Podcast Rewind: Review Season Tools and What’s Up with the Switch 2 Dock?

This week, Federico and John reflect on their preparations for the fall review season, how dealing with design changes is different from new features, and some of the tools they’re using for research and writing this year.

On AppStories+, John answers the question, “What if the Stream Deck was $20 and fit in the palm of your hand?”

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Federico, John, and Brendon cover REDMAGIC’s Android tablet, rumors of an Ayn Odin 3, and other news before digging into the mysteries surrounding Nintendo’s Switch 2 dock.

On NPC XL, Federico solves a Switch 2 dock problem with the help of fairies, and Brendon acquires a bucket list handheld.

AppStories, Episode 444, ‘Inside our Summertime Review Toolkits’ Show Notes

Preparing for Review Season

News Explorer

Obsidian

NotebookLM

Copilot

Screenfloat

AppStories+ Post-Show

How One Tiny Gaming Controller Became an Essential Studying Tool - Endless Mode

Anki

8BitDo Micro

8BitDo Ultimate app

NPC, Episode 40, ‘Switch 2 Dock Mysteries’ Show Notes

The Latest Portable Gaming News

Here’s a 1TB MicroSD Express card for Switch 2

REDMAGIC Astra Gaming Tablet has a 165 Hz OLED display, Snapdragon 8 Elite, and up to 24GB RAM

Also, This Tablet is Secretly a Powerful Gaming Console!

AYN Odin 2 Goes Out of Stock; Is the Odin 3 Around the Corner?

Netflix is letting go of some of its best indie games The Verge

A GameCube dock for Switch 2

Nintendo’s Mysterious Switch 2 Dock

How Nintendo locked down the Switch 2’s USB-C port and broke third-party docking

ANTANK S3 MAX TV Dock Station forNintendo Switch 2, aka the SIWIQU for Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Station

Antank teardown on Reddit

We confirmed Nintendo’s Switch 2 TV dock supports VRR — so why doesn’t it work with Switch 2 The Verge

Switch 2 Dock Supports HDMI 2.1

Viture Pro XR glasses

Viture Pro Mobile Dock

NPC XL

Federico’s XREAL One experiments

The Fairy Cabe

Brendon gets a Game Boy Micro

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.

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, and NPC: Next Portable Console 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.