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    <title>Daring Fireball</title>
    <subtitle>By John Gruber</subtitle>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/"/>
    <link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/main"/>
    <id>https://daringfireball.net/feeds/main</id>
    <updated>2026-11-01T20:22:56Z</updated>
    <rights>Copyright © 2026, John Gruber</rights>
    <entry>
        <title>WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=q42026"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xp4"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/11/01/workos"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43672</id>
        <published>2026-11-01T20:22:56Z</published>
        <updated>2026-11-01T20:22:56Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>My thanks to WorkOS for sponsoring last week at DF. An agent can’t click through a signup page built for humans, so give it something it can read instead. Publish an auth.md file and agents register themselves without ever touching a browser login, and the user never gets pulled out of what they were doing.</p>

<p>With WorkOS auth.md, enroll in the dashboard and AuthKit publishes the file. Agents read it, register, and get scoped, short-lived credentials you control.</p>

<p><a href="https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=q42026">Make your app agent-ready today</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/11/01/workos">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Sponsorship Openings for Daring Fireball (Including The Talk Show)</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xp3"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/sponsorship-openings-for-daring-fireball-including-the-talk-show"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43671</id>
        <published>2026-10-30T22:30:54Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-31T18:22:44Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Sponsorships have continued selling briskly, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/03/06/daring-fireball-weekly-sponsorship-openings">of late</a>. Knock on wood. As of yesterday, the next opening <a href="/feeds/sponsors/">on the schedule</a> wasn’t until the last week of December, and the Q1 2027 schedule is already filling up. <s>However, due to some schedule rejiggering, <em>next week</em> is now open.</s> <em>Update:</em> OK, next week has been sold, but Christmas week remains open. That’s a good week at DF. I keep posting and readers are often more bored than usual. Also a good week to promote games.</p>

<p>If you’ve got a product or service you think would be of interest to DF’s audience of people obsessed with high quality and good design, <a href="mailto:sponsors@daringfireball.net?subject=Weekly%20Feed%20Sponsorship">just email me</a> — especially if you can act quick for next week’s opening. I’m also booking sponsorships for Q1 and Q2 2027, and over half of those weeks are already sold. The rate for the two remaining weeks in 2026 is $11,000, and the rate for open weeks in 2027 is $12,500.</p>

<p>The sponsorship schedule for The Talk Show also has openings, including for the next few episodes in November and December. The general rule of thumb is that sponsorship spots on The Talk Show cost one-third the rate for the weekly spots on DF. I’m happy to work out deals a little lower than that for first-time sponsors. If you’ve got a product or service you’d like to hear pitched on America’s favorite three-star podcast, <a href="mailto:sponsors@daringfireball.net?subject=Sponsoring%20The%20Talk%20Show">get in touch</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Sponsorship Openings for Daring Fireball (Including The Talk Show)’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/sponsorship-openings-for-daring-fireball-including-the-talk-show">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/macbook_pro_pricing_and_configurations_for_m6_m5_pro_and_m5_max"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xp2"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43670</id>
        <published>2026-10-30T21:56:10Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-30T21:57:39Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <summary type="text">I find it useful to organize all of the configuration options into tables on a single page, and I figured it might be useful to share this now, before I finish writing my full thoughts on the redesigned hardware and displays for the PROLED XDR models.</summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple’s dynamic configuration UI in their online store doesn’t hide or disguise the pricing or configuration options, but it doesn’t present all of the options at a glance. I find it useful to organize all of the configuration options into tables on a single page, and I figured it might be useful to share this now, before I finish writing my full thoughts on the redesigned hardware and displays for the PROLED XDR models.</p>

<p>Notes:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>The old-style (mini-LED, no touchscreens, heavier) M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-macbook-pro-with-all-new-m5-pro-and-m5-max/">were announced</a> and began shipping in March 2026, alongside the new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR, the MacBook Neo, and M5 MacBook Airs.</p></li>
<li><p>The new but old-style plain 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-introduces-the-new-14-inch-macbook-pro-with-m6/">was announced in October 2026</a> and is set to begin shipping in early November.</p></li>
<li><p>The all-new PROLED XDR (touchscreens, lighter weight) M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-groundbreaking-macbook-pro-with-proled-xdr-display/">were announced in October 2026</a> and are set to begin shipping in early November.</p></li>
<li><p>As in previous generations, there are no 16-inch models for the plain M6 or the chip-binned fewer-core M5 Pro configurations. The 16-inch MacBook Pro starts with the full 18-core CPU / 20-core GPU M5 Pro chip.</p></li>
<li><p>16-inch models, when available, cost $300 more than the same-specced 14-inch configuration.</p></li>
<li><p>Nano-texture displays are an option for all MacBook Pro models, and always cost $150.</p></li>
<li><p>The new PROLED XDR models cost $400 more than the equivalent old-style ones. This $400 difference is true for both 14- and 16-inch models.</p></li>
<li><p>The new 16 TB SSD upgrade is exclusively available for M5 Max models with the new PROLED XDR displays. It costs a smooth $7,000 more than the base 2 TB storage.</p></li>
</ul>

<h2>M6</h2>

<pre><code>12-core CPU / 12-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $2000
    16-inch:          N/A

    PROLED XDR:       N/A
    Nano-texture:    +150

    RAM:    16 GB      +0
            24 GB    +200
            32 GB    +400

    SSD:    1 TB       +0
            2 TB     +500
            4 TB    +1500
</code></pre>

<h2>M5 Pro</h2>

<pre><code>15-core CPU / 16-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $2500
    16-inch:          N/A

    PROLED XDR:      +400
    Nano-texture:    +150

    RAM:    24 GB      +0
            48 GB    +600

    SSD:    1 TB       +0
            2 TB     +500
            4 TB    +1500


18-core CPU / 20-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $2700
    16-inch:        $3000

    PROLED XDR:      +400
    Nano-texture:    +150

    RAM:    24 GB      +0
            48 GB    +600
            64 GB   +1000

    SSD:    1 TB       +0
            2 TB     +500
            4 TB    +1500
</code></pre>

<h2>M5 Max</h2>

<pre><code>18-core CPU / 32-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $4100
    16-inch:        $4400

    PROLED XDR:      +400
    Nano-texture:    +150

    RAM:    36 GB      +0

    SSD:    2 TB       +0
            4 TB    +1000
            8 TB    +3000
           16 TB    +7000  (PROLED XDR only)


18-core CPU / 40-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $4700
    16-inch:        $5000

    RAM:    48 GB      +0
            64 GB    +400
           128 GB   +2000

    SSD:    2 TB       +0
            4 TB    +1000
            8 TB    +3000
           16 TB    +7000  (PROLED XDR only)
</code></pre>

<p>To me, the most curious detail in these tables is that if you select the chip-binned M5 Max with only 32 GPU cores, the one and only RAM configuration is 36 GB. The “full” M5 Max with 40 GPU cores starts with 48 GB of RAM in the base configuration.</p>

<p>For size, weight, battery life, and display brightness differences, <a href="https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/liquid-retina-xdr-display/compare/?modelList=MacBook-Pro-14-M6,MacBook-Pro-14-M5-Max,MacBook-Pro-proled-xdr-m5max-14">consult Apple’s ever-excellent Compare tool</a>, preconfigured with that link to show the 14-inch models with M6, M5 Max (mini-LED), and M5 Max with PROLED XDR. (<a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/macbook-pro-compare-nov-2026-m6-m5max_led-m5max_proled.pdf">PDF archive</a> of that Compare page, archived today for posterity.)</p>

    ]]></content>
        <title>★ MacBook Pro Pricing and Configurations for M6, M5 Pro, and M5 Max</title>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>The Only Good Easter Eggs Are Whole-Assed Easter Eggs</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://unsung.aresluna.org/apples-ipod-recreation/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xp1"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/wichary-apple-ipod-easter-egg"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43669</id>
        <published>2026-10-30T17:53:41Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-31T15:21:14Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Marcin Wichary on the <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/apple-music-ipod-404-page">original iPod easter egg</a> on Apple Music’s website 404 page:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I am usually not a fan of easter eggs — most of them are poorly
made — but this might be the best iPod recreation I’ve seen, and
it’s an interesting thing to study:</p>

<ul>
<li>I think it generally covers all the modes etc.</li>
<li>(with small exceptions) the typography looks accurate,</li>
<li>it has the little “haptic” beeps,</li>
<li>it has proper acceleration and the scrollbar,</li>
<li>it has a little music library with various playlists,</li>
<li>I have only noticed a few small bugs.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<p>It looks real, sounds real, feels real. Don’t bother with your easter egg idea if you’re going to half-ass it.</p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong> The original iPod itself had a great easter egg: a hidden version of the classic game Breakout. Apple’s new easter egg web-page iPod <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/phones/apple-music-is-hiding-a-playable-ipod-easter-egg-and-brick-game/">includes the hardware iPod easter egg</a>. Just go to Settings → About and hold down the center button for 5 seconds. An easter egg in the easter egg. That’s how you do it.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The Only Good Easter Eggs Are Whole-Assed Easter Eggs’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/wichary-apple-ipod-easter-egg">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>GM to Pay $220 Million After Betraying Their Own Drivers’ Privacy</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/gm-pay-220-million-settle-allegations-it-violated-consumers-privacy-2026-10-29/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xp0"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/gm-privacy-settlement"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43668</id>
        <published>2026-10-30T17:18:56Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-30T17:18:57Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Jonathan Stempel, reporting for Reuters:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>General Motors will pay $220 million to settle ​allegations that
it illegally sold drivers’ private behavior and location data to
brokers, who then sold the information to insurers that used it to
set and sometimes increase rates.</p>

<p>The settlement, announced on Thursday, resolves claims by the
attorneys general of 35 US states and the District ​of Columbia
over the automaker’s Smart Driver program, which enrolled millions
of drivers ​between 2016 and its discontinuation in 2024. Other
regulators have also reviewed GM’s handling of driver data.</p>

<p>GM was accused of pitching Smart Driver to help ​people improve
their personal driving safety, only to violate drivers’ privacy by
reneging on its ​promise not to sell their data without
permission. Many people who signed up were also enrolled in GM’s
OnStar safety, navigation and diagnostic service.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Reuters’s milquetoast headline was “GM to Pay $220 Million to Settle Allegations It Violated Drivers’ Privacy”. They’re not mere allegations. They did it. They just betrayed their customers’ privacy to make a few quick bucks.</p>

<p>I’ve driven a few GM rentals in recent years, and I’d almost certainly never buy one of their cars just because they’re poorly-designed pieces of crap. But even if they made a decent car I wouldn’t buy it. They’re still seemingly <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/21/gm-crack-smoking">digging in on the CarPlay thing</a>, and they ratted out their own customers to insurance companies.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘GM to Pay $220 Million After Betraying Their Own Drivers’ Privacy’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/gm-privacy-settlement">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Patrick Stewart Dies at 86</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/patrick-stewart-dead-star-trek-x-men-1236742932/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoz"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/patrick-stewart-rip"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43667</id>
        <published>2026-10-30T16:53:09Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-30T16:53:09Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Patrick Stewart, the sophisticated actor who brought a
Shakespearean touch to <em>Star Trek</em> and <em>X-Men</em> as he made an
otherworldly transformation from British stage veteran to sci-fi
icon, has died. He was 86.</p>

<p>Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following “a
brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body
dementia,” longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak announced.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>There’s an old adage that everyone’s favorite SNL cast is the one from their teenage years. It’s probably true for <em>Star Trek</em> too. My favorite is The Next Generation and it’s not even close. Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard was just so fucking cool. Smart, wise, firm, curious, empathetic, and just fucking cool. Those same adjectives seemingly all apply to Stewart himself.</p>

<p>See Kottke <a href="https://kottke.org/26/10/rest-in-peace-patrick-stewart-1940-2026">for a bunch more links</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Patrick Stewart Dies at 86’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/patrick-stewart-rip">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Apple Drops App Store Commission by a Whopping 4 Percentage Points in Taiwan</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=w9mxlhek"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoy"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/taiwan-app-store-commission"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43666</id>
        <published>2026-10-29T21:03:42Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-29T22:11:57Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Developer News:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Apple is making changes to the Taiwan storefront of the App Store,
following discussions with the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission.</p>

<p>As of October 31, 2026, the commission rate for standard Apple
In-App Purchase and paid app transactions will be 26% on the
Taiwan storefront of the App Store on iOS and iPadOS. Currently,
that rate is 30%.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Well there we go. The App Store in Taiwan — <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/12/apple-announces-changes-to-ios-in-japan/">just like in Japan</a> — is fixed. </p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Drops App Store Commission by a Whopping 4 Percentage Points in Taiwan’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/taiwan-app-store-commission">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>A Health Update From Craig Hockenberry</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://furbo.org/2026/10/28/a-health-update/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xox"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/chock-health-update"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43665</id>
        <published>2026-10-29T19:57:21Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-29T19:57:23Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Craig Hockenberry:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If you noticed that the Iconfactory sites were kinda broken last
week, now you know why. It’s because I was kinda broken last week.</p>

<p>Now I’m finishing this post from a comfy chair on our deck. Typing
into the latest version of WordPress and PHP. And I couldn’t be
happier.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>No, <em>you</em> teared up a little reading this.</p>

<p>Very good news from a very good friend.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘A Health Update From Craig Hockenberry’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/chock-health-update">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Rolfe Winkler at The WSJ: ‘The Beleaguered Chip Sellers Getting Their Revenge on Apple’</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-iphone-memory-chips-ai-c0084cc9?st=FNAyaT"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xow"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/winkler-flash-memory-chipmakers-and-apple"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43664</id>
        <published>2026-10-29T19:44:11Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-29T22:11:21Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Rolfe Winkler, in a crackerjack story for The Wall Street Journal (gift link):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Blevins, who <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-apple-executive-says-company-blundered-by-firing-him-after-tiktok-video-11670553178?mod=article_inline">left Apple</a> in 2022, sometimes set up
back-to-back meetings with suppliers so that rival sales teams
might run into each other, stoking competitive tension. Sales
representatives learned to pack nutrition bars to sustain them
through negotiating sessions that Apple executives sometimes
pushed past midnight without a dinner break. Blevins’s bad-cop
reputation gave his staff leverage: They threatened to call him in
if contract terms weren’t to their liking.</p>

<p>One significant contract term allowed Apple to audit its
suppliers’ books. Flash makers typically had to designate Apple
as a “most favored customer,” which guaranteed that no other
buyer got a lower price, according to people familiar with the
agreements. Apple’s audits allowed it to verify that no one
paid less.</p>

<p>Apple caught Micron selling flash at cheaper prices to another
customer and won an arbitration settlement worth tens of millions
of dollars more than a decade ago, said people familiar with the
dispute. Apple audited its suppliers so often that Blevins
negotiated a volume discount with the auditor, Deloitte.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The whole story is a fascinating and entertaining read. But I don’t get the “revenge” angle in the headline. The biggest buyers can negotiate the best deals. Apple used to be the biggest buyer, by far, for flash memory chips. They negotiated, with hardball but above-the-board tactics, the best deals. Now, Apple isn’t the biggest buyer — the AI datacenter hyperscalers are. Apple no longer gets the best deals. But they’re still getting <em>fair</em> deals. Apple is still negotiating the best deals it can for itself. So where is the “revenge”? The pinch <em>mostly</em> isn’t being felt by Apple — it’s being felt by Apple’s customers, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/06/spensive_thoughts">who now face significantly higher product prices</a>.</p>

<p>I included “<em>mostly</em>” in the preceding sentence because Winkler, in collaboration with the research firm <a href="https://www.techinsights.com/">TechInsights</a>, makes the case in the piece that the rising costs of flash memory have eaten into the remarkably juicy profit margins Apple has historically earned from higher-storage upgrades.</p>

<p>What I also don’t get, at all, is the participation in the story by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-nelson-4a98752/">Scott Nelson</a>, the chief marketing officer at Kioxia (which I learned in this story is the new name for the company <a href="https://www.kioxia.com/en-jp/about/news/2019/20190718-2.html">formerly known as Toshiba Memory Corporation</a>), a major flash supplier. Nelson told Winkler he so loathes Apple that he shot his old iPod with a rifle and keeps the pieces on his desk. The article ends thus:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The industry’s low point came in 2023. The Covid-era,
work-from-home device boom cooled, and flash prices bottomed out
at 5 cents a gigabyte. Bernstein Research estimated the flash
industry generated operating losses of $19 billion that year,
while Apple earned $14 billion in gross profit selling extra flash
storage.</p>

<p>Those were tough times that “I hope we don’t ever see again,” said
Nelson, the Kioxia sales executive.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes, I’m sure the current AI datacenter mania will last forever, the bubble will never burst, and that even if it does, no one at Apple will remember Nelson’s participation in this story.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Rolfe Winkler at The WSJ: ‘The Beleaguered Chip Sellers Getting Their Revenge on Apple’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/winkler-flash-memory-chipmakers-and-apple">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>The Space Shuttle Discovery’s Starboard Side ‘s’ Is Upside Down</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.theautopian.com/a-typography-geek-pointed-out-something-about-the-space-shuttle-discovery-and-now-i-cant-unsee-it/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xov"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/space-shuttle-discovery-s"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43663</id>
        <published>2026-10-29T15:06:56Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-29T15:14:59Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>How Jason Snell <a href="https://sixcolors.com/link/2026/10/typo-found-on-42-year-old-spaceship/">beat me</a> to linking to this, I don’t know. But like I said <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/02/25/h-bomb-wright">back in February</a>, when it comes to signage, “Mind your P’s and Q’s” ought to be “Mind your H’s and S’s”.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The Space Shuttle Discovery’s Starboard Side ‘s’ Is Upside Down’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/space-shuttle-discovery-s">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Steven Levy on the New MacBook Pro, With, Yes, a Touchscreen</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-inside-story-of-why-apple-finally-brought-a-touch-display-to-the-mac/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xou"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/levy-ternus-macbook-pros"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43662</id>
        <published>2026-10-29T04:06:15Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-29T04:11:57Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Steven Levy, writing at Wired with the scoop on the new MacBook Pros (<a href="https://apple.news/AaeR22fkURt6i_tk9bd_44g">News+ link</a>):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>This turnaround is a big deal to Apple fans. Ternus shrugs off the
drama. “The Mac is first and foremost an indirect input device,
built around the trackpad and keyboard. But I think there’s times
when it’s comfortable and handy to have touch.”</p>

<p>Ternus and Apple want to make sure that the Mac faithful don’t
panic that the 42-year-old franchise is losing its identity to
Apple’s gangbusters mobile products. “We needed to get to a point
where adding touch didn’t make the product lesser in any way. It
didn’t make it heavier. It didn’t make it thicker. That came
together with the OLED screen, the best display we’ve ever put
into a Mac,” Ternus told me. “All of these things, and, oh yeah,
it has touch as well.”</p>
</blockquote>

<p>After a long fun day of hands-on exploration, briefings, and a slew of demos, not just most, but <em>all</em> of my concerns about touchscreen support adversely affecting the Mac UI have been allayed. I love it. These seem like exquisite machines even if you never want to touch the screen. I think what Ternus told Levy captures the truth of touch’s role: “All of these things, and, oh yeah, it has touch as well.”</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Steven Levy on the New MacBook Pro, With, Yes, a Touchscreen’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/levy-ternus-macbook-pros">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Guessing the Name: MacBook Studio?</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/28/macbook-studio/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xot"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/28/macbook-studio-name-guess"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43661</id>
        <published>2026-10-28T14:58:45Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-28T17:50:44Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/28/apple-ceo-john-ternus-teases-touchscreen-macbook/">teaser video shared by Apple CEO John Ternus today</a> hints at
a potential name for the rumored MacBook models with touch-enabled
OLED displays: MacBook Studio. [...]</p>

<p>Apple is expected to show off the new MacBooks to selected tech
reporters and content creators at an experience in Los Angeles at
10 a.m. Pacific Time today, and that is the home of Hollywood
movie studios after all.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I went to bed last night thinking “MacBook Studio” was the best guess. I woke up this morning feeling like it was a name worth betting on. It just fits. There’s a Mac Studio desktop, Studio Display monitor, and Apple’s suite of pro software tools is named Creator Studio — and they <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/28/macbook-studio/">just announced big updates</a> to that yesterday. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/whats-left-for-pro-and-tell-week">As I suggested yesterday</a>, these should be a new MacBook line, not the new MacBook Pros.</p>

<p>If this is the name, Rossignol gets the Being Right Point for calling it.</p>

<p>(A bunch of readers chimed in to suggest “MacBook Touch”. That wouldn’t work for the same reasons that Apple didn’t even consider calling the Duo the “iPhone Fold”. Yes, they used “Touch” for the iPod Touch of yore, but (a) that was a different era, and (b) that was such a mediocre product name that most consumers referred to it by the wrong name, “iTouch”. Apple likes names that evoke a feeling, not that describe a specific feature of the product.)</p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong> Welp, <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-groundbreaking-macbook-pro-with-proled-xdr-display/">never mind</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Guessing the Name: MacBook Studio?’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/28/macbook-studio-name-guess">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Siri AI Expands to More Languages in OS 27.2</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nr.apple.com/Du9G9W8Nq1"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xos"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/siri-ai-os-27-2-languages"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43660</id>
        <published>2026-10-27T22:19:39Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T22:23:19Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Newsroom yesterday:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>With the 27.2 software updates released today, Siri AI — an
entirely new version of Siri that is profoundly more capable,
conversational, and personal — is expanding to more people around
the world, with availability now in the French, Japanese, Korean,
Portuguese, and Spanish languages. [...]</p>

<p>Siri AI is currently unavailable in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and
watchOS. Apple is working constructively with the EU in an attempt
to find a path forward.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Don’t hold your breath. (Or if you prefer, <em>N’y comptez pas trop.</em>)</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Siri AI Expands to More Languages in OS 27.2’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/siri-ai-os-27-2-languages">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Apple Creator Studio Updated With a Slew of AI Features, Along With a New Open JSON File Format for Keynote</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-creator-studio-adds-powerful-new-ai-features-and-even-more-creative-tools/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xor"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-creator-studio-updates"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43659</id>
        <published>2026-10-27T22:00:04Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T22:14:19Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Newsroom, with software news for Apple’s “Pro and Tell” week: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Apple today introduced transformative updates to <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-creator-studio/">Apple Creator
Studio</a>, the powerful collection of creative apps designed to
put studio-grade tools into the hands of modern creators across
Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Final Cut Pro for Mac now includes built-in
MotionVFX — an expansive collection of visual effects, plug-ins,
transitions, templates, and motion graphics tools — as well as
seamless editing in Pixelmator Pro. Apple’s curated Content Hub
now includes video assets and is available in Final Cut Pro. Music
creators using Logic Pro for Mac gain a new intelligent assistant
in beta, an enhanced Stem Splitter that now separates drums, and a
redesigned Browser that incorporates all sounds, with music
understanding and even a Splice library. Pixelmator Pro introduces
Generate Fill, which lets creators transform selected areas of an
image using natural language. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers
introduce new AI features in beta, including assistants that
understand document context and new Model Context Protocol (MCP)
support for workflow automation. They also add stock video in the
Content Hub and new premium themes and templates.</p>

<p>Apple Creator Studio updates will be available on the App Store
this November as a free update for existing subscribers.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That’s a lot. But this part at the end caught my eye:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Across Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, the Content Hub expands to
include Apple-curated stock video footage, giving creators dynamic
visuals to enhance presentations, reports, and spreadsheets.
Subscribers also gain access to a fresh collection of
professionally designed templates and themes. Keynote introduces
support for Keynote Interchange Format (.keyx), an open JSON-based
bundle file format designed to be readable and accessible to
external tools, developer workflows, and AI agents.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Jesse Bunch, engineering manager for productivity apps at Apple, <a href="https://x.com/bunchjesse/status/2115076780285739258">on X</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7520909926655954944/">LinkedIn</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Our new in-app assistants can help you get things done in record
time. MCP allows you to bring your own agent if you want. And an
open source format for Keynote (and Python library!) so you can
create Keynote documents programmatically on any platform. Huge
day for Creator Studio today.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I don’t think the Python library for the new Keynote Interchange Format is out yet, but neither are the updates to the Creator Studio apps. Very cool news, along the same lines as <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/22/xcode-json-project-files">the new JSON-based format for Xcode projects</a> that Apple announced last month.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Creator Studio Updated With a Slew of AI Features, Along With a New Open JSON File Format for Keynote’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-creator-studio-updates">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/prestructured_wysiwyg"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xoq"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43658</id>
        <published>2026-10-27T21:24:20Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T21:24:20Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <summary type="text">Even if you’re a decent designer (or believe yourself to be), it’s liberating not to have a say in the matter. Constraints are sometimes freeing.</summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>One of the many small pleasures of my job is when someone else writes a good take on a subject that I have been meaning to write myself. Occasionally this stings, because it was something I really wanted to write myself. But usually it’s just awesome, because it’s an article I wanted to exist, didn’t really want to do the work of writing myself, and now it exists and I can just link to it, perhaps with commentary. It’s like finding money on the ground or in the pocket of a jacket you haven’t worn in months.</p>

<p>That’s what happened yesterday with Glenn Fleishman’s “<a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/10/why-notes-will-never-let-us-edit-markdown/">Why Notes Will Never Let Us Edit Markdown</a>”, and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/fleishman-apple-notes-markdown">my link to it</a>. Found money!</p>

<p>But one of the reasons I’d been procrastinating on writing about Apple Notes and its growing support for Markdown import/export and copy/paste is that Notes is built around a text formatting idea that, to my knowledge, doesn’t really have a name. And without a name, it’s hard to write about. I’m going to suggest calling it <em>prestructured WYSIWYG</em>.</p>

<p>Apps like Apple’s Messages and especially Notes exemplify prestructured WYSIWYG, and I’m a huge fan of the idea. It’s low-key one of the best ideas and trends in software design of the last 15 years or so. Messages lets you apply WYSIWYG spans of character styles like bold and italics, but you can’t choose typefaces or define your own styles. Notes takes this further, adding inline hyperlinks and predefined block styles like title / heading / subheading, monostyled (e.g. for code), and ordered and unordered lists. But there is no Font menu or preference setting in Notes or Messages to change the default typeface. The “Aᴀ” formatting popover in Notes doesn’t have a control to change the typeface, only its preset styles, all of which are rendered in your notes using Apple’s San Francisco system font family.<sup id="fnr1-2026-10-27"><a href="#fn1-2026-10-27">1</a></sup> That would have seemed not just weird but downright wrong back in the early decades of the Mac (the era Fleishman calls the “Mac Is Not a Typewriter” era, referencing <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=robin+williams+mac+is+not+a+typewriter&amp;tag=df-amzn-20">Robin Williams’s groundbreaking book</a>). In those days, text was either plain text (a string of characters, no style at all, like a typewriter) or rich text, and if it was rich text, you expected to choose any font (and size) you wanted.</p>

<p>That era of anything-goes WYSIWYG presented unavoidable problems. On the technical side, the list of fonts installed on <em>my</em> computer isn’t the same as the list of fonts on <em>your</em> computer. Each operating system comes with its own set of included fonts. And the sort of people most interested in selecting their own typefaces are exactly the same people who are most likely to install third-party fonts. That’s a technical problem that can’t really be solved. There’s also an aesthetic problem. Most people, given the ability to choose their own fonts, make terrible typographic choices.</p>

<p>Prestructured WYSIWYG solves both problems. You get the expressiveness of abstract semantic styles like bold, italics, and monospace, and you get larger sizes for headings. But you avoid both the “missing font” technical problems <em>and</em> the “terrible font” design choices. If you use Apple Notes or Messages, you better like Apple’s San Francisco system font family, because that’s what you’re going to get. It’s great for accessibility, because all the type sizes are relative, not absolute. And these preset styles largely map well to Markdown, which itself has no concern with font choices or specific text sizes.</p>

<p>Even if you’re a decent designer (or believe yourself to be), it’s liberating not to have a say in the matter in certain contexts. Note-taking is exactly such a context. Email ought to be another, but alas, full-fledged WYSIWYG gained a foothold there long ago, and now it’s entrenched. Constraints are sometimes freeing.</p>

<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn1-2026-10-27">
<p>There is a huge <em>but</em> here. Notes, on the Mac and only on the Mac, <em>does</em> allow you to pick arbitrary fonts. Format → Font → Show Fonts (⌘T) shows the standard AppKit Fonts palette, and you can use that to change the font in a note to anything you want. I think this is historical baggage from <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2012/07/25Mountain-Lion-Available-Today-From-the-Mac-App-Store/">earlier versions</a> of the Notes app for Mac. Or maybe there are some Mac Notes users inside Apple who really do use this. Font choices made in Notes on the Mac are rendered on iOS and iPadOS, if the selected font is available. It even works for third-party fonts (which are <a href="https://www.typography.com/faq/156">quite complicated to install on iOS</a>). Here’s a <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/apple-notes-fonts-mac.png">screenshot of a note with custom fonts that I made on my Mac</a>, and the <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/apple-notes-fonts-iphone.png">same note as it appears on iOS</a>, where only some of those fonts are installed. But you cannot change custom fonts in Notes on iOS.</p>

<p>I can’t say Apple <em>dis</em>courages you from dicking around with fonts in Notes on the Mac. It’s right there in the standard AppKit Fonts panel. But most casual Mac users don’t know about the standard AppKit Fonts panel. When they pick fonts in apps like Mail, TextEdit, and Pages, they do it from toolbars in the window. So Apple doesn’t <em>en</em>courage you to dick around with fonts in Notes on the Mac either. If they wanted to encourage it, there’d be a toolbar with a Font menu on the Mac, and it would be possible to change fonts on iOS too.</p>

<p>So I say it’s best to pretend that Apple Notes doesn’t support custom font choices. Let it go — even if, like me, it drives you crazy that Notes and only Notes uses that <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/05/12/that-stupid-apple-notes-a">childish-looking alternative single-story “a” glyph</a> in San Francisco.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr1-2026-10-27"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>

    ]]></content>
        <title>★ Prestructured WYSIWYG</title>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>What’s Left for ‘Pro and Tell’ Week: Touch-Enabled OLED MacBooks</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/27/macbook-pro-with-touchscreen-tomorrow/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xop"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/whats-left-for-pro-and-tell-week"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43657</id>
        <published>2026-10-27T17:59:47Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T20:51:17Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Apple on Wednesday will announce 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro
models featuring touch-enabled OLED displays with thinner bezels,
a Dynamic Island instead of a notch, M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, and
a lighter and slightly thinner design, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-27/apple-launches-m6-imac-entry-macbook-pro-ahead-of-touch-laptop">Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman
reports</a>. Apple is hosting a private <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/19/apple-pro-and-tell/">“Pro and tell” experience
in Los Angeles</a> starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time tomorrow.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I’m here in LA for the press shindig tomorrow. One thing I’ve been thinking about regarding these reported touch-enabled OLED MacBooks is that Gurman has reported for months that these new MacBooks will sport M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-26/apple-s-touchscreen-macbook-to-use-m5-pro-max-chips-m7-pro-max-models-in-2027">Here’s Gurman back on June 26</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The MacBook models, positioned at the top of Apple’s lineup, will
arrive between late this year and early next year, according to
people with knowledge of the matter. They’re planned to be powered
by the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, said the people, who
asked not to be identified because the plans are private. [...]</p>

<p>The first touch-screen 14-inch and 16-inch models, code-named K114
and K116, will represent the biggest overhaul of Apple’s high-end
laptops since the company began moving away from Intel Corp. chips
in 2020. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the
company’s plans.</p>

<p>Apple’s decision to use the M5 line before jumping to a future M7
is part of a broader shift in its chip strategy. The company is
skipping M6-generation Pro and Max chips altogether, breaking from
its usual approach. Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-25/apple-to-skip-high-end-m6-mac-chips-to-launch-m7-pro-m7-max-m7-ultra-instead">reported on this
strategy</a> earlier this week.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>If that’s all true, it’s certainly unusual for Apple to skip the Pro and Max variants for the M6 chip generation. But there have been oddities with the higher-end Apple Silicon chips before. (There was no M4 Ultra chip, for example, and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/03/05/apple-announces-with-much-surprise-mac-studios-with-m4-max-and-m3-ultra-chips">the M3 Ultra didn’t appear until the March 2025 Mac Studio update</a>, 18 months after the M3 generation debuted.) But what I would find downright <em>weird</em> is the possibility of shipping a second generation of MacBook Pro models based on the exact same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips that the current generation offers. <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-macbook-pro-with-all-new-m5-pro-and-m5-max/">They only came out in March</a>. So what’s the idea here? That Apple replaces the current higher-end MacBook Pros with versions whose only upgrades are to the chassis and display, but the performance remains the same? That’s certainly possible, I guess, but it would be weird.</p>

<p>So I’m just wondering if tomorrow’s new touchscreen OLED MacBooks aren’t replacements for the current MacBook Pros, but instead are the start of a new MacBook family with another name. I don’t think they’d call them MacBook “Duos”, because they’re not two-in-one devices. MacBook “Ultras”, maybe — with the same specs as the MacBook Pros but more expensive displays? But “Ultra” seems like a wrong name for a MacBook because Apple’s M-series Ultra chips are (to date at least) desktop only. It’d be weird if the M5 Ultra is exclusive to the Mac Studio while the MacBook “Ultra” maxes out with the M5 Max. So maybe they just <em>are</em> the new MacBook Pros and this first OLED/touch generation uses the same chips as the ones from March?</p>

<p>That’s what I’m most curious about heading into tomorrow.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘What’s Left for ‘Pro and Tell’ Week: Touch-Enabled OLED MacBooks’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/whats-left-for-pro-and-tell-week">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Apple Also Announces iMac With M6</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-new-imac-with-m6/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoo"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-also-announces-imac-with-m6"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43656</id>
        <published>2026-10-27T16:44:10Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T18:43:38Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Just a speed bump, but <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2019/05/good_old_fashioned_macbook_pro_speed_bumps">speed bumps are good</a>.</p>

<p>Pricing and configurations:</p>

<pre><code>M6 with 2 Thunderbolt ports:
    Base price:    $1500

    RAM:   16 GB      +0
           24 GB    +200

    SSD:  256 GB      +0
          512 GB    +200
            1 TB    +500


M6 with 4 Thunderbolt ports:
    Base price:    $1700

    RAM:   16 GB      +0
           24 GB    +200

    SSD:  256 GB      +0
          512 GB    +200
            1 TB    +500
            2 TB   +1000


    Base price:    $2300

    RAM:   32 GB      +0

    SSD:  512 GB      +0
            1 TB    +300
            2 TB    +800
</code></pre>

<p>I list a separate base price for the 4-port, 32 GB RAM configuration in the table above because with 32 GB of RAM, the base storage goes from 256 to 512 GB. It’s effectively a $400 RAM upgrade and $200 SSD upgrade that are tied together, and that changes the upgrade prices to move up to 1 or 2 TB of SSD storage.</p>

<p>Nano-texture is a $200 upgrade, and the 2-Thunderbolt-port models have <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/27/new-imac-2-5-gigabit-ethernet/">a $30 option for 2.5 gigabit Ethernet</a> (by default it’s Wi-Fi only). The Ethernet port is on the power adapter. The 4-port models come with the Ethernet equipped power adapter.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Also Announces iMac With M6’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-also-announces-imac-with-m6">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=q42026"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xon"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/workos_let_agents_sign_up_for"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/feeds/sponsors//11.43655</id>
        <author>
            <name>Daring Fireball Department of Commerce</name>
        </author>
        <published>2026-10-27T16:03:08Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T16:03:09Z</updated>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>An agent can’t click through a signup page built for humans, so give it something it can read instead. Publish an auth.md file and agents register themselves without ever touching a browser login, and the user never gets pulled out of what they were doing.</p>

<p>With WorkOS auth.md, enroll in the dashboard and AuthKit publishes the file. Agents read it, register, and get scoped, short-lived credentials you control.</p>

<p><a href="https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=q42026">Make your app agent-ready →</a></p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/workos_let_agents_sign_up_for">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
        <title>[Sponsor] WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser</title>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Apple Introduces New Base MacBook Pro With M6, 14-Inch-Only</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-introduces-the-new-14-inch-macbook-pro-with-m6/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xom"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-introduces-new-base-macbook-pro-with-m6-14-inch-only"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43654</id>
        <published>2026-10-27T16:00:46Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T18:41:20Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Newsroom’s “Pro and Tell” announcement week continues:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Apple today announced the new <a href="https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/">14-inch MacBook Pro with M6</a>,
delivering even more performance, powerful on-device AI
capabilities, and faster connectivity for college students,
business users, creators, and more. M6 features an advanced
12-core CPU with the world’s fastest CPU core, so everything from
productivity tasks to more demanding pro workflows feels
incredibly fast and responsive. The 12-core GPU delivers up to 30
percent faster graphics and up to 25 percent faster AI workloads
when compared to M5, making the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 a
compelling value for users who need serious power. For those
upgrading from M1, the performance gains are even more
significant, with up to 11× faster graphics and up to 13× faster
AI performance. With additional Neural Accelerators in the GPU and
a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, M6 turns MacBook Pro into an even
more powerful platform for AI — from taking advantage of Siri AI
and Apple Intelligence features across apps and macOS to running
LLMs locally, all while preserving user privacy. In addition, the
14-inch MacBook Pro features Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, while
superfast storage makes working with large files, exporting
projects, and running demanding AI workflows fly.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I questioned Apple’s decision to close up “superfast” there, but I stand corrected — <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superfast">it is</a>, in fact, a perfectly cromulent adjective. I learn something every day.</p>

<p>Anyway, this is just the base MacBook Pro, the one that’s more like a MacBook Air Plus than a true professional laptop with an M-series Pro or Max chip. This tier of MacBook Pro has only ever been offered in the smaller 14-inch size. Prices seem unchanged from the post-June-price-hike M5 models:</p>

<pre><code>Base price:     $2000

  RAM:  16 GB      +0
        24 GB    +200
        32 GB    +400

  SSD:   1 TB      +0
         2 TB    +500
         4 TB   +1500
</code></pre>

<p>Space black and silver colors, and nano-texture is available for $150 extra.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Introduces New Base MacBook Pro With M6, 14-Inch-Only’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-introduces-new-base-macbook-pro-with-m6-14-inch-only">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>The NYT Seemingly Does Marissa Mayer Dirty</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/25/style/marissa-mayer-ai-assistants-women.html?unlocked_article_code=1.L1E.xBwx.X_EjBGNsRNqr"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xol"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/mayer-dazzle"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43653</id>
        <published>2026-10-27T00:30:08Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T00:42:07Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Alexandra Alter, in the lede for her profile of Marissa Mayer’s new AI startup Dazzle for The New York Times (gift link):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Late last year, Marissa Mayer was struggling with what felt like
an impossible task.</p>

<p>Her daughter Marielle was turning 10, and Marielle’s teacher
wanted three bullet points summarizing what made her special.
Mayer — the former chief executive of Yahoo and a pioneer at
Google, where she was the first female engineer — likes cracking
a hard problem. But she felt overwhelmed by the range and
complexity of potential answers.</p>

<p>So Mayer asked her personal A.I. assistant, Dazzle. Within a few
seconds, Dazzle delivered an answer.</p>

<p>“It came back and was like, your daughter is empathetic, creative
and an animal lover,” Mayer said. She thought it was perfect.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That anecdote is brutal. It makes it seem like Mayer has lost her mind. She’s getting roasted for it on social media. I suspected (and hoped) there was more to the story. There was. <a href="https://x.com/marissamayer/status/2114784525226229996">Here’s Mayer herself on X</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>To be clear, I didn’t use Dazzle because I was overwhelmed by
making a slide. I used it because summing up your child in a few
bullets feels laughably limiting. And, since our team had just
gotten an early prototype running, I wanted to see what deeper
threads it might find.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>She might just be hyping her startup. But she definitely didn’t tell The Times that she needed help from AI to remember that her own daughter is “empathetic, creative, and an animal lover”. She seemingly got done dirty by Alter and the Times on that use-case anecdote.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The NYT Seemingly Does Marissa Mayer Dirty’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/mayer-dazzle">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Apple Issues Statement on iPhone Duo’s Crack Problem</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/26/apple-responds-to-reports-of-iphone-duos-inner-display-cracking/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xok"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/apple-statement-duo-crack"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43652</id>
        <published>2026-10-26T23:54:26Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-26T23:54:27Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Here is Apple’s full statement:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The response to iPhone Duo from early users has been incredibly
positive, and we are seeing exciting things from developers who
are rapidly updating their apps to take advantage of its unique
form factor. We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display
on a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users experience issues
with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for
a replacement.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The company says the problem affects a very small number of iPhone
Duo units and appears to surface relatively quickly. Most iPhone
Duo units are not affected. You do not need AppleCare+ to have
your iPhone Duo replaced for this problem. If you bought from a
carrier, you should contact AppleCare directly, not your carrier,
to get your device replaced.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Did it cross Ternus’s mind to just say “You’re folding it wrong?”</p>

<p>(History doesn’t repeat, and in this case, it actually doesn’t even rhyme. Steve Jobs never told anyone they were “holding it wrong” with the iPhone 4 — <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/24/steve-jobs-describes-iphone-4-signal-strength-a-non-issue/">he emailed a customer</a>, “Just avoid holding it in that way.” But <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/06/25/iphone.problems.response/index.html">CNN went with the headline</a> “Apple on iPhone Complaints: You’re Holding It Wrong” and that’s the line everyone wrongly remembers.)</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Issues Statement on iPhone Duo’s Crack Problem’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/apple-statement-duo-crack">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Glenn Fleishman on Apple Notes and Markdown</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/10/why-notes-will-never-let-us-edit-markdown/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoj"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/fleishman-apple-notes-markdown"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43651</id>
        <published>2026-10-26T20:03:53Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-26T20:06:56Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Glenn Fleishman, writing at Six Colors, “Why Notes Will Never Let Us Edit Markdown”:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The Notes app added Markdown import and export in the version 26
operating system releases, and the macOS 27 Golden Gate update
lets us copy and paste as Markdown. Why can’t we just write
natively in that hoary, simple format?</p>

<p>I use Markdown all day, every day. In fact, I’m writing these
words in Markdown without you even knowing it. All
content-management systems (CMSes) I’m aware of support native
Markdown entries when posting, and many writing and
note-taking apps integrate Markdown conventions without
needing to trumpet them.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Fleishman not only ably describes why Apple Notes <em>doesn’t</em> support editing in Markdown syntax, but also why it <em>shouldn’t</em>. It is correct for Notes only to natively support WYSIWYG editing. Normal users should never ever be exposed to formatting codes. Also, Markdown, as a language, can be malformed. It should be impossible for users to create a malformed note in Notes. If you could edit in Markdown in Notes, you could create malformed notes. That’s just gross. I can say that. Markdown isn’t for everyone. And even for me — <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2004/03/dive_into_markdown">Markdown’s creator</a> — I don’t want it in Notes, which is the notes app I use.</p>

<p>I think Apple has done a really good job in the last few years adding import/export and copy/paste support for Markdown to Notes. That’s the right way for Notes to support Markdown. My biggest complaint with Notes’s recent Markdown support — as noted by Fleishman — is that most of these features are only on the Mac, not iOS.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Glenn Fleishman on Apple Notes and Markdown’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/fleishman-apple-notes-markdown">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/apple_announces_new_a20_pro_ipad_mini"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xoi"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43650</id>
        <published>2026-10-26T18:04:34Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-26T21:24:46Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <summary type="text">Pros: OLED display, nano-texture option, A20 Pro chip, thinner and lighter. Cons: no Face ID, no ProMotion.</summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-gives-ipad-mini-its-biggest-update-ever/">Apple Newsroom announcement</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/">iPad Mini (A20 Pro) product page</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/specs/">Tech specs page</a> (<a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/ipad-mini-a20-pro-tech-specs-2026-10-26.pdf">PDF archive</a>).</li>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/?modelList=ipad-mini-a20pro,ipad-mini-a17pro,ipad-air-11-m4">iPad comparison page</a> showing new A20 iPad Mini, previous A17 iPad Mini, and the 11-inch M4 iPad Air <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/compare-ipad-mini-a20-ipad-mini-a17-ipad-air-m4.pdf">PDF archive</a>].</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5h1JykMcFU">One-minute commercial</a>.</li>
</ul>

<p>Available in two colors, starlight and midnight (which does not seem very dark), and three storage capacities: 128, 256, and 512 GB. Pricing, with the previous-generation A17 Pro model for reference, both before and after <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/06/spensive_thoughts">Apple’s June 25 price hikes</a>:</p>

<pre><code>IPAD MINI                    128 GB   256 GB   512 GB
A20 Pro (new)                 $700     $800    $1000 
A17 Pro (Q3 2026 price hike)  $600     $700     $900 
A17 Pro (Q4 2024–Q2 2026)     $500     $600     $800
</code></pre>

<p>Notes:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Cellular adds $150 to any model.</p></li>
<li><p>The $100 nano-texture display option is new for the iPad Mini, and is only available with 256 or 512 GB storage.</p></li>
<li><p>Still stuck with Touch ID — a bummer in general, and a shit sandwich given how expensive these have gotten. Unless Apple decides to make a mini-sized iPad Pro (which I definitely do not expect), there’s no way to buy a mini-sized iPad with Face ID.</p></li>
<li><p>The display is now OLED, with inky-deep blacks and brighter brights. Max SDR brightness goes from 500 to 600 nits and HDR content goes to 1200 nits. This is the first iPad Mini with an XDR display. But: no ProMotion.</p></li>
<li><p>Support for Pencil Pro and Pencil USB-C. I still can’t believe the $2000 iPhone Duo doesn’t support the superior Pencil Pro.</p></li>
<li><p>The new Mini is thinner (5.4mm vs. 6.3mm) and lighter (255g vs. 293g for Wi-Fi models). The display is slightly larger (8.5″ vs. 8.3″) while the footprint shrank slightly, because the bezels have been reduced by 25 percent. The iPhone Duo weighs almost exactly the same (254g to be exact) but its inner display is only 7.6 inches diagonally.</p></li>
<li><p>The front-facing camera moves from the short side to the long side. All current iPads now have the camera on the long side.</p></li>
<li><p>The new iPad Mini introduces what Apple calls the Acoustic Display: “custom tweeters and woofers are now hidden beneath the glass and enclosure, delivering a rich, personal audio experience.” This change helped Apple achieve IP67 dust and water resistance, best-ever for any iPad model.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>One last point. The previous iPad Mini <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apple-introduces-powerful-new-ipad-mini-built-for-apple-intelligence/">launched two years ago</a>, in October 2024, but had the now-three-year-old A17 Pro chip from the 2023 iPhone 15 Pro. Today’s new iPad Mini launches with the brand-new A20 Pro chip that debuted with last month’s iPhone 18 Pro and last week’s iPhone Duo.</p>

    ]]></content>
        <title>★ Apple Announces New A20 Pro iPad Mini</title>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>A Simple Two-Step Shortcuts Shortcut Lets You Lock the iPhone Duo When You Close It</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/viticci/status/2113888099784638932"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoh"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/viticci-duo-lock-on-close-shortcut"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43649</id>
        <published>2026-10-26T17:00:11Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-26T18:19:03Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Federico Viticci:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Don’t like that the iPhone Duo doesn’t auto-lock when you
close it?</p>

<p>You can fix it with this simple Shortcuts automation.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Two steps:</p>

<ol>
<li>A conditional for when the iPhone is <code>Closed</code>.</li>
<li>Lock the screen.</li>
</ol>

<p>I <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo#:~:text=done%20with%20a%20book">mentioned in my review</a> that I kept closing the Duo expecting it to lock, like when closing a book (or a laptop, for that matter). And it didn’t occur to me that I could simply add this feature via Shortcuts. That’s cool. But I also mentioned in my review that I wouldn’t want that to happen every time I closed it. Sometimes you do want to just switch from the wonderful inner display to the miserable little outer display, and the last thing you want when you do that is to need to re-authenticate for the hundredth time of the day with Touch ID. It was just a wrong instinct I had, and I broke myself of that instinct after about a week or so of full-time Duo use. I stopped expecting it to lock on close. So while I think this shortcut is worth pointing out — and I especially think it’s a good reminder to think about Shortcuts when you find yourself wishing for features that aren’t in Settings — I recommend trying to break yourself of this habit if you have a Duo and find yourself with the same wrong close-to-lock instinct I initially had.</p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@stephenrobles/117502280150643367">Stephen Robles posted a clever version</a> that only locks the Duo on close if it’s on the home screen; if any app is open, it stays unlocked. That’s much more tempting to try. (He includes that one in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVt5_g4gE-o">a whole video full of Duo tips</a> on YouTube.)</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘A Simple Two-Step Shortcuts Shortcut Lets You Lock the iPhone Duo When You Close It’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/viticci-duo-lock-on-close-shortcut">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Tiny Computers for iPhone Duo</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.fountaininteractive.com/TinyComputers/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xog"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/tiny-computers"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43648</id>
        <published>2026-10-26T15:04:10Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T15:46:56Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>If you’ve got or get a Duo and don’t try this out, you’re not hooked up right.</p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/cabel.panic.com/post/3mysovokohl2c">But as Cabel Sasser notes</a>, though incredibly fun, this was clearly made by a young Claude-aided developer who <em>never</em> used any of these actual old computers. Let’s just say there are a lot of ahistorical details.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Tiny Computers for iPhone Duo’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/tiny-computers">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Sunnny</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://sunnny.com/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoe"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/sunnny"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43646</id>
        <published>2026-10-25T21:50:00Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-25T21:52:54Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>My thanks to Sunnny for sponsoring last week at DF. Sunnny’s pitch to B2B companies is simple: you store valuable customer information across a myriad of systems, making it hard to get a simple overview. Sunnny consolidates your customer data, cleans it, resolves identities, identifies relationships, and presents it neatly for you, your team, and your AI model.</p>

<p>Early access is open now.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Sunnny’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/sunnny">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Duo Users Are Registering the Base of Their Index Finger as a Touch ID Coping Strategy</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/iPhoneDuo/comments/1xehtcj/best_fingerprint_method/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xof"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/duo-touch-id-coping"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43647</id>
        <published>2026-10-25T21:47:57Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-25T21:47:58Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Some guy on Reddit (with an illustration video):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Saw this online, tried it, and it works beautifully. Basically, I
registered the lowest part of my right index finger. That part of
the finger sits naturally when you go to swipe up at the phone.</p>

<p>This resolves a major issue I had where I couldn’t easily
just look at my phone to glance through notifications on the
lock screen. Now, it’s never been easier (shown at the end of
the video).</p>

<p>This is arguably better than Face ID. The speed is up there, and
the phone doesn’t need to be facing directly at you to unlock,
this motion can be done as soon as you pick up the phone.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Tim Hardwick at MacRumors <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/24/better-than-face-id-iphone-duo-touch-id-tip/">quotes</a> the “arguably better than Face ID” line. </p>

<p>This idea is clever, and it does seem to work if you grip the Duo just right, but the idea that this is better than Face ID is a joke. Copium is a strong drug but it wears off quickly.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Duo Users Are Registering the Base of Their Index Finger as a Touch ID Coping Strategy’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/duo-touch-id-coping">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>The Talk Show: ‘Lubricate the Inside of the Hinge’</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2026/10/25/ep-456"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xod"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/the-talk-show-456"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43645</id>
        <published>2026-10-25T19:03:13Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-25T19:03:13Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Special guest: Joanna Stern. <br />
Special topic: The iPhone Duo.</p>

<p><audio
    src = "https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/daringfireball/thetalkshow-456-joanna-stern.mp3"
    controls
    preload = "none"
/></p>

<p><strong>Sponsored by:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://factormeals.com/talkshow50off">Factor</a>: Healthy eating, made easy. Get 50% off and one free breakfast item per box for one year, while supplies last, with code <strong>talkshow50off</strong>.</li>
<li><a href="https://notion.com/talkshow">Notion</a>: The collaborative AI workspace where teams and agents work side by side, with a developer platform teams can build on.</li>
</ul>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The Talk Show: ‘Lubricate the Inside of the Hinge’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/the-talk-show-456">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>iPhone Portrait Mode, 10 Years In</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/johnnie/status/2114007844605612167"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoc"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/manzari-iphone-portrait-mode"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43644</id>
        <published>2026-10-25T18:09:19Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-25T18:09:19Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Speaking of Johnnie Manzari, he wrote a post yesterday marking the 10 year anniversary of Portrait Mode:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Initially, Portrait mode was seen as a giant math problem. You’d
do disparity calculations on the two sensors and output a depth
map. The problem was this approach feels and looks digital; it
feels fake. In areas without texture, it’s impossible to do this
calculation. In areas with ultra fine detail, a lower resolution
depth map leads to terrible transitions and a full resolution
depth map takes forever to compute. One solution would be to
reduce the amount of bokeh so the issues are not as obvious. But
then you lose the whole point of the feature, which was to make it
look like you had a large, wide-open lens.</p>

<p>The solution to this conundrum — the tradeoff between artifacts
and the amount of blur — was quite elegant, but it took a while
to stumble across. There’s a saying in painting that if you get
the eyes right, nothing else matters. Inspired by this principle
from oil painting, the idea was to make sure we never got the
eyes wrong.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://x.com/panzer/status/2114075510032740640">Matthew Panzarino</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I remember getting the call to test out portrait mode before its
release. The marriage of history, art and computational science
that came together to make this possible is still incredible to me
to this day.</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘iPhone Portrait Mode, 10 Years In’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/manzari-iphone-portrait-mode">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Nicole Nguyen’s Duo Review for the WSJ</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/iphone-duo-review-cafcbbe7?st=GaYVMf"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xob"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/nguyen-duo-review"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43643</id>
        <published>2026-10-24T22:15:00Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-25T17:54:19Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Nicole Nguyen (also with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A6YGb9gqJs">a 5-minute video</a>), writing for The Wall Street Journal (gift link):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Every time I used the Duo in phone mode, one-handed, I felt its
heft. It’s wider and thicker than a Pro iPhone — and heavier,
even compared with competing foldables. My hand actually hurts
after using the Duo nonstop, straining to grip the device securely
while trying to reach the far edge of the screen.</p>

<p>An Apple spokesman pointed to the Duo’s titanium frame for
durability. Other folding models use a lighter aluminum. The
company also moved the dock and common controls to the right to be
more reachable (sorry, southpaws). Still, there were plenty of
instances where my thumb found its limits: turning off the flash
in the camera app, or typing the letter “A.”</p>

<p>There are people who can easily use two hands and won’t see this
as a problem, including train commuters, frequent fliers or
parents who wait around for kids to finish their activities. For
me, I look forward to the day the Duo is lighter and thinner — maybe folding to the size of a deck of cards, like <a href="https://youtu.be/XsQqMwacZQw?t=80">in the movie
“Her.”</a></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Interesting that she’d prefer a smaller Duo, not <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png">a bigger one</a>, if Apple makes a second size. I agree that one-hand-ability is a problem with the Duo, but I also think the front screen is already too squat in terms of <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png">how much content it shows</a>. I just think it’s the nature of foldables that they’re two-handed devices, even closed.</p>

<p><em>Her</em>’s deck of cards foldable isn’t what I think we need to wait for. It’s <a href="https://youtu.be/qvrSUwqt6Mw?t=92"><em>Westworld</em>’s super-thin trifolds</a> — or even a bifold that’s more along those lines of thinness.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Nicole Nguyen’s Duo Review for the WSJ’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/nguyen-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Reuters and the WSJ on the Duo Launch</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/apple-bets-iphone-duo-can-remake-foldable-market-sales-begin-2026-10-22/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoa"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/reuters-on-the-duo-launch"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43642</id>
        <published>2026-10-24T22:08:17Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-24T22:34:12Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Aditya Soni, Christine Chen, and Will Russell, reporting Friday for Reuters:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>CEO Ternus played greeter at a store in Austin, Texas, throwing
open the doors and high-fiving customers as they streamed in, a
video ​posted on X by CBS Austin showed. A known car enthusiast,
Ternus’s Austin visit coincides with this weekend’s Formula 1 US
Grand Prix in the city, with Apple holding exclusive US broadcast
and streaming rights to the racing series.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I was wondering why <a href="https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/apple-intelligence/articles/john-ternus-opens-iphone-duo-180824681.html">Ternus and retail chief Deirdre O’Brien were in Austin</a> for the launch. Joz held down the fort <a href="https://x.com/raywongy/status/2113686233670877591">and</a> <a href="https://x.com/raywongy/status/2113703394909311183">held</a> <a href="https://x.com/raywongy/status/2114033731128164703">court</a> at the Fifth Avenue store.</p>

<p>Regarding reviews:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>They also said the folded Duo is less handy for the quick tasks
most users do daily and several prominent reviewers recommended
against it for many Apple customers.</p>

<p>“It’s been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it
feels like I’ve gotten to use an extraordinarily polished
prototype — not a finished product that I’d want to buy and
carry,” wrote longtime Apple commentator John Gruber.</p>

<p>Tech commentator Marques Brownlee said in a YouTube ​review that
for a regular person who mostly texts and browses, “it is probably
a no. But if the $2,000 doesn’t mean much to you, and you like the
idea, after the learning ​curve and getting used to not having
facial identification, it is a really fun phone.”</p>

<p>In Berlin, YouTube content creator Patrick Wolter was impressed
that the Duo works as a phone and an iPad in one.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Not sure Wolter set a high bar there.</p>

<p>Reporting for the WSJ (gift link), Rolfe Winkler quoted yours truly as well, with (IMO, and I feel I get to have an opinion here) a better line from my review:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>“The outer device is, by far, the worst iPhone Apple has ever
made. It’s a miserable fat little thing. The inner device is a
splendid, joyful, beautiful tablet,” wrote John Gruber, a
well-known Apple blogger, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo">in his review</a>. “The decision of whether
you might want to buy a Duo is not easy, because only one of its
two selves is good.”</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Reuters and the WSJ on the Duo Launch’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/reuters-on-the-duo-launch">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Marion Barry Meets the iPhone Duo</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017623/iphone-duo-broken-cracked-screen"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo9"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/iphone-duo-marion-barry"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43641</id>
        <published>2026-10-24T21:10:06Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-24T21:10:07Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Jay Peters, The Verge:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The iPhone Duo officially goes on sale today, but a few units
already have broken screens. According to posts on Reddit about
the affected units, the issue appears to be happening at a similar
spot on all of them: Some kind of problem shows up on the inner
screen along the hinge and a strange bright line (or lines) across
the right side of the display.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This crack problem doesn’t seem to be widespread, but <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/23/iphone-duo-screen-cracks/">it’s seemingly more than a handful</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Marion Barry Meets the iPhone Duo’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/iphone-duo-marion-barry">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>MKBHD’s Duo Review</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://youtu.be/ESABTN4VtrA"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo8"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/mkbhd-duo-review"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43640</id>
        <published>2026-10-24T20:47:28Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-24T20:50:42Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Marques Brownlee thinks the lack of Face ID will be the biggest gripe. I agree. And I love his central framing for the review: that the Duo is extremely polished around the edges (figuratively, but also true literally) but rough in the middle.</p>

<p>But he spends more time griping about third-party apps that haven’t been optimized for the Duo than most other reviews, because he oddly seems to personally rely on a lot of apps from shitty iOS developers, like Discord and Google Calendar. I get it, Google Calendar is very popular. So too is Discord — it’s #6 in the App Store today for the “social networking” category. And I get it, Brownlee splits his time across iOS and Android. But Google is a notoriously terrible iOS developer. Every time there’s a major hardware display transition on iPhones that requires developer support, most of Google’s apps are late. And whatever the reasons for Discord’s popularity, it’s sure as shit not the quality of its app.</p>

<p>The best apps for the Duo are the best apps for iOS generally: ones that are exclusively for iOS. (And Brownlee sings the praises of several of them, too, <a href="https://www.meetcarrot.com/weather/">like Carrot Weather</a>.)</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘MKBHD’s Duo Review’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/mkbhd-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Tim Pan’s iPhone Duo Review</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pCccpKjjos"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo7"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/tim-pan-duo-review"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43639</id>
        <published>2026-10-24T19:15:45Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-24T21:28:13Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>I hadn’t heard of Tim Pan or Mediastorm until running across his 24-minute video review of the Duo. It’s a good and fair review, but what struck me are the rather astonishing <a href="https://x.com/mediastorm_en/status/2113197007217295440">production values</a>. Amongst other things, they stress-tested the hinge with an industrial robot by opening/closing it 10,000 times. (That’s less than one-third the folds tested <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review">by Joanna Stern’s Hingey</a>, but still.) It’s an incredible piece of work, especially given the one-week time constraint. English is Pan’s second language, and there’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUgfS1vkMxw">an entire alternate version of the whole review</a>, under the Mediastorm channel, in Chinese. It’s not just a different soundtrack — it’s an entirely separate cut of the video, where all his on-camera shots are spoken in Chinese.</p>

<p>At <a href="https://youtu.be/8pCccpKjjos?t=452">about 7:30 in the (English) review</a>, Pan mentions that they (he?) offer every employee in the company a new iPhone each year. This year’s choices, by employee count:</p>

<ul>
<li>iPhone 18 Pro: 17</li>
<li>iPhone 18 Pro Max: 41</li>
<li>iPhone Duo: 140</li>
</ul>

<p>The point of this in the review was to show how strong demand is for the Duo amongst Pan’s company’s Chinese employees. But what struck me is that the company has 198 employees. (Last year, he says, 150 chose the 17 Pro or Pro Max; only 1 chose the Air.)  Pan’s YouTube channel includes interviews <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZTFXyAw-w">with Christopher Nolan</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO6wxmp6oq0">Hans Zimmer</a>. I never heard of him before but he obviously didn’t come out of nowhere. (Perhaps this is only a function of how little YouTube content I watch.)</p>

<p>Pan only launched his X account this week. <a href="https://x.com/mediastorm_en/status/2112940762291941794">He posted the entire review video there</a>, too, and it’s got 187,000 likes and 6,700 comments. As a promotion to launch his X account, <a href="https://x.com/mediastorm_en/status/2113197007217295440">he’s giving away 100 iPhone 18 Pros</a>. Even if they’re base models purchased somewhere without sales tax, that’s $120,000.</p>

<p>Remarkable.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Tim Pan’s iPhone Duo Review’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/tim-pan-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Apple Built a Photo-Realistic Functional Original iPod for Apple Music’s 404 Page</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://music.apple.com/404"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo6"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/apple-music-ipod-404-page"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43638</id>
        <published>2026-10-24T15:50:02Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-30T17:56:06Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>It <a href="https://x.com/kianworld/status/2113519872999301172">seems like</a> this amazing Easter egg only launched yesterday, to celebrate <a href="https://x.com/tfadell/status/2113708201762033691">the original iPod’s 25th anniversary</a>. Exquisitely well done. More like this, please.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Built a Photo-Realistic Functional Original iPod for Apple Music’s 404 Page’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/apple-music-ipod-404-page">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Chan Karunamuni on the Duo’s Open/Close Translucent Transition</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/2113622379050246243"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo5"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/karunamuni-duo-design"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43637</id>
        <published>2026-10-24T15:03:44Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-24T15:03:44Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Chan Karunamuni, human interface designer at Apple, on X:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>iPhone Duo is here! Excited to have worked on the design of our
open/close transition. It’s designed to make the two displays feel
like one seamless experience by perceptually bending the focal
plane, not the content, so that it feels like opening a window
onto a singular view.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Karunamuni thanks a few engineers by name, which is always good (and for Apple employees, far too rare) to see.</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/search/johnnie+manzari">Johnnie Manzari</a>, HI designer formerly of Apple, now at Google DeepMind, <a href="https://x.com/johnnie/status/2113643318165082486">retweeting Karunamuni</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The second I saw that transition I thought “here’s the next
‘change the whole industry’ design from Chan”.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Previous such raise-the-bar designs that Karunamuni led or played a major hand in include <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1570795751764295682">the Dynamic Island</a> in <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1571207749677219840">2022</a>, <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1703820400902431077">the “shockwave moment”</a> when you put two iPhones together to initiate AirDrop or NameDrop in 2023, and iOS 18’s <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1835729051178451013">cool-ass Flashlight beam UI</a> in 2024. He also gave Steve Lemay <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1996825927561658854">this full-throated public endorsement</a> upon his promotion to lead all of Apple HI design upon Alan Dye’s departure for Meta last December.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Chan Karunamuni on the Duo’s Open/Close Translucent Transition’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/karunamuni-duo-design">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>The Verge’s Duo Review: ‘Apple’s Folding Phone Is a Messy, Expensive Good Time’</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/1015028/iphone-duo-review"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo4"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/the-verge-iphone-duo-review"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43636</id>
        <published>2026-10-23T16:52:56Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-23T17:05:55Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Nilay Patel and Allison Johnson (also: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5gptFkgBlI">26-minute video review on YouTube</a>):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>This means almost every time you open the phone you instinctively
rotate it, and while it will work no matter how it’s rotated, it’s
better to rotate it counterclockwise so the cameras are on top and
the volume buttons are on the top left. Over our week of testing,
this started feeling more natural, but it’s exactly the opposite
of what you’d initially expect. It’s especially odd in Apple’s
bumper case, which has a large notch to expose the Touch ID sensor
and camera control, and it looks for all the world like it belongs
at the bottom.</p>

<p>You might think this is a little thing, but it’s strange to find
yourself slightly unsure of how to hold a smartphone. A nontrivial
part of the Duo experience is just reorienting yourself to where
the volume buttons are as you flip the thing around. When closed,
they’re on top of the phone, but if you rotate the Duo clockwise,
they end up on the bottom right, and it’s the <em>top</em> button that
turns the volume down because they don’t change orientation with
the display. There’s a buried setting in iOS that makes the volume
buttons reorient themselves as you turn the Duo around; Apple
needs to set it so it works right by default.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Completely agree with them on this — it seems inexplicable that with default settings, while holding the open Duo vertically, if the volume buttons are on the right, you press the up button to lower the volume and down button to raise it.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>One other thing to get used to is simply unlocking the phone.
Touch ID is integrated into the wake button on the side of the
phone. There’s no Face ID at all, and it might take a minute to
remember that when you stare at your phone for a beat and wonder
why your notifications aren’t unfurling. Ask us how we know. But a
week is long enough to get used to Touch ID life again, and it’s
mostly painless once you remember you’re supposed to be using it.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Completely disagree with them on this — unless you wear an Apple Watch all day every day.</p>

<p>Re: the cameras, they make this interesting aside:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>(It would be cool if you could switch the image preview to the
other panel to use it halfway open like a waist-level viewfinder,
but you can’t.)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is a great opportunity for third-party camera apps. Imagine using the Duo in the L-shaped laptop pose, holding it at waist level, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/hasselblad-looking-down.jpeg">looking down</a> — <a href="https://shootitwithfilm.com/hasselblad-500-cm-film-camera-review/">like a Hasselblad 500</a>.</p>

<p>Overall Patel and Johnson are fair and astute, but far more positive about the iPhone Duo <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo">than me</a> or <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review">Joanna Stern</a>. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2024/04/11/the-verge-review-scale">Don’t get me started</a> on The Verge’s 10-point ratings scale, but they scored the Duo a 7/10, and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/995945/iphone-18-pro-max-review-camera-aperture">only gave last month’s iPhone 18 Pro an 8/10</a>. Based on <a href="https://www.theverge.com/how-we-rate">this description of their scale</a>, I’d give the 18 Pro a 10/10 (“best of the best”) and the Duo a 4/10 (“mediocre — has multiple outstanding issues”).</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The Verge’s Duo Review: ‘Apple’s Folding Phone Is a Messy, Expensive Good Time’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/the-verge-iphone-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Joanna Stern Reviews the Duo: ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy’</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDTWuL9GxY"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo3"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43635</id>
        <published>2026-10-23T14:42:06Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-23T14:42:06Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Joanna Stern’s video review packs a ton into 16 minutes. She commissioned a custom robot to fold/unfold the thing over 32,000 times in a week, to see if it loosened the hinge. (I won’t spoil the answer.) She took it on a yacht on the Hudson. She took it to a dark bar to test the cameras. And she really, really missed Face ID. I don’t know how she makes these videos in just a week, along with all the actual testing. So good.</p>

<p>We rank our complaints (and praise) in different order, but overall her take jibes with mine on every single point. You can <a href="https://thenewthings.com/p/iphone-duo-review-the-good-bad-and-buggy">read a version of her review</a>, too, if you’re a subscriber to The New Things, which you should be.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Joanna Stern Reviews the Duo: ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Apple Highlights 50+ iPhone Apps That Have Already Been Optimized for the Duo</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/developers-bring-incredible-new-app-experiences-to-iphone-duo/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo2"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/apple-highlights-duo-optimized-apps"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43634</id>
        <published>2026-10-22T19:10:10Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-22T22:14:00Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Newsroom:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>New editorial collections for iPhone Duo apps and games will go
live on the App Store this Friday, with additional app updates
rolling out throughout the year. Apps optimized for iPhone Duo are
easy to identify with a Made for iPhone Duo badge on product pages
across the storefront.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This story highlights dozens of apps that have been optimized. This sort of transition happens every time Apple introduces a major screen change. It happened with the iPhone X in 2017, it happened when the iPhone 6 added a Plus size, it happened when the iPhone 5 changed the aspect ratio from 3:2 to 16:9, and, most memorably of all, it happened when the iPhone 4 went retina. Every time this happens it sucks to some varying degree of suckiness to use apps that haven’t been optimized. And soon enough, all apps still under active development get updated.</p>

<p>Developers know that iPhone users <em>care</em> how apps look and work. iPhone users will switch to competing apps for something like this. I stopped checking Mastodon on my phone for the last week and half because Ivory isn’t optimized. I stopped reading my messages on Signal — I just wait until I’m back at my desk. If I bought a Duo, I’d literally stop using Signal if they don’t update their app soon. Life’s too short to use shitty apps. iPhone developers get that.</p>

<p>Out of all those transitions I listed above, my gut feeling is that there are more third-party apps ready to go on day one for the Duo than for <em>any</em> of those previous transitions. No, it’s not all apps. Some of the apps that aren’t yet updated are quite popular, and others are ones that users can’t easily just switch away from (like, say, your bank’s app). But developer support is not a problem for the Duo. If anything the launch of the Duo has exemplified better than any event in iPhone history just how different the iPhone and Android developer communities are. “Flagship” Android foldables have been out <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/18498904/samsung-galaxy-fold-review-screen-broken-issue-durability-foldable-phone-video-performance-price">for over 7 years</a> and developer support for them today remains <em>nothing</em> close to developer support for the Duo — and the Duo doesn’t even launch until tomorrow.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Highlights 50+ iPhone Apps That Have Already Been Optimized for the Duo’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/apple-highlights-duo-optimized-apps">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Updates to My iPhone Duo Review</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo1"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/updates-to-my-iphone-duo-review"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43633</id>
        <published>2026-10-22T18:49:38Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T23:34:50Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Nothing major, but since publishing at 7:00pm last night, I’ve made a few additions and changes to my iPhone Duo review. I’m calling them out here, so that if you’ve already read it, you can see the changes. If I make more, I’ll add them to the top.</p>

<p>Regarding the camera, added and/or clarified the following (in <b>bold</b>):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>As for the camera itself, it’s terrific. It’s clearly not of the
same caliber as the iPhone 18 Pro, but it’s good. The technical
specs of the Duo’s main 1×/2× camera are nearly identical to those
of the year-ago iPhone Air, and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro">I love the iPhone Air’s
camera</a>. If anything, the Duo’s camera should be better,
because it gets the year-better A20 Pro imaging pipeline. Which,
notably, brings support for the same new Photographic Styles,
including textures like film grain, that were <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro">introduced with the
iPhone 18 Pro</a>. <b>However, the Duo is not “Pro” — it does not
get camera features like “Pro controls” (variable lens aperture, shutter
speed, white balance, histogram), <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/15/apple-reference-image">Apple Reference Image</a>, spatial
video, ProRes (video or RAW), or Apple Log. Apple’s “shot with
iPhone” keynotes will continue to use iPhones Pro.</b></p>

<p>Also, notably different from the Air, the Duo has an ultrawide 0.5×
second camera lens. This brings both the ultrawide perspective <em>and</em>
macro photography. Like the Air, the Duo’s main 1× camera has a
minimum focus distance of 15cm. That’s closer than the 17 and 18 Pro
cameras (20cm), but there are a lot of times you want to snap photos
of receipts or documents closer than 15cm. <b>With the Air, you
can’t focus closer than 15cm, because it only has that one camera.
With the Duo, you can focus on subjects down to just 2cm away, using
the 0.5× lens or the 1× lens in “macro” mode (which switches to the
ultrawide lens but sensor-crops to the 1× field of view).</b></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Regarding the security of “Unlock with Apple Watch”, I added this note:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>(It’s worth noting that the wrist tap on your watch for this gives
you a button to tap to lock your iPhone immediately — it’s not
just a notification that it happened, it presents you with an
action to undo it.)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Added this note (in <b>bold</b>) about it occasionally rotating (uncomfortably) in pocket, because it happened to me again twice today:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It does not go into or out of my jeans pocket smoothly.
<b>Sometimes, in my pocket, it rotates 90 degrees, which is
uncomfortable.</b> Folded up it never stops feeling heavy. It <em>is</em>
heavy, compared to other iPhones.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Added this updated regarding <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-keyboard.png">the janky crossword keyboard</a> in the NYT Games app on the Duo’s inner screen:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[<strong>Update, Thursday:</strong> One day later and there’s an updated
version of the NYT Games app, and they’ve fixed the orthodontic
mess of their crossword keyboard, in both orientations.
<a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-redux.png">Screenshot</a>.
This goes to show just how fast the Duo-optimized updates are
streaming in from developers. My review was up-to-date when I
published at 7:00pm ET Wednesday, and outdated by the time I woke
up Thursday morning.]</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Updates to My iPhone Duo Review’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/updates-to-my-iphone-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xo0"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43632</id>
        <published>2026-10-21T22:59:14Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-27T23:34:38Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <summary type="text">It’s been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it feels like I’ve gotten to use an extraordinarily polished prototype — not a finished product that I’d want to buy and carry.</summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>The very nature of the iPhone Duo raises numerous obvious questions about what it’s like to use. Does it not feel thick and heavy, awkward both to pocket and unpocket? Doesn’t the outer (cover) screen feel small and cramped, with an unfamiliar squat-rather-than-tall layout for UI controls in every app you use? Isn’t it weird that when you open it up to use the inner screen, that all the hardware buttons on the edges of the device are in the “wrong” places for a tablet? For anyone who’s gotten used to Face ID over the last decade, is it not frustrating to go back to Touch ID? And what about third-party apps that haven’t been updated to support the Duo’s novel displays — do they not suck to use?</p>

<p>Clearly, the point of a Duo review is to answer these questions, which really boil down to one question: How did Apple solve these problems?</p>

<p>The answer is: They didn’t.</p>

<p>All of these problems are real, and each of them detracts from the experience of using the Duo. Some of them have been mitigated through thoughtful design and clever engineering. Some of them might be solved in future iterations of the device. Some of them, though, I believe are endemic to the very idea of a foldable, and cannot be solved.</p>

<p>The Duo name is perfect. It truly is like having two devices in one. The outer device is, by far, the worst iPhone Apple has ever made. It’s a miserable fat little thing. The inner device is a splendid, joyful, beautiful tablet, with a UI that out-iPads the iPad. For me, by far, it’s my favorite tablet experience ever. I prefer it to any iPad or Kindle-like reader I’ve ever used.</p>

<p>So I’ll cut to the chase. The decision of whether you might want to buy a Duo is not easy, because only one of its two selves is good. You might be delighted, despite its clear compromises, if what you value most is a pocketable small tablet and are ambivalent about your iPhone. You might be endlessly frustrated if you love your iPhone, and use it extensively, often for quick interactions throughout the day, every day.</p>

<h2>More Than Meets the Eye</h2>

<p>I was a kid when Transformers hit the toy market. I had a few — every boy my age did — but I was more of a GI Joe kid. It always bothered me that, as toys, Transformers were clearly compromised in both states. Folded up, they weren’t good cars / trucks / fighter jets. They had obvious seams and folds. In the cartoons — and the subsequent live action films decades later — the Transformers’ disguised states are seamless. In real life with the actual toys, the disguised states were about as convincing as a pair of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groucho_glasses">Groucho glasses</a>. A regular toy car looked like a real car, and stayed together no matter how hard you played with it. A Transformer car never quite looked like a real car and would come apart when played with. Unfolded, they looked like robots, yes, but they had obvious compromises. And it was kind of a pain folding them back into vehicles. My recollection is that we played with them a lot more as unfolded robots than as folded vehicles.</p>

<p>And that’s what they were. They weren’t vehicles that pretended to be robots. They were robots in disguise. The Duo isn’t really a phone. It’s a tablet in disguise. And in the same way that a true toy car was a better toy car than a folded-up Transformer-as-car could ever be, the Duo-as-phone is just not as good a phone as any regular iPhone. Honestly it’s not even close.</p>

<p>Consider if you could snap the Duo in half, leaving the smaller outer display as a standalone iPhone. Would anyone want an iPhone this shape and size? I think the answer is that zero people would want this. The iPhone Mini, back in 2020 and 2021 with the iPhone 12/13 generations, proved not to be popular enough for Apple to keep around. The iPhone Minis were a <em>way</em> better shape than the outer Duo. There’s a reason why the iPhone Air is not shaped like half a Duo — because the Duo shape stinks as an iPhone. And that’s only considering the hypothetical of a thin lightweight Duo snapped in half. In real life, with the actual Duo, when you use it folded up the device is twice as thick and twice as heavy. <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Transformers+watch+1980s&amp;safe=off&amp;udm=2">These Transformer watches</a> were a fun way to smuggle a toy robot into school, but they were crummy watches. The iPhone Duo is a fun way to fit an entire iPad Mini–sized tablet into your pocket, but it’s a cumbersome phone.</p>

<p>It does not go into or out of my jeans pocket smoothly. Sometimes, in my pocket, it rotates 90 degrees, which is uncomfortable. Folded up it never stops feeling heavy. It <em>is</em> heavy, compared to other iPhones:</p>

<p><table class="table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736" width = 200>
<style>
.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 th:nth-child(1) { text-align: right }
.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 td:nth-child(1) { text-align: right }
.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 th:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }
.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 td:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }
</style>
<thead>
<th>iPhone</th><th>Weight</th>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Duo</td><td>254g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>18 Pro Max</td><td>249g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>18 Pro</td><td>211g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>17</td><td>177g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Air</td><td>165g</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table></p>

<p>It’s technically only negligibly heavier than an 18 Pro Max, but because it has so much less surface area, it feels far more dense. If it did not unfold, no one would buy this.</p>

<p>But, of course, it does unfold. That’s the entire point. Unfolded, it not only no longer feels heavy, it feels featherweight light. It’s uncanny. An open iPhone Duo has a 7.6-inch display and the physical dimensions are 4.6&NoBreak; &NoBreak;×&NoBreak; &NoBreak;6.5 inches. An <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/121456">A17 Pro iPad Mini</a> (the current model, but supposedly not for long) has an 8.3-inch display, measures 5.3&NoBreak; &NoBreak;×&NoBreak; &NoBreak;7.7 inches, and weighs 297g (that’s the cellular model’s weight, which is only fair). The iPad Mini has a slightly bigger screen but it’s heavier. In hand, I prefer the unfolded Duo over the iPad Mini as a tablet, in every single regard other than hardware button placement. (More on that below.)</p>

<p>You simply cannot have your cake and eat it too. The Duo allows you to take what is, in several ways, the best tablet Apple has ever made — and thus, the best tablet <em>any</em> company has ever made — fold it in half, and put it in your pocket to carry everywhere. While folded in half, you can use it as an entirely functional iPhone, but it’s by far the worst iPhone experience ever — frustrating, ungainly, and uncomfortable.</p>

<h2>Using the Duo Closed, With the Outer Display</h2>

<p>Ever since it was unveiled there’s been idle speculation that, while folded, the Duo’s design is biased against left-handed users. First, because the Touch ID side button is on the right. Second, because the Duo variant of iOS moves things like application toolbars and the home screen Dock to the right.</p>

<p>I am right-handed, but I’m a little bit on the ambidextrous spectrum. For example, I switched to using my mouse with my left hand around 1995, when I developed RSI in my right wrist, and I’ve used my mouse left-handed ever since. (But I use a MacBook trackpad with my right hand.) I can shoot a basketball from close range with my left hand. So going into my Duo review, I thought I’d try to use my Duo as a pretend lefty. Turns out I didn’t have to pretend. I never realized this, but I naturally use my iPhone left-handed quite a bit throughout the day. For example, while brushing my teeth. I keep my iPhone in my right front pants pocket, but I often pick it up off my desk or kitchen counter and use it left-handed.</p>

<p>The Duo is not comfortable left-handed. The problem isn’t the Touch ID side button — I fixed that by registering my left index and middle fingers with the Touch ID sensor. The problem isn’t right-side bias for toolbars and the Dock in iOS Duo.<sup id="fnr1-2026-10-21"><a href="#fn1-2026-10-21">1</a></sup> That’s not great for left-handed use, but the truth is there’s a reachability problem no matter which single hand you try holding the Duo in. It’s better to hold it in your right hand than left, reachability-wise, but fundamentally it’s so wide that it’s a two-handed device even when being used folded.</p>

<p>No, the problem with holding the Duo in your left hand alone is that the bottom left corner of its D-shaped frame digs into your palm. When you hold it in your right hand, it’s a nice round corner in the meat of your thumb’s base. In your left, it’s a crisp sharp corner, and it doesn’t feel good.</p>

<p>When using the small outer display, everything on screen feels cramped. I don’t even like the home screen. Moving the Dock to the right side breaks 19 years of spatial memory for me.<sup id="fnr2-2026-10-21"><a href="#fn2-2026-10-21">2</a></sup> I keep reaching for Messages, Notes, and Safari <em>down</em> at the bottom of my screen, when now they’re over on the right. And they look weird too, because they’re smaller icons than the others on the home screen. Ostensibly the Dock is for your four most-used apps, but now they’re the <em>smallest</em> icons on your home screen? What sense does that make?</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-home-screen-dock.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-home-screen-dock.png"
    alt = "Screenshot of my iPhone Duo home screen. The apps in the Dock, which is positioned on the right, are noticeably smaller than the regular app icons."
  /></a></p>

<p>It’s such a little thing (no pun intended, I swear), but it exemplifies how many compromises Apple had to make for this small squat display.</p>

<p>Next, consider this screenshot from NetNewsWire:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-netnewswire-back-button.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-netnewswire-back-button.png"
    alt = "Screenshot of NetNewsWire on the iPhone Duo outer screen. Its toolbar buttons are all on the right edge of the screen, including the “❮” back button."
  /></a></p>

<p>What gets me here is the chevron “❮” back button being on the right. The iPhone’s back buttons have always been at the top <em>left</em> of the screen because iOS has always used a left-to-right column-view inspired spatial hierarchy. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/28/donald-decodes-federighi">Craig Federighi just explained this spatial metaphor</a> beautifully in a short YouTube interview a month ago. This metaphor is foundational to the iPhone experience. The back button is <em>on</em> the left because you go back <em>to</em> the left. Putting a button that takes you to the left on the right side of the screen just feels wrong. I think if I used an iPhone Duo every day for the next year (<em>please no</em>) I would still think this felt unnatural. It’s like having a turn signal stalk in your car that you move in the opposite direction that you turn the wheel. Now, it’s true that you can swipe from the left side of the screen to go back. You don’t have to use the “❮” button. But that button is there, in every single iPhone app that presents content in a hierarchy. And it’s always on the wrong side of the screen (unless you’re using an app on the left side of split screen multitasking — see below).</p>

<p>Here’s another example. <a href="https://marco.org/2026/08/14/unforgetful">Unforgetful</a> is Marco Arment’s new reminders app. I like it a lot, and have been using it extensively since the summer. It’s properly updated to support the Duo UI layout. Here’s what it looks like when you’re creating a new task, normally:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-regular.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-regular.png"
    alt = "Screenshot of Unforgetful’s task creation screen on an iPhone Duo. On the right is a toolbar with two buttons, “✕” and “✓”, which stand for Close and Done."
  /></a></p>

<p>But here’s what I saw over the weekend, when I was out running <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kurt-vonnegut-envelope-quote/">a Vonnegut errand</a>, listening to The Vergecast:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-with-live-activity.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-with-live-activity.png"
    alt = "Similar screenshot to the previous one, but this time there is a Live Activity in the corner, and instead of two buttons,  “✕” and “✓”, there is only one button: “···”."
  /></a></p>

<p>I spent almost an entire minute trying to figure out how to save this task. I was about to text Arment with a bug report, that new tasks were unsaveable on the Duo, when I realized what happened. Because I had a Live Activity showing for the podcast I was listening to (in Arment’s <a href="https://overcast.fm/">Overcast</a>, natch), the system’s time and circular status indicator were pushed down, reducing Unforgetful’s toolbar area, which meant the two buttons, “✕” and “✓” (for Close and Done, respectively), were collapsed into a single “···” overflow button. Tapping the dot-dot-dot button reveals them:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-dot-dot-dot.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-dot-dot-dot.png"
    alt = "Screenshot showing the menu after tapping “···”, which shows two menu items: “✕ Close” and “✓ Done”."
  /></a></p>

<p>So the outer Duo display is so cramped when the keyboard is on screen that with a Live Activity showing, there is no longer room for a single pair of toolbar buttons. That turns a lot of one-tap actions into two-tap actions. And initially at least, it’s confusing. The whole point of Unforgetful is that it is not a complicated app. It really took me a minute to figure out that the Done button had moved into the “···” overflow menu.</p>

<p>One more examination of screen real estate, this time, with Messages, with the on-screen keyboard open. How much of the current conversation can you see?</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png"
    alt = "Screenshot comparison of a conversation thread in Messages, comparing the amount of conversation visible on screen with the keyboard open on (1) Duo inner display, vertical; (2) Duo inner display, horizontal; (3) Duo outer display; and (4) an iPhone 18 Pro. Only the Duo inner display vertical orientation and iPhone 18 Pro show more than one previous text bubble."
  /></a></p>

<p>The Duo outer display has only a smidgeon of real estate available for showing previous messages. It’s a bit like using <a href="https://www.slashgear.com/1092246/the-most-iconic-blackberry-phones-of-all-time/">an ancient BlackBerry</a>. The Duo inner display in horizontal mode doesn’t show much more, but all you need to do to see more is rotate the device (which makes it easier for thumb-typing anyway).</p>

<h2>Using the Duo Open, With the Inner Display</h2>

<p>Once the Duo is unfolded and unlocked (more on that below), it’s a terrific experience. I absolutely love the nano-texture finish. I love how it looks, and I love how it feels.</p>

<p>At the outset of this review, I opened with a list of obvious problems for any foldable device. I omitted the one vexing problem that Apple has solved: annoyance at a visible crease. They solved it by applying this nano-texture finish (which <a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/phones/iphones/apple-reveals-iphone-duo-has-a-replaceable-display-layer-what-it-means-for-you">apparently is an easily replaceable surface layer</a>). But it’s not like this is a trade-off that makes the display look bad or feel weird. I’d love a display that looks and feels like this on my non-foldable iPhone 18 Pro. No glare, even in sunlight. It’s amazing. There’s no accounting for taste — some people love glossy reflective displays that draw glare from any and all light sources. Not me.</p>

<p>No foldable phone on the market had a matte inner display until the Duo. I suspect most of them will next year, and by 2028 all of them will.</p>

<p>I mentioned above how close the open Duo is to the size and weight of an iPad Mini (a little smaller in size, but 15 percent lighter in weight). It just feels like a great little tablet, and this general size class has always been great for reading. Most Kindles and other e-ink readers are about this same size. I love reading on the Duo inner screen, vertically.</p>

<p>The Duo is great horizontally too. One obvious use case is video. Watching video, it’s easy to forget it’s an iPhone, not an iPad. Here’s as good a place as any to mention that the Duo’s speakers are great. Loud and separated. It produces surprisingly good sound for such a thin device.</p>

<p>Held horizontally, the iPhone Duo supports side-by-side multitasking with two apps. The user interface for this feature is brilliant. It puts every idea Apple has tried on iPadOS for multitasking to shame.</p>

<p>From 2010 to 2015, the iPad behaved like a big iPhone, showing only one app at a time on screen. This was limiting, yes, but delightfully simple and obvious. In 2015 with iOS 9 (this was before Apple renamed the iPad’s variant of iOS to “iPadOS”), <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2015/09/09iOS-9-Available-as-a-Free-Update-for-iPhone-iPad-iPod-touch-Users-September-16/">Apple introduced both Slide Over and Split View</a>. Both of them stunk. They stunk so bad that if you gave them a ride, you’d have to sell your car afterward. They were confusing and unintuitive. Slide Over in particular was often invoked accidentally and users couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it.</p>

<p>Even the newest iPads of the time (<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/108043">iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 4</a>) still had Home buttons — the all-screen design without a Home button wouldn’t arrive until the iPhone X debuted in 2017, and it didn’t arrive for iPads until <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2018/11/the_2018_ipad_pros">the late 2018 iPads Pro</a>. The Home button was the key to all iOS interaction at the time. To launch an app, you tapped its icon on your home screen. To go back to your home screen, you clicked the Home button. You double-clicked the Home button to enter the app switcher. If you think about it, you can see how the Home-button-centric iPad hardware was incompatible with the idea of split-screen multitasking. Once you have two apps on screen at the same time, how can you control them with just one clickable Home button? What if you had, say, Notes on the left and Safari on the right, and you wanted to close Notes and replace it with Mail, while keeping Safari open on the right? How could the system know which one you wanted to close when you clicked the one Home button? The answer is it couldn’t. So Apple devised all sorts of other convoluted ways to manage this. I don’t even remember how it worked except that it was confusing and frustrating. Re-reading <a href="https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/WindowsViews/Conceptual/AdoptingMultitaskingOniPad/">this old iPad developer documentation</a> makes it seem even more unintuitive than I remember.</p>

<p>I was about to quip that whoever at Apple designed and approved of these multitasking UIs set the entire iPad platform back by a decade. Then I realized that, actually, it was <em>more</em> than a decade. The iPhone Duo is debuting 11 years after iOS 9’s terrible iPad multitasking, and only now has Apple designed and implemented a split-screen multitasking interface that is actually good. Split screen on the Duo is intuitive, natural, useful, and mostly obvious. In addition to all those accolades regarding how you purposely invoke and use it, it also is an interface that you seem unlikely ever to get into accidentally. Comparing the multitasking UI on the Duo to the iPad is like comparing the Mac to Windows — one is insanely great, the other a dog wearing a necktie pretending to be a person. Apple should throw out iPadOS’s multitasking interface and switch to this one. Honestly I’d prefer if they just threw out iPadOS and went back to running iOS — this new version of iOS created for the Duo — on iPads. The Duo flavor of iOS is a better tablet OS than iPadOS, Apple’s dedicated tablet OS.</p>

<p>On the Duo, split screen is only available when the device is horizontal. It’s always split 50-50. Each side of the screen gets an app that is basically the size of an app open on the outer display. Elegant. To move an app into split view, you drag the home indicator up from the bottom of the screen — the same gesture that takes you back to the home screen. But instead of letting go, you keep dragging. You get this:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-start.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-start.png"
    alt = "Entering split screen mode on iPhone Duo, dragging the Apple Notes app. There are drop-target shelves on the far left and right edges."
  /></a></p>

<p>Those shelves on the left and right are drop targets. Drag and drop the current app to either side to put it there and enter split screen. The other side of the display just shows you a single-screen home screen:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-notes.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-notes.png"
    alt = "Split screen mode on the Duo. On the right is Apple Notes. On the left is my home screen, ready to open another app."
  /></a></p>

<p>To open an app on that second screen, you just tap it. There is no step 2. Once you enter split screen mode, it’s like having two closed Duos side-by-side, except the left-side one is a reverse D shape. When the left side is open you can see that the Duo toolbar/Dock bias is not “put it on the <em>right</em> side”. It’s “put it on the <em>outer</em> side”. It just so happens that on the outer display, the right side is the outer side (with rounded corners, away from the spine). Open a second app, and that app’s toolbar will go on the left, if the app is on the left:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-safari-notes.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-safari-notes.png"
    alt = "Split screen with Safari on the left (open to Six Colors), and Apple Notes on the right, in multitasking switcher mode."
  /></a></p>

<p>Each side of split screen acts like its own iPhone Duo. Drag up from the bottom of a side and you can go back to the home screen on that side. Or, as shown above, you can enter the multitasking switcher interface on that side — and it’s smart enough not to show you the app that is already open on the other side. Drag up from the bottom center and you return to the full-screen home screen or full-screen app switcher. Whatever you think ought to work, probably works. That’s intuitive design.</p>

<p>There is more to explore and think about here. These are not “windows”. But you can open the same app on both sides, like to show two Safari pages side-by-side. What this split screen UI gets fundamentally right is that it works exactly like using the iPhone for one-app-at-a-time launching and switching. The iPad’s original split-screen sin was trying to implement multiple apps on screen at the same time when the iPad still used a hardware Home button. With the modern iOS UI, where the physical Home button has been replaced by virtual on-screen home indicator bars, you can go from one home indicator (when there’s only one full-screen app) to <em>three</em>: one for the app on the left, one for the app on the right, and a third in the center to control them both as a pair. It’s so brilliant that most users won’t notice that there’s anything clever about the design at all. They’ll just use it. That’s the highest praise for an interaction design like this. It seems so obvious that it doesn’t seem designed at all.</p>

<p>Ironically, because iPhone Duo is not called an “iPad”, it gets to be what the iPad should’ve been all along.</p>

<p>The biggest problem I have with using the Duo on the inner display is an incorrect intuition that, after a full week of use, I am only now starting to break. What do you do when you’re done with a book for now? You close it. So what do I do when I’m done using the iPhone Duo, unfolded, before putting it in my pocket? I close it. But that doesn’t lock the Duo. It just switches to the outer display. I feel like I’ve done this a hundred times in the last week. I close it, thinking that I’ve locked it, and I put it away. But it’s still open. It eventually locks — perhaps sometimes quicker than you think. (iPhones have long used a bit of machine learning to try to detect when they’ve been pocketed or pursed while unlocked, and lock themselves before the normal auto-lock timeout.) Nothing bad has happened from doing this. But I’ve opened it up to some odd things on screen. This is not a complaint about Apple’s design, because when you want to switch from using the inner display to the outer display, you should be able to just close it. The iPhone Duo can’t read your mind. But I wish it <em>could</em> read my mind. </p>

<h2>Touch ID and Authentication</h2>

<p>The lack of Face ID on the iPhone Duo is an endless unceasing frustration. I’ll just farm this section out to what I wrote back on September 15, days after the Duo was announced, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/thoughts_and_observations_on_apples_surprise_and_shine_event">in my thoughts and observations column on Apple’s event announcements</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <ul>
<li><p>The lack of Face ID is a serious sad-trombone bummer, and in my
opinion could sink the first-generation model. Side-button Touch
ID is OK, but OK is not <em>good</em>, and even good is not <em>insanely
great</em>. Face ID is insanely great. For whatever reason, the only
iPads with Face ID are the iPad Pro models. Every time I review
an iPad Air or iPad Mini, my biggest gripe is the lack of Face
ID. I complained about it <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2022/03/the_2022_ipad_air#:~:text=Face%20ID%20alone%20is%20worth%20%24150">reviewing the iPad Air in 2022</a>
and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2021/09/the_2021_ipad_mini#:~:text=biggest%20annoyance">the iPad Mini in 2021</a>, and in the five years since
then my annoyance has only grown. With Face ID, so long as
you’re looking at the screen as you unlock the device, it’s like
not having it locked at all. It just unlocks, seemingly
automatically. With Touch ID you must think about putting one of
your registered fingers on the button every single time you
unlock it. It never ever feels automatic. I feel quite certain
Apple tried to fit a Face ID sensor on the outer Duo display and
could not make the engineering work.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m much more concerned about convenience than security, but
Face ID is 20× more secure than Touch ID. That’s according to
Apple’s own <a href="https://help.apple.com/pdf/security/en_GB/apple-platform-security-guide-b.pdf">Apple Platform Security</a> whitepaper, updated
just last month, which states:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The probability that a random person in the population could
unlock a user’s iPad, iPhone, or Apple Vision Pro is less
than 1 in 1 million with Optic ID or Face ID — including
when Face ID with a mask is turned on. For a user’s iPad,
iPhone, Mac models with Touch ID, and those paired with a
Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, it’s less than 1 in 50,000.
This probability increases with multiple enrolled
fingerprints (up to 1 in 10,000 with five fingerprints) or
appearances for Face ID (up to 1 in 500,000 with two
appearances).</p>
</blockquote></li>
<li><p>As a sign of how inconvenient the lack of Face ID is, Apple is
promoting the fact that the iPhone Duo can be unlocked by your
Apple Watch, like a Mac. No other iPhone needs such a crutch.
Based on my experience with Touch ID iPads, wearing an Apple
Watch all the time to unlock the Duo will feel essential. I
don’t wear an Apple Watch all the time, and don’t want to start
wearing an Apple Watch all the time, so I suspect this alone
will keep me from switching to an iPhone Duo personally. On the
other hand, for people who <em>do</em> wear an Apple Watch all the time
and are happy to do so, the Duo’s lack of Face ID might prove to
be only an occasional inconvenience rather than a constant
annoyance.</p></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<p>I’ve seldom been more prescient. More than anything else about the Duo experience, I despise the lack of Face ID. It is a dealbreaker for me. I’ll reconsider a future model that at least has Face ID on the front outer display, but I have no plans to purchase this one. I tried to keep track in my pocket Field Notes notebook of how many times I had to be told to authenticate with Touch ID, along with a separate tally of how many times I had to enter my full device passcode in situations where I know I would not have with an iPhone uno, and I ran out of space on the sheet of paper. If you are not wearing an Apple Watch, it is an unceasing frustration.</p>

<p>Apple actually made a TV commercial exemplifying the Touch ID experience on iPhone Duo 20 years ago, as part of the “Get a Mac” campaign with John Hodgman and Justin Long. Here, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuqZ8AqmLPY">you can watch it on YouTube</a>. Over and over and over, seemingly 20,000 times a day: put your goddamn finger on the Touch ID button.</p>

<p>Now, if you do wear an Apple Watch, and you pair it with your iPhone Duo, and you enable the off-by-default setting to allow your watch to unlock your Duo, this is much better. It’s not good, but it’s at least tolerable. If you have multiple iPhones though, this feature only works if your watch is paired with your Duo. This is a fundamental shortcoming in the architecture of WatchOS. Apple Watch should be like AirPods, where it just pairs on-the-fly with whatever device you’re currently using, so long as they’re signed into the same Apple Account. You don’t have to pair your AirPods to one single device and then completely factory reset them to use with another. AirPods wouldn’t be a hit product if that were true. But that’s how Apple Watch works. It’s true that most people only own one iPhone, but the existence of the <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/127274">iPhone Handoff</a> feature is proof that Apple is thinking about the fact that some of us own more than one. If one of them is a Duo, you will want to pair your Apple Watch with the Duo. But that means that with iPhone Handoff, your Apple Watch won’t share a cellular connection when you’re using your other iPhone. Cellular carriers are now more adept at seamlessly dealing with multiple iPhones than Apple’s own watch. It’s a complete mess of Apple’s own making.</p>

<p>The unlock-with-Apple-Watch feature doesn’t work all the time for me. When it does work, you know it, because you get a tap on your wrist from the watch every time your Duo unlocks via the nearby watch. But sometimes, even though I haven’t taken my watch off since it last unlocked the Duo, it doesn’t work, and I have to use Touch ID. Oftentimes, for reasons I do not understand, Touch ID isn’t enough, and I have to enter my passcode. I think it’s because I so often inadvertently press the side and Camera Control buttons while folding and unfolding the Duo — that might put it in a state where it wants to authenticate the most secure way possible, with my passcode.</p>

<p>It’s mildly annoying that your Apple Watch taps your wrist every time it automatically unlocks your Duo (dozens and dozens of taps per day, every day), but it’s obviously a good thing that it does. It obviously is less secure than Face ID or even Touch ID. I handed the Duo to my son to play with the hinge over the weekend, and as soon as he started playing with it, my wrist tapped. Oops, the whole iPhone was unlocked for him. That was no big deal, and in fact we shared a laugh about it. But it couldn’t happen with Face ID or Touch ID. (It’s worth noting that the wrist tap on your watch for this gives you a button to tap to lock your iPhone immediately — it’s not just a notification that it happened, it presents you with an action to undo it.)</p>

<p>There’s also an optional feature where you can unlock the Duo just by “resting” a registered finger on the Touch ID button. This does add a touch of convenience (again, I swear no pun intended), when I remember to do it, but this too doesn’t seem to work all the time. My theory is that sometimes I’m resting my finger on the button and the sensor doesn’t think the finger is a match. Other times, I wind up unlocking the Duo inadvertently, just by holding it with my thumb on the button. I never ever unlock my iPhones Pro accidentally. With the Duo, it happens at least once a day.</p>

<p>The only tolerable way to use the Duo is by always wearing an Apple Watch, and enabling the feature to allow the watch to unlock it. I do not want to wear an Apple Watch all day every day. And it seems ridiculous that that’s the only way to make the Duo experience tolerable. As annoying as it is to use an iPad with a Touch ID button, it’s far more annoying to use an iPhone with one, because I unlock my iPhone at least an order of magnitude more frequently than I do my iPad. </p>

<p>I’ll reconsider a future Duo model that at least has Face ID on the outside, but I don’t think I’ll ever truly enjoy the experience of using one unless it has Face ID on both sides. I can’t wait to finish writing this review, switch my eSIM back to my iPhone 18 Pro, and set this Duo aside on my desk. I don’t think Apple should have released the Duo before they figured this out.</p>

<h2>Buttons and Camera Orientation, the Hinge, and the Cameras Generally</h2>

<p>My Touch ID complaints are exacerbated by the fact that, from an experiential standpoint, the side button keeps moving around. When the Duo is closed, button placement isn’t a problem. But when it’s open, the buttons feel wrongly placed. On a Touch ID iPad, held vertically, the button is on the top on the right side. And from there, to switch to horizontal orientation, you rotate it counterclockwise, which moves the Touch ID button to the left side, at the top. But this is all backwards on the Duo. Held open vertically, the Duo’s Touch ID button is on the top on the <em>left</em> side. And you have to rotate it clockwise to get it back to horizontal. I’ve gotten more used to it after a week, but while using the big inner display, whenever I’m pestered to authenticate with Touch ID — which, again, is <em>all the time</em> — there’s also a moment of “Wait, where <em>is</em> the Touch ID button?” Many times throughout the week, while holding it vertically, the Touch ID button has been on the <em>bottom</em>, because my instincts for how to rotate it from horizontal to vertical and vice-versa are backwards from how the Duo intends. It’s like the Duo has a built-in game called “Where Are the Buttons?”, and it’s not a fun game.</p>

<p>The main camera orientation is more frustrating, and I consider it a mistake. The main camera is aligned with the small outer display. When you’re capturing photos or videos using the outer display, you hold the Duo horizontally to capture horizontal images, and hold it vertically to capture vertical images. But when you open the Duo, the camera sensor doesn’t magically rotate. So when you’re using the big inner display, you capture horizontal images when holding the Duo vertically, and vertical images when holding the device horizontally.</p>

<p>You can’t have it both ways. Apple needed to choose which display to align the camera with. Apple reps told me they chose to align it with the outer display because they think that’s the display users will use most often when using the camera. They’re probably right that the outer display will be used most frequently with the camera, so maybe they made the correct decision here. But my gut feeling is they should have aligned the camera the other way. Let the outer display have the reverse camera orientation. That would feel like an old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Video">Flip camera from 20 years ago</a> — a small handheld camera that you held vertically to capture horizontally. Who cares if the viewfinder doesn’t fill the screen, the screen is tiny anyway.</p>

<p>It just seems weird to me that you can open the Duo to have a truly huge viewfinder, and there’s no way to fill it. Here’s Apple’s own Camera app, when the Duo is open vertically, open horizontally, and closed:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-camera-viewfinders.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-camera-viewfinders.png"
    alt = "Side by side: Camera app, when the Duo is open vertically, open horizontally, and closed. Each screenshot shows a Ralph Steadman painting that hangs in my office."
  /></a></p>

<p>So with the big inner screen, you can never come close to filling the screen with the image you’re trying to capture. You get thick black letterboxing or pillarboxing. The viewfinder preview is roughly the same size on the inner screen as the outer screen, despite the inner screen being twice the size. This doesn’t make sense to me. I would prefer a tiny preview on the small outer display and a huge preview on the large inner display, with the camera sensors aligned with the inner display.</p>

<p>Also, because the outer screen is a different aspect ratio than the camera sensor (1.44 : 1 display; 1.33 : 1 sensor), photos taken using the outer screen capture a slightly larger image than what is shown in the viewfinder. That’s because the outer screen viewfinder presents a full-screen preview, which forces all of the Camera app controls to overlay the preview image. In the screenshot above showing the Camera app on the outer display, the actual photograph from that perspective includes part of the painting frame, even though you cannot see any of the frame in the preview. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/photo-of-steadman-painting.jpeg">Here’s the photo</a> I snapped with that preview. This discrepancy between the viewfinder and the actual captured image is not a huge deal — it’s OK to capture more than the viewfinder shows — but it’s worth being aware of.</p>

<p>As for the camera itself, it’s terrific. It’s clearly not of the same caliber as the iPhone 18 Pro, but it’s good. The technical specs of the Duo’s main 1×/2× camera are nearly identical to those of the year-ago iPhone Air, and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro">I love the iPhone Air’s camera</a>. If anything, the Duo’s camera should be better, because it gets the year-better A20 Pro imaging pipeline. Which, notably, brings support for the same new Photographic Styles, including textures like film grain, that were <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro">introduced with the iPhone 18 Pro</a>. However, the Duo is not “Pro” — it does not get features like “Pro controls” (variable lens aperture, shutter speed, white balance, histogram), <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/15/apple-reference-image">Apple Reference Image</a>, spatial video, ProRes (video or RAW), or Apple Log. Apple’s “shot with iPhone” keynotes will continue to use iPhones Pro.</p>

<p>Also, notably different from the Air, the Duo has an ultrawide 0.5× second camera lens. This brings both the ultrawide perspective <em>and</em> macro photography. Like the Air, the Duo’s main 1× camera has a minimum focus distance of 15cm. That’s closer than the 17 and 18 Pro cameras (20cm), but there are a lot of times you want to snap photos of receipts or documents closer than 15cm. With the Air, you can’t focus closer than 15cm, because it only has that one camera. With the Duo, you can focus on subjects down to just 2cm away, using the 0.5× lens or the 1× lens in “macro” mode (which switches to the ultrawide lens but sensor-crops to the 1× field of view).</p>

<p>Build quality of the Duo seems nothing short of excellent. It’s solid. It has a satisfying feel opening and closing, and it closes with a particularly pleasing snap. When it’s open it stays open and perfectly flat. When it’s closed it stays closed, with no gap. However, if forced to choose between the verbs <em>flip</em> and <em>pry</em> to describe the force necessary to open it, the more accurate verb is <em>pry</em>. You need two hands for sure and you kind of need to get your fingernail in the gap. It’s also tricky to open or close without inadvertently pressing the side or Camera Control buttons. I wind up clicking both of these buttons all the time, and sometimes it messes things up. I’ve snapped four accidental photos with the Camera Control button while trying to close (or open? not sure) the Duo in one week. I have zero such photos from the last 30 days taken with my iPhone 18 Pro. At least one of these even looks obscene at thumbnail scale, which gave me a momentary jolt when I saw it in my camera roll:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-accidental-crack.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 64
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-accidental-crack.jpeg"
    alt = "Oops."
  /></a></p>

<p>There’s a subtle plastic lip around the inner display. This keeps the corners of the display from smacking into each other when you close it, and in practice while the Duo is open, this lip actually feels good to the touch, not like an unwanted barrier.</p>

<p>The same cannot be said for <a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/product/mkr94zm/a/iphone-duo-case-sand">Apple’s $80 first-party silicone case</a>. I can’t believe anyone will want to use this. It adds such a big lip to the outer display that you need to go into Settings → Display &amp; Brightness and turn on a special option: “Shift Left Edge”, which shrinks the front display away from the left edge. It even <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/17/iphone-duo-silicone-case-adhesive-psa/">requires glue to keep it attached</a>. The adhesive is not particularly sticky — you can pop it right off — but I mean, come on. This contraption is ridiculous. I’ve never been a regular case user with my iPhones and I think people <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/08/iphone_camera_lens_scratch_resistance">worry needlessly about scratches</a>, especially now <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/08/13/ceramic-shield-2-is-the-real-deal">with Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2</a>. I firmly believe that putting a case on your phone makes you more likely to drop it because you’re less likely to be careful with it. But foldable phones in particular seem inherently incompatible with cases that are subtle rather than obtrusively prophylactic.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/product/mkr74zm/a/iphone-duo-folio-with-kickstand-navy-blue">Apple’s $130 folio case is better</a>. It’s made with Apple’s “TechWoven” fabric, which has a good high-quality feel. It’s got a kickstand that I guess might be convenient at times, but I don’t understand the lifestyle where you want to open a cover just to see the front face of your phone every time you use it. Also, it’s $130.</p>

<p>Live a little, I say. If you buy a Duo, try it without a case. Get AppleCare if you’re the nervous sort.</p>

<h2>The App Situation</h2>

<p>Using apps that haven’t been updated for the iOS 27.0 SDK is a terrible experience. They just look like little virtual iPhone Minis floating in a sea of black on the big inner display. You can zoom them, like the old “2×” button on iPads when running iPhone apps, but that stinks too. Apps that have been compiled for the 27 SDK but haven’t yet updated to the new Duo-specific APIs in the 27.1 SDK are ... OK. But even some of them blow. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-keyboard.png">Take a look at the NYT Games app</a>, and its custom crossword keyboard — it needs an orthodontist. Most of my favorite apps have already been properly updated for the Duo. Some, however, like <a href="https://tapbots.com/ivory/">Tapbots’s Ivory</a>, have not. Your bank probably won’t support the Duo until the Duo 2 is out next year. I think Apple has clearly done a great job evangelizing developers to support the Duo properly. Netflix does and it’s really cool. WhatsApp is in that middle state, where because it’s been compiled with the 27 SDK, it at least fills the inner screen, but it’s just a scaled regular iPhone layout. Signal, which has always been a particularly crummy app, is one of the turds that looks like an iPhone Mini floating in a sea of black.</p>

<p>[<strong>Update, Thursday:</strong> One day later and there’s an updated version of the NYT Games app, and they’ve fixed the orthodontic mess of their crossword keyboard, in both orientations. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-redux.png">Screenshot</a>. This goes to show just how fast the Duo-optimized updates are streaming in from developers. My review was up-to-date when I published at 7:00pm ET Wednesday, and outdated by the time I woke up Thursday morning.]</p>

<p>Last night I wanted to watch the Sixers beat the Knicks in their NBA season opener while I worked on this review. I had to use the NBC Sports app, which has not been updated for the Duo at all. The experience sucked. I could pop video out of the mini window to play sort of full-screen, but whenever I tapped the display it went back to iPhone Mini mode. The only good experience you can have using the iPhone Duo is with apps that have been updated for it. It’s better than nothing that un-updated apps run at all, but they certainly don’t deliver a premium $2,000-phone experience.</p>

<p>Using the iPhone Duo for this last week, in particular, has been fascinating in this regard. When I first got the Duo set up last Tuesday, very few of my third-party apps properly supported it. The ones that did were mostly ones where I was already a beta tester through TestFlight. As the week wore on, more and more apps with proper or at least semi-proper Duo support began appearing in the App Store. This made a huge difference to my pleasure using the device. By the time the very first Duo shipments reach actual customers this Friday, there will be more updated apps than there are today. It makes such a huge difference. I honestly don’t know how folks at Apple who’ve been privately testing the Duo for months before this managed to keep their sanity, unless they just eschewed third-party apps while testing it over the summer.</p>

<h2>Miscellaneous</h2>

<ul>
<li><p>When you pair an external Bluetooth keyboard with the Duo, Command-Tab doesn’t do anything. I actually like pairing a hardware keyboard with my iPhone unos, for writing notes and Journal entries while I drink coffee in the morning. For years I’ve wished that iOS supported Command-Tab like iPadOS does. With the Duo, this seems like a glaring omission.<sup id="fnr3-2026-10-21"><a href="#fn3-2026-10-21">3</a></sup> The Duo plus a portable Bluetooth keyboard seems like an amazing travel or commute combination.</p></li>
<li><p>Standby mode (folded like a tent) is cool. In addition to Apple’s built-in clock/calendar/photo screens that you can swipe between in this mode, if you have a Live Activity going, you can tap the Live Activity’s small icon at the top in Standby mode and make the Live Activity take the full screen. “Laptop mode” is cool too, for apps like Netflix, so you can watch video on half of the inner display while the device is folded like an L.</p></li>
<li><p>There are so many nice little touches in iOS to support the Duo. Even the factory-fresh onboarding experience lets you fold and unfold it while you’re turning it on and setting it up. One of my favorite details is that when you rotate the Duo while on the home screen, the Dock doesn’t just move from the bottom (vertically) to the right (horizontally). Instead, it disappears and reappears, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-homescreen-dock-warp.mp4">sliding in from off-screen in its new position</a>. It reminds me of Pac-Man’s warp tunnel.</p></li>
<li><p>Battery life has been very good for me. No problem getting through a heavy day of usage at all.</p></li>
<li><p>The Duo often gets warm. Not hot, but noticeably warm. My instincts say “warm phone = bad for battery life”, but, per the previous item in this list, battery life is fine. There might be some use cases I haven’t spent much time trying, like graphics-intensive games, where thermals are a problem. But I didn’t run into them.</p></li>
<li><p>iOS 27.1 is a little buggy. Sometimes when I’m rotating the device using the inner display, apps get zoomed in too big, as though they think they’re on the small outer display or something. Tapping around or folding/unfolding again clears it up. I ran into one really weird rendering glitch, on Thursday night last week. I noticed what I first thought was a smear of schmutz on the crease. I tried to rub it away but it didn’t help. I thought for a few minutes that the display was breaking, coming detached right at the crease. But I only saw the smear when holding the Duo vertically. Horizontally it vanished. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-rendering-glitch.png">Here’s a screenshot showing it</a> — look at the words “strode to the plate” in the first line of the second paragraph. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-rendering-glitch-zoomed.png">If you zoom in</a>, you can see that it’s actually a capsule-shaped overlay atop the text. Here’s <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-rendering-glitch.mp4">a video screen recording</a> of it while I scroll the article. This glitch was visible in the exact same position on screen — right on the 50-yard-line of the crease — in every single app I used while holding the Duo vertically. I took some screenshots and went to bed, without restarting the Duo. When I woke up Friday morning, the glitch was gone. I haven’t seen it, or anything like it, again. My theory is that I triggered it playing around that night with different “poses” for the Duo, including a bunch where I had it in an L- or V-shape, which in many apps puts a purposeful blur across the crease.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>The Duo comes in two colors: star light (off white) and night sky (very dark blue). My review unit is star light. It looks good. I’d buy night sky if I were going to buy one, which I’m not.</p>

<p>Pricing:</p>

<p><!-- Markdown table:
|            | 256 GB | 512 GB | 1 TB   | 2 TB <br />
| ---------: | :----: | :----: | :----: | :----:
|     18 Pro | $1,200 | $1,400 | $1,800 | $2,400
| 18 Pro Max | $1,300 | $1,500 | $1,900 | $2,500
|        Duo | $2,000 | $2,200 | $2,600 | $3,200
-->
<table width = 400>
<thead>
<tr>
  <th></th>
  <th align="center">256 GB</th>
  <th align="center">512 GB</th>
  <th align="center">1 TB</th>
  <th align="center">2 TB</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
  <td align="right">18 Pro</td>
  <td align="center">$1,200</td>
  <td align="center">$1,400</td>
  <td align="center">$1,800</td>
  <td align="center">$2,400</td>
</tr>
<tr>
  <td align="right">18 Pro Max</td>
  <td align="center">$1,300</td>
  <td align="center">$1,500</td>
  <td align="center">$1,900</td>
  <td align="center">$2,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
  <td align="right">Duo</td>
  <td align="center">$2,000</td>
  <td align="center">$2,200</td>
  <td align="center">$2,600</td>
  <td align="center">$3,200</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table></p>

<p>At every storage tier, it’s $800 more than an 18 Pro and $700 more than an 18 Pro Max.</p>

<h2>The Decision</h2>

<p>Every time you pick up the Duo to use it you face The Decision. Open it? Or be lazy and suffer with the outside display? Every time. Even if you get used to all the other things, you’ll always face The Decision, every time you pick up the Duo.</p>

<p>And there’s a third option. Just after writing the preceding paragraph, I took a break to pick up some sandwiches for lunch. Get out of the house, enjoy at least a few minutes of a beautiful autumn afternoon, and stretch my legs. Waiting for the sandwiches to be prepared at <a href="https://www.spreadbagelry.com/">the bagel joint</a>, I took the Duo out of my pocket and checked NetNewsWire. First article up was a good one. Started reading. Screen’s too small. Do I want to open the Duo? Sandwiches aren’t going to take long. I clicked the side button to sleep the Duo and put it back into my jeans pocket (where it sank like the brick that it is). I spent the rest of the wait alone with my thoughts, pondering how to finish this review.</p>

<p>Apple isn’t going to start an ad campaign with a slogan like “<em>So cumbersome you’ll keep it in your pocket</em>”, but that’s part of my experience. If you really want to <em>do</em> something, or sit back and read or watch something, the big display is fantastic. But that Duo-as-tablet experience is so cumbersome compared to the “just look at it” experience of using a regular iPhone uno that you simply cannot do it every time you use the Duo. You will use the outer display quite a bit. And using the outer display delivers the worst iPhone experience ever. I mean, <em>some</em> iPhone has to be the one that offered the worst iPhone experience ever. That iPhone is the outer half of the iPhone Duo. Perhaps for some people looking to be more mindful of their screen time, this is actually a selling point.</p>

<p>Here’s my steelman argument for the Duo. iPads are good devices. Almost everyone likes them, and many people love them. But wouldn’t it be better if you could fold an iPad in half to make it more portable? The answer has to be yes — <em>if</em> that foldability did not saddle the device with an ugly visible crease in the display. Folding in half would be a nice trick for any iPad, but especially the iPad Mini. An iPad Air folded in half would fit in more compartments in your backpack, but it would not fit in your pants. An iPad Mini folded in half would. Wouldn’t it be even better if Apple added a small screen to the outside of this hypothetical foldable iPad Mini we’re imagining? That way, even when folded, you could check the time, see recent notifications, and pay attention to Live Activities. That sounds like a great idea, right? Well, that’s the iPhone Duo.</p>

<p>If you’d rather trade your iPhone for an iPad Mini that you can fold in half to carry around, the iPhone Duo might be the form factor for you. Even if that’s the case, though, this <em>first</em> iPhone Duo might not suit you, for all the various irritations and shortcomings I’ve documented above. Plus, an actual iPad Mini costs $800 for 256 GB of storage (at this writing); an iPhone Duo with 256 GB costs a cool $2000.</p>

<p>It’s been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it feels like I’ve gotten to use an extraordinarily polished prototype — not a finished product that I’d want to buy and carry.</p>

<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>

<li id="fn1-2026-10-21">
<p>I thought about referring to the Duo variant of iOS 27 as “DuOS”, which seemed clever in my mind, but looked stupid as hell the first time I tried typing it. “DuoOS” isn’t much better. So I’ll go with “iOS Duo” as shorthand for now.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr1-2026-10-21"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;</a></p>
</li>

<li id="fn2-2026-10-21">
<p>I’ve kept a consistent Dock arrangement on my iPhone for as long as I can remember. From left to right: Messages, my notes app, Safari, and my “what’s new?” app. My notes app originally was Apple Notes, then <a href="https://simplenote.com/">Simplenote</a>, then <a href="https://daringfireball.net/search/vesper">Vesper</a> (duh), and ever since Vesper’s demise, Apple Notes again. My “what’s new?” app (which, if I’m being honest, might better be described as my “I’m bored” app) was <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/01/19/twitterrific-iconfactory">Twitterrific</a>, then <a href="http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/11/20/tweetie-10">Tweetie</a>, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2011/12/new_twitter">then Twitter</a>, then <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2011/04/tweetbot">Tweetbot</a>, then <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/01/23/tweetbot-rip">Ivory</a>. Several months ago I prioritized RSS over all social media platforms, and moved <a href="https://netnewswire.com/">NetNewsWire</a> down there. I don’t check any Twitter-like social networks until I feel caught up on RSS, which means I often don’t check them at all. I’m at least a little happier for it, and I <em>know</em> I’m more productive.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr2-2026-10-21"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 2 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;︎</a></p>
</li>

<li id="fn3-2026-10-21">
<p>Also, with an iPhone uno, when you pair a hardware keyboard, you can use Command-H to go to the home screen. That doesn’t work on the Duo. I don’t know if that’s a bug or a design concession for the fact that with split screen multitasking, “go to the home screen” can’t be a single command. You might want to go home on the left, on the right, or full screen. Swiping on screen makes those actions unambiguous. Command-H would not. If you think about it, this is actually very similar to the conundrum I mention elsewhere in this review, regarding the incoherency of Apple’s decade of attempts to bring split-screen multitasking to the iPad in the Home button era. I think with a paired keyboard, however, Command-H should just always take you back to the full-screen home screen. Make it go all the way home, not just halfway home.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr3-2026-10-21"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 3 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;︎</a></p>
</li>

</ol>
</div>

    ]]></content>
        <title>★ The iPhone Duo</title>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://sunnny.com/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xnz"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/sunnny_1"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/feeds/sponsors//11.43631</id>
        <author>
            <name>Daring Fireball Department of Commerce</name>
        </author>
        <published>2026-10-20T13:09:38Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-20T13:09:39Z</updated>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>All your B2B customer data. In that nice California sunnn. Early access now!</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Sunnny’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/sunnny_1">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
        <title>[Sponsor] Sunnny</title>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Barack Obama on the Trump Administration’s Intimidation Campaign Against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/BarackObama/status/2111819687524774170"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xny"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/obama-omar"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43630</id>
        <published>2026-10-20T01:12:26Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-20T01:40:55Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Barack Obama, in a 430-word essay:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government
can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their
political beliefs or what they say. But that’s exactly what the
Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of
Minnesota. [...]</p>

<p>The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to
engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should
outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about
Congresswoman Omar’s political views. Because if this becomes the
new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Thoughtful, sharp, and eloquent as ever.</p>

<p>But Obama posted this essay on X, which, I <a href="https://www.threads.com/@gruber/post/DeXvGODFNWo">have</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/gruber.foo/post/3mxn2cc4cc326">been</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@gruber/117424623082667290">told</a> in the past week, shows that he in fact is <a href="https://www.threads.com/@richrichmond/post/DerwfS5GsNm">a Nazi sympathizer</a>, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mrdavidham.bsky.social/post/3mxwkg3wvjk2g">a fascist</a>, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/cagygibbon.bsky.social/post/3mxrdwsor7s2c">a pedophile</a>, and unconcerned <a href="https://mastodon.social/@delric/117263818705656307">about racism</a>. As surprised as I was to learn those things about myself, I’m equally surprised to learn them about President Obama, whom I heretofore considered a thoughtful statesman and moral compass.</p>

<p>Either that, or, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon have relegated themselves into irrelevance by allowing their discourse to be dominated by a fringe of unhinged kooks who want to be angry and want everyone else to be angry.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Barack Obama on the Trump Administration’s Intimidation Campaign Against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/obama-omar">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>From the DF Archive: Should a CEO Be a Nerd About Their Company’s Products?</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2022/10/11/ceos-as-nerds"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xnx"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/ternus-cook-product-nerds"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43629</id>
        <published>2026-10-19T22:36:15Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-20T14:32:44Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Back in 2022, I quoted from an interesting post by Ben Schlappig at One Mile at a Time, <a href="https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-ceo-jetblue-mint/">where he wrote</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I’ve had the opportunity to interact with quite a few senior
airline executives over the years, and I find that their knowledge
about competitors is typically one extreme or the other:</p>

<ul>
<li>Some airline executives literally couldn’t tell you the first
thing about their competitors, and have no knowledge of their
passenger experience, fleet, etc.</li>
<li>Some airline executives know literally everything about their
competitors, down to being able to tell you how many seats
competitors have on specific planes</li>
</ul>

<p>I find there are very few executives who are just kind of in the
middle, as it’s pretty polarizing. Either they know virtually
everything about competitors, or nearly nothing. Without naming
any names, I’ll say that generally speaking there’s a high
correlation between airlines that have a great passenger
experience, and airlines that have executives that keep very close
tabs on the competition.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>And I wrote:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If the CEO’s primary perspective on the company is via
spreadsheets — if it’s all just P&amp;L to them — that company is
not going to excel at quality. Or if they do excel at quality,
they won’t for long.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I think Tim Cook was truly an exception in this regard. He’s not a product guy, and never pretended to be. He is a spreadsheet guy. But he clearly realized that about himself, and he understood that Apple’s entire point is delivering great products and experiences. But I think Ternus is a breath of fresh air in this regard. Apple didn’t immediately switch to decision-making by quantifiable numbers under Cook, but incrementally, year-by-year, decision-making by quantifiable numbers took over.</p>

<p>You simply cannot assign numeric values to everything, and some of those things that cannot be quantified are the most important things. Apple needs a CEO who makes some major product decisions by gut alone.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘From the DF Archive: Should a CEO Be a Nerd About Their Company’s Products?’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/ternus-cook-product-nerds">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Apple Event, in Los Angeles, Next Week: ‘Pro and Tell’</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/gregjoz/status/2112212372182249831"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xnw"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/apple-event-pro-and-tell"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43628</id>
        <published>2026-10-19T22:27:21Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-19T22:27:21Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Greg Joswiak, on X:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Can’t wait to pro and tell next week.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/19/apple-pro-and-tell/">Juli Clover, MacRumors</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Rumors suggest Apple is planning to debut the new MacBook Pro with
an OLED touchscreen display, an M6 entry-level MacBook Pro, an M6
iMac, an iPad mini with an OLED display.</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Event, in Los Angeles, Next Week: ‘Pro and Tell’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/apple-event-pro-and-tell">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/estimated_arrival_dates_for_preordered_iphone_duos"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xnv"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43627</id>
        <published>2026-10-19T22:04:04Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-20T13:55:40Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <summary type="text">No one should mistake my audience as representative of the general public in any poll, but I bet my audience is at least ballpark representative of the general public when it comes to something like pre-ordering, at the crack of dawn, a new iPhone form factor that costs $2000 to $3200.</summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Yesterday I posted the same question to my followers <a href="https://x.com/gruber/status/2111904155472146778">on X</a>, <a href="https://www.threads.com/@gruber/post/DepcnGgFCKH">Threads</a>, and <a href="https://mastodon.social/@gruber/117463540267834280">Mastodon</a>:<sup id="fnr1-2026-10-19"><a href="#fn1-2026-10-19">1</a></sup></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Poll, only for people who have pre-ordered a Duo. When is your
delivery/pickup date?</p>

<ul>
<li>October</li>
<li>November</li>
<li>December</li>
<li>January</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<p>The results were interesting; I’m glad I asked.</p>

<!-- Markdown Table:
|           |   X   | Threads | Mastodon | Total
| --------- | :---: | :-----: | :------: | :---:
| October   |  36%  |   38%   |   39%    |  37% 
| November  |  35%  |   42%   |   45%    |  39% 
| December  |  10%  |   9%    |    8%    |  10% 
| January   |  19%  |   11%   |    8%    |  14% 
|           |       |         |          |      
| Responses | 1,382 |  1,034  |   449    | 2,865
-->

<table class="table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2" width = 450 style = "margin-left: 0;">
<style>
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(1) { text-align: left }
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(1) { text-align: left }
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(3) { text-align: center }
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(3) { text-align: center }
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(4) { text-align: center }
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(4) { text-align: center }
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(5) { text-align: center }
.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(5) { text-align: center }
</style>
<thead>
<th></th><th>X</th><th>Threads</th><th>Mastodon</th><th>Total</th>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>October</td><td>36%</td><td>38%</td><td>39%</td><td>37%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>November</td><td>35%</td><td>42%</td><td>45%</td><td>39%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>December</td><td>10%</td><td>9%</td><td>8%</td><td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>January</td><td>19%</td><td>11%</td><td>8%</td><td>14%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><em>Responses</em></td><td><em>1,382</em></td><td><em>1,034</em></td><td><em>449</em></td><td><em>2,865</em></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<p><img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-ship-dates-chart.png"
    alt = "The “Total” column from the above table, in bar chart form."
    width = 550
  /></p>

<p>Observations:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>There were way more people who successfully got October ship dates than I expected. It’s very close to even with November ship dates.</p></li>
<li><p>The fact that there are fewer December ship dates than January, is to me, a sign of Apple’s appreciation for the holidays. I think Apple is only promising “December” for shipments they are 100 percent certain they can deliver by Christmas. I bet a bunch of the orders promised for January will in fact ship in December — albeit perhaps too-late-for-Christmas December.</p></li>
<li><p>Apparently some configurations are getting <a href="https://mastodon.social/@coachmike66/117466428892965146">an estimated date of February 1</a>. I wish I’d listed February as an option, but I don’t think it would have made a big difference.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/19/apple-starts-moving-up-iphone-duo-delivery-dates/">Per MacRumors today</a>, some pre-order estimates are already moving up, like from early December to late November.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>No one should mistake my audience as representative of the general public in any poll, but I bet my audience is at least ballpark representative of the general public when it comes to something like pre-ordering, at the crack of dawn, a new iPhone form factor that costs $2000 to $3200.</p>

<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn1-2026-10-19">
<p>I didn’t ask on Bluesky because — despite launching over three years ago — it still lacks a poll feature. There’s some kind of third-party thing called <a href="https://poll.blue/">poll.blue</a>, but I couldn’t be bothered.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr1-2026-10-19"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>

    ]]></content>
        <title>★ Estimated Arrival Dates for DF Readers’ Pre-Ordered iPhone Duos</title>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <title>Netflix Shitcanned Film Chief Dan Lin Too</title>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://deadline.com/2026/10/netflix-dan-lin-out-1237167562/"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xnu"/>
        <link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/netflix-dan-line"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43626</id>
        <published>2026-10-19T21:15:57Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-19T22:41:29Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Anthony D’Alessandro, reporting for Deadline:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Dan Lin is out as film boss at Netflix in a move that has been
largely speculated for weeks. Insiders at the streamer have denied
that Lin and even Bela Bajaria were on the chopping block, but
here we are.</p>

<p>Lin is meeting with his feature staff Monday morning for a
post-mortem after the news. Per sources close to the situation, a
successor to Lin won’t be named until the arrival of <a href="https://deadline.com/2026/10/netflix-peter-rice-chief-content-officer-1237158809/">Peter Rice,
who is taking over Netflix’s Chief Content Officer role</a> from
Bajaria.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Netflix’s movies are worse than their series, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/08/11/netflix-has-peaked">which also <em>mostly</em> stink</a>. (As opposed to Apple TV, which somehow makes terrible movies while making the best series in the business.)</p>

<p><a href="https://x.com/MikeIsaac/status/2112252613647597784">Mike Isaac, on X</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>it has long been understood that, qualitatively, a “netflix movie”
exists in the liminal space between theatrical release and
Lifetime production</p>

<p>with some notable exceptions, even the biggest budget productions
feel cheap, strange and worst of all, unmemorable</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Netflix Shitcanned Film Chief Dan Lin Too’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/netflix-dan-line">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
    </entry>
    <entry>
        <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/homeview_thoughts_and_observations"/>
        <link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xnh"/>
        <id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43613</id>
        <published>2026-10-17T17:25:13Z</published>
        <updated>2026-10-17T22:59:52Z</updated>
        <author>
            <name>John Gruber</name>
            <uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
        </author>
        <summary type="text">There’s a real “*Why do we need this?*” question here and I don’t think Apple’s video answers it, at all. You need to think you want it if you’re going to buy it. And even if you already had a HomeView set up, I’m not sure how often you’d use it instead of your phone, or instead of just talking to it like a screenless HomePod.</summary>
        <content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>I’ll start with a nomenclatural sidenote: Apple seems to be going with “Apple HomeView” as the product’s name. E.g., the URL slug for it on Apple.com is <em><a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-homeview/">apple-homeview/</a></em>, not just <em>homeview/</em>. Few people notice and no one who doesn’t work in Apple product marketing cares, but they actually do the same thing with Vision Pro — in Cupertino, it’s “Apple Vision Pro” (once again including <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/">the URL slug</a>). Yet this week’s new HomePod Mini is just “<a href="https://www.apple.com/homepod-mini/">HomePod mini 2</a>” and the existing 2nd-generation HomePod is just “<a href="https://www.apple.com/homepod-2nd-generation/">HomePod (2nd generation)</a>” — not “HomePod 2” or “Apple HomePod”. I certainly intend to just call it “HomeView”.</p>

<p>Apple introduced HomeView with a three-minute introductory film simulating a suburban family’s hectic before-school/work kitchen rush hour, with versions hosted <a href="https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/apple-homeview/2026/f7ce47a8-10f2-455c-b99f-bf9b85a35cb6/films/product/apple-homeview-product-tpl-us-2026_16x9.m3u8">on Apple’s site</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkrYiZ_g9tw">YouTube</a>. The most ridiculous aspect of it is that anyone would possibly make their kid French toast in that scenario. I’d have told my son to make his own goddamn French toast with that attitude. Or I’d have made a single serving and eaten it myself right in front of him. Bro.</p>

<p>I do think the basic concept is an intriguing idea. But as an implementation of that concept, my initial impressions are threefold. First, I am unconvinced that anyone in a family would use this for anything other than playing music or podcasts, rather than just using their phones. And if that’s the case, why not just have a HomePod? Apple’s video shows family members taking turns to use the HomeView, rotating it on the kitchen island to face themselves. Why? Why does the mom check her calendar on this, rather than on her iPhone, while the dad is using it to follow a French toast recipe? There’s a real “<em>Why do we need this?</em>” question here and I don’t think Apple’s video answers it, at all. You need to think you want it if you’re going to buy it. And even if you already had a HomeView set up, I’m not sure how often you’d use it instead of your phone, or instead of just talking to it like a screenless HomePod.</p>

<p>Second, all the touching and rotating — in Apple’s own demonstration — makes it seem awkward that HomeView must be tethered to a USB power cable. If you look closely in the video, they do show the USB power cable in some shots, but not many. And if you look really closely, this hypothetical family has drilled a hole in the center of their kitchen island to snake the cable through.</p>

<p>The hero shot introducing the product, of course, does not show the power cable at all:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-introducing.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-introducing.jpeg"
    alt = "The “Introducing HomeView” title card shot from Apple’s video. It shows a HomeView sitting atop a kitchen island."
    width = 600
  /></a></p>

<p>We see a wee bit of the cable when the dad reaches to touch the screen to start the French toast recipe:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-dad.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-dad.jpeg"
    alt = "The HomeView, centered on the kitchen island, with about 2 inches of cable visible, disappearing into the island right behind the HomeView base."
    width = 600
  /></a></p>

<p>And then a few seconds later, after the mom rotates the HomeView to the side, so she can check her calendar (despite the fact that she knows the dad was using it to follow a recipe), we get our most honest shot of the cabling situation:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-49s.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-49s.jpeg"
    alt = "A view from behind the HomeView, which has been rotated to face the mom, showing about 4 inches of the USB cable disappearing into a convenient hole in the center of the island."
    width = 600
  /></a></p>

<p>The above shot is at 0:49. It’s followed by two quick cuts to the dad and then the younger daughter, then at 0:52 we cut back to the mom (curious about her daughter’s new boyfriend situation), and, lo, the shot is now framed in such a way that we no longer see where the cable goes:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-52s.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-52s.jpeg"
    alt = "Same view as the previous shot, except the camera has been tilted up about an inch, such that the cable just runs off the bottom of the frame, no longer showing that it disappears into a hole in the island that no kitchen island I’ve ever seen actually has."
    width = 600
  /></a></p>

<p>If you think that slight reframing is happenstance, you should stay away from poker tables. Most kitchen islands I’m familiar with — including my own — have power outlets on the sides of the island. I’m sure some people have power outlets on the top surface of the counter, but I can’t recall seeing one. These are kitchen counters, not office desks. But either way, there’d be a long USB-C cable cluttering the countertop. And if you do happen to have a power outlet on the top surface of your counter, there’d be an adapter sticking out of it, all the time, to duplicate this HomeView setup.</p>

<p>This family’s convenient hole in the center of their island countertop is a fantasy. Where does the cable go underneath? How exactly do they have a power adapter plugged in down there? What happens when something spills on the counter? When we custom ordered our kitchen, we weren’t asked if we wanted any holes drilled in our island countertop, and if we <em>had</em> been asked, it would have made me wonder if the guy asking the question had a hole or two drilled in his head.</p>

<p>I know, it’s a marketing video. Marketing videos present products in ideal settings. But the power cable is an essential aspect of the standalone HomeView. I’m not suggesting that it should be battery powered. You’d still need to plug it in every few days, which would mean most people would just leave it plugged in, which gets us back to needing to live with an always-visible cable and power adapter in one of our living spaces. The countertop hole this cable disappears into in this video is less <em>ideal</em> and more <em>dishonest</em>.</p>

<p>The wall-mounted option seems more appealing to me, but now you’re talking about a home improvement project and (for most of us) calling an electrician. And that raises the question of why the wall-mounted version costs the same $300 as the one with the connected base, even though the base provides the subwoofer. And it requires a mount, and the mounts cost $60 (USB-C), $80 (AC wired), or $130 (PoE — and this one is not available yet). So the wall-mounted version, when you include a mount, costs more but sounds worse? This doesn’t make sense.</p>

<p>Those points make me skeptical that there’s a place for HomeView in my home. We have a stereo pair of HomePods in our kitchen. Neither is on the center island, because that would be dumb. They’re on the counters along the outside of the kitchen, each near an outlet on the wall. In the four days since HomeView was announced, I’ve tried to imagine when I’d want to look at something on a screen on either of them. My count remains at zero.</p>

<p>My third early impression is that the display is surprisingly small. I saw HomeView in person in New York on Tuesday, and I think Apple’s video conveys its size very accurately. It’s small and cute. It’s much more like a HomePod Mini with a screen than a full-size HomePod with a screen. For some reason I was expecting the latter. This is not a complaint, simply an observation. I actually think that making it small and cute makes it about as unobtrusive as an ever-present screen could possibly be. That’s good. But because it’s small you need to be close to it to read anything more detailed than large glanceable widgets.</p>

<p>The major difference between a device with a screen and one without is that you can watch video on a device with a screen. But HomeView clearly isn’t intended for that. It <em>can</em> play video but isn’t primarily <em>meant</em> to play video. If it were it would have a widescreen aspect ratio. But instead it has a square aspect ratio,<sup id="fnr1-2026-10-17"><a href="#fn1-2026-10-17">1</a></sup> which is decidedly unsuited to video, unless, I suppose, you want a screen that is equally unsuited for both widescreen and tallscreen video.</p>

<p>So my skepticism boils down to the question of why anyone would want to add one (or more!) additional ever-present screens to our homes and lives. Phones can stay in our pockets until we need them. Watches remain on our wrists. HomePods can be tucked away unobtrusively in corners, and remain fully useful. HomeView needs to be in a prominent location for its display to serve any practical purpose. Apple’s initial pitch for it doesn’t earn that prominence for me.</p>

<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn1-2026-10-17">
<p>In my <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/thoughts_and_observations_on_apples_surprise_and_shine_event">thoughts and observations column</a> after Apple’s iPhone event last month, I wrote the following regarding the iPhone Duo’s clever 1:1.4 aspect ratio:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Here’s the thing. If you take a 2 : 1 or even 2.2 : 1 aspect ratio phone display and turn that into a book-like foldable, the inner screen comes out square — or so close to square that we might as well just call it square. Nobody makes any device of any sort that just has a square display. Square is a terrible aspect ratio for a phone or a tablet or a laptop or a desktop display. The only square displays on the market are the inner displays for Android foldables from the last decade. Square being a shitty aspect ratio is half the reason <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/07/birchler-folding-iphone-predictions">almost no one has bought those things</a>. </p>
</blockquote>

<p>I will admit that I had the as-yet-unannounced HomeView in mind as I wrote that, given that its square aspect ratio had been rumored for months. HomeView is not a phone or tablet or laptop or desktop display. It’s not a TV either. So maybe square works for this nascent product category (status boards?). But if square does prove to be correct for this purpose, it’ll be the first category I can think of where that’s true. Apple Watch is the closest device I can think of whose screen serves primarily to display status, but even Apple Watch isn’t square. (It varies slightly by model, but Apple Watch displays are around 4 : 5.)&nbsp;<a href="#fnr1-2026-10-17"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>

    ]]></content>
        <title>★ HomeView Thoughts and Observations</title>
    </entry>
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<!-- THE END -->

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<title>Daring Fireball</title>
<subtitle>By John Gruber</subtitle>
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<id>https://daringfireball.net/feeds/main</id>


<updated>2026-11-01T20:22:56Z</updated><rights>Copyright © 2026, John Gruber</rights><entry>
	<title>WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=q42026" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xp4" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/11/01/workos" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43672</id>
	<published>2026-11-01T20:22:56Z</published>
	<updated>2026-11-01T20:22:56Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>My thanks to WorkOS for sponsoring last week at DF. An agent can’t click through a signup page built for humans, so give it something it can read instead. Publish an auth.md file and agents register themselves without ever touching a browser login, and the user never gets pulled out of what they were doing.</p>

<p>With WorkOS auth.md, enroll in the dashboard and AuthKit publishes the file. Agents read it, register, and get scoped, short-lived credentials you control.</p>

<p><a href="https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=q42026">Make your app agent-ready today</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/11/01/workos">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Sponsorship Openings for Daring Fireball (Including The Talk Show)</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xp3" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/sponsorship-openings-for-daring-fireball-including-the-talk-show" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43671</id>
	<published>2026-10-30T22:30:54Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-31T18:22:44Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Sponsorships have continued selling briskly, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/03/06/daring-fireball-weekly-sponsorship-openings">of late</a>. Knock on wood. As of yesterday, the next opening <a href="/feeds/sponsors/">on the schedule</a> wasn’t until the last week of December, and the Q1 2027 schedule is already filling up. <s>However, due to some schedule rejiggering, <em>next week</em> is now open.</s> <em>Update:</em> OK, next week has been sold, but Christmas week remains open. That’s a good week at DF. I keep posting and readers are often more bored than usual. Also a good week to promote games.</p>

<p>If you’ve got a product or service you think would be of interest to DF’s audience of people obsessed with high quality and good design, <a href="mailto:sponsors@daringfireball.net?subject=Weekly%20Feed%20Sponsorship">just email me</a> — especially if you can act quick for next week’s opening. I’m also booking sponsorships for Q1 and Q2 2027, and over half of those weeks are already sold. The rate for the two remaining weeks in 2026 is $11,000, and the rate for open weeks in 2027 is $12,500.</p>

<p>The sponsorship schedule for The Talk Show also has openings, including for the next few episodes in November and December. The general rule of thumb is that sponsorship spots on The Talk Show cost one-third the rate for the weekly spots on DF. I’m happy to work out deals a little lower than that for first-time sponsors. If you’ve got a product or service you’d like to hear pitched on America’s favorite three-star podcast, <a href="mailto:sponsors@daringfireball.net?subject=Sponsoring%20The%20Talk%20Show">get in touch</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Sponsorship Openings for Daring Fireball (Including The Talk Show)’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/sponsorship-openings-for-daring-fireball-including-the-talk-show">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
    
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/macbook_pro_pricing_and_configurations_for_m6_m5_pro_and_m5_max" />
	<link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xp2" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43670</id>
	<published>2026-10-30T21:56:10Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-30T21:57:39Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<summary type="text">I find it useful to organize all of the configuration options into tables on a single page, and I figured it might be useful to share this now, before I finish writing my full thoughts on the redesigned hardware and displays for the PROLED XDR models.</summary>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple’s dynamic configuration UI in their online store doesn’t hide or disguise the pricing or configuration options, but it doesn’t present all of the options at a glance. I find it useful to organize all of the configuration options into tables on a single page, and I figured it might be useful to share this now, before I finish writing my full thoughts on the redesigned hardware and displays for the PROLED XDR models.</p>

<p>Notes:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>The old-style (mini-LED, no touchscreens, heavier) M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-macbook-pro-with-all-new-m5-pro-and-m5-max/">were announced</a> and began shipping in March 2026, alongside the new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR, the MacBook Neo, and M5 MacBook Airs.</p></li>
<li><p>The new but old-style plain 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-introduces-the-new-14-inch-macbook-pro-with-m6/">was announced in October 2026</a> and is set to begin shipping in early November.</p></li>
<li><p>The all-new PROLED XDR (touchscreens, lighter weight) M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-groundbreaking-macbook-pro-with-proled-xdr-display/">were announced in October 2026</a> and are set to begin shipping in early November.</p></li>
<li><p>As in previous generations, there are no 16-inch models for the plain M6 or the chip-binned fewer-core M5 Pro configurations. The 16-inch MacBook Pro starts with the full 18-core CPU / 20-core GPU M5 Pro chip.</p></li>
<li><p>16-inch models, when available, cost $300 more than the same-specced 14-inch configuration.</p></li>
<li><p>Nano-texture displays are an option for all MacBook Pro models, and always cost $150.</p></li>
<li><p>The new PROLED XDR models cost $400 more than the equivalent old-style ones. This $400 difference is true for both 14- and 16-inch models.</p></li>
<li><p>The new 16 TB SSD upgrade is exclusively available for M5 Max models with the new PROLED XDR displays. It costs a smooth $7,000 more than the base 2 TB storage.</p></li>
</ul>

<h2>M6</h2>

<pre><code>12-core CPU / 12-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $2000
    16-inch:          N/A

    PROLED XDR:       N/A
    Nano-texture:    +150

    RAM:    16 GB      +0
            24 GB    +200
            32 GB    +400

    SSD:    1 TB       +0
            2 TB     +500
            4 TB    +1500
</code></pre>

<h2>M5 Pro</h2>

<pre><code>15-core CPU / 16-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $2500
    16-inch:          N/A

    PROLED XDR:      +400
    Nano-texture:    +150

    RAM:    24 GB      +0
            48 GB    +600

    SSD:    1 TB       +0
            2 TB     +500
            4 TB    +1500


18-core CPU / 20-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $2700
    16-inch:        $3000

    PROLED XDR:      +400
    Nano-texture:    +150

    RAM:    24 GB      +0
            48 GB    +600
            64 GB   +1000

    SSD:    1 TB       +0
            2 TB     +500
            4 TB    +1500
</code></pre>

<h2>M5 Max</h2>

<pre><code>18-core CPU / 32-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $4100
    16-inch:        $4400

    PROLED XDR:      +400
    Nano-texture:    +150

    RAM:    36 GB      +0

    SSD:    2 TB       +0
            4 TB    +1000
            8 TB    +3000
           16 TB    +7000  (PROLED XDR only)


18-core CPU / 40-core GPU:
    14-inch:        $4700
    16-inch:        $5000

    RAM:    48 GB      +0
            64 GB    +400
           128 GB   +2000

    SSD:    2 TB       +0
            4 TB    +1000
            8 TB    +3000
           16 TB    +7000  (PROLED XDR only)
</code></pre>

<p>To me, the most curious detail in these tables is that if you select the chip-binned M5 Max with only 32 GPU cores, the one and only RAM configuration is 36 GB. The “full” M5 Max with 40 GPU cores starts with 48 GB of RAM in the base configuration.</p>

<p>For size, weight, battery life, and display brightness differences, <a href="https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/liquid-retina-xdr-display/compare/?modelList=MacBook-Pro-14-M6,MacBook-Pro-14-M5-Max,MacBook-Pro-proled-xdr-m5max-14">consult Apple’s ever-excellent Compare tool</a>, preconfigured with that link to show the 14-inch models with M6, M5 Max (mini-LED), and M5 Max with PROLED XDR. (<a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/macbook-pro-compare-nov-2026-m6-m5max_led-m5max_proled.pdf">PDF archive</a> of that Compare page, archived today for posterity.)</p>

    ]]></content>
  <title>★ MacBook Pro Pricing and Configurations for M6, M5 Pro, and M5 Max</title></entry><entry>
	<title>The Only Good Easter Eggs Are Whole-Assed Easter Eggs</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://unsung.aresluna.org/apples-ipod-recreation/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xp1" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/wichary-apple-ipod-easter-egg" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43669</id>
	<published>2026-10-30T17:53:41Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-31T15:21:14Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Marcin Wichary on the <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/apple-music-ipod-404-page">original iPod easter egg</a> on Apple Music’s website 404 page:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I am usually not a fan of easter eggs — most of them are poorly
made — but this might be the best iPod recreation I’ve seen, and
it’s an interesting thing to study:</p>

<ul>
<li>I think it generally covers all the modes etc.</li>
<li>(with small exceptions) the typography looks accurate,</li>
<li>it has the little “haptic” beeps,</li>
<li>it has proper acceleration and the scrollbar,</li>
<li>it has a little music library with various playlists,</li>
<li>I have only noticed a few small bugs.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<p>It looks real, sounds real, feels real. Don’t bother with your easter egg idea if you’re going to half-ass it.</p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong> The original iPod itself had a great easter egg: a hidden version of the classic game Breakout. Apple’s new easter egg web-page iPod <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/phones/apple-music-is-hiding-a-playable-ipod-easter-egg-and-brick-game/">includes the hardware iPod easter egg</a>. Just go to Settings → About and hold down the center button for 5 seconds. An easter egg in the easter egg. That’s how you do it.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The Only Good Easter Eggs Are Whole-Assed Easter Eggs’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/wichary-apple-ipod-easter-egg">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>GM to Pay $220 Million After Betraying Their Own Drivers’ Privacy</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/gm-pay-220-million-settle-allegations-it-violated-consumers-privacy-2026-10-29/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xp0" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/gm-privacy-settlement" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43668</id>
	<published>2026-10-30T17:18:56Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-30T17:18:57Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Jonathan Stempel, reporting for Reuters:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>General Motors will pay $220 million to settle ​allegations that
it illegally sold drivers’ private behavior and location data to
brokers, who then sold the information to insurers that used it to
set and sometimes increase rates.</p>

<p>The settlement, announced on Thursday, resolves claims by the
attorneys general of 35 US states and the District ​of Columbia
over the automaker’s Smart Driver program, which enrolled millions
of drivers ​between 2016 and its discontinuation in 2024. Other
regulators have also reviewed GM’s handling of driver data.</p>

<p>GM was accused of pitching Smart Driver to help ​people improve
their personal driving safety, only to violate drivers’ privacy by
reneging on its ​promise not to sell their data without
permission. Many people who signed up were also enrolled in GM’s
OnStar safety, navigation and diagnostic service.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Reuters’s milquetoast headline was “GM to Pay $220 Million to Settle Allegations It Violated Drivers’ Privacy”. They’re not mere allegations. They did it. They just betrayed their customers’ privacy to make a few quick bucks.</p>

<p>I’ve driven a few GM rentals in recent years, and I’d almost certainly never buy one of their cars just because they’re poorly-designed pieces of crap. But even if they made a decent car I wouldn’t buy it. They’re still seemingly <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/21/gm-crack-smoking">digging in on the CarPlay thing</a>, and they ratted out their own customers to insurance companies.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘GM to Pay $220 Million After Betraying Their Own Drivers’ Privacy’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/gm-privacy-settlement">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Patrick Stewart Dies at 86</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/patrick-stewart-dead-star-trek-x-men-1236742932/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoz" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/patrick-stewart-rip" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43667</id>
	<published>2026-10-30T16:53:09Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-30T16:53:09Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Patrick Stewart, the sophisticated actor who brought a
Shakespearean touch to <em>Star Trek</em> and <em>X-Men</em> as he made an
otherworldly transformation from British stage veteran to sci-fi
icon, has died. He was 86.</p>

<p>Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following “a
brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body
dementia,” longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak announced.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>There’s an old adage that everyone’s favorite SNL cast is the one from their teenage years. It’s probably true for <em>Star Trek</em> too. My favorite is The Next Generation and it’s not even close. Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard was just so fucking cool. Smart, wise, firm, curious, empathetic, and just fucking cool. Those same adjectives seemingly all apply to Stewart himself.</p>

<p>See Kottke <a href="https://kottke.org/26/10/rest-in-peace-patrick-stewart-1940-2026">for a bunch more links</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Patrick Stewart Dies at 86’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/patrick-stewart-rip">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Apple Drops App Store Commission by a Whopping 4 Percentage Points in Taiwan</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=w9mxlhek" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoy" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/taiwan-app-store-commission" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43666</id>
	<published>2026-10-29T21:03:42Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-29T22:11:57Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Developer News:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Apple is making changes to the Taiwan storefront of the App Store,
following discussions with the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission.</p>

<p>As of October 31, 2026, the commission rate for standard Apple
In-App Purchase and paid app transactions will be 26% on the
Taiwan storefront of the App Store on iOS and iPadOS. Currently,
that rate is 30%.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Well there we go. The App Store in Taiwan — <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/12/apple-announces-changes-to-ios-in-japan/">just like in Japan</a> — is fixed. </p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Drops App Store Commission by a Whopping 4 Percentage Points in Taiwan’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/taiwan-app-store-commission">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>A Health Update From Craig Hockenberry</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://furbo.org/2026/10/28/a-health-update/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xox" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/chock-health-update" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43665</id>
	<published>2026-10-29T19:57:21Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-29T19:57:23Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Craig Hockenberry:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If you noticed that the Iconfactory sites were kinda broken last
week, now you know why. It’s because I was kinda broken last week.</p>

<p>Now I’m finishing this post from a comfy chair on our deck. Typing
into the latest version of WordPress and PHP. And I couldn’t be
happier.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>No, <em>you</em> teared up a little reading this.</p>

<p>Very good news from a very good friend.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘A Health Update From Craig Hockenberry’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/chock-health-update">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Rolfe Winkler at The WSJ: ‘The Beleaguered Chip Sellers Getting Their Revenge on Apple’</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-iphone-memory-chips-ai-c0084cc9?st=FNAyaT" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xow" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/winkler-flash-memory-chipmakers-and-apple" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43664</id>
	<published>2026-10-29T19:44:11Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-29T22:11:21Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Rolfe Winkler, in a crackerjack story for The Wall Street Journal (gift link):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Blevins, who <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-apple-executive-says-company-blundered-by-firing-him-after-tiktok-video-11670553178?mod=article_inline">left Apple</a> in 2022, sometimes set up
back-to-back meetings with suppliers so that rival sales teams
might run into each other, stoking competitive tension. Sales
representatives learned to pack nutrition bars to sustain them
through negotiating sessions that Apple executives sometimes
pushed past midnight without a dinner break. Blevins’s bad-cop
reputation gave his staff leverage: They threatened to call him in
if contract terms weren’t to their liking.</p>

<p>One significant contract term allowed Apple to audit its
suppliers’ books. Flash makers typically had to designate Apple
as a “most favored customer,” which guaranteed that no other
buyer got a lower price, according to people familiar with the
agreements. Apple’s audits allowed it to verify that no one
paid less.</p>

<p>Apple caught Micron selling flash at cheaper prices to another
customer and won an arbitration settlement worth tens of millions
of dollars more than a decade ago, said people familiar with the
dispute. Apple audited its suppliers so often that Blevins
negotiated a volume discount with the auditor, Deloitte.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The whole story is a fascinating and entertaining read. But I don’t get the “revenge” angle in the headline. The biggest buyers can negotiate the best deals. Apple used to be the biggest buyer, by far, for flash memory chips. They negotiated, with hardball but above-the-board tactics, the best deals. Now, Apple isn’t the biggest buyer — the AI datacenter hyperscalers are. Apple no longer gets the best deals. But they’re still getting <em>fair</em> deals. Apple is still negotiating the best deals it can for itself. So where is the “revenge”? The pinch <em>mostly</em> isn’t being felt by Apple — it’s being felt by Apple’s customers, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/06/spensive_thoughts">who now face significantly higher product prices</a>.</p>

<p>I included “<em>mostly</em>” in the preceding sentence because Winkler, in collaboration with the research firm <a href="https://www.techinsights.com/">TechInsights</a>, makes the case in the piece that the rising costs of flash memory have eaten into the remarkably juicy profit margins Apple has historically earned from higher-storage upgrades.</p>

<p>What I also don’t get, at all, is the participation in the story by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-nelson-4a98752/">Scott Nelson</a>, the chief marketing officer at Kioxia (which I learned in this story is the new name for the company <a href="https://www.kioxia.com/en-jp/about/news/2019/20190718-2.html">formerly known as Toshiba Memory Corporation</a>), a major flash supplier. Nelson told Winkler he so loathes Apple that he shot his old iPod with a rifle and keeps the pieces on his desk. The article ends thus:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The industry’s low point came in 2023. The Covid-era,
work-from-home device boom cooled, and flash prices bottomed out
at 5 cents a gigabyte. Bernstein Research estimated the flash
industry generated operating losses of $19 billion that year,
while Apple earned $14 billion in gross profit selling extra flash
storage.</p>

<p>Those were tough times that “I hope we don’t ever see again,” said
Nelson, the Kioxia sales executive.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes, I’m sure the current AI datacenter mania will last forever, the bubble will never burst, and that even if it does, no one at Apple will remember Nelson’s participation in this story.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Rolfe Winkler at The WSJ: ‘The Beleaguered Chip Sellers Getting Their Revenge on Apple’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/winkler-flash-memory-chipmakers-and-apple">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>The Space Shuttle Discovery’s Starboard Side ‘s’ Is Upside Down</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.theautopian.com/a-typography-geek-pointed-out-something-about-the-space-shuttle-discovery-and-now-i-cant-unsee-it/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xov" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/space-shuttle-discovery-s" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43663</id>
	<published>2026-10-29T15:06:56Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-29T15:14:59Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>How Jason Snell <a href="https://sixcolors.com/link/2026/10/typo-found-on-42-year-old-spaceship/">beat me</a> to linking to this, I don’t know. But like I said <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/02/25/h-bomb-wright">back in February</a>, when it comes to signage, “Mind your P’s and Q’s” ought to be “Mind your H’s and S’s”.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The Space Shuttle Discovery’s Starboard Side ‘s’ Is Upside Down’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/space-shuttle-discovery-s">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Steven Levy on the New MacBook Pro, With, Yes, a Touchscreen</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-inside-story-of-why-apple-finally-brought-a-touch-display-to-the-mac/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xou" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/levy-ternus-macbook-pros" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43662</id>
	<published>2026-10-29T04:06:15Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-29T04:11:57Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Steven Levy, writing at Wired with the scoop on the new MacBook Pros (<a href="https://apple.news/AaeR22fkURt6i_tk9bd_44g">News+ link</a>):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>This turnaround is a big deal to Apple fans. Ternus shrugs off the
drama. “The Mac is first and foremost an indirect input device,
built around the trackpad and keyboard. But I think there’s times
when it’s comfortable and handy to have touch.”</p>

<p>Ternus and Apple want to make sure that the Mac faithful don’t
panic that the 42-year-old franchise is losing its identity to
Apple’s gangbusters mobile products. “We needed to get to a point
where adding touch didn’t make the product lesser in any way. It
didn’t make it heavier. It didn’t make it thicker. That came
together with the OLED screen, the best display we’ve ever put
into a Mac,” Ternus told me. “All of these things, and, oh yeah,
it has touch as well.”</p>
</blockquote>

<p>After a long fun day of hands-on exploration, briefings, and a slew of demos, not just most, but <em>all</em> of my concerns about touchscreen support adversely affecting the Mac UI have been allayed. I love it. These seem like exquisite machines even if you never want to touch the screen. I think what Ternus told Levy captures the truth of touch’s role: “All of these things, and, oh yeah, it has touch as well.”</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Steven Levy on the New MacBook Pro, With, Yes, a Touchscreen’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/levy-ternus-macbook-pros">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Guessing the Name: MacBook Studio?</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/28/macbook-studio/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xot" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/28/macbook-studio-name-guess" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43661</id>
	<published>2026-10-28T14:58:45Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-28T17:50:44Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/28/apple-ceo-john-ternus-teases-touchscreen-macbook/">teaser video shared by Apple CEO John Ternus today</a> hints at
a potential name for the rumored MacBook models with touch-enabled
OLED displays: MacBook Studio. [...]</p>

<p>Apple is expected to show off the new MacBooks to selected tech
reporters and content creators at an experience in Los Angeles at
10 a.m. Pacific Time today, and that is the home of Hollywood
movie studios after all.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I went to bed last night thinking “MacBook Studio” was the best guess. I woke up this morning feeling like it was a name worth betting on. It just fits. There’s a Mac Studio desktop, Studio Display monitor, and Apple’s suite of pro software tools is named Creator Studio — and they <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/28/macbook-studio/">just announced big updates</a> to that yesterday. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/whats-left-for-pro-and-tell-week">As I suggested yesterday</a>, these should be a new MacBook line, not the new MacBook Pros.</p>

<p>If this is the name, Rossignol gets the Being Right Point for calling it.</p>

<p>(A bunch of readers chimed in to suggest “MacBook Touch”. That wouldn’t work for the same reasons that Apple didn’t even consider calling the Duo the “iPhone Fold”. Yes, they used “Touch” for the iPod Touch of yore, but (a) that was a different era, and (b) that was such a mediocre product name that most consumers referred to it by the wrong name, “iTouch”. Apple likes names that evoke a feeling, not that describe a specific feature of the product.)</p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong> Welp, <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-groundbreaking-macbook-pro-with-proled-xdr-display/">never mind</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Guessing the Name: MacBook Studio?’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/28/macbook-studio-name-guess">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Siri AI Expands to More Languages in OS 27.2</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nr.apple.com/Du9G9W8Nq1" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xos" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/siri-ai-os-27-2-languages" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43660</id>
	<published>2026-10-27T22:19:39Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T22:23:19Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Newsroom yesterday:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>With the 27.2 software updates released today, Siri AI — an
entirely new version of Siri that is profoundly more capable,
conversational, and personal — is expanding to more people around
the world, with availability now in the French, Japanese, Korean,
Portuguese, and Spanish languages. [...]</p>

<p>Siri AI is currently unavailable in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and
watchOS. Apple is working constructively with the EU in an attempt
to find a path forward.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Don’t hold your breath. (Or if you prefer, <em>N’y comptez pas trop.</em>)</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Siri AI Expands to More Languages in OS 27.2’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/siri-ai-os-27-2-languages">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Apple Creator Studio Updated With a Slew of AI Features, Along With a New Open JSON File Format for Keynote</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-creator-studio-adds-powerful-new-ai-features-and-even-more-creative-tools/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xor" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-creator-studio-updates" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43659</id>
	<published>2026-10-27T22:00:04Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T22:14:19Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Newsroom, with software news for Apple’s “Pro and Tell” week: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Apple today introduced transformative updates to <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-creator-studio/">Apple Creator
Studio</a>, the powerful collection of creative apps designed to
put studio-grade tools into the hands of modern creators across
Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Final Cut Pro for Mac now includes built-in
MotionVFX — an expansive collection of visual effects, plug-ins,
transitions, templates, and motion graphics tools — as well as
seamless editing in Pixelmator Pro. Apple’s curated Content Hub
now includes video assets and is available in Final Cut Pro. Music
creators using Logic Pro for Mac gain a new intelligent assistant
in beta, an enhanced Stem Splitter that now separates drums, and a
redesigned Browser that incorporates all sounds, with music
understanding and even a Splice library. Pixelmator Pro introduces
Generate Fill, which lets creators transform selected areas of an
image using natural language. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers
introduce new AI features in beta, including assistants that
understand document context and new Model Context Protocol (MCP)
support for workflow automation. They also add stock video in the
Content Hub and new premium themes and templates.</p>

<p>Apple Creator Studio updates will be available on the App Store
this November as a free update for existing subscribers.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That’s a lot. But this part at the end caught my eye:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Across Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, the Content Hub expands to
include Apple-curated stock video footage, giving creators dynamic
visuals to enhance presentations, reports, and spreadsheets.
Subscribers also gain access to a fresh collection of
professionally designed templates and themes. Keynote introduces
support for Keynote Interchange Format (.keyx), an open JSON-based
bundle file format designed to be readable and accessible to
external tools, developer workflows, and AI agents.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Jesse Bunch, engineering manager for productivity apps at Apple, <a href="https://x.com/bunchjesse/status/2115076780285739258">on X</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7520909926655954944/">LinkedIn</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Our new in-app assistants can help you get things done in record
time. MCP allows you to bring your own agent if you want. And an
open source format for Keynote (and Python library!) so you can
create Keynote documents programmatically on any platform. Huge
day for Creator Studio today.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I don’t think the Python library for the new Keynote Interchange Format is out yet, but neither are the updates to the Creator Studio apps. Very cool news, along the same lines as <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/22/xcode-json-project-files">the new JSON-based format for Xcode projects</a> that Apple announced last month.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Creator Studio Updated With a Slew of AI Features, Along With a New Open JSON File Format for Keynote’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-creator-studio-updates">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
    
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/prestructured_wysiwyg" />
	<link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xoq" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43658</id>
	<published>2026-10-27T21:24:20Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T21:24:20Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<summary type="text">Even if you’re a decent designer (or believe yourself to be), it’s liberating not to have a say in the matter. Constraints are sometimes freeing.</summary>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>One of the many small pleasures of my job is when someone else writes a good take on a subject that I have been meaning to write myself. Occasionally this stings, because it was something I really wanted to write myself. But usually it’s just awesome, because it’s an article I wanted to exist, didn’t really want to do the work of writing myself, and now it exists and I can just link to it, perhaps with commentary. It’s like finding money on the ground or in the pocket of a jacket you haven’t worn in months.</p>

<p>That’s what happened yesterday with Glenn Fleishman’s “<a href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/10/why-notes-will-never-let-us-edit-markdown/">Why Notes Will Never Let Us Edit Markdown</a>”, and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/fleishman-apple-notes-markdown">my link to it</a>. Found money!</p>

<p>But one of the reasons I’d been procrastinating on writing about Apple Notes and its growing support for Markdown import/export and copy/paste is that Notes is built around a text formatting idea that, to my knowledge, doesn’t really have a name. And without a name, it’s hard to write about. I’m going to suggest calling it <em>prestructured WYSIWYG</em>.</p>

<p>Apps like Apple’s Messages and especially Notes exemplify prestructured WYSIWYG, and I’m a huge fan of the idea. It’s low-key one of the best ideas and trends in software design of the last 15 years or so. Messages lets you apply WYSIWYG spans of character styles like bold and italics, but you can’t choose typefaces or define your own styles. Notes takes this further, adding inline hyperlinks and predefined block styles like title / heading / subheading, monostyled (e.g. for code), and ordered and unordered lists. But there is no Font menu or preference setting in Notes or Messages to change the default typeface. The “Aᴀ” formatting popover in Notes doesn’t have a control to change the typeface, only its preset styles, all of which are rendered in your notes using Apple’s San Francisco system font family.<sup id="fnr1-2026-10-27"><a href="#fn1-2026-10-27">1</a></sup> That would have seemed not just weird but downright wrong back in the early decades of the Mac (the era Fleishman calls the “Mac Is Not a Typewriter” era, referencing <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=robin+williams+mac+is+not+a+typewriter&amp;tag=df-amzn-20">Robin Williams’s groundbreaking book</a>). In those days, text was either plain text (a string of characters, no style at all, like a typewriter) or rich text, and if it was rich text, you expected to choose any font (and size) you wanted.</p>

<p>That era of anything-goes WYSIWYG presented unavoidable problems. On the technical side, the list of fonts installed on <em>my</em> computer isn’t the same as the list of fonts on <em>your</em> computer. Each operating system comes with its own set of included fonts. And the sort of people most interested in selecting their own typefaces are exactly the same people who are most likely to install third-party fonts. That’s a technical problem that can’t really be solved. There’s also an aesthetic problem. Most people, given the ability to choose their own fonts, make terrible typographic choices.</p>

<p>Prestructured WYSIWYG solves both problems. You get the expressiveness of abstract semantic styles like bold, italics, and monospace, and you get larger sizes for headings. But you avoid both the “missing font” technical problems <em>and</em> the “terrible font” design choices. If you use Apple Notes or Messages, you better like Apple’s San Francisco system font family, because that’s what you’re going to get. It’s great for accessibility, because all the type sizes are relative, not absolute. And these preset styles largely map well to Markdown, which itself has no concern with font choices or specific text sizes.</p>

<p>Even if you’re a decent designer (or believe yourself to be), it’s liberating not to have a say in the matter in certain contexts. Note-taking is exactly such a context. Email ought to be another, but alas, full-fledged WYSIWYG gained a foothold there long ago, and now it’s entrenched. Constraints are sometimes freeing.</p>

<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn1-2026-10-27">
<p>There is a huge <em>but</em> here. Notes, on the Mac and only on the Mac, <em>does</em> allow you to pick arbitrary fonts. Format → Font → Show Fonts (⌘T) shows the standard AppKit Fonts palette, and you can use that to change the font in a note to anything you want. I think this is historical baggage from <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2012/07/25Mountain-Lion-Available-Today-From-the-Mac-App-Store/">earlier versions</a> of the Notes app for Mac. Or maybe there are some Mac Notes users inside Apple who really do use this. Font choices made in Notes on the Mac are rendered on iOS and iPadOS, if the selected font is available. It even works for third-party fonts (which are <a href="https://www.typography.com/faq/156">quite complicated to install on iOS</a>). Here’s a <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/apple-notes-fonts-mac.png">screenshot of a note with custom fonts that I made on my Mac</a>, and the <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/apple-notes-fonts-iphone.png">same note as it appears on iOS</a>, where only some of those fonts are installed. But you cannot change custom fonts in Notes on iOS.</p>

<p>I can’t say Apple <em>dis</em>courages you from dicking around with fonts in Notes on the Mac. It’s right there in the standard AppKit Fonts panel. But most casual Mac users don’t know about the standard AppKit Fonts panel. When they pick fonts in apps like Mail, TextEdit, and Pages, they do it from toolbars in the window. So Apple doesn’t <em>en</em>courage you to dick around with fonts in Notes on the Mac either. If they wanted to encourage it, there’d be a toolbar with a Font menu on the Mac, and it would be possible to change fonts on iOS too.</p>

<p>So I say it’s best to pretend that Apple Notes doesn’t support custom font choices. Let it go — even if, like me, it drives you crazy that Notes and only Notes uses that <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/05/12/that-stupid-apple-notes-a">childish-looking alternative single-story “a” glyph</a> in San Francisco.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr1-2026-10-27"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>

    ]]></content>
  <title>★ Prestructured WYSIWYG</title></entry><entry>
	<title>What’s Left for ‘Pro and Tell’ Week: Touch-Enabled OLED MacBooks</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/27/macbook-pro-with-touchscreen-tomorrow/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xop" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/whats-left-for-pro-and-tell-week" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43657</id>
	<published>2026-10-27T17:59:47Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T20:51:17Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Apple on Wednesday will announce 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro
models featuring touch-enabled OLED displays with thinner bezels,
a Dynamic Island instead of a notch, M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, and
a lighter and slightly thinner design, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-27/apple-launches-m6-imac-entry-macbook-pro-ahead-of-touch-laptop">Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman
reports</a>. Apple is hosting a private <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/19/apple-pro-and-tell/">“Pro and tell” experience
in Los Angeles</a> starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time tomorrow.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I’m here in LA for the press shindig tomorrow. One thing I’ve been thinking about regarding these reported touch-enabled OLED MacBooks is that Gurman has reported for months that these new MacBooks will sport M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-26/apple-s-touchscreen-macbook-to-use-m5-pro-max-chips-m7-pro-max-models-in-2027">Here’s Gurman back on June 26</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The MacBook models, positioned at the top of Apple’s lineup, will
arrive between late this year and early next year, according to
people with knowledge of the matter. They’re planned to be powered
by the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, said the people, who
asked not to be identified because the plans are private. [...]</p>

<p>The first touch-screen 14-inch and 16-inch models, code-named K114
and K116, will represent the biggest overhaul of Apple’s high-end
laptops since the company began moving away from Intel Corp. chips
in 2020. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the
company’s plans.</p>

<p>Apple’s decision to use the M5 line before jumping to a future M7
is part of a broader shift in its chip strategy. The company is
skipping M6-generation Pro and Max chips altogether, breaking from
its usual approach. Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-25/apple-to-skip-high-end-m6-mac-chips-to-launch-m7-pro-m7-max-m7-ultra-instead">reported on this
strategy</a> earlier this week.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>If that’s all true, it’s certainly unusual for Apple to skip the Pro and Max variants for the M6 chip generation. But there have been oddities with the higher-end Apple Silicon chips before. (There was no M4 Ultra chip, for example, and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/03/05/apple-announces-with-much-surprise-mac-studios-with-m4-max-and-m3-ultra-chips">the M3 Ultra didn’t appear until the March 2025 Mac Studio update</a>, 18 months after the M3 generation debuted.) But what I would find downright <em>weird</em> is the possibility of shipping a second generation of MacBook Pro models based on the exact same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips that the current generation offers. <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-macbook-pro-with-all-new-m5-pro-and-m5-max/">They only came out in March</a>. So what’s the idea here? That Apple replaces the current higher-end MacBook Pros with versions whose only upgrades are to the chassis and display, but the performance remains the same? That’s certainly possible, I guess, but it would be weird.</p>

<p>So I’m just wondering if tomorrow’s new touchscreen OLED MacBooks aren’t replacements for the current MacBook Pros, but instead are the start of a new MacBook family with another name. I don’t think they’d call them MacBook “Duos”, because they’re not two-in-one devices. MacBook “Ultras”, maybe — with the same specs as the MacBook Pros but more expensive displays? But “Ultra” seems like a wrong name for a MacBook because Apple’s M-series Ultra chips are (to date at least) desktop only. It’d be weird if the M5 Ultra is exclusive to the Mac Studio while the MacBook “Ultra” maxes out with the M5 Max. So maybe they just <em>are</em> the new MacBook Pros and this first OLED/touch generation uses the same chips as the ones from March?</p>

<p>That’s what I’m most curious about heading into tomorrow.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘What’s Left for ‘Pro and Tell’ Week: Touch-Enabled OLED MacBooks’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/whats-left-for-pro-and-tell-week">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Apple Also Announces iMac With M6</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-new-imac-with-m6/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoo" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-also-announces-imac-with-m6" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43656</id>
	<published>2026-10-27T16:44:10Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T18:43:38Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Just a speed bump, but <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2019/05/good_old_fashioned_macbook_pro_speed_bumps">speed bumps are good</a>.</p>

<p>Pricing and configurations:</p>

<pre><code>M6 with 2 Thunderbolt ports:
    Base price:    $1500

    RAM:   16 GB      +0
           24 GB    +200

    SSD:  256 GB      +0
          512 GB    +200
            1 TB    +500


M6 with 4 Thunderbolt ports:
    Base price:    $1700

    RAM:   16 GB      +0
           24 GB    +200

    SSD:  256 GB      +0
          512 GB    +200
            1 TB    +500
            2 TB   +1000


    Base price:    $2300

    RAM:   32 GB      +0

    SSD:  512 GB      +0
            1 TB    +300
            2 TB    +800
</code></pre>

<p>I list a separate base price for the 4-port, 32 GB RAM configuration in the table above because with 32 GB of RAM, the base storage goes from 256 to 512 GB. It’s effectively a $400 RAM upgrade and $200 SSD upgrade that are tied together, and that changes the upgrade prices to move up to 1 or 2 TB of SSD storage.</p>

<p>Nano-texture is a $200 upgrade, and the 2-Thunderbolt-port models have <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/27/new-imac-2-5-gigabit-ethernet/">a $30 option for 2.5 gigabit Ethernet</a> (by default it’s Wi-Fi only). The Ethernet port is on the power adapter. The 4-port models come with the Ethernet equipped power adapter.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Also Announces iMac With M6’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-also-announces-imac-with-m6">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=q42026" />
	<link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xon" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/workos_let_agents_sign_up_for" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/feeds/sponsors//11.43655</id>
	<author><name>Daring Fireball Department of Commerce</name></author>
	<published>2026-10-27T16:03:08Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T16:03:09Z</updated>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>An agent can’t click through a signup page built for humans, so give it something it can read instead. Publish an auth.md file and agents register themselves without ever touching a browser login, and the user never gets pulled out of what they were doing.</p>

<p>With WorkOS auth.md, enroll in the dashboard and AuthKit publishes the file. Agents read it, register, and get scoped, short-lived credentials you control.</p>

<p><a href="https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=q42026">Make your app agent-ready →</a></p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/workos_let_agents_sign_up_for">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
	<title>[Sponsor] WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser</title></entry><entry>
	<title>Apple Introduces New Base MacBook Pro With M6, 14-Inch-Only</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-introduces-the-new-14-inch-macbook-pro-with-m6/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xom" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-introduces-new-base-macbook-pro-with-m6-14-inch-only" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43654</id>
	<published>2026-10-27T16:00:46Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T18:41:20Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Newsroom’s “Pro and Tell” announcement week continues:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Apple today announced the new <a href="https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/">14-inch MacBook Pro with M6</a>,
delivering even more performance, powerful on-device AI
capabilities, and faster connectivity for college students,
business users, creators, and more. M6 features an advanced
12-core CPU with the world’s fastest CPU core, so everything from
productivity tasks to more demanding pro workflows feels
incredibly fast and responsive. The 12-core GPU delivers up to 30
percent faster graphics and up to 25 percent faster AI workloads
when compared to M5, making the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 a
compelling value for users who need serious power. For those
upgrading from M1, the performance gains are even more
significant, with up to 11× faster graphics and up to 13× faster
AI performance. With additional Neural Accelerators in the GPU and
a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, M6 turns MacBook Pro into an even
more powerful platform for AI — from taking advantage of Siri AI
and Apple Intelligence features across apps and macOS to running
LLMs locally, all while preserving user privacy. In addition, the
14-inch MacBook Pro features Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, while
superfast storage makes working with large files, exporting
projects, and running demanding AI workflows fly.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I questioned Apple’s decision to close up “superfast” there, but I stand corrected — <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superfast">it is</a>, in fact, a perfectly cromulent adjective. I learn something every day.</p>

<p>Anyway, this is just the base MacBook Pro, the one that’s more like a MacBook Air Plus than a true professional laptop with an M-series Pro or Max chip. This tier of MacBook Pro has only ever been offered in the smaller 14-inch size. Prices seem unchanged from the post-June-price-hike M5 models:</p>

<pre><code>Base price:     $2000

  RAM:  16 GB      +0
        24 GB    +200
        32 GB    +400

  SSD:   1 TB      +0
         2 TB    +500
         4 TB   +1500
</code></pre>

<p>Space black and silver colors, and nano-texture is available for $150 extra.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Introduces New Base MacBook Pro With M6, 14-Inch-Only’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-introduces-new-base-macbook-pro-with-m6-14-inch-only">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>The NYT Seemingly Does Marissa Mayer Dirty</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/25/style/marissa-mayer-ai-assistants-women.html?unlocked_article_code=1.L1E.xBwx.X_EjBGNsRNqr" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xol" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/mayer-dazzle" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43653</id>
	<published>2026-10-27T00:30:08Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T00:42:07Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Alexandra Alter, in the lede for her profile of Marissa Mayer’s new AI startup Dazzle for The New York Times (gift link):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Late last year, Marissa Mayer was struggling with what felt like
an impossible task.</p>

<p>Her daughter Marielle was turning 10, and Marielle’s teacher
wanted three bullet points summarizing what made her special.
Mayer — the former chief executive of Yahoo and a pioneer at
Google, where she was the first female engineer — likes cracking
a hard problem. But she felt overwhelmed by the range and
complexity of potential answers.</p>

<p>So Mayer asked her personal A.I. assistant, Dazzle. Within a few
seconds, Dazzle delivered an answer.</p>

<p>“It came back and was like, your daughter is empathetic, creative
and an animal lover,” Mayer said. She thought it was perfect.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That anecdote is brutal. It makes it seem like Mayer has lost her mind. She’s getting roasted for it on social media. I suspected (and hoped) there was more to the story. There was. <a href="https://x.com/marissamayer/status/2114784525226229996">Here’s Mayer herself on X</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>To be clear, I didn’t use Dazzle because I was overwhelmed by
making a slide. I used it because summing up your child in a few
bullets feels laughably limiting. And, since our team had just
gotten an early prototype running, I wanted to see what deeper
threads it might find.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>She might just be hyping her startup. But she definitely didn’t tell The Times that she needed help from AI to remember that her own daughter is “empathetic, creative, and an animal lover”. She seemingly got done dirty by Alter and the Times on that use-case anecdote.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The NYT Seemingly Does Marissa Mayer Dirty’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/mayer-dazzle">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Apple Issues Statement on iPhone Duo’s Crack Problem</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/26/apple-responds-to-reports-of-iphone-duos-inner-display-cracking/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xok" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/apple-statement-duo-crack" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43652</id>
	<published>2026-10-26T23:54:26Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-26T23:54:27Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Here is Apple’s full statement:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The response to iPhone Duo from early users has been incredibly
positive, and we are seeing exciting things from developers who
are rapidly updating their apps to take advantage of its unique
form factor. We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display
on a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users experience issues
with their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for
a replacement.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The company says the problem affects a very small number of iPhone
Duo units and appears to surface relatively quickly. Most iPhone
Duo units are not affected. You do not need AppleCare+ to have
your iPhone Duo replaced for this problem. If you bought from a
carrier, you should contact AppleCare directly, not your carrier,
to get your device replaced.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Did it cross Ternus’s mind to just say “You’re folding it wrong?”</p>

<p>(History doesn’t repeat, and in this case, it actually doesn’t even rhyme. Steve Jobs never told anyone they were “holding it wrong” with the iPhone 4 — <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/24/steve-jobs-describes-iphone-4-signal-strength-a-non-issue/">he emailed a customer</a>, “Just avoid holding it in that way.” But <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/06/25/iphone.problems.response/index.html">CNN went with the headline</a> “Apple on iPhone Complaints: You’re Holding It Wrong” and that’s the line everyone wrongly remembers.)</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Issues Statement on iPhone Duo’s Crack Problem’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/apple-statement-duo-crack">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Glenn Fleishman on Apple Notes and Markdown</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/10/why-notes-will-never-let-us-edit-markdown/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoj" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/fleishman-apple-notes-markdown" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43651</id>
	<published>2026-10-26T20:03:53Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-26T20:06:56Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Glenn Fleishman, writing at Six Colors, “Why Notes Will Never Let Us Edit Markdown”:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The Notes app added Markdown import and export in the version 26
operating system releases, and the macOS 27 Golden Gate update
lets us copy and paste as Markdown. Why can’t we just write
natively in that hoary, simple format?</p>

<p>I use Markdown all day, every day. In fact, I’m writing these
words in Markdown without you even knowing it. All
content-management systems (CMSes) I’m aware of support native
Markdown entries when posting, and many writing and
note-taking apps integrate Markdown conventions without
needing to trumpet them.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Fleishman not only ably describes why Apple Notes <em>doesn’t</em> support editing in Markdown syntax, but also why it <em>shouldn’t</em>. It is correct for Notes only to natively support WYSIWYG editing. Normal users should never ever be exposed to formatting codes. Also, Markdown, as a language, can be malformed. It should be impossible for users to create a malformed note in Notes. If you could edit in Markdown in Notes, you could create malformed notes. That’s just gross. I can say that. Markdown isn’t for everyone. And even for me — <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2004/03/dive_into_markdown">Markdown’s creator</a> — I don’t want it in Notes, which is the notes app I use.</p>

<p>I think Apple has done a really good job in the last few years adding import/export and copy/paste support for Markdown to Notes. That’s the right way for Notes to support Markdown. My biggest complaint with Notes’s recent Markdown support — as noted by Fleishman — is that most of these features are only on the Mac, not iOS.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Glenn Fleishman on Apple Notes and Markdown’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/fleishman-apple-notes-markdown">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
    
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/apple_announces_new_a20_pro_ipad_mini" />
	<link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xoi" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43650</id>
	<published>2026-10-26T18:04:34Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-26T21:24:46Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<summary type="text">Pros: OLED display, nano-texture option, A20 Pro chip, thinner and lighter. Cons: no Face ID, no ProMotion.</summary>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-gives-ipad-mini-its-biggest-update-ever/">Apple Newsroom announcement</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/">iPad Mini (A20 Pro) product page</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/specs/">Tech specs page</a> (<a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/ipad-mini-a20-pro-tech-specs-2026-10-26.pdf">PDF archive</a>).</li>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/?modelList=ipad-mini-a20pro,ipad-mini-a17pro,ipad-air-11-m4">iPad comparison page</a> showing new A20 iPad Mini, previous A17 iPad Mini, and the 11-inch M4 iPad Air <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/compare-ipad-mini-a20-ipad-mini-a17-ipad-air-m4.pdf">PDF archive</a>].</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5h1JykMcFU">One-minute commercial</a>.</li>
</ul>

<p>Available in two colors, starlight and midnight (which does not seem very dark), and three storage capacities: 128, 256, and 512 GB. Pricing, with the previous-generation A17 Pro model for reference, both before and after <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/06/spensive_thoughts">Apple’s June 25 price hikes</a>:</p>

<pre><code>IPAD MINI                    128 GB   256 GB   512 GB
A20 Pro (new)                 $700     $800    $1000 
A17 Pro (Q3 2026 price hike)  $600     $700     $900 
A17 Pro (Q4 2024–Q2 2026)     $500     $600     $800
</code></pre>

<p>Notes:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Cellular adds $150 to any model.</p></li>
<li><p>The $100 nano-texture display option is new for the iPad Mini, and is only available with 256 or 512 GB storage.</p></li>
<li><p>Still stuck with Touch ID — a bummer in general, and a shit sandwich given how expensive these have gotten. Unless Apple decides to make a mini-sized iPad Pro (which I definitely do not expect), there’s no way to buy a mini-sized iPad with Face ID.</p></li>
<li><p>The display is now OLED, with inky-deep blacks and brighter brights. Max SDR brightness goes from 500 to 600 nits and HDR content goes to 1200 nits. This is the first iPad Mini with an XDR display. But: no ProMotion.</p></li>
<li><p>Support for Pencil Pro and Pencil USB-C. I still can’t believe the $2000 iPhone Duo doesn’t support the superior Pencil Pro.</p></li>
<li><p>The new Mini is thinner (5.4mm vs. 6.3mm) and lighter (255g vs. 293g for Wi-Fi models). The display is slightly larger (8.5″ vs. 8.3″) while the footprint shrank slightly, because the bezels have been reduced by 25 percent. The iPhone Duo weighs almost exactly the same (254g to be exact) but its inner display is only 7.6 inches diagonally.</p></li>
<li><p>The front-facing camera moves from the short side to the long side. All current iPads now have the camera on the long side.</p></li>
<li><p>The new iPad Mini introduces what Apple calls the Acoustic Display: “custom tweeters and woofers are now hidden beneath the glass and enclosure, delivering a rich, personal audio experience.” This change helped Apple achieve IP67 dust and water resistance, best-ever for any iPad model.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>One last point. The previous iPad Mini <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apple-introduces-powerful-new-ipad-mini-built-for-apple-intelligence/">launched two years ago</a>, in October 2024, but had the now-three-year-old A17 Pro chip from the 2023 iPhone 15 Pro. Today’s new iPad Mini launches with the brand-new A20 Pro chip that debuted with last month’s iPhone 18 Pro and last week’s iPhone Duo.</p>

    ]]></content>
  <title>★ Apple Announces New A20 Pro iPad Mini</title></entry><entry>
	<title>A Simple Two-Step Shortcuts Shortcut Lets You Lock the iPhone Duo When You Close It</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/viticci/status/2113888099784638932" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoh" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/viticci-duo-lock-on-close-shortcut" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43649</id>
	<published>2026-10-26T17:00:11Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-26T18:19:03Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Federico Viticci:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Don’t like that the iPhone Duo doesn’t auto-lock when you
close it?</p>

<p>You can fix it with this simple Shortcuts automation.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Two steps:</p>

<ol>
<li>A conditional for when the iPhone is <code>Closed</code>.</li>
<li>Lock the screen.</li>
</ol>

<p>I <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo#:~:text=done%20with%20a%20book">mentioned in my review</a> that I kept closing the Duo expecting it to lock, like when closing a book (or a laptop, for that matter). And it didn’t occur to me that I could simply add this feature via Shortcuts. That’s cool. But I also mentioned in my review that I wouldn’t want that to happen every time I closed it. Sometimes you do want to just switch from the wonderful inner display to the miserable little outer display, and the last thing you want when you do that is to need to re-authenticate for the hundredth time of the day with Touch ID. It was just a wrong instinct I had, and I broke myself of that instinct after about a week or so of full-time Duo use. I stopped expecting it to lock on close. So while I think this shortcut is worth pointing out — and I especially think it’s a good reminder to think about Shortcuts when you find yourself wishing for features that aren’t in Settings — I recommend trying to break yourself of this habit if you have a Duo and find yourself with the same wrong close-to-lock instinct I initially had.</p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@stephenrobles/117502280150643367">Stephen Robles posted a clever version</a> that only locks the Duo on close if it’s on the home screen; if any app is open, it stays unlocked. That’s much more tempting to try. (He includes that one in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVt5_g4gE-o">a whole video full of Duo tips</a> on YouTube.)</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘A Simple Two-Step Shortcuts Shortcut Lets You Lock the iPhone Duo When You Close It’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/viticci-duo-lock-on-close-shortcut">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Tiny Computers for iPhone Duo</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.fountaininteractive.com/TinyComputers/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xog" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/tiny-computers" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43648</id>
	<published>2026-10-26T15:04:10Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T15:46:56Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>If you’ve got or get a Duo and don’t try this out, you’re not hooked up right.</p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/cabel.panic.com/post/3mysovokohl2c">But as Cabel Sasser notes</a>, though incredibly fun, this was clearly made by a young Claude-aided developer who <em>never</em> used any of these actual old computers. Let’s just say there are a lot of ahistorical details.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Tiny Computers for iPhone Duo’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/tiny-computers">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Sunnny</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://sunnny.com/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoe" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/sunnny" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43646</id>
	<published>2026-10-25T21:50:00Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-25T21:52:54Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>My thanks to Sunnny for sponsoring last week at DF. Sunnny’s pitch to B2B companies is simple: you store valuable customer information across a myriad of systems, making it hard to get a simple overview. Sunnny consolidates your customer data, cleans it, resolves identities, identifies relationships, and presents it neatly for you, your team, and your AI model.</p>

<p>Early access is open now.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Sunnny’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/sunnny">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Duo Users Are Registering the Base of Their Index Finger as a Touch ID Coping Strategy</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/iPhoneDuo/comments/1xehtcj/best_fingerprint_method/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xof" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/duo-touch-id-coping" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43647</id>
	<published>2026-10-25T21:47:57Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-25T21:47:58Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Some guy on Reddit (with an illustration video):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Saw this online, tried it, and it works beautifully. Basically, I
registered the lowest part of my right index finger. That part of
the finger sits naturally when you go to swipe up at the phone.</p>

<p>This resolves a major issue I had where I couldn’t easily
just look at my phone to glance through notifications on the
lock screen. Now, it’s never been easier (shown at the end of
the video).</p>

<p>This is arguably better than Face ID. The speed is up there, and
the phone doesn’t need to be facing directly at you to unlock,
this motion can be done as soon as you pick up the phone.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Tim Hardwick at MacRumors <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/24/better-than-face-id-iphone-duo-touch-id-tip/">quotes</a> the “arguably better than Face ID” line. </p>

<p>This idea is clever, and it does seem to work if you grip the Duo just right, but the idea that this is better than Face ID is a joke. Copium is a strong drug but it wears off quickly.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Duo Users Are Registering the Base of Their Index Finger as a Touch ID Coping Strategy’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/duo-touch-id-coping">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>The Talk Show: ‘Lubricate the Inside of the Hinge’</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2026/10/25/ep-456" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xod" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/the-talk-show-456" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43645</id>
	<published>2026-10-25T19:03:13Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-25T19:03:13Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Special guest: Joanna Stern. <br />
Special topic: The iPhone Duo.</p>

<p><audio
    src = "https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/daringfireball/thetalkshow-456-joanna-stern.mp3"
    controls
    preload = "none"
/></p>

<p><strong>Sponsored by:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://factormeals.com/talkshow50off">Factor</a>: Healthy eating, made easy. Get 50% off and one free breakfast item per box for one year, while supplies last, with code <strong>talkshow50off</strong>.</li>
<li><a href="https://notion.com/talkshow">Notion</a>: The collaborative AI workspace where teams and agents work side by side, with a developer platform teams can build on.</li>
</ul>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The Talk Show: ‘Lubricate the Inside of the Hinge’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/the-talk-show-456">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>iPhone Portrait Mode, 10 Years In</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/johnnie/status/2114007844605612167" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoc" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/manzari-iphone-portrait-mode" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43644</id>
	<published>2026-10-25T18:09:19Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-25T18:09:19Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Speaking of Johnnie Manzari, he wrote a post yesterday marking the 10 year anniversary of Portrait Mode:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Initially, Portrait mode was seen as a giant math problem. You’d
do disparity calculations on the two sensors and output a depth
map. The problem was this approach feels and looks digital; it
feels fake. In areas without texture, it’s impossible to do this
calculation. In areas with ultra fine detail, a lower resolution
depth map leads to terrible transitions and a full resolution
depth map takes forever to compute. One solution would be to
reduce the amount of bokeh so the issues are not as obvious. But
then you lose the whole point of the feature, which was to make it
look like you had a large, wide-open lens.</p>

<p>The solution to this conundrum — the tradeoff between artifacts
and the amount of blur — was quite elegant, but it took a while
to stumble across. There’s a saying in painting that if you get
the eyes right, nothing else matters. Inspired by this principle
from oil painting, the idea was to make sure we never got the
eyes wrong.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://x.com/panzer/status/2114075510032740640">Matthew Panzarino</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I remember getting the call to test out portrait mode before its
release. The marriage of history, art and computational science
that came together to make this possible is still incredible to me
to this day.</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘iPhone Portrait Mode, 10 Years In’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/manzari-iphone-portrait-mode">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Nicole Nguyen’s Duo Review for the WSJ</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/iphone-duo-review-cafcbbe7?st=GaYVMf" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xob" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/nguyen-duo-review" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43643</id>
	<published>2026-10-24T22:15:00Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-25T17:54:19Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Nicole Nguyen (also with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A6YGb9gqJs">a 5-minute video</a>), writing for The Wall Street Journal (gift link):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Every time I used the Duo in phone mode, one-handed, I felt its
heft. It’s wider and thicker than a Pro iPhone — and heavier,
even compared with competing foldables. My hand actually hurts
after using the Duo nonstop, straining to grip the device securely
while trying to reach the far edge of the screen.</p>

<p>An Apple spokesman pointed to the Duo’s titanium frame for
durability. Other folding models use a lighter aluminum. The
company also moved the dock and common controls to the right to be
more reachable (sorry, southpaws). Still, there were plenty of
instances where my thumb found its limits: turning off the flash
in the camera app, or typing the letter “A.”</p>

<p>There are people who can easily use two hands and won’t see this
as a problem, including train commuters, frequent fliers or
parents who wait around for kids to finish their activities. For
me, I look forward to the day the Duo is lighter and thinner — maybe folding to the size of a deck of cards, like <a href="https://youtu.be/XsQqMwacZQw?t=80">in the movie
“Her.”</a></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Interesting that she’d prefer a smaller Duo, not <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png">a bigger one</a>, if Apple makes a second size. I agree that one-hand-ability is a problem with the Duo, but I also think the front screen is already too squat in terms of <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png">how much content it shows</a>. I just think it’s the nature of foldables that they’re two-handed devices, even closed.</p>

<p><em>Her</em>’s deck of cards foldable isn’t what I think we need to wait for. It’s <a href="https://youtu.be/qvrSUwqt6Mw?t=92"><em>Westworld</em>’s super-thin trifolds</a> — or even a bifold that’s more along those lines of thinness.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Nicole Nguyen’s Duo Review for the WSJ’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/nguyen-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Reuters and the WSJ on the Duo Launch</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/apple-bets-iphone-duo-can-remake-foldable-market-sales-begin-2026-10-22/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xoa" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/reuters-on-the-duo-launch" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43642</id>
	<published>2026-10-24T22:08:17Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-24T22:34:12Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Aditya Soni, Christine Chen, and Will Russell, reporting Friday for Reuters:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>CEO Ternus played greeter at a store in Austin, Texas, throwing
open the doors and high-fiving customers as they streamed in, a
video ​posted on X by CBS Austin showed. A known car enthusiast,
Ternus’s Austin visit coincides with this weekend’s Formula 1 US
Grand Prix in the city, with Apple holding exclusive US broadcast
and streaming rights to the racing series.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I was wondering why <a href="https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/apple-intelligence/articles/john-ternus-opens-iphone-duo-180824681.html">Ternus and retail chief Deirdre O’Brien were in Austin</a> for the launch. Joz held down the fort <a href="https://x.com/raywongy/status/2113686233670877591">and</a> <a href="https://x.com/raywongy/status/2113703394909311183">held</a> <a href="https://x.com/raywongy/status/2114033731128164703">court</a> at the Fifth Avenue store.</p>

<p>Regarding reviews:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>They also said the folded Duo is less handy for the quick tasks
most users do daily and several prominent reviewers recommended
against it for many Apple customers.</p>

<p>“It’s been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it
feels like I’ve gotten to use an extraordinarily polished
prototype — not a finished product that I’d want to buy and
carry,” wrote longtime Apple commentator John Gruber.</p>

<p>Tech commentator Marques Brownlee said in a YouTube ​review that
for a regular person who mostly texts and browses, “it is probably
a no. But if the $2,000 doesn’t mean much to you, and you like the
idea, after the learning ​curve and getting used to not having
facial identification, it is a really fun phone.”</p>

<p>In Berlin, YouTube content creator Patrick Wolter was impressed
that the Duo works as a phone and an iPad in one.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Not sure Wolter set a high bar there.</p>

<p>Reporting for the WSJ (gift link), Rolfe Winkler quoted yours truly as well, with (IMO, and I feel I get to have an opinion here) a better line from my review:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>“The outer device is, by far, the worst iPhone Apple has ever
made. It’s a miserable fat little thing. The inner device is a
splendid, joyful, beautiful tablet,” wrote John Gruber, a
well-known Apple blogger, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo">in his review</a>. “The decision of whether
you might want to buy a Duo is not easy, because only one of its
two selves is good.”</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Reuters and the WSJ on the Duo Launch’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/reuters-on-the-duo-launch">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Marion Barry Meets the iPhone Duo</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017623/iphone-duo-broken-cracked-screen" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo9" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/iphone-duo-marion-barry" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43641</id>
	<published>2026-10-24T21:10:06Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-24T21:10:07Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Jay Peters, The Verge:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The iPhone Duo officially goes on sale today, but a few units
already have broken screens. According to posts on Reddit about
the affected units, the issue appears to be happening at a similar
spot on all of them: Some kind of problem shows up on the inner
screen along the hinge and a strange bright line (or lines) across
the right side of the display.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This crack problem doesn’t seem to be widespread, but <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/23/iphone-duo-screen-cracks/">it’s seemingly more than a handful</a>.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Marion Barry Meets the iPhone Duo’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/iphone-duo-marion-barry">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>MKBHD’s Duo Review</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://youtu.be/ESABTN4VtrA" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo8" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/mkbhd-duo-review" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43640</id>
	<published>2026-10-24T20:47:28Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-24T20:50:42Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Marques Brownlee thinks the lack of Face ID will be the biggest gripe. I agree. And I love his central framing for the review: that the Duo is extremely polished around the edges (figuratively, but also true literally) but rough in the middle.</p>

<p>But he spends more time griping about third-party apps that haven’t been optimized for the Duo than most other reviews, because he oddly seems to personally rely on a lot of apps from shitty iOS developers, like Discord and Google Calendar. I get it, Google Calendar is very popular. So too is Discord — it’s #6 in the App Store today for the “social networking” category. And I get it, Brownlee splits his time across iOS and Android. But Google is a notoriously terrible iOS developer. Every time there’s a major hardware display transition on iPhones that requires developer support, most of Google’s apps are late. And whatever the reasons for Discord’s popularity, it’s sure as shit not the quality of its app.</p>

<p>The best apps for the Duo are the best apps for iOS generally: ones that are exclusively for iOS. (And Brownlee sings the praises of several of them, too, <a href="https://www.meetcarrot.com/weather/">like Carrot Weather</a>.)</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘MKBHD’s Duo Review’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/mkbhd-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Tim Pan’s iPhone Duo Review</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pCccpKjjos" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo7" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/tim-pan-duo-review" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43639</id>
	<published>2026-10-24T19:15:45Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-24T21:28:13Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>I hadn’t heard of Tim Pan or Mediastorm until running across his 24-minute video review of the Duo. It’s a good and fair review, but what struck me are the rather astonishing <a href="https://x.com/mediastorm_en/status/2113197007217295440">production values</a>. Amongst other things, they stress-tested the hinge with an industrial robot by opening/closing it 10,000 times. (That’s less than one-third the folds tested <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review">by Joanna Stern’s Hingey</a>, but still.) It’s an incredible piece of work, especially given the one-week time constraint. English is Pan’s second language, and there’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUgfS1vkMxw">an entire alternate version of the whole review</a>, under the Mediastorm channel, in Chinese. It’s not just a different soundtrack — it’s an entirely separate cut of the video, where all his on-camera shots are spoken in Chinese.</p>

<p>At <a href="https://youtu.be/8pCccpKjjos?t=452">about 7:30 in the (English) review</a>, Pan mentions that they (he?) offer every employee in the company a new iPhone each year. This year’s choices, by employee count:</p>

<ul>
<li>iPhone 18 Pro: 17</li>
<li>iPhone 18 Pro Max: 41</li>
<li>iPhone Duo: 140</li>
</ul>

<p>The point of this in the review was to show how strong demand is for the Duo amongst Pan’s company’s Chinese employees. But what struck me is that the company has 198 employees. (Last year, he says, 150 chose the 17 Pro or Pro Max; only 1 chose the Air.)  Pan’s YouTube channel includes interviews <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZTFXyAw-w">with Christopher Nolan</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO6wxmp6oq0">Hans Zimmer</a>. I never heard of him before but he obviously didn’t come out of nowhere. (Perhaps this is only a function of how little YouTube content I watch.)</p>

<p>Pan only launched his X account this week. <a href="https://x.com/mediastorm_en/status/2112940762291941794">He posted the entire review video there</a>, too, and it’s got 187,000 likes and 6,700 comments. As a promotion to launch his X account, <a href="https://x.com/mediastorm_en/status/2113197007217295440">he’s giving away 100 iPhone 18 Pros</a>. Even if they’re base models purchased somewhere without sales tax, that’s $120,000.</p>

<p>Remarkable.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Tim Pan’s iPhone Duo Review’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/tim-pan-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Apple Built a Photo-Realistic Functional Original iPod for Apple Music’s 404 Page</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://music.apple.com/404" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo6" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/apple-music-ipod-404-page" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43638</id>
	<published>2026-10-24T15:50:02Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-30T17:56:06Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>It <a href="https://x.com/kianworld/status/2113519872999301172">seems like</a> this amazing Easter egg only launched yesterday, to celebrate <a href="https://x.com/tfadell/status/2113708201762033691">the original iPod’s 25th anniversary</a>. Exquisitely well done. More like this, please.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Built a Photo-Realistic Functional Original iPod for Apple Music’s 404 Page’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/apple-music-ipod-404-page">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Chan Karunamuni on the Duo’s Open/Close Translucent Transition</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/2113622379050246243" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo5" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/karunamuni-duo-design" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43637</id>
	<published>2026-10-24T15:03:44Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-24T15:03:44Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Chan Karunamuni, human interface designer at Apple, on X:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>iPhone Duo is here! Excited to have worked on the design of our
open/close transition. It’s designed to make the two displays feel
like one seamless experience by perceptually bending the focal
plane, not the content, so that it feels like opening a window
onto a singular view.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Karunamuni thanks a few engineers by name, which is always good (and for Apple employees, far too rare) to see.</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/search/johnnie+manzari">Johnnie Manzari</a>, HI designer formerly of Apple, now at Google DeepMind, <a href="https://x.com/johnnie/status/2113643318165082486">retweeting Karunamuni</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The second I saw that transition I thought “here’s the next
‘change the whole industry’ design from Chan”.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Previous such raise-the-bar designs that Karunamuni led or played a major hand in include <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1570795751764295682">the Dynamic Island</a> in <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1571207749677219840">2022</a>, <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1703820400902431077">the “shockwave moment”</a> when you put two iPhones together to initiate AirDrop or NameDrop in 2023, and iOS 18’s <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1835729051178451013">cool-ass Flashlight beam UI</a> in 2024. He also gave Steve Lemay <a href="https://x.com/chan_k/status/1996825927561658854">this full-throated public endorsement</a> upon his promotion to lead all of Apple HI design upon Alan Dye’s departure for Meta last December.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Chan Karunamuni on the Duo’s Open/Close Translucent Transition’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/karunamuni-duo-design">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>The Verge’s Duo Review: ‘Apple’s Folding Phone Is a Messy, Expensive Good Time’</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/1015028/iphone-duo-review" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo4" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/the-verge-iphone-duo-review" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43636</id>
	<published>2026-10-23T16:52:56Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-23T17:05:55Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Nilay Patel and Allison Johnson (also: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5gptFkgBlI">26-minute video review on YouTube</a>):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>This means almost every time you open the phone you instinctively
rotate it, and while it will work no matter how it’s rotated, it’s
better to rotate it counterclockwise so the cameras are on top and
the volume buttons are on the top left. Over our week of testing,
this started feeling more natural, but it’s exactly the opposite
of what you’d initially expect. It’s especially odd in Apple’s
bumper case, which has a large notch to expose the Touch ID sensor
and camera control, and it looks for all the world like it belongs
at the bottom.</p>

<p>You might think this is a little thing, but it’s strange to find
yourself slightly unsure of how to hold a smartphone. A nontrivial
part of the Duo experience is just reorienting yourself to where
the volume buttons are as you flip the thing around. When closed,
they’re on top of the phone, but if you rotate the Duo clockwise,
they end up on the bottom right, and it’s the <em>top</em> button that
turns the volume down because they don’t change orientation with
the display. There’s a buried setting in iOS that makes the volume
buttons reorient themselves as you turn the Duo around; Apple
needs to set it so it works right by default.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Completely agree with them on this — it seems inexplicable that with default settings, while holding the open Duo vertically, if the volume buttons are on the right, you press the up button to lower the volume and down button to raise it.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>One other thing to get used to is simply unlocking the phone.
Touch ID is integrated into the wake button on the side of the
phone. There’s no Face ID at all, and it might take a minute to
remember that when you stare at your phone for a beat and wonder
why your notifications aren’t unfurling. Ask us how we know. But a
week is long enough to get used to Touch ID life again, and it’s
mostly painless once you remember you’re supposed to be using it.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Completely disagree with them on this — unless you wear an Apple Watch all day every day.</p>

<p>Re: the cameras, they make this interesting aside:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>(It would be cool if you could switch the image preview to the
other panel to use it halfway open like a waist-level viewfinder,
but you can’t.)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is a great opportunity for third-party camera apps. Imagine using the Duo in the L-shaped laptop pose, holding it at waist level, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/hasselblad-looking-down.jpeg">looking down</a> — <a href="https://shootitwithfilm.com/hasselblad-500-cm-film-camera-review/">like a Hasselblad 500</a>.</p>

<p>Overall Patel and Johnson are fair and astute, but far more positive about the iPhone Duo <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo">than me</a> or <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review">Joanna Stern</a>. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2024/04/11/the-verge-review-scale">Don’t get me started</a> on The Verge’s 10-point ratings scale, but they scored the Duo a 7/10, and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/995945/iphone-18-pro-max-review-camera-aperture">only gave last month’s iPhone 18 Pro an 8/10</a>. Based on <a href="https://www.theverge.com/how-we-rate">this description of their scale</a>, I’d give the 18 Pro a 10/10 (“best of the best”) and the Duo a 4/10 (“mediocre — has multiple outstanding issues”).</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘The Verge’s Duo Review: ‘Apple’s Folding Phone Is a Messy, Expensive Good Time’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/the-verge-iphone-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Joanna Stern Reviews the Duo: ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy’</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDTWuL9GxY" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo3" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43635</id>
	<published>2026-10-23T14:42:06Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-23T14:42:06Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Joanna Stern’s video review packs a ton into 16 minutes. She commissioned a custom robot to fold/unfold the thing over 32,000 times in a week, to see if it loosened the hinge. (I won’t spoil the answer.) She took it on a yacht on the Hudson. She took it to a dark bar to test the cameras. And she really, really missed Face ID. I don’t know how she makes these videos in just a week, along with all the actual testing. So good.</p>

<p>We rank our complaints (and praise) in different order, but overall her take jibes with mine on every single point. You can <a href="https://thenewthings.com/p/iphone-duo-review-the-good-bad-and-buggy">read a version of her review</a>, too, if you’re a subscriber to The New Things, which you should be.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Joanna Stern Reviews the Duo: ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Apple Highlights 50+ iPhone Apps That Have Already Been Optimized for the Duo</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/developers-bring-incredible-new-app-experiences-to-iphone-duo/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo2" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/apple-highlights-duo-optimized-apps" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43634</id>
	<published>2026-10-22T19:10:10Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-22T22:14:00Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Apple Newsroom:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>New editorial collections for iPhone Duo apps and games will go
live on the App Store this Friday, with additional app updates
rolling out throughout the year. Apps optimized for iPhone Duo are
easy to identify with a Made for iPhone Duo badge on product pages
across the storefront.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This story highlights dozens of apps that have been optimized. This sort of transition happens every time Apple introduces a major screen change. It happened with the iPhone X in 2017, it happened when the iPhone 6 added a Plus size, it happened when the iPhone 5 changed the aspect ratio from 3:2 to 16:9, and, most memorably of all, it happened when the iPhone 4 went retina. Every time this happens it sucks to some varying degree of suckiness to use apps that haven’t been optimized. And soon enough, all apps still under active development get updated.</p>

<p>Developers know that iPhone users <em>care</em> how apps look and work. iPhone users will switch to competing apps for something like this. I stopped checking Mastodon on my phone for the last week and half because Ivory isn’t optimized. I stopped reading my messages on Signal — I just wait until I’m back at my desk. If I bought a Duo, I’d literally stop using Signal if they don’t update their app soon. Life’s too short to use shitty apps. iPhone developers get that.</p>

<p>Out of all those transitions I listed above, my gut feeling is that there are more third-party apps ready to go on day one for the Duo than for <em>any</em> of those previous transitions. No, it’s not all apps. Some of the apps that aren’t yet updated are quite popular, and others are ones that users can’t easily just switch away from (like, say, your bank’s app). But developer support is not a problem for the Duo. If anything the launch of the Duo has exemplified better than any event in iPhone history just how different the iPhone and Android developer communities are. “Flagship” Android foldables have been out <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/18498904/samsung-galaxy-fold-review-screen-broken-issue-durability-foldable-phone-video-performance-price">for over 7 years</a> and developer support for them today remains <em>nothing</em> close to developer support for the Duo — and the Duo doesn’t even launch until tomorrow.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Highlights 50+ iPhone Apps That Have Already Been Optimized for the Duo’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/apple-highlights-duo-optimized-apps">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Updates to My iPhone Duo Review</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xo1" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/updates-to-my-iphone-duo-review" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43633</id>
	<published>2026-10-22T18:49:38Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T23:34:50Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Nothing major, but since publishing at 7:00pm last night, I’ve made a few additions and changes to my iPhone Duo review. I’m calling them out here, so that if you’ve already read it, you can see the changes. If I make more, I’ll add them to the top.</p>

<p>Regarding the camera, added and/or clarified the following (in <b>bold</b>):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>As for the camera itself, it’s terrific. It’s clearly not of the
same caliber as the iPhone 18 Pro, but it’s good. The technical
specs of the Duo’s main 1×/2× camera are nearly identical to those
of the year-ago iPhone Air, and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro">I love the iPhone Air’s
camera</a>. If anything, the Duo’s camera should be better,
because it gets the year-better A20 Pro imaging pipeline. Which,
notably, brings support for the same new Photographic Styles,
including textures like film grain, that were <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro">introduced with the
iPhone 18 Pro</a>. <b>However, the Duo is not “Pro” — it does not
get camera features like “Pro controls” (variable lens aperture, shutter
speed, white balance, histogram), <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/15/apple-reference-image">Apple Reference Image</a>, spatial
video, ProRes (video or RAW), or Apple Log. Apple’s “shot with
iPhone” keynotes will continue to use iPhones Pro.</b></p>

<p>Also, notably different from the Air, the Duo has an ultrawide 0.5×
second camera lens. This brings both the ultrawide perspective <em>and</em>
macro photography. Like the Air, the Duo’s main 1× camera has a
minimum focus distance of 15cm. That’s closer than the 17 and 18 Pro
cameras (20cm), but there are a lot of times you want to snap photos
of receipts or documents closer than 15cm. <b>With the Air, you
can’t focus closer than 15cm, because it only has that one camera.
With the Duo, you can focus on subjects down to just 2cm away, using
the 0.5× lens or the 1× lens in “macro” mode (which switches to the
ultrawide lens but sensor-crops to the 1× field of view).</b></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Regarding the security of “Unlock with Apple Watch”, I added this note:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>(It’s worth noting that the wrist tap on your watch for this gives
you a button to tap to lock your iPhone immediately — it’s not
just a notification that it happened, it presents you with an
action to undo it.)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Added this note (in <b>bold</b>) about it occasionally rotating (uncomfortably) in pocket, because it happened to me again twice today:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It does not go into or out of my jeans pocket smoothly.
<b>Sometimes, in my pocket, it rotates 90 degrees, which is
uncomfortable.</b> Folded up it never stops feeling heavy. It <em>is</em>
heavy, compared to other iPhones.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Added this updated regarding <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-keyboard.png">the janky crossword keyboard</a> in the NYT Games app on the Duo’s inner screen:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[<strong>Update, Thursday:</strong> One day later and there’s an updated
version of the NYT Games app, and they’ve fixed the orthodontic
mess of their crossword keyboard, in both orientations.
<a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-redux.png">Screenshot</a>.
This goes to show just how fast the Duo-optimized updates are
streaming in from developers. My review was up-to-date when I
published at 7:00pm ET Wednesday, and outdated by the time I woke
up Thursday morning.]</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Updates to My iPhone Duo Review’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/updates-to-my-iphone-duo-review">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
    
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo" />
	<link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xo0" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43632</id>
	<published>2026-10-21T22:59:14Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-27T23:34:38Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<summary type="text">It’s been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it feels like I’ve gotten to use an extraordinarily polished prototype — not a finished product that I’d want to buy and carry.</summary>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>The very nature of the iPhone Duo raises numerous obvious questions about what it’s like to use. Does it not feel thick and heavy, awkward both to pocket and unpocket? Doesn’t the outer (cover) screen feel small and cramped, with an unfamiliar squat-rather-than-tall layout for UI controls in every app you use? Isn’t it weird that when you open it up to use the inner screen, that all the hardware buttons on the edges of the device are in the “wrong” places for a tablet? For anyone who’s gotten used to Face ID over the last decade, is it not frustrating to go back to Touch ID? And what about third-party apps that haven’t been updated to support the Duo’s novel displays — do they not suck to use?</p>

<p>Clearly, the point of a Duo review is to answer these questions, which really boil down to one question: How did Apple solve these problems?</p>

<p>The answer is: They didn’t.</p>

<p>All of these problems are real, and each of them detracts from the experience of using the Duo. Some of them have been mitigated through thoughtful design and clever engineering. Some of them might be solved in future iterations of the device. Some of them, though, I believe are endemic to the very idea of a foldable, and cannot be solved.</p>

<p>The Duo name is perfect. It truly is like having two devices in one. The outer device is, by far, the worst iPhone Apple has ever made. It’s a miserable fat little thing. The inner device is a splendid, joyful, beautiful tablet, with a UI that out-iPads the iPad. For me, by far, it’s my favorite tablet experience ever. I prefer it to any iPad or Kindle-like reader I’ve ever used.</p>

<p>So I’ll cut to the chase. The decision of whether you might want to buy a Duo is not easy, because only one of its two selves is good. You might be delighted, despite its clear compromises, if what you value most is a pocketable small tablet and are ambivalent about your iPhone. You might be endlessly frustrated if you love your iPhone, and use it extensively, often for quick interactions throughout the day, every day.</p>

<h2>More Than Meets the Eye</h2>

<p>I was a kid when Transformers hit the toy market. I had a few — every boy my age did — but I was more of a GI Joe kid. It always bothered me that, as toys, Transformers were clearly compromised in both states. Folded up, they weren’t good cars / trucks / fighter jets. They had obvious seams and folds. In the cartoons — and the subsequent live action films decades later — the Transformers’ disguised states are seamless. In real life with the actual toys, the disguised states were about as convincing as a pair of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groucho_glasses">Groucho glasses</a>. A regular toy car looked like a real car, and stayed together no matter how hard you played with it. A Transformer car never quite looked like a real car and would come apart when played with. Unfolded, they looked like robots, yes, but they had obvious compromises. And it was kind of a pain folding them back into vehicles. My recollection is that we played with them a lot more as unfolded robots than as folded vehicles.</p>

<p>And that’s what they were. They weren’t vehicles that pretended to be robots. They were robots in disguise. The Duo isn’t really a phone. It’s a tablet in disguise. And in the same way that a true toy car was a better toy car than a folded-up Transformer-as-car could ever be, the Duo-as-phone is just not as good a phone as any regular iPhone. Honestly it’s not even close.</p>

<p>Consider if you could snap the Duo in half, leaving the smaller outer display as a standalone iPhone. Would anyone want an iPhone this shape and size? I think the answer is that zero people would want this. The iPhone Mini, back in 2020 and 2021 with the iPhone 12/13 generations, proved not to be popular enough for Apple to keep around. The iPhone Minis were a <em>way</em> better shape than the outer Duo. There’s a reason why the iPhone Air is not shaped like half a Duo — because the Duo shape stinks as an iPhone. And that’s only considering the hypothetical of a thin lightweight Duo snapped in half. In real life, with the actual Duo, when you use it folded up the device is twice as thick and twice as heavy. <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Transformers+watch+1980s&amp;safe=off&amp;udm=2">These Transformer watches</a> were a fun way to smuggle a toy robot into school, but they were crummy watches. The iPhone Duo is a fun way to fit an entire iPad Mini–sized tablet into your pocket, but it’s a cumbersome phone.</p>

<p>It does not go into or out of my jeans pocket smoothly. Sometimes, in my pocket, it rotates 90 degrees, which is uncomfortable. Folded up it never stops feeling heavy. It <em>is</em> heavy, compared to other iPhones:</p>

<p><table class="table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736" width = 200>
<style>
.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 th:nth-child(1) { text-align: right }
.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 td:nth-child(1) { text-align: right }
.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 th:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }
.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 td:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }
</style>
<thead>
<th>iPhone</th><th>Weight</th>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Duo</td><td>254g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>18 Pro Max</td><td>249g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>18 Pro</td><td>211g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>17</td><td>177g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Air</td><td>165g</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table></p>

<p>It’s technically only negligibly heavier than an 18 Pro Max, but because it has so much less surface area, it feels far more dense. If it did not unfold, no one would buy this.</p>

<p>But, of course, it does unfold. That’s the entire point. Unfolded, it not only no longer feels heavy, it feels featherweight light. It’s uncanny. An open iPhone Duo has a 7.6-inch display and the physical dimensions are 4.6&NoBreak; &NoBreak;×&NoBreak; &NoBreak;6.5 inches. An <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/121456">A17 Pro iPad Mini</a> (the current model, but supposedly not for long) has an 8.3-inch display, measures 5.3&NoBreak; &NoBreak;×&NoBreak; &NoBreak;7.7 inches, and weighs 297g (that’s the cellular model’s weight, which is only fair). The iPad Mini has a slightly bigger screen but it’s heavier. In hand, I prefer the unfolded Duo over the iPad Mini as a tablet, in every single regard other than hardware button placement. (More on that below.)</p>

<p>You simply cannot have your cake and eat it too. The Duo allows you to take what is, in several ways, the best tablet Apple has ever made — and thus, the best tablet <em>any</em> company has ever made — fold it in half, and put it in your pocket to carry everywhere. While folded in half, you can use it as an entirely functional iPhone, but it’s by far the worst iPhone experience ever — frustrating, ungainly, and uncomfortable.</p>

<h2>Using the Duo Closed, With the Outer Display</h2>

<p>Ever since it was unveiled there’s been idle speculation that, while folded, the Duo’s design is biased against left-handed users. First, because the Touch ID side button is on the right. Second, because the Duo variant of iOS moves things like application toolbars and the home screen Dock to the right.</p>

<p>I am right-handed, but I’m a little bit on the ambidextrous spectrum. For example, I switched to using my mouse with my left hand around 1995, when I developed RSI in my right wrist, and I’ve used my mouse left-handed ever since. (But I use a MacBook trackpad with my right hand.) I can shoot a basketball from close range with my left hand. So going into my Duo review, I thought I’d try to use my Duo as a pretend lefty. Turns out I didn’t have to pretend. I never realized this, but I naturally use my iPhone left-handed quite a bit throughout the day. For example, while brushing my teeth. I keep my iPhone in my right front pants pocket, but I often pick it up off my desk or kitchen counter and use it left-handed.</p>

<p>The Duo is not comfortable left-handed. The problem isn’t the Touch ID side button — I fixed that by registering my left index and middle fingers with the Touch ID sensor. The problem isn’t right-side bias for toolbars and the Dock in iOS Duo.<sup id="fnr1-2026-10-21"><a href="#fn1-2026-10-21">1</a></sup> That’s not great for left-handed use, but the truth is there’s a reachability problem no matter which single hand you try holding the Duo in. It’s better to hold it in your right hand than left, reachability-wise, but fundamentally it’s so wide that it’s a two-handed device even when being used folded.</p>

<p>No, the problem with holding the Duo in your left hand alone is that the bottom left corner of its D-shaped frame digs into your palm. When you hold it in your right hand, it’s a nice round corner in the meat of your thumb’s base. In your left, it’s a crisp sharp corner, and it doesn’t feel good.</p>

<p>When using the small outer display, everything on screen feels cramped. I don’t even like the home screen. Moving the Dock to the right side breaks 19 years of spatial memory for me.<sup id="fnr2-2026-10-21"><a href="#fn2-2026-10-21">2</a></sup> I keep reaching for Messages, Notes, and Safari <em>down</em> at the bottom of my screen, when now they’re over on the right. And they look weird too, because they’re smaller icons than the others on the home screen. Ostensibly the Dock is for your four most-used apps, but now they’re the <em>smallest</em> icons on your home screen? What sense does that make?</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-home-screen-dock.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-home-screen-dock.png"
    alt = "Screenshot of my iPhone Duo home screen. The apps in the Dock, which is positioned on the right, are noticeably smaller than the regular app icons."
  /></a></p>

<p>It’s such a little thing (no pun intended, I swear), but it exemplifies how many compromises Apple had to make for this small squat display.</p>

<p>Next, consider this screenshot from NetNewsWire:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-netnewswire-back-button.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-netnewswire-back-button.png"
    alt = "Screenshot of NetNewsWire on the iPhone Duo outer screen. Its toolbar buttons are all on the right edge of the screen, including the “❮” back button."
  /></a></p>

<p>What gets me here is the chevron “❮” back button being on the right. The iPhone’s back buttons have always been at the top <em>left</em> of the screen because iOS has always used a left-to-right column-view inspired spatial hierarchy. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/28/donald-decodes-federighi">Craig Federighi just explained this spatial metaphor</a> beautifully in a short YouTube interview a month ago. This metaphor is foundational to the iPhone experience. The back button is <em>on</em> the left because you go back <em>to</em> the left. Putting a button that takes you to the left on the right side of the screen just feels wrong. I think if I used an iPhone Duo every day for the next year (<em>please no</em>) I would still think this felt unnatural. It’s like having a turn signal stalk in your car that you move in the opposite direction that you turn the wheel. Now, it’s true that you can swipe from the left side of the screen to go back. You don’t have to use the “❮” button. But that button is there, in every single iPhone app that presents content in a hierarchy. And it’s always on the wrong side of the screen (unless you’re using an app on the left side of split screen multitasking — see below).</p>

<p>Here’s another example. <a href="https://marco.org/2026/08/14/unforgetful">Unforgetful</a> is Marco Arment’s new reminders app. I like it a lot, and have been using it extensively since the summer. It’s properly updated to support the Duo UI layout. Here’s what it looks like when you’re creating a new task, normally:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-regular.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-regular.png"
    alt = "Screenshot of Unforgetful’s task creation screen on an iPhone Duo. On the right is a toolbar with two buttons, “✕” and “✓”, which stand for Close and Done."
  /></a></p>

<p>But here’s what I saw over the weekend, when I was out running <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kurt-vonnegut-envelope-quote/">a Vonnegut errand</a>, listening to The Vergecast:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-with-live-activity.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-with-live-activity.png"
    alt = "Similar screenshot to the previous one, but this time there is a Live Activity in the corner, and instead of two buttons,  “✕” and “✓”, there is only one button: “···”."
  /></a></p>

<p>I spent almost an entire minute trying to figure out how to save this task. I was about to text Arment with a bug report, that new tasks were unsaveable on the Duo, when I realized what happened. Because I had a Live Activity showing for the podcast I was listening to (in Arment’s <a href="https://overcast.fm/">Overcast</a>, natch), the system’s time and circular status indicator were pushed down, reducing Unforgetful’s toolbar area, which meant the two buttons, “✕” and “✓” (for Close and Done, respectively), were collapsed into a single “···” overflow button. Tapping the dot-dot-dot button reveals them:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-dot-dot-dot.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 425
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-dot-dot-dot.png"
    alt = "Screenshot showing the menu after tapping “···”, which shows two menu items: “✕ Close” and “✓ Done”."
  /></a></p>

<p>So the outer Duo display is so cramped when the keyboard is on screen that with a Live Activity showing, there is no longer room for a single pair of toolbar buttons. That turns a lot of one-tap actions into two-tap actions. And initially at least, it’s confusing. The whole point of Unforgetful is that it is not a complicated app. It really took me a minute to figure out that the Done button had moved into the “···” overflow menu.</p>

<p>One more examination of screen real estate, this time, with Messages, with the on-screen keyboard open. How much of the current conversation can you see?</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png"
    alt = "Screenshot comparison of a conversation thread in Messages, comparing the amount of conversation visible on screen with the keyboard open on (1) Duo inner display, vertical; (2) Duo inner display, horizontal; (3) Duo outer display; and (4) an iPhone 18 Pro. Only the Duo inner display vertical orientation and iPhone 18 Pro show more than one previous text bubble."
  /></a></p>

<p>The Duo outer display has only a smidgeon of real estate available for showing previous messages. It’s a bit like using <a href="https://www.slashgear.com/1092246/the-most-iconic-blackberry-phones-of-all-time/">an ancient BlackBerry</a>. The Duo inner display in horizontal mode doesn’t show much more, but all you need to do to see more is rotate the device (which makes it easier for thumb-typing anyway).</p>

<h2>Using the Duo Open, With the Inner Display</h2>

<p>Once the Duo is unfolded and unlocked (more on that below), it’s a terrific experience. I absolutely love the nano-texture finish. I love how it looks, and I love how it feels.</p>

<p>At the outset of this review, I opened with a list of obvious problems for any foldable device. I omitted the one vexing problem that Apple has solved: annoyance at a visible crease. They solved it by applying this nano-texture finish (which <a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/phones/iphones/apple-reveals-iphone-duo-has-a-replaceable-display-layer-what-it-means-for-you">apparently is an easily replaceable surface layer</a>). But it’s not like this is a trade-off that makes the display look bad or feel weird. I’d love a display that looks and feels like this on my non-foldable iPhone 18 Pro. No glare, even in sunlight. It’s amazing. There’s no accounting for taste — some people love glossy reflective displays that draw glare from any and all light sources. Not me.</p>

<p>No foldable phone on the market had a matte inner display until the Duo. I suspect most of them will next year, and by 2028 all of them will.</p>

<p>I mentioned above how close the open Duo is to the size and weight of an iPad Mini (a little smaller in size, but 15 percent lighter in weight). It just feels like a great little tablet, and this general size class has always been great for reading. Most Kindles and other e-ink readers are about this same size. I love reading on the Duo inner screen, vertically.</p>

<p>The Duo is great horizontally too. One obvious use case is video. Watching video, it’s easy to forget it’s an iPhone, not an iPad. Here’s as good a place as any to mention that the Duo’s speakers are great. Loud and separated. It produces surprisingly good sound for such a thin device.</p>

<p>Held horizontally, the iPhone Duo supports side-by-side multitasking with two apps. The user interface for this feature is brilliant. It puts every idea Apple has tried on iPadOS for multitasking to shame.</p>

<p>From 2010 to 2015, the iPad behaved like a big iPhone, showing only one app at a time on screen. This was limiting, yes, but delightfully simple and obvious. In 2015 with iOS 9 (this was before Apple renamed the iPad’s variant of iOS to “iPadOS”), <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2015/09/09iOS-9-Available-as-a-Free-Update-for-iPhone-iPad-iPod-touch-Users-September-16/">Apple introduced both Slide Over and Split View</a>. Both of them stunk. They stunk so bad that if you gave them a ride, you’d have to sell your car afterward. They were confusing and unintuitive. Slide Over in particular was often invoked accidentally and users couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it.</p>

<p>Even the newest iPads of the time (<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/108043">iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 4</a>) still had Home buttons — the all-screen design without a Home button wouldn’t arrive until the iPhone X debuted in 2017, and it didn’t arrive for iPads until <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2018/11/the_2018_ipad_pros">the late 2018 iPads Pro</a>. The Home button was the key to all iOS interaction at the time. To launch an app, you tapped its icon on your home screen. To go back to your home screen, you clicked the Home button. You double-clicked the Home button to enter the app switcher. If you think about it, you can see how the Home-button-centric iPad hardware was incompatible with the idea of split-screen multitasking. Once you have two apps on screen at the same time, how can you control them with just one clickable Home button? What if you had, say, Notes on the left and Safari on the right, and you wanted to close Notes and replace it with Mail, while keeping Safari open on the right? How could the system know which one you wanted to close when you clicked the one Home button? The answer is it couldn’t. So Apple devised all sorts of other convoluted ways to manage this. I don’t even remember how it worked except that it was confusing and frustrating. Re-reading <a href="https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/WindowsViews/Conceptual/AdoptingMultitaskingOniPad/">this old iPad developer documentation</a> makes it seem even more unintuitive than I remember.</p>

<p>I was about to quip that whoever at Apple designed and approved of these multitasking UIs set the entire iPad platform back by a decade. Then I realized that, actually, it was <em>more</em> than a decade. The iPhone Duo is debuting 11 years after iOS 9’s terrible iPad multitasking, and only now has Apple designed and implemented a split-screen multitasking interface that is actually good. Split screen on the Duo is intuitive, natural, useful, and mostly obvious. In addition to all those accolades regarding how you purposely invoke and use it, it also is an interface that you seem unlikely ever to get into accidentally. Comparing the multitasking UI on the Duo to the iPad is like comparing the Mac to Windows — one is insanely great, the other a dog wearing a necktie pretending to be a person. Apple should throw out iPadOS’s multitasking interface and switch to this one. Honestly I’d prefer if they just threw out iPadOS and went back to running iOS — this new version of iOS created for the Duo — on iPads. The Duo flavor of iOS is a better tablet OS than iPadOS, Apple’s dedicated tablet OS.</p>

<p>On the Duo, split screen is only available when the device is horizontal. It’s always split 50-50. Each side of the screen gets an app that is basically the size of an app open on the outer display. Elegant. To move an app into split view, you drag the home indicator up from the bottom of the screen — the same gesture that takes you back to the home screen. But instead of letting go, you keep dragging. You get this:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-start.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-start.png"
    alt = "Entering split screen mode on iPhone Duo, dragging the Apple Notes app. There are drop-target shelves on the far left and right edges."
  /></a></p>

<p>Those shelves on the left and right are drop targets. Drag and drop the current app to either side to put it there and enter split screen. The other side of the display just shows you a single-screen home screen:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-notes.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-notes.png"
    alt = "Split screen mode on the Duo. On the right is Apple Notes. On the left is my home screen, ready to open another app."
  /></a></p>

<p>To open an app on that second screen, you just tap it. There is no step 2. Once you enter split screen mode, it’s like having two closed Duos side-by-side, except the left-side one is a reverse D shape. When the left side is open you can see that the Duo toolbar/Dock bias is not “put it on the <em>right</em> side”. It’s “put it on the <em>outer</em> side”. It just so happens that on the outer display, the right side is the outer side (with rounded corners, away from the spine). Open a second app, and that app’s toolbar will go on the left, if the app is on the left:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-safari-notes.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-safari-notes.png"
    alt = "Split screen with Safari on the left (open to Six Colors), and Apple Notes on the right, in multitasking switcher mode."
  /></a></p>

<p>Each side of split screen acts like its own iPhone Duo. Drag up from the bottom of a side and you can go back to the home screen on that side. Or, as shown above, you can enter the multitasking switcher interface on that side — and it’s smart enough not to show you the app that is already open on the other side. Drag up from the bottom center and you return to the full-screen home screen or full-screen app switcher. Whatever you think ought to work, probably works. That’s intuitive design.</p>

<p>There is more to explore and think about here. These are not “windows”. But you can open the same app on both sides, like to show two Safari pages side-by-side. What this split screen UI gets fundamentally right is that it works exactly like using the iPhone for one-app-at-a-time launching and switching. The iPad’s original split-screen sin was trying to implement multiple apps on screen at the same time when the iPad still used a hardware Home button. With the modern iOS UI, where the physical Home button has been replaced by virtual on-screen home indicator bars, you can go from one home indicator (when there’s only one full-screen app) to <em>three</em>: one for the app on the left, one for the app on the right, and a third in the center to control them both as a pair. It’s so brilliant that most users won’t notice that there’s anything clever about the design at all. They’ll just use it. That’s the highest praise for an interaction design like this. It seems so obvious that it doesn’t seem designed at all.</p>

<p>Ironically, because iPhone Duo is not called an “iPad”, it gets to be what the iPad should’ve been all along.</p>

<p>The biggest problem I have with using the Duo on the inner display is an incorrect intuition that, after a full week of use, I am only now starting to break. What do you do when you’re done with a book for now? You close it. So what do I do when I’m done using the iPhone Duo, unfolded, before putting it in my pocket? I close it. But that doesn’t lock the Duo. It just switches to the outer display. I feel like I’ve done this a hundred times in the last week. I close it, thinking that I’ve locked it, and I put it away. But it’s still open. It eventually locks — perhaps sometimes quicker than you think. (iPhones have long used a bit of machine learning to try to detect when they’ve been pocketed or pursed while unlocked, and lock themselves before the normal auto-lock timeout.) Nothing bad has happened from doing this. But I’ve opened it up to some odd things on screen. This is not a complaint about Apple’s design, because when you want to switch from using the inner display to the outer display, you should be able to just close it. The iPhone Duo can’t read your mind. But I wish it <em>could</em> read my mind. </p>

<h2>Touch ID and Authentication</h2>

<p>The lack of Face ID on the iPhone Duo is an endless unceasing frustration. I’ll just farm this section out to what I wrote back on September 15, days after the Duo was announced, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/thoughts_and_observations_on_apples_surprise_and_shine_event">in my thoughts and observations column on Apple’s event announcements</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <ul>
<li><p>The lack of Face ID is a serious sad-trombone bummer, and in my
opinion could sink the first-generation model. Side-button Touch
ID is OK, but OK is not <em>good</em>, and even good is not <em>insanely
great</em>. Face ID is insanely great. For whatever reason, the only
iPads with Face ID are the iPad Pro models. Every time I review
an iPad Air or iPad Mini, my biggest gripe is the lack of Face
ID. I complained about it <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2022/03/the_2022_ipad_air#:~:text=Face%20ID%20alone%20is%20worth%20%24150">reviewing the iPad Air in 2022</a>
and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2021/09/the_2021_ipad_mini#:~:text=biggest%20annoyance">the iPad Mini in 2021</a>, and in the five years since
then my annoyance has only grown. With Face ID, so long as
you’re looking at the screen as you unlock the device, it’s like
not having it locked at all. It just unlocks, seemingly
automatically. With Touch ID you must think about putting one of
your registered fingers on the button every single time you
unlock it. It never ever feels automatic. I feel quite certain
Apple tried to fit a Face ID sensor on the outer Duo display and
could not make the engineering work.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m much more concerned about convenience than security, but
Face ID is 20× more secure than Touch ID. That’s according to
Apple’s own <a href="https://help.apple.com/pdf/security/en_GB/apple-platform-security-guide-b.pdf">Apple Platform Security</a> whitepaper, updated
just last month, which states:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The probability that a random person in the population could
unlock a user’s iPad, iPhone, or Apple Vision Pro is less
than 1 in 1 million with Optic ID or Face ID — including
when Face ID with a mask is turned on. For a user’s iPad,
iPhone, Mac models with Touch ID, and those paired with a
Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, it’s less than 1 in 50,000.
This probability increases with multiple enrolled
fingerprints (up to 1 in 10,000 with five fingerprints) or
appearances for Face ID (up to 1 in 500,000 with two
appearances).</p>
</blockquote></li>
<li><p>As a sign of how inconvenient the lack of Face ID is, Apple is
promoting the fact that the iPhone Duo can be unlocked by your
Apple Watch, like a Mac. No other iPhone needs such a crutch.
Based on my experience with Touch ID iPads, wearing an Apple
Watch all the time to unlock the Duo will feel essential. I
don’t wear an Apple Watch all the time, and don’t want to start
wearing an Apple Watch all the time, so I suspect this alone
will keep me from switching to an iPhone Duo personally. On the
other hand, for people who <em>do</em> wear an Apple Watch all the time
and are happy to do so, the Duo’s lack of Face ID might prove to
be only an occasional inconvenience rather than a constant
annoyance.</p></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<p>I’ve seldom been more prescient. More than anything else about the Duo experience, I despise the lack of Face ID. It is a dealbreaker for me. I’ll reconsider a future model that at least has Face ID on the front outer display, but I have no plans to purchase this one. I tried to keep track in my pocket Field Notes notebook of how many times I had to be told to authenticate with Touch ID, along with a separate tally of how many times I had to enter my full device passcode in situations where I know I would not have with an iPhone uno, and I ran out of space on the sheet of paper. If you are not wearing an Apple Watch, it is an unceasing frustration.</p>

<p>Apple actually made a TV commercial exemplifying the Touch ID experience on iPhone Duo 20 years ago, as part of the “Get a Mac” campaign with John Hodgman and Justin Long. Here, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuqZ8AqmLPY">you can watch it on YouTube</a>. Over and over and over, seemingly 20,000 times a day: put your goddamn finger on the Touch ID button.</p>

<p>Now, if you do wear an Apple Watch, and you pair it with your iPhone Duo, and you enable the off-by-default setting to allow your watch to unlock your Duo, this is much better. It’s not good, but it’s at least tolerable. If you have multiple iPhones though, this feature only works if your watch is paired with your Duo. This is a fundamental shortcoming in the architecture of WatchOS. Apple Watch should be like AirPods, where it just pairs on-the-fly with whatever device you’re currently using, so long as they’re signed into the same Apple Account. You don’t have to pair your AirPods to one single device and then completely factory reset them to use with another. AirPods wouldn’t be a hit product if that were true. But that’s how Apple Watch works. It’s true that most people only own one iPhone, but the existence of the <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/127274">iPhone Handoff</a> feature is proof that Apple is thinking about the fact that some of us own more than one. If one of them is a Duo, you will want to pair your Apple Watch with the Duo. But that means that with iPhone Handoff, your Apple Watch won’t share a cellular connection when you’re using your other iPhone. Cellular carriers are now more adept at seamlessly dealing with multiple iPhones than Apple’s own watch. It’s a complete mess of Apple’s own making.</p>

<p>The unlock-with-Apple-Watch feature doesn’t work all the time for me. When it does work, you know it, because you get a tap on your wrist from the watch every time your Duo unlocks via the nearby watch. But sometimes, even though I haven’t taken my watch off since it last unlocked the Duo, it doesn’t work, and I have to use Touch ID. Oftentimes, for reasons I do not understand, Touch ID isn’t enough, and I have to enter my passcode. I think it’s because I so often inadvertently press the side and Camera Control buttons while folding and unfolding the Duo — that might put it in a state where it wants to authenticate the most secure way possible, with my passcode.</p>

<p>It’s mildly annoying that your Apple Watch taps your wrist every time it automatically unlocks your Duo (dozens and dozens of taps per day, every day), but it’s obviously a good thing that it does. It obviously is less secure than Face ID or even Touch ID. I handed the Duo to my son to play with the hinge over the weekend, and as soon as he started playing with it, my wrist tapped. Oops, the whole iPhone was unlocked for him. That was no big deal, and in fact we shared a laugh about it. But it couldn’t happen with Face ID or Touch ID. (It’s worth noting that the wrist tap on your watch for this gives you a button to tap to lock your iPhone immediately — it’s not just a notification that it happened, it presents you with an action to undo it.)</p>

<p>There’s also an optional feature where you can unlock the Duo just by “resting” a registered finger on the Touch ID button. This does add a touch of convenience (again, I swear no pun intended), when I remember to do it, but this too doesn’t seem to work all the time. My theory is that sometimes I’m resting my finger on the button and the sensor doesn’t think the finger is a match. Other times, I wind up unlocking the Duo inadvertently, just by holding it with my thumb on the button. I never ever unlock my iPhones Pro accidentally. With the Duo, it happens at least once a day.</p>

<p>The only tolerable way to use the Duo is by always wearing an Apple Watch, and enabling the feature to allow the watch to unlock it. I do not want to wear an Apple Watch all day every day. And it seems ridiculous that that’s the only way to make the Duo experience tolerable. As annoying as it is to use an iPad with a Touch ID button, it’s far more annoying to use an iPhone with one, because I unlock my iPhone at least an order of magnitude more frequently than I do my iPad. </p>

<p>I’ll reconsider a future Duo model that at least has Face ID on the outside, but I don’t think I’ll ever truly enjoy the experience of using one unless it has Face ID on both sides. I can’t wait to finish writing this review, switch my eSIM back to my iPhone 18 Pro, and set this Duo aside on my desk. I don’t think Apple should have released the Duo before they figured this out.</p>

<h2>Buttons and Camera Orientation, the Hinge, and the Cameras Generally</h2>

<p>My Touch ID complaints are exacerbated by the fact that, from an experiential standpoint, the side button keeps moving around. When the Duo is closed, button placement isn’t a problem. But when it’s open, the buttons feel wrongly placed. On a Touch ID iPad, held vertically, the button is on the top on the right side. And from there, to switch to horizontal orientation, you rotate it counterclockwise, which moves the Touch ID button to the left side, at the top. But this is all backwards on the Duo. Held open vertically, the Duo’s Touch ID button is on the top on the <em>left</em> side. And you have to rotate it clockwise to get it back to horizontal. I’ve gotten more used to it after a week, but while using the big inner display, whenever I’m pestered to authenticate with Touch ID — which, again, is <em>all the time</em> — there’s also a moment of “Wait, where <em>is</em> the Touch ID button?” Many times throughout the week, while holding it vertically, the Touch ID button has been on the <em>bottom</em>, because my instincts for how to rotate it from horizontal to vertical and vice-versa are backwards from how the Duo intends. It’s like the Duo has a built-in game called “Where Are the Buttons?”, and it’s not a fun game.</p>

<p>The main camera orientation is more frustrating, and I consider it a mistake. The main camera is aligned with the small outer display. When you’re capturing photos or videos using the outer display, you hold the Duo horizontally to capture horizontal images, and hold it vertically to capture vertical images. But when you open the Duo, the camera sensor doesn’t magically rotate. So when you’re using the big inner display, you capture horizontal images when holding the Duo vertically, and vertical images when holding the device horizontally.</p>

<p>You can’t have it both ways. Apple needed to choose which display to align the camera with. Apple reps told me they chose to align it with the outer display because they think that’s the display users will use most often when using the camera. They’re probably right that the outer display will be used most frequently with the camera, so maybe they made the correct decision here. But my gut feeling is they should have aligned the camera the other way. Let the outer display have the reverse camera orientation. That would feel like an old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Video">Flip camera from 20 years ago</a> — a small handheld camera that you held vertically to capture horizontally. Who cares if the viewfinder doesn’t fill the screen, the screen is tiny anyway.</p>

<p>It just seems weird to me that you can open the Duo to have a truly huge viewfinder, and there’s no way to fill it. Here’s Apple’s own Camera app, when the Duo is open vertically, open horizontally, and closed:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-camera-viewfinders.png" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 550
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-camera-viewfinders.png"
    alt = "Side by side: Camera app, when the Duo is open vertically, open horizontally, and closed. Each screenshot shows a Ralph Steadman painting that hangs in my office."
  /></a></p>

<p>So with the big inner screen, you can never come close to filling the screen with the image you’re trying to capture. You get thick black letterboxing or pillarboxing. The viewfinder preview is roughly the same size on the inner screen as the outer screen, despite the inner screen being twice the size. This doesn’t make sense to me. I would prefer a tiny preview on the small outer display and a huge preview on the large inner display, with the camera sensors aligned with the inner display.</p>

<p>Also, because the outer screen is a different aspect ratio than the camera sensor (1.44 : 1 display; 1.33 : 1 sensor), photos taken using the outer screen capture a slightly larger image than what is shown in the viewfinder. That’s because the outer screen viewfinder presents a full-screen preview, which forces all of the Camera app controls to overlay the preview image. In the screenshot above showing the Camera app on the outer display, the actual photograph from that perspective includes part of the painting frame, even though you cannot see any of the frame in the preview. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/photo-of-steadman-painting.jpeg">Here’s the photo</a> I snapped with that preview. This discrepancy between the viewfinder and the actual captured image is not a huge deal — it’s OK to capture more than the viewfinder shows — but it’s worth being aware of.</p>

<p>As for the camera itself, it’s terrific. It’s clearly not of the same caliber as the iPhone 18 Pro, but it’s good. The technical specs of the Duo’s main 1×/2× camera are nearly identical to those of the year-ago iPhone Air, and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro">I love the iPhone Air’s camera</a>. If anything, the Duo’s camera should be better, because it gets the year-better A20 Pro imaging pipeline. Which, notably, brings support for the same new Photographic Styles, including textures like film grain, that were <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro">introduced with the iPhone 18 Pro</a>. However, the Duo is not “Pro” — it does not get features like “Pro controls” (variable lens aperture, shutter speed, white balance, histogram), <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/15/apple-reference-image">Apple Reference Image</a>, spatial video, ProRes (video or RAW), or Apple Log. Apple’s “shot with iPhone” keynotes will continue to use iPhones Pro.</p>

<p>Also, notably different from the Air, the Duo has an ultrawide 0.5× second camera lens. This brings both the ultrawide perspective <em>and</em> macro photography. Like the Air, the Duo’s main 1× camera has a minimum focus distance of 15cm. That’s closer than the 17 and 18 Pro cameras (20cm), but there are a lot of times you want to snap photos of receipts or documents closer than 15cm. With the Air, you can’t focus closer than 15cm, because it only has that one camera. With the Duo, you can focus on subjects down to just 2cm away, using the 0.5× lens or the 1× lens in “macro” mode (which switches to the ultrawide lens but sensor-crops to the 1× field of view).</p>

<p>Build quality of the Duo seems nothing short of excellent. It’s solid. It has a satisfying feel opening and closing, and it closes with a particularly pleasing snap. When it’s open it stays open and perfectly flat. When it’s closed it stays closed, with no gap. However, if forced to choose between the verbs <em>flip</em> and <em>pry</em> to describe the force necessary to open it, the more accurate verb is <em>pry</em>. You need two hands for sure and you kind of need to get your fingernail in the gap. It’s also tricky to open or close without inadvertently pressing the side or Camera Control buttons. I wind up clicking both of these buttons all the time, and sometimes it messes things up. I’ve snapped four accidental photos with the Camera Control button while trying to close (or open? not sure) the Duo in one week. I have zero such photos from the last 30 days taken with my iPhone 18 Pro. At least one of these even looks obscene at thumbnail scale, which gave me a momentary jolt when I saw it in my camera roll:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-accidental-crack.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    width = 64
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-accidental-crack.jpeg"
    alt = "Oops."
  /></a></p>

<p>There’s a subtle plastic lip around the inner display. This keeps the corners of the display from smacking into each other when you close it, and in practice while the Duo is open, this lip actually feels good to the touch, not like an unwanted barrier.</p>

<p>The same cannot be said for <a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/product/mkr94zm/a/iphone-duo-case-sand">Apple’s $80 first-party silicone case</a>. I can’t believe anyone will want to use this. It adds such a big lip to the outer display that you need to go into Settings → Display &amp; Brightness and turn on a special option: “Shift Left Edge”, which shrinks the front display away from the left edge. It even <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/17/iphone-duo-silicone-case-adhesive-psa/">requires glue to keep it attached</a>. The adhesive is not particularly sticky — you can pop it right off — but I mean, come on. This contraption is ridiculous. I’ve never been a regular case user with my iPhones and I think people <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/08/iphone_camera_lens_scratch_resistance">worry needlessly about scratches</a>, especially now <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/08/13/ceramic-shield-2-is-the-real-deal">with Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2</a>. I firmly believe that putting a case on your phone makes you more likely to drop it because you’re less likely to be careful with it. But foldable phones in particular seem inherently incompatible with cases that are subtle rather than obtrusively prophylactic.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/product/mkr74zm/a/iphone-duo-folio-with-kickstand-navy-blue">Apple’s $130 folio case is better</a>. It’s made with Apple’s “TechWoven” fabric, which has a good high-quality feel. It’s got a kickstand that I guess might be convenient at times, but I don’t understand the lifestyle where you want to open a cover just to see the front face of your phone every time you use it. Also, it’s $130.</p>

<p>Live a little, I say. If you buy a Duo, try it without a case. Get AppleCare if you’re the nervous sort.</p>

<h2>The App Situation</h2>

<p>Using apps that haven’t been updated for the iOS 27.0 SDK is a terrible experience. They just look like little virtual iPhone Minis floating in a sea of black on the big inner display. You can zoom them, like the old “2×” button on iPads when running iPhone apps, but that stinks too. Apps that have been compiled for the 27 SDK but haven’t yet updated to the new Duo-specific APIs in the 27.1 SDK are ... OK. But even some of them blow. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-keyboard.png">Take a look at the NYT Games app</a>, and its custom crossword keyboard — it needs an orthodontist. Most of my favorite apps have already been properly updated for the Duo. Some, however, like <a href="https://tapbots.com/ivory/">Tapbots’s Ivory</a>, have not. Your bank probably won’t support the Duo until the Duo 2 is out next year. I think Apple has clearly done a great job evangelizing developers to support the Duo properly. Netflix does and it’s really cool. WhatsApp is in that middle state, where because it’s been compiled with the 27 SDK, it at least fills the inner screen, but it’s just a scaled regular iPhone layout. Signal, which has always been a particularly crummy app, is one of the turds that looks like an iPhone Mini floating in a sea of black.</p>

<p>[<strong>Update, Thursday:</strong> One day later and there’s an updated version of the NYT Games app, and they’ve fixed the orthodontic mess of their crossword keyboard, in both orientations. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-redux.png">Screenshot</a>. This goes to show just how fast the Duo-optimized updates are streaming in from developers. My review was up-to-date when I published at 7:00pm ET Wednesday, and outdated by the time I woke up Thursday morning.]</p>

<p>Last night I wanted to watch the Sixers beat the Knicks in their NBA season opener while I worked on this review. I had to use the NBC Sports app, which has not been updated for the Duo at all. The experience sucked. I could pop video out of the mini window to play sort of full-screen, but whenever I tapped the display it went back to iPhone Mini mode. The only good experience you can have using the iPhone Duo is with apps that have been updated for it. It’s better than nothing that un-updated apps run at all, but they certainly don’t deliver a premium $2,000-phone experience.</p>

<p>Using the iPhone Duo for this last week, in particular, has been fascinating in this regard. When I first got the Duo set up last Tuesday, very few of my third-party apps properly supported it. The ones that did were mostly ones where I was already a beta tester through TestFlight. As the week wore on, more and more apps with proper or at least semi-proper Duo support began appearing in the App Store. This made a huge difference to my pleasure using the device. By the time the very first Duo shipments reach actual customers this Friday, there will be more updated apps than there are today. It makes such a huge difference. I honestly don’t know how folks at Apple who’ve been privately testing the Duo for months before this managed to keep their sanity, unless they just eschewed third-party apps while testing it over the summer.</p>

<h2>Miscellaneous</h2>

<ul>
<li><p>When you pair an external Bluetooth keyboard with the Duo, Command-Tab doesn’t do anything. I actually like pairing a hardware keyboard with my iPhone unos, for writing notes and Journal entries while I drink coffee in the morning. For years I’ve wished that iOS supported Command-Tab like iPadOS does. With the Duo, this seems like a glaring omission.<sup id="fnr3-2026-10-21"><a href="#fn3-2026-10-21">3</a></sup> The Duo plus a portable Bluetooth keyboard seems like an amazing travel or commute combination.</p></li>
<li><p>Standby mode (folded like a tent) is cool. In addition to Apple’s built-in clock/calendar/photo screens that you can swipe between in this mode, if you have a Live Activity going, you can tap the Live Activity’s small icon at the top in Standby mode and make the Live Activity take the full screen. “Laptop mode” is cool too, for apps like Netflix, so you can watch video on half of the inner display while the device is folded like an L.</p></li>
<li><p>There are so many nice little touches in iOS to support the Duo. Even the factory-fresh onboarding experience lets you fold and unfold it while you’re turning it on and setting it up. One of my favorite details is that when you rotate the Duo while on the home screen, the Dock doesn’t just move from the bottom (vertically) to the right (horizontally). Instead, it disappears and reappears, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-homescreen-dock-warp.mp4">sliding in from off-screen in its new position</a>. It reminds me of Pac-Man’s warp tunnel.</p></li>
<li><p>Battery life has been very good for me. No problem getting through a heavy day of usage at all.</p></li>
<li><p>The Duo often gets warm. Not hot, but noticeably warm. My instincts say “warm phone = bad for battery life”, but, per the previous item in this list, battery life is fine. There might be some use cases I haven’t spent much time trying, like graphics-intensive games, where thermals are a problem. But I didn’t run into them.</p></li>
<li><p>iOS 27.1 is a little buggy. Sometimes when I’m rotating the device using the inner display, apps get zoomed in too big, as though they think they’re on the small outer display or something. Tapping around or folding/unfolding again clears it up. I ran into one really weird rendering glitch, on Thursday night last week. I noticed what I first thought was a smear of schmutz on the crease. I tried to rub it away but it didn’t help. I thought for a few minutes that the display was breaking, coming detached right at the crease. But I only saw the smear when holding the Duo vertically. Horizontally it vanished. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-rendering-glitch.png">Here’s a screenshot showing it</a> — look at the words “strode to the plate” in the first line of the second paragraph. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-rendering-glitch-zoomed.png">If you zoom in</a>, you can see that it’s actually a capsule-shaped overlay atop the text. Here’s <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-rendering-glitch.mp4">a video screen recording</a> of it while I scroll the article. This glitch was visible in the exact same position on screen — right on the 50-yard-line of the crease — in every single app I used while holding the Duo vertically. I took some screenshots and went to bed, without restarting the Duo. When I woke up Friday morning, the glitch was gone. I haven’t seen it, or anything like it, again. My theory is that I triggered it playing around that night with different “poses” for the Duo, including a bunch where I had it in an L- or V-shape, which in many apps puts a purposeful blur across the crease.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>The Duo comes in two colors: star light (off white) and night sky (very dark blue). My review unit is star light. It looks good. I’d buy night sky if I were going to buy one, which I’m not.</p>

<p>Pricing:</p>

<p><!-- Markdown table:
|            | 256 GB | 512 GB | 1 TB   | 2 TB <br />
| ---------: | :----: | :----: | :----: | :----:
|     18 Pro | $1,200 | $1,400 | $1,800 | $2,400
| 18 Pro Max | $1,300 | $1,500 | $1,900 | $2,500
|        Duo | $2,000 | $2,200 | $2,600 | $3,200
-->
<table width = 400>
<thead>
<tr>
  <th></th>
  <th align="center">256 GB</th>
  <th align="center">512 GB</th>
  <th align="center">1 TB</th>
  <th align="center">2 TB</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
  <td align="right">18 Pro</td>
  <td align="center">$1,200</td>
  <td align="center">$1,400</td>
  <td align="center">$1,800</td>
  <td align="center">$2,400</td>
</tr>
<tr>
  <td align="right">18 Pro Max</td>
  <td align="center">$1,300</td>
  <td align="center">$1,500</td>
  <td align="center">$1,900</td>
  <td align="center">$2,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
  <td align="right">Duo</td>
  <td align="center">$2,000</td>
  <td align="center">$2,200</td>
  <td align="center">$2,600</td>
  <td align="center">$3,200</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table></p>

<p>At every storage tier, it’s $800 more than an 18 Pro and $700 more than an 18 Pro Max.</p>

<h2>The Decision</h2>

<p>Every time you pick up the Duo to use it you face The Decision. Open it? Or be lazy and suffer with the outside display? Every time. Even if you get used to all the other things, you’ll always face The Decision, every time you pick up the Duo.</p>

<p>And there’s a third option. Just after writing the preceding paragraph, I took a break to pick up some sandwiches for lunch. Get out of the house, enjoy at least a few minutes of a beautiful autumn afternoon, and stretch my legs. Waiting for the sandwiches to be prepared at <a href="https://www.spreadbagelry.com/">the bagel joint</a>, I took the Duo out of my pocket and checked NetNewsWire. First article up was a good one. Started reading. Screen’s too small. Do I want to open the Duo? Sandwiches aren’t going to take long. I clicked the side button to sleep the Duo and put it back into my jeans pocket (where it sank like the brick that it is). I spent the rest of the wait alone with my thoughts, pondering how to finish this review.</p>

<p>Apple isn’t going to start an ad campaign with a slogan like “<em>So cumbersome you’ll keep it in your pocket</em>”, but that’s part of my experience. If you really want to <em>do</em> something, or sit back and read or watch something, the big display is fantastic. But that Duo-as-tablet experience is so cumbersome compared to the “just look at it” experience of using a regular iPhone uno that you simply cannot do it every time you use the Duo. You will use the outer display quite a bit. And using the outer display delivers the worst iPhone experience ever. I mean, <em>some</em> iPhone has to be the one that offered the worst iPhone experience ever. That iPhone is the outer half of the iPhone Duo. Perhaps for some people looking to be more mindful of their screen time, this is actually a selling point.</p>

<p>Here’s my steelman argument for the Duo. iPads are good devices. Almost everyone likes them, and many people love them. But wouldn’t it be better if you could fold an iPad in half to make it more portable? The answer has to be yes — <em>if</em> that foldability did not saddle the device with an ugly visible crease in the display. Folding in half would be a nice trick for any iPad, but especially the iPad Mini. An iPad Air folded in half would fit in more compartments in your backpack, but it would not fit in your pants. An iPad Mini folded in half would. Wouldn’t it be even better if Apple added a small screen to the outside of this hypothetical foldable iPad Mini we’re imagining? That way, even when folded, you could check the time, see recent notifications, and pay attention to Live Activities. That sounds like a great idea, right? Well, that’s the iPhone Duo.</p>

<p>If you’d rather trade your iPhone for an iPad Mini that you can fold in half to carry around, the iPhone Duo might be the form factor for you. Even if that’s the case, though, this <em>first</em> iPhone Duo might not suit you, for all the various irritations and shortcomings I’ve documented above. Plus, an actual iPad Mini costs $800 for 256 GB of storage (at this writing); an iPhone Duo with 256 GB costs a cool $2000.</p>

<p>It’s been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it feels like I’ve gotten to use an extraordinarily polished prototype — not a finished product that I’d want to buy and carry.</p>

<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>

<li id="fn1-2026-10-21">
<p>I thought about referring to the Duo variant of iOS 27 as “DuOS”, which seemed clever in my mind, but looked stupid as hell the first time I tried typing it. “DuoOS” isn’t much better. So I’ll go with “iOS Duo” as shorthand for now.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr1-2026-10-21"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;</a></p>
</li>

<li id="fn2-2026-10-21">
<p>I’ve kept a consistent Dock arrangement on my iPhone for as long as I can remember. From left to right: Messages, my notes app, Safari, and my “what’s new?” app. My notes app originally was Apple Notes, then <a href="https://simplenote.com/">Simplenote</a>, then <a href="https://daringfireball.net/search/vesper">Vesper</a> (duh), and ever since Vesper’s demise, Apple Notes again. My “what’s new?” app (which, if I’m being honest, might better be described as my “I’m bored” app) was <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/01/19/twitterrific-iconfactory">Twitterrific</a>, then <a href="http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/11/20/tweetie-10">Tweetie</a>, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2011/12/new_twitter">then Twitter</a>, then <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2011/04/tweetbot">Tweetbot</a>, then <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/01/23/tweetbot-rip">Ivory</a>. Several months ago I prioritized RSS over all social media platforms, and moved <a href="https://netnewswire.com/">NetNewsWire</a> down there. I don’t check any Twitter-like social networks until I feel caught up on RSS, which means I often don’t check them at all. I’m at least a little happier for it, and I <em>know</em> I’m more productive.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr2-2026-10-21"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 2 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;︎</a></p>
</li>

<li id="fn3-2026-10-21">
<p>Also, with an iPhone uno, when you pair a hardware keyboard, you can use Command-H to go to the home screen. That doesn’t work on the Duo. I don’t know if that’s a bug or a design concession for the fact that with split screen multitasking, “go to the home screen” can’t be a single command. You might want to go home on the left, on the right, or full screen. Swiping on screen makes those actions unambiguous. Command-H would not. If you think about it, this is actually very similar to the conundrum I mention elsewhere in this review, regarding the incoherency of Apple’s decade of attempts to bring split-screen multitasking to the iPad in the Home button era. I think with a paired keyboard, however, Command-H should just always take you back to the full-screen home screen. Make it go all the way home, not just halfway home.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr3-2026-10-21"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 3 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;︎</a></p>
</li>

</ol>
</div>

    ]]></content>
  <title>★ The iPhone Duo</title></entry><entry>
	
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://sunnny.com/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xnz" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/sunnny_1" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/feeds/sponsors//11.43631</id>
	<author><name>Daring Fireball Department of Commerce</name></author>
	<published>2026-10-20T13:09:38Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-20T13:09:39Z</updated>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>All your B2B customer data. In that nice California sunnn. Early access now!</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Sunnny’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/sunnny_1">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
	<title>[Sponsor] Sunnny</title></entry><entry>
	<title>Barack Obama on the Trump Administration’s Intimidation Campaign Against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/BarackObama/status/2111819687524774170" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xny" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/obama-omar" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43630</id>
	<published>2026-10-20T01:12:26Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-20T01:40:55Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Barack Obama, in a 430-word essay:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government
can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their
political beliefs or what they say. But that’s exactly what the
Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of
Minnesota. [...]</p>

<p>The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to
engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should
outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about
Congresswoman Omar’s political views. Because if this becomes the
new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Thoughtful, sharp, and eloquent as ever.</p>

<p>But Obama posted this essay on X, which, I <a href="https://www.threads.com/@gruber/post/DeXvGODFNWo">have</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/gruber.foo/post/3mxn2cc4cc326">been</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/@gruber/117424623082667290">told</a> in the past week, shows that he in fact is <a href="https://www.threads.com/@richrichmond/post/DerwfS5GsNm">a Nazi sympathizer</a>, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mrdavidham.bsky.social/post/3mxwkg3wvjk2g">a fascist</a>, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/cagygibbon.bsky.social/post/3mxrdwsor7s2c">a pedophile</a>, and unconcerned <a href="https://mastodon.social/@delric/117263818705656307">about racism</a>. As surprised as I was to learn those things about myself, I’m equally surprised to learn them about President Obama, whom I heretofore considered a thoughtful statesman and moral compass.</p>

<p>Either that, or, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon have relegated themselves into irrelevance by allowing their discourse to be dominated by a fringe of unhinged kooks who want to be angry and want everyone else to be angry.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Barack Obama on the Trump Administration’s Intimidation Campaign Against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/obama-omar">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>From the DF Archive: Should a CEO Be a Nerd About Their Company’s Products?</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2022/10/11/ceos-as-nerds" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xnx" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/ternus-cook-product-nerds" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43629</id>
	<published>2026-10-19T22:36:15Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-20T14:32:44Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Back in 2022, I quoted from an interesting post by Ben Schlappig at One Mile at a Time, <a href="https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-ceo-jetblue-mint/">where he wrote</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I’ve had the opportunity to interact with quite a few senior
airline executives over the years, and I find that their knowledge
about competitors is typically one extreme or the other:</p>

<ul>
<li>Some airline executives literally couldn’t tell you the first
thing about their competitors, and have no knowledge of their
passenger experience, fleet, etc.</li>
<li>Some airline executives know literally everything about their
competitors, down to being able to tell you how many seats
competitors have on specific planes</li>
</ul>

<p>I find there are very few executives who are just kind of in the
middle, as it’s pretty polarizing. Either they know virtually
everything about competitors, or nearly nothing. Without naming
any names, I’ll say that generally speaking there’s a high
correlation between airlines that have a great passenger
experience, and airlines that have executives that keep very close
tabs on the competition.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>And I wrote:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If the CEO’s primary perspective on the company is via
spreadsheets — if it’s all just P&amp;L to them — that company is
not going to excel at quality. Or if they do excel at quality,
they won’t for long.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I think Tim Cook was truly an exception in this regard. He’s not a product guy, and never pretended to be. He is a spreadsheet guy. But he clearly realized that about himself, and he understood that Apple’s entire point is delivering great products and experiences. But I think Ternus is a breath of fresh air in this regard. Apple didn’t immediately switch to decision-making by quantifiable numbers under Cook, but incrementally, year-by-year, decision-making by quantifiable numbers took over.</p>

<p>You simply cannot assign numeric values to everything, and some of those things that cannot be quantified are the most important things. Apple needs a CEO who makes some major product decisions by gut alone.</p>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘From the DF Archive: Should a CEO Be a Nerd About Their Company’s Products?’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/ternus-cook-product-nerds">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
	<title>Apple Event, in Los Angeles, Next Week: ‘Pro and Tell’</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://x.com/gregjoz/status/2112212372182249831" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xnw" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/apple-event-pro-and-tell" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43628</id>
	<published>2026-10-19T22:27:21Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-19T22:27:21Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Greg Joswiak, on X:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Can’t wait to pro and tell next week.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/19/apple-pro-and-tell/">Juli Clover, MacRumors</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Rumors suggest Apple is planning to debut the new MacBook Pro with
an OLED touchscreen display, an M6 entry-level MacBook Pro, an M6
iMac, an iPad mini with an OLED display.</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Apple Event, in Los Angeles, Next Week: ‘Pro and Tell’’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/apple-event-pro-and-tell">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
    
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/estimated_arrival_dates_for_preordered_iphone_duos" />
	<link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xnv" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43627</id>
	<published>2026-10-19T22:04:04Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-20T13:55:40Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<summary type="text">No one should mistake my audience as representative of the general public in any poll, but I bet my audience is at least ballpark representative of the general public when it comes to something like pre-ordering, at the crack of dawn, a new iPhone form factor that costs $2000 to $3200.</summary>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Yesterday I posted the same question to my followers <a href="https://x.com/gruber/status/2111904155472146778">on X</a>, <a href="https://www.threads.com/@gruber/post/DepcnGgFCKH">Threads</a>, and <a href="https://mastodon.social/@gruber/117463540267834280">Mastodon</a>:<sup id="fnr1-2026-10-19"><a href="#fn1-2026-10-19">1</a></sup></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Poll, only for people who have pre-ordered a Duo. When is your
delivery/pickup date?</p>

<ul>
<li>October</li>
<li>November</li>
<li>December</li>
<li>January</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<p>The results were interesting; I’m glad I asked.</p>

<!-- Markdown Table:
|           |   X   | Threads | Mastodon | Total
| --------- | :---: | :-----: | :------: | :---:
| October   |  36%  |   38%   |   39%    |  37% 
| November  |  35%  |   42%   |   45%    |  39% 
| December  |  10%  |   9%    |    8%    |  10% 
| January   |  19%  |   11%   |    8%    |  14% 
|           |       |         |          |      
| Responses | 1,382 |  1,034  |   449    | 2,865
-->

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</style>
<thead>
<th></th><th>X</th><th>Threads</th><th>Mastodon</th><th>Total</th>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>October</td><td>36%</td><td>38%</td><td>39%</td><td>37%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>November</td><td>35%</td><td>42%</td><td>45%</td><td>39%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>December</td><td>10%</td><td>9%</td><td>8%</td><td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>January</td><td>19%</td><td>11%</td><td>8%</td><td>14%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><em>Responses</em></td><td><em>1,382</em></td><td><em>1,034</em></td><td><em>449</em></td><td><em>2,865</em></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<p><img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-ship-dates-chart.png"
    alt = "The “Total” column from the above table, in bar chart form."
    width = 550
  /></p>

<p>Observations:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>There were way more people who successfully got October ship dates than I expected. It’s very close to even with November ship dates.</p></li>
<li><p>The fact that there are fewer December ship dates than January, is to me, a sign of Apple’s appreciation for the holidays. I think Apple is only promising “December” for shipments they are 100 percent certain they can deliver by Christmas. I bet a bunch of the orders promised for January will in fact ship in December — albeit perhaps too-late-for-Christmas December.</p></li>
<li><p>Apparently some configurations are getting <a href="https://mastodon.social/@coachmike66/117466428892965146">an estimated date of February 1</a>. I wish I’d listed February as an option, but I don’t think it would have made a big difference.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/19/apple-starts-moving-up-iphone-duo-delivery-dates/">Per MacRumors today</a>, some pre-order estimates are already moving up, like from early December to late November.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>No one should mistake my audience as representative of the general public in any poll, but I bet my audience is at least ballpark representative of the general public when it comes to something like pre-ordering, at the crack of dawn, a new iPhone form factor that costs $2000 to $3200.</p>

<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn1-2026-10-19">
<p>I didn’t ask on Bluesky because — despite launching over three years ago — it still lacks a poll feature. There’s some kind of third-party thing called <a href="https://poll.blue/">poll.blue</a>, but I couldn’t be bothered.&nbsp;<a href="#fnr1-2026-10-19"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>

    ]]></content>
  <title>★ Estimated Arrival Dates for DF Readers’ Pre-Ordered iPhone Duos</title></entry><entry>
	<title>Netflix Shitcanned Film Chief Dan Lin Too</title>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://deadline.com/2026/10/netflix-dan-lin-out-1237167562/" />
	<link rel="shorturl" type="text/html" href="http://df4.us/xnu" />
	<link rel="related" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/netflix-dan-line" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43626</id>
	<published>2026-10-19T21:15:57Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-19T22:41:29Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/linked/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>Anthony D’Alessandro, reporting for Deadline:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Dan Lin is out as film boss at Netflix in a move that has been
largely speculated for weeks. Insiders at the streamer have denied
that Lin and even Bela Bajaria were on the chopping block, but
here we are.</p>

<p>Lin is meeting with his feature staff Monday morning for a
post-mortem after the news. Per sources close to the situation, a
successor to Lin won’t be named until the arrival of <a href="https://deadline.com/2026/10/netflix-peter-rice-chief-content-officer-1237158809/">Peter Rice,
who is taking over Netflix’s Chief Content Officer role</a> from
Bajaria.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Netflix’s movies are worse than their series, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/08/11/netflix-has-peaked">which also <em>mostly</em> stink</a>. (As opposed to Apple TV, which somehow makes terrible movies while making the best series in the business.)</p>

<p><a href="https://x.com/MikeIsaac/status/2112252613647597784">Mike Isaac, on X</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>it has long been understood that, qualitatively, a “netflix movie”
exists in the liminal space between theatrical release and
Lifetime production</p>

<p>with some notable exceptions, even the biggest budget productions
feel cheap, strange and worst of all, unmemorable</p>
</blockquote>

<div>
<a  title="Permanent link to ‘Netflix Shitcanned Film Chief Dan Lin Too’"  href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/netflix-dan-line">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a>
</div>

	]]></content>
  </entry><entry>
    
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/homeview_thoughts_and_observations" />
	<link rel="shorturl" href="http://df4.us/xnh" />
	<id>tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43613</id>
	<published>2026-10-17T17:25:13Z</published>
	<updated>2026-10-17T22:59:52Z</updated>
	<author>
		<name>John Gruber</name>
		<uri>http://daringfireball.net/</uri>
	</author>
	<summary type="text">There’s a real “*Why do we need this?*” question here and I don’t think Apple’s video answers it, at all. You need to think you want it if you’re going to buy it. And even if you already had a HomeView set up, I’m not sure how often you’d use it instead of your phone, or instead of just talking to it like a screenless HomePod.</summary>
	<content type="html" xml:base="https://daringfireball.net/" xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[
<p>I’ll start with a nomenclatural sidenote: Apple seems to be going with “Apple HomeView” as the product’s name. E.g., the URL slug for it on Apple.com is <em><a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-homeview/">apple-homeview/</a></em>, not just <em>homeview/</em>. Few people notice and no one who doesn’t work in Apple product marketing cares, but they actually do the same thing with Vision Pro — in Cupertino, it’s “Apple Vision Pro” (once again including <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/">the URL slug</a>). Yet this week’s new HomePod Mini is just “<a href="https://www.apple.com/homepod-mini/">HomePod mini 2</a>” and the existing 2nd-generation HomePod is just “<a href="https://www.apple.com/homepod-2nd-generation/">HomePod (2nd generation)</a>” — not “HomePod 2” or “Apple HomePod”. I certainly intend to just call it “HomeView”.</p>

<p>Apple introduced HomeView with a three-minute introductory film simulating a suburban family’s hectic before-school/work kitchen rush hour, with versions hosted <a href="https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/apple-homeview/2026/f7ce47a8-10f2-455c-b99f-bf9b85a35cb6/films/product/apple-homeview-product-tpl-us-2026_16x9.m3u8">on Apple’s site</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkrYiZ_g9tw">YouTube</a>. The most ridiculous aspect of it is that anyone would possibly make their kid French toast in that scenario. I’d have told my son to make his own goddamn French toast with that attitude. Or I’d have made a single serving and eaten it myself right in front of him. Bro.</p>

<p>I do think the basic concept is an intriguing idea. But as an implementation of that concept, my initial impressions are threefold. First, I am unconvinced that anyone in a family would use this for anything other than playing music or podcasts, rather than just using their phones. And if that’s the case, why not just have a HomePod? Apple’s video shows family members taking turns to use the HomeView, rotating it on the kitchen island to face themselves. Why? Why does the mom check her calendar on this, rather than on her iPhone, while the dad is using it to follow a French toast recipe? There’s a real “<em>Why do we need this?</em>” question here and I don’t think Apple’s video answers it, at all. You need to think you want it if you’re going to buy it. And even if you already had a HomeView set up, I’m not sure how often you’d use it instead of your phone, or instead of just talking to it like a screenless HomePod.</p>

<p>Second, all the touching and rotating — in Apple’s own demonstration — makes it seem awkward that HomeView must be tethered to a USB power cable. If you look closely in the video, they do show the USB power cable in some shots, but not many. And if you look really closely, this hypothetical family has drilled a hole in the center of their kitchen island to snake the cable through.</p>

<p>The hero shot introducing the product, of course, does not show the power cable at all:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-introducing.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-introducing.jpeg"
    alt = "The “Introducing HomeView” title card shot from Apple’s video. It shows a HomeView sitting atop a kitchen island."
    width = 600
  /></a></p>

<p>We see a wee bit of the cable when the dad reaches to touch the screen to start the French toast recipe:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-dad.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-dad.jpeg"
    alt = "The HomeView, centered on the kitchen island, with about 2 inches of cable visible, disappearing into the island right behind the HomeView base."
    width = 600
  /></a></p>

<p>And then a few seconds later, after the mom rotates the HomeView to the side, so she can check her calendar (despite the fact that she knows the dad was using it to follow a recipe), we get our most honest shot of the cabling situation:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-49s.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-49s.jpeg"
    alt = "A view from behind the HomeView, which has been rotated to face the mom, showing about 4 inches of the USB cable disappearing into a convenient hole in the center of the island."
    width = 600
  /></a></p>

<p>The above shot is at 0:49. It’s followed by two quick cuts to the dad and then the younger daughter, then at 0:52 we cut back to the mom (curious about her daughter’s new boyfriend situation), and, lo, the shot is now framed in such a way that we no longer see where the cable goes:</p>

<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-52s.jpeg" class="noborder">
  <img
    src = "https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-52s.jpeg"
    alt = "Same view as the previous shot, except the camera has been tilted up about an inch, such that the cable just runs off the bottom of the frame, no longer showing that it disappears into a hole in the island that no kitchen island I’ve ever seen actually has."
    width = 600
  /></a></p>

<p>If you think that slight reframing is happenstance, you should stay away from poker tables. Most kitchen islands I’m familiar with — including my own — have power outlets on the sides of the island. I’m sure some people have power outlets on the top surface of the counter, but I can’t recall seeing one. These are kitchen counters, not office desks. But either way, there’d be a long USB-C cable cluttering the countertop. And if you do happen to have a power outlet on the top surface of your counter, there’d be an adapter sticking out of it, all the time, to duplicate this HomeView setup.</p>

<p>This family’s convenient hole in the center of their island countertop is a fantasy. Where does the cable go underneath? How exactly do they have a power adapter plugged in down there? What happens when something spills on the counter? When we custom ordered our kitchen, we weren’t asked if we wanted any holes drilled in our island countertop, and if we <em>had</em> been asked, it would have made me wonder if the guy asking the question had a hole or two drilled in his head.</p>

<p>I know, it’s a marketing video. Marketing videos present products in ideal settings. But the power cable is an essential aspect of the standalone HomeView. I’m not suggesting that it should be battery powered. You’d still need to plug it in every few days, which would mean most people would just leave it plugged in, which gets us back to needing to live with an always-visible cable and power adapter in one of our living spaces. The countertop hole this cable disappears into in this video is less <em>ideal</em> and more <em>dishonest</em>.</p>

<p>The wall-mounted option seems more appealing to me, but now you’re talking about a home improvement project and (for most of us) calling an electrician. And that raises the question of why the wall-mounted version costs the same $300 as the one with the connected base, even though the base provides the subwoofer. And it requires a mount, and the mounts cost $60 (USB-C), $80 (AC wired), or $130 (PoE — and this one is not available yet). So the wall-mounted version, when you include a mount, costs more but sounds worse? This doesn’t make sense.</p>

<p>Those points make me skeptical that there’s a place for HomeView in my home. We have a stereo pair of HomePods in our kitchen. Neither is on the center island, because that would be dumb. They’re on the counters along the outside of the kitchen, each near an outlet on the wall. In the four days since HomeView was announced, I’ve tried to imagine when I’d want to look at something on a screen on either of them. My count remains at zero.</p>

<p>My third early impression is that the display is surprisingly small. I saw HomeView in person in New York on Tuesday, and I think Apple’s video conveys its size very accurately. It’s small and cute. It’s much more like a HomePod Mini with a screen than a full-size HomePod with a screen. For some reason I was expecting the latter. This is not a complaint, simply an observation. I actually think that making it small and cute makes it about as unobtrusive as an ever-present screen could possibly be. That’s good. But because it’s small you need to be close to it to read anything more detailed than large glanceable widgets.</p>

<p>The major difference between a device with a screen and one without is that you can watch video on a device with a screen. But HomeView clearly isn’t intended for that. It <em>can</em> play video but isn’t primarily <em>meant</em> to play video. If it were it would have a widescreen aspect ratio. But instead it has a square aspect ratio,<sup id="fnr1-2026-10-17"><a href="#fn1-2026-10-17">1</a></sup> which is decidedly unsuited to video, unless, I suppose, you want a screen that is equally unsuited for both widescreen and tallscreen video.</p>

<p>So my skepticism boils down to the question of why anyone would want to add one (or more!) additional ever-present screens to our homes and lives. Phones can stay in our pockets until we need them. Watches remain on our wrists. HomePods can be tucked away unobtrusively in corners, and remain fully useful. HomeView needs to be in a prominent location for its display to serve any practical purpose. Apple’s initial pitch for it doesn’t earn that prominence for me.</p>

<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn1-2026-10-17">
<p>In my <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/thoughts_and_observations_on_apples_surprise_and_shine_event">thoughts and observations column</a> after Apple’s iPhone event last month, I wrote the following regarding the iPhone Duo’s clever 1:1.4 aspect ratio:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Here’s the thing. If you take a 2 : 1 or even 2.2 : 1 aspect ratio phone display and turn that into a book-like foldable, the inner screen comes out square — or so close to square that we might as well just call it square. Nobody makes any device of any sort that just has a square display. Square is a terrible aspect ratio for a phone or a tablet or a laptop or a desktop display. The only square displays on the market are the inner displays for Android foldables from the last decade. Square being a shitty aspect ratio is half the reason <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/07/birchler-folding-iphone-predictions">almost no one has bought those things</a>. </p>
</blockquote>

<p>I will admit that I had the as-yet-unannounced HomeView in mind as I wrote that, given that its square aspect ratio had been rumored for months. HomeView is not a phone or tablet or laptop or desktop display. It’s not a TV either. So maybe square works for this nascent product category (status boards?). But if square does prove to be correct for this purpose, it’ll be the first category I can think of where that’s true. Apple Watch is the closest device I can think of whose screen serves primarily to display status, but even Apple Watch isn’t square. (It varies slightly by model, but Apple Watch displays are around 4 : 5.)&nbsp;<a href="#fnr1-2026-10-17"  class="footnoteBackLink"  title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">&#x21A9;&#xFE0E;</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>

    ]]></content>
  <title>★ HomeView Thoughts and Observations</title></entry></feed><!-- THE END -->

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      "published": "2026-11-01T20:22:56.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-11-01T20:22:56.000Z",
      "content": "<p>My thanks to WorkOS for sponsoring last week at DF. An agent can’t click through a signup page built for humans, so give it something it can read instead. Publish an auth.md file and agents register themselves without ever touching a browser login, and the user never gets pulled out of what they were doing.</p>\n\n<p>With WorkOS auth.md, enroll in the dashboard and AuthKit publishes the file. Agents read it, register, and get scoped, short-lived credentials you control.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=q42026\">Make your app agent-ready today</a>.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/11/01/workos\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
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      "published": "2026-10-30T22:30:54.000Z",
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      "content": "<p>Sponsorships have continued selling briskly, <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/03/06/daring-fireball-weekly-sponsorship-openings\">of late</a>. Knock on wood. As of yesterday, the next opening <a href=\"/feeds/sponsors/\">on the schedule</a> wasn’t until the last week of December, and the Q1 2027 schedule is already filling up. <s>However, due to some schedule rejiggering, <em>next week</em> is now open.</s> <em>Update:</em> OK, next week has been sold, but Christmas week remains open. That’s a good week at DF. I keep posting and readers are often more bored than usual. Also a good week to promote games.</p>\n\n<p>If you’ve got a product or service you think would be of interest to DF’s audience of people obsessed with high quality and good design, <a href=\"mailto:sponsors@daringfireball.net?subject=Weekly%20Feed%20Sponsorship\">just email me</a> — especially if you can act quick for next week’s opening. I’m also booking sponsorships for Q1 and Q2 2027, and over half of those weeks are already sold. The rate for the two remaining weeks in 2026 is $11,000, and the rate for open weeks in 2027 is $12,500.</p>\n\n<p>The sponsorship schedule for The Talk Show also has openings, including for the next few episodes in November and December. The general rule of thumb is that sponsorship spots on The Talk Show cost one-third the rate for the weekly spots on DF. I’m happy to work out deals a little lower than that for first-time sponsors. If you’ve got a product or service you’d like to hear pitched on America’s favorite three-star podcast, <a href=\"mailto:sponsors@daringfireball.net?subject=Sponsoring%20The%20Talk%20Show\">get in touch</a>.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Sponsorship Openings for Daring Fireball (Including The Talk Show)’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/sponsorship-openings-for-daring-fireball-including-the-talk-show\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
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      "url": "https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/macbook_pro_pricing_and_configurations_for_m6_m5_pro_and_m5_max",
      "published": "2026-10-30T21:56:10.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-30T21:57:39.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Apple’s dynamic configuration UI in their online store doesn’t hide or disguise the pricing or configuration options, but it doesn’t present all of the options at a glance. I find it useful to organize all of the configuration options into tables on a single page, and I figured it might be useful to share this now, before I finish writing my full thoughts on the redesigned hardware and displays for the PROLED XDR models.</p>\n\n<p>Notes:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>The old-style (mini-LED, no touchscreens, heavier) M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-macbook-pro-with-all-new-m5-pro-and-m5-max/\">were announced</a> and began shipping in March 2026, alongside the new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR, the MacBook Neo, and M5 MacBook Airs.</p></li>\n<li><p>The new but old-style plain 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-introduces-the-new-14-inch-macbook-pro-with-m6/\">was announced in October 2026</a> and is set to begin shipping in early November.</p></li>\n<li><p>The all-new PROLED XDR (touchscreens, lighter weight) M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-groundbreaking-macbook-pro-with-proled-xdr-display/\">were announced in October 2026</a> and are set to begin shipping in early November.</p></li>\n<li><p>As in previous generations, there are no 16-inch models for the plain M6 or the chip-binned fewer-core M5 Pro configurations. The 16-inch MacBook Pro starts with the full 18-core CPU / 20-core GPU M5 Pro chip.</p></li>\n<li><p>16-inch models, when available, cost $300 more than the same-specced 14-inch configuration.</p></li>\n<li><p>Nano-texture displays are an option for all MacBook Pro models, and always cost $150.</p></li>\n<li><p>The new PROLED XDR models cost $400 more than the equivalent old-style ones. This $400 difference is true for both 14- and 16-inch models.</p></li>\n<li><p>The new 16 TB SSD upgrade is exclusively available for M5 Max models with the new PROLED XDR displays. It costs a smooth $7,000 more than the base 2 TB storage.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<h2>M6</h2>\n\n<pre><code>12-core CPU / 12-core GPU:\n    14-inch:        $2000\n    16-inch:          N/A\n\n    PROLED XDR:       N/A\n    Nano-texture:    +150\n\n    RAM:    16 GB      +0\n            24 GB    +200\n            32 GB    +400\n\n    SSD:    1 TB       +0\n            2 TB     +500\n            4 TB    +1500\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2>M5 Pro</h2>\n\n<pre><code>15-core CPU / 16-core GPU:\n    14-inch:        $2500\n    16-inch:          N/A\n\n    PROLED XDR:      +400\n    Nano-texture:    +150\n\n    RAM:    24 GB      +0\n            48 GB    +600\n\n    SSD:    1 TB       +0\n            2 TB     +500\n            4 TB    +1500\n\n\n18-core CPU / 20-core GPU:\n    14-inch:        $2700\n    16-inch:        $3000\n\n    PROLED XDR:      +400\n    Nano-texture:    +150\n\n    RAM:    24 GB      +0\n            48 GB    +600\n            64 GB   +1000\n\n    SSD:    1 TB       +0\n            2 TB     +500\n            4 TB    +1500\n</code></pre>\n\n<h2>M5 Max</h2>\n\n<pre><code>18-core CPU / 32-core GPU:\n    14-inch:        $4100\n    16-inch:        $4400\n\n    PROLED XDR:      +400\n    Nano-texture:    +150\n\n    RAM:    36 GB      +0\n\n    SSD:    2 TB       +0\n            4 TB    +1000\n            8 TB    +3000\n           16 TB    +7000  (PROLED XDR only)\n\n\n18-core CPU / 40-core GPU:\n    14-inch:        $4700\n    16-inch:        $5000\n\n    RAM:    48 GB      +0\n            64 GB    +400\n           128 GB   +2000\n\n    SSD:    2 TB       +0\n            4 TB    +1000\n            8 TB    +3000\n           16 TB    +7000  (PROLED XDR only)\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>To me, the most curious detail in these tables is that if you select the chip-binned M5 Max with only 32 GPU cores, the one and only RAM configuration is 36 GB. The “full” M5 Max with 40 GPU cores starts with 48 GB of RAM in the base configuration.</p>\n\n<p>For size, weight, battery life, and display brightness differences, <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/liquid-retina-xdr-display/compare/?modelList=MacBook-Pro-14-M6,MacBook-Pro-14-M5-Max,MacBook-Pro-proled-xdr-m5max-14\">consult Apple’s ever-excellent Compare tool</a>, preconfigured with that link to show the 14-inch models with M6, M5 Max (mini-LED), and M5 Max with PROLED XDR. (<a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/macbook-pro-compare-nov-2026-m6-m5max_led-m5max_proled.pdf\">PDF archive</a> of that Compare page, archived today for posterity.)</p>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43669",
      "title": "The Only Good Easter Eggs Are Whole-Assed Easter Eggs",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://unsung.aresluna.org/apples-ipod-recreation/",
      "published": "2026-10-30T17:53:41.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-31T15:21:14.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Marcin Wichary on the <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/apple-music-ipod-404-page\">original iPod easter egg</a> on Apple Music’s website 404 page:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>I am usually not a fan of easter eggs — most of them are poorly\nmade — but this might be the best iPod recreation I’ve seen, and\nit’s an interesting thing to study:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I think it generally covers all the modes etc.</li>\n<li>(with small exceptions) the typography looks accurate,</li>\n<li>it has the little “haptic” beeps,</li>\n<li>it has proper acceleration and the scrollbar,</li>\n<li>it has a little music library with various playlists,</li>\n<li>I have only noticed a few small bugs.</li>\n</ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It looks real, sounds real, feels real. Don’t bother with your easter egg idea if you’re going to half-ass it.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Update:</strong> The original iPod itself had a great easter egg: a hidden version of the classic game Breakout. Apple’s new easter egg web-page iPod <a href=\"https://www.digitaltrends.com/phones/apple-music-is-hiding-a-playable-ipod-easter-egg-and-brick-game/\">includes the hardware iPod easter egg</a>. Just go to Settings → About and hold down the center button for 5 seconds. An easter egg in the easter egg. That’s how you do it.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘The Only Good Easter Eggs Are Whole-Assed Easter Eggs’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/wichary-apple-ipod-easter-egg\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43668",
      "title": "GM to Pay $220 Million After Betraying Their Own Drivers’ Privacy",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/gm-pay-220-million-settle-allegations-it-violated-consumers-privacy-2026-10-29/",
      "published": "2026-10-30T17:18:56.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-30T17:18:57.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Jonathan Stempel, reporting for Reuters:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>General Motors will pay $220 million to settle ​allegations that\nit illegally sold drivers’ private behavior and location data to\nbrokers, who then sold the information to insurers that used it to\nset and sometimes increase rates.</p>\n\n<p>The settlement, announced on Thursday, resolves claims by the\nattorneys general of 35 US states and the District ​of Columbia\nover the automaker’s Smart Driver program, which enrolled millions\nof drivers ​between 2016 and its discontinuation in 2024. Other\nregulators have also reviewed GM’s handling of driver data.</p>\n\n<p>GM was accused of pitching Smart Driver to help ​people improve\ntheir personal driving safety, only to violate drivers’ privacy by\nreneging on its ​promise not to sell their data without\npermission. Many people who signed up were also enrolled in GM’s\nOnStar safety, navigation and diagnostic service.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Reuters’s milquetoast headline was “GM to Pay $220 Million to Settle Allegations It Violated Drivers’ Privacy”. They’re not mere allegations. They did it. They just betrayed their customers’ privacy to make a few quick bucks.</p>\n\n<p>I’ve driven a few GM rentals in recent years, and I’d almost certainly never buy one of their cars just because they’re poorly-designed pieces of crap. But even if they made a decent car I wouldn’t buy it. They’re still seemingly <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/21/gm-crack-smoking\">digging in on the CarPlay thing</a>, and they ratted out their own customers to insurance companies.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘GM to Pay $220 Million After Betraying Their Own Drivers’ Privacy’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/gm-privacy-settlement\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43667",
      "title": "Patrick Stewart Dies at 86",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/patrick-stewart-dead-star-trek-x-men-1236742932/",
      "published": "2026-10-30T16:53:09.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-30T16:53:09.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Patrick Stewart, the sophisticated actor who brought a\nShakespearean touch to <em>Star Trek</em> and <em>X-Men</em> as he made an\notherworldly transformation from British stage veteran to sci-fi\nicon, has died. He was 86.</p>\n\n<p>Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following “a\nbrief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body\ndementia,” longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak announced.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>There’s an old adage that everyone’s favorite SNL cast is the one from their teenage years. It’s probably true for <em>Star Trek</em> too. My favorite is The Next Generation and it’s not even close. Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard was just so fucking cool. Smart, wise, firm, curious, empathetic, and just fucking cool. Those same adjectives seemingly all apply to Stewart himself.</p>\n\n<p>See Kottke <a href=\"https://kottke.org/26/10/rest-in-peace-patrick-stewart-1940-2026\">for a bunch more links</a>.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Patrick Stewart Dies at 86’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/30/patrick-stewart-rip\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43666",
      "title": "Apple Drops App Store Commission by a Whopping 4 Percentage Points in Taiwan",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=w9mxlhek",
      "published": "2026-10-29T21:03:42.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-29T22:11:57.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Apple Developer News:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Apple is making changes to the Taiwan storefront of the App Store,\nfollowing discussions with the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission.</p>\n\n<p>As of October 31, 2026, the commission rate for standard Apple\nIn-App Purchase and paid app transactions will be 26% on the\nTaiwan storefront of the App Store on iOS and iPadOS. Currently,\nthat rate is 30%.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Well there we go. The App Store in Taiwan — <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/12/apple-announces-changes-to-ios-in-japan/\">just like in Japan</a> — is fixed. </p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Apple Drops App Store Commission by a Whopping 4 Percentage Points in Taiwan’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/taiwan-app-store-commission\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43665",
      "title": "A Health Update From Craig Hockenberry",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://furbo.org/2026/10/28/a-health-update/",
      "published": "2026-10-29T19:57:21.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-29T19:57:23.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Craig Hockenberry:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>If you noticed that the Iconfactory sites were kinda broken last\nweek, now you know why. It’s because I was kinda broken last week.</p>\n\n<p>Now I’m finishing this post from a comfy chair on our deck. Typing\ninto the latest version of WordPress and PHP. And I couldn’t be\nhappier.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No, <em>you</em> teared up a little reading this.</p>\n\n<p>Very good news from a very good friend.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘A Health Update From Craig Hockenberry’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/chock-health-update\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43664",
      "title": "Rolfe Winkler at The WSJ: ‘The Beleaguered Chip Sellers Getting Their Revenge on Apple’",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-iphone-memory-chips-ai-c0084cc9?st=FNAyaT",
      "published": "2026-10-29T19:44:11.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-29T22:11:21.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Rolfe Winkler, in a crackerjack story for The Wall Street Journal (gift link):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Blevins, who <a href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-apple-executive-says-company-blundered-by-firing-him-after-tiktok-video-11670553178?mod=article_inline\">left Apple</a> in 2022, sometimes set up\nback-to-back meetings with suppliers so that rival sales teams\nmight run into each other, stoking competitive tension. Sales\nrepresentatives learned to pack nutrition bars to sustain them\nthrough negotiating sessions that Apple executives sometimes\npushed past midnight without a dinner break. Blevins’s bad-cop\nreputation gave his staff leverage: They threatened to call him in\nif contract terms weren’t to their liking.</p>\n\n<p>One significant contract term allowed Apple to audit its\nsuppliers’ books. Flash makers typically had to designate Apple\nas a “most favored customer,” which guaranteed that no other\nbuyer got a lower price, according to people familiar with the\nagreements. Apple’s audits allowed it to verify that no one\npaid less.</p>\n\n<p>Apple caught Micron selling flash at cheaper prices to another\ncustomer and won an arbitration settlement worth tens of millions\nof dollars more than a decade ago, said people familiar with the\ndispute. Apple audited its suppliers so often that Blevins\nnegotiated a volume discount with the auditor, Deloitte.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The whole story is a fascinating and entertaining read. But I don’t get the “revenge” angle in the headline. The biggest buyers can negotiate the best deals. Apple used to be the biggest buyer, by far, for flash memory chips. They negotiated, with hardball but above-the-board tactics, the best deals. Now, Apple isn’t the biggest buyer — the AI datacenter hyperscalers are. Apple no longer gets the best deals. But they’re still getting <em>fair</em> deals. Apple is still negotiating the best deals it can for itself. So where is the “revenge”? The pinch <em>mostly</em> isn’t being felt by Apple — it’s being felt by Apple’s customers, <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/06/spensive_thoughts\">who now face significantly higher product prices</a>.</p>\n\n<p>I included “<em>mostly</em>” in the preceding sentence because Winkler, in collaboration with the research firm <a href=\"https://www.techinsights.com/\">TechInsights</a>, makes the case in the piece that the rising costs of flash memory have eaten into the remarkably juicy profit margins Apple has historically earned from higher-storage upgrades.</p>\n\n<p>What I also don’t get, at all, is the participation in the story by <a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-nelson-4a98752/\">Scott Nelson</a>, the chief marketing officer at Kioxia (which I learned in this story is the new name for the company <a href=\"https://www.kioxia.com/en-jp/about/news/2019/20190718-2.html\">formerly known as Toshiba Memory Corporation</a>), a major flash supplier. Nelson told Winkler he so loathes Apple that he shot his old iPod with a rifle and keeps the pieces on his desk. The article ends thus:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>The industry’s low point came in 2023. The Covid-era,\nwork-from-home device boom cooled, and flash prices bottomed out\nat 5 cents a gigabyte. Bernstein Research estimated the flash\nindustry generated operating losses of $19 billion that year,\nwhile Apple earned $14 billion in gross profit selling extra flash\nstorage.</p>\n\n<p>Those were tough times that “I hope we don’t ever see again,” said\nNelson, the Kioxia sales executive.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, I’m sure the current AI datacenter mania will last forever, the bubble will never burst, and that even if it does, no one at Apple will remember Nelson’s participation in this story.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Rolfe Winkler at The WSJ: ‘The Beleaguered Chip Sellers Getting Their Revenge on Apple’’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/winkler-flash-memory-chipmakers-and-apple\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43663",
      "title": "The Space Shuttle Discovery’s Starboard Side ‘s’ Is Upside Down",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.theautopian.com/a-typography-geek-pointed-out-something-about-the-space-shuttle-discovery-and-now-i-cant-unsee-it/",
      "published": "2026-10-29T15:06:56.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-29T15:14:59.000Z",
      "content": "<p>How Jason Snell <a href=\"https://sixcolors.com/link/2026/10/typo-found-on-42-year-old-spaceship/\">beat me</a> to linking to this, I don’t know. But like I said <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/02/25/h-bomb-wright\">back in February</a>, when it comes to signage, “Mind your P’s and Q’s” ought to be “Mind your H’s and S’s”.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘The Space Shuttle Discovery’s Starboard Side ‘s’ Is Upside Down’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/space-shuttle-discovery-s\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43662",
      "title": "Steven Levy on the New MacBook Pro, With, Yes, a Touchscreen",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.wired.com/story/the-inside-story-of-why-apple-finally-brought-a-touch-display-to-the-mac/",
      "published": "2026-10-29T04:06:15.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-29T04:11:57.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Steven Levy, writing at Wired with the scoop on the new MacBook Pros (<a href=\"https://apple.news/AaeR22fkURt6i_tk9bd_44g\">News+ link</a>):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>This turnaround is a big deal to Apple fans. Ternus shrugs off the\ndrama. “The Mac is first and foremost an indirect input device,\nbuilt around the trackpad and keyboard. But I think there’s times\nwhen it’s comfortable and handy to have touch.”</p>\n\n<p>Ternus and Apple want to make sure that the Mac faithful don’t\npanic that the 42-year-old franchise is losing its identity to\nApple’s gangbusters mobile products. “We needed to get to a point\nwhere adding touch didn’t make the product lesser in any way. It\ndidn’t make it heavier. It didn’t make it thicker. That came\ntogether with the OLED screen, the best display we’ve ever put\ninto a Mac,” Ternus told me. “All of these things, and, oh yeah,\nit has touch as well.”</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>After a long fun day of hands-on exploration, briefings, and a slew of demos, not just most, but <em>all</em> of my concerns about touchscreen support adversely affecting the Mac UI have been allayed. I love it. These seem like exquisite machines even if you never want to touch the screen. I think what Ternus told Levy captures the truth of touch’s role: “All of these things, and, oh yeah, it has touch as well.”</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Steven Levy on the New MacBook Pro, With, Yes, a Touchscreen’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/29/levy-ternus-macbook-pros\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43661",
      "title": "Guessing the Name: MacBook Studio?",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/28/macbook-studio/",
      "published": "2026-10-28T14:58:45.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-28T17:50:44.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>A <a href=\"https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/28/apple-ceo-john-ternus-teases-touchscreen-macbook/\">teaser video shared by Apple CEO John Ternus today</a> hints at\na potential name for the rumored MacBook models with touch-enabled\nOLED displays: MacBook Studio. [...]</p>\n\n<p>Apple is expected to show off the new MacBooks to selected tech\nreporters and content creators at an experience in Los Angeles at\n10 a.m. Pacific Time today, and that is the home of Hollywood\nmovie studios after all.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I went to bed last night thinking “MacBook Studio” was the best guess. I woke up this morning feeling like it was a name worth betting on. It just fits. There’s a Mac Studio desktop, Studio Display monitor, and Apple’s suite of pro software tools is named Creator Studio — and they <a href=\"https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/28/macbook-studio/\">just announced big updates</a> to that yesterday. <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/whats-left-for-pro-and-tell-week\">As I suggested yesterday</a>, these should be a new MacBook line, not the new MacBook Pros.</p>\n\n<p>If this is the name, Rossignol gets the Being Right Point for calling it.</p>\n\n<p>(A bunch of readers chimed in to suggest “MacBook Touch”. That wouldn’t work for the same reasons that Apple didn’t even consider calling the Duo the “iPhone Fold”. Yes, they used “Touch” for the iPod Touch of yore, but (a) that was a different era, and (b) that was such a mediocre product name that most consumers referred to it by the wrong name, “iTouch”. Apple likes names that evoke a feeling, not that describe a specific feature of the product.)</p>\n\n<p><strong>Update:</strong> Welp, <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-groundbreaking-macbook-pro-with-proled-xdr-display/\">never mind</a>.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Guessing the Name: MacBook Studio?’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/28/macbook-studio-name-guess\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43660",
      "title": "Siri AI Expands to More Languages in OS 27.2",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://nr.apple.com/Du9G9W8Nq1",
      "published": "2026-10-27T22:19:39.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T22:23:19.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Apple Newsroom yesterday:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>With the 27.2 software updates released today, Siri AI — an\nentirely new version of Siri that is profoundly more capable,\nconversational, and personal — is expanding to more people around\nthe world, with availability now in the French, Japanese, Korean,\nPortuguese, and Spanish languages. [...]</p>\n\n<p>Siri AI is currently unavailable in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and\nwatchOS. Apple is working constructively with the EU in an attempt\nto find a path forward.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Don’t hold your breath. (Or if you prefer, <em>N’y comptez pas trop.</em>)</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Siri AI Expands to More Languages in OS 27.2’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/siri-ai-os-27-2-languages\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43659",
      "title": "Apple Creator Studio Updated With a Slew of AI Features, Along With a New Open JSON File Format for Keynote",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-creator-studio-adds-powerful-new-ai-features-and-even-more-creative-tools/",
      "published": "2026-10-27T22:00:04.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T22:14:19.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Apple Newsroom, with software news for Apple’s “Pro and Tell” week: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Apple today introduced transformative updates to <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/apple-creator-studio/\">Apple Creator\nStudio</a>, the powerful collection of creative apps designed to\nput studio-grade tools into the hands of modern creators across\nMac, iPad, and iPhone. Final Cut Pro for Mac now includes built-in\nMotionVFX — an expansive collection of visual effects, plug-ins,\ntransitions, templates, and motion graphics tools — as well as\nseamless editing in Pixelmator Pro. Apple’s curated Content Hub\nnow includes video assets and is available in Final Cut Pro. Music\ncreators using Logic Pro for Mac gain a new intelligent assistant\nin beta, an enhanced Stem Splitter that now separates drums, and a\nredesigned Browser that incorporates all sounds, with music\nunderstanding and even a Splice library. Pixelmator Pro introduces\nGenerate Fill, which lets creators transform selected areas of an\nimage using natural language. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers\nintroduce new AI features in beta, including assistants that\nunderstand document context and new Model Context Protocol (MCP)\nsupport for workflow automation. They also add stock video in the\nContent Hub and new premium themes and templates.</p>\n\n<p>Apple Creator Studio updates will be available on the App Store\nthis November as a free update for existing subscribers.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>That’s a lot. But this part at the end caught my eye:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Across Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, the Content Hub expands to\ninclude Apple-curated stock video footage, giving creators dynamic\nvisuals to enhance presentations, reports, and spreadsheets.\nSubscribers also gain access to a fresh collection of\nprofessionally designed templates and themes. Keynote introduces\nsupport for Keynote Interchange Format (.keyx), an open JSON-based\nbundle file format designed to be readable and accessible to\nexternal tools, developer workflows, and AI agents.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Jesse Bunch, engineering manager for productivity apps at Apple, <a href=\"https://x.com/bunchjesse/status/2115076780285739258\">on X</a> and <a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7520909926655954944/\">LinkedIn</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Our new in-app assistants can help you get things done in record\ntime. MCP allows you to bring your own agent if you want. And an\nopen source format for Keynote (and Python library!) so you can\ncreate Keynote documents programmatically on any platform. Huge\nday for Creator Studio today.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don’t think the Python library for the new Keynote Interchange Format is out yet, but neither are the updates to the Creator Studio apps. Very cool news, along the same lines as <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/22/xcode-json-project-files\">the new JSON-based format for Xcode projects</a> that Apple announced last month.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Apple Creator Studio Updated With a Slew of AI Features, Along With a New Open JSON File Format for Keynote’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-creator-studio-updates\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43658",
      "title": "★ Prestructured WYSIWYG",
      "description": "Even if you’re a decent designer (or believe yourself to be), it’s liberating not to have a say in the matter. Constraints are sometimes freeing.",
      "url": "https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/prestructured_wysiwyg",
      "published": "2026-10-27T21:24:20.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T21:24:20.000Z",
      "content": "<p>One of the many small pleasures of my job is when someone else writes a good take on a subject that I have been meaning to write myself. Occasionally this stings, because it was something I really wanted to write myself. But usually it’s just awesome, because it’s an article I wanted to exist, didn’t really want to do the work of writing myself, and now it exists and I can just link to it, perhaps with commentary. It’s like finding money on the ground or in the pocket of a jacket you haven’t worn in months.</p>\n\n<p>That’s what happened yesterday with Glenn Fleishman’s “<a href=\"https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/10/why-notes-will-never-let-us-edit-markdown/\">Why Notes Will Never Let Us Edit Markdown</a>”, and <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/fleishman-apple-notes-markdown\">my link to it</a>. Found money!</p>\n\n<p>But one of the reasons I’d been procrastinating on writing about Apple Notes and its growing support for Markdown import/export and copy/paste is that Notes is built around a text formatting idea that, to my knowledge, doesn’t really have a name. And without a name, it’s hard to write about. I’m going to suggest calling it <em>prestructured WYSIWYG</em>.</p>\n\n<p>Apps like Apple’s Messages and especially Notes exemplify prestructured WYSIWYG, and I’m a huge fan of the idea. It’s low-key one of the best ideas and trends in software design of the last 15 years or so. Messages lets you apply WYSIWYG spans of character styles like bold and italics, but you can’t choose typefaces or define your own styles. Notes takes this further, adding inline hyperlinks and predefined block styles like title / heading / subheading, monostyled (e.g. for code), and ordered and unordered lists. But there is no Font menu or preference setting in Notes or Messages to change the default typeface. The “Aᴀ” formatting popover in Notes doesn’t have a control to change the typeface, only its preset styles, all of which are rendered in your notes using Apple’s San Francisco system font family.<sup id=\"fnr1-2026-10-27\"><a href=\"#fn1-2026-10-27\">1</a></sup> That would have seemed not just weird but downright wrong back in the early decades of the Mac (the era Fleishman calls the “Mac Is Not a Typewriter” era, referencing <a href=\"https://www.amazon.com/s?k=robin+williams+mac+is+not+a+typewriter&tag=df-amzn-20\">Robin Williams’s groundbreaking book</a>). In those days, text was either plain text (a string of characters, no style at all, like a typewriter) or rich text, and if it was rich text, you expected to choose any font (and size) you wanted.</p>\n\n<p>That era of anything-goes WYSIWYG presented unavoidable problems. On the technical side, the list of fonts installed on <em>my</em> computer isn’t the same as the list of fonts on <em>your</em> computer. Each operating system comes with its own set of included fonts. And the sort of people most interested in selecting their own typefaces are exactly the same people who are most likely to install third-party fonts. That’s a technical problem that can’t really be solved. There’s also an aesthetic problem. Most people, given the ability to choose their own fonts, make terrible typographic choices.</p>\n\n<p>Prestructured WYSIWYG solves both problems. You get the expressiveness of abstract semantic styles like bold, italics, and monospace, and you get larger sizes for headings. But you avoid both the “missing font” technical problems <em>and</em> the “terrible font” design choices. If you use Apple Notes or Messages, you better like Apple’s San Francisco system font family, because that’s what you’re going to get. It’s great for accessibility, because all the type sizes are relative, not absolute. And these preset styles largely map well to Markdown, which itself has no concern with font choices or specific text sizes.</p>\n\n<p>Even if you’re a decent designer (or believe yourself to be), it’s liberating not to have a say in the matter in certain contexts. Note-taking is exactly such a context. Email ought to be another, but alas, full-fledged WYSIWYG gained a foothold there long ago, and now it’s entrenched. Constraints are sometimes freeing.</p>\n\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\n<hr />\n<ol>\n<li id=\"fn1-2026-10-27\">\n<p>There is a huge <em>but</em> here. Notes, on the Mac and only on the Mac, <em>does</em> allow you to pick arbitrary fonts. Format → Font → Show Fonts (⌘T) shows the standard AppKit Fonts palette, and you can use that to change the font in a note to anything you want. I think this is historical baggage from <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2012/07/25Mountain-Lion-Available-Today-From-the-Mac-App-Store/\">earlier versions</a> of the Notes app for Mac. Or maybe there are some Mac Notes users inside Apple who really do use this. Font choices made in Notes on the Mac are rendered on iOS and iPadOS, if the selected font is available. It even works for third-party fonts (which are <a href=\"https://www.typography.com/faq/156\">quite complicated to install on iOS</a>). Here’s a <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/apple-notes-fonts-mac.png\">screenshot of a note with custom fonts that I made on my Mac</a>, and the <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/apple-notes-fonts-iphone.png\">same note as it appears on iOS</a>, where only some of those fonts are installed. But you cannot change custom fonts in Notes on iOS.</p>\n\n<p>I can’t say Apple <em>dis</em>courages you from dicking around with fonts in Notes on the Mac. It’s right there in the standard AppKit Fonts panel. But most casual Mac users don’t know about the standard AppKit Fonts panel. When they pick fonts in apps like Mail, TextEdit, and Pages, they do it from toolbars in the window. So Apple doesn’t <em>en</em>courage you to dick around with fonts in Notes on the Mac either. If they wanted to encourage it, there’d be a toolbar with a Font menu on the Mac, and it would be possible to change fonts on iOS too.</p>\n\n<p>So I say it’s best to pretend that Apple Notes doesn’t support custom font choices. Let it go — even if, like me, it drives you crazy that Notes and only Notes uses that <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/05/12/that-stupid-apple-notes-a\">childish-looking alternative single-story “a” glyph</a> in San Francisco. <a href=\"#fnr1-2026-10-27\"  class=\"footnoteBackLink\"  title=\"Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43657",
      "title": "What’s Left for ‘Pro and Tell’ Week: Touch-Enabled OLED MacBooks",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/27/macbook-pro-with-touchscreen-tomorrow/",
      "published": "2026-10-27T17:59:47.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T20:51:17.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Apple on Wednesday will announce 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro\nmodels featuring touch-enabled OLED displays with thinner bezels,\na Dynamic Island instead of a notch, M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, and\na lighter and slightly thinner design, <a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-27/apple-launches-m6-imac-entry-macbook-pro-ahead-of-touch-laptop\">Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman\nreports</a>. Apple is hosting a private <a href=\"https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/19/apple-pro-and-tell/\">“Pro and tell” experience\nin Los Angeles</a> starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time tomorrow.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I’m here in LA for the press shindig tomorrow. One thing I’ve been thinking about regarding these reported touch-enabled OLED MacBooks is that Gurman has reported for months that these new MacBooks will sport M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. <a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-26/apple-s-touchscreen-macbook-to-use-m5-pro-max-chips-m7-pro-max-models-in-2027\">Here’s Gurman back on June 26</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>The MacBook models, positioned at the top of Apple’s lineup, will\narrive between late this year and early next year, according to\npeople with knowledge of the matter. They’re planned to be powered\nby the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, said the people, who\nasked not to be identified because the plans are private. [...]</p>\n\n<p>The first touch-screen 14-inch and 16-inch models, code-named K114\nand K116, will represent the biggest overhaul of Apple’s high-end\nlaptops since the company began moving away from Intel Corp. chips\nin 2020. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the\ncompany’s plans.</p>\n\n<p>Apple’s decision to use the M5 line before jumping to a future M7\nis part of a broader shift in its chip strategy. The company is\nskipping M6-generation Pro and Max chips altogether, breaking from\nits usual approach. Bloomberg News <a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-25/apple-to-skip-high-end-m6-mac-chips-to-launch-m7-pro-m7-max-m7-ultra-instead\">reported on this\nstrategy</a> earlier this week.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If that’s all true, it’s certainly unusual for Apple to skip the Pro and Max variants for the M6 chip generation. But there have been oddities with the higher-end Apple Silicon chips before. (There was no M4 Ultra chip, for example, and <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/03/05/apple-announces-with-much-surprise-mac-studios-with-m4-max-and-m3-ultra-chips\">the M3 Ultra didn’t appear until the March 2025 Mac Studio update</a>, 18 months after the M3 generation debuted.) But what I would find downright <em>weird</em> is the possibility of shipping a second generation of MacBook Pro models based on the exact same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips that the current generation offers. <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-macbook-pro-with-all-new-m5-pro-and-m5-max/\">They only came out in March</a>. So what’s the idea here? That Apple replaces the current higher-end MacBook Pros with versions whose only upgrades are to the chassis and display, but the performance remains the same? That’s certainly possible, I guess, but it would be weird.</p>\n\n<p>So I’m just wondering if tomorrow’s new touchscreen OLED MacBooks aren’t replacements for the current MacBook Pros, but instead are the start of a new MacBook family with another name. I don’t think they’d call them MacBook “Duos”, because they’re not two-in-one devices. MacBook “Ultras”, maybe — with the same specs as the MacBook Pros but more expensive displays? But “Ultra” seems like a wrong name for a MacBook because Apple’s M-series Ultra chips are (to date at least) desktop only. It’d be weird if the M5 Ultra is exclusive to the Mac Studio while the MacBook “Ultra” maxes out with the M5 Max. So maybe they just <em>are</em> the new MacBook Pros and this first OLED/touch generation uses the same chips as the ones from March?</p>\n\n<p>That’s what I’m most curious about heading into tomorrow.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘What’s Left for ‘Pro and Tell’ Week: Touch-Enabled OLED MacBooks’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/whats-left-for-pro-and-tell-week\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43656",
      "title": "Apple Also Announces iMac With M6",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-new-imac-with-m6/",
      "published": "2026-10-27T16:44:10.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T18:43:38.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Just a speed bump, but <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2019/05/good_old_fashioned_macbook_pro_speed_bumps\">speed bumps are good</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Pricing and configurations:</p>\n\n<pre><code>M6 with 2 Thunderbolt ports:\n    Base price:    $1500\n\n    RAM:   16 GB      +0\n           24 GB    +200\n\n    SSD:  256 GB      +0\n          512 GB    +200\n            1 TB    +500\n\n\nM6 with 4 Thunderbolt ports:\n    Base price:    $1700\n\n    RAM:   16 GB      +0\n           24 GB    +200\n\n    SSD:  256 GB      +0\n          512 GB    +200\n            1 TB    +500\n            2 TB   +1000\n\n\n    Base price:    $2300\n\n    RAM:   32 GB      +0\n\n    SSD:  512 GB      +0\n            1 TB    +300\n            2 TB    +800\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>I list a separate base price for the 4-port, 32 GB RAM configuration in the table above because with 32 GB of RAM, the base storage goes from 256 to 512 GB. It’s effectively a $400 RAM upgrade and $200 SSD upgrade that are tied together, and that changes the upgrade prices to move up to 1 or 2 TB of SSD storage.</p>\n\n<p>Nano-texture is a $200 upgrade, and the 2-Thunderbolt-port models have <a href=\"https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/27/new-imac-2-5-gigabit-ethernet/\">a $30 option for 2.5 gigabit Ethernet</a> (by default it’s Wi-Fi only). The Ethernet port is on the power adapter. The 4-port models come with the Ethernet equipped power adapter.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Apple Also Announces iMac With M6’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-also-announces-imac-with-m6\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/feeds/sponsors//11.43655",
      "title": "[Sponsor] WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=q42026",
      "published": "2026-10-27T16:03:08.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T16:03:09.000Z",
      "content": "<p>An agent can’t click through a signup page built for humans, so give it something it can read instead. Publish an auth.md file and agents register themselves without ever touching a browser login, and the user never gets pulled out of what they were doing.</p>\n\n<p>With WorkOS auth.md, enroll in the dashboard and AuthKit publishes the file. Agents read it, register, and get scoped, short-lived credentials you control.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://workos.com/auth-md?utm_source=daringfireball&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=q42026\">Make your app agent-ready →</a></p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘WorkOS: Let Agents Sign Up for Your App Without a Browser’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/workos_let_agents_sign_up_for\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Daring Fireball Department of Commerce",
          "email": null,
          "url": null
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43654",
      "title": "Apple Introduces New Base MacBook Pro With M6, 14-Inch-Only",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-introduces-the-new-14-inch-macbook-pro-with-m6/",
      "published": "2026-10-27T16:00:46.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T18:41:20.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Apple Newsroom’s “Pro and Tell” announcement week continues:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Apple today announced the new <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/\">14-inch MacBook Pro with M6</a>,\ndelivering even more performance, powerful on-device AI\ncapabilities, and faster connectivity for college students,\nbusiness users, creators, and more. M6 features an advanced\n12-core CPU with the world’s fastest CPU core, so everything from\nproductivity tasks to more demanding pro workflows feels\nincredibly fast and responsive. The 12-core GPU delivers up to 30\npercent faster graphics and up to 25 percent faster AI workloads\nwhen compared to M5, making the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 a\ncompelling value for users who need serious power. For those\nupgrading from M1, the performance gains are even more\nsignificant, with up to 11× faster graphics and up to 13× faster\nAI performance. With additional Neural Accelerators in the GPU and\na Dual 16-core Neural Engine, M6 turns MacBook Pro into an even\nmore powerful platform for AI — from taking advantage of Siri AI\nand Apple Intelligence features across apps and macOS to running\nLLMs locally, all while preserving user privacy. In addition, the\n14-inch MacBook Pro features Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, while\nsuperfast storage makes working with large files, exporting\nprojects, and running demanding AI workflows fly.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I questioned Apple’s decision to close up “superfast” there, but I stand corrected — <a href=\"https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superfast\">it is</a>, in fact, a perfectly cromulent adjective. I learn something every day.</p>\n\n<p>Anyway, this is just the base MacBook Pro, the one that’s more like a MacBook Air Plus than a true professional laptop with an M-series Pro or Max chip. This tier of MacBook Pro has only ever been offered in the smaller 14-inch size. Prices seem unchanged from the post-June-price-hike M5 models:</p>\n\n<pre><code>Base price:     $2000\n\n  RAM:  16 GB      +0\n        24 GB    +200\n        32 GB    +400\n\n  SSD:   1 TB      +0\n         2 TB    +500\n         4 TB   +1500\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Space black and silver colors, and nano-texture is available for $150 extra.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Apple Introduces New Base MacBook Pro With M6, 14-Inch-Only’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/27/apple-introduces-new-base-macbook-pro-with-m6-14-inch-only\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43653",
      "title": "The NYT Seemingly Does Marissa Mayer Dirty",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/25/style/marissa-mayer-ai-assistants-women.html?unlocked_article_code=1.L1E.xBwx.X_EjBGNsRNqr",
      "published": "2026-10-27T00:30:08.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T00:42:07.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Alexandra Alter, in the lede for her profile of Marissa Mayer’s new AI startup Dazzle for The New York Times (gift link):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Late last year, Marissa Mayer was struggling with what felt like\nan impossible task.</p>\n\n<p>Her daughter Marielle was turning 10, and Marielle’s teacher\nwanted three bullet points summarizing what made her special.\nMayer — the former chief executive of Yahoo and a pioneer at\nGoogle, where she was the first female engineer — likes cracking\na hard problem. But she felt overwhelmed by the range and\ncomplexity of potential answers.</p>\n\n<p>So Mayer asked her personal A.I. assistant, Dazzle. Within a few\nseconds, Dazzle delivered an answer.</p>\n\n<p>“It came back and was like, your daughter is empathetic, creative\nand an animal lover,” Mayer said. She thought it was perfect.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>That anecdote is brutal. It makes it seem like Mayer has lost her mind. She’s getting roasted for it on social media. I suspected (and hoped) there was more to the story. There was. <a href=\"https://x.com/marissamayer/status/2114784525226229996\">Here’s Mayer herself on X</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>To be clear, I didn’t use Dazzle because I was overwhelmed by\nmaking a slide. I used it because summing up your child in a few\nbullets feels laughably limiting. And, since our team had just\ngotten an early prototype running, I wanted to see what deeper\nthreads it might find.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>She might just be hyping her startup. But she definitely didn’t tell The Times that she needed help from AI to remember that her own daughter is “empathetic, creative, and an animal lover”. She seemingly got done dirty by Alter and the Times on that use-case anecdote.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘The NYT Seemingly Does Marissa Mayer Dirty’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/mayer-dazzle\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43652",
      "title": "Apple Issues Statement on iPhone Duo’s Crack Problem",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/26/apple-responds-to-reports-of-iphone-duos-inner-display-cracking/",
      "published": "2026-10-26T23:54:26.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-26T23:54:27.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Here is Apple’s full statement:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>The response to iPhone Duo from early users has been incredibly\npositive, and we are seeing exciting things from developers who\nare rapidly updating their apps to take advantage of its unique\nform factor. We are aware of an issue impacting the inner display\non a small number of iPhone Duo units. If users experience issues\nwith their iPhone Duo display, they should contact AppleCare for\na replacement.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The company says the problem affects a very small number of iPhone\nDuo units and appears to surface relatively quickly. Most iPhone\nDuo units are not affected. You do not need AppleCare+ to have\nyour iPhone Duo replaced for this problem. If you bought from a\ncarrier, you should contact AppleCare directly, not your carrier,\nto get your device replaced.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Did it cross Ternus’s mind to just say “You’re folding it wrong?”</p>\n\n<p>(History doesn’t repeat, and in this case, it actually doesn’t even rhyme. Steve Jobs never told anyone they were “holding it wrong” with the iPhone 4 — <a href=\"https://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/24/steve-jobs-describes-iphone-4-signal-strength-a-non-issue/\">he emailed a customer</a>, “Just avoid holding it in that way.” But <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/06/25/iphone.problems.response/index.html\">CNN went with the headline</a> “Apple on iPhone Complaints: You’re Holding It Wrong” and that’s the line everyone wrongly remembers.)</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Apple Issues Statement on iPhone Duo’s Crack Problem’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/apple-statement-duo-crack\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43651",
      "title": "Glenn Fleishman on Apple Notes and Markdown",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/10/why-notes-will-never-let-us-edit-markdown/",
      "published": "2026-10-26T20:03:53.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-26T20:06:56.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Glenn Fleishman, writing at Six Colors, “Why Notes Will Never Let Us Edit Markdown”:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>The Notes app added Markdown import and export in the version 26\noperating system releases, and the macOS 27 Golden Gate update\nlets us copy and paste as Markdown. Why can’t we just write\nnatively in that hoary, simple format?</p>\n\n<p>I use Markdown all day, every day. In fact, I’m writing these\nwords in Markdown without you even knowing it. All\ncontent-management systems (CMSes) I’m aware of support native\nMarkdown entries when posting, and many writing and\nnote-taking apps integrate Markdown conventions without\nneeding to trumpet them.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Fleishman not only ably describes why Apple Notes <em>doesn’t</em> support editing in Markdown syntax, but also why it <em>shouldn’t</em>. It is correct for Notes only to natively support WYSIWYG editing. Normal users should never ever be exposed to formatting codes. Also, Markdown, as a language, can be malformed. It should be impossible for users to create a malformed note in Notes. If you could edit in Markdown in Notes, you could create malformed notes. That’s just gross. I can say that. Markdown isn’t for everyone. And even for me — <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2004/03/dive_into_markdown\">Markdown’s creator</a> — I don’t want it in Notes, which is the notes app I use.</p>\n\n<p>I think Apple has done a really good job in the last few years adding import/export and copy/paste support for Markdown to Notes. That’s the right way for Notes to support Markdown. My biggest complaint with Notes’s recent Markdown support — as noted by Fleishman — is that most of these features are only on the Mac, not iOS.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Glenn Fleishman on Apple Notes and Markdown’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/fleishman-apple-notes-markdown\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43650",
      "title": "★ Apple Announces New A20 Pro iPad Mini",
      "description": "Pros: OLED display, nano-texture option, A20 Pro chip, thinner and lighter. Cons: no Face ID, no ProMotion.",
      "url": "https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/apple_announces_new_a20_pro_ipad_mini",
      "published": "2026-10-26T18:04:34.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-26T21:24:46.000Z",
      "content": "<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-gives-ipad-mini-its-biggest-update-ever/\">Apple Newsroom announcement</a>.</li>\n<li><a href=\"https://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/\">iPad Mini (A20 Pro) product page</a>.</li>\n<li><a href=\"https://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/specs/\">Tech specs page</a> (<a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/ipad-mini-a20-pro-tech-specs-2026-10-26.pdf\">PDF archive</a>).</li>\n<li><a href=\"https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/?modelList=ipad-mini-a20pro,ipad-mini-a17pro,ipad-air-11-m4\">iPad comparison page</a> showing new A20 iPad Mini, previous A17 iPad Mini, and the 11-inch M4 iPad Air <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/compare-ipad-mini-a20-ipad-mini-a17-ipad-air-m4.pdf\">PDF archive</a>].</li>\n<li><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5h1JykMcFU\">One-minute commercial</a>.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Available in two colors, starlight and midnight (which does not seem very dark), and three storage capacities: 128, 256, and 512 GB. Pricing, with the previous-generation A17 Pro model for reference, both before and after <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/06/spensive_thoughts\">Apple’s June 25 price hikes</a>:</p>\n\n<pre><code>IPAD MINI                    128 GB   256 GB   512 GB\nA20 Pro (new)                 $700     $800    $1000 \nA17 Pro (Q3 2026 price hike)  $600     $700     $900 \nA17 Pro (Q4 2024–Q2 2026)     $500     $600     $800\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>Notes:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Cellular adds $150 to any model.</p></li>\n<li><p>The $100 nano-texture display option is new for the iPad Mini, and is only available with 256 or 512 GB storage.</p></li>\n<li><p>Still stuck with Touch ID — a bummer in general, and a shit sandwich given how expensive these have gotten. Unless Apple decides to make a mini-sized iPad Pro (which I definitely do not expect), there’s no way to buy a mini-sized iPad with Face ID.</p></li>\n<li><p>The display is now OLED, with inky-deep blacks and brighter brights. Max SDR brightness goes from 500 to 600 nits and HDR content goes to 1200 nits. This is the first iPad Mini with an XDR display. But: no ProMotion.</p></li>\n<li><p>Support for Pencil Pro and Pencil USB-C. I still can’t believe the $2000 iPhone Duo doesn’t support the superior Pencil Pro.</p></li>\n<li><p>The new Mini is thinner (5.4mm vs. 6.3mm) and lighter (255g vs. 293g for Wi-Fi models). The display is slightly larger (8.5″ vs. 8.3″) while the footprint shrank slightly, because the bezels have been reduced by 25 percent. The iPhone Duo weighs almost exactly the same (254g to be exact) but its inner display is only 7.6 inches diagonally.</p></li>\n<li><p>The front-facing camera moves from the short side to the long side. All current iPads now have the camera on the long side.</p></li>\n<li><p>The new iPad Mini introduces what Apple calls the Acoustic Display: “custom tweeters and woofers are now hidden beneath the glass and enclosure, delivering a rich, personal audio experience.” This change helped Apple achieve IP67 dust and water resistance, best-ever for any iPad model.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>One last point. The previous iPad Mini <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/10/apple-introduces-powerful-new-ipad-mini-built-for-apple-intelligence/\">launched two years ago</a>, in October 2024, but had the now-three-year-old A17 Pro chip from the 2023 iPhone 15 Pro. Today’s new iPad Mini launches with the brand-new A20 Pro chip that debuted with last month’s iPhone 18 Pro and last week’s iPhone Duo.</p>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43649",
      "title": "A Simple Two-Step Shortcuts Shortcut Lets You Lock the iPhone Duo When You Close It",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://x.com/viticci/status/2113888099784638932",
      "published": "2026-10-26T17:00:11.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-26T18:19:03.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Federico Viticci:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Don’t like that the iPhone Duo doesn’t auto-lock when you\nclose it?</p>\n\n<p>You can fix it with this simple Shortcuts automation.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Two steps:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>A conditional for when the iPhone is <code>Closed</code>.</li>\n<li>Lock the screen.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo#:~:text=done%20with%20a%20book\">mentioned in my review</a> that I kept closing the Duo expecting it to lock, like when closing a book (or a laptop, for that matter). And it didn’t occur to me that I could simply add this feature via Shortcuts. That’s cool. But I also mentioned in my review that I wouldn’t want that to happen every time I closed it. Sometimes you do want to just switch from the wonderful inner display to the miserable little outer display, and the last thing you want when you do that is to need to re-authenticate for the hundredth time of the day with Touch ID. It was just a wrong instinct I had, and I broke myself of that instinct after about a week or so of full-time Duo use. I stopped expecting it to lock on close. So while I think this shortcut is worth pointing out — and I especially think it’s a good reminder to think about Shortcuts when you find yourself wishing for features that aren’t in Settings — I recommend trying to break yourself of this habit if you have a Duo and find yourself with the same wrong close-to-lock instinct I initially had.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/@stephenrobles/117502280150643367\">Stephen Robles posted a clever version</a> that only locks the Duo on close if it’s on the home screen; if any app is open, it stays unlocked. That’s much more tempting to try. (He includes that one in <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVt5_g4gE-o\">a whole video full of Duo tips</a> on YouTube.)</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘A Simple Two-Step Shortcuts Shortcut Lets You Lock the iPhone Duo When You Close It’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/viticci-duo-lock-on-close-shortcut\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43648",
      "title": "Tiny Computers for iPhone Duo",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.fountaininteractive.com/TinyComputers/",
      "published": "2026-10-26T15:04:10.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T15:46:56.000Z",
      "content": "<p>If you’ve got or get a Duo and don’t try this out, you’re not hooked up right.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/cabel.panic.com/post/3mysovokohl2c\">But as Cabel Sasser notes</a>, though incredibly fun, this was clearly made by a young Claude-aided developer who <em>never</em> used any of these actual old computers. Let’s just say there are a lot of ahistorical details.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Tiny Computers for iPhone Duo’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/26/tiny-computers\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43646",
      "title": "Sunnny",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://sunnny.com/",
      "published": "2026-10-25T21:50:00.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-25T21:52:54.000Z",
      "content": "<p>My thanks to Sunnny for sponsoring last week at DF. Sunnny’s pitch to B2B companies is simple: you store valuable customer information across a myriad of systems, making it hard to get a simple overview. Sunnny consolidates your customer data, cleans it, resolves identities, identifies relationships, and presents it neatly for you, your team, and your AI model.</p>\n\n<p>Early access is open now.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Sunnny’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/sunnny\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43647",
      "title": "Duo Users Are Registering the Base of Their Index Finger as a Touch ID Coping Strategy",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/iPhoneDuo/comments/1xehtcj/best_fingerprint_method/",
      "published": "2026-10-25T21:47:57.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-25T21:47:58.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Some guy on Reddit (with an illustration video):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Saw this online, tried it, and it works beautifully. Basically, I\nregistered the lowest part of my right index finger. That part of\nthe finger sits naturally when you go to swipe up at the phone.</p>\n\n<p>This resolves a major issue I had where I couldn’t easily\njust look at my phone to glance through notifications on the\nlock screen. Now, it’s never been easier (shown at the end of\nthe video).</p>\n\n<p>This is arguably better than Face ID. The speed is up there, and\nthe phone doesn’t need to be facing directly at you to unlock,\nthis motion can be done as soon as you pick up the phone.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Tim Hardwick at MacRumors <a href=\"https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/24/better-than-face-id-iphone-duo-touch-id-tip/\">quotes</a> the “arguably better than Face ID” line. </p>\n\n<p>This idea is clever, and it does seem to work if you grip the Duo just right, but the idea that this is better than Face ID is a joke. Copium is a strong drug but it wears off quickly.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Duo Users Are Registering the Base of Their Index Finger as a Touch ID Coping Strategy’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/duo-touch-id-coping\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43645",
      "title": "The Talk Show: ‘Lubricate the Inside of the Hinge’",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2026/10/25/ep-456",
      "published": "2026-10-25T19:03:13.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-25T19:03:13.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Special guest: Joanna Stern. <br />\nSpecial topic: The iPhone Duo.</p>\n\n<p><audio\n    src = \"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/daringfireball/thetalkshow-456-joanna-stern.mp3\"\n    controls\n    preload = \"none\"\n/></p>\n\n<p><strong>Sponsored by:</strong></p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://factormeals.com/talkshow50off\">Factor</a>: Healthy eating, made easy. Get 50% off and one free breakfast item per box for one year, while supplies last, with code <strong>talkshow50off</strong>.</li>\n<li><a href=\"https://notion.com/talkshow\">Notion</a>: The collaborative AI workspace where teams and agents work side by side, with a developer platform teams can build on.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘The Talk Show: ‘Lubricate the Inside of the Hinge’’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/the-talk-show-456\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43644",
      "title": "iPhone Portrait Mode, 10 Years In",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://x.com/johnnie/status/2114007844605612167",
      "published": "2026-10-25T18:09:19.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-25T18:09:19.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Speaking of Johnnie Manzari, he wrote a post yesterday marking the 10 year anniversary of Portrait Mode:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Initially, Portrait mode was seen as a giant math problem. You’d\ndo disparity calculations on the two sensors and output a depth\nmap. The problem was this approach feels and looks digital; it\nfeels fake. In areas without texture, it’s impossible to do this\ncalculation. In areas with ultra fine detail, a lower resolution\ndepth map leads to terrible transitions and a full resolution\ndepth map takes forever to compute. One solution would be to\nreduce the amount of bokeh so the issues are not as obvious. But\nthen you lose the whole point of the feature, which was to make it\nlook like you had a large, wide-open lens.</p>\n\n<p>The solution to this conundrum — the tradeoff between artifacts\nand the amount of blur — was quite elegant, but it took a while\nto stumble across. There’s a saying in painting that if you get\nthe eyes right, nothing else matters. Inspired by this principle\nfrom oil painting, the idea was to make sure we never got the\neyes wrong.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://x.com/panzer/status/2114075510032740640\">Matthew Panzarino</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>I remember getting the call to test out portrait mode before its\nrelease. The marriage of history, art and computational science\nthat came together to make this possible is still incredible to me\nto this day.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘iPhone Portrait Mode, 10 Years In’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/25/manzari-iphone-portrait-mode\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43643",
      "title": "Nicole Nguyen’s Duo Review for the WSJ",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/iphone-duo-review-cafcbbe7?st=GaYVMf",
      "published": "2026-10-24T22:15:00.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-25T17:54:19.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Nicole Nguyen (also with <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A6YGb9gqJs\">a 5-minute video</a>), writing for The Wall Street Journal (gift link):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Every time I used the Duo in phone mode, one-handed, I felt its\nheft. It’s wider and thicker than a Pro iPhone — and heavier,\neven compared with competing foldables. My hand actually hurts\nafter using the Duo nonstop, straining to grip the device securely\nwhile trying to reach the far edge of the screen.</p>\n\n<p>An Apple spokesman pointed to the Duo’s titanium frame for\ndurability. Other folding models use a lighter aluminum. The\ncompany also moved the dock and common controls to the right to be\nmore reachable (sorry, southpaws). Still, there were plenty of\ninstances where my thumb found its limits: turning off the flash\nin the camera app, or typing the letter “A.”</p>\n\n<p>There are people who can easily use two hands and won’t see this\nas a problem, including train commuters, frequent fliers or\nparents who wait around for kids to finish their activities. For\nme, I look forward to the day the Duo is lighter and thinner — maybe folding to the size of a deck of cards, like <a href=\"https://youtu.be/XsQqMwacZQw?t=80\">in the movie\n“Her.”</a></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Interesting that she’d prefer a smaller Duo, not <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png\">a bigger one</a>, if Apple makes a second size. I agree that one-hand-ability is a problem with the Duo, but I also think the front screen is already too squat in terms of <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png\">how much content it shows</a>. I just think it’s the nature of foldables that they’re two-handed devices, even closed.</p>\n\n<p><em>Her</em>’s deck of cards foldable isn’t what I think we need to wait for. It’s <a href=\"https://youtu.be/qvrSUwqt6Mw?t=92\"><em>Westworld</em>’s super-thin trifolds</a> — or even a bifold that’s more along those lines of thinness.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Nicole Nguyen’s Duo Review for the WSJ’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/nguyen-duo-review\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43642",
      "title": "Reuters and the WSJ on the Duo Launch",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/apple-bets-iphone-duo-can-remake-foldable-market-sales-begin-2026-10-22/",
      "published": "2026-10-24T22:08:17.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-24T22:34:12.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Aditya Soni, Christine Chen, and Will Russell, reporting Friday for Reuters:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>CEO Ternus played greeter at a store in Austin, Texas, throwing\nopen the doors and high-fiving customers as they streamed in, a\nvideo ​posted on X by CBS Austin showed. A known car enthusiast,\nTernus’s Austin visit coincides with this weekend’s Formula 1 US\nGrand Prix in the city, with Apple holding exclusive US broadcast\nand streaming rights to the racing series.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I was wondering why <a href=\"https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/apple-intelligence/articles/john-ternus-opens-iphone-duo-180824681.html\">Ternus and retail chief Deirdre O’Brien were in Austin</a> for the launch. Joz held down the fort <a href=\"https://x.com/raywongy/status/2113686233670877591\">and</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/raywongy/status/2113703394909311183\">held</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/raywongy/status/2114033731128164703\">court</a> at the Fifth Avenue store.</p>\n\n<p>Regarding reviews:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>They also said the folded Duo is less handy for the quick tasks\nmost users do daily and several prominent reviewers recommended\nagainst it for many Apple customers.</p>\n\n<p>“It’s been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it\nfeels like I’ve gotten to use an extraordinarily polished\nprototype — not a finished product that I’d want to buy and\ncarry,” wrote longtime Apple commentator John Gruber.</p>\n\n<p>Tech commentator Marques Brownlee said in a YouTube ​review that\nfor a regular person who mostly texts and browses, “it is probably\na no. But if the $2,000 doesn’t mean much to you, and you like the\nidea, after the learning ​curve and getting used to not having\nfacial identification, it is a really fun phone.”</p>\n\n<p>In Berlin, YouTube content creator Patrick Wolter was impressed\nthat the Duo works as a phone and an iPad in one.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Not sure Wolter set a high bar there.</p>\n\n<p>Reporting for the WSJ (gift link), Rolfe Winkler quoted yours truly as well, with (IMO, and I feel I get to have an opinion here) a better line from my review:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>“The outer device is, by far, the worst iPhone Apple has ever\nmade. It’s a miserable fat little thing. The inner device is a\nsplendid, joyful, beautiful tablet,” wrote John Gruber, a\nwell-known Apple blogger, <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo\">in his review</a>. “The decision of whether\nyou might want to buy a Duo is not easy, because only one of its\ntwo selves is good.”</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Reuters and the WSJ on the Duo Launch’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/reuters-on-the-duo-launch\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43641",
      "title": "Marion Barry Meets the iPhone Duo",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017623/iphone-duo-broken-cracked-screen",
      "published": "2026-10-24T21:10:06.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-24T21:10:07.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Jay Peters, The Verge:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>The iPhone Duo officially goes on sale today, but a few units\nalready have broken screens. According to posts on Reddit about\nthe affected units, the issue appears to be happening at a similar\nspot on all of them: Some kind of problem shows up on the inner\nscreen along the hinge and a strange bright line (or lines) across\nthe right side of the display.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This crack problem doesn’t seem to be widespread, but <a href=\"https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/23/iphone-duo-screen-cracks/\">it’s seemingly more than a handful</a>.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Marion Barry Meets the iPhone Duo’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/iphone-duo-marion-barry\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43640",
      "title": "MKBHD’s Duo Review",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://youtu.be/ESABTN4VtrA",
      "published": "2026-10-24T20:47:28.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-24T20:50:42.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Marques Brownlee thinks the lack of Face ID will be the biggest gripe. I agree. And I love his central framing for the review: that the Duo is extremely polished around the edges (figuratively, but also true literally) but rough in the middle.</p>\n\n<p>But he spends more time griping about third-party apps that haven’t been optimized for the Duo than most other reviews, because he oddly seems to personally rely on a lot of apps from shitty iOS developers, like Discord and Google Calendar. I get it, Google Calendar is very popular. So too is Discord — it’s #6 in the App Store today for the “social networking” category. And I get it, Brownlee splits his time across iOS and Android. But Google is a notoriously terrible iOS developer. Every time there’s a major hardware display transition on iPhones that requires developer support, most of Google’s apps are late. And whatever the reasons for Discord’s popularity, it’s sure as shit not the quality of its app.</p>\n\n<p>The best apps for the Duo are the best apps for iOS generally: ones that are exclusively for iOS. (And Brownlee sings the praises of several of them, too, <a href=\"https://www.meetcarrot.com/weather/\">like Carrot Weather</a>.)</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘MKBHD’s Duo Review’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/mkbhd-duo-review\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43639",
      "title": "Tim Pan’s iPhone Duo Review",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pCccpKjjos",
      "published": "2026-10-24T19:15:45.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-24T21:28:13.000Z",
      "content": "<p>I hadn’t heard of Tim Pan or Mediastorm until running across his 24-minute video review of the Duo. It’s a good and fair review, but what struck me are the rather astonishing <a href=\"https://x.com/mediastorm_en/status/2113197007217295440\">production values</a>. Amongst other things, they stress-tested the hinge with an industrial robot by opening/closing it 10,000 times. (That’s less than one-third the folds tested <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review\">by Joanna Stern’s Hingey</a>, but still.) It’s an incredible piece of work, especially given the one-week time constraint. English is Pan’s second language, and there’s <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUgfS1vkMxw\">an entire alternate version of the whole review</a>, under the Mediastorm channel, in Chinese. It’s not just a different soundtrack — it’s an entirely separate cut of the video, where all his on-camera shots are spoken in Chinese.</p>\n\n<p>At <a href=\"https://youtu.be/8pCccpKjjos?t=452\">about 7:30 in the (English) review</a>, Pan mentions that they (he?) offer every employee in the company a new iPhone each year. This year’s choices, by employee count:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>iPhone 18 Pro: 17</li>\n<li>iPhone 18 Pro Max: 41</li>\n<li>iPhone Duo: 140</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The point of this in the review was to show how strong demand is for the Duo amongst Pan’s company’s Chinese employees. But what struck me is that the company has 198 employees. (Last year, he says, 150 chose the 17 Pro or Pro Max; only 1 chose the Air.)  Pan’s YouTube channel includes interviews <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZTFXyAw-w\">with Christopher Nolan</a> and <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO6wxmp6oq0\">Hans Zimmer</a>. I never heard of him before but he obviously didn’t come out of nowhere. (Perhaps this is only a function of how little YouTube content I watch.)</p>\n\n<p>Pan only launched his X account this week. <a href=\"https://x.com/mediastorm_en/status/2112940762291941794\">He posted the entire review video there</a>, too, and it’s got 187,000 likes and 6,700 comments. As a promotion to launch his X account, <a href=\"https://x.com/mediastorm_en/status/2113197007217295440\">he’s giving away 100 iPhone 18 Pros</a>. Even if they’re base models purchased somewhere without sales tax, that’s $120,000.</p>\n\n<p>Remarkable.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Tim Pan’s iPhone Duo Review’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/tim-pan-duo-review\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43638",
      "title": "Apple Built a Photo-Realistic Functional Original iPod for Apple Music’s 404 Page",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://music.apple.com/404",
      "published": "2026-10-24T15:50:02.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-30T17:56:06.000Z",
      "content": "<p>It <a href=\"https://x.com/kianworld/status/2113519872999301172\">seems like</a> this amazing Easter egg only launched yesterday, to celebrate <a href=\"https://x.com/tfadell/status/2113708201762033691\">the original iPod’s 25th anniversary</a>. Exquisitely well done. More like this, please.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Apple Built a Photo-Realistic Functional Original iPod for Apple Music’s 404 Page’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/apple-music-ipod-404-page\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43637",
      "title": "Chan Karunamuni on the Duo’s Open/Close Translucent Transition",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://x.com/chan_k/status/2113622379050246243",
      "published": "2026-10-24T15:03:44.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-24T15:03:44.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Chan Karunamuni, human interface designer at Apple, on X:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>iPhone Duo is here! Excited to have worked on the design of our\nopen/close transition. It’s designed to make the two displays feel\nlike one seamless experience by perceptually bending the focal\nplane, not the content, so that it feels like opening a window\nonto a singular view.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Karunamuni thanks a few engineers by name, which is always good (and for Apple employees, far too rare) to see.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/search/johnnie+manzari\">Johnnie Manzari</a>, HI designer formerly of Apple, now at Google DeepMind, <a href=\"https://x.com/johnnie/status/2113643318165082486\">retweeting Karunamuni</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>The second I saw that transition I thought “here’s the next\n‘change the whole industry’ design from Chan”.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Previous such raise-the-bar designs that Karunamuni led or played a major hand in include <a href=\"https://x.com/chan_k/status/1570795751764295682\">the Dynamic Island</a> in <a href=\"https://x.com/chan_k/status/1571207749677219840\">2022</a>, <a href=\"https://x.com/chan_k/status/1703820400902431077\">the “shockwave moment”</a> when you put two iPhones together to initiate AirDrop or NameDrop in 2023, and iOS 18’s <a href=\"https://x.com/chan_k/status/1835729051178451013\">cool-ass Flashlight beam UI</a> in 2024. He also gave Steve Lemay <a href=\"https://x.com/chan_k/status/1996825927561658854\">this full-throated public endorsement</a> upon his promotion to lead all of Apple HI design upon Alan Dye’s departure for Meta last December.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Chan Karunamuni on the Duo’s Open/Close Translucent Transition’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/24/karunamuni-duo-design\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43636",
      "title": "The Verge’s Duo Review: ‘Apple’s Folding Phone Is a Messy, Expensive Good Time’",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.theverge.com/tech/1015028/iphone-duo-review",
      "published": "2026-10-23T16:52:56.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-23T17:05:55.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Nilay Patel and Allison Johnson (also: <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5gptFkgBlI\">26-minute video review on YouTube</a>):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>This means almost every time you open the phone you instinctively\nrotate it, and while it will work no matter how it’s rotated, it’s\nbetter to rotate it counterclockwise so the cameras are on top and\nthe volume buttons are on the top left. Over our week of testing,\nthis started feeling more natural, but it’s exactly the opposite\nof what you’d initially expect. It’s especially odd in Apple’s\nbumper case, which has a large notch to expose the Touch ID sensor\nand camera control, and it looks for all the world like it belongs\nat the bottom.</p>\n\n<p>You might think this is a little thing, but it’s strange to find\nyourself slightly unsure of how to hold a smartphone. A nontrivial\npart of the Duo experience is just reorienting yourself to where\nthe volume buttons are as you flip the thing around. When closed,\nthey’re on top of the phone, but if you rotate the Duo clockwise,\nthey end up on the bottom right, and it’s the <em>top</em> button that\nturns the volume down because they don’t change orientation with\nthe display. There’s a buried setting in iOS that makes the volume\nbuttons reorient themselves as you turn the Duo around; Apple\nneeds to set it so it works right by default.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Completely agree with them on this — it seems inexplicable that with default settings, while holding the open Duo vertically, if the volume buttons are on the right, you press the up button to lower the volume and down button to raise it.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>One other thing to get used to is simply unlocking the phone.\nTouch ID is integrated into the wake button on the side of the\nphone. There’s no Face ID at all, and it might take a minute to\nremember that when you stare at your phone for a beat and wonder\nwhy your notifications aren’t unfurling. Ask us how we know. But a\nweek is long enough to get used to Touch ID life again, and it’s\nmostly painless once you remember you’re supposed to be using it.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Completely disagree with them on this — unless you wear an Apple Watch all day every day.</p>\n\n<p>Re: the cameras, they make this interesting aside:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>(It would be cool if you could switch the image preview to the\nother panel to use it halfway open like a waist-level viewfinder,\nbut you can’t.)</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is a great opportunity for third-party camera apps. Imagine using the Duo in the L-shaped laptop pose, holding it at waist level, <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/hasselblad-looking-down.jpeg\">looking down</a> — <a href=\"https://shootitwithfilm.com/hasselblad-500-cm-film-camera-review/\">like a Hasselblad 500</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Overall Patel and Johnson are fair and astute, but far more positive about the iPhone Duo <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo\">than me</a> or <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review\">Joanna Stern</a>. <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2024/04/11/the-verge-review-scale\">Don’t get me started</a> on The Verge’s 10-point ratings scale, but they scored the Duo a 7/10, and <a href=\"https://www.theverge.com/tech/995945/iphone-18-pro-max-review-camera-aperture\">only gave last month’s iPhone 18 Pro an 8/10</a>. Based on <a href=\"https://www.theverge.com/how-we-rate\">this description of their scale</a>, I’d give the 18 Pro a 10/10 (“best of the best”) and the Duo a 4/10 (“mediocre — has multiple outstanding issues”).</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘The Verge’s Duo Review: ‘Apple’s Folding Phone Is a Messy, Expensive Good Time’’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/the-verge-iphone-duo-review\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43635",
      "title": "Joanna Stern Reviews the Duo: ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy’",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDTWuL9GxY",
      "published": "2026-10-23T14:42:06.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-23T14:42:06.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Joanna Stern’s video review packs a ton into 16 minutes. She commissioned a custom robot to fold/unfold the thing over 32,000 times in a week, to see if it loosened the hinge. (I won’t spoil the answer.) She took it on a yacht on the Hudson. She took it to a dark bar to test the cameras. And she really, really missed Face ID. I don’t know how she makes these videos in just a week, along with all the actual testing. So good.</p>\n\n<p>We rank our complaints (and praise) in different order, but overall her take jibes with mine on every single point. You can <a href=\"https://thenewthings.com/p/iphone-duo-review-the-good-bad-and-buggy\">read a version of her review</a>, too, if you’re a subscriber to The New Things, which you should be.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Joanna Stern Reviews the Duo: ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy’’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/23/stern-iphone-duo-review\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43634",
      "title": "Apple Highlights 50+ iPhone Apps That Have Already Been Optimized for the Duo",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/developers-bring-incredible-new-app-experiences-to-iphone-duo/",
      "published": "2026-10-22T19:10:10.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-22T22:14:00.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Apple Newsroom:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>New editorial collections for iPhone Duo apps and games will go\nlive on the App Store this Friday, with additional app updates\nrolling out throughout the year. Apps optimized for iPhone Duo are\neasy to identify with a Made for iPhone Duo badge on product pages\nacross the storefront.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This story highlights dozens of apps that have been optimized. This sort of transition happens every time Apple introduces a major screen change. It happened with the iPhone X in 2017, it happened when the iPhone 6 added a Plus size, it happened when the iPhone 5 changed the aspect ratio from 3:2 to 16:9, and, most memorably of all, it happened when the iPhone 4 went retina. Every time this happens it sucks to some varying degree of suckiness to use apps that haven’t been optimized. And soon enough, all apps still under active development get updated.</p>\n\n<p>Developers know that iPhone users <em>care</em> how apps look and work. iPhone users will switch to competing apps for something like this. I stopped checking Mastodon on my phone for the last week and half because Ivory isn’t optimized. I stopped reading my messages on Signal — I just wait until I’m back at my desk. If I bought a Duo, I’d literally stop using Signal if they don’t update their app soon. Life’s too short to use shitty apps. iPhone developers get that.</p>\n\n<p>Out of all those transitions I listed above, my gut feeling is that there are more third-party apps ready to go on day one for the Duo than for <em>any</em> of those previous transitions. No, it’s not all apps. Some of the apps that aren’t yet updated are quite popular, and others are ones that users can’t easily just switch away from (like, say, your bank’s app). But developer support is not a problem for the Duo. If anything the launch of the Duo has exemplified better than any event in iPhone history just how different the iPhone and Android developer communities are. “Flagship” Android foldables have been out <a href=\"https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/18498904/samsung-galaxy-fold-review-screen-broken-issue-durability-foldable-phone-video-performance-price\">for over 7 years</a> and developer support for them today remains <em>nothing</em> close to developer support for the Duo — and the Duo doesn’t even launch until tomorrow.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Apple Highlights 50+ iPhone Apps That Have Already Been Optimized for the Duo’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/apple-highlights-duo-optimized-apps\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43633",
      "title": "Updates to My iPhone Duo Review",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo",
      "published": "2026-10-22T18:49:38.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T23:34:50.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Nothing major, but since publishing at 7:00pm last night, I’ve made a few additions and changes to my iPhone Duo review. I’m calling them out here, so that if you’ve already read it, you can see the changes. If I make more, I’ll add them to the top.</p>\n\n<p>Regarding the camera, added and/or clarified the following (in <b>bold</b>):</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>As for the camera itself, it’s terrific. It’s clearly not of the\nsame caliber as the iPhone 18 Pro, but it’s good. The technical\nspecs of the Duo’s main 1×/2× camera are nearly identical to those\nof the year-ago iPhone Air, and <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro\">I love the iPhone Air’s\ncamera</a>. If anything, the Duo’s camera should be better,\nbecause it gets the year-better A20 Pro imaging pipeline. Which,\nnotably, brings support for the same new Photographic Styles,\nincluding textures like film grain, that were <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro\">introduced with the\niPhone 18 Pro</a>. <b>However, the Duo is not “Pro” — it does not\nget camera features like “Pro controls” (variable lens aperture, shutter\nspeed, white balance, histogram), <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/15/apple-reference-image\">Apple Reference Image</a>, spatial\nvideo, ProRes (video or RAW), or Apple Log. Apple’s “shot with\niPhone” keynotes will continue to use iPhones Pro.</b></p>\n\n<p>Also, notably different from the Air, the Duo has an ultrawide 0.5×\nsecond camera lens. This brings both the ultrawide perspective <em>and</em>\nmacro photography. Like the Air, the Duo’s main 1× camera has a\nminimum focus distance of 15cm. That’s closer than the 17 and 18 Pro\ncameras (20cm), but there are a lot of times you want to snap photos\nof receipts or documents closer than 15cm. <b>With the Air, you\ncan’t focus closer than 15cm, because it only has that one camera.\nWith the Duo, you can focus on subjects down to just 2cm away, using\nthe 0.5× lens or the 1× lens in “macro” mode (which switches to the\nultrawide lens but sensor-crops to the 1× field of view).</b></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Regarding the security of “Unlock with Apple Watch”, I added this note:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>(It’s worth noting that the wrist tap on your watch for this gives\nyou a button to tap to lock your iPhone immediately — it’s not\njust a notification that it happened, it presents you with an\naction to undo it.)</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Added this note (in <b>bold</b>) about it occasionally rotating (uncomfortably) in pocket, because it happened to me again twice today:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>It does not go into or out of my jeans pocket smoothly.\n<b>Sometimes, in my pocket, it rotates 90 degrees, which is\nuncomfortable.</b> Folded up it never stops feeling heavy. It <em>is</em>\nheavy, compared to other iPhones.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Added this updated regarding <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-keyboard.png\">the janky crossword keyboard</a> in the NYT Games app on the Duo’s inner screen:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>[<strong>Update, Thursday:</strong> One day later and there’s an updated\nversion of the NYT Games app, and they’ve fixed the orthodontic\nmess of their crossword keyboard, in both orientations.\n<a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-redux.png\">Screenshot</a>.\nThis goes to show just how fast the Duo-optimized updates are\nstreaming in from developers. My review was up-to-date when I\npublished at 7:00pm ET Wednesday, and outdated by the time I woke\nup Thursday morning.]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Updates to My iPhone Duo Review’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/22/updates-to-my-iphone-duo-review\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43632",
      "title": "★ The iPhone Duo",
      "description": "It’s been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it feels like I’ve gotten to use an extraordinarily polished prototype — not a finished product that I’d want to buy and carry.",
      "url": "https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/the_iphone_duo",
      "published": "2026-10-21T22:59:14.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-27T23:34:38.000Z",
      "content": "<p>The very nature of the iPhone Duo raises numerous obvious questions about what it’s like to use. Does it not feel thick and heavy, awkward both to pocket and unpocket? Doesn’t the outer (cover) screen feel small and cramped, with an unfamiliar squat-rather-than-tall layout for UI controls in every app you use? Isn’t it weird that when you open it up to use the inner screen, that all the hardware buttons on the edges of the device are in the “wrong” places for a tablet? For anyone who’s gotten used to Face ID over the last decade, is it not frustrating to go back to Touch ID? And what about third-party apps that haven’t been updated to support the Duo’s novel displays — do they not suck to use?</p>\n\n<p>Clearly, the point of a Duo review is to answer these questions, which really boil down to one question: How did Apple solve these problems?</p>\n\n<p>The answer is: They didn’t.</p>\n\n<p>All of these problems are real, and each of them detracts from the experience of using the Duo. Some of them have been mitigated through thoughtful design and clever engineering. Some of them might be solved in future iterations of the device. Some of them, though, I believe are endemic to the very idea of a foldable, and cannot be solved.</p>\n\n<p>The Duo name is perfect. It truly is like having two devices in one. The outer device is, by far, the worst iPhone Apple has ever made. It’s a miserable fat little thing. The inner device is a splendid, joyful, beautiful tablet, with a UI that out-iPads the iPad. For me, by far, it’s my favorite tablet experience ever. I prefer it to any iPad or Kindle-like reader I’ve ever used.</p>\n\n<p>So I’ll cut to the chase. The decision of whether you might want to buy a Duo is not easy, because only one of its two selves is good. You might be delighted, despite its clear compromises, if what you value most is a pocketable small tablet and are ambivalent about your iPhone. You might be endlessly frustrated if you love your iPhone, and use it extensively, often for quick interactions throughout the day, every day.</p>\n\n<h2>More Than Meets the Eye</h2>\n\n<p>I was a kid when Transformers hit the toy market. I had a few — every boy my age did — but I was more of a GI Joe kid. It always bothered me that, as toys, Transformers were clearly compromised in both states. Folded up, they weren’t good cars / trucks / fighter jets. They had obvious seams and folds. In the cartoons — and the subsequent live action films decades later — the Transformers’ disguised states are seamless. In real life with the actual toys, the disguised states were about as convincing as a pair of <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groucho_glasses\">Groucho glasses</a>. A regular toy car looked like a real car, and stayed together no matter how hard you played with it. A Transformer car never quite looked like a real car and would come apart when played with. Unfolded, they looked like robots, yes, but they had obvious compromises. And it was kind of a pain folding them back into vehicles. My recollection is that we played with them a lot more as unfolded robots than as folded vehicles.</p>\n\n<p>And that’s what they were. They weren’t vehicles that pretended to be robots. They were robots in disguise. The Duo isn’t really a phone. It’s a tablet in disguise. And in the same way that a true toy car was a better toy car than a folded-up Transformer-as-car could ever be, the Duo-as-phone is just not as good a phone as any regular iPhone. Honestly it’s not even close.</p>\n\n<p>Consider if you could snap the Duo in half, leaving the smaller outer display as a standalone iPhone. Would anyone want an iPhone this shape and size? I think the answer is that zero people would want this. The iPhone Mini, back in 2020 and 2021 with the iPhone 12/13 generations, proved not to be popular enough for Apple to keep around. The iPhone Minis were a <em>way</em> better shape than the outer Duo. There’s a reason why the iPhone Air is not shaped like half a Duo — because the Duo shape stinks as an iPhone. And that’s only considering the hypothetical of a thin lightweight Duo snapped in half. In real life, with the actual Duo, when you use it folded up the device is twice as thick and twice as heavy. <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=Transformers+watch+1980s&safe=off&udm=2\">These Transformer watches</a> were a fun way to smuggle a toy robot into school, but they were crummy watches. The iPhone Duo is a fun way to fit an entire iPad Mini–sized tablet into your pocket, but it’s a cumbersome phone.</p>\n\n<p>It does not go into or out of my jeans pocket smoothly. Sometimes, in my pocket, it rotates 90 degrees, which is uncomfortable. Folded up it never stops feeling heavy. It <em>is</em> heavy, compared to other iPhones:</p>\n\n<p><table class=\"table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736\" width = 200>\n<style>\n.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 th:nth-child(1) { text-align: right }\n.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 td:nth-child(1) { text-align: right }\n.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 th:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }\n.table-0D3F6144-FB65-4D92-AC65-227C4436F736 td:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }\n</style>\n<thead>\n<th>iPhone</th><th>Weight</th>\n</thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Duo</td><td>254g</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>18 Pro Max</td><td>249g</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>18 Pro</td><td>211g</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>17</td><td>177g</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Air</td><td>165g</td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table></p>\n\n<p>It’s technically only negligibly heavier than an 18 Pro Max, but because it has so much less surface area, it feels far more dense. If it did not unfold, no one would buy this.</p>\n\n<p>But, of course, it does unfold. That’s the entire point. Unfolded, it not only no longer feels heavy, it feels featherweight light. It’s uncanny. An open iPhone Duo has a 7.6-inch display and the physical dimensions are 4.6⁠ ⁠×⁠ ⁠6.5 inches. An <a href=\"https://support.apple.com/en-us/121456\">A17 Pro iPad Mini</a> (the current model, but supposedly not for long) has an 8.3-inch display, measures 5.3⁠ ⁠×⁠ ⁠7.7 inches, and weighs 297g (that’s the cellular model’s weight, which is only fair). The iPad Mini has a slightly bigger screen but it’s heavier. In hand, I prefer the unfolded Duo over the iPad Mini as a tablet, in every single regard other than hardware button placement. (More on that below.)</p>\n\n<p>You simply cannot have your cake and eat it too. The Duo allows you to take what is, in several ways, the best tablet Apple has ever made — and thus, the best tablet <em>any</em> company has ever made — fold it in half, and put it in your pocket to carry everywhere. While folded in half, you can use it as an entirely functional iPhone, but it’s by far the worst iPhone experience ever — frustrating, ungainly, and uncomfortable.</p>\n\n<h2>Using the Duo Closed, With the Outer Display</h2>\n\n<p>Ever since it was unveiled there’s been idle speculation that, while folded, the Duo’s design is biased against left-handed users. First, because the Touch ID side button is on the right. Second, because the Duo variant of iOS moves things like application toolbars and the home screen Dock to the right.</p>\n\n<p>I am right-handed, but I’m a little bit on the ambidextrous spectrum. For example, I switched to using my mouse with my left hand around 1995, when I developed RSI in my right wrist, and I’ve used my mouse left-handed ever since. (But I use a MacBook trackpad with my right hand.) I can shoot a basketball from close range with my left hand. So going into my Duo review, I thought I’d try to use my Duo as a pretend lefty. Turns out I didn’t have to pretend. I never realized this, but I naturally use my iPhone left-handed quite a bit throughout the day. For example, while brushing my teeth. I keep my iPhone in my right front pants pocket, but I often pick it up off my desk or kitchen counter and use it left-handed.</p>\n\n<p>The Duo is not comfortable left-handed. The problem isn’t the Touch ID side button — I fixed that by registering my left index and middle fingers with the Touch ID sensor. The problem isn’t right-side bias for toolbars and the Dock in iOS Duo.<sup id=\"fnr1-2026-10-21\"><a href=\"#fn1-2026-10-21\">1</a></sup> That’s not great for left-handed use, but the truth is there’s a reachability problem no matter which single hand you try holding the Duo in. It’s better to hold it in your right hand than left, reachability-wise, but fundamentally it’s so wide that it’s a two-handed device even when being used folded.</p>\n\n<p>No, the problem with holding the Duo in your left hand alone is that the bottom left corner of its D-shaped frame digs into your palm. When you hold it in your right hand, it’s a nice round corner in the meat of your thumb’s base. In your left, it’s a crisp sharp corner, and it doesn’t feel good.</p>\n\n<p>When using the small outer display, everything on screen feels cramped. I don’t even like the home screen. Moving the Dock to the right side breaks 19 years of spatial memory for me.<sup id=\"fnr2-2026-10-21\"><a href=\"#fn2-2026-10-21\">2</a></sup> I keep reaching for Messages, Notes, and Safari <em>down</em> at the bottom of my screen, when now they’re over on the right. And they look weird too, because they’re smaller icons than the others on the home screen. Ostensibly the Dock is for your four most-used apps, but now they’re the <em>smallest</em> icons on your home screen? What sense does that make?</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-home-screen-dock.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 425\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-home-screen-dock.png\"\n    alt = \"Screenshot of my iPhone Duo home screen. The apps in the Dock, which is positioned on the right, are noticeably smaller than the regular app icons.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>It’s such a little thing (no pun intended, I swear), but it exemplifies how many compromises Apple had to make for this small squat display.</p>\n\n<p>Next, consider this screenshot from NetNewsWire:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-netnewswire-back-button.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 425\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-netnewswire-back-button.png\"\n    alt = \"Screenshot of NetNewsWire on the iPhone Duo outer screen. Its toolbar buttons are all on the right edge of the screen, including the “❮” back button.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>What gets me here is the chevron “❮” back button being on the right. The iPhone’s back buttons have always been at the top <em>left</em> of the screen because iOS has always used a left-to-right column-view inspired spatial hierarchy. <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/28/donald-decodes-federighi\">Craig Federighi just explained this spatial metaphor</a> beautifully in a short YouTube interview a month ago. This metaphor is foundational to the iPhone experience. The back button is <em>on</em> the left because you go back <em>to</em> the left. Putting a button that takes you to the left on the right side of the screen just feels wrong. I think if I used an iPhone Duo every day for the next year (<em>please no</em>) I would still think this felt unnatural. It’s like having a turn signal stalk in your car that you move in the opposite direction that you turn the wheel. Now, it’s true that you can swipe from the left side of the screen to go back. You don’t have to use the “❮” button. But that button is there, in every single iPhone app that presents content in a hierarchy. And it’s always on the wrong side of the screen (unless you’re using an app on the left side of split screen multitasking — see below).</p>\n\n<p>Here’s another example. <a href=\"https://marco.org/2026/08/14/unforgetful\">Unforgetful</a> is Marco Arment’s new reminders app. I like it a lot, and have been using it extensively since the summer. It’s properly updated to support the Duo UI layout. Here’s what it looks like when you’re creating a new task, normally:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-regular.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 425\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-regular.png\"\n    alt = \"Screenshot of Unforgetful’s task creation screen on an iPhone Duo. On the right is a toolbar with two buttons, “✕” and “✓”, which stand for Close and Done.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>But here’s what I saw over the weekend, when I was out running <a href=\"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kurt-vonnegut-envelope-quote/\">a Vonnegut errand</a>, listening to The Vergecast:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-with-live-activity.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 425\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-with-live-activity.png\"\n    alt = \"Similar screenshot to the previous one, but this time there is a Live Activity in the corner, and instead of two buttons,  “✕” and “✓”, there is only one button: “···”.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>I spent almost an entire minute trying to figure out how to save this task. I was about to text Arment with a bug report, that new tasks were unsaveable on the Duo, when I realized what happened. Because I had a Live Activity showing for the podcast I was listening to (in Arment’s <a href=\"https://overcast.fm/\">Overcast</a>, natch), the system’s time and circular status indicator were pushed down, reducing Unforgetful’s toolbar area, which meant the two buttons, “✕” and “✓” (for Close and Done, respectively), were collapsed into a single “···” overflow button. Tapping the dot-dot-dot button reveals them:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-dot-dot-dot.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 425\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-unforgetful-dot-dot-dot.png\"\n    alt = \"Screenshot showing the menu after tapping “···”, which shows two menu items: “✕ Close” and “✓ Done”.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>So the outer Duo display is so cramped when the keyboard is on screen that with a Live Activity showing, there is no longer room for a single pair of toolbar buttons. That turns a lot of one-tap actions into two-tap actions. And initially at least, it’s confusing. The whole point of Unforgetful is that it is not a complicated app. It really took me a minute to figure out that the Done button had moved into the “···” overflow menu.</p>\n\n<p>One more examination of screen real estate, this time, with Messages, with the on-screen keyboard open. How much of the current conversation can you see?</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 550\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-inner-outer-iphone-pro-comparison-messages.png\"\n    alt = \"Screenshot comparison of a conversation thread in Messages, comparing the amount of conversation visible on screen with the keyboard open on (1) Duo inner display, vertical; (2) Duo inner display, horizontal; (3) Duo outer display; and (4) an iPhone 18 Pro. Only the Duo inner display vertical orientation and iPhone 18 Pro show more than one previous text bubble.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>The Duo outer display has only a smidgeon of real estate available for showing previous messages. It’s a bit like using <a href=\"https://www.slashgear.com/1092246/the-most-iconic-blackberry-phones-of-all-time/\">an ancient BlackBerry</a>. The Duo inner display in horizontal mode doesn’t show much more, but all you need to do to see more is rotate the device (which makes it easier for thumb-typing anyway).</p>\n\n<h2>Using the Duo Open, With the Inner Display</h2>\n\n<p>Once the Duo is unfolded and unlocked (more on that below), it’s a terrific experience. I absolutely love the nano-texture finish. I love how it looks, and I love how it feels.</p>\n\n<p>At the outset of this review, I opened with a list of obvious problems for any foldable device. I omitted the one vexing problem that Apple has solved: annoyance at a visible crease. They solved it by applying this nano-texture finish (which <a href=\"https://www.tomsguide.com/phones/iphones/apple-reveals-iphone-duo-has-a-replaceable-display-layer-what-it-means-for-you\">apparently is an easily replaceable surface layer</a>). But it’s not like this is a trade-off that makes the display look bad or feel weird. I’d love a display that looks and feels like this on my non-foldable iPhone 18 Pro. No glare, even in sunlight. It’s amazing. There’s no accounting for taste — some people love glossy reflective displays that draw glare from any and all light sources. Not me.</p>\n\n<p>No foldable phone on the market had a matte inner display until the Duo. I suspect most of them will next year, and by 2028 all of them will.</p>\n\n<p>I mentioned above how close the open Duo is to the size and weight of an iPad Mini (a little smaller in size, but 15 percent lighter in weight). It just feels like a great little tablet, and this general size class has always been great for reading. Most Kindles and other e-ink readers are about this same size. I love reading on the Duo inner screen, vertically.</p>\n\n<p>The Duo is great horizontally too. One obvious use case is video. Watching video, it’s easy to forget it’s an iPhone, not an iPad. Here’s as good a place as any to mention that the Duo’s speakers are great. Loud and separated. It produces surprisingly good sound for such a thin device.</p>\n\n<p>Held horizontally, the iPhone Duo supports side-by-side multitasking with two apps. The user interface for this feature is brilliant. It puts every idea Apple has tried on iPadOS for multitasking to shame.</p>\n\n<p>From 2010 to 2015, the iPad behaved like a big iPhone, showing only one app at a time on screen. This was limiting, yes, but delightfully simple and obvious. In 2015 with iOS 9 (this was before Apple renamed the iPad’s variant of iOS to “iPadOS”), <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2015/09/09iOS-9-Available-as-a-Free-Update-for-iPhone-iPad-iPod-touch-Users-September-16/\">Apple introduced both Slide Over and Split View</a>. Both of them stunk. They stunk so bad that if you gave them a ride, you’d have to sell your car afterward. They were confusing and unintuitive. Slide Over in particular was often invoked accidentally and users couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it.</p>\n\n<p>Even the newest iPads of the time (<a href=\"https://support.apple.com/en-us/108043\">iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 4</a>) still had Home buttons — the all-screen design without a Home button wouldn’t arrive until the iPhone X debuted in 2017, and it didn’t arrive for iPads until <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2018/11/the_2018_ipad_pros\">the late 2018 iPads Pro</a>. The Home button was the key to all iOS interaction at the time. To launch an app, you tapped its icon on your home screen. To go back to your home screen, you clicked the Home button. You double-clicked the Home button to enter the app switcher. If you think about it, you can see how the Home-button-centric iPad hardware was incompatible with the idea of split-screen multitasking. Once you have two apps on screen at the same time, how can you control them with just one clickable Home button? What if you had, say, Notes on the left and Safari on the right, and you wanted to close Notes and replace it with Mail, while keeping Safari open on the right? How could the system know which one you wanted to close when you clicked the one Home button? The answer is it couldn’t. So Apple devised all sorts of other convoluted ways to manage this. I don’t even remember how it worked except that it was confusing and frustrating. Re-reading <a href=\"https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/WindowsViews/Conceptual/AdoptingMultitaskingOniPad/\">this old iPad developer documentation</a> makes it seem even more unintuitive than I remember.</p>\n\n<p>I was about to quip that whoever at Apple designed and approved of these multitasking UIs set the entire iPad platform back by a decade. Then I realized that, actually, it was <em>more</em> than a decade. The iPhone Duo is debuting 11 years after iOS 9’s terrible iPad multitasking, and only now has Apple designed and implemented a split-screen multitasking interface that is actually good. Split screen on the Duo is intuitive, natural, useful, and mostly obvious. In addition to all those accolades regarding how you purposely invoke and use it, it also is an interface that you seem unlikely ever to get into accidentally. Comparing the multitasking UI on the Duo to the iPad is like comparing the Mac to Windows — one is insanely great, the other a dog wearing a necktie pretending to be a person. Apple should throw out iPadOS’s multitasking interface and switch to this one. Honestly I’d prefer if they just threw out iPadOS and went back to running iOS — this new version of iOS created for the Duo — on iPads. The Duo flavor of iOS is a better tablet OS than iPadOS, Apple’s dedicated tablet OS.</p>\n\n<p>On the Duo, split screen is only available when the device is horizontal. It’s always split 50-50. Each side of the screen gets an app that is basically the size of an app open on the outer display. Elegant. To move an app into split view, you drag the home indicator up from the bottom of the screen — the same gesture that takes you back to the home screen. But instead of letting go, you keep dragging. You get this:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-start.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 550\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-start.png\"\n    alt = \"Entering split screen mode on iPhone Duo, dragging the Apple Notes app. There are drop-target shelves on the far left and right edges.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>Those shelves on the left and right are drop targets. Drag and drop the current app to either side to put it there and enter split screen. The other side of the display just shows you a single-screen home screen:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-notes.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 550\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-notes.png\"\n    alt = \"Split screen mode on the Duo. On the right is Apple Notes. On the left is my home screen, ready to open another app.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>To open an app on that second screen, you just tap it. There is no step 2. Once you enter split screen mode, it’s like having two closed Duos side-by-side, except the left-side one is a reverse D shape. When the left side is open you can see that the Duo toolbar/Dock bias is not “put it on the <em>right</em> side”. It’s “put it on the <em>outer</em> side”. It just so happens that on the outer display, the right side is the outer side (with rounded corners, away from the spine). Open a second app, and that app’s toolbar will go on the left, if the app is on the left:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-safari-notes.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 550\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-split-screen-safari-notes.png\"\n    alt = \"Split screen with Safari on the left (open to Six Colors), and Apple Notes on the right, in multitasking switcher mode.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>Each side of split screen acts like its own iPhone Duo. Drag up from the bottom of a side and you can go back to the home screen on that side. Or, as shown above, you can enter the multitasking switcher interface on that side — and it’s smart enough not to show you the app that is already open on the other side. Drag up from the bottom center and you return to the full-screen home screen or full-screen app switcher. Whatever you think ought to work, probably works. That’s intuitive design.</p>\n\n<p>There is more to explore and think about here. These are not “windows”. But you can open the same app on both sides, like to show two Safari pages side-by-side. What this split screen UI gets fundamentally right is that it works exactly like using the iPhone for one-app-at-a-time launching and switching. The iPad’s original split-screen sin was trying to implement multiple apps on screen at the same time when the iPad still used a hardware Home button. With the modern iOS UI, where the physical Home button has been replaced by virtual on-screen home indicator bars, you can go from one home indicator (when there’s only one full-screen app) to <em>three</em>: one for the app on the left, one for the app on the right, and a third in the center to control them both as a pair. It’s so brilliant that most users won’t notice that there’s anything clever about the design at all. They’ll just use it. That’s the highest praise for an interaction design like this. It seems so obvious that it doesn’t seem designed at all.</p>\n\n<p>Ironically, because iPhone Duo is not called an “iPad”, it gets to be what the iPad should’ve been all along.</p>\n\n<p>The biggest problem I have with using the Duo on the inner display is an incorrect intuition that, after a full week of use, I am only now starting to break. What do you do when you’re done with a book for now? You close it. So what do I do when I’m done using the iPhone Duo, unfolded, before putting it in my pocket? I close it. But that doesn’t lock the Duo. It just switches to the outer display. I feel like I’ve done this a hundred times in the last week. I close it, thinking that I’ve locked it, and I put it away. But it’s still open. It eventually locks — perhaps sometimes quicker than you think. (iPhones have long used a bit of machine learning to try to detect when they’ve been pocketed or pursed while unlocked, and lock themselves before the normal auto-lock timeout.) Nothing bad has happened from doing this. But I’ve opened it up to some odd things on screen. This is not a complaint about Apple’s design, because when you want to switch from using the inner display to the outer display, you should be able to just close it. The iPhone Duo can’t read your mind. But I wish it <em>could</em> read my mind. </p>\n\n<h2>Touch ID and Authentication</h2>\n\n<p>The lack of Face ID on the iPhone Duo is an endless unceasing frustration. I’ll just farm this section out to what I wrote back on September 15, days after the Duo was announced, <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/thoughts_and_observations_on_apples_surprise_and_shine_event\">in my thoughts and observations column on Apple’s event announcements</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <ul>\n<li><p>The lack of Face ID is a serious sad-trombone bummer, and in my\nopinion could sink the first-generation model. Side-button Touch\nID is OK, but OK is not <em>good</em>, and even good is not <em>insanely\ngreat</em>. Face ID is insanely great. For whatever reason, the only\niPads with Face ID are the iPad Pro models. Every time I review\nan iPad Air or iPad Mini, my biggest gripe is the lack of Face\nID. I complained about it <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2022/03/the_2022_ipad_air#:~:text=Face%20ID%20alone%20is%20worth%20%24150\">reviewing the iPad Air in 2022</a>\nand <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2021/09/the_2021_ipad_mini#:~:text=biggest%20annoyance\">the iPad Mini in 2021</a>, and in the five years since\nthen my annoyance has only grown. With Face ID, so long as\nyou’re looking at the screen as you unlock the device, it’s like\nnot having it locked at all. It just unlocks, seemingly\nautomatically. With Touch ID you must think about putting one of\nyour registered fingers on the button every single time you\nunlock it. It never ever feels automatic. I feel quite certain\nApple tried to fit a Face ID sensor on the outer Duo display and\ncould not make the engineering work.</p></li>\n<li><p>I’m much more concerned about convenience than security, but\nFace ID is 20× more secure than Touch ID. That’s according to\nApple’s own <a href=\"https://help.apple.com/pdf/security/en_GB/apple-platform-security-guide-b.pdf\">Apple Platform Security</a> whitepaper, updated\njust last month, which states:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>The probability that a random person in the population could\nunlock a user’s iPad, iPhone, or Apple Vision Pro is less\nthan 1 in 1 million with Optic ID or Face ID — including\nwhen Face ID with a mask is turned on. For a user’s iPad,\niPhone, Mac models with Touch ID, and those paired with a\nMagic Keyboard with Touch ID, it’s less than 1 in 50,000.\nThis probability increases with multiple enrolled\nfingerprints (up to 1 in 10,000 with five fingerprints) or\nappearances for Face ID (up to 1 in 500,000 with two\nappearances).</p>\n</blockquote></li>\n<li><p>As a sign of how inconvenient the lack of Face ID is, Apple is\npromoting the fact that the iPhone Duo can be unlocked by your\nApple Watch, like a Mac. No other iPhone needs such a crutch.\nBased on my experience with Touch ID iPads, wearing an Apple\nWatch all the time to unlock the Duo will feel essential. I\ndon’t wear an Apple Watch all the time, and don’t want to start\nwearing an Apple Watch all the time, so I suspect this alone\nwill keep me from switching to an iPhone Duo personally. On the\nother hand, for people who <em>do</em> wear an Apple Watch all the time\nand are happy to do so, the Duo’s lack of Face ID might prove to\nbe only an occasional inconvenience rather than a constant\nannoyance.</p></li>\n</ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I’ve seldom been more prescient. More than anything else about the Duo experience, I despise the lack of Face ID. It is a dealbreaker for me. I’ll reconsider a future model that at least has Face ID on the front outer display, but I have no plans to purchase this one. I tried to keep track in my pocket Field Notes notebook of how many times I had to be told to authenticate with Touch ID, along with a separate tally of how many times I had to enter my full device passcode in situations where I know I would not have with an iPhone uno, and I ran out of space on the sheet of paper. If you are not wearing an Apple Watch, it is an unceasing frustration.</p>\n\n<p>Apple actually made a TV commercial exemplifying the Touch ID experience on iPhone Duo 20 years ago, as part of the “Get a Mac” campaign with John Hodgman and Justin Long. Here, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuqZ8AqmLPY\">you can watch it on YouTube</a>. Over and over and over, seemingly 20,000 times a day: put your goddamn finger on the Touch ID button.</p>\n\n<p>Now, if you do wear an Apple Watch, and you pair it with your iPhone Duo, and you enable the off-by-default setting to allow your watch to unlock your Duo, this is much better. It’s not good, but it’s at least tolerable. If you have multiple iPhones though, this feature only works if your watch is paired with your Duo. This is a fundamental shortcoming in the architecture of WatchOS. Apple Watch should be like AirPods, where it just pairs on-the-fly with whatever device you’re currently using, so long as they’re signed into the same Apple Account. You don’t have to pair your AirPods to one single device and then completely factory reset them to use with another. AirPods wouldn’t be a hit product if that were true. But that’s how Apple Watch works. It’s true that most people only own one iPhone, but the existence of the <a href=\"https://support.apple.com/en-us/127274\">iPhone Handoff</a> feature is proof that Apple is thinking about the fact that some of us own more than one. If one of them is a Duo, you will want to pair your Apple Watch with the Duo. But that means that with iPhone Handoff, your Apple Watch won’t share a cellular connection when you’re using your other iPhone. Cellular carriers are now more adept at seamlessly dealing with multiple iPhones than Apple’s own watch. It’s a complete mess of Apple’s own making.</p>\n\n<p>The unlock-with-Apple-Watch feature doesn’t work all the time for me. When it does work, you know it, because you get a tap on your wrist from the watch every time your Duo unlocks via the nearby watch. But sometimes, even though I haven’t taken my watch off since it last unlocked the Duo, it doesn’t work, and I have to use Touch ID. Oftentimes, for reasons I do not understand, Touch ID isn’t enough, and I have to enter my passcode. I think it’s because I so often inadvertently press the side and Camera Control buttons while folding and unfolding the Duo — that might put it in a state where it wants to authenticate the most secure way possible, with my passcode.</p>\n\n<p>It’s mildly annoying that your Apple Watch taps your wrist every time it automatically unlocks your Duo (dozens and dozens of taps per day, every day), but it’s obviously a good thing that it does. It obviously is less secure than Face ID or even Touch ID. I handed the Duo to my son to play with the hinge over the weekend, and as soon as he started playing with it, my wrist tapped. Oops, the whole iPhone was unlocked for him. That was no big deal, and in fact we shared a laugh about it. But it couldn’t happen with Face ID or Touch ID. (It’s worth noting that the wrist tap on your watch for this gives you a button to tap to lock your iPhone immediately — it’s not just a notification that it happened, it presents you with an action to undo it.)</p>\n\n<p>There’s also an optional feature where you can unlock the Duo just by “resting” a registered finger on the Touch ID button. This does add a touch of convenience (again, I swear no pun intended), when I remember to do it, but this too doesn’t seem to work all the time. My theory is that sometimes I’m resting my finger on the button and the sensor doesn’t think the finger is a match. Other times, I wind up unlocking the Duo inadvertently, just by holding it with my thumb on the button. I never ever unlock my iPhones Pro accidentally. With the Duo, it happens at least once a day.</p>\n\n<p>The only tolerable way to use the Duo is by always wearing an Apple Watch, and enabling the feature to allow the watch to unlock it. I do not want to wear an Apple Watch all day every day. And it seems ridiculous that that’s the only way to make the Duo experience tolerable. As annoying as it is to use an iPad with a Touch ID button, it’s far more annoying to use an iPhone with one, because I unlock my iPhone at least an order of magnitude more frequently than I do my iPad. </p>\n\n<p>I’ll reconsider a future Duo model that at least has Face ID on the outside, but I don’t think I’ll ever truly enjoy the experience of using one unless it has Face ID on both sides. I can’t wait to finish writing this review, switch my eSIM back to my iPhone 18 Pro, and set this Duo aside on my desk. I don’t think Apple should have released the Duo before they figured this out.</p>\n\n<h2>Buttons and Camera Orientation, the Hinge, and the Cameras Generally</h2>\n\n<p>My Touch ID complaints are exacerbated by the fact that, from an experiential standpoint, the side button keeps moving around. When the Duo is closed, button placement isn’t a problem. But when it’s open, the buttons feel wrongly placed. On a Touch ID iPad, held vertically, the button is on the top on the right side. And from there, to switch to horizontal orientation, you rotate it counterclockwise, which moves the Touch ID button to the left side, at the top. But this is all backwards on the Duo. Held open vertically, the Duo’s Touch ID button is on the top on the <em>left</em> side. And you have to rotate it clockwise to get it back to horizontal. I’ve gotten more used to it after a week, but while using the big inner display, whenever I’m pestered to authenticate with Touch ID — which, again, is <em>all the time</em> — there’s also a moment of “Wait, where <em>is</em> the Touch ID button?” Many times throughout the week, while holding it vertically, the Touch ID button has been on the <em>bottom</em>, because my instincts for how to rotate it from horizontal to vertical and vice-versa are backwards from how the Duo intends. It’s like the Duo has a built-in game called “Where Are the Buttons?”, and it’s not a fun game.</p>\n\n<p>The main camera orientation is more frustrating, and I consider it a mistake. The main camera is aligned with the small outer display. When you’re capturing photos or videos using the outer display, you hold the Duo horizontally to capture horizontal images, and hold it vertically to capture vertical images. But when you open the Duo, the camera sensor doesn’t magically rotate. So when you’re using the big inner display, you capture horizontal images when holding the Duo vertically, and vertical images when holding the device horizontally.</p>\n\n<p>You can’t have it both ways. Apple needed to choose which display to align the camera with. Apple reps told me they chose to align it with the outer display because they think that’s the display users will use most often when using the camera. They’re probably right that the outer display will be used most frequently with the camera, so maybe they made the correct decision here. But my gut feeling is they should have aligned the camera the other way. Let the outer display have the reverse camera orientation. That would feel like an old <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Video\">Flip camera from 20 years ago</a> — a small handheld camera that you held vertically to capture horizontally. Who cares if the viewfinder doesn’t fill the screen, the screen is tiny anyway.</p>\n\n<p>It just seems weird to me that you can open the Duo to have a truly huge viewfinder, and there’s no way to fill it. Here’s Apple’s own Camera app, when the Duo is open vertically, open horizontally, and closed:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-camera-viewfinders.png\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 550\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-camera-viewfinders.png\"\n    alt = \"Side by side: Camera app, when the Duo is open vertically, open horizontally, and closed. Each screenshot shows a Ralph Steadman painting that hangs in my office.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>So with the big inner screen, you can never come close to filling the screen with the image you’re trying to capture. You get thick black letterboxing or pillarboxing. The viewfinder preview is roughly the same size on the inner screen as the outer screen, despite the inner screen being twice the size. This doesn’t make sense to me. I would prefer a tiny preview on the small outer display and a huge preview on the large inner display, with the camera sensors aligned with the inner display.</p>\n\n<p>Also, because the outer screen is a different aspect ratio than the camera sensor (1.44 : 1 display; 1.33 : 1 sensor), photos taken using the outer screen capture a slightly larger image than what is shown in the viewfinder. That’s because the outer screen viewfinder presents a full-screen preview, which forces all of the Camera app controls to overlay the preview image. In the screenshot above showing the Camera app on the outer display, the actual photograph from that perspective includes part of the painting frame, even though you cannot see any of the frame in the preview. <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/photo-of-steadman-painting.jpeg\">Here’s the photo</a> I snapped with that preview. This discrepancy between the viewfinder and the actual captured image is not a huge deal — it’s OK to capture more than the viewfinder shows — but it’s worth being aware of.</p>\n\n<p>As for the camera itself, it’s terrific. It’s clearly not of the same caliber as the iPhone 18 Pro, but it’s good. The technical specs of the Duo’s main 1×/2× camera are nearly identical to those of the year-ago iPhone Air, and <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro\">I love the iPhone Air’s camera</a>. If anything, the Duo’s camera should be better, because it gets the year-better A20 Pro imaging pipeline. Which, notably, brings support for the same new Photographic Styles, including textures like film grain, that were <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/the_iphone_air_and_iphone_17_pro\">introduced with the iPhone 18 Pro</a>. However, the Duo is not “Pro” — it does not get features like “Pro controls” (variable lens aperture, shutter speed, white balance, histogram), <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/15/apple-reference-image\">Apple Reference Image</a>, spatial video, ProRes (video or RAW), or Apple Log. Apple’s “shot with iPhone” keynotes will continue to use iPhones Pro.</p>\n\n<p>Also, notably different from the Air, the Duo has an ultrawide 0.5× second camera lens. This brings both the ultrawide perspective <em>and</em> macro photography. Like the Air, the Duo’s main 1× camera has a minimum focus distance of 15cm. That’s closer than the 17 and 18 Pro cameras (20cm), but there are a lot of times you want to snap photos of receipts or documents closer than 15cm. With the Air, you can’t focus closer than 15cm, because it only has that one camera. With the Duo, you can focus on subjects down to just 2cm away, using the 0.5× lens or the 1× lens in “macro” mode (which switches to the ultrawide lens but sensor-crops to the 1× field of view).</p>\n\n<p>Build quality of the Duo seems nothing short of excellent. It’s solid. It has a satisfying feel opening and closing, and it closes with a particularly pleasing snap. When it’s open it stays open and perfectly flat. When it’s closed it stays closed, with no gap. However, if forced to choose between the verbs <em>flip</em> and <em>pry</em> to describe the force necessary to open it, the more accurate verb is <em>pry</em>. You need two hands for sure and you kind of need to get your fingernail in the gap. It’s also tricky to open or close without inadvertently pressing the side or Camera Control buttons. I wind up clicking both of these buttons all the time, and sometimes it messes things up. I’ve snapped four accidental photos with the Camera Control button while trying to close (or open? not sure) the Duo in one week. I have zero such photos from the last 30 days taken with my iPhone 18 Pro. At least one of these even looks obscene at thumbnail scale, which gave me a momentary jolt when I saw it in my camera roll:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-accidental-crack.jpeg\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    width = 64\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-accidental-crack.jpeg\"\n    alt = \"Oops.\"\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>There’s a subtle plastic lip around the inner display. This keeps the corners of the display from smacking into each other when you close it, and in practice while the Duo is open, this lip actually feels good to the touch, not like an unwanted barrier.</p>\n\n<p>The same cannot be said for <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/shop/product/mkr94zm/a/iphone-duo-case-sand\">Apple’s $80 first-party silicone case</a>. I can’t believe anyone will want to use this. It adds such a big lip to the outer display that you need to go into Settings → Display & Brightness and turn on a special option: “Shift Left Edge”, which shrinks the front display away from the left edge. It even <a href=\"https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/17/iphone-duo-silicone-case-adhesive-psa/\">requires glue to keep it attached</a>. The adhesive is not particularly sticky — you can pop it right off — but I mean, come on. This contraption is ridiculous. I’ve never been a regular case user with my iPhones and I think people <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/08/iphone_camera_lens_scratch_resistance\">worry needlessly about scratches</a>, especially now <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/08/13/ceramic-shield-2-is-the-real-deal\">with Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2</a>. I firmly believe that putting a case on your phone makes you more likely to drop it because you’re less likely to be careful with it. But foldable phones in particular seem inherently incompatible with cases that are subtle rather than obtrusively prophylactic.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.apple.com/shop/product/mkr74zm/a/iphone-duo-folio-with-kickstand-navy-blue\">Apple’s $130 folio case is better</a>. It’s made with Apple’s “TechWoven” fabric, which has a good high-quality feel. It’s got a kickstand that I guess might be convenient at times, but I don’t understand the lifestyle where you want to open a cover just to see the front face of your phone every time you use it. Also, it’s $130.</p>\n\n<p>Live a little, I say. If you buy a Duo, try it without a case. Get AppleCare if you’re the nervous sort.</p>\n\n<h2>The App Situation</h2>\n\n<p>Using apps that haven’t been updated for the iOS 27.0 SDK is a terrible experience. They just look like little virtual iPhone Minis floating in a sea of black on the big inner display. You can zoom them, like the old “2×” button on iPads when running iPhone apps, but that stinks too. Apps that have been compiled for the 27 SDK but haven’t yet updated to the new Duo-specific APIs in the 27.1 SDK are ... OK. But even some of them blow. <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-keyboard.png\">Take a look at the NYT Games app</a>, and its custom crossword keyboard — it needs an orthodontist. Most of my favorite apps have already been properly updated for the Duo. Some, however, like <a href=\"https://tapbots.com/ivory/\">Tapbots’s Ivory</a>, have not. Your bank probably won’t support the Duo until the Duo 2 is out next year. I think Apple has clearly done a great job evangelizing developers to support the Duo properly. Netflix does and it’s really cool. WhatsApp is in that middle state, where because it’s been compiled with the 27 SDK, it at least fills the inner screen, but it’s just a scaled regular iPhone layout. Signal, which has always been a particularly crummy app, is one of the turds that looks like an iPhone Mini floating in a sea of black.</p>\n\n<p>[<strong>Update, Thursday:</strong> One day later and there’s an updated version of the NYT Games app, and they’ve fixed the orthodontic mess of their crossword keyboard, in both orientations. <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-nyt-games-redux.png\">Screenshot</a>. This goes to show just how fast the Duo-optimized updates are streaming in from developers. My review was up-to-date when I published at 7:00pm ET Wednesday, and outdated by the time I woke up Thursday morning.]</p>\n\n<p>Last night I wanted to watch the Sixers beat the Knicks in their NBA season opener while I worked on this review. I had to use the NBC Sports app, which has not been updated for the Duo at all. The experience sucked. I could pop video out of the mini window to play sort of full-screen, but whenever I tapped the display it went back to iPhone Mini mode. The only good experience you can have using the iPhone Duo is with apps that have been updated for it. It’s better than nothing that un-updated apps run at all, but they certainly don’t deliver a premium $2,000-phone experience.</p>\n\n<p>Using the iPhone Duo for this last week, in particular, has been fascinating in this regard. When I first got the Duo set up last Tuesday, very few of my third-party apps properly supported it. The ones that did were mostly ones where I was already a beta tester through TestFlight. As the week wore on, more and more apps with proper or at least semi-proper Duo support began appearing in the App Store. This made a huge difference to my pleasure using the device. By the time the very first Duo shipments reach actual customers this Friday, there will be more updated apps than there are today. It makes such a huge difference. I honestly don’t know how folks at Apple who’ve been privately testing the Duo for months before this managed to keep their sanity, unless they just eschewed third-party apps while testing it over the summer.</p>\n\n<h2>Miscellaneous</h2>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>When you pair an external Bluetooth keyboard with the Duo, Command-Tab doesn’t do anything. I actually like pairing a hardware keyboard with my iPhone unos, for writing notes and Journal entries while I drink coffee in the morning. For years I’ve wished that iOS supported Command-Tab like iPadOS does. With the Duo, this seems like a glaring omission.<sup id=\"fnr3-2026-10-21\"><a href=\"#fn3-2026-10-21\">3</a></sup> The Duo plus a portable Bluetooth keyboard seems like an amazing travel or commute combination.</p></li>\n<li><p>Standby mode (folded like a tent) is cool. In addition to Apple’s built-in clock/calendar/photo screens that you can swipe between in this mode, if you have a Live Activity going, you can tap the Live Activity’s small icon at the top in Standby mode and make the Live Activity take the full screen. “Laptop mode” is cool too, for apps like Netflix, so you can watch video on half of the inner display while the device is folded like an L.</p></li>\n<li><p>There are so many nice little touches in iOS to support the Duo. Even the factory-fresh onboarding experience lets you fold and unfold it while you’re turning it on and setting it up. One of my favorite details is that when you rotate the Duo while on the home screen, the Dock doesn’t just move from the bottom (vertically) to the right (horizontally). Instead, it disappears and reappears, <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-homescreen-dock-warp.mp4\">sliding in from off-screen in its new position</a>. It reminds me of Pac-Man’s warp tunnel.</p></li>\n<li><p>Battery life has been very good for me. No problem getting through a heavy day of usage at all.</p></li>\n<li><p>The Duo often gets warm. Not hot, but noticeably warm. My instincts say “warm phone = bad for battery life”, but, per the previous item in this list, battery life is fine. There might be some use cases I haven’t spent much time trying, like graphics-intensive games, where thermals are a problem. But I didn’t run into them.</p></li>\n<li><p>iOS 27.1 is a little buggy. Sometimes when I’m rotating the device using the inner display, apps get zoomed in too big, as though they think they’re on the small outer display or something. Tapping around or folding/unfolding again clears it up. I ran into one really weird rendering glitch, on Thursday night last week. I noticed what I first thought was a smear of schmutz on the crease. I tried to rub it away but it didn’t help. I thought for a few minutes that the display was breaking, coming detached right at the crease. But I only saw the smear when holding the Duo vertically. Horizontally it vanished. <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-rendering-glitch.png\">Here’s a screenshot showing it</a> — look at the words “strode to the plate” in the first line of the second paragraph. <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-rendering-glitch-zoomed.png\">If you zoom in</a>, you can see that it’s actually a capsule-shaped overlay atop the text. Here’s <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-rendering-glitch.mp4\">a video screen recording</a> of it while I scroll the article. This glitch was visible in the exact same position on screen — right on the 50-yard-line of the crease — in every single app I used while holding the Duo vertically. I took some screenshots and went to bed, without restarting the Duo. When I woke up Friday morning, the glitch was gone. I haven’t seen it, or anything like it, again. My theory is that I triggered it playing around that night with different “poses” for the Duo, including a bunch where I had it in an L- or V-shape, which in many apps puts a purposeful blur across the crease.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The Duo comes in two colors: star light (off white) and night sky (very dark blue). My review unit is star light. It looks good. I’d buy night sky if I were going to buy one, which I’m not.</p>\n\n<p>Pricing:</p>\n\n<p><!-- Markdown table:\n|            | 256 GB | 512 GB | 1 TB   | 2 TB <br />\n| ---------: | :----: | :----: | :----: | :----:\n|     18 Pro | $1,200 | $1,400 | $1,800 | $2,400\n| 18 Pro Max | $1,300 | $1,500 | $1,900 | $2,500\n|        Duo | $2,000 | $2,200 | $2,600 | $3,200\n-->\n<table width = 400>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n  <th></th>\n  <th align=\"center\">256 GB</th>\n  <th align=\"center\">512 GB</th>\n  <th align=\"center\">1 TB</th>\n  <th align=\"center\">2 TB</th>\n</tr>\n</thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n  <td align=\"right\">18 Pro</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$1,200</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$1,400</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$1,800</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$2,400</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n  <td align=\"right\">18 Pro Max</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$1,300</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$1,500</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$1,900</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$2,500</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n  <td align=\"right\">Duo</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$2,000</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$2,200</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$2,600</td>\n  <td align=\"center\">$3,200</td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table></p>\n\n<p>At every storage tier, it’s $800 more than an 18 Pro and $700 more than an 18 Pro Max.</p>\n\n<h2>The Decision</h2>\n\n<p>Every time you pick up the Duo to use it you face The Decision. Open it? Or be lazy and suffer with the outside display? Every time. Even if you get used to all the other things, you’ll always face The Decision, every time you pick up the Duo.</p>\n\n<p>And there’s a third option. Just after writing the preceding paragraph, I took a break to pick up some sandwiches for lunch. Get out of the house, enjoy at least a few minutes of a beautiful autumn afternoon, and stretch my legs. Waiting for the sandwiches to be prepared at <a href=\"https://www.spreadbagelry.com/\">the bagel joint</a>, I took the Duo out of my pocket and checked NetNewsWire. First article up was a good one. Started reading. Screen’s too small. Do I want to open the Duo? Sandwiches aren’t going to take long. I clicked the side button to sleep the Duo and put it back into my jeans pocket (where it sank like the brick that it is). I spent the rest of the wait alone with my thoughts, pondering how to finish this review.</p>\n\n<p>Apple isn’t going to start an ad campaign with a slogan like “<em>So cumbersome you’ll keep it in your pocket</em>”, but that’s part of my experience. If you really want to <em>do</em> something, or sit back and read or watch something, the big display is fantastic. But that Duo-as-tablet experience is so cumbersome compared to the “just look at it” experience of using a regular iPhone uno that you simply cannot do it every time you use the Duo. You will use the outer display quite a bit. And using the outer display delivers the worst iPhone experience ever. I mean, <em>some</em> iPhone has to be the one that offered the worst iPhone experience ever. That iPhone is the outer half of the iPhone Duo. Perhaps for some people looking to be more mindful of their screen time, this is actually a selling point.</p>\n\n<p>Here’s my steelman argument for the Duo. iPads are good devices. Almost everyone likes them, and many people love them. But wouldn’t it be better if you could fold an iPad in half to make it more portable? The answer has to be yes — <em>if</em> that foldability did not saddle the device with an ugly visible crease in the display. Folding in half would be a nice trick for any iPad, but especially the iPad Mini. An iPad Air folded in half would fit in more compartments in your backpack, but it would not fit in your pants. An iPad Mini folded in half would. Wouldn’t it be even better if Apple added a small screen to the outside of this hypothetical foldable iPad Mini we’re imagining? That way, even when folded, you could check the time, see recent notifications, and pay attention to Live Activities. That sounds like a great idea, right? Well, that’s the iPhone Duo.</p>\n\n<p>If you’d rather trade your iPhone for an iPad Mini that you can fold in half to carry around, the iPhone Duo might be the form factor for you. Even if that’s the case, though, this <em>first</em> iPhone Duo might not suit you, for all the various irritations and shortcomings I’ve documented above. Plus, an actual iPad Mini costs $800 for 256 GB of storage (at this writing); an iPhone Duo with 256 GB costs a cool $2000.</p>\n\n<p>It’s been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it feels like I’ve gotten to use an extraordinarily polished prototype — not a finished product that I’d want to buy and carry.</p>\n\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\n<hr />\n<ol>\n\n<li id=\"fn1-2026-10-21\">\n<p>I thought about referring to the Duo variant of iOS 27 as “DuOS”, which seemed clever in my mind, but looked stupid as hell the first time I tried typing it. “DuoOS” isn’t much better. So I’ll go with “iOS Duo” as shorthand for now. <a href=\"#fnr1-2026-10-21\"  class=\"footnoteBackLink\"  title=\"Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n<li id=\"fn2-2026-10-21\">\n<p>I’ve kept a consistent Dock arrangement on my iPhone for as long as I can remember. From left to right: Messages, my notes app, Safari, and my “what’s new?” app. My notes app originally was Apple Notes, then <a href=\"https://simplenote.com/\">Simplenote</a>, then <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/search/vesper\">Vesper</a> (duh), and ever since Vesper’s demise, Apple Notes again. My “what’s new?” app (which, if I’m being honest, might better be described as my “I’m bored” app) was <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/01/19/twitterrific-iconfactory\">Twitterrific</a>, then <a href=\"http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/11/20/tweetie-10\">Tweetie</a>, <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2011/12/new_twitter\">then Twitter</a>, then <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2011/04/tweetbot\">Tweetbot</a>, then <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/01/23/tweetbot-rip\">Ivory</a>. Several months ago I prioritized RSS over all social media platforms, and moved <a href=\"https://netnewswire.com/\">NetNewsWire</a> down there. I don’t check any Twitter-like social networks until I feel caught up on RSS, which means I often don’t check them at all. I’m at least a little happier for it, and I <em>know</em> I’m more productive. <a href=\"#fnr2-2026-10-21\"  class=\"footnoteBackLink\"  title=\"Jump back to footnote 2 in the text.\">↩︎︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n<li id=\"fn3-2026-10-21\">\n<p>Also, with an iPhone uno, when you pair a hardware keyboard, you can use Command-H to go to the home screen. That doesn’t work on the Duo. I don’t know if that’s a bug or a design concession for the fact that with split screen multitasking, “go to the home screen” can’t be a single command. You might want to go home on the left, on the right, or full screen. Swiping on screen makes those actions unambiguous. Command-H would not. If you think about it, this is actually very similar to the conundrum I mention elsewhere in this review, regarding the incoherency of Apple’s decade of attempts to bring split-screen multitasking to the iPad in the Home button era. I think with a paired keyboard, however, Command-H should just always take you back to the full-screen home screen. Make it go all the way home, not just halfway home. <a href=\"#fnr3-2026-10-21\"  class=\"footnoteBackLink\"  title=\"Jump back to footnote 3 in the text.\">↩︎︎</a></p>\n</li>\n\n</ol>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/feeds/sponsors//11.43631",
      "title": "[Sponsor] Sunnny",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://sunnny.com/",
      "published": "2026-10-20T13:09:38.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-20T13:09:39.000Z",
      "content": "<p>All your B2B customer data. In that nice California sunnn. Early access now!</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Sunnny’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/feeds/sponsors/2026/10/sunnny_1\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Daring Fireball Department of Commerce",
          "email": null,
          "url": null
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43630",
      "title": "Barack Obama on the Trump Administration’s Intimidation Campaign Against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://x.com/BarackObama/status/2111819687524774170",
      "published": "2026-10-20T01:12:26.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-20T01:40:55.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Barack Obama, in a 430-word essay:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government\ncan’t selectively target individuals simply because of their\npolitical beliefs or what they say. But that’s exactly what the\nTrump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of\nMinnesota. [...]</p>\n\n<p>The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to\nengage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should\noutrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about\nCongresswoman Omar’s political views. Because if this becomes the\nnew normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Thoughtful, sharp, and eloquent as ever.</p>\n\n<p>But Obama posted this essay on X, which, I <a href=\"https://www.threads.com/@gruber/post/DeXvGODFNWo\">have</a> <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/gruber.foo/post/3mxn2cc4cc326\">been</a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/@gruber/117424623082667290\">told</a> in the past week, shows that he in fact is <a href=\"https://www.threads.com/@richrichmond/post/DerwfS5GsNm\">a Nazi sympathizer</a>, <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/mrdavidham.bsky.social/post/3mxwkg3wvjk2g\">a fascist</a>, <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/cagygibbon.bsky.social/post/3mxrdwsor7s2c\">a pedophile</a>, and unconcerned <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/@delric/117263818705656307\">about racism</a>. As surprised as I was to learn those things about myself, I’m equally surprised to learn them about President Obama, whom I heretofore considered a thoughtful statesman and moral compass.</p>\n\n<p>Either that, or, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon have relegated themselves into irrelevance by allowing their discourse to be dominated by a fringe of unhinged kooks who want to be angry and want everyone else to be angry.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Barack Obama on the Trump Administration’s Intimidation Campaign Against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/obama-omar\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43629",
      "title": "From the DF Archive: Should a CEO Be a Nerd About Their Company’s Products?",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://daringfireball.net/linked/2022/10/11/ceos-as-nerds",
      "published": "2026-10-19T22:36:15.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-20T14:32:44.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Back in 2022, I quoted from an interesting post by Ben Schlappig at One Mile at a Time, <a href=\"https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-ceo-jetblue-mint/\">where he wrote</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>I’ve had the opportunity to interact with quite a few senior\nairline executives over the years, and I find that their knowledge\nabout competitors is typically one extreme or the other:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Some airline executives literally couldn’t tell you the first\nthing about their competitors, and have no knowledge of their\npassenger experience, fleet, etc.</li>\n<li>Some airline executives know literally everything about their\ncompetitors, down to being able to tell you how many seats\ncompetitors have on specific planes</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I find there are very few executives who are just kind of in the\nmiddle, as it’s pretty polarizing. Either they know virtually\neverything about competitors, or nearly nothing. Without naming\nany names, I’ll say that generally speaking there’s a high\ncorrelation between airlines that have a great passenger\nexperience, and airlines that have executives that keep very close\ntabs on the competition.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>And I wrote:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>If the CEO’s primary perspective on the company is via\nspreadsheets — if it’s all just P&L to them — that company is\nnot going to excel at quality. Or if they do excel at quality,\nthey won’t for long.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think Tim Cook was truly an exception in this regard. He’s not a product guy, and never pretended to be. He is a spreadsheet guy. But he clearly realized that about himself, and he understood that Apple’s entire point is delivering great products and experiences. But I think Ternus is a breath of fresh air in this regard. Apple didn’t immediately switch to decision-making by quantifiable numbers under Cook, but incrementally, year-by-year, decision-making by quantifiable numbers took over.</p>\n\n<p>You simply cannot assign numeric values to everything, and some of those things that cannot be quantified are the most important things. Apple needs a CEO who makes some major product decisions by gut alone.</p>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘From the DF Archive: Should a CEO Be a Nerd About Their Company’s Products?’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/ternus-cook-product-nerds\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43628",
      "title": "Apple Event, in Los Angeles, Next Week: ‘Pro and Tell’",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://x.com/gregjoz/status/2112212372182249831",
      "published": "2026-10-19T22:27:21.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-19T22:27:21.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Greg Joswiak, on X:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Can’t wait to pro and tell next week.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/19/apple-pro-and-tell/\">Juli Clover, MacRumors</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Rumors suggest Apple is planning to debut the new MacBook Pro with\nan OLED touchscreen display, an M6 entry-level MacBook Pro, an M6\niMac, an iPad mini with an OLED display.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Apple Event, in Los Angeles, Next Week: ‘Pro and Tell’’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/apple-event-pro-and-tell\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43627",
      "title": "★ Estimated Arrival Dates for DF Readers’ Pre-Ordered iPhone Duos",
      "description": "No one should mistake my audience as representative of the general public in any poll, but I bet my audience is at least ballpark representative of the general public when it comes to something like pre-ordering, at the crack of dawn, a new iPhone form factor that costs $2000 to $3200.",
      "url": "https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/estimated_arrival_dates_for_preordered_iphone_duos",
      "published": "2026-10-19T22:04:04.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-20T13:55:40.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Yesterday I posted the same question to my followers <a href=\"https://x.com/gruber/status/2111904155472146778\">on X</a>, <a href=\"https://www.threads.com/@gruber/post/DepcnGgFCKH\">Threads</a>, and <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/@gruber/117463540267834280\">Mastodon</a>:<sup id=\"fnr1-2026-10-19\"><a href=\"#fn1-2026-10-19\">1</a></sup></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Poll, only for people who have pre-ordered a Duo. When is your\ndelivery/pickup date?</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>October</li>\n<li>November</li>\n<li>December</li>\n<li>January</li>\n</ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The results were interesting; I’m glad I asked.</p>\n\n<!-- Markdown Table:\n|           |   X   | Threads | Mastodon | Total\n| --------- | :---: | :-----: | :------: | :---:\n| October   |  36%  |   38%   |   39%    |  37% \n| November  |  35%  |   42%   |   45%    |  39% \n| December  |  10%  |   9%    |    8%    |  10% \n| January   |  19%  |   11%   |    8%    |  14% \n|           |       |         |          |      \n| Responses | 1,382 |  1,034  |   449    | 2,865\n-->\n\n<table class=\"table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2\" width = 450 style = \"margin-left: 0;\">\n<style>\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(1) { text-align: left }\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(1) { text-align: left }\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(2) { text-align: center }\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(3) { text-align: center }\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(3) { text-align: center }\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(4) { text-align: center }\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(4) { text-align: center }\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 th:nth-child(5) { text-align: center }\n.table-F6EF9A88-760F-4ED8-9399-ABE7D8DE4FE2 td:nth-child(5) { text-align: center }\n</style>\n<thead>\n<th></th><th>X</th><th>Threads</th><th>Mastodon</th><th>Total</th>\n</thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>October</td><td>36%</td><td>38%</td><td>39%</td><td>37%</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>November</td><td>35%</td><td>42%</td><td>45%</td><td>39%</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>December</td><td>10%</td><td>9%</td><td>8%</td><td>10%</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td>January</td><td>19%</td><td>11%</td><td>8%</td><td>14%</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td><em>Responses</em></td><td><em>1,382</em></td><td><em>1,034</em></td><td><em>449</em></td><td><em>2,865</em></td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table>\n\n<p><img\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/duo-ship-dates-chart.png\"\n    alt = \"The “Total” column from the above table, in bar chart form.\"\n    width = 550\n  /></p>\n\n<p>Observations:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>There were way more people who successfully got October ship dates than I expected. It’s very close to even with November ship dates.</p></li>\n<li><p>The fact that there are fewer December ship dates than January, is to me, a sign of Apple’s appreciation for the holidays. I think Apple is only promising “December” for shipments they are 100 percent certain they can deliver by Christmas. I bet a bunch of the orders promised for January will in fact ship in December — albeit perhaps too-late-for-Christmas December.</p></li>\n<li><p>Apparently some configurations are getting <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/@coachmike66/117466428892965146\">an estimated date of February 1</a>. I wish I’d listed February as an option, but I don’t think it would have made a big difference.</p></li>\n<li><p><a href=\"https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/19/apple-starts-moving-up-iphone-duo-delivery-dates/\">Per MacRumors today</a>, some pre-order estimates are already moving up, like from early December to late November.</p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>No one should mistake my audience as representative of the general public in any poll, but I bet my audience is at least ballpark representative of the general public when it comes to something like pre-ordering, at the crack of dawn, a new iPhone form factor that costs $2000 to $3200.</p>\n\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\n<hr />\n<ol>\n<li id=\"fn1-2026-10-19\">\n<p>I didn’t ask on Bluesky because — despite launching over three years ago — it still lacks a poll feature. There’s some kind of third-party thing called <a href=\"https://poll.blue/\">poll.blue</a>, but I couldn’t be bothered. <a href=\"#fnr1-2026-10-19\"  class=\"footnoteBackLink\"  title=\"Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026:/linked//6.43626",
      "title": "Netflix Shitcanned Film Chief Dan Lin Too",
      "description": null,
      "url": "https://deadline.com/2026/10/netflix-dan-lin-out-1237167562/",
      "published": "2026-10-19T21:15:57.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-19T22:41:29.000Z",
      "content": "<p>Anthony D’Alessandro, reporting for Deadline:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Dan Lin is out as film boss at Netflix in a move that has been\nlargely speculated for weeks. Insiders at the streamer have denied\nthat Lin and even Bela Bajaria were on the chopping block, but\nhere we are.</p>\n\n<p>Lin is meeting with his feature staff Monday morning for a\npost-mortem after the news. Per sources close to the situation, a\nsuccessor to Lin won’t be named until the arrival of <a href=\"https://deadline.com/2026/10/netflix-peter-rice-chief-content-officer-1237158809/\">Peter Rice,\nwho is taking over Netflix’s Chief Content Officer role</a> from\nBajaria.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Netflix’s movies are worse than their series, <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/08/11/netflix-has-peaked\">which also <em>mostly</em> stink</a>. (As opposed to Apple TV, which somehow makes terrible movies while making the best series in the business.)</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://x.com/MikeIsaac/status/2112252613647597784\">Mike Isaac, on X</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>it has long been understood that, qualitatively, a “netflix movie”\nexists in the liminal space between theatrical release and\nLifetime production</p>\n\n<p>with some notable exceptions, even the biggest budget productions\nfeel cheap, strange and worst of all, unmemorable</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<div>\n<a  title=\"Permanent link to ‘Netflix Shitcanned Film Chief Dan Lin Too’\"  href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/10/19/netflix-dan-line\"> ★ </a>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    },
    {
      "id": "tag:daringfireball.net,2026://1.43613",
      "title": "★ HomeView Thoughts and Observations",
      "description": "There’s a real “*Why do we need this?*” question here and I don’t think Apple’s video answers it, at all. You need to think you want it if you’re going to buy it. And even if you already had a HomeView set up, I’m not sure how often you’d use it instead of your phone, or instead of just talking to it like a screenless HomePod.",
      "url": "https://daringfireball.net/2026/10/homeview_thoughts_and_observations",
      "published": "2026-10-17T17:25:13.000Z",
      "updated": "2026-10-17T22:59:52.000Z",
      "content": "<p>I’ll start with a nomenclatural sidenote: Apple seems to be going with “Apple HomeView” as the product’s name. E.g., the URL slug for it on Apple.com is <em><a href=\"https://www.apple.com/apple-homeview/\">apple-homeview/</a></em>, not just <em>homeview/</em>. Few people notice and no one who doesn’t work in Apple product marketing cares, but they actually do the same thing with Vision Pro — in Cupertino, it’s “Apple Vision Pro” (once again including <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/\">the URL slug</a>). Yet this week’s new HomePod Mini is just “<a href=\"https://www.apple.com/homepod-mini/\">HomePod mini 2</a>” and the existing 2nd-generation HomePod is just “<a href=\"https://www.apple.com/homepod-2nd-generation/\">HomePod (2nd generation)</a>” — not “HomePod 2” or “Apple HomePod”. I certainly intend to just call it “HomeView”.</p>\n\n<p>Apple introduced HomeView with a three-minute introductory film simulating a suburban family’s hectic before-school/work kitchen rush hour, with versions hosted <a href=\"https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/apple-homeview/2026/f7ce47a8-10f2-455c-b99f-bf9b85a35cb6/films/product/apple-homeview-product-tpl-us-2026_16x9.m3u8\">on Apple’s site</a> and <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkrYiZ_g9tw\">YouTube</a>. The most ridiculous aspect of it is that anyone would possibly make their kid French toast in that scenario. I’d have told my son to make his own goddamn French toast with that attitude. Or I’d have made a single serving and eaten it myself right in front of him. Bro.</p>\n\n<p>I do think the basic concept is an intriguing idea. But as an implementation of that concept, my initial impressions are threefold. First, I am unconvinced that anyone in a family would use this for anything other than playing music or podcasts, rather than just using their phones. And if that’s the case, why not just have a HomePod? Apple’s video shows family members taking turns to use the HomeView, rotating it on the kitchen island to face themselves. Why? Why does the mom check her calendar on this, rather than on her iPhone, while the dad is using it to follow a French toast recipe? There’s a real “<em>Why do we need this?</em>” question here and I don’t think Apple’s video answers it, at all. You need to think you want it if you’re going to buy it. And even if you already had a HomeView set up, I’m not sure how often you’d use it instead of your phone, or instead of just talking to it like a screenless HomePod.</p>\n\n<p>Second, all the touching and rotating — in Apple’s own demonstration — makes it seem awkward that HomeView must be tethered to a USB power cable. If you look closely in the video, they do show the USB power cable in some shots, but not many. And if you look really closely, this hypothetical family has drilled a hole in the center of their kitchen island to snake the cable through.</p>\n\n<p>The hero shot introducing the product, of course, does not show the power cable at all:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-introducing.jpeg\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-introducing.jpeg\"\n    alt = \"The “Introducing HomeView” title card shot from Apple’s video. It shows a HomeView sitting atop a kitchen island.\"\n    width = 600\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>We see a wee bit of the cable when the dad reaches to touch the screen to start the French toast recipe:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-dad.jpeg\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-dad.jpeg\"\n    alt = \"The HomeView, centered on the kitchen island, with about 2 inches of cable visible, disappearing into the island right behind the HomeView base.\"\n    width = 600\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>And then a few seconds later, after the mom rotates the HomeView to the side, so she can check her calendar (despite the fact that she knows the dad was using it to follow a recipe), we get our most honest shot of the cabling situation:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-49s.jpeg\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-49s.jpeg\"\n    alt = \"A view from behind the HomeView, which has been rotated to face the mom, showing about 4 inches of the USB cable disappearing into a convenient hole in the center of the island.\"\n    width = 600\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>The above shot is at 0:49. It’s followed by two quick cuts to the dad and then the younger daughter, then at 0:52 we cut back to the mom (curious about her daughter’s new boyfriend situation), and, lo, the shot is now framed in such a way that we no longer see where the cable goes:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-52s.jpeg\" class=\"noborder\">\n  <img\n    src = \"https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/10/homeview-video-cable-mom-52s.jpeg\"\n    alt = \"Same view as the previous shot, except the camera has been tilted up about an inch, such that the cable just runs off the bottom of the frame, no longer showing that it disappears into a hole in the island that no kitchen island I’ve ever seen actually has.\"\n    width = 600\n  /></a></p>\n\n<p>If you think that slight reframing is happenstance, you should stay away from poker tables. Most kitchen islands I’m familiar with — including my own — have power outlets on the sides of the island. I’m sure some people have power outlets on the top surface of the counter, but I can’t recall seeing one. These are kitchen counters, not office desks. But either way, there’d be a long USB-C cable cluttering the countertop. And if you do happen to have a power outlet on the top surface of your counter, there’d be an adapter sticking out of it, all the time, to duplicate this HomeView setup.</p>\n\n<p>This family’s convenient hole in the center of their island countertop is a fantasy. Where does the cable go underneath? How exactly do they have a power adapter plugged in down there? What happens when something spills on the counter? When we custom ordered our kitchen, we weren’t asked if we wanted any holes drilled in our island countertop, and if we <em>had</em> been asked, it would have made me wonder if the guy asking the question had a hole or two drilled in his head.</p>\n\n<p>I know, it’s a marketing video. Marketing videos present products in ideal settings. But the power cable is an essential aspect of the standalone HomeView. I’m not suggesting that it should be battery powered. You’d still need to plug it in every few days, which would mean most people would just leave it plugged in, which gets us back to needing to live with an always-visible cable and power adapter in one of our living spaces. The countertop hole this cable disappears into in this video is less <em>ideal</em> and more <em>dishonest</em>.</p>\n\n<p>The wall-mounted option seems more appealing to me, but now you’re talking about a home improvement project and (for most of us) calling an electrician. And that raises the question of why the wall-mounted version costs the same $300 as the one with the connected base, even though the base provides the subwoofer. And it requires a mount, and the mounts cost $60 (USB-C), $80 (AC wired), or $130 (PoE — and this one is not available yet). So the wall-mounted version, when you include a mount, costs more but sounds worse? This doesn’t make sense.</p>\n\n<p>Those points make me skeptical that there’s a place for HomeView in my home. We have a stereo pair of HomePods in our kitchen. Neither is on the center island, because that would be dumb. They’re on the counters along the outside of the kitchen, each near an outlet on the wall. In the four days since HomeView was announced, I’ve tried to imagine when I’d want to look at something on a screen on either of them. My count remains at zero.</p>\n\n<p>My third early impression is that the display is surprisingly small. I saw HomeView in person in New York on Tuesday, and I think Apple’s video conveys its size very accurately. It’s small and cute. It’s much more like a HomePod Mini with a screen than a full-size HomePod with a screen. For some reason I was expecting the latter. This is not a complaint, simply an observation. I actually think that making it small and cute makes it about as unobtrusive as an ever-present screen could possibly be. That’s good. But because it’s small you need to be close to it to read anything more detailed than large glanceable widgets.</p>\n\n<p>The major difference between a device with a screen and one without is that you can watch video on a device with a screen. But HomeView clearly isn’t intended for that. It <em>can</em> play video but isn’t primarily <em>meant</em> to play video. If it were it would have a widescreen aspect ratio. But instead it has a square aspect ratio,<sup id=\"fnr1-2026-10-17\"><a href=\"#fn1-2026-10-17\">1</a></sup> which is decidedly unsuited to video, unless, I suppose, you want a screen that is equally unsuited for both widescreen and tallscreen video.</p>\n\n<p>So my skepticism boils down to the question of why anyone would want to add one (or more!) additional ever-present screens to our homes and lives. Phones can stay in our pockets until we need them. Watches remain on our wrists. HomePods can be tucked away unobtrusively in corners, and remain fully useful. HomeView needs to be in a prominent location for its display to serve any practical purpose. Apple’s initial pitch for it doesn’t earn that prominence for me.</p>\n\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\n<hr />\n<ol>\n<li id=\"fn1-2026-10-17\">\n<p>In my <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/thoughts_and_observations_on_apples_surprise_and_shine_event\">thoughts and observations column</a> after Apple’s iPhone event last month, I wrote the following regarding the iPhone Duo’s clever 1:1.4 aspect ratio:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Here’s the thing. If you take a 2 : 1 or even 2.2 : 1 aspect ratio phone display and turn that into a book-like foldable, the inner screen comes out square — or so close to square that we might as well just call it square. Nobody makes any device of any sort that just has a square display. Square is a terrible aspect ratio for a phone or a tablet or a laptop or a desktop display. The only square displays on the market are the inner displays for Android foldables from the last decade. Square being a shitty aspect ratio is half the reason <a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/09/07/birchler-folding-iphone-predictions\">almost no one has bought those things</a>. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I will admit that I had the as-yet-unannounced HomeView in mind as I wrote that, given that its square aspect ratio had been rumored for months. HomeView is not a phone or tablet or laptop or desktop display. It’s not a TV either. So maybe square works for this nascent product category (status boards?). But if square does prove to be correct for this purpose, it’ll be the first category I can think of where that’s true. Apple Watch is the closest device I can think of whose screen serves primarily to display status, but even Apple Watch isn’t square. (It varies slightly by model, but Apple Watch displays are around 4 : 5.) <a href=\"#fnr1-2026-10-17\"  class=\"footnoteBackLink\"  title=\"Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.\">↩︎</a></p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n</div>",
      "image": null,
      "media": [],
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "John Gruber",
          "email": null,
          "url": "http://daringfireball.net/"
        }
      ],
      "categories": []
    }
  ]
}