Posts in news

Podcast Rewind: Videogame Companion Apps and Handheld Homework

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, John is joined by Brendon Bigley to explore the wide world of videogame companion apps from media trackers to game-specific companion apps.

On AppStories+, John and Brendon dig into 16 years of App Store history to compile a list of games that have defined gaming on the iPhone.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Brendon and John cover the ONEXSUGAR Sugar 1 dual-screen handheld, Sony’s power-saving and controller updates, and the latest ES-DE update for Android. Then, John reports back on the MagicX Zero 40 homework that Brendon gave him last week.

On NPC XL, Brendon and John revisit two handhelds from the past year. Brendon explains why he loves the Ayn Odin 2 Mini even more than ever, and John rediscovers the AYANEO Pocket Micro in all of its overpowered glory.

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Apple’s Manufacturing Academy Is Set to Open in Detroit on August 19th

First announced in February, Apple said today that its Detroit Manufacturing Academy will open on August 19th. The academy is a collaboration with Michigan State University and according to Apple’s press release will:

host small and medium-sized businesses from across the country in Detroit for various workshops with Apple experts. The courses are designed to help American companies transition to advanced manufacturing by implementing artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing techniques.

Apple says the academy will also offer virtual programming led by its engineers later this year.

Apple is under a lot of political pressure to move its hardware manufacturing to the US. That’s not the kind of thing that can happen overnight but programs like this are a good first step to developing the sort of local expertise necessary to build components for Apple’s gadgets.

Podcast Rewind: Everyone’s Going Bananas (and Some Tech Talk, Too)

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Someone has lost their bananas, Matt brings Perplexity back from the dead, Niléane has a fun way to use Mastodon, and Chris challenges everyone to up their widget game.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John struggles to update an old Apple TV and two HomePod minis, Federico sets up OTA TV, and they both go bananas over Donkey Kong Bananza.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Hello Weather: The Exceptionally Useful Weather App for iOS, Totally Redesigned for 2025

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon begin one last journey to Acapulco and share their early impressions of the Games app.

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AppleCare One Unifies Device Coverage Into a Single Monthly Plan

Apple announced today that it is consolidating its AppleCare+ plans into one program dubbed AppleCare One that will be available starting tomorrow. The new program is $19.99/month which covers three products. Additional products can be added for $5.99/month for each device added.

Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, had this to say of the new plan:

At Apple, we’re focused on creating and delivering exceptional experiences. Built on the trusted foundation of AppleCare+, AppleCare One extends that same reliability and makes it easier than ever to protect the products you love and depend on like iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, combining simplicity and exceptional value.

Apple says that AppleCare One includes all of the features of AppleCare+ and expands the theft and loss protection from the iPhone to the iPad and Apple Watch. The company says that enrolling an iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch under the new program will save users up to $11/month compared to buying AppleCare+ for each device separately. Customers can also add existing devices to the new program that are up to four years old (or one year for headphones) if they are in good condition. That’s a big change from the usual 60 days from the date of purchase that customers have had to purchase AppleCare in the past.

If you’re someone juggling multiple AppleCare accounts for a variety of devices, AppleCare one certainly sounds like a simpler, more flexible approach, as well as an opportunity to cover older devices.

Podcast Rewind: Secondary Devices and a Streaming Game Boy Camera

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John explain how they use their secondary systems, which for John is the iPad and for Federico, the Mac.

On AppStories+, Federico asks whether technologies like web-based MCP render Apple’s native App Intents irrelevant.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, John kicks off NPC with a return to 1998 before the crew digs into 8BitDo’s new Pro 3 controller, Thunderbolt 5 eGPU enclosures and docks, TrimUI’s ponderous Smart Pro Mini, and Federico and John’s first impressions of the MagicX Zero 40.

Then, Brendon, John, and Federico each bring a handheld they haven’t used in a while back to the show, and as you might expect, Federico’s choice is a bit of a surprise.

On NPC XL, Federico shows off the Lenovo G9 Gamepad.

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Podcast Rewind: Shark Tank for Tech Accessories, the Best Shows and Films of 2025 So Far, and an Anti-Pick

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Chris has some cool new apps, Matt made some cool new apps, and Niléane challenges the dads to do their best Shark Tank impression.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico’s return to Apple system apps has ended, and new workflow experiments have begun. Plus, John shares a dark comedy, and Federico has an anti-pick.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon return to the world of Foundation for its third season and share their favorite films and shows from the first half of 2025. Then, they recap the first season on Apple Original sci-fi comedy series Murderbot.

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Podcast Rewind: Apple Project Wishcasting and a Thunderbolt 5 eGPU

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John share a grab bag of projects we’d like to see Apple pursue from software to hardware and corporate acquisitions.

On AppStories+, Federico and John take their wish list further with a bunch of gadgets they’d like to see Apple make.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Notion – Try the powerful, easy-to-use Notion AI today.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week on NPC, lots of follow-up about microSD Express cards, the Switch 2 Dock, XR glasses, and the dbrand Killswitch – plus, Retroid’s second screen accessory, Windows handhelds, a new eGPU, and more.

On NPC XL, John automates his Mac with the 8BitDo Micro, Brendon finally finds a Switch 2 Pro Controller, and Federico acquires a cozy PC controller.

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Cyberpunk 2077 for Mac Arrives Thursday

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

Last fall, alongside the announcement of the M4 MacBook Pro, Apple and CD PROJEKT RED said that Cyberpunk 2077 was coming to the Mac in early 2025. But when WWDC rolled around last month with no more news about when the game would come to the Mac, I thought it might slip to the fall when macOS Tahoe is expected to be released with Metal 4 and other game-friendly features.

So it was a pleasant surprise to find out that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, which includes the Phantom Liberty DLC, will be out this Thursday on the Mac App Store, as well as on GOG.com, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. Cyberpunk, a notoriously demanding game when it comes to system resources, will run on any Apple silicon Mac with 16GB of memory that is running macOS Sequoia (or the Tahoe developer beta).

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

To support every 16GB Apple silicon Mac since the M1 MacBook Air, Cyberpunk relies on the latest Metal technologies, including Tile-Based Deferred Rendering and tools like Metal’s C++ interface and the Metal Shader Converter, to optimize for Apple GPUs. The game also takes advantage of Apple’s MetalFX Upscaling.

CD PROJEKT RED has gone all out with other compatibility features to make its game feel at home on the Mac, too, including:

  • “For This Mac” graphics presets that are optimized for the Apple silicon hardware running the game, which promises to take the guess work out of configuring graphics settings;
  • AMD FSR upscaling and frame generation optimized for Apple silicon Macs;
  • Support for Spatial Audio and head tracking for those playing with AirPods;
  • HDR support that is dynamically optimized for Apple’s XDR displays and HDR output for calibrated external displays;
  • Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and controller support; and
  • Cross-progression across all platforms.

In the fall, Apple says Cyberpunk will get a boost from the videogame technologies announced at WWDC 2025. Those include MetalFX Frame Interpolation to increase and stabilize frame rates, which Apple says will allow the game to hit 120 fps using the game’s Ultra settings when combined with MetalFX Upscaling. Cyberpunk will utilize MetalFX Frame Denoising to clean up the noise produced by its path-tracing renderer, too.

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

I’m looking forward to trying Cyberpunk on the Mac. I already own it on Steam and have played it on the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch 2, both of which should be excellent points of comparison to the wide range of Macs that Apple says will run Cyberpunk 2077.

The Mac version of Cyberpunk 2077 will debut this Thursday, July 17. There is no additional charge for the Mac version if you already purchased the game from one of the stores that offers it. Alternatively, you can purchase the game from the Mac App Store, where Cyberpunk 2077 is making its debut.

Two-Day Indie App Sales Event Begins Today with Over 250 Apps

Matt Corey has once again gathered indie developers to organize a huge sale today and tomorrow. Corey, the maker of Bills to Budget and Signals, has organized a collection of over 250 apps that will be offered at a discount through Wednesday. The list is too long to publish here, but it includes many apps we’ve covered here on MacStories and on Club MacStories in the past, including:

There are a lot of great deals, with many apps discounted 50% or more. What’s listed above is a small fraction of the participating apps, so be sure to visit Indie App Sales and support these great indie apps.