Cult of Mac

Apple showcased some remarkable new accessibility features for people with disabilities Wednesday, including Eye Tracking, Music Haptics and Vocal Shortcuts.

The new features, coming later this year to Apple devices, harness Apple silicon, artificial intelligence and machine learning. They will come mainly to iPhone and iPad, though some new ones will appear in Vision Pro’s visionOS, too.

“We believe deeply in the transformative power of innovation to enrich lives,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a press release. “That’s why for nearly 40 years, Apple has championed inclusive design by embedding accessibility at the core of our hardware and software. We’re continuously pushing the boundaries of technology, and these new features reflect our long-standing commitment to delivering the best possible experience to all of our users.”

Our setups coverage often reveals clues to Apple hardware’s functional longevity. An iOS and macOS developer uses today’s setup. Even though two new generations of powerful Apple silicon chips have supercharged more recent MacBooks, he’s still cranking away on an M1 Max MacBook Pro run through an OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock.

In fact, he just updated his setup. But that turned out to have nothing to do with the computer. It was all about adding decorative toy figures, an LED light strip and a new wooden countertop as a desk.

The new M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air finally make it easy to manage your tablet’s battery heath from the Settings app. iPadOS finally has a Battery Health menu in its 17.5 version, but it only works with the new iPads, not older models.

The new feature lets you limit charges to 80% capacity, which can extend the battery’s lifespan.

Apple’s new M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air are now on sale. Customers who preordered the tablets are also getting their units today in launch countries.

If you did not preorder the new iPads, you can pick one up from your nearest Apple store or authorized retail store.

OpenAI’s GPT-4o, a new version of the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot, is a significant step forward from its predecessors. Demonstrations show the AI interacting with users in ways that seem startlingly human.

Unconfirmed reports indicate Apple and OpenAI are negotiating a deal that would build some version of GPT into iOS and macOS.

The App Store prevented more than $7 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions over the past four years, Apple said Tuesday, when it published its fourth annual fraud prevention analysis report.

Apple has lost its customary lead on smartphone customer satisfaction as archrival Samsung has drawn even overall and gone ahead in one area, according to new data.

New findings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) show Apple’s rating went up a point, but Samsung’s rose three points to tie overall and creep ahead on 5G satisfaction.

Audio specialist Denon added the Siri voice assistant to certain wireless speakers and a soundbar this week — only the second third-party product line to do so. But there’s a catch. Siri only works with the speakers if you also have a HomePod or HomePod mini speaker to act as a relay.

The same is true of the first non-Apple products that added Apple, ecobee smart thermostats. But it’s a little weirder this time because it’s all speakers. Only an Apple speaker will let you use Siri with Denon’s speakers.

After you’ve settled on a model and the specs you need, there’s still one more crucial decision to make before you buy a MacBook Pro: silver vs. space gray. And with the MacBook Air, you have two more options (starlight and midnight).

If you want an attractive and cohesive setup, the color of your Mac is the centerpiece of the whole look.

Which color is best? I always go with silver — but here are some things to consider before you make your decision.

Almost a year after launching the ChatGPT iPhone app, OpenAI released a native Mac app.

The free macOS app will initially be available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, with a wider rollout planned in the coming weeks.

The first reviews of the M4 iPad Pro praise its slim design, its beautiful screen and its speedy new processor. But there’s also some criticism of the limitations imposed by iPadOS.

Read on for the highs and lows of early reviews of Apple’s new top-of-the-line tablet.

The first reviews of the 2024 iPad Air paint the tablet as a budget version of last year’s iPad Pro.

Here’s the consensus of the early M2 iPad Air reviews: If you want a big-screen iPad, but don’t need (or don’t want to pay for) high-end features like an OLED screen, Face ID and Apple’s most powerful processor, this is the tablet for you.

The wait to get Apple Vision Pro is apparently nearly over for consumers in more than half a dozen countries.

Although the AR/VR headset launched in the United States this winter, availability has yet to expand outside the borders of Apple’s home country. But Apple Store employees around the world are reportedly getting trained on the device. And the headset reportedly cleared a major regulatory hurdle Monday for launching in China.

M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air are so new they haven’t even reached customers yet and there are already deals on many configurations. There are discounts on a variety of screen sizes and built-in storage options.

Savvy shoppers can save up to $50 by buying these hot new tablets from Amazon.

Logs, caches and plugins all serve a purpose on your Mac. The problem is that they tend to hang around long after they stop being useful. If you want to know how to clean Mac storage and free up space on your computer, here’s a one-word answer: MacCleanse.

This service can help you banish these space-consuming files with a single click. And now, lifetime access to MacCleanse costs just $29.97 for a limited time.

The new iOS 17.5 update brings cross-platform tracking notifications for unwanted Bluetooth trackers plus a new Quartiles spelling game and an Offline Mode for Apple News+ subscribers, Apple said Monday.

And that’s in addition to the new Pride and Unity Lock Screens and Apple Watch faces we can expect. As far as other Apple OS updates go, macOS 14.5 got compatibility with Apple News+ features and bug fixes, watchOS 10.5 incorporates new Pride updates and the rest are performance and stability updates.

Apple brags that the 13-inch version of the M4 iPad Pro is “the thinnest Apple product ever,” but the company took steps to be sure the new tablet isn’t fragile and easily bendable.

In an interview, Apple’s head of hardware engineering describes a “central rib” that makes the computer more stiff.

Savvy, bargain-conscious Apple shoppers know new model releases can also herald the lowest-ever prices on recent, not-actually-new but new-to-them products. And with the recent rollout of M2 iPad Air, great deals on M1 iPad Air abound.

These limited-time deals on Amazon — including a new price drop that makes the M1 iPad Air just $399.00 (33% off) are great examples.

Streamers and podcasters often worry over their choices of microphones and audio interfaces for sound quality. But they shouldn’t forget to select great co-stars for that gear like the Elgato Wave Microphone Arm.

A good microphone boom arm makes working with the mic easy, especially in a computer setup where you need to move it aside to do other tasks. Today’s MacBook Pro and Studio Display setup makes great use of the extremely popular Elgato Wave Microphone Arm supporting an Audio-Technica mic.

And right now you can get one version of the suspension boom microphone arm for 20% off at Amazon ($99.99 $79.99), and it’s the one our user deploys.

The just-released Gamma retro game emulator brings original PlayStation titles to iPhone. It’s ready to bring Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy 7 to the device you carry around everywhere.

The app is free and supports game controllers and iPad.

If you still own an Intel MacBook Air, it might be time to upgrade to the new MacBook Air with M3. But what about if you own a MacBook Air running on an M1 or M2 chip? In those cases, it’s not as obvious if you should upgrade to the latest model.

Now that the newer models feature efficient and powerful Apple silicon chips, the MacBook Air is the laptop that strikes the right balance of speed and portability for most people. The thin design is easy to slip into a backpack and the battery will last all day — even when juggling dozens of apps.

How badly you need to upgrade to an M3 MacBook Air depends on which model you’re coming from. Our easy guide will help you decide. Check the infographic below or watch the video.

The dark, gritty series Sugar continues to pull in big audiences on Apple’s streaming service for another week. It stars Colin Farrell as a private detective searching for the missing granddaughter of a Hollywood magnate. It premiered last month and has stayed near the tops of the streaming ratings charts ever since.

And Dark Matter, a new Apple TV+ sci-fi series, very quickly found its audience, too.

For Nintendo Switch gamers, it’s all about portability. But let’s face it: That Super Smash Bros. session can end all too early if you’ve forgotten to fully charge up the device. That’s just one of the problems solved by this $35.99 portable Nintendo Switch dock and charger.

It’s a compact but multifunctional hub that can connect your Switch to the big screen — and keep it going.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple’s “Let Loose” event is over, and the new iPad Pro and iPad Air are officially here. In our postmortem, we discuss the pros (tons) and cons (not many) of the new tablets. Plus, we go over what we got right and wrong in the run-up to the event.

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple Pencil Pro and the new Magic Keyboard for iPad sound great for artists.
• Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro gain some cool new features.
• The first M4 chip benchmarks look promising.
• That eye-catching “Crush!” ad for the iPad Pro lands Apple in hot water.
• And we have a winner in our “Let Loose” event predictions challenge.

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.

You own an iPad Pro, and you’re wondering if you should upgrade to the new iPad Pro with M4. We feel your pain. Announced on May 7, 2024, the new iPad Pro features the brand-new M4 chip. It’s the top-of-the-line iPad with a gorgeous Tandem OLED display and a radical thin-and-light design.

It’s easily upgradable with the new Apple Pencil Pro and refreshed Magic Keyboard. But whether it’s worth upgrading depends on which iPad Pro you use right now. We put together a guide to help you decide. Check the infographic below or watch the video.