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Podcast Rewind: One Year of Comfort Zone, Switch 2 First Impressions, and Golfing with Owen Wilson

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Comfort Zone has completed its first year! Instead of doing a clip show or something, the gang gets right down to business doing what they do best: complaining about browsers, going down an audiophile rabbit hole, and battling to see who has the best Mac background app.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Federico and John walk listeners through their first impressions of the Nintendo Switch 2, including the hardware, the setup process, Super Mario Kart World, the Zelda upgrades, the new Pro Controller, and more.

For this week’s NPC XL, Brendon joins Federico and John from Tokyo with questions about their experiences with the Nintendo Switch 2. After more play time, the crew covers accessories, Mario Kart World’s unique features, battery life, and the experience of playing Cyberpunk 2077.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon highlight the premiere of Apple Original comedy series Stick starring Owen Wilson. Then, they compete to predict what’s in store for Apple TV at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

MacStories Unwind

MacStories Unwind is taking a two-week WWDC holiday starting this week. We’ll be back with another episode the week after WWDC – Thursday, June 19, for Club MacStories members and Friday, June 20, for everyone else.

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Apple Denied a Stay of Judge Gonzalez Rogers’ Contempt Order

Reuters reported today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth District has denied Apple’s motion to stay the effect of District Judge Gonzalez Rogers’ contempt order that required the company to allow developers to link to payment processing outside the App Store. Had Apple prevailed, Judge Gonzalez Rogers’ order would have been put on hold, allowing Apple to prevent developers from linking to external payment processing. Instead, developers can continue to add external payment options to their apps, which many already have.

The burden for staying an order pending appeal is high. As the Court of Appeals explained in its order:

In deciding whether to impose a stay, we consider:

“(1) whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits;
(2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay;
(3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding; and
(4) where the public interest lies.”

Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 426 (2009) (quoting Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776 (1987)).

This doesn’t mean Apple has no chance to win on appeal, but as the Ninth Circuit said quite bluntly in its order:

…we are not persuaded that a stay is appropriate.

And, given that the first factor the court decided was whether Apple is “likely to succeed on the merits,” things are not looking promising.

In a statement to 9to5Mac, an unnamed Apple spokesperson said:

We are disappointed with the decision not to stay the district court’s order, and we’ll continue to argue our case during the appeals process. As we’ve said before, we strongly disagree with the district court’s opinion. Our goal is to ensure the App Store remains an incredible opportunity for developers and a safe and trusted experience for our users.

Given that the writing is on the wall for the appeal, you can bet Apple is already looking ahead to the U.S. Supreme Court and will use the Ninth Circuit case as a dry run for that subsequent appeal.

Screens Enables File Transfers Between Your Mac and Other Apple Devices

For years, my go-to solution for remotely accessing a Mac from another device has been Screens from Edovia. It’s excellent for logging into my home iMac from my iPad when I’m on the go, getting tasks done on machines across my work network from my office on my Vision Pro, quickly checking things from my iPhone, and even grabbing files from other Macs to put on my MacBook Pro.

That last use case – transferring files from one device to another – has previously been limited to Mac-to-Mac connections. But with its latest update, Screens is bringing file transfers to the iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro, giving the app a major new capability on these platforms that is going to benefit a lot of workflows.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been working remotely on a Mac from my iPad and found myself needing a file on one of the devices to be available on the other. Usually, I end up dropping the file into iCloud Drive and waiting for it to sync; it’s not a terribly inefficient process, but it’s not the most straightforward, either. Since the two devices are already connected, why not move the file directly between them? Now, I can.

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Podcast Rewind: Weird Sliding Handhelds, Sky, and Wishes for Apple Intelligence and Shortcuts

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, John shares his first impressions of Sky, the alpha AI-powered Mac automation app from the creators of Workflow and Shortcuts, and then he and Federico share their Shortcuts and Apple Intelligence wishes for WWDC 2025

On AppStories+, John and Federico consider what AI means for developers and the App Store in the year ahead.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Notion: Try the powerful, easy-to-use Notion AI today.
  • P: The water reminder and hydration app.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, with the Switch 2 launch just around the corner, Federico and John round up the latest Switch 2 news, get excited for a bunch of weird and wonderful upcoming handhelds, and more.

On NPC XL, John walks listeners through the setup process for installing NVIDIA GeForce Now on the Steam Deck, and Federico reveals a new controller and plans to stream from his gaming PC to handhelds when he’s away from home.

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2025 Apple Design Awards Winners and Finalists Announced

As WWDC approaches, Apple has announced the finalists for its annual Apple Design Awards, and in a departure from recent years, the winners too.

This year, there are six categories, and each category has a winning app and game, along with four finalists. Unlike last year, there is no Spatial Computing category this year. The 2025 ADA winners and finalists are:

Delight and Fun

Winners:

Finalists:

Innovation

Winners:

Finalists:

Interaction

Winner:

  • App
    • Taobao by Zhejiang Taobao Network
  • Game

Finalists:

Inclusivity

Winner:

Finalists:

Social Impact

Winners:

  • App
  • Game
    • Neva by Developer Digital

Finalists:

Visuals and Graphics

Winners:

Finalists:

The winners and finalists include a broad range of games and apps, including some from smaller developers including Lumy, Denim Art of Fauna, Skate City: New York, as well as titles from bigger publishers.

I’m glad that Apple has announced the finalists for the last few years. Winning an ADA is a big achievement for any developer, but it’s also nice to know who the finalists are because it’s quite an honor among the many apps that could have been chosen, too. Plus as a fan of apps, Apple’s longer finalist list always reminds me of an app or two that I haven’t tried yet. Congratulations to all of this year’s Apple Design Award winners and finalists.

Stories of Surrender: Elevated Immersion

Apple has released its highly anticipated feature film documentary event Bono: Stories of Surrender, the company’s first dual-format feature film release, available both in a traditional 2D presentation and Apple Immersive Video for Apple Vision Pro on Apple TV+.

Warmly received earlier this month following its traditional format world premiere at The Festival de Cannes, the Andrew Dominik-directed feature serves as a screen adaptation of the U2 frontman’s live stage show, “Stories of Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music, and Some Mischief.” The 1-hour 25-minute film was recorded in 2023 at New York’s Beacon Theatre and presents fans with an intimate show featuring Bono’s most personal anecdotes exploring his early life, musical breakthrough, charity work for poverty and famine relief, family, and faith, interspersing them with a selection of stripped-down musical performances charting some of U2’s greatest hits.

The release marks the latest entry in a storied collaborative history between Apple and Bono through art, technology, commerce, and philanthropy that began with an early public endorsement of Apple’s then-newly launched iTunes Music Store. The relationship then continued with Bono’s close relationship with late Apple founder Steve Jobs, leading to 2004’s limited-edition black and red iPod and, shortly afterward, a philanthropic (PRODUCT) RED partnership aimed at raising aid and awareness for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

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Podcast Rewind: Replacing Dropbox, Little Touches in Media Trackers, and an Immersive Film from Bono

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

The gang goes old school with media apps, Chris and Matt recall tales from their youth, and Niléane reminds everyone how young and hip she is in comparison.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John quits Dropbox, Federico wraps up Friends, and John recommends a pair of movies and a Quentin Tarantino movie deal.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon share their thoughts on the first full-length Apple Immersive film, Bono: Stories of Surrender, and look back on the first season of The Studio.

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EU Sets DMA Compliance Deadline in App Store Anti-Steering Dispute

Last month, the European Commission (EC) fined Apple €500 million for violating the Digital Markets Act. Today, the EC issued its full 67-page ruling on the matter, giving Apple until July 23 to pay the fine or face accruing interest on the penalty.

The ruling focuses on Apple’s anti-steering rules, which were the focus of the contempt order recently entered by a U.S. District Court Judge in California. According to the EC:

Apple has not substantiated any security concerns. Apple simply states that some limitations, such as linking out only to a website that the app developer owns or has responsibility for, are allegedly grounded in security reasons. However, Apple does not explain why the app developer’s website is more secure than a third party website which the app developer has taken the conscious decision to link out to. It also does not explain why this limitation is objectively necessary and proportionate to protect the end user’s security and therefore has not provided any adequate justifications in this regard.

(EC ruling at p. 22). In other words, “the App Store isn’t more secure than the web just because you say it is.”

Apple has until June 22 to bring the App Store into compliance with the EC’s ruling or face additional periodic penalties (EC ruling at p. 67). As we reported in April, Apple has said that it intends to appeal the EC’s ruling.

Podcast Rewind: Wishes for macOS and visionOS, Ticci Has a Surprise, and Robb’s Got Stickers

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John share their WWDC wishes for macOS and visionOS.

On AppStories+, John explores how Apple hardware and software got so out of sync when it comes to AI use cases.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Federico drops a big gaming surprise on John after the two of them cover the latest Switch 2, MSI, and Anbernic handheld news.

This week on NPC XL, a cautionary tale from Federico’s experience installing SteamOS on the Lenovo Legion Go. Plus, Federico wants to know which handhelds will John take with him to WWCC in June.

Ruminate

HMRC have a problem with poppadoms, Robb started a sticker shop, they talk about PS2 emulation, and finally Apple might like gaming again?

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Inoreader – Boost Productivity and Gain Insights with AI-Powered Intelligence Tools

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