John Voorhees

5773 posts on MacStories since November 2015

John is MacStories' Managing Editor, has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015, and today, runs the site alongside Federico. John also co-hosts four MacStories podcasts: AppStories, which covers the world of apps, MacStories Unwind, which explores the fun differences between American and Italian culture and recommends media to listeners, Ruminate, a show about the weird web and unusual snacks, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about the games we take with us.
@[email protected]
@johnvoorhees.macstories.net
voorhees@macstories.net

This Week's Sponsor:

LookAway

It helps you take regular breaks from your Mac to rest your eyes, without breaking your flow.

AirPods Max to Gain Lossless and Low Latency Audio Support Over USB-C Next Month

In a surprise announcement this morning, Apple announced that the AirPods Max with USB-C will be getting an update next month that adds support for lossless and ultra‑low latency audio over the cable. According to the press release:

With the included USB-C cable, users can enjoy the highest-quality audio across music, movies, and games, while music creators can experience significant enhancements to songwriting, beat making, production, and mixing.

The update will enable 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio, which Apple says is supported by over 100 million songs on Apple Music. Using the headphones’ USB-C cable, musicians will enjoy ultra-low latency and lossless audio in their Logic Pro workflows. The USB-C cable will allow them to produce Personalized Spatial Audio, too.

Apple also explains that the reduced latency is “on par with the native built-in speakers on Mac, iPad, and iPhone,” enhancing videogame play and streaming.

In addition to the software update, Apple is releasing a $39 3.5mm to USB-C cable that can be purchased today. This is a nice update that, judging from the timing, will likely roll out alongside Apple’s next set of OS releases. Although I’d love to see Apple adapt its AirPlay technology to support low-latency, lossless audio, too, doing so via the USB-C cable that comes with the latest version of the headphones is a good start.

AppStories - Ep. 428 - 47 minutes

From Dashboard Widgets to Breaking News: Mark Gurman’s Path to Bloomberg

FedericoJohn

In this special interview episode, Federico and John welcome Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman to discuss his 16-year journey covering Apple. Mark shares how he started as a teenage app developer before joining 9to5Mac and eventually Bloomberg. The conversation explores Mark’s most memorable scoops, the evolution of Apple news coverage, his relationship with Apple, and advice for aspiring tech journalists.

On AppStories+, Federico and John get into the weeds to explore the hardware and apps Mark Gurman uses and discuss Apple’s acquisition of Pixelmator.

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

Subscribe here.

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+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 428 - From Dashboard Widgets to Breaking News: Mark Gurman’s Path to Bloomberg

0:00
46:54

↓

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Memberful – Easy-to-Use Reliable Membership Software
  • Drafts – Where text starts. New and expired subscribers can use the link to get your first year of Drafts for $9.99.
  • Tripsy – Your Travel Toolkit. Use the link for 25% off a lifetime purchase or 30% off a 1-Year subscription.

Read more

Podcast Rewind: MacWhisper, Vibe Coding, Live Albums, and Immersive Metallica

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Darth Chris makes an appearance, Niléane has an exclusive first look at…checks notes… the iPhone 16 Pro, Matt insists on talking about MacWhisper even more, and the crew actually all followed the rules in this week’s challenge (a miracle!).

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico wonders whether John would have been a vibe coder if he started building an app today, and they share music picks along with a movie trilogy deal.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon share their experiences rocking out to Metallica in Apple Immersive Video and recap heart-touching Spanish-language comedy/drama Love You to Death.

Read more

A Tour of My PopClip Extensions

Earlier this week, as I was digging through the details of Sindre Sorhus’ Scratchpad app, I noticed that there was a PopClip extension available. There are very few Mac apps I’ve used as long as PopClip. It’s a simple utility that pops up a menu directly above selected text, just like iOS and iPadOS do....

Interesting Links

John

Deep Research is one of Google Gemini’s most impressive models, creating detailed reports with citations to web sources. Last week, the company opened the model up to everyone to try, and this week, it posted a set of tips for getting the most out of the tool. (Link) Apple wasn’t the only tech company...

Bloomberg Reports that Apple Is Shaking up Siri Leadership→

Less than two weeks ago, Apple announced that it was delaying the launch of a more personalized Siri. Today, Mark Gurman, reporting for Bloomberg, says the company is shuffling leadership of the project, too. According to Gurman:

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has lost confidence in the ability of AI head John Giannandrea to execute on product development, so he’s moving over another top executive to help: Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell. In a new role, Rockwell will be in charge of the Siri virtual assistant, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the moves haven’t been announced.

Giannandrea isn’t leaving Apple. Instead, Gurman says Giannandrea will continue to oversee “research, testing and technologies related to AI” including a team investigating robotics. Rockwell, who led the development of the Vision Pro, will report to Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software.

Rockwell has had a long and successful track record at Apple, so hopefully Siri is in good hands going forward. It’s clear that there’s a lot of work to be done, but the promise of a more personalized Siri and a system for apps to communicate with each other via Apple Intelligence is something I’m glad the company isn’t giving up on. Hopefully, we’ll see some progress from Rockwell’s team soon.

Permalink

Scratchpad: The Cross-Device Text Utility That Pairs Perfectly with Your Clipboard Manager

One of the best indicators of how sticky a cross-device utility will be in my setup is how quickly I install it everywhere. For Sindre Sorhus’ Scratchpad, the answer was “very sticky.” The simple text utility works on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro (via iPad compatibility mode), and as soon as I tried it on my desktop Mac, I grabbed all of my other devices and installed it on them, too.

At its core, Scratchpad is a single view for typing or pasting plain text that syncs everywhere. What sets it apart from similar apps is its many small touches that demonstrate a deep understanding of the way people use a scratchpad app.

Read more

Podcast Rewind: Shortcuts Apps, Retroid Drama, Xbox Handhelds, Traveling in Japan, and the Pebble Returns

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and I explore a collection of Shortcuts helper utilities that extend functionality beyond the built-in system actions, sharing how these apps address gaps in Apple’s Shortcuts implementation across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Incogni – Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code APPSTORIES with this link and get 60% off an annual plan.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Brendon, Federico, and I dive into the ongoing Retroid Pocket Mini controversy, discussing the scaling issues, community reactions, and what it means for consumers in the retro handheld space. After addressing Retroid’s troubles, they explore the Retroid Pocket Classic and pricing information for the Flip 2. To wrap up the week’s news, they cover SteamOS news, AYANEO’s confusing new teaser for the “Pocket Ace,” examine important new reports of Microsoft’s collaboration with ASUS on an Xbox-branded Windows handheld.

NPC XL

This week, Brendon prepares for a two-month trip to Japan and needs advice on assembling the perfect portable gaming setup. Federico and I lend a hand, suggesting which handhelds to take along and how to maintain a podcast recording workflow away from home.

Ruminate

I bring the snacks, Robb brings the Lego news, and we both get excited for new Pebbles for the second time in ten years.

Read more

European Commission Orders Apple To Improve Third-Party Device Integration

Just as I was linking to Eric Migicovsky’s post about the disadvantages third-party smartwatch makers face when trying to integrate with the iPhone, the European Commission (EC) released a pair of related specification decisions regarding Apple’s Digital Markets Act compliance. The first covers iPhone connectivity with third-party devices:

The first set of measures concerns nine iOS connectivity features, predominantly used for connected devices such as smartwatches, headphones or TVs. The measures will grant device manufacturers and app developers improved access to iPhone features that interact with such devices (e.g. displaying notifications on smartwatches), faster data transfers (e.g. peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connections, and near-field communication) and easier device set-up (e.g. pairing).

The other decision focuses on the process of interoperability:

The second set of measures improves the transparency and effectiveness of the process that Apple devised for developers interested in obtaining interoperability with iPhone and iPad features. It includes improved access to technical documentation on features not yet available to third parties, timely communication and updates, and a more predictable timeline for the review of interoperability requests.

An unidentified spokesperson for Apple responded with a statement to 9to5Mac:

Today’s decisions wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don’t have to play by the same rules. It’s bad for our products and for our European users. We will continue to work with the European Commission to help them understand our concerns on behalf of our users.

This decision shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has been following our DMA coverage. It’s easy to understand why Apple is unhappy about this decision, but it’s also just as easy to understand how the status quo holds back competition. There are no easy answers to any of this, but as difficult as this may be for Apple to do while upholding its privacy, security, and other standards, I’m glad the EU is pushing for change and hope those changes spread to other corners of the globe.