Reading up on iPhone
21 deep · digging since dec 28, 25
- Apple’s new child safety features now available - Apple
Apple launched new child‑safety tools across iPhone, iPad, and Mac featuring simplified setup, Ask to Browse, expanded Communication Safety, Time Allowances, and a redesigned Screen Time.
- iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
Apple is expected to release the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max featuring a titanium frame, periscope zoom camera, and improved A19 Bionic chip.
- Glass Thinner Than a Human Hair: How the New iPhone Bends but Doesn’t Break
The article explains how Apple's latest iPhone employs ultra‑thin glass, thinner than a human hair, enabling the device to flex without cracking thanks to advanced materials‑science techniques.
- Foldable Phones Are Unpopular. Why Is Apple Selling One?
Apple’s $1,999 foldable iPhone reflects its strategy to offset low foldable demand by pricing premium, signaling confidence despite market skepticism.
- MacPhone: How I Created the Hybrid Mac-iPhone Desktop-Handheld that Apple Won't Make // whispering back from the future...
The author describes building a MacPhone handheld by attaching an iPhone to a Mac mini with a keyboard and battery, claiming it outperforms existing Apple devices as a portable computer.
- I turned my Mac into a "dumb" computer – Javaman
By configuring Cold Turkey Blocker, Safari, and a restricted iPhone, the author creates a distraction‑free 'dumb' Mac to regain control over addictive online habits.
- The history (and future) of technology form factors
The article tracks mobile form‑factor evolution from iPhone to Stories to full‑screen video, arguing the next AI leap will be an autonomous agent that may lead to brain‑computer interfaces.
- The Web We Know Is Going to Disappear - Minid.net
The open web is disappearing as AI chat interfaces replace search and browsing, driven by convenience, following a historical pattern of interface shifts.
- The iPhone’s Last Stand – Stratechery by Ben Thompson
Apple's revamped Siri is good enough for consumers who mainly use iPhones to waste time, securing the iPhone's centrality, while Microsoft pushes thin-client agents for enterprise.
- The 4 iPhone Security Settings You Should Turn On Right Now
Enabling four specific iPhone privacy and security settings—Stolen Device Protection, iMessage Contact Key Verification, iCloud Advanced Data Protection, and Lockdown Mode—immediately reduces risk from device theft and targeted attacks.
- Meta launches Instants, a new iPhone app and Instagram feature for ephemeral sharing - 9to5Mac
Meta launches Instants, a new iPhone app and Instagram feature for ephemeral photo sharing that disappears after friends view it.
- ATMs didn’t kill bank teller jobs, but the iPhone did
The iPhone and mobile banking, not ATMs, caused the steep decline in bank teller employment by reducing demand for physical branches.
- Why the ATM didn’t kill bank teller jobs, but the iPhone did
The ATM initially complemented bank tellers, increasing their numbers through Jevons effect, but the iPhone's mobile banking later replaced the branch paradigm, causing teller employment to collapse.
- I’m Signing Off From This Column After 12 Years. Here’s What’s Changed in Tech. - WSJ
After 12 years as a WSJ columnist, Joanna Stern reflects on the consumer-tech shifts that reshaped daily life, including phones becoming everything, cars becoming computers, and AI becoming the new interface.
- FBI couldn't get into WaPo reporter's iPhone because Lockdown Mode enabled
The FBI was unable to extract data from a Washington Post reporter's iPhone because it had Lockdown Mode enabled, according to court documents.
- The AI Boom Is Coming for Apple’s Profit Margins - WSJ
AI companies are outbidding Apple for components like chips and memory, squeezing Apple's profit margins and potentially raising consumer prices.
- Call Screening Is Aggravating the Rich and Powerful - WSJ
A new iPhone call-screening feature, now accessible to all users, is frustrating wealthy and powerful people accustomed to being answered.
- Tech That Will Change Your Life in 2026 - WSJ
The article predicts that 2026 will bring a revamped Siri, foldable iPhones, brain implants, and electric supercars, while AI creates challenges in healthcare and cybersecurity.
Takes
Question for ChatGPT iPhone users: have you figured out when to use Chat and when to use Work yet? What kind of tasks are you switching to Work for? Have you made Work your default?
@simonw
This week’s Useful Thing: customize your iPhone’s charging sound. I went with the Mac startup chime. What you going with?
@JoannaStern
Running 400B model on iPhone! 0.6 t/s Credit @danveloper @alexintosh @danpacary @anemll
@anemll