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News - page 173

Massive Mac collection goes up for auction

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Hanspeter Luzi Vintage Apple Archive
These are just a few of the hundreds of classic Macintoshes going up for auction.
Photo: Julien’s Auctions

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.

Apple’s AR/VR headset could let you type in midair — but you might not want to

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Apple VR/AR headset concept created by Ahmed Chenni.
Text input options on Apple's Reality Pro headset could be interesting.
Concept: Ahmed Chenni/Freelancer.com

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.

iPhone 15 Pro Max might slim down the camera bump

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The new
Apple's next Max iPhone could have slightly more compact dimensions.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

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.

If this iPhone 15 Pro rumor comes true, we’ll be seeing red [The CultCast]

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The CultCast Apple podcast logo with an iPhone Pro and an angry red background.
Why can't we have a real red iPhone 15 Pro?!?
Image: Cult of Mac

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:

  • Apple’s longstanding dream of adding a blood glucose monitor to Apple Watch takes an important step forward.
  • New leaks and rumors give us an even better look at what iPhone 15 might bring.
  • Tim Cook reportedly hoovers up the entire output of TSMC’s next-gen 3nm chips. Power move!
  • Apple Watch faces a legal hurdle that could get it banned in the USA. (Spoiler alert: Not gonna happen.)

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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How to watch Major League Soccer kickoff weekend for free

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Watch Major League Soccer on a wide variety of devices, including TVs, tablets and phones.
Watch Major League Soccer on a wide variety of devices, including TVs, tablets and phones, not only ones made by Apple.
Photo: Apple

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.

New feature coming to Apple TV+: More ads

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Ads might come to Apple TV+
You might someday see this message on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

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.

Beats Fit Pro earbuds in bright new colors already $30 off

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Coral pink, never subtle, is one of the discounted colors.
Coral pink, never subtle, is one of the discounted colors.
Photo: Beats

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.

Steve Jobs Archive shares blast from the past on his birthday

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The Steve Jobs Archive shared this photograph from 1984, when he was 28, spotting a Mac user on a New Orleans street.
The Steve Jobs Archive shared this photograph from 1984, when he was 28, spotting a Mac user on a New Orleans street.
Photo: Steve Jobs Archive

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.”

Here’s how you gut a whole office and start over [Setups]

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De Jong gave his computer setup -- and his whole office -- a makeover.
De Jong gave his computer setup -- and his whole office -- a makeover.
Photo: Michael De Jong

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.

Second-gen Apple VR/AR headsets coming in 2025

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Apple VR/AR headset concept by Amin Jony.
Apple is allegedly prepping a product line of AR/VR headsets running xrOS.
Concept: Amin Jony/Freelancer.com

A new report from a reliable tipster indicates that the second-generation of Apple’s VR/AR headsets will launch in 2025. This will supposedly consist of two models.

But Apple still needs to get the first generation on the market, and it’s possible the release date for the product is slipping yet again.

Apple-1, factory-sealed iPhone 2007 and more rare Apple items go up for auction

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Apple-1 signed by Steve Wozniak
You can own one of the first Apple-1 units produced.
Photo: RR Auction

An Apple museum could be made of just the items currently up for bid at a single auction. There’s a fully functional Apple-1, an Apple Lisa 1, some technical notes handwritten by Steve Jobs, an original iPhone still sealed in the plastic and much, more.

Many of these items are expected to bring in big bucks.

App Store, Apple Music and many other services all suffer outage [Updated]

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Apple online services having technical problems
Apple reports that over two dozen Apple services are having an "outage." That includes many of the most-used ones.
Photo: Cult of Mac/Linnaea Mallette/PublicDomainPictures.net

Apple is having a major outage of its online services. No less than 29 of them are reporting major problems, including the App Store, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Podcasts, and some iCloud services.

So it’s not just you. Stop rebooting your computer trying to fix it.

Update: Apple was able to quickly fix some of these, so the current total is eight services still having problems.

Update 2: All problems with Apple online services have now been resolved.

Affordable new Sony headphones borrow premium cans’ tech

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The new noise-cancelling cans share the same processor with Sony's high-end headphones, but not their price.
The new noise-cancelling cans share the same processor with Sony's high-end headphones, but not their price.
Photo: Sony Electronics

Not into paying what Apple’s top-shelf noise-cancelling AirPods Max headphones cost? You have options. In fact, Sony Electronics rolled out two new mid-tier headphones Tuesday at modest price points — the over-ear WH-CH72ON and the smaller, on-ear WH-CH520.

The higher-end WH-CH72ON set, at $150, costs well under half the price of the brand’s acclaimed WH-1000XM5 noise-cancelling cans, but uses the same V1 chip. And the lower-end WH-CH520 headphones, at $60, are just downright affordable.

Latest Mophie Powerstation battery sports AC socket, pumps 130W into 4 devices at once

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Latest Mophie Powerstation battery sports AC socket, pumps 130W into 4 devices at once
The Powerstation Pro AC can juice up an iPhone, iPad, Mac and a non-USB device.
Photo: Mophie

The new Mophie Powerstation Pro AC is for anyone who has multiple devices they need to charge on the go, and not just phones and tablets. The 27,000mAh external battery includes four charging ports, including an AC socket.

Mophie also introduced updated versions of its more basic Powerstation and Powerstation XL offerings on Thursday. These pack 10,000mAh and 20,000mAh, respectively.

Shake hands with the world’s creepiest Apple Watch charging stand

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As far as we know, it doesn't run around on its fingertips. But it does charge your Apple Watch.
As far as we know, it doesn't run around on its fingertips. But it does charge your Apple Watch.
Photo: Design_factory@Ultimaker

Got access to a 3D printer? You can make your own Apple Watch charging stand in the form of “Thing,” the disembodied hand from the Netflix series Wednesday and its Addams Family predecessors, all the way back to the original magazine cartoons.

It might scare some people, but ghoulish types are going to want to make his thing pronto.

Low-cost M2 Mac mini gets an even nicer price

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The Mac Mini with M2
M2 Mac mini gets its first discount on Amazon.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s powerful M2 and M2 Pro Mac mini are available with their first-ever discount since launch. Depending on your configuration, you can save between $19 to $49 on the 2023 Mac mini.

Amazon is providing a modest $19 discount on the entry-level M2 Mac mini. On the more powerful M2 Pro Mac mini with 512GB storage, you can save $49.

Choose from a dozen slick iPad cases at 20% off

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SwitchEasy's Origami Protective Case really shines as an iPad stand.
SwitchEasy's Origami Protective Case really shines as an iPad stand.
Photo: SwitchEasy

If you’ve got one of Apple’s wonderful iPads, you need a case to keep it safe. And the cool thing about iPad cases and folios is that they often serve as both protective cases as well as stands. Some even store your Apple Pencil.

And right now you can take 20% off every SwitchEasy iPad case in the Cult of Mac Store. That gives you a choice of 12 different products and a savings of up to $10 each. The sale goes through Thursday, March 2.

Google Pixel-exclusive Magic Eraser comes to iPhone

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Google mocks iPhone's lack of headphone jack then drops it from Pixel 6A
Magic Eraser automagically erases unwanted people from your photos.
Photo: Google

Google is bringing one of the key Pixel-exclusive camera features, Magic Eraser, to the iPhone. The feature is now available on all smartphones as a part of Google One.

Using Magic Eraser, you can erase unwanted people and objects from your photos with a tap.

Shift Happens: Book about keyboard history now 400% funded on Kickstarter

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Shift Happens: A Book About Keyboards
This beautifully designed two-volume book delves deep into keyboard history.
Image: Marcin Wichary/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Shift Happens, a book about keyboards, is now 400% funded on Kickstarter. This makes it the second-most funded non-fiction book ever on the crowdfunding site. The book, by designer/writer Marcin Wichary, “tells the story of keyboards like no book ever before, covering 150 years from the early typewriters to the pixellated keyboards in our pockets,” according to the project website.

Shift Happens is available on Kickstarter until March 9. Donate $150 and you can get the two-volume hardcover set inside a slipcase.

Leaked iPhone 15 CAD renders reveal bigger 6.2-inch display with Dynamic Island

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Here's your first look at the iPhone 15.
Here's your first look at the iPhone 15.
Image: 9to5Mac

3D CAD renders of the 2023 iPhone 15 have leaked online, revealing all the design changes Apple is planning. This includes bringing the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island to the non-Pro iPhones this year.

Like the iPhone 15 Pro, the non-Pro variants will switch to USB-C for charging and data transfer. Thanks to an EU mandate, the iPhone maker seems set on retiring the Lightning connector this year.

Inside the secret mission to add glucose monitor to Apple Watch

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In a possible groundbreaking new product, Apple Watch could monitor blood glucose with the help of device strapped to the bicep.
In a possible groundbreaking new product, Apple Watch could monitor blood glucose with the help of device strapped to the bicep.
Photo: Apple

Apple Watch is well-known as a health tracker, but a new report said a secret project dating back to Steve Jobs’ era — to use the wearable to monitor glucose without pricking the skin to get blood — has made headway recently. And that has major implications.

The secret effort, known as E5, could involve a device that straps to the bicep and works with the watch. If it comes to market, it could disrupt industries and help millions of diabetics.

Here’s your chance to talk directly to Jon Stewart [Updated]

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Apple TV+ said you can ask this guy questions on Thursday. No, seriously.
Apple TV+ said you can ask this guy questions on Thursday. No, seriously.
Photo: Apple TV+

Jon Stewart, longtime host of The Daily Show and current host of The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+ — and to many folks a sort of comedic conscience of the nation — will take your calls on Thursday, February 23.

That’s the same day the streaming service said six new episodes of Stewart’s show would air weekly starting Friday, March 3.

Meanwhile, he’s doing a livestream on the The Problem‘s YouTube channel at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. “He’ll be taking your calls,” the show tweeted.

11-inch M2 iPad Pro gets a whopping $200 discount

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Moft Snap Float Folio props up the iPad for easier drawing.
M2 iPad Pro gets a big discount and drops to its lowest ever price.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple’s 2022 11-inch iPad Pro is available with massive discounts of up to $200 on Amazon. The deals are on the 1TB and 2TB variants, with the 512GB configuration seeing a sweet $50 discount.

Amazon is discounting both Wi-Fi and LTE models of the M2 11-inch iPad Pro to record low prices.