Source: CES. We’re only two days into CES 2024, and something occurred to me in the aftermath of ASUS’s packed presentation. We’re in a new golden age of gadgets, the likes of which we haven’t seen in many years. The world seems ready for something new after spending more than a … | Continue reading
Continuity Camera is amazing. Since it was introduced in macOS Ventura, I’ve been using the feature almost daily. Continuity Camera is a native feature on macOS that lets you use an iPhone as your webcam. For it to work, you can either connect the iPhone to your Mac using a cable … | Continue reading
Source: CES. After what already feels like a week of CES, it’s the official day one of the conference. There have been a ton of announcements already. As anticipated, gaming is very big this year, with new handhelds, laptops, and other devices announced. Interesting new approache … | Continue reading
Source: CES. Every year, I dig into the press releases and reporting coming from the CES show floor, so you don’t have to. The pandemic took the wind out of CES’s sails for a few years, but the show and interesting gadgets have made a comeback for 2024, with a wide range of annou … | Continue reading
This week on AppStories, we pick two apps we’ve been enjoying recently. [subscribe_to_appstories] Sponsored by: Notion – Do your most efficient work with Notion AI. Try it free today. On AppStories+, we share a grab bag of bonus app picks. We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers wi … | Continue reading
Source: Apple. Apple has announced that the Vision Pro will be available for pre-order beginning on January 19th at 5 am Pacific time with the device available on Friday, February 2nd at Apple retail stores and its online store. More details to follow… | Continue reading
It seems like every company is scrambling to stake their claim in the AI goldrush–check out the CEO of Kroger promising to bring LLMs into the dairy aisle. And front line workers are following suit–experimenting with AI so they can work faster and do more. In the few short months … | Continue reading
Zac Hall, writing for 9to5Mac, has a great analogy about the iPad platform that I wish I thought of before: Here’s the thing about the iPad line: it’s always being worked on, and that work is never complete. You know, like roadwork. As a kid, I recall thinking Atlanta was only un … | Continue reading
Raymond Wong has an excellent story on Inverse about the Mac and gaming. Wong spoke to multiple Apple representatives about its push to build Macs that can handle the most demanding PC and console games, exploring the impact of Apple silicon on the company’s efforts. In that vein … | Continue reading
Ever since Apple’s OSes were updated in the fall, I’ve been intrigued by the Home app’s new Clean Grid Forecast feature that predicts periods when the energy you use is ‘More Clean.’ The feature immediately reminded me of Clean Energy Charging, which works with Optimized Battery … | Continue reading
Ever since Apple’s OSes were updated in the fall, I’ve been intrigued by the Home app’s new Clean Grid Forecast feature that predicts periods when the energy you use is ‘More Clean.’ The feature immediately reminded me of Clean Energy Charging, which works with Optimized Battery … | Continue reading
Source: Apple. As a result of an International Trade Commission ruling banning Apple from importing Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches into the United States, the company told 9to5Mac on December 18th that it would pull the two models from its online store on December 21st … | Continue reading
WinterFest 2023: The Festival of Artisanal Software is back with a fantastic collection of carefully crafted software for writing, research, thinking, and more at tremendous prices. Innovative software often comes from small teams, fired with imagination and a vision of a better … | Continue reading
[audio_player src=”https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/9410cab2-ff48-4bf4-aa20-101c8cfd77f9/audio/941b0101-d603-443f-abb4-3aae80151f90/default_tc.mp3?nocache” mime_type=”audio/mpeg” total_duration=”00:37:15” caption=”“] [subscribe_to_unw … | Continue reading
Every time I open the Memories tab in Apple’s Photos app, I feel disappointed. The memories it surfaces always seem to rehash the same events in my life, and they never really achieve to put my photos back in context. This is a big reason why, for so many years, I’ve been keeping … | Continue reading
A scene from GTA: Vice City. Source: Rockstar Games. There’s been a lot of gaming activity on Apple platforms, with several big announcements in recent weeks. First off, Netflix continues to nab some big titles for its growing catalog of games on iOS and iPadOS. In October, it wa … | Continue reading
I truly enjoyed this piece by David Pierce, writing for The Verge, about the fediverse’s potential and how the ActivityPub protocol may be the key to turn the hand-wavy concept of “decentralized social media” into an ecosystem of dedicated products that are actually useful and in … | Continue reading
A few weeks ago on AppStories, I mentioned to John that I was looking for the “Things of read-later apps”. What I meant is that I wanted to find an app to save articles for later that felt native to Apple platforms, had a reliable text parser, but, more importantly, featured deep … | Continue reading
This week on AppStories, we rethink the share sheet and other ways Apple’s platforms share data. [subscribe_to_appstories] Sponsored by: Zocdoc – Find the right doctor, right now with Zocdoc. Sign up for free. Notion – Do your most efficient work with Notion AI. Try it free today … | Continue reading
Flipboard founder and CEO Mike McCue, writing on the company’s blog about Flipboard going all-in on the Fediverse and ActivityPub: Today we are beginning to open Flipboard to the Fediverse, a rapidly emerging part of the Web which includes social services like Mastodon, Threads, … | Continue reading
In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple said that it “pausing” sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States, beginning later this week. Neither model of Watch will be available on Apple’s online store starting December 21st, and the company will no long … | Continue reading
If you’re a MacStories reader, you probably know about Setapp. It’s a simple, effective way to discover the best apps for every task, no matter what you do. Setapp is also an amazing value. I bet you also have someone in your life who could benefit from Setapp but hasn’t tried it … | Continue reading
[audio_player src=”https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/53dda4e1-669b-422f-9efd-8106c76554d0/audio/6a9d332a-2cbb-4c58-9140-fd4229155ef2/default_tc.mp3?nocache” mime_type=”audio/mpeg” total_duration=”00:32:41” caption=”“] [subscribe_to_unw … | Continue reading
Jason Snell, writing at Six Colors, is right about clipboard managers for macOS: if you never used one, you really should – and there are plenty of options to choose from. The magic moment of using a clipboard manager comes when you realize you need to access something that’s not … | Continue reading
Apple arranged a third round of press previews for the Vision Pro earlier this week, this time with a focus on experiencing spatial videos captured by journalists on iOS 17.2. I particularly liked Raymond Wong’s story, who got emotional while reliving a memory with the Vision Pro … | Continue reading
Source: Philips Hue. A couple of weekends ago, after we put up our Christmas tree, I broke out Hue’s Festavia lights, which the company recently sent me to test. Ever since we moved in late 2022, we’ve had a generic string of big-bulb white lights hanging around the perimeter of … | Continue reading
With Threads’ launch in Europe today, we thought it would be a good time to reintroduce readers to the MacStories Threads account as well as those of the MacStories team. It’s been quite a year for social media. Almost exactly one year ago today, we announced that MacStories had … | Continue reading
The MagSafe charging case for second-generation AirPods Pro that comes with a USB-C connector is now available as a separate purchase. When the updated headphones were introduced in September, many users expected the charging case would be available separately, but it wasn’t. Tha … | Continue reading
ThingsBox. One of the perks of a Club MacStories+ and Club Premier membership are special columns that Federico and I publish periodically. In today’s Automation Academy, Federico shares ThingsBox, a shortcuts capture system that can handle multiple media types on every Apple dev … | Continue reading
I’ve been keeping a journal in Day One since at least since 2015, and I’ve got to say, the practice has become very engrained in my otherwise chaotic daily routine. Whenever I get asked about journaling, I always say that it’s a habit that can take any form you like. It can take … | Continue reading
Ever since we expanded Club MacStories in 2021, we’ve added a growing number of top-tier apps to the Club MacStories+ and Club Premier Discount Program. Today, we’re pleased to welcome Houdah Software to the program with HoudahSpot, HoudahGeo, Photos Workbench, and Tembo, which a … | Continue reading
This week on AppStories, we introduce the annual MacStories Selects award winners. [subscribe_to_appstories] Sponsored by: Vitally – A new era for customer success productivity. Get a free pair of AirPods Pro when you book a qualified meeting. On AppStories+, Federico and I go be … | Continue reading
iOS 17.2. Today, Apple released iOS and iPadOS 17.2, the second major updates to the operating systems that launched in September and I reviewed on MacStories. iOS and iPadOS 17.2 revolve around two kinds of enhancements: there are a series of updates to built-in apps (mostly Mes … | Continue reading
John: Every year, it seems like the MacStories Selects awards roll around faster than the last, and this year was no exception. For most people, the year begins on January 1st, but for us, WWDC marks the beginning of our year, and the MacStories Selects Awards feel like its concl … | Continue reading
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the Pixelmator Team’s image editing apps at MacStories. A lot of our coverage in recent years has focused on Pixelmator Pro and Photomator, but long before those apps ever hit the App Store, there was just plain Pixelmator, an app that’s stil … | Continue reading
Getting OS updates installed on end user devices should be easy. After all, it’s one of the simplest yet most impactful ways that every employee can practice good security. On top of that, every MDM solution promises that it will automate the process and install updates with no … | Continue reading
[audio_player src=”https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/ec082d1a-2405-43bf-8927-43264b3e40f0/audio/5e7fba17-af35-44cc-b0a9-1b9b7aa4497d/default_tc.mp3?nocache” mime_type=”audio/mpeg” total_duration=”00:31:46” caption=”“] [subscribe_to_unw … | Continue reading
Screens 5. Screens, the remote screen-sharing app for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac by Luc Vandal of Edovia is one of those apps that I feel like I’ve always used. It’s installed on all of my devices, letting me lazily check on the Mac in my office from my couch or grab a file that [ … | Continue reading
I thoroughly enjoyed this story from a couple weeks ago by David Pierce, writing for The Verge about OpenAI’s ChatGPT turning one and how it created a revolution in the tech industry that no one saw coming: We definitely seem to like being able to more quickly write business emai … | Continue reading
Source: Annapurna Interactive. Stray, a high-profile and well-regarded videogame that debuted in 2022, is now available on the Mac. Initially launched on PlayStation and Windows, followed by an Xbox version this past August, today’s Mac release is available on both the Mac App St … | Continue reading
This week on AppStories, we explore alternative Apple timelines by asking the question: What if? [subscribe_to_appstories] Sponsored by: Dropzone 4 – The essential drag and drop productivity enhancer. On AppStories+, I try to simplify and speed up my backup setup, and Federico ha … | Continue reading
With Drafts, you can capture text on any Apple platform, wherever you are. There are iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch versions of Drafts, which makes capturing notes, ideas, messages, tasks, and links fast and simple. Moreover, Drafts incorporates a powerful actions system for … | Continue reading
[audio_player src=”https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/f3df08dc-e1f8-4a67-ae60-e4b3d783f8f2/audio/21c11d25-2d70-4d5b-8348-b9f7a4484985/default_tc.mp3?nocache” mime_type=”audio/mpeg” total_duration=”00:32:21” caption=”“] [subscribe_to_unw … | Continue reading
I have recently been working on a personal web project that involves a lot of testing on my iPhone. While I would usually just have my iPhone to the side on my desk to test my changes in real-time and take screenshots, I was looking for a solution to mirror my iPhone’s screen dir … | Continue reading
Source: Apple. Sunday, December 3rd is International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and to mark the day, Apple has released a short film directed by Taika Waititi. The film, shot in New Zealand, stars a young girl and a menagerie of fanciful creatures searching for one of thei … | Continue reading
Today, Apple unveiled the winners of its annual App Store Awards in 10 categories. Earlier this month, Apple revealed almost 40 finalists across its award categories for their innovation and excellence. As in the past, this year’s winners represent a broad cross-section of the Ap … | Continue reading
I couldn’t agree more with all the suggestions proposed by Matt Birchler, who envisions a more flexible permission flow for clipboard access on iOS that is entirely in line with Apple’s current privacy prompts for other personal data. Apple could even hide the “always allow…” opt … | Continue reading
When I read earlier this year that Ari Weinstein, one of the co-founders of Workflow before it was acquired by Apple, had left the company, I had a feeling he’d team up soon enough with Conrad Kramer, another Workflow co-founder. I was right. Alex Heath, writing for The Verge, ha … | Continue reading