Interesting Links Check out this amazing collection of glassy wallpapers inspired by a retro Apple typeface by Basic Apple Guy. (Link)
The Nothing Phone 2A was introduced this week and got a generally favorable review from Allison Johnson of The Verge for being stylish and under $400, though it is limited to Nothing’s developer program...
App Debuts Funnel John first covered Funnel’s debut version in December, and the app received a major 1.1 update earlier this week that has added a timeline view to see all notes, images, and tasks you’ve recently captured. This chronological feed allows you to search through your entries and send them again to other apps. Funnel...
AI Is Strip Mining the Web .](https://cdn.macstories.net/tn88kjinmm951-1709909355256.jpg)
Source: Reddit.
Earlier this week, I went on a bit of a rant about artificial intelligence during Ruminate, the bi-weekly podcast I do with Robb Knight. It’s a fun show about the Internet, snacks, and videogames that I’d love for you to check out sometime if you haven’t. I bounced those ideas off of Robb specifically to...
This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and I are joined by Jonathan Reed in the Club MacStories Discord community for a live question and answer session about Federico’s MacPad setup.
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There’s not much to say about the M3 MacBook Airs that Apple revealed earlier this week. Last year’s M2 redesign was universally praised, and this year’s M3 version one-ups it with support for two displays, faster Wi-Fi 6E, and performance improvements, thanks to the M3 processor.
But, as Jason Snell of Six Colors explains, that’s okay:
The truth is, unless you’ve been waiting to plug in a second monitor to a MacBook Air, this upgrade isn’t going to blow anyone away—and that’s okay. The chips keep getting faster, 2022’s MacBook Air design refresh remains great, and the 15-inch model offers a large screen for people who don’t need MacBook Pro prices or features. The MacBook Air is Apple’s most popular Mac, and now it’s even better.
One additional tidbit from Jason about the exterior design that I found interesting is the new coating on the midnight MacBook Airs:
The single change to the exterior of the M3 Air to previous versions is a new fingerprint-resistant anodization seal on the dark “midnight” models, which do show fingerprints more than the others. This is apparently the same approach that Apple took with the Space Black M3 MacBook Pro.
Be sure to check out Jason’s full review for more details on the screen resolutions supported by the new Airs and benchmark tests.
Late last week, Joe Kimberlin released GameTrack 5.4, an update to the iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS versions of the app that enables new ways to access your favorite games and navigate the app’s UI. Of course, the Vision Pro version of GameTrack is completely new since the last time I wrote about the app, too. So, let’s take a closer look at the latest iOS and iPadOS updates, as well as the visionOS version, which has become one of my favorite media management apps for Apple’s headset.
Ivan Mehta, writing for TechCrunch:
Apple’s iOS 17.4 update is primarily about adapting iOS to EU’s Digital Market Act Regulation. But the company has also released a new API called FinanceKit that lets developers fetch transactions and balance information from Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Savings with Apple.
If you use an Apple Card and a budgeting and financial tracking app, you’ll know why this is a big deal. I’ve been tracking my expenses with Copilot for over a year now, and I was pleased to see in Mehta’s story that Copilot, along with YNAB, Monarch, have teamed up with Apple to be the first third-party apps to use FinanceKit.
Before FinanceKit, I could only track my Apple Card expenses by importing a CSV file of my transactions one time each month when a new statement appeared in the Wallet app. Not only was that laborious, but it defeated the purpose of an app like Copilot, which otherwise lets you see where you stand with your budget in real-time. The process was such a bad experience that I used my Apple Card a lot less than I would have otherwise. Now, those Apple Card transactions will be recorded in Copilot, YNAB, and Monarch as they’re made, just like any other credit card.
Introducing the MacPad 
This week, Federico introduces the world to the MacPad, a hybrid Mac/iPad that he built from an M2 MacBook Air and 11” iPad Pro, and John quizzes him on the build process, software involved, and what it’s like to use.
This week on AppStories, Federico introduces the world to the MacPad, a hybrid Mac/iPad that he built from an M2 MacBook Air and 11” iPad Pro, and I quiz him on the build process, software involved, and what it’s like to use.
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On AppStories+, we discuss Apple’s reversal on removing progressive web apps from iOS 17.4 in the EU.
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Federico
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