MacBook Air - page 13

With all due respect to some of the whiz-bang, over-the top computer setups we’ve looked at here at Cult of Mac, you don’t have to spend a zillion bucks and a year of your life putting together a highly effective workstation.

Today’s featured setup is not without flair and it gets the job done — all for the price of an M1 MacBook Air plus a few hundred bones, more or less.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Even more details surface about Apple’s hardware plans for 2022. If last year was “modest” (LOL), this year looks jam-packed with major updates. We’re talking redesigned AirPods Pro, a new Apple monitor, even-more-impressive MacBook Airs and … an iPhone? You gotta be kidding us.

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple hits $3 trillion market cap, albeit briefly.
• A giveaway that features a great-looking charger from Journey.
• The most interesting products out of this year’s big CES trade show in Las Vegas.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast 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 livestream, embedded below.

In a festive New Year’s promotion, Elago is offering every accessory in the Cult of Mac Store — hundreds of items, all in one place — at 15% off through January 7. No matter what Apple products you may have received as gifts over the holidays, there’s something for your in the sale. We cover some highlights below.

With 2022 almost on us, it’s time to look forward to the massive MacBook Air refresh expected next year. Tipsters say there’ll be a slim new design, a much better screen and a range of other improvements.

This notebook is also expected to be the debut of the super-speedy Apple M2 processor.

If you’re an avid gamer, or maybe just an aspiring one, it pays to know which displays and accessories will best serve your needs. Not just any display, input device and headset will keep up with today’s graphically rich games. The dual M1 Mac and Sony PlayStation 5 computer setup we look at today demonstrates some good choices you might consider.

Redditor smhppp uses an M1 Mac mini for personal uses, an M1 MacBook Air for work and a Sony PS5 for gaming. They showed their setup in a post entitled, “Current setup, spec in comments for those interested.” It’s one of those one-vertical-and-one horizontal-display setups so many people are trying lately.

This GaN2 charger post is presented by Journey, a brand of Alogic.

These days, you really don’t have to live with slow chargers for your iPhone, iPad, MacBook Pro and other devices. That’s because gallium nitride (GaN) technology makes it possible to pack components into small spaces, resulting in tiny but powerful charging gadgets like the Journey 30W USB-C Mini Charger.

It’s fast. It’ll charge almost anything. And because it’s one of the smallest chargers you can get, you can take it anywhere. Even better, Journey’s current promotion offers the little powerhouse for 30% off with the code BLACK30.

One of the questions you see most in the comments sections of posts about computer setups on social media is: Where did you get that wallpaper? To many folks, the setup may be fine and dandy, but what they really care about is not so much the fancy hardware, but the imagery on the display that they might easily get for themselves.

Today’s setup is a prime example. It made us look back at 10 great wallpaper sources we’ve come across, below. That’s 11, actually, including today’s subject.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: It sounds like Apple has some really big plans for 2022. We’re psyched about some things, skeptical about others, but definitely shining up our Apple Cards.

Also on The CultCast:

• Snap Spectacles, as modeled by Alex E. Heath.
• Anxiously awaiting the end of the “notch.”
• AppleCare+ getting a fear-based boost?
• More of our Gear of the Year picks.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast 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 livestream, embedded below.

This post on home office setups is brought to you by HumanCentric.

Itching to upgrade your work-from-home experience? HumanCentric, a desk accessories and workspace design brand based in Chicago, is giving away a bundle of three new products every Friday that will transform any home office. Each winner gets the company’s desk shelf system, laptop riser and headphone stand — three matching accessories that work together to level up both the look and productivity of any workspace.

Apple reportedly plans ambitious upgrades for a number of its hottest products in 2022, including major revamps for iPad Pro and MacBook Air — as well as an Apple silicon boost for the Mac Pro. Mac mini is also expected to see a refresh.

What’s more, the next-generation Apple Watch will come in a “ruggedized version aimed at extreme sports athletes.”

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Let’s talk about the virtual reality headset Apple supposedly will unleash next year. Will it happen? What will it do? And do we even want it to happen?

Also on The CultCast:

• Maybe AirPower isn’t dead — and maybe something even more amazing is on the horizon.
• Tesla Cyberwhistle FTW.
• Our first round of Gear of the Year picks.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast 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 livestream, embedded below.

Small businesses can now purchase new MacBooks for as little as $30 a month through Apple’s new Mac Notebook Upgrade Program.

The scheme, facilitated by Apple financing partner CIT, allows businesses partners to return or swap their machines after just three months if a new model is released. It’s a little like the iPhone Upgrade Program, but more flexible.

Some M1 MacBook Air models pack exactly the same chipset as the 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro, but they don’t offer the same level of performance. Why? Because the MacBook Pro has a cooling fan and the MacBook Air doesn’t.

But with a quick and easy thermal mod, you can give the more affordable MacBook Air a rather significant speed boost that makes it very nearly as fast as its sibling. Check out the video below that explains it all.

Apple shipped a rather impressive 6.5 million notebooks last quarter, according to new data — thanks in large part to the success of the M1 MacBook Air. That figure makes Cupertino the fourth-largest laptop vendor in the world.

Although Lenovo, HP and Dell all shipped significantly more laptops than Apple during the three-month period, the MacBook-maker did see decent growth of 10% over the same quarter last year.

A pre-Black Friday price cut from Amazon makes the new AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case surprisingly affordable at just $189.99. With active noise cancellation, excellent audio quality and three sizes of silicone ear tips for a comfortable fit, Apple’s high-end earbuds hit all the right notes.

If you want a pair — or want to knock out some early holiday gift shopping — you might want to jump on this deal. Or one of Amazon’s other surprising discounts on the Apple gear you crave, like an Apple Pencil 2 for just $99.

Some of the criticism leveled at the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro should inspire Apple to make a MacBook Air with the same size display. It would be the largest Air ever, but there seems to be a market for a very big, yet very slim, Mac notebook.

And that’s not something Apple offers in its current product lineup.

A new series of renders based on rumors about the 2022 MacBook Air show just how slim it might be. And how it might borrow many of the features of the recently announced MacBook Pro.

The upcoming model reportedly will include an M2 processor, a MagSafe connector and a mini-LED display with a screen notch. But not the wedge design of previous MacBook Airs.

We could be waiting until the middle of 2022 for the next MacBook Air refresh, but according to the latest rumor, it will be well worth the wait.

Apple’s next-generation ultraportable is expected to deliver a new mini-LED display and MagSafe connectivity — like the 2021 MacBook Pro — as well as a much more colorful design inspired by the 24-inch iMac.

Apple’s awesome new MacBook Air with M1 chip is now more affordable than ever before, with up to $149.01 — the biggest discount yet — off the usual price on Amazon. Order yours today for as little as $849.99.

In the world of computer setups, space is often at a premium. When you’ve got computers, displays, peripherals, gadgets and cables, you need some surface area. But not everyone has a big desk, much less more than one. That’s where certain types of stands and mounting arms come in handy.

A MacBook Air with 13.3-inch mini-LED display is reportedly a bit farther away that previously thought. An analyst predicts it will go into production in time for a fall 2022 release, not a summer one.

But they’ll be new macOS laptops long before then. Apple is widely expected to launch a pair of redesigned MacBook Pro models with mini-LED and an updated M-series processor possibly as soon as October 2021.

Accessories brand STM Goods rolled out a new line of MagSafe-compatible accessories Friday that it said helps users keep organized while securely handling and quickly charging up their iPhones. They’re called the MagLoop, the MagArm and the MagPod.

Sometimes on a Friday — or really any day of the week — we like to go back in time with an old-school cool Mac computer setup. That is, when we can find something on the retro side to feature. Luckily, today we found one.

Apple could soon be on the receiving end of another class-action lawsuit, with lawyers currently investigating the company over reports that its new M1 MacBook models are vulnerable to screen cracks during normal usage.

A growing number of users complain in online forums that their MacBook displays suffered what the attorneys call “dramatic cracks,” despite not being mishandled. Many say they spent upward of $600 on repairs.

Redditor MalTheNotSoGentleman said he posted a photo and description of his iMac-based computer setup with three computers and three displays because of a paucity of RGB-lit Mac setups on Reddit. So now there’s at least one more. And it comes pretty loaded.