iOS Today 769: Chronology with Calendars

Podcast: All TWiT.tv Shows (Audio)
Date: September 11, 2025
Hosts: Rosemary Orchard & Dan Moran

Episode Overview

In this episode, Rosemary Orchard is joined by Dan Moran to explore everything about using calendar apps on iOS, with a focus on the latest changes in iOS 26. The discussion dives into the updated user interface for calendars, essential features such as reminders integration, travel time functionality, time zones, multiple calendars management, sharing, subscriptions, focus modes, and plenty of pro tips and app recommendations. Listeners will particularly appreciate the practical workflow examples and both hosts' lighthearted rapport.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction to Calendars on iOS

• Rosemary sets the scene for the episode with signature humor, referencing Apple's proliferation of OSes.
  • "We just start making up Apple OSs that aren't Mac OS at this point on this show…" (02:08)
• Dan jokes about a possible future combination:
  • "I'm looking forward to when Apple combines all of its OSes into a Meta OSOS." (02:41)

2. UI Changes in iOS 26 Calendar

• The UI remains familiar, but allows for easier multi-day views, leveraging large phone screens.
  • Dan: "I do like some of the things that have changed over time, including the ability to see more than one day at a time. We've all got these giant phones these days." (03:35)
• Rosemary prefers Fantastical for its enhanced features but appreciates built-in Calendar's deep integration with Shortcuts.
  • "One of the major advantages for me personally with Calendar is that it integrates with shortcuts, which means I can get all of my data out of calendar in a shortcut and send myself little summaries." (04:43)

3. Reminders Integration

• iOS 18 integrated Reminders into Calendar; users can now view reminders alongside events for a holistic daily overview.
  • Rosemary: "When you're trying to get like an overview of your day...turn on reminders and you go, oh, this is why that day has basically no appointments..." (04:43)

4. Travel Time and Time Zones

• Importance of travel time in event scheduling, with humorous anecdote about family habits.
  • "One of the things that I…trained my dad about is travel time…lunch is booked at 1, that's the event that goes in the calendar." (06:15)
• Adding time zones to events prevents scheduling mishaps, especially around daylight saving transitions.
  • Rosemary: "That is more important than ever for me not to just assume that something is at 5pm because it might not be at 5pm—it's critical." (07:20)
  • Dan: "Having that time zone thing is absolutely clutch for those kinds of events because then when you switch time zones…everything is already in the right time." (07:49)

5. Managing Multiple Calendars

• Both hosts rely on color-coded, segmented calendars for organization and privacy.
  • Dan: "My wife and I have a shared calendar…for things that we need to do. And then I have stuff that I need for work or personal stuff, or even some shared stuff with my parents." (08:39)
  • Rosemary’s tip: one calendar per high-context area (e.g., iOS Today events, travel).

6. Creating and Enhancing Events

• Users can add locations, travel times based on actual addresses, invite participants (with RSVP), attach docs/links, and add notes to events.
  • "If you add this particular location…you can actually base your travel time on that…You can add invitees…they can then accept or decline." (12:01)
• Practical example: using calendar invites for large gatherings, with custom info and parking instructions.

7. Calendar Subscriptions

• Subscribing to public calendars (e.g., bank holidays, school schedules) prevents the need to manually cross-check multiple sources.
  • "In my case, the UK government has…shared calendars…like bank holidays or when time zones change…" (12:01)
  • Describes how to add .ics calendar subscriptions in iOS.

8. Birthdays, Holidays, and Declined Events

• Birthdays sync from contacts, display ages if a birth year is present.
  • "If you add birthdays to contacts…it will even show you how old they are…" (15:34)
• Adding and managing holiday calendars without event alerts to avoid notification overload.
• Viewing declined events and completed reminders is optional; hosts discuss preferences.

9. Siri Suggestions and Automation

• Siri’s event and trip detection in email/calendar is a mixed bag—sometimes useful, sometimes not.
  • Dan: "As Siri often is, a little too eager to please…One thing I do find very helpful...is flights." (18:51)
  • Rosemary prefers TripIt for automated travel plan aggregation, then imports as a calendar subscription.
  • "I just forward all of my travel things to plans.com and…it was great because then I could just see it all in my calendar." (19:47)

10. Calendar Sharing

• Sharing individual events vs. entire calendars; setting permissions (view/edit) for shared calendars.
  • Rosemary demonstrates the step-by-step process and why disabling edit permissions is important for less tech-savvy contacts. (21:26)

11. Calendar Focus Mode Filters

• Calendars can be tied to Focus modes, controlling which calendars appear when a focus is active.
  • Rosemary expresses both love and frustration:
    • "I found that it kind of works and kind of doesn't work…" (26:18)
  • Fantastical’s calendar sets offer greater flexibility.

12. Additional Pro Tips

• Dan’s tip: Rotate your phone sideways for week view in Calendar.
  • "If you have your phone and you turn it sideways, you get a week view of your calendar. I find that incredibly helpful..." (29:00)
• Both hosts wish for automatic merging of duplicate events appearing on multiple calendars.
• Widget tip: Add Calendar widgets to lock screen for at-a-glance scheduling info.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On UI and Apple OSes:
  • Rosemary: "We just start making up Apple OSs that aren't Mac OS at this point on this show…" (02:08)
• On Travel Time:
  • Rosemary: "…I have trained my dad about...travel time. So we no longer...get lunch invitations which start at 11am and then at 4pm due to the fact that he's just booked a bunch of travel time in there." (06:11)
  • Dan: "It depends how many martinis you're having at lunch, Rosemary, you might need a little..." (06:15)
• On Focus Filters:
  • Rosemary: "Calendars are not in the same order they are in the Calendars app and I do not know why. That is feedback that I must submit to Apple." (26:18)
• On Siri Suggestions:
  • Dan: "As Siri often is, a little too eager to please and too here to help with things that I'm not actually going to." (18:51)
• Sharing Calendar Mishaps:
  • Rosemary: "…They put it on one thing and you put it on another thing. I hate to say it, folks, the answer to this actually could be more calendars..." (30:16)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Theme: 02:08–02:56
• Calendar UI and Usage: 03:35–04:43
• Reminders Integration and Shortcuts: 04:43–06:15
• Travel Time & Time Zones: 06:15–08:39
• Multiple Calendars & Color Coding: 08:39–09:18
• Adding Event Details, Locations, Invitees: 12:01–15:20
• Calendar Subscriptions: 12:01–15:20
• Handling Birthdays, Holidays, Declined Events: 15:34–18:51
• Siri Suggestions and Automation: 18:51–21:26
• Sharing Calendars & Permissions: 21:26–23:57
• Calendar Focus Mode Filters: 25:53–28:51
• Pro Tips & Week View: 29:00–31:07
• Widgets and Final Recap: 30:16–31:29

App Cap Recommendations

Dan Moran’s Pick: Belkin MagSafe Car Vent Mount (31:29)

• Simple, secure phone mounting in cars; supports landscape/portrait.
• Dan: "I just slap it up there because I don't use a case. Obviously, if you use a case, you want to make sure you got one that has MagSafe built into it as well." (32:48)

Rosemary Orchard’s Pick: Silicone Cable Ties (34:26)

• Versatile, inexpensive cable management for tech, kitchen, or travel.
• Rosemary: "These particular ones are silicone. You can buy like 30 of them for about $6 or something off of Amazon..." (34:26)

Closing Thoughts

Both hosts provide links to their work, with light banter on how to find them and further resources.

• Dan: dmoran.com (36:23)
• Rosemary: rosemaryorchard.com

Next episode: Shortcuts Corner postponed until Micah returns.

Listener Takeaways

• Leverage calendar app features like reminders, travel time, time zones, and subscriptions to streamline personal and family scheduling.
• Use multiple, color-coded calendars for clarity and sharing, and optimize notification settings and widgets for at-a-glance information.
• Automate when possible, and experiment with Focus Mode filters (or third-party apps like Fantastical) for even more customization.

Goodbye, folks! (37:11)