Setting Up a New iOS Device 
Federico and John discuss setting up a new iOS device, whether they do a clean install with new iOS releases, the first apps they install, and tips and tricks to make the process easier.
On this week’s episode of AppStories, we discuss setting up a new iOS device, whether we do a clean install with new iOS releases, the first apps we install, and we share some tips and tricks to make the process easier.
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You can listen to the episode below.
In an update released today on the App Store, Tapbots has started taking advantage of Twitter’s more flexible third-party API to allow users to send images in private conversations (DMs). The feature – which has long been available in Twitter’s official app – is limited to static images for now (no videos or animated GIFs), although the Twitter API could make more attachment types possible in the future.
Perhaps more notably, Tweetbot 4.6 comes with a redesigned compose interface for replies. Similarly to Twitter’s iPhone app, Tweetbot 4.6 doesn’t count usernames against the 140-character limit. To present this change in functionality, Tapbots has opted for a Twitter-like design where usernames aren’t displayed in the compose box upon starting a reply. Instead, a “Replying to…” banner at the top of the screen highlights the tweet’s original author and other participants in a conversation. Tap the banner, and, like in the Twitter app, you’ll be a shown a popup with a list of users you’re replying to. The author at the top of the list can’t be de-selected; other users in the conversation can be removed by tapping on the blue checkmarks.
While this design is similar to Twitter’s, it should be noted that Tweetbot limits this presentation to the compose view for replies. Unlike Twitter’s official apps, usernames are still displayed in the body of a tweet in both the Timeline and Mentions views, providing a familiar format that doesn’t force you to tap on the “Replying to…” banner from every section of the app. Personally, I believe Tapbots adopted a better solution than Twitter itself: the compose UI is nicer and usernames are easier to remove, but the timeline retains the familiar @usernames that add context to inline conversations.
I’m curious to see how Twitter’s new API roadmap will impact third-party clients such as Tweetbot over the next few months. Tweetbot continues to be my daily Twitter client on every platform, and I hope Tapbots will be able to add even more native Twitter features in future updates (I’d love to have support for polls in Tweetbot).
Tweetbot 4.6 is available on the App Store.
Special guest Lisa Jackson — Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives — joins the show for an Earth Day discussion of the state of Apple’s environmental efforts: climate change, renewable energy, responsible packaging, and Apple’s new goal to create a “closed-loop supply chain”, wherein the company’s products would be manufactured entirely from recycled materials.
I enjoyed John Gruber’s interview with Apple’s Lisa Jackson on the company’s approach to various environmental initiatives. It’s a fascinating, eye-opening discussion. Take an hour of your time to listen to it. It’s obvious that some incredibly smart and talented people are working on these issues at Apple.
Q&A Question: I’ve been an Apple Music subscriber since the beginning but, given the kerfuffle about track metadata and tracks and album art being overwritten, I haven’t yet had the nerve to turn on iCloud Music Library. My primary concern is my Prince library. I’ve been a Prince fan since around 1986 and I’ve collected a...
Workflow and the Trello API, Part 1 Over the past few months, I’ve mentioned in various places that Trello has become the backbone of editorial management for Club MacStories, and that we’ve been using Workflow to integrate our favorite apps with the Trello API. In addition to Club MacStories, we’ve also used Trello for assigning MacStories articles, and the service has...
Switch sales figures, and updates to the accessories and game lineups. Also why did they kill the NES Classic?
On this week’s Remaster, Myke and I discuss some recent Switch news and upcoming games. You can listen here.
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In February 2010, nearly a year after I started MacStories, I registered a domain for a project I knew I wanted to launch in the future: AppStories.net.
Seven years later, AppStories finally joins the MacStories family. AppStories is the first MacStories podcast, hosted by yours truly and John Voorhees, and it’s all about the world of apps. Every week, John and I will cover our favorite apps, the human stories behind the apps we love, as well as the impact of apps on our economy, culture, and personal lives. And we’ll always do so in about 30 minutes.
You can check out AppStories’ website here, or, even better, subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
You can also find AppStories on:
Alternatively, you can just hit Play on our embedded episode card below to start listening to the first episode of AppStories.
AppStories is an important milestone for the MacStories team, as well as an idea I’ve been pondering for several years. Just like MacStories, we’re committed to AppStories and we’ll keep doing this for a long time. Despite its long gestation, this is just the beginning for AppStories, which will become an essential complement to MacStories going forward. I am extremely excited about AppStories and the plans we’ve outlined so far.
If you’re not interested in the backstory, I’d love for you to check out the first episode and subscribe. But if you want to learn more and understand what our goals for AppStories are, allow me to start from the beginning.
Welcome to AppStories 
John
