A five-decade-long tradition has come to an end. With the launch of the new M4 iPad Pro & M2 iPad Air, Apple has decided to dispense with offering Apple Stickers inside their product boxes moving forward. Deferring to their "environmental goals" of progressing towards plastic-free packaging, Apple has ended the longstanding practice of including stickers inside the box of new Apple products. I was devastated! Okay, I wasn't devastated, but I was disappointed to hear these iconic stickers disappearing from the unboxing experience. They were more than just stickers; they were a unique part ..read more

The writing is on the wall: Apple and the Smart Keyboard Folio are breaking up. When Apple announced the new M4 iPad Pro & M2 iPad Air lineup at their Let Loose Event in May, they discussed the Air's compatibility with the existing Magic Keyboard (announced in Spring 2020) and unveiled a new Magic Keyboard specifically for the re-engineered iPad Pro. However, the mention of one product was noticeably absent: The Smart Keyboard Folio. Apple has removed all mention of the keyboard from its page dedicated to iPad keyboards and removed any product imagery across its iPad websites. Even after ..read more

What better time to “Let Loose” and play some Apple Event Bingo than at 07:00 am on some random Tuesday? Apple announced its first virtual event of 2024 will take place on Tuesday, May 07, at 07:00 PST. The invitation, which was teased with a half dozen unique Apple logos, felt similar to the 2018 iPad Pro event when Apple featured over 300 unique Apple logos to market the event. However, the marquee marketing image and "Pencil us in" teaser by Tim Cook for the event features an illustrated hand twirling an Apple pencil against a colour-splashed background, leaving little doubt that this even ..read more

Created by accident but refined on purpose, Stripes is a beautiful new wallpaper collection for your Apple devices. Introducing Stripes, a beautiful new wallpaper collection for your Apple Devices. Design “Process” People sometimes ask me to share my design process for the wallpapers I create, but the most well-meaning response is that I really don't know. It's a lot of play and trial and error, eventually stumbling across an aesthetic that looks like something I want to pursue further, after which a period of experimentation and refining begins. The design began its life as an acc ..read more

basicappleguy.com launched four years ago, on April 21, 2020. Today marks the fourth anniversary of basicappleguy.com First, I want to extend my sincere thanks to all the readers of this blog, those who interact with me online, and those who use these wallpapers. The verve to put in the effort I do into this site is fuelled in part by knowing there are many people you get a lot of joy and appreciation for what I've been able to produce over the years. Steve Jobs, over a decade ago, said it best: "There's lots of ways to be, as a person. And some people express their deep appreciation in diff ..read more

A minimal, whimsical, and clever list maker for iPhone. Clear is a minimal but deceptively well-equipped list-making application for iOS. Initially released in 2012 (not a typo, over a decade ago), the app has recently received a complete 2.0 overhaul with a fun collectible business model, an elegant and simplistic design, and an intuitive & playful user interface. I've used it as my lightweight list-maker for the past few months and wanted to share my thoughts on this lovingly crafted iPhone app. Clear 1.0 launched back in 2012 as a cross platform application for Mac, iPad, and iOS. It ..read more

The 2024 Commander Tee is a much more minimalistic spin on my annual tee. New year, new Commander. I've been releasing an annual Commander t-shirt in the early spring ahead of WWDC for four years now. In 2021 & 2022, the design comprised various products arranged in the shape of the Command Symbol, and in 2023, it formed in the negative space of the surrounding products.  A history of the Commander Tee. Top Left: 2021; Top Right: 2022; Bottom Left: 2023; Bottom Right: 2024 For 2024, I decided to go in a much more minimalistic direction. The new 2024 Commander is composed of over a h ..read more

A collection of minimalist gradient wallpapers inspired by the list-making app Clear. Introducing a collection of vibrant gradient wallpapers to compliment Clear, the minimalist list-making app for iOS. When the developers behind Clear approached me about collaborating on a weekend event that included a collection of Apple-inspired icons and themes inside their app, I wanted to make sure I could contribute in a small way. I've always loved the simple terraced gradients used across Clear and used those as the main design inspiration of these wallpapers. I experimented with a few different shap ..read more

A luscious and playful wallpaper collection. Introducing Glassy, a vibrant new wallpaper collection for your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. If you'll let me get all softhearted and mushy for a minute, this wallpaper meant a fair bit for me to make. Throughout the tail end of 2023 and the start of 2024, the pressures at work continued to mount. Significant staffing shortages coincided with pressures from leadership to remain busy at all costs or face the potential of job cuts overwhelmed me. Work and a surge in family stress began to chip away: work by day and family by night. Then, a wave of illness ..read more

A new dedicated Sports app from Apple has landed. On Wednesday, out of left field (baseball reference), Apple introduced a new iOS application: Apple Sports. Available initially in the USA, UK, and Canada, the app includes real-time scores, play-by-play, and boxscore information for nearly a dozen leagues, including NBA, NHL, and several Football leagues, including MLS, Bundesliga, La Liga, and more. The press release also states that in the near future, it will include scores from leagues, including the MLB, NFL, NCAAF, NWSL, and WNBA, and hopefully, more to come. I love the app idea. It's a ..read more