Podcast Rewind: AI Fragmentation, Joy-Con Alternatives, Pitching Vivaldi, and an Interview with Riley Testut

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John look at the confusing array of tools and naming conventions used by Anthropic and OpenAI.

On AppStories+, John explains how he automated two unautomatable Mac apps.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, the confusing state of Switch 2 Joy-Con replacements, more on emulating PC games on Android, and we place our bets on the future of Valve’s Steam Machine.

This week on NPC XL, we follow up on last week’s discussion of the death of Xbox with its reincarnation as Project Helix.

First, Last, Everything

Jonathan is joined by Riley Testut, an iOS developer best known for building the Delta game emulator and AltStore, expanding how apps can be distributed and enjoyed outside of Apple’s App Store.

Comfort Zone

A budget laptop is the hot tech product of 2026, and the whole gang has thoughts. Then, everyone evangelizes Vivaldi with varying levels of success.

On Cozy Zone, Chris and Matt teach Niléane the real rules of the road right before her driver’s test. They’re pretty sure it was a lot of help.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John argues that it’s time to bring Xcode to the iPad and iPhone before he and Federico share a hardware and TV pick for the weekend. Plus, a quirky movie pick for your weekend unwind.

Podcast Rewind: Federico’s MacBook Neo, the Sony PC Withdrawal, iPod Touch Nostalgia, Complimenting Password Managers, and More

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John discuss Apple’s latest hardware announcements.

Then on AppStories+, Federico explains Notion Agents and Workers and how he’s using them.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, more bad memory and storage news, followed by a conversation about Bloomberg’s report that Sony is withdrawing from the PC gaming market and a wild Lenovo handheld.

Then on NPC XL, John asks the question: did handhelds kill the Xbox?

This time, Jonathan is joined by Becca Farsace. Becca is an Emmy and Webby award-winning tech creator. She was formerly the senior video producer at The Verge before going solo in 2024, primarily via her self-titled YouTube channel, where she aims to “take tech outside.”

Comfort Zone

Niléane is replacing Discord with Slack, Chris has the new iPad Air in hand, and everyone found something nice to say about password managers.

On Cozy Zone, we tier-list app icons, and opinions are stronger than anticipated. (Probably should have seen it coming.)

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico shares his hands-on impressions of the MacBook Neo, John whips up an iPhone app when Shortcuts fails, and they both have media picks and an Unwind deal to start the weekend off right.

Podcast Rewind: Building Personalized Software, Steam Machine Pricing Rumors, Matt Podcasts Solo, and Ted Danson

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John complete their tour of holiday projects with a look at the tools both of them built with the help of Claude Code, Codex, and other tools.

On AppStories+, John pushes Claude Code by building a Safari web extension that integrates with Notion.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, rumors swirl about the Steam Machine’s pricing, AYANEO pauses to collect itself, and GameSir’s Pocket Taco goes live – plus, the lack of foldable phone controllers and our first videogames.

On NPC XL, Federico, John, and Brendon share what they do when they’re not obsessing over handheld consoles.

Comfort Zone

Matt’s on his own for this one, as Chris and Niléane managed to both get sick at the same time. Fear not; we get to rant and rave about the latest “Xbox”!

On Cozy Zone, we roast each other’s backpacks. One’s all black, one’s full of color, and the other is just a mess.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John shrugs off a once-in-a-decade winter storm and watches a great movie, while Federico has a returning comedy series to share.

Podcast Rewind: Holiday Break Projects, CES Gaming Announcements, MagSafe Accessories, and Clawdbot

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John are back from their holiday break, which included so many hardware and automation projects that this is part one of a two-part episode regarding Federico’s networked music automation setup and John’s new research tool.

On AppStories+, Federico shares his foldable phone experiments.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, a whirlwind tour of the handheld news from CES 2026, Switch 2 grips, AR glasses, new chips from AMD, the OneXSugar Wallet, and more.

On NPC XL, John got his MCON controller, Federico’s still waiting for his, and Brendon checks in after more than a month with his.

Comfort Zone

Niléane battles the modern era of smart mice, Chris has a new way of keeping up with everything everywhere all at once, and the whole gang battles it out with the best dang MagSafe accessories you’ve ever seen.

On this week’s Cozy Zone, we roast listeners’ home screens again! This one has, bar none, the weirdest home screen we’ve ever seen, and we might be cursed now.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico unpacks Clawdbot, a Claude-based personal assistant, and recommends an Apple TV movie, while John revisits an old favorite on the Nintendo Switch.

Podcast Rewind: Apps in 2026 and The Best Handhelds of the Year

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John look ahead to 2026 and what it will mean for apps, smarter Siri, and more.

On AppStories+, Federico and John update listeners on their latest app experiments and holiday hardware projects.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Brendon, Federico, and John pick their top handheld consoles of 2025.

On NPC XL, Federico, John, and Brendon share their HOTY Honorable Mentions and trends they expect for 2026.

Podcast Rewind: The 2025 MacStories Selects Awards, John’s Journey into Bazzite, Techy Clothes Shopping, and The Best Music of the Year

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John reveal the winners of the 2025 MacStories Selects Awards, which celebrate the exceptional design, innovation, and creativity of apps across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.

On AppStories+, John has some Apple Music discovery tips for Federico, and they reveal the iPhone features they don’t use.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, handhelds are shipping for the holidays, AYANEO makes a bold bet on a phone, a new Strix Halo tablet one-ups the ASUS ROG Flow Z13, and John dips a toe in the Bazzite waters.

On NPC XL, Federico jumps into the Bazzite mini PC world, while Brendon is revisiting the iPod on handheld consoles.

Comfort Zone

Chris reflects on a big year of changes, Matt has turned his garage into a mini-factory, and the gang buys clothes, but in a techy way.

On Cozy Zone, we draft fonts…for real this time!

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico and John close out the year by sharing their favorite music of 2025.

Podcast Rewind: Vibe Coded Tools, Reading the Steam Tea Leaves, New Keyboard Layouts, and the Best Videogames of the Year

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John explain how they go about creating personal productivity tools with the assistance of AI and walk through some of what they have created.

On AppStories+, we talk about our Black Friday tech purchases.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, AYANEO goes big – very, very big – and we read the tea leaves from Sean Hollister’s interview of Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais.

Then on NPC XL, no one could resist Black Friday, so everyone wound up with a new PC.

Comfort Zone

Chris is making a bunch of changes going into 2026, Niléane has another snazzy audio app update, and everyone navigates the pain of trying to use a new keyboard layout.

In the Cozy Zone, the gang drafted fonts. As you can image, strong opinions were felt.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico and John share their favorite videogames of 2025.

Podcast Rewind: Apps with Liquid Glass and SteamOS Plans

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John dig into some of their favorite apps that have adopted Apple’s Liquid Glass design language.

On AppStories+, it’s John’s 10th anniversary at MacStories, so he and Federico look back at the last decade.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, the Retroid G2 and Anbernic DS look like duds, the Xbox full-screen experience for PCs is out to more users, and John flirts with the idea of a mini PC for SteamOS.

On NPC XL, Federico rearranges his living room and plans a SteamOS-ready living room gaming setup.

Podcast Rewind: App Evolution, Odin 3 Emulation, Window Management, and TV Affiliates

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John explore current changes to the world of apps through the lens of its past evolution.

On AppStories+, we build “money’s no object” holiday wish lists for ourselves.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Brendon, Federico, and John catch up on a grab bag of news before diving deeper into the Ayn Odin 3’s emulation and streaming potential, the possibility that the rumored TrimUI Smart Pro S could become the default budget recommendation for horizontal handhelds, and the 11” 3D Abxylute 3D One.

Then on NPC XL, John and Federico are tempted to build their own Steam Machines, while Brendon went ahead and did it already by converting his Windows Mini PC.

Comfort Zone

It’s the window management episode! Chris has even more iPad news, and AeroSpace nearly tears the gang apart.

This week’s Cozy Zone is an Apple accessory tier list, and dear listener, the knives come out.

MacStories Unwind

This week, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Federico is curious about American TV and has a TV pick, while John follows up on a couple of TV shows and other media he’s looking forward to in the coming weeks.

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