News - page 158

Are two Macs better than one in a computer setup? People’s opinions differ. What’s overkill to one person could be a perfectly sensible use of resources to another.

Until recently, today’s featured setup ran just an M1 MacBook Air. But then the user added an M2 Mac mini. To discover all the reasons why — especially if you need an excuse to add a desktop machine to your laptop setup or vice versa — read on. If you’re looking for ways to streamline your workflow, you might also want to explore how to control MacBook with iPhone, which can enhance productivity and device integration.

Apple and 250 companies that supply components for its products are making progress in switching to renewable energy for all Apple production by 2030. The manufacturing partners support over 13 gigawatts of renewable electricity per year, a nearly 30% increase.

The company continues to distribute money from its $4.7 billion Green Bonds program to help finance the expansion of clean energy solutions around the world.

If the Weather widget on your iPhone says, “No weather available,” you’re in good company. Apple reports that its weather service has been having a problem since Monday.

It’s affecting some but not all users.

Update: Apple says the problems were resolved early Wednesday morning.

A sketchy rumor claims Apple will drop support for iPhone X and iPhone 8 series with iOS 17. The next iPadOS release also reportedly will be incompatible with first-generation iPad Pros and iPad 5.

With iOS 16 last year, Apple stopped supporting several older devices, including the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 series.

A week after the release of iOS 16.4, tests show that the new version significantly reduces the battery lives of a wide variety of iPhone models.

This has happened in the past for iOS releases and later updates have fixed the battery drain.

Amazon is currently discounting Apple’s excellent M1 iPad Air by a whopping $99. The deal brings the tablet’s price down to $499.99, making it much more affordable.

With a $99 discount, the M1 iPad Air makes a lot more sense than the M2 iPad Pro unless you need a ProMotion display.

Tired of subtle, utilitarian iPhone cases that make your handset look like everyone else’s? Take a peek at the Laut Crystal Palette cases for the iPhone 14 series.

You might find they’re worth checking out in the Cult of Mac Store. They don’t skimp on colorful, whimsical designs and even metallic flashes of rainbow foil.

When a young Parisian woman flies to Tokyo after learning of her estranged father’s death there, she finds something unexpected. He has left her the world’s greatest wine collection. It’s worth $148 million. But she can only have it if she defeats a brilliant young wine expert in a series of wine-tasting tests.

That’s the premise neatly poured in the trailer Apple TV+ released Tuesday for Drops of God. The live-action drama series, adapted from a popular Japanese manga (comics), premieres April 21 on Apple TV+.

A whopping 87% of U.S. teens own an iPhone, according to a recent survey. This continues a long trend of iPhone reigning supreme in high schools.

The survey also shows that Apple Watch and Apple Pay prove quite popular with teens.

Ridley Scott’s epic starring Joaquin Phoenix as French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as he conquers Europe will premiere in theaters this autumn. It will later appear on Apple’s streaming service.

The film will tell the story of Napoleon’s ruthless rise to power and his obsessive love for his wife, Empress Josephine.

There’s a bit more demand for a folding iPhone than skeptics realize. A new survey found almost a third of U.S. smartphone users say they are highly likely to get a foldable as their next device.

And lots of those people want one from Apple.

Tom Holland is coming back to Apple TV+ with The Crowded Room, a 10-part limited series about a very unusual murder investigation.

It was created and written by Akiva Goldsman, best known as the screenwriter of A Beautiful Mind.

Kids inspired by famous primatologist Jane Goodall go on epic quests to help protect wild animals in the upcoming Apple TV+ show Jane.

The first Jane trailer, which Apple released Monday, offers a glimpse of the new “live action/CGI blended” series. In it, 9-year-old character Jane Garcia says, “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Jane Goodall said that.”

“I know,” her mother replies, drily, at her bedside. “You recite it every morning.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook sounds very upbeat about the potential for augmented reality in a new interview. He says the technology “could greatly enhance people’s communication, people’s connection.”

Cook stayed mum about a related tech, virtual reality, though.

Last week we asked if you were lucky enough to have about $65,000 to spend on an iPhone that can’t connect to anything. Now we know you didn’t need that much money after all.

The original, sealed iPhone (1st generation) that went up for auction Thursday sported a rare “Lucky you” sticker on the box. But that wasn’t enough to vault the handset into the record books ($63,356). Bidding started at $32,000.

Update: And … bidding ended at $40,320, the low end of the projected range of $40,000 – $60,000. Too many old iPhones up for auction lately? Maybe.

The Apple Watch Ultra is again down to its lowest price after a substantial $69 discount. Take advantage of Amazon’s latest deal, and you can get the Apple Watch Ultra for just $729.99.

Amazon’s listing page only shows a $19.01 discount, with the additional $50 off automatically applied at checkout.

Some of the best features of iPhone 14 Pro screens won’t trickle down to future non-Pro versions until the iPhone 17 series, according to a reliable source for Apple information.

If correct, the prediction means we shouldn’t expect the iPhone 14 Plus or basic iPhone 14 to come with a 120Hz ProMotion display or an always-on screen. Apple will reserve these features for iPhone Pro models until 2025.

As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And if “it” refers to cool old Apple gear, you should reconsider replacing it, too — especially if it’s still going strong. Today’s featured setup boasts a “trash can” Mac Pro from 2013. It drives not one, not two but three Cinema Displays of yesteryear.

And that’s not all for the workstation’s retro wares. It also features Apple’s old iSight webcam, a Mighty Mouse and a Thunderbolt 2 hard drive for Time Machine backups. And how often do you see a solar-powered keyboard? It has one of those, too.

The Steve Jobs Archive’s first major release — a digital book titled Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his own words — will arrive April 11.

Despite the announcement coming in an email from the archive on April Fools’ Day, the news appears to be genuine. And that includes the part about the e-book, which is filled with Jobs’ emails, conversations, photos and more, being free online for all.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The invites for WWDC23 just went out, so maybe … just maybe … we have a date certain upon which we will cast our eyes upon Apple’s mixed-reality headset. The more we hear about it, the more intrigued we are. And at least part of that is who in the devil will buy one of these things if they cost $3,000?!?

Also on The CultCast:

• New features arrive in iOS 16.4, including Voice Isolation for iPhone calls.
• This AI crap is getting creepier by the minute — even Woz and Elon Musk are spooked!
• How to spot AI deepfakes.
• We’ve got a nice magnetic iPad stand for this week’s giveaway.

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.

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In this week’s giveaway, one lucky winner will get their hands on a magnetic iPad stand with a built-in wireless charger from Kuxiu. The X27 Pro was specifically designed for iPad users. With 88 magnets built into the back of the iPad, this stand mirrors that to ensure the most secure grip when your iPad is in place.

Thanks to the stand’s unique structure, you can use your iPad at nearly every angle, rotating vertically a full 360 degrees and 180 degrees horizontally. You can even set your iPad at a negative angle with confidence, which isn’t possible normally with this type of stand.

Several companies, including Samsung and Western Digital, have cut prices on SSDs and memory cards for World Backup Day. Save up to $80 on the rugged Samsung T7 Shield, while the SSD that’s WD’s closest rival is also on sale.

A 1TB SanDisk microSD card is surprisingly affordable. And the JetDriveLite specially made for MacBooks card readers is available at a discount, too.

Some of the deals are only available on March 31, so don’t procrastinate.

PlayStudios launched a Rewards Store Friday for the classic puzzle game Tetris. The program will let millions of mobile players earn rewards, including a free one-month subscription to Apple TV+.

Of course, this comes “just in time for the premiere of Apple Original Film Tetris, now streaming globally on Apple TV+.”

Because of course it does.

Apple said Friday it supports Exceptional Minds, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit academy preparing autistic artists to become animators, VFX artists and motion graphics designers in the film industry.

The tech giant’s Friday feature story focused on a number of interesting creatives learning at the academy with the help of iPads, Pencil and other Apple wares.

Attractive or fun decor can really give a computer setup an edge. Real plants. Vintage Apple gear. Epic Lego sets. Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup sports a detailed replica stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars.

It overlooks a Darth Vader-worthy 49-inch Samsung curved gaming display and an Elgato Stream Deck, which is associated with video streaming tasks but can also do a lot for productivity in general through shortcuts.