Episode released: 07/06/2026
Hosts Stephen Robles and David Sparks are joined by Relay FM co-founder Myke Hurley to discuss the launch of his highly successful Kickstarter-funded podcast project with Jason Snell, Designed in California, which explores the history of Apple. The trio dives deep into their last-minute predictions and wish lists for the upcoming WWDC keynote, debating the integration of Google’s Gemini model for Apple Intelligence, the future of context protocols, design adjustments for macOS Tahoe, potential standalone apps like Screen Time, and the technical complexities of expanding text or image generation features across iOS and tvOS.
| Resource Name & Type | Creator | Why it was Mentioned |
| Designed in California (Podcast) | Myke Hurley & Jason Snell | Discussed extensively as Myke’s newly launched, Kickstarter-funded podcast dedicated to exploring Apple’s history. |
| Upgrade (Podcast) | Myke Hurley & Jason Snell | Mentioned as Myke and Jason’s weekly Relay FM tech show where the initial concept and test episodes for Designed in California originated. |
| Connected (Podcast) | Myke Hurley | Mentioned by Stephen as one of the multiple podcast shows currently hosted by Myke. |
| The Rest is History (Podcast) | Goalhanger Podcasts | Noted by Myke as an engaging world history podcast that served as a major structural inspiration for Designed in California. |
| Keychron (Hardware Company) | Keychron | Cited by David as an example of an established company that frequently uses Kickstarter primarily as a marketing tool. |
| Peak Design (Hardware Company) | Peak Design | Mentioned by David and Myke as another example of a brand utilizing Kickstarter for product launches when the items are already manufactured. |
| Riverside (Software) | Riverside.fm | Mentioned by Myke as the recording and video call platform used to capture episodes of Upgrade. |
| Notion (Software) | Notion Labs Inc. | Mentioned by Myke as the database tool he and Jason use to map out years of future episode topics. |
| Version History (Podcast) | The Verge | Recommended by Stephen for its excellent hybrid audio-visual history episode covering the Western Electric 900 phone. |
| Ecamm Live (Software) | Ecamm Network | Show sponsor; highlighted by Stephen as a premium pro-level video switching, recording, and live-streaming app for Mac. |
| ATEM Mini Pro (Hardware) | Blackmagic Design | Mentioned by Stephen as a traditional hardware video switcher, comparing its capabilities to Ecamm’s software-based inputs. |
| Stream Deck (Hardware) | Elgato | Noted by Stephen as a popular automation tool that integrates seamlessly with Ecamm Live. |
| Loopback (Software) | Rogue Amoeba | Mentioned by Stephen as a Mac audio routing tool that works alongside Ecamm Live setups. |
| Zoom (Software) | Zoom Video Communications | Mentioned regarding Ecamm’s Pro upgrade, which allows advanced setups and isolated participant capture to feed directly into meetings. |
| Image Playground (Software) | Apple | Discussed critically by Myke and Stephen as an underwhelming and overly restrictive Apple Intelligence cartoon generation feature from 2024. |
| Gemini (AI Model) | Discussed as Apple’s partner model for backend Apple Intelligence features, enabling massive user-facing leaps in capability. | |
| Shortcuts (Software) | Apple | Stephen highlighted his experience building advanced custom shortcuts to parse mail, messages, and clipboard history faster than core apps. |
| Outlook / Gmail (Software) | Microsoft / Google | Mentioned as third-party services that present context-gathering challenges for Siri unless integrated via specialized extensions. |
| Model Context Protocol (MCP) (Protocol) | Anthropic / Open Ecosystem | Discussed by David and Myke as a crucial open standard that Apple should adopt natively to safely expose third-party application data to Siri. |
| Photoshop Generative Fill (Software) | Adobe | Praised by Myke as a great practical example of AI extension, which he used to realistically fill in a cropped tree background for a family photo. |
| Pages (Software) | Apple | Mentioned by Stephen as an app that would greatly benefit from generative photo reframing tools to build document templates. |
| Creator Studio (Software) | Google / YouTube | Noted by Stephen as a template-heavy platform where generative image resizing is highly valuable for social media formatting. |
| Claude / ChatGPT (Software) | Anthropic / OpenAI | Noted as external, server-side AI solutions that professionals hesitate to use with confidential data, motivating David’s wish for a native Apple local harness. |
| Workbrew (Software) | Workbrew | Show sponsor; highlighted as an enterprise fleet security and visibility management platform for companies utilizing Homebrew on Mac. |
| Homebrew (Software) | Open Source | Mentioned as the ubiquitous developer package manager that Workbrew helps IT departments govern and secure. |
| macOS Tahoe (Operating System) | Apple | Discussed regarding its “liquid glass” visual redesign, system stability, and additions like automated Shortcuts and custom Control Centre pages. |
| Magic Mouse (Hardware) | Apple | Playfully mentioned by Myke as an object he picked up during an energetic conversation segment about typing habits. |
| Whisper (Software) | OpenAI | Mentioned by Stephen as a dictation and transcription utility he recently downloaded for his phone. |
| Stage Manager (Software) | Apple | Praised by Myke as a useful app pairing mechanism when leveraged alongside iPadOS’s windowing layout. |
| NetSuite (Software) | Oracle | Show sponsor; described as a unified cloud ERP business engine incorporating financials, HR, and CRM with built-in AI insights. |
| Widgetsmith / Pedometer++ (Software) | CrossForward (David Smith & Myke Hurley) | Mentioned by Myke as apps he works on, prompting his feature request for dynamic, live-updating smaller widget icon sizes. |
| Timery (Software) | Joe Hribar | Mentioned by Myke as a favorite time-tracking app that would idealize an adaptable, single-icon live widget layout. |
| Apple Home / HomeKit (Smart Home Platform) | Apple | Discussed alongside Stephen’s feature wishlist for 4K Secure Video resolutions, camera pan-and-tilt controls, and robust bulk downloads. |
| Netflix (Software / Streaming Service) | Netflix | Heavily discussed surrounding its ongoing corporate stand-off with Apple over TV App indexing, custom Vision Pro apps, and ecosystem restrictions. |
| Google Streamer (Hardware) | Highlighted by Stephen for its impressive local Gemini integrations, personalized watch history suggestions, and context-aware media search. |