2025-05-17 03:16:26
Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
Matt’s phone is folding more than usual, Niléane has blown up her window management system again, and the whole gang learns about themselves in the challenge.
This week, Federico quizzes John about Airbnb’s media event and how it compares to an Apple event, and John shares a superhero TV show and TV deal.
Sigmund and Devon highlight the premiere of sci-fi series Murderbot, discuss the potential impact of U.S. tariffs on international film productions, and catch up on tons of Apple Original trailers.
This week, Federico quizzes John about Airbnb’s media event and how it compares to an Apple event, and John shares a superhero TV show and TV deal.
Also available on YouTube here.
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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, Ruminate, 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.
If you’re interested in advertising on our shows, you can learn more here or by contacting our Managing Editor, John Voorhees.
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 every MacStories fan.
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.
Join Now2025-05-15 21:07:28
Image: Apple.
Almost three years ago, Apple offered a sneak peek at an elaborate new version of CarPlay that spread beyond the rectangle of most car infotainment systems to occupy the instrument cluster space in front of front seat passengers. As I said at the time:
It will be interesting to see how widespread the adoption of the features Apple demoed will be. The company listed 14 automakers like Land Rover, Mercedes, Porsche, Nissan, Volvo, Honda, and Ford that they are working with, but it remains to be seen which models will adopt the new CarPlay and how quickly.
Originally set to launch in 2024, Apple announced today that what is now called CarPlay Ultra is available for new Aston Martin orders in the U.S. and Canada and soon as a software update to Aston Martins with the carmaker’s “next-generation infotainment system.” Apple says Aston Martin support in other countries will follow over the next 12 months.
Image: Apple.
The difference between standard CarPlay and the Ultra flavor is that the new version takes over a driver’s entire dashboard and extends beyond traditional CarPlay features to vehicle-specific data and controls. As Apple describes it:
CarPlay Ultra provides content for all the driver’s screens, including the instrument cluster, with dynamic and beautiful options for the speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, and more, bringing a consistent look and feel to the entire driving experience. Drivers can choose to show information from their iPhone, like maps and media, along with information that comes from the car, such as advanced driver assistance systems and tire pressure, right in the instrument cluster.
Drivers can also use onscreen controls, physical buttons, or Siri to manage both standard vehicle functions like the car’s radio and climate, as well as advanced, vehicle-specific features and controls like audio system configurations or performance settings, right from CarPlay, giving them a more fluid and seamless experience. CarPlay Ultra also introduces widgets powered by iPhone that perfectly fit the car’s screen or gauge cluster to provide information at a glance.
Although CarPlay Ultra looks great, one car maker is a far cry from the 14 automakers listed on a slide at WWDC in 2022. That’s not surprising given pushback from automakers like GM, which announced in 2023 that it was ending CarPlay and Android Auto support for its EVs, and resistance from the likes of Tesla and Rivian to add CarPlay in the first place. However, Apple clearly oversold what would become CarPlay Ultra in 2022 in a way that in hindsight now feels a lot like Apple Intelligence’s enhanced Siri demo at last summer’s WWDC.
Still, I’m glad to see CarPlay Ultra emerge from the labs, even if it’s in a car that few people can afford. Auto tech inevitably trickles down to ordinary cars, and I’m sure CarPlay Ultra will, too, although I expect it will be quite a while until then.
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 every MacStories fan.
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.
Join Now2025-05-15 19:38:32
Image: Apple.
Yesterday, Apple announced a couple of new features that are now available in the Maps app.
The first is a new label that’s been added to restaurants and hotels in the U.S., which have been awarded MICHELIN distinctions. According to Apple’s press release:
Users can now view and search for MICHELIN-starred, Green Star, and Bib Gourmand restaurants — along with MICHELIN Key hotels — starting in the U.S., with support for additional regions coming in the future.
The new MICHELIN integration also allows users to filter based on MICHELIN ratings and make restaurant reservations and book hotels through the MICHELIN Guide app. Apple says additional rankings and guides will be available soon from The Infatuation and Golf Digest, with more sources coming later. You’ll also be able to book tee times on golf courses using Supreme Golf.
Monaco.
For F1 fans, Apple has given Monaco the a special Detailed City Experience that’s designed for people attending Formula 1 TAG Heuer Grand Prix de Monaco 2025 as well as fans following along from home.
On its UK press site, Apple announced that:
The new Detailed City Experience features custom-designed 3D Monégasque landmarks of iconic locations, including Casino de Monte-Carlo, Fairmont Monte Carlo, Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Yacht Club de Monaco, and the F1 Paddock Club. Dark mode gives users an evening view of Monaco in a moonlit glow that activates at dusk.
The Detailed City Experience also features amazing details for road markings, land cover, trees, and public transit routes, as well as helpful navigation details like turn lanes, medians, bus and bike lanes, and pedestrian crossings. It also features a windshield view for drivers, which shows a road-level view as a user approaches complex interchanges, making it easier to see upcoming traffic conditions or the best lane for an approaching exit.
Apple has also added a lot of race-specific details, highlighting the course, landmark turns, as well as 3D representations of stands, cars, and more. Famous F1 courses have been added as a Maps Guide to promote Apple’s upcoming F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, too.
I appreciate the growing catalog of original curated content accessible through Maps. Travel planning on the web is a messy process, but with guides and well-regarded editorial content embedded directly in Maps, it’s often much easier to find a restaurant, hotel, or activity that sifting through an endless list of Google Search links.
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 every MacStories fan.
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.
Join Now2025-05-15 18:18:42
Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
This week, Federico and John interview Apple’s VP of Developer Relations, Education, and Enterprise, Susan Prescott, along with Amy Key and Omar Firdaus, Distinguished Swift Student Challenge Winners. Then, they also share their 2025 wishes for watchOS and tvOS.
This episode is sponsored by:
Play – Save and Organize Videos to Watch Later. New subscribers can use the code MACSTORIES2025for 50% off their first year of Play Premium.
This week, Nintendo is back to its litigous ways, Backbone has a new controller, the Anbernic RG34XXSP is real, and not one but two ASUS Rog Ally 2s leak in FCC filings.
This week on NPC XL, I update listeners on my Xbox streaming tests and experience with Nintendo Virtual Game Cards before Federico and I discuss the sale of Polygon and what it means for online media.
Robb had a family Ruminate moment, I have some new buttons, and we both talk about some upcoming games.
This week, Federico and John interviewed Apple VP of Developer Relations, Education, and Enterprise, Susan Prescott along with Distinguished Swift Student Challenge Winners Amy Key and Omar Firhaus.
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, Ruminate, 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.
If you’re interested in advertising on our shows, you can learn more here or by contacting our Managing Editor, John Voorhees.
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 every MacStories fan.
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.
Join Now2025-05-14 02:31:12
Image: Airbnb.
I’m in Los Angeles for Airbnb’s 2025 Summer Release, where the company just announced a major expansion to its offerings, paired with an entirely redesigned app. It’s an ambitious update that I’ll be trying and covering more soon, but for now, let’s dig into an overview of what’s been announced.
Services. Image: Airbnb.
In addition to its bread-and-butter home booking business, the company is adding Airbnb Services and a reimagined Airbnb Experiences product. Services, which can be booked whether or not you’ve booked an Airbnb stay, include the kinds of things that make staying in a home more like a hotel or resort. The feature is launching with 10 categories in 260 cities worldwide:
In its press release, Airbnb says that Services hosts have an average of 10 years of experience in their fields and are fully vetted by the company to ensure quality, proper licensing, certifications, insurance, and more. Regarding Services, Airbnb’s co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said:
People choose hotels for their services. People choose Airbnbs for the space. Now, we’re giving you the best of both worlds—amazing homes with services that make them even more special.
I love the idea of staying in a unique home but not having to worry about grocery shopping and preparing my own meals while I’m on vacation. I’d love to hire a photographer who I knew had been vetted for occasions, too.
Experiences. Image: Airbnb.
Airbnb has also reimagined Experiences, pairing users with locals who can be their guides in 650 cities around the world. The company’s nineteen different categories of Experiences offer a wide variety of activities, including:
Like Services, Experiences are vetted by Airbnb for quality.
Several years ago, I visited Rome with my family. We hired a travel agent who specialized in Italian trips to arrange food tours and other small group experiences. It was wonderful, but we were lucky to find someone with a lot of experience who could do that for us. What’s exciting about Airbnb Experiences is that it makes that sort of expertise readily available directly from the app, thanks to the company’s vetting process.
Airbnb Originals, like a day golfing with Patrick Mahomes. Image: Airbnb.
Select cities are now offering Airbnb Originals, too, which are designed exclusively for Airbnb. For example, you can:
Learn pastry-making at the renowned French Bastards bakery with chef Raphaelle Elbaz, or play beach volleyball with Olympian Carol Solberg on Rio’s iconic Leblon Beach. Some Originals are even hosted by global celebrities. Transform into your anime alter-ego with Megan Thee Stallion in her Otaku Hottie Quest, step inside the Short n’ Sweet set with Sabrina Carpenter for a day of glam, dancing, and espresso, or spend a Sunday with Patrick Mahomes, learning how to throw the perfect spiral and enjoying Kansas City barbecue.
Experiences will also include a social component that is coming later this year to allow users to see who is attending Experiences before they book, message other guests during activities, and stay in touch with them afterwards.
That’s a lot of functionality to add to an app that, until today, simply handled stays in homes. As a result, Airbnb has rebuilt its app from the ground up. I’ll be spending more time with it in the coming days, but I’ve seen a demo, and it’s impressive.
The Trips tab. Image: Airbnb.
From finding a place to stay to booking Services and Experiences, each feature is fully integrated, allowing you to arrange everything based on your destination and schedule. Once you start assembling your trip, Airbnb’s app keeps track of it all in a simple, consistent interface that helps you stay organized. Instead of a jumble of confirmation emails, everything is just a couple of taps away.
When I first saw what Airbnb has done with Services, Experiences, and its new app, it immediately struck me as a natural extension of everything that came before it. So many of the homes it offers worldwide are already unique experiences in their own right. With Services and Experiences, the company promises to bring the same sort of focus to even more aspects of travel. I love the idea of what Airbnb has shown off today and can’t wait to experience it myself.
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 every MacStories fan.
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.
Join Now2025-05-13 20:03:55
Source: Apple.
With Global Accessibility Awareness Day coming up this Thursday, May 15, Apple is back with its annual preview of accessibility features coming to its platforms later in the year. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of the first office within Apple to address accessibility, and there’s no sign of any slowdown in the company’s development on this front. While no official release date has been announced for these features, they usually arrive with the new OS updates in the fall.
In addition to a new accessibility-focused feature in the App Store, Apple announced a whole raft of system-level features. Let’s take a look.
Launched in December 2020, the App Store’s Privacy Nutrition Labels are part of an app’s listing that inform users what sort of private information is obtained and used by the app. Now, Apple is expanding this approach into accessibility, launching worldwide.
In the same way developers create Privacy Nutrition Labels, they can also create labels showing the accessibility features supported by their apps. Features such as VoiceOver, Reduce Motion, captions, and more can be listed, making it easier for those with accessibility needs to choose the right app for them. Developers can also place links to their own accessibility websites in this section.
As with Privacy Nutrition Labels, the information displayed in Accessibility Nutrition Labels is chosen by app developers. However, Apple says it will continue monitoring this feature going forward to ensure it works as intended.
Source: Apple.
Apple’s Magnifier app on the iPhone offers a way to zoom in on objects around you, make text clearer, and identify the distance to objects like doors and people. Later this year, Apple will bring Magnifier to the Mac with some more tricks up its sleeve.
By connecting your iPhone to your Mac with Continuity Camera, or by using a USB-compatible camera, your Mac can take images and allow you to manipulate them in ways that make them easier to see. In one provided example, a student in a lecture attached a camera to their MacBook Air using a mount and pointed the camera at the whiteboard. Then, using the Magnifier app, they snapped some pictures of diagrams and notes, adjusted the contrast, changed the colors, and enlarged the text to make the lecture more accessible for them.
In the example image above, you can see the student pointing the camera at a textbook to get its content onto their MacBook to read using Desk View. Magnifier on the Mac even allows users to conduct multiple live sessions to follow along in a textbook while reading content on a large screen. Users can save images they capture in groups for use at a later date.
Source: Apple.
Live Listen is a feature that was announced in 2014 to allow users with compatible hearing aids to hear people in noisy environments or from across a room by placing an iPhone close to the speaker. AirPods gained this functionality in 2018, and now, Apple is pairing it with Live Captions and bringing the Apple Watch into the mix. Live Captions already captions live conversations on your iPhone, but later this year, you’ll be able to place your phone across the room and send the captions directly to your Apple Watch.
You can pause, rewind, start, and stop Live Captions directly from your Apple Watch, which means no more getting up in the middle of a lecture to turn off your iPhone’s microphone. Additionally, Live Captions is adding support for new languages: English (India, Australia, UK, Singapore), Mandarin Chinese (Mainland China), Cantonese (Mainland China, Hong Kong), Spanish (Latin America, Spain), French (France, Canada), Japanese, German (Germany), and Korean.
Personal Voice was introduced in 2023 with iOS 17. It allows you to generate a synthetic version of your own voice that can be used to read text. It’s an excellent feature that allows people who are losing the ability to speak to preserve their voices. One big downside of Personal Voice is the time and effort it takes to set it up. Apple has made significant improvements in this area.
To train your Personal Voice, you will need to speak only 10 phrases, down from 150. And the results will be available in minutes rather than overnight (or longer, in my case). In addition to these improvements to setup, Personal Voice will sound more natural and be available in Spanish for users in Mexico and the United States.
Source: Apple.
For braille users, Braille Access provides a way to connect a braille device to an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Vision Pro and turn it into a full-featured braille note taker. Users can even use the Live Captions feature with their braille devices to transcribe conversations in real time.
Source: Apple.
For visionOS, Apple has revealed new capabilities that allow a user to zoom in on areas within their field of view. The company has also committed to letting approved accessibility apps access the Vision Pro’s camera with a new API. With that new access, apps will be able to provide person-to-person assistance and new ways for users to understand their surroundings.
Source: Apple.
In a new system-wide feature that will no doubt be used by a wide range of users, Accessibility Reader can transform areas of text in apps, documents, and more in any way you like to make them easier to read. You can quickly adjust spacing, enlarge text, change colors, and more without changing the original formatting of an app or a document.
Source: Apple.
Source: Apple.
In addition to all of these feature announcements, Apple is celebrating GAAD with updates to its Haptics playlists in Apple Music, a special Fitness+ dance workout with Chelsie Hill, a behind-the-scenes look at Apple Original documentary film Deaf President Now! (streaming this Friday on Apple TV+), and spotlights in the App Store, Apple Books, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, and Apple TV.
Apple’s announcements for accessibility users always provide a fascinating look into the positive technologies the company is bringing to its platforms. This year is no different, and it’s great to see Apple’s continued commitment to this area.
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 every MacStories fan.
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.
Join Now