News - page 137

While Apple is finally putting out an M2 Mac Pro even as its powerful Mac Studio machines conquer most hardcore computing tasks, the truth is most users can more than get by with an M1 or M2 Mac mini. That goes for Bill Penhale, who sent us his setup from Shorewood, Illinois, near Chicago.

“I am pretty techy for 70, ha!,” the retired sales director told Cult of Mac. And judging by his M1 Mac mini-powered setup, with a fine 4K external display, solid audio and loads of external storage, that’s certainly true.

Missed buying the iPad mini 6 on Prime Day? Worry not, as Amazon is still offering a sweet 20% discount on the tablet.

With the discount, you can get Apple’s smallest iPad for only $399.99, saving $99.01 on your purchase.

Fishing is a sport that requires patience. Ridiculous Fishing EX is a game that requires guns, chainsaws and toasters. Players go on a heroic quest for gills and glory in this action title.

The newly revamped game exploded onto Apple Arcade on Friday.

The list of new emoji up for approval includes a phoenix, a breaking chain, a lime, a person nodding or shaking their head, plus a handful more.

These are being proposed to the Unicode Consortium in September, but are very unlikely to appear on iPhone and other computers before 2024.

Although Amazon’s Prime Day is over, you have not missed your chance to save money on iPad, MacBook or AirPods. These Apple products are still on sale with enticing discounts.

But don’t wait — these deals could disappear at any time.

Attention iPad owners: This is your last day to slash 30% off a fantastic variety of iPad cases in the Cult of Mac Store.

SwitchEasy’s sleek and protective cases cover any iPad you might own. See key highlights below and check out the SwitchEasy Flash Sale, which ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific on July 13.

Suppose you could change the channel on your TV by moving a sofa cushion? Or adjust the volume with a plate of nachos? That’s the simple but somewhat ridiculous idea behind a patent Apple applied for.

While silly, it would mean we’d never need to worry about losing the TV remote.

Apple’s on again/off again Rapid Security Response patches for iOS 16.5.1, macOS Ventura 13.4.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1 are once again available. These have been cleared of the bugs that caused Apple to withdraw them after the initial release.

The updated RSR patches are critical because they close a security hole that has been exploited by hackers.

Apple launched in mid July a trio of Rapid Security Responses to fix urgent security problems in iOS 16.5.1, macOS Ventura 13.4.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1. It was then forced to withdraw them, but they have since been debugged and re-released.

These are the latest entries in a relatively new system created to quickly fix security holes without requiring a full OS update.

Apple has expanded its Tap to Pay on iPhone feature to businesses in the UK. This comes within a few months of the feature rolling out to small businesses in Australia.

Tap to Pay allows businesses and merchants to turn their iPhones into a Point-of-Sale terminal and accept payments from customers.

Apple is bringing iCloud’s password manager to third-party web browsers with macOS Sonoma. So far, you could only access passwords saved in iCloud from Safari on your Mac.

This will no longer be the case once macOS Sonoma lands later this year. The move will make iCloud Keychain a more compelling alternative to popular third-party password managers.

You people apparently love your trackers. The Momax Tracking Tag — an affordable AirTag alternative that uses Apple’s Find My network — topped the list of items purchased by Cult of Mac readers during Amazon’s Prime Day event this week. And AirTags themselves didn’t come in far behind.

What else proved popular with our readers? Here’s the list — and some of these deals are still available!

Apple just gave the general public access to the latest iOS 17 beta, but before you put it on your iPhone, the Cult of Mac staff has some warnings. We’ve used the betas for weeks, and while it’s gone well for some people, it’s been a dumpster fire for others.

Public betas for macOS Sonoma and iPadOS 17 are also available, and we also have comments for anyone thinking of putting those on their Mac or iPad.

The third season of the Apple TV+ dark comedy Physical will feature a psychological battle between Rose Byrne‘s Sheila and a new rival for premier fitness entrepreneur status played by Zooey Deschanel. The first trailer for the upcoming season gives a first look at their struggle.

In addition, Apple’s streaming service revealed Wednesday that the series will return in early August -0- and that this will be the final season of Physical.

Apple TV+ earned dozens of 2023 Emmy nominations, with the Ted Lasso juggernaut racking up no fewer than 21 on its own.

Also gaining recognition for TV’s highest honor are comedies Shrinking and Bad Sisters, jailhouse drama Black Bird, musical spoof Schmigadoon! and current-affairs series The Problem With Jon Stewart. Plus more.

Porsche just became the first carmaker to give drivers personalized control over vehicle functions from an app within CarPlay, accessible via new digital controls on the dashboard (and on iPhone).

With the My Porsche app showing up in CarPlay to control features like audio, climate and lighting in the latest Cayenne SUV, the integration may give a sense of what CarPlay could be like soon in other cars.

Increasingly, gamers and other users replace traditional computer monitors with large smart TVs or ultra-wide monitors that eclipse screens like Apple’s 27-inch Studio Display and 32-inch Pro Display XDR in size. Today’s featured M2 Max Studio Display setup sports a 55-inch Samsung 8K OLED smart TV, for example.

Everybody loves plenty of screen real estate, but ergonomically speaking, is it healthy? Today’s setup represents the debate, offering pros and cons.

Luna Display’s ability to turn an iPad into a high-performance second screen for a Mac got an upgrade with peer-to-peer networking, reducing the latency between the two computers.

In addition, a software update for the video adapter from Astropad now supports making one Mac acts as another’s external monitor via a USB connection.

A new Apple Card promotion can get you up to 10% Daily Cash Back on App Store purchases. The promo is only applicable to new customers.

You will also get 10% Daily Cash on transactions on other Apple services, like Apple Music and Apple TV+.

Anyone curious about the big-budget sci-fi epic Foundation can now take in the very first episode … no subscription to Apple TV+ required. It’s free to watch on YouTube.

Die-hard fans know season 2 is about to start, and if you don’t have time for a rewatch of last season, Apple made a quick recap video. Plus it released a clip from the next episode.

A documentary series looking back at the careers of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington premieres on Apple TV+ in September. The Super Models will explore how these four disrupted the ’90s fashion scene.

In addition to announcing the premiere date, Apple’s video streaming service also released a brief teaser trailer Monday.

Apple is once again the lone bright spot in the global PC industry. Mac shipments grew by double digits year over year while makers of Windows machines all saw their shipments decline, according to a market research firm.

Mac’s return to growth in Q2 must be a relief to CEO Tim Cook as Q1 shipments were down dramatically.

Apple TV+ dropped a “first look” at a new drama/horror series and “parenthood fable” The Changeling, coming to the streaming service September 8. See the photographs below.

The eight-episode show stars LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta, Sorry to Bother You) and comes from the critically acclaimed and bestselling book of the same name by Victor LaValle.

The Rapid Security Response patches released Monday for iOS 16.5.1, macOS Ventura 13.4.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1 have been pulled back by Apple. They made changes to WebKit, and reportedly were causing problems with some websites.

This isn’t ideal, as they were introduced to close a security hole that has been exploited by hackers.

With Prime Day upon us, Earfun is offering one of its best deals ever on high-quality noise-canceling earbuds, Earfun Air Pro 3.

“This exclusive Prime Day deal represents the lowest prices in our brand’s history, and we are confident that they will be extremely enticing for consumers,” the company told Cult of Mac.

For Amazon Prime Day, July 11 and 12, you can get an astonishingly low price on earbuds of this quality — under $50.