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Apple's Series 12 smartwatch now samples heart rate every 5 seconds, up from every 5 minutes on prior models, and adds a Readiness app that scores recovery from 1-10 using HRV data. Paired with a redesigned Apple Health app in iOS 27 that presents stats more clearly, these updates are prompting at least one longtime WHOOP user to consider returning to Apple's ecosystem.
Programmer Yevhen Kharkivskyi has released Tasks.txt, a free Mac application built around Gina Trapani's todo.txt system. Instead of complex features, it organizes tasks into three simple sections—Next, Backlog, and Done—stored in a single text file and fully operable via keyboard shortcuts.
Google is rolling out a new Connected App in the Gemini desktop client for Mac that lets the assistant read, search, and send iMessages using an @messages command. The feature appeared in version 1.116.5.889 under Settings > Connected Apps, though the server-side component isn't fully active yet, so the command isn't recognized in prompts as of now. This follows last week's launch of the Gemini app on Windows.
Samsung is rolling out a new option letting Gallery app users sync photos and videos directly to Google Photos, replacing the native Microsoft OneDrive integration that shuts down September 30. The feature requires a compatible Samsung phone running Android 13 or later and a personal (non-Workspace, non-supervised) Google account, and is rolling out gradually with availability varying by device, region and account type.
Meta's Muse, an AI agent app launched earlier this month, has climbed to the top of Apple's free iPhone app rankings in the US, pushing OpenAI's ChatGPT out of first place. The surge follows Meta's expansion of Muse to Mac desktops, though that version doesn't count toward App Store rankings since it's downloaded via the web.
Google has updated its AI agent CC, previously a general productivity tool tied to Gmail and Calendar, to focus specifically on family coordination tasks such as tracking school schedules, signing permission slips, building shopping lists, and planning weekly meals. CC now operates with its own Google account and customizable permissions, letting family members choose what information—like emails from schools or sports clubs—gets shared with it automatically or manually.
The September 18, 2026 episode of 9to5Mac Daily rounds up the day's Apple news, focusing on fresh details surrounding iOS 27 and the rumored dual-screen or dual-device iPhone Duo concept. The podcast, sponsored by task-management app Stuff, is distributed across major platforms including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and TuneIn.
Meta has launched a Mac version of its AI assistant Muse, allowing it to interact directly with a user's files, messages, calendar, notes and mail within their native apps. The desktop release follows Muse's earlier debut on mobile and web this month, where it quickly climbed to the top of U.S. App Store rankings.
Google has updated its Pixel Weather app to include a refresh button on the larger home screen widget, letting users manually pull the latest conditions instead of waiting for background updates. The company also removed the left/right arrow buttons previously used to scrub through hourly and daily forecasts within the app. The changes appear in version 1.1.20260716.979549101 of the app.
Ahead of the iPhone Duo's October launch, several early hands-on videos from creators like Flourish Planner, Rich DeMuro, and GadgetMatch have surfaced showing the foldable device's software features. These clips demonstrate one-handed typing on the exterior display, a split keyboard mode in horizontal orientation, iPad-like landscape layouts for multitasking, book-reading with page-flip animations, and camera capabilities.
Apple's Watch Ultra 4 introduces a revamped sensor system with five-second heart rate readings, an improved pedometer, and a new Readiness feature that combines recent activity and sleep data. Samsung's Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 counters with an expanded Vitals suite in its Health app, offering daily blood pressure estimates, a Heart Health Score, antioxidant readings, and trail-running hydration guidance. Both devices share core safety tools like Emergency SOS, fall detection, and alert sirens, though only Apple's watch adds crash detection.
Samsung has released Gallery Assistant, a Good Lock module that adds seven new tools to the Gallery app on Galaxy phones, including size reduction, rotate and flip, image clipping, watermarking, image comparison, and PDF export. Many of these tools support batch processing, letting users apply the same edit to multiple images or videos simultaneously instead of repeating actions one by one.