David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
Sure, this is mustache-less Ted Lasso from a 2022 holiday animated short, but the coach looks pretty worried his gifts won't get to Kansas by Christmas. Photo: Apple
Thursday is the last day you can order a gift from Apple and expect it to arrive before December 25 in the United States, according to the company’s holiday shipping guidelines.
But don’t despair. You can still order Apple products for pick-up or delivery from a local Apple Store.
Porsche's CarPlay integration extends all the way across the dashboard. Photo: Porsche and Apple
Collaborating with Apple, upscale carmakers Porsche and Aston Martin previewed next-generation, more fully integrated CarPlay interfaces for upcoming models Wednesday.
Apple announced next-gen CarPlay in 2022, set to start rolling out in vehicles from more than a dozen makers by the end of 2023 and in 2024.
Big-time tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee loves iPhone 15 Pro for its cameras -- especially for video -- and iPhone 15 Plus's big battery. Photo: Marques Brownlee
YouTuber and tech influencer Marques Browlee recognized iPhone 15 Pro as the smartphone with the best cameras of the year in his MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2023 on Tuesday, offering his highest praise for the handset’s exceptional video chops.
And that’s not all. He also named iPhone 15 Plus as the handset with the best battery experience. Watch his video below.
This flat side-by-side look brought up debate, plus the question of getting wallpaper to work that way across two screens. Photo: [email protected]
Few people would dispute that the extra screen real estate of a second display can be a huge help in a computer setup. But let’s say you have two Studio Displays in landcape (horizontal) mode. Do you place them side by side perfectly straight or do you angle them in some way?
Today’s MacBook Pro workstation brought up the debate and surfaced a cool tip for getting wallpaper to appear half on one display and half on the other.
Best Foot Forward and three other Apple Originals took home Children's & Family Emmy Awards. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ took home four wins over the weekend in the second annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, notching victories for Apple Originals Pinecone & Pony, Life By Ella, Jane and Best Foot Forward.
And Apple’s Tara Sorensen and Ellen Coons were honored for Individual Achievement in Animation — Character Animation for Shape Island.
The first-ever Matter-over-Thread smart outlet and a light switch updated for Matter are two of Eve's new offerings. Photo: Eve Systems
Eve Systems introduced the first Matter-over-Thread smart electrical outlet along with a Matter-enabled smart light switch and window blinds on Monday, the company said.
Eve Energy Outlet, Eve Blinds Collection and Eve Light Switch all work with HomeKit. The outlet and blinds go on sale in early February 2024 and the light switch arrives a bit later.
If you subscribe to Apple News+, you now have top sport journalism at your fingertips. Photo: The Athletic
Apple News+ subscribers now get access to The Athletic‘s sports journalism and will see Wirecutter‘s in-depth product ratings in the feed early in 2024, Apple said Tuesday.
“Like so many lifelong sports fans, I am a devoted reader of The Athletic and their fantastic sports reporting and local coverage,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services.
“We’re so proud to now bring sports fans The Athletic in Apple News+ — which millions of News+ subscribers are going to love,” he added.
Munoz loves his Studio Display the most, but he also praises his 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro and other gear. Photo: Jose Munoz
If Apple’s popular but pricey Studio Display is well-suited to anyone, it’s any type of designer because of the monitor’s formidable graphics chops.
In today’s loaded MacBook Pro setup, a designer sets apart his Studio Display for the highest praise among many items in a remarkably well-equipped workstation. And his Lego collection is epic, too.
Expect to see two versions of AirPods 4 -- including one with noise canceling -- in 2024. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple will revamp its AirPods lineup in 2024 in an effort to boost sales and clarify offerings, a new report indicates.
AirPods 4 should arrive next year, with two versions replacing current lower-priced earbuds models. And AirPods Max will receive some long-awaited updates, although the pricey over-ear headphones won’t get a major revamp.
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Irina, left, Aleida and Eli discuss asteroid capture at the M7 summit in Russia. Photo: Apple TV+
Friday’s sixth episode in season 4 of For All Mankind, “Leningrad,” ranks low on the deaths-and-hanky-panky scale of soap-opera criticism, but it’s not without a few revelations and highly emotional moments.
Namely, as plans unfold to capture the Goldilocks asteroid for lucrative mining, Mars may be getting its first union. Nice-guy Miles plays hardball with Ilya Brezhnev. And former NASA director Margo Madison reveals to the world she’s alive and working for the Soviet space agency.
Think Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a big screen? Well, it's probably going to get significantly larger. Photo: Apple
Apple Watch Ultra 2’s generously large display, expected to switch from OLED to microLED, will come out later than previously estimated, grow by 10% in size and cost more, according to a research company.
Other recent estimates pushed back the launch time frame to 2025, but now it may actually be 2026.
Would you add displays alongside or above this ultra-wide monitor, or replace it? Photo: [email protected]
If you had a gigantic 49-inch curved ultra-wide display, would you dream of adding more external monitors to it? If so, would you stack them, or add one or two displays in portrait mode (vertical) on either side of the big screen?
A MacBook Pro user with a giant Samsung display is pondering those very questions.
Best Buy offers $50 off Apple Watch Ultra 2, among many other bargains. Photo: Apple
While Best Buy offers great deals on MacBooks, iMacs, Macs mini and iPads in its Apple Sales Event for the holidays, you can also score good deals on iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods. See the selection below, or check out the whole sale here.
Yes, an M3 MacBook Pro in space black is on the list. Photo: Apple
With gift-giving season at full-tilt, Best Buy offers its Apple Sales Event on a full range of fabulous products you can check out here. We’d thought we’d focus below on 10 great Mac and iPad deals you won’t want to miss. Click on the prices below to go straight to the products.
Bryan Flynn, left, and Tobias Menzies star in Manhunt. Photo: Apple TV+
Did you know it took authorities 12 days to hunt down John Wilkes Booth after he shot President Abraham Lincoln in the head at Washington D.C.’s Ford’s Theatre in 1865? Apple TV+ gave a first look Thursday at Manhunt, the new conspiracy-thriller series depicting the frantic chase.
The seven-part series premieres March 15 with its first two episodes. A new episode follows on Fridays through April 19.
Noble's new Falcon Max true wireless stereo earbuds feature xMEMS' solid-state driver. Photo: Noble
Noble Audio’s new Falcon Max true wireless stereo earbuds are the company’s first to integrate advanced all-silicon solid-state MEMS-based drivers from xMEMS Labs, the company said Tuesday.
Release of the new earbuds with a hybrid-driver setup follows recent news that xMEMS plans to offer its first full-spectrum Cypress MEMS “ultrasonic” speaker in 2024. That should enable solid-state earbuds with remarkable full-spectrum audio quality.
Hansson's setup in Malibu, CA, features a Mac mini mounted behind a Pro Display XDR and a phenomenal set of KEF speakers. Photo: [email protected]
Developer David Heinemeier Hansson, known for creating the Ruby on Rails web development framework, showcased his rather stunning Mac mini computer setup this week on X (formerly Twitter).
The extraordinary 6K graphics of his Studio Display XDR and the articulate sound of his highly recommended KEF speakers complement the ocean views through the glass walls of his California office.
Special switches make the new keyboard super responsive and customizable. Photo: Keychron
Keychron launched a crowdfunding campaign December 5 for its new Q1 HE, calling it the first 75% layout wireless QMK custom keyboard with Hall Effect Gateron 2.0 magnetic switches, the company said.
The company noted the switch provides advantages to gamers with its extreme responsiveness and expanded customizability.
Carterjett makes a rugged tire-tread Apple Watch band in various colors. Photo: Carterjett
Got an Apple Watch? Currently, Carterjett offers 19 Apple Watch bands for sale in the Cult of Mac Store. You can find straps made of leather, silicone, nylon and carbon fiber in a variety of colors, designs and sizes. So whatever your preferences may be, you really can’t miss.
Artists might profit more from mixing tunes with Dolby Atmos. Photo: Apple
Apple plans to offer financial incentives to artists and record labels who mix songs using surround-sound Spatial Audio technology Dolby Atmos, sources close to the matter said Monday.
Greater weighting placed on those audio streams starting in 2024 will likely mean higher royalties paid out.
This user went from a 2012 Mac mini to an M2 Max Mac Studio plus a MacBook Air. Photo: [email protected]
A big upgrade to a computer setup is a major boost to any user. And today’s featured rig, though it may look unassuming, got a doozy of a makeover. A Mac mini dating all the way back to 2012 finally retired after a long career. And a powerful new M2 Max Mac Studio took over, with a late-model MacBook Air riding shotgun.
But that’s not all. Read more about other bonuses in the rejuvenated setup besides the laptop, and check out the full gear list below.
Beeper Mini reverse engineered iMessage to send blue texts like an iPhone, but Apple blocked it, citing security and privacy concerns. Photo: Beeper Mini
Security and privacy concerns caused Apple to block messaging service Beeper Mini, the company said Sunday. But on Monday Beeper Mini got around the block and pledged to keep making its service available.
This followed Beeper Mini’s highly publicized launch on December 5. It said it had successfully reverse-engineered iMessage to turn green Android text bubbles blue on iPhones.
From that moment, many people wondered how long Apple would let it stand (just a few days, it turned out).
Update: Beeper Mini is back with improvements, according to a new blog post that puts the ball back in Apple’s court. Beeper said it’s willing to share its codebase with an independent research firm and reirterated it could add a pager emoji to enable filtering of Beeper Mini messages in iMessage. See more on the story so far below.
MagEasy glams it up a bit with one of its new iPhone 14 cases. Photo: MagEasy
If you have an iPhone 14, you may want to protect it with a new case. MagEasy offers an interesting selection of options, from glamorous to rugged (but without the bulk). You’ll also find four screen protectors and a portable stand in the mix.