New Year, New Audio Setup: SoundSource 6 from Rogue Amoeba
This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico shares his thoughts on the Valve Steam Deck and John recommends a movie double feature of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Dune.
Federico’s Pick
John’s Picks
Alto’s Adventure has long been one of my favorite iOS games. Originally released in 2015, the game has been updated over the years with features like zen mode and released on multiple platforms. Today, a remastered version known as Alto’s Adventure: Spirit of the Mountain is available exclusively on Apple Arcade.
New collectible artifacts are scattered throughout Alto’s Adventure and unlock a new playable character.
If you have played Alto’s Adventure on iOS before, your existing progress can be imported into the remastered version, which features new ways to enjoy the game. The core gameplay mechanics of Alto’s Adventure, which were such a big part of its success, remain unchanged. The new version allows players to unlock a brand new character with unique abilities and tricks by collecting artifacts as you play. Once the new character is unlocked, players can set out to accomplish 20 new goals accompanied by a new soundtrack.
Alto’s Adventure is a game that I enjoy revisiting periodically, so I really didn’t need an excuse to play it again. Still, it’s great to have a chance to replay this classic game with the added perk of a new character and goals to explore.
Alto’s Adventure: Spirit of the Mountain is available on the App Store as part of an Apple Arcade subscription.
Today, in a post on the Apple Podcasts for Creators webpage, Apple announced an expansion of the podcast analytics it offers, which podcasters can sign up to use at Apple Podcasts Connect.
Apple is adding a new metric called Followers, the term Apple uses to describe listeners who subscribe to a free podcast. The company already provides analytics that track listener numbers, engagement, and plays. Still, Followers could give podcasters who are considering offering a paid subscription version of their podcast an idea of its potential audience. The new statistic will be available next month from the Analytics tab of Podcasts Connect and can be viewed over 60 days, a week, a month, or all time.
Apple will also provide a chart showing the total time a show has been listened to for a chosen period and what percentage of those listeners are followers of the show. A graph of a show’s followers over time and the gains or declines in followers will be available in the Trends tab too.
Until now, subscription-based podcasts had to be uploaded as WAV or FLAC files and processed on Apple’s end before being available for subscribers. Podcasters can now upload MP3 versions of their shows instead, which is a welcome change. We offer a subscription version of AppStories on Apple Podcasts. Although producing a WAV version of each episode isn’t a burden, uploading such a large file and waiting for it to process on Apple’s servers has been one of the few points of friction in the process, so I’m glad that has been eliminated.
If you offer subscriber podcasts through Apple Podcasts, Apple has also added new customization options for the subscription banners in the Apple Podcasts app. Finally, for podcasters who want help getting a podcast and subscription set up, the Apple Podcasts team is available to provide direct assistance.
It’s nice to see Apple continue to evolve its subscription offerings. I don’t pay much attention to metrics, but I know for some podcasters, they are crucial for attracting advertising. Still, over longer periods, analytics like those Apple will offer next month should make it easier to spot audience and listening trends, even if it is only from the Apple Podcasts slice of a show’s audience.
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:
The next A.V. Club Town Hall will take place in Discord for Club MacStories+ and Club Premier members next Tuesday, March 22nd at 1:30 PM Eastern US time. See the Discord Announcements channel for details.
This month, we’ll be discussing the Apple TV+ series, The Afterparty.
This week, Federico surprises John with two new and unexpected tech purchases.
The reviews are out for the Mac Studio and Studio Display and a lot has been written about both. I’ve pulled some of the most interesting tidbits from the reviews, but if you’re considering buying a Mac Studio or Studio Display, be sure to read all of these reviews because they offer a wide range of perspectives on the kind of uses for which Apple’s new hardware is best.
Because Club MacStories now encompasses more than just newsletters, we’ve created guide to the past week’s happenings along with a look at what’s coming up next:
Visit plus.club to learn more about Club MacStories.
This week, Federico updates us on the latest software changes to the Xbox Series X|S and recommends A.P. Bio, a TV comedy from Peacock and John discovers his favorite album of 2022 so far: House by Shout Out Louds.
Follow-Up
Federico’s Pick:
John’s Pick:
Today, Apple covered a lot of ground quickly, and as usual, more details have emerged in the aftermath of the event. We’ve been combing apple.com, Twitter, and other sources to learn more about its new services, iPhones, iPads, Mac Studio, and Studio Display, which we’ve collected below:
