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Podcast Rewind: Shark Tank for Tech Accessories, the Best Shows and Films of 2025 So Far, and an Anti-Pick

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Chris has some cool new apps, Matt made some cool new apps, and Niléane challenges the dads to do their best Shark Tank impression.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico’s return to Apple system apps has ended, and new workflow experiments have begun. Plus, John shares a dark comedy, and Federico has an anti-pick.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon return to the world of Foundation for its third season and share their favorite films and shows from the first half of 2025. Then, they recap the first season on Apple Original sci-fi comedy series Murderbot.

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Podcast Rewind: Apple Project Wishcasting and a Thunderbolt 5 eGPU

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John share a grab bag of projects we’d like to see Apple pursue from software to hardware and corporate acquisitions.

On AppStories+, Federico and John take their wish list further with a bunch of gadgets they’d like to see Apple make.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Notion – Try the powerful, easy-to-use Notion AI today.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week on NPC, lots of follow-up about microSD Express cards, the Switch 2 Dock, XR glasses, and the dbrand Killswitch – plus, Retroid’s second screen accessory, Windows handhelds, a new eGPU, and more.

On NPC XL, John automates his Mac with the 8BitDo Micro, Brendon finally finds a Switch 2 Pro Controller, and Federico acquires a cozy PC controller.

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Cyberpunk 2077 for Mac Arrives Thursday

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

Last fall, alongside the announcement of the M4 MacBook Pro, Apple and CD PROJEKT RED said that Cyberpunk 2077 was coming to the Mac in early 2025. But when WWDC rolled around last month with no more news about when the game would come to the Mac, I thought it might slip to the fall when macOS Tahoe is expected to be released with Metal 4 and other game-friendly features.

So it was a pleasant surprise to find out that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, which includes the Phantom Liberty DLC, will be out this Thursday on the Mac App Store, as well as on GOG.com, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. Cyberpunk, a notoriously demanding game when it comes to system resources, will run on any Apple silicon Mac with 16GB of memory that is running macOS Sequoia (or the Tahoe developer beta).

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

To support every 16GB Apple silicon Mac since the M1 MacBook Air, Cyberpunk relies on the latest Metal technologies, including Tile-Based Deferred Rendering and tools like Metal’s C++ interface and the Metal Shader Converter, to optimize for Apple GPUs. The game also takes advantage of Apple’s MetalFX Upscaling.

CD PROJEKT RED has gone all out with other compatibility features to make its game feel at home on the Mac, too, including:

  • “For This Mac” graphics presets that are optimized for the Apple silicon hardware running the game, which promises to take the guess work out of configuring graphics settings;
  • AMD FSR upscaling and frame generation optimized for Apple silicon Macs;
  • Support for Spatial Audio and head tracking for those playing with AirPods;
  • HDR support that is dynamically optimized for Apple’s XDR displays and HDR output for calibrated external displays;
  • Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and controller support; and
  • Cross-progression across all platforms.

In the fall, Apple says Cyberpunk will get a boost from the videogame technologies announced at WWDC 2025. Those include MetalFX Frame Interpolation to increase and stabilize frame rates, which Apple says will allow the game to hit 120 fps using the game’s Ultra settings when combined with MetalFX Upscaling. Cyberpunk will utilize MetalFX Frame Denoising to clean up the noise produced by its path-tracing renderer, too.

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

Source: CD PROJEKT RED.

I’m looking forward to trying Cyberpunk on the Mac. I already own it on Steam and have played it on the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch 2, both of which should be excellent points of comparison to the wide range of Macs that Apple says will run Cyberpunk 2077.

The Mac version of Cyberpunk 2077 will debut this Thursday, July 17. There is no additional charge for the Mac version if you already purchased the game from one of the stores that offers it. Alternatively, you can purchase the game from the Mac App Store, where Cyberpunk 2077 is making its debut.

Two-Day Indie App Sales Event Begins Today with Over 250 Apps

Matt Corey has once again gathered indie developers to organize a huge sale today and tomorrow. Corey, the maker of Bills to Budget and Signals, has organized a collection of over 250 apps that will be offered at a discount through Wednesday. The list is too long to publish here, but it includes many apps we’ve covered here on MacStories and on Club MacStories in the past, including:

There are a lot of great deals, with many apps discounted 50% or more. What’s listed above is a small fraction of the participating apps, so be sure to visit Indie App Sales and support these great indie apps.

Web Advocates Challenge Apple’s EU Browser Policies→

The EU’s Digital Markets Act requires Apple to allow third parties to offer web browsers with their own browser engines. However, more than a year later, there are no browsers built with Chromium, Gecko, or any other engine in the EU.

At a recent EU workshop on Apple’s compliance with the DMA’s browser requirements, Apple representatives were asked some pointed questions by Open Web Advocacy (OWA), and others about its browser engine policies. OWA, a non-profit that advocates for the open web, raised multiple issues with Apple’s approach to browser engines in the EU that they believe are holding back third-party engines.

One issue is that versions of the same browser with different engines can’t be part of the same app bundle. According to OWA, that effectively means vendors like Google and Mozilla would need to release a new EU-only version of their browsers, starting the process of acquiring users from scratch, which I can’t imagine any browser company would sign up to do voluntarily.

Another issue OWA raised is that there is currently no way for web developers outside the EU who are not associated with the browser makers to obtain browsers with competing engines for testing purposes. That’s a problem that’s been solved with other apps by allowing test versions to be distributed outside the EU. However, as things stand today, OWA says that web developers couldn’t use EU-only browsers for testing even if there were any available.

Other issues were raised, too, but these two strike me as practical impediments to third-party browser engines that can and should be resolved. Apple’s responses to OWA’s challenges focused on privacy and security, which are legitimate factors to consider, but it’s disappointing that more than a year after the DMA took effect, the practical problems raised by OWA and others still haven’t been solved.

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Podcast Rewind: An F1 Challenge and Setup Changes

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Everyone explains their gaming setups, Niléane went to war with her computer, and Matt is very impressed with how everyone integrated F1 into their workflows.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico and John discuss the updates to their work and play tech gear setups.

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Podcast Rewind: Review Season Tools and What’s Up with the Switch 2 Dock?

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John reflect on their preparations for the fall review season, how dealing with design changes is different from new features, and some of the tools they’re using for research and writing this year.

On AppStories+, John answers the question, “What if the Stream Deck was $20 and fit in the palm of your hand?”

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Federico, John, and Brendon cover REDMAGIC’s Android tablet, rumors of an Ayn Odin 3, and other news before digging into the mysteries surrounding Nintendo’s Switch 2 dock.

On NPC XL, Federico solves a Switch 2 dock problem with the help of fairies, and Brendon acquires a bucket list handheld.

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Apple Names Sabih Khan COO as Jeff Williams Plans Retirement

Apple announced today that later this month, Sabih Khan is taking over for Jeff Williams as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. According to Apple’s press release, Williams will continue to oversee the company’s design team, Apple Watch, and health initiatives. Later this year, Williams plans to retire, at which point Apple’s design team will report directly to Tim Cook.

Cook had this to say of Williams:

Jeff and I have worked alongside each other for as long as I can remember, and Apple wouldn’t be what it is without him. He’s helped to create one of the most respected global supply chains in the world; launched Apple Watch and overseen its development; architected Apple’s health strategy; and led our world class team of designers with great wisdom, heart, and dedication. I am and will always be beyond grateful for his numerous contributions to Apple over the years and his loyal friendship. Jeff’s true legacy can be seen in the amazing team he’s created and, while he’ll be greatly missed, he leaves the work of the future in incredible hands.

Of Khan, Cook said:

Sabih is a brilliant strategist who has been one of the central architects of Apple’s supply chain. While overseeing Apple’s supply chain, he has helped pioneer new technologies in advanced manufacturing, overseen the expansion of Apple’s manufacturing footprint in the United States, and helped ensure that Apple can be nimble in response to global challenges. He has advanced our ambitious efforts in environmental sustainability, helping reduce Apple’s carbon footprint by more than 60 percent. Above all, Sabih leads with his heart and his values, and I know he will make an exceptional chief operating officer.

Khan isn’t someone who is probably familiar with a lot of readers, but he’s worked alongside Williams throughout his tenure at Apple. Williams said of Khan:

I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Sabih for 27 years and I think he’s the most talented operations executive on the planet. I have tremendous confidence in Apple’s future under his leadership in this role.”

I’ve always enjoyed Jeff Williams’ Apple Watch and health initiative presentations, which he’s delivered with a relaxed confidence for years. Apple’s press release doesn’t say who will lead its Apple Watch program or health initiatives, but I’m sure we’ll hear more on that front later this year.

MacStories Setups Update: Fresh Approaches, Wi-Fi Upgrades, and Handhelds→

Our setups.

Our setups.

It’s time for another update to the MacStories Setups page, where you’ll find all the gear and apps that Federico and I use for work and play. With Prime Day upon us, it’s a great time to revisit our setups and see what’s on sale. Plus, there’s a handy changelog at the top of the page for those of you who are only interested in what’s new. If you want to hear more about what drove the latest changes to our setups, we’ll be discussing them in more detail on this week’s episode of MacStories Unwind, too.

Federico's PC accessories.

Federico’s PC accessories.

It’s been a little while since we last heard from Federico about his setup, which took a recent turn with the developer beta of iPadOS 26. The iPad Pro is back at the center of Federico’s workflow, but he’s been able to keep everything as streamlined as ever with the help of his ASUS ROG PG27UCDM monitor that features a built-in KVM switch. That display lets him easily switch between the iPad, an M4 Max Mac Studio, his custom-built gaming PC, and the Nintendo Switch 2. When he’s not at his work and gaming monitor, Federico has the latest Viture Pro XR glasses that serve as a USB-C connected external display.

One highlight of both of our setup updates is the TP-Link WiFi 7 Deco BE85 routers. Federico got a two-pack, and I have a three-pack, thanks to my three-story condo. Home Wi-Fi 7 mesh networks are still on the expensive side, but they are much faster than Wi-Fi 6 and 6E in my experience, and the models that Federico and I each installed earlier this year are discounted during Prime Day.

My 11" iPad Pro and GL.iNet portable Wi-Fi 7 router.

My 11” iPad Pro and GL.iNet portable Wi-Fi 7 router.

My setup has been simplified a bit with my latest update. I’m carrying a smaller tomtoc bag when I’m away from home (which I’ve been loving), I upgraded my travel router to Wi-Fi 7 with the GL.iNet GL-BE3600 (Slate 7) Portable Travel Router, and I’m a big fan of the compact elegance of the MOFT Invisible Laptop Stand that I reviewed earlier this year.

At my desk, I swapped a Belkin AirPlay 2 receiver for the more powerful Arylic LP10 AirPlay 2 Wireless Music Streamer, which drives my Harmon Kardon SoundSticks III speakers. I also replaced a pair of broken podcasting headphones with the inexpensive but very comfortable CCZ Yinyoo Melody In Ear Monitors. And I recently started using the Kensington SD5000T5 Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station to expand my Mac Studio’s peripheral options.

Finally, you’ll notice I’ve trimmed down my handheld console setup. There’s still a lot there, but I’ve been focused on flip-style handhelds and picking a favorite of each form factor instead of jumping endlessly from one handheld to the next. With this update, the big additions are the Retroid Pocket Flip 2 and the Miyoo Flip.

Both of us have added other apps and gear, too, so be sure to browse through the Setups page to find the complete listing of our current setups.

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