Podcast Rewind: WWDC Reflections, Thunderbolt Hubs, and Prime Day Finds

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, John and Federico are back home and reflect on all the WWDC announcements, including Siri AI, Apple Intelligence, design changes, developer tools, and more.

On AppStories+, we check in on our research setups and how they fared at WWDC.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, nose-bleed prices, foldables get wise to handheld gaming, and new products are teased and released by a long list of companies.

On NPC XL, Federico and John cover the pre-review news and rumors about the Steam Machine, plus John’s new Mobapad Switch 2 controller.

Comfort Zone

The gang’s back together! Niléane has a new window management system, Matt wonders if Thunderbolt is too fast, and everyone recovers from letting AI take the wheel for the week.

On Cozy Zone, Niléane has a new place, and it only seemed proper to roast her new setup.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico and John share their Amazon Prime Day finds before Federico recommends a pair of videogames for the weekend.

AppStories, Episode 490, ‘WWDC Debrief’ Show Notes

This episode is sponsored by:

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Apple Intelligence and Siri AI

Apple Intelligence

App Intents

Private Cloud Compute

iOS 27 Design

This Is How Apple Rolls

Xcode and Developer Tools

Xcode

Foundation Models

Sqim

Apple Photos and Image Playground

Image Playground

AppStories+ Post-Show

iOS Review Research Systems

Notion

Notion AI

Notion Web Clipper

Obsidian

defuddle

Firecrawl

Hardware

reMarkable Paper Pure

Subscribe to AppStories+

Visit AppStories.net to learn more about the extended, high bitrate audio version of AppStories that is delivered early each week and subscribe.

NPC, Episode 85, ‘TrimUI Goes Android’ Show Notes

Follow-Up

SN Operator arriving across Europe and the U.S.

Super expensive PS5 SSDs released

The Latest Portable Gaming News

MSI’s new Claw gaming handheld starts at $1,699

Android foldables are getting new gamepad controls

Belkin’s new Joy-Con grips also boost the Switch 2’s battery life

Anbernic teases RG 55G1, its likely first Snapdragon-powered handheld

Retroid Pocket 6 returns with 12GB RAM in a revised configuration with notable trade-offs

ONEXPLAYER X2 Mini Pro launches on Indiegogo starting at $2,466 with AMD Strix Halo and detachable controllers

AYANEO announces Pocket Micro 2, teasing it as a “Gen 2 Powerhouse”

AYANEO Pocket Play hands-on reveals a large, camera-limited gaming phone that’s China-only

TrimUI reveals Brick Pro and Brick Hammer Pro U with pre-orders open for Brick Pro at $85–$99.99

Subscribe to NPC XL

NPC XL is a weekly members-only version of NPC with extra content, available exclusively through our new Patreon for $5/month. Each week on NPC XL, Federico, Brendon, and John record a special segment or deep dive about a particular topic that is released alongside the “regular” NPC episodes. You can subscribe here.

Comfort Zone, Episode 106, ‘Matt’s Big Chonker’ Show Notes

Things Discussed

Chris’s Patreon

Neuecast

Jet Lag The Game (Nebula or YouTube)

Microsoft is the savior we were waiting for

Goodbye, Tangerine UI

Keychron 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock

Matt’s full review on Birchtree

OCW’s $329 dock (3 USB-C)

OWC’s $499 dock (4 USB-C)

CalDigit TS5 (6 USB-C)

CalDigit TS5 Plus (7 USB-C)

My old TB4 OWC dock (3 USB-C)

MYGGSPRAY

Cozy Zone

For even more from the Comfort Zone crew, you can subscribe to Cozy Zone. Cozy Zone is a weekly bonus episode of Comfort Zone where Matt, Niléane, and Chris invite listeners to join them in the Cozy Zone where they’ll cover extra topics, invent wilder challenges and games, and share all their great (and not so great) takes on tech. You can subscribe to Cozy Zone for $5 per month here or $50 per year here.

MacStories Unwind, ‘Prime Day Deal Hunters’ Show Notes

Amazon Prime Day Finds

John

Anker Portable Power Station SOLIX C300 - to power my fiber router and Wi-Fi in power outages

XTEINK X3 eBook Reader (Developer Edition)

Razer Wolverine V3 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller

Federico

Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1

Aqara M3 Smart Home Hub

UGREEN USB-C to USB-C 240W Fast Charging Cable with Digital Display

Picks

Federico’s Picks:

007 First Light (Steam, PS5, Xbox)

Starfox Remake

Unwind Deal

A Decade of Action: The 2010s 10-Film is $14.99 in the TV app.

MacStories Unwind+

We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free with high bitrate audio every week. To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.

MacStories launched its first podcast in 2017 with AppStories. Since then, the lineup has expanded to include a family of weekly shows that also includes MacStories Unwind, Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, NPC: Next Portable Console, and First, Last, Everything that collectively, cover a broad range of the modern media world from Apple’s streaming service and videogame hardware to apps for a growing audience that appreciates our thoughtful, in-depth approach to media.

If you’re interested in advertising on our shows, you can learn more here or by contacting our Managing Editor, John Voorhees.