John Voorhees

5484 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.

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.


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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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 476 - The Fractal Fragmentation of AI Tools

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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,...


MacBook Neo Review Roundup

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

The MacBook Neo reviews are in and by all accounts, Apple’s new budget Mac is impressive, packing a lot of bang for the buck. The laptop, which comes in a 256GB configuration with no Touch ID and a 512GB version with Touch ID, is Apple’s most affordable laptop ever as well as one of its most fun, thanks to several color options.

I think the review that caught my eye first was Tyler Stalman’s. Tyler is the sort of person the MacBook Pro was built for because he works with video and high-resolution RAW photos for a living. It’s a fun video because it demonstrates just how capable the laptop is, even after Tyler had opened every app, scrolled around in his photo library, and launched a 4K project in Final Cut Pro, while every other app was still running. Amazingly, the Neo handled it all well.

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Apple Announces 50th Anniversary Celebration

Apple announced today that it will spend the coming weeks celebrating its 50th anniversary. The company also published a letter from CEO Tim Cook in which he shares what the anniversary means to him.

Apple’s not known for looking back, as the announcement post acknowledges, but 50 years is a big deal and a good time to reflect on the impact the company has had on so many people around the world. As Cook put it:

At Apple, we’re more focused on building tomorrow than remembering yesterday. But we couldn’t let this milestone pass without thanking the millions of people who make Apple what it is today — our incredible teams around the world, our developer community, and every customer who has joined us on this journey. Your ideas inspire our work. Your trust drives us to do better. Your stories remind us of all we can accomplish when we think different.

Apple hasn’t said what the anniversary celebrations will include, but I’m looking forward to what they have in store. I’m also pleased to see that the celebration is framed as 50 Years of Thinking Different. The Think Different ad campaign and Steve Jobs’ monologues about the intersection of Technology and the Liberal Arts have always resonated with me the most. And, at a time of turmoil in the world and uncertainty about Apple’s path into the future, Think Different is a good North Star to celebrate and refocus on.