Apple Spotlights Four of the Distinguished Swift Student Challenge Winners

By John Voorhees

Image: Apple.

Earlier this year, Apple selected 350 students from around the world as winners of its annual Swift Student Challenge. From that talented pool, Apple picks 50 Distinguished Winners whose projects stand out from the others. Today, Apple highlighted the work of four of them: Taiki Hamamoto, Marina Lee, Luciana Ortiz Nolasco, and Nahom Worku.

Taiki Hamamoto. Image: Apple.

Taiki Hamamoto built an app playground to teach people about the Hanafuda, a Japanese card game that he discovered many of his friends didn’t know. According to Apple’s press release:

While Hamamoto stayed true to the game’s classic floral iconography, he also added a modern touch to the gameplay experience, incorporating video game concepts like hit points (HP) that resonate with younger generations. SwiftUI’s DragGesture helped him implement dynamic, highly responsive effects like cards tilting and glowing during movement, making the gameplay feel natural and engaging. He’s also experimenting with making Hanafuda Tactics playable on Apple Vision Pro.

Marina Lee. Image: Apple.

Marina Lee, is a computer science student at the University of Southern California. A call from her grandmother who was alerted to evacuate her home because of wildfires in the L.A. area inspired Lee to create EvacuMate to help users prepare an emergency checklist in case of evacuations like her grandmother’s. In addition:

Lee integrated the iPhone camera roll into the app so users can upload copies of important documents, and added the ability to import emergency contacts through their iPhone contacts list. She also included resources on topics like checking air quality levels and assembling a first-aid kit.

Luciana Ortiz Nolasco. Image: Apple.

Luciana Ortiz Nolasco built BreakDownCosmic:

a virtual gathering place where users can add upcoming astronomical events around the world to their calendars, earn medals for accomplishing “missions,” and chat with fellow astronomers about what they see.

Ortiz Nolasco who is 15 and from Nuevo León, Mexico will attend WWDC with the other Distinguished Student Winners and plans to continue work on BreakDownCosmic when she returns home with the goal of releasing it on the App Store.

Nahom Worku. Image: Apple.

Nahom Worku grew up in Ethiopia and Canada and learned to code during the pandemic. Worku’s submission for the Swift Student Challenge app playground, AccessEd, is designed to offer educational resources in places where Internet connectivity doesn’t exist or is spotty.

Built using Apple’s machine learning and AI tools, such as Core ML and the Natural Language framework, the app recommends courses based on a student’s background, creating a truly personalized experience.

Congratulations to all of this year’s Swift Student Challenge winners. I’m always impressed with the projects we’ve learned about through Apple’s press releases and past interviews we’ve done on AppStories. It’s always a pleasure to watch a new generation of kids learn to code and become the developers whose apps I know we’ll cover in coming years on MacStories.

Eddy Cue Causes a Stir for Google

By John Voorhees

2025 is shaping up to be the year of litigation for big tech. Apple’s been held in contempt and has an antitrust case on the horizon, Meta is in the midst of an antitrust trial, and Google is defending two antitrust lawsuits at once. Every one of these cases is a high-stakes challenge to the status quo, and collectively, they have the potential to reshape the tech industry for years to come.

The ultimate question for Google right now is whether it will be broken up. What will become of its ad tech business, and will it be forced to sell Chrome? That will be decided by the judges in those cases, but along the way, there are plenty of sideshow dramas worth keeping an eye on. This week, it was Google’s turn for a little litigation drama that was prompted not by a judge, but by none other than Apple’s SVP of Services Eddy Cue.

As part of Google’s search antitrust case, Cue testified yesterday that in April 2025, Google searches declined in Safari for the very first time. Cue’s testimony, which was reported on by Mark Gurman, Leah Nylen, and Stephanie Lai of Bloomberg, went on to explain that Apple is investigating AI search as an alternative to traditional search engines, noting that the company has had discussions with Perplexity.

Google’s stock immediately began to fall. By the close of trading, it was down around 7.5% and had caused enough concern internally at Google that the company felt compelled to release a one-paragraph statement on its blog, The Keyword, responding not to the testimony but to “press reports:”

Here’s our statement on this morning’s press reports about Search traffic.

We continue to see overall query growth in Search. That includes an increase in total queries coming from Apple’s devices and platforms. More generally, as we enhance Search with new features, people are seeing that Google Search is more useful for more of their queries — and they’re accessing it for new things and in new ways, whether from browsers or the Google app, using their voice or Google Lens. We’re excited to continue this innovation and look forward to sharing more at Google I/O.

It’s not news that Google Search is under threat from AI. However, Cue’s testimony under oath that Google searches in Safari are in decline is the first concrete evidence publicly shared that the threat is not just theoretical, which is a big deal.

Apple’s exploration of AI-based search is not terribly surprising either, but I do hope they cut a broader deal with Anthropic instead of Perplexity. I understand why Perplexity’s product is popular, but its CEO’s contempt for the open web and user privacy is something that I’d rather not see Apple perpetuate through a partnership.

Podcast Rewind: iOS and iPadOS 19 Wishes, Apple Held in Contempt, New Handhelds Despite Tariffs, and More on the Retroid Pocket Flip 2

By John Voorhees

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and I begin our annual look at what we’d like to see Apple announce at WWDC 2025, starting with iOS and iPadOS 19.

On AppStories+, which was released as a free sample for all listeners, I explain why the recent contempt order entered against Apple is a bigger deal than most people realize, on multiple levels.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week on NPC, Federico, Brendon, and I chart which handheld makers are still shipping to the U.S. in the wake of steep tariffs, then explore how speedrunners are stress‑testing Breath of the Wild at Nintendo’s Switch 2 hands‑on events. Plus, we update listeners on Nintendo’s release of version 20 of the original Switch’s firmware, how a contempt order against Apple could unlock new business models for developers, the surprising arrival of JIT on the App Store, Nothing’s launch of the CMF Phone 2 Pro, and how Anbernic and Ayaneo are defying economic uncertainty by releasing new handhelds.

This week on NPC XL, Federico, Brendon and I explain how we find time for gaming, where they play, and how they balance work, family, and their videogame hobbies. Federico and Brendon wrap the episode up with some advice for me on improving my Xbox streaming setup.

Amazon Adds Links to Purchase Books to Its Kindle App →

Linked By John Voorhees

As reported by Andrew Liszewski at The Verge, Amazon has updated the Kindle app to add a “Get Book” button, a direct result of last week’s contempt order entered by Judge Gonzalez Rodgers. When tapped, it takes users to the Amazon page for the book in Safari with the Kindle version selected. Before today’s update, you couldn’t purchase a book without going to Safari first.

In a low key statement to The Verge over email, Amazon’s Tim Gillman said:

We regularly make improvements to our apps to help ensure we are providing customers the most convenient experience possible. By selecting ‘Get Book’ within the Kindle for iOS app, customers can now complete their purchase through their mobile web browser.

I expect other companies will follow Amazon and Spotify’s leads in the coming weeks. Although Apple has appealed Judge Gonzalez Rodgers’ contempt order, the Judge declined to stay its enforcement during the appeals process. It’s always possible an appeal could force Amazon and others to undo changes like this, but I think a more likely outcome is that an appellate court allows Apple to charge a fee where Judge Gonzalez Rodgers wasn’t – one that’s lower than the 27% that got Apple into trouble in the first place.

Permalink

Enjoy a Special Free Edition of AppStories+ on Us

By John Voorhees

Today we’re publishing the AppStories+ post-show for all AppStories listeners to enjoy for free.

This week’s subscriber-only post-show is all about the contempt order entered against Apple last week. In a world or tech litigation where Google and Meta are at risk of being broken up, the contempt order entered against Apple may seem inconsequential. However, the reality is much different.

In the post-show, I walk listeners through what this sort of high-stakes litigation is like and pinpoint the critical mistakes Apple made in complying with Judge Gonzalez Rodgers’ order. It’s a fascinating story of hubris, miscalculation, and the critical difference between assumptions and facts. It’s also a decision that will change the App Store in the U.S. and perhaps worldwide.

Today also marks the beginning of our annual OS wish list episodes of AppStories, which we kick off with our iOS and iPadOS 19 wishes. Each week until WWDC, Federico and I will be detailing what we’ll be looking for at Apple’s annual developer conference.

We hope AppStories listeners enjoy the extended bonus this week. As many readers and listeners are probably aware, the ad market for podcasts and websites is in an extended period of decline, and I don’t think it’s ever coming back to where it once was. As a result, we rely on listener support more than ever. AppStories has been around since 2017, and we want to continue producing the show long into the future.

Subscribe here.

You can support the show by subscribing to AppStories+ for just $5/month or $50/year. In return, each week you’ll get:

an extended version of the show with bonus topics, extended discussions, and first-looks at what we’re working on,
that’s ad-free,
published early, and
in high-bitrate audio.

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

AppStories+ is also available to Club Premier members. That’s the highest tier of a Club MacStories subscription that gets you everything the Club offers, including AppStories+. It’s the best deal of all if you want everything we do for Club MacStories members. You can learn more about Club Premier, which is $12/month or $120/year, here.

Join Club Premier:

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We work hard to make every episode of AppStories the best episode, but some are naturally better than others. This is one of the better ones. We hope you enjoy it.

Finally, thanks as always to everyone who supports what we do at MacStories, whether you subscribe to AppStories+, are a member of the Club, leave our shows a rating on Apple Podcasts, or recommend what we do to a friend. Every bit helps us continue to do what we love and try new things.

AppStories - Ep. 434 - 1 hour 4 minutes

Our 2025 iOS and iPadOS WWDC Wishes

Federico

John

This week, Federico and John begin their annual look at what they’d like to see Apple announce at WWDC 2025, starting with iOS and iPadOS 19.

On AppStories+, John explains why the recent contempt order entered against Apple is a bigger deal than most people realize, on multiple levels.

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 Episode 434 - Our 2025 iOS and iPadOS WWDC Wishes

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

Podcast Rewind: Focus, Groundhogs, Gladiators, and an Apple Watch Anniversary

By John Voorhees

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Chris achieves a new level of focus on the Mac with a familiar app, Matt finds comfort for his sore fingers, and Niléane leads the hardest challenge ever put forth on the show.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico and I compare wildlife notes, I get set up to work outdoors, Federico has an album to share, and I recommend a movie about ancient Rome.

This episode is sponsored by:

Textastic – The Powerful Code Editor for iPad and iPhone — Now Free to Try

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon highlight the premiere of French-language Apple Original series Carême, discuss the Apple Watch’s tenth anniversary and how the device plays into their TV-viewing, and recap Dope Thief.

Interesting Links

By John Voorhees

Federico

Pocket Casts has introduced Generated Transcripts for Plus and Patron subscribers, allowing users to read along, search for specific phrases, and find key moments in podcast episodes without having to scrub through the entire audio. Not for me, but cool! (Link) Google has expanded NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews to support more than 50 languages. The...

Examining Where AI Fits Into Research

By John Voorhees

NotebookLM’s summary of factual findings by Judge Gonzalez Rodgers.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard a lot of people say that they’ve replaced search with AI chatbots. Maybe that’s true for some people, but today, I wanted to share a concrete example of how I used AI for a recent story – not so much as a replacement for search, but as a...