius, Ph.D., is a professor of counselor education at Kent State University, where he researches, writes, and trains about...