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News - page 184

BTS fans: Get a cute Universtar BT21 AirTag case with keychain

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You can choose from several BT21 Universtar characters. This one is called Chimmy.
You can choose from several BT21 Universtar characters. This one is called Chimmy.
Photo: Elago

If you’re young or just young-at-heart, here’s your chance to nab an adorably expressive case and keychain for your AirTag tracking device. The colorful cases, inspired by K-Pop boy band BTS, represent seven fanciful characters from the Universtar BT21 universe. You can read a little bit more about it below.

Don’t miss your chance to get a cool AirTag case from K-Pop culture in the Cult of Mac Store — they’re just $12.99!

M2 Mac mini drives dual displays in rolling rig [Setups]

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This user enabled dock-free dual-display use by adding an M2 Pro Mac mini.
This user enabled dock-free dual-display use by adding an M2 Pro Mac mini. And note the can of Death & Taxes black lager, a serious adult beverage.
Photo: [email protected]

“How many external displays can I easily run with my Mac and how” is a common question, and some Macs make it much easier to run more than one external monitor than others.

In today’s featured computer setup, a software developer went out and bought a new M2 Mac mini specifically for its generosity in that regard. It really helped his highly portable setup, which features a Studio Display and an LG 4K screen.

iPhone shipments drop but still top global phone market

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iPhone 14 Pro performance whips Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The iPhone 14 series propelled Apple past Samsung and other Android-makers in Q4 2022.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple was hit with a sharp decline in iPhone shipments in the December quarter, but the news isn’t all bad — it’s once again the world’s largest maker of smartphones by a wider margin than ever before, according to market analysts.

Even better, Apple is pulling in almost half the revenue of the entire global market, and a very large share of the profit.

New full-size HomePod now available at your nearest Apple store

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A second-generation HomePod and a hand holding an iPhone.
HomePod 2 goes on sale from today.
Photo: Apple

Two weeks after its announcement, the HomePod 2 is officially on sale and hitting retail stores in the US, Canada, Australia, and other markets. Customers around the world are also receiving their HomePod 2 pre-orders.

Apple started accepting HomePod 2 pre-orders soon after its announcement. If you placed your order early, your unit should also show up today.

AirPods Max 2 and HomePod mini 2 won’t arrive anytime soon

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AirPods Max even look pretty on the inside.
What improvements do you want to see in the AirPods Max 2?
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

The next AiPods Max refresh, low-cost AirPods, and the HomePod mini 2 could enter into mass production in H2 2024. These products could go on sale between the end of 2024 and the first half of 2025.

Apple is unlikely to announce new audio products for the remainder of 2023 or H1 2024.

Win a supreme stand that mounts your MagSafe iPhone anywhere [Cult of Mac giveaway]

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Need hands free iPhone use at your desk? No problem.
Need to go hands-free with your iPhone at your desk? No problem.
Photo: SwitchEasy

We teamed up with SwitchEasy for this week’s giveaway, which will see three lucky winners receiving an Orbit Universal Magnetic Stand.

The multifunctional stand works with any MagSafe-compatible iPhone. And it lets you mount that iPhone practically anywhere, from your desk to your car’s dash (thanks to the 3M sticker on the back).

Enter to win below!

5 upbeat takeaways from Apple’s optimistic earnings call

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A rainbow Apple logo looms over a cloudy sky with the sun peeking through. The words
Wall Street might not be happy right now, but Apple sees strong growth ahead.
Image: Cult of Mac, based on photos by Aaron Burden and Sumudu Mohottige/Unsplash License

Although Apple’s December 2022 quarter was something of a disappointment, thanks to declines in revenue and profits, company executives accentuated the positives whenever possible during an earnings call with investors on Thursday.

Here are some upbeat developments coming out of Apple’s Q1 2023 financial results, including a significant milestone in active users and a big jump in iPad revenue.

Apple surpasses 2 billion active devices

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A Mac, iPhone and iPad with the words
Apple continues to woo new users and passes another milestone: 2 billion active devices as of February 2023.
Photo: Oleg Ivanov/Unsplash License

Apple’s installed base now exceeds 2 billion active devices, CEO Tim Cook said during Thursday’s earnings call. Although revenue in Apple’s first quarter fell $6.7 billion short of last year’s, the continued growth helped the company achieve what Cook called “a truly incredible milestone.”

Apple’s holiday quarter comes in worse than expected

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Apple logo with the text
$117.2 billion in revenue seems like a lot of money, but Wall Street expected more from Apple
Image: Cult of Mac

Apple’s financial results from the December 2022 quarter include revenue and earnings per share that declined compared to the same period of the previous year. The figures did not live up to analysts’ expectations, which is dropping the share price.

Still, CEO Tim Cook stayed positive: “As we all continue to navigate a challenging environment, we are proud to have our best lineup of products and services ever, and as always, we remain focused on the long term and are leading with our values in everything we do.”

Who will be Apple’s next Jony Ive? Nobody, apparently.

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A MacBook Air with ominous red lighting and a giant white question mark.
Apple apparently does not plan to replace departing industrial design chief Evans Hankey.
Photo: Adrian Regeci/Unsplash License

Apple reportedly stopped looking for a replacement industrial design chief. This is surprising, as it’s a high-profile position once held by Jony Ive, who led the team that created the iconic look of the iPhone, iMac and more.

The corporate rearrangement increases the power of Jeff Williams — Apple’s chief operating officer and possibly Tim Cook’s eventual replacement as CEO.

Carry MacBook or iPad plus accessories in style with these new sleeves

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This soft and stylish sleeve works for any 15- to 16-inch MacBook.
This soft and stylish sleeve works for any 15- to 16-inch MacBook.
Photo: Elago

If you like a touch of “soft and comfy” with your style, Elago’s fiber-fill sleeves for MacBook and iPad could be for you. They’re a soft cases for your devices that are also environmentally friendly because the material in them is recycled.

And these sleeves won’t break the bank, either. You can choose from different sizes and colors and pay less than $30 in some cases. Check out the collection in the Cult of Mac Store.

Pick up a rare first-gen iPhone for a mere $50,000

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Pick up a rare first-gen iPhone for a mere $50,000
Is this something you'd play $50,000 for?
Photo: LCG Auctions

You can grow your collection of classic Apple gear with an original iPhone from 2007… if your pockets are deep enough. A first-generation iOS handset doesn’t usually go for that much, but this one is still sealed in the original packaging.

Typically, an iPhone 1 sells for a few hundreds dollars. This one might hit $50,000.

Wall Street thinks Apple is just limping along

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Wall Street thinks Apple is just limping along
While the final quarter of 2022 looks to have been a poor one for Apple, the future looks brighter.
Photo: Anna Nekrashevich/Pexels

Analysts don’t expect to be wowed when Apple announces the results of its most recent financial quarter Thursday. They predict the company’s revenue declined slightly during the October-through-December period.

Feeding into the prediction is the struggle Apple had meeting iPhone demand during the quarter, which a top market-analysis firm says could have caused a double-digit drop in shipments. Plus, Apple broke tradition by not introducing new Macs.

Jony Ive creates ‘perfect’ schnoz for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day

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Has Jony Ive sniffed out a new sideline? His new paper nose looks pretty good on this guy.
Has Jony Ive sniffed out a new sideline? His new paper nose looks pretty good on this guy.
Photo: Comic Relief

Legendary Apple design chief Jony Ive, responsible for the look and feel of iconic products like iPhone, grabbed headlines Wednesday for a new creation — a big, red paper nose. That may sound odd, but it’s for a good cause.

Ive and his team came up with the nose to go along with Red Nose Day, March 17. That’s charity Comic Relief’s day of giving in the U.K. and around the world to help end poverty, particularly among children.

Punch up productivity and gaming alike with new feather-light mouse

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Keychron's new M3 wireless mouse weighs just 79 grams.
Keychron's new M3 wireless mouse weighs just 79 grams.
Photo: Keychron

Best-known for keyboards, Keychron rolled out its new ultra-lightweight M3 wireless mouse Tuesday, touting its strong build and robust features for Mac users and others.

“To accompany it, we have designed the smallest Type-C 2.4 GHz receiver for M3, which is compatible with MacBook and other laptops,” Keychron said.

And at $49, the svelte new optical mouse is affordable, too.

Rock on with Marshall’s rugged new flagship Bluetooth speaker

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The new Middleton carries some heft, but it's still portable.
The new Middleton carries some heft, but it's still portable.
Photo: Marshall

Legendary in rock’n’roll history for its Marshall stacks of amplifiers, the English company recently added a rugged Bluetooth speaker to the top of its growing lineup — the Middleton.

Like Marshall’s other portable wireless speakers — which all have proper English names, by the way — it looks like a guitar amp.

And this top-of-the-line number not only “goes to 11,” but it’s weatherproof and features multidirectional sound, too.

Dream job leads to ultimate home workstation [Setups]

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Maybe the right job will land you a tricked out MacBook Pro, Studio Display and all the other treats in this setup.
Maybe the right job will land you a tricked out MacBook Pro, Studio Display and all the other treats in this setup.
Photo: [email protected]

Wouldn’t it be great if the right job opened the door to building a killer computer setup? It happened for design and product lead Jaime Creixems.

Today’s featured setup is his M1 Max MacBook Pro and Studio Display-driven wonderland, complete with excellent audio equipment and fun sidelights like Lego sets.

Spatial audio comes to many more Netflix movies and shows

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Spatial audio for Apple TV in tvOS 15
Lean back and enjoy a film on Netflix in spatial audio.
Photo: Apple

Netflix greatly increased the amount of its most-popular content with support for spatial audio, which lets the tv shows and films offer a surround sound-like experience but without all the speakers.

But the enhanced sound is not for every subscriber. The streaming service is using spatial audio as a way to tempt viewers to its Premium plan.

Apple TV+ kicks off MLS Season Pass for soccer fans in 100 countries

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With MLS Season Pass, soccer fans can watch every MLS match via the Apple TV app from February 25 through the league championship.
With MLS Season Pass, soccer fans can watch every MLS match via the Apple TV app from February 25 through the league championship.
Photo: Apple

Major League Soccer fans in more than 100 countries can now sign up for the MLS Season Pass subscription service via the Apple TV app and Apple TV+, Cupertino said Wednesday.

This comes ahead of the 2023 season’s launch on February 25. The new service will air all MLS and Leagues Cup matches, plus hundreds of MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT games, Apple said.

Rugged Samsung SSD expands to 4TB of storage

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Rugged Samsung SSD expands to 4TB of storage
Take 4TB of additional storage wherever you go with this tough SSD.
Photo: Samsung/Cult of Mac

The Samsung T7 Shield rugged SSD launched in 2022 with a maximum of 2TB of capacity and is now available with twice that.

T7 Shield is a a credit-card size external SSD intended for outdoor content creators or travelers. It works with Mac and iPad plus a wide variety of devices.

Pump up Mac audio quality with new Sound Blaster X5

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In addition to jacking up speaker sound, the X5 should make most headphones sound better.
In addition to jacking up speaker sound, the X5 should make most headphones sound better.
Photo: Creative

Creative’s new Sound Blaster X5, a USB sound card, digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier, promises to jack up your Mac’s audio quality.

It’s not cheap at $280. But the device launched Tuesday might make big difference in the sound flowing from speakers and headphones alike.

‘Periscope’ camera might remain iPhone 16 Pro Max exclusive

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Not this type of periscope.
Not this type of periscope.
Photo: US Navy

iPhone 16 Pro buyers reportedly won’t get the “periscope” camera previous rumors suggested. A camera with the new type of high-end lens will be restricted to only the iPhone 16 Pro Max, according to a reliable source of Apple info.

The new hardware actually will arrive with the iPhone 15 Pro Max in 2023. But it supposedly won’t come to the regular-size iPhone Pro in 2024, despite what earlier reports indicated.

The pop-up lens should bring a noticeable jump in image quality while also shrinking the thickness of the iPhone’s notoriously large camera hump.

Apple’s super-expensive Pro Display XDR gets a $300 discount

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Pro Display
Apple's Pro Display XDR is impressive but very, very expensive.
Photo: Apple

Looking to buy Apple’s 32-inch Pro Display XDR? Amazon is taking a whopping $300 off the stunning display, reducing the hole the purchase would otherwise make in your wallet.

With an MRP of $4,999, the Pro Display XDR is an expensive piece of tech. But you can take advantage of the deal on Amazon to get the display for $4,699.99.

HomePod 2 review roundup: Great sound but no giant leap forward

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A second-generation HomePod and a hand holding an iPhone.
The new HomePod looks almost exactly like the original, but it packs definite improvements.
Photo: Apple

The first reviews of the updated HomePod say the new smart speaker sounds excellent but doesn’t break much new ground.

Compared to Apple’s original smart speaker, the second-generation HomePod is more of an asset in a smart home than before. However, the device’s limitations on playing music from third-party sources mean that the home in question better be an Apple household.