Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, John is joined by Christoper Lawley to discuss uses for a folding iPhone and Parchment, Lawley’s daily agenda app.

On AppStories+, John and Chris dig into audio and video workflows for podcasting and YouTube.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, folding phones and gaming, updates on upcoming handhelds, and GammaOS on the RG Rotate.

On NPC XL, John and Brendon revisit the Playdate via Crankboy.

Comfort Zone

Matt has some pretty good but not perfect Switch 2 controllers. Niléane has a new set of headphones and assures us she doesn’t have a problem. And everyone tries to make the best gaming recommendations for their co-hosts.

On Cozy Zone, the gang has a lively discussion about the new The Mandalorian and Grogu movie.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico returns from the beach, he and John discuss the explosion of classic videogames being ported to the iPhone, iPad, and Android, and they share a couple of Apple TV picks.

AppStories, Episode 497, ‘Folding the iPhone into the Creator Economy’ Show Notes

This episode is sponsored by:

• Inoreader – Build Your Own Newsfeed and Cut Through the Noise
• Shipaton, from RevenueCat – The world’s biggest mobile hackathon for people who actually ship.

The Foldable iPhone

• iPhone Fold: Everything We Know
• Logitech Keys-To-Go 2

Apple and the Creator Economy

• Apple Creator Studio
• Final Cut Pro for iPad
• Final Cut Camera
• Blackmagic Camera
• Pixelmator Pro

Parchment and Other Agenda Apps

• Parchment: Agenda and Daily Note
• Parchment
• Christopher Lawley on YouTube
• Fantastical
• BusyCal
• EventKit
• TestFlight

Automating Email and Support

• Spark
• Introducing Spark CLI: Your Inbox, Now Agent-Ready
• Codex
• Notion

Follow Chris Lawley Online

• YouTube
• Website
• Comfort Zone
• Parchment

AppStories+ Post-Show: Audio and Video Production Workflows

• Logic Pro
• Final Cut Pro
• Hush
• iZotope RX
• Clear
• Unsqueeze
• Detail
• FFmpeg
• Riverside
• Video on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe to AppStories+

Visit AppStories.net to learn more about the extended, high bitrate audio version of AppStories that is delivered early each week and subscribe.

NPC, Episode 92, ‘Can A Folding Phone Replace Your Handheld’ Show Notes

Folding Phones

• Samsung’s Z Fold 8 Ultra is more of the same, but better than ever
• iPhone Fold: Everything We Know

The Latest Portable Gaming News

• Retroid Pocket Nova 8GB model gets $10 price increase effective August 6
• AYANEO KONKR Pocket Advance gets full specs, pricing, and live order page
• Mangmi Air Y and Air Y Pro get pre-order dates and pricing
• MagicX reveals four-variant Mini Dream handheld lineup with OLED display
• GammaOS Nano v1.4 launches for Anbernic RG Rotate as a ground-up micro-OS rebuild

Subscribe to NPC XL

NPC XL is a weekly members-only version of NPC with extra content, available exclusively through our new Patreon for $5/month. Each week on NPC XL, Federico, Brendon, and John record a special segment or deep dive about a particular topic that is released alongside the “regular” NPC episodes. You can subscribe here.

Comfort Zone, Episode 113, ‘I Respect Wood’ Show Notes

Things Discussed

• Mobapad M12S
• FIIO FT1 headphones
• Fields of Mistria
• Mass Effect Legendary Edition
• Town to City
• Euro Truck Simulator 2
• Metal Wolf Chaos XD (video)
• Big Walk
• Hot Wheels Unleashed

Cozy Zone

For even more from the Comfort Zone crew, you can subscribe to Cozy Zone. Cozy Zone is a weekly bonus episode of Comfort Zone where Matt, Niléane, and Chris invite listeners to join them in the Cozy Zone where they’ll cover extra topics, invent wilder challenges and games, and share all their great (and not so great) takes on tech. You can subscribe to Cozy Zone for $5 per month here or $50 per year here.

MacStories Unwind, ‘Coding Agents Revive Classic Games’ Show Notes

AI Assisted Ports and Homebrew Drama

• PC ports of old console games are the new AI vibe coding battleground (PC Gamer)
• AI-Coded Slop, No Thanks: Animal Crossing’s Native PC Port Was Made Using Claude Code (Time Extension)
• A Hollow Victory: 100% AI-Generated Smash Bros. PC Port Comes Under Fire (Time Extension)

Pokémon Gen 1 Recomp

• Gen1Recomp
• This amazing Pokémon Red and Blue voxel mod adds a 3D perspective without an emulator (XDA)

Native iPhone and iPad Ports

• Kahris on GitHub
• HarkinianPad
• SunPad
• SpaghettiPad
• Developer uses AI to bring a native version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to iOS (Tom’s Hardware)

Handheld Setup and Dual Screen Mods

• AYN Thor
• Cocoon
• Minish Cap Dual Screen Mod
• Dual Screen Games for Android Handhelds
• Mcon

Coding Agents and Models

• OpenAI Codex
• Claude Code
• DeepSeek V4 Flash

Picks

• Federico’s Pick: Ted Lasso
• John’s Pick: Silo

Unwind Deal

• The Matrix: Déjà Vu 4 Film Collection for $19.99 in the TV app

MacStories Unwind+

We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free with high bitrate audio every week. To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.

MacStories launched its first podcast in 2017 with AppStories. Since then, the lineup has expanded to include a family of weekly shows that also includes MacStories Unwind, Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, NPC: Next Portable Console, and First, Last, Everything that collectively, cover a broad range of the modern media world from Apple’s streaming service and videogame hardware to apps for a growing audience that appreciates our thoughtful, in-depth approach to media.

If you’re interested in advertising on our shows, you can learn more here or by contacting our Managing Editor, John Voorhees.