Federico
AppStories Episode 395 - iOS and iPadOS 18 Preview
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This week, Federico and John run down the highlights of the iOS and iPadOS 18 public betas that were released today.
macOS Sequoia: The MacStories Public Beta Preview
Sequoia is not your typical macOS release. In recent years, new features of all Apple OSes have been increasingly meted out over time instead of dropping all at once in the fall. That’s been true of macOS, too, but this year, the magnitude of the staged release will be more pronounced, which has trickled through to the public beta released today.
macOS Sequoia will be a phased release. That means you won’t find everything announced at WWDC in the public beta. Some features, notably large parts of Apple Intelligence, won’t be available until 2025. That’s something worth keeping in mind if you’re thinking about installing the Sequoia public beta today. The beta is generally stable, but you’re likely to run into bugs, and with many features still to come in the months ahead, the upside of running it is more limited than in past years.
Apple Intelligence promises to round out Sequoia over time, but neither I nor anyone else outside of Apple has had a chance to try those features yet. So, for now, let’s focus on what you can expect if you install the macOS Sequoia public beta today.
Automating Text Transformations with Text Workflow
There are a lot of text transformation apps out there, and many of them are good. However, my current favorite is Text Workflow by Giorgos Trigonakis. The app comes in separate Mac and iPhone/iPad versions and incorporates a long list of text actions and automation options, which I’ve found myself needing more and more lately....
Interesting Links
Samuel Stolton and Jennifer Surane of Bloomberg reported this week that Apple has avoided EU fines by opening up tap to pay on the iPhone to other companies. (Link) On 512 Pixels, Stephen Hackett has first impressions of a brand-new smart lock from Aqara called the U200, which integrates with existing door lock hardware...
Sorting and Filtering Apple Arcade
If you’ve listened to NPC: Next Portable Console or MacStories Unwind in the past couple of months, you’ve probably heard me or Federico mention Retro Game Corps, a YouTube channel by Russ Crandall with a focus on retro and handheld gaming. Earlier this week, Russ reviewed the Scuf Nomad controller for the iPhone and covered...
App Debuts
Peak Version 3 of Peak is out with a day summary, goal progress, and widgets for your Apple Watch faces and Smart Stack. The app now syncs metrics across devices, and the update added a bunch of other tweaks to widget layouts, new settings, and backgrounds that match your theme. Plinky 2.0 Plinky, a...
The Latest from Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, and MacStories Unwind
Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
This week on Magic Rays of Light, Sigmund and Devon spotlight the theatrical release of Fly Me to the Moon, revisit the idea of an Apple TV Pro, recap Trying season four, and highlight new Apple Original series Sunny starring Rashida Jones.
This week on Comfort Zone, Niléane has a social media surprise, Matt tries to take his email to superhuman levels, and Chris blows his hair back with Wi-Fi speeds you wouldn’t believe. Then we reflect on last week’s very chill challenge before jumping into the next one where we must be nice.
This week, I am joined by Jonathan Reed for some travel picks for my upcoming trip to London, plus a movie, TV show, and Irish band.
The Latest from AppStories and Ruminate
Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
This week, Federico and I cover the developer features we’re excited to see come to third-party apps later this year.
This episode is sponsored by:
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This week, I tried fruit popcorn, Robb has an EchoFeed and Threads update, then we discuss some new tech that’s actually interesting.
Delta 1.6 Released in the EU and for Patreon Members with a Worldwide App Store Release in the Works
Delta, the retro gaming emulator that took the App Store by storm when it was released earlier this spring and now has over 10 million users, has been updated in the EU via AltStore PAL and for Patreon members, who can sideload the app. An update to the App Store version has been submitted to the App Store for the rest of the world but has not been approved yet.
The update brings official iPadOS support to Delta for the first time. That means support for native iPad features like Split View, Stage Manager, multiwindowing, and even Handoff, which can be used to move a game from one device to another. The update also introduces a refinement of Delta’s new icon, which was changed because Adobe thought it looked too much like its own logo and demanded that Delta make changes to the icon. Delta’s built-in skins have been updated too to work with the iPad’s larger screen:
I’ve had a chance to try the new Delta 1.6 iPad features and they’re great, so it was disappointing to see that the app has been rejected by App Review. According to the AltStore Mastodon account, the reason was that the app included a link to the developers’ Patreon page, even though that link appeared in prior versions of the app. The Patreon link has been removed and the app resubmitted, so hopefully the update will be available worldwide soon.
It’s a shame that Delta 1.6 is being held up in App Review, but barring any further objections from Apple, I expect we’ll see the update on the App Store soon.