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AppStories, Episode 339 – The Impact of OS Updates on Third-Party Apps→

This week on AppStories, we consider the impact that this year’s OS releases will have on third-party apps.

Sponsored by:

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On AppStories+, we dig into the details of iOS 17’s StandBy feature and I share my thoughts on why the Vision Pro’s upcoming launch feels more like the iPhone’s debut than the iPad’s.

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From Conference to Festival: The Evolution of WWDC

WWDC never gets old. There’s the excitement surrounding Apple’s announcements, but it’s far more than that. At its heart, the value of WWDC is in the people you see.

Ten years ago, I attended my first WWDC ever as the parent of what is now called the Swift Student Challenge. At the time, I’d already begun dipping my toe into iOS development and arrived knowing nobody. By the end of the week, I’d met long-time indie developers like Daniel Jalkut, Craig Hockenberry, and Paul Kafasis, plus a couple of baby podcasters named Myke and Stephen.

WWDC 2013.

WWDC 2013.

WWDC was in San Francisco in those days, which had its pluses and minuses. There were great restaurants and a vibrant nightlife, but the city was also crowded and expensive. I’m glad Federico got to experience that version of WWDC in 2016, but I was happy about the switch to San Jose. The city is sleepier than San Francisco, but the big courtyard outside the convention center and the handful of hotels people stayed at made it easier to bump into people than you could in San Francisco.

When WWDC kicked off this year, I could have comfortably sat at home at my desk in my home office, taking in the keynote. If I’d done that, I certainly would have written more and gotten podcast episodes out faster. Still, I would have lost something far more valuable: the chance meetings with MacStories readers, podcast listeners, developers of the apps we cover, and the Apple engineers and other Apple folks who work hard to make WWDC something special every year.

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Fin: Beautiful Budget Tracker for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch [Sponsor]

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Fin privacy-focused approach to budgeting doesn’t require you to sign up for an account, so there’s no login process, and the app works offline, so it’s always available. To get started, just set up a budget, and track your income and expenses across customizable categories. Fin also supports data import and recurring transactions and offers attachments like photos and PDFs, searching with powerful filtering, customizable notifications, and weekly reports.

Fin, which has been featured multiple times on the App Store, makes sharing easy too. You can share your accounts using iCloud Sharing. Plus, the app supports the latest OS technologies like Home and Lock Screen widgets, Focus filters, Live Text, and Shortcuts and is continuously updated. Everything in Fin syncs via iCloud for easy access, and if you need to use your data elsewhere, Fin can export it too.

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Our thanks to Fin for sponsoring MacStories this week.

AppStories, Ep. 339 - 38 minutes

The Impact of OS Updates on Third-Party Apps

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 339 - The Impact of OS Updates on Third-Party Apps

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38:23

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John consider the impact that this year’s OS releases will have on third-party apps.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • CleanMyMac X: Your Mac. As good as new. Get 5% off today.
  • DetailsPro – Design with SwiftUI, no coding required. 50% off throughout June.
  • Nom Nom: Healthy, fresh food for dogs formulated by top Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists. Prepped in our kitchens with free delivery to your door. Get 50% off.

The Impact of OS Updates on Third-Party Apps

[Subscribe here.](https://staging.macstories.net/podcasts/appstories/plans)

Subscribe here.

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To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

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MacStories Weekly: Issue 372

This week, in addition to the usual links, app debuts, and recap of MacStories' articles and podcasts:

  • Three Changes for Productivity I'm Excited About in iOS and iPadOS 17, by Federico
  • This Time Feels Different, by John
  • Interesting iOS 17 Details, Apple Watch Battery, and Radio Stations, by Federico
  • Reader Setup: Jose Munoz, by MacStories Team
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MacStories Unwind: A Chicken Truck, Ice Water, and boygenius

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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23:41

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, John discovers chicken trucks, Federico has some thoughts on American cuisine, and John unwinds post-WWDC with a trip to Wilmington, North Carolina to see boygenius in concert.

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Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit’s Support for DirectX 12 is a Big Deal for Gaming on the Mac→

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Earlier this week, I linked to Tom Warren’s story on The Verge about Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit and gamers’ early experiments with running Windows games on Apple silicon Macs running macOS Sonoma. Yesterday, Christina Warren, writing for Inverse, published an in-depth look at why Apple’s innocuously Game Porting Toolkit has the potential to be a big deal:

…buried in the keynote was a macOS feature that Apple should have called out with more fanfare: DirectX 12 support for macOS. As PC gamers already know, this software support means the floodgates are open for some real games — not that casual Apple Arcade stuff — on Mac. Maybe, just maybe, this is the beginning of the end to the old joke that Macs can’t play AAA games.

As Warren explains, Apple’s DirectX 12 support is thanks to a patch to Wine that the company developed:

That toolkit largely takes place as a 20,000 line of code patch to Wine, a compatibility layer designed to bring support for Windows games to platforms such as Linux, BSD, and macOS. Wine, which is primarily supported by the company CodeWeavers (which also makes a commercial version called CrossOver), works by converting system calls made to Windows APIs into calls that can be used by other operating systems. It isn’t emulation, but translation (an important semantic difference).

If this all sounds a lot like what Valve did with Proton and the Steam Deck, it’s because it is:

In some ways, the fate of Mac gaming mirrored another desktop platform: Linux. Like the Mac, and in spite of a very vocal contingent of users, Linux gaming largely remained largely elusive until Valve introduced Proton in 2018, a way to play Windows games on its Linux Steam client and on its Linux distribution SteamOS (which at the time, was primarily used for its failed Steam Machine devices). And notably, the open-source technology at the heart of Proton, is the same technology that Apple is using for its Game Porting Toolkit.

Does all of this mean that the Mac is on the cusp of becoming the AAA gaming platform that has eluded it for years? As Warren rightly notes, it’s too early to go that far, but it is cause for optimism and is a big deal even if it remains a niche way to play DirectX 12 games on a Mac.

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Stephen Hackett Announces Kickstarter Campaign for His 2024 Apple History Calendar→

Today, our friend Stephen Hackett launched a follow-up to his successful series of Apple history calendars with a campaign on Kickstarter. This year’s calendar features more of Stephen’s excellent photography, along with notable dates in Apple’s services and retail history.

Here’s what Stephen has to say about this year’s calendar:

The calendar features my own product photography of Apple products, with each month highlighting some of Apple’s services and retail announcements over the years. Each calendar measures 20 inches by 13 inches (50.8  x 33.02 cm) when it’s hanging on your wall with a simple thumbtack or pin.

You can watch Stephen’s announcement video here:

You can also read more about the campaign, which has already reached its goal, on Stephen’s website, 512 Pixels.

In addition to the wall calendar, Stephen has created a digital wallpaper pack for backers who pledge $5 or more. If you pledge $10 or more, you get the wallpapers and a .ics file version of the calendar. Pledge $36, and you’ll add the physical calendar and pledge $40, and you’ll also add four stickers.

The hard work and care that have gone into each of the prior editions of the Apple History Calendar show and make this year’s version a great purchase for any Apple fan, whether that’s you or a friend. I can’t wait to see the images and events Stephen has collected for 2024’s calendar.

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AppStories, Episode 338 – What’s Next for Notes, Reminders, and Macs→

This week on AppStories, I was joined by Alex Guyot to talk about the new features coming to Apple Notes and Reminders, as well as new Mac hardware announced at WWDC.

Sponsored by:

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On AppStories+, Alex shares his thoughts about WWDC after four years away and I explain what it was like to record in the Apple Podcasts studio at Apple Park.

We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.

To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

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