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News - page 56

Journey’s new Nova 3-in-1 fast charger brings intriguing design

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Journey Nova 3-in-1 fast charger
The new Journey Nova 3-in-1 fast charger carries a distinctive look.
Photo: Journey

Multi-device chargers for iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch come and go, but Journey just rolled one out that really catches the eye: the Journey Nova 3-in-1 Fast Charging Station. It’s available for preorder now.

“Our designers envisaged an anti-tech aesthetic for Nova,” said a Journey spokesperson. “The exterior complements decors much like a vase, chair or pot plant might.”

A pot plant, they say! Well, that is a good aesthetic model to emulate, although it being on the “anti-tech” side seems debatable.

BenQ tailors new high-end displays to Mac users

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BenQ 5K monitor
BenQ showcased two new displays, one with 5K resolution and one with 4K and a speedy refresh rate.
Photo: BenQ

Two new external monitors BenQ showcased this week at Adobe MAX in Miami cater specifically to Mac and MacBook users — especially creative professionals. PD2730S and PD3226G, part of BenQ’s DesignVue PD series, promise to deliver exceptional color accuracy and performance for designers, illustrators and content creators.

“BenQ has meticulously gathered feedback from professionals to design monitors that precisely meet their requirements with always accurate and consistent colors,” said Houston Wei, senior director of BenQ North America. “The new PD2730S and PD3226G were designed with both Mac and PC users in mind to provide unparalleled color features with invaluable new software including Display ColorTalk and Palette Master Ultimate.”

Sources say Ted Lasso season 4 begins production in 3 months [Confirmed!]

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Ted Lasso season 4 production starts
Production on a fourth season of Ted Lasso starts in January 2025, according to sources.
Photo: Apple

 Beloved Apple TV+ soccer comedy Ted Lasso begins pre-production on a long-hoped-for fourth season in January in London, according to a Thursday report. This follows recent news about the studio picking up cast members’ options, the first concrete clue that Ted Lasso season four might actually happen.

Apple TV+ ended the hit show after three seasons. But if Ted Lasso season four production starts as expected, it’s time to believe again! Fans eager to know more about the Ted Lasso platform and its future can check out Apple’s confirmation of season 4.

UPDATE: The Film & Television Industry Alliance confirmed via scheduling information that Ted Lasso shoots for season four will indeed start taking place in both London and Los Angeles in January 2025. A Mastodon post from the original leaker points to the confirmation.

Video editor keeps vocals clear with Maono dynamic microphone [Setups]

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Maono PD200X dynamic microphone
You can buy the affordable microphone in a kit that includes a boom arm.
Photo: [email protected]

These days, all sort of people need a microphone in their Mac computer setup — podcasters, streamers, gamers, videoconferencers or anyone recording pretty much anything. The list goes on. Today’s featured M1 Pro MacBook pro user, a video editor, relies on the Maono PD200X dynamic microphone, which packs both XLR and USB modes, to keep his vocal work clear.

iPad mini 7 brings 34% performance boost

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A rainbow of iPad mini 7
iPad mini 7 performance is as good as Apple promised.
Image: Apple

Early benchmark tests for the recently announced iPad mini 7 show it’s around 30% faster than its predecessor, and perhaps a bit more. This is a detail that might help anyone wavering on the new tablet make up their mind.

The same tests indicate that iPad has 8GB of RAM — an expected increase.

Put Apple Park right on your Mac or iPad display [Apple wallpapers]

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Apple Park wallpapers
This is just one of several striking Apple Park shots Basic Apple Guy turned into wallpaper for Mac or iPad.
Photo: Basic Apple Guy/Apple

Designer Basic Apple Guy, purveyor of fine wallpapers for your devices, found a way to blow up a bunch of tiny background shots of Apple Park in Cupertino into fine wallpapers for Mac and iPad displays. The background shots are included in macOS Sequoia for small-scale uses in apps like FaceTime and Photo Booth, so they had to be majorly upscaled. BAG dropped the wallpaper versions online Thursday for your downloading pleasure (see below).

Movie stars keep dire watch over The Gorge [Coming soon to Apple TV+]

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The Gorge on Apple TV+
Thriller film "The Gorge" is coming soon to Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

Popular young movie stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy star alongside Sigourney Weaver in the upcoming thriller film The Gorge on Apple TV+, the streamer revealed Thursday. It noted the film, which has no firm release date yet, will get promoted along with season 2 of hit series Severance at pop culture festival CCXP24 in early December.

“They’re not keeping you out. They’re keeping them in,” reads the tagline for the Apple Original Film. And in bigger news for fans of the mind-bending workplace drama series, Apple noted Severance returns with its second season January 17 (for those who don’t already know).

Shrinking season 3 is on!

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“Shrinking” season two on Apple TV+
“Shrinking” season three is happening.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ reportedly renewed its comedy/drama Shrinking for season three on Thursday, continuing the teamup between Jason Segel and Harrison Ford.

Season two is streaming now. And with the new announcement, fans can enjoy it without any worries it’ll end with a cliffhanger that never gets resolved.

Afghan women take it to the Taliban in Bread and Roses [Apple TV+ trailer]

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Bread & Roses documentary trailer
Under Taliban rule, women in Kabul can't even go outside without a chaperone, much less get an education.
Photo: Apple

When the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban took control of Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021, it stripped women of their right even to go outside without a chaperone. So when a woman surreptitiously taping herself says “the situation is dire” in the Bread & Roses documentary trailer, which Apple TV+ dropped Thursday, it seems like an understatement. A heavily armed force stripped even their most basic rights.

The Apple Original Films documentary film, which follows three women fighting to reclaim their lives, premieres November 22 on Apple TV+. Watch the trailer below.

Latest high-level person to leave Apple? The chief people officer.

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Chief People Officer leaves Apple - Carol Surface
Surface leaves Apple, one of several executives to recently do so.
Photo: Medtronic

As of Wednesday, Chief People Officer Carol Surface leaves Apple, the latest in a string of executives to do so. And she’s going after an unusually short two years of service for a top executive, according to a new report.

Other executive departures and role shifts include like Luca Maestri stepping down as CFO and longtime engineering exec Dan Riccio retiring.

PayPal balance is coming to Apple Wallet

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Discover rewards in Apple Pay
Apple Pay users in the U.S. can redeem rewards with eligible Discover credit cards when they check out with Apple Pay online and in-app on iPhone and iPad.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

PayPal debit card users will be able to see their PayPal balance in Apple Wallet starting in 2025.

Plus a new Tap to Provision feature lets users add a credit or debit card to Apple Wallet by simply tapping an eligible card to the back of their iPhone.

These are among a number of features that are new or coming soon to Apple Pay.

iPad mini 7 vs. iPad mini 6 comparison: Not the time to upgrade

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iPad mini 6 vs. iPad mini 7 comparison
You might want to stick to your iPad mini 6 for now.
Photo/Graphics: Apple/Rajesh Pandey

Apple gave the iPad mini a surprise refresh with faster internals and other minor upgrades. The highlight is Apple Intelligence support, bringing Apple’s AI suite of tools to its smallest iPad.

So, should you ditch your iPad mini 6 for these upgrades? Or hold on to it for another year or two? Find out in our iPad mini 7 vs. iPad mini 6 comparison.

New FTC rule makes canceling subscriptions as easy as signing up

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Magazine
Canceling a subscription is about to get much easier.
Photo: Recently

The FTC is making it easier to cancel subscriptions. Its new “click to cancel” rule requires companies to make canceling a subscription as easy as the signup process.

Currently, canceling a subscription often requires multiple steps, with some companies making customers jump through unnecessary hoops.

Apple and China’s BYD collaborated on long-range EV batteries

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A cute two-door car with an Apple logo
BYD EVs stand out for their Blade batteries.
Image: Marc Newson/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Apple reportedly collaborated with China’s BYD to develop long-range batteries for EVs. The two companies seemingly partnered around 2017.

Reports emerged at the beginning of this year that Apple canceled its ambitious Car project, putting an end to all research and development efforts.

Why company listings in Apple apps should get more accurate and useful

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Apple Business Connect lets companies control how they look in Apple apps.
Real companies display their logos in Apple’s Mail, Phone and Wallet apps.
Image: Apple

An update to Apple Business Connect that launched Wednesday enables any verified business to control how it appears in Apple Maps, Wallet and Mail, even if they don’t have a brick-and-mortar storefront.

This should give consumers access to the accurate information they need about these companies because it’ll be supplied by the best source: the owners of the businesses.

Other changes should help protect consumers from phishing attempts.

Vision Pro looks like a game changer in the operating room

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Vision Pro helps surgeons and patients
Surgeons at UC San Diego Health wear Vision Pro during a procedure.
Photo: UC San Diego Health

Despite suffering modest sales with consumers, Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset seems to be finding an unexpected but promising application in the medical field, particularly in surgery, according to a new report Tuesday.

So as Vision Pro helps surgeons and patients — and even cash-strapped medical providers — it could be a big deal in healthcare.

Shrinking season 2 finds humor in a therapist who needs a therapist [Now streaming!]

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Shrinking Season 2 on Apple TV+
The Emmy-nominated comedy drama Shrinking returned for season two on October 16, 2024 on Apple TV+.
Image: Apple

Season two of the hit Apple TV+ comedy/drama Shrinking premieres in October, with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford once again starring as therapists with problems of their own. A trailer previews the new season, with Segel’s character making progress dealing with his daughter, his crusty mentor and all his other issues.

UPDATE: The wait is over for Shrinking Season 2. It started streaming Wednesday on Apple TV+. And critics like the new episodes even more than season one, with the sophomore season of the show earning a 94% approval rating from the review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

U.S. teens overwhelmingly choose iPhone

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iPhone 16 in Use
The vast majority of teen selfies are taken with an iPhone.
Photo: Antoni Shkraba/Pexels

The cool kids own an iPhone. And the non-cool kids. Really, nearly all U.S. teens own one. That’s according to new data from a market analysis that found that 87% of teenagers in the United States use an iPhone.

That’s likely to continue with more than 20% of teens planning to upgrade to an iPhone 16.

Pump up home audio with new Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar, Sub 4 subwoofer

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Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar
The new Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar brings a lot of bass on its own, but you can also pair with the new Sub 4 subwoofer and other Sonos speakers.
Photo: Sonos

Apple-centric home audio nuts — and especially home theater aficionados — can officially get excited about two new high-end offerings from Sonos with new Sound Motion technology: the Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar and the Sonos Sub 4 subwoofer. You can preorder now, with their release coming on October 29, Sonos said Tuesday.

“For decades, Sonos has revolutionized home theater and music experiences with products that look as great as they sound. Driven by our hunger for innovation, we created Sound Motion to break the boundaries of what’s possible by a single speaker, bringing this industry-first transducer technology to home theater where demand for extraordinary sound is equal to designs that fit modern living spaces,” said Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos.

“Arc Ultra is a reimagination of our best-selling soundbar, leveraging this incredible innovation to deliver an unprecedented sound experience from a sleeker design,” he added. And by the way, Sonos said it’s also making progress on improving its much-maligned updated app.

Apple TV+ share of streaming slips slightly

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Apple TV+, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+
Apple TV+ didn’t have a great quarter but it didn’t have a terrible one, either
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple TV+ made up 8% of the U.S. streaming market in the third quarter, down slightly from the previous quarter, according to analysts.

While only a modest drop, the streaming service had been just behind some of its rivals, including Disney+ and Hulu. It’s now farther back.

Slow Horses off and running for unprecedented sixth season on Apple TV+

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Slow Horses season 6
Four seasons of "Slow Horses are streaming, season 5 is on the way and season 6 is already approved.
Photo: Apple TV+

The acclaimed Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning spy drama series Slow Horses, starring Academy Award winner Gary Oldman, gallops toward a green-lighted sixth season even as season 4 just concluded October 9, Apple TV+ said Tuesday. This continues a trend. Season 5 won approval right after the season 3 finale — well before season 4 aired. And it also makes Slow Horses the streamer’s longest-running show by number of seasons. Though admittedly, at six episodes apiece, they’re not long seasons.

“Audiences around the world have fallen in love with the Slow Horses, and I’m delighted that Gary Oldman will be leading this star-studded cast on another acerbic and action-packed adventure,” said Jay Hunt, creative director, Europe, Apple TV+.

New iPad mini 7 gains the brains for Apple Intelligence

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iPad mini 7 includes support for Apple Intelligence
The wait is over for iPad mini 7, with Apple Intelligence and more storage.
Photo: Apple

The iPad mini 7, the first new version released in three years, offers support for the AI features dubbed Apple Intelligence. Plus, the tablet comes with a significant jump in storage capacity and supports the new Apple Pencil Pro. Otherwise, it is very similar to its predecessor. That includes sticking with the same prices.

“There is no other device in the world like iPad mini, beloved for its combination of powerful performance and versatility in our most ultraportable design. iPad mini appeals to a wide range of users and has been built for Apple Intelligence, delivering intelligent new features that are powerful, personal, and private,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.