The CultCast host Erfon Elijah finally got our hands on the coveted HomePod 2 speakers. He put the 2023 model head-to-head with the 2018 model the way it’s meant to be enjoyed: in a stereo pair.
The new HomePod comes loaded with new features: smart home connectivity, a brighter top panel, a U1 chip, temperature and humidity sensors … but the big question is, how does it sound?
If you’re tired of misplacing or flat-out losing your keys, take heart. Accessories maker Mujjo introduced its new, luxe-leather Canopy AirTag Keychain on Tuesday.
It includes a little magnet to help keep the AirTag tracking device in place inside the pocket. And while it’s just another one of many AirTag keychains out there, it looks like a nice option.
Plugable expanded its product line with two new triple display USB-C docking stations. These can add three screens even to Macs that are ordinarily limited to one external monitor.
The UD-3900PDH and UD-768PDZ docks also feature additional ports, including USB-A, Ethernet and SD card readers.
Google said Tuesday it’s making several changes to the Chrome browser to make it less of a MacBook battery hog. Modifications include adjusting timers to wake the CPU less often, tuning memory compression and further optimizing Energy Saver mode.
The company’s tests using a 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro suggest the tweaks may help folks browse for 17 hours or watch YouTube for 18 hours on a single charge.
“Meet your new wardrobe hero!” Goldenerre enthused about its drop-dead gorgeous Herringbone Braided Apple Watch band. It comes in gold, rose gold or silver stainless steel. It’s another Goldenerre piece that makes a statement. It could be yours for less than $150.
And you can find your new wardrobe hero in the Cult of Mac Store. Whether you’re going to dinner around the corner or at The White House, this thing fits in.
People never thought it would happen. People didn’t think it was possible. But in an update to Windows 11, you will be able to send and receive iMessages and manage your notifications through a PC.
This update comes through the Windows Insider program, which offers users prerelease versions of the desktop operating system for beta testing and software development. Microsoft ships updates to Windows annually in the fall, so this feature may arrive for everyone later this year.
There’s no reason your USB-C charger has to be dull. Rather than being the usual white or black box, GravaStar’s Alpha65 looks like a miniature robot. But it really is a 65W charger with multiple USB ports.
And the company’s Supernova is both a Bluetooth speaker and a portable lantern even though it looks like a mini mecha.
Everyone knows Apple Watch Ultra is made for the rough stuff — endurance sports, scuba diving, summiting high peaks and the like. However, rugged though it may be, it’s just a smartwatch. It’s not bulletproof. So why not toughen it up with the protective-but-sleek Elkson Quattro Pro 2.0 bumper case?
Better yet, you can get 15% off the case through the end of February in the Cult of Mac Store. Then, the next time you put your Ultra through its paces, you’ll enjoy some extra peace of mind.
The season 3 trailer for hit Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso is a total love-fest. Not a lot happens in it. But everyone’s so happy the show is back — if only for one final, fleeting season of humor and hope — that it doesn’t much matter, does it?
Just watch the trailer, which Apple released Monday, and be positive!
The OLED screen supposedly coming in the 2024 iPad Pro might push the price up quite a bit. The component reportedly will cost significantly more than the one used in the current version of Apple’s high-end tablet.
If that’s the only change in the next-generation model, it’s going to be hard to justify a price hike. But there are plenty of other modifications Apple could make that would help buyers accept a $100 or more increase in the iPad Pro cost.
A high-level US cybersecurity official pointed to Apple as an example of a company with good accountability and transparency in its security practices. And she added others — like tech giants Microsoft and Twitter — might learn a thing or two from it.
“Apple is taking ownership for the security outcomes of their users,” said Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly in a speech Monday at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.
Apple plans to release an iPhone SE 4 based heavily on the design of the iPhone 14, according to a new report from a reliable source.
Word that Apple canceled the low-cost handset leaked out recently, but work on the device has supposedly started again.
After a long wait, Pokémon Sleep will finally become a reality this summer. The game will combine sleep tracking with the enduringly popular collect-a-thon game series. And, while the smash-hit mobile game Pokémon Go promotes outdoor exercise, Pokémon Sleep will reward users for getting a full night of shut-eye.
The game, for iPhone and Android devices, is being developed by Japanese game studio Select Button in partnership with Niantic, the developer of Pokémon Go.
Few outside of Apple have ever heard of the company’s secretive Exploratory Design Group. However, the team includes many of Apple’s brightest minds — and is developing some of its most innovative products.
Despite the secrecy, the XDG made headlines recently when its project to add blood glucose monitoring to Apple Watch leaked out. Now more details on the group and its moonshot projects have come to light.
At Cult of Mac, we’re no strangers to looking at computer setups loaded with displays — even as many as six. But we’re less used to seeing certain orientations, like in today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro and custom PC setup.
The workstation seems to reach for the ceiling with four 5K displays. Two stack horizontally in landscape mode and two stand tall, shoulder-to-shoulder in portrait mode.
The Hanspeter Luzi Vintage Apple Archive with over 500 computers and other Apple items will go up for auction at the end of this month. There’s an Apple Lisa and other classic Macintosh models collected over 25 years.
That means two separate auctions of Apple products will be happening in close succession.
Quaclomm CEO Cristiano Amon says he thinks Apple’s in-house modem could be ready in 2024, presumably for use inside the iPhone 16 series. The CEO’s comments came Monday during an interview on the show floor at MWC 2023, a massive tech trade show in Barcelona, Spain.
The in-air typing mode that Apple is testing for its first AR/VR headset sounds like a sci-fi dream — but at this point, it might be more of a nightmare. The feature reportedly has been “finicky in testing” on Apple’s latest secret prototypes.
For that reason, users might prefer to pair the headset to an iPhone for text input, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max will be slightly shorter and slimmer than its predecessor, with a marginally smaller camera hump, according to the latest renders based on leaked CAD files.
The detailed 3D CAD renders previously revealed some interesting design changes, including a slightly more curved design.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest rumor indicates Apple just can’t kick its obsession with lackluster iPhone colors. Yes, the iPhone 15 Pro might come in “dark sienna,” aka the red that dare not speak its name.
If so, you can color us disappointed.
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.
Everybody needs a password manager. Why not go with one that’s never been breached? That would be Dashlane. You can try Dashlane for free on your first device. Or take 50% off with promo code cultofmac50 when you upgrade to a premium plan across unlimited devices.
It’s Major League Soccer’s opening weekend, and Apple TV will show every match… and they all can be watched free.
And that’s only the start. Apple TV is the home for MLS and will have every live match from the 2023 season plus the playoffs. Apple promises to offer more free matches later in the month and throughout the season.
Here’s how to enjoy these games without paying so much as a dime. These can be enjoyed on a wide variety of devices, not only ones from Apple.
Apple reportedly hired someone to grow the advertising business on its streaming video service. This is likely for ads shown during sporting events.
But it also raises the possibility that Apple TV+ might get an ad-supported tier some day. There have been hints of this in the past.
Cult of Mac reported Tuesday that Beats Fit Pro would come out in three bright new colors. And as of Friday, two of those three new cheerful hues showed up on Amazon at $30 off. That was fast.
The somewhat dark tidal blue is sticking at the normal price of $199.95, but volt yellow and coral pink — the colors that will really get you noticed — are now just $169.83.
On what would have been Steve Jobs’ 68th birthday, the Steve Jobs Archive shared a favorite photo from 1984 — along with the promise of more content to come.
“We have so much to tell you about, but I want to start by sharing one of my favorite images from our collection,” wrote Leslie Berlin, the archive’s co-founder and executive director, in an email newsletter. “It’s Steve in 1984, spotting a new Macintosh in the wild.”
How refreshing it must be to make over your computer setup and, while you’re at it, gut and refresh your whole home office. That’s what Michael De Jong did recently. And he shared his transition with Cult of Mac.
First, he tinkered with the setup, going with dual displays and adding a soundbar and a slick gaming chair. Later he gutted the whole office and added a whole raft of upgrades. Take a look at his photos and gear, new and old, below.