MacStories Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Roundup

By John Voorhees

Amazon’s Big Deal Days for Prime members has begun, and we’ve collected some of our favorite deals offered. As usual, we’ve kept our picks simple, including only those that we’ve reviewed, use ourselves, or that are from brands we trust.

It’s worth noting that this sales event is focused on Prime members, so many of the deals require a Prime subscription. However, not all do.

Smart Home

Philips Hue Festavia lights on my balcony.

I’m a big fan of Philips Hue Festavia string lights, which I reviewed on MacStories in 2023. I hung a strand on our balcony, which has provided great outdoor atmosphere year-round.

The lights are great for the holidays, too. The Hue app lets you pick all sorts of festive presets that animate and color the lights to mimic candles, stars, and more. Festavia lights are also compatible with Apple’s Home app, giving you multiple ways to control and automate them, which I love. Both the 65-foot and 130-foot models are on sale.

Aqara G5 Pro camera.

The Aqara G5 Pro camera is on sale, too. It’s been over 18 months since I wrote about this sturdy and reliable outdoor HomeKit security camera, and it’s still one of our most popular hardware reviews on the site. There’s a reason for that, too. The G5 Pro serves as a hub for your other Aqara devices, and stays connected reliably with clear nighttime footage, support for HomeKit Secure Video, and an onboard spotlight. Mine has been installed outside my home ever since I reviewed it, and it’s never missed a beat. I use the Wi-Fi model, but the PoE version is on sale too.

Travel Accessories and Headphones

Anker’s 20,100mAh Prime power bank

I’m a big fan of batteries and one of the best is Anker’s 20,100mAh Prime power bank, which Federico added to his setup just before WWDC this year. I have a similar model, which is great for use with a laptop and other devices because it can deliver 220W of power with one USB-C port delivering 140W of charging.

UGREEN’s 20,000mAh Qi 2 battery.

Another interesting battery option is UGREEN’s 20,000mAh Qi 2 battery that delivers 25W of wireless power. I haven’t used this exact battery before, but I have a similar UGREEN model with a smaller capacity that I like a lot. This model also has a built-in USB-C cable and digital screen that shows how much charge is left.

UGREEN’s 100W Nexode Pro GaN charger

A good travel wall charger is a must, too. When I’m on the road with my MacBook Pro, I always bring UGREEN’s 100W Nexode Pro GaN charger. It has two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, and its prongs fold flat so it’s easy to pack. Combined with its small size, it’s a great choice for any trip.

Slate 7.

A portable Wi-Fi router is great for traveling with your family when you want to stream a movie at night or when you’re working away from home at a coffee shop. My favorite is the Slate 7 by GL.iNet, which I covered on MacStories last summer. It works well to extend an existing network or to connect to your iPhone to create an ad hoc wireless network.

Satechi USB-C 2.5Gbps Ethernet adapter.

Finally, I wanted to mention the Satechi USB-C 2.5Gbps Ethernet adapter, which I carry whenever I stay in a hotel room because even slow Ethernet is better than most hotel Wi-Fi. I’ve had this adapter for a couple of years and it’s been a lifesaver on the road more than once, including at WWDC this year where I found myself uploading 4K video to YouTube from the Mountain View public library.

AirPods Pro 3.

My favorite wireless earbuds and over-the-ear headphones are on sale too. AirPods Pro 3 are my go-to everyday headphones for walking around the neighborhood or working remotely. The active noise cancelation is top tier, and I love both transparency mode for hearing what’s happening around me and the fit.

Beats Studio Pro in Light Blue.

I’m also a fan of the Beats Studio Pro headphones for their versatility. They work wirelessly, with a 3.5mm headphone cable, or a USB-C cable, with both cables packed in the box. The sound and noise cancelation are excellent, too. Today’s sales price is one of the lowest I’ve seen, so it’s a great time to pick up a pair.

Alright, that’s all for now. We’ll have more finds during Big Deal Days on the MacStories Deals social media accounts on X.com, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

And for more recommendations beyond the sale, visit the MacStories Setups page, where Federico and I share the hardware and apps we use for work and play. We’ll have an update to that coming tomorrow.

Next Portable Console - Ep. 99 - 30 minutes

Abxylute Undercuts the MCON

Federico

John

This week on Next Portable Console, Abxylute takes on OhSnap’s MCON, KONKR finds its sweet spot, Lenovo is barking up the wrong tree, and the Recomp and Decomp scene heats up even more.

Then on NPC XL for Patreon members, the rapidly evolving world of SteamOS on Android.

Also available on YouTube here.

Abxylute Undercuts the MCON

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iPhone Duo App Submissions Are Open →

Linked By John Voorhees

Source: Apple.

Yesterday, Apple announced on its developer blog that it has begun taking App Store submissions for iPhone Duo apps. The new foldable phone will be in customers’ hands in just over two weeks on October 23 and with Xcode 27.1, developers can recompile existing apps and build new ones.

To prepare for the launch, Apple has provided links to design and App Store asset guidance, as well as submitting apps to App Store Connect.

Federico’s Frames CLI.

Also, if you’re a developer, don’t forget to check out Federico’s Frames CLI 1.5.0, which includes experimental support for the iPhone Duo. The feedback from developers has been that it saves a lot of time when preparing screenshots for the App Store. The Frames CLI is available on GitHub and there’s more information on MacStories here.

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AppStories - Ep. 504 - 39 minutes

Meet Dot: OpenAI’s Always On Agent

John

Federico

This week on AppStories, John is back from OpenAI DevDay, so he and Federico cover the history of AI agents, the current landscape, and what OpenAI is doing with Dots.

On AppStories+, Federico provides a sneak peek at what’s in store for his Reminders, Notes, and upcoming CLIs.

Also available on YouTube here.

Subscribe here.

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AppStories Episode 504 - Meet Dot: OpenAI’s Always On Agent

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

Apple Announces Plan to Impose New Full Disk Access Controls on Mac Developers →

Linked By John Voorhees

Today, on its developer blog, Apple announced plans to “…introduce additional controls to ensure that users who genuinely wish to grant an app this extraordinary level of access can only do so with very explicit user action.” The company says it’s doing so because of the dangers posed by AI agents.

According to Apple’s post:

Full Disk Access largely sidesteps these controls in order to allow backup apps to function properly on the Mac.

That’s nonsense. Looking at this MacBook Pro, only a handful of apps to which I’ve granted Full Disk Access are backup apps. Others include the Finder replacement Bloom, launchers like Alfred, the wonderful selection utility PopClip, Apple’s own Pixelmator Pro, Setapp, TestFlight, Supercharge, Madden NFL 27 Arcade Edition, Hazel, and many others. It’s a diverse selection of apps covering everything from Apple’s own apps to Mac utilities that are longtime favorites of MacStories readers, and even one Apple Arcade game.

What is valid is that AI agents pose risks if common-sense steps aren’t taken to limit their access to your data. So while the suggestion that Full Disk Access is just for backups doesn’t pass the smell test, Apple’s concerns about agents are well-founded.

The thing that bothers me about this post, though, is that it’s vague. On the one hand, it seems to suggest that users will simply have to jump through additional explicit hoops to grant Full Disk Access to their agents and other apps. On the other hand, claiming that Full Disk Access was designed solely for backup apps raises red flags that could signal that the company intends to restrict the kinds of apps that can use Full Disk Access. I sure hope not.

Even if you want nothing to do with AI agents, the changes that Apple is contemplating could impact a wide variety of the Mac apps you rely on every day. Apple needs to find a way enable reasonable customer protections without hamstringing the Mac’s utility.

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Unwind - Ep. 312 - 15 minutes

Inside OpenAI’s Builder Conference

John

Federico

This week on MacStories Unwind, John takes an inside look at OpenAI’s DevDay developer conference and how it compares to WWDC.

Also available on YouTube here.

Inside OpenAI’s Builder Conference

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OpenAI’s Dots: A First Look

By John Voorhees

Source: OpenAI.

Earlier this week, I was at OpenAI’s annual DevDay conference where it launched Dots, a personal agent that lives inside the ChatGPT app. I set up my Dot and named it Puck after the mischievous sprite in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the days since then, I’ve found myself using Puck more and more. There are still rough edges, but I thought I’d share what’s working and what’s not, and how Dots are different from what’s already available in ChatGPT and Codex.

Dots are persistent, cloud-based agents that use the plugins and other tools you’ve connected to ChatGPT, after you allow them to do so. Your Dot has its own virtual Linux computer to assist you with your work. And at first, your Dot, which is depicted by a colorful character you can customize, doesn’t have access to anything else. However, as you give your Dot tasks that need access to other tools, it will ask for your permission to access other tools. The pacing of this initial interaction with your Dot is really well done. The requests felt natural and allowed me to get comfortable with expanding what I let Puck do without feeling like annoying interruptions.

Customizing my Dot.

Dots are available on mobile and desktop devices, and because they are cloud-based, your Dot’s chat is always synced between devices. But being a cloud-based agent has its downsides, too. Out of the box, your Dot can’t access your computer’s files and apps. That’s easily fixed by clicking or tapping on your Dot and granting it access to your Mac, so it can use the Mac alongside its own VM. As with Codex’s Remote feature, using a remote Mac with your Dot requires the ChatGPT app to be open on that Mac, too.

App Radar

By John Voorhees

Federico

Psimulator ZODTTD, maker of the popular Gamma emulator for PS1, is back with another emulator for Apple platforms: Psimulator for the Sega Dreamcast. I’ll admit it: Sega consoles and games never resonated with me since I grew up a Nintendo fan at heart. But it’s great to have more retrogaming options on iOS these...

This Week on MacStories Podcasts

By John Voorhees

This week on MacStories podcasts: AppStories This week on AppStories, John shares his favorite parts of macOS and watchOS 27 from his reviews of both. On AppStories+, Federico and John begin revisiting new their long lists of automation projects. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Pocket Casts Castro Spotify YouTube NPC: Next Portable Console This week...