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M1 MacBook Pro is a total steal after a $249 discount

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MacBook Pro Black Friday deals
This deal gives you the perfect excuse to buy the M1 MacBook Pro
Photo: Apple

Apple’s excellent M1 MacBook Pro is discounted by as much as $249 on Amazon. The base model with 256GB storage is down to its lowest price of $1,099 in the last 30 days, down from 1,299.

The deal on the 512GB variant is even better — it is available for $1,249 after a $249 discount, with the last $50 off automatically applied at checkout.

Get inspired by trailer for The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball on Apple TV+

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Get inspired by trailer for ‘The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball’ on Apple TV+
Makur Maker is the focus of in The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

A docuseries about an NBA hopeful determined to take control of his journey premieres on Apple TV+ on April 22. The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball tells the story of how Makur Maker, a five-star NBA prospect, ended up at Howard University.

A new trailer for the upcoming series gives an early look at his inspirational story.

WhatsApp finally adds emoji reactions and features for groups

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At first, WhatsApp users will have just six emojis to choose from.
At first, WhatsApp users will have just six emojis to choose from.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Looks like secure chat client WhatsApp just got a little livelier. Its long-promised emoji-based Reactions and newly developed Communities features for organizations rolled out on Thursday.

Users will have six emojis to play with to start. And in addition to new Communities, WhatsApp’s Groups functionality gets a revamp, too.

New signs point to periscope lens coming to iPhone 15

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Apple may have found a new periscope lens supplier for iPhone 15.
Apple may have found a new periscope lens supplier for iPhone 15.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

It looks like the rumored periscope lens in iPhone 15 just took a step closer to reality. Jahwa Electronics in South Korea said it plans to expand production on new models and invest $155.7 million in new facilities. A new report suggested the company’s new customer is Apple, for whom it will supply periscope lens components.

Jahwa currently supplies such tech — optical image stabilization (OIS) actuators — for Samsung’s Galaxy S22 lineup.

Jack up efficiency with Satechi’s slick new laptop accessories

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You can get Satechi's speedy new HDMI 2.1 cable and dual vertical laptop stand at a 20% off discount for launch.
You can get Satechi's speedy new HDMI 2.1 cable and dual vertical laptop stand at a 20% off discount for launch.
Photo: Satechi

If you make your MacBook Pro or other laptop the center of your office, Satechi rolled out new accessories Thursday that can help increase your efficiency factor.

The company launched its new 8K Ultra HD High Speed HDMI 2.1 Cable for fast display connections and Dual Vertical Laptop Stand to keep your gear neatly housed out of the way while you work.

Apple accuses Meta of ‘hypocrisy’ for nearly 50% commission on metaverse sales

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Apple accuses Meta of ‘hypocrisy’ for nearly 50% commission on metaverse sales
Selling anything in Meta’s VR metaverse will cost developers quite a bit.
Photo: Meta

Facebook’s parent company Meta will claim almost half of the money third-party developers earn from sales in Horizon Worlds, the VR platform for Quest headsets. An Apple executive says that “lays bare Meta’s hypocrisy,” considering it has criticized Apple in the past for its 30% App Store fee.

Apple helps suppliers more than double their use of clean power

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Apple helps suppliers more than double their use of clean power
Apple invested in the IP Radian Solar project to help offset the electricity used to charge iPhones, Macs, iPads, etc.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s suppliers have more than doubled their use of clean power over the last year. There’s over 10 gigawatts operational today.  In 2021, these projects avoided 13.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

And the iPhone-maker itself is investing in green energy projects.

Elon Musk wants to take over Twitter by spending $41 billion

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Elon Musk
Elon Musk now wants to acquire the whole of Twitter
Photo: NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affair/Wikipedia CC

Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has offered $41 billion in cash to take over Twitter. He wants to take the social media company private to ensure it is able to thrive and “be the platform for free speech around the globe.”

The move comes less than two weeks after Musk spent $3 billion to become Twitter’s largest shareholder.

Improved iPhone privacy protections could cost Facebook $20.9 billion and counting

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Facebook vs. iPhone App Tracking Transparency
Turns out the answer to this question was “do not track” 80% of the time.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

A tweak to iOS privacy settings made in 2021 has already cost Facebook $8.1 billion, and the social-networking company’s losses will increase by another $12.8 billion in 2022, according to an industry report.

Forcing applications to ask permission before tracking their users’ online activity hurt other companies, too. But nowhere near as much as Facebook.

Nomad’s swanky new MagSafe charger makes room for Apple Watch

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At the price, the new Nomad Base One Max had better be this good looking.
At the price, the new Nomad Base One Max had better be this good looking.
Photo: Nomad

Maybe you thought about snapping up the exceedingly nice-looking Nomad Base One MagSafe charger for iPhone when it came out in March. But what about charging my Apple Watch, too, you asked.

Well, Nomad must’ve been listening, because it launched the Nomad Base One Max on Tuesday. It adds an Apple Watch stand to the Base One’s wireless charging pad.

Wait for high-end MacBook Pro stretches into June amidst China lockdown

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2021 MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips
It could be summertime before your MacBook Pro with an M1 Max is delivered. Blame COVID.
Photo: Apple

Order a MacBook Pro with an M1 Max processor and you’ll wait until June for a delivery. Wait times have grown to 7+ weeks because the company that assembles the notebook for Apple is caught in a COVID lockdown.

The same lockdown caught one of the major iPhone assemblers, and also two iPad assemblers. But it’s not affecting handset or tablet deliveries. Not to the same extent, anyway.

New Eufy smart scale could be your closest health adviser

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It does more than weigh you.
It does more than weigh you.
Photo: Dufy

A smart scale sitting on the bathroom floor is never going to replace your doctor — or at least, not yet. But devices like the new Eufy Smart Scale P2 Pro do more in the realm of health than just weigh you.

You may not be in a big hurry to find out about things like your bone mass, but at least you can if you want or need to. And you can do it in the comfort of your own home.

Go off-grid with Anker’s new portable power station

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Need to live in the woods for a while? This could help.
Need to live in the woods for a while? This could help.
Photo: Anker

Whether you’ve suffered a power outage, decided to go on a camping trip or finally realized you need to ditch civilization once and for all, Anker’s burly new 757 PowerHouse portable power station can help.

With a powerful battery and loads of ports, it’s for anytime you go off-grid.

Glenn Close makes her Tehran debut in new Apple TV+ trailer

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Glenn Close makes her ‘Tehran’ season two debut in new Apple TV+ trailer
Espionage thriller Tehran returns to Apple TV+ on May 6 with Glenn Close in a prominent role.
Photo: Apple TV+

Mossad hacker-agent Tamar remains undercover in Iran in Tehran season two. But this time she has Glenn Close to help. But is she really there to help?

Watch the trailer for the upcoming season for more hints of what’s to come. And the wait won’t be long — new episodes of the spy-vs-spy thriller premier May 6 on Apple TV+.

Graphic designer runs racy dual-monitor MacBook Pro rig [Setups]

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Look at that wallpaper! Oh, and there's also a computer setup.
Look at that wallpaper! Oh, and there's also a computer setup.
Photo: [email protected]

Ever show off your painstakingly constructed computer setup only to have everybody race past the gear just to ogle what’s showing on the screen(s)? The desktop wallpaper.

It’s kind of like that with today’s featured setup, the brainchild of a graphic designer.

He put together the dual-monitor setup around a 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro with a lineup of nice touches. And he also made the neato race-car wallpaper that got most of the attention.

Ready for your close-ups? See the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge winners.

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“Hidden Gem” (water bead in leaf) by Jirasak Panpiansin (@joez19). Shot on iPhone 13 Pro Max.
“Hidden Gem” (water bead in leaf) by Jirasak Panpiansin (@joez19). Shot on iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Photo: Apple

Apple unveiled its top 10 extreme-close-up photo selections Wednesday from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge, in which photographers from all over the world submitted epic miniatures over several weeks starting January 25.

All the shooters used iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max to take their pics. Photographers hailed from China, Hungary, India, Italy, Spain, Thailand and the U.S. Apple plans to feature their images on apple.com, on Instagram (@apple) and on billboards in select cities.

Check out the stunning shots — captured with iPhone’s most-advanced cameras ever — below.

Take a first look at new Maya Rudolph comedy series Loot on Apple TV+

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Joel Kim Booster, Maya Rudolph and Ron Funches in “Loot,” premiering globally June 24, 2022 on Apple TV+.
Joel Kim Booster, Maya Rudolph and Ron Funches in “Loot,” premiering globally June 24, 2022 on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ said Tuesday its new workplace comedy Loot, starring Emmy Award winner Maya Rudolph, premieres Friday, June 24.

The accompanying first-look photo shows Rudolph and costars Joel Kim Booster and Ron Funches standing all in a row in an office. It looks like it could be an awkward moment. And isn’t that the bread and butter of workplace comedies?

Now you can grab Beats Studio Buds in 3 new colors

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Get Beats Studio Buds in three sassy new colors.
Get Beats Studio Buds in three sassy new colors.
Photo: Apple

As promised last week, Apple rolled out three new colors of its Beats Studio Buds wireless earbuds, saying you can buy them starting Wednesday (though you can find them Tuesday at the links below).

The new colors are Ocean Blue, Sunset Pink and Moon Gray. They’ll cost $149.99, just like the original colors available since the product’s launch in 2021 (black, red and white).

But with the new hues, you can only get certain colors from certain retailers.

iMovie 3.0’s new features make short work of social videos

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iMovie 3 Storyboard feature
Storyboards provide a shot-by-shot guide to the most common social videos.
Photo: Apple

iMovie has long been Apple’s default tool for creating quick, gorgeous videos on your iPhone or iPad. With Tuesday’s update to iMovie 3.0, Apple added a pair of new creative tools designed to help “aspiring content creators and moviemakers learn to edit and improve their video storytelling skills.”

The ultimate goal? To make creating compelling videos easier than ever.

Tim Cook’s privacy summit keynote condemns app sideloading

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Tim Cook delivered a keynote address at the International Association of Privacy Professionals Global Privacy Summit on Tuesday.
Tim Cook delivered a keynote address at the International Association of Privacy Professionals Global Privacy Summit on Tuesday.
Photo: IAPP

Apple CEO Tim Cook called privacy a key battle of our time during a speech Tuesday. He extolled Apple’s commitment to protecting its users’ data and condemned regulations that would force Cupertino to accept app sideloading on iPhones.

“We are deeply concerned about regulations that would undermine privacy and security in service of some other aim,” he said, referring to legislation that would force Apple to allow apps for its devices to bypass the App Store.

Cook made the comments during a wide-ranging keynote address at the International Association of Privacy Professionals Global Privacy Summit in Washington, D.C.

Read more about what he said and watch video of his speech below.

New Apple Watch health features: What’s in, what’s out

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Apple Watch won't get blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring soon, but other new health updates are coming.
Apple Watch won't get blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring soon, but other new health updates are coming.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Cupertino is likely to add body temperature readings and other new health features to Apple Watch and the Health app in 2022, but it looks like blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring will have to wait, according to a new report.

For a look at those delays to blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring, as well as the expected new features for women’s health and sleep-, fitness- and medication management, read on.