Players become students at Hogwarts and engage in magical duels against dark wizards in Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, which launched Tuesday. It’s a collectible card (CCG) and massively multiplayer (MMO) game, and is free to play — with in-app purchases.
There are versions for iPhone and iPad. (Android too.)
Looking to buy a powerful new MacBook Pro but cannot stretch your budget for the M2 Max model? Apple’s 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max is down to $2,699 after a whopping $800 discount.
This makes it a great alternative to Apple’s newer 2023 MacBook Pro models. If you were looking to buy the M2 Pro-powered MacBook Pro, consider purchasing the M1 Max variant instead.
Apple’s latest Macs are powerful and versatile. So much so that some people wonder if anybody will want the top-of-the-line Mac Pro desktop, even with its new M2 Ultra chip.
A new report found an audience for the top desktop lacking, given the capabilities of Mac Studio and MacBook Pro. But others suggest Mac Pro is here to stay.
The Astropad Darkboard is a new lightweight, ergonomic drawing surface for iPad. It gives artists a place to rest their arm while drawing without covering the tablet’s screen.
After a successful launch on Kickstarter, the product is now available worldwide.
The first screenshots and videos of apps being built for Vision Pro show just how easy it is to port iOS apps to Apple’s upcoming augmented reality headset.
Apple just released the visionOS software development kit last Wednesday, and already people are refitting their iPhone apps for Apple’s new mixed-reality platform and sharing the results online.
The apps include Broadcasts, which lets you tune in to internet radio and livestreams — and leave a little Now Playing window anywhere in your virtual space. With cooking app Crouton in visionOS, you can place timers all around your kitchen. And Tasks, a powerful to-do app, works exactly as it does on your Mac and iPhone.
In my opinion, this is what will ultimately make visionOS succeed where similar mixed-reality platforms failed: It builds heavily on the same technologies that underpin iOS. If you can build an iPhone app, you can build a Vision Pro app.
Here’s a gallery of what some popular indie apps look like running on Vision Pro.
Back when Fiio released its jack-of-all-trades R7 desktop hi-res audio player and amplifier in March 2023, it promised its new SP3 powered desktop speakers would follow, its first active speakers. And so they have, released earlier this month.
They could be the perfect companion for the R7 and a variety of desktop audio needs. They carry Hi-Res Audio certification and feature decent connectivity options via cable.
Those eager to get their hands on the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro Max should check out a short video showing a case supposedly designed for Apple’s next flagship smartphone. This helps confirm a few details that previously leaked out.
Get ready for a USB-C port and other changes.
What do you get when you combine a high-end Mac Studio with three Studio Displays? You get a killer workstation. And in the case of today’s featured computer setup, you get a comparison to Al Gore, noted climate evangelist, former U.S. vice president and senator, and total Apple guy in more ways than one.
The user playfully implied he based his setup on Gore’s triple-Cinema Display workstation of yesteryear.
A California hiker who broke her leg in the Angelos National Forest was able to get help thanks to the Emergency SOS via satellite service built into the iPhone 14 series.
The feature enables those range of cellular network coverage to call for rescue.
Aside from the inevitable iPhone refresh (and the headset everyone’s buzzing about), Apple reportedly has several other major new products lined up for launch in 2023 and the first half of 2024. This includes revamped iPad Pros with OLED displays, new Macs powered by a next-gen M3 processor and an upgrade to the Apple Watch Ultra.
Apple also is supposedly in the early stages of developing an iMac with a display that measures more than 30 inches.
To say that it’s been a while since we featured new or interesting Awesome Apps would be an understatement. Fortunately, all that time has allowed me to discover a few great, useful apps to share with all of you. Whether you need something to help keep you in shape this summer, or want a quick and easy way to record a call on your iPhone, we’ve got some awesome apps for you.
And as I’ve said in the past, if you have something you want us to check out for a future Awesome Apps post, be sure to email your suggestions or tweet them over or toot at me.
The Crowded Room, a psychological thriller starring Tom Holland, is bringing in plenty of viewers. For two weeks now, the Apple TV+ series has been among the most popular shows on any streaming service.
And it’s not the only Apple series doing well — Silo continues to draw a large audience, too.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Those EU technocrats plan to force Apple (and everybody else) to make batteries in their devices easier to replace. The specifics remain vague. But is forcing changes to the iPhone and iPad design a good thing or a bad thing?
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!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Klipsch unveiled two new powered Bluetooth bookshelf speakers in its Reference series recently. The R-40PM and R-50PM speakers replace older “41” and “51” models, upgrading design, pumping up bass response and broadening connectivity with a phone preamp so you can easily connect a turntable, in addition to most other sound sources via USB and other line-in connections.
What you don’t need with these speakers is an amplifier, because they’re powered already.
Adding a second or third external display in portrait mode can really enhance a computer setup and its workflow. The owner of today’s featured MacBook Pro setup lucked into a second monitor and set it up vertically. Many people find the orientation suits certain tasks, like coding or reading email.
And who doesn’t love a classic Apple poster? Don’t miss the nice framed PowerBook G4 poster on the wall above the desk in the photograph above.
The sports games Retro Bowl+ and Retro Goal+ hit the Apple Arcade on Friday. And Bold Moves+ was added earlier in June. These are the latest classic games to make their way to the subscription service, and join many others already available.
This is in addition to all the original games that are Apple Arcade exclusives.
Apple is reportedly in talks with HDFC Bank to bring Apple Card to India. The latter is among the country’s largest credit card issuers and private banks.
The Cupertino giant also held discussions with NPCI to launch Apple Pay in the country.
If you own a Mac, it’s almost certainly a MacBook rather than a desktop. New data from a market research firm shows that Apple’s notebooks made up the lion’s share of macOS sales over the last year.
Of desktop models, the all-in-one iMac is the most popular. On the other hand, the cheapest Mac is among the lowest-selling, according to the analysts.
The first trailer for upcoming Apple TV+ movie The Beanie Bubble has a lot of fun with the Beanie Babies fad of the 1990s.
“Witness the crazy … behind the craze,” shout title screens in all caps between scenes. And Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks, as the partners behind the bean-filled-stuffed-animal business, do a good job of showing it.
While Apple is encouraging developers to write software for the Vision Pro AR headset, there are some types of applications it doesn’t want. Camera-related apps and movement-based ones can’t be made.
Some of the restrictions don’t seem to be about privacy but instead result from limitations in the hardware. Others are a mystery.
Ugreen introduced its latest on-the-go charger for MacBooks and other gear Thursday. The new Ugreen 145W Power Bank offers fast charging and a rather large 25,000mAh battery capacity.
The company said, “the intelligent power bank can charge three devices simultaneously and even charge a 13-inch MacBook Air in just 90 minutes.” If you’re looking for the best GaN charger, check out this great option that provides high-speed charging in a compact design.
Apple’s entry-level 10.2-inch iPad is down to its all-time low price of $249.99. That’s a massive $79 off the tablet’s retail price, making it much more affordable.
Amazon is providing a $59.01 discount on the listing page, with an additional $20 off applied at checkout.
Venerable audio brand Denon, founded in 1910 and now owned by health-and-audio-device maker Masimo, introduced its first sets of wireless noise-cancelling earbuds with audio personalization Tuesday — Denon PerL and PerL Pro featuring Masimo AAT.
AAT stands for “adaptive acoustic technology,” something Masimo enhanced when it absorbed Australian sound-personalization innovator Nura months ago. Hear that, AirPods Pro 2?
Turning the Apple Vision Pro headset from an announcement into a shipping product took a big step forward Wednesday with the release of the visionOS SDK. This includes the software tools developers will use to write applications for the AR headset that Apple unveiled earlier this month.
Apple also said it will open developer labs around the world soon, giving coders a chance for some hands-on time with Vision Pro, which won’t launch until 2024.
Apple just introduced a slew of operating system updates. That includes iOS 16.5.1, macOS 13.4.1, watchOS 9.5.2 and iPadOS 16.5.1, which fix bugs in the most recent versions.
But it also released bug-fix updates for older versions of the operating systems going back as far as 2020.
What hasn’t yet arrived on Wednesday are the much-anticipated second round of betas for iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma.