Every app I've built started the same way, I looked for something that worked, couldn't find it, so I made it myself. Day job is HR. These 13 apps are nights and weekends, no team, no funding. Each one exists because I needed it. jcmobileappstudio.com/apps?u…

Meta beat on almost everything and still fell 7% 📊 New on the journal: revenue up 26% to $64.6B, but $34.9B of capex in one quarter, negative free cash flow, a $9.9B legal charge, and a new non-voting Class C stock. What I'm doing as an index fund investor: nothing. Full read, plus Tesla in brief: jcmobileappstudio.com/blog/m…

New on the journal 📱 The iPhone Duo arrives tomorrow. Which apps are ready, what it means for small developers, and three things Apple didn't say. Apple showed off the apps rebuilt for the Duo: Netflix, Prime Video, MLB, Zoom, Slack and more, plus a Made for iPhone Duo badge for optimized apps. All 14 of my apps are Duo ready too. My own Duo lands early November, so the simulator is my test bench for now. I also checked three claims going around (StandBy tent mode, drag and drop between halves, no walk-ins anywhere) against what Apple actually said. jcmobileappstudio.com/blog/i…

Pages, Keynote and Numbers just got an Intelligent Assistant 🍎 • Apple added an AI assistant to all three iWork apps today, in beta for Apple Creator Studio subscribers • Pages: first drafts, editing, tone, generate images and shapes with plain language • Keynote: build and refine slides, animations, presenter notes • Numbers: formulas from natural language, tables, data visuals, chart suggestions • All three can search the web and pull findings into your document • Needs Creator Studio ($12.99/mo), US English, iOS 27+ • Free for everyone: Keynote's new open .keyx Interchange Format, plus iPhone Duo support in all three apps

Every subscription in one number, no bank login. On iPhone Duo your subscriptions sit on one page and the one you tap opens on the other. iOS: apps.apple.com/app/id6776464… Android: play.google.com/store/apps/d…

🍎 Apple's second October event is next Wednesday 💻 "Pro and tell," October 28, reportedly a touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro 📱 New iPad mini and iMac reported too, nothing confirmed yet 🚫 Japan: no walk-in iPhone Duo at launch, reservation only 📋 That App Review "foldable rules" story going around? Not what the update says Don't buy a MacBook Pro or iPad mini this week 👇 jcmobileappstudio.com/blog/a…

Xbox Cloud Gaming goes pay as you go 🎮 • Microsoft just launched Cloud Playtime packs: buy streaming hours for Xbox Cloud Gaming with no Game Pass subscription • Introductory prices: 10 hours for $3.99, 25 hours for $7.99, 50 hours for $11.99 • Ad free, shorter wait times, high quality streaming, and bought hours never expire • The catch: packs do not include the Game Pass library. You stream games you already own, or supported free to play titles • Live now for Xbox Insiders, rolling out to everyone in November • Also from November, Game Pass cloud streaming gets capped: Ultimate 15 hours a month, Premium 10, Essential 5 Pay per hour for cloud gaming, or keep the subscription? What would you pick?

EA is shutting down BioWare, and the next Mass Effect is canceled 🎮 After more than 30 years, BioWare is closing. EA is shutting down the Edmonton studio and ending early development on the next Mass Effect, first teased back in 2020. The studio behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur's Gate helped define what an RPG is. • About 400 jobs cut across EA, roughly 50 of them at BioWare, per Bloomberg • EA narrows to its proven hits: Battlefield, Apex Legends, EA Sports • Still in the works: the next Star Wars Jedi game and Marvel's Iron Man • A Sims project (Project Lotus) is paused, and the Skate studio is being shrunk My guess is this is the new private-EA era in one move: fewer bets, bigger franchises, no room for a slow, expensive RPG studio, even a legendary one. What's your favorite BioWare game?

Dev side of this: plenty of Duo updates are approved and just held until launch day on purpose. Shipping a foldable layout to phones that can't use it yet would be the actual bug. Day one is when the real verdict starts.

📱 iPhone Duo: the first reviews are in • Hinge and crease: best in class — one test folded it 32,640 times with no deterioration • The matte 7.6" inner display is the star of the phone • Cameras are the compromise: 48MP main + 48MP ultrawide, no telephoto (2x is a crop), main sensor is the base iPhone's, not the Pro's • Battery: 13h 20m tested — beats the Fold 8 (10h 06m), trails the 18 Pro Max (17h 31m) • Heavy: 254g and 11.3mm folded, vs 201g for the Fold 8 • IP68 dust-tight — Samsung's foldables are IP48 • Software isn't finished: two-app multitasking only, and apps like Spotify, X and Gmail aren't optimized yet • No Face ID — Touch ID instead, and reviewers miss Face ID most • Inner screen repair: $999 without AppleCare+ Are you glad you waited? Are you canceling your preorder after the early reviews?

Apple Music gets a new look 🎵 • The red is gone — new black-and-white logo, "made by sound" liquid visuals • Launched with Fred again.. and NEST Acoustics • Full rollout with iOS 27.2 next week Red or black-and-white — which do you like better?

Spotify podcasts get paid memberships 🎙️ • Paid memberships on top of Premium, per show, US + 33 markets • Creators keep 90% after fees • Sign-up on the web, not in the app Would you pay extra for a podcast on Premium?

🎮 Four big games in five days 🤝 We Were Here Tomorrow: out now, co-op only, bring a friend ⚔️ Final Fantasy Resonance: Thursday, $49.99, even on the original Switch 🏝️ Switch Sports Resort: Thursday, Switch 2 only 🔫 Modern Warfare 4: Friday, first mainline Call of Duty on a Nintendo The FF demo save carries over, so you can try it before you pay 👇 jcmobileappstudio.com/blog/t…

ChatGPT can now lock chats behind a PIN 🔒 • PIN / Face ID / Touch ID, hidden from history + search • Rolling out gradually on most plans • Catch: it's not encryption, and resetting the PIN deletes the locked chats Would you use it?

One UI 9 hits the Galaxy A35, A55 and more in Korea 📱 • Stable One UI 9.0 (Android 17), beta users first • A35 + A55 lead, with A17 / A16 / A07 / M16 / M36 in the same wave • Global + US should follow

One UI 9 hits the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 in the US 📱 • Stable One UI 9.0 (Android 17) rolling out today, AT&T-locked first • October patch included • Last major OS update for both Has it hit yours yet?

Spotify's family plan crackdown is here 🎵 • In-person QR scan to prove you live with the plan manager — code refreshes every few seconds • 7 days to verify, or dropped to free + no other Family/Duo plan for 12 months Is your family plan actually all under one roof?

Oura Ring gets Cardio Effort + VO2 Max 💍 • Cardio Effort scores heart strain per workout, vs your own baseline • VO2 Max now automatic from GPS workouts — no walk test • Ring Gen 3+, via Oura Labs Ring or watch — which side are you on?

Gemini Personal Intelligence hits Android Auto 🚗 • Rolling out today on Android Auto — Google built-in cars in the coming months • Connects Gmail, Calendar, Photos, Maps, YouTube + Search, opt-in only • Ask for your flight gate and delay in one go Would you turn this on in your car?

Podcasts, live radio and local news in one player. On iPhone Duo every screen gets two columns, and the player sits right beside Up Next. apps.apple.com/app/id6764442…