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Federico Viticci

@viticci.macstories.net
11.4K followers 225 following 959 posts

Founder and Editor-in-Chief @macstories.net. I write about iPad, iOS, indie apps, and making computers more fun. I also co-host @appstories.macstories.net, a podcast about Apple and the world of apps, and @npc.macstories.net, a show about handhelds.

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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 21/09/2026
Apple also sent me an M5 Pro Mac mini, 64GB of RAM. I spent more time with the M5 Ultra, but for the price and size, this thing also rips! Will do more testing on this soon.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 21/09/2026
I ran all the M5 Ultra tests I could think of: - Two models (Flash-Next and GLM-5.3-Flash) - 4k, 8k, 16k, 64k, 128k, and 256k prompts - M5 Ultra vs M3 Ultra vs 5090 - 4/5/6/8-bit quants I created all the possible charts and visualizations I could think of. www.macstories.net/stories/m5-u...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 21/09/2026
This M5 Ultra Mac Studio feels made for Qwen3.8-Flash-Next. - 100+ TPS at 4 or 5-bit - Token prefill is up 150% (!) compared to M3 Ultra - Can use subagents with room to spare Flash-Next feels GREAT for agentic coding, especially at these speeds. www.macstories.net/stories/m5-u...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 14/09/2026
2015-2026. Review #12 is done. Thank you all for reading all these years. Let's do this again for iOS 28. www.macstories.net/stories/ios-...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 14/09/2026
I've had so much fun making the review special this year: - Dark mode chapter covers - An interactive Siri AI widget - An animated Siri AI chapter cover (try it!) - Interactive Liquid Glass icon comparisons Have fun: www.macstories.net/stories/ios-...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 14/09/2026
I've been working on this for 3 months, and here it is: My iOS and iPadOS 27 review: www.macstories.net/stories/ios-... Customizable Liquid Glass, iPadOS, 15 system apps, and a big Siri AI chapter. And no, it's not a Snow Leopard release. Enjoy!
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 11/09/2026
Next week.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 19/08/2026
I got my Retroid Pocket Nova today and it's exactly as lovely as I hoped it would be 🥺 Retroid's own dual-screen accessory also feels very nice with it. Excited to dig in
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 17/07/2026
In the newsletter today I wrote about two apps: - One of the best new Mac apps I've tried in a long time made for Apple Music; - The new @notion.com Agents app, which is a really nicely designed experience for working with LLMs in Notion. www.macstories.net/club/macstor...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 16/07/2026
Apple's security team, watching their former employee download gigabytes of trade secrets at OpenAI
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 14/07/2026
From last night, we published: My thoughts on Siri AI www.macstories.net/stories/siri... First impressions for: Golden Gate www.macstories.net/stories/maco... watchOS 27 www.macstories.net/stories/watc... visionOS 27 www.macstories.net/stories/visi...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 01/07/2026
Here's another example of typical Gemini behavior appearing in Siri AI: Siri starts giving a wrong response, changes its mind, continues paragraph with a different (and correct) response. (I've seen Gemini Flash models do this all the time.) (Sonnet 5 Medium on the right.)
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 01/07/2026
Let's talk about Siri AI's web search and App Intents index. I'm asking for the latest single by Phoebe Bridgers. A text search works, and brings up web sources. If I'm asking to * play* it, Siri actually plays a song from years ago.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 28/05/2026
RemCTL comes bundled with a skill for Claude Code and Codex that lets you turn Reminders into a powerful task manager. It works great in Codex mobile and other agents. It uses native EventKit and private ReminderKit, with perfect compatibility with the Reminders app. github.com/viticci/remctl
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 27/05/2026
new ink who dis
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 21/05/2026
Lastly, we made a dedicated mini-site for Shortcuts Playground: www.macstories.net/shortcuts-pl... I learned so much about working with agents, designing a harness, and how Shortcuts works in building all this. I fully expect to be Sherlocked in 3 weeks and I can't wait. Enjoy!
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 21/05/2026
But that's not all: Shortcuts Playground made 100+ shortcuts to test itself. Those shortcuts, plus all my previous ones, are now part of the completely redesigned MacStories Shortcuts Archive, launching today: www.macstories.net/shortcuts/ Announcement post: www.macstories.net/news/the-new...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 21/05/2026
I'm thrilled to introduce Shortcuts Playground: A plugin for Claude Code and Codex to create native Apple shortcuts with natural language. Type a sentence in, get a shortcut back. It can one-shot complex shortcuts and even remix old shortcuts. Free and open source: github.com/viticci/shor...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 19/05/2026
I'll be in Cupertino for WWDC! If you see me and want to say hi, please do! I don't get to meet developers/readers/listeners often, and it's always a highlight of my year. (I am fairly easy to spot via the tattoos.)
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 18/05/2026
WWDC keynote officially announced for June 8 See you there!! 👀
Screenshot
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 12/05/2026
Yeah, the Steam Controller is *very* comfortable. Buttons feels just clicky enough. More on @npc.macstories.net next week!
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 10/05/2026
Dusk – a port of Twilight Princess for PC, iOS, Android, Mac, and Linux – is outstanding. Original game + enhancements + QoL fixes. No support for custom textures on Android yet. Runs at 120fps locked on my Odin 3 Ultra. twilitrealm.dev
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 08/05/2026
This week for Club members, I wrote about how I fixed something that annoyed me for a while: Syncing Codex skills and AGENTS.md between multiple Macs: www.macstories.net/club/macstor...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 02/05/2026
I obviously took advantage of the new Pets feature of Codex to make a custom Scott Forstall companion and named him Scotty. He's perfect developers.openai.com/codex/app/se...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 29/04/2026
I have accidentally come across a MagSafe Umbrella (??) for the iPhone on Amazon and, uh, I kinda need this...?
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 13/04/2026
The Apple Frames CLI is *incredibly* fast. Here's a video showing how it frames 50 screenshots in an instant. It's highly customizable, supports more options than the shortcut, and comes with a skill for agents. github.com/viticci/fram...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 27/03/2026
Has anyone figured out the secret trick to making the Todoist MCP "sticky" in the Claude app? This disconnection happens to me every day now. I feel like I'm constantly re-authenticating this. 😔 (Are there any non-horrible alternatives to Todoist with a more reliable MCP?)
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 18/03/2026
iPad Pro M5 PC streaming setup now fully optimized: new streaming server, new controller, and new client app 👀 All ready for Crimson Desert this week, and more details on the next @npc.macstories.net 😄
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 11/03/2026
MacBook Neo onboard experience is kinda rough. Downloaded 3 Electron apps (which most people would these days), and immediately filled RAM + went with 2.5 GB swap. Entire UI feels stuttery (likely because of initial indexing, too) That said, the computer itself looks and feels lovely.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 03/03/2026
Something like Perplexity Computer feels like the right approach for a safer, virtualized alternative to OpenClaw. However: - Lack of mobile support - Slow to navigate between projects - Impossible to store credentials and secrets Wouldn't be shocked to see a 'Claude Computer' next.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 02/03/2026
And in work-related news: For years we've had *hundreds* of issues with Buttondown (our email provider) not syncing members from Memberful correctly. I finally went ahead and built a tool for myself that is fixing thousands of mismatches. You can just build *productive* things now.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 02/03/2026
Today's AI experiment for the family: I used OpenClaw + Codex + Notion to build us a little app to keep track of our dogs' meals for our home diet 🥺
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 02/03/2026
Got a new design in Spotify for iPadOS with a new tab bar and right panel for Now Playing. Nice.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 26/02/2026
OpenClaw with Telegram topics in a group (and multiple agents per topic, each with a model + thinking level) is the way to go. Fast, multimodal, and replacing so many apps for me. Also using Codex 5.3 now, and I actually dig the vibes. @steipete.me truly building something incredible here.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 24/02/2026
I've been using the just-announced @notion.com custom agents for the past couple of months – I'm a big fan. I have a custom agent that connects to multiple MCPs + workers (also today: github.com/makenotion/w...) to self-organize the bookmark manager of my dreams. I should probably write about this!
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 23/02/2026
Opus 4.6 is, by far, the best model to use with OpenClaw, but it's only Monday and I'm already at 60% of my subscription usage (Max plan) 💀 API is way too expensive to use this. Too bad OpenAI doesn't make a model that's just as nice to use with OpenClaw as Opus. (Yet?)
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 15/02/2026
Going two for two with OpenAI acquisitions so far: www.macstories.net/stories/sky-... www.macstories.net/stories/claw... What should I write about next? 😅
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 07/02/2026
Took the new Claude Code "fast mode" for a spin with my Shortcuts Playground. A shortcut that typically generates in 10 minutes was done in 4; spent €11 in extra usage for it. It's very expensive, and very fast for an Opus model. platform.claude.com/docs/en/buil...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 03/02/2026
A genuine "whoa" moment with OpenClaw + my upcoming Shortcuts Playground today. Overnight, OpenClaw built me a brand new CLI to track its own usage and cost (it does these things proactively). I asked to make a shortcut for it. 5 minutes later, I had it in my Shortcuts app. 😳 @steipete.me
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 31/01/2026
Prompt ⇾ shortcut gets built for you ⇾ resume session ⇾ improve shortcut. Added full support for session resume to my generative shortcut, which I'm calling Shortcuts Playground. Going to be free, open source, and out soon for everyone on @macstories.net.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 30/01/2026
The new @anthropic.com Cowork plugins are interesting (if only slightly confusing due to all the features' names). I took an existing one and asked Claude to modify itself to use Todoist and Notion MCPs instead. It worked! More examples of user-editable AI workspaces 🤔 claude.com/blog/cowork-...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 30/01/2026
The prompt VS the result 😎 I think this system I've created is ready to go. And this isn't even the most advanced shortcut I've created with it. Time to write this up!
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 27/01/2026
Gave Codex links to the new MCP Apps SDK: blog.modelcontextprotocol.io/posts/2026-0... 30 minutes later my custom Readwise Reader MCP (itself made with Codex) has a UI in Claude. Not bad.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 24/01/2026
I can now ask my Clawdbot to show me my Mac mini desktop and control stuff without having to get off my couch. The future is wild, man. @steipete.me
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 23/01/2026
This week in the @macstories.net Weekly newsletter, I wrote about my single good experience with "AI browsers" so far: club.macstories.net/posts/an-act...
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 18/01/2026
🛠️ This week on @appstories.macstories.net: all the other things we built over our holiday break. 🧩 On the members-only post-show: @johnvoorhees.macstories.net builds a Safari extension. Episode out tomorrow, or available today for AppStories+ subscribers. 🎧 Listen: appstories.net/episodes/468
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 18/01/2026
"Make a funny Hello World shortcut" "make it even more unhinged" 😂
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 15/01/2026
Here's a preview of something I've been working on: Generative Shortcuts. It's slow; video is sped up; there are some minor errors occasionally. But damn, this feels like a game changer. Powered by Claude Code. More soon.
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 11/01/2026
I've been covering apps for 17 years (!). Over the past month, I've built a selection of "micro apps" just for me with a combo of Claude Code and Codex. I think it's obvious that this whole industry is fundamentally changing. What happens when you don't download apps made by others anymore?
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Federico Viticci @viticci.macstories.net · 09/01/2026
This week for @macstories.net members, I wrote about Claude Code as a general agent and how I freed up 400 GB of storage on my Mac with it: club.macstories.net/posts/how-i-...
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