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Pristine Apple sneakers will transport you back to the ’90s — for a price

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These ultra-rare Apple Computer Sneakers might auction for big bucks
A pair of Apple’s first wearables might sell for a high price because they’ve never been worn.
Photo: Heritage Auctions

A couple of pieces of Apple history are on the auction block. An unworn pair Apple Computer Sneakers from the mid-1990s will be sold in the next two days. A rare Apple-branded paddle ball set from the same time is also being auctioned.

Gorgeous cases wrap your AirPods Pro in luxury leather for under $20

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Elago-AirPods-Pro-case-red
Get yours for just $23 today.
Photo: Elago

AirPods Pro aren’t the cheapest wireless buds you can buy, so the last thing you want to do is destroy them. Protect them with Elago’s gorgeous cases instead, and never worry about them getting beaten up.

Made from natural cowhide leather, they’re brilliantly robust and beautiful. They come in a number of color options, and include a clip that lets you attach them to almost anything.

They’re also a steal at just $19.99!

RodeCaster Pro powers Chicago trio’s Bums of Manarchy podcast [Setups]

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Rocky Lira works his day job and podcast production here.
Rocky Lira works his day job and podcast production here.
Photo: Rocky Lira

Rocky Lira, aka “Rocky Bandit,” and his “knucklehead” friends Eddie and Paddy went big into podcasting on a moderate budget recently. And they have the gear and the podcasts in circulation to show for it.

He and his Chicago pals started the weekly show Bums of Manarchy for fun, recording more than a dozen episodes so far. Lira got off to a fast start handling the podcast editing and production. He said he uses an M1 MacBook Pro and an older model, along with two iPad Pros and his iPhone 12 Pro — in concert with a Rode RodeCaster Pro Integrated Podcast Production Studio console.

Belkin MagSafe charger for iPhone 12 and AirPods goes up for preorders

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Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand with MagSafe is a lot of name.
Easily make FaceTime calls with Belkin’s new charging stand that supports the iPhone 12 series’ MagSafe system.
Photo: Belkin

The short list of truly MagSafe-compatible accessories grew a bit on Tuesday, as the Belkin Boost↑Charge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand can now be preordered. This holds up an iPhone 12 for easy viewing, and includes a pad for AirPods cases that support wireless charging.

Assume every App Store review is a lie

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App Store reviews
This app can’t be a scam. Look at all those positive reviews!
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Stop using the reviews you see in the App Store to help you decide what applications to buy. They’re meaningless because so many of them are fraudulent. And these purchased fake reviews are frequently used to trick people into buying scam applications.

The problem is severe enough that Apple should take reviews completely out of the App Store if it can’t come up with a better solution.

Apple shares early details of ongoing Women’s Health Study into menstruation

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Menstruation study
Study involves participation from 10,000 users around the United States.
Photo: Apple

Apple has published the first details of an ongoing Apple Women’s Health Study, using the iPhone to carry out longitudinal research on menstruation.

The project, which involves a team from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is based on data from 10,000 participants across the U.S. Users have been contributing their data using Apple’s Research app, starting late last year.

iPhone could get a periscope lens in 2023, improved telephoto lens this year

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iPhone 12 Pro series include cameras tat support ProRAW
The iPhone camera setup is set to get even better.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone will get a periscopic telephoto lens in 2023, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims in a new research note seen by Cult of Mac.

Although Kuo doesn’t provide much in the way of details, this would greatly improve the zoom capabilities of the iPhone. Currently the best iPhone for camera zoom is the iPhone 12 Pro Max. That handset features a 2.5x optical zoom in, and 2x optical zoom out. Digital zoom goes up to 12x.

A periscope zoom could increase this significantly. For example, the 2019-era Huawei P30 Pro and Oppo Reno offer 10x zoom capabilities using a periscope lens.

Apple’s AR headset will pack 15 camera modules, advanced biometrics

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Hololens
Microsoft's HoloLens are currently the mixed reality glasses to beat.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple’s mixed reality/augmented reality headset will come with 15 camera modules, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo, who has a strong track record when it comes to reporting on Apple rumors, also suggests that it will feature “innovative biometrics,” along with the ability to detect the environment the user is positioned in at the time.

Concept artists imagine crazy cars from Apple, Netflix and other tech giants

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An Apple Car as imaged by ‘ Vanarama.’
The iDrive is just one of the Big Tech concept cars imaged by Vanarama.
Concept image: Vanarama

The Apple Car really is on the drawing board at Cupertino, but no one outside the company knows what it’ll look like. Vanarama came up with a concept design.

And it didn’t stop there. Its designers had fun imagining vehicles designed by Netflix, Peloton, Airbnb and Zoom if these other Big Tech companies got into the market.

Apple Watch gets a makeover with Goldenerre’s gorgeous Pyramid band

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Goldenerre Pyramid bracelet for Apple Watch
A metal band unlike any other.
Photo: Goldenerre

Celebrate International Women’s Day by supporting Goldenerre, an awesome accessory company founded and operated by women. Its beautiful Pyramid bracelet is enough to give any Apple Watch a glamorous makeover, and it’s available in a number of color options.

Order yours today for 38/40mm or 42/44mm Apple Watch models.

iOS 14.4.1 squashes dangerous Safari security bug

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iOS 14.4.1 and iPadOS 14.4.1 and watchOS 7.3.2
Apple recommends you install iOS 14.4.1 on your iPhone to fix a security problem. And there are iPad and Apple Watch equivalents.
Graphic: Cult of Mac

iPhone users should install iOS 14.4.1, which Apple released Monday entirely to kill a bug in the Safari web browser. Obviously, Apple considers it a significant enough threat to devote an entire software update to justify it.

There’s also an equivalent iPadOS 14.4.1 version. Plus, the newly released watchOS 7.3.2 deals with the same security problem, as does macOS Big Sur 11.2.3.

BMW exec says he’s not losing any sleep over impending Apple Car

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Apple Car
BMW's CFO has chimed in on Apple Car-in-progress.
Photo: BMW

BMW’s Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Peter isn’t worried about Apple’s entry into the automotive industry. Or, if he is, he’s not willing to say as much.

“I sleep very peacefully,” Peter said when asked about the rumored Apple car. “Competition is a wonderful thing — it helps motivate the others. We’re in a very strong position and we want to remain in a leading position of the industry.”

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai signs wide-ranging deal with Apple TV+

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Malala Yousafzai
Educator Malala Yousafzai will be a new voice on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple

Apple revealed on Monday a new “multiyear programming partnership” with women’s rights activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai to produce content for for Apple TV+.

Yousafzai will produce original programming for the streaming service, spanning drama, comedy, documentary, animation and kids’ shows.

Ted Lasso scores hat trick of awards for Apple TV+

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Jason Sudeikis plays a clueless college football coach in the Apple TV+ comedy series
Ted Lasso is turning out to be MVP for Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso scored a hat trick of awards at the 2021 Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday, garnering prizes for Best Comedy Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Hannah Waddingham and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Jason Sudeikis.

Considering that it’s an underdog tale about a fish-out-of-water football coach struggling to adapt to the world of soccer, the fact that Ted Lasso is proving to be Apple TV+’s MVP — winning against the likes of Netflix, Hulu and CBS — seems weirdly appropriate.

Apple augmented reality devices could help shape all future computers

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The eventual culmination of Apple augmented reality efforts will be AR contact lenses
Apple will eventually release augmented reality contact lenses, according to a trusted analyst.
Photo: Skitterphoto/Pexels CC/Cult of Mac

A respected Apple analyst just made a startling prediction about mixed reality/augmented reality: “We believe that MR/AR products could replace all display-equipped electronics in the long term,” wrote Ming-Chi Kuo in a note sent to investors Sunday.

Kuo said he expects Apple to play a big part in taking these emerging technologies mainstream. And he sees Cupertino making augmented reality contact lenses eventually, and a variety of AR products before then.

iPhone: The Next Generations! [Cult of Mac Magazine 391]

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The future of the iPhone is coming into focus.
The future of the iPhone is coming into focus.
Cover: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

An unusually deep and detailed report from one of the world’s most reliable Apple analysts gives us a possible look at where the iPhone is headed in the next few years.

From no-brainers like bigger batteries (coming later this year) to more mysterious possibilities like a folding model (2023 at the earliest), this week’s top stories offer a glimpse of what the next generation of iPhones might bring.

Get up to speed with this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on iPhone or iPad, or get all the top headlines in the link lists below. And let us know if the features you’re craving are on Apple’s agenda.

iMac Pro discontinued: Get it before it’s gone

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The new iMac Pro brings awesome firepower to the desktop this December.
The iMac Pro might not be replaced with a new version.
Photo: Apple

Apple discontinued the iMac Pro, which is still one of the fastest Macs available despite being more than three years old. Whether the move means an updated version of the all-in-one desktop is on the way is unclear.

UPDATE: Don’t miss the Cult of Mac editorial “Good riddance to iMac Pro and the era of underwhelming Macs.”

Selena Gomez, Jane Fonda will be profiled in Dear… season 2 on Apple TV+

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‘Dear…’ season two was green lit by Apple TV+
Dear… has been renewed for a second season and will highlight the lives of 10 more celebrities.
Photo: Apple

A second season of the documentary series Dear… will take a look at the lives and careers of more actors, musicians and athletes like Viola Davis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and 8 more. It was approved on Friday, and is set to premiere later in 2021 on Apple TV+.

I want a folding iPhone and I want it now

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Why should Android users have all the folding fun?
Why should Android users have all the folding fun?
Photo: Mika Baumeister/Unsplash CC

If you’ve been paying attention to cutting-edge smartphones, you probably noticed a trend — foldable screens. And while folding phones might seem gimmicky, I think they present the perfect solution to a market-inflicted problem.

Unfortunately, while Apple is reportedly working on folding iPhone prototypes, the latest report suggests it we might wait nearly three more years for Cupertino’s first crack at such a device.

That’s way too long when the Android market is pressing forward fast. Please, Apple, don’t make us wait for a folding iPhone.

Flip through puzzles in Sp!ng on Apple Arcade

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Sp!ng debuted Friday on Apple Arcade
Sp!ng is designed to be challenging but not stressful.
Screenshot: SMG Studios

SMG Studios calls Sp!ng “a stress ball for your brain.” The goal of the new title is to maneuver a ball through a maze while collecting gems, but in a relaxed way. There’s only one control to grab the ball, spin it and release it.

The puzzle game debuted Friday on Apple Arcade.

Coder’s M1 Mac mini display goes ultrawide and vertical [Setups]

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An ultrawide monitor and a vertical one can be a good look.
An ultrawide monitor and a vertical one can be a good look.
Photo: CompilingTheFuture @ Reddit

Reddit is a great place to seek advice about computer setups. Redditor CompilingTheFuture did well recently when puzzling over replacing the triple-monitor display running off his M1 Mac mini.

The problem? One of the main issues was that three screens were so wide that peering into the corners required a lot of “neck twisting.” Sounds painful.