Show Notes
This week, Mike and Damashe dig into Earshot build 99, react to WWDC 26, and ask the big question: are AI agent devices actually ready to replace your phone? Spoiler: your ride might end up in the wrong city.
What We Talked About
Earshot Update - Build 99
The new alphabetical library picker is live, with a count of how many podcasts are under each letter
Per-podcast playback speed is now working: set a default speed, override it for individual shows, and it remembers your preference automatically
The database migration bug from builds 88-95 is fixed; if your app was spinning and crashing, update to build 99
The app now gives you a useful error message instead of just failing silently if something goes wrong with the database
If you are on TestFlight and want to send feedback, email [email protected] - do not use the TestFlight feedback form, because Mike cannot reply to you there
To get on the beta, find Michael on Mastodon
Apple Deals Worth Knowing
AirPods Pro 3 spotted at $179 on Amazon, Best Buy, and possibly Walmart
AirPods 4 at $99
Apple Watch Series 11 (42mm GPS) at $299
WWDC 26 Impressions
Mike went in with low expectations and came out a little underwhelmed
Damashe has not watched the keynote but has listened to everyone talk about it
Apple showed features live and uncut, which seems intentional - they want to prove the demos are real
Certain AI features require M3 Pro or better on Mac, M4 or better on iPad, and iPhone 17 Pro
iOS 26 and 27 compatibility stays the same - if your device runs 26 it will run 27, you just may not get all the local AI capabilities
Damashe called the OS unification direction, and he would like you to use the hashtag DamasheWasRight accordingly
iOS 27 Safari Notify
Apple Intelligence can now watch a Safari tab and notify you when something changes
Steven Robles used it to get notified when the Unify travel router came back in stock
Both Mike and Damashe immediately thought: Ubiquiti restocks
Touchscreen MacBook Speculation
Mark Gurman is pointing toward a high-end OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro at a significant price premium
Damashe's alternate theory: what if Apple makes a detachable touchscreen MacBook Neo instead of going ultra-premium
The Neo already runs macOS on an A18 Pro chip at $600; a touch-capable detachable version aimed at schools and everyday users could make more sense than a $3,200 pro machine
Both agree: a MacBook with cellular would be an instant buy, no questions asked
Are AI Agent Devices Ready to Replace Your Phone?
OpenAI is rumored to be working on a new form factor device built around voice interaction
Damashe's argument: not yet, for several reasons - apps, authentication, companies not wanting to be commoditized, and the lack of strong local compute
Uber and Amazon are not going to sit still while an agent turns them into a background API
The local vs. cloud routing problem is real: you need a local model to manage where requests go, and we are not there on mobile yet
Both see 2029-2030 as a realistic window for local compute on personal devices being good enough for most tasks
The Plaud Pin has been sitting on a nightstand for months as evidence
Siri and Third-Party Mail
Siri can now surface airline reservations when you call airlines
Open question: does it work if your reservation is in Gmail or Outlook instead of Apple Mail
Shortcuts Getting Smarter
The new AI-assisted Shortcuts builder could be the most useful thing in iOS 27 if it actually works
Federico Viticci's hope: get Sherlocked properly this time
Links and Contact
Send feedback: [email protected]
TestFlight beta for Earshot: find Michael on Mastodon at [email protected]
Damashe on Mastodon: [email protected]
Bot: [email protected]
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