Posts in news

Apple Recreated the App Store on the Web with No Way to Download or Buy Apps

Today, Apple launched a web version of the App Store, with a twist. I’ll admit that this wasn’t on my “things Apple will do this fall” bingo card. I’ve wondered since the earliest days of the App Store why there wasn’t a web version and concluded long ago that it just wasn’t something Apple wanted to do. But here we are, so let’s take a look.

You’ll find the new web-based App Store at apps.apple.com, where you’ll be greeted by a sort of amalgam of the App Stores on each of Apple’s platforms. Along the left sidebar, you’ll find the same Today, Games, Apps, and Arcade tabs found in the native App Stores. This is where Categories reside, too. One big difference is that in the top-left corner, you’ll see what store you’re viewing, which defaults to the iPhone even if you’re on a different device. Click the drop-down label, and you can switch to another storefront.

Stray is $29.99, but you'll need to open the Mac App Store app to buy it.

Stray is $29.99, but you’ll need to open the Mac App Store app to buy it.

An even bigger difference from the native App Stores is that you can’t buy anything on the web. That’s right: there’s no way to log into your Apple account to download or buy anything. It’s a browse-only experience.

The site looks great and is a fully responsive replica of the native App Store apps in just about every way, but in place of the usual ‘Get’ or ‘Buy’ buttons, there’s a ‘View’ button, which is replaced by a ‘Share’ button when you go to an app’s dedicated page. I really don’t get it. At least on the Mac, there’s a button to open an app in the Mac App Store, but the same isn’t true on the iPhone and iPad.

The website is a great amalgamation of the native App Stores, but it's not really a store if you can't download or buy anything.

The website is a great amalgamation of the native App Stores, but it’s not really a store if you can’t download or buy anything.

Sure, you can always share an app to yourself on a device where you can buy it. But shouldn’t the point of a web store be to allow you to make purchases when you’re not on an Apple device or, for example, to buy a Mac app on your iPhone and have it waiting for you when you return to your Mac? I’ve literally checked the site multiple times because I can’t believe Apple built a storefront but left out the commerce part.

Look, the website is very nice and does a great job replicating the UI of the App Store, just like the web versions of Music, Maps, and iCloud do. I just wish I could buy something.

Podcast Rewind: Gaming Highs and Lows, Clicking with Notion, and an Apple TV+ Rebrand

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Niléane is experiencing the lowest lows with gaming, but Chris is full of joy. Meanwhile, the gang’s attempts to use local LLMs ranges from similar low lows to joy as well.

In the Cozy Zone, Niléane challenges the dads to a wild mini game of Internet football (⚽ football, not 🏈 football).

MacStories Unwind

This week, John explains why Notion is finally working for him, after which he and Federico share new Apple TV series and videogame picks. Plus, two Unwind deal picks.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon discuss Apple TV+ rebranding as Apple TV, Apple’s exclusive deal with F1 in the U.S., and the possibility of Apple buying Warner Bros. Discovery.

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Apple Reports Q4 2025 Revenue of $102.5 Billion

Today, Apple announced its 2025 Q4 earnings, posting quarterly revenue of $102.5 billion, an 8% increase over the same quarter last year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook had this to say of the results:

Today, Apple is very proud to report a September quarter revenue record of $102.5 billion, including a September quarter revenue record for iPhone and an all-time revenue record for Services. In September, we were thrilled to launch our best iPhone lineup ever, including iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone Air. In addition, we launched the fantastic AirPods Pro 3 and the all-new Apple Watch lineup. When combined with the recently announced MacBook Pro and iPad Pro with the powerhouse M5 chip, we are excited to be sharing our most extraordinary lineup of products as we head into the holiday season.

As CFO Kevan Parekh noted in Apple’s press release, fiscal 2025 was a record year for revenue, coming in at $416 billion, which also represented a double-digit increase in earnings per share. Apple’s board of directors also approved a $0.26/share dividend for shareholders of record as of November 10, 2025, which will be paid on November 13.

The results beat analyst expectations, and the outlook for the company looks good with Cook telling CNBC that earnings in the next quarter should grow 10-12% over the same quarter the year prior. Cook attributed the growth outlook to the iPhone 17 line of mobile phones.

Here’s the breakdown of earnings by category versus estimates, according to CNBC:

  • iPhone revenue: $49.03 billion vs. $50.19 billion estimated  
  • Mac revenue: $8.73 billion vs. $8.59 billion estimated  
  • iPad revenue: $6.95 billion vs. $6.98 billion estimated  
  • Other Products revenue: $9.01 billion vs. $8.49 billion estimated  
  • Services revenue: $28.75 billion vs. $28.17 billion estimated

According to CNBC, Apple’s gross margin exceeded expectations at 47.2%, too.

Despite multiple challenges from tariffs to antitrust suits to regulation, the continued popularity of the iPhone continues to drive Apple’s success. With the iPhone 17 line only available for a short part of the end of Q4 2025, it will be interesting to see if it continues to drive Q1 2026 earnings and whether Apple releases any new products that add to its earnings momentum.

Coming Soon: What’s Next on Apple TV in November

There is a variety of new content coming to Apple TV+ this month, and this is your handy guide to all of it, including trailers and calendar links you can use to be sure you don’t miss their premieres.

Pluribus (November 7)

Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, is back with a highly anticipated series set in the future. The nine-episode premiere season stars Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka, an author who seems to be immune to a virus that causes everyone else to be endlessly optimistic.

Two episodes will drop on day one, with the remaining seven coming weekly on Thursdays. By all appearances, Apple seems confident that the show will be a success because it has already ordered as second season.

Add to your Calendar:

Palm Royale, Season 2 (November 12)

Emmy award-winning comedy Palm Royale returns for a second season set in 1969 Palm Beach. Kristen Wiig stars as Maxine Dellacorte who strives to climb the social ladder of the local country club after a fall from grace. Along the way, Maxine discovers secrets, lies, and crimes in this star-packed comedy that also includes Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Ricky Martin, Carol Burnett, Josh Lucas, and Leslie Bibb.

Add to your Calendar:

Come See Me in the Good Light (November 14)

Come See Me in the Good Light is a documentary that tells the story of poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley following Gibson’s diagnosis of terminal cancer. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year where it reviewed well and won the event’s Festival Favorite Award.

Add to your Calendar:

The Family Plan 2 (November 21)

Mark Wahlberg is back as Dan, a retired assassin living the dad life. In this holiday season sequel, Dan takes his family to London, where his best-laid plans collide with a mysterious stranger. The action-packed movie spins into a wild chase across Europe, thwarting what was supposed to be a relaxing family vacation.

Add to your Calendar:

WondLa (November 26)

The animated series WondLa kicks off its third and final season with war breaking out between humans and aliens on the planet Orbona. Eva’s mission is to retrieve the Heart of the Forest, which has been stolen, by forming alliances to protect her world.

Add to your Calendar:

Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age (November 26)

The latest installment of Prehistoric Planet, which is executive produced by Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton. Narrated by Tom Hiddleston and scored by Hans Zimmer, Anže Rozman, and Kara Talve for BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit, the third season of the docu-series includes five episodes that explore the ice age.

Add to your Calendar:

That’s up for now. Also, if you’re not listening to MacStories Unwind, please give it a try. I’m sure you’ll hear more about some of these shows and movies from me and Federico in the coming weeks as they debut.

Podcast Rewind: The M5 iPad Pro, AYN Thor First Impressions, and an Interview with Brendon Bigley

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John consider whether Apple made the case for running local LLMs and gaming on the M5 iPad Pro and discusss who should consider buying it.

On AppStories+, we explain how Claude Skills work and why they are one of Anthropic’s most exciting features in a while.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, a Retroid tease, the Miyoo Mini Flip goes on sale, and John is the first of the gang to get the Ayn Thor.

This week on NPC XL, the crew shares their experiences using GameHub.

First, Last, Everything

This episode’s guest, Brendon Bigley, is, in his words, extremely online. He helped build the podcasting platform Anchor, which was acquired by Spotify in 2019, and he worked for Marvel, overseeing its presence on YouTube and other platforms. But what most people know him for is his opinions and passion for gaming and tech in general. He co-hosts the gaming podcasts Into the Aether and NPC, and he blogs and publishes videos under the Wavelengths banner.

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Podcast Rewind: Phone Reviews and Daily Notes

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Matt reviews basically every phone of 2025, Chris has Apple silicon Christmas in October, and the whole gang gets creative on their phones.

In the Cozy Zone, the gang discusses everything in their travel bags.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John asks Federico to explain how he uses Daily Notes in Notion, after which they discuss the AI browsers and why they are so disappointing.

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Sky Acquired by OpenAI

Source: OpenAI

Source: OpenAI

Sky, the AI automation app that Federico previewed for MacStories readers in May, has been acquired by OpenAI.

Nick Turley, OpenAI’s Vice President & Head of ChatGPT said of the deal in an OpenAI press release:

We’re building a future where ChatGPT doesn’t just respond to your prompts, it helps you get things done. Sky’s deep integration with the Mac accelerates our vision of bringing AI directly into the tools people use every day.

I’m not surprised by this development at all. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity have all been developing features similar to what Sky could do for a while now. In addition, Sam Altman was an investor in Software Applications Incorporated, the company behind Sky.

Ari Weinstein of Software Applications Incorporated, who was one of the co-founders of Workflow, which was later acquired by Apple and became Shortcuts, said of the acquisition:

We’ve always wanted computers to be more empowering, customizable, and intuitive. With LLMs, we can finally put the pieces together. That’s why we built Sky, an AI experience that floats over your desktop to help you think and create. We’re thrilled to join OpenAI to bring that vision to hundreds of millions of people.

It’s not entirely clear what will become of Sky at this point. OpenAI’s press release simply states that the company will be working on integrating Sky’s capabilities.

Claude Adds Screenshot and Voice Shortcuts to Its Mac App

Claude's new in-context screenshot tool.

Claude’s new in-context screenshot tool.

Anthropic introduced a couple of new features in its Claude Mac app today that lower the friction of working with the chatbot.

First, after giving screenshot and accessibility permissions to Claude, you can double tap the Option button to activate the app’s chat field as an overlay at the bottom of your screen. The shortcut simultaneously triggers crosshairs for dragging out a rectangle on your Mac’s screen. Once you do, the app takes a screenshot and the chat field moves to the side of the area you selected with the screenshot attached. Type your query, and it and the screenshot are sent together to Claude, switching you to Claude and kicking off your request automatically.

Instead of double-tapping the Option key, you can also set the keyboard shortcut to Option + Space, or a custom key combination. That’s nice because not all automation systems support two modifier keys as a shortcut. For example, Logitech’s Creative Console cannot record a double tap of the Option button as a shortcut.

Sending your query and screenshot takes you back to the Claude app for your response.

Sending your query and screenshot takes you back to the Claude app for your response.

I send a lot of screenshots to Claude, especially when I’m debugging scripts. This new shortcut will greatly accelerate that process simply by switching me back to Claude for my answer. It’s a small thing, but I expect it will add up over time.

My only complaint is that the experience has been inconsistent across my Macs. On my M1 Max Mac Studio with 64GB of memory, it takes 3-5 seconds for Claude to attach the screenshot to its chat field whereas on the M4 Max MacBook Pro I’ve been testing, the process is almost instant. The MacBook Pro is a much faster Mac than my Mac Studio, but I was surprised at the difference since it occurs at the screenshot phase of the interaction. My guess is that another app or system process is interfering with Claude.

Am I talking to the Claude chatbot or lighting my Dock on fire.

Am I talking to the Claude chatbot or lighting my Dock on fire.

The other new feature of Claude is that you can set the Caps Lock button to trigger voice input. Once you trigger voice input, an orange cloud appears at the bottom of your screen indicating that your microphone is active. The visual is a little over-the-top, but the feature is handy. Tap the Caps Lock button again to finish the recording, which is then transcribed into a Claude chat field at the bottom of your screen. Just hit return to upload your query, and you’re switched back to the Claude app for a response.

One of the greatest strengths of modern AI chatbots is their multi-modality. What Anthropic has done with these new Claude features is made two of those modes – images and audio – a little bit easier, which gets you from input to a response a little faster, which I appreciate. I highly recommend giving both features a try.

Podcast Rewind: What’s Next for Apple Intelligence, Budget Android Handhelds, and an Interview with Joe Rosensteel

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John discuss what might be next for Apple Intelligence and how it fits into the broader AI market.

On AppStories+, Federico and John cover the fallout from the Sora app and why AI can’t replace human creativity.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Claude: Get 50% off Claude Pro, including access to Claude Code.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Steam Deck, Switch 2, and Vision Pro accessory follow-up, Thunderbolt 5 eGPUs, Android handhelds break into the budget category, and the ROG Xbox Ally X is a bust.

On NPC XL, Apple’s M5 chip promise gaming advances on the iPad, but can it deliver?

First, Last, Everything

On this episode, we’re joined by Joe Rosensteel. Joe is a VFX artist who’s worked on big-name Hollywood productions as well as smaller commercial projects. He’s a writer on his own blog and for the Six Colors website, and he also has a podcast with Dan Sturm called Defocused.

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