iPadOS 26.1 Beta, ChatGPT Apps, and OpenAI's AI Device

iPhone Air Daily Use and Battery Management

• 📱 Federico continues to daily drive the iPhone Air, finding it feels like the future due to its thinness and lightness, a stark contrast to heavier Pro models.
• 🔋 While battery life can be a challenge, often requiring charging by 7 PM, Federico manages this by frequently topping up using MagSafe and carrying a battery pack.
• 📖 The thinness has enabled more reading on the device, fulfilling a desire to reduce reliance on carrying an iPad for nighttime reading.

Camera and User Experience on iPhone Air

• 📸 The iPhone Air's camera limitations, particularly the lack of an ultrawide lens for close-ups, are acknowledged, with a workaround suggested by using a 2x crop.
• 🤔 Despite being upset about the crop, Federico prioritizes the overall feeling and experience of using the phone over its missing features.
• 🤝 He is happy with his choice to use two phones, preferring the Pro for personal use and the Air for scrolling and messaging, appreciating the larger screen without the bulk.

iPadOS 26.1 Beta: Slide Over Returns

• ↩️ iPadOS 26.1 beta 2 brings back Slide Over, but in a single-window capacity, fused with the new windowing system.
• 🎛️ Users can now resize the Slide Over window, offering more flexibility than the original implementation.
• 🛠️ This feature is seen as a positive response to user feedback, addressing a desire for a quick, accessible window for notes or other apps without disrupting the main workflow.

OpenAI's Apps in ChatGPT and Future Devices

• 🚀 OpenAI announced apps within ChatGPT, allowing integration with third-party services like Spotify and Zillow, aiming to make ChatGPT an operating system.
• 💡 This move leverages the MCP standard, making it easier for developers to integrate their services into ChatGPT's ecosystem.
• 📱 The discussion also covers OpenAI's secretive AI device, a screenless, palm-sized gadget designed to be always on, which faces significant technical challenges and potential delays.
• 🤔 There's skepticism about the viability of a screenless device, with the possibility that OpenAI might pivot to creating a phone powered by web technologies, similar to the ill-fated Facebook phone.

App Updates and Liquid Glass Design

• ✨ Several apps are highlighted for their effective use of Liquid Glass and iOS 26 design principles, including Matter (read-later app) and Lire (RSS reader).
• 📊 Athlytic, an app that uses Apple Watch data for health and fitness insights, is praised as a potential Apple acquisition due to its superior presentation of health data compared to Whoop.
• 🗓️ Fantastical has subtly updated its UI with Liquid Glass elements, improving navigation and menu structure.