AI agents are the reason the current flood of App Store utility apps exists and won't last. More on MacStories: https://www.macstories.net/stories/the-utility-app-flood-wont-last/

🚨Reminder🚨 Ted Lasso, Season Four premieres on Apple TV today - https://apple.co/4pTKLJn Learn more on MacStories here: https://www.macstories.net/news/coming-soon-whats-next-on-apple-tv-and-apple-arcade-in-august-2026/

August is a busy sports-themed month on Apple TV and Arcade featuring: ⚽ Ted Lasso 🏈 Madden NFL 27 🏀 The Dynasty: UConn Huskies 🏎️ The Dutch Grand Prix ⚾ Yankees vs Red Sox

NPC is out and this week, Brendon, John, and Federico dig into the week's handheld news and take a nerdy look at the recomp and decomp scene that is rapidly expanding to new operating systems. 🎧 apple.co/4fLfMuw 📺 youtu.be/tUzmYedvqXc

Recomps, Decomps, and Playable Dioramas

Podcast Episode · NPC: Next Portable Console · August 3 · 27m

apple.co

Then for Patreon supports on NPC XL, they revisit GameNative and the progress it's made with emulating PC games on Android. 🎧 www.patreon.com/NextPortable... 📺 www.patreon.com/NextPortable...

A PC Gaming on Android Check-In | Next Portable Console

A PC Gaming on Android Check-In by Next Portable Console on Patreon. Join Next Portable Console's community for exclusive content and updates.

patreon.com

There are 7 PR people for every journalist in the US. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Pastebot 3 is now on the Mac App Store: Our Review: https://www.macstories.net/reviews/pastebot-3-doubles-down-on-mac-clipboard-automation-and-introduces-two-new-business-models/ Buy Direct: https://tapbots.com/pastebot/ Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pastebot-3/id6761201231?mt=12

August is a busy sports-themed month on Apple TV and Arcade featuring: ⚽ Ted Lasso 🏈 Madden NFL 27 🏀 The Dynasty: UConn Huskies 🏎️ The Dutch Grand Prix ⚾ Yankees vs Red Sox

Fun exploration on AppStories today of all the experiments that Federico and I are running. 🎧 https://apple.co/45Al5Z1 📺 https://youtu.be/pRS2k3m7li8?si=0TvH75EJCSzCF7uM And more on fast workflow iteration in AppStories+: https://www.macstories.net/appstories-plans/

Historically, I've hesitated to recommend color picker apps because so many that I've liked became abandonware. Not so for Pastel from Steve Troughton-Smith. It's great, on all Apple platforms, and has been regularly updated for six years now. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pastel/id413897608

Historically, I've hesitated to recommend color picker apps because so many that I've liked became abandonware. Not so for Pastel from Steve Troughton-Smith. It's great, on all Apple platforms, and has been regularly updated for six years now. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pastel/id413897608

In Club MacStories' weekly newsletter today: How my approach to automation has totally changed in 2026. https://www.macstories.net/club/macstories-weekly-issue-524/my-new-automation-calculus/

This week on MacStories Unwind: 📡 I blanket my neighborhood in radio waves 🖥️ Federico is playing with Linux 💰 Apple TV's Lucky 🎧 https://apple.co/4fvSaey 📺 https://youtu.be/l0icooPylZQ

Podcast Rewind: Open Minis, the RG SP Announcement, Too Much Wi-Fi, and the MessagePad with D. Griffin Jones https://www.macstories.net/news/podcast-rewind-open-minis-the-rg-sp-announcement-too-much-wi-fi-and-the-messagepad-with-d-griffin-jones/

Podcast Rewind: Open Minis, the RG SP Announcement, Too Much Wi-Fi, and the MessagePad with D. Griffin Jones

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories' family of podcasts: AppStories This week, John and Federico discuss the changing face of the AI-fueled App Store and questionable changes made to TestFlight before going into the nerdiest details of Open Minis, an iOS app that brings desktop-class agents onto the iPhone and iPad. Then on AppStories+, Federico

macstories.net

You didn't think I'd let a Message sticker pack story in 2026 pass me by did you? https://www.macstories.net/news/shazam-releases-exclusive-ariana-grande-messages-sticker-pack/

With this week’s @deltaemulator.com beta, you can now customize the game screen position when a controller is connected 🙌 Perfect for controllers like 8BitDo’s FlipPad! www.theverge.com/tech/964658/...

Design and development on iOS comes full circle with the advent of coding agents in my July Monthly Log story for Club MacStories members: https://www.macstories.net/club/monthly-log-july-2026/#the-rise-of-the-designer-developer

It's time for another eipsode of NPC: Next Portable Console. Today, we cover Anberbernic's RG SP announcement, Federico's latest purchase, and the slow drip reveals by handheld makers. 🎧 apple.co/45rLLen 📺 youtu.be/pDK2P0MQoHI

The Stickless Clamshell Everyone Wanted

Podcast Episode · NPC: Next Portable Console · July 28 · 25m

apple.co

Then for NPC XL, Cocoon 3.0 and Syncthing! 🎧 www.patreon.com/NextPortable... 📺 www.patreon.com/NextPortable...

Cocoon 3 Rebuilds The Handheld Home Screen | Next Portable Console

Cocoon 3 Rebuilds The Handheld Home Screen by Next Portable Console on Patreon. Join Next Portable Console's community for exclusive content and updates.

patreon.com

Apple revealed its new payment plan for hardware, which trades ownership for lower payments. My story on @macstories.net and more about what that means Apple's customers: www.macstories.net/news/apple-u....

Apple Upgrade Trades Ownership for Lower Monthly Payments

Apple has revealed its new hardware leasing program called Apple Upgrade, which is being offered in collaboration with Klarna. This is Apple's pitch: Introducing Apple Upgrade, a new way to always hav...

macstories.net

Codex needs a global hotkey for quickly jumping to a completed task.

I've been using Pastebot 3 for two months and it's excellent. My review on MacStories: https://www.macstories.net/reviews/pastebot-3-doubles-down-on-mac-clipboard-automation-and-introduces-two-new-business-models/

I love a good "App developer does something that doesn't seem possible" story like this one from Federico about Lock Launcher. www.macstories.net/ios/lock-lau...

This week on AppStories: 📱 Is the App Store gold rush a gold rush without gold?  What has Apple done to TestFlight? 🤖 Open Minis sets out to make agents first class citizens on iOS and iPadOS 🎧 https://apple.co/45oFPTo

If every tech CEO had been required to subscribe to a personal Claude or Codex subscription, build something, see how fast the tokens get used up, and was then shown what it would have cost on an enterprise plan, tokenmaxxing would have lasted even less time than it did.

Podcast Rewind: Siri AI, the Game Boy Advance Returns, and Smart Ceiling Fans https://www.macstories.net/news/podcast-rewind-siri-ai-the-game-boy-advance-returns-and-smart-ceiling-fans/

Podcast Rewind: Siri AI, the Game Boy Advance Returns, and Smart Ceiling Fans

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories' family of podcasts: AppStories This week, Federico and John look at what Siri AI is good at, where it needs improvement, and where it might be heading. On AppStories+, the conversation expands to Federico and John's experiences with the betas of macOS Golden Gate, iOS 27, and iPadOS 27.

macstories.net

Today for Club members in MacStories Weekly I share how I use pinning in Apple Music to track the release of singles for upcoming albums and Obsidian as a form of writer's Kanban board. https://www.macstories.net/club/macstories-weekly-issue-523/a-pair-of-pinning-pointers/

Poinpy disappeared from Netflix games last year but is now free for Android and iPhone.

Poinpy, a perfect video game, is back and it's completely free on mobile - Engadget

engadget.com

App Store submissions are off the charts, while app downloads are only creeping up, making it tougher than ever to make it on the App Store, but there's a silver lining... https://www.macstories.net/linked/app-store-chaos/