iOS 17.1. Today, Apple released iOS and iPadOS 17.1 – the first major updates to the operating systems that launched (and I reviewed) in September. I’ll cut to the chase: these are not big updates and don’t come with new emoji. Instead, iOS and iPadOS 17.1 bring a variety of prev … | Continue reading
Today, Shazam introduced a dedicated Concerts section in its music discovery app that lets you explore upcoming shows that are recommended based on your Shazam history. Users can look at all recommended shows or narrow recommendations to those that are scheduled nearby. There’s a … | Continue reading
As Club MacStories members know, I’ve been spending time the past few weeks decluttering my digital life and setting up systems so it’s harder for things to come undone again. One of my strategies to make life easier for ‘future me’ is to minimize the number of places I store thi … | Continue reading
Apple has announced an event will be held on Monday, October 30th, at 5:00 pm Pacific time. There’s no indication of what might be announced, but the announcement does include the obtuse teaser ‘Scary Fast’ in the email invitation that was sent to the media. Also, Mark Gurman of … | Continue reading
This week on AppStories, we cover the web apps we use and why they’re sometimes preferable to native apps. [subscribe_to_appstories] Sponsored by: CleanMyMac X – Your Mac. As good as new. Get 5% off today. Electric – Unbury yourself from IT tasks. Get a free pair of Beats Solo3 W … | Continue reading
Source: Texts. Today, Automattic acquired Texts, a startup that’s been building a one-stop destination for managing your many chat and messaging apps in one place. Automattic, which runs blogging platform WordPress.com and Tumblr, has been acquiring a growing list of companies in … | Continue reading
Third-party web browsers on iOS and iPadOS have been in a peculiar state for some time. While it has been possible since iOS 14 to set a third-party browser as the default for opening web links, Apple still doesn’t permit the use of third-party browser engines — at least for now. … | Continue reading
BetterTouchTool is a powerful macOS application that enables users to completely customize their various input devices such as Keyboards, the (Magic) Mouse and Magic Trackpad, the Touch Bar, the Siri Remote or even things like the Stream Deck. Today let’s have a look at a new fea … | Continue reading
One of the perks of a Club MacStories+ and Club Premier membership are special columns published periodically by me and John. In this week’s Macintosh Desktop Experience column, John explained how widgets in macOS Sonoma are the glue between apps and services that make the Mac fe … | Continue reading
[audio_player src=”https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/858d8a0e-17c7-4c65-8567-59cb1847ab10/audio/0ca6fcec-7abb-48a3-90e0-0416b22aae1d/default_tc.mp3?nocache” mime_type=”audio/mpeg” total_duration=”00:21:30” caption=”“] [subscribe_to_unw … | Continue reading
One of the perks of a Club MacStories+ and Club Premier membership are special columns published periodically by Federico and John. In today’s Automation Academy, which debuted a refreshed format, Federico explains how he leveraged the tight integration of Reminders and Siri with … | Continue reading
Matthias Hochgatterer’s Home+ 6 for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch is one of the most powerful HomeKit apps around, offering automation based on functionality exposed by Apple’s HomeKit framework that its own Home app doesn’t even use. The app also does a terrific job of surfa … | Continue reading
Calendar apps are ones that most people check more than they use. More often than not, all I need from my calendar app is to know what’s happening today. Many people go a step further, combining their tasks with their schedules to plan their days, making quick checks of their cal … | Continue reading
Apple first introduced the Translate app in iOS 14. Although it was a welcomed addition to the language translation space, I stopped using it a couple of months after its release. Many languages were still missing, its interface was lackluster at best, and I found that its French … | Continue reading
Source: Apple. Today, Apple unveiled a new, more affordable Apple Pencil that charges via USB-C and supports many of the features of the two previous-generation Apple Pencils, but not all of them. The new USB-C model looks a lot like the second-generation model, except it doesn’t … | Continue reading
This week on AppStories, I surprise Federico with a link gathering machine I designed for processing and reading the web. [subscribe_to_appstories] Sponsored by: CleanMyMac X – Your Mac. As good as new. Get 5% off today. On AppStories+, Federico tests more AR glasses and reports … | Continue reading
Today, we’re announcing our first-ever Club MacStories Membership Event and Discount. I’ve got more details below, but the highlights include 20% off on all annual Club MacStories plans plus special columns, a live Discord event, giveaways, deals, downloadable content, and more e … | 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
It’s been nearly three years since I first started using Obsidian. The app has come a long way since then. The app’s core functionality has expanded, its vibrant plug-in developer community continues to go strong, and more and more users have been captivated by its flexibility. A … | Continue reading
A few months ago when I was writing about Widgetsmith’s new music widgets in my iOS 17 review, I told my buddy Stephen Hackett I couldn’t believe there was no Cover Flow retrospective on 512 Pixels. Yesterday, Stephen delivered: Over the last decade or so, Apple has been hard at … | Continue reading
[audio_player src=”https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/1d7c4c24-823e-426b-a61e-15b1fd1dfe86/audio/924b72ae-52b1-45d9-8268-6092204b2b48/default_tc.mp3?nocache” mime_type=”audio/mpeg” total_duration=”00:30:35” caption=”“] [subscribe_to_unw … | Continue reading
Ever since WWDC 2022, when Apple showcased Resident Evil Village, the company has been eager to highlight console and PC titles that are coming to its platforms. Sometimes, it can be a little hard to keep track of what’s coming, so today’s Game On focuses on recent big-title rele … | Continue reading
The last time Bartender received a major update was back in 2021. Bartender 4 brought many new powerful features to help declutter the menu bar, particularly on the new MacBook models with a notch, which made menu bar real estate become even more valuable. Bartender 5 was officia … | Continue reading
This week on AppStories, we spent time with the visionOS simulator and consider the design of the Apple Vision Pro system apps and what to expect from third-party developers. [subscribe_to_appstories] Sponsored by: Zocdoc – Find the right doctor, right now with Zocdoc. Sign up fo … | Continue reading
Rethought, rewritten, and redesigned from the ground up iMazing, the trusted iPhone manager, is about to release its third major version. Ahead of the launch later this year we’re inviting MacStories readers to check out the latest macOS beta today! The iMazing team’s primary foc … | Continue reading
[audio_player src=”https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/773d1a01-2021-4943-8d2a-4808f35f111e/audio/69865bc3-0ca8-40f0-bb8b-98deef0811f8/default_tc.mp3?nocache” mime_type=”audio/mpeg” total_duration=”00:23:03” caption=”“] [subscribe_to_unw … | Continue reading
Every year, one of the most anticipated iPhone hardware announcements is changes to its camera. This year, the iPhone Pro Max’s new telephoto lens was the center of attention. However, there were other notable tweaks to the camera hardware and software across the iPhone lineup, t … | Continue reading
BetterTouchTool is an essential tool that can help anyone streamline their workflows, but I think it really shines when it helps me solve some of my everyday frustrations. I mainly use a Magic Trackpad at my desk. It’s a great way to navigate a Mac: smooth scrolling, great haptic … | Continue reading
The age of wildly personalizing the look of macOS might be over, but customizing app icons is still fun, and the phenomenon is more popular than ever since the advent of Home Screen widgets and custom Shortcuts launchers that have allowed millions to personalize the look of their … | Continue reading
Developers have come up with endlessly clever uses for interactive widgets. I love testing them all, but one type is beginning to stick more than others. It’s the widgets for apps that require quick interactions when you’re in the middle of something else. Turning off the lights … | Continue reading
This week on AppStories, we are joined by tvOS expert Sigmund Judge, who just finished writing his tvOS 17 review for MacStories, to understand what has changed in tvOS and where it might be heading. [subscribe_to_appstories] Sponsored by: TV Forecast – Track, Explore and Discove … | Continue reading
Apple TV may have received its most surprising update release this year, and I’d argue that tvOS 17 is also Apple’s most impactful. With the launch of Apple TV+ and the expansion of Apple’s TV app to third-party devices, Apple TV the platform had gone through a bit of a confidenc … | 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/c70ce378-852a-4d19-ad08-a04e6ab6fd71/audio/a2aa684e-ff50-4590-8956-2c401651952c/default_tc.mp3?nocache” mime_type=”audio/mpeg” total_duration=”00:23:47” caption=”“] [subscribe_to_unw … | Continue reading
Taking a great photo requires a lot of variables to fall into place. It’s amazing when this happens by happenstance, but what if you could stack the odds in your favor? That’s the question Photo Scout by Cascable answers. Photo Scout, available for the iPhone and iPad, combines l … | Continue reading
I’ve never been a big fan of the Philips Hue app. It has improved over time, and I appreciate its fine-grained control over my lights and its Shortcuts support, but the app has always felt a little clunky. That’s why I was happy when I discovered Hue Widgets over a year ago now. … | Continue reading
MultiButton for iPhone 15 I got my iPhone 15 Pro Max last week, and I’m loving the possibilities opened by the Action button combined with the Shortcuts app. But as I was playing around with different ideas for the Action button, I had a thought: Wouldn’t it be great if instead o … | Continue reading
This week on AppStories, we take a look at some of our favorite apps with interactive widgets for iOS 17, iOS 17, and macOS Sonoma. [subscribe_to_appstories] Sponsored by: Fitbod: Get stronger, faster with a fitness plan that fits you. Get 25% off your membership. On AppStories+, … | Continue reading
Apple announced a worldwide series of events for developers who want to improve their apps through a combination of online and in-person resources. The program includes more than 50 workshops, consultations, labs, and other sessions focusing on a broad range of topics, from devel … | Continue reading
In one sense, the story of this year’s macOS update is that there is no story, but that’s not exactly right. Instead, it’s a bunch of stories. It’s the tail end of the realignment of macOS with Apple’s other OSes that began with macOS Catalina in 2019. However, Sonoma is also par … | Continue reading
Apple Podcasts significantly expanded its Apple Music and Apple News podcast channels late yesterday and introduced podcasts for subscribers to a variety of third-party apps. In all, Apple says there are over 60 new shows comprised of over 2,500 episodes. The Apple Music channel … | Continue reading
Soon after Apple’s Wonderlust event, it became clear that the company’s revised AirPods Pro with a USB-C case offered more than an updated connector. As detailed in a press release, the upgraded version of the second-generation AirPods Pro “unlocks powerful 20-bit, 48 kHz Lossles … | 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
[audio_player src=”https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/0de98bba-5e4d-4879-94dc-8c76a3a88322/episodes/e6c1d6b8-0bbf-4c8b-8efd-9889e7a075b4/audio/1ced33ef-870c-4102-894f-8696f4f57d61/default_tc.mp3?nocache” mime_type=”audio/mpeg” total_duration=”XXX” caption=”“] [subscribe_to_unwind] … | Continue reading
I’m sitting on an American Airlines flight, crammed in a window seat in economy class. I brought my iPad mini to catch up on some reading while I’m away, but at the last minute, I threw my Logitech K380 Bluetooth keyboard and a Twelve South Compass Pro. I cleared my task list for … | Continue reading
Apple published an extensive support document about the USB-C connector on the new iPhone 15 lineup (we should be receiving our new iPhones later this week at MacStories, so stay tuned for our coverage), and a few details about compatibility with external displays caught my atten … | Continue reading
Widgle is a collection of four simple puzzle games for the iPhone and iPad that integrate with your photos. As I mentioned in connection with Widgetsmith’s Tile game, interactive widgets’ system-imposed button and toggle limitation severely constrains the kinds of games that can … | Continue reading
It’s time to take a brief break from widgets to bring you scrobbles. Scrobbling is Last.fm’s name for matching and logging the music to which you listen. The payoff of scrobbling is the in-depth statistics that Last.fm delivers monthly and annually to users. It’s also a great way … | Continue reading