John Voorhees

5379 posts on MacStories since November 2015

John is MacStories' Managing Editor, has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015, and today, runs the site alongside Federico. John also co-hosts four MacStories podcasts: AppStories, which covers the world of apps, MacStories Unwind, which explores the fun differences between American and Italian culture and recommends media to listeners, Ruminate, a show about the weird web and unusual snacks, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about the games we take with us.

Hands-On with Claude Dispatch for Cowork

Claude Cowork Dispatch

Claude Cowork Dispatch

Today, Anthropic launched a new Cowork feature called Dispatch as a research preview that allows you to control a Mac-based, sandboxed Cowork session from a mobile device. Currently, the feature is only available to Max subscribers, but Anthropic has promised Pro users will get Dispatch within a few days.

Dispatch on the Mac.

Dispatch on the Mac.

Dispatch is a close cousin of Claude Code’s recently-released Remote Control feature, but for Cowork. Remote Control requires a Claude Code session to be active in Terminal on your Mac. Similarly, Dispatch requires that your Mac be awake with the Claude app open.

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MotionVFX Team Joins Apple

Source: MotionVFX.

Source: MotionVFX.

Earlier today, MacRumors reported that MotionVFX was acquired by Apple. Based in Poland, MotionVFX has been a go-to resource for YouTubers and other creators for years with its highly-regarded plugins, templates, and tools for Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and other apps.

According to MotionVFX’s note:

For over 15 years, we’ve been on a mission to create world-class, visually inspiring content and effects for video editors. From the very beginning, we’ve been all about quality, ease of use, and great design. These are also the values that we admire most in Apple’s products, and we’re thrilled to be able to embrace them together.

This is exciting news for anyone who uses Final Cut Pro. My hope is that the acquisition will result in MotionVFX’s plugins making their way into Creator Studio and being extended to the iPad. For the Mac, that would add a lot of value to Creator Studio. For the iPad, it would add plugin support for the first time, a feature I expected Apple to have shipped by now.

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In a Surprise Move, Apple Announces AirPods Max 2

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Apple kicked off the week with a bit of a surprise: the AirPods Max 2. The updated over-the-ear headphones feature the H2 chip, better adaptive noise cancellation, improved audio, and other improvements.

According to director of Audio Product Marketing Eric Treski:

With the incredible performance of H2, AirPods Max are upgraded with up to 1.5x more effective ANC for the ultimate all-day listening experience. The sound quality is remarkably clean, rich, and acoustically detailed — and when combined with capabilities like Personalized Spatial Audio, AirPods Max 2 deliver a profoundly immersive experience.

Apple says that the AirPods Max 2 improve ANC 1.5x over the original AirPods Max thanks to the H2 chip and new audio algorithms and feature improved Spatial Audio. The company also claims that a new DSP algorithm built for the H2 makes Transparency Mode sound more natural.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

The new headphones are packed with intelligent features, too, including conversational awareness, adaptive audio to adjust ANC and Transparency based on environmental sound levels, Live Translation, and Voice Isolation. The update enables the AirPods Max 2 to add other features we’ve seen on the AirPods Pro line, like:

  • Using the digital crown to take a photo or start and stop video recording in the Camera and third-party camera apps
  • Loud sound reduction
  • Personalized volume that adapts to user volume preferences
  • Interacting with Siri by nodding or shaking your head
  • Game Mode

The new AirPods Max 2 come in midnight, starlight, orange, purple, and blue and can be pre-ordered beginning March 25 for $549. Deliveries and in-store availability are slated for early April.

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.


The Fractal Fragmentation of AI Tools

This week on AppStories, Federico and John look at the confusing array of tools and naming conventions used by Anthropic and OpenAI.

On AppStories+, John explains how he automated two unautomatable Mac apps.

Also available on YouTube here.


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To learn more about an AppStories+ subscription, visit our [Plans page](https://appstories.net/plans, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.


AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 476 - The Fractal Fragmentation of AI Tools

0:00
51:10

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Vitally: Your Copilot for AI-Powered Customer Success. Get a free pair of AirPods Pro when you book a qualified meeting.

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Interesting Links

Satechi has announced a redesigned version of its iPad Pro stand with built-in USB-C hub that’s more portable and compatible with all iPads released after 2021, featuring 4K HDMI output, SD card readers, USB ports, and 100W power delivery passthrough. (Link)

Earlier this week, Paul Hudson of Hacking with Swift released a curated...


This Week on MacStories Podcasts

This week on MacStories podcasts: AppStories This week, Federico and John discuss Apple’s latest hardware announcements. Then on AppStories+, Federico explains Notion Agents and Workers and how he’s using them. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Pocket Casts Castro Spotify YouTube NPC: Next Portable Console This week, more bad memory and storage news, followed by a...


Using Claude Code Headless

Since the end of last year, I’ve built several scripts that tie into Notion and automate various MacStories tasks. Some of those incorporate Claude. A good example is a script I built to find Apple TV deals. Every week, Apple offers hundreds of deals on movies and TV shows in its catalog, but most of...


Previously, On MacStories

“This Is Not The Computer For You” MacBook Neo Review Roundup Apple Announces 50th Anniversary Celebration M5 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Review Roundup First, Last, Everything Season Two Launches Today...


App Debuts

Obsidian Web Clipper Obsidian Web Clipper is flat out the best web clipper I’ve ever used thanks largely to its Defuddle parser, an open-source project that I highly recommend playing around with. The latest update to the web clipper switches to the Defuddle Markdown converter, adds YouTube transcripts to the content and new transcript variables,...