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Stories of Surrender: Elevated Immersion

Apple has released its highly anticipated feature film documentary event Bono: Stories of Surrender, the company’s first dual-format feature film release, available both in a traditional 2D presentation and Apple Immersive Video for Apple Vision Pro on Apple TV+.

Warmly received earlier this month following its traditional format world premiere at The Festival de Cannes, the Andrew Dominik-directed feature serves as a screen adaptation of the U2 frontman’s live stage show, “Stories of Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music, and Some Mischief.” The 1-hour 25-minute film was recorded in 2023 at New York’s Beacon Theatre and presents fans with an intimate show featuring Bono’s most personal anecdotes exploring his early life, musical breakthrough, charity work for poverty and famine relief, family, and faith, interspersing them with a selection of stripped-down musical performances charting some of U2’s greatest hits.

The release marks the latest entry in a storied collaborative history between Apple and Bono through art, technology, commerce, and philanthropy that began with an early public endorsement of Apple’s then-newly launched iTunes Music Store. The relationship then continued with Bono’s close relationship with late Apple founder Steve Jobs, leading to 2004’s limited-edition black and red iPod and, shortly afterward, a philanthropic (PRODUCT) RED partnership aimed at raising aid and awareness for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

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Podcast Rewind: Replacing Dropbox, Little Touches in Media Trackers, and an Immersive Film from Bono

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

The gang goes old school with media apps, Chris and Matt recall tales from their youth, and Niléane reminds everyone how young and hip she is in comparison.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John quits Dropbox, Federico wraps up Friends, and John recommends a pair of movies and a Quentin Tarantino movie deal.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon share their thoughts on the first full-length Apple Immersive film, Bono: Stories of Surrender, and look back on the first season of The Studio.

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EU Sets DMA Compliance Deadline in App Store Anti-Steering Dispute

Last month, the European Commission (EC) fined Apple €500 million for violating the Digital Markets Act. Today, the EC issued its full 67-page ruling on the matter, giving Apple until July 23 to pay the fine or face accruing interest on the penalty.

The ruling focuses on Apple’s anti-steering rules, which were the focus of the contempt order recently entered by a U.S. District Court Judge in California. According to the EC:

Apple has not substantiated any security concerns. Apple simply states that some limitations, such as linking out only to a website that the app developer owns or has responsibility for, are allegedly grounded in security reasons. However, Apple does not explain why the app developer’s website is more secure than a third party website which the app developer has taken the conscious decision to link out to. It also does not explain why this limitation is objectively necessary and proportionate to protect the end user’s security and therefore has not provided any adequate justifications in this regard.

(EC ruling at p. 22). In other words, “the App Store isn’t more secure than the web just because you say it is.”

Apple has until June 22 to bring the App Store into compliance with the EC’s ruling or face additional periodic penalties (EC ruling at p. 67). As we reported in April, Apple has said that it intends to appeal the EC’s ruling.

Podcast Rewind: Wishes for macOS and visionOS, Ticci Has a Surprise, and Robb’s Got Stickers

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John share their WWDC wishes for macOS and visionOS.

On AppStories+, John explores how Apple hardware and software got so out of sync when it comes to AI use cases.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Federico drops a big gaming surprise on John after the two of them cover the latest Switch 2, MSI, and Anbernic handheld news.

This week on NPC XL, a cautionary tale from Federico’s experience installing SteamOS on the Lenovo Legion Go. Plus, Federico wants to know which handhelds will John take with him to WWCC in June.

Ruminate

HMRC have a problem with poppadoms, Robb started a sticker shop, they talk about PS2 emulation, and finally Apple might like gaming again?

This episode is sponsored by:

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Apple Acquires Indie Videogame Studio RAC7 and Is Rumored to Be Working on a Dedicated Games App

Source: RAC7.

Source: RAC7.

Giovanni Colantonio of Digital Trends broke the story today that Apple has acquired RAC7, the two-person game studio responsible for the hit Apple Arcade game Sneaky Sasquatch.

On the one hand, this news isn’t that surprising. Sneaky Sasquatch was a launch title for Apple Arcade when it debuted in 2019, and it has been highlighted in several keynotes in the years since. As Colantonio notes in his story, Apple Arcade Senior Director Alex Rofman specifically called out Sneaky Sasquatch as an Apple Arcade success in a 2024 interview with Digital Trends.

On the other hand, however, this is Apple’s first known game studio acquisition and a very small indie studio acquisition at that. Out of context, that seemed like an odd acquisition. However, not long after Digital Trends broke the acquisition news, Mark Gurman reported for Bloomberg that Apple will unveil a dedicated Games app, which lines up with a previous report by 9to5Mac. Not much is known about the rumored app at this point, but it certainly puts the RAC7 acquisition in a different light. I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear news of other indie studios joining Apple in the coming months.

Podcast Rewind: A Dock-Free Experiment, WWDC Reunion Plans, and an International Treasure Hunt

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Chris brings some new apps, Matt defends himself for another hardware purchase, and Niléane’s no-dock challenge has brutal results. Then, Matt and Niléane really let Chris down with his end-of-show question. Like really, really let down.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Inoreader – Boost Productivity and Gain Insights with AI-Powered Intelligence Tools

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico and John share the news that they’ll be at WWDC together for the first time since 2023. Then, Federico recommends Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, an RPG that has taken a lot of gamers by surprise, and John is into Duster, a new JJ Abrams TV show set in the ‘70s. All that, plus a Raiders of the Lost Ark deal.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Inoreader – Boost Productivity and Gain Insights with AI-Powered Intelligence Tools

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon highlight Apple Original film Fountain of Youth from Guy Ritchie, break down the new features of CarPlay Ultra, and revisit feature documentary Deaf President Now! upon its streaming release.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Inoreader – Boost Productivity and Gain Insights with AI-Powered Intelligence Tools

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Mozilla Is Shutting Down Pocket

Today, Mozilla announced in a support document that it will soon end development of Pocket, its read-later app that’s been around since the early days of the App Store:

We’ve made the difficult decision to shut down Pocket on July 8, 2025. Thank you for being part of our journey over the years—we’re proud of the impact Pocket has had for our users and communities.

I never like to see an app that people rely on go, but I’m not surprised that Mozilla has pulled its support for Pocket either. The app evolved rapidly in the early days when it was called Read It Later and competing fiercely with Instapaper. But that rivalry burned itself out years ago, and after Mozilla purchased Pocket, it seemed adrift.

My Pocket queue is a read-later time capsule.

My Pocket queue is a read-later time capsule.

Recently, Mozilla laid off 30% of its workforce and Pocket faced new competition from the likes of Matter and Readwise Reader, which entered the fray with new ideas about what a read-later app could be. As I wrote in my first review of Matter:

Apps like Instapaper and Read It Later, which became Pocket, pioneered saving web articles for later. The original iPhone ran on AT&T’s EDGE mobile network in the U.S. and coverage was spotty. Read-later apps saved stripped-down versions of articles from the web that could be downloaded quickly and read offline when EDGE was unavailable. The need to save content offline because of slow and unreliable mobile networks is far less pressing today, but collecting links and time-shifting reading remains popular.

Today, read-later apps like Readwise are more focused on research, integrating with note-taking systems, and leveraging AI. There’s still a place for simpler solutions such as GoodLinks, which is one of my personal favorites, but given the existential threat Mozilla currently faces, ending Pocket was probably the right choice.

Podcast Rewind: Handheld Rumors and Airbnb Executives on the App’s Redesign

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John interview Airbnb Vice President of Product Marketing, Jud Coplan, and Vice President of Design, Teo Connor.

On AppStories+, Federico explores running LLMs locally on an M3 Ultra Mac Studio.

This episode is sponsored by:

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NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Federico and John round up the many new Switch 2 details that have emerged as launch day draws near. Plus, they share two new and interesting handheld rumors from Anbernic and Miyoo and more.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Inoreader – Boost Productivity and Gain Insights with AI-Powered Intelligence Tools

On NPC XL, Federico shares tablet gaming recommendations with John, reevaluates whether he’s hung up on specs, and looks at what Lenovo is doing to integrate its tablets with two all-new controllers.

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Hands-On with Sound Therapy on Apple Music

I’ve always been envious of people who can listen to music while they work. For whatever reason, music-listening activates a part of my brain that pulls me away from the task at hand. My mind really wants to focus on the lyrics, the style, the mix – all distractions from whatever it is I’m currently trying to do. It just doesn’t work for me.

But under the right circumstances and with the right kind of music, you can create an environment that is conducive to focus. At least, that’s the idea behind Apple’s recent collaboration with Universal Music Group. It’s called Sound Therapy, a research-based collection of songs meant to promote not only focus, but also relaxation and even healthy sleep.

The effort comes out of UMG’s Sollos venture, a group of scientists and music professionals focused on the relationship between music and wellness. Founded in 2023, the London-based incubator has used its findings to put together a library of music that, as Apple says, “harnesses the power of sound waves, psychoacoustics, and cognitive science to help listeners relax or focus the mind.”

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