This week on MacStories podcasts: AppStories This week, Federico and John take listeners on a tour of the wide variety of automations they’ve been working on so far this year, including shortcuts, Claude projects, and Zapier zaps. On AppStories+, Federico and John dig a little deeper into some of the more complex automations that they’ve...
In This Issue
Federico shares a clever way to automate away macOS’ Shortcuts permission prompts, John wonders what happened to the future of automation on the Mac, Jonathan takes the Obsidian plunge, plus the usual Links, App Debuts, the latest happenings in the Club MacStories+ Discord community, and a recap of MacStories articles and this week’s episodes of...
This Week on MacStories Podcasts
This week on MacStories podcasts: AppStories This week, Federico and John make five app predictions for the next five years covering everything from App Intents and automation to the fate of the App Store. On AppStories+, John talks through a very specific use case for Apple’s new iPhone 16e. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Pocket...
Previously, On MacStories
Apple’s Tim Cook Teases February 19th Event on X DefaultSMS Lets You Choose Your Default Messaging App Apple Resumes Advertising on X Apple’s TV App Launches on the Google Play Store for Android Users Federico’s Latest Automation Academy Lesson: Working with Web APIs in Shortcuts Migrating Purchases from One Apple Account to Another Is Now...
Previously, On MacStories
Epic Games Announces iOS Store Expansion in the E.U. The Vision Pro Lends a Hand to the STRUTT ev¹ Personal Mobility Device Netflix Games Seemingly Narrows Its Focus A Firmware Update that Promises to Turn Smart Lights into Motion Sensors BANG!CASE: Push-Button iPhone Automation...
Previously, On MacStories
MacStories Won’t Stand for Meta’s Dehumanizing and Harmful Moderation Policies Razer Launches PC Remote Play for Streaming PC Games to the iPhone, iPad, and Other Devices A Tiny But Exciting CES Smartphone Controller Discovery NPC @ CES: Exploring the Future of Handheld Gaming at CES 2025 CES Is A Lot: A Gadget Roundup “I Live...
In This Issue
This week, John recommends the Astropad Bookcase, Federico has a tip for appending text to an Obsidian note using Drafts, Jonathan shares his favorite tech stories, TV shows, movies, and albums of the year, plus the usual Links, App Debuts, the latest happenings in the Club MacStories+ Discord community, and a recap of MacStories articles...
MacStories Selects 2024: Recognizing the Best Apps of the Year
John: 2024 was a big year for apps, but it was also different from most. More often than not, app innovation is driven by new Apple APIs; that wasn’t the case this year. Instead, it was other trends that shaped the apps we love.
Artificial intelligence played a big role, with some apps adopting it in clever ways to reduce user friction while other developers reacted to it by adopting a more human-centric, creative approach. The rapidly evolving social media landscape played a part, too, with new ways to communicate and manage our timelines emerging.
However, the biggest driver of change in the world of apps this year was government regulation led by the European Commission. The full effects of the Digital Markets Act and the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust action against Apple have yet to play out, but nothing since the introduction of the App Store has shaken up the status quo like governments in the EU, U.S., and elsewhere did in 2024.
Not all regulatory effects were what developers wanted – or even positive – but as 2024 winds down, it’s undeniable that apps that weren’t possible before regulation are now available worldwide. Plus, developers in certain parts of the world have more options than before, which we at MacStories are happy to see as fans of apps and their makers. Let’s hope the opening up of the App Store continues and spreads geographically in 2025 and beyond.
Change lingers in the air, which makes me excited for the apps that 2025 will bring, but before we shut off the lights on 2024, it’s time to pause as we do each year to reflect on the many apps we tried in the year gone by and recognize the best among them.
Like last year, the MacStories team picked the best apps in seven categories:
- Best New App
- Best App Update
- Best New Feature
- Best Watch App
- Best Mac App
- Best Design
- App of the Year
Club MacStories members were part of the selection process, too, picking the winner of the MacStories Selects Readers’ Choice Award. And as we’ve done the past few years, we named a Lifetime Achievement Award winner that has stood the test of time and had an outsized impact on the world of apps. This year’s winner, which joins past winners Pixelmator, PCalc, and Drafts, is the subject of a special story Niléane wrote for the occasion.
As usual, Federico and I also recorded a special episode of AppStories covering all the winners and runners-up. It’s a terrific way to learn more about this year’s apps. Plus, it’s on our YouTube channel this year, giving you a chance to actually see the awards as we cover them.
You can also listen to the episode below.
And with that, it’s my pleasure to unveil the 2024 MacStories Selects Awards.
This Week on MacStories Podcasts
This week on MacStories podcasts: AppStories This week, Federico and John consider the differences between assistive and generative AI and cover the sort of automation tasks for which assistive AI is useful. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Pocket Casts Castro Spotify YouTube NPC: Next Portable Console Tencent and Intel announce a huge handheld, Sony is...