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News - page 57

Belkin power banks keep iPhone and MacBook going and going

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BoostCharge Power Bank 10K w/ Integrated Cable
You don't need to carry a cable with this new iPhone power bank from Belkin.
Photo: Belkin

Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K w/ Integrated Cable lets users charge their iPhone or other device without needing to worry about a separate USB-C cable. And it can juice up two devices at once.

Those who need more power can turn to Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro 3-Port Laptop Power Bank 20K.

Expect to see iPhone 16 and 16 Plus in these 4 colors

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The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus lineup showing the rumored colors.
The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus lineup showing the rumored colors.
Photo: @theapplehub

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models will come in four colors — white, green, pink and blue — according to a new report Friday. The white model reportedly will replace the yellow seen in the iPhone 15 lineup. The current black color option will disappear. And the shades of green, pink and blue used in iPhone 16 will look different from the current versions of those colors.

What exactly will the new iPhone colors look like? We will find out soon. Apple will unveil the iPhone 16 lineup during Monday’s “It’s Glowtime” event.

Is it really a sin to place Studio Display on a monitor riser? [Setups]

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Studio Display stand
Some people object to the whole idea of putting Apple displays on stands.
Photo: [email protected]

When a MacBook Pro perched his Studio Display on a generic stand and then asked for recommendations for alternative risers for Studio Display, some Apple users reacted a bit brusquely. That’s simply not done, they seemed to say, presumably because Apple provides adjustability options as part of the purchase process. But plenty of commenters responded to the question with practical advice, below.

Slim new Satechi USB-C adapter packs in 7 useful ports

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Satechi 7-in-1 USB-C Slim Multi-Port Adapter
Satechi packed a lot of ports into its latest adapter.
Photo: Satechi

The Satechi 7-in-1 USB-C Slim Multi-Port Adapter unveiled Friday lets travelers connect a wide range of accessories to their computer, including Ethernet, HDMI, USB-A and more. Two additional versions offer fewer ports at lower prices.

Satechi also introduced a passport cover that’s findable with Apple’s Find My technology.

iPhone 16 could ship with A18 chip and 8GB RAM

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iPhone 16 case made by Temdan
Cases allegedly showing the iPhone 16 started showing up on Amazon.
Photo: Temdan

Apple could use A18 and A18 Pro chips on its upcoming iPhone 16 lineup. TSMC will fabricate both SOCs for the Cupertino company on its latest 3nm (N3B) node, delivering better efficiency and performance.

Since the launch of the iPhone 14, Apple has used a year-old A-series chip on its non-Pro iPhones. However, due to Apple Intelligence, the company will seemingly tweak its strategy this year.

Google Photos gets smarter, more powerful AI-powered search

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Gemini-powered search in Google Photos
Gemini-powered search comes to Google Photos.
Photo/Graphics: Google/Rajesh Pandey

Google is rolling out AI-powered contextual search in Google Photos, its cloud-based photo backup solution. The feature aims to supercharge the search experience in Google Photos using AI.

Google’s Gemini AI models power the new ‘Ask Photos’ search in Google Photos.

Lockly introduces 4 new smart locks to Home app and Home Key

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Lockly Zeno smart locks
Lockly Visage smart lock and 3 others are the company's first to work with Apple's Home app and Home Key.
Photo: Lockly

The new unveiled Lockly Zeno smart locks are its first ones to work with Apple Home and Home Key for use with iPhone and Apple Watch, the company said Thursday. Lockly Visage, with advanced facial recognition access technology, and Lockly Vision, with an integrated 2K video doorbell with intercom, are the two flagships.

“As technology progresses, so do customer expectations. We’ve made it our mission to always go above and beyond the cutting edge to set a new standard for the smart home industry,” said Frank Polidoro, Lockly CRO. “We are extremely excited to partner up with The Home Depot to bring our latest innovation to homeowners and the professional market.”

Soundcore’s top new headphones fold down to half their normal size

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Soundcore Space One Pro headphones
Traveling? These premium cans fold down to 50% of their normal size when in use.
Photo: Soundcore

The new Soundcore Space One Pro headphones are the Anker subsidiary’s most advanced noise cancelling headphones yet, featuring a unique foldable design that reduces their size by half, Soundcore said Thursday. It released the new cans and several other audio products at IFA Berlin, including AeroFit 2 open earbuds and Bluetooth speakers.

This tiny 3-way charger is the star of Anker’s new MagGo lineup

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Anker-MagGo-3-in-1-Wireless-Charging-Station
Anker's new three-way MagGo charger folds up into an incredibly small package.
Photo: Anker

Anker’s new MagGo lineup includes five accessories designed for iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods owners. The star of the lineup, which the company unveiled Thursday ahead of IFA Berlin, is the MagGo 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station. It’s a cleverly designed three-way travel charger that an Anker representative referred to as “The Button” during a briefing ahead of the German electronics show.

Another standout — the strangely named MagGo Power Bank (10K, Apple Watch) — is a portable battery pack that includes a flip-out Apple Watch charging puck. Those two new additions show Anker striving to design new types of charging products. And, while the other three accessories look fairly typical, they do come with attractive features … and at attractive price points.

Here’s everything in Anker’s new MagGo lineup.

Beats pitches upcoming Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds

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Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 coming in 2025
MLB star Shohei Ohtani wears the upcoming Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds during batting practice. You can wear them starting sometime next year.
Photo: Beats

The sleek, stylish Beats Powerbeats Pro earbuds, which loop over the ear and dangle via earhook, have appealed to fitness enthusiasts since their release way back in 2019. Beats finally dropped a teaser video for the next model Wednesday. But it shows precious little information beyond a glimpse of the buds on a popular MLB pitcher. And a reference saying we should see Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 coming in 2025. As Apple enhances cross-device compatibility, it’s also exploring innovative features such as earbuds that translate to improve user experience across languages and regions.

Bluetooth 6.0 aims to make Find My more accurate

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Bluetooth 6.0
Bluetooth 6.0 puts a focus on tracker tags.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group laid out details on Bluetooth 6.0 on Tuesday. The standout feature in the upcoming short-range wireless standard is dubbed “true distance awareness,” which should make tracker tags like Apple AirTag easier to find.

However, there’s no mention in the specifications of the change many are hoping for: faster connections.

iPhone 16 rumors: Design changes, release date and more

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Graphic to illustrate iPhone 16 rumors.
Get a sneak peek at Apple's upcoming flagship smartphones.
Photo: Don Kaveen/Unsplash License

With the iPhone 16 release date almost certainly mere days away at Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” September 9 event, rumors have already revealed quite a few details about the design, colors and more. There have been leaks about all four handsets in the iPhone 16 series, to the point where we already know most of what’s coming in the 2024 lineup.

Here’s what to expect: larger screens, better cameras, additional buttons and more.

Slow Horses season 4 ratchets up the heart-pounding action [Updated: Now streaming]

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Slow Horses season 4 trailer
Slow Horses season four just started streaming. It's an action-packed comedy spy thriller.
Image: Apple TV+

London is under threat from shopping-mall car bombers and espionage masterminds, and somehow Gary Oldman’s MI5 screwups once again end up in the middle of the action. That’s according to the new Slow Horses season four trailer for the black-comedy spy-thriller series.

The Emmy-nominated and BAFTA-winning series stars Oldman as MI5’s irascible Slough House section chief Jackson Lamb. The six-episode season premieres September 4 on Apple TV+.

UPDATE: Season 4 of Slow Horses gets underway Wednesday with the first episode, entitled “Identity Theft,” on Apple TV+. “A London bombing triggers and explosive hidden past,” notes the streamer’s tagline. A season review in The Guardian calls the show “faultlessly directed,” notes the cast is even better than before and says “Gary Oldman roars like a bear dipped in chip fat.”

Official iPhone 16 cases might feature ‘integrated’ design for the Capture button

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iPhone 16 rumors
Apple's own iPhone 16 cases might handle the Capture button in a surprising way.
Photo: Sonny Dickson/Cult of Mac

A leaked photo supposedly shows Apple’s silicone cases for the iPhone 16 lineup without a cutout for the rumored capacitive Capture button. Instead, they sport an “integrated design,” which seemingly will not affect the new capacitive button’s functionality.

Microsoft: Apple’s greed makes Xbox Cloud Gaming on iPhone ‘impossible’

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Apple iPhone web apps: Microsoft Xbox Cloud Gaming and Amazon Luna
Microsoft wants Apple to relax more App Store rules for Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple relaxed the App Store rules earlier this year, paving the way for cloud gaming apps on the iPhone. However, Microsoft and Nvidia have not yet listed their cloud gaming services on the App Store. The former argues that Apple’s rules are still too restrictive for this.

Microsoft’s main issue revolves around the 30% commission that Apple wants for IAPs. It says the fee is “neither economically sustainable nor justifiable.”

iPhone SE 4 might finally make jump to OLED

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iPhone SE 4 rumors
Apple could close the door on LCD iPhones with the SE 4.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Fresh evidence points to iPhone SE 4 including an OLED display. If true, this would make it the first in Apple’s line of budget handsets to use this improved type of screen, while every other iPhone gave up traditional LCDs years ago.

The next iPhone SE model is supposedly on the docket for 2025.

Apple Watch rumors: Series 10, SE 3, Ultra 3 are on the way

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Apple Watch Series 10 rumors
A slimmer Apple Watch Series 10 could be one of the wearables revealed September 9.
Image: concept_central/Cult of Mac

Both Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch SE 3 could be among the many products on the agenda for Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event on September 9. The situation with Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a bit more murky, however.

And speaking of murky, we don’t know whether any of these will offer blood oxygen monitoring in units sold in the United States.

More affordable iPad Magic Keyboard is in development

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Apple Magic Keyboard for M4 iPad Pro
The budget iPad might get a version of the brilliant iPad Magic Keyboard.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iPad users can look forward to a less expensive version of Apple’s Magic Keyboard, according to information leaking out of Apple. The goal is apparently a variant more appealing to buyers of entry-level tablets.

Expect a launch in 2025.

4 new features coming to AirPods with iOS 18

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iOS 18 will bring several improvements to AirPods
iOS 18 will make your AirPods even better.
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

Like iPhones, Apple regularly updates AirPods with new features. iOS 18 will continue that trend by introducing several enhancements for Apple’s earbuds. They include interacting with Siri using head gestures, lowering audio latency while gaming, and more.

Read on to see what new AirPods features iOS 18 will bring to further improve the best earbuds for Apple fans.

AirPods 4 rumors: Dramatic change coming next week

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AirPods 4 rumors
AirPods 2 and AirPods 3 are on their way out. Here comes the fourth generation of Apple wireless earbuds.
Image: Cult of Mac

AirPods 4 could launch in just a few days to replace two models of wireless earbuds now in Apple’s lineup. Rumors indicate the new version will borrow a feature from the Pro models: Active Noise Cancellation.

And AirPods Max 2 could be in for a revamp next Monday, too. Probably not so for AirPods Pro 3, though.

Here’s what to look forward to in new AirPods variants when they’re unveiled at the “It’s Glowtime” event on September 9.

M4 Mac mini might give up on USB-A entirely

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M2 Mac mini
M4 Mac mini might not sport any USB-A ports.
Photo: Apple

Apple could go all-in on USB-C with its upcoming M4 Mac mini. As a part of the machine’s major design revamp, the company might ditch USB-A ports for good.

The Cupertino company should unveil the M4 Mac mini later this year.