Unplugged in 2026: Where We've Been, Where We're Going

It's a new year. Everyone's doing their reflections, setting goals, figuring out what they want to accomplish. Unplugged is no different.

I've been thinking about this a lot over the holidays. Where this app came from, where it is now, and where I want to take it. If you use Unplugged or you're curious about it, I figured you deserve to know the plan. Not vague "exciting things ahead" marketing speak, but an actual picture of what I'm working toward.

Some of this is concrete. Some of it is hopeful direction. I'll be clear about which is which.

A year and a half ago, Unplugged didn't exist. I was on parental leave with a newborn, looking for a small coding project that wouldn't consume my life. I'd tried bigger ideas before, like my own version of Things 3 or a coffee app, and they all fizzled because I was aiming too high.

Then I made a Reddit post asking what people wished their Apple Watch could do. It got 200,000 views, which was surreal for someone who barely uses social media.

See the original Reddit post

One request kept coming up: see your iPhone battery on your watch. Get alerts when it's charged.

Simple. Practical. Something I could actually build.

That's how Unplugged started, as a side project scratching a small itch. I figured I'd make some complications, figure out watch connectivity, and ship something useful.

I didn't anticipate how many constraints Apple puts on battery reading. I didn't anticipate the frustration of Apple Watch development. I didn't anticipate that 18 months later, I'd still be working on this, with over 450 versions built and tested along the way. Each one a small change, a bug fix, a new idea tried. That's 450 iterations of "let me just try this and see if it works."

And now there's a growing community of people who actually use the app daily.

But here we are.

Version 3.0 shipped in September with a complete visual redesign. Since then, things have moved faster than I expected.

Thermal state monitoring lets you see when your device is overheating and what's causing it. Charging animations turned a limitation (needing the app open for real-time updates) into something people actually enjoy using. Stability has improved across the board, though there's always more to do.

The app still centers on Apple Watch. That was always the plan, and the watch features remain what most people come for.

But I've started building features that stand on their own, things that are useful even if you don't care about complications.

Which brings me to 2026.

Here's what I'm working toward this year, in order of what's coming soonest.

Right now: Battery History & Predictions

This is the feature I'm most excited about. Instead of just showing your current battery level, Unplugged will learn your patterns. When do you typically run low? When will you be fully charged? How long until you need to plug in?

My iPhone 15 Pro dies mid-day more often than I'd like. I know I use it a lot, but I still get caught off guard. I want something that gets ahead of the problem instead of just reporting it.

This will ship first as a beta, probably rough around the edges, so I can get feedback and improve it. Expect this in the next few weeks.

February or March: Stability & Accessibility

After predictions ship, I'm dedicating a full month to two things.

First, stability. The most common pain point is still sync reliability between iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple's constraints make this genuinely hard, but every improvement compounds. And anything I fix now makes adding new features safer later.

Second, accessibility. This was a core value when I started: full VoiceOver support, Dynamic Type, making the app work for everyone. I've let it slip since the redesign. I got caught up in other things. I want to give it proper attention again.

After that: iPad

I know some of you have been waiting for this. I actually have a separate post explaining why it's taken so long. The short version is that Unplugged was built entirely around Apple Watch, and adding iPad meant rethinking a lot. But I've made progress, and the foundation is almost ready.

Once stability and accessibility are solid, iPad is next. If you want the full context, read the iPad post here.

The rest of the year: Exploration

Beyond iPad, things get less concrete. Here's what's on my mind:

• More complications. Battery predictions open up new possibilities, like showing estimated hours remaining right on your watch face.
• A battery health checkup feature. You give it information about your battery health, and it helps you make a decision. Not just "your battery has degraded 15%" but "based on your usage and device age, replacing the battery makes more sense than buying a new phone" or "you're fine for another year, here's what to watch for." Actionable guidance, not just data.
• AirPods support. People keep asking, and I'm genuinely interested. I need to investigate what's technically possible and how far I can take it.
• AlarmKit. Apple recently released this, and it could let me create actual alarms instead of just notifications. Genuinely interesting.

I also need to spend time on things that aren't features. Understanding customers better is something I'm genuinely looking forward to. Marketing less so, but here's the reality: the more the app grows, the more time I can justify putting into it. And the more time I put in, the more of these plans actually become real. So it's worth figuring out, even if it's uncomfortable.

What's not the focus right now (but is definitely the goal)

Multi-device support, tracking all your Apple devices in one place, is the most requested feature. And I want to be clear: this is absolutely where I want Unplugged to go. In an ideal world, this becomes the ultimate battery app. Everything in one place, rock solid, genuinely useful across your entire Apple ecosystem.

But here's the reality: every device I add multiplies the work. Notifications need to work on each platform. Sync needs to be reliable between more devices. Bugs that exist on iPhone would spread to iPad, and then to whatever comes next. Right now, I'm still putting out small fires in the core experience. I don't want to keep adding rooms to a house that's still smoldering. I want to make it fireproof first, then expand.

Once the foundation is solid, everything I've learned carries forward. The stability work I do now makes iPad better. What I learn from iPad makes the next platform easier. I'd rather do this right once than make the same mistakes across every device.

So yes, multi-device is coming. It might even happen late this year if things go well. But it's not the immediate priority, and I'd rather be honest about that than make promises I can't keep.

I never expected to be this invested in a battery app.

When I started, I just wanted a small project that wouldn't fizzle out. Now I have users who rely on this daily, a wishlist full of feature requests, and a genuine desire to make something I'm proud of.

The app isn't just mine anymore. It's become this shared thing between me and the people who use it. Your feedback shapes what I work on. Your frustrations become my frustrations. I can't please everyone, that's impossible, but I read everything, and I care about all of it.

If you've requested a feature and it hasn't happened, it's usually one of three things: it's not technically possible, it's harder than it seems, or I just haven't had time yet. But I'm not ignoring you.

This year, I want Unplugged to go beyond awareness. Right now, the app helps you stay informed. Notifications tell you when your battery hits certain levels. Complications show you where things stand. That's valuable, and people use it daily.

But knowing isn't the same as anticipating. The real goal is helping you get ahead of problems before they happen. Not just "your battery is at 20%" but "you'll probably need to charge before your meeting this afternoon."

And beyond that, helping you make smart decisions. Not just showing you data, but giving it context. Genuine insights you can act on, not numbers for the sake of numbers. That's the difference between useful and indispensable.

Whether I'll get there, I don't know. But that's the aim.

If you have thoughts on where this should go, or if you think I'm heading in the wrong direction, I'd like to hear it. This is as much your app as it is mine at this point.

Here's to 2026.

Written by Christian Skorobogatow