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News - page 149

Dress your iPhone as a Disney villain with these fun new cases

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Casetify Disney Villains collection
You iPhone and AirPods can have some Hallowe'en fun, too.
Photo: Casetify

Hallowe’en is right around the corner, and to celebrate Casetify launched a collection of iPhone cases
featuring Disney villains. And there are accessories for AirPods and Apple Watch, too.

More of a Rick and Morty fan? Casetify has an array of iPhone, MacBook, etc. options for you, too.

New Ecobee smart doorbell beams video to thermostat screen

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You're on camera via thermostat screen, complete with vertical field of view and smart sensing.
You're on camera via thermostat screen, complete with vertical field of view and smart sensing.
Photo: Ecobee

The new Smart Doorbell Camera that Ecobee rolled out Tuesday offers an “industry leading” vertical field of view and a “first of its kind” live video stream beamed to a thermostat screen, the company said.

For any smart home powered by HomeKit or Amazon Alexa, the camera offer clear vision day or night, radar-sensing tech for accurate detection and a battery-free enclosure that allows reliable usage in extreme temperatures, Ecobee said.

Ted Lasso‘s Hannah Waddingham glams it up for Apple TV+ holiday special

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"Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas" debuts November 22.
Photo: Apple TV+

English actress Hannah Waddingham won an Emmy Award playing AFC Richmond soccer club owner Rebecca Welton on Apple TV+ hit comedy Ted Lasso. But now she’s changing into a glittery gold dress and leading a holiday music special, the streamer said Tuesday, dropping a fabulous photo.

Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas debuts November 22 on Apple TV+.

Get ready to grab the first budget Apple Pencil

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Apple Pencil (USB-C) with iPad
Apple Pencil (USB-C) with iPad is the lowest-cost stylus made by Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple just took the wraps off a lower-price version of its iPad stylus. The new Apple Pencil uses a USB-C port for charging so it’s a better fit for use with the budget iPad.

“Apple Pencil has revolutionized note taking, sketching, and illustrating, unleashing endless possibilities for productivity and creativity,” said Bob Borchers, Apple VP of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Combined with the versatility of iPad, the new Apple Pencil unlocks another great option to experience the magic of digital handwriting, annotation, marking up documents, and more.”

The new version is $50 less than Apple Pencil 2, the premium model. But it lacks some of the features of the top-of-the-line version.

iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Should you upgrade?

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iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 13 Pro Comparison
Apple has made some big upgrades in the two years since iPhone 13 Pro's release.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 15 Pro packs significant upgrades over its immediate predecessor, like a titanium body, a brighter display, a faster processor and better cameras. But are these changes enough to warrant an upgrade from your 2-year-old iPhone 13 Pro? Find out in this comparison.

Cost of iPhone 15 Pro Max components rises 12%

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iPhone 15 Pro Max teardown
The iPhone 15 Pro Max Bill of Materials is higher than for previous models.
Photo: iFixit

The cost of the components that go into the iPhone 15 Pro Max is up significantly when compared to its predecessor, according to an analysis of the various parts that make up Apple’s latest smartphone.

The change helps justify the jump in price for this model.

New home calls for new-and-improved workstation [Setups]

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Just a few years ago I worked on a laptop on whatever messy desk I found. Now I have dual-monitor M1 MacBook Pro setup with a standing desk and a proper office chair.
Just a few years ago I worked on a laptop on whatever messy desk I found. Now I have dual-monitor M1 MacBook Pro setup with a standing desk and a proper office chair.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

I moved to a new home over the weekend, and in it I’ve already built a new workstation. What better time to revamp things? Actually, it’s more like another stage in my computer setup’s herky-jerky evolution.

I went from just a PC laptop a few years ago to various iterations of a MacBook Pro workstation to my new rig, featuring dual monitors, a standing desk and a proper office chair for the first time in ages.

Know Apple Music’s next song at a glance with LivePod app [Awesome Apps]

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LivePod iOS app for Apple Music
With LivePod, you'll never have to open Apple Music to know what song is coming.
Photo: LivePod
Awesome Apps

Wish you didn’t have to open the Apple Music app to see what song will play next? The new iOS app LivePod turns your Apple Music Up Next queue into a Live Activity on your Lock Screen. And with newer iPhones, it shows up in the Dynamic Island.

You can use it for free on a limited basis.

The party is over for The Afterparty

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Apple’s murder-mystery comedy ‘The Afterparty’ premieres on Jan. 28
Tiffany Haddish led an ensemble cast in "The Afterparty," which won't be coming back to Apple TV+.
Photo: Chris Miller

The Apple TV+ series The Afterparty has reportedly been cancelled after two seasons. The genre-mixing comedy starring Tiffany Haddish won’t get a third season.

Fans can still hope the show will move to another streaming service, though.

Goldman Sachs wants to change when Apple Card bills customers

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Making Apple Card payments is as simple as its design.
Apple Card is great for card holders -- not so much for Goldman Sachs.
Photo: Apple

Being the bank backing the Apple Card isn’t going well for Goldman Sachs, and it’s proposed a change that’s it thinks would make the job easier: stop billing every customer at the beginning of the month.

But some bank executives say the whole deal with Apple is untenable. “We should have never done this f—ing thing,” a Goldman partner is quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal.

Apple Stores will soon wirelessly update unsold iPhones without opening the boxes

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iPhone 15 and 15 Plus review: Pro features for less
The next iPhone you buy from Apple's store could be running the latest iOS release.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple has developed a new way to wirelessly update iPhones in its retail stores without opening their boxes. This will ensure all iPhones sold are running the latest iOS release.

Apple could roll out the technology to its retail stores before the end of the year.

Apple could announce new iPads on October 17 [Updated]

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iPad Pro with Apple Pencil
New iPads with faster chips could arrive soon.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple could announce new iPads as soon as Tuesday, according to a new report. The company could unveil a new entry-level iPad, an updated iPad Air and the iPad mini 7.

All refreshed iPads purportedly will sport a minor spec bump but few other changes.

Does iPhone 15 Pro’s Action button really need this fix? [The CultCast]

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Is the iPhone 15 Pro
We love the iPhone 15 Pro's Action button just as it is, but hey ... upgrade away!
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: An iOS 17 update supposedly will stop the iPhone 15 Pro’s Action button from triggering in your pocket, at least in certain circumstances. Is this really a problem that needs fixing?

Also on The CultCast:

  • When it comes to upcoming Macs and Apple Watch, this week’s no news sounds like very bad news indeed.
  • Apple’s Vision Pro headset seems to be straining the necks of some pencil-necked geeks.
  • For this week’s Under Review segment, I’ve got a unique-looking charger and Erfon and Griffin bring very different sorts of cameras to the podcast’s version of show and tell.

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.

Cut the Rope 3 revives a classic iPhone game

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Cut the Rope 3 on Apple Arcade
"Cut the Rope 3" is a physics puzzler now payable on a range of Apple devices.
Screenshot: Paladin Studios/Apple Arcade

Cut the Rope 3 is a new iteration of a beloved early iPhone game. It’s a physics-based puzzler staring Om Nom and cute little Nibble Nom.

The game is the latest addition to the Apple Arcade subscription service.

iOS 17.1 scheduled to launch in less than 2 weeks

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iPhone with iOS 17 logo
iOS 17.1 will be here before November.
Image: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

We now know the last possible day Apple will release iOS 17.1: Wednesday, October 24.

That is the date by which the iPhone-maker committed to introducing an update that reduces the amount of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the iPhone 12, as required by a French regulatory agency. And that update is part of iOS 17.1.

Apple TV+ share of streaming market keeps expanding

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Appletvpluslogo
Very popular series grew the Apple TV+ audience this year.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ now has 7% of the U.S. streaming market, according to a company that follows the industry. That’s more than double the measly 3% the service had two years ago.

At the top of streaming market are Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

Act fast and get up to $150 off M2 Mac mini models

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You can get M2 models for $100 off and some M2 Pro models like this one for $150 off.
You can get M2 models for $100 off and some M2 Pro models like this one for $150 off.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

With Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Behind Us — with no sign of a discounted Mac mini that we noticed — here’s your chance to bag deals on M2 Mac mini from B&H.

They include the entry-level model of the small-but-mighty desktop machine for a hundred bucks off, at just $499. And some models are marked down $150.

You wish your workstation looked this clean [Setups]

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This M2 MacBook Air and Studio Display setup is well-equipped for such a clean and simple-looking rig.
This M2 MacBook Air and Studio Display setup is well-equipped for such a clean and simple-looking rig.
Photo: [email protected]

Some computer setups look “clean” and “minimal” because they’re, well, empty. Under-equipped. Not all there. But today’s featured M2 MacBook Air setup with Studio Display actually brings enough gear, it just does so in a beautifully clean way that has the rest of us slobs drooling with envy.

Hell, our setup is practically a waste dump half the time, compared to this thing.

Race for asteroid wealth heats up in For All Mankind season 4 trailer

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That space rock holds massive mineral wealth, and everyone wants it.
That space rock holds massive mineral wealth, and everyone wants it.
Photo: Apple

It’s 2003, and the United States leads the way on Mars in its Happy Valley Base, having turned its international space-race competitors into allies. But when an asteroid presents an almost-unimaginably rich mining opportunity, it’s back to pitched competition, as seen in the For All Mankind season four trailer Apple TV+ dropped Thursday.

The alternative-history sci-fi series started with an interesting premise — what if the United States lost the moon race in 1969 to the Soviets? — and has run with it into a fourth season, which debuts November 10 on Apple TV+.

Long-running lawsuit pitting Caltech against Broadcom and Apple ends

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Broadcom
Broadcom Wi-Fi modems were at the center of a lengthy lawsuit that's finally been settled.
Photo: Florian Knodt/Flickr

The California Institute of Technology got what it wanted out of a years-long patent-infringement lawsuit against Broadcom and (peripherally) Apple. Caltech filed paperwork in a California court dismissing its case.

It’s not clear at this point whether or how much Broadcom and Apple paid the university as part of a settlement. It could be hundreds of millions, though.

iPhone 16 Pro could offer 5G speed boost with even faster modem

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iPhone modem maker gets ready for faster 5G Advanced in 2024
The Qualcomm X75 modem will almost certainly appear in the iPhone 16 Pro and add support for 5G Advanced.
Image: Qualcomm

The Qualcomm X75 modem unveiled in February will be part of the iPhone 16 Pro models when they launch in 2024, according to an industry analyst. It’s the first from the modem-maker to support the speedy 5G Advanced standard.

But the cutting-edge chip supposedly won’t be included in Apple’s more affordable non-Pro handsets.

This laptop sleeve also serves as wireless charger, desk mat and mouse pad

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Journey's new Nexa is a sleeve for MacBook, ,sure, but it also charges gadgets and works as a desk mat and mouse pad.
Journey's new Nexa is a sleeve for MacBook, ,sure, but it also charges gadgets and works as a desk mat and mouse pad.
Photo: Journey

Citing a workforce that has become more mobile than ever before, Journey unveiled its new journey laptop sleeve that also works as a wireless charger, mouse pad, and desk mat for a mobile setup, the company said Thursday.

“The Nexa is a laptop accessory that actually does the job of four accessories – a sleeve, charger, mousepad, and desk mat,” Journey said. ““Laptop users with a NEXA in hand can enjoy better mobility when they come and go between different workspaces each day.”

Nanoleaf’s nifty portable smart lamp and new bulbs support Matter and HomeKit

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The Cono portable smart lamp can stand up, lie down or be hung up. That's handy.
The Cono portable smart lamp can stand up, lie down or be hung up. That's handy.
Photo: Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf added a handy new portable smart lamp with brand partner Umbra and two new smart bulbs to its Essentials line, the company said Thursday.

All of the products will work through the Matter smart-home standard with HomeKit and other smart-home platforms.