The Apple Editor’s Choice App for Managing Your Money
The sands beneath Federico’s videogame setup have shifted. As he explained on Unwind last week, Federico has gone all-in with the Lenovo Legion Go, a Windows-based handheld that he’s paired with a ONEXGPU eGPU, a fancy fiber optic Thunderbolt cable, a compact GaN charger, and more. As a result of the changes, Federico has also trimmed a handful of devices from his setup.
For the latest, visit the MacStories Setups page to find the full changelog and all the other gear Federico and I are using.
Writing at his personal blog, Brendon Bigley explains why the Delta emulator launching on the App Store is a big deal for retrogaming fans who also love native iOS apps:
AltStore for me (and many) was just a way to get access to Delta, which is the best emulator on iOS by a pretty shocking margin. While there are admittedly more feature-rich apps like RetroArch out there, no other app feels made for iPhone in the way Delta does. With a slick iOS-friendly user interface, custom themes and designs to reskin your experience, and the ability to grab game files from iCloud, Delta always represented what’s possible what a talented app developer could do if the App Store was even slightly more open. It’s in this possibility space where I likely never switch to Android again.
I posted this on Threads and Mastodon, but I was able to start playing old save files from my own copies of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Pokémon Ruby in 30 seconds thanks to Delta.
Years ago, one of my (many) lockdown projects involved ripping my own Game Boy Advance game collection using a GB Operator. I did that and saved all my games and associated save files in iCloud Drive, thinking they’d be useful someday. Today, because Delta is a great iOS citizen that integrates with the Files picker, I just had to select multiple .gba files in iCloud Drive to add them to Delta. Then, since Delta also supports context menus, I long-pressed each game to import my own save files, previously ripped by the GB Operator. And that’s how I can now continue playing games from 20 years ago…on my iPhone. And those are just two aspects of the all-encompassing Delta experience, which includes Dropbox sync, controller support, haptic feedback, and lots more.
Brendon also wraps up the story with a question I’m pondering myself:
How does Nintendo react to the news that despite their desire to fight game preservation at all costs, people are nonetheless still enjoying the very games that built their business in the first place?
I’ll never get over the fact that Nintendo turned the glorious Virtual Console into a subscription service that is randomly updated and not available on mobile devices at all. I’m curious to see if Nintendo will have any sort of response to emulators on iOS; personally, I know that Delta is going to be my new default for all Game Boy/DS emulation needs going forward.
This week on Magic Rays of Light, Devon is joined by MacStories Community Manager Jonathan Reed to highlight Argylle, discuss Jonathan’s approach to tracking TV and films, and look ahead to an exciting summer of Apple Originals.
Send us a voice message all week via iMessage or email to [email protected].
Sigmund Judge | Follow Sigmund on X, Mastodon, or Threads
Devon Dundee | Follow Devon on Mastodon or Threads
View our Apple TV release calendar on the web.
This week on Ruminate, I explore more pickle snacks, Robb bought a new keyboard, and I grill Robb on what exactly EchoFeed is.
Krinkle Cut Dill Pickle - Kettle Brand
Using the 8BitDo Keyboard on MacOS • Robb Knight
8BitDo Ultimate Controller with Charging Dock（Bluetooth） | 8BitDo
DropScout | Save Money on Amazon with Price Alerts!
This week on AppStories, we return with a classic Pick 2 episode focused on the Mac.
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On AppStories+, we talk about Apple’s decision to allow game emulators and game streaming services on the iPhone worldwide.
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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico has reached the pinnacle of handheld gaming with a setup that he’s been working toward for years.
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This week on Magic Rays of Light, Sigmund and Devon highlight American Revolution-era drama Franklin ahead of its premiere on Apple TV+. They also dive into new Apple Original documentary Girls State, spatial personas on visionOS, and the possibility of game emulation on Apple TV.
Send us a voice message all week via iMessage or email to [email protected].
Sigmund Judge | Follow Sigmund on X, Mastodon, or Threads
Devon Dundee | Follow Devon on Mastodon or Threads
View our Apple TV release calendar on the web.
Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg, reports that Beeper, the messaging app that ultimately lost its fight to bring blue bubbles to Android, has been acquired by Automattic, for $125 million according to his sources.
You may recall that Automattic, the company behind WordPress, Tumblr, Day One, Pocket Casts, and other endeavors, acquired a company called Texts last fall. Roughly two months later, Beeper took advantage of a loophole in iMessage’s architecture to offer iMessage natively on Android. After some back and forth, Apple ultimately blocked the technique Beeper was using.
According to Gurman, Automattic is acquiring Beeper’s team of 27 employees, its app, which integrates services like Signal, Facebook Messenger, and Slack, and about 100,000 customers. Of those things, I suspect the people and the customers were most important to Automattic because, as I explained in my story about the company’s purchase of Texts, the two services run on different technology stacks. Regardless of Automattic’s underlying motivations, it’s more apparent than ever that the company is betting that consumer demand, government regulation, and antitrust lawsuits will open up messaging platforms for companies ready to integrate them.
Earlier this week, I linked to The Ringer’s profile of Monument Valley on its 10th anniversary, which focused on what’s become of mobile gaming since the game’s release. Today, I have another story about Monument Valley that focuses on the game’s origins and beautiful design.
Jonathan Bell’s article for Wallpaper explores the Monument Valley team’s approach and influences:
The end result had a pixel-perfect axonometric aesthetic that not only went hard on its references to Dutch master artist and printmaker Maurits Cornelis Escher, but also dug deep into classic video game design, going right back to early arcade machines and 8-bit titles. Each of the ten levels is like a piece of fine furniture, built with invisible dovetail joints and inlaid with marquetry, stuffed with secret compartments and little design flourishes. Gray cites the world of theatre and stage design, as well as graphics, as important keystones in the way the levels were constructed. ‘Ken would always talk about flower arranging, and how you frame a silhouette of a level on the screen,’ he says
I love this anecdote about the game’s last minute naming:
The small team was so laser-focused on delivering the best game they could that the name wasn’t even considered until the very end. ‘Right before launch we were going to be interviewed by Edge magazine – the morning of that day we hadn’t picked the name.’ Monument Valley was chosen as being familiar, yet unusual, implying a sense of mystery, grandeur and travel.
Monument Valley is one of the most important indie games ever published on the App Store, so it’s great to see its backstory told in detail by Bell. Be sure to check out the full story, which includes photos of early design sketches of the game’s interface and characters.
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