Steve Moser

Contributing Writer at @MacRumors. Editor-in-Chief at @TheTapeDrive. iOS Developer. Mines software releases for hidden gems.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

Thread of some of my popular posts and threads about not-yet-released software and hardware.
= (1/n) Thread of Threads =
📌 (🧵, 🧵)

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

First thread of threads… thread (1/n)
First iOS app I made.

[Alex Cheema @alexocheema]

Sadly I'm not allowed to share the exact slides here from the Steve Jobs Theatre, but I can describe one of the slides and use AI to generate a recreation:

Enabling a full range of local AI inference

(left to right)
- iPhone and iPad. Up to 16GB unified memory. Up to 14 billion active parameters.
- MacBook Air. Up to 32GB unified memory. Up to 35 billion active parameters.
- Mac mini. Up to 64GB unified memory. Up to 70 billion active parameters.
- MacBook Pro. Up to 128GB unified memory. Up to 120 billion active parameters.
- Mac Studio. Up to 512GB unified memory. Up to 480 billion active parameters.
- Mac Studio Cluster. Up to 2TB unified memory. 1.6 trillion+ active parameters.

[Kahris @chrissotraidis]

Inspired by @ammaar getting C&C Generals running natively on iPad, I did the same for Warcraft II using Codex 5.6 Sol.

It's the open-source Stratagus/Wargus engine compiled for ARM64, rendering through Metal via SDL2. No emulator, no x86, no streaming from a Mac.

Campaigns, skirmish, and save/load all work, with touch controls. First time I've seen Warcraft II run natively on iPad.

Open sourcing it all below.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

@goodside Reminds me of when AI rickrolled me: https://t.co/Q1paiHMMv5

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

AI just Rick Rolled me and I think I just found the perfect AI nerd snipe. I asked Claude to decode the hidden message on this 1979 Bell Labs magnetic bubble memory letter opener. There are AI hallucinations and then there is this:

"The decoded message appears to be: "NEVER GONNA"

Given the pattern continues further down the letter opener, this is likely the beginning of "Never Gonna Give You Up" - a clever Rick Roll encoded in binary on a letter opener! The remaining rows would presumably complete the phrase, though they're harder to make out clearly in the image." - Claude Opus 4.1

Meanwhile GPT-5 errored out after thinking (about k clustering etc) for over 14 minutes. But digging through its thinking reveals some interesting guesses including:
"THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE"
"THIS IS NOT A KNIFE"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE,"

Grok 4 thinks it says "BUBBLE"
Gemini 2.5 Pro thinks it says "BTL"

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

The danger is building a cathedral before proving the product needs a chapel.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

New in iOS 27 and watchOS 27: The minimum Apple Watch user age required to collect and see VO₂ max stats (used to determine Cardio Fitness) in the health app has been lower to 18 years (It used to be 20 and above): “VO₂ max is classified for users 18 and older. Most people can improve their VO₂ max with more intense and more frequent cardiovascular exercise. Certain conditions or medications that limit your heart rate may cause an overestimation of your VO₂ max. VO₂ max is not validated for pregnant users. You can indicate you’re taking certain medications or add a current pregnancy in Health Details.”

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

@chrismaconi If only they let you use the Siri chat app offline... https://t.co/SjV7hAIEEt

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

I'm confused. Apple talked a lot about how great their on device AI model (especially on devices with newer chips and 12GB of RAM like the iPhone 17 Pro) at WWDC but the new Siri AI app in iOS 27 Beta 1 doesn't even work offline. Hopefully it is just a beta thing. Also is it is just me or does this 'Syncing with iCloud Paused' UI not feal very Apple-like? Other than that this is a very smooth Beta 1.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

@evansammccann Yet Apple doesn't let you use its new Siri AI chat app offline... https://t.co/SjV7hAIEEt

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

I'm confused. Apple talked a lot about how great their on device AI model (especially on devices with newer chips and 12GB of RAM like the iPhone 17 Pro) at WWDC but the new Siri AI app in iOS 27 Beta 1 doesn't even work offline. Hopefully it is just a beta thing. Also is it is just me or does this 'Syncing with iCloud Paused' UI not feal very Apple-like? Other than that this is a very smooth Beta 1.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

@mweinbach Did Apple talk about an offline mode in the Siri app or will I only be able to chat with the 20B model in 3rd party apps offline?

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

@kevinefiles Source? Apple has a 3B model. Why not let me chat with that?

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

I'm confused. Apple talked a lot about how great their on device AI model (especially on devices with newer chips and 12GB of RAM like the iPhone 17 Pro) at WWDC but the new Siri AI app in iOS 27 Beta 1 doesn't even work offline. Hopefully it is just a beta thing. Also is it is just me or does this 'Syncing with iCloud Paused' UI not feal very Apple-like? Other than that this is a very smooth Beta 1.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

@kevinefiles This is an M1 iPad Pad.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

Also no 'Siri mode in Camera' on iPad, but Siri AI works in screenshots mode? Why Apple?

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

Apple is working on a new battery feature in watchOS and iOS 27 Beta 1, codenamed Dormancy, which suggests feature to turn off to optimize battery life. Looks like one of the suggested features to turn off is hand gestures i.e. double tap.
"These features haven't been used lately. Turning them off could improve your battery life."

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

Apple updated so many app icons with the slightest change for watchOS, iPadOS, iOS 27 etc. The Settings app icon is one of bigger changes but it is really only noticeable when you fade between the old Liquid Glass icon and the "Improved Liquid Glass" icon.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

New font in iOS 27 Beta 1 Setup Assistant: Macintosh Skeletal. I wonder if it is used for the 'hello' cursive intro.

[Mysk 🇨🇦🇩🇪 @mysk_co]

You know how Apple’s default naming scheme for AirPods is like “Owner’s AirPods”?

Well, apps can see that when you have any Bluetooth headphones connected, and make a pretty good guess about your name without asking 🙃

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

@mweinbach Nike of course.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

@tenobrus @tszzl Related:

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

AI just Rick Rolled me and I think I just found the perfect AI nerd snipe. I asked Claude to decode the hidden message on this 1979 Bell Labs magnetic bubble memory letter opener. There are AI hallucinations and then there is this:

"The decoded message appears to be: "NEVER GONNA"

Given the pattern continues further down the letter opener, this is likely the beginning of "Never Gonna Give You Up" - a clever Rick Roll encoded in binary on a letter opener! The remaining rows would presumably complete the phrase, though they're harder to make out clearly in the image." - Claude Opus 4.1

Meanwhile GPT-5 errored out after thinking (about k clustering etc) for over 14 minutes. But digging through its thinking reveals some interesting guesses including:
"THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE"
"THIS IS NOT A KNIFE"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE,"

Grok 4 thinks it says "BUBBLE"
Gemini 2.5 Pro thinks it says "BTL"

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

The monkey’s paw of a great idea right before bedtime.

[Steve Moser @SteveMoser]

Couple of thoughts:
1) Why does the trash icon look like ice cream?
2) OpenAI isn’t a fan of Tahoe either
3) ChatGPT 5.5 (spud) today?

[OpenAI @OpenAI]

This is not a screenshot.