February 10, 1993: Apple launches the Macintosh Color Classic, the company’s first compact Mac with a color screen.
As the first all-in-one Mac with an integrated color display, and the last U.S. Mac to offer the original model’s compact form factor, this model represents a landmark in the evolution of the Macintosh. A Color Classic unit also happens to become the 10 millionth Macintosh that Apple ships.
Clawdbot. Moltbot. OpenClaw. The rapid rebranding might confuse you, but behind that name is a genuinely useful tool. OpenClaw is a self-hosted AI agent that you can run on your own Mac or PC.
More importantly, it can carry out actions on your behalf, like reading and modifying files, running shell commands, and even installing new tools. Think of OpenClaw as an AI agent running on your Mac that can act as your always-on digital butler.
For Apple enthusiasts, one Mac is great — but two or more? That’s when things get seriously interesting. Years of Cult of Mac Setups coverage has showcased hundreds of impressive workstations. But these top 10 multi-Mac setups stand out as particularly fascinating examples of how power users leverage Apple’s ecosystem to its fullest potential.
From new M4-powered machines paired with vintage “trash can” Mac Pros to dual MacBook configurations seamlessly integrated with desktop Macs, these workstations demonstrate that having multiple Macs isn’t just about redundancy. It’s about optimizing workflow, separating concerns and yes, indulging in a bit of Apple-fandom excess.
With Apple reportedly redesigning the MacBook Pro, it’s time to bring back the beloved glowing Apple logo on the back of the laptop.
Not only is it an iconic look, reviving a signature feature from the MacBooks of old would make a statement that Apple has returned to making laptops as good as the ones made back in the days when you could easily recognize a MacBook from across the room by its glowing Apple logo.
“I am proud to say that we just had a quarter for the record books,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during Thursday’s earnings call, before rattling off numbers that surprised Wall Street analysts — in a good way.
The highly successful quarter was also one for the stat geeks. Apple racked up several all-time highs during the quarter (technically Apple’s Q1 2026). From overall revenue (a new all-time high!) to customer satisfaction ratings (through the roof!), the numbers Apple put up during the 2026 holiday quarter will blow your mind.
On the latest Cult of Mac podcast: Details emerge about Apple’s work on an AI pin, and we’re all wondering the same thing. What the heck will it do?
The AirTag-size device that Apple’s testing reportedly packs multiple cameras and microphones. And it will work with the new, chatbot-style Siri that’s also in the works.
We all saw how miserably Humane’s Ai Pin failed. What could possibly go wrong with Apple’s AI pin?
Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:
Listen to this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
January 24, 1984: Apple ships its first Mac, the mighty Macintosh 128K.
Bringing a mouse and graphical user interface to the masses, and heralded by an acclaimed Super Bowl commercial that’s still talked about today, the first-gen Mac will quickly become one of the most important personal computers ever released.
Nothing illustrates the power of Apple’s ecosystem like the Continuity features that help your Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch work seamlessly together.
Thanks to Continuity, your iPhone can serve as your Mac’s webcam — and you can remotely control your iPhone from your Mac. You can start an email on one device and instantly pick it up on another. You can use the same keyboard and mouse with a Mac and iPad, copy and paste across devices and more.
These features flex the power of Apple’s hardware and software — and they would never be possible on a PC.
In this post (and the accompanying video), I will show you some of the time-saving, annoyance-busting Continuity features you can enjoy when you go all-in on the Apple ecosystem.
January 23, 1985: Apple introduces The Macintosh Office, a combination of hardware and software that represents the company’s first real attempt at cracking the business market dominated by IBM.
Macintosh Office allows Macs to talk to one another. And Apple introduces amazing new devices like the LaserWriter printer that work with the business-oriented platform. Sadly, things won’t work out quite as Apple hopes.
January 22, 1984: Apple’s stunning “1984” commercial for the original Mac airs on CBS during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. Its dystopian theme and epic visuals pitch the Macintosh 128K as a revolutionary computer coming to smash the status quo.
Probably the most famous TV ad for a computer in history, the commercial is directed by Alien and Blade Runner helmer Ridley Scott. It reaches millions of viewers during the big game. However, it very nearly didn’t air at all.
January 19, 1989: Apple introduces the Macintosh SE/30, arguably the greatest of the classic compact Macs with black-and-white screens.
When you picture the ideal 1980s Macintosh, this is likely the machine that comes to mind. And for good reason!
January 16, 1986: Apple introduces the Macintosh Plus, its third Mac model and the first to be released after Steve Jobs was forced out of the company the previous year.
The Mac Plus boasts an expandable 1MB of RAM and a double-sided 800KB floppy drive. And it’s the first Macintosh to include a SCSI port, which serves as the main way of attaching a Mac to other devices (at least until Apple abandons the tech on the original iMac G3 upon Jobs’ return).
Some people achieve and maintain zero unread emails; some let that red badge climb into the thousands. It’s never too late to change your ways — you can become one of those clean inbox people like me. These six tips will help you get to Inbox Zero using features in Apple’s Mail app that you might not have known about.
The obvious Tip No. 0 is this: You should always hit the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of every unsolicited promotional email as soon as you get the first one.
After you kill all those unwanted subscriptions, these six lesser-known features of the Apple Mail app on iPhone, Mac and iPad will make you a true pro at managing your email.
January 15, 2008: Apple CEO Steve Jobs shows off the first MacBook Air at the Macworld conference in San Francisco, calling the revolutionary computer the “world’s thinnest notebook.”
The 13.3-inch laptop measures only 0.76 inches at its thickest point and 0.16 inches at its tapered thinnest. It also boasts a unibody aluminum design, thanks to an Apple engineering breakthrough that allows the crafting of a complicated computer case from a single block of finely machined metal.
In a brilliant piece of showmanship during the MacBook Air launch, Jobs pulls the super-slim laptop out of a standard interoffice envelope. (You can watch his keynote introducing the MacBook Air below.)
Retro tech is back, and it doesn’t get much more nostalgic than transforming a new M4 Mac mini into a Macintosh straight out of the 1980s. Better yet, the process is simple: Just pop the Mac mini into the Wokyis M5 dock and you’re done.
Don’t mistake this for simple cosmetic trickery. The add-on includes a functional 5-inch screen. Plus, it’s a hub that adds a variety of ports to the Mac as well as a slot for an internal SSD.
You can set up persistent notifications from specific apps so they stick to the top of your iPhone screen. With persistent notifications in iOS, when your phone is unlocked and an important alert comes in, the notification will stay visible at the top of the screen until you act upon it.
It’s an easy way to make sure you don’t miss (or forget about) critical notifications on your iPhone.
This proves super-handy for things like medication reminders. It also works wonders if you’re the sort of person who ignores notifications once they disappear from your iPhone screen. I’ll show you how to make your notifications sticky.
The Mac had a brilliant 2025, with shipments increasing 16.4% year over year. That’s a growth rate none of the computer’s top rivals could match.
It marks the third straight year of annual increases. And the rate could have been higher if Apple didn’t push back the launch of some much-anticipated products.
Mac Hot Corners are shortcuts for your mouse. Enable the Hot Corners feature, and you can throw your mouse cursor to the corner of the screen (the easiest place to hit) to perform quick actions. You can instantly lock the screen, start a screensaver, show the desktop, show all windows and more.
If you use your Mac with a standard two-button PC mouse instead of Apple’s Magic Trackpad or Magic Mouse, Hot Corners can replace the multitouch gestures that you miss out on. The Mac’s built-in Hot Corners feature provides a quick and easy way to navigate your computer, and I recommend that you turn them on and use them.
January 10, 2006: Steve Jobs unveils the original 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple’s thinnest, fastest and lightest laptop yet.
Building on the previous PowerBook G4 laptop, the new laptop adds dual-core Intel processors for the first time. The MacBook Pro immediately makes waves in the tech community. And did we mention its awesome MagSafe connector?
You can adjust the background blur of a Portrait mode photo on iPhone and Mac — even after you’ve taken the picture.
Because the iPhone stores the depth data that it uses to create the blur effect along with the image itself, you can adjust how blurry or clear the background looks. It’s super-easy to get just the right amount of aesthetically pleasing background blur, aka bokeh, to make your images look perfect.
Why would you want to tweak the background blur on your iPhone photo? A blurrier background, under the right conditions, can make for a very dramatic picture. It can effectively emphasize the subject of your shot. Or, you might want to turn up the blur to intentionally hide details behind you. On the other hand, if you’re in a photogenic location, you might want to decrease the blur so you can see more of the gorgeous background scenery.
Either way, I’ll show you how to edit Portrait mode’s background blur in photos on iPhone and Mac.
If you work on a Mac, these six useful apps can help you get that work done faster. And you don’t need to take time to download them or figure out if they’re worth the price — you already have these apps on your computer.
Stickies can help you stay organized with digital Post-It notes. Digital Color Meter is an essential tool for graphic design. Dictionary is the fastest way to look up words and synonyms. Screen Sharing can remotely control other computers on your network. Grapher is a highly advanced plotting tool. And finally, Screenshot is an easy-to-use interface for taking screenshots and screen recordings.
I’ll walk you through how to use these useful Mac apps that you probably haven’t heard of.
Apple silently gave some Macs and iPads a Wi-Fi speed boost with macOS Tahoe 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. The update enables 160MHz channel bandwidth support on 5GHz Wi-Fi networks, eliminating a restriction that tamped down the maximum possible speeds.
The additional bandwidth should let your recent Mac or iPad benefit from higher throughput.
January 5, 1999: Apple introduces a revised Power Mac G3 minitower, nicknamed the “Blue and White G3” or “Smurf Tower” to distinguish it from the earlier beige model.
The first new Power Mac since the original iMac shipped, the pro-level machine borrows the same transparent color scheme. Unfortunately, it doesn’t hang around too long.
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: Apple’s got a fantastic year ahead of it, with a genuinely prodigious pipeline of new products coming in 2026. From a folding iPhone and a low-cost MacBook to entirely new product categories, get ready for 12 months of exciting new Apple hardware.
In our first show under the new Cult of Mac branding, and our final podcast of 2025, we discuss all the great stuff that Apple fans have to look forward to in 2026.
Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:
Listen to this week’s episode of Cult of Mac in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Apple delivered some of its most memorable advertising campaigns in 2025, blending storytelling, humor and technical innovation. From emotional tributes to playful satire, the tech giant demonstrated why it remains a marketing powerhouse.
Here are the best Apple ads of 2025, which really helped define Cupertino’s creative year.