Podcast Rewind: iOS and iPadOS 27 Wishes, CrankBoy, a Comfort Zone Q&A, and WWDC Preparation

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John share their wishes for iOS and iPadOS 27.

On AppStories+, we tackle Visual Intelligence and whether there are any use cases that aren’t creepy.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Federico has hands-on first impressions of the Steam Controller, follow-up on our RG Rotate purchases, Dusklight, CrankBoy, and more.

On NPC XL, John explains how he uses Android USB debugging mode and Claude Code to set up Android handhelds.

Comfort Zone

Your podcast player might say otherwise, but this is the true episode 100! Everyone is back together to do some Q&A, celebrate a birthday and a move to a new house, and offer some help as Chris abandons Safari (finally!).

On Cozy Zone, the gang gets very opinionated on Formula 1 liveries.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico and John take listeners on a behind-the-scenes tour of how they plan to tackle WWDC and the summertime research and writing season as they look forward to their fall OS reviews.

AppStories, Episode 485, ‘Our iOS and iPadOS 27 Wishes’ Show Notes

This episode is sponsored by:

Steamclock: We make great apps. Design and development, from demos to details.

Claude: For problems worth solving — get started with Claude today.

Our 2026 iOS and iPadOS 27 Wishes

Continuity Camera

Siri and Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence

Siri

App Intents

Google Gemini

Google I/O 2026

iPad Screen Sharing

Jump Desktop

Screens by Edovia

AstroPad Workbench

Reminders

EventKit

Apple CarPlay

AppStories+ Post-Show

Visual Intelligence and AirPods Cameras

AirPods Pro

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses

HomeKit Secure Video

Parcel

Sequel

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 81, ‘The Steam Controller’s Comfort and Compromises’ Show Notes

The Latest Portable Gaming News

Valve Steam Controller

Steam Controller

SteamOS

Lenovo Legion Go Gen 2

Bazzite

Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller

8BitDo Ultimate 3-mode Controller

Handheld and Controller Follow-Up

ANBERNIC RG Rotate

MOBAPAD M12 HD

NYXI Hyperion 3

Dusklight Twilight Princess Port

Dusklight

Dusklight on GitHub

AltStore

AYN Odin 3

Lenovo G02 retro handheld

Switch 2 Price Increase

Notice Regarding Price Revisions for Nintendo Products and Services (Nintendo)

Nintendo just announced a $500 Switch 2 bundle that includes a first-party game (Engadget)

Crankboy for Playdate

Playdate

CrankBoy

CrankBoy on GitHub

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 100*, ‘The Real Episode 100’ Show Notes

Things Discussed

Liquid Death Pop Tart Carnage

TinyStart

Better Mouse

Quick Reads for Chrome

1Password

Raindrop

Hyperduck

Tampermonkey

Dark Reader

Noir

Stylus

YouTube dislike counter

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, ‘Files, Folders, and the WWDC Sprint’ Show Notes

This episode is sponsored by:

Zero Duplicates — Find and remove duplicate files on your Mac, iPhone and iPad in seconds. Unwind listeners can use the code MACSTORIES2026 in the app to get a free first month of Zero Duplicates Premium.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Our Research and Writing Setups for WWDC and Beyond

Research and Writing Tools

Obsidian

Obsidian Web Clipper

Obsidian Sync

Notion

Cogito

AI Coding Agents

Claude Code

Claude Cowork

OpenAI Codex

AI and Research Technology

OpenAI Embeddings API

Google Gemini

Apple Intelligence

Unwind Deal

🤝😄🏡 Friendship is just $7.99 in the TV app.

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd star in this hilariously awkward comedy about the desperate pursuit of adult friendship.

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.