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.
Season 2 of sci-fi series Foundation explodes like a supernova on Apple TV+ July 14. That may sound a bit dramatic, but the main word that comes to mind upon watching the new trailer for the season the streaming service dropped Tuesday is … epic. And lots of stuff explodes in it.
Or let’s go with “epic saga,” the phrase Apple TV+ used to describe the hit show based on Isaac Asimov’s award-winning stories about a band of exiles defying a crumbling galactic empire. For those interested in exploring more great sci-fi, checking out the Murderbot Diaries series in order can provide a great starting point before the TV adaptation arrives.
As June speeds toward July, are you ready for summer? You can look like you are. Just refresh your Apple Watch’s look with a Goldenerre Color Pop band and a white case.
For a fresh look, you can choose from the band’s three color combos and pair the band with the company’s white case. The bands and the case are new in the Cult of Mac Store. Apple has also introduced new iPhone colors, giving you even more ways to freshen up your tech accessories for the season.
Apple’s 2023 Mac Studio, Mac Pro and 15-inch MacBook Air are now reaching customers. Announced at WWDC23 last week, the new Macs went up for preorder soon after.
Customers who placed their orders early have already started receiving Apple’s latest Macs. If you didn’t place your order already, you can currently grab one with a $50 discount!
Apple’s professional-grade Mac Studio desktop has been updated with either an Apple M2 Max or M2 Ultra processor. The new chips give a welcome increase in performance, and the top-tier model now supports 8K monitors.
Read on to discover what the first reviewers have to say about the powerfully upgraded Mac.
Antonin Carême rose from humble beginnings in Paris to the height of culinary stardom in Napoleon’s Europe. His story is coming to Apple TV+ as an eight-episode French drama.
Carême’s life had more excitement than one might expect from a chef and author, as he also served as an unwilling spy for France.
Baseus rolled out its new thin-and-compact battery pack Friday, the Baseus Blade HD Series 100W Power Bank. It provides 100 watts of power delivery from its 20,000mAh battery to keep MacBook, other laptops and various gadgets going. If you’re using this to keep your Mac running, you may also want to check out how to power off Mac for optimal battery management.
The Satechi Triple 4K Display Docking Station offers a dozen ports of a variety of types. Among the range of accessories that can be connected are up to three 4K/60Hz displays. And that includes Macs that ordinarily support only one external monitor.
Also included are multiple USB ports and Ethernet.
If you haven’t yet placed your preorder for the 15-inch MacBook Air, you should jump on Amazon’s latest deal. It knocks $50 off the price of the well-reviewed new laptop.
This is the best deal to surface so far on the 15-inch MacBook Air, which hits retail stores Tuesday.
In the battle over who offers the best 5K display, Apple doesn’t always win, even with Mac users. And it’s usually because of price.
Today’s featured Mac Studio setup relies on a 40-inch LG 5K2K curved ultra-wide monitor — picked over a pair of Studio Displays that would cost twice as much — and the user more-or-less said they they couldn’t be happier.
Reviewers have plenty of praise for the first 15-inch MacBook Air, with comments like it “does its job very, very well” (The Verge) and it’s “more than good enough” (CNET).
Shockingly, this killer consumer laptop starts at just $1,299 (and is already available at a $50 discount from some retailers). Read on for a summary of comments about Apple’s largest consumer-oriented notebook yet.
The first 15-inch MacBook Air was a highlight of WWDC23, but it was a bit overshadowed by other announcements. Perhaps that’s why Apple still has units ready to be preordered for pickup on launch day, June 13.
The same is true for the upgraded Mac Studio with M2 Pro or M2 Ultra processors. And the first Mac Pro with Apple silicon is also sold out on launch day.
Benchmark scores of Apple’s M2 Ultra indicate the new chip runs up to 20% faster than its predecessor, the M1 Ultra. And the comparison between the latest chip and the Intel processor in the 2019 Mac Pro proves even more dramatic.
You can configure the 2023 Mac Studio, which Apple unveiled during the WWDC23 keynote, with the M2 Ultra. And this bruiser of a chip is the only option you get when buying the new 2023 Mac Pro.
Apple TV+ series and films earn a higher average ranking from critics than all other streaming services. So, despite its relatively limited catalog, Apple’s service offers an outsized collection of top-quality content.
Its average quality content ranking is well above Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The first impressions of Apple’s just-unveiled Vision Pro headset leave us mind = blown. Still, no matter how vivid the VR is … or how flawless the visionOS user interface is … or how “natural” the headset looks to be … can anything justify its $3,499 price tag?
Also on The CultCast:
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!)
The dystopian sci-fi mystery Silo launched on Apple TV+ in early May, and it’s been at or near the top of the ratings charts ever since. Last week, it was once again more popular than any other streaming series.
Plus, the finale of the sports dramedy Ted Lasso put it in the top 10 as well.
Aqara released its first deadbolt smart lock Friday, the Smart Lock U100. It’s fully compatible with Apple’s HomeKit and you can open it with Home Key, fingerprints, passwords or — get this — a physical key.
Snark aside (a physical if often provided with smart locks for power outages), the stout new lock integrates with the Matter home automation standard and could become a vital part of HomeKit users’ smart-home arsenals.
This year, WWDC delivered an avalanche of new hardware as well as the usual major planned software releases — and the latter is already showing up in computer setups while the hardware hasn’t shipped yet.
Today’s featured setup may be all about its MacBook Pro, iPad and fine external monitor, but you can’t miss the brand-new, unreleased functionality showing up on another screen on display in the photograph.
Known for laptop cases and other accessories, Targus recently unveiled its new Cypress Hero Backpack with Find My Locator.
So if it goes missing, you can find the eco-friendly pack and any gear in it using your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
With Safari Profiles, Apple takes another swing at helping us organize all the browser tabs we have open. The new feature lets users put tabs and tab groups into separate areas, helping keep work and our personal lives from interfering.
Beyond that, Safari Profiles also could enable two or more people to more easily share the web browser, which can be a huge benefit for iPad users.
I’ve been testing the new feature in the first betas of iOS 17, macOS Sonoma and iPadOS 17, all of which Apple unveiled at WWDC23 this week.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro headset does not pack any significant technological breakthroughs. He claims his company explored all options used by Apple — but ultimately decided against them.
Zuckerberg expressed his thoughts on Vision Pro in a companywide meeting with Meta employees.
Apollo, a popular third-party Reddit client for iPhone and iPad, will shut down on June 30. This is due to Reddit’s upcoming API policy that goes live on July 1, which makes it untenable for third-party apps to operate.
Apple highlighted Apollo multiple times on-stage at WWDC23 and even showed it as one of the apps for its Vision Pro headset.
The second season of an Apple TV+ series that turns a murder mystery into a genre-mixing comedy will soon return. Fresh episodes of The Afterparty premier in July.
As the trailer released Thursday shows, there’s a new mystery to solve with a fresh cast of eccentric suspects, though Tiffany Haddish and some of the other stars of season one will be back.
At WWDC23, Apple said it’s adding a slew of new health features in iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and watchOS 10 that will help you take care of yourself physically and emotionally.
And while new mental health and vision features are coming across platforms, the more-general Health app finally arrives on iPad, as well.
For this week’s giveaway, we teamed up with Device Therapy, which makes a clever disguise to keep an eye on your bicycle. Three lucky winners will receive an awesome Bike Reflector Mount that can help foil thieves who want to steal your two-wheeler.
The AirTag bike mount’s reflective surface is made from genuine 3M diamond-grade reflective material. The durable mounts are made from plant-sourced bioplastic, 3D-printed in-house by the product’s creator.