Changelog
Glyph
What's new in Glyph's firmware, build by build, newest first.
Firmware builds for Glyph, newest first. Glyph isn't available to customers yet, so these are development builds. We install them on our own Glyph by USB cable, and each heading says whether a build has gone on it. Builds before 1.0.22 used internal names, P1 to P21.
Glyph 1.0.59
November 4, 2026. Built, not installed yet. It includes 1.0.58, which was never installed.
- Wi-Fi turns on when Glyph is ready. If you turned Wi-Fi on in Settings while Glyph was still starting, it used to say Wi-Fi works a few minutes after a start and leave Wi-Fi off. Now Glyph remembers: the switch shows On, and Wi-Fi turns on by itself once Glyph is ready, about two minutes after it starts. Turn Wi-Fi off before then and it stays off. So far this has only been tested on a computer model of Glyph.
Glyph 1.0.58
November 4, 2026. Built, never installed: 1.0.59 replaced it and includes these changes.
- The lock screen stays light. When a locked Glyph turned itself off, its screen could go black instead of keeping the lock screen. Now Glyph draws the lock screen once more just before it turns off, so you may see it flash once. So far this has only been tested on a computer model of Glyph.
- Wi-Fi updates finish while Glyph is locked. A locked Glyph no longer turns itself off in the middle of a download over Wi-Fi. This too has only been tested on a computer model so far.
Glyph 1.0.57
November 4, 2026. Built, not installed yet. 1.0.56 with only its version number changed, so we can test the first update over Wi-Fi.
Glyph 1.0.56
November 4, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph the same day; it reads its version as 1.0.56 over USB. It includes 1.0.55.
- Updates over Wi-Fi from your iPhone. When Italic has an update for Glyph, Glyph's About shows it, and Italic on your iPhone can send it over your Wi-Fi network. On Glyph's firmware page in Italic, type the network and its password. Glyph joins that network, downloads the update from your iPhone and turns Wi-Fi off again. It doesn't save the network or the password. Keep Italic open until it's done. So far this has only been tested on a computer model of Glyph.
- Your Wi-Fi password is encrypted. The network's name and password go to Glyph encrypted with a key made for that one update. If Glyph runs older firmware that can't decrypt them, they're sent as typed.
- Checked before it installs. Glyph checks the download against Italic's signature. Then it offers Install, and it checks the update again before installing. If a download doesn't match, Glyph deletes it.
- Room first. Glyph won't start a download unless it has room for the update and a little more, and About tells you when it doesn't. It never deletes recordings to make room.
- About now says how to update: over Wi-Fi from Italic on your iPhone, or by copying the update from a computer.
Glyph 1.0.55
November 4, 2026. Never installed on its own: these changes reached our test Glyph in 1.0.56.
- Choose when a locked Glyph turns off. Settings → Sleep has a new choice under the sleep times: turn off 30 sec or 5 min after Glyph locks, or Never. It's 5 minutes unless you change it, so a short pause doesn't cost a restart. Glyph only turns itself off when it's locked and not on a cable, and Power starts it again. With Never, a locked Glyph stays on, as it did before 1.0.48, and a swipe wakes it. Glyph keeps the choice on its own storage.
- More in the battery log. Each start now notes which version it is and how long Glyph had been on, and Glyph notes when it turns itself off while locked. It waits a minute after you unplug it before writing to its storage, and it keeps writing while Wi-Fi is on.
Glyph 1.0.54
November 4, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph the same day; it reads its version as 1.0.54 over USB.
- Wi-Fi starts in the background. Settings → Wireless → Wi-Fi now does its work without holding up the rest of Glyph. On a computer model of Glyph, turning Wi-Fi on used to stop everything else; now Home, the other pages and syncing with Italic keep working while it starts. We haven't turned Wi-Fi on on a real Glyph yet.
- How many networks Glyph sees. Under Wi-Fi, Wireless says what's happening: "Turning on...", "Looking for networks...", then how many Wi-Fi networks Glyph can see. If Wi-Fi hasn't started after a minute, it says so, and Wi-Fi is off again after Glyph restarts.
- No placeholder network. Glyph no longer tries to join a placeholder network its original maker left in. It joins only a network that's already saved on it, and nothing in Glyph saves one yet.
Glyph 1.0.53
November 4, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph the same day; the Italic app reads its version as 1.0.53. There's no Glyph 1.0.52.
- A battery log. Glyph's battery percentage counts down at a fixed rate whatever Glyph is doing, so it can't show what a change saves. Glyph now keeps its battery voltage on its disk instead: when it starts, every ten minutes while it's awake, when it's unplugged, and when it locks and wakes. We read it over USB to measure battery life on a real Glyph.
- Locks are noted too. Each lock and wake is a line in the log, so we can see when a locked Glyph turns itself off and when it stays on. On our test Glyph it turned off about a minute after a lock with Power, once Italic had finished syncing. One night it stayed on until morning; the log will show why. Nothing else changes in how Glyph works.
Glyph 1.0.51
November 3, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph the same day; the Italic app reads its version as 1.0.51.
- No third-party connections. Code from Glyph's original maker that would talk to its servers (a messaging service, a speech service and a time server in China) no longer runs at all, even when Wi-Fi is on. On a computer model of Glyph, two of those were running from the moment Glyph started, without Wi-Fi.
- The time comes from Italic. Glyph's clock keeps the time Italic sets.
Glyph 1.0.50
November 3, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph the same day; its version reads 1.0.50.
- No updates over Bluetooth. Glyph no longer takes a firmware update over Bluetooth, and no longer asks you to allow one. It updates by USB cable.
- About shows an available update. When Italic tells Glyph that a newer version is out, Settings → About shows "Update 1.0.N available" and how to install it over USB. Glyph checks that the version comes from Italic before showing it. Italic doesn't tell Glyph about updates yet; that comes with a later Italic update.
Glyph 1.0.49
November 2, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph on November 3; its version reads 1.0.49. Holding Power hasn't yet been shown to turn our test Glyph off. A night when it stayed on left no note about why; 1.0.53's battery log looks into it.
- Hold Power to turn Glyph off. Hold Power for about three seconds and Glyph says it is off, then turns off. Let go sooner and it locks. Held while Glyph is locked, the lock screen stays up as it turns off. Press Power to start it again.
- Why a lock stayed on. On our test Glyph, 1.0.48 didn't turn off when locked. When that happens now, Glyph notes why on its disk, so we can read it over USB.
Glyph 1.0.48
November 2, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph the same day; its version reads 1.0.48. On our test Glyph a locked Glyph didn't turn off: a swipe still woke it. On November 4, on 1.0.53, it did turn off about a minute after a lock with Power.
- Locked means off. When Glyph is locked and not on a cable, it turns itself off 30 seconds after the lock, so a locked Glyph no longer drains its battery. It waits until nothing would be lost: not while it records, saves, plays, uploads, updates or answers Italic. The lock screen stays on the display.
- Power wakes it where you were. Press Power and Glyph starts again, back on the book or tab it was on.
- On a cable, nothing changes. Locked on a cable, Glyph stays awake, so Italic keeps syncing. Unplug it and it turns off shortly after.
- Bluetooth is off while Glyph is off. Italic can't reach Glyph until you wake it.
Glyph 1.0.47
November 2, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph the same day; its version reads 1.0.47.
- A flat battery no longer leads to rescue mode. Pressing Power on a nearly flat Glyph starts it, then it turns off again within seconds. Those starts used to count as failed ones, so after a few presses and a charge Glyph started in rescue mode. They don't count now.
- Charge Glyph. When Glyph turns off because its battery is flat, the page says Charge Glyph and Plug in to charge, not Glyph is off.
- Battery on the lock screen. The lock screen shows the battery and its percent as they were when Glyph locked. It shows no time, since nothing redraws while Glyph sleeps.
- Charging icon. Plugged in and full, Glyph shows the plug instead of the charging bolt.
Glyph 1.0.46
November 1, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph the same day; its version reads 1.0.46.
- Charging and off pages. Charging, Fully charged, Charge Glyph and Glyph is off are now Glyph's own pages, in the same design as the rest of Glyph. On a computer model of Glyph we've seen Charging and Glyph is off; on our test Glyph, plugging in while it was off didn't show a charging page.
- Battery over USB-C. A Mac can read Glyph's battery and version live over the cable, with no file and no disk. It worked on our test Glyph the first time; we haven't yet tested it over a long charge or during a large file copy.
Glyph 1.0.45
October 30, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph on November 1; its version reads 1.0.45.
- Live words from the first word. With Italic connected, a clip or memo sends its audio to Italic from the start, without waiting to be asked, so a sleeping iPhone hears about it and what you say first isn't lost. Seeing words on Glyph needs an Italic build that has this too. We haven't tried this with a real iPhone yet.
- Recording page. It says Italic is listening only once Italic has said so.
- A cleaner start. A start redraws the screen once less, and Home shows the right time straight away.
- Less background work. Glyph reads its clock once a second instead of ten times.
Glyph 1.0.44
October 30, 2026. Built, never installed: 1.0.45 replaced it.
- Live words from the first word. The first build of what's in 1.0.45.
Glyph 1.0.43
October 30, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph; its version reads 1.0.43.
- Approve drafts on Glyph. A draft from Italic's agent, such as an email or an event, shows as Chat's last page, with Discard and a button for the action. The action waits five seconds with Undo. Approving needs an unlocked iPhone; Discard doesn't. This needs an Italic build that has it too. We haven't tried it on a real Glyph or iPhone yet, only on a computer model of Glyph.
- Chat's page buttons. Chat now has back, Earlier, Latest and forward at the foot of the page. The arrows turn a page, and Latest goes straight to your latest question. Tapping the page itself no longer turns it.
Glyph 1.0.42
October 30, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph; its version reads 1.0.42.
- Updates look like the rest of Glyph. An update now ends on "Update finished", with the version and Done, in place of the factory's message in Chinese. The wait says "Updating Glyph", and the messages for a low battery, a bad file and a version already installed are Glyph's own too. The wait is drawn by the version being replaced, so it first shows at the update after this one.
- Updates moved into About. Settings has no Update row now. About shows an update when one is available.
- Wireless. Settings → Bluetooth is now Settings → Wireless, with On and Off pills for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
- Recording. More room between the title and the counter, and the counter is in Italic Serif, with digits that stay still as they change.
- Lock screen. Without a book open, it says "Glyph is locked".
- Home's reading row. It appears once you have turned a page, and goes when the file is gone.
Glyph 1.0.41
October 30, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph; its version reads 1.0.41.
- Room for what's next. Glyph drops a voice assistant from its factory software that nothing on Glyph ever opened, which frees about 105 KB for Glyph's own features. You shouldn't notice anything else.
Glyph 1.0.40
October 29, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph on October 30; its version reads 1.0.40.
- USB updates no longer depend on Bluetooth. If Italic was sending Glyph a file when you plugged it into a computer, that file could later overwrite what the computer had just copied, an update included. Glyph now stops that file without writing anything, and removes the unfinished part the next time Italic sends a file. On our test Glyph, a file that was being sent when it was plugged in stopped and finished cleanly on the next sync. We haven't yet copied an update during that, only on a computer model of Glyph.
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi switches. Settings → Bluetooth can turn each one on or off. Nothing is saved, so every start has Bluetooth on and Wi-Fi off. Bluetooth stays on while Italic is sending a file or an update. Wi-Fi On works a few minutes after a start. We haven't tried the Wi-Fi switch on our test Glyph yet. On a computer model, turning Wi-Fi on stopped Glyph responding until its battery was removed. If that happens on a Glyph, it stays stuck until its battery runs flat, then starts normally with the Wi-Fi switch hidden until the next update.
Glyph 1.0.39
October 29, 2026. Built, never installed: 1.0.40 replaced it.
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi switches. The first build of the switches in 1.0.40.
Glyph 1.0.38
October 29, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph; its version reads 1.0.38. It went on with no restart after the update before it, the first time that has worked on our test Glyph.
- Home keeps up with a new memo. Straight after a memo, Home could say "Nothing recorded yet" and stay that way. It now draws nothing while Glyph is saving, and shows the list once the memo is saved or Italic's list arrives.
- A memo's page follows its sync. A memo could arrive in Italic while Glyph's page for it still said "Not synced" and "Opening…". Now the page follows the memo's sync.
- A status file for a Mac. Glyph keeps its state in a small file that a Mac can read over USB, so an installer can check Glyph before it sends an update.
Glyph 1.0.37
October 29, 2026. Built, never installed: 1.0.38 replaced it, adding the fix for Home.
- A memo's page follows its sync. A memo could arrive in Italic while Glyph's page for it still said "Not synced" and "Opening…". Now the page follows the memo's sync.
- A status file for a Mac. Glyph keeps its state in a small file that a Mac can read over USB, so an installer can check Glyph before it sends an update.
Glyph 1.0.36
October 28, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph on October 29; its version reads 1.0.36.
- No restart before the next update. After Glyph installed an update, it ignored the next one until you restarted it. It now clears that itself once it has started.
Glyph 1.0.35
October 28, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph on October 29; its version reads 1.0.35.
- Glyph takes your iPhone's time. Italic sets Glyph's clock from your iPhone (App 305 or later), and Glyph keeps it. Builds before 1.0.35 couldn't take the time, and went back to a factory date after a restart.
- Chat shows that Italic is thinking. Glyph keeps your latest question on screen with ITALIC IS THINKING until the answer arrives. Before, the question disappeared for a few seconds and nothing showed that Italic had it.
- Home uses the shared row. Home lists six rows, drawn like the rows in Files and Settings.
Glyph 1.0.34
October 28, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph.
- One row style. Files and Settings use the same 72-pixel row: an optional icon, a title, an optional subtitle, an optional value on the right and a plain chevron, with no circle around it. Files shows six rows a page instead of five.
- Files keeps up with a computer. Files reads a folder afresh each time it opens. While a computer is using Glyph's storage and Files is showing, it looks again every two seconds and redraws only when the list changed, then once more three seconds after the computer lets go. The re-reads are paced and built not to reset Glyph while it's plugged in. They were first built as 1.0.31 and 1.0.32.
Glyph 1.0.30
October 27, 2026. Built, not installed yet.
- Faster Bluetooth transfers. Glyph can take an update in 32 KiB blocks instead of 192 bytes at a time, and it spends less time on file bookkeeping during a transfer. We estimate that an update which would take about two hours the old way takes 16 to 23 minutes. We haven't timed it on a Glyph.
- Less old code. The build can retire code from Glyph's original software that it no longer uses, starting with the voice assistant it shipped with, which frees space for new features.
These changes sit in a separate line from the builds around them. A later combined source, 1.0.33, joins them with the Files changes, but no 1.0.33 build has been made.
Glyph 1.0.28
October 26, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph.
- A Chat question no longer fails at random. If Italic checked Chat's state just as you started a question, Glyph answered "Glyph is busy" and dropped it. This could happen from 1.0.24 on.
- Hold the Mic button to ask. On Chat, hold the Mic button while you speak and let go to send. A hold shorter than 0.6 seconds asks nothing. The label under the tabs says HOLD MIC TO ASK ITALIC, then RELEASE TO SEND, then SENDING TO ITALIC. Elsewhere the Mic button records a Clip as before.
- Chat reads as a conversation. Each message is a bubble with a border. Yours are black with paper-colored text; Italic's are paper with an outline. Glyph has no New chat button. A new conversation starts in Italic on your iPhone, and Glyph then shows it.
- No titles on the tab pages. Home, Chat, Files and Settings don't repeat their names at the top.
These were first built as 1.0.25 to 1.0.27.
Glyph 1.0.24
October 25, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph.
- Chat. A Chat tab beside Home, Files and Settings shows your current conversation with Italic. You ask by speaking, and the answer's words appear on Glyph's screen. Speech stays on your iPhone, and Glyph doesn't speak.
- Live words. While Glyph records a Clip or a Memo, it streams the audio to your iPhone and shows the newest words on its screen. We've built this but haven't yet seen live words appear on a Glyph.
- The recorder's player. The player has its own page. Back and the tabs stop playback. The volume keys work while a computer is using Glyph's storage. Headings are centered, Restart is in Settings, and touch areas are larger. These were first built as 1.0.23.
- A recording left while it was still opening now closes once its page is up.
Glyph 1.0.22
October 25, 2026. Installed on our test Glyph.
- New look. Italic Serif and Inter replace the old typefaces. Home has a compact clock at the upper left with a round Mic button beside it, no Record memo label, and your three most recent recordings. Files is a flat list with round paging buttons, and an open item has a larger round Back button.
- Stricter update checks. Glyph checks an update's version order and its contents before it installs, and handles a failed upload more safely.
- A recovery screen that stands alone. If Glyph has to recover, its screen no longer depends on the memory the normal screen uses.
- It has no clock setting, faster Bluetooth transfer, live words or Chat. Later builds add them.