Insignia's 3-in-1 MagSafe charger is on sale, along with plenty of iPhone accessories from Apple and others. Photo: Best Buy
Here’s your last chance of the year to grab certain outstanding deals on iPhone accessories from Best Buy before 2024 comes along, including one item for an astounding 80% off the regular price.
Jump on the links below to nab bargains on iPhone cases, screen protectors, wallets and chargers. Keep in mind the examples below are just a sampling of all that’s on offer. Sales lasts through December 31.
★★★★☆
Sergei ducks deep cover to seek out Margo with Aleida's reluctant help. Photo: Apple
Hopefully you were already onboard with For All Mankind‘s sometimes brazenly credulity-stretching alternative reality. The first woman president comes out as gay. Homegrown terrorists blow up NASA HQ. Agency director Margo Madison defects to the Soviet Union and then goes to work in its space agency, only to end up partnering with NASA.
If so, then you won’t mind if a Russian ghost comes back to mess with us now, too.
OK, he’s not a ghost. He’s Sergei, the Russian scientist who seemed to fall in love with Margo and got strangled in front of her to get her to give up U.S. space secrets. And as forces now align to mine the Goldilocks asteroid near Mars, he breaks cover on Earth to seek her out — and maybe not just for more romance.
Apple, please do what it takes to make "Mac gamer" no longer an oxymoron. Photo: Apple
The Apple A3 series processors make the latest Macs into powerful gaming machines. And macOS Sonoma includes tools to make porting PC games to Mac much easier. As a gamer myself, these are very welcome moves.
But right now, Apple is taking a “build it and they will come” attitude. History shows there’s an important step needed to turn Mac into a serious competition for PC and gaming consoles: CEO Tim Cook and Co. need to put their money where their mouths are and financially encourage top game developers to bring their products to macOS.
That might even include buying one or more game developers.
Sometimes the holiday season turns a half-empty desk into a powerful computer setup. Photo: TemporaryAd_4202@Reddit
Ah, the magic of Christmas. Even a grownup can get deliriously excited about unwrapping a rich haul of computer gear that turns a Charlie Brown Christmas tree of a setup into a powerful workstation that would intimidate Ebeneezer Scrooge. You can also relive the magic and watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales free this season.
Today’s user had a decent MacBook Pro and iPad Pro to begin with, but ended up with a proper, highly functional setup. And commenters had further suggestions for additions, too. Hey, the more the merrier!
This two-pack of knife sharpeners costs just $109.97 (regularly $398) for a limited time. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
If you’re looking to take your cooking to the next level in 2024, a kitchen knife sharpener can make a major difference. Routinely, so much of meal prep comes down to the quality of kitchen knives, and now there’s an affordable way to upgrade the set you already own.
The days are dwindling to take advantage of an end-of-year offer on a two-pack of highly rated Angle Pro knife sharpeners. Normally sold for $398, this pair is available at only $109.97 through January 1 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.
Expect to see two versions of AirPods 4 -- including one with noise canceling -- in 2024. Photo: Cult of Mac
In an effort to boost sales and clarify offerings, Apple will revamp its AirPods lineup in 2024, reports have indicated — but that won’t include updates for every product.
AirPods 4 should arrive next year, with two versions replacing current lower-priced earbuds models. And AirPods Max 2 rumors suggest some long-awaited updates, although the pricey over-ear headphones won’t get a major revamp. And as for what comes after AirPods Pro 2, we’ll have to wait until early 2025, most likely.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9 are on the ban's hit list. Photo: Apple
After a federal court granted a temporary pause on the Apple Watch ban Wednesday, Apple returned Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 to select store shelves, with online store sales expected to resume Thursday — for a short time, at least.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted a temporary stay until January 10. Apple requested the pause after the Biden administration confirmed Tuesday it won’t overturn the ban, put in place through a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling.
★★☆☆☆
The iKier K1 Pro Max with a few of my attempted projects. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
The iKier K1 Pro Max is a top-of-the-line laser engraver that will etch your creations into wood to make beautiful pieces of precision physical art. After extensive testing, I was impressed by the hardware and the pieces I was able to make.
Unfortunately, the machine is complicated to set up and the software let me down at every single step in the process. I never got it working with my everyday Mac, I couldn’t use the machine’s built-in software and the included third-party software (only offered with a 30-day free trial) is a convoluted mess of labyrinthian dialog boxes spawned from user interface hell.
New Year, new kills: Gain CISSP certification training with this $30 cybersecurity bundle. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Certification is one of the first things that management (and the ATS software they use) looks for when it comes to IT and cybersecurity workers. That’s why CISSP certification is highly sought after.
Now there’s a way to boost your chances at acing those all-important exams — the highly discounted CISSP Security and Risk Management Training Bundle. Ahead of the New Year, you can level up your IT knowledge with this comprehensive bundle for only $29.97 (regularly $424).
The video doorbell features dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity. Photo: Belkin
Christmas day is behind us, but Amazon bargain site Woot! is at it again with a smoking-hot deal for your and yours — two-thirds off the regular price of a Belkin Wemo Smart Video Doorbell!
The hot item sold out recently, so this is a bonus sale on Wednesday, Woot noted. And you should note the gadget works exclusively with HomeKit Secure Video.
U.S. imports and sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 are on again ... for now. Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
The ban on Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 sales in the United States stands, after the Biden administration confirmed Tuesday it won’t overturn it, but a federal court paused it temporarily Wednesday after Apple’s request for appeal.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted a temporary stay until January 10 — so Apple can resume selling the wearables, at least for a short time.
2024 iPhones could be all about the little improvements. Image: Rajesh Pandey/Cult Of Mac
Apple plans some big upgrades for the iPhone 16 lineup in 2024. The phones could get even bigger displays, with AI integration helping make Siri smarter (and, hopefully, a lot more useful).
These changes should arrive on top of the usual yearly upgrades like faster A-series chips and brighter displays. So, what should you expect from iPhones in 2024? Read below to find out.
Want a great deal on a space-black M3 MacBook Pro? It's in there. Photo: Apple
The holiday shopping season might cool off a bit right after Christmas, but not at B&H Photo. Its year-end Mega Deal Zone sale is running hot with a bunch of bargains on Apple products this week — especially MacBook Pro.
You can get $250 off a hot new M3 MacBook Pro or up to an amazing $2,000 off a massively loaded 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro, to name two examples. See more below.
There's an AirTag hidden in there somewhere. Photo: Device Therapy
Strap an AirTag to your bike so that you can discreetly track its location with this ingenious mount from Device Therapy. It looks just like a bog-standard reflector at first glance, so would-be thieves will have no idea it’s even there.
Bag yours today from the Cult of Mac Store for just $15.99.
Windows on water everywhere in this triple-screened Mac Studio and MacBook Pro setup. Photo: [email protected]
After a recent debate over whether dual external displays should be lined up straight across or angled for better ergonomics, a Mac Studio and dual-MacBook setup addresses the question in a different way. It uses three identical displays in landscape mode, placing the center one one straight and one on either side of it at an angle.
And the setup also offers connecitivity tips, running the two MacBooks into two of the displays via a CalDigit dock while the Mac Studio drives one directly.
Pick up a OneAir Elite Plan for only a fraction of the cost and spend less on all your future trips. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
If you plan to go on vacation but don’t want to spend more than necessary, consider upgrading how you find cheap travel. OneAir can help you land reduced rates for flights, hotels, rental cars and more. And you can score major end-of-year savings on this great travel service.
Through New Year’s Day at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, you can enjoy a lifetime OneAir Elite Plan subscription for only $79.97 (regularly $790). This exclusive pricing makes long-distance travel more accessible than ever … forever!
2024 will be a big, colorful year for iPad. Image: Cult of Mac
Get ready for big changes in the iPad 2024 lineup. Apple plans to shake things up next year, offering new versions of every tablet model, from the basic budget offering to the largest iPad Pro.
Details of the upcoming changes leaked out early, so we can tell you now what’s coming to the iPad in 2024.
Pick up this comprehensive AI text and speech toolkit for only $30 through New Year's Day. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
You’ve likely heard about how AI is producing major changes across massive industries, but it’s also ready to make an individual impact on how we approach daily tasks. You can streamline your to-do list with a boost from AI at a surprisingly low price through New Year’s Day.
Through January 1, Jott Pro’s AI text and speech toolkit is available for only $29.97 (regularly $199). From note collecting and email production to speech-to-text and text-to-speech capabilities, this package provides a far-ranging resource for a fraction of the usual cost.
We honestly never thought this day would come. What's next for Apple Watch? Image: Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: You maniacs! You blew it up! A patent dispute nukes Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra from Apple’s website. And by Christmas, the smartwatches will disappear from Apple Store shelves in the United States.
Who knew it would come to this? And what’s next for Apple Watch in this long legal battle?
Also on The CultCast:
There’s more bad news for Apple Watch fans. A redesign might render your Apple Watch band collection obsolete!
Two luxury automakers show off next-gen CarPlay interfaces, and they look awesome.
We’ve got more picks for the best stuff of 2023.
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.
Colonel Lee Shaw gets to blow stuff up in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 7. Photo: Apple TV+
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 7 might not be the most exciting entry in the series, but it offers up important backstory for one of the best MonsterVerse films.
Read our review/recap for Godzilla-size spoilers about the latest episode, plus some speculation about the show’s future.
A smart gift idea: Pick up this AI, ChatGPT and Python course pack for only $29.97. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
The technology sector is loaded with lucrative job possibilities, and you can get career-boosting assistance in the form of a comprehensive educational package built around artificial intelligence and coding.
Through December 25, pick up The 2023 Ultimate AI, ChatGPT and Python Programming Bundle for only $29.97 (regularly $154). Use it to advance your career in 2024 — or as a last-minute present that can benefit your giftee for years to come.
There are SO MANY weather apps to choose from, but these are the best free ones. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
In a world with about 10,000 weather apps — that’s an actual estimate, not a huge exaggeration — how do you choose the best free weather app for iPhone or iPad that you can trust and that includes the features you want most? It’s not easy. But a mix of full-featured free weather apps (most with premium versions) and specialty apps can cover all the bases for you.
We’ll go over some of the best weather apps below, whether you just want to avoid getting wet or if you’re a total weather freak who can’t get enough data, visual or otherwise.
Multitalented AI assistant Producti can write, code, transcribe and more. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
At this point, we all are aware of the power of artificial intelligence. Now, you can apply AI as your own personal assistant with a productivity-boosting program called Producti.