In the world of high-resolution external displays, the LG DualUp monitor holds a special place. It’s a bit weird. The square-ish 28-inch display has an 18:16 aspect ratio, similar to two stacked displays. A developer swears by it because he no longer has to turn his head constantly, like he did when he used four 24-inch displays. And the monitor isn’t the only odd bit in his computer setup. He also uses two Mac mini desktop computers. He explains why below.

iPad shipments grew only slightly last quarter, according to a market research firm, despite the release of new high-end and mid-range tablets in the spring. The lack of a new entry-level tablet from Apple significantly affected the shipment total.

Still, Apple itself showed a larger year-over-year bump in revenue during the third quarter of 2024 from this class of computer.

In a world of look-alike 3-in-1 chargers for iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods, the new Journey Nova 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station stands out. Like its distinctive looks or not, seeing it without any devices charging might make you wonder what the hell it is — an abstract sculpture, or maybe a prop from the original Star Trek? But for many it could be the sleek charger that subtly fits in with modern decor — if they’re willing to pay the hefty asking price ($139.99).

According to a reputed Apple analyst, Apple’s cheaper Vision might only arrive after 2027. This contradicts recent reports of the AR/VR headset launching in 2025.

Instead, Apple will seemingly launch an upgraded Vision Pro with an M5 chip in 2025.

Apple apparently plans to release iOS 18.2 in early December, introducing several new Apple Intelligence features to the iPhone.

Apple’s next major MacBook Pro design refresh reportedly will arrive in 2026. It will apparently feature a new display technology and a 2nm M6 chip.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After a whirlwind week of M4 Mac releases, we weigh up the pros (tons) and cons (very few). Mostly it’s a lovefest as we talk about the new M4 Mac mini, iMac and MacBook Pros.

Also on The CultCast:

• What’s up with Apple putting the new Mac mini power button on the bottom? (Luckily, the internet has some “fixes.”)
• Apple surprised us by upgrading the RAM on M2 and M3 MacBook Airs — without raising the prices!
• We wrap up with a discussion of what new Apple gear we ordered after this week’s Mac-o-rama.

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.

Is the new M4 MacBook Pro worth it? The latest models come with impressive power and unbelievable battery life. Even if you bought the M1 model, the new version may be a huge boost in performance.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade? We have a guide below with helpful charts and a video to help you decide.

Is the new M4 Mac mini worth it? The latest models come with impressive power in the tiniest packaging yet. Even if you bought the M1 model, the new version may be a huge boost in performance.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade? We have a guide below with helpful charts and a video to help you decide.

Is the new M4 iMac worth it? Should you upgrade and buy one? The latest models come with a big boost in performance and brighter, refreshing colors. It’s a solid upgrade if you’re still on an older model.

Of course, depending on your preferences, Apple may no longer make an iMac for you. You might want to consider the new Mac mini with a Studio Display.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade? We have a guide below with helpful charts and a video to help you decide.

Apple will fix iPhone 14 Plus models with a camera problem for free through a service program that launched Friday. The company says the “rear camera on a very small percentage of iPhone 14 Plus devices may exhibit no preview.”

Built-in car touchscreens that work with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto come standard in most modern cars, but there’s an easy way to enjoy the benefits even if your car is a little dated. Simply add an affordable aftermarket CarPlay display.

With this 9-inch wireless car display, you can enjoy safer accessibility to your smartphone while driving. For a limited time, it’s on sale for only $94.97 (regularly $179).

Anybody care for a big taste of Silo season 2 ahead of the hit sci-fi series’ November 15 air date on Apple TV+? The streamer dropped a “sneak peak” Friday of the show’s new season — literally the first five minutes of episode one. Outside the silo in which countless generations have lived, main character Juliette not only explores the hellscape that supposedly will kill her, but sees ominous signs of what came (way) before. We get a major flashback.

“Watch the first 5 minutes of Silo Season 2,” the YouTube page says. “Juliette lives.” So yeah, she’s not dead. At least not yet.

The developer of the Pixelmator family of image-editing applications for Mac, iPad, and iPhone announced Friday that the company has been acquired by Apple.

The move leaves the many fans of the apps nervous about the fate of the software.

Apple Watch sleep stage tracking might help you get to the bottom of what’s going on with your sleep. Ever since watchOS 9, it can track what sleep stage you’re in. That means you can see if you’re not getting enough deep sleep or REM sleep, or if you’re waking up too often in the middle of the night. If you have insomnia or sleep apnea, this information could be very useful.

Read on to see how to use the advanced sleep stage tracking on Apple Watch.

The new mophie Juice Pack specifically for the iPhone 16 series merges a power bank into a form-fitting protective case. Put Apple’s latest handsets in the case to greatly extend the battery life and add 6 feet of drop protection.

External magnets allow the case to attach to other MagSafe/Qi2 accessories, like car mounts.

Early Geekbench 6 benchmarks show Apple’s new M4 Pro and M4 Max chips deliver major performance improvements for Macs. Most surprisingly, the M4 Pro chip outperforms even the previously top-tier M2 Ultra chip in multi-core performance, despite having fewer CPU cores. And the higher-end M4 Max proves even more impressive, of course.

So if you’re on the fence about upgrading to a Mac with either of these chips, these results should encourage you.

Many computer setups feature advanced camera and lighting arrangements for tasks like video streaming, but not every day do we see home rigs with teleprompters in them. Today’s MacBook Pro is an exception. The user runs a teleprompter setup with a specialized monitor and key lights. So is the user a remote correspondent on some news show? Nope, he uses the teleprompter outfit just for Zoom meetings, actually.

Apple pays Globalstar to provide the satellites needed for the iPhone’s Messages via satellite service, and an updated agreement between the two companies includes a $1.1 billion payment for the infrastructure.

Clearly, this is an iPhone feature that’ll be available for years to come.

Apple might switch to in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips starting with next year’s iPhone 17. The company plans to fully transition to its custom Wi-Fi chips within three years after that.

Broadcom currently supplies Apple with more than 300 million Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules yearly for its products.

In an indication that iPhone users are eager to try out Apple Intelligence, the iOS 18.1 install rate is twice as high as iOS 17.1 was a year ago, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The AI features in iOS 18.1 provide a big impetus for people to update their iPhones, Cook said Thursday during a quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts.

Apple on Thursday announced record total revenue for the September 2024 quarter. The Mac-maker took in $94.9 billion, a 6% increase over the same quarter a year ago. Much of the increase can be pegged to sales of the iPhone, by far Apple’s largest product. Revenue from iOS devices grew 6%.

“Our record business performance during the September quarter drove nearly $27 billion in operating cash flow, allowing us to return over $29 billion to our shareholders,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, in a statement. Apple’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.25 per share of Apple common stock.

A deal on the Apple Magic Keyboard for the new 13-inch M4 iPad Pro knocks 20% off the regular cost, and a coupon sweetens the savings. There’s also a bargain on the 11-inch version.

The regular prices for the accessory are quite high, but you can now save quite a bit.

“Ghost jobs,” or job postings for positions that aren’t actually open, have become a widespread concern in today’s job market, particularly for recently laid-off workers in industries like technology, according to a scary new report (that just happens to fall on Halloween, bwah ha ha). And, no joke, it likens the phenomenon of ghost listings to “psychological warfare.”

Monday’s launch of a 24-inch iMac renewed calls for a 27-inch version. While this is a product Apple made before, there are multiple reasons why it hasn’t come back and almost certainly isn’t going to.

I’m not arguing that an extra-large all-in-one desktop is a bad device, but it does have at least one serious drawback. And it’s also apparently weak in a critical area. Plus there’s one more reason that’s hard to argue with.