John Voorhees

2711 posts on MacStories since November 2015

John is MacStories’ Managing Editor and has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015. He is also Federico’s business partner and co-hosts two MacStories podcasts: AppStories, which covers the world of apps and MacStories Unwind, which explores the fun differences between American and Italian culture and recommends media to listeners.

@johnvoorhees
@johnvoorhees
@johnvoorhees@macstories.net
voorhees@macstories.net

This Week's Sponsor:

Listen Later

Listen to Articles as Podcasts

Apple Releases Spatial Personas Betas to visionOS 1.1 Users

Apple has added Spatial Personas to the Personas beta for all Vision Pro users running visionOS 1.1, the latest public release of the OS.

Spatial Personas are available in FaceTime where users can collaborate using SharePlay. That means you can work with colleagues on a presentation, watch TV with friends and family, play games, and more. According to Apple, Spatial Personas allow you to move around and interact with digital content, providing a greater sense of presence.

Apple says that each user can reposition content to accommodate their own surroundings without affecting the others participating in a SharePlay session. Spatial Personas are available to developers. The Spatial Personas feature also integrates with Spatial Audio, so audio tracks with the position of the other people participating in your FaceTime call.

If you have visionOS 1.1 installed, you may need to reboot your Vision Pro to see a new Spatial Personas button in the FaceTime app, although we’ve tried and don’t see the feature yet. Tapping on a Persona tile during a FaceTime call will also allow you to switch the Spatial Persona of the person you’re calling. Returning to a Persona from a Spatial Persona can be accomplished from the Vision Pro’s Control Center. There’s also a limit of five Spatial Personas per FaceTime call.

AppStories, Episode 377 – Why the DOJ Claims Apple Is a Monopoly

This week on AppStories, we explain what’s going on with the US Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Apple that claims the iPhone-maker is monopolizing the smartphone market.

Sponsored by:

  • Copilot Money – The best money tracker, with native iOS and Mac apps. Try it free.
  • Jam – Developer friendly bug reports in 1 click.
  • Tailscale – Secure remote access to shared resources. Sign up today.

The US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Complaint Against Apple

[Subscribe here.](https://appstories.net/plans)

Subscribe here.

On AppStories+, I explain the research and writing workflow I developed for big projects like covering the DOJ’s lawsuit against Apple.

We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.

To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

Read more

Copilot: The Best Money Tracker App [Sponsor]

I’ve been using Copilot for over a year and the reason I’ve stuck with it for monitoring my finances is that it takes so little effort but provides so many valuable insights. That’s been critical to staying on top of my spending because even when I’m busy, I can find a minute or two to check on my latest purchases and make adjustments, keeping my spending under control and monitoring my overall financial health.

Their native iPhone and Mac apps can do it all: you can track your spending, budget, investments, and net worth all in one place, allowing you to drill into the details without losing sight of the big picture.

The secret to Copilot is how easy it is to track everything in your financial life. The app connects securely to your bank and other financial accounts and then reports back whenever a new transaction is detected.

New transactions are listed on Copilot’s Dashboard which analyzes them suggesting AI-powered categories for each. That makes reviewing transactions and applying them to a budget simple. With just a few taps or clicks, you can review everything and update your spending. Copilot’s Dashboard also reports where your spending stands compared to your budget and provides an overview of your budget by category, upcoming recurring expenses, and income.

For a more detailed look at your finances, Copilot includes a detailed Categories tab, more information on recurring expenses, such as subscriptions, and a chronological list of all transactions. The app also tracks the performance of your investments and the balance of each of your bank, investment, credit, and other accounts. With a recent update, Copilot is among the first apps to track Apple Card transactions too.

If you’ve ever struggled with tracking your finances, give Copilot a try today for free. And, for a limited time, MacStories readers can get an extra month as part of their Copilot free trial by using the code MACSTORIES when signing up. Visit their website to learn more and download Copilot from the App Store to get started today.

Our thanks to Copilot for sponsoring MacStories this week.

MacStories Unwind, Federico’s Film Fest: Memento→

This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and John are joined by Jonathan Reed to discuss Christopher Nolan’s film, Memento and our weekly On Deck picks.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo now.

Federico’s Film Fest

Thanks to everyone who suggested films to Federico after last week’s episode of MacStories Unwind. If you’d still like to recommend a movie to him please get in touch on Mastodon or Threads.

On Deck

What we’re watching, playing, reading, or listening to soon:

MacStories Unwind+

We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free and early with high bitrate audio every week.

To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.

Read more

Film Featuring the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs and Shot in Apple Immersive Video Coming Later Today

When Major League Soccer’s season began last month, Apple announced that it would release a highlights film of the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs that was captured in Apple Immersive Video. Well, Apple now says that the film, called 2023 MLS Cup Highlights, will be available later today on the Vision Pro. The film should be available at around 9 PM Eastern US time.

I’m excited to watch the film. I’m not an MLS fan, but I haven’t had a chance to see what it’s like to experience sports in an immersive environment yet. Sports and music concerts are areas I expect we’ll see a lot more of on the Vision Pro in the coming months.

Lickability on the Design of Apple’s Sports App→

A few weeks ago on AppStories, Federico and I surveyed recent Apple system app updates to get a sense of where the design of iOS is heading. Part of the inspiration for that episode was a thread that Lickability posted on Mastodon, breaking down Apple’s recently-released Sports app.

Yesterday, Lickability’s Sam Gold expanded on that thread with a post on the company’s blog that’s a must-read for anyone interested in iOS design trends because, as Sam says:

We once heard someone say, “design your app for the current iOS version + 1.” So with that lens, we’ve been looking at what the design of Apple Sports can tell us about iOS 18.

That’s good advice, and there’s a lot to learn from Sports, such as how it continues a recent trend of using gradients in the nav bar:

Gradients are used a LOT in this app. This nav bar gradient effect is becoming pretty common throughout first-party apps as well — first with the iOS 17 Health app, then Journal, and now Sports. watchOS 10 is also full of gradients.

There are many other things going on in Sports besides gradients, including Metal shaders applied to textures and interesting uses of animation and typography.

I fully expect that when I sit down to watch the announcements at WWDC, much of what Lickability has highlighted in Sports will be apparent across many more of Apple’s apps.

Permalink

A MacStories Setups Update→

Last November, we created the MacStories Setups page. It’s a collection of the gear, apps, and services that Federico and I use for work and play. We knew when we created the page that it would change regularly, and it has. Today, we’re introducing our third update in four months, which collects changes related to Federico’s MacPad setup and some smaller adjustments that we’ve both made recently.

The MacPad additions to Federico’s setup include:

However, Federico isn’t living a MacPad-only lifestyle. He uses the Vision Pro daily and has added it along with the following accessories to his setup:

Other additions include:

Our app lineups change constantly, too, and most recently, Federico has added:

As for me, since my big desk setup upgrade, I’ve made a handful of changes to my desk and gaming setups, along with other adjustments.

The Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk.

The Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk.

With summer around the corner, I’ve been refining my portable setup. The Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk that I reviewed recently is perfect for an afternoon at a coffee shop or sitting out on my balcony. I’ve enjoyed the Boox Tab Ultra so much that I added a Boox Palma for ultra-portable e-ink reading on-the-go.

The articles I save to read on the Palma and elsewhere are currently split between GoodLinks and Readwise Reader. I’ve also swapped out NaturalReader for Speechify for text-to-speech workflows, but I’m not completely satisfied with any read-aloud solution I’ve tried yet.

I’m also slowly refining my gaming setup. The ASUS ZenWiFi Pro Wi-Fi 6E mesh router system is a big step up from the Linksys Atlas routers I was using before in terms of both coverage and speed. I’m still floored by the bandwidth I get with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and Ayn Odin 2 Pro. I also picked up a Miyoo Mini+ retro gaming handheld because I’m traveling soon and wanted an ultra-portable handheld to take with me. Also, to track what I’m playing, I’ve been using GameTrack, which I recently reviewed.

Both of us have added a handful of other apps and gear, too, so be sure to browse through the Setups page to find the complete listing of our current setups.

Permalink

WWDC 2024 Scheduled for June 10-14 Along with Special Event at Apple Park

WWDC24 will include an in-person experience on June 10 that will provide developers the opportunity to watch the keynote at Apple Park, meet with Apple team members, and take part in special activities. Space will be limited, and details on how to apply to attend can be found on the Apple Developer site and app.

Apple has announced that WWDC 2024 will primarily take place online again this year from June 10-14 2024. However, the company said that it simultaneously will hold a corresponding limited in-person event at Apple Park for developers, students, and press like last year.

In a press release issued by today, Susan Prescott, Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Developer Relations and Enterprise and Education Marketing, said:

We’re so excited to connect with developers from around the world for an extraordinary week of technology and community at WWDC24 Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. WWDC is all about sharing new ideas and providing our amazing developers with innovative tools and resources to help them make something even more wonderful.

Apple also had this to say about events that will be held at Apple Park during the conference:

WWDC24 will include an in-person experience on June 10 that will provide developers the opportunity to watch the keynote at Apple Park, meet with Apple team members, and take part in special activities. Space will be limited, and details on how to apply to attend can be found on the Apple Developer site and app.

There’s no time of year I look forward to more than WWDC. It’s a chance to preview exciting new technology, get together with old friends, and meet many of the developers whose work we cover. Last year was a wild ride with the introduction of the Vision Pro, and I doubt we’ll have a hardware reveal anywhere as exciting as that this year. However, with rumors of a significant redesign and new generative AI features coming to Apple’s OSes, what this year lacks in hardware surprises, could very well be made up for with new software.

Of course, MacStories readers can expect the same kind of comprehensive WWDC coverage we do every year. We’ll have extensive coverage on MacStories, AppStories, and MacStories Unwind, which will extend to Club MacStories too.

ALVR Beta Brings SteamVR Games with Joy-Con Support to the Vision Pro→

Ian Hamilton writing for UploadVR about his experience playing Half Life: Alyx with Nintendo Joy-Con and the Apple Vision Pro:

The tracking quality is far from ideal and I couldn’t get the gravity gloves to pull objects. Those limitations make much of Half-Life: Alyx still off-limits at present. The hand tracking is so sluggish, for example, I wouldn’t want to engage in combat like this. Still, I enjoyed exploring a laid back look through the early parts of Half-Life: Alyx on Vision Pro’s untethered system with developer commentary turned on. And that this works at all is a remarkable testament to the ingenuity of open-source developers.

Hamilton, who tested other games like Beat Saber, too, used ALVR, an open-source project that allows SteamVR games to be played on the Vision Pro over Wi-Fi and just released a beta visionOS app.

As with a lot of these cutting-edge experiments, the number of games that are playable using ALVR is limited. However, as a proof of concept, it’s interesting to see Joy-Con, which are supported by visionOS, working in concert with hand tracking. As limited as the experience is now, ALVR points to a potential hybrid solution for gaming on the Vision Pro that combines the natural interactions of hand tracking with the precision of controllers.

Permalink