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Apple Releases Behind the Mac: Skywalker Sound

To mark Star Wars Day, Apple released a special Behind the Mac video featuring the sound designers of Skywalker Sound, who rely heavily on Apple devices. The film, which runs just under 17 minutes, is a fascinating look at how the Skywalker Sound team captures and mixes real-world sounds that they transform into otherworldly sound effects for the Star Wars movies and other films.

The Behind the Mac video, which is currently featured on Apple’s homepage, focuses on Skywalker Sound’s production process from start to finish. Behind the scenes, the group’s mixing and editing are backed by a lot of Apple hardware. Sound editor Ryan Frias is featured in the video touring Skywalker Sound’s central machine room, which is filled with racks of Mac Pros. According to Apple’s press release:

With the power of approximately 130 Mac Pro racks, as well as 50 iMac, 50 MacBook Pro, and 50 Mac mini computers running Pro Tools as their main audio application, along with a fleet of iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV devices, Skywalker is advancing sound artistry and reshaping the industry.

That’s a lot of gear, but the video’s primary focus is on the creative process of the professionals at Skywalker Sound, who have been pushing the boundaries of sound design for many years. If you enjoy getting a behind-the-scenes look at creative people doing cutting-edge work, I recommend checking out Behind the Mac: Skywalker Sound.

AppStories, Episode 272 – Gaming on Apple Platforms→

This week on AppStories, we revisit the state of gaming on Apple’s platforms, considering hardware, OS support, services, and the games themselves.

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[Subscribe here.](https://www.macstories.net/podcasts/appstories/plans)

Subscribe here.

On AppStories+, we highlight some of the late-beta-cycle Shortcuts bugs we’ve encountered and consider the tenuousness of Twitter’s existence.

We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.

To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

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Last Week, on Club MacStories: Accessories, a Text to Files Shortcut, MacStories Unplugged, and Interviews with Shortcuts Contest Judges

Because Club MacStories now encompasses more than just newsletters, we’ve created a guide to the past week’s happenings along with a look at what’s coming up next:

MacStories Weekly: Issue 318

Monthly Log: April 2022

This month, we interviewed three of our Automation April Shortcuts Contest judges:

Each judge shared lessons they’ve learned from the hundreds of submissions we’ve received, and shared a recent automation that made a difference to their dailly lives.

MacStories Unwind: VGC Guide and The Batman

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico recommends VGC Guide for anyone interested in learning about competitive Pokémon, and John shares The Batman, the latest reboot of the caped crusader series.

Kolide – Endpoint security for teams that Slack. Try Kolide for 14 days free; no credit card required.

Federico’s Pick:

John’s Pick:

Apple Q2 2022 Results - $97.28 Billion of Revenue

Apple has just published its financial results for Q2 2022. The company posted revenue of $97.28 billion. Apple CEO Tim Cook said:

“This quarter’s record results are a testament to Apple’s relentless focus on innovation and our ability to create the best products and services in the world,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are delighted to see the strong customer response to our new products, as well as the progress we’re making to become carbon neutral across our supply chain and our products by 2030. We are committed, as ever, to being a force for good in the world — both in what we create and what we leave behind.”

Expectations for Q2 2022

Apple didn’t provide guidance for Q2 2022, but going into today’s earnings call, Yahoo Finance reported the following analyst expectations::

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is currently pegged at $94.79 billion, indicating growth of 5.82% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Graphical Visualization

After the break, we’ve compiled a graphical visualization of Apple’s Q2 2022 financial results.

Read more

Apple Unveils Its Self Service Repair Program

In a press release, Apple announced that Self Service Repair is now available in the US, with more countries being added later this year, beginning in Europe.

According to Apple:

The new online store offers more than 200 individual parts and tools, enabling customers who are experienced with the complexities of repairing electronic devices to complete repairs on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups and iPhone SE (3rd generation), such as the display, battery, and camera. Later this year the program will also include manuals, parts, and tools to perform repairs on Mac computers with Apple silicon.

Manuals for iPhone repairs.

Manuals for iPhone repairs.

Apple's Self Service Repair Store.

Apple’s Self Service Repair Store.

Manuals for repairs will be available at support.apple.com/self-service-repair. Parts for repairs can then be purchased at Apple’s Self Service Repair Store. Both the parts and the tools available in the Self Service Repair Store are the same ones used by Apple’s repair network, according to the company. Tool kits can be rented for one-week periods for $49 with free shipping too.

It’s good to see this program, which was announced last fall, launch. The products are limited for now, but more iPhones are sold than any other Apple product, so it makes sense to start with it and expand from there.

Last Week, on Club MacStories: A Shortcuts Workshop, an Email Utility, Giveaways, and a Shortcut for Bundling Other Shortcuts

Because Club MacStories now encompasses more than just newsletters, we’ve created a guide to the past week’s happenings along with a look at what’s coming up next:

Automation April: Shortcuts Workshop Part 2

Last Tuesday, Federico and I were joined by Timery developer Joe Hribar for a special Automation April Shortcuts Workshop Town Hall in the Club MacStories+ Discord community to talk about magic and declared Shortcuts variables, action parameters and how Timery makes use of them, automation triggers, and our hope that Apple will allow third-party apps to act as shortcut triggers in the future.

Last week’s conversation was recorded and released in the Club Town Hall podcast feed.

MacStories Weekly: Issue 317

Triage 2

Triage 2

In Issue 317 of MacStories Weekly:

Up Next

Later this week, we’ll have more app giveaways in our Discord community and MacStories Weekly, we’ll publish the Monthly Log newsletter, and an all-new episode of MacStories Unplugged, our Club-only podcast will be released.

Apple’s 2022 Environmental Progress Report and a Tour of Daisy, the iPhone Recycling Robot

Yesterday, Apple released its 2022 Environmental Progress Report, detailing the progress the company has made in how much of the materials in its products are recycled. According to Apple’s press release, nearly 20% of the material in its products are recycled, and it more than doubled the use of recycled tungsten, rare earth elements, and cobalt.

To celebrate Earth Day, which is Friday, April 22nd, Apple also announced tie-ins in its Maps and App Store apps, as part of its Fitness+ and Apple Pay services, and at retail stores. In addition, the company is featuring Earth Day editorial content in Apple News, Apple Books, Apple Podcasts, and the Apple TV app, along with an interactive augmented reality experience on Snapchat to learn about Daisy, the company’s recycling robot.

Another way to learn about Daisy the robot is in this guided tour by Sara Dietschy, who was given access to Apple’s Texas Material Recovery Lab, where the robot can disassemble up to 1.2 million iPhones per year:

Having followed the Apple’s original robot Liam, and now Daisy, over the past several years, it was fascinating to get an up-close look at how Daisy works.