News - page 156

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest iPhone 15 rumors provide a fuller picture of what to expect this year. Sounds like big changes are coming in iOS 17. But a last-minute reversal means a hardware feature we were counting on probably won’t happen.

Also on The CultCast:

• Whatever you do, don’t get “juice jacked” this summer. We offer easy ways to avoid this menace.
• How much would it take to get you to give up your iPhone forever?
• The morons running General Motors ditched CarPlay. Get ready for sales to crash!
• A new edition of What We’re Into dishes up pasta, podcasts and a sci-fi show.

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.

Our sponsors: Lectric eBikes and Squarespace

Lectric eBikes: With top-tier build quality, a range of up to 42 miles and speeds up to 28 mph, the Lectric XP 3.0 is one of the best values in e-bikes. Check out the XP 3.0 and Lectric’s other great bikes at lectricebikes.com.

Squarespace: Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

For this week’s giveaway, we teamed up with Pitaka to offer four people the chance to win a limited-edition iPhone case worth $89.99.

The lucky winners will get their hands on Pitaka’s Sunset Moment case for iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max. (Be sure to enter the proper giveaway to match your iPhone model).

Pitaka made only 1,500 of these cases, which were inspired by Jack Kerouac’s Beat Generation novel On the Road. This tribute to Route 66 and the classic American road trip is nearly sold out. With a unique product number on the camera ring, the Sunset Moment case you get will be uniquely yours.

Get ready to battle Sauron and his minions in Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth. It’s turn-based strategy combat for iPhone and iPad set in the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien (obviously).

The game was created by EA, and is scheduled to launch in early May. Pre-registration is available now.

Despite the many leaks and rumors about the 15.5-inch MacBook Air, there’s been no definite word on its processor. However, details of an unreleased MacBook with a large display have surfaced, and these indicate the chip will likely be an Apple M2 rather than an as-yet-unreleased M3.

The machine is supposedly running macOS 14, which won’t be announced for months.

Steve Jobs is no longer the man who spent the longest time as Apple CEO. Tim Cook, the executive currently in charge, has now surpassed Jobs’ record of 4,249 days with that title, making him officially Apple’s longest-serving CEO.

But it turns out the calculation isn’t that simple. Steve Jobs spent several additional years in charge of Apple. He just wasn’t officially “Apple CEO” at the time.

You can toss out that old Monopoly board — Monopoly Go! brings the classic game to iPhone and iPad while adding new ways to play.

The free-to-play game is in the App Store now.

At a screening for the Apple TV+ limited series The Last Thing He Told Me in New York City Tuesday, actress Jennifer Garner revealed why playing Hannah Hill is her “dream role.”

The thriller, based on the same-titled book by Laura Dave that spent 65 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, comes out Friday with its first two episodes on Apple TV+.

People love their “minimal” computer setups, but everyone has a different idea of what that means. Today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro setup is on the spare side — not to mention beautifully photographed — but it actually has a lot going on.

From the powerful laptop and 4K display to the big-time external storage, backup power and extensive smart lighting, the setup’s more than a match for its owner’s photo editing work.

Apple’s slim and svelte M2 MacBook Air is currently cheaper by $150 on Amazon. The deal brings the price of the entry-level model down to $1,049 from $1,199.

You can save a similar $150 on the 512GB configuration of the machine.

Apple is making more iPhones in India than ever before. The Cupertino giant assembled 7% of the total iPhones it manufactured last fiscal year in the country.

The company is looking to make India the next iPhone manufacturing hub after China to diversify its supply chain.

Apple committed itself to a new target to use 100% recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries by 2025. And by that same year, the company will use only recycled rare earth elements in its magnets. In addition, it intends to make circuit boards with 100% recycled tin soldering and gold plating.

These commitments build on the company’s goal to eventually make all its products with only recycled and renewable materials.

Amazon bargain site Woot! is selling a slew of Apple’s accessories at steep discounts through May 1. Sale items include Apple Watch bands, iPhone cases, an iPhone wallet, AirTag cases, and chargers and cables.

The discounts range from 21% off to an astounding 86% off (by Woot’s calculations), so don’t miss this one.

Apple Card Savings, the next financial service from the Mac-maker, might be right around the corner. The company announced the service last autumn without a launch date. But now an Apple tipster claims it’s coming in only a few days.

When it debuts, the service will provide Apple Card users with savings accounts.

Apple’s wear-anywhere augmented-reality glasses that so many people are looking forward are still at least three years away, according to a reliable source.

Don’t confuse these with the bulkier VR/AR headset that leaks say will launch in June. AR glasses are expected to be much smaller… once the necessary technology is available.

As the old saying goes, there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch — there’s usually a trick. And the same goes for phone charging sustains in airports. These can be used to hack your device, according to a recent warning from the FBI about “juice jacking.”

Here are six ways to safely charge up your iPhone when you’re on the go.

A new leak reveals several new changes and features coming to iOS 17. The source claims Apple will focus on “performance, efficiency, stability, and long-term support” for older devices with the release.

Interestingly, the leaker also suggests that iPhone 15 Pro will ship with capacitive volume and power keys. This contradicts recent rumors that suggested Apple’s plans have changed.

tvOS 16.4.1 is out to deal with some bugs in Apple TV devices. This comes several days after new bug-fix updates for iPhone, Mac and iPad.

A fresh tvOS update means there’s new HomePod software, too.

Amazon has discounted Apple’s 2022 MacBook Pro by $199 to $1,099. This is the same price the machine was available for during last year’s Black Friday.

Despite its dated design, the 2022 MacBook Pro packs Apple’s powerful M2 chip.

The Cult of Mac Store’s Easter Sale is winding down. Before it ends, don’t miss your chance to get up to 60% off a variety of accessories, including Apple Watch bands, iPhone and AirPods cases and more.

Visit the Easter Savings collection for all the deals and see some cool highlights below.

New computer displays tend to get not just better over time, but bigger — within reason. Unlike TVs, they’re designed to be viewed from just a few feet away at most. But increasingly, we see people using smart TVs as external monitors to get that extra size into their desktop setups.

Today’s featured setup sports an M2 MacBook Pro driving a 42-inch LG OLED smart TV that the user describes as “perfect.”

The powerful image-editing application Pixelmator Photo is now Photomator. Beyond the name change, the app for iPad and iPhone has been redesigned, and also now lets users easily select and edit specific areas of a photo.

In addition, a public beta of Photomator for Mac is now available.

Apple may not ship the iPhone 15 Pro series with the rumored unified solid-state capacitive buttons. TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple abandoned the plan due to “unresolved technical issues.”

Previously, multiple rumors indicated Apple would replace the physical buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro with capacitive keys. The design also would have added two new Taptic Engines to simulate the feeling of pressing physical buttons.

An Apple TV+ series that turns a murder mystery into a genre-mixing comedy will soon return. Season two of the The Afterparty premieres in July.

There’s a new mystery to solve with a fresh cast of suspects, though Tiffany Haddish and some of the other stars of season one will be back.

With Earth Day coming up, Apple says it’s doubling its total commitment to “nature-based carbon removal projects” with an additional $200 million investment. In less technical terms, it’s backing projects to plant trees.

And it’s not just trees for trees’ sake. Part of Apple’s Restore Fund goes to agricultural projects that generate income from sustainably managed tree farms.

Apple’s 2023 MacBook Pro lineup is available with a massive $150 discount on Amazon. The deal applies to all configurations of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros.

This fantastic deal is unlikely to last long, so buy the MacBook you want before stocks run out.