Rethinking My Podcast App

I have a confession to make: after years of using Overcast as my podcast player of choice, I’ve made the switch back to Apple’s Podcasts (for the time being). There were two reasons I made this change: The first was the addition of podcast transcriptions in iOS 17.4. That’s a feature that I have long […]

Identify Music in Online Videos With iOS Control Center’s Music Recognition

We’ve all been there before: you’re scrolling on Tik Tok, or through Reels or YouTube Shorts when you hear a song that catches your ear. You look down to the little music identification area of the screen and instead of seeing About Damn Time by Lizzo, you see something to the effect of Original Audio […]

Will Siri Ever Be the Product It Needs to Be?

Spend enough time on any Apple related forum and you will inevitably find someone complaining about the quality of Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri. While upon its original introduction it seemed like Siri was ripe for a world of endless possibilities, the reality almost 13 years later is much different. While there’s a lot Siri can […]

How to Use Message Effects in iMessage

Have you ever been sent an iMessage that says “Happy New Year” and upon opening it you find your phone showing a fireworks display? Or “Happy Birthday” triggering balloons? While these automated triggers are great, you can actually use those effects with any text you want. In Messages, once you put your message in the […]

Five Reasons ‘Apollo’ is the Best Reddit Client for iOS

I’ve been on Reddit for years. I’ve used the site long enough to remember when AlienBlue was the best Reddit app on the market. Unfortunately, the company themselves purchased the app, killed it, and replaced it with their current app, which, for the most part, sucks. I was very excited a few years ago when […]

How to Sync Your ‘Marvis Pro’ Settings

Over on TikTok I created a brief video tutorial showing you how to sync your settings and customizations in Marvis Pro. Marvis Pro is a highly customizable Apple Music client for iPhones and iPads that is my music player of choice. The one drawback to the app is that if you use it on both […]

Driving Focus Needs Home Screens

Focus modes are one of the features added to iOS that I got really excited when I first saw. I spent the time leading up to the release of iOS 15 thinking of all the ways I would use. Despite actually setting up a few that I should be using, there’s only three that I […]

On Clock, Find My, and Health Removal in iOS 16

Earlier today as I was scrolling through 9to5Mac’s RSS feed, I came across this interesting tidbit about iOS 16. For their upcoming software release, Apple has decided to add three more system apps to the list of default apps that can be removed from the device: Clock, Health, and Find My. Towards the bottom of […]

iOS 16’s New Customizable Lock Screen Is My Favorite WWDC Announcement

This year’s WWDC was an interesting one for sure. As per usual, the company revealed this fall’s software releases for its major platforms: iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS. In a lot of ways, this felt like a more subdued year, though there’s at least one controversy that I will also be touching on in another […]

My Shazam Shortcut Just Got Even Better | Shazam v2.0 | Shortcuts Workflow

A little over a year ago, I wrote about my iOS Shortcut for identifying music with Shazam and adding it to an Apple Music Playlist. In the time since I first shared that shortcut, a few things have changed. The first was the release of MusicBox, by MusicHarbor and Play developer, Marcos Tanaka. MusicBox does […]

‘Play’ Is A Great YouTube Watch Later App — Here’s a Feature Request I’d Like to Second

Devon Michael Dundee did a great write up on Marcos Tanaka’s app Play, a standalone watch later app for YouTube. I’ve been using the app for quite some time, thanks to the beta that was available for Club MacStories members. One thing in particular stood out to me in this article, though: The one thing […]

NFC Automation & Chill | Shortcuts Workflow

As I’ve been diving deeper and deeper into the Shortcuts rabbit hole on iOS, there’s one thing that I’ve been wanting to play around with that I haven’t had a chance to: NFC triggers for automation. Recently, I was thinking about setting one up to launch Nudget, my budgeting app of choice, when I bring […]

Use ‘Sticker Doodle’ to Turn Your Photos into iMessage Stickers | App Spotlight

Sticker DoodlePrice: Free/$1.99 IAPDeveloper: Charles EtzleLink: App Store The other day I was looking at 9to5Mac’s RSS feed when I stumbled upon an interesting story, spotlighting an app called Sticker Doodle. Naturally any app that promises to let me turn my photos into iMessage stickers is something that I needed to check out. The app […]

Marvel Unlimited Needs Widgets on iOS

Two of the best subscriptions I’ve ever purchased are annual access to Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe Infinite. Between the two, I have access to a massive library of comics from the two biggest publishers, which also just so happens to make up the majority of my comic book reading. DC Comics was a bit […]

When Will Apple Music Get Handoff

Yesterday I noticed something while on the “Browse” tab of Apple Music on my iPhone: a graphic with the words “Get ready—music is about to change forever.” Update: Apple started today off strong by announcing Spacial Audio with Dolby Atmos and lossless audio to Apple Music at no additional cost in June. Now I’m not […]

I Wish Apple Was Consistent With Widgets

One of my favorite things about Apple’s current generation of operating systems is that widgets have been given an overhaul. While it’s a fair criticism to say that widgets lost a bit of functionality from years past, I think it’s a fair tradeoff given the design benefits. Up until this point, every app developer more […]

My Workflow for Listening to New Music – Powered by MusicHarbor

App: MusicHarborPrice: Free ($5.99 IAP)Developer: Marcos Antonio Tanaka (Website)Platforms: iOS, iPadOS, macOS App Store Music is a pretty important part of a lot of people’s lives. While in my life, I think I would tend to put more weight on films, I still do enjoy listening to and discovering new music. My tastes in music […]

iOS 14’s Best Features NEED to Come to iPad OS

When Apple released iOS 14 out into the wild, it brought two fantastic features with it. Widgets The first was the update to the way widgets were are handled by the OS. Instead of locking widgets to the Today View (where I often forgot I had set them up), users can now drag widgets right […]

iOS 14.5 Helps to Solve the Face ID Mask Issue

I returned to iOS last year right before all hell broke loose with the pandemic. One of my favorite features upon getting an iPhone 11 was Face ID — while I’ve never had an issue using a fingerprint scanner on any phone, being able to look at a device and have it unlock is pretty […]

Come On YouTube – Give Us PiP Support on iOS

With the release of iOS 14 last month for Apple’s iPhones, the company’s smartphones finally have support for Picture in Picture video…in certain apps. On the one hand, this is a blessing for anyone who likes to do other things on their phone while on a FaceTime call with a friend or family member. On […]