If you want great sound out of your computer setup, you need excellent speakers, of course. But if you work with music rather than just listening to it, you also need a top audio interface for Mac to run between your computer and other gear. Today’s MacBook Pro setup incorporates one of our top picks in a recent roundup of best audio interfaces for Mac and pairs it with a nice set of Yamaha speakers.

TDK Corp. recently developed a material for its next-generation solid-state battery with an energy density about 100 times greater than the current version.

The Japanese company already supplies batteries that go into iPhones and other Apple devices, so there’s hope this breakthrough eventually will benefit Apple Watch and AirPods.

Alogic rolled out its new Echelon wireless keyboard and mouse last week, offering a pair of sleek, solid, affordable and eminently practical input devices for Mac users. I swapped out a couple of Logitech devices to try Alogic’s, and I’m not missing Logi’s gear so far. In a word, you could call the Echelon input devices “minimalist.” But they have all the features you need, and then some.

Photoshop isn’t just about photography, and ChatGPT doesn’t just translate movie scripts into Shakespearean English. That’s why when you need to thoroughly learn how to use new technology, it’s worth it to go to a credible source. With this lifetime membership to VirtualSkills, you gain access to online courses in everything from AI and software to coding and cryptocurrency.

VirtualSkills offers a wide selection of online courses, from beginner to advanced, in a variety of topics. And lifetime access is now on sale for just $49.99 (regularly $899.99).

Apple could refresh its MacBook Pro lineup with M4 chips as soon as Q4 2024. Based on supply-chain checks, panel shipments for the 14-inch and 16-inch models will start in Q3 2024.

Typically, this indicates that Apple will start shipping new MacBook Pro models in the last quarter of the year.

The easiest way to convert a YouTube video to an MP4 for free is with an app called 4K Video Downloader for Mac and PC. This tool gives you all kinds of options for converting video and audio from YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Soundcloud, Twitch and more.

If you want to save videos or podcasts to your computer to include in a video of your own, this app is the easiest way to download the highest-quality original.

It has other uses, too. If you’re going on a flight, or if you simply have a slow internet connection, you can use it to download what you want to watch in advance. If you’re privacy-conscious but you still want to watch a TikTok sent to you by a friend, you can download the clip without visiting the website.

Here’s how it works.

Edifier’s new D32 speaker, a stylish and powerful wireless speaker that looks a bit like your grandfather’s radio, packs modern audio technology. Its hi-res audio capabilities and robust 60-watt amplifier system sit inside a hand-made wooden cabinet with crazy-cool retro buttons. And it costs just $170, which might seem steep to your grandpa, but it’s not bad.

A cheaper version of Apple’s Vision augmented reality headset has reportedly been fast-tracked. The goal is supposedly to have the scaled-back device on the market by 2025.

To accomplish this, Apple allegedly halted work on the next generation high-end Vision Pro model.

Sometimes Amazon stuns us with outstanding bargains. This week it’s big discounts on Apple’s powerhouse M3 MacBook Pro, in all or most of its iterations. You can save up to $350 off M3 MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro chip and solid specs, but that’s just one of many deals. We list six below where you can save anywhere from $200 to $350 on your machine of choice.

You can preorder the newly updated Beats Solo Buds headphones June 18 and expect shipping to commence June 20, Apple subsidiary Beats by Dre said.

At just about half the cost of AirPods 3 and ready-made to pair with Apple devices with long battery life and a truly tiny case, the new buds could be a tempting get for a lot of folks. And big sound is promised, too, according to the video below.

UPDATE: As noted above, Beats Solo Buds became available to order today, Tuesday, June 18, and should ship starting Thursday.

A cryptic new video ad featuring basketball star Lebron James rapping along with L’il Wayne suggested Monday that the long-rumored return of the discontinued Beats Pill+ speaker could be just one week away.

That’s if the video’s ending reference to “The Predicament 6.25” means the updated speaker, which celebrities have been photographed carrying around recently, will launch next Tuesday.

Happily, powerful USB chargers keep getting smaller. The new Plugable 40W Dual USB-C Charger is the most portable one I’ve ever used, but it still puts out enough juice to keep a MacBook, iPad and/or iPhone going.

I went hands-on to test the capabilities of this affordable accessory.

You could always go to school to learn cybersecurity, but trudging to a college campus typically brings two big downsides: inconvenient scheduling and over-the-top expenses. However, the courses in the 2024 Ethical Hacking and Cybersecurity for Beginners Bundle don’t come with college prices.

Convenient and up-to-date, this beginner cybersecurity course pack costs just $29.99 (regularly $171). And you can take the online courses whenever you like.

I loved getting my hands on visionOS 2, the first major software update for Vision Pro that brings a few delightful new features. It’s available in Developer Beta today.

The best thing is Spatial Photos, which uses AI to turn older 2D photos into immersive 3D ones. It’s incredibly good. Guest mode has been improved and new hand gestures make the headset easier to use.

But if you were looking for more than a few new features, well, sorry. But a smaller update makes sense. The headset first launched in February, so a bunch of worthy updates in just six months is pretty good. But does that mean I have to wait another 12 months from now to get the basic improvements I was hoping for? Maybe Apple will have more to announce in September.

Nonetheless, here are my first impressions of Spatial Photos, the new hand gestures, the editable Apps View and more.

Apple Pay Later, a financial tool that launched in 2023, has already been discontinued. The now-defunct service allowed shoppers to borrow up to $1,000 and pay it back in installments with no interest.

The company said Monday that, starting later this year, Apple Pay will instead allow buyers to access similar small “buy now, pay later” loans via other financial institutions’ credit and debit cards.

Unum is an AI social media post generator that makes managing social media accounts easier. It makes it easy to publish posts across multiple platforms, using any device, and collaborate with your team members for ultimate success.

This app works like other AI-powered social media tools like Planoly and Later — the key difference is you don’t need to send monthly payments! In fact, you can get Unum Pro for life for only $49.99.

Logitech’s Combo Touch keyboard case for the new M4 iPad Pro offers nearly everything Apple’s beloved Magic Keyboard case does. And the Logitech version includes features Apple’s does not.

I put both peripherals through hands-on testing. Here’s where the Combo Touch comes out ahead … and where it doesn’t.

The new 11-inch and 13-inch M2 iPad Air models are great tablets, but not everyone wants to throw down $600 or more. And not everyone needs bleeding-edge performance. That’s why sales on the previous models like the one right now at Best Buy are such great opportunities. You can chop $200 off M1 iPad Air and enjoy it for years to come.

Ever since computers like iMac G3 pulled off the trick, transparent computer gear has come in and out of style. And now transparent keyboards are having a bit of a moment. One good example is the Yunzii X75 Mechanical Keyboard seen in today’s MacBook Pro setup.

A Canadian firefighter credited Apple Watch for saving his life when he suffered a heart attack, according to a report over the weekend.

Given the wearable probably saved his life, the fit and active 44-year-old man said he’ll never go another day without it.

The Apple Watch Series 10 might adopt a thinner design with a bigger display. Reportedly, Apple will bump the chassis size from 41mm and 45mm to 45mm and 49mm.

Disappointingly, the company apparently does not plan significant upgrades for the Apple Watch Ultra this year. It might get a new black color option, but that’s about it.

Apple reportedly plans to launch a super-slim iPhone 17 model in 2025. The company is also working on slimming down MacBook Pro and Apple Watch in future revisions.

The company will seemingly focus on making its devices thinner without sacrificing performance or battery life.

iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia and watchOS 11 bring exciting new features, but some of them might not arrive on older iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches, even if you can run the new software. Which features won’t older devices get? We rounded up everything we can find that won’t make it to aging gear.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After a lightning-fast WWDC24 keynote, we’re left to ponder Apple Intelligence, a (potentially) smarter Siri and a ton of whiz-bang features coming to iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11 and visionOS 2.

Also on The CultCast:

• The skydiving intro to the WWDC24 keynote blew our minds. A clever concept, high-energy performances, a Mötley Crüe soundtrack … talk about something only Apple can do!
• Apple Intelligence looks like AI done right. Apple’s distinctive approach means serving up AI features in an easy-to-understand and incredibly useful way. While protecting user privacy, of course.
• That iPhone-mirroring feature in macOS Sequoia looks cool. But what’s it for?
• We have the winners in our traditional predictions game. Some listeners nailed the wild card by guessing that the next version of macOS would be called “Sequoia.” Congrats!

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.

Dark Matter, one of the best sci-fi novels of the decade, has been adapted into an Apple TV+ series that spent its fifth week as one of the most popular offerings on any streaming service, according to analysts.

And Presumed Innocent just debuted on Apple’s streaming service this week but is already getting plenty of attention.