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iPhone Duo App Submissions Are Open→

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Yesterday, Apple announced on its developer blog that it has begun taking App Store submissions for iPhone Duo apps. The new foldable phone will be in customers’ hands in just over two weeks on October 23 and with Xcode 27.1, developers can recompile existing apps and build new ones.

To prepare for the launch, Apple has provided links to design and App Store asset guidance, as well as submitting apps to App Store Connect.

Federico's Frames CLI.

Federico’s Frames CLI.

Also, if you’re a developer, don’t forget to check out Federico’s Frames CLI 1.5.0, which includes experimental support for the iPhone Duo. The feedback from developers has been that it saves a lot of time when preparing screenshots for the App Store. The Frames CLI is available on GitHub and there’s more information on MacStories here.

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Apple Announces Plan to Impose New Full Disk Access Controls on Mac Developers→

Today, on its developer blog, Apple announced plans to “…introduce additional controls to ensure that users who genuinely wish to grant an app this extraordinary level of access can only do so with very explicit user action.” The company says it’s doing so because of the dangers posed by AI agents.

According to Apple’s post:

Full Disk Access largely sidesteps these controls in order to allow backup apps to function properly on the Mac.

That’s nonsense. Looking at this MacBook Pro, only a handful of apps to which I’ve granted Full Disk Access are backup apps. Others include the Finder replacement Bloom, launchers like Alfred, the wonderful selection utility PopClip, Apple’s own Pixelmator Pro, Setapp, TestFlight, Supercharge, Madden NFL 27 Arcade Edition, Hazel, and many others. It’s a diverse selection of apps covering everything from Apple’s own apps to Mac utilities that are longtime favorites of MacStories readers, and even one Apple Arcade game.

What is valid is that AI agents pose risks if common-sense steps aren’t taken to limit their access to your data. So while the suggestion that Full Disk Access is just for backups doesn’t pass the smell test, Apple’s concerns about agents are well-founded.

The thing that bothers me about this post, though, is that it’s vague. On the one hand, it seems to suggest that users will simply have to jump through additional explicit hoops to grant Full Disk Access to their agents and other apps. On the other hand, claiming that Full Disk Access was designed solely for backup apps raises red flags that could signal that the company intends to restrict the kinds of apps that can use Full Disk Access. I sure hope not.

Even if you want nothing to do with AI agents, the changes that Apple is contemplating could impact a wide variety of the Mac apps you rely on every day. Apple needs to find a way enable reasonable customer protections without hamstringing the Mac’s utility.

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Chance Miller on the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4→

Apple Watch reviews are out and Chance Miller at 9to5Mac has an excellent, in-depth look at both the Series 12 and Ultra 4. One of the things that Chance points out that might not be immediately obvious to many people is that the inclusion of an always-on chip as part of the S11 system on a chip allows Apple to fill meaningful gaps in both Watches’ data collection:

They will capture your heart rate every five seconds, regardless of whether you’re moving or stationary. Having such frequent and accurate heart rate readings unlocks new levels of data and insight.

When measuring your heart rate once every five minutes while stationary, previous Apple Watch models had an inherent blind spot. They either didn’t capture moments where your heart rate increased while not working out, or they captured one or two arbitrary readings somewhere in the middle of those moments.

That always-on component, combined with the Secure Exclave, is what Apple will also use to keep microphone data private and secure for features like Live Rewind and Siri Recap that are coming later this year.

It was these more frequent heart rate and HRV readings, along with the larger, more accurate sensor on the rear of the Apple Watches, that led me to order an Ultra 4. So I was also glad to see this observation from Chance after his first week with the new Watches:

In my one week with the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, I’ve found that added data very insightful. I’m learning more about how little things I do throughout the day impact my heart rate. For example, I can visualize the impact of a late afternoon cup of coffee, or the impact of a stressful moment at work.

That’s the sort of feedback that you can act on and the kind of data that I expect developers will be able to use to make even more meaningful apps across the health and wellness spectrum.

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ChatGPT Is Surprisingly Thorough at Planning Running Routes→

Every now and then, I go looking for new running routes to mix things up, which was why I was intrigued by this post by Simon Willison, who gave ChatGPT Work his address and asked it to find 5K and 10K routes, using OpenStreetMap data:

It worked for 27 minutes and produced exactly what I’d asked for, as both an embedded visualization and downloadable GPX file and GeoJSON files. Here’s that 5K route:

Source: [simonwillison.com](https://simonwillison.net/2026/Sep/12/astra-running-routes/)

Source: simonwillison.com

I decided to give the same thing a try and was impressed by the results. ChatGPT spent a similar amount of time, poring over OpenStreetMap data, but it didn’t stop there. The model consulted my town’s website to account for road construction and the availability of sidewalks. Then, it visited the county’s website to review maps of greenways that aren’t part of the local road system. The final results were within 100m of exact 5K and 10K routes with notes on where to be careful to verify safe pathways and road crossings.

What I love about this sort of experiment is that it’s not something I’d ever have thought to ask ChatGPT myself. In hindsight, it’s obvious that all the data is there, ready to assemble. However, it just goes to show the many ways that I, and I’m sure many others, are still just scratching the surface of what LLMs make possible.

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Designed in California Makes Its Official Debut→

Designed in California, the Apple history podcast from Myke Hurley and Jason Snell, is now live on Relay with two new free episodes, plus more for Kickstarter backers and Relay subscribers.

Over the summer, Myke and Jason ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for the new show, which will be released as topical series. The first series about the Apple II was released over the summer as part of a preview for the Kickstarter campaign.

Now, the first two episodes of Apple’s Mac OS Crisis are out and available to listen to for free. Those episodes will be followed by five more weekly installments. However, if you backed the Kickstarter or if sign up to support the show via Relay’s website, you get all seven episodes of the series immediately.

The latest series is about:

Apple’s Mac OS crisis in the ’90s, leading to the company acquiring NeXT and bringing Steve Jobs back.

Apple’s Mac OS Crisis also features special guest John Siracusa, who knows a thing or two about ’90s Apple. In addition to the audio-only version of Designed in California, the show is available on YouTube.

It’s been great to see this show come together over the summer. I know it’s been a lot of work, which is clear from the depth and quality of the episodes. I fully expect Designed in California to become the definitive podcast for Apple history nerds.

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A Trio of Ternus Tales→

Myke Hurley writing on The Enthusiast covers three themes from John Ternus’ new CEO bio that was updated today on the Apple Leadership page:

Number 2:

John has led much of the company’s focus in areas like reliability and durability, introducing new techniques that have made Apple products remarkably resilient

I would not have predicted this angle being so prominent, so I can only assume it’s something that’s important to Ternus. Ultimately, it’s good for customers too — you want your computers to last. Apple has also made inroads into the repairability of its products, which I feel goes hand in hand with this.

Of the three, this is the most interesting to me. I wouldn’t have expected durability to be so prominent either, but in addition to Apple’s repairability push in recent years that Myke highlights, I think this is Apple telegraphing something about the future of its products.

In a world where memory and storage prices have skyrocketed and show no signs of coming down to Earth anytime soon, durability becomes a differentiator that’s more important than ever. When you combine that with the system-level stability and performance efforts Apple has made across its OSes this year, I expect we’ll be hearing a lot more about the long-term value of Apple’s devices this fall.

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Inside OpenAI’s Codex with Andrew Ambrosino→

On today’s episode of AppStories, Federico and I interview Andrew Ambrosino, the project lead for Codex. It’s a great conversation that covers a lot of ground, including:

  • the long history and many iterations of Codex,
  • the merging of Codex into a new version of ChatGPT based on web technologies,
  • Computer Use and Computer History, which came along with OpenAI’s acquisition of Sky last year, and
  • what goes into designing for user trust.

Then for AppStories+ subscribers, we dug into Andrew’s Mac origin story and some of his favorite Mac apps.

AppStories is available on Apple Podcasts and all your favorite podcast players, as well as YouTube. AppStories+ is a special ad-free, extended version of AppStories that’s delivered a day early in high-bitrate audio for $5/month or $50/year by itself or as part of a Club MacStories Premier membership that adds our weekly and monthly newsletters, app discounts, and other perks for $12/month or $120/year.

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Parker Ortolani’s First Impressions of the Pebble Index AI Smart Ring→

Parker Ortolani on the Pebble Index, the recently released AI smart ring:

Ambient computing is here at home on speakers and in the workplace with apps like Wispr Flow, it’s only a matter of time before we carry it with us everywhere.

The Pebble Index is the best preview of that future. The simple gesture of pressing your thumb to your index finger is unbelievably natural. Especially for quick interactions. I’ve found myself setting more reminders, recording ideas, and keeping lists up-to-date. And I know that everything is being logged on my phone in the Pebble app. Better yet, you can connect the Pebble Index to your other AI tools using MCP. There’s also no reason for skeptics to fret, it’s not always listening for hot words or logging everything it hears.

As Ortolani explains, the device ticks a lot of boxes that other AI gadgets just don’t:

The thing that I think strikes me hardest with the Index is that it’s just so socially inoffensive. It’s a form factor people already love, it’s not distracting, it’s not always listening, and it’s affordable. It could be the first truly noncontroversial AI-first hardware.

I ordered a Pebble Index months ago and it should be coming within the next week or so. I bought it for many of the features Ortolani mentions. It’s on-demand, discreet, and a form factor that doesn’t look out of place. The hardware and software matter a lot with a device like this, but if Pebble has nailed it, I can see it becoming my go-to way to jot down brief notes. I’m excited to give it a try and report back.

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Relay Launches Its 2026 Campaign to Benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital→

Today, Relay kicked off its annual fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help combat childhood cancer. In the seven years since the fundraiser began, Relay and its dedicated community of listeners have raised over $4.8 million; a truly amazing figure.

We’d love it if readers joined us in supporting this cause again this year. You can make a donation by visiting here.

The Podcastathon is a big part of the annual fundraiser as Myke Hurley explains on The Enthusiast:

Every year, the Podcastathon for St. Jude is a huge part of our fundraising mission, and we’ve decided that this year we want to turn it into a full-on celebration by having the 12-hour event close out our campaign. So this year we’ll be streaming live on Friday, October 2nd, from the campus of St. Jude.

Also, if you’re not familiar with the story behind Relay’s annual St. Jude Fundraiser, be sure to visit 512 Pixels for the details.

Thanks in advance for checking out Relay’s fundraiser for St. Jude and to all who donate.

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