Posts in news

AppStories, Episode 372 – Apple Vision Pro Entertainment Apps→

This week on AppStories, we share some of our favorite visionOS entertainment apps.

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Vision Pro Entertainment Apps

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On AppStories+, I explain all the little gotchas involved with taking screenshots even if you have the Vision Pro Developer Strap.

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The Fastest Way to Save RSS Articles to A Read-Later App

Skimming through the day's tech headlines in Reeder.

Skimming through the day’s tech headlines in Reeder.

I follow about 180 RSS feeds, and I skim through all of my tech feeds every day, looking for interesting news, angles, opinions, and inspiration. A lot of what I see is repetitive, but I’ve gotten very good over the years at speed-reading snippets of stories and homing in on the interesting ones. Some stories get read right away because they’re time-sensitive in some way. However, I have other things to do besides read the web, so I rely heavily on read-later apps to save many of my finds.

That context is important because although some of what I save is what I’d classify as ‘leisure reading,’ most of it isn’t. It’s information processing, and given my other obligations, speed is important. As a result, what I value most are:

  • The design of my RSS reader
  • The speed with which I can save stories for later
  • Access to my saved articles for anywhere
  • The tools available in my read-later app for organizing everything

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Apple Says a 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs Film is ‘Coming Soon’ to the Vision Pro

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

This morning, I was listening to the latest episode of Dithering, when John Gruber wondered something I’d noticed too. At WWDC and subsequent press demos of the Vision Pro, Apple showed off sports footage, including a sequence from a Boston Red Sox game, but none of that shipped with the device.

However, over the weekend, there was news that the NBA All-Star Game’s slam dunk contest had been filmed in spatial video. John speculated that perhaps Apple would do something similar with other sports but focused on highlights instead of live footage. It looks like that was a good call because today, Apple announced that:

…soon, all Apple Vision Pro users can experience the best of the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs with the first-ever sports film captured in Apple Immersive Video. Viewers will feel every heart-pounding moment in 8K 3D with a 180-degree field of view and Spatial Audio that transports them to each match.

No other details about the upcoming film have been released, but it sounds a lot like what John imagined and the sort of thing that could show off the Vision Pro’s capabilities well. I’m not an MLS fan, but I’ll be checking it out just to get a better sense of what the Vision Pro could offer sports fans.

Apple Launches Free Sports App in the US, UK, and Canada

Today, Apple introduced a new iPhone-only app called Apple Sports. The free app is available to download from the App Store in the US, UK, and Canada, and, as Apple describes it in its press release:

gives sports fans access to real-time scores, stats, and more. Designed for speed and simplicity, the app’s personalized experience puts users’ favorite leagues and teams front and center, featuring an easy-to-use interface designed by Apple.

Apple’s senior vice president of Services, Eddy Cue said:

We created Apple Sports to give sports fans what they want — an app that delivers incredibly fast access to scores and stats. Apple Sports is available for free in the App Store, and makes it easy for users to stay up to date with their favorite teams and leagues.

Go Devils!

Go Devils!

The app includes a long list of leagues that can be tracked by sports fans:

  • MLS
  • NBA
  • NCAA basketball (men’s and women’s)
  • NHL
  • Bundesliga
  • LaLiga
  • Liga MX
  • Ligue 1
  • Premier League
  • Serie A

Apple says others will be added over time as their seasons begin, including MLB, NFL, NCAAF, NWSL, and WNBA.

I’ve taken a quick look at Apple Sports, and the design is great. There’s a lot of information but it’s all easily accessible and laid out in an easy-to-understand way. The app also syncs with the My Teams feature of Apple News and Apple TV, pulling my Duke Blue Devils directly from those apps into the Sports app without me having to do anything, which is nice.

Magic Rays of Light: Constellation, Apple TV’s Report Card, and MLS Season Pass Returns

This week on Magic Rays of Light, Sigmund and Devon highlight new Apple Original space adventure series Constellation, recap Criminal Record, and preview the upcoming season of Major League Soccer on MLS Season Pass.

Show Notes

Send us a voice message all week via iMessage or email to [email protected].

Sigmund Judge | Follow Sigmund on X, Mastodon, or Threads

Devon Dundee | Follow Devon on Mastodon or Threads

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Apple Music Replay Updated with Monthly Listening Statistics

Apple has updated its Replay website with monthly totals for top artists, albums, songs, and milestones, giving Apple Music listeners a reason to visit the site more than once a year. The update bears some similarities to the sort of monthly statistics available from sites like Last.fm, although less detailed.

Here’s what Apple had to say about the new features:

Once logged in [to Apple Music], users can check out their top songs, top albums, top artists, and milestones of the month, every month. They can also listen to their personal top songs chart of the year with their Replay Mix, which updates weekly.

The update extends the existing Replay site’s beautiful, interactive design. Selecting milestones provides additional details about the music you were listening to when you reach each one.

Currently, only January’s statistics are available. The site says February statistics will appear in early March. However, the monthly stats have been added for 2023, too, so you can browse last year’s musical obsessions as you wait for February’s. The deeper year-round statistics are a welcome addition to Replay. I still wish I could access all of this inside the Music app itself, but I love the new level of detail about my listening habits.

MacStories Unwind: Vision Pro Q&A with Club MacStories Members

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This week on MacStories Unwind, we answer questions from Jonathan Reed and Club MacStories members about the Apple Vision Pro live from the Club MacStories Discord audio channel.

  • Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo now.

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Apple Spotlights 12 Spatial Computing Games Available on the Vision Pro along with More Than 250 Other Games That Can Be Played on the Device

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Apple announced that its Arcade game subscription service includes a dozen titles designed for spatial computing, along with over 250 total that are playable on the Apple Vision Pro.

Alex Rofman, Apple’s senior director of Apple Arcade, said in a press release that:

This is just the beginning of a new era in gaming, with players being fully immersed in stunning game worlds and interacting with games in their physical environment in amazing new ways. We’re leading the way in offering players unique spatial games on Apple Arcade that are only possible on Apple Vision Pro, and we’re excited to bring even more magical spatial gaming experiences to our customers soon.

Synth Riders. Source: Apple.

Synth Riders. Source: Apple.

The 12 spatial titles available to Apple Arcade subscribers include:

Alto's Odyssey is coming to the Apple Vision Pro. Source: Apple.

Alto’s Odyssey is coming to the Apple Vision Pro. Source: Apple.

Although it’s a short list of spatial titles compared to the entire Arcade catalog, Apple says more are coming soon, including:

I’ve played a little LEGO Builder’s Journey so far and it’s a lot of fun as a spatial experience, and I’ll be digging into more of these titles for a story on the site soon.

Magic Rays of Light: Usher and The New Look→

This week on Magic Rays of Light, Sigmund and Devon visit post-WWII Paris in style with The New Look, recap Usher’s performance at the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, and catch up on all the latest news in the world of Apple TV.

Show Notes

Send us a voice message all week via iMessage or email to [email protected].

Sigmund Judge | Follow Sigmund on X, Mastodon, or Threads

Devon Dundee | Follow Devon on Mastodon or Threads

View our Apple TV release calendar on the web.

Subscribe to our Apple TV release calendar.

Read more