Matt Birchler
@birchtree.me
What my apps look like on the iPhone Duo with zero code changes
What my apps look like on the iPhone Duo with zero code changes
Leading up to the iPhone Duo's announcement, I suggested that Apple's big advantage here compared to other folding phones on the market that are based on Android was the iPad ecosystem. Not all apps run on both the iPhone and the iPad, but a lot do, and so
birchtree.me
September 19, 2026 at 3:39 PM
What my apps look like on the iPhone Duo with zero code changes
Quick Stuff gets more personal
Quick Stuff gets more personal
Quick Stuff is my website with a bunch of little utilities to get things done. There are currently 13 tools, but most people use the same one or two things every time they come to the site. I've had a few UIs for pinning or prioritizing specific apps in
birchtree.me
September 19, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Quick Stuff gets more personal
Nonogame will soar on the iPhone Duo
Nonogame will soar on the iPhone Duo
Nonogame for the iPhone and iPad is out now, and I'm really excited about it. However, if I'm being honest, I have mostly played on my Samsung Galaxy Fold8 for the past few weeks because the experience is simply better there. It's not because the web app
birchtree.me
September 19, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Nonogame will soar on the iPhone Duo
iPhone 18 Pro with La Croix cooling
iPhone 18 Pro with La Croix cooling
I did some benchmarking today and saw how the newest iPhone thermal throttles, which isn't severe, but does happen. I know from experience that if you put a cold beverage on the back of your phone, it will cool down really quick, so I thought…the test is obvious.
birchtree.me
September 18, 2026 at 11:28 PM
iPhone 18 Pro with La Croix cooling
The iPhone 18 Pro is a transcription monster
The iPhone 18 Pro is a transcription monster
Apple made a big deal out of the AI capabilities in their new A20 Pro processor in their new iPhone marketing. They've doubled the number of cores in the neural engine, and this made me immediately wonder how much better that makes this device for transcriptions. This is exactly
birchtree.me
September 18, 2026 at 8:18 PM
The iPhone 18 Pro is a transcription monster
+ Metal Gear Solid 4 is awful. Truly awful.
+ Metal Gear Solid 4 is awful. Truly awful.
It turns out my memory was actually being far too kind to this game.
birchtree.me
September 18, 2026 at 1:38 PM
+ Metal Gear Solid 4 is awful. Truly awful.
Xcode 27.2 is in beta. The 27.1 beta is coming later.
Xcode 27.2 is in beta. The 27.1 beta is coming later.
Apple released new developer betas for OS 27.2 today, which is not quite what I expected. Us developers have been waiting for Xcode 27.1 since last week, so I was excited to see that we somehow jumped even further into the future, but my joy was tamped down
birchtree.me
September 16, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Xcode 27.2 is in beta. The 27.1 beta is coming later.
"Apple said they invented this"
"Apple said they invented this"
There is a very specific thing you see quite often in online discourse around Apple, which is that people think Apple claims they invent everything or Apple says every little update will change your life. Apple does get excited about things that they release, and they speak highly of them,
birchtree.me
September 16, 2026 at 3:46 PM
"Apple said they invented this"
Bircharoo is my Obsidian theme
Bircharoo is my Obsidian theme
This is gonna be a short one, but I made a simple Obsidian theme. It's called Bircharoo and it's the theme I've wanted for myself. There are over 700 themes out there already, and surely one of them would get me close to what I wanted. But
birchtree.me
September 15, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Bircharoo is my Obsidian theme
1,000 hours of nonogame
1,000 hours of nonogame
I hit a pretty fun milestone in nonogame today: 1000 hours played. No, not by me, but by the community of people who come and play this game every day. I know this is small potatoes compared to whatever other games you can think of off the top of your
birchtree.me
September 14, 2026 at 10:24 PM
1,000 hours of nonogame
Chris Lawley's iPadOS 27 walkthrough
Chris Lawley's iPadOS 27 walkthrough
Am I biased? Sure. This is still the best overview of what's new in iPadOS this year for normal people.
birchtree.me
September 14, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Chris Lawley's iPadOS 27 walkthrough
The OS 27 updates
The OS 27 updates
Apple has just started rolling out OS 27 across all their devices, and I think they're good updates across the board. As such, I've been working on updates to a bunch of my apps to get them ready for these new updates. Some features are specific to the
birchtree.me
September 14, 2026 at 7:34 PM
The OS 27 updates
Quick Reads now saves multi-page websites
Quick Reads now saves multi-page websites
As of today, Quick Reads now attempts to save all pages of the multi-page articles you save to the service. This works no matter how you save articles (browser extension, iOS app, API, or pasting into the website). For example, if you're trying to read a long iOS
birchtree.me
September 14, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Quick Reads now saves multi-page websites
How to release TV shows in 2026
How to release TV shows in 2026
I found this report from Luminate media to be fascinating. It's called "Release Strategies for Music & TV" and it's a guide for music and TV producers how how to find success in the oversaturated media landscape we find ourselves in today. A few specific things stand out to
birchtree.me
September 14, 2026 at 4:23 PM
How to release TV shows in 2026
A new retro handheld has my attention
A new retro handheld has my attention
Daryl Baxter: Retroid Pocket Nova review: the best 4:3 retro handheld
The latest handheld by Retroid answers something that its users have been asking for - give us a handheld as powerful as the Pocket, but with a 4:3 display. That's what the Retroid Pocket Nova essentially is
birchtree.me
September 14, 2026 at 12:03 PM
A new retro handheld has my attention
Apple's C2 modem is in the iPhone 18 Pro Max (except in America)
Apple's C2 modem is in the iPhone 18 Pro Max (except in America)
Joe Rossignol: Apple Says iPhone 18 Pro Max Sold in U.S. Differs in One Way
Apple now says the iPhone 18 Pro has a C2 modem worldwide, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses the chip in every country except for the U.S.
What a weird one.
birchtree.me
September 14, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Apple's C2 modem is in the iPhone 18 Pro Max (except in America)
+ The iPhone Duo opportunity for developers
+ The iPhone Duo opportunity for developers
The iPhone Duo won't sell the most units this year, but I think winning apps should update for it ASAP anyway.
birchtree.me
September 13, 2026 at 4:42 PM
+ The iPhone Duo opportunity for developers
We must dream bigger
We must dream bigger
Very often, we in the Apple community expect the bare minimum from Apple. We doubt they'll ever make new product lines, we assume any software feature they lack is actually a choice to omit it, and we predict when they do enter a new market, they'll phone it
birchtree.me
September 13, 2026 at 3:52 PM
We must dream bigger
The iPhone Air seems extremely niche in general, but my users love it
The iPhone Air seems extremely niche in general, but my users love it
David Smith shared some numbers on how many people are using WidgetSmith, his insanely popular, and therefore pretty representative of the overall market, app. He found the iPhone 17 line in general grew quicker than previous lines, but…
With the exception of the Air really struggling to find market share.
birchtree.me
September 11, 2026 at 9:01 PM
The iPhone Air seems extremely niche in general, but my users love it
Quick Reads, quicker than ever
Quick Reads, quicker than ever
I'm always looking for little ways to make Quick Reads better. Sometimes that means big feature updates. Other times it means subtle quality of life improvements. Today I released one of those small quality of life improvements.
A lot of users will keep Quick Reads open in a browser
birchtree.me
September 11, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Quick Reads, quicker than ever
The most interesting things in the iPhone Duo (and more)
The most interesting things in the iPhone Duo (and more)
Today I do the impossible and get through my biggest thoughts about Apple's announcements from yesterday in less than 10 minutes. Here's what I found most interesting about the new iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Watches, and AirPods 5.
birchtree.me
September 10, 2026 at 8:20 PM
The most interesting things in the iPhone Duo (and more)
The iPhone Duo shows Apple at its best
The iPhone Duo shows Apple at its best
I have a lot more to go through in collecting my thoughts on Apple's new products announced today, but I wanted to dedicate one quick post to the fact that I think the new iPhone Duo is Apple leaning in to what makes them special and what makes people
birchtree.me
September 9, 2026 at 8:09 PM
The iPhone Duo shows Apple at its best
Drawably is a hand-drawn UI library
Drawably is a hand-drawn UI library
It's not particularly useful for me, but I really dig this little UI library.
birchtree.me
September 9, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Drawably is a hand-drawn UI library
What's next for the iPhone Air?
What's next for the iPhone Air?
The iPhone Air is a really interesting device, isn't it? It's the first time I can think of where you paid more to get less in an iPhone. The iPhone Air costs a not-insignificant $200 (or 25%) more than the iPhone 17, and in order to achieve
birchtree.me
September 8, 2026 at 11:38 PM
What's next for the iPhone Air?
The Ocarina of Time remake looks astounding
The Ocarina of Time remake looks astounding
I’m not really doing social media at the moment so I have no idea what the reaction online has been, but I watched The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time trailer today and I was blown away. The original game is an absolute formative video game in my life.
birchtree.me
September 8, 2026 at 10:28 PM
The Ocarina of Time remake looks astounding