This Week in the Labs β September 11, 2026

It was a momentous week with the iPhone announcement. Iβve got a lot on my mind.
Below youβll find the weekβs new videos and podcasts, a few of the conversations happening in the member community, and whatβs coming next week. Most of those links lead straight into the Labs community on Circle, so theyβll only open if youβre a member. If youβre a Labs member who hasnβt set up your Circle access yet, send me a note and Iβll get you in. For members, this is your week at a glance. If youβre not one yet, itβs a peek at what youβre missing.
The Weekβs Releases
Touring the Endor Fieldbook
Video Β· September 8 Β· all tiers
I built myself a native Mac app with an audience of one. Endor Fieldbook reads the same Markdown files as my Obsidian vault, then puts my calendar, tasks, content, research, and finances into an interface made just for me.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Labs iPhone Event Meetup
Meetup Β· September 9 Β· all tiers
We watched the September event together in the Labs chat room, then got on Zoom at noon to compare notes on the iPhone 18 Pro and the Duo. The recording is already published in the Labs Circle and podcast feeds.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Labs September Meetup (After Dark)
Meetup Β· September 10 Β· Pathfinder & Insider
This monthβs After Dark meetup ran Thursday evening at 6:00 Pacific, the late slot for members who cannot make a noon session. Recording to follow.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
The Lab Report for September 11, 2026
Podcast Β· September 11 Β· all tiers
Appleβs September event takes over this weekβs Lab Report. I look at the iPhone 18 Pro camera, explain why Iβm buying an iPhone Duo, and work through the tradeoffs between Appleβs two new phones.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
In the Community
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (Labs Discussion Board)
A member visited the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles during a preview and came back recommending it, with the Geffen nearby as a second stop.
iPhone Duo (Labs Discussion Board)
A member posted a picture of the rumored dual-screen iPhone, and the comments turned into a run of jokes about its resemblance to a discontinued Microsoft Duo.
Best Way to Access Mac from iPad? (Labs Discussion Board)
One member asked how to reach a MacBook Pro back home while traveling with only an iPad, and the replies covered several remote-access options.
If youβre a Labs member and havenβt joined the Circle community yet, let me know and Iβll get you set up.
Coming Up
The event is behind us, so here is what the Labs calendar looks like through the middle of October.
September Deep Dive β The Mac Studio Home Server Β· September 17, 12:00 Pacific
Labs Jam Session β Browsers Β· September 24, 12:00 Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Q4 Quarter Planning Meetup Β· October 1, 10:00 Pacific
Labs October Meetup Β· October 8, 14:00 Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
October Deep Dive β Local and Private AI on a Mac Β· October 15, 12:00 Pacific
Links of Interest
- iPhone 18 Pro/Duo Impressions: Mogged. Marques Brownlee shares his first impressions after hands-on time with both new iPhones.
- iPhone Duo hands-on. The Verge takes an early look at Appleβs first foldable iPhone.
- Is the Foldable iPhone Duo Worth $1,999?. Joanna Stern looks at the first-generation hardware and asks the obvious price question.
- Apple reportedly cancels two MacBooks and reshuffles its OLED roadmap. MacRumors on the display roadmap that says a foldable MacBook and a large-OLED MacBook Pro tier are both off the table.
- Apple hit with a $2.7 billion lawsuit over App Tracking Transparency. The UK claim argues Apple held other developers to stricter tracking rules than its own advertising business.
- Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok all went down at once. Worth reading if you have moved a daily workflow onto a single cloud AI service.
Join the Labs
The videos, podcasts, and live sessions above are inside MacSparky Labs. Join at macsparky.com/join.
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