Another week, another set of active-noise-cancelling (ANC) wireless earbuds. The latest buds vying to take a piece of the AirPods pie are the updated OnePlus Nord Buds 2. They add ANC and improved sound quality over their super-affordable predecessor.
Nord Buds made a splash with good sound quality at a bargain-basement price of $39 when they came out. Now Nord Buds 2 piles on more features and boosts quality at a still-low $59 price point.
Accessories maker ESR unveiled its new HaloLock Power Bank Wallet on Wednesday. Now on Amazon, the magnetic 3-in-1 device charges your phone, keep your cards in order and lets you “enjoy hands-free viewing in a sleek, pocket-friendly package,” the company said.
Not every computer setup flaunted and much-admired on social media is an Apple silicon powerhouse with an ultra-fast M1 or M2 chip. Today’s featured setup leans on a 6-year-old iMac and a MacBook Air almost twice as old as that.
But with the help of an impressive-yet-affordable audio gear list and a trio of gaming systems, the rig gets the work and play done. And don’t miss the beefed up iPod classic in the mix.
No matter which AirPods you have, the Cult of Mac Easter Sale has something for you. Check out the selection of cool cases and stands in the Easter Savings collection.
See some highlights below, where the links go straight to the products. And if you think this sale is probably only for AirPods Pro, AirPods 3 and AirPods Max, guess again. Here’s six cases for AirPods 1 and 2, for example — all 25% off.
We often see computer setups festooned with several big external monitors, Mission Control style. But some great setups get by with zero external displays, like today’s featured iMac setup.
The iMac provides the main screen, of course. And then “black magic” makes the iPad Pro levitate as a second screen. Or something like that. See below.
The Easter Sale in the Cult of Mac Store features an array of iPhone cases and accessories at great discounts — up to 40% off!
You can find a huge selection of Laut cases to fit any taste and almost any recent iPhone (not just iPhone 14 series). And if you want a screen or lens protector, the sale has you covered with various options.
Check out the Easter Savings collection! And see below for some sale highlights for iPhone. The links below go directly to products.
In the Cult of Mac Store’s Easter Sale, you can slash up to 25% off regular prices on a variety of cool Apple Watch bands. Bands by Mifa and Elkson are 20% off while bands from Rilee & Lo and Laut are 25% off.
Check out the Easter Savings collection to browse the sale, and see some great highlights below.
Are two Macs better than one in a computer setup? People’s opinions differ. What’s overkill to one person could be a perfectly sensible use of resources to another.
Until recently, today’s featured setup ran just an M1 MacBook Air. But then the user added an M2 Mac mini. To discover all the reasons why — especially if you need an excuse to add a desktop machine to your laptop setup or vice versa — read on. If you’re looking for ways to streamline your workflow, you might also want to explore how to control MacBook with iPhone, which can enhance productivity and device integration.
Tired of subtle, utilitarian iPhone cases that make your handset look like everyone else’s? Take a peek at the Laut Crystal Palette cases for the iPhone 14 series.
You might find they’re worth checking out in the Cult of Mac Store. They don’t skimp on colorful, whimsical designs and even metallic flashes of rainbow foil.
When a young Parisian woman flies to Tokyo after learning of her estranged father’s death there, she finds something unexpected. He has left her the world’s greatest wine collection. It’s worth $148 million. But she can only have it if she defeats a brilliant young wine expert in a series of wine-tasting tests.
That’s the premise neatly poured in the trailer Apple TV+ released Tuesday for Drops of God. The live-action drama series, adapted from a popular Japanese manga (comics), premieres April 21 on Apple TV+.
Kids inspired by famous primatologist Jane Goodall go on epic quests to help protect wild animals in the upcoming Apple TV+ show Jane.
The first Jane trailer, which Apple released Monday, offers a glimpse of the new “live action/CGI blended” series. In it, 9-year-old character Jane Garcia says, “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Jane Goodall said that.”
“I know,” her mother replies, drily, at her bedside. “You recite it every morning.”
Last week we asked if you were lucky enough to have about $65,000 to spend on an iPhone that can’t connect to anything. Now we know you didn’t need that much money after all.
The original, sealed iPhone (1st generation) that went up for auction Thursday sported a rare “Lucky you” sticker on the box. But that wasn’t enough to vault the handset into the record books ($63,356). Bidding started at $32,000.
Update: And … bidding ended at $40,320, the low end of the projected range of $40,000 – $60,000. Too many old iPhones up for auction lately? Maybe.
As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And if “it” refers to cool old Apple gear, you should reconsider replacing it, too — especially if it’s still going strong. Today’s featured setup boasts a “trash can” Mac Pro from 2013. It drives not one, not two but three Cinema Displays of yesteryear.
And that’s not all for the workstation’s retro wares. It also features Apple’s old iSight webcam, a Mighty Mouse and a Thunderbolt 2 hard drive for Time Machine backups. And how often do you see a solar-powered keyboard? It has one of those, too.
The Steve Jobs Archive’s first major release — a digital book titled Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his own words — will arrive April 11.
Despite the announcement coming in an email from the archive on April Fools’ Day, the news appears to be genuine. And that includes the part about the e-book, which is filled with Jobs’ emails, conversations, photos and more, being free online for all.
PlayStudios launched a Rewards Store Friday for the classic puzzle game Tetris. The program will let millions of mobile players earn rewards, including a free one-month subscription to Apple TV+.
Of course, this comes “just in time for the premiere of Apple Original Film Tetris, now streaming globally on Apple TV+.”
Because of course it does.
Apple said Friday it supports Exceptional Minds, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit academy preparing autistic artists to become animators, VFX artists and motion graphics designers in the film industry.
The tech giant’s Friday feature story focused on a number of interesting creatives learning at the academy with the help of iPads, Pencil and other Apple wares.
Attractive or fun decor can really give a computer setup an edge. Real plants. Vintage Apple gear. Epic Lego sets. Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup sports a detailed replica stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars.
It overlooks a Darth Vader-worthy 49-inch Samsung curved gaming display and an Elgato Stream Deck, which is associated with video streaming tasks but can also do a lot for productivity in general through shortcuts.
Sony Electronics unveiled its new full-frame 12MP ZV-E1 camera Wednesday. It takes its place at or near the top of the company’s growing ZV lineup of cameras for vloggers and other content creators.
At $2,200 it’s not cheap — a big step up from the company’s roughly $750 cameras for content creators — for but it could a key to making amateur content look professional.
As usual, when Apple invites developers to attend WWDC — June 5 to 9 this year — it also welcomes submissions for the annual Swift Student Challenge. Competitors create innovative coding projects with the help of Apple’s Swift Playgrounds app.
And some winners get to attend a special event at Apple Park on June 5, Apple said. That’s the first day of WWDC23.
Big-time PDF applications like Adobe Acrobat are great, but for many folks, splurging on them seems like hauling a pricey, seven-course banquet to a picnic at the beach. Many people are better off spending less to get only what they need. (You wouldn’t want to get sand in the caviar.)
The new Røde Wireless ME Compact Wireless Microphone System, with clip-on transmitter and receiver, tries to make pro-level audio recording effortless — not to mention inexpensive.
With the new release, content creators who want to hit the ground running with quality audio have another option.
Bradley Rein, who allegedly crashed his SUV into an Apple Store in Massachusetts in November 2021, was indicted Tuesday. He faces second-degree murder, assault and other charges, a new report said.
The crash in Hingham, Massachusetts, killed one person and injured 22 others.
There’s much to be said for hiding stuff under your desk. And we don’t mean cramming it down there like you shove junk under your bed. We mean mounting it properly out of sight. It gets said stuff — computers, docks, cables — off the desktop for a cleaner look to your setup, not to mention a more-efficient workspace.
Today’s featured setup uses an inexpensive acrylic mount to stash an M1 Mac mini and connected cables under the desk. Below you can see images of the mount itself as well the “before” shot of the setup. The “after” shot appears above.
A new open letter signed by tech leaders urges a six-month pause on development of advanced artificial intelligence applications that may pose “profound risks to society and humanity.”
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, other tech execs and many AI academics signed the letter. It urges caution concerning “emergent” AI more powerful than GPT-4. We’re not talking Siri here (at least not yet).
Here’s your chance to build an empire of rail — and even beat notorious railroad barons of yesteryear at their own game. Take that, Cornelius Vanderbilt.
The classic strategy game Sid Meier’s Railroads! arrives April 5 on mobile devices including iPhone and iPad. And you can preorder now via the App Store thanks to Feral Interactive.