After what already feels like a week of CES, it’s the official day one of the conference. There have been a ton of announcements already. As anticipated, gaming is very big this year, with new handhelds, laptops, and other devices announced. Interesting new approaches to hybrid computers, ASUS’s first NUC, and a handful of smart home devices have been announced already, too, so let’s dig into the latest.
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CES 2024: More Gaming, Laptops, Hybrid Computers, NUCs, and Smart Home Devices
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CES 2024: Gaming, Laptops, TVs, AR and VR, Batteries, and a Couple of Oddities
Every year, I dig into the press releases and reporting coming from the CES show floor, so you don’t have to. The pandemic took the wind out of CES’s sails for a few years, but the show and interesting gadgets have made a comeback for 2024, with a wide range of announcements made in the days leading up to the show, which doesn’t even officially start until tomorrow. I’ll be back with more updates throughout the week, but here are some of the announcements that have caught my eye so far.
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Apple Announces Vision Pro Pre-Orders and Availability
Apple has announced that the Vision Pro will be available for pre-order beginning on January 19th at 5 am Pacific time with the device available on Friday, February 2nd at Apple retail stores and its online store.
The Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499 and has 256GB of storage. The device comes with a Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band, a Light Seal, two Light Seal Cushions, a cover from the front of the Vision Pro, a polishing cloth, a battery, a USB-C charging cable and a USB-C power adapter. Also, ZEISS Optical is offering reader inserts for $99 and prescription inserts for $149 that will attach to the Vision Pro magnetically.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said of the device:
The era of spatial computing has arrived. Apple Vision Pro is the most advanced consumer electronics device ever created. Its revolutionary and magical user interface will redefine how we connect, create, and explore.
Today’s Apple Newsroom announcement includes images of the Solo Knit Band, Dual Loop Band, and Light Seal:
As previously announced at WWDC in June 2023, the Apple Vision Pro will be initially available in the US only. Left unanswered by today’s announcement is whether additional storage options will be available and what they will cost. Also left unsaid is how ordering the ZEISS Optical inserts will work.
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MacStories Unwind: The Best Videogame Hardware and Games of 2023
This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and I recap our videogame hardware experiments of 2023 and pick our favorite games of the year.
Hardware Picks
- Asus ROG Ally
- XG Mobile 4090
- OLED Steam Deck
- XREAL Air
- UVC Capture on the iPad
- Orion app
- Ayn Odin 2 Pro
- Daijisho
- HandheldDIY
Game Picks
- Joint Game of the Year
- Other Joint Picks
- Federico’s Other Picks:
- John’s Other Pick:
Backlogs
- Federico
- John
Also mentioned:
GameTrack, an iOS, iPadOS, and Mac game tracking app
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Big-Name Netflix Games Releases, Mac Game Stats from Developers, and Resident Evil 4 and GRID Legends Released in Time for the Holidays
There’s been a lot of gaming activity on Apple platforms, with several big announcements in recent weeks.
First off, Netflix continues to nab some big titles for its growing catalog of games on iOS and iPadOS. In October, it was announced that one of my all-time favorite games, Dead Cells, which won a MacStories Selects award in 2019, would join Netflix Games.
More recently, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which includes GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas, was released simultaneously on iOS and iPadOS as part of Netflix games. According to Kotaku, these Netflix versions of the games, which are also available as separate App Store purchases, have been updated to fix visual glitches and spruce things up a bit, too.
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MacStories Unwind: The Best TV Shows and Movies of 2023
This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and I share our favorite TV shows and movies of 2023 and discuss the return of Europe to Threads.
Sponsored By:
- Television Time – Your Ultimate Companion for tracking your favorite shows, and discovering new ones.
- 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 today!
Threads Returns to Europe
Federico’s TV Picks:
- Suburræterna on Netflix
- Ted Lasso on Apple TV+
- Platonic on Apple TV+
- For All Mankind on Apple TV+
- Also mentioned:
- Media tracking app, Sequel
John’s TV Picks:
- Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+
- Slow Horses on Apple TV+
- Shrinking on Apple TV+
- Silo on Apple TV+
- The Last of Us on Max
- A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu
John’s Movie Picks:
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The MacStories Team Is on Threads (Again)
With Threads’ launch in Europe today, we thought it would be a good time to reintroduce readers to the MacStories Threads account as well as those of the MacStories team.
It’s been quite a year for social media. Almost exactly one year ago today, we announced that MacStories had established its own dedicated Mastodon server for MacStories, AppStories, and Club MacStories. That move has been successful beyond our wildest imaginations. MacStories’ core audience is on Mastodon, which has made it the perfect place to interact with readers and listeners.
However, not everyone is on Mastodon. That’s why we created MacStories Instagram and Threads accounts earlier this year. Federico and I have been on Instagram for years and joined Threads immediately, although it wasn’t long before Meta prevented Federico and other users in the EU from accessing Threads.
Today, Meta has reopened Threads to Europe, which means Federico, Silvia, and Niléane are back on the service along with Alex, Jonathan, and me. So, today, we thought we’d reintroduce the MacStories Threads account to everyone and link the team’s Threads accounts below to make it easy to follow whomever you’d like.
You can expect to hear about the latest stories published by the team on MacStories.net, what’s going on with Club MacStories, and updates on AppStories, MacStories Unwind, and upcoming new projects if you follow MacStories. To follow individual team members, you can use the links below:
We know that Threads isn’t for everyone, and the same is true of Mastodon, which is why we’re on both. So, wherever you’re hanging out these days, feel free to say hello. We love hearing from the MacStories community and are excited to have the full team together on Threads again.
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Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
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Houdah Software’s Apps Join the Club MacStories+ and Club Premier Discount Program
Ever since we expanded Club MacStories in 2021, we’ve added a growing number of top-tier apps to the Club MacStories+ and Club Premier Discount Program. Today, we’re pleased to welcome Houdah Software to the program with HoudahSpot, HoudahGeo, Photos Workbench, and Tembo, which are all 25% off for Club MacStories+ and Premier members who log in and visit the Club Discounts page.
HoudahSpot is a powerful file search utility that makes finding files a snap and keeps those that you use the most close at hand, saving you time over and over every day. HoudahGeo lets you geotag photos by pinning them to the map locations where you took them. Photos Workbench is indispensable for organizing, geotagging, rating, and managing your photos. Finally, Tembo is a search assistant for documents, mail messages, images, videos, and more that groups files by type and includes multiple sorting and filtering options.
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Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
MacStories Unwind: The Best Music of 2023
This week on MacStories Unwind, kick off the first of our annual ‘best of’ Unwind recaps with the best music releases of 2023.
Sponsored By:
- Longplay – Rediscover, enjoy and organize your album collection.
- 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 today!
Links and Show Notes
Federico’s Top 5:
- the record by boygenius
- So Much for Stardust by Fallout Boy
- One More Time by Blink 182
- The Maine by The Maine
- Lobes by We are Scientists
Federico’s Album of the Year
- the record by boygenius
Federico’s Honorable Mentions:
- Guts by Olivia Rodrigo
- This is Why by Paramore
- Certified Depressant by Taylor Acorn
John’s Top 5:
- the record by boygenius
- Be Still My Heart by Babygirl
- One More Time by Blink 182
- Guts by Olivia Rodrigo
- First Two Pages of Frankenstein by The National
John’s Album of the Year
- First Two Pages of Frankenstein by The National
John’s Honorable Mentions:
- My Soft Machine by Arlo Parks
- Good Riddance by Gracie Abrams
- Memento Mori by Depeche Mode
- Knebworth 22 (Live) by Liam Gallagher
- Saviors by Green Day
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Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.