CAD renders supposedly of the AirPods Pro 2 charging case appeared online Friday, revealing some changes potentially coming to Apple’s noise-canceling earbuds. They show an opening for a lanyard attachment as well as speaker holes that could make misplaced AirPods Pro easier to locate.
Apple might announce the second-gen AirPods Pro alongside the iPhone 14 at its Far Out event on September 7.
Verizon could soon become the first U.S. carrier to bundle an Apple One subscription for free with one of its plans. The network operator reportedly plans to announce the offer alongside the iPhone 14 series.
Apple One subscription pricing starts at $14.95 per month in the United States for a single user.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Last-minute leaks indicate iPhone 14 Pro might not suffer the indignity of the “pillhole.” And that’s not the end of the revelations and guesswork prior to Apple’s Far Out event next Wednesday.
Also on The CultCast:
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Apple’s powerful yet portable M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro is discounted by a hefty $400 on Amazon. This is the lowest price the machine has been available for in the last month.
Given the fantastic deal, it is unlikely to last for long.
Although Apple has yet to even admit it’s working on a self-driving electric vehicle, plenty of people want to buy a car from Cupertino. Almost a third of recent car buyers say they’d consider an Apple car. And that includes more than half of Tesla owners.
It seems clear that if the Mac-maker can transform itself into an automaker, it could have a real hit on its hands.
Withings introduced its newest and most-advanced smart scale along with the company’s first health subscription service Thursday, both integrated with Apple Health.
The company said the Body Comp scale measures multiple biomarkers for a complete body assessment and the annual Health+ subscription service provides health analysis and tools to help users build healthful routines.
The scale and service launch October 4 at a price of $209.95.
When you look at a lot of computer setups showcased on social media, it’s not difficult to see that many of them are staged. They’re so well put together and photographed, you just can’t see normal slobs owning them.
But sometimes the internet tricks you with a surprisingly slick photograph of a real person’s setup. That seems to be the case in today’s featured dual-display MacBook Pro setup, photographs in a cool-gray wash.
“This looks like a render advertising the mouse or something,” one commenter said. “Tron vibes,” added another, referring to the 1982 sci-fi film known for its then-cutting-edge computer animation.
Screen legend Tom Hanks just launched a game for a range of Apple devices. Hanx101 Trivia has questions in categories from history to math, geography to food.
It’s available now exclusively in the Apple Arcade subscription service.
Got a big camping trip coming up? Or maybe you worry about power outages at home? EcoFlow launched its new Delta Portable Power Station Friday.
The company said it fully charges in 1.3 hours, has a 10-year lifetime and powers 90% of devices and appliances.
The new station serves as an upgrade of the Delta Portable Power Station. EcoFlow noted the new one charges seven times faster than the industry average, has expandable capacity and features a battery that should keep it going for a decade.
Samsung’s latest ad takes a dig at Apple for the lack of innovation reportedly coming in this year’s iPhones. Titled “Buckle Up,” and coming just days before Apple’s iPhone 14 event on September 7, the ad focuses on some key Galaxy S22 Ultra and Galaxy Z Flip 4 features.
Apple’s entry-level 10.2-inch iPad is even more affordable at Best Buy after a $49.01 discount. That amazing price — previously available on Amazon, but no longer — brings down the price to just $279.99.
This marks a return to the lowest price we have tracked on the 10.2-inch iPad.
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Take a walk out to the cutting edge with Lenovo Glasses T1, which put a tiny OLED screen in front of each eye where they offer a “portable and private big screen experience.” Users can even connect the wearable to their Mac, or to an iPhone for use on the go.
Lenovo touts the gaming and entertainment possibilities of the glasses, but also points out that they can be used for working on business documents in complete privacy.
USB connections are about to get a whole lot lot faster. USB4 Version 2.0 doubles the top speed of wired connections to 80 Gbps.
Although Thunderbolt gets more attention, Apple builds USB4 into the USB-C ports of Macs, too.
In the market for a new streaming device? The 2021 Apple TV 4K is once again down to its lowest price on Amazon, making it the perfect time to pick one up.
Apple’s streaming box retails for $179, but you can get it for $119.99 after a massive 33% discount.
Twitter is moving ahead with implementing an edit button, the social network’s most-requested feature.
It could be available soon, though there are questions about whether editing will be reserved for those willing to pay for it.
Apple’s new iPhone 14 series may be on the way, but many people won’t switch if they have a recent iPhone already, though they may feel like they’re missing out on all the fun. If you have an iPhone 11, 12 or 13, why not change it up with a new case?
That’s much cheaper than getting a new iPhone. And this week, it’s cheaper still. You can grab any of 41 different cases for iPhone 13, 12 and 11 for 20% off in the Cult of Mac Store. But don’t wait around: This sale ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on September 2, 2022.
A creep nearly ruined a Southwest Airlines flight to Cabo San Lucas by using Apple’s AirDrop file-sharing tech to send unsolicited nudes to fellow passengers.
This is an excellent opportunity for a quick tutorial on how to turn off AirDrop so something like this never happens to you.
When Apple Watch got a larger screen last year with the Series 7 update, most commentators just yawned. Apparently screen size isn’t everything. It’s what you do with your watch that counts.
So I was surprised to read recent rumors of an Apple Watch Pro with an even bigger screen. Supposedly, this larger model, with its tougher titanium case, will be ideal for extreme sports. But does a bigger screen really help when you’re bungee jumping? And could titanium ever be rugged enough to withstand whitewater rafting?
Something about all this doesn’t add up. Instead, I suspect Cupertino will position the Apple Watch Pro model as a wearable for endurance sports. A bigger watch means a bigger battery. And in endurance sports, you really need that extra juice.
Those who just can’t wait until the September 7 Apple event can tide themselves over with a concept video of one of the hottest products expected to be on the agenda. The iPhone 14 Plus will allegedly have the same size screen as the Pro Max, but at a much lower price.
Watch a video concept of the upcoming device in action.
Older iPhone and iPad models that can’t be updated to iOS 15 got a patch on Wednesday to fix a security hole that might have been used by hackers. Devices dating back to 2013’s iPhone 5S can install iOS 12.5.6 to fix the problem.
Newer models can install the recently released iOS 15.6.1 or iPadOS 15.6.1 to accomplish the same.
OtterBox released its Premium Pro Power lineup of chargers Wednesday, including wall chargers, car chargers and MagSafe charging stands.
With the release, OtterBox steps further into the market for smaller charging accessories, including potent-but-compact gallium nitride (GaN) chargers.
Leaks about the “pill and hole” design of the iPhone 14 Pro models started months ago, but Apple still might have a surprise up its sleeve. A new report indicates that software will merge the two display cutouts into one.
Note that this is not a hardware change – the screen between the two cutouts will be darkened in software so they appear to be combined.
Buying an iPad doesn’t usually mean just buying an iPad. Many people want useful accessories, like a stylus that lets them write and draw more precisely than they can with their fingers. But Apple Pencil 2 usually goes for a fairly steep $129.
If you’d like to get an advanced stylus with most of Apple Pencil 2’s features for much less, you have options. A good one is the SwitchEasy EasyPencil Pro.
You can get the fourth-gen version of it in the Cult of Mac Store for just over half the cost of Apple Pencil 2, plus a supply of extra tips for different uses. Or you can nab the third-gen EasyPencil for a little less. See more information below.
Apple has said many times it won’t produce a touch-screen Mac because that’s what iPads are for. But Sidecar functionality can make an iPad a touch-screen extension of a Mac, where you can drag and drop elements and work with them using Apple Pencil or your fingertips.
Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup mounts a big 5K display and an iPad Pro right next to each other. In the photograph, you can see the desktop wallpaper running right onto the tablet’s display through Sidecar (more on that below).
And who doesn’t love an all-Apple audio arsenal? This setup rocks paired OG HomePods, AirPods Max on a cool charging stand and AirPods, too.
★★★☆☆
Noise-cancelling wireless earbuds that cost under $100 jostle in a competitive field. One company that consistently stands out from the crowd with high-quality goods that are a great value for what they cost is Edifier.
And the company, based in China, has done it again with the Edifier W240TN true wireless earbuds. They launch Thursday for a price of $79.99. Edifier sent me a pair to try out.
There really aren’t many reasons not to buy these if you want good earbuds for well under $100. But there are a couple of potential reasons, depending on your priorities.