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The Latest from AppStories and Ruminate

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

This week, Federico and I look at the gadget landscape to find inspiration for expanding Apple’s hardware lineup.

On AppStories+, a behind-the-scenes look at our expansion into video and a conversation about the Vision Pro.

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The snack cup overfloweth this week with chips, seasoning, and a very blue beverage. The onto the App Store and finally a new Ruminate family member has joined.

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Apple Podcasts Is Now Available as a Web App

Apple Podcasts got the full Apple Music treatment with its own web app today. The UI is essentially the same as Apple’s native app but with the added flexibility of working on non-Apple devices. Apple says Podcasts works on all major browsers, including Safari, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, and can be accessed in more than 170 countries and regions in their local language. If you’re an Apple Podcasts user, your progress will be synced from the web to your Apple devices, too.

Apple Podcasts' web app is nearly identical to the native version.

Apple Podcasts’ web app is nearly identical to the native version.

The web app strikes me as a win for both listeners and podcasters. Podcast fans now have more ways to enjoy their favorite shows, discover new ones, and share episodes with others. Suddenly, Apple Podcasts is cross-platform, which is still relatively rare among the most popular podcast apps, except for Pocket Casts.

Your entire library of shows is available on the web and syncs across all versions of the app.

Your entire library of shows is available on the web and syncs across all versions of the app.

Links opened on Apple devices will open in the native Podcasts app and in the browser on other devices, although on the Mac, it is possible to play episodes in a browser if you prefer. Here’s Comfort Zone playing on everyone’s current obsession, the Boox Palma:

The latest episode of [NPC](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gamecube-to-go/id1749770019?i=1000665157926) running on my Boox Palma.

The latest episode of NPC running on my Boox Palma.

It sounds great, too.

The web app also means podcasters can now reach a bigger audience. Not only are free RSS-based shows available on the web, but listeners can also subscribe and listen to paid shows.

I’ve only played around with the web version of Apple Podcasts a little, but it works well on every device I’ve tried with it so far, including the Palma, a Boox Android tablet, and a Windows gaming handheld using Chrome and Edge. In every case, the Podcasts web app worked just as well as listening in the native app.

The Latest from Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, and MacStories Unwind

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Sigmund and Devon highlight the debut of Bad Monkey, discuss the future of Apple Original Films in theaters, and go on an immersive elephant adventure with Wild Life.

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Matt has to apologize for the things he said last week, Chris tries to find out if we’re smarter than Apple Intelligence, and Niléane has a quiz nobody could predict.

This week, Federico and John discuss alligator races and distraction-free E-Ink thermostats for writers, plus a TV show pick and three videogame recommendations.

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Manual Camera App Halide Introduces Process Zero, a New Unprocessed Image Capture Mode

Images taken using Process Zero. Source: [Lux](https://www.lux.camera/introducing-process-zero-for-iphone/).

Images taken using Process Zero. Source: Lux.

Today, Lux released an update to Halide, its manual control camera app. The marquee feature is Process Zero, a mode that allows photographers to take images with no algorithmic or AI processing. As Lux’s Ben Sandofsky explains it:

Process Zero is a new mode in Halide that skips over the standard iPhone image processing system. It produces photos with more detail and allows the photographer greater control over lighting and exposure. This is not a photo filter— it really develops photos at the raw, sensor-data level.

The result is that it’s possible to capture finer details than a processed photo under some conditions. The resulting image is a RAW file that’s 12 MB, significantly smaller than a ProRAW photo. In addition to Process Zero, the Halide team introduced Image Lab, a feature accessed from your Halide photo library, that offers a single dial element for adjusting your RAW photos.

Process Zero comes with some tradeoffs as explained in depth in Sandofsky’s post. The images it produces are “less saturated, softer, grainier, and quite different than what you see from most phones.”

I’ve had limited time to try Process Zero, but it was immediately apparent that the process of taking photos is different and harder compared to relying on the iPhone’s image processing. The feature requires a more deliberate, attentive approach to Halide’s manual camera settings to get a good shot. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is clearly different, and I imagine it’s also probably the best way to really learn how the app’s manual camera settings work.

I also appreciate that the Halide team is taking a human-focused approach to photography at a time when so many developers and AI companies seem all too willing to cast aside photographers in favor of algorithms and generative AI. Process Zero’s approach to photography isn’t for everyone, and I expect most of the time, it won’t be for me either. However, I’m glad it’s an option because, in the hands of a skilled photographer, it’s a great tool.

If you’re interested in checking out Halide’s new Process Zero and Image Lab features, which are the foundation of what will become Halide Mark III, the app is currently on sale. For the rest of this week, Lux is offering Halide membership subscriptions for $11.99 per year, which is a 40% discount. The app is also available as a one-time $60 purchase.

The Latest from AppStories and NPC: Next Portable Console

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

This week, Federico and John rethink podcast apps, exploring why it’s such a tricking category to get right for the greatest number of users.

This week, Federico returns to join John and Brendon to recap the latest portable gaming news before Federico drops a massive GameCube surprise on his co-hosts.

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A Video Version of NPC: Next Portable Console Debuts Today on YouTube

Today, we’re expanding NPC: Next Portable Console to include video on YouTube. The reception to the show has been fantastic. NPC debuted in the top five on the Apple Podcasts Video Game chart and has been attracting more listeners every week as an audio-only podcast on YouTube. However, with videogames being such a popular category on YouTube, we knew we could do more for listeners by adding a proper video version of the show.

So beginning today, you can watch NPC on the MacStories YouTube channel:

Today’s episode was the perfect place to start with video. I don’t want to give away Federico’s surprises here, but he plotted a big reveal for months that he springs on Brendon and me in today’s episode. It’s a deep dive into the console modding community and a classic Federico reveal. As always, we highlight the latest portable gaming news, too.

If you haven’t tried NPC or checked out the MacStories YouTube channel yet, you can subscribe to NPC on YouTube or subscribe to the MacStories channel for access to all six of our podcasts and more. Of course, all of our shows are available as audio-only podcasts too.

Thanks to everyone who has listened to NPC and our other new shows these past few months. It means a lot to us. Our ongoing experiments with YouTube are a direct result of the enthusiasm for the shows and something we plan to do more of in the coming months.

Patreon Lays Out How It Will Deal with Apple’s Insistence That It Use App Store In-App Purchases

Today, Patreon alerted creators who use its platform that Patreon must begin using Apple’s In-App Purchases system in its iOS app or face the app’s removal from the store. According to Patreon:

This has two major consequences for creators:

  1. Apple will be applying their 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased in the Patreon iOS app, in addition to anything bought in your Patreon shop.
  2. Any creator currently on first-of-the-month or per-creation billing plans will have to switch over to subscription billing to continue earning in the iOS app, because that’s the only billing type Apple’s in-app purchase system supports.

This change was first publicized by Patreon late last year, but the exact date of the 2024 transition was unknown at the time. The Patreon post linked above and a video by Patreon founder Jack Conte explain the situation in depth and walk through what the company is doing to help transition creators and their members to new billing systems.

The changes don’t affect supporters who purchase a membership before November 2024. Also, Patreon has created a tool for creators to pass Apple’s 30% fee on to their members who sign up using the iOS app, which it recommends doing. However, that’s bound to create some ill will with members, and it doesn’t solve the fact that certain kinds of billing like ‘per creation’ charges aren’t available as part of Apple’s payment system, meaning that many creators will need to change their financial arrangements with their members.

It’s a real shame to see this. On the one hand, I’ve always wondered why Patreon was able to use its own billing system. Apparently, so was Patreon. On the other hand, though, Apple allowed Patreon to do its own thing for years. Patreon and creators built businesses that don’t fit neatly into Apple’s payment system, so it doesn’t strike me as fair that now, they have to find a way to fit that square peg into a round hole.

I wish this were an isolated thing, but it isn’t. Apple’s caring-for-creators engine seems to have run out of gas.

The Latest from Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, and MacStories Unwind

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Sigmund and Devon preview Apple Intelligence, highlight new Apple Original heist flick The Instigators, discuss improvements to Continuity Camera in the tvOS 18 beta, and recap Land of Women.

Chris is absent for mysterious reasons, Niléane finds clever ways to watch the Olympics, and Matt explores his podcast app feelings.

This week, Federico returns to discuss the animal kingdom and share our E-ink device hot takes, along with a movie pick.

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The Latest from AppStories and Ruminate

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

This week, I am joined by Jonathan to preview watchOS 11, which is one of the most feature packed OSes being updated this fall.

On AppStories+, John reports on how his travel tech setup fared.

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This week, Robb is this snackplier this week, and I had a sour patch kids situation, and we both discuss Samsung’s renaming of a train station.

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