When rumors were swirling about an ultra-thin phone from Apple in anticipation of the iPhone Air’s announcement last fall, there was a stock list of reasons why the device might not appeal to mass audiences: Its thin design would leave less space for battery capacity and thus lead to shorter battery life. The phone would...
Podcast Rewind: Folding Phones, a Big Switch 2 Update, Discovering New Mac Apps, and Setups Changes
Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
AppStories
This week, Federico shares his experiences with foldable Android phones and what Apple might do for its first foldable hardware and its software.
On AppStories+, Federico shares his experience using Samsung DeX.
NPC: Next Portable Console
This week, Nintendo dropped a big Switch 2 software surprise, Anbernic got back to being weird, Federico went large with his PC streaming setup, and more.
Comfort Zone
Matt poisons the show with Android, Niléane brings us back with Forkflift, and everyone finds a really great Mac app they’ve never used before.
On Cozy Zone, we discover who has a good backup system, who has a robust backup system, and who basically doesn’t care about their data.
MacStories Unwind
This week, Federico and John share the highlights of their recent MacStories Setups update. Plus, John has an offbeat movie pick, and Federico is revisiting a game that’s an old favorite.
Podcast Rewind: AI Fragmentation, Joy-Con Alternatives, Pitching Vivaldi, and an Interview with Riley Testut
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AppStories
This week, 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.
NPC: Next Portable Console
This week, the confusing state of Switch 2 Joy-Con replacements, more on emulating PC games on Android, and we place our bets on the future of Valve’s Steam Machine.
This week on NPC XL, we follow up on last week’s discussion of the death of Xbox with its reincarnation as Project Helix.
First, Last, Everything
Jonathan is joined by Riley Testut, an iOS developer best known for building the Delta game emulator and AltStore, expanding how apps can be distributed and enjoyed outside of Apple’s App Store.
Comfort Zone
A budget laptop is the hot tech product of 2026, and the whole gang has thoughts. Then, everyone evangelizes Vivaldi with varying levels of success.
On Cozy Zone, Chris and Matt teach Niléane the real rules of the road right before her driver’s test. They’re pretty sure it was a lot of help.
MacStories Unwind
This week, John argues that it’s time to bring Xcode to the iPad and iPhone before he and Federico share a hardware and TV pick for the weekend. Plus, a quirky movie pick for your weekend unwind.
Podcast Rewind: Federico’s MacBook Neo, the Sony PC Withdrawal, iPod Touch Nostalgia, Complimenting Password Managers, and More
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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.
NPC: Next Portable Console
This week, more bad memory and storage news, followed by a conversation about Bloomberg’s report that Sony is withdrawing from the PC gaming market and a wild Lenovo handheld.
Then on NPC XL, John asks the question: did handhelds kill the Xbox?
First, Last, Everything
This time, Jonathan is joined by Becca Farsace. Becca is an Emmy and Webby award-winning tech creator. She was formerly the senior video producer at The Verge before going solo in 2024, primarily via her self-titled YouTube channel, where she aims to “take tech outside.”
Comfort Zone
Niléane is replacing Discord with Slack, Chris has the new iPad Air in hand, and everyone found something nice to say about password managers.
On Cozy Zone, we tier-list app icons, and opinions are stronger than anticipated. (Probably should have seen it coming.)
MacStories Unwind
This week, Federico shares his hands-on impressions of the MacBook Neo, John whips up an iPhone app when Shortcuts fails, and they both have media picks and an Unwind deal to start the weekend off right.
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,...
Podcast Rewind: GameHub for the Mac, a Pokémon FireRed Challenge, and Emily in Rome
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NPC: Next Portable Console
This week, John, Federico, and Brendon cover the news that GameSir is bringing GameHub to the Mac and chat about the ASUS’s special edition ROG Flow Z13.
Then on NPC XL, John tests the Virtual Boy accessory for the Switch 2, Federico follows up on his Android emulation experiments, and Brendon has been optimizing the Ayn Thor.
Comfort Zone
Matt demands we roast his Home Screen, Niléane drops some knowledge on SSDs, and (almost) everyone has fun with Pokémon.
On Cozy Zone, we played Geoguesser, and it has a better ending than we could have even scripted.
MacStories Unwind
This week, John explains the web app he built for covering Apple announcements, plus Emily winds up in Rome while John tends to his Pokémon.
The Surprising Longevity of the M1
You’ve heard it said before: Apple devices last longer than products from other tech companies. Both in terms of their reliability and their software support, iPhones, iPads, Macs, and the like have a reputation for their longevity, and it’s well earned. A quick glance at the Hardware Reliability graph on the Apple in 2025 Report...
Podcast Rewind: Running Out of RAM, Tech Confessions, and Italian Movie Dubs
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NPC: Next Portable Console
This week, Brendon, Federico, and John tackle the RAM shortage and its effect on the handheld industry before digging into Cocoon 2.0, an excellent Android front-end for your emulators.
Then on NPC XL, Federico brings an Android emulation surprise to the show.
Comfort Zone
Chris has a Mac-related confession to make, Matt has to admit something about his Apple Watch, and Niléane is like, “Boys, I don’t think you can even handle taking your phones off silent.” (She was not wrong.)
On Cozy Zone, we roast home screens again, and this time there aren’t any hidden codes… we think.
MacStories Unwind
This week, John and Federico debate physical versus digital media and the Italian art of dubbing movies.
Podcast Rewind: A Handheld Heavyweight, a Creative Studio Challenge, and Foveated F1
Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
NPC: Next Portable Console
This week, Brendon, Federico, and John cover a raft of new budget handhelds, a new OLED tablet from Lenovo, TrimUI leaks, and more.
On NPC XL, John and Brendon share their experiments with the MagicX Zero 40 and Anbernic RG DS.
Comfort Zone
Chris wants to know what the heck is going on with Discord. Niléane has a massive backlog of things to talk about now that she’s back. And everybody does their best with Apple’s Creator Studio.
On Cozy Zone, the gang discusses what they’d do if they couldn’t use Apple products anymore. We are releasing this just days after ATP did the exact same thing, but we swear we recorded this a couple weeks ago!
MacStories Unwind
This week, John has an F1 racing theory about the Vision Pro and shares a vampire movie, while Federico has been binging a popular Netflix series.