John, MacStories’ Managing Editor, has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015. He also co-hosts MacStories’ podcasts, including AppStories, which explores of the world of apps, MacStories Unwind, a weekly recap of everything MacStories and more, and MacStories Unplugged, a behind-the-scenes, anything-goes show exclusively for Club MacStories members.
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I have no idea how actually useful this accessory that promises to turn the Apple Watch into an iPod will be (my understanding is that you’ll either have to disable passcode authentication on the Watch or enter your passcode every few minutes?), but, let’s be honest, did anyone think I could resist the temptation of preordering a tinyPod? (Link)
In this issue: John shares three Mac menu bar apps that he likes and Jonathan canvases the entire lineup of (Not Boring) apps, plus the usual Links, App Debuts, the latest happenings in the Club MacStories+ Discord community, a recap of MacStories articles, and a preview of next week’s episodes of AppStories and Magic Rays of Light.
As we mentioned in last week’s issue, we won’t be publishing Weekly on July 26th. I’ll be traveling, so we figured it would be a good time for everyone to take a break and recharge. We’ll be back with the Monthly Log at the end of the month and a new issue of Weekly on August 3rd.
Not long ago, I spent some time trimming my Mac’s menu bar. Among the apps that I kept are three relatively recent additions that I wanted to share today.
I use Mercury Weather differently on my iPhone, iPad, and Mac. On the iPhone and iPad, I usually start by checking the app’s widget and using the widget to launch the full app when I want more information. On the Mac, though, I leave Mercury Weather in the menu bar, always showing the current conditions and temperature. Clicking on the app’s menu bar icon adds the high and low forecast, a short-term hourly forecast, and a four-day forecast. That’s usually all the information I need on my Mac, but you can also open the full Mac app from the menu bar item. It’s the perfect balance that offers the information I typically want while progressively disclosing more details as needed.
Samuel Stolton and Jennifer Surane of Bloomberg reported this week that Apple has avoided EU fines by opening up tap to pay on the iPhone to other companies. (Link)
On 512 Pixels, Stephen Hackett has first impressions of a brand-new smart lock from Aqara called the U200, which integrates with existing door lock hardware by motorizing it on the interior of the door. (Link)
There are a lot of text transformation apps out there, and many of them are good. However, my current favorite is Text Workflow by Giorgos Trigonakis. The app comes in separate Mac and iPhone/iPad versions and incorporates a long list of text actions and automation options, which I’ve found myself needing more and more lately.
Most recently, I’ve begun using Text Workflow when I publish new podcast episodes to the MacStories YouTube channel. I’m a YouTube production noob, and while I wasn’t surprised that it doesn’t support Markdown for podcast show notes, I didn’t realize that it doesn’t support rich text linking either. YouTube requires descriptions to include bare URLs, presumably to ensure that viewers know where a link will take them.
If you’ve listened to NPC: Next Portable Console or MacStories Unwind in the past couple of months, you’ve probably heard me or Federico mention Retro Game Corps, a YouTube channel by Russ Crandall with a focus on retro and handheld gaming. Earlier this week, Russ reviewed the Scuf Nomad controller for the iPhone and covered where to find games on the platform. I didn’t really need a primer on App Store games, but I was curious to hear what Russ thinks about Apple Arcade. Buried in that section of the video was a tip that I didn’t know or had forgotten, which I thought I’d pass along. Unlike the regular Games section of the App Store, you can filter Apple Arcade in a variety of ways.
First, scroll to the bottom of the Apple Arcade tab of the App Store and tap ‘See All Games.’ Next, tap ‘Release Date’ at the top of the screen. That will reveal options to sort by Release Date, Last Updated, Name, or Category. You can also filter by Controller Support (which is what Russ showed off), Multiplayer Games, and Age Ratings. There’s a toggle to include or exclude upcoming games, too. It’s a great way to browse Arcade’s catalog according to your preferences.
