It’s easy to look back at earlier eras and declare them the good old days. I’ve heard a lot of that lately when it comes to the tech and gadget landscape, and I get it. When I think back to 2007 and the introduction of the iPhone, the first things I think of are the...
Time Off and MacStories Deals
Every summer, we take a little time off before the busy fall OS review season. It’s a time to recharge and get ready for what is always a busy year end at MacStories. This year is shaping up to be even more packed than most. On top of our reviews, we’ve been working on new...
Interesting Links
When OpenAI announced GPT-5 this week, the company updated more than just ChatGPT’s underlying LLM; it also updated the app. Emma Roth has an excellent story with the highlights on The Verge. (Link) For more technical details on GPT-5, you can’t go wrong with Simon Willison’s blog. Willison had early access to the model,...
Apple Expands Its U.S. Manufacturing Commitment
In February, Apple announced plans to invest $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. Today, that commitment was increased to $600 billion. In the company’s press release, Tim Cook said:
Today, we’re proud to increase our investments across the United States to $600 billion over four years and launch our new American Manufacturing Program. This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we’re grateful to the President for his support.
One of the first deals announced is an expansion of Apple’s relationship with Corning to make all cover glass for the iPhone and Apple Watch at a Corning plant in Kentucky. That deal is part of what Apple calls its American Manufacturing Program, in which Coherent, GlobalWafers America (GWA), Applied Materials, Texas Instruments (TI), Samsung, GlobalFoundries, Amkor, and Broadcom will also participate. Apple says the program builds on its deal to buy rare earth magnets from MP Materials, a July 2025 deal that was announced shortly after the unusual sale of $400 million of MP Materials’ preferred stock to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Apple continues to be under a lot of political pressure to make its devices in the U.S., despite its prior financial commitments to make components in America. Another $100 billion over four years is a lot, but I suspect this won’t be enough. Instead, I expect we’ll see more of this type of announcement, given how quickly the first half a trillion was followed by another $100 billion.
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MacStoriesDeals Returns with Hand-Picked Bargains on Gear and Media
Today, we’re bringing back MacStoriesDeals, an outlet for sharing deals with the MacStories community. You can follow our curated collections of gadget and media deals here:
Long-time readers may remember the MacStoriesDeals Twitter account, which we stopped posting to almost seven years ago. We used that account as a way to share the deals that we came across. Over time, though, Apple slowed its app affiliate spending and then ended it altogether in 2017. That’s when MacStoriesDeals went from a useful resource for readers that also made us a little extra money to a chore we couldn’t justify spending the time on any longer.
However, times change. Today, affiliate linking is bigger than ever, and MacStories’ coverage has grown to encompass more gadget reviews and stories, our Setups page, and other media coverage on MacStories Unwind and NPC: Next Portable Console. Plus, with the latest automation tools at our disposal, we can do more with MacStoriesDeals than we ever did before with less effort, which is why we’re bringing it back.
There are plenty of other social media accounts and websites out there that aggregate deals, but MacStoriesDeals is going to be a little different. As we’ve noted in our Prime Day coverage the past couple of years, we only recommend deals for gear and media we’ve tried and brands we trust. In other words, these aren’t just any deals; they’re deals we think are worth your time and consideration based on over 25 years of collective editorial experience.
The links you’ll find on MacStoriesDeals are affiliate links, usually from the U.S.-based Amazon and Apple storefronts, that will earn us roughly 2-7% when you use one and buy something. Of course, that will be disclosed in the posts, as it already is in the MacStories Privacy Policy. Affiliate link revenue is a small part of MacStories’ annual income, but with the changes the Internet and online media are undergoing, every little bit helps us continue to bring you MacStories’ unique perspective on the Apple universe and beyond. Rest assured, our approach to MacStoriesDeals is the same as it is everywhere at MacStories: we aren’t going to promote deals we don’t believe are worth your time and attention.
We’re excited to be revitalizing MacStoriesDeals. It was a great resource for readers looking for bargains in the early days of the site, and we aim to make it so again. We’re also working on ways to do more for readers with MacStoriesDeals in the months ahead.
Thanks for supporting everything we do at MacStories. We hope MacStoriesDeals adds a little more to the experience and you consider following along with the deals we recommend on Mastodon and Bluesky.
Access Extra Content and Perks
Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
The iPadOS and macOS 26 Public Betas
This week, Federico and John share their experiences with iPadOS and macOS 26, which are now available as part of Apple’s public beta program.
On AppStories+, Federico and John discuss the state of engagement bait posting about Apple and how it’s affecting the discourse about the company and its products.
We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.
To learn more about an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.
AppStories Episode 448 - The iPadOS and macOS 26 Public Betas
34:57
This episode is sponsored by:
- Turbulence Forecast – Know before you go. Get detailed turbulence forecasts for your exact route, now available 5 days in advance. Learn more at turbulenceforecast.com.
Interesting Links
Adding an object to an image in Photoshop is nothing new, but the app’s new Harmonize functionality does a much better job of matching lighting, shadows, and colors, making it harder than ever to judge what is real and what isn’t in a photo. (Link) App developers are slowly beginning to support Elgato’s Stream...
App Debuts
Uncorked It must be said that I don’t drink wine too often, certainly not enough to log the bottles I drink. Nevertheless, if I did, I could see myself getting a lot of use out of Uncorked. This new wine tracking app has a lovely, clean design and allows you to log the wines...
Game Like It’s 2008
This week in the post-show segment of AppStories+ for subscribers and Club Premier members, Brendon Bigley and I compiled a list of the games that defined the iPhone as a mobile gaming platform. It was a lot of fun and led me down the path of revisiting some of my favorite games from the early...


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