Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple.
When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred to as sherlocking. The name dates back to a "Sherlock" search tool in OS X that Apple enhanced with features that were cribbed from a third-party app called Watson. Watson's developers accused Apple of copying the product without compensation, and from then on, sherlocking has been used to describe apps that are supplanted by Apple.
Here are the features in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26 that, to various extents, sherlock popular existing apps.
Apple's Sherlocking New Features
- Enhanced Spotlight with Actions – Provides suggested apps, commands, and custom shortcuts with the ability to perform actions like creating calendar events or making GIFs directly from search. Sherlocks Raycast and LaunchBar.
- Call Assist with Screening – Takes calls from unknown numbers silently, captures the caller's name and reason for calling, then lets you choose to accept or reject with typed responses. Sherlocks Robokiller and Truecaller.
- Parcel Tracking in Wallet – Uses Apple Intelligence to automatically track and summarize order status by analyzing emails from merchants and delivery services. Sherlocks various package tracking apps.
- Flight Tracking via Live Activities – Allows users to track and share flight status through Live Activities in Wallet, plus airport navigation with gate and amenity information in Maps. Sherlocks Flighty.
- AI Model Integration in Xcode – Makes ChatGPT the default assistant for Xcode 26 and allows developers to connect other AI models using API keys for coding assistance. Sherlocks Alex for Xcode.
- Local Capture for iPad – Enables creators to record videos locally using any video calling app and share recordings with others for podcast creation. Sherlocks Riverside.
- Notes App for Apple Watch – Brings the official Notes app to Apple Watch with watchOS 26, allowing users to take notes directly on their wrist. Sherlocks various note-taking apps for Apple Watch.
- Allow in the Menu Bar – In macOS Tahoe's System Settings, you can now control which third-party apps are allowed to display menu bar items. Sherlocks Bartender and Ice.
- Spotlight Clipboard Search – In macOS Tahoe, Spotlight users can search and view previously copied content in their clipboard history – including both text and images – making it easy to retrieve items copied earlier. Sherlocks Paste and Pastebot.
Of course, some of these apps may still offer additional functionality beyond what Apple has implemented, and developers of sherlocked apps sometimes find ways to improve their apps to differentiate them from Apple, so there's hopefully life left in many of them yet.
Do you know of any other new features not listed here that potentially sherlock existing third-party apps? Let us know in the comments.
