David Snow - page 31

Today’s featured M4 Pro Mac mini user drives a pair of 4K external displays with the tiny new powerhouse desktop. And they keep an array of budget peripherals, including data and power hubs and solid input devices. And in addition, for physical backup, they like portable storage solutions in addition to cloud backup — in this case, fairly affordable hard drives from Samsung and La Cie (and the Samsung is deeply discounted right now — see below).

Designer Basic Apple Guy started the last month of 2024 by releasing yet another fresh and interesting set of wallpapers for your Apple devices. They’re the “vibrant and minimal cubist-inspired” Liminal Spaces series, released December 2. They might be the best new wallpapers I’ve seen this month.

And they’re certainly an interesting alternative to holiday themes. For me, the light, colors and shapes composed in the wallpapers brought to mind not only cubist art, but abstract expressionist Richard Diebenkorn’s landscape paintings.

Apple CEO Tim Cook welcomed King Charles III of Great Britain to Apple’s U.K. headquarters Thursday in the iconic Battersea Power Station, Apple said. And it showed off a raft of photographs from the occasion, below.

“We were honored to welcome His Majesty King Charles to Apple Battersea — our home in the U.K. — and we’re proud to support The King’s Trust in its vital work educating and empowering young people,” said Cook. “We look forward to our continued growth here, building on more than 40 years of history in the United Kingdom.”

In a strategic move that could reshape the mixed-reality landscape, Google and Samsung announced a partnership Thursday to develop a new mixed-reality headset running on the Android XR operating system, according to a new report. Clearly, the Google and Samsung Android XR headset directly challenges Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s headsets in the premium market.

The collaboration aims to create a more accessible and diverse ecosystem for extended reality (XR) devices, potentially offering buyers, including Apple users, alternative options in the growing mixed-reality space. More competition could impact both features and pricing, of course.

In an advancement for mobile music production, Apple showed off the Voice Memos app’s new Layered Recordings feature Wednesday, releasing a new holiday single recorded with it. Exclusively available on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, Layered Recordings comes via the newly released iOS 18.2 update.

Apple Original Films unveiled plans Tuesday to air a groundbreaking documentary chronicling one of America’s lesser-known but pivotal civil rights actions. Deaf President Now! will tell the story of transformative 1988 protests at Gallaudet University. Students successfully demanded the appointment of the school’s first Deaf president. It proved to be a pivotal moment in Deaf advocacy and helped pave the way for the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Apple subsidiary Beats surprised everyone when it sprang new cases for the iPhone 16 series handsets, its first-ever iPhone cases. And now, surprisingly, you can get bold new Beats iPhone 16 case colors — sunrise pink and twilight blue. If you’re looking for more iPhone options, you might find this documentary on Bono: Stories of Surrender an interesting read. That’s in addition to the four original colors, which weren’t too boring in the first place (Beats is known for colors in its products, Apple … not so much).

A university student calling themselves a “broke Harvard undergrad” while showing off a computer setup loaded with older and newer Apple hardware is bound to take some ribbing from social media on various levels. But today’s data-science number-crunching setup makes impressive and thrifty use of newer and older gear, including a 2023 M3 MacBook Pro, a 2013 “trash can” Mac Pro and a 2018 Intel MacBook Pro, plus a 2021 iPad Pro and a PlayStation 5 console.

The new Solos AirGo Vision smart glasses released Tuesday pair with ChatGPT artificial intelligence as a direct competitor to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses. Both cost a relatively affordable $300 or under. And the new entrant introduce several innovative features, including a modular design that addresses privacy concerns common with camera-equipped wearables.

“We promised to deliver on allowing consumers to have control of their experience with AI and smart technology, particularly with privacy options in mind,” said Solos co-founder Kenneth Fan. “That’s why we developed frames that can easily be changed to decide when and where a camera may be appropriate without sacrificing any of the fun features.”

Rode Wireless Go III, the new generation of the popular mobile microphone system for content creators the company unveiled Tuesday, introduces upgrades like an expanded recording range, 32-bit onboard recording and, for the first time, a palette of vibrant color options to the $300 system. Black may go with everything, but now you have a choice of 14 colors, the company said.

Apple expanded its radio service Tuesday with the launch of three new stations: Apple Música Uno, Apple Music Club and Apple Music Chill. The expansion shows Apple’s continued investment in human-curated music experiences combined with technology. The new Apple Music Radio stations offer shows from leading artists like Becky G, Honey Dijon and Brian Eno.

“Apple Music Radio is the beating heart of our service, representing the intersection of exceptional human voices and curation with cutting-edge technology that shapes and influences culture,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Music, Sports and Beats, in a press release.

Popular Science magazine named Apple’s Vision Pro headset one of its innovations of the year among new 2024 gadgets on Monday. Despite its considerable price tag and initial market challenges, the device’s revolutionary approach to augmented reality sets it apart from competitors.

“The device has its own hurdles to clear, but after just a few minutes of using it, it was clear that it’s something different, important, and honestly pretty amazing,” the magazine wrote.

Apple’s upcoming iPhone SE 4 might bring significant camera upgrades to the budget phone, with plans to incorporate a 48-megapixel main camera and a 12MP TrueDepth front-facing camera, according to a new report.

That, plus other improvements, marks a substantial upgrade over the iPhone SE 3. Unfortunately, that means you can expect the new handset to come with a bit of a price increase, too.

Monitor light bars are commonplace in computer setups for good reason. They often do a better job of cutting monitor glare and lighting up desks than overhead lights or simple desk lamps. But what if a desk lamp worked more like a monitor light bar? That’s what so-called architect desk lamps do. They’re often called double-headed LED lights. Attached to their own stand or clamped arm, they can arch right over a display, providing tons of light, control options and physical flexibility.

While it’s only about half the Golden Globe nominations Apple TV+ racked up in the awards for 2024, the streamer managed to snag eight nominations this year. The 2025 nominations include no movies. But three nods go to TV series Slow Horses, two apiece honor Disclaimer and Shrinking, and one goes to Presumed Innocent. This edition marks the Golden Globes’ 82nd year.

Over about a week of testing for this Status Audio Between 3ANC earbuds review, I found the distinctive buds to be a product of intriguing contrasts — ambitious in some areas while falling short in others.  Currently priced at $179 (recently reduced from $199 and $249 before that), the earbuds try to compete with industry leaders like AirPods Pro 2 through a unique triple-driver design and striking looks. In fact, these earbuds even claim in ads to have a “subwoofer” for the low end. But while Between 3ANC buds boast good sound, I found overall performance results somewhat mixed.

Amazon bargain site Woot! brings you all the colors of the rainbow in deeply discounted Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop Apple Watch bands. You can get incredible price cuts —  59% to 70% off — on many classic colors through Friday at 10 p.m. Pacific. That means you pay prices like $20 instead of $49.99 for Solo Loop and $30 instead of $99 for Braided Solo Loop.

And, as part of Woot’s “buy more, save more” promo, you can cut those prices even further. “Spend $39 or more & use code ‘APPLEBANDS’ at checkout for an extra 15% OFF these items,” the bargain site says.

Not everyone would consider a well-equipped M4 Pro Mac mini driving a pair of 4K external displays a “budget” computer setup, but today’s user does. After suffering a job loss, they replaced an M1 Mac mini with the tiny new powerhouse and a nice array of peripherals, including data and power hubs and solid input devices.

The new Meross Matter Smart Home Thermostat works with HomeKit and other smart-home platforms, offering an affordable entry point at $70 (limited time price, regular $99.99), the company said Thursday. And the new device represents one of only a few Matter-compatible smart thermostats currently available for U.S. HVAC systems.

After the disappointing launch of its Ai Pin wearable device, San Francisco-based tech company Humane shifts its focus to CosmOS. It’s a new AI-powered operating system that promises to revolutionize how users rely on artificial intelligence to interact with their smart devices, including Apple’s. The Humane AI Pin struggled to deliver on its promises, prompting the company to pivot toward software-driven innovation.

That might remind folks of Steve Jobs’ long-ago move from Apple to NeXT, which ended up dropping hardware entirely and focusing on software.

Humane demonstrated CosmOS running across multiple platforms including car entertainment systems, smart speakers, TVs and smartphones in a new video Wednesday. The system aims to provide functionality similar to AI assistants like Siri, but appears more advanced, enabling complex, context-aware interactions across various devices.

The culmination of a Major League Soccer postseason filled with upsets and comebacks, the MLS Cup championship unfolds Saturday as LA Galaxy hosts the New York Red Bulls. And you can watch the MLS Cup final for free on various Apple TV platforms via MLS Season Pass, the streamer said Thursday.

Another mad tinkerer surfaced this week spending a huge amount of time an effort recreating a decades-old Apple concept. Designer Kevin Noki dropped a YouTube video Wednesday showing every detail about how he remade Apple’s abandoned FlatMac concept from 1984 into a working prototype. And like an inspiration for the iPads that would come later, it’s a thing of beauty!

“This project has been a dream come true! As a designer, I’ve always been inspired by groundbreaking concepts, and this time, I challenged myself to recreate one of the most iconic and unrealized prototypes: Hartmut Esslinger’s Apple FlatMac,” Noki wrote on his YouTube video page.

Apple Wallet-compatible smart lock Alloy Deadbolt+ will make life easier for renters and landlords alike, SmartRent said Wednesday. Debuting at a Starwood Capital Group property, Alloy Deadbolt+ expands on the security, functionality and convenience of smart locks by integrating with resident keys in Apple Wallet. It easily lets you in, as well as your property manager and designated friends and service providers.

“Alloy Deadbolt+ enhances the way we think about secure access, providing a straightforward and reliable solution for both residents and property managers,” SmartRent Chief Technology Officer Isaiah DeRose-Wilson said.

There are supposedly 12 days of Christmas and at least that many ways to fix a computer setup. If your workstation features a MacBook Pro and two big external LG UltraFine external displays sitting on a desk, plus a Magic Keyboard mini and a Magic Trackpad, it’s pretty much good to go, right? Well, maybe. But today’s user with that rig asked on social media how to improve it, and they got a ton of advice.

Most of the comments concerned the dual displays, but they ranged pretty far afield, and anyone can learn from it.

Apple TV+ casts its net wide for quality programming, offering plenty of entertainment from distant lands. So why not a German hospital drama? A “gritty” new eight-episode series called Krank Berlin Berlin ER is headed your way soon. Apple offered a description of the “vibrant and dynamic” show. And since first announcing it, the stream has posted an air date, below, for the German-language medical drama — as well as a new title.

Update: Apple TV+ gave Krank Berlin a boring new title and an air date Wednesday. Now named Berlin ER, the series, which comes to us from a former emergency room doctor, streams with its first two episodes February 26, 2025.