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.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Just how well does a new $3,500 M1 Max MacBook Pro perform against a $15,000 Mac Pro that’s only two years old? The results from the latest tests and benchmarks are simply insane.
Also on The CultCast:
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 livestream, embedded below.
What’s in that firmware update for a couple of AirPods that came out Tuesday. Who the hell knows?!? Apple doesn’t announce updates for its truly wireless headphones — and won’t tell anyone what’s in them. It’s very frustrating.
Apple’s attempt at making AirPods firmware updates simple instead makes them way more complicated than necessary. Currently, they happen in the background, but what’s really needed is an “Update Now” button.
Don’t tote your MacBook around without a case. It’s just not a good idea. SwitchEasy has a couple of new offerings that bring sleek protection while also adding some color. There’s the EasyStand MacBook Carry Case and the SwitchEasy Thins MacBook Sleeve.
Plus, the EasyStand case props up your laptop for more ergonomic typing.
On Thursday, accessories maker Belkin introduced its new Boost Charge Pro Portable Fast Charger for Apple Watch, one of the first third-party releases to support the fast charging speeds of the Apple Watch 7.
You see a lot of people busting on each other for “flexing,” or bragging, about their computer setups shown in social media posts. We came across a doozy today with a dual-display setup bathed in a cool wash of color. But it’s not really about the double luxe displays; lots of people have that. It’s about the two expensive Mac Pros tucked under the desk.
Those hoping for a major Apple Watch overhaul could again be disappointed next year, with a new report claiming only minor design changes are planned for Apple Watch Series 8 — which could be almost identical to Series 7.
Many fans had expected an Apple Watch revamp this year after months and months of speculation and leaks. But it’s beginning to look like those weren’t just badly timed, but perhaps entirely inaccurate.
Have fun with your friends in Lego Star Wars: Castaways, the first social, action-adventure Lego Star Wars game. Players explore a mysterious new planet, fight in battle arenas, race through flight simulations or relax with a dance party.
The game launched Friday on the Apple Arcade gaming service.
Belkin’s new BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad is one of the first third-party accessories to support Apple Watch Series 7’s faster charging speeds. It also tops up your iPhone and a third device, like AirPods, simultaneously.
The charging pad even includes MagSafe to prevent your iPhone from getting knocked off it during the night — and it’s only a little more expensive than Apple’s far less versatile MagSafe Duo Charger.
Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign continues with “A Dozen Eggs,” a whimsical short film captured entirely on iPhone 13 Pro by award-winning French film director Michel Gondry.
The one-minute video, like other films from the series, does a terrific job of showcasing iPhone’s camera performance and movie-making prowess.
Apple Watch Series 7 wearers should install a small “bug fix” update that debuted on Thursday. If you don’t have that model, don’t waste time looking for the new version — watchOS 8.1.1 is apparently only for the recently released Series 7.
Apple corporate employees must start working part-time in the office beginning on February 1, according to a company email that quickly leaked out.
But the Mac-maker has been forced to move back the date when employees to return to the office several times. It could happen again.
Satechi rolled out a new 3-in-1 MagSafe-compatible charger on Thursday to help users power up their iPhones, AirPods and Apple Watches. The sleek black Satechi 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger features a hands-free, adjustable, MagSafe-compatible mount for your phone, plus solid steel-and-aluminum construction.
Apple is reportedly committed to making a car capable of driving completely autonomously. The new head of the project won’t be satisfied with a vehicle with only limited capabilities.
The car might not need a steering wheel or pedals at all. And it could be on the road by 2025.
Mariah Carey’s second Christmas special for Apple TV+ will sing and dance its way onto screens around the world on Friday, December 3. Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues will include the only performance of her new single, “Fall in Love at Christmas.”
The entertainer gave a sneak peek at the fun on Thursday. Watch the trailer now:
The new OWC miniStack STX hub stacks seamlessly with a Mac mini, adding storage capacity and a trio of Thunderbolt 4 ports. But it can be used to expand connectivity and add storage space to any Mac or iPad.