AppStories
AppStories

AppStories is a weekly exploration of the world of apps by MacStories’ Federico Viticci and John Voorhees. Each week, they discuss the best new apps, the impact of apps on our culture, and cover the stories behind popular apps. Hosted by Federico Viticci and John Voorhees.

When Everything Apps Work and When the Don't
What's New in Text Editors?
Apple and Agents
Federico on Foldables
The Messy Development of AI Apps
Thoughts on Apple's New Hardware
The Hardware We Expect and the Gear We Dare to Dream for
Putting All the Pieces Together
A grab bag of new apps we're using
How We Use Notion
The Impact of AI on the App Store
How We Use Claude Code and Codex
How We Spend Our Holiday Break, Part 2
How We Spent Our Downtime
A Look Ahead to Next Year
The 2025 MacStories Selects Awards
Our AI Automation Workflows
Great Liquid Glass Apps
How Subscriptions, Regulation, and AI Are Reshaping the World of Apps
New Apps and Workflows for the holiday season
Organizing Your Digital Life
What's the Deal with AI Browsers?
Federico’s M5 iPad Pro Review
Imagining and Apple AI Future
A Hardware and Software Wishlist
MCP Demystified
A hardware update, Smart Stacks, and the quest to game on the Vision Pro
Thoughts on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and AirPods Pro 3
The MacStories Annual Review Extravaganza
AirPods, iPhone 17 Air, and Federico's AirTag Mystery
What We Did on Our Summer Breaks
Combining the Best AI App Features Into One Super App
Should you install iPadOS or macOS 26?
Everything But the Games
John's iPad Use and Federico's Mac Use
What We'd Like to See Apple Try Next
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Review Season
Our Early OS 26 Testing
Federico Rethinks His iPad Setup
WWDC Backstage
A WWDC 2025 Recap
The AppStories ADA Interviews
Our WWDC 2025 Automation Wishes
OS Updates We're Hoping to See at WWDC
A Conversation About App and Product Design
An Interview with Apple's Apple's Susan Prescott and Students, Plus more OS Wishes
Our Annual OS Wishes
Apps for Tracking Anything
The AI Models We Use and How We Use Them
Keeping a Schedule
A Selection of Our Favorite Utilities
A Selection of Automations
An Interview with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman
Filling the Gaps in Apple Automation
What Is Driving Our 2025 Tech Decisions
Why Aren't Developers Making Prosumer and Small Business Apps Anymore?
Looking Ahead to the App World's Next Five Years
Four Apps You May Not Know But Should Try
A Skeptical, Principled Approach to AI
Living a Quality Quantified Life in VR
How the Web Is Changing the App Landscape
Where Apple Should Steer Its AI
What’s Next for Apple in the Year Ahead
How we plan to spend our downtime over the holidays
A Look at What Shaped the App World in 2024
Celebrating the Best Apps of 2024
Finding a Place for AI in Our Workflows
A Conversation with Brendon Bigley
A Conversation with Robb Knight
A Conversation with Chris Lawley
A Conversation with Jonathan Reed
The Apps We Use
Federico reviews the iPad mini (A17 Pro)
The Gear We Use
How We're Using iOS 18's Customizable Controls
Great Apps That Take Advantage of Apple's Latest APIs
It's Fine
Federico Viticci's Annual iOS and iPadOS Review
The Apps We Use to Be Productive
That Apps We Use to Get Work Done
Celebrating Episode 400
Hardware Innovation and Apple
Imagining the Perfect Podcast App
What to Expect This Fall
First Impressions of the Public Beta
What to Expect from the Public Betas
What API Changes Mean for Users
Top OS and App Tips
What's Next for Email Apps?
WWDC Recap and Applebot
ADA and Swift Student Challenge Interviews
Vision Pro and Apple Intelligence
WWDC 2024 First Impressions
WWDC Predictions
watchOS and tvOS Wishes
2024 macOS and visionOS Wishes
The iOS and iPadOS updates we'd love to see
How the iPad Is Held Back by Its OS
The Journey from Side Loaded App to Alternative App Marketplace
Interviews with Apple's Susan Prescott plus past and present student winners
The Themes, Plugins, and Systems We Use
Mac Apps We Love
Apps Are So 2007
A Story 26 Years in the Making
The iOS 18 Shortcuts Features We Want to See
Recent App Downloads
Where Is App Design Headed?
How Federico Built a Hybrid Mac/iPad
visionOS Entertainment Apps
visionOS
The Vision Pro Hardware Experience
Apple's Response to the EU
New Workflows
Apple Vision Pro Prep
Welcome Magic Rays of Light
Apps We're Enjoying
How Could Apple Improve the Share Sheet?
Honoring Excellence in Apps
Imagining Alternative Apple Histories
Holiday Tech Projects (Part 2)
Holiday Tech Projects (Part 1)
Tips for Staying Digitally Organized
Imagining an Extensible To-Do App
Apple's Scary Fast Event
Web Apps
Reading the Web with the Boox Tab Ultra
Apple Vison Pro Apps
tvOS 17 Review
Interactive Widgets
iOS and iPadOS 17
Apple's Fall Media Event
Saving Links in 2023
A Look at Our Summertime Gadget Collection
Four great apps
The Shift in How Apps Are Made
App Industry Trends
The macOS, iOS, and iPadOS Public Betas
watchOS and macOS Public Beta Previews
Web Apps We Use
Grading Our OS Wishes, Part 2
Grading Our OS Wishes
OS Updates and Third-Party Apps
Notes, Reminders, and Macs
2023 Swift Student Challenge Winner Interviews
2023 Apple Design Awards Interviews
Apple Vision Pro
WWDC 2023 Stage Manager Deep Dive
WWDC 2023: Keynote First Impressions
Final Pre-WWDC Thoughts
Our xrOS Wishes
2023 macOS Wishes
watchOS 10 and tvOS 17 Wishes
iPadOS 17 Wishes
iOS 17 Wishes
Federico's M2 MacBook Air Setup
Apps with Great Shortcuts Support
Linking and S-GPT
Shortcuts Check-In
Pick 2
Revisiting RSS
Q&A
The Future of Web Browsers
Apple Watch Ultra Apps
AI Apps
Artificial Intelligence, Part 1
Mastodon Apps Continued
Mastodon Apps for iPhone and iPad
Imagining VR Apps
Read-Later Apps
Gone but Not Forgotten: Third-Party Apps (Part 2)
2022 MacStories Selects Awards
Gone but Not Forgotten: Third-Party Apps (Pt. 1)
Apple Apps and Features that Didn't Make It
Holiday Projects (Part 2)
Holiday Projects (Part 1)
Anybox and Spring
Episode 200 Revisited
MacOS Ventura
Stage Manager in iPadOS 16
The New iPad and iPad Pro Review
App Trends
Return to the App Grab Bag
An interview with David Smith
More iOS 16 Apps
iOS 16 Lock Screen Widgets
iOS 16 Review
macOS Ventura
Let's Fix Music
Modern Shortcuts Actions
watchOS 9 Preview
The Daily Impact of iOS and iPadOS 16
Recently Added Apps
OS Preview: System Apps Part 2
OS Preview: System Apps Part 1
OS Public Beta Previews
Reading and Research Apps
Mac App Roundup
App Grab Bag
WWDC and the Future of Apple's OSes
WWDC 2022: Shortcuts
M2 MacBook Airs and macOS Ventura
WWDC 2022: iPadOS and Reminders
2022 ADA Interviews
WWDC 2022 Keynote Overview
macOS 13 Wishes
iPadOS 16 Wishes
watchOS and tvOS Wishes
Our iOS 16 Wishes
Gaming on Apple Platforms
Apps with Great Shortcuts Support
Our Automation April Shortcuts
Automation April: Developer Interviews
Automation April: Our Shortcuts Setups
An Interview with Apple's Vivek Bhardwaj
iOS and iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3
iPad Air 5th Generation Review
Apple's Peek Performance Event
Getting More from Twitter
2022 Hardware Predictions
10 App Innovations Apple Should Adopt
Shortcuts Wish List (2022)
New Apps We're Trying (Part 2)
The MacStories Starter Pack
New and Revisited Apps
More Obsidian Plugins
Third-Party Obsidian Plugins
What Will Be Big Next?
Celebrating The Best Apps of The Year
Obsidian's Core Plugins
Getting Started with Obsidian
Shortcuts for Mac
iPhone, iPad, and Mac Tips
iPad mini Home Screen Setups
iOS and iPadOS 15.1
macOS Monterey
Apple's October 2021 Event
iOS and iPadOS 15 Tips
Safari Extensions for iOS and iPadOS
Exploring the Strengths of the iPad mini
Federico's iOS and iPadOS 15 Review
Upcoming HomeKit and tvOS Updates
Apple Brings Tagging and Filtering to Reminders and Notes
What Is a Great Mac App?
The Next Generation of Club MacStories
Sideloading with AltStore
Malin Sundberg Interview
Thoughts on Apple's Latest OS Betas
Safari and Notes for Research
Gui Rambo Interview
App Customization
Marcos Tanaka Interview
Shortcuts Preview
Obsidian for Research and Note-Taking
Obsidian for Research and Note-Taking
2021 ADA Winner Interviews
iOS 15 and Audio Gear
WWDC 2021: Safari Web Extensions and Live Text
WWDC 2021: Shortcuts Files Actions, Quick Note, and Safari
WWDC 2021: Shortcuts Files Actions, Quick Note, and Safari
WWDC 2021: Shortcuts for Mac, iPad Keyboard Navigation, and Dev Tools
WWDC 2021: Keynote Impressions
2021 tvOS and watchOS Wishes
2021 iPadOS Wishes
Federico's 2021 iPad Pro Review
Federico's 2021 iPad Pro Review
2021 iOS Wishes
2021 macOS Wishes
Substack, Email, and App Silos
iOS and iPadOS 14.5
Alternative Music Services
Music Apps
How We Listen to Music
Apple's Home Strategy
Read-It-Later Apps
Surprising Apps
Email Newsletters
2021 Shortcuts Wishes
What Can the Mac Teach the iPad?
What Can the Mac Learn from the iPad?
Accessory Extravaganza
Apps for Writing
App Modularity
HomeKit Devices
Calendars and Team Communications
Task Management Apps
2020 MacStories Selects Awards
Rethinking Notes: Craft
Rethinking Email
The App Store Evolves
The App Store Evolves
macOS Big Sur
iOS Apps on the Mac
How Widgets Change Our Device Usage
New Tech, New Apps
The All-New iPad Air
The All-New iPad Air
The iPhone Event Apps
The iPhone Event Apps
iOS and iPadOS 14 Review
iOS Music Widgets
iOS 14 Home Screen Customization
Michael Flarup Interview
App Review Changes
App Review Changes
Widget Setups
Apple's 2020 Gaming Updates
Vidit Bhargava Inteview
Mac Catalyst Revisited
David Smith Interview
Guilherme Rambo Interview
Great App Design
Castro and Grammarly
Interview: Myke Hurley
Interview: Myke Hurley
2020 ADA Interviews
Updates to Apple's Apps
WWDC 2020: macOS and Shortcuts
First Impressions, Discoveries, and App Clips
WWDC 2020: Widgets
WWDC 2020 Keynote Overview
iOS Wishes
macOS Wishes
watchOS and tvOS Wishes
Building the Perfect Research App
iPadOS Wishes
Next-Generation Apps
An interview with Apple's Craig Federighi
Research, Writing, and Editing Apps
iOS and iPadOS Utility Apps
Clipboard and Shelf Apps
Cleaning up our phones, email, and more
Research Apps
Celebrating 10 Years of iPad
Celebrating 10 Years of iPad
Apps and Diversions for Being Stuck at Home
Apps Apple Should Make
Apps Apple Should Make
iOS and iPadOS Utility App Gems
Subscription Lessons Learned
Apple Mixes Apps and Services
Exploring New Apps and Workflows
Apple's Beta Shake-Up
Modern iOS and iPadOS Apps
The iPad at 10
Apple Music Utilities
Shortcuts Utilities
Safari on iPadOS and iOS 13
The 2019 MacStories Selects Awards
Our Apple app wishes for 2020
Reeder for the Mac and iOS
HomeKit Gear, Apps, and Automation
An interview with Soulver's Zac Cohan
Apple’s TV App
Our annual Apple Watch check-in
The new classic iOS game service and shortcuts we've been building
An interview with James Thomson and discussion of Federico's iPhone 11 Pro camera story
An interview with James Thomson and discussion of Federico's iPhone 11 Pro camera story
Mac Catalyst and apps built with it
Federico and John create an iOS media companion
MacStories Shortcuts Icons and Apple Arcade
Third-Party Apps and Shortcuts
A conversation about Federico's iOS and iPadOS 13 review
New and updated apps from Apple's keynote
New and updated apps from Apple's keynote
The iOS and iPadOS share sheet
Revisiting Apple Mail
A preview of Sidecar in iOS 13 and Catalina
iOS 13's changes to Apple Maps
CarPlay and Vignette with Casey Liss
Is it getting harder to beat Apple at its own game?
A closer look at Flighty and Pushover
How travel affects our app and gear use.
A preview of Photos for iOS 13 and MacOS Catalina
A collection of recent iOS downloads.
iOS 13's Reminders update
Catalyst's impact of Mac and pro iPad apps
A look at updates coming to Notes this fall.
An overview of some of our favorite upcoming Apple app updates
An interview with Apple's Craig Federighi
An in-depth look at Timery for Toggl and a sneak peek at Dialog, a new podcast from MacStories.
A behind the scenes look at Federico's story, Beyond the Tablet: Seven Years of iPad as My Main Computer.
A behind the scenes look at Federico's story, Beyond the Tablet: Seven Years of iPad as My Main Computer.
A conversation about iOS 13 app rumors
The implications of breaking up iTunes into multiple Marzipan apps
An in-depth look at Moment Pro Camera and MindNode 6.
Our mini setups and the apps we run on them.
An in-depth interview with Federico Viticci for MacStories' 10th anniversary
A look at the TV app, News, Apple Arcade, and the Apple Card.
A look at pro iPad apps and where iOS is holding them back
Our HomeKit and Shortcuts wishes for iOS 13
Reading apps including Apple Books, Kindle, Comixology, Shonen Jump, and News.
A discussion of Retrobatch, Grape, Gladys, and Sofa.
Files and home screen wishes for iOS 13
App trends that will shape iOS and Mac development.
A detailed look at two workflows we use at MacStories.
Combining iOS and Mac automation.
Four of our favorite utilities.
Alternate apps for Apple's iPad ads.
An interview with director Yarrow Cheney about the iPad and filmmaking.
An interview with Edwin Smith of Feral Interactive
Our 2019 app themes drawn from 2018's must-have iOS and Mac apps
The MacStories team's picks for Best New App, Best New Game, and Best App Update of 2018.
The apps we use to plan projects
iOS RAW Camera Apps and Editors
iOS in the car
iPad Pro RAM, display compatibility, and John's return to the iPad Pro
A deep dive into Grocery and HomeRun
The iPad Pro app demos, gaming on iOS, and the apps we didn't see.
How we personalize our iOS devices.
Part 2 covering our favorite shortcuts.
The shortcuts we use most often
A discussion of our current Watch faces, Complications, Docks, and apps.
Marzipan and the future of Mac and iOS apps.
More of our favorite iOS and watchOS apps.
Our favorite iOS apps with new iOS 12 features.
Twitter clients and related apps.
How third-party apps expand Reminders' functionality
A discussion of our favorite iOS share and action extensions.
John and Merlin Mann talk about managing family tech and Screen Time.
Finding an iPhone organizational system that works for you
The Mac menu bar apps we use and why
Exploring what makes an app a 'pro' app.
A discussion of PDF apps on the Mac and iOS.
The apps we use and how we use them to manage and launch big projects.
A conversation with Ryan Cash and Harry Nesbitt
Conversations about iOS design.
A conversation with Zach Gage about games and the App Store
A conversation with developer Becky Hansmeyer and designer Heidi Pilypas
A conversation with independent app developers Marco Arment and David Smith
A discussion of the early days of the App Store with developers Craig Hockenberry and James Thomson
Personal stories about how the App Store as affected our lives.
A close look at SiriKit apps and what's coming in iOS 12 with Shortcuts.
A review of notification, Do Not Disturb, and Screen Time features coming to iOS 12.
A look at the apps announced at WWDC 2018.
A look at Federico and John's iPhone Home screens.
Revitalizing the Mac app ecosystem via iOS
A deep dive into the latest updates to Spark and 1Password for Mac.
A conversation about what phone manufacturers and users can do about excessive smartphone use.
Our iOS 12 wishes for Apple's stock apps.
A closer look at two apps we use.
An Apple TV app challenge.
The pros and cons of do-everything and single-purpose apps.
Managing content saved for later consumption.
Federico and Joh discuss how they manage information overload and interruptions.
A deep dive into Bear and DEVONthink.
A conversation with legally blind filmmaker and YouTuber James Rath.
A tour of some of the apps Apple has acquired over the past twenty years.
A look at the culture surrounding health and fitness apps.
A conversation with Harry Nesbitt and Ryan Cash of Team Alto about Alto's Odyssey.
A conversation with Harry Nesbitt and Ryan Cash of Team Alto about Alto's Odyssey.
The trends and culture surrounding mindfulness and meditation apps.
How we use RSS for work and pleasure reading.
A deep dive into RSS sync services and client apps.
How iOS 11 has changed how we use our iOS devices.
How apps fit into our day-to-day TV and movie watching.
A discussion of what's wrong with the Mac App Store and how it could be fixed.
A conversation with James Thomson, the developer of PCalc and DragThing
A wishlist of features our perfect email client would include.
Apple's New Pre-Order Program
An interview with Apollo creator Christian Selig.
A deep dive into Pixelmator Pro for macOS and Things 3 for iOS
How we use our Apple Watches and the watchOS apps we use.
Federico and John discuss apps they want to use more but don't always get around to trying.
Federico and John discuss apps designed for the iPhone X and what makes apps 'sticky.'
The apps and workflow the MacStories team uses to cover Apple earnings calls.
A deep dive into the geeky macOS apps we use.
An interview with developer Greg Pierce of Agile Tortoise
Music services and apps
Federico and John's favorite travel apps.
Federico and John discuss the drag and drop feature and related apps
Federico and John pick some of their favorite iOS 11 apps so far.
An inside look at the apps Federico used to create his annual iOS review.
An update on Federico's iOS 11 review, upcoming coverage on MacStories and for Club MacStories, and a discussion of indie apps that add a human touch
Considering how to break up iTunes.
The fallout from Ulysses' switch to subscription pricing and impact of Apple's transition to 64-bit apps
An interview with Dermot Daly of Tapadoo
A look at shelf and clipboard apps on macOS and iOS
Federico and John share their iPad Home screens.
The iMessage App Store today and the changes coming in iOS 11.
A discussion of Apple's new approach to iOS file management.
An in-depth discussion of two apps that Federico and John use regularly.
A conversation with David H. Lawrence XVII, maker of Rehearsal Pro
The pros and cons of non-native apps
What new APIs and system features may mean for third-party developers and users.
The changes coming to the App Store in iOS 11 and the challenges they present.
Succeeding and thriving against iOS system apps.
An interview with the co-creator of Hidden Folks
Tip jars, patronage, donations, bundles, and in-app merchandise business models.
Creating the CARROT series of apps
A closer look at what developers are doing with app subscriptions.
An interview with AfterPad's Kevin MacLeod about app discovery and the iTunes Affiliate Program
An interview with AfterPad's Kevin MacLeod about app discovery and the iTunes Affiliate Program
An interview with Jean MacDonald and Grey Osten of App Camp for Girls.
How we get started with iOS devices.
An introduction to AppStories.