Eshu Marneedi

New article: Tuesday's Apple event was puzzling yet exciting, but most transitions are. And yes, Apple is in a transition. I wrote about the painfully compromised yet innovative iPhone Duo, the laconic iPhone 18 Pro, and the stakes of the new Apple Watch AI features.

This is obviously wishful thinking, but I hope the news that the base-model MacBook Pro didn't get a price hike today means higher-end models' prices will stay the same.

The iMac and base-model MacBook Pro continue to be members of Apple's lineup.

It is insane that Claude Cowork is still restricted to a sandbox with no way to get it to just work like Claude Code. OpenAI solved this like six months ago.

New iPad mini is *fine*, but I just don't see why you'd buy it + an iPhone instead of just getting an iPhone Duo. (Or a standalone e-reader, if you're into that.) $700 is steep, especially with no ProMotion. Even the base-model iPhones have that.

I used to always say I'd replace ChatGPT with Claude in my Dock and on my Home Screen if their desktop app was better. Well now ChatGPT's app sucks so unbelievably bad that even the Electron slop Claude app is better. So Claude it is.

Vivek Ramaswamy might be the worst person running for office this year.

Of all iPhone Duo problems, the least significant is app optimization.

👍

Whoa

Starting to reconsider my intended career as a technology writer in the age of illiteracy and hatred toward technology; will report back in 45 years to let you know if I'm homeless.

Every social network: - Threads: [Life story of a random stranger.] - Mastodon: You're a fascist neo-Naz— you're— you're Adolf Hitler himself! Anyway do you like computers - Bluesky: Is McDonald's woke? Is Mastercard a queer ally? - X: [Completely normal thing] FOREIGNERS ARE DESTROYING AMERICA

There's never been a better time to study computer science. So long as you don't force computer science students to engineer software. I wrote about Anthropic's report on hiring and why it should force the industry to change the way we think about junior-level CS jobs.

It actually turns out they only made one (1) iPhone Duo and made you all fight for it.

user interface design is my passion

I find that there is a stark contrast in the editorial content of tech reporters who live in San Francisco vs. anywhere else in the country.

There's a difference between vibe-coding and coding with AI. Yes, the apps from the labs are all vibe-coded slop. They just don't really care about people in general, let alone the people paying for their product. I don't think that's going to change.

The United app graphic on United Airlines's website is completely AI-generated:

While OpenAI is busy with its lawsuits and being just generally insufferable on the internet, Anthropic is busy building great models and Meta — of all companies — has it beat in price-to-intelligence. Feels too early to say, but there's a clear vibe-shift against OpenAI these days.

Ooooh drama!

I wrote about HomeView and the new Apple TV and HomePod mini, and why I think Apple missed the mark on Tuesday's announcements.

I'll have something out about the new Apple home stuff by the end of the night. I had to spend all day attempting to not flunk a biology exam.

Whoever was in charge of the new Music app in Beta 4 hates fun. Not only did they change the icon, but the pink accent color is gone, too. Boo!

I will say that it's a weird omission not to upgrade the big HomePod with Siri AI today, too. I wonder if that's coming, or if that model is going to be ditched again. Its last update was in 2023.

They really nailed the proportions on this HomeView thing. It's so cute! I have no use for one but I almost want a use for one.

From Apple: Siri AI is available as a beta on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later), and is available at launch in the U.S., Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and the UK in English. Seems like a win. I don't know why you'd buy a new $300 Apple TV today.

Notes: - $300 for an Apple TV is genuinely ludicrous. - HomeView is reasonably priced. Seems very neat. - Of course the smart home line from LG has a name!

New article: Usually my iPhone reviews are like 6,000 words long. This one is not. And it's also late. (My bad.) Here's a short and sweet iPhone 18 Pro review. Because the story of this phone is indeed short and sweet.

Software is dead. Now subscribe to my software for $200 a month.

> submitted an update to App Review yesterday > remarkably gets approved this morning > release > notice a tiny visual bug that takes one line of code to fix

I wrote about the rumored LG HomeKit accessories and why the news is actually not unusual at all, and maybe even preferred:

I'm making a concerted effort to blog less about leaks. I find them uninteresting, and I'd much rather save my thoughts for when the products ship. I encourage others to do the same. Apple beat reporting has been consumed by leaks and rumors, and there is a clear deficit in good analysis these days.

Claude Design helps me get why non-programmers have fallen in love with agentic coding so much.

The absolute state of People Also Ask

out of curiosity, we all informally agree P ≠ NP, right

I swear if I ever encounter a magic link ever again, I will scream.

I've never seen them announce an event on a Thursday. "Welcome Home," October 13, Apple "experience" in New York. (This isn't an event; more of a hands-on briefing for the media.)

The new native Notion app (in beta) is proof software engineering is not dead.

My New Yorker column will be entitled Notes from the Permanent Underclass.

This epidemic of AI-generated YouTube videos needs to end. I'm not talking about the visuals. Everything but the visuals. The voiceover, the script, the description. Just so awful. It's like every fifth video now.

Interestingly, nothing about an event on the 13th (yet). Maybe just press releases?

Literally all of these buttons are useless. How do I get rid of them? Who designed this?

Funny how one of United's most important routes is from the worst airport in America (EWR) to the best (SFO). They have a monopoly in both airports.

I'm supposed to believe this software is developed by the best engineers in the world.

The iPhone 5c was actually a good iPhone, send post.

i love Bixby Canyon Bridge so much

I wrote about cheaper, mid-tier models and plans, and OpenAI's Dots: eshumarneedi.com/2026/10/02/o...

Forget drugs, GPUs are the new hotness these days. www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...

Just switched back to the ChatGPT Electron slop app (for ChatGPT Work; regular ChatGPT is effectively abandoned with no new model releases) and got hit with this absolute gem when trying to close the window.