As an alternative to using the Apple Podcasts app, as of Monday anyone can browse, hear, sync and share Apple Podcasts in 170 countries on all major web browsers, including Safari, Chrome, Edge and Firefox.
So now Apple Podcasts joins the likes of Podbay and Podurama in offering its own online player for anyone on any platform.
To celebrate the U.S. National Park Service hitting its 108th birthday, Apple will donate $10 for purchases made in its retail stores or online store this week to the National Park Foundation.
This has become an annual tradition for the iPhone-maker.
To the delight of their many fans like me, the Garvey women of Ireland will return soon in Bad Sisters season two, Apple TV+ said Monday. The streamer offered a “first look” photograph along with scant plot details. The darkly comedic drama’s creator and star, Sharon Horgan, returns with her close-knit fictional siblings on November 13.
But with one abusive husband down in season one of Bad Sisters, what new nemesis will emerge in the sophomore season? From the sound of it, two years after they took care of that problem in white-knuckle fashion, it could be them against everybody. Because they’re not in the clear yet.
The dual-camera system in the two basic iPhone models is an unnecessary complication. The iPhone’s secondary Ultra Wide camera simply doesn’t get used enough to justify building it into a handset.
Apple should focus entirely on the primary camera — the only one most people ever use. The iPhone’s Ultra Wide camera just adds unnecessary bulk and expense.
As the seasonal ads on TVs everywhere ask, are you ready for some football? The Apple Sports app certainly is, having launched full support Monday for real-time scores and stats for the onrushing NFL and college football seasons. They kick off with pro preseason play now underway and the first college games starting August 24.
Classic keyboard designs continue to reign supreme in computer setups, but a split keyboard makes for a more ergonomically healthy choice. Some split keebs look just a little different than a regular keyboard. But some, like the one in today’s M2 Mac mini setup, look almost alien. This one has two completely separate halves that the user places on either side of a Magic Trackpad 2.
Apple’s latest promo will get new Apple Card users up to $300 in bonus Daily Cash. The company never before gave new Apple Card users such a high welcome bonus.
Apple is running this offer for select U.S. customers. To be eligible for the cashback, you must sign up for the card through the promo link.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Who cranked up production in the Apple rumor mill? We talk through the latest ones on this week’s show, and some of them sound pretty wild. Fresh details about the iPhone 16 Pro’s new camera button make it sound very cool. A rumored bigger iMac sounds very exciting. And an Apple skunkworks project — a $1,000-plus device that puts an iPad on a rotating robotic arm — sounds absolutely bizarre.
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.
A new buddy action comedy starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck is more popular than any film on streaming, according to a rating analysis firm. And The Instigators is more popular than any streaming series, too.
Meanwhile, three Apple TV+ series pull in plenty of viewers too, including the newly launched Bad Monkey.
Yes, you can get a good gaming monitor cheap. Some gaming monitors will set you back, but you can get this great Dell SE2417HGX 24-inch Gaming Monitor on sale for just $89.99.
This monitor has a ton of great features: A high-res, anti-glare screen with a high refresh rate, anti-flicker technology and a matte finish. Why so cheap? It’s open box.
The Nix Mini 2 color-matching tool gives artists, designers, contractors and remodelers a quick and easy way to match any hue exactly. The tiny color sensor connects to an iPhone and reveals the precise shade of real-world objects. It even works with a special paint-matching app that can hook you up with products from major vendors.
It’s a powerful tool for matching paint or discovering the exact digital representation of a color. And for a limited time, you can snag one for less than $50 if you act quickly.
After receiving an ominous note from an Apple attorney, concept artist Antonio De Rosa is waiting to find out how, exactly, the company wants him to alter his photorealistic images that depict unreleased Apple products.
De Rosa said he wants to work with Apple to resolve the situation. But when asked what he thinks will happen if he doesn’t make changes to his Apple concept images, he sounded slightly intimidated by the powerful tech company.
“I don’t know,” De Rosa said in an email to Cult of Mac, “but honestly I don’t want to find out.”
Apple TV+ committed on Friday to Dark Matter season two so fans of the popular sci-fi series won’t be left wondering what will happen with Ryan and Amanda.
The show now heads into uncharted territory — season one followed the events of a bestselling novel, but there’s no sequel for the book.
Normally Amazon bargain site Woot! — now 20 years old, by the way — puts across scads of Apple-related sale items in bursts. But today we found just one true deal. You can get new “Black Box” iPhone 15 models for hundreds off, but only until they sell out.
A sale on a four-pack of AirTags brings the Apple tracker close to its lowest price ever. Each AirTag costs less than $20 after a 19% discount from Amazon or Best Buy. If you’d prefer a single tracker, you can get a solo AirTag for up to 14% off the usual price.
AirTags are a great way to keep you from leaving important items behind, or to help you find them if you misplace them.
When we first saw a Harmon Karmon SoundSticks speaker system many years ago, we thought it looked weird, cool and futuristic. And all these years later, it still looks like nothing else on the market. The company is justifiably proud of the “inspiring industrial design,” and the Apple administrator who runs today’s M2 MacBook Pro setup is happy to have the speaker system filling his room with sound.
Among the casing color options for the two iPhone 16 Pro models will supposedly be bronze titanium. The first image apparently showing this colorway leaked Friday.
The picture reveals the other three upcoming color options, too.
From the “he must be doing something right” department: An Apple attorney sent a note and called designer Antonio De Rosa this week, asking him to adjust some of his design concepts for possible new Apple products because they look “too real,” according to De Rosa, CEO of ADR Studio.
“I received a call from an Apple attorney asking me to adjust some of my concepts because they were considered too realistic,” De Rosa wrote Wednesday on X. He told Cult of Mac it came as quite a shock.
Update: De Rosa responded to Cult of Mac‘s initial inquiries and we included them below.
The Epic Games Store launched Friday, allowing iPhone users to install the popular Fortnite for the first time since Apple kicked Epic out of the official App Store in 2020.
But there’s an important caveat: the new iOS app marketplace is available only in the European Union.
The KeySmart Air is a smart AirTag key holder that offers a major improvement over your standard AirTag keychain. Instead of connecting your AirTag to an existing keychain, the KeySmart Air becomes your keychain.
It can hold five keys and one AirTag, all kept safe in a tough silicone or leather shell. And you can snag a KeySmart Air on sale for as little as $14.99.
Learning something new is supposed to be exciting and rewarding. But how can you do it as an adult without enrolling in traditional college courses? Easy — check out StackSkills Unlimited.
This online platform offers hundreds of courses in a wide variety of subjects, and you can get access to them all for life for only $29.97 (regularly $600). You won’t find this amazing platform anywhere else. And this incredible deal ends tonight!
California residents will soon gain the ability to add their driver’s licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet, Apple said Thursday. The feature will let users present their identification using just an iPhone or Apple Watch rather than using a physical card. California drivers licenses in Apple Wallet is a big step forward for the program, given that the Golden State is the country’s most populous, with nearly 40 million residents.
“We’re excited to be working with the state of California to bring IDs in Apple Wallet to Apple’s home state soon, and provide residents with an easy, secure, and private way to present their California driver’s license and state ID in person and in app using Apple Wallet,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
“Whether using IDs in Apple Wallet to breeze through travel, or to securely verify age or identity at businesses, California driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet make ID presentment seamless — all with the security built into iPhone and Apple Watch,” she added.
The iPhone 15 Pro’s customizable Action button lets you pick from several presets, including Accessibility — which lets you choose from 25 different accessibility features that you can toggle on or off. These features aren’t limited to the iPhone 15 Pro’s Action button, either. On any older iPhone, you can simply triple-click the side button to access those same 25 accessibility features.
Here are all 25 of the accessibility features you can assign to a button on your iPhone — and what they do.
The new Beats Studio Pro x Kim Kardashian over-ear headphones came out Thursday in moon, dune and earth colors, broadening the noise-canceling cans’ color palette with some neutral Kardashian hues a la her previous Beats Fit Pro earbuds release. But the over-ear cans in new colors cost full price, at $350, whereas it’s not difficult these days to find the four regular colors on sale for about $180.
“I’m so excited we’re bringing these three popular, chic colors to Beats’ most iconic and advanced headphones,” Kardashian said in press materials. “Beats Studio has always been a fashion statement, so I can’t wait to see how everyone styles them.”
★★★★☆
ESR’s Rebound Magnetic Keyboard Case 360 includes a protective case for an iPad as well as a keyboard and trackpad. It offers typing with the tablet in portrait or landscape, a trick Apple’s own case/keyboard can’t match. You also can use the case when you leave the keyboard behind.
I tested it with my 13-inch iPad Pro. Here are my hands-on impressions.