Ugreen’s new NASync DH2300 and DH4300 Plus network-attached storage devices aim squarely at everyday home users, the consumer electronics maker said Wednesday. In other words, those who want local storage as an alternative to iCloud, but without the complexity typically associated with NAS systems.

Starting at a low price of $209.99 $188.99, the two-bay DH 2300 device joins the more capable four-bay DH4300 Plus ($429.99 $364.99) in Ugreen’s effort to make personal cloud storage accessible to non-technical users. Both are on sale for launch, too. 

Apple will build its upcoming smart home products in Vietnam to diversify its manufacturing away from China. This includes indoor security cameras, a smart display and a tabletop robot. 

A $350 smart display will be the first to launch in spring 2026. 

Apple’s SVP of Marketing, Greg Joswiak, teased the imminent launch of the M5 MacBook Pro on X today.

“Mmmmm… something powerful is coming,” Joswiak said on X, with his post accompanied by a short clip giving a quick glimpse at the upcoming MacBook Pro.

Not a fan of monthly fees for software like Microsoft 365? This deal lands you a lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home & Business 2024 for Mac or PC.

It comes with all the Microsoft programs you know and love. And it’s on sale for a limited time. So instead of paying $249, you have a short window to get a lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home & Business 2024 for $179.99.

This Western Digital Elements SSD gives you 2TB of external hard drive storage you can take anywhere. Now on sale for just $64.99 (MSRP $79.99), this little powerhouse is the storage solution your setup didn’t know it needed.

Whether you’re juggling high-res photos and videos on your phone or tablet, or heavy project files on your desktop, the WD Elements drive offers 2TB of space in a pocket-size design. That’s enough to stash years of photos, entire movie libraries and way more spreadsheets than you’ll ever want to open.

In iOS 26, you can use Apple Cash in a group chat to make it super-easy to split a bill. You won’t need to chase down everyone separately if you use this incredibly convenient feature.

Here’s how to request money and send payments using Apple Cash from a group chat.

October 14, 2005: Tim Cook takes the reins as Apple’s chief operating officer. His new role as Apple COO continues his upward climb through the company’s ranks that will make him CEO less than six years later.

“Tim and I have worked together for over seven years now, and I am looking forward to working even more closely with him to help Apple reach some exciting goals during the coming years,” Steve Jobs says in a statement.

Apple shipped 58.6 million iPhones and captured 18.2% of the global smartphone market, the company’s “best results ever in a July quarter,” according to new data from the International Data Corporation. The iPhone nearly matched Samsung’s 19% market share.

Demand for innovation, like new artificial intelligence features, plus aggressive trade-in programs, helped fuel the surge, despite tariff woes, IDC said.

Apple’s next Pro Display XDR monitor could take a cue from MacBooks and iPhones and feature a Center Stage camera. Code strings referencing the monitor with the camera were discovered in the latest macOS 26.1 beta.

The Pro Display XDR is long overdue for a refresh, with the current model debuting in late 2019 for $4,999.

After a month’s delay, Apple will launch the iPhone Air in China on Wednesday, October 22. Preorders for the device will begin this Friday, October 17.

Apple pushed back the iPhone Air’s September launch in China at the last minute due to regulatory hurdles around eSIM support.

With multiple devices to manage and little room for bulky chargers, it helps to have an all-in-one solution to keep everything powered. GoCable is up to the task. This 8-in-1 keychain charging cable is designed for modern travelers, creators and adventurers who need fast, reliable juice for almost any device

It’s small enough to fit right in with your EDC essentials. And Cult of Mac Deals chops the price down to just $21.99 (regularly $49.99).

F1: The Movie with Brad Pitt as a racer will make its streaming debut on Friday, December 12, following the film’s record-breaking theatrical run, Apple said Monday. And the announcement came with a surprise twist: Apple TV+ gets rebranded as simply “Apple TV” (no “+”) with what the company called a “vibrant new identity.”

It remains to be seen how vibrant the identity is, but it’s the same exact name as the Apple TV hardware and the Apple TV app. Maybe they meant “confusing new identity.”

October 13, 2006: Apple launches a limited-edition iPod nano (Product) Red Special Edition music player in collaboration with U2 lead singer Bono and activist/attorney Bobby Shriver, with 10% of profits going to fight AIDS in Africa.

It’s the first of many Apple philanthropic products. “We’re ecstatic that Apple is giving their customers the choice to buy a red iPod nano and help women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa,” the U2 singer says in a statement.

Apple Clips, a free video-creation tool created for the Instagram era, just came to an abrupt end. Not only did Apple cease development of the software, the app can’t even be downloaded anymore.

But odds are you aren‘t too upset, given that Apple likely cancelled the app because it never found a big audience.

Apple is already working on future generations of its AirPods lineup despite only recently releasing the AirPods Pro 3, according to a new report. The company focuses development efforts on transforming its popular earbuds into AI-powered devices with enhanced health tracking capabilities.

The new Elgato Prompter XL teleprompter, a significantly larger version of the company’s popular Prompter teleprompter, is designed specifically for professional studio environments. The Corsair-owned Elgato said the new model addresses the most common complaint about the original: size.

“We heard it constantly: ‘Love Prompter, but we need something bigger for our studio,'” said Julian Fest, general manager at Elgato. “Prompter XL takes what creators loved about the original — the versatility, the simple setup, the reliability — and scales it up for studio environments.”

October 12, 2011: Apple launches iCloud, a service that lets users automatically and wirelessly store content in the cloud and push it to their various devices.

iCloud’s arrival marks the end of Apple’s Mac-centric “digital hub” strategy — and ushers in an age of inter-device communication and non-localized files.

Your iPhone is too trusting of new USB accessories. Plug your handset into the wrong public charger at an airport or coffee shop and it might get hacked. Fortunately, there’s a setting you can (and should) change that prevents your iPhone from falling victim to data theft via juice jacking.

Here’s what to do. And don’t worry … it’s easy. I’ll walk you through it.

AnyTrans is a one-stop content manager for iOS devices. The Mac app makes it easy to transfer any kind of data — music, photos, texts, whatever — among all your Apple gear.

And for a limited time, you can get a lifetime subscription to AnyTrans for just $19.97 with code SAVE10 (regularly $79.99).

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After OpenAI’s Sora app races to the top of the App Store charts, it’s time to consider how fantastic and terrifying it really is.

The iPhone-only app produces startlingly photorealistic videos of wacky things like Pikachu as a World War II soldier and iJustine wrestling an elephant. Will we ever be able to believe our eyes again?

Also on The CultCast:

• Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and his new BFFs at OpenAI reportedly run into some serious problems as they work to create an AI device to take on the iPhone.
• iOS 26 lets you screen iPhone calls even more efficiently than before. Griffin shows us how it the upgraded features work.
• A switcher lands a great deal on a MacBook Air, then goes all in on the Apple ecosystem. Talk about the halo effect!
• And finally, the latest iOS 26.1 beta brings some interesting new features — Griffin tells us all about them.

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 version, embedded below.

October 11, 1995: Steve Jobs files the paperwork to float Pixar Animation Studios on the stock market.

A turning point in Jobs’ life, the Pixar initial public offering turns him into a billionaire. But things very nearly don’t turn out so well.

It’s the ultimate battle of the small Mac keyboards: Logitech MX Keys Mini vs. Apple Magic Keyboard. Choosing between these two premium compact keyboards is tough, and the decisions you make can significantly impact your daily typing experience and productivity.

They’ve both become top contenders for professionals and tech enthusiasts alike. And while they’re similar, they’re not the same.

Find out which is better for you in our head-to-head comparison. 

Some previous rumors point to an upgraded MacBook Pro with Apple’s M5 processor launching very soon, but other reports say it won’t be out until 2026. Turns out both might be correct.

A leak on Friday indicates the MacBook Pro running the base version M5 chip will debut quite soon. However, the variants with the M5 Pro and M5 Max supposedly won‘t launch before 2026.

If you’re uncomfortable with social media apps tracking your movements, or worried about data falling into the wrong hands, here’s how to stop them using your iPhone’s built-in location settings.

If you find yourself traveling to a country with an authoritarian government, clearing your phone’s location history is a safe bet. Or if you’re moving to a different city or to a new job, it can be annoying seeing travel suggestions to the wrong place. Resetting your location history will start from a clean slate.

These moves may also protect you from shady data brokers, who spy on and sell your movements. Here’s how.

An Apple each day becomes your doctor someday. That’s the rumor anyway: Apple is reportedly prepping a Health+ service for launch in 2026 that will use AI to dispense advice on nutrition, exercise and more.

Whether the service will someday give out medical diagnoses remains a much murkier question.