JohnThis week on MacStories Unwind, John and Federico have new Apple Watches, John wonders where Shortcuts is heading, Federico has a prediction, and they both share an update on the TV and games they’re enjoying.
Also available on YouTube here.
20 Twenty Shortcuts Built with the New iOS 27 Shortcuts Actions
As I promised in my iOS 27 review, I’m sharing a set of 20 shortcuts designed specifically for iOS 27’s updated Shortcuts app and its new actions and automation triggers. In these exclusive shortcuts for Club members, I’ve tried to run the gamut of new possibilities offered in Shortcuts: from self-contained clipboard managers and read-later...
iOS and iPadOS 27: The MacStories Review
This week Federico shares thoughts from his review of iOS and iPadOS 27. Then in the AppStories+ post-show, he explains how he used agents to support the production of the review and Club MacStories extras.
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AppStories Episode 501 - iOS and iPadOS 27: The MacStories Review
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iOS and iPadOS 27: The MacStories Review
After years of relentless building, it’s good to see Apple sweat the details again.
In the 11 years I’ve been writing annual iOS and iPadOS reviews every summer, I don’t think I’ve ever struggled to find an “angle” for my story as much as I did this year. The reason was twofold: I wasn’t particularly enamored with Siri AI and Apple’s belated chatbot efforts; and, as I realized during the summer, it can be challenging to write about an OS update that is largely focused on performance improvements and refinements.
“Everyone wants a so-called Snow Leopard year until it actually happens,” I thought to myself on several occasions over the past few months. Think about it: on paper, we all love a good ol’ basket of bug fixes that just make our phones better without changing much about the overall design and experience of iOS. It’s a commendable effort, and there’s no denying that iOS 27 is the snappiest (insert meme here), most stable version of iOS I’ve ever tested – and it has been since the first developer beta. In practice, though, it turns out that considering a major iOS update merely through the lens of improvements and fixes can be…a little boring.
So I’ve been sitting on this review for a while. I let it simmer. Then, a month ago, as I was sunbathing with my girlfriend Silvia down south in beautiful Vieste, Puglia, it hit me: iOS 27 is a geographically ambiguous update. Stay with me here. Depending on where you are in the world, this update can either be a little boring or pretty exciting.
My (Many) Questions About the iPhone Duo
As I wrote earlier this week on MacStories, I’ve been eagerly anticipating an Apple foldable device for years, and I’m incredibly excited about the iPhone Duo based on what Apple has shown so far. I’ve perused first impressions and hands-on videos over the past few days, and it sure looks like Apple took its time...
iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo: The MacStories Overview
Apple’s iPhone lineup is taking a different shape this year.
At today’s Surprise and Shine event, the company introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max alongside the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone. The Pro models build on the familiar design introduced last year, while the Duo marks the debut of an iPhone with a brand new form factor that combines a smaller, outer display with a larger, almost iPad mini-like internal display.
As a longtime iPad user who’s long been fascinated by foldables (and I’ve tried some over the years, too), I’ve been eagerly anticipating Apple’s debut in this space. Based on what we’ve seen today, it looks like Apple was able to deliver on the promise of a new iPhone category that combines the best of iOS with concepts borrowed from iPadOS, turning the iPhone into a versatile pocket computer that epitomizes Apple CEO John Ternus’ concept of the “personal hub”.
As we’ll see in this article, while the iPhone 18 Pro’s story largely revolves around the camera (unsurprisingly) and improved performance (some of the A20 Pro’s numbers are, in fact, a surprise merely a year after the A19 Pro), the iPhone Duo marks a new beginning for iOS, which now supports features that never existed on the platform before, as well as a series of interactions that Apple is exploring for the first time.
Let’s dive in.
Apple’s Surprise and Shine Event: By the Numbers
Apple covered a lot of ground at today’s Surprise and Shine event, and the numbers help put the announcements in perspective.
After every Apple event, we like to collect the notable specs, comparisons, and other stats from the presentation and Apple’s supporting materials (Tech Specs pages and Newsroom posts). This year, I wanted to make this article a little more special than usual, so I did two things: I set up a workflow to collect even more data during the event (a combination of transcription and, later, YouTube summarization), and I’ve created a few interactive widgets explore some of the latest specs and numbers in more detail.
You can find the complete set of numbers below. Enjoy memorizing all of these.
All the ‘Surprise and Shine’ Release Dates and Features, Visualized
At today’s Surprise and Shine event, Apple announced a lot of dates. Most of the new hardware arrives on September 18, but the brand new iPhone Duo won’t launch until October. Before then, Apple’s next round of major OS updates arrives on September 14.
Here’s a rundown of the preorder, release, and rollout dates. Later today on MacStories, John and I will be sharing detailed overviews of all the major announcements from today, and you can expect our annual OS reviews to be published – as always – next week.
As a bonus, check out the calendar widget we’ve prepared to visualize all of Apple’s release notes. Stay tuned for more of these on MacStories today: we’re going to have some fun with our coverage this year.
The Once and Future App Store
This week on AppStories, we celebrate the 500th episode of the show with a look at the App Store’s past, present, and future.
On AppStories+, Federico and John pick some of their all-time favorite apps.
Also available on YouTube here.
We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.
To learn more about an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.
AppStories Episode 500 - The Once and Future App Store
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47:05
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This episode is sponsored by:
- Claude: For problems worth solving — get started with Claude today.
- Gentler Streak – Move consistently, not constantly. AppStories listeners get an extended two-week free trial with the link above.
- Shipaton, from RevenueCat: The world’s biggest mobile hackathon for people who actually ship.