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.
This folding 3-in-1 charging station is Qi2-certified and on sale now. Photo: Anker
Many companies use CES to unveil products that won’t go on sale right away — including Qi2 chargers — but Anker is using the major electronics show to make hay about much of its previously teased lineup of MagGo Qi2 charging accessories going on actual sale.
Qi2 is essentially MagSafe for all, and it can be used to charge MagSafe iPhones at a full 15 watts, so these are worth a look.
This 3-in-1 MagSafe charger folds and disassembles for true portability. Photo: Alogic
Alogic rolled out the portable Matrix Ultimate — calling it the world’s first foldable MagSafe-certified 3-in-1 wireless charger for iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch — at CES in Las Vegas Tuesday.
In addition, the company unveiled four new 32-inch Clarity 4K-resolution displays (previous Clarity models are 27 inches), plus Glide Flexible Monitor Arms.
Isn't it time you made your wearable an elegant piece of jewelry? Photo: Goldenerre
Your Apple Watch may be the ultimate tool, but it can also be beautiful jewelry with the right accessory. Goldenerre makes some remarkably pretty Apple Watch bands, and its Basketweave model is no exception.
Now available in the Cult of Mac Store in three lustrous finishes, you can get it for just $108.
The new Aqara Hub M3 can help your run your whole smart home. Photo: Aqara
Aqara highlighted new HomeKit-enabled smart-home devices at CES 2024 Monday in Las Vegas — the new Hub M3, Border Router Plug and Smart Lock U300 — plus an AI chatbot interface for the Aqara Home App.
The devices support both Matter and Thread networking standards. And the hub may help you control your whole smart home.
A screenshot from a video posted on X shows the transparent display in action. Photo: Dave Snelling, @snellingD on X
Samsung showed off three transparent microLED displays at its First Look event Sunday just ahead of CES 2024 in Las Vegas, according to reports. Two of them are tinted, but the totally clear one can have an especially hologram-like effect.
Don’t get too excited, though. With no availability or pricing information available yet, it might be a while before even any rich people you know can buy these.
The M2 MacBook Air is powerful despite being incredibly slim and lightweight. Photo: Apple
You can nab a 15-inch M2 MacBook Air for $1,049.99 on Amazon right now — $249 off the regular price of $1,299. That’s only about a buck behind the all-time low price the behemoth retailer has offered for the machine.
Once again, a monitor riser (and other updates) elevates a computer setup. Photo: [email protected]
Multiple-display computer setups are all the rage, but can a workstation benefit from losing one of its external monitors, even one with 4K resolution?
If today’s featured MacBook Pro rig is any indication, yes, it can — especially if the outfit sees a bunch of other cool upgrades at the same time, like a cool new monitor riser, an open stand for the MacBook Pro and a great new office chair.
Lily Gladstone's performance in Flowers of the Killer Moon earned her a Golden Globes win for best actress. Photo: Apple TV+
After receiving 14 Golden Globes nominations, Apple TV+ notched just one win Sunday — but it was a big one. Lily Gladstone became the first Indigenous winner of a best-actress Golden Globe for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s historical epic Killers of the Flower Moon.
So, while Apple TV+ remains the only streamer to win an Oscar — 2022’s Best Picture for CODA — it didn’t exactly clean up this year at the Globes, which tend to foreshadow the Academy Awards.
mophie's renewed juice pack keeps iPhone 15 series handsets powered up. Photo: mophie
Zagg-owned mobile-accessories maker mophie let loose a blast from the past with a fresh twist at CES Monday, rolling out its re-engineered Juice Pack cellphone battery case to keep iPhone 15 series handsets charged anywhere.
And the company, which has made Juice Pack products since the first iPhone launched in 2007, also let everyone know its Qi2 Snap+ Powerstation Mini with Stand won a CES 2024 Innovation Award.
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Tears and hugs aside, Kelly Baldwin isn't falling for her dad's BS. Photo: Apple TV+
Season 4 of For All Mankind entered its tense final phase Friday, with action heating up on Mars and on Earth ahead of climactic episode 10. Episode 9, “Brazil,” is all about setting up that endgame (and it really could be the End, as we await Apple TV+ news of season 5 renewal … or not).
But two characters won’t live to see that endgame. And many more lives are at risk as forces on Earth seek to control the fight in space over the Goldilocks asteroid’s vast mineral wealth — and maybe even the future of space exploration.
Say what you will about old Apple hardware, it’s cool and it’s got staying power — sometimes to an amazing degree. Today’s featured setup, for example, sports a 16-year-old Mac Pro with some modifications driving a 19-year old Cinema Display (the big one — 30 inches — first released in 2004, a mere 20 years ago).
The user’s just happy she’s getting the venerable desktop machine to run as fast as her spritely young MacBook Pro … from 2012.
Apple takes a different approach to AI from many of its competitors. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
As artificial intelligence and machine learning become mainstream in business, large tech firms like Amazon and Facebook look to introduce AI features that transform the way we engage online through predictive purchase models and other algorithmic means. But how does Apple use AI?
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In contrast to competitors’ high-profile activities, Apple lays low on the AI revolution. In fact, the company scarcely mentioned AI at all until recently. You’d be forgiven for thinking Cupertino might not even be involved in the buzziest tech around.
But it definitely is. Apple’s business teams are cooking up many AI and ML opportunities. Still, Apple takes on AI challenges from a different angle with a more intuitive approach. Let’s look behind the scenes at the world’s largest tech company to see how tomorrow’s ideas are shaping today’s products.
If you miss physical buttons and can get used to a much-bigger iPhone, this could be for you. Photo: Clicks Technology
Clicks Technology unveiled its first product Thursday — Clicks Creator Keyboard. It’s a case that fits around an iPhone, providing a full keyboard with physical buttons that may remind people of BlackBerry’s heyday.
“We use keyboards on our desktops, laptops and tablets every day – so it’s kind of odd that we abandoned physical buttons on the smartphone,” said Michael Fisher, Clicks Technology co-founder and a popular YouTube tech reviewer known as MrMobile.
“Clicks brings the tactility and precision of a physical keyboard to iPhone, so people don’t have to wait until they get back to their desks to create or communicate with the satisfying feedback only real buttons can provide,” he added.
Dell's new 40-inch ultra-wide curved display packs 5K resolution and 5-star eye-comfort certification. Photo: Dell
Dell introduced new 34-inch and 40-inch ultra-wide, curved, high-resolution monitors Thursday ahead of CES 2024 in Las Vegas, including a big 5K screen that ratchets up the competition against Studio Display and other smaller 5K screens. Dell’s new monitors go on sale in late February.
Both screens are certified for eye comfort, but the larger one is “the world’s first 40-inch 5K monitor certified for five-star eye comfort,” the company said.
If you want a high-quality, feature-rich PDF editor but don't want to pay top prices, PDF Editor PDF Book Reader could be for you. Claim your free one-year subscription now! Image: PDF Editor PDF Book Reader
For anyone who only needs a PDF editor to occasionally sign or modify a document, paying Adobe Acrobat’s monthly price may be too much. So it’s a good thing you have less-expensive yet feature-rich apps like PDF Editor PDF Book Reader to try.
People have relied on the app for years, and now it’s optimized with new features to work brilliantly on iPhones with iOS 17 and on iPads with iPadOS 17. Plus, Cult of Mac readers can get a free one-year subscription to the app (details below).
New workouts count down to the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show. Photo: Apple
Apple Fitness+ brings fresh ways for users to stay active and mindful in the new year with new activities starting January 8, Apple said Thursday.
You can try a new sound meditation theme, a workout program with golfer Rose Zhang, an Artist Spotlight series tied to the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, Time to Walk episodes available on Apple Podcasts for the first time and more.
Stainless steel bands are durable and stylish. Photo: Speidel
Stainless steel Apple Watch bands are where high-tech meets durability, style and comfort. And Speidel makes some exceptional examples, including its Stainless Steel Linked Watchband for Apple Watch.
Believe it or not, right now you can get that tough and stylish band for less than $40 in the Cult of Mac Store.
You're not the only one who wants an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max. Photo: Apple
While smartphone sales have seen declines recently in general, premium handsets like iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max should see 6% sales growth to hit a new record for 2023, according to a new report Wednesday.
Apple dominates the premium market, but Huawei and Samsung have made inroads, especially because of foldable handsets — a market segment Cupertino hasn’t entered yet.
Cleaned, reorganized and beautifully underlit, this MacBook Pro and Studio Display rig is ready for work in the new year. Photo: [email protected]
People often compare LG’s UltraFine 5K display to Apple’s Studio Display because they’re directly comparable, with the same size and resolution. But rarely do you find the two in the same setup. That makes today’s dual MacBook Pro and dual 5K display setup something of a rarity.
That, along with the rarely seen Wacom drawing tablet and the truly massive DIY desk, fashioned from a kitchen countertop and mechanized legs.
You can play Movie Crosswords on your iPhone or your iPad. Image: Digiluna Games
There’s nothing like a good crossword puzzle or word-search game to stimulate the brain. But a lot of themed crossword puzzles offer just a few clues and sometimes an image related to the subject. Not so with Digiluna Games’ Movie Crosswords game.
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The clues in all of the easy-to-play crossword and word-search puzzles relate to the cinematic theme, making them unique — and a great way to boost your Hollywood knowledge.
Right now you can get 24% off AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C on Amazon. Photo: Apple
Happy New Year — and it will no doubt be happier if you can nab AirPods Pro 2 with a USB-C charging case, which has returned to its lowest price yet. Maybe that’ll even motivate you to exercise more, if by chance you set certain New Year’s resolutions along those lines and could use the help of Apple’s top earbuds.
Amazon is selling the updated noise-canceling earbuds for $189, down from $249. That’s the best price we’ve seen. And you can find discounts on other Apple earbuds, too.
"Slow Horses" on Apple TV+ will air a fifth season. Photo: Apple
The darkly comedic spy thriller series Slow Horses has three seasons ready to binge-watch on Apple TV+ — season 3’s finale aired last week — plus season 4 on the way and now a fifth season planned for production, the streaming service said Tuesday.
The critically acclaimed hit show starring Gary Oldman might as well keep rolling, as there are more novels in Mick Herron’s Slough House book series to base new six-episode seasons on.
Insignia's 3-in-1 MagSafe charger is on sale, along with plenty of iPhone accessories from Apple and others. Photo: Best Buy
Here’s your last chance of the year to grab certain outstanding deals on iPhone accessories from Best Buy before 2024 comes along, including one item for an astounding 80% off the regular price.
Jump on the links below to nab bargains on iPhone cases, screen protectors, wallets and chargers. Keep in mind the examples below are just a sampling of all that’s on offer. Sales lasts through December 31.
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Sergei ducks deep cover to seek out Margo with Aleida's reluctant help. Photo: Apple
Hopefully you were already onboard with For All Mankind‘s sometimes brazenly credulity-stretching alternative reality. The first woman president comes out as gay. Homegrown terrorists blow up NASA HQ. Agency director Margo Madison defects to the Soviet Union and then goes to work in its space agency, only to end up partnering with NASA.
If so, then you won’t mind if a Russian ghost comes back to mess with us now, too.
OK, he’s not a ghost. He’s Sergei, the Russian scientist who seemed to fall in love with Margo and got strangled in front of her to get her to give up U.S. space secrets. And as forces now align to mine the Goldilocks asteroid near Mars, he breaks cover on Earth to seek her out — and maybe not just for more romance.
Sometimes the holiday season turns a half-empty desk into a powerful computer setup. Photo: TemporaryAd_4202@Reddit
Ah, the magic of Christmas. Even a grownup can get deliriously excited about unwrapping a rich haul of computer gear that turns a Charlie Brown Christmas tree of a setup into a powerful workstation that would intimidate Ebeneezer Scrooge. You can also relive the magic and watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales free this season.
Today’s user had a decent MacBook Pro and iPad Pro to begin with, but ended up with a proper, highly functional setup. And commenters had further suggestions for additions, too. Hey, the more the merrier!