David Snow - page 122

Building on other versions of ANC earbuds released in 2021, Belkin rolled out its new SoundForm Immerse Noise Cancelling Earbuds in Las Vegas this week — and they promptly became a CES Innovation Award 2022 Honoree.

The new buds challenge aging champ AirPods Pro, due for a revamp, not only with hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC) with Hear-Thru mode, but they work with Apple’s vast Find My network. And they flaunt a number of premium features.

Belkin introduced other products at CES, too, of course.

Fitness tracker company Garmin showed a new version of its Venu 2 Plus GPS smartwatch at CES 2022 — and this one let’s you talk to Apple’s voice-activated assistant, Siri. If you’re into that sort of thing.

Or, if you’re among the many folks who seem to prefer other helpers on their devices, you could talk to Google Assistant or Samsung’s Bixby. Previous Garmin smartwatches didn’t allow that. Plus the Venu 2 Plus works with both iOS and Android devices, Garmin said.

At CES 2022, Satechi debuted two new accessories designed for the new M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBooks. Both the USB-4 Multiport Adapter and the Pro Hub Max expand the ports available on the new laptops, opening up possibilities for connectivity.

And, in the case of the adapter’s 8K HDMI support, one port goes a bit beyond Mac laptops’ current comfort zone.

The new 32-inch UltraSharp monitor Dell introduced at CES 2022 looks like a home-office videoconferencing powerhouse. The 4K display has a 4K webcam with microphones built in for those WFH meetings. And the monitor serves as a USB-C hub with decent port selection and 90W of power for your MacBook or other laptop, too.

If Apple takes something away, people tend to want it more. We see this in the persistent coveting of space gray peripherals — Magic Trackpad, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 — that the Cupertino tech giant stopped selling separately last year after the iMac Pro’s discontinuation.

Following the space gray iMac Pro’s launch in 2018 with matching peripherals exclusive to it, owners found they could sell the dark-hued input devices for mad money. So Apple jumped on that market, charging a slight premium over the silver versions, though not forever. But space gray gear still carries a certain cache.

Devices that track your pet’s whereabouts aren’t exactly new. Your pooch might have a chip embedded right now. But Invoxia is looking to be best in show of a different sort at CES 2022. The company’s new Smart Dog Collar can monitor your pet’s vital signs via advanced technology as well as track via GPS in case he or she gets lost. Like an Apple Watch for their furry necks.

Schlage introduced the first smart lock in North America to support Apple Home Key — the Encode Plus Smart WiFi Deadbolt — on Tuesday at CES 2022.

So first there was an app for that … key. And now there’s a lock for that key.

Accessories-maker Scosche launched a series of MagSafe-compatible products Monday ahead of CES 2022, including two Bluetooth speakers that can boost your iPhone’s sound on the go.

The company also rolled out new car mounts and a wireless charger, among other items.

As CES 2022 gets underway this week in Las Vegas, lighting company Sengled said it planned to launch several new HomeKit-compatible lighting products. They include Wi-Fi Video-Sync TV Light Strips, Wi-Fi Outdoor String Lights and a Wi-Fi Portable Lamp.

Eve Systems had two HomeKit-related news items at CES 2022 in Las Vegas on Monday, rolling out an all-new Eve Outdoor Cam for an early April launch and saying its Thread-connected smart blinds — MotionBlinds — are now widely available.

For the first computer setup featured in the new year, we look backward. Not to the recently subsided and mostly loathed 2021, but further back to a controversial Apple product launch from nearly a decade ago. And deeper into Apple’s storied history. Cult of Mac reader Michael De Jong shared some interesting older gear and some iconic imagery with us in his setup photographs.

In a festive New Year’s promotion, Elago is offering every accessory in the Cult of Mac Store — hundreds of items, all in one place — at 15% off through January 7. No matter what Apple products you may have received as gifts over the holidays, there’s something for your in the sale. We cover some highlights below.

The new M1 Macs are impressive — especially the newest of the new, the M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBooks. They’re so impressive, we see them replacing even late-model desktop Macs that have years of useful and even impressive life left in them. Such is the case with today’s year-end setup.

In a twist on the old phrase uttered at this time of year, “Out with the (not very) old, in with the (insanely great) new.”

This MagSafe charger post is brought to you by Journey, a brand of Alogic. 

You probably have cables to charge your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch. But wouldn’t it be great to charge them all at once, in one place, like on your nightstand or desk? Without a bunch of wires? With the handsome new Journey 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station, you can.

Journey’s newest charger also serves as a stand for your gadgets — and it looks good doing it. And, by the way, if you act fast, you can get the new charging station for 30% off with the coupon X30.

Apple Watch’s Digital Crown helps users take full advantage of the watchOS interface, beyond using the wearable’s touchscreen. But it looks like future Apple Watches might ditch the crown in favor of optical sensors, according to a new patent the Cupertino tech giant filed.

The well-regarded Slopes app that provides resort information to skiers and snowboarders — and helps them track their exploits carving mountain trails — saw four major updates in December. They include privacy-focused live location sharing and enhanced maps for iPhone and Apple Watch.

We keep coming across two great secrets of super-clean desktops when it comes to computer setups. As shown in today’s featured setup, they’re both about creating significant amounts of open desk space in different ways — without losing any access to your gear or forfeiting any computing power.

And we’re not just talking about clearing away basic clutter, or even cable clutter, although that always helps. We’re talking about how you can get some of your main equipment up and off the desk so you have room in front of you. Redditor kurtvdpoel demonstrates the two excellent methods in his post, “Home office with Mac mini Apple M1.”

If you got an Apple Watch for Christmas, or even if you already had one — congratulations on owning one of the best smartwatches! Now, it’s time to up your band game (aka your Apple Watch strap). For a limited time, you can get the Speidel Square Tip Oiled Leather Band for Apple Watch for just $9.89 in the Cult of Mac Store. That’s 70% off the regular price!

This iPhone 13 cases post is brought to you by Totallee.

With the release of the tough iPhone 13 series handsets, with their Ceramic Shield and Gorilla Glass, more and more people started talking about going without a case altogether. Others, of course, weren’t about to drop a grand on a smartphone and then not protect that pricey gadget. There may actually be a perfect third path, whether you just got an iPhone 13 for Christmas or have had one for a while. You can try Totallee’s extremely thin and light iPhone 13 cases. They help protect and showcase your new smartphone without adding bulk.

The eagerly anticipated and much-praised Apple TV+ original series Foundation, based on the epic Isaac Asimov novels of the 1950s, has received a modern-day distinction, of sorts — it’s among the most-pirated shows of the year online. As such, it’s in good company.

It’s not quite the same sort of honor as the scads of awards Apple TV+ has been winning for shows like Ted Lasso and Stillwater, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

In gift-giving season, sometimes you get something you already have or something that isn’t quite what you wanted. So, if you can exchange the item for something you truly covet — like a killer pair of Apple AirPods or Beats earbuds — you probably should.

But how do you choose between earbuds made by Apple and earbuds made by Apple subsidiary Beats by Dre? We’ve laid out the specs for four popular sets of buds, below, pitting AirPods Pro against Beats Fit Pro and the new AirPods (3rd gen) against Beats Studio Buds. But all the specs listed in each chart are the same, so it’s not difficult to compare and contrast all four.

A new, red-and-gold, limited-edition design for Beats Studio Buds will celebrate the Lunar New Year in China and other countries — the Year of the Tiger — Apple said on Monday.

This follows a recent release of another predominately red, limited-edition design in collaboration with the men’s fashion store Union we wrote about earlier in December.

Apple reportedly hired Meta’s AR communications chief recently, a move that fits with Cupertino’s long-rumored plan to launch an augmented reality/virtual reality headset.

Observers expect Apple to unveil its mixed-reality headset sometime in 2022. And, according to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple is forming a team to handle the hardware’s launch and marketing. Part of this appears to be the hiring of Andrea Schubert, chief of communications and public relations for AR at Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook.

If you’re an avid gamer, or maybe just an aspiring one, it pays to know which displays and accessories will best serve your needs. Not just any display, input device and headset will keep up with today’s graphically rich games. The dual M1 Mac and Sony PlayStation 5 computer setup we look at today demonstrates some good choices you might consider.

Redditor smhppp uses an M1 Mac mini for personal uses, an M1 MacBook Air for work and a Sony PS5 for gaming. They showed their setup in a post entitled, “Current setup, spec in comments for those interested.” It’s one of those one-vertical-and-one horizontal-display setups so many people are trying lately.