Nanoleaf opened up preorders for its newly Matter-enabled Essentials lineup of smart bulbs and light strips Wednesday.
Thanks to the Matter smart-home standard, they work with HomeKit and other smart-home platforms. But there is one catch regarding their use with HomeKit.
COVID-19 lockdowns in China didn’t just mess up iPhone production, they inspired the invention of a bizarre new machine with fake lips you can use with your smartphone to “kiss” someone far away.
Chinese startup Siweifushe launched the MUA — named after kissing sounds — a couple of weeks ago, selling more than 3,000 of them and receiving orders for 20,000 more, a new report said.
Bluetti noticed a gap in the portable power market. There are many solar power stations, but small ones offer questionable capacity. And the high-capacity power banks tend to be big and heavy.
Aqara unveiled its new Video Doorbell G4 in January. It’s the first battery-powered, easy-install doorbell to integrate HomeKit Secure Video. And now it’s available to buy.
This is good news for HomeKit users who don’t like to mess with wiring but would love to have a artificially intelligent video doorbell that triggers automations.
The Nothing company followed up its Ear (1) noise-canceling earbuds with the new Ear (2) version Wednesday, offering hip, hi-tech earbuds comparable to Apple’s AirPods Pro — but at a lower price of $149.
The new Nothing earbuds feature active noise cancellation, Hi-Res Audio certification, partially transparent casings for a cool look, and more personalization options than the originals.
People go nuts for solid wood on everything from guitars to flooring. But how about an all-solid-wood mechanical keyboard?
Japanese outfit Hacoa has one decked out in wood from the keycaps down through the housing, in either walnut or cherry. It’s called the Hacoa Full Ki-Board Wireless.
And it can be yours for the stout price of 99,000Yen ($745) plus shipping costs. That’s more than a base Mac mini.
When you start to worry the air in your home could make you sick, an air purifier can help. And they’re getting smarter (but hopefully not “rise of the machines” smart a la Terminator).
The nara Pro, which the company bills as “the versatile air purifier robot,” runs a two-stage system via artificial intelligence that works with Siri and HomeKit, as well as other smart-home systems.
And you can get a good deal on it on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform.
This just in from the Things That Look Like Other Things Department: a Mac Studio desktop computer sitting on top of a Mac mini “looks like a small robot from Wall-E or one of the [other] Pixar films.”
Today’s featured setup sports the unintentional character in the form of an old Mac mini acting as a server and a stand for the much-newer Mac Studio. It’s pretty cute. You can imagine it rolling around, beeping and maybe firing off a laser blast.
NewQ debuted its 16-in-1 USB-C Docking Station Wednesday with triple-4K-monitor support for Windows and macOS. It expands opportunity for M1 and M2 Macs with limited native external display support (one for MacBooks, two for Mac mini).
Plus, the 16-in-1 dock offers a port for practically any need and powers your laptop.
Anker rolled out its latest 15W MagSafe charging stand Tuesday, introducing the 3-in-1 Anker 737 MagGo Charger. It adopts a triangular shape, juicing up iPhones at a full 15W and AirPods and Apple Watch at 5W apiece.
This follows the company’s first 3-in-1 MagSafe fast-charging stand, the Anker Cube, released in October 2022.
Jabra unveiled its new Elite 4 wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation Tuesday, offering various premium sound and comfort features for a modest price of $99 — $20 less than the previous version.
“The modern earbud user is looking for tech that’s ready for work and play at their fingertips, while not compromising on key features,” said Calum MacDougall, SVP at Jabra. “The Elite 4 offers a solution to this and is the perfect well-rounded design to help users to concentrate, connect and call without distractions.”
You may already know about SIM cards for cellular data, those little microchips that slide on trays in or out of smartphones. But the future of connectivity is eSIM cards, and that future is now.
Holafly’s eSIM unlimited data plans cover you when you travel. They’re tailored to your destinations. And they keep your iPhone connected in many countries, hassle-free, while also keeping costs down.
If there’s one thing computer-setup fans on social media value above all else, it’s a “clean” workstation. The best ones — neither messy nor cluttered with cables — place everything just so. Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup does a nice job with that.
And it even hides the laptop as well as an iPad. See how fast you can spot them. One commenter noted it took longer than it should have.
We know what you’re thinking: a “Pro” desk mat? Well, yes, actually. The Function101 Desk Mat Pro is rather capable. Not only does it help protect your desk, it’s a serious tool for often-neglected cable management in and around the computer setup.
And the professional-level desk mat is now available in the Cult of Mac Store for $39.95. Other desk mats just aren’t qualified.
We enjoy a lot of variety in our computer setups coverage, from the ultra-minimalist to the mega-maximalist. Today’s featured rig sports two pumped-up Mac Studios, two old Mac Pro “trash cans,” a gaming PC, dual displays and a tremendous array of audio gear.
It falls in the latter category, obviously (“mega”). The lengthy gear list below doesn’t even cover everything in the powerhouse workstation, but it covers all the key elements.
Belkin’s smart-home accessories brand, Wemo, is “backing away from Matter and dimming our dreams of a smart home utopia.” That’s according to a report published Wednesday.
At a time when companies are rushing to ready products for the new smart-home networking standard, which is meant to let different brands work together, Wemo’s hesitation is a surprise.
Its products work only with HomeKit. Now it looks like that won’t change anytime soon.
If you know anything about the dangers of hacking and identity theft lurking online, you may already know an app to manage all of your passwords can be a lifesaver. Passbolt is a good one. It uses a “secret key” for all of its authentication and encryption operations, keeping your information safe.
Amazon bargain website Woot! is back with an another Apple sale. You can get up to a stunning 86% off many of the company’s popular accessories.
You can bag bargains on Apple iPhone cases and sleeves, AirTag leather loops and keychains, a MagSafe charger, adapters, cables and more — 25 items in all.
Edifier’s new QD35 Tabletop Bluetooth Speaker boasts an unusual combination of features: high-resolution audio playback, pulsating lights and a digital clock.
Oh, and it also offers full-time gallium nitride-powered charging for other devices. So it appears to be a curious but useful — not to mention cool-looking — beast.
You might have an iPad or maybe an older iPhone. Want them to work seamlessly with MagSafe stands, chargers and such? That’s no problem with the MagEasy Hoop MagSafe Adhesive Ring. You can stick it to practically anything, making that thing magnetic.
And you can get it right now in the Cult of Mac Store for just $15.
In our never-ending search for interesting computer setups, we love stumbling upon good do-it-yourself (“DIY”) hacks. Today’s featured setup mounts an M1 MacBook Air on the wall in a most-unusual way. It involves a pegboard, a strap and a tablet stand designed for use in the kitchen.
In addition, the setup features a rarely seen mechanical keyboard worth checking out.
Apple said Tuesday its US customers can chat with an Apple Specialist over video to shop the iPhone lineup. That includes the new yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus that showed up in stores today.
The new Shop with a Specialist over Video service lets buyers connect with retail team members over a secure, one-way video shopping session, the company said.
Basic Apple Guy is out with another striking set of wallpapers you can download for free. He calls them “Big Starry Sur.” It’s “Apple’s Big Sur meets Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night,” he said.
You can download the wallpapers for Mac, iPad and iPhone for free below. And it’s nice if you leave him a tip for his effort, too. If you’re looking for ways to use a laptop as a second monitor, check out this deal on the Duex Plus DS Laptop Screen Extender.
If you’re happy with the basic white charging case that came with your earbuds, that’s great. But those cases can get scratched, so they’re worth protecting. And that’s not the only reason you might consider a case for your AirPods 3 case. You can also add both style and a higher degree of protection.
The SwitchEasy Flash Sale — you can get 20% off fun and rugged cases for AirPods 3 — ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific on March 13.
We recently talked about what a boon to computer setups stands and mounts usually are — but not when they cause problems. Today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro setup is an interesting example. The bass player who runs it said the gas-powered arm of the mount where the laptop sits is so hair-trigger it can “randomly launch it into the air.”
That’s not ideal when you have $2,000 laptop not designed for flight. The user also has a PC laptop for work, a massive 4K display and a compact mechanical keyboard and badass speakers we haven’t seen elsewhere.