MacBreak Weekly Episode 1000: “Death by Chocolate”

Release Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Jason Snell
Panelists: Andy Ihnatko, Alex Lindsay
Special Occasion: 1000th Episode

Episode Overview

The 1000th episode of MacBreak Weekly is a lively milestone celebration of community, consistency, and all things Apple. Jason Snell, Andy Ihnatko, and Alex Lindsay gather (with cupcakes and “Death by Chocolate” cake) to reminisce, poke fun at themselves, and, of course, dig into news about Apple’s latest hardware, software stability, award picks, and the future of AI hardware. This episode mixes festive nostalgia with robust critique on Apple’s direction, all delivered in the warm, wisecracking tone fans love.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Celebrating 1000 Episodes

• Milestone Banter: The team discusses the rarity of podcast longevity, with Andy noting, “Most podcasts... do like three episodes, right? And then... there’s never another episode. So just sticking to it long enough... is impressive. And to reach a thousand...I feel like I got to stand up and clap when you get there, because that is such a... lot.” (07:26)
• Cupcake Conundrum: Panelists share comical struggles finding “1” candles for the “1000” marker; Alex: “How many people are 1 years old, or 10 years old, or 100 years old?” (06:42)
• Podcasting Survival: The group jokes about defunct shows and the mythic possibility that the cops might just bust in and end it all at any moment.

2. Apple App Store Awards (2025 Finalists)

• App Award Overload: With 45 App Store finalists, Jason quips, “Do you really want to go through 45 App Store Awards finalists for 2025? Do you really want to do that?” (06:01)
• Marketing or Merit?: Andy provides nuance: “It is just kind of an Apple marketing exercise.” Still, there’s happiness for indie developers getting Apple’s promotional boost. (12:14)
• Vision Pro Game Highlights:
  • Gears and Goo: “Shows off technical lighting... objects really do blend in with the scenery and they look real.” (15:16)
  • Explore POV: “Reminded me of kind of like a multimedia CD ROM… immersive video everywhere.” (14:28)
• Critical Take: There’s debate on the authenticity and purpose of these awards given the swelling number of finalists.

3. Apple Software Frustrations & the Call for 'Snow Leopard' Years

• Stability vs Features:
  • Alex: “I've been hearing a lot more people complaining about the quality of Mac software... just encountering bugs that are just surprisingly dumb.” (18:15)
  • Andy: “Sometimes they pour their hearts into… complexity when no complexity is being asked.” (34:37)
• Spotlight Bug Issues:
  • Andy explains the technical root of a Spotlight bug and criticizes Apple’s QA: “This is a bug that happens in certain circumstances that should have been caught...widespread enough that they should have been caught in the beta process.” (23:19–26:43)
• Big Picture Critique:
  • Jason: “Is Apple bad at software?” (30:07)
  • Andy: “Apple is worse at software than they are at hardware for sure.” (30:09)
  • The group collectively calls for more “release discipline,” and a fit-and-finish year akin to Mac OS X’s Snow Leopard release.

4. The Future of AI Devices: Jony Ive & Sam Altman Project

• Hardware Speculation:
  • Jason describes Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman teasing an AI hardware device, quoting a promise: “‘I love solutions that teeter on appearing almost naive in their simplicity. ... you use them almost without thought, that they’re just tools.’” (43:04–44:00)
• Critical Skepticism:
  • Andy (on Jony’s potential): “Show me how this isn’t just the Humane Pin with better funding.” (51:52)
  • Alex: “The only company I think right now that I would trust with doing this kind of thing would probably be on device with Apple as opposed to, you know, a cloud based whatever.” (49:52)
• Form Factor Debate: The group laughs off brain-reading hats and pins, comparing all hype to the real-world utility of “a $24 bluetooth earbud.”

5. Foldable iPhone Rumors

• Supply Chain Buzz:
  • Apple reportedly prototyping a crease-free folding iPhone using a Samsung panel of unique Apple-engineered design. (68:24–69:35)
  • Expected price: $2,400.
• Panel Reactions:
  • Jason: “Will you guys...?”
    Alex: “Not me.”
    Andy (as an iPad-centric user): “What if I had one device that was basically an iPad mini most of the time?” (71:14)
  • Alex: “I’m absolutely the target audience for this... I want...a folding keyboard... but it doesn’t justify... a 12.9 inch iPad Pro.” (72:08)
  • Discussion on whether it will run iOS, iPadOS, or both with Jason joking “iOS in the front, iPadOS in the back. The iPhone mullet.” (77:36)

6. Vision Pro: New Content & Apple’s Pro Hardware Dilemma

• Immersive Content Coming:
  • Real Madrid and Red Bull Extreme Sports immersive documentaries are coming to Vision Pro. Panelists discuss the challenges of making compelling 360-degree sports content, particularly for soccer. (93:48–96:06)
• Mac Pro on the Chopping Block?:
  • Following Mark Gurman’s reporting, Jason queries Alex’s views on the rumored end of Mac Pro:
    • Alex: “There's still a place for the Pro...being able to have more expandability, I think, makes a big difference.” (98:33)
    • Andy: “Sounds like functionally they could probably do it...maybe it’s more convenient to have it in a box.” (103:46)
    • The consensus: Not enough high-end buyers, and Thunderbolt 5 expansion means most needs are covered by the Mac Studio.

7. Tech News Potpourri

• Airdrop on Android:
  • Finally, Android’s Quick Share can interface with Apple’s AirDrop (with caveats). Andy: “This is a big solution. ...it didn’t take Apple's cooperation to do this.” (82:14–83:29)
• ATT in Poland: Apple faces regulatory scrutiny over App Tracking Transparency, yet the panel laments that regulators don’t distinguish between first- and third-party tracking. (89:10)
• Accessory Buzz: Special edition Hikawa MagSafe phone grip sells out in hours, celebrates Apple’s accessibility anniversary. Also, designer Bailey Hakawa is famous for... designer toilet seats. (120:26–122:41)
• Ads & Media: Mixed feelings on new Apple and Google phone commercials. CNN leaves Apple News feed, pointing to evolving business models. (128:03–129:03)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On podcast survival:
  “Most podcasts... do like three episodes...then they post a fourth episode that’s like, ‘I’m sorry I’ve been delayed, but the next episode will come soon,’ and there’s never another episode.”
  — Andy Ihnatko (07:26)

• On Apple’s app awards:
  “It is just kind of an Apple marketing exercise.”
  — Andy Ihnatko (12:14)

• On OS stability:
  “Just. I want to be invisible...right now this operating system [is] close to the most broken...since I can remember.”
  — Unknown (likely Alex Lindsay) (21:35)

• On Jony Ive and Altman’s AI pin dream:
  “Show me how this isn’t just the Humane Pin with better funding... Their challenge is what’s their business model?”
  — Andy Ihnatko (51:52, 57:46)

• On Apple’s “Snow Leopard” years:
  “If Apple...said that...we are just going to focus on fit and finish...users would actually be happier.”
  — Unknown (likely Alex Lindsay) (19:20–22:21)

• On foldables:
  “If it has iPad-like characteristics on the inside...things could be interesting. ...flip it open, and I got an iPad mini there. That sounds pretty fun.”
  — Andy Ihnatko (75:09)

• Celebratory moment:
  “The things I do and I do and I do for this.”
  — Alex Lindsay, joking about off-center decorations (04:21)

• On Airdrop’s cross-platform future:
  “It didn’t take Apple’s cooperation to do this.”
  — Andy Ihnatko (83:32)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Episode kickoff and milestone banter: 00:00–09:44
• App Store Awards & Vision Pro app discussion: 12:14–16:06
• Apple OS quality and “Snow Leopard” discussion: 18:08–26:43
• Spotlight indexing bug discussion: 23:18–26:43
• Big picture: Is Apple bad at software? 30:07–32:41
• AI hardware speculation (Ive/Altman): 42:03–53:41
• Foldable iPhone rumors: 68:24–78:08
• Vision Pro content & Mac Pro debate: 93:48–107:24
• Airdrop, ATT, and accessory news: 82:14–90:18, 120:26–122:41

Panel's Picks of the Week

• Jason Snell: Festivitas App for Mac—adds festive lights and snow to your desktop. (133:24)
• Andy Ihnatko: Blip.net—cross-platform, private, real-time file transfer service, airdrop alternative. (135:26)
• Alex Lindsay: UNI HDMI Adapter—the only USB-C to HDMI adapter in his arsenal that supports 8 audio channels for surround sound. (138:22)

Closing

The hosts express deep appreciation for the MacBreak community and club Twit supporters. They commit to many more episodes—with the same blend of wit, critique, and geek camaraderie that’s made MacBreak Weekly an institution for (almost) 20 years.

“Get back to work because break time is over. Bye Bye.”
(144:52)