Bacioiu Constantin Ciprian, known online as “Zapa,” was born in Buzau, Romania, in 1991, not long after a revolution toppled communist rule there. He loved technology as a kid, but it was expensive and hard to get. And soon enough he realized how much he loved Apple products — especially those around in his youth.
Now a longtime resident of Bucharest, he designs and develops games to run on vintage equipment. And get a load of that retro setup!
Caviar is back with another crazy (and wildly expensive) custom iPhone. Its latest model, which is dubbed the Tesla Electro, contains a real piece from a Tesla car and is available in iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max versions.
You can get yours with up to 1TB of storage, but be warned that prices can reach an eye-watering $8,380.
Some M1 MacBook Air models pack exactly the same chipset as the 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro, but they don’t offer the same level of performance. Why? Because the MacBook Pro has a cooling fan and the MacBook Air doesn’t.
But with a quick and easy thermal mod, you can give the more affordable MacBook Air a rather significant speed boost that makes it very nearly as fast as its sibling. Check out the video below that explains it all.
An accidental collaboration with Apple saved NBC sitcom The Office from cancellation during its second season.
A fifth-generation iPod took a starring role in an episode of the comedy series. Then, the unlikely cameo spurred sales of reruns of the show on iTunes. And the rest is history.
The only thing I don’t like about Belkin’s 3-in-1 MagSafe wireless charger is its name. And, until now, its availability and price.
Those last two problems just disappeared, however briefly, as the hard-to-find 15-watt MagSafe charger is back in stock on Belkin’s website — and with a sweet 25% Black Friday discount to boot! Just be sure to use the promo code when you check out.
Take a peek at what’s inside your iPhone 13 without actually pulling it apart. These beautifully detailed wallpapers offer a glimpse at all the components under its hood — and they come in a bunch of gorgeous color options.
Download them now for free.
Getting a little bored of your iPhone XR’s aging form factor? Make it look like an iPhone 13 and add MagSafe support with this $39.50 mod kit.
The kit includes a complete chassis and tools, so all you have to do is transfer the screen and internal components from your existing iPhone. The video below walks you through the process — and shows the impressive final result.
Suppose the keyboard of your MacBook rose up slightly and pivoted toward you when you opened the lid. That’s the idea described by a patent Apple was just awarded.
The concept has ergonomic benefits but also adds moving parts.
Apple says it will send threat alerts to customers who potentially targeted by the NSO Group’s controversial Pegasus spyware.
Cupertino on Tuesday announced that it is suing NSO Group over the tools the Israeli company develops and sells to governments to spy on iPhone owners. Apple’s alerts to affected iPhone users are another effort to prevent software like Pegasus from going unnoticed.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Apple’s primary chip production partner, will start manufacturing custom 5G modem chips for iPhone in 2023, according to a new report, which cites four different sources familiar with the plan.
TSMC reportedly will build the chips using a 4-nanometer manufacturing process. The proprietary modems would allow Apple to reduce its reliability on rival chipmaker Qualcomm.
Apple noted on its website that a planned iOS 15 and watchOS 8 feature letting users add a driver’s license or state ID to an iPhone and Apple Watch in participating U.S. states is delayed until early 2022. Previously, the Cupertino tech giant pegged late 2021 for the launch.
An exceedingly rare wearable from 1988 called a “WristMac” is currently on auction at ComicConnect. Seiko and partner company Ex Machina made this ancestor of the smart watch, not Apple, but it could connect to a Macintosh and perform certain functions — and a version of it even did so on a Space Shuttle mission. It’s expected to fetch anywhere between $25,000 and $100,000.
We’ll have to see it if goes that high. Bidding started on Monday at $1. It stood Tuesday at $950 with 30 bids in. The auction runs through December 18.
Apple filed a lawsuit Tuesday against NSO Group, the company that makes Pegasus spyware used by some countries to hack into iPhones. Apple says the goal is to hold NSO Group “accountable for the surveillance and targeting of Apple users.”
NSO Group claims Pegasus is only used by governments to fight crime, but there are accusations that it’s being used it to hack the smartphones of activists, politicians, journalists and other individuals.
Smart home equipment provider Aqara rolled out a new security camera that works as a Zigbee 3.0 home-automation hub while supporting HomeKit and HomeKit Secure Video. The new G3 camera features 2K resolution, the ability to pan and tilt, and facial and gesture recognition.
The new camera serves as an upgrade to Aquara Camera Hub G2H, adding 2K video recording and more.
A version of Windows built to run on Arm processors could eventually come to M1 Mac models, with Qualcomm’s current exclusivity deal with Microsoft “set to expire soon,” according to a new report.
The deal, which wasn’t public knowledge until this week, could explain why there are only a limited number of Windows devices powered by Arm chips — all made by Qualcomm — on the market today. But that’s set to change.
Tile, the company famous for its Bluetooth tracking gadgets, is selling itself to Life360 for $205 million. The move comes just six months after Tile was forced to face its toughest competition yet — Apple’s popular AirTag.
Life360, which offers a family safety service, said the Tile acquisition will allow it to “provide a unique and all-encompassing solution for finding the people, pets and things.” The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
Choetech is giving away three MagSafe wireless 2 in 1 charging stands. These minimalist magnetic chargers are perfect for anybody who pairs a MagSafe-compatible iPhone with wirelessly charging AirPods.
In addition to those three lucky winners, all Cult of Mac readers can get a 40% discount code for one of these sweet charging stands. That brings the price down from $52.99 to just $31.80, shipping included.
You can enter the giveaway below. But if you aren’t feeling lucky, or just like a really good deal, you can purchase a MagSafe wireless 2 in 1 charging stand from Choetech and use Cult of Mac’s special discount code: COMAC575. The charging stand makes a great gift. And with that 40% discount, you can afford to gift a few.
Mujjo’s luxurious leather cases offer great protection without making your pricey iPhone feel cheap and tacky. Bag yours today from the Cult of Mac Store and save up to 25% for Black Friday.
Also enjoy the similar discount on Mujjo gloves, laptop sleeves, and more. This is a limited-time offer, so enjoy it while you can!
Apple just gave customers another big reason to avoid its trade-in service by slashing prices on almost all iPhone models. Instead, sell your old handset to Cult of Mac to make more from it, and get real cash you can spend anywhere.
Find out how much your old iPhone is worth today in just a few simple steps, and secure your quote for 14 days.
Struggling to get hold of one of Apple’s newest devices ahead of the holidays? InventoryWatch is a free and simple Mac app that sends you an alert when the gear you want is in stock and available for pick up at your local Apple Store.
It currently works in the United States and five other countries and regions. And it tracks availability of a handful of Apple’s most popular devices.
Andrew, a customer service experience manager for an internet service provider in Minneapolis, shared his computer setup with Cult of Mac after a big revamp. He replaced a 27-inch 2017 iMac with a 14-inch 2021 M1 Pro MacBook, which he runs alongside his work laptop, a Lenovo ThinkPad T480S. He uses his Apple gear mostly for photo editing and music production.
“With work from home, I needed the ability to use the screen with both my personal computer and my work device,” Andrew told Cult of Mac (he requested we use only his first name). “I had been running Windows on the iMac via Boot Camp and using Miracast to wirelessly extend to the iMac screen from my ThinkPad. When it worked it was great, but it became unreliable over time, and I decided that a monitor with multiple inputs are the way to go.”
Andrew said the Miracast connection with the iMac became unreliable when he got a mesh network. It would sometimes work great, but often fail to connect, despite rigorous troubleshooting. So it was time to do a little shopping.
iMessage reactions now appear as emoji inside the latest version of the Google Messages app on Android.
Prior to this release, Android users saw somewhat lengthy template messages when they received an iMessage reaction from a contact using an iPhone. This change offers a cleaner, much more streamlined experience.
Apple is offering customers up to $200 back in Apple Store gift cards when they buy eligible products this Black Friday. Its four-day shopping event runs from November 26, and you can enjoy in in-store, online, and over the phone.
Find out what you’ll get back on certain products right here.
Apple’s next-generation iMac Pro could feature an “M1 Max Duo” chip with 20 cores for processing and up to 64 for graphics, according to a new report.
As its name suggests, the chipset is expected to consist of two M1 Max chips combined together for double the performance. It could also feature up to 128GB of RAM — twice that currently available from Apple’s latest machines.
A sharp rise in Apple’s share price allowed the Mac-maker to regain the title of publicly traded company with the highest market capitalization n the world. It beat out Microsoft, who’d held the top spot for less than a month.
An unconfirmed report of Apple’s aggressive plans to make self-driving cars helped drive a 6% increase over the past week.