You can now buy the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 chip from Apple’s Certified Refurbished store. The machine launched less than four months ago, in late October 2023.
While the M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pros also debuted in October, they are not listed for sale on Apple’s refurbished store.
Ugreen rolled out three new series of Revdock hubs Tuesday compatible with Macs, including the Revodok Max 213 Thunderbolt 4 dock with 40Gbps transfer speeds, support for dual 4K displays and a staggering 13 ports.
“The Max 213 [is] the premier product specifically tailored for professionals in fields such as media, data/financial analysis, photography, audio/video production and more,” the company said. “With ultra-high speed and ultra-high efficiency, it facilitates seamless collaboration and productivity.”
One of the design goals of a folding iPhone is a unit no thicker than one of Apple’s current handsets when folded closed, according to information leaking out of the company. In fact, a pair of incredibly thin folding iPhone prototypes already exist, according to a new report.
Cupertino’s efforts in this area have supposedly been going on since 2018, but available components haven’t been up to making the device the company wants to build.
If you recently got an iPad, you probably want a stylus so you can write and draw on it more precisely than you can with your fingertips. But Apple Pencil 2 might set you back $129. So how about something similar for less than half the price?
A good option is the SwitchEasy EasyPencil Pro. You can get the fourth-gen version of it in the Cult of Mac Store for just $47.99. Plus you can get 20% off tips for different uses. Or you can nab the third-gen EasyPencil for only $43.99. Sale ends today.
Apple researchers released an open-source artificial intelligence model called MGIE that responds to a user typing natural language — simply saying what they want — to alter an image. Apple’s new AI image editing tool could wind up making it easy for iPhone or Mac owners to tweak photos.
MGIE — short for MMLM-Guided Image Editing — can handle Photoshop-style tweaks, global photo optimization and local editing. But output quality remains limited for now. And only Apple knows what it plans to do with its AI image editor.
The M1 Ultra Mac Studio set a new benchmark for computing power in a package smaller than Mac Pro when it came out in spring 2022. Today’s setup sparked discussion about the relative merits of the powerful desktop machine, with one user citing a surprising point of praise — the Mac Pro braided power cord!
iFixit’s Apple Vision Pro teardown continues, now with a focus on the headset’s incredibly high-resolution displays. As the experts point out, “You can fit ~54 Vision Pro pixels into a single iPhone pixel.”
However, the screen looks to the viewer like it’s a lower resolution than an iPhone.
A filmmaker stuck at home during LA’s recent epic rainfall, unable to go to his editing room, said he used Evercast on an Apple Vision Pro to edit an entire feature film with another remote editor. He said he found the experience of Vision Pro video editing revelatory.
“I need to repeat this out loud,” director Jon M. Chu wrote Monday on X. “I was in it for HOURS editing on a virtual giant screen (the size of a real movie screen) a major motion picture from the comfort of my house. With no headache. I can’t tell you what a revelation this was.”
His post on X got 252,000 views and garnered a reply from a co-founder of collaborative video editing platform Evercast.
The world got its first look at The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, which will star British comedian Noel Fielding as the legendary British highwayman. The first hilarious trailer for the upcoming comedy-adventure series dropped Monday.
The show premieres on Apple TV+ in early March.
Stage actor John Wilkes Booth went on the run for 12 days after he shot President Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head at Ford’s Theatre in 1865. And the new trailer for Apple TV+ true-crimes series Manhunt brings to light this little-known historical fact.
Based on the bestselling nonfiction book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer, the seven-part series premieres March 15.
Want an Apple Watch but not looking to spend a lot? Amazon’s fantastic deal will save you $60 on the Apple Watch SE (2nd gen), bringing the price down to $189. This makes the Cupertino company’s budget smartwatch even more affordable.
You can get a similar $60 off the 44mm Apple Watch SE variant, which means you can grab it for as low as $219.
Early reports may have overstated the cost increase resulting from adding an OLED display to the first iPad Pro. New information indicates the price jump will be less than half of what had been previously rumored.
The high-end tablet is expected to launch in March/April.
Before Usher plays the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show on Sunday in Las Vegas, Apple made sure everyone knows all about the R&B superstar Monday with word of a press conference coming on Thursday and a host of Usher tunes and information available now on Apple Music, including the artists “My Road to Halftime” playlist.
The iPhone 16 camera bump will shrink considerably, according to new CAD renders that supposedly show the future device. The customizable Action button from the iPhone 15 Pro models will appear on entry-level iPhones as well.
In addition, simulated images based on the renders show possible color options for the upcoming handset.
One of the interesting gadgets we see more and more of in computer setups is the Elgato Stream Deck and its various interations. Today’s MacBook Pro user relies on one to make YouTube videos, and the company’s key light helps with pro-level lighting, too.
2023 wasn’t a good year for iPad. Shipments dropped 19.8% versus 2022, and Q4 was even worse, according to a market-research firm. This comes after Apple went over a year without releasing any iPad models.
But leaks point to multiple new iPadOS tablets coming soon.
Use your iPhone for turn-by-turn navigation while you’re on the road? Keep it secure and easy to see with a MagSafe car mount like the handy and affordable MagMount from SwitchEasy — available now from the Cult of Mac Store.
Available in two variants, the magnetic car mount attaches to your windshield or your car’s air vents. Then, it uses strong magnets to safely hold onto your iPhone. Thanks to MagSafe compatibility, it works with iPhone 12 and newer. But even if you don’t own a MagSafe model, MagMount can work for you. Just grab an affordable MagDoka disc to get in on the magnetic fun.
An Apple Vision Pro teardown shows the complicated combination of screens, cameras and other high-end components inside the $3,499 headset. The hardware required just to produce the creepy (and much-maligned) EyeSight feature is somewhat staggering.
Like other Apple products, getting inside the Vision Pro is not easy. You will need a heat gun, a prying tool, multiple screwdrivers and lots of patience.
Apple’s new Vision Pro headset is but a day old, but already it’s been spotted in public in several amusing situations.
Here’s what folks have been up to with their new Vision Pros in the wild. Some users, like James Addictive, love Apple Vision Pro for its immersive experience.
Steve Jobs designed the Apple unboxing experience as a careful process of introducing the customer to an unfamiliar product. And the Vision Pro unboxing is no different.
You don’t just rip the product from its box like a kid at Christmas! You carefully unpack it, examining each component as you go. The idea is to gradually show the customer the parts of the product and give them an idea of how they work together. An Apple unboxing is a very carefully thought-out process and ritual.
And, as you’d expect, the Vision Pro unboxing proceeds just as Apple intended. The new spatial computing headset is sleek, premium and very luxurious. This is no Fisher-Price View-Master.
And as for Vision Pro first impressions after using the headset for a few hours? I was originally skeptical of AR headsets after using a Meta Quest 3 and not liking it much at all. But I’m now a zealous convert. I may never take this thing off!
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: A new round of Apple Vision Pro reviews gives us greater insight into what to expect from the high-priced headset. Is it utterly mind-blowing? Clunky and weird? So addictive that we’re doomed to a flat life in the boring 2D world when we take it off? Some might compare the experience to a sci-fi vision, much like James Cameron’s addictive Apple Vision Pro experience.
Sounds like all of the above!
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 live stream, embedded below.
SAN FRANCISCO — I demoed the Vision Pro at the Apple Store here on Chestnut Street. It’s the most impressive tech product I’ve ever seen. It makes the iPhone seem like a primitive stone tablet. It’s amazingly intuitive, works literally like magic, and is incredibly emotional. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
You don’t have to buy a Vision Pro, but you absolutely must go to a store and get a free demo. We put together a video (below) that will show you what to expect from your Vision Pro demo.
February brings BEAST: Bio Exo Arena Suit Team, a 3v3 online action game with animal heroes piloting powerful mechanized armor, to Apple Arcade.
Adults might prefer Words in Progress, a puzzle game, which is also newly available for iPhone, Mac and more.
Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin shows how Franklin joined the Peanuts gang. The special will debut on Apple TV+ in mid-February.
Apple released the trailer on Friday so fans can take an early look.
Also this winter, Apple’s streaming service will release season two of Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock from the Jim Henson Company. The second season of Sago Mini Friends came out, too.
If you’re gonna spend $3,500 on a face-hugging computer, you’ll want to get your money’s worth of mind-blowing experiences. For that, you’ll need the best Vision Pro apps available on day one.
Here are some of the coolest apps, concepts and use cases we’ve seen so far: