News - page 142

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The M2 Ultra chip gives the new Mac Studio and Mac Pro incredible powers, the first benchmarks show. And the new 15-inch MacBook Air doesn’t look too shabby, either. In fact, it seems like the ultimate Mac laptop for most people.

Also on The CultCast:

• We’ve got a great travel charger from Ugreen in this week’s giveaway.
• Erfon uncorks an update on the untimely death(?) and possible rebirth of his beloved original HomePod.

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 live stream, embedded below.

Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air has received the teardown treatment less than a week after going on sale. The internals reveals the laptop is similar to its 13-inch sibling, with two additional speakers and the larger battery being the only significant difference.

Thanks to the larger chassis, Apple has also managed to fit a bigger battery on the 15-inch Air.

If you travel around the world, this Ugreen 65W GaN travel charger could become your best companion. Its powerful output and universal plugs will let you keep your MacBook, iPhone and other Apple gear juiced up practically anywhere you roam.

The Ugreen 65W Nexode GaN Charger packs two USB-C ports along with one USB-A port, making it easy to charge multiple devices simultaneously. Plus, its switchable plugs make it effortless for use when traveling in the United States and Europe. It retails for just $55.99, but you could snag one for free in this week’s giveaway.

While most people know iFixit for its brilliant teardown videos of Apple gear, its primary business is selling repair tools and other accessories. And that now includes a new 65W wall charger with a 6-foot cable.

As one might expect from a company known for looking inside devices, part of the housing for the new iFixit Fast Charger USB-C AC Adapter is transparent, showing off the internal components.

Using Apple’s Find My network, the new AirCard from Swiss company Rolling Square can slip into your wallet like a credit card and help keep track of it. But it’s not just a tracker.

“AirCard is the first card-sized tracker in the world with a digital business card,” the company said. Its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign has far-surpassed its goal with six days to go, so it’s likely the cards will ship.

If you or your dad have any need of accessories for Apple products, don’t miss the Father’s Day Sale going on now through Monday in the Cult of Mac Store. You can find discounts of up to 15% off on 140 products from Elkson, Just Mobile, Laut, Mifa, Rilee & Lo and Speidel. It’s quite a selection.

See some highlights below and check out the Father’s Day Savings collection!

If a dragon had jet engines you’d have Jet Dragon, a flying, racing game that requires plenty of strategy to make a winning team.

The app debuted Friday on Apple’s gaming service, and is playable on iPhone, Mac and more.

Amazon bargain site Woot! launched a new sale on Apple gear Friday. This time the deals cover iMacs, MacBooks and Studio Displays.

The sale ends late Monday night Pacific time, so act fast if you want to score some of these deals on new and refurbished gear.

Getting a complex computer setup just-so can be a daunting experience for even seasoned users. Maybe somebody should create a diagram or something? Well, someone did, making a highly capable MacBook Pro-and-PC setup with external display, storage, audio and more look even more complicated than it really is.

The sleekly executed diagram delighted viewers on social media. Check it out below.

Apple is bringing Lockdown Mode to the Apple Watch with watchOS 10. The “extreme” protection security measure debuted on the iPhone and Mac with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura in 2022.

Designed for individuals at high risk of cyberattacks and malware, the mode imposes several restrictions on your Apple Watch’s functionality.

The latest Apple retail store opened its doors Thursday in London’s iconic Battersea Power Station. Shoppers lined up to see the new location, and the Macs and iPhones may have been overwhelmed by the architecture.

Camera shutters were clicking. Check out some of the many images shared of the gorgeous new store, Apple’s 40th in the United Kingdom.

Anker’s Soundcore brand offers competitive noise-cancelling wireless earbuds, including Liberty 4, released in fall 2022. Now it plans to roll out its “all-new best noise-cancelling earbuds,” Liberty 4 NC, for a surprisingly low $100 (with an early-bird offer to pay just $80).

And the new buds claim an impressive 60 hours of battery life, too. Top features and low pricing like that might make Apple nervous over its AirPods line of earbuds.

Apple CEO Tim Cook took a moment to congratulate a man who wrote to him and tweeted an inspiring story of using Apple Watch and Fitness+ to lose more than 100 pounds over several months.

Nate Gorby told his story in his tweet, below, saying Apple’s tools changed his life. Cook’s direct reply was just one of many responses.

What if, instead of saying “Hey Siri” to activate your HomePod, you only had to glance at it? Apple is considering this possibility, and recently filed for a patent on it.

Whether this will become part of a future Apple smart speaker depends on whether it’s actually better than the current activation system.

Within days of its launch, the 15-inch MacBook Air is available with a $100 discount on Amazon. This makes the laptop even more amazing and almost a no-brainer.

Thanks to the deal, you can get the 15-inch MacBook Air for $1,199. That’s just $100 more than its 13-inch sibling.

BenQ, known for desktop monitors and accessories, unveiled its new treVolo U Desktop Dialogue Speaker Tuesday. Say what? A “dialogue speaker?”

Yes, and it uses special technology “designed to reinvent your digital life, offering exceptional audio for online learning, remote working, podcast and audiobook listening,” the company said.

Apple TV+ announced a season two renewal for Silo, the dystopian sci-fi mystery currently streaming on the service.

The decision doesn’t come as much of a surprise: the series is a huge hit.

If you are in the market for a powerful new laptop, it is hard to ignore the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. And with Amazon’s latest deal knocking up to $300 off, Apple’s pro laptops are a no-brainer.

A new price cut drops the 14-inch MacBook Pro’s price to $1,749 from $1,999. As for the bigger 16-inch model, it is currently available for as low as $2,299.

BodyGuardz unveiled a new smartphone screen protector called Apex recently, calling it “the industry’s only screen protector solution engineered with CrystalCore technology.” It described a process that makes the protector exceptionally thin and strong.

“Apex glass undergoes a rigorous mixing and baking process that reinforces the density of its crystalline structure, offering unrivaled protection for the latest smartphone models,” the company said.

The 2023 Mac Pro starts at $7,000, while a similarly configured 2023 Mac Studio is $4,000. The potential savings has people questioning whether they really need the Pro to get the job done.

Let’s compare these professional-grade desktops to see how they stack up. You might be surprised at how similar they are, given how very different the two designs are. If you’re considering the latest Mac Pro, check out this detailed comparison of Mac Studio vs. Mac Pro.

The only reason today’s featured setup isn’t 100% Apple is that Cupertino doesn’t make its own condenser USB microphones, lighting or desks.

Literally everything else in the setup is from Apple, including a computing “hat trick” of desktop Mac, laptop Mac and Apple tablet, plus a second hat trick for peripherals, with an Apple display, Apple input devices and Apple audio.

Apple’s total investment in its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative passed $200 million with an addition of $25 million in venture capital. The fund has the goal of expanding opportunities for Black, Hispanic/Latinx and Indigenous communities.

The Mac-maker has now more than doubled its original 2020 financial commitment to the REJI.

The base model 15-inch MacBook Air reportedly will have slower SSD performance than versions of the new laptop with more storage capacity.

This is an issue that also affects the 13-inch model that launched in 2022.

The just-launched 2023 Mac Pro lacks features considered critical for workstations: upgradable RAM and support for eGPUs. But this isn’t Apple blindly making an error — it’s an inescapable fact of the M-series’ unified memory architecture.

The limitation isn’t new: it’s been known since the M1 processor was announced. But Tuesday’s release of a top-tier macOS workstation shines a spotlight on the problem.

For those who weren’t paying attention back in 2020, here’s an explanation of why RAM upgrades and plug-in GPU aren’t an option for the 2023 Mac Pro.

For years podcasters, streamers, musicians and other content creators have turned to certain USB microphones that bring quality without costing a fortune. Audio-Technica’s AT2020  has been one of those. Now the company offers a major upgrade on the model with its new AT2020USB-XP microphone.

Upgrades bring new digital technology and some studio-quality features to help you sound like a pro.