The Apple AirTag is arguably among the company’s most useful product releases in recent years. Once you set up an AirTag, it gives you powerful options for locating it (and whatever you attach it to). Put one of Apple’s tracking tags on an item like a keychain or luggage, and you can easily track its location from your iPhone, Mac, or iPad. If you’re wondering, do AirTags make noise, the answer is yes, but only in specific circumstances.

Since AirTag’s launch, numerous reports have detailed how the tracking tag helped owners find lost items. If you recently acquired an AirTag, here’s how you can set it up the right way and use it properly.

Need more ports for your MacBook? This affordable docking station for MacBook Pro or MacBook Air packs a whole desktop’s worth of ports into a compact form that connects with a single USB-C cable.

Eliminate the mad search to find the proper dongle for the task at hand. Get the 13-in-1 Docking Station with Dual HDMI for just $44.97 (regularly $70) for a limited time.

Watching the new Severance season two trailer, below — and the new sneak peek at the first eight minutes of episode one Apple TV+ dropped Monday — my excitement for the new episodes became one with my grim determination to watch the entire first season again before the undoubtedly bizarre new scenes of workplace hell start streaming on January 17, 2025.

Never before have I force-marched myself through a whole TV series season as a matter of preparation. But this funny-yet-unnerving workplace psycho-thriller deserves and demands it. If you’re preparing for season three and catching up on all things Apple, you might also want to check out how to activate Apple AirTag—and while you’re at it, read up on Apple TV+ renewing Severance for a third season.

Update: As a twisted sort of holiday gift, Apple TV+ posted a sneak peek at the first eight minutes of Severance season two on Monday, December 23. It’s safe to say the main character is very much on the run through Lumon Industries sterile yet deeply alienating hallways until he comes face to face with a team of direct reports he doesn’t recognize. And he ends up with more questions than answers in a one-on-one with Mr. Milchik. Watch the sneak peek at the link above and the trailer below.

It’s Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is on his way. You can find out exactly where he is with the help of the NORAD Santa tracker and your Mac or iPhone. You can even track Jolly Old Saint Nick’s progress in real time.

Here’s how to keep an eye on Kris Kringle‘s progress.

Will 2025 be a big year for Apple’s exciting new Vision Pro platform? With a fast new chip, a major software upgrade and more jaw-dropping content, there could be a lot in store for the AR/VR headset next year.

The fledgling device is likely to get worthy new hardware upgrades — and maybe even a price drop. visionOS 3, the next major software update, will have had a full 12 months in the oven. That means it could be a substantial release. And as production of 3D immersive content continues to get easier, there may finally be a lot more spatial video to watch on the headset. In fact, that could turn out to be the device’s killer app.

Apple could adopt a variable aperture system for the iPhone 18 Pro’s main camera that would enable the device to adjust the aperture size and light intake depending on surroundings.

DLSRs typically use a variable aperture lens system. Samsung and some Chinese Android manufacturers have also used the technology on their phones, albeit on a limited scale.

The Apple TV has a lot going for it, but the Siri Remote is pretty divisive, to say the least. If you like telling a half-smart robot what to do, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find a better remote. However, if you want a traditional TV-watching experience, the voice controls might not be your cup of tea. And this alternative Apple TV remote gives you all the buttons you might miss from the good old days.

The Function101 Button Remote was designed as a replacement remote for Apple TV and Apple TV 4K, and it makes it easier for you to use all the features built into your set-top streamer. For a limited time, you can get the Function101 Button Remote on sale for $19.97 (regularly $29.95).

When Apple launched the AirTag, you could link the tracking tags to only one person. Luckily, Apple expanded that. Now you can share an AirTag with up to five other people, so each one can see where it is.

Here’s how to share an AirTag with family members or friends.

This holiday season, give yourself or someone else the timeless gift of better cable management. Today’s MacBook Pro and LG DualUp display user shows us one way to make a small but significant improvement in the look of a computer setup. You can use cables with 90-degree connectors rather than straight ones for a cleaner look (or get USB-C cable adapters with right-angle or vertical ends for your straight cables). Check out the “after” photo above and the “before” photo below.

And seriously, if you’re hard up for stocking-stuffer ideas, a USB-C adapter kit might be just the thing. See below.

It’s a safe bet that the Apple M5 processor will start replacing the current M4 in 2025, and it might even happen in the first half of the year.

That’s according to a roadmap of when the various versions of the chip will go into production leaked Monday by a reliable source of insider Apple information.

What does Apple have planned for the Mac in 2025? For the last couple of years, Apple’s been killing it with its desktop and laptop computers. The chips scream, the industrial design has never been better, and the Mac lineup is undoubtedly the best in Apple’s history. Just look at the amazing new Mac mini.

But can Apple keep up the pace next year?

Apple’s next AirPods Pro refresh could feature heart rate monitoring. But they are in “early development” and might not launch soon.

Engineers inside Apple are also working on several health-focused features for future models of the earbuds.

Apple is reportedly working on a smart doorbell with Face ID-like facial recognition.

The device, still in its early development stages, seems unlikely to reach the market before late 2025 at the earliest. This timeline presumes Apple encounters no significant obstacles during development.

Apple might not drop support for any of its older iPhones with iOS 19. The next big iOS update reportedly will support the same devices as iOS 18.

However, iPadOS 19 supposedly will not be compatible with the seventh-gen iPad.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Some new iPhone 17 Pro renders make us ponder whether Apple will (or should) create such a device. We discuss the pros, cons and alternative theories.

Also on The CultCast:

• An update on when we might see the very first folding iPhone.
• A ridiculous Apple Intelligence screwup lands Apple in hot water.
• We wrap up with round two of our picks for best and worst of 2024.

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.

If your iPhone storage is full, you’ll need to quickly clear up space. You don’t need to panic and delete all your pictures, though. There are easy ways to free up iPhone storage without losing any precious data forever.

Apple put a convenient screen in Settings that can walk you through non-destructive ways to clear up space on your phone. Apps that you don’t use frequently can be temporarily uninstalled (and instantly redownloaded when you need them again). If you sync data to iCloud, like photos and music, your phone can automatically offload some of that data. You also can limit the number of podcasts your phone keeps, if you’re falling behind on your listening.

Here are the easiest steps you can take if your iPhone storage gets too full.

A little-known feature in macOS lets you share your Mac’s screen to someone else’s Mac directly from the Messages app — no third-party apps or downloads required. It’s great if you need to give tech support to a far-off family member in a pinch. Often, you just need to see what’s happening instead of counting on what your dear old father is trying to describe over the phone.

Get him to share his Mac’s screen with you, and you likely can solve his problem quickly. Even better, it’s not complicated setting up screen sharing on a Mac like it is on a PC. It takes only a few clicks in the Messages app. Let me show you all around this awesome hidden feature.

Want to extend your AirTag’s battery life to 10 years and keep the tracker dry and concealed? Well, that’s easy to do with ElevationLab’s innovative new TimeCapsule AirTag battery case. The weatherproof case keeps an AirTag safe and sound — and frees you from swapping out the Apple tracking tag’s coin-shaped batteries every year.

When you run a ton of peripherals with your Mac, how do keep it all connected and running smoothly? Well, today’s featured M4 Pro Mac mini user drives a pair of 4K external displays, runs a power hub and input devices, and keeps backups on portable storage devices. And they keep it connected without a hitch using the well-regarded CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 hub named “Element.”

Like Santa Claus and his reindeer, here comes the festive CdkeySales Christmas Sale! You can nab an incredible deal on Windows 11 Pro and score savings on other Microsoft software. The sale slashes some prices by up to 91%! And since the latest Windows 12 rumors indicate Microsoft won’t release its next big operating system update until late 2025, you can update your PC now the quick and easy way rather than waiting. Just buy a Windows 11 CD key on sale during the CdkeySales event.

You can get great deals on upgrade-ready Microsoft productivity software like Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office. Savings include Windows 10 Pro for just $17.05 — with a free upgrade to Windows 11 Pro.

Popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee recognized Apple’s iPhone 16 series in two significant categories in his much-anticipated 2024 smartphone awards Thursday. No one will be shocked to hear iPhone 16 Pro won for Best Camera in the MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2024. But some might raise an eyebrow to learn iPhone 16 won for Best Small Phone.

And no iPhone took the coveted MKBHD Phone of the Year prize. That went to the “boring” Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which also won Best Big Phone.

ChatGPT’s Mac app is getting a big usability boost. It will now work directly with coding and note-taking apps, including Apple Notes, Notion, and others.

Previously, the ChatGPT Mac app could only see, read, and improve code in XCode, Terminal, and selected other apps.

If you love a good nature documentary — especially because the photography is so mind-blowing nowadays — you’re in for a treat with The Secret Lives of Animals. Apple TV+ dropped an official trailer for it recently (see below). The 10-part series is now streaming, as of Wednesday, December 18.

“Welcome to a world beyond imagination, where fish can fly and lizards walk on water,” the trailer’s voiceover says, as those images appear onscreen. “Animals do the most remarkable things at every stage of their lives.”

Update: The Secret Lives of Animals 10-part docuseries started streaming on Apple TV+ Wednesday.

The Mac pointer (also called the cursor) is black with a white outline by default, but you can change the pointer color if you want to make it more prominent. Plus, you can even change the Mac pointer size. 

You might lose track of the small cursor if you have low vision — or just a really big monitor. Making the pointer larger can make it easier to see. 

Changing the pointer color to, for instance, bright red can make it easier to see, too. You can choose any color, like light purple or green, to fit the aesthetic of your setup. (This is especially cool if you have a matching colorful iMac.)

Here’s how to change your Mac pointer size and color.

International journalism organization Reporters Without Borders called Thursday for Apple to remove its new artificial intelligence-powered news notifications, following a complaint from the BBC over a wildly inaccurate news summary. Apple Intelligence’s notifications summary feature generated a misleading BBC News headline last week about a high-profile murder case in the United States, falsely stating the accused shooter had shot himself.