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Podcast Rewind: Open Minis, the RG SP Announcement, Too Much Wi-Fi, and the MessagePad with D. Griffin Jones

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, John and Federico discuss the changing face of the AI-fueled App Store and questionable changes made to TestFlight before going into the nerdiest details of Open Minis, an iOS app that brings desktop-class agents onto the iPhone and iPad.

Then on AppStories+, Federico and John explore Cmux, a Mac terminal app with an iPhone and iPad beta that makes it easier than ever to sync coding projects across devices.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, the refreshingly complete announcement by Anbernic of the RG SP, Ticci buys a handheld, and people are tired of months-long hardware reveals.

Then on NPC XL, Cocoon 3.0 and Syncthing!

Comfort Zone

We have a guest! D. Griffin Jones is here to show the gang technology they could only dream of: the MessagePad. After that, we look at the brand new Pastebot 3 and the surprisingly useful Clop, and we close it out by trying to sell Niléane on a 3D printer.

This week’s Cozy Zone is all about the games we’ve been enjoying lately.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John realizes that too much Wi-Fi is never enough, Federico wonders what he’s going to do with a Linux PC, and John recommends Apple TV’s Lucky.

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Shazam Releases Exclusive Ariana Grande Messages Sticker Pack

Long-time readers may recall that I used to regularly cover Messages sticker packs. As sticker popularity “settled,” I retired from that beat, but I thought I should come back for today’s news that Ariana Grande is the first ever music artist to release an Messages sticker pack.

The stickers are being released in collaboration with Shazam, Apple’s music recognition app, to mark the release of Grande’s new album petal. The implementation is interesting. According to Apple:

Fans can access the sticker pack by using the Shazam app to identify any Ariana Grande song and tapping the special message that appears on the song result or by adding the collection to their emoji keyboard directly in the Messages app. Once downloaded, the stickers can be used in Messages, FaceTime, or any app where emoji keyboard is available.

That in-app link takes you to the Messages corner of the App Store where they’re featured as a Shazam Special Event. You can also access the sticker pack from Shazam’s App Store listing.

I love seeing Shazam try new things to celebrate artists and their music, and stickers are a fun way to share your excitement about a new release.

Fun Fact: My Messages sticker situation has never quite recovered from downloading hundreds of sticker packs back in the day. Some features just aren’t meant to be loved so much.

Also, I am so back.

Apple Reports Q3 2026 Earnings

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Today, Apple reported its 2026 Q3 earnings, posting quarterly revenue of $109.4 billion. Here are the highlights:

  • Revenue was $109.4B, up 16.4% from Q3 FY25.
  • iPhone revenue was $54.3B, up 21.7%, and represented 49.6% of Apple’s total revenue.
  • Services revenue was $30.7B, up 12.1%, and represented 28.1% of Apple’s total revenue.
  • Gross margin was $54.8B, up 25.3%, with an overall gross margin rate of 50.1%.
  • Net income was $29.8B, up 27.1%.
  • Operating cash flow was $34.4B, up 23.3%.
  • Diluted EPS was $2.02, up 28.7%.

Apple CEO Tim Cook had this to say about the results:

Today, Apple is proud to report our strongest June quarter ever, with double-digit revenue growth across iPhone, Mac and Services, and in every geographic segment. At WWDC26, we were thrilled to introduce the all-new Siri AI, alongside all of Apple’s latest software innovations and important new child safety features.

For additional context, here’s how the results break down:

In Apple’s latest quarter: every region grew, Services reached $30.7B, and gross margin was 50.1%.

iPhone remained Apple’s largest business at $54.3B, and four of five categories grew year over year. Together, iPhone and Services accounted for 77.7% of Apple’s $109.4B in net sales.

iPhone revenue reached $54.3B, or 49.6% of Apple’s total revenue, keeping it the company’s largest consumer business.

Services reached $30.7B at a 75.6% gross margin, accounting for 28.1% of revenue but 42.4% of gross margin.

Products carried most of the revenue at $78.7B, but Services kept 75.6% of every dollar against Products’ 40.1%.

Every reported region grew, and Europe contributed the most new revenue at $5.4B, or 35.0% of Apple’s $15.4B in growth.

Going into today’s earnings call, expectations were high among analysts, who anticipated revenue of $108–109 billion and diluted earnings per share of $1.89. Apple’s results landed at the high end of the expected revenue range and exceeded expectations for earnings per share.

Indie App Sales Event Begins Today with Over 200 Apps

Matt Corey, the maker of Bills to Budget and Signals, has organized indie developers for a big sale that runs from July 28 - 30. The sale includes over 200 apps that will be offered at a discount through Thursday. The list is too long to publish here, but it includes many apps we’ve covered here on MacStories and on Club MacStories in the past, including:

There are a lot of great deals, with many apps discounted 50% or more. What’s listed above is a small fraction of the participating apps, so be sure to visit Indie App Salesand support these great indie apps.

Apple Upgrade Trades Ownership for Lower Monthly Payments

Apple has revealed its new hardware leasing program called Apple Upgrade, which is being offered in collaboration with Klarna. This is Apple’s pitch:

Introducing Apple Upgrade, a new way to always have the Apple products you love. Lease a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch with pocket-friendly payments and terms that work for you. Then easily upgrade to something new at the end of your lease, and return your current device. It’s that simple.

That pitch comes with a footnote that includes other details worth considering:

  • The program is U.S. only (excluding U.S. territories).
  • You need to be a U.S. resident who is at least 18 years old, or whatever the legal age is where you live.
  • There are eligibility and credit approval requirements and you must have a credit or debit card and an Apple ID.
  • When a device is returned, it must be in good condition or damage fees will be assessed.
  • Upgrades require a new lease subject to whatever eligibility and credit requirements apply at that time.
  • For iPhones, you have to have a carrier and can’t use a prepaid plan.
  • The program isn’t available for refurbished devices or through the Apple Employee Purchase Plan, corporate Employee Purchase Plans, Apple at Work, Government, Education, or Veterans and Military Purchase Programs.

Okay, so maybe it’s not “that simple” after all.

The program is available for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch product lines. For the iPhone, monthly payments start at $17.99 for an iPhone 17e and start at $34.99 for an iPhone 17 Pro Max, for leasing periods of either 12 months or 24 months.

For iPads, the starting prices range from $12.99/month to $24.99/month, Macs range from starting prices of $24.99/month to $48.99/month, and the Apple Watch ranges from starting prices of $11.99/month to $47.03/month. But again, these are just starting prices. You can configure a fully loaded 16-inch MacBook Pro that is just under $230/month, and it won’t include AppleCare.

As a point of comparison, under the current program that is being discontinued, I pay $69.50/month for an iPhone 17 Pro Max, but I have a 512GB model, so my lease price for the same phone would be $40.83/month, significantly lower, but keep in mind that doesn’t include AppleCare+, which would add $13.99/month or $139/year for that iPhone. On a monthly basis, that puts a new iPhone 17 Pro Max with 512GB of storage and AppleCare+ at just under $55/month. Still a superior deal, but not nearly as good as the landing page might initially lead you to believe.

At the end of your lease you’ll have six months to decide to return the leased device, during which you’ll continue to make monthly payments, or pay a fee equal to the difference between the original purchase price and your lease payments to buy it outright. Your other option is to enter into a lease for a new device. If you return your leased device in poor condition, Klarna will charge you a damage fee. You can also terminate your lease early if you pay the remaining lease payments in full plus any taxes and fees.

If you lease accessories for your device, those don’t have to be returned. Why? Presumably because they have no value to Apple or Klarna.

Of course, if you have a device to trade in, that monthly figure could be significantly reduced. If I had the iPhone 16 Pro Max I had last year to trade in and leased a 17 Pro Max for 12 months, my monthly payments would be under $1. However, keep in mind that once you’re on the leasing train, you no longer own your iPhone, so future upgrades won’t reduce your payments the next time you swap your device for a new model. If you don’t own it, the value isn’t yours to trade in.

If you’re on the existing iPhone Upgrade Program like me, it’s being discontinued, but Apple has a transition offer for you. The old program spread payments over 24 months with the option to turn in an iPhone for a new one after 12 months. That’s not changing. If you’re paid in full on your first 12 months of an iPhone, you can sign up for the new program, get a new iPhone, and return your old iPhone to Apple, which will close your old account but won’t reduce your lease payments. You’re not obligated to join the new leasing program, though. You can also trade in your old iPhone, ending your finance contract, and buy a new full price iPhone.

As you may have figured out by now, I’m not a fan of this program, though I expect it will be successful.

Apple products, like all consumer electronics, are getting more expensive every day. The monthly payments on a leased device look very attractive compared to the pay-up-front price. For years, car leases have induced people into monthly payments that can become a burden when their financial situation changes. Now the same will be true of iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches.

Maybe as a practical matter this program isn’t that different from the old financing program, but at least there, you owned your device at the end and could just keep using it indefinitely. With the new program, that’s not an option. When your lease is over, you’re empty-handed and faced with leasing again, buying out the lease, or buying at full price with no trade-in, which is objectively worse.

Ultimately, Apple isn’t responsible for customers’ bad financial decisions, but this program feels like Apple is putting its customers in harm’s way.

Pastebot 3 Doubles Down on Mac Clipboard Automation and Introduces Two New Business Models

Pastebot's Quick Menu.

Pastebot’s Quick Menu.

Tapbots has released Pastebot 3, a ground-up rewrite of the Mac clipboard manager that includes several powerful automation and customization options, along with two new pricing models.

Pastebot was already one of the Mac’s best clipboard utilities, capable of managing an extensive collection of copied text and images in multiple formats, PDFs, URLs, files, and HTML, along with metadata. The app can handle up to 1,500 clippings and features fast search, extensive customizable keyboard shortcuts, list and detail views of clipboard items, and iCloud sync between multiple Macs.

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Lock Launcher Introduces “No Redirect” Launchers, XL Widgets for iOS 27

My Home Screen setup with Liquid Glass widgets powered by Lock Launcher.

My Home Screen setup with Liquid Glass widgets powered by Lock Launcher.

I don’t think I ever mentioned it on MacStories (although I probably did at some point on AppStories or Unwind), but my favorite “launcher” app for iOS is a utility called Lock Launcher, which I’ve been using on and off for the last couple of years. Lock Launcher started as an app for adding URL schemes to the Lock Screen a few years back, and it gradually evolved into a comprehensive “widget studio” app to design launcher widgets of all kinds for the Home Screen, Lock Screen, Dynamic Island, Live Activities, and more.

Anyway, I’m covering the app on the site today because it was updated with two features that I didn’t think were possible or allowed on the App Store, and I want to highlight them for our readers. I’m not really sure how the developers were able to add these features to the app; you may want to download it from the App Store quickly, just in case.

For starters, Lock Launcher now lets you create launcher shortcuts that open apps directly and immediately, rather than redirecting you to the Lock Launcher app first.

For years now, launcher apps on the iPhone have had to employ this workaround: you’d tap on a shortcut that opened, say, Ivory, but you would see the launcher app flash onscreen briefly before redirecting you to the actual destination app you selected. Somehow, Lock Launcher is now circumventing this limitation with a ‘Direct Open’ mode that I haven’t seen in other launcher apps for iOS. That sequence of widget, host app, and destination app was, ultimately, the reason why I always stopped using third-party launcher apps, and I love that it’s been removed by Lock Launcher.

Launching apps without redirects via Lock Launcher.Replay

At long last, I’ve been able to create a dense Home Screen with 40 icons (36 in the widget plus 4 in the dock), and they all launch directly when tapped.

My new Home Screen powered by Lock Launcher.

My new Home Screen powered by Lock Launcher.

The screenshot above brings me to the second feature added in the version of Lock Launcher currently available on the App Store: XL widgets on iPhone in iOS 27.

Now, as far as I know, if an app wants to adopt an API exclusive to a future version of iOS, it typically needs to be built against that version’s SDK using the corresponding Xcode beta. However, the App Store isn’t currently accepting apps built with the iOS 27 SDK. And yet, the Lock Launcher developers must have figured out a way to support the new systemExtraLargePortrait widget size and make it work on devices running iOS 27 even though the app was built with the iOS 26 SDK. My best guess: they’re using a workaround that involves visionOS 26 APIs, since the Vision Pro received support for that family of widgets last year. (I’d love to know more about this.)

These two features, combined with the ability to apply the Liquid Glass material to widgets for beautiful refractions of the system wallpaper, make Lock Launcher the most powerful and customizable launcher utility on iOS to date. I hope writing about it doesn’t get the developers in trouble.

Lock Launcher is available for free on the App Store, with advanced features available through an optional Pro in-app purchase.