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DoorDash debuts iMessage AI agent that lets you text your usual order via Apple’s Messages
DoorDash is pushing food delivery deeper into everyday messaging with a new AI agent that takes orders inside Apple’s Messages app, according to Bloomberg News‘ Natalie Lung.
The company opened a U.S. waitlist Wednesday for the text-to-order tool, which lets customers type natural-language requests such as “order my usual protein bowl to the office” without opening the DoorDash app. The agent matches the phone number in the conversation to a DoorDash account, pulls order history and preferences, and can complete checkout with a stored payment method.
Users can ask for a specific dish, request a local recommendation, or simply say “order my usual.” DoorDash said the agent searches nearby restaurants, builds a suggested cart, and can send photos of recommended items. It is also designed to handle group orders with mixed dietary needs. In some cases it can work from a photo of a fridge to suggest recipes and missing ingredients.
The feature builds on Ask DoorDash, the in-app assistant the company launched earlier this year. DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang discussed the broader agent strategy at the company’s Dash Forward event in San Francisco. The company is also opening a waitlist for an enterprise MCP (model context protocol) aimed at corporate ordering, and Fang said DoorDash is talking with Meta and other AI players about meeting users in the apps they already use.
The consumer Messages pilot is limited to U.S. iOS users for now, with Android support planned later. DoorDash has cautioned that the AI can make mistakes and that customers should review carts before paying. Early testers have reported occasional mismatches on prices or photos compared with the main app; the company said waitlist users will get an updated version.
The move comes as delivery platforms race to embed agentic shopping so customers do not have to hunt through menus. DoorDash is positioning the iMessage agent as a way to stay ahead of Uber Eats and Grubhub while also testing delivery drones with select Northern California restaurants.
MacDailyNews Note: U.S. customers can join the waitlist at doordash.com/text.
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Why Apple will finally deliver the smart home to the world
For more than a decade, the “smart home” has been an unmitigated disaster – a fragmented, frustrating hobbyist’s maze that only a sadomasochist could love.
Five different apps. Three separate clouds. A cheap plastic smart speaker that works right up until your internet hiccups. And, worst of all, always-listening, always-watching spy cameras piping feeds from your living room straight into the server farms of advertising companies whose entire business models depend on strip-mining your personal privacy.
That’s why, despite boasting market evaluations in the $160–186 billion range, the smart home category remains massive on paper, yet completely broken in practice.
What this market has desperately lacked isn’t another cheap $15 plastic plug from Shenzhen. It’s a company that ordinary families can actually trust, that builds hardware you can set up in seconds, and then lets you get on with your life.
That company, of course, as usual, is Apple.
From half-committed to dominant
When Apple introduced HomeKit in 2014, followed by HomePod and Apple TV as home hubs, the tech press naturally yawned. When Matter and Thread arrived to bring order to the protocol wars, Cupertino still looked half-committed compared to Amazon’s bargain-bin Echos and Google’s spyware-laden Nest Hubs.
That era is officially over.
Bloomberg News‘ Mark Gurman reports that Apple is finally dropping the hammer on October 13th with a full-court smart-home offensive. Headlining the launch is code-name “J490” (widely dubbed “HomePad”) alongside an updated HomePod mini and a powered-up Apple TV, all driven by a vastly superior, context-aware Siri.
Described as a sleek, six-inch square display—thin as an iPhone and available in countertop and wall-mount variants—HomePad instantly recognizes individual household members and customizes its display on the fly.
This isn’t just another speaker with a cheap screen slapped on. It is the central, shared control plane for the modern home.
Mass market starts with what’s already in your pocket
Amazon and Google fanboys love to point at speaker market share and catalog listings. That’s the old, outdated scoreboard.
The mass market doesn’t start in the clearance aisle at Best Buy. It starts when a user unlocks their front door with an Apple Watch, tells Siri in the kitchen to dim the lights, and never has to touch a clunky, privacy-challenged third-party app again.
Apple already possesses the ultimate trojan horse: the global hardware distribution engine of the iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and HomePod. The home doesn’t need another fragmented ecosystem; it simply needs the devices people already carry to talk to it seamlessly.
While Amazon pushed discounted Dots to pump its numbers, Apple Home has quietly become the fastest-growing platform in key global markets. Growth anchored by 1.5+ billion high-end smartphone user base is a juggernaut that bargain-bin speakers simply cannot stop.
Privacy isn’t a feature — it’s the whole ballgame
People might foolishly put a bargain-bin smart bulb in their hallway, but nobody in their right mind wants an always-listening ad engine sitting on their nightstand or monitoring their children’s rooms.
Apple sells premium hardware and services. Amazon and Google sell you.
HomeKit was built from day one around local control: automations execute directly on your HomePod or Apple TV inside your house, end-to-end encryption is mandatory, and HomeKit Secure Video keeps your security feeds off shady, insecure third-party clouds. When your broadband goes down, your lights and locks still work. That isn’t a feature for tech nerds, it’s the foundational requirement of actual household infrastructure.
With HomePad’s reported ability to recognize who is in the room and hide sensitive personal data from guests or strangers, Apple is putting privacy front and center. Families will buy it. Enterprises will mandate it. Regulators will champion it.
The end of “programmer-level” home setup
The smart home failed the mainstream because it asked normal human beings to become software engineers. If this sensor triggers, and it’s after sunset, but only if user X isn’t home, then run scene Y. Tech enthusiasts loved it; everyone else gave up after their second light bulb.
With Apple’s deep integration across iOS, the house stops being a collection of manual toggles and becomes a space that intelligently anticipates your life:
• Apple Watch feeds sleep and workout context.
• iPhone & Home Key handle arrival and secure access.
• Apple TV & HomePod handle local Thread border routing and local processing.
• On-device AI breaks down camera clips, categorizes security alerts, and handles energy orchestration natively.
A wall-mounted HomePad paired with an AI-driven Siri turns the house from a glorified remote control into a truly effortless environment.
This is how Apple takes the smart home worldwide: not by racing to the bottom, but by supplying the trust, the hardware finish, and the privacy foundation that no online shopping or ad company on Earth can replicate.
Amazon and Google spent the last decade teaching people to yell commands at cheap plastic speakers. Apple is about to teach the smart home how to actually work.
SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer, and contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section.
[Post updated October 1, 2026 at 9:45am EDT)
MacDailyNews Take: That is how the smart home stops being a hobby and becomes furniture. And furniture, sold at Apple’s standard of finish, is how you reach the world.
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Apple Pay launches in India
Apple Pay is now available for users in India across iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, with support for Mac coming soon. The launch brings Apple customers an easy, secure, and private way to pay in stores, in apps, and on the web at retailers of all sizes — all without the need to type in PINs or use OTPs at checkout. Customers with Axis Bank-issued Visa and Mastercard credit cards can add their cards to Apple Pay and use them at thousands of in-store and online merchants across India, as well as anywhere that accepts NFC transactions.
“India is home to a dynamic and digitally savvy population that continues to embrace a cashless future while expecting the highest standards of security and privacy, and we’re so excited to bring Apple Pay to users in India today,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, in a statement. “Apple Pay makes everyday payments with a card easy, secure, and private — from simply tapping to pay in stores without an extra app, PIN, or OTP to checking out online without repeatedly entering payment information.”
“We are at a significant inflection point in payments, where technology, security and changing customer expectations are reshaping how people transact. At Axis Bank, our aspiration is to remain at the forefront of this transformation by building payment experiences that are progressive, trusted and deeply relevant to our customers,” said Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO, Axis Bank, in a statement. “The introduction of Apple Pay advances this ambition, bringing greater choice and flexibility to our Credit Card customers, with support across the Mastercard and Visa networks. As payments become increasingly embedded in customers’ everyday digital lives, our focus is on bringing together innovation and trust, while making every interaction more intuitive and relevant. More importantly, this reflects our vision of a more connected and sophisticated payments ecosystem, where technology enables convenience and confidence in every transaction.”
“As India’s digital economy accelerates and consumers seek seamless and secure payment experiences, the introduction of Apple Pay for our Axis Bank-issued Mastercard credit card holders ushers in a new era of contactless commerce, giving Indian consumers greater confidence and peace of mind with every transaction,” said Gautam Aggarwal, Mastercard’s president of India and South Asia, in a statement. “With Mastercard’s tokenisation technology, every Apple Pay transaction is protected by a unique, cryptographically secured token, ensuring card details are never shared with merchants, safeguarding consumers against fraud.”
“The launch of Apple Pay in India marks an important milestone in the evolution of the country’s digital payments journey,” said Suresh Sethi, Visa’s group country manager of India and South Asia, in a statement. “By bringing together Apple’s intuitive consumer experience with Visa’s trusted global network and tokenisation capabilities, Apple Pay brings consumers in India a simpler, safer, and more seamless way to pay. Together, we are expanding consumer choice and helping shape the next generation of commerce in India.”
Delivering a Secure and Private Payment Experience
Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. When customers use a card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device or on Apple servers, nor are they shared by Apple with the merchant. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in the Secure Element, an industry-standard certified chip designed to store the payment information safely on the device.
Apple does not retain transaction information that can be tied back to the user. Their transactions stay between the user, the merchant, and their bank or card issuer. If a user’s iPhone is lost or stolen, they can use the Find My app to quickly locate, lock, or suspend payments from that device.
How to Use Apple Pay
Apple Pay is easy to set up. Customers can add a card directly to Apple Wallet via the latest version of the Axis Bank app. Alternatively, simply open the Wallet app on iPhone, tap the plus sign, and follow the steps to add an eligible card. Once a user adds a card to their Apple device, they can start using Apple Pay right away.
Using Apple Pay in stores is seamless and easy. Simply double-click the side button or Home button; authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID, or a device passcode if prompted; and hold the top of the iPhone or display of the Apple Watch near the contactless reader to pay.
Users can also make purchases with Apple Pay on iPhone and iPad — with support for Mac coming soon — for faster and more convenient payments in apps or on the web without having to create accounts or repeatedly type in contact information, card details, or shipping and billing information.
When using Apple Pay, users will continue to earn the rewards and benefits offered by their cards.
At launch, Apple Pay will be accepted by millions of merchants across India, including at Apple Store locations, Blinkit, Chaayos, Comet, Croma, Interflora, Ixigo, Le15 Patisserie, Reliance brands, Tata 1mg, Zomato, and more. Apple has worked closely with payment service providers (PSPs) — like BillDesk, Cashfree, Juspay, Mswipe, Paytm, PayU, Pine Labs, Razorpay, and more — to bring Apple Pay to their merchant networks in India, with even more merchants and apps coming over time.
Today Apple Pay is available in more than 90 countries and regions, and works with more than 11,000 bank and network partners worldwide.
MacDailyNews Take: Congrats, India!
Note: Apple Pay requires iPhone XR or later with iOS 18 or later. Available on Apple Watch Series 6 or later with watchOS 11 or later. Apple Watch must be paired with iPhone XR or later. For more information, see apple.com/in/apple-pay.
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Apple TV unveils trailer for ‘Small Prophets’ comedy series, premiering October 7th
Apple TV on Wednesday debuted the season one trailer for “Small Prophets,” the acclaimed six-episode comedy from BAFTA Award-winning creator, writer and director Mackenzie Crook (“Detectorists”). The series will premiere on Apple TV with the first two episodes on October 7, 2026, excluding the U.K., where it will be available to Apple TV subscribers in 2027. New episodes will premiere every Wednesday through November 4, 2026.
The series features a host of beloved comedy stars, including Mackenzie Crook, Pearce Quigley (“Detectorists”), Lauren Patel (“Waterloo Road”), BAFTA Award winner Sir Michael Palin (“Monty Python”), BAFTA Award winner Sophie Willan (“Alma’s Not Normal”), BAFTA Award nominee Jon Pointing (“Big Boys”) and Actor Award nominee Paul Kaye (“Game of Thrones”).
“Small Prophets” is a comic tale of the eccentric Michael Sleep (Quigley) who, since his darling Clea disappeared seven years ago, has lived a very ordinary life. He works in a DIY store, visits his dad Brian (Palin) and hopes for Clea to return. One day Brian shares an old recipe involving rainwater, horse manure and more than a little alchemy. With recipe in hand, Michael sets out (albeit with some skepticism) to create homunculi — magical spirits that can predict the future — in the hope they have the answer to his burning question: “will I ever see Clea again?”
Michael gets help from his young coworker Kacey (Patel), an unlikely friendship that blossoms partly (but not wholly) through their mutual dislike of store manager Gordon (Mackenzie Crook). Their friendship adds to the frustration and intrigue of his nosy neighbors (Willan, Pointing) who are obsessed with trying to find out what the hell is going on in the garden shed.
Hailed as a “jewel-like, unhurried masterpiece that is funny, profound and manages to break and mend your heart in equal measures,” the “truly fantastic” first season of the series that is “full of gorgeous surprises” holds a rare, perfect 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and won the Best Series Award, International Panorama at Series Mania in March 2026. Celebrated as “completely lovely” and “compulsory viewing,” “Small Prophets” is “richly steeped in Crook’s glorious brand of gentleness, his ability to imbue the ordinary with extraordinariness,” and is an “impossible marvel of TV making.”
“Small Prophets” was filmed and set in and around Manchester. The series incorporates visually stunning animation elements throughout a story of friendships and hope, the magical and the mundane, and where secrets and lies lurk in a suburban cul-de-sac.
The series is produced by Treasure Trove and Blue House Productions, and is created, written and directed by Mackenzie Crook. Executive producers are Mackenzie Crook and Lisa Thomas for Treasure Trove Productions, and Christine Gernon and Emma Strain for Blue House Productions. Apple TV acquired “Small Prophets” from international distributor Sphere Abacus.
Apple TV offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 919 wins and 3,829 award nominations and counting including multi-Emmy Award-winning and history-making comedies “The Studio” and “Ted Lasso,” global cultural phenomenon “Severance,” Apple’s most-viewed drama “Pluribus,” Academy Award Best Picture winner “CODA” and Academy Award winner “F1,” the highest-grossing sports feature of all time.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $14.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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Apple plans October 13 smart-home offensive with new AI hub, HomePod mini, and Apple TV
Apple is preparing to make its long-delayed push into the smart-home market on October 13th, according to Bloomberg News’ Mark Gurman, in a product expansion that would be one of the first major category moves under new Chief Executive Officer John Ternus.
At the center of the plan is a smart-home hub internally code-named J490, Gurman reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple also intends to announce the first update to the HomePod mini since that speaker’s 2020 debut and its first new Apple TV set-top box since 2022.
The hub is expected to take the form of a compact, roughly square display — about 6 to 7 inches — available in versions that sit on a counter or mount on a wall. It is designed to act as a household control point: managing connected accessories, handling video calls and intercom functions, showing photos and calendars, playing music, and running a new operating system built around Apple’s upgraded Siri AI. Facial recognition is meant to identify who is standing in front of the screen and personalize the interface, content, and responses.
The refreshed HomePod mini and Apple TV are expected to keep familiar designs while receiving faster processors so they can run the same more capable Siri models. Together, the three products would give Apple a coordinated hardware lineup in a category long dominated by Amazon and Google, after years in which Apple mostly leaned on HomeKit and third-party accessories.
The timing follows the public arrival of Siri AI with iOS 27. Earlier reporting by Gurman had described the hub as hardware that was largely ready while Apple waited for the assistant to catch up; the device has reportedly been in wider testing in employees’ homes. Apple has also been working to expand HomeKit and partner with third-party manufacturers around the new platform.
The October 13th date would put the announcement in the heart of the holiday selling season and shortly after Apple’s first foldable iPhone cycle under Ternus. A more ambitious follow-on product — a higher-end display on a moving robotic arm — has been described in earlier Gurman reporting as a later-stage project, not part of this first wave.
Apple did not immediately comment on the report. If the devices ship as planned, they would mark the company’s clearest attempt yet to make the home, not just the pocket, a core Apple surface.
MacDailyNews Take: We’ve been waiting for the new Apple TV hardware, among other things, for what seems like forever!
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Apple TV hits highest weekly viewership ever after Emmy sweep, ‘Ted Lasso’ return, and ‘Mayday’ debut
Apple TV recorded the biggest week of viewing in its seven-year history during the week of September 14, as a record Emmy haul collided with new releases and a wider distribution push.
The streamer reported a 67 percent year-over-year jump for that week. Apple did not publish raw subscriber or hours-watched totals, instead citing comparative gains and third-party rankings. Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva first reported the company’s claims and the supporting Luminate and Nielsen data.
The timing was unusually stacked. Apple took home 28 Primetime Emmys on September 14 — 29 including the commercials category — the most of any platform this year and the most in Apple TV history. Freshman horror-comedy Widow’s Bay led that haul with 14 awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, the most wins ever for a comedy in a single season. Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus added six more, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Rhea Seehorn.
Those trophies translated into a sharp halo effect. Apple said Widow’s Bay viewership jumped 280 percent week over week after the ceremony, with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, India, Poland, and Spain leading the surge. Luminate data lined up with that claim: the series sat outside the U.S. Top 50 for September 4–10, then climbed to No. 13 for September 11–17. Pluribus rose 200 percent week over week, though that increase came off a smaller base after the series ended in December and did not reenter Luminate’s Top 50.
New programming did as much work as the awards. Mayday, the Cold War buddy comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, premiered September 4 and became Apple TV’s biggest film debut over its first 18 days. In the U.S., Luminate ranked it No. 1 for September 4–10 with 8.7 million views and No. 2 the following week. The film, from Apple Studios, Skydance, and Reynolds’ Maximum Effort, has drawn generally positive reviews.
Ted Lasso Season 4 was the other pillar. Jason Sudeikis’ comedy, now following Ted as he coaches a second-division women’s team three years after Season 3, is Apple’s most-watched returning comedy over its first 54 days, the company said. Nielsen’s most recent weekly streaming report, covering September 7, put Ted Lasso at No. 7 overall with 734 million minutes viewed. The season premiered August 5 and remains near the top of Apple TV charts worldwide as it heads toward an October 7 finale.
The stellar series Slow Horses also benefited. Season 6 was up 25 percent versus Season 5 over its first seven days and returned to Luminate’s Top 50 at No. 43 after missing the prior week. Apple still calls it the service’s No. 1 title in the U.K.
A product change may have widened the funnel. On September 15, Apple expanded iCloud+ so paid subscribers in more than 170 countries get Apple TV at no extra cost. That rollout began the day after the Emmys and during the record week.
MacDailyNews Take: Nielsen’s figures for the week of September 14 were not yet out when Apple made the claim. Even without them, the combination of a historic awards night, a high-profile movie launch, a returning flagship comedy, and bundled access gave Apple TV its strongest argument yet that prestige award wins can still move the needle on a service known for quality over quantity.
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Apple rolls out new AirPods beta firmware
Apple on Tuesday released a new beta firmware update for its AirPods lineup, making build 9B5042a available to developers and public beta testers.
Supported Models & Details
The pre-release firmware is compatible across multiple generations of Apple audio devices:
• AirPods Pro: AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3
• AirPods: AirPods 4, AirPods 5
• AirPods Max: AirPods Max, AirPods Max 2
As is typical with AirPods beta releases, Apple has not provided release notes or detailed specific feature additions, performance enhancements, or bug fixes included in this build.
MacDailyNews Note: To test the new build, users must enable beta updates on a connected companion device running iOS, iPadOS, or macOS:
- Connect the AirPods to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac running a current OS version.
- Navigate to Settings and select your AirPods.
- Toggle on the option for Beta Firmware.
Once enabled, firmware installations occur automatically over the air. Place the AirPods in their charging case, connect them to a power source, and keep them near your connected Apple device. Because there is no manual “Update” button for AirPods software, the installation process typically completes over a few hours.
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New CEO John Ternus wants Apple to get back to work
Just weeks into the job, Apple’s new chief executive is already trying to shake the company out of its long-running rhythm. John Ternus, the longtime hardware engineering chief who succeeded Tim Cook on September 1st, is pushing Apple to move faster, launch more often, strip out layers of management, and put engineers closer to the top of the organization.
That account comes from Bloomberg News’ Mark Gurman, who reports that Ternus, a product person, has begun discussing an overhaul internally: accelerate product development, broaden the device lineup, and build a leaner company with a sharper engineering focus after operations manager Cook’s 15-year iterative slog.
The first visible change is the calendar. Apple has long clustered its biggest announcements around spring and fall. Ternus has told colleagues the company needs to introduce products more quickly and become more experimental if it is going to stay competitive. The idea is not an instant rewrite of how Apple designs hardware — those cycles are deeply established — but a shift toward more frequent releases throughout the year rather than two big seasonal waves.
The product pipeline already points that way. After the recent foldable iPhone Duo launch, work is underway on additional hardware next year, including camera-equipped AirPods, smart glasses, and a redesigned iPhone tied to the device’s 20th anniversary, along with refreshes such as a new HomePod mini, iPad mini, and Apple TV.
The organizational piece is more immediate. Ternus wants fewer middle-management layers between working engineers and senior executives. Over the past two weeks, Apple’s hardware engineering group has dismissed a number of engineering program managers — the people who for decades have managed timelines and coordinated work across teams. The cuts reached several program managers and about half a dozen directors, one of Apple’s most senior employee ranks. Those affected were given a short window to find other jobs inside the company; anyone who does not will be laid off later this year.
Smaller cuts have already hit other groups, and some early-stage projects judged less essential have been scaled back or canceled, including work in Siri, Vision Pro, and AI-related software engineering. Internally, the mood is described as more hands-on and hectic, with product managers being pressed to deliver more devices, more often, on shorter timelines.
None of this is a sudden conversion. At 51, Ternus has argued for a leaner Apple for years. While running hardware engineering, he told employees at an all-hands meeting that the company should hire fewer people, demand more from the engineers it already has, and cut organizational bloat. He once showed a slide of annual headcount growth and said Apple should be accomplishing more with fewer employees.
Cost-cutting is part of the same brief. Apple considered laying off about 5,000 AppleCare customer-service workers over the summer on the theory that AI agents could take over phone and web support; those plans were put on hold. Even so, employees in several divisions expect more reductions later this year or early next, even as some 2027 planning still assumes higher budgets and headcount. A smaller cultural signal: some teams were told they could not bring plus-ones to upcoming holiday parties for the first time in years.
Ternus is not only looking at expenses. With services chief Eddy Cue and CFO Kevan Parekh, he has discussed new services and ways to pull more revenue from products and offerings Apple already sells. More frequent hardware launches, the thinking goes, would also widen the base of customers who then buy subscriptions and other services.
The contrast with the Cook years is intentional. Cook built an operational giant and, via financial engineering(massive buybacks) a roughly $5 trillion company. Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran who oversaw hardware across iPhone, Mac, Watch, iPad, and AirPods and helped drive Apple silicon, is betting that an engineering-first, less layered company can ship more ambitious products without waiting for the next September event. Cook remains executive chairman and a government-relations presence; how far the two men stay aligned on strategy will be one of the tests of the foreseeable future.
For now, the message from the new CEO is blunt: fewer layers, more products, tighter teams, and less patience for the old cadence. Apple is being told to get back to work.
MacDailyNews Take: Better late than never!
You know, some people get upset when we point out that Tim Cook is a boring, reactive caretaker who’s not really the best person to be running Apple today or for at least the past several years.
Operations manager Cook should have been a 3-5 year stopgap after Steve Jobs’ untimely passing, running the iteration playbook, providing continuity for the company while it found a real CEO. Instead, he hung on — and keeps hanging on — well past his sell-by date.
Sigh.
You can be upset with us for having the temerity to call it like we see it, but the fact remains that Apple would be doing significantly better today with a visionary who’d have seen AI on the horizon, who’d have recognized the intrinsic importance of Siri and therefore invested in it instead of criminally neglecting it, and who wouldn’t have squandered the company’s gigantic leads in things like personal assistants and podcasting. – MacDailyNews, August 22, 2024
Apple needed new blood years ago, but the old blood simply won’t let go. – MacDailyNews, January 22, 2025
See also: Steve Jobs never meant for Tim Cook to still be Apple’s CEO in 2025 – MacDailyNews, July 9, 2025
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Apple’s Final Cut Camera now supports variable aperture on iPhone 18 Pro
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major update with version 2.4, adopting a new design, adding support for variable aperture on iPhone 18 Pro, and giving creators even more pro options with the release of iOS 27. The new version is available as a free software update beginning today, September 29.
Redesigned from the ground up, Final Cut Camera gives creators even easier access to popular settings like shutter angle, ISO, and white balance, along with customizable overlays, including false color and clipping indicators for proper exposure, and improved focus peaking with sensitivity control. A new tally light indicates when recording is underway, and a two-finger tap now clears the viewfinder so users can focus on the shot.
Final Cut Camera gives creators even easier access to popular settings like shutter angle, ISO, and white balance. A new tally light indicates when recording is underway, and a two-finger tap now clears the viewfinder so users can focus on the shot.
With iPhone 18 Pro, users can take advantage of the new Fusion Main camera with variable aperture — the most advanced camera Apple has ever made — which brings aperture control to iPhone for the first time. Final Cut Camera allows creators to precisely dial in their aperture settings, or choose between shutter priority and aperture priority modes, to record stunning videos. The update also unlocks Cinematic mode effects for regular video, including footage captured in ProRes and Apple Log, allowing creators to adjust focus points and depth of field while editing in Final Cut Pro.
The update unlocks Cinematic mode effects for regular video, including footage captured in ProRes and Apple Log, allowing creators to adjust focus points and depth of field while editing in Final Cut Pro.
With iOS 27, Final Cut Camera adds support for professional video scopes, clean SDI out, and genlock offset. Now creators can accurately monitor their video using the RGB Parade — which displays the red, green, and blue color channels to help check color balance and exposure — and the histogram. With clean SDI out, creators can send a clean video signal using an HDMI-to-SDI converter for broadcast-quality streaming. And with genlock offset, creators can compensate for image artifacts from a recorded display or for latency differences between their iPhone and other genlocked cameras.
Creators can now accurately monitor their video using the RGB Parade — which displays the red, green, and blue color channels to help check color balance and exposure — and the histogram.
MacDailyNews Take: Learn more about Final Cut Camera here.
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Apple releases updates to Apple Creator Studio
Apple today introduced updates to Apple Creator Studio, the powerful collection of creative and productivity apps. Pixelmator Pro for iPad adds edge-refinement tools for advanced selections; native video captured on iPhone 18 Pro can now have Cinematic mode effects applied during editing using Final Cut Pro and Motion; and Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and Freeform gain new templates and creative tools.
All-New Templates for New Ideas
Pixelmator Pro adds two new template collections on Mac and iPad, including designs for sports and action-packed projects, and templates for launching a new creative idea, business, or product. A new Podcasts category introduces cover artwork designed to make shows stand out, sized appropriately for major podcast platforms.
Pixelmator Pro for iPad also brings Select and Mask from Mac, giving creatives dedicated controls for precise mask and selection refinements — including the ability to preserve fine detail along complex edges like hair or fur.
End-to-End Cinematic Video
Final Cut Pro and Motion on Mac bring new ways to add Cinematic mode effects to video captured natively on iPhone 18 Pro. Editors can adjust focus points and depth of field directly in the Final Cut Pro timeline. Compressor lets editors convert video with Cinematic mode effects back into the previous Cinematic mode format, and adds new HEVC and MPEG-4 export presets for social sharing.
Time-Saving Features to Boost Productivity
Apple Creator Studio subscribers get new, professionally designed templates and themes in Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. And intelligent slide generation in Keynote now automatically creates images tailored to a presentation.
Keynote, Pages, and Numbers users can more easily collaborate and get help in the moment, with the ability to request access to a shared presentation, document, or spreadsheet. Pages for Mac also adds Screen View, which optimizes content for reading and focused writing, and Numbers adds new trigonometry, statistics, and logic functions for solving complex problems in a spreadsheet.
Freeform gains several highly requested features. Boards now automatically adapt to Dark Mode, and folders let users organize boards into collections and invite others to collaborate. Writing Tools with Apple Intelligence can rewrite, proofread, and summarize handwritten notes; users can also request access to collaborate on shared files, or automate adding content using Shortcuts. Freeform becomes even more powerful in visionOS 27, letting users pull multiple items from a board — including images, videos, sticky notes, shapes, and 3D models — into their space, and view 3D models together as a group.
MacDailyNews Take: Happy updating!
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Apple and the American Academy of Pediatrics release new guide to help families build healthy digital habits
Tuesday, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple released a new guide to help families create healthy digital habits that balance screen time with sleep, exercise, schoolwork, and time with friends and family. The AAP’s expert guidance has been tailored for Apple’s new parental controls in “Building Healthy Digital Habits: A Guide for Families.”
“Every family approaches technology in their own way,” said Sumbul Desai, M.D., Apple’s vice president of Health and Fitness, in a statement. “That’s why we wanted to combine trusted guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics with the tools built into our products. Together, they’re designed to adapt to each family and each child’s stage of development, giving parents a useful starting point to decide what works best. Our hope is that this guide helps facilitate easier discussions and gives families the resources they need to put this guidance into practice, adjust their approach as their child grows, and help them develop healthy digital habits they can carry into everyday life.”
This guide walks families through six steps:
• Start a conversation about screen time, with tips for parents to approach the topic and establish expectations in a way that helps kids feel included in the plan.
• Create a Child Account, which enables age-based safeguards and gives parents access to parental controls to manage their child’s experience.
• Set safety settings for websites and apps, including Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse, so families can review new apps and websites together.
• Make a schedule for device use, using Time Allowances and Schedules to balance time online with sleep, schoolwork, physical activity, and time with family and friends.
• Manage communications, with parents deciding who their child can communicate with and Communication Safety, on by default for all users under 18, helping protect kids from viewing or sharing sensitive content.
• Continue the conversation as kids grow, with guidance on adjusting the family’s plan over time.
There’s also more detailed information on the AAP’s screen time guidance by age group, from infants to teens, to help families consider their choices around media use.
“At AAP, our focus is equipping pediatricians and families with trusted science-based guidance to support informed decisions at every stage of a child’s life, including building healthy digital habits,” said Mark Del Monte, the AAP’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “We are proud to partner with Apple to expand access to the Family Media Plan, helping parents create routines that promote balance, safety, and healthy development. We know that navigating screens and social media is something every parent wants to get right, and this partnership will further support families with those efforts.”
Availability
New features are available now with the Screen Time update in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27. All products in a Family Sharing group must be updated to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 to use the Screen Time update. Some features may not be available in all regions, in all languages, or on all models. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.
MacDailyNews Note: Learn more about Apple’s approach to child safety here.
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Apple TV announces second season for French drama ‘Carême’ starring Benjamin Voisin
On the heels of its International Emmy Award nomination for Drama Series, Apple TV today announced a season two for the provocative French-language drama “Carême,” starring César Award winner Benjamin Voisin and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Martin Bourboulon (“Les Trois Mousquetaires: D’Artagnan”). The delicious series, slated to begin filming next week in Paris, also stars César Award nominee Jérémie Renier (“My Way”) and Alice Da Luz (“Hanami”).
Following its global debut just one year ago, the “thrilling and sumptuous” drama “Carême” has been hailed as an “irresistible” “visual and narrative feast” featuring Voisin’s “charismatic and complex” “portrayal of the ‘first celebrity chef.’” Quickly achieving a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the “delightful” series has received accolades from fans and critics around the world. The first season of “Carême” is now streaming on Apple TV.
“Carême” follows the thrilling story of the world’s first celebrity chef, Antonin Carême (Voisin), who rose from humble beginnings in Paris to the height of culinary stardom in Napoleon’s Europe. While he dreams only of becoming the most famous chef in the world, his talent and ambitions attract the attention of renowned and powerful politicians who use him as a spy for France. Determined to escape poverty and fulfill his dream, Carême can choose revenge or he can have it all — women, wealth, fame — but at what cost? His love? His soul? His life?
Based on the book “Carême: The First Celebrity Chef” by multi-award-winning historian, playwright and screenwriter Ian Kelly (“The King’s Man”), “Carême” is created by Kelly and Davide Serino (“Mussolini: Son of the Century”). “Carême” is executive produced by Vanessa van Zuylen with VVZ Production and Dominique Farrugia with Shine Fiction (Banijay France) for Apple TV. The series films on location at emblematic sites in and around Paris, including Palais des Tuileries, Château de Fontainebleau, Château de Chantilly, Château de Compiègne and more.
Apple TV offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 919 wins and 3,829 award nominations and counting including multi-Emmy Award-winning and history-making comedies “The Studio” and “Ted Lasso,” global cultural phenomenon “Severance,” Apple’s most-viewed drama “Pluribus,” Academy Award Best Picture winner “CODA” and Academy Award winner “F1,” the highest-grossing sports feature of all time.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $14.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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Apple TV unveils trailer for gripping new drama ‘Nocturne’
Apple TV on Tuesday released the trailer and key art for “Nocturne,” the gripping and highly anticipated drama based on the internationally bestselling crime novel “The Sandman” by Lars Kepler. “Nocturne” stars and is executive produced by Tony Award winner, Actor Award winner, Emmy Award nominee and Golden Globe Award nominee Liev Schreiber, as well as Emmy Award nominee Zazie Beetz. The series also stars Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award and Actor Award winner Stephen Graham. The 10-episode drama is developed for television, co-showrun, written and executive produced by John Hlavin and created for television, co-showrun, written and executive produced by BAFTA Award winner Rowan Joffé. “Nocturne” will make its global debut on Friday, October 30, 2026, with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes every Friday through December 25, 2026, on Apple TV.
“Nocturne” tells the story of Jonah Lynn (Schreiber), an ex-soldier turned homicide detective who, tired of working the tough streets of Philadelphia, moves to a small town in Western Pennsylvania for a quiet life. But, as the town and his family come under attack from the diabolically cunning serial killer Jurek Walter (Graham), Jonah must protect all that he holds dear. When the desperate search for Jurek’s last missing victim forces Jonah to send his surrogate daughter FBI Agent Saga Bauer (Beetz), up against Jurek, how far will Jonah go?
The ensemble cast starring alongside Schreiber, Beetz and Graham includes Bill Camp, Rory Culkin, Chrissy Metz, Poorna Jagannathan and Gary Carr.
Produced for Apple TV by A+E Studios in association with Range Studios, the series is created for television by, written and executive produced by Joffé, and developed for television, written and executive produced by Hlavin, who also serves as the series showrunner. Emmy Award, Peabody Award and DGA Award winner Tim Van Patten directs the first two episodes and serves as executive producer. In addition to starring, Schreiber executive produces, and Beetz executive produces via her Sleepy Poppy production company. Author Lars Kepler (Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril), Øystein Karlsen, David Rysdahl, Dorothy Fortenberry and Niclas Salomonsson also serve as executive producers, while Julie Herrin serves as co-executive producer. Academy Award winner and Emmy Award nominee Barry Jossen and Tana Jamieson executive produce for A+E Studios. Heather Kadin, Peter Micelli and Jack Whigham executive produce for Range Studios.
Lars Kepler is one of the bestselling thriller authors in the world, and their 10 published crime novels, known as the Joona Linna series, have sold a total of 20 million copies globally. The book series is translated into 40 languages and distributed in over 170 territories.
Apple TV offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all your favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 919 wins and 3,827 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning and history-making comedies “The Studio” and “Ted Lasso,” global cultural phenomenon “Severance,” Apple’s most-viewed drama “Pluribus,” Academy Award Best Picture winner “CODA” and Academy Award winner “F1,” the highest-grossing sports feature of all time.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $14.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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Apple support page hints at new Apple TV 4K hardware
Apple has updated a support document on lossless audio in Apple Music with wording that appears to leave room for a new Apple TV 4K, according to MacRumors‘ Joe Rossignol.
The document now says, under the Apple TV 4K section: “Hi-Res Lossless is available only on Apple TV 4K (3rd generation or later).” The current model is the 3rd-generation Apple TV 4K, so the phrase “or later” stands out. It could mean a 4th-generation box is coming soon. It could also be future-proofing, or just a wording slip.
The change follows last week’s report that Apple files included an image labeled “Apple TV 4K (4th generation).” That image showed the same compact black enclosure as today’s model, suggesting the upgrades would be internal rather than a redesign.
A new Apple TV 4K is widely expected this October. Rumored upgrades include an A19 or A19 Pro chip, 8GB to 12GB of RAM, Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, Apple’s N1 wireless chip with Wi-Fi 7, and a revised Siri Remote. The current Apple TV 4K, announced in October 2022, uses an A15 Bionic chip and 4GB of RAM. Apple raised its U.S. starting price to $199 earlier this year.
MacDailyNews Take: The support-document language alone does not confirm a launch. Combined with the earlier image leak, it is another small signal that new Apple TV 4K hardware may be imminent.
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iPhone Duo was designed as a window, not a folded iPhone, Craig Federighi says
Apple’s first foldable is not meant to feel like a stretched phone that happens to bend. In an interview with creator Donald Decodes, Apple software chief Craig Federighi described iPhone Duo as a device built around continuity: what you see when it is closed should flow, almost unconsciously, into what appears when it opens.
The conversation covers the see-through unfolding animation, a new hinge-angle API, Split View that behaves like two desks, and the old fight over iOS’s left-edge back swipe. Federighi’s through-line never changes. Hardware moves in space. Software should move with it.
“The screen has become a window”
Duo’s most discussed visual trick is the moment the outer display turns semi-transparent as the phone opens, revealing the inner screen underneath.
“Our real goal there was not just an imaginary movement that you think about, but something that you don’t need to think about,” Federighi said, “so that you automatically realize the effect: that the screen has become transparent, and has become a window to what is underneath it.”
He framed that as the product’s idea, not decoration. “The essence of the device idea is this continuity between your experience on the device while it is closed and your experience of what you find when you open it. So the idea that while this is happening, you are actually looking across the top screen to see what will appear below makes that journey easier in the most natural way.”
His verdict: “I think it’s subtle but charming.” He has also called the same effect “subtle but magical.”
The hinge is an input, not just a joint
Developers can read Duo’s hinge to about five degrees of accuracy, Federighi said, with smoothing so the stream is usable. Most apps should not live on raw degrees. Apple wants them to react to pose: book, on-table, tent.
“We make those things so that the developer does not have to deal with the number of openness levels. We can deliver a standard and consistent experience across applications by connecting the mode and making frameworks respond to it automatically.”
Creative apps can go closer to the raw data. Apple has already shown a guitar-style demo that treats the hinge like a whammy bar. On durability, Federighi was dry: “I think we are somewhat confident, yes.” Then the line that matters for the platform: “One of the ways this device expresses itself is through its positions and its hinge, and we are excited to see what the developers will do with that.”
Two workspaces, not one stretched canvas
Split View on Duo is designed as two independent workspaces — each able to keep its own home screen and app switcher — that can lock together when you tap the divider.
“We wanted it to be really quick and natural when you might want to keep watching, where you want to keep something on this side, while you might be switching between other things on the other side, so that you can switch between them independently. This seemed perfectly natural from a spatial perspective.”
That is the same spatial instinct behind everything else in the interview. The phone folds. The interface is supposed to fold with it, not pretend the crease is extra pixels.
Why the back swipe still comes from the left
Users have asked Apple for years why you can’t swipe back from the right the way Android often allows.
Federighi turned the question around. “People keep asking why we always have to swipe back from the left. So, what would happen if we could swipe back from the right? What terrible thing will happen?”
His answer: the gesture would stop matching the motion on screen. “It becomes spatially inconsistent in one respect. I think having a spatially consistent model and having the animation really match what’s happening is an important part of providing a truly natural user experience. Therefore, we do not consider these gestures to be random actions. We think of it as a way to manipulate something physical. The logic of the device, the way things move, they slide in and out, and we try to maintain spatial consistency.”
There is a practical reason too. In Safari and other hierarchical apps, one edge can mean back and the other can mean forward. “If we made both edges always for going back, we would lose the option of going forward.”
Apple has already loosened the rule. In iOS 26, when a swipe is unambiguous, you can go back from anywhere on the display. On Duo, edge gestures and on-screen buttons both exist, and two-handed use makes the left-edge habit less of a one-thumb problem. The far edge remains the always-available way back because the middle of the screen is often doing something else.
The developer bet: iPad, not stretched phones
The risk with any foldable is apps that look like elongated phones. Federighi pointed to iPad as Apple’s evidence that its developer culture is different.
“History on Android often shows that their tablet apps look like elongated iPhone apps, right? You don’t see much customization in the experience for this type of device. But if you look at iPad apps, you’ll find they’re specifically designed to take advantage of that large screen. I think this reflects the kind of standards that developers on our platform naturally adhere to as a community. And I think you’ll see exactly the same thing on Duo devices.”
The tools behind that hope are familiar: UIKit and SwiftUI inheriting new behaviors, plus AI-assisted adaptation in Xcode. “When we did that at WWDC, we introduced the resizing feature in part in anticipation of a dual-screen iPhone. In our labs, developers have found that they can take their existing applications and use these AI skills to adapt to the change in size almost automatically.”
“The developers’ passion for doing it right, and the ease of doing it now,” he said, “means that iPhone Duo customers will have great experiences across a wide range of apps very soon.”
That is the argument Apple is making for Duo. It should feel continuous when it opens, spatially honest when you swipe, and flexible enough that each half can be its own desk. Whether the software ecosystem matches that ambition is the part Federighi cannot animate away. He can only design for it — and wait to see what developers do with a hinge that now speaks.
MacDailyNews Take: Watch the full interview below:
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Nothing takes on Apple AirPods Max with $399 ‘Pro’ glass and metal headphones
Nothing Technologies is making its most aggressive push yet into the premium headphone market. The London-based company today launched the Headphone (1) Pro, a $399 pair of wireless over-ears built from aluminum, titanium, and scratch-resistant glass — and aimed squarely at Apple’s AirPods Max, Sony’s WH-1000XM6, and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra.
The new model goes on sale September 29 through Nothing’s website, Amazon, and Best Buy stores in North America. It is offered in black or white.
That price undercuts Apple’s current AirPods Max and sits below several other flagship rivals, while still representing a $100 jump over last year’s Headphone (1). Nothing is betting that a more premium build, a new triple-driver audio system, and stronger noise cancellation will justify the step up.
Glass windows, metal frame
The Headphone (1) Pro keeps Nothing’s signature rectangular, cassette-inspired ear cups and see-through aesthetic. This time the transparent windows are 9H Panda glass rather than plastic, framed in aluminum, with titanium used in the arms. The company says the glass is shatter- and scratch-resistant and survived repeated drop tests from more than a meter. A plastic film behind the glass is designed to keep the internal chamber intact even if the panel cracks.
Despite the heavier-sounding materials, the Pro model is slightly lighter than its predecessor at 327 grams. The headband is wider and more padded, and the ear cushions are softer, with an 8mm silicone baffle intended to improve the seal and comfort on long sessions. The headphones carry an IP52 dust- and splash-resistance rating.
Three drivers and studio tuning
The biggest change is inside. Each ear cup now uses three drivers: a 40mm dynamic driver for bass, a smaller precision dynamic driver for mids and vocals, and an xMEMS solid-state tweeter for high frequencies. The system was tuned with Metropolis Studios, the London facility known for work with major recording artists.
A physical Flat EQ switch lets users drop into a more neutral profile for mixing or critical listening. There is also a “Studio B” spatial mode meant to approximate a mixing-room acoustic, plus other spatial presets with optional head tracking. Wired USB-C playback supports lossless audio up to 24-bit/192kHz; wireless options include LDAC, AAC, and Bluetooth 6.1 with multipoint and Auracast.
Active noise cancellation is rated at up to 46dB using a 10-microphone array, an increase from the previous model. Nothing says the improvement should be most noticeable in wind and traffic. Battery life is listed at up to 30 hours with ANC on and 68 hours with it off on AAC; LDAC figures are lower. A five-minute charge is said to add several hours of playback.
Competing on look and price
Nothing has built its brand on distinctive industrial design rather than matching Sony or Bose feature-for-feature. The Headphone (1) Pro is the company’s most expensive headphones to date and its clearest attempt to convert that design identity into a serious premium product.
Whether glass-and-metal styling and a triple-driver array can pull buyers away from AirPods Max or Sony’s latest flagship will depend on how the sound and ANC hold up in daily use. Early impressions have generally praised the audio and the more refined build, while noting the rectangular cups remain polarizing and the battery claim with ANC on is not class-leading.
MacDailyNews Take: For now, Nothing has put a $399 alternative on the shelf that looks unlike anything else in the category — and that is exactly the point. More info and images via Amazon here.
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iPhone 18 Pro demand looks ‘healthy’ as lead times barely ease – JPMorgan
Apple is likely seeing “healthy” demand for iPhone 18 Pro, JPMorgan said Monday, after week-three delivery waits showed only a limited pullback from last week’s surge.
The firm’s Apple Product Availability Tracker had already shown a sharp stretch in week two: average iPhone 18 Pro lead times jumped to 23 days from 7 in week one, while iPhone 18 Pro Max moved to 30 days from 19. That week-over-week jump was steeper than the iPhone 17 Pro cycle at the same point a year ago, when waits rose by 9 and 7 days, respectively.
U.S., U.K., and German timelines had moved broadly in line with last year’s Pro launch. China was still running shorter than a year ago, but the gap was closing.
JPMorgan had flagged week three as the test: if waits collapsed, the week-two spike might have been a supply hiccup. They didn’t. Moderation was limited. The read, the bank said, is healthy Pro demand — with the usual caveat that longer waits can also reflect constrained supply, not just hot orders.
MacDailyNews Take: Of course, without knowing Apple’s initial supplies for each year, it’s difficult to be precise.
And this year has a brand new wrinkle: iPhone Duo. Foldable pre-orders do not open until October 1th. Some Pro shoppers may still be waiting to see the book-style model before they commit. Supply-chain production revisions, typically around November, will be the cleaner signal after that.
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Duo-Man offers the complete Walkman experience on Apple’s iPhone Duo
Indie developer Vidit Bhargava has built the most charming iPhone Duo demo yet: a virtual Walkman that treats Apple’s first foldable like a cassette deck.
Open the Duo to pick a tape and “insert” it. Close the Duo and playback starts. Bhargava recorded the button clicks and tape hiss from a real Walkman and brought the hardware to the Bitrig Hacks event in San Francisco this weekend, where Duo-Man took second place.
Duo-Man
“Duo-Man offers the complete walkman experience on the iPhone Duo. Open the Duo to pick and ‘insert’ the cassette, Close the Duo to start listening,” Bhargava posted with the demo. “Yes, I actually recorded the button clicks and static noise from a real Walkman!”
The concept maps cleanly onto the hardware. The 7.6-inch inner Super Retina XDR display becomes the tape door and album picker. The 5.4-inch outer display becomes the Walkman face with chunky transport controls. Closing the hinge is the play button. Bitrig co-founder Kyle Macomber noted that Bhargava had to explain what a Walkman was to a chunk of the room.
Bhargava is turning the hack into a real app. Planned features include Apple Music and local files, Apple Pencil “rolling” of the cassette loop, and fast-forward/rewind that behaves like the original mechanism. Spotify may come later.
The video has already passed 1.9 million views.
iPhone Duo specs
Apple announced iPhone Duo on September 9. Pre-orders start October 16; it ships October 23 starting at $1,999.Apple
• Displays: 7.6-inch inner Super Retina XDR (nano-texture, ~1878×2670, ProMotion 120Hz, Always On, 3000-nit peak) and 5.4-inch outer Super Retina XDR (~1398×2034, same refresh and brightness). Same aspect ratio on both sides so content scales without jumping. Inner FaceTime camera sits under the folding panel.
• Size / weight: Unfolded 117.8 × 164.6 × 5.2 mm — thinnest iPhone ever. Folded 117.8 × 84.1 × 11.3 mm (passport-adjacent). 254 grams.
• Build: Grade 5 titanium frame and hinge (100+ parts), Ceramic Shield back, Ceramic Shield 2 front, IP68, Touch ID in the side button. No Face ID.
• Chip: A20 Pro (2nm), 6-core CPU, 7-core GPU, Dual 16-core Neural Engine, 12GB RAM. Same silicon as iPhone 18 Pro. Custom vapor chamber.
• Storage: 256GB ($1,999), 512GB ($2,199), 1TB ($2,599), 2TB ($3,199). eSIM only.
• Cameras: Dual 48MP Fusion system — Main (f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS, optical-quality 2x) and Ultra Wide (f/2.2, macro). 12MP Center Stage on the cover display. 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps.
• Battery: Dual-cell design. Up to 31 hours of video on the inner display, 44 hours on the outer display, 24 hours mixed use. 50% in about 20 minutes wired; MagSafe and Qi2 wireless.
• Other: iOS 27, C2 modem, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, USB-C. Apple Pencil (USB-C) support on both displays later this year. Colors: Star White and Night Sky.
Duo-Man offers the complete walkman experience on the iPhone Duo. Open the Duo to pick and 'insert' the cassette, Close the Duo to start listening.
Yes, I actually recorded the button clicks and static noise from a real Walkman!
It was fun making this at @bitrig hacks today. pic.twitter.com/juSrLhofrH
— Vidit Bhargava (@viditb) September 27, 2026
MacDailyNews Take: Fastest killer app in iPhone history!Duo pre-orders haven’t even opened, yet!
Wouldn’t this have been a perfect addition to Apple’s iPhone Duo intro video? Well, hopefully, the company can help get this app fully polished and into iPhone Duo ads ASAP – not that Duo will need any ads for its foreseeable sold-out future, but it’s just so perfect for showing off the form factor and so perfectly nostalgic to those who remember using Walkman cassette players daily!
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Apple’s rumored MacBook Ultra: OLED, touchscreen, and Dynamic Island
Apple has not announced a MacBook Ultra. What the rumor mill describes is a new top-tier laptop on the roadmap: 14- and 16-inch machines, internally K114 and K116, that sit above today’s MacBook Pro instead of replacing it. If Apple uses the Ultra name, that is the point. If it keeps “MacBook Pro,” the hardware still reads as a new class.
The latest window is late 2026 to early 2027. Units have been running macOS 27.1 internally; that point release is slated for the end of October, which is why October–December keeps coming up. Late-2026 mass production is the optimistic supply-chain read. The memory shortage is the slip risk. A September iPhone-event debut was always a long shot. Early 2027 is the conservative call.
Expect Apple’s first OLED MacBook: tandem OLED with an oxide TFT backplane, in the same family as iPad Pro. True blacks, higher contrast, a thinner stack than mini-LED. Expect the first official touchscreen Mac, with touch as a second input, not a replacement for keyboard and trackpad. macOS Golden Gate already carries touch-friendlier controls. Expect a Dynamic Island and a hole-punch camera instead of the 2021 notch, with status and Siri AI cues in the island. Expect a thinner chassis — the first major high-end laptop redesign since the 2021 MacBook Pro. MagSafe, HDMI, and the SD slot are expected to stay.
The first machines are expected to ship with M5 Pro and M5 Max. Apple is said to have skipped M6 Pro and M6 Max and moved the next high-end silicon plan to M7 for late 2027. An M5 Ultra option has been floated; there has never been an Ultra chip in a notebook. Built-in cellular via a C2 modem is possible and unconfirmed. A follow-on MacBook Ultra with M7 Pro and M7 Max is already described as being in advanced testing for late 2027.
Apple raised MacBook Pro prices $300 in June. An M5 Pro 14-inch already starts at $2,499; the 16-inch M5 Pro at $2,999. OLED plus a new tier historically means another step up — on the order of 20% when Apple first put OLED on iPhone and iPad Pro. A $3,000-and-up floor is the working assumption, not a leaked SKU.
The Ultra pitch is display, touch, and industrial design, with proven M5 Pro and M5 Max performance in a new chassis. Buyers who want the next high-end silicon generation would be looking at the M7 models later. Buyers who want the new screen and chassis would not have to wait for that chip.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple can still keep the Pro name. Until it speaks, “MacBook Ultra” is the rumor label for a thinner OLED touch Mac that costs more than the Pro it will sit next to — if the memory market lets it ship on time.
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Apple releases iOS 27.0.1 and iOS 26.7.1
Apple today released iOS 26.7.1, a point update for iPhones that remained on iOS 26 instead of moving to iOS 27.
The update is the first follow-up to iOS 26.7, which shipped September 14 alongside iOS 27 as the security path for anyone not ready to upgrade. Apple’s public notes for these .x.1 builds are typically brief: important security fixes and bug fixes, with a detailed vulnerability list posted later.
Install it from Settings → General → Software Update. A restart is required. iPad users who stayed on iPadOS 26 should look for the matching iPadOS 26.7.1 build in the same place.
iOS 26.7 itself addressed more than 80 security issues — 75 of them shared with iOS 27 — including kernel and Bluetooth fixes. None of those September 14 flaws were described as actively exploited at the time, but Apple has been accelerating patches as AI-assisted vulnerability research shortens the window between disclosure and exploit. 26.7.1 continues that maintenance train.
Do not confuse this with iOS 27.0.1, also released today. That update is for devices already on iOS 27 and names specific bugs: unexpected restarts on iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max when Face ID fails, a 2x photo color artifact on a small number of those Pro models, and a touchscreen freeze if Notification Center and Control Center are opened at the same time. iOS 26.7.1 does not add iOS 27 features. It keeps iOS 26 current.
Today, Apple also shipped macOS Golden Gate 27.0.1, macOS Tahoe 26.7.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.8.1.
MacDailyNews Take: Both are snappy!
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