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467 — May 23, 2025

Interesting Links

INTERESTING LINKS

Great reads and links from around the web.

Vivaldi’s iOS app (which has been my default browser for the past month) now supports background audio playback, letting you keep YouTube and other media playing when you switch apps or lock the screen. Vivaldi has also added support for tab stacking and pinning on mobile. (Link)

Apple has launched a new feature in Australia and New Zealand that allows users to transfer their music libraries and playlists from other streaming services directly into Apple Music, using a third-party service to match songs with Apple’s catalog. I’m so intrigued by this: what service are they using? When is this launching in other countries? (Link)

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467 — May 23, 2025

Smart Siri: One Brick at a Time

THE EXTENSION

Exploring topics beyond our day-to-day coverage.

Smart Siri: One Brick at a Time

As WWDC approaches, I thought it would be useful to step back and evaluate where things stand with Apple’s plans for what I’ll call ‘Smart Siri,’ a yet-to-be-shipped Apple Intelligence feature that oddly doesn’t have a catchy marketing name of its own. So far, most Apple Intelligence features are pretty underwhelming. Some – like Writing Tools, webpage summaries, and the ChatGPT integration with Siri – can be useful but are done better by other apps, while the utility of other features is questionable at best.

For those of us who are into automation, perhaps the biggest letdown from WWDC 2024 has been the realization that we aren’t going to get Smart Siri anytime soon. At the conference, Apple showed what in hindsight turned out to be a concept video and not a demo. In the video, Siri accessed flight details, combining information from Mail, Contacts, Messages, and Calendar to determine a person’s arrival time. What’s more, Apple said this functionality would be available not just to first-party apps, but to third-party developers, too.

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467 — May 23, 2025

App Debuts

APP DEBUTS

Noteworthy new app releases and updates, handpicked by the MacStories team.

Subo

If you’ve ever been surprised by a subscription renewal you forgot about, Subo is a new app to help you keep track of all your recurring charges. Created by indie developer Niclas Schmidt, the app lets you monitor when your subscriptions renew and how much you’re spending monthly and yearly across various currencies. The app comes with templates for popular services to make the setup process easier, and it can send you reminders before your next renewal date. The app is free to download, with some features requiring a paid upgrade. I love how this app looks and the attention to animations in the UI; I hope to see more data visualizations in future updates.

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466 — May 16, 2025

Interesting Links

INTERESTING LINKS

Great reads and links from around the web.

Motor Trend takes an in-depth look at CarPlay Ultra and what it means for the auto industry. (Link)

Leica’s pro iPhone camera app, Leica Lux, was updated this week to allow users to simulate the styles of famous photographers. It’s a nice app, but significantly more expensive than an app like Halide, which is just as capable. (Link)

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466 — May 16, 2025

Interesting Links

INTERESTING LINKS

Great reads and links from around the web.

Motor Trend takes an in-depth look at CarPlay Ultra and what it means for the auto industry. (Link)

Leica’s pro iPhone camera app, Leica Lux, was updated this week to allow users to simulate the styles of famous photographers. It’s a nice app, but significantly more expensive than an app like Halide, which is just as capable. (Link)

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466 — May 16, 2025

App Debuts

APP DEBUTS

Noteworthy new app releases and updates, handpicked by the MacStories team.

Lookup

This week, Vidit Bhargava added a new feature to his dictionary app Lookup called Explainers that helps people learn new words in a variety of ways. The feature, which is available to subscribers, offers contextual explanations of words as well as usage examples, and it integrates with App Intents, making it available via Spotlight Search, Siri, and more. It’s a great idea that meets users where they are by letting them tune it to their proficiency in English and their native language.

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466 — May 16, 2025

MOFT's iPhone Tripod Wallet

THE EXTENSION

Exploring topics beyond our day-to-day coverage.

MOFT's iPhone Tripod Wallet

Not long ago, I wrote about MOFT’s Invisible Stand for laptops. It’s an excellent choice if you want a lightweight stand to carry with you, as I often do. When MOFT sent me the laptop stand, they also sent their Snap Phone Tripod Wallet MOVAS, which I didn’t get around to testing until recently.

I’ve been a longtime user of Apple’s iPhone Wallet with MagSafe, and I like it, but its functionality is also very limited. MOFT’s wallet promises more, which is what caught my eye. So over the past week or so, I’ve been switching back and forth between my familiar Apple Wallet and MOFT’s version to get a sense of both.

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465 — May 9, 2025

Interesting Links

INTERESTING LINKS

Great reads and links from around the web.

Specs for Sony’s upcoming WH-1000XM6 noise-cancelling headphones have leaked, revealing a new QN3 processor, 12 noise-cancelling microphones, 30mm drivers, a foldable design with a new case, and 30 hours of battery life, with a rumored May 15 release date. (Link)

Fascinating story by Scott Alexander, who tested the geolocating abilities of OpenAI’s o3 model by running it through a complex GeoGuessr prompt that emphasizes methodical observation, avoiding premature conclusions, and maintaining multiple hypotheses. The results are both impressive and scary. (Link)

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