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Jonathan Reed

Contributor

Mastodon: @jonathanreed@techhub.socialEmail: jonathan@macstories.net

Jonathan is a graphic designer at DesignStudio. As well as being a long-time Apple user he is a huge film and television aficionado and is very interested in the intersection between the two mediums and technology. He lives in London with his wife and daughter and is writing his bio in the third person.

461 — April 11, 2025

AgBr →

MACSTORIES RECOMMENDS

Great apps, accessories, gear, and media recommended by the MacStories team.

AgBr

Recreating Analogue Photography with AgBr

It’s fair to say that there are countless photo editing apps available for the iPhone. From the gimmicky to the truly pro-level, it’s hard to keep up. Nevertheless, now and again, one will jump out at me, often due to its unique design. Almost like a magpie, I’m a sucker for shiny new things that look pretty, and like a predictable graphic designer, anything that’s minimalist and black will particularly grab my attention.

So it’s no surprise that the new app AgBr from Nuevo.Tokyo recently caught my eye. Thankfully, it’s not all style over substance; instead, the app is a unique take on analogue photography replication featuring a slick UI.

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460 — April 4, 2025

Bend Is an Intuitive Stretching App with a Lovely Design

MACSTORIES EXTRAS

More stories for Club members.

Bend Is an Intuitive Stretching App with a Lovely Design

I turned 43 on Monday. Yes, I know, I don’t look a day over 21, but it’s true. I try to exercise as much as possible and consider myself pretty healthy. Despite that, just like my purchase of the Nintendo Switch 2, injuries and strains are inevitable. As I get older, the best thing for me to do is work to minimize them and focus on recovery on the (thankfully rare) occasions they happen.

Last week, I did a strength workout at my friend’s new gym. Afterward, I started feeling some pain in my neck and shoulders. Despite rest and mobility exercises, the pain had increased by the next morning. I knew of some stretches I could try, but I wanted more of a routine – something structured that would hold my hand while I was doing them, so to speak.

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459 — March 28, 2025

Using Obsidian: An Absolute Beginner’s Tale

THE EXTENSION

Exploring topics beyond our day-to-day coverage.

Using Obsidian: An Absolute Beginner’s Tale

I love trying apps I haven’t used before. It’s really fun to start using an app without knowing if it will change your workflow entirely. Recently, I’ve had great first-time experiences with both BusyCal and Alcove. These apps often come from recommendations, but there is one in particular that so many people – including everyone on the MacStories team – seem to use and love: Obsidian.

I’ve steered clear of using the app… until now. The main reason has been an almost fear-like perception of it. I hear people talk about all the complex plugins they use, and I’ve attempted to understand Federico and John’s many articles on how they’re using the app from the outside. Plus, there’s the way everyone talks about their ‘vaults’ like Obsidian is something you can only crack if you’re a bank robber. It all seemed too intimidating.

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458 — March 21, 2025

App Debuts

APP DEBUTS

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

Quick Capture for Obsidian

I’ve been keeping an eye on this Obsidian companion utility for a while now, and I decided to take it for a spin earlier this week. I think it has a lot of potential, with a couple of confusing aspects I’d like the developer to work on. The idea behind Quick Capture – similar to Funnel – is that you can set up multiple capture destinations across your Obsidian vault, create new notes or append text to existing ones, attach voice recordings with transcriptions, scan documents, add images, and even send sketches. Compared to Funnel, I find Quick Capture’s design more polished and intuitive, and I’m a fan of the triple toolbar (seriously!) above the keyboard that contains formatting buttons, attachments, and destinations. However, I found the app’s setup flow for Obsidian sub-folders slightly confusing (I had to set up my Daily Notes sub-folder as a “vault” because, otherwise, the app wouldn’t save changes inside my daily note), and the integration with Todoist never worked for me. I hope the developer continues refining the app, and I’ll continue checking out its future updates.

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458 — March 21, 2025

Should Apple Change Their Approach to Feature Rollouts?

MACSTORIES EXTRAS

More stories for Club members.

Should Apple Change Their Approach to Feature Rollouts?

So, something’s rotten in the state of Cupertino, you say?

I’m sure you’ve read a lot of coverage over the past week about how Apple’s promised “more personalized Siri” ended up being a concept video from last year’s WWDC that was essentially vaporware. I’m not going to dunk on Apple even more here – not because they don’t deserve it, but because many other, much smarter people have said everything that needed to be said.

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