Posts in stories

watchOS 27: The MacStories Review

I haven’t been this excited about an Apple Watch in a long time. Last week, Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, which will be available at the end of the week. The new Watches feature the S11 chip, which enables a bunch of new features, some of which won’t debut until later this year. At the same time, Apple is dropping support for more Watches than usual.

What we’re witnessing is a reboot of the Apple Watch and watchOS forced by advances in AI. The Apple Watch and its OS found their niche years ago, freeing us from pulling out our iPhones for notifications, tracking our health and fitness, and enabling the occasional Siri request. It was a good and comfortable spot for what by all accounts has been one of the most successful wearables to date, but watchOS also felt stuck in a rut.

Every year we got a few new workout types, a new watch face, and a few other features, but the OS didn’t advance much. What’s different this year is that watchOS 27 is breaking with slower hardware and looking forward to the substantially more powerful S11 chip, which will allow the Apple Watch to expand into all-new areas.

What this transition also means is that there is not just one set of features to track in watchOS 27 this year but three:

  • those that arrive today for anyone with a compatible Apple Watch,
  • those that arrive at the end of the week that are exclusive to the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, and
  • those that are coming later this year.

That makes this more than just a review. It’s also a preview of things to come and a roadmap for where the Apple Watch is heading.

There’s more than usual to cover this year, so let’s dive in and check it out.

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macOS 27: The MacStories Review

Every OS update has a story to tell. With macOS 27 Golden Gate, that story captures a moment when Apple is faced with multiple challenges, many of which are tied to the rise of large language models.

One of those challenges is obvious. Apple was caught off guard by chatbots, overpromised a response at WWDC in 2024, and has been playing catch-up ever since.

But this isn’t simply a story of missteps or wasted opportunities. There’s more to it than that.

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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.

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Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4: The MacStories Overview

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

At today’s Surprise and Shine event, Apple introduced the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. Both models build on the devices’ existing designs, adding new health and fitness features as well as what Apple calls Audio Intelligence. The star of the Apple Watch show that powers those features on both models is the brand-new S11 chip. Let’s dig into the details of what the new chip and improved sensors means to both models.

Apple Watch Series 12

The Series 12 takes a heart reat measurement every five seconds. Source: Apple.

The Series 12 takes a heart reat measurement every five seconds. Source: Apple.

The new Apple Watch Series 12 comes in 42 and 46mm sizes and is equipped with the new S11 chip. Apple says that enables the device to take sixty times the heart rate measurements and 24x HRV readings compared to the Series 11 Watch. More heart rate measurements and HRV readings mean more accurate and meaningful readings; in fact, better than any other wearable on the market, according to Apple. Apple says step tracking is more accurate, too.

The Series 12 has improved sensors, too. There’s a larger, more power-efficient green LED array for measuring your heart rate every five seconds and a Secure Exclave for processing audio privately and securely. On the outside, the Series 12 features Ceramic Shield 2, making it tougher than the Series 11. The case is now IP6X rated for dust and can be used to six meters of depth. Plus, the battery is rated to last 24 hours during normal use and a 15-minute charge will power it sufficiently to last 12 hours.

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Experiencing Apple’s Live Yankees–Red Sox Immersive Baseball Broadcast

Last night, I sat down with my Vision Pro and caught the first part of the Yankees–Red Sox game live in Immersive Video. I wouldn’t call myself a baseball fan these days, but I have fond memories of many summer evenings at Tiger Stadium and Wrigley Field, and I was keen to see how Apple’s immersive broadcast compared.

Having sampled Apple’s other Immersive Video content, but very little of its sports coverage, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Sitting down to watch, I was surprised by how much it felt like I was at Yankee Stadium. Before the first pitch was thrown, the broadcast focused on the Yankees’ starting pitcher as he warmed up. Periodically, the camera angle switched, giving viewers other angles on the pre-game preparations, while the announcers chatted about each team’s season leading up to the game.

Once the game started, the camera switched to positions near each team’s batting circle depending on which team was at bat, occasionally switching to shots behind home plate and in right-center field. During each at bat, a virtual scoreboard showed a 2D feed of the game like you’d see on a regular broadcast bounded by statistics. The additional angle and information were useful for fans, but as someone who was there primarily for the experience, it took away from the immersiveness a little to see a fake scoreboard floating in the sky over the stadium’s right field wall.

That said, the immersiveness was impressive. I found myself looking all around the stadium taking in the sights and spatial audio sounds. The detail was incredible. Fully surrounded by the stadium, I watched as a family walked by with popcorn and drinks and could even read the Poland Spring label on a water bottle in the bullpen.

Then, as I watched the Yankees at bat, I could see someone off camera spitting sunflower seeds in the dirt along the dugout. That sort of minute detail added to the immersiveness of the experience every bit as much as being surrounded by the video feed and soundscape, to the point that when a player entered my view from off camera, I instinctively tucked my legs under me to avoid him tripping over me.

At times, though, I also felt a little too close to the action. It was like I had slipped into a restricted area, an invisible participant, spying on unsuspecting people on the field, waiting for security to discover me and kick me out of the stadium. That feeling was probably driven by the combination of knowing that the broadcast was live and not having watched a lot of Apple immersive sports content, but it was still a little unsettling at first.

As for the game, I didn’t pay very close attention. I don’t follow either team, but it was still fun to watch the game unfold from up close. The dugout camera angles made it slightly harder to see the pitches as they were thrown than it would be from a more traditional outfield camera viewpoint, but it really didn’t take away from the experience.

Ultimately, I only lasted about a half hour. The experience was excellent, but baseball’s pace is just too slow for my taste, so ultimately, I packed up my Vision Pro and caught up on Silo instead.

If you missed the game, it’s available to replay in full along with highlights in the TV app on Vision Pro.

Hands-On with ChatGPT Work’s New Cloud Browser Feature

Yesterday, OpenAI introduced a new ChatGPT Work feature designed to let it navigate websites that require a login without revealing your credentials to the model.

Like a lot of people, I spend far too much time clicking around websites that require a login, looking at analytics and other data, checking whether new sponsors have been booked for our podcasts, and more. It’s a tedious but necessary part of my week that slows me down and takes me away from writing and other creative work. ChatGPT’s new Work feature is designed to handle that sort of work for you.

The feature works by signing into websites using a virtual, cloud-based computer. That separates the browsing session from any browsing session on your local computer, walling the agent’s computer use off from your open tabs, cookies, browsing history, passwords, and other data. Because the login and browsing happen in the cloud, that also means work can continue whether you close the ChatGPT app or power down your computer.

According to OpenAI, an additional review model checks the sign-in request and credential destination for signs of phishing or deception. ChatGPT Work then pauses while the user signs in. Credentials entered through its secure sign-in form go directly to the cloud browser and are not visible to the model. After the user authenticates, ChatGPT resumes its work.

OpenAI also explains that its cloud-based browser doesn’t store your username and password. Instead, it saves cookies that allow you to return to a previously authenticated session. If you don’t want to remain logged in, ChatGPT’s cloud browser settings allow you to clear browser data for individual websites or all sites.

Similar to other features in ChatGPT and Codex, users have choices when it comes to which sites ChatGPT Work can access. “Always ask” is the default, requiring the agent to check with the user before using a website, but the permission level can also be set to “Auto approve” after ChatGPT checks a site for relevancy and risk or “Always allow,” which OpenAI discourages. Individual websites can also be allowed or blocked. These settings control website access, but consequential actions require separate confirmation.

ChatGPT Work's browser control works best on a mobile device and with simple login systems.

ChatGPT Work’s browser control works best on a mobile device and with simple login systems.

I gave ChatGPT’s browser use a try and the results were mixed. I wasn’t able to get the feature to work at all using ChatGPT Work in Safari on my Mac. Some websites had security measures in place that prevented me from logging in. Other times, the cloud browser asked me to take over manually, but I was unable to do so because the UI was frozen or login panels didn’t appear.

Logging into a site with a CAPTCHA required manual intervention.

Logging into a site with a CAPTCHA required manual intervention.

I had better luck using my iPhone. On one site with a simple username and password system, a login sheet appeared. I entered my credentials, was logged in, and the agent navigated the site to answer my queries. On Apple’s affiliate link dashboard website, I had to take over the browser interaction manually to satisfy a CAPTCHA, which worked after several challenges. Once logged in, the agent pulled and analyzed the data I requested. Also, after I’d signed in to both of those sites on my iPhone, I remained logged in to ChatGPT’s cloud browser, which meant I could also use them from my Mac.

In its current form, the idea of having ChatGPT Work browse signed-in websites on your behalf is better than its implementation. If you can get logged in, having an agent collect and analyze things like analytics data is fantastic. However, getting past the initial login screen is still too frustrating. That said, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the feature, which is available on eligible plans depending on rollout and workspace settings, for future use collecting and analyzing data that would otherwise require a lot of clicking around.

Hands-On with Computer History: OpenAI’s Take on Agent Memory

Late yesterday, OpenAI revealed the sort of automation catnip I love: Computer History. It’s a new feature for Pro, Business, and Enterprise subscribers that creates continuity for ChatGPT and Codex by converting the actions you take on your Mac into Markdown memory files that serve as context for subsequent interactions. The idea is that with the additional context, ChatGPT and Codex will better understand your requests, requiring you to provide less detail up front while getting better results. Anyone familiar with OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, and similar projects will know where this is going.

Here’s how it works.

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The Utility App Flood Won’t Last

The App Store is evolving at a breakneck pace not seen since its earliest days. We saw the first glimmers of what was to come early in 2025, but it wasn’t until late last year that the tsunami of apps developed with the help of AI agents really took hold.

Since then, veteran developers are releasing new apps and updating existing ones faster than ever, and new developers are releasing their first apps in droves. Today, supply is dramatically up, demand is flat, and quality is seemingly simultaneously up and down, depending on where you look.

How these forces play out long-term is anyone’s guess, but it’s worth examining because, just as Federico’s link to Bryan Irace’s post about agentic coding tools foreshadowed the rise of tools like Codex and Claude Code, today’s trends are sparks that have the potential to become tomorrow’s App Store wildfires or simply fizzle out.

Utility apps are on the front lines of this change. The TechCrunch story I linked in April picked up on this trend:

Another interesting tidbit from Appfigures is that the Utilities app category moved up the top five chart.

If anything, the trend has accelerated in the months since.

It’s not surprising at all that utility apps have taken off. They’ve been a staple of new developers since long before agents came along. That’s because many are UI wrappers around command line tools. That isn’t a knock against the developers of those apps; most users don’t want to open Terminal to convert a video or audio file to another format using ffmpeg, for example. By building a great UI around command line tools, developers have made them far easier to use.

However, the relative simplicity and narrow scope of many utility apps have made them a natural fit for AI agents, too. That’s why the App Store (and my inbox) is deluged with Mac menu bar and single-screen iPhone and iPad utility apps.

On the one hand, the abundance of utilities has been great for users. More choice means you’re more likely to find the app that perfectly fits your needs.

On the other hand, though, I don’t think what’s happening in the category is sustainable and expect to see it dramatically shift again in the coming months. As we’ve seen from reporting by The New York Times, app supply is outstripping demand by orders of magnitude, which will drive down prices. That alone is likely to cause the utility app market to shrink. But there’s more to it than that.

Remember, the demand shifts that The New York Times reported, based on Sensor Tower numbers, are for the entire App Store, where download numbers have grown 2-3% this year and last. I expect utility downloads to actually shrink in the coming months – again, because of agents. Utilities, especially simple ones, are exactly the sorts of apps that are becoming trivially easy for power users – the very users these utilities are made for – to create themselves. From frontier labs‘ model improvements to a growing number of app-building tools from those same labs and third parties, it’s never been easier to build a web or native app yourself.

And although I agree with people, like Nilay Patel, who say the notion that everyone will build their own software is overblown, the utility market is different. Your average person is not downloading apps to adjust the frame rate and file format of a video or downloading YouTube videos to watch later. But those are exactly the sort of things that people who are using agents are doing with them, whether they’re having an agent do those things directly via a command line tool in an app like Codex or Claude Code or building an app to do the same thing. That’s going to put even more pressure on the category.

That said, I think there will always be a cohort of users who would rather pay for an app than build it themselves, so I’m not predicting the demise of utilities in general – just the end of today’s frothy market. I also think there remains a place for simple utilities that solve hard problems with clever solutions. Not every utility is a UI wrapper for a terminal command. Plenty of apps feature original solutions or thoughtful and unconventional remixes of disparate tools.

Utilities aren’t going away, but just like other App Store deluges, the trend will recede. It’s just that this time, it’s likely to flip faster than usual.

TestFlight: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

I test a lot of apps, so I have strong opinions about TestFlight. However I usually keep those opinions to myself because despite the fact that it’s critical to my work, TestFlight wasn’t built for app reviewers. Most people haven’t accumulated hundreds of active and inactive betas in the app like I have, and for them, TestFlight is probably fine. However, for me, TestFlight is a constant source of frustration.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I read a post by Zac Hall at 9to5Mac that a search field had been added to TestFlight. “Finally,” I thought to myself. I stopped what I was doing and updated the app immediately. After all, search was my number one request for TestFlight back in 2024.

An apostrophe gets you the top spot in Apple's new alphabetical TestFlight list.

An apostrophe gets you the top spot in Apple’s new alphabetical TestFlight list.

That 2024 wishlist was published in the wake of a bad stretch the app had beginning in 2023. At the time, TestFlight was plagued by laggy performance if you were on a lot of betas. To Apple’s credit, they fixed the performance issues, though the issues have begun to creep back into recent releases. Still, the past couple of years as a TestFlight user have been fine despite all the ways the app could be made better for users.

When the TestFlight update finished installing, I eagerly opened it on my Mac and then my iPhone. Sure enough, there was the search field at long last. Lists practically beg for a search field, and finally someone at Apple added one, and to whoever built that feature, a huge thanks from me and the MacStories team.

Unfortunately, this story comes with one very big “but.” Previously, TestFlight betas were listed in reverse chronological order, which I liked. The newer beta releases were at the top of the list and the older ones that were on the verge of being replaced by an App Store release were at the bottom, along with expired betas, a list that I never really understood the purpose of.

Well, those expired betas are now scattered among the active TestFlight betas in an alphabetical list and it seems that the expired beta list has been expanded to include every single beta I’ve ever been a part of. I did a rough count and for me that’s nearly 800 app listings. As you can imagine, the active betas in that list are few and far between. Search helps, but scrolling is no longer an option.

The live betas are few and far between when mixed with betas gone by.

The live betas are few and far between when mixed with betas gone by.

I get that this is a very “me and a few of my friends” problem, and search does help, but it’s not enough. The active to inactive beta ratio is so bad that few iPhone screens include more than two or three active betas. So here’s my proposal:

  • Add a toggle in TestFlight’s settings that hides inactive betas.

That’s it, that would make all the difference in the world. I’d love to have the reverse chronological ordering back, a performance tune-up, and the other things I wished for back in 2024, but I’ll live with hiding all the noise from my beta list.