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By using commands in your Mac’s built-in Terminal app, you can quickly change settings you probably didn’t even know existed.

Some of these Mac settings are just shortcuts — you can enable them in the usual way, using the mouse. But Terminal makes things simple. Instead of opening the System Preferences app, then finding (or remembering) a setting you want to change, and then searching further until you actually find the right checkbox, you can just type (or paste) a command, then  hit return.

Most of these are secret settings, though. They are impossible to change without Terminal. Let’s check them out.

On a podcast this week, I heard the hosts complaining that they get all kinds of spam notifications from Apple. Their iPhones pop up promotional alerts about Apple Pay, apps, Apple Music, Apple Pay, podcasts and more.

“WTF?” I thought, because I don’t get anything like that. I checked through my notification preferences, sure that I’d find something in there, but no. So why wasn’t I getting all this Apple spam?

Because Apple hid the setting. You can turn off all those junky Apple spam notifications. You just have to know where to look.

Remember when every sports apparel brand needed an app to be cool? Ten years ago, the Nike+Apple partnership was in its ascendency, while Under Armour and Adidas were splurging millions acquiring fitness apps like MyFitnessPal and Runtastic.

Back then, brand owners hoped that by mining our workout data from these apps, they could target us with personalized offers. The big idea was that if you knew how often someone went running, you could tell when they needed new running shoes.

Today, things look very different. Nike removed workout tracking from its website. And Under Armour still can’t figure out how to unlock the potential of its apps. So what went wrong? What happened to the digital fitness revolution?

Mac laptops made in the last few years have an annoying/convenient feature. Open one up, and it powers on. MacBooks have woken from sleep when you open the lid for years, but now they boot from cold, too. Want to clean the keyboard without turning the thing on? Tough.

Or is it? If you want to stop this behavior, it’s easy. Here’s how.

USB-C hubs with a profusion of ports are hot now, but Sanho’s HyperDrive Power is far sleeker than any of its rivals. And it doesn’t sacrifice connectivity options for its svelte profile, offering a trio of USB-A ports, dual memory card readers, HDMI, a headphone jack and even Ethernet.

Our review involved testing all nine ports, which took a while. Read on to see if the HyperDrive Power deserves a place in your gear bag.

This week on The CultCast: A Foxconn insider spills big iPhone 11 secrets. Plus: the pros and cons of Apple Card, and Apple’s new maps start rolling out across the country. And finally, a strange twist in the MoviePass story unveils the unbelievable shenanigans the company pulled to stayed in business — and they are far worse than we ever imagined!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain..

Developers hunting through the just-released iOS 13 beta apparently found a reference to the exact date Apple will introduce the next iPhone. A screenshot, labeled “hold for release” and buried in the beta, has a date on it: September 10.

Are you enjoying your new Apple Card? Isn’t running up debt great when it is accompanied by a titanium card and a stylish app? But what you might not be enjoying are the Apple Card notifications that started to pop up on your iPhone.

Here’s how to stop them. But beware: It’s an all-or-nothing proposition that clearly illustrates an annoying problem with iPhone notifications.

“Distraction-free” apps are ridiculous. They don’t help at all. In fact, if you have trouble focusing on the task on hand, then the problem isn’t the app. The problem is you.

Removing clutter from an app’s interface won’t stop you from flipping to Twitter every five minutes. A carefully chosen font won’t stop you from whipping your iPhone from your pocket every time a question pops into your head.

The problem is not even distraction. The problem is overstimulation, and it’s going to take some effort for you to fix it.

A credit card is a departure from Apple’s usual computers and accessories, but the Apple Card is just as gorgeous and the associated software every bit as easy to use as an iPhone or Mac.

I’m among the first cardholders, so here’s what it’s like to carry an Apple Card.

After spending time playing with the iPadOS 13 developer beta and iOS 13 beta , it’s clear there are tons of nice changes coming to Apple’s mobile platforms this fall.

Cupertino highlighted the biggest ones at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference. However, there’s a bunch of smaller stuff they didn’t tell us about. While there are hundreds of “under the hood” changes, these are the best iOS 13 features Apple didn’t announce.

Best unannounced iOS 13 features

The ZMI PowerPack 20000 is the most useful backup battery you can buy. It packs a huge, 20,000mAh battery that can power a MacBook and two other devices at the same time. Plus, you can quick charge it via USB. And it can even work as a USB data hub.

This 14.29-ounce (405 gram) brick might be overkill for daily juicing of your iPhone, but for everything else it’s amazing.

The Mac’s Terminal is at once scary and powerful. It’s like a whole other computer living underneath the pretty interface of macOS. Sometimes, it’s convoluted. Other times, it seems laser-focused, offering a much quicker way to get things done. Instead of clicking and dragging your way through multiple screens, you just type a line of text.

However, the Mac Terminal is pretty intimidating if you’re not used to it. Today we will learn five super-useful Terminal tricks that make getting around much easier.

Earlier this year, I complained that Apple’s iPhone naming strategy was broken. Now, thanks to a popular case maker, we may know Apple’s naming choice for the 2019 iPhones: the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

And you know what? If it’s accurate, Apple has remedied one of the most unnecessarily complex aspects of its most popular product line.

Some huge new details about this year’s iPhone 11 refresh have been spilled by an apparent Foxconn insider.

In a leaked email, the employee claims Apple will add a brand new color option to its smartphone lineup this fall. They also say that the back of this year’s devices will get a new, not-so-slippery finish.

Apple put out a recall notice earlier this summer for a 2015 MacBook Pro model because its battery can overheat. The FAA is reminding passengers that they can’t fly with one of these if it has not yet been repaired.

This innovative Apple Watch stand looks incredible with its cylindrical aluminum shell, but it wasn’t designed that way for looks alone. Its size and shape means you can slip it into your car’s built-in cup holder and top up your Apple Watch while on the road.

It’s a must-have for road warriors who are forever behind the wheel — and its price tag is a pleasant surprise.

Like the AirPower charger Apple wasn’t able to deliver, the Courant Catch:2 can wirelessly send power to multiple devices placed anywhere on its charging mat — there’s no need to carefully arrange them. Plus, this accessory truly looks like the luxury product it is, with a handsome leather exterior.

Power through my review of this just-released product, which I tested with recent and older iPhones.

Think about your music library for a second. Which of the songs in your library come from Apple Music? Which ones did you add to the library yourself? And which ones have you added to iTunes Match, but haven’t actually made it to your iCloud library yet?

These things are a little confusing. The beauty of Apple Music, and the iCloud Music Library, is that all of your music is there, in one place. But this simplicity also makes it hard to see what’s going on. Happily, iTunes is still more than up to the task, and can even split these songs into individual playlists. Let’s check it out.

Nuheara’s IQbuds Boost work as Bluetooth headphones, but that’s only the start. They are really for people who need just a bit of help hearing. They aren’t true hearing aids, but might actually be better.

Take a listen to my review of these high-end wireless earbuds, along with an optional Bluetooth accessory that connects them to your TV.

The iPadOS beta Apple introduced this week offers something none of its predecessors did: reliability. Stability, even. After days of testing on an iPad Pro, I found it close enough to the final version that an average person can access a mouse or thumbdrive with their iPad nearly hassle-free. That hasn’t been true of earlier betas.

Less rigorous testing of iOS 13 on an iPhone XS Max indicates it’s also relatively stable.

A less-than-stellar credit score may not stop you from bagging a shiny new Apple Card.

“Subprime” applicants are being accepted for credit, issued by Goldman Sachs, because Apple wants as many of its iPhone users as possible to be approved.

And it’s what Steve Jobs would have wanted.

Invitations to get an Apple Card are trickling out, but even before you make the first purchase with your shiny new credit card, you should reject its arbitration provision.

If you don’t, you give up the right to benefit from any class-action lawsuits brought against Goldman Sachs, the bank backing Apple Card.

One of the advantages of Face ID over Touch ID is that the person unlocking their iPhone must be awake. However, researchers found a way to fool Apple’s facial recognition system into thinking someone is conscious when they weren’t — using modified glasses.

This method does not allow a hacker to trick an iPhone into misidentifying one person as another. But it still could prove problematic for Face ID.

This may seem like a frivolous how-to. But seeing as I couldn’t work out how to switch off shuffle Apple Music tracks on my iPhone in iOS 12, I think it’s worth a look — if only so dummies like me can look it up.

BTW, you can find the Apple Music repeat and shuffle controls in iOS 12 by swiping up on the Now Playing panel to reveal the buttons at the bottom, if you need to know.

So, let’s take a look at how Apple changed things in the iOS 13 Music app.