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.

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Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

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Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

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App Debuts

By John Voorhees

Obsidian Web Clipper Obsidian Web Clipper is flat out the best web clipper I’ve ever used thanks largely to its Defuddle parser, an open-source project that I highly recommend playing around with. The latest update to the web clipper switches to the Defuddle Markdown converter, adds YouTube transcripts to the content and new transcript variables,...

Podcast Rewind: GameHub for the Mac, a Pokémon FireRed Challenge, and Emily in Rome

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, John, Federico, and Brendon cover the news that GameSir is bringing GameHub to the Mac and chat about the ASUS’s special edition ROG Flow Z13.

Then on NPC XL, John tests the Virtual Boy accessory for the Switch 2, Federico follows up on his Android emulation experiments, and Brendon has been optimizing the Ayn Thor.

Comfort Zone

Matt demands we roast his Home Screen, Niléane drops some knowledge on SSDs, and (almost) everyone has fun with Pokémon.

On Cozy Zone, we played Geoguesser, and it has a better ending than we could have even scripted.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John explains the web app he built for covering Apple announcements, plus Emily winds up in Rome while John tends to his Pokémon.

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Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

The Surprising Longevity of the M1

By Devon Dundee

You’ve heard it said before: Apple devices last longer than products from other tech companies. Both in terms of their reliability and their software support, iPhones, iPads, Macs, and the like have a reputation for their longevity, and it’s well earned. A quick glance at the Hardware Reliability graph on the Apple in 2025 Report...

Podcast Rewind: Running Out of RAM, Tech Confessions, and Italian Movie Dubs

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Brendon, Federico, and John tackle the RAM shortage and its effect on the handheld industry before digging into Cocoon 2.0, an excellent Android front-end for your emulators.

Then on NPC XL, Federico brings an Android emulation surprise to the show.

Comfort Zone

Chris has a Mac-related confession to make, Matt has to admit something about his Apple Watch, and Niléane is like, “Boys, I don’t think you can even handle taking your phones off silent.” (She was not wrong.)

On Cozy Zone, we roast home screens again, and this time there aren’t any hidden codes… we think.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John and Federico debate physical versus digital media and the Italian art of dubbing movies.

Join

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Podcast Rewind: A Handheld Heavyweight, a Creative Studio Challenge, and Foveated F1

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Brendon, Federico, and John cover a raft of new budget handhelds, a new OLED tablet from Lenovo, TrimUI leaks, and more.

On NPC XL, John and Brendon share their experiments with the MagicX Zero 40 and Anbernic RG DS.

Comfort Zone

Chris wants to know what the heck is going on with Discord. Niléane has a massive backlog of things to talk about now that she’s back. And everybody does their best with Apple’s Creator Studio.

On Cozy Zone, the gang discusses what they’d do if they couldn’t use Apple products anymore. We are releasing this just days after ATP did the exact same thing, but we swear we recorded this a couple weeks ago!

MacStories Unwind

This week, John has an F1 racing theory about the Vision Pro and shares a vampire movie, while Federico has been binging a popular Netflix series.

Join

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Podcast Rewind: Handheld Gaming Truths, Just a Little Formula 1, and a Hulu Hack

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, a quick tour of Nintendo’s latest Direct, more details emerge about the Virtual Boy Switch 2 accessory, the Steam Machine and other hardware is delayed, Anbernic goes out on a limb, AYANEO steps on a rake, and the Odin 2 rides off into the sunset.

On NPC XL, Federico is choosing between Switch 2 controllers, and Brendon receives an unexpected gift.

Comfort Zone

Matt wants to do an AI check-in, Chris serves a master class on getting started with 3D printing, and Niléane is away, so the dads talk a little Formula 1… just a little.

On Cozy Zone, Chris gets a brand glow up!

MacStories Unwind

This week, Super Bowl traditions, Federico’s very hungry plumber, some High Potential follow-up, and the latest season of Shrinking.

Join

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Google Releases YouTube App for Apple Vision Pro

By Devon Dundee

Today, Google released the official YouTube app for visionOS. The app allows users to sign in to view their subscriptions, watch later queues, and playlists, and it supports native playback of regular videos, shorts, and spatial formats including 3D, 180-degree, and 360-degree. On the M5 Vision Pro, the app supports playback of 8K videos as well.

The Vision Pro launched two years ago without an official way to watch YouTube. Third-party options like Tubular Pro and the now-defunct Juno filled the gap well, and users have always been able to watch YouTube in a browser on visionOS. (Apple even made improvements to web video playback in visionOS 2 to make using sites like YouTube and Netflix more seamless.) But the lack of a native app from Google has been seen as a mark against visionOS up to this point.

Whether you’re a Vision Pro user who spends a lot of time watching YouTube or just someone who wants to see the platform thrive, having an official solution is a win. One of the device’s most compelling use cases is watching video, and now, there’s a great way to do so directly from Google. It’s always seemed inevitable to me that YouTube would come to the platform at some point, and as visionOS continues its slow burn toward maturity while awaiting hardware that can run it with more mass market appeal, it’s good to have YouTube onboard.

Now, it’s Netflix’s turn.

Join

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Podcast Rewind: Weird Nintendo Nostalgia, Reviving Old Tech, and Parking in Rome

By Devon Dundee

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Federico, Brendon, and John tackle a load of weird news from playing Game Boy games on e-readers and ordering pizza from a Wii in 2026 to the upcoming Virtual Boy Switch 2 accessory.

On NPC XL, the guys chat about whether we’re approaching the endgame for handheld consoles and wonder why no one has made much of a move to adapt their handhelds for the living room.

Comfort Zone

Matt wants to talk about his (quick) notes, Niléane brings 3(!) topics, and everyone brings old(?) tech back from the dead.

On Cozy Zone, we tier listed Star Wars. All of it. Yes, even that one. If there was ever a time to give Cozy Zone a shot, it’s now.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John survived a bomb cyclone, Federico explains the fine art of parking in Rome, and John rounds out the episode with a reality TV show from Korea along with an Unwind deal you’ll find in the show notes.

Join

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.