iPhone 16 Pro's battery could use a metal backplate. Graphic: Rajesh
If leaked images prove correct, Apple will adopt a new design for the iPhone 16 Pro’s battery featuring a metal shell on top. This could help with heat dissipation.
Like current iPhones, the purported iPhone 16 Pro battery has an L-shaped design. However, it has a capacity of 3,355mAh. For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro uses a 3,274mAh capacity cell.
Here's your chance to add a 49-inch curved ultra-wide display to your computer setups, or any of dozens of other choices. Photo: Samsung
If your computer setup could use a new external display, don’t sleep on Amazon’s Black Friday bargains on Samsung monitors. You can nab steep discounts of up to nearly half off regular prices on a few items, with more like a third off on many others.
And the selection is as wide as some of those ultra-wide displays! If you want to spend less, you can skip 4K-resolution screen and find choices with 1080p resolution.
A smile on Bill Belichick's face is a rarity, but he can almost manage it immediately after a Super Bowl victory. Photo: Apple TV+
Everybody loves a winner — except when they don’t. The NFL’s New England Patriots saw so much success over two decades, with six Super Bowl wins, they gained a lot of fans as well as haters.
But even if you despise the Pats, who are having another post-dynasty bad year, you might want to consider watching the upcoming 10-part documentary series The Dynasty: New England Patriots. The teaser trailer Apple TV+ dropped last week takes a decidedly defeated tone after the opening scenes wallow in the thrill of victory.
The series, which promises “unprecedented access” to the team, debuts February 16 on Apple TV+. If it sparks riots in Boston, we’ll know it touched a nerve.
The unobtrusive vertical stand holding up the Mac mini at right does a lot. Photo: [email protected]
Mac mini, Apple’s small-but-mighty desktop machine, does a lot of things well — especially the M1 and newer models. They make bigger desktop computers unnecessary for people who don’t need truly massive computing power.
And today’s featured M2 Mac mini user found a way to greatly expand his computer’s capabilities with a vertical stand that also saves space on the desk.
SwitchEasy's MagEasy magnetic wall mount lets you easily stick your iPhone practically anywhere. Photo: SwitchEasy
Following a recipe in the kitchen? Assembling furniture via online instructions? Taking a hands-free call in the tub? Sometimes you need to put your iPhone where you can see it, or talk via speaker, without holding it — and that’s when a magnetic wall mount comes in handy.
SwitchEasy sells two such mounts in the Cult of Mac Store, and through December 1 you can get a third one free when you buy two of the handy devices.
Apple won't meet its initial Vision Pro launch target. Photo: Apple
Apple is reportedly still working on the Vision Pro’s distribution plan and final testing. Due to this, the mixed-reality headset will launch around March 2024.
This is a couple of months later than the company’s initial target of a January launch. At the “Wonderlust” event on September 12, Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed the Vision Pro is “on track to ship early next year.”
You can get the iPad 10 or the iPad 9 at $100 below the usual cost. Photo: Cult of Mac
iPad 10 is a capable tablet for school or fun, and you can now grab one for $349. And the entry-level iPad 9 is down to a mere $229. That’s $100 off either model, a truly significant saving on what are already Apple’s lower-price tablets.
The holiday season is almost here, and those planning to gift an iPad can take advantage of these deals before they go away.
This week’s Awesome Apps include Lego Bricktales, Speech to Text, Text to Speech and Vinegar. Photo: Midjourney
In this week’s Awesome Apps roundup, we have a way to play Legos without the mess, an app that’ll read aloud almost anything, 700 workouts on your Apple Watch, and the best Safari extension ever.
Just how extreme is the MacBook Pro's thermal throttling? Original photo: Christopher Burns
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Tests performed on the M3 MacBook Pros reveal the performance-crushing effects of thermal throttling and skimpy RAM. Erfon is not impressed!
Also on The CultCast:
Apple shocks everyone by pledging to support Rich Communication Services for better texting between iPhones and Android devices.
Griffin runs down some of the most interesting new features coming soon in iOS 17.2.
Apple reportedly plans to overhaul the iPad lineup next year, and a mammoth 12.9-inch iPad Air is apparently on the menu.
If the iPhone 16 gets exclusive AI features, will Siri really get smarter? We’re extremely skeptical.
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.
Time to get ripped with SmartGym 7 for Apple Watch. Or at least fit. Photo: SmartGym
The SmartGym app is already well-loved by Apple Watch users, and its recent update adds more than 70 new workouts and loads of convenient new functionality.
And it’s considered so good it’s currently up against two other finalist apps to win the App Store Award for Apple Watch App of the Year.
Apple paused advertising on the service formerly known as Twitter amid another controversy touched off by Elon Musk. Photo: X/Apple
In the wake of Elon Musk posting his support for an antisemitic comment on X, Apple reportedly paused advertising on the social-networking service that Musk owns.
Disney, IBM and Lionsgate have also supposedly stopped advertising on the service formerly known as Twitter.
OLED iPad models might come in big and small sizes. Image: Cult of Mac/Apple/Paul Inkles
Add iPad Air and iPad mini to the list of Apple tablets getting OLED screens. At least, that’s what an unconfirmed report coming out of Asia says. And the mini will supposedly get a boost in display size.
The top-of-the-line iPad Pro models will reportedly get the enhanced display type much sooner, though.
The user connects a MacBook Pro and Cinema Display via dock, as the Mac mini mainly stays with the TV in the living room. Photo: [email protected]
One thing we love about Apple is the staying power of its beautiful displays. We see the Studio Display maker’s much older Cinema Displays and Thunderbolt Displays used in modern computer setups pretty regularly.
Today’s MacBook Pro setup recently added a docking station to charge the laptop while connecting it to a classic LED Cinema Display.
The top two new MacBook Pro models now come in a space black aluminum finish. Photo: Apple
Apple’s M3 Pro MacBook Pros are available with up to $200 off in Amazon’s pre-Black Friday deal. This drops Apple’s latest laptops down to their lowest price within days of launch.
With Amazon’s offer, you can currently get the 14-inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro for $1,849. The 16-inch variant is available with a bigger discount of $200, bringing its price down to $2,299.
Journey's Alti Ultra wireless charging desk mat is one of the company's fastest chargers. Photo: Journey
Alogic’s Journey brand recently rolled out its fastest-ever chargers — a wireless charging desk mat and 3-in-1 wireless charging station.
The new Ultra series chargers — Alti Ultra Wireless Charging Desk Mat and the Trio Ultra 3-in-1 Fast Wireless Charging Station — carry Made for MagSafe certification, the company’s first to do so.
Apple will have to stick to Qualcomm's 5G modem for the foreseeable future. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple is falling further behind in creating an in-house modem for iPhones. After multiple delays, the company targeted a 2025 spring timeline to ship its first modem. But that’s not going to happen.
A new report signals that Apple has delayed the modem’s launch until the end of 2025 or early 2026.
But we don't yet know if blue and green bubbles will remain. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
In what is apparently an enormous change of direction, Apple reportedly plans to add support for Rich Communication Services to the iPhone Messages app in 2024. This will enable iPhones and Androids to communicate more effectively, with more of the bells and whistles associated with Apple’s proprietary iMessage platform.
It also could be the end of the green bubble versus blue bubble controversy, though not necessarily. If you’re wondering how to get RCS on iPhone, Apple’s latest update will bring end-to-end encryption to RCS messaging. Find out more here.
Sure, this is mustache-less Ted Lasso from a 2022 holiday animated short, but the coach looks pretty worried his gifts won't get to Kansas by Christmas. Photo: Apple
If you’re planning on giving the gift of Apple gear to someone this holiday season, you better follow holiday shipping guidelines Apple posted on Thursday.
That way you can make sure your presents get to where they’re going by December 24, just in time for Christmas.
The iPhone 15 Series modem chip upgrade resulted in appropriately faster 5G downloads. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
iPhone 15 Series handsets released in September smoke iPhone 14 handsets by up to 54% in 5G download speeds, new tests released Wednesday showed.
Given the modem chipset upgrade in the newer models, the results aren’t surprising. But it’s always reassuring when the new gear performs as advertised.
The Apple Music Classical application now supports large tablet screens. Photo: Apple
The Apple Music Classical app that launched for iPhone earlier this year has been updated with support for the larger screens on iPads.
The app offers access to the world’s largest classical music catalog, with more than 5 million tracks. It’s free for Apple Music subscribers. If you’re interested in Mac music, you can find more insights in Apple Music Classical listening guides. This is just one of many apple digital services expanding across devices—learn more about it on Apple Music Classical on the web.
Offer is only applicable for new and returning users though. Photo: Apple Music
Apple and Sony have teamed up to offer six months of Apple Music free to PlayStation 5 owners. The offer is only valid for new or qualified returning users, not existing subscribers.
Apple’s music streaming now comes with a relatively short one-month trial period. So, this promotion could be a boon for users on the fence about trying Apple Music.
Qi2 is MagSafe for iPhone and Android. Photo: WPC/Cult of Mac
The Wireless Power Consortium promised Wednesday that the first chargers using the emerging Qi2 standard will be on the market in time for the holiday season.
Qi2 unifies wireless charging for iPhone and Android, bringing the advantages of Apple’s MagSafe to rival handsets.
The product was already a hit, Mophie just made it a little better. Photo: Mophie
mophie added fast charging for Apple Watch and a more sustainable design to its popular folding 3-in-1 MagSafe travel charger, the company said Wednesday.
So now the well-loved travel accessory gives you fast MagSafe charging for iPhone and quicker charging for your wearable.
Did Apple's working relationship with China cause the cancellation of "The Problem with Jon Stewart"? Photo: Apple TV+
Following last month’s abrupt cancellation of Apple TV+ commentary series The Problem With Jon Stewart, members of Congress sent a letter to Apple asking whether the show’s potential coverage of China played a role in the series getting the ax.
The lawmakers want to know if “the coercive tactics of a foreign power” were a factor in Apple’s decision.