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Podcast Rewind: The watchOS 26 Public Beta, Audio Experiments, and an Alien Intervention

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Chris wants to talk about OS 26 (but Liquid Glass is OFF LIMITS), Matt found a slick new security camera, and Niléane challenges the gang to downgrade their audio setups.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John is joined by Jonathan Reed to recap the watchOS 26 public beta and share a trio of comedies old and new, along with Brendon Bigley’s new project and a classic monster movie deal.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon highlight the second season premiere of Apple Original comedy series Platonic and the debut of historical drama Chief of War.

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Apple Expands Its U.S. Manufacturing Commitment

In February, Apple announced plans to invest $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. Today, that commitment was increased to $600 billion. In the company’s press release, Tim Cook said:

Today, we’re proud to increase our investments across the United States to $600 billion over four years and launch our new American Manufacturing Program. This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we’re grateful to the President for his support.

One of the first deals announced is an expansion of Apple’s relationship with Corning to make all cover glass for the iPhone and Apple Watch at a Corning plant in Kentucky. That deal is part of what Apple calls its American Manufacturing Program, in which Coherent, GlobalWafers America (GWA), Applied Materials, Texas Instruments (TI), Samsung, GlobalFoundries, Amkor, and Broadcom will also participate. Apple says the program builds on its deal to buy rare earth magnets from MP Materials, a July 2025 deal that was announced shortly after the unusual sale of $400 million of MP Materials’ preferred stock to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Apple continues to be under a lot of political pressure to make its devices in the U.S., despite its prior financial commitments to make components in America. Another $100 billion over four years is a lot, but I suspect this won’t be enough. Instead, I expect we’ll see more of this type of announcement, given how quickly the first half a trillion was followed by another $100 billion.

Podcast Rewind: Public Beta Thoughts and an AYANEO Extravaganza

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John share their experiences with iPadOS and macOS 26, which are now available as part of Apple’s public beta program.

On AppStories+, Federico and John discuss the state of engagement bait posting about Apple and how it’s affecting the discourse about the company and its products.

This episode is sponsored by:

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Brendon KONKRs AYANEO’s two-day announcement-fest and is joined by John and Federico for diversions into 3DS repairs, the GPD Win 5, Gamescom, and more.

On NPC XL, which was released last week, Brendon, John, and Federico talked about the recent Nintendo Direct and shared a Switch 2 accessory update.

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MacStoriesDeals Returns with Hand-Picked Bargains on Gear and Media

Today, we’re bringing back MacStoriesDeals, an outlet for sharing deals with the MacStories community. You can follow our curated collections of gadget and media deals here:

Long-time readers may remember the MacStoriesDeals Twitter account, which we stopped posting to almost seven years ago. We used that account as a way to share the deals that we came across. Over time, though, Apple slowed its app affiliate spending and then ended it altogether in 2017. That’s when MacStoriesDeals went from a useful resource for readers that also made us a little extra money to a chore we couldn’t justify spending the time on any longer.

However, times change. Today, affiliate linking is bigger than ever, and MacStories’ coverage has grown to encompass more gadget reviews and stories, our Setups page, and other media coverage on MacStories Unwind and NPC: Next Portable Console. Plus, with the latest automation tools at our disposal, we can do more with MacStoriesDeals than we ever did before with less effort, which is why we’re bringing it back.

There are plenty of other social media accounts and websites out there that aggregate deals, but MacStoriesDeals is going to be a little different. As we’ve noted in our Prime Day coverage the past couple of years, we only recommend deals for gear and media we’ve tried and brands we trust. In other words, these aren’t just any deals; they’re deals we think are worth your time and consideration based on over 25 years of collective editorial experience.

The links you’ll find on MacStoriesDeals are affiliate links, usually from the U.S.-based Amazon and Apple storefronts, that will earn us roughly 2-7% when you use one and buy something. Of course, that will be disclosed in the posts, as it already is in the MacStories Privacy Policy. Affiliate link revenue is a small part of MacStories’ annual income, but with the changes the Internet and online media are undergoing, every little bit helps us continue to bring you MacStories’ unique perspective on the Apple universe and beyond. Rest assured, our approach to MacStoriesDeals is the same as it is everywhere at MacStories: we aren’t going to promote deals we don’t believe are worth your time and attention.

We’re excited to be revitalizing MacStoriesDeals. It was a great resource for readers looking for bargains in the early days of the site, and we aim to make it so again. We’re also working on ways to do more for readers with MacStoriesDeals in the months ahead.

Thanks for supporting everything we do at MacStories. We hope MacStoriesDeals adds a little more to the experience and you consider following along with the deals we recommend on Mastodon and Bluesky.

Podcast Rewind: Oasis at Wembley Stadium, Floating Sidebars, and Golf

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Niléane has to let loose on Liquid Glass, Chris runs into the arms of the iPad, and Matt challenges the gang to bring their hottest takes. An episode full of spice!

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico recounts his trip to London to see Oasis play Wembley Stadium, and John recommends the new Fantastic Four movie plus a great deal on a classic comedy.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon preview the public beta of tvOS 26 and recap Apple Original comedy series Stick.

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Apple Reports Q3 2025 Financial Results

Apple’s third-quarter 2025 earnings are out and Apple reported revenue of $94 billion, a 10% year-over-year gain. The diluted earnings per share was $1.57 an 12% year-over-year gain.

Tim Cook had this to say:

Today Apple is proud to report a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in iPhone, Mac and Services and growth around the world, in every geographic segment. At WWDC25, we were excited to introduce a beautiful new software design that extends across all of our platforms, and we announced even more great Apple Intelligence features.

Going into today’s earnings, Reuters reported that the Wall Street consensus was for 4.2% growth in revenue to $89.34 billion, reflecting ongoing concerns over tariffs and the slow rollout of Apple Intelligence features.

Today’s results are substantially better than expected, led by double-digit gains for iPhone, Mac, and Services sales. Apple’s board of directors has authorized a $0.26/share dividend, too.

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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