Engineering

Deep dives into how we build: architecture decisions, performance work, and the trade-offs behind the systems we ship for clients.

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Abstract cover art: a checklist grid with one marked row

Engineering

17 Sept 20264 min read

iPhone Duo ships on iOS 27.1 on 23 October, and its SDK is not out yet

Apple confirmed iPhone Duo runs iOS 27.1 at launch, with the Xcode 27.1 beta due later this month. That leaves weeks, not months. Here is how we are using them.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: stacked layers offset across the frame

Engineering

17 Sept 20264 min read

App Tracking Transparency gets a new EU prompt in iOS 27.2, and five countries get no choice

iOS 27.2 adds an alternative tracking prompt in the EU, mandatory in five countries, with yearly re-prompting. What to build and measure before it ships.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: staggered bars advancing along a track

Engineering

16 Sept 20263 min read

Apple shipped a feature in a beta and told you it is not shipping

The first iOS 27.2 beta contains the rebuilt Health app, and Apple's release notes say it will not ship in 27.2. That is a planning problem.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: concentric rings around a sealed centre

Engineering

16 Sept 20263 min read

Apple shipped a photo you can prove is real. You cannot check it yet.

Reference Image signs a photo at the sensor. There is no developer API, it is one camera on one phone, and the useful response is small.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: nested frames at differing proportions

Engineering

16 Sept 20264 min read

Your iPhone app is about to be resized on iPad

One line in the iPadOS 27 release notes lets iPhone apps be resized on iPad. If you ship an iPhone-only app, it is about to run at sizes you never tested.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: a wave pattern narrowing as it crosses the frame

Engineering

16 Sept 20263 min read

Siri AI is live, in English, on half your users' phones

The rebuilt Siri shipped as a beta with a long list of exclusions. Read that list before you promise a client a voice-driven feature this year.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: stacked frames fanned along a curve

Engineering

16 Sept 20262 min read

watchOS 27 moves discovery into the Smart Stack

The Smart Stack now suggests widgets contextually and opens them with a one-handed tap. On the watch, that is where your app gets found.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: translucent panes layered over one another

Engineering

16 Sept 20263 min read

macOS 27 lets users dial back Liquid Glass. Design for that.

Golden Gate adds a slider that moves the interface from clarity to tint. Any hierarchy your app builds out of translucency is now user-adjustable.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: linked nodes branching from a single point

Engineering

16 Sept 20263 min read

Unshipped iOS 27 code hints Siri could run on other models

A developer found two disabled frameworks in iOS 27 that would let another model answer as Siri. Here is what to do with a finding like that: mostly nothing.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: small bodies orbiting a bright core

Engineering

11 Sept 20264 min read

Apple made on-device AI free for small studios. Here is the catch.

Free Private Cloud Compute below two million downloads removes the infrastructure bill from shipping AI features. It does not remove the harder problems - and that threshold has an odd shape.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: stacked discs joined by a dashed sync arc

Engineering

15 Aug 20263 min read

Offline-first is a data-layer decision, not a feature you add later

Retrofitting offline support into an app that assumed connectivity is close to a rewrite. The reason is that offline is not a feature - it is an assumption about who owns the truth.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: ascending bars rising left to right

Engineering

1 Aug 20263 min read

Your app is fast on your phone. That is the problem.

Development happens on the fastest hardware in the building, on office wifi, with a fresh install and no data. Almost none of your users are in that situation.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: an audio waveform of varying bar heights

Engineering

5 May 20264 min read

If Siri can act on your app, your app needs to be worth acting on

A more capable Siri reaches into apps through App Intents. That makes intent coverage an architectural question, and it exposes every app whose functionality only exists inside its own UI.

Pinkesh Gajera

Engineering

2 Apr 20264 min read

Choosing a backend for a mobile app, honestly

Managed backend, custom API, or backend-as-a-service. The right answer depends on two questions that have nothing to do with technology, and most teams answer neither.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: a checklist with the first items ticked

Engineering

17 Feb 20264 min read

Technical debt: which to pay, which to keep

Not all technical debt should be repaid. The useful question is not is this messy but does this cost us anything - and for a surprising amount of code the answer is no.

Pinkesh Gajera

Abstract cover art: a connected network of nodes around one hub

Engineering

7 Oct 20254 min read

Model Context Protocol on iOS: interesting, and not yet a foundation

MCP gives models a standard way to reach tools and data. The idea is sound and the direction is right, but there is a difference between a promising protocol and something to build a client product on.

Pinkesh Gajera

EngineeringEngineering

iPhone Duo ships on iOS 27.1 on 23 October, and its SDK is not out yet

App Tracking Transparency gets a new EU prompt in iOS 27.2, and five countries get no choice

Apple shipped a feature in a beta and told you it is not shipping

Apple shipped a photo you can prove is real. You cannot check it yet.

Your iPhone app is about to be resized on iPad

Siri AI is live, in English, on half your users' phones

watchOS 27 moves discovery into the Smart Stack

macOS 27 lets users dial back Liquid Glass. Design for that.

Unshipped iOS 27 code hints Siri could run on other models

Apple made on-device AI free for small studios. Here is the catch.

Offline-first is a data-layer decision, not a feature you add later

Your app is fast on your phone. That is the problem.

If Siri can act on your app, your app needs to be worth acting on

Choosing a backend for a mobile app, honestly

Technical debt: which to pay, which to keep

Model Context Protocol on iOS: interesting, and not yet a foundation

Engineering