Club MacStories Turns Two

By John Voorhees

I was a Club MacStories member before I joined the MacStories team as a writer, and it’s been fun to watch the Club grow and then become part of building it. The first issue of MacStories Weekly that I worked on was Issue 20 in February of last year. I was amazed that Federico and Graham Spencer had almost single-handedly produced those first nineteen issues of Weekly, several issues of the Monthly Log, and fifty issues of MacStories Weekly Classic. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a labor of love – if it weren’t, we couldn’t do it. We produce the newsletter and other content for the Club because we love apps, the people who make them, and sharing them with our readers.

We’re fortunate at MacStories to have some of the very best readers around. Without you, MacStories wouldn’t be possible. Club MacStories gives us an outlet to share even more about apps than we could otherwise.

We’re also lucky to have the best team of writers around. In the past year, although Graham left the team, we added Ryan Christoffel, Jake Underwood, and Stephen Hackett to the newsletter as regular contributors, which has kept the MacStories Weekly and Monthly Log fresh and relevant to a broader audience.

Last year at this time, we celebrated Club MacStories’ first anniversary. After producing another 60 newsletters for a total of 120 since the Club’s inception, we wanted to do something special for members. When we asked our friends in the developer community to help us celebrate by offering special deals to Club MacStories members, the response was immediate and overwhelming, for which we’re very grateful.

We’ve assembled a great list of discounts this year that we’ll announce in two waves. The first wave, launching today, includes:

Ulysses - 25% off an annual subscription;
Acorn - 33% off;
Softorino YouTube Converter 2 - 20% off;
Softorino WALTR 2 - 50% off;
Rogue Amoeba - 20% off all apps;
DEVONtechnologies - 25% off all apps;
MailButler Professional - 20% off;
MailButler Business - 30% off;
FullContact - 20% off premium subscription;
TaskPaper - 30% off;
SaneBox - $25 off; and
iTubeDownloader - 30% off.

As Club members, you can access these deals from a special webpage that we’ve set up just for you. The second wave of discounts will be announced next Thursday (September 21), and there will be additional surprises and deals announced in the next three issues of MacStories Weekly as well.

But there’s even more coming during Club MacStories anniversary month, including a free edition of the eBook version of Federico’s iOS 11 review, the ‘Making Of’ his iOS 11 review, and other special surprises. So be sure to keep an eye out for them beginning next week.

Thanks again to our Club members. We appreciate the hard-earned money you spend to be part of our growing community, and we enjoy making the newsletters for you every week. If you’re an annual member and your subscription is expiring, we hope you’ll join us for year three. We’ve got big plans for the Club and would love for you to be part of them.

AppStories, Episode 22 – Apps With a Human Touch →

Linked By John Voorhees

On this week’s episode of AppStories, we discuss what’s left now that Federico is finished writing the text of his iOS 11 review, preview some of the upcoming coverage on MacStories and the upcoming second anniversary of Club MacStories, and consider the importance of little human touches that make apps by indie developers a delight to use.

iTunes Removes the App Store and More to Focus on Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, and Audiobooks

By John Voorhees

Apple has updated iTunes on macOS to eliminate ringtones, iTunes U, and perhaps most surprising of all, iOS apps. According to Apple’s support page:

Apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are now exclusively available in the new App Store for iOS.

iTunes 12.7 now includes music, movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, and Audiobooks only. Apple’s support page links to instructions on how to download each type of content that has been eliminated.

Although there were prior indications that Apple was streamlining iTunes, such as when it announced that iTunes U content was being eliminated from the app, the removal of downloaded iOS apps and the App Store itself is surprising. iTunes is now focused on just two types of media audio and video.

The update to iTunes also adds the Friends feature first seen in the iOS 11 beta. Apple Music subscribers can set up a profile and follow friends to see the music and playlists they are listening to. I’ve been using the Friends feature all summer and it’s been a great way to find and try new music.

AT&T and Verizon Announce Apple Watch Wireless Plan Pricing →

Linked By John Voorhees

The Street reports that AT&T and Verizon will charge $10 per month to add an LTE-enabled Apple Watch to an existing US data plan. Of the two carriers, Verizon’s offer is a little more generous because the first three months of service are free. According to The Street, Sprint and T-Mobile will also carry the Series 3 Watch in the US, but have not disclosed pricing yet.

You can also follow all of our Apple event coverage through our September 12 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 12 RSS feed.

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Apple Watch Series 3: Our Complete Overview

By John Voorhees

Today at a press event held at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, the company unveiled the Apple Watch Series 3. The latest iteration of Apple Watch adds a new option to its lineup. Now the Apple Watch is available with an optional LTE radio that provides a network connection when out of range of its paired iPhone. The Series 3 is distinguished from its non-LTE siblings by a bright red dot on its Digital Crown. The Series 3 also features a new barometric altimeter that measures relative elevation, which Apple touted as perfect for skiers and snowboarders.

Apple Asks Developers to Submit iOS 11, watchOS 4, macOS High Sierra, and tvOS 11 Apps for Review

By John Voorhees

Ahead of the upcoming public releases of iOS 11 and watchOS 4 on September 19th and macOS High Sierra on September 25th, Apple has told developers via its developer website that App Store submissions are open.

From Apple’s developer news site:

You can now submit your apps that take advantage of exciting new features available in the next release of macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Build your apps using Xcode 9 GM seed, test with the latest releases of macOS High Sierra, iOS 11, watchOS 4, tvOS 11, and submit them for review.

Apple has added scores of new features to its operating systems that developers can take advantage of to improve existing apps and create all-new ones that were impossible before the new APIs were introduced. Perhaps most anticipated are the additions to iOS that enable brand new features to the iPad like the dock, drag and drop, Split View enhancements, and much more.

You can also follow all of our Apple event coverage through our September 12 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 12 RSS feed.

Apple Posts September 12, 2017 Keynote and New Product Videos

By John Voorhees

If you didn’t follow the live stream or announcements as they unfolded at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino today, Apple has posted the video of the event along with the product videos debuted on stage.

The keynote video can be streamed in Safari here and on the Apple TV using the Apple Events app. A higher quality version should be made available in a few hours through iTunes on the Apple Keynotes podcast.

Apple also posted new commercials and product-reveal videos for the iPhone 8, iPhone X, and Apple Watch Series 3 on its YouTube channel. You can find all those videos below after the break.

You can also follow all of our Apple event coverage through our September 12 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 12 RSS feed.

Apple Announces macOS High Sierra to Launch on September 25th

By John Voorhees

Today, Apple announced on its website that the official release date of macOS High Sierra will be September 25th.

As detailed at WWDC in June, macOS High Sierra features the introduction of several significant new and updated under-the-hood technologies including APFS, macOS’s new file system, Metal 2, which harnesses the power of your Mac’s GPU, and HEVC video compression. High Sierra also adds new features and refinements to existing apps like Mail, Photos, Notes, Safari, Siri, and more.

Apple hasn’t announced a Golden Master seed of macOS High Sierra yet, but it should be released to developers soon. The GM seed gives developers a chance to finalize their macOS apps and submit them to the Mac App Store for approval before High Sierra is released publicly.

You can also follow all of our Apple event coverage through our September 12 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 12 RSS feed.

Apple Announces iOS 11 to Launch on September 19th

By John Voorhees

As had been widely expected, Apple confirmed the official release date of iOS 11 at a media event held today at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino. iOS 11 will be released on September 19th.

Announced at WWDC in June, iOS 11 includes new and updated built-in apps and system features with a major focus on the iPad. With iOS 11, Apple has rethought multitasking on the iPad – revamping the dock, changing how Split View works, and introducing system-level features like drag and drop of files, text, photos, apps, and more. The changes include a new stock app called Files, which bears some resemblance to the macOS Finder but built for touch. Apple has also implemented more Apple Pencil-friendly features like system-wide document markup and inline note taking in Notes. The iPhone and iPad’s cameras play a big part in iOS 11 too, supporting document scanning in Notes and brand new augmented reality APIs for third-party developers.

Apple hasn’t announced a Golden Master seed of iOS 11 yet, but it will presumably be released to developers later today. Typically the last developer release before a public launch, the GM seed will allow developers to finalize their iOS 11 apps and submit them to the App Store for approval before iOS 11 is released publicly.

You can also follow all of our Apple event coverage through our September 12 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 12 RSS feed.