Due to a series of circumstances that involved various web apps that did not work in Safari, I recently found myself having to use Google Chrome as my default browser on my Mac again. Let me be clear: I don’t like this, but I had to pick Chrome for a variety of reasons. Specifically, I...
The Potential and Limits of the M5 iPad Pro
Federico
JohnThis week, Federico and John consider whether Apple made the case for running local LLMs and gaming on the M5 iPad Pro and discusss who should consider buying it.
On AppStories+, we explain how Claude Skills work and why they are one of Anthropic’s most exciting features in a while.
Also available on YouTube here.
We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.
To learn more about an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.
AppStories Episode 458 - The Potential and Limits of the M5 iPad Pro
0:00
33:32
33:32
Links and Show Notes
Federico’s M5 iPad Pro Review
Leave Feedback for John and Federico
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on Bluesky
Automatically Moving Reminders to Todoist with Shortcuts Automations
Ever since I decided – once again – to use Todoist as my primary task manager (there are many reasons behind this, chief among them being its excellent Ramble feature and how nice it is to use it with Claude Haiku 4.5), I ran into an age-old limitation of iOS: I wish I could use...
Apple’s Intelligence Quest: Beyond Smart Siri
This week, Federico and John discuss what might be next for Apple Intelligence and how it fits into the broader AI market.
On AppStories+, Federico and John cover the fallout from the Sora app and why AI can’t replace human creativity.
We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.
To learn more about an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.
AppStories Episode 457 - Apple’s Intelligence Quest: Beyond Smart Siri
0:00
36:30
36:30
This episode is sponsored by:
- Claude: Get 50% off Claude Pro, including access to Claude Code.
Links and Show Notes
- Apps and Services Mentioned
Leave Feedback for John and Federico
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on Bluesky
What Else Do We Want from Apple in 2025?
This week, with rumors of more products in the pipeline, Federico and John share what they want most from Apple before the end of the year.
On AppStories+, Federico experiments with lightning fast inference and iteration using Cerebras for scripting.
We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.
To learn more about an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.
AppStories Episode 456 - What Else Do We Want from Apple in 2025?
0:00
31:07
31:07
Links and Show Notes
What Would
- iOS 26.1 wishes
- Final Cut Pro for iPad plugins
- A new iPad Pro
- A new Studio Display
- An Apple TV with upscaling
- AirTags
- Thunderbolt 5 cable
- M5 MacBook Pro
Leave Feedback for John and Federico
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on Bluesky
Automation Academy: Apple Intelligence, GPT-5, and the ‘Use Model’ Action in Shortcuts
As I mentioned in my iOS and iPadOS 26 review, I find Shortcuts’ ‘Use Model’ action one of the more interesting additions to Shortcuts this year (that is, besides the excellent Mac-only automation features) and a fascinating example of how Apple can leverage its third-party app ecosystem to sidestep the fact that they’re behind other...
Read more
Testing the Limits of the New Spotify Integration in ChatGPT
I wrote about the potential of apps in ChatGPT earlier this week on MacStories. Today, I want to share more details on how one of the first apps that support this new integration – Spotify – works inside ChatGPT, and how I’ve been using it to “vibe-playlist” my way into…well, AI-generated playlists based on real...
Making Sense of MCP: The Standard Connecting AI to Apps
This week, Federico and John demystify Model Context Protocol (MCP), covering how it works, where it’s heading, and practical examples of what it can do.
On AppStories+, Federico and John experiment with whether AI can make sense of the information firehose.
We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.
To learn more about an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.
AppStories Episode 455 - Making Sense of MCP: The Standard Connecting AI to Apps
0:00
38:12
38:12
Links and Show Notes
- Background
- Apps and Services
- Club MacStories on MCP
Visit AppStories.net to learn more about the extended, high bitrate audio version of AppStories that is delivered early each week and subscribe.
Leave Feedback for John and Federico
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on Bluesky
Leave Feedback for John and Federico
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on Bluesky
AirPods Pro 3, iPhone Air, and a Cable Quest
This week, Federico and John follow up after a week with new Apple hardware and dig into watchOS and visionOS 26.
On AppStories+, John is mixing up his link and data organization systems - again.
We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.
To learn more about an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.
AppStories Episode 454 - AirPods Pro 3, iPhone Air, and a Cable Quest
0:00
37:12
37:12
This episode is sponsored by:
- Claude – Get 50% off Claude Pro, including access to Claude Code.