You know you still need some Lightning cables! Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
When it comes to your precious Apple devices, you don’t want to just power them up with random cables. If you’re tired of unreliable connections, consider this MFi-certified Lightning cable two-pack, now available at a discounted price during Cyber Week.
Through December 3, you can grab not one but two of these fast-charging cables for only $34.97 (regularly $49).
Elago's new stainless steel bands for Apple Watch come in three colors. Photo: Elago
There are few things more classic than a stainless steel watch band. It’s durable yet stylish, rugged yet elegant, and appropriate for work or play. You can wear it with a T-shirt or a tuxedo. And that goes for your grandfather’s Rolex as much as it goes for your Apple Watch.
Lucky for you, Elago’s stainless steel watch bands for Apple Watch in three colors to the Cult of Mac Store. And they’re affordable, too.
These are the App Store Award winners of 2023. Photo: Apple
Apple has announced the 2023 App Store Awards winner after highlighting the 37 finalists earlier this month. The iPhone App of the Year went to AllTrails, while Prêt-à-Makeup won the iPad App of the Year.
Photomator was crowned as the Mac App of the Year. Unsurprisingly, generative AI was the Trend of the Year, with App Store Editors highlighting some apps that used it to deliver an innovative app experience.
Jackson Lamb is no James Bond, but Slow Horses is an excellent spy thriller nonetheless. Image: Apple TV+
Slow Horses, the Apple TV+ spy thriller based on the Slough House novels by British novelist Mick Herron, spices up its twisty-turny plots with witty dialogue and convincing performances.
Lead character Jackson Lamb, a rumpled British spook played by Gary Oldman, runs the misfit spy shop known as Slough House. Everyone on his team (known as the “Slow Horses”) screwed up in a major way professionally, earning them their one-way ticket to Lamb’s dusty, low-rent M15 leper colony. Lamb torments them at nearly every turn with a mordant mix of skepticism and ridicule.
Here are three reasons you should watch Slow Horses the Apple TV+, which fires up its third season today.
Make sure your whole crew uses strong passwords with the Enpass Family Plan. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Who hasn’t forgotten or misplaced a password and been stuck wasting time looking for it, only to ultimately have to choose a new one? It may not be the end of the world, but it’s definitely a major frustration that could put a dent in your packed day. You can save time and boost your security with a handy little helper to manage your passwords.
With Enpass, you can store and sync your passwords across all your Apple (or non-Apple) devices. And now, you can score Cyber Week savings on a year-long subscription to Enpass’s Family Plan, now only $14.99 (regularly $47) until December 3!
De Niro wasn't happy Apple deleted his anti-Trump comments. Photo: Gotham Film & Media Institute, YouTube
Actor Robert De Niro slammed Apple this week over anti-Donald Trump comments deleted from his speech at the Gotham Awards Monday evening.
The legendary actor noticed the commentary missing from the teleprompter as he began to introduce the Gotham Historical Icon and Creator Tribute to Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon, produced by Apple (and starring De Niro). So he took out his smartphone and read them anyway.
This capable USB-C dock is also a MacBook stand. Photo: Belkin
The new Belkin Connect Universal USB-C 11-in-1 Pro Dock packs Silicon Motion technology, provides ports some newer laptops lack and can connect three external monitors, the company said last week.
Whatever you think Apple pays Arm to license its technology, the real number is probably less. Photo: Arm/Cult of Mac
All Apple computers run on chips based on technology licensed from Arm. And it turns out the licensing fee is surprisingly low. Pennies per device.
Apple is one of Arm’s most important customers, and the two have a relationship that goes back to the early 1990s. That’s turned into a sweet deal for the iPhone-maker.
Type in a descriptive prompt and get that wallpaper on your Mac desktop. Photo: Gemoo
Sick of the same old desktop wallpaper on your Mac? Developer Gemoo recently released a free AI Wallpaper Generator app that lets you replace your screen’s background visual with pretty much whatever you can think of in terms of a prompt, and with your choice of artistic style.
With 10 wallpaper prompts per day on the free version, it’s fun to play with. And if you need more, you can get the Pro version — once Gemoo settles on a pricing plan for it.
Everything in this setup but the keyboard, wrist rest, mouse and desk mat is mounted. Photo: [email protected]
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If you’re not elevating your laptop, iPad and displays on mounts and arms, you’re limiting your computer setup. Today’s feature MacBook Pro and iPad setup illustrates the point well by putting those devices and dual displays on four separate mounts, some with moveable arms.
That makes all of those devices more flexible, and much easier to move around than they would be on stationary stands. It also frees up space on the desk.
★★★★☆
This Fezibo standing desk gets the job done nicely -- and on the cheap. Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
When I moved to a new place recently, I decided to get serious about an expanded and ergonomically healthy computer setup — including a solid and surprisingly affordable electric standing desk from Fezibo.
Better-known standing desks often go for $600 or more, but my spacious, handsome and practical desk cost me just $261. And so far it’s reliable, with just a couple of small caveats.
Taskio can write copy, generate images, solve problems and more, and you can get a lifetime sub for next to nothing! Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
If you haven’t taken the plunge into artificial intelligence, it’s time to get your feet wet. You might be surprised how much more efficient you can be with some AI-driven prompts when you’re trying to write some text, do research for a project or create a powerful image or graphic.
Taskio is an AI productivity tool that can give you a boost and serve as your new creative partner when it comes to content generation or even complicated problem-solving. During Cyber Week, you can score a lifetime subscription to Taskio for only $24.97.
Apple might have to find a new banking partner for Apple Card. Photo: Apple
Apple’s partnership with Goldman Sachs for the Apple Card is reportedly coming to an end. The Wall Street Journal says Apple sent a proposal to the bank to exit from the agreement in the next 12 to 15 months.
At the moment, it remains unclear if Apple has zeroed in on another banking partner for Apple Card.
Secure the premium version of this highly rated password manager for one low payment. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Remembering and updating passwords and other sensitive info quickly becomes a challenging task once you wise up and stop using the same stupid password for everything. Fortunately, you don’t need to deal with forgotten passwords again with Sticky Password.
Discounted iMacs are on the gift list this season at bargain site Woot! Photo: Apple
Amazon bargain site Woot! would never miss out on giving you discounted gift options on Apple gear for the holidays, and so it offers a sale right on the heels of Cyber Monday.
iMacs, Mac minis, MacBooks, iPads, Studio Displays — the list of 18 items at up to 51% off is well worth a look. Sale goes through December 5, but these deals likely will sell out early.
A package tracking app with all the features you expect, and it costs nothing. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
AfterShip Package Tracker is a free app that does exactly what it says in the name: It tracks your packages. You can see all your orders in one place, when they will arrive, and how close they are geographically to you. Push notifications are fast and alert you when your items are on their way.
Plus, unlike just about every other package-tracking app for iOS, AfterShip Package Tracker is totally free, with no in-app purchases.
Lots of information from various sources plus exclusive interviews shed light on the music icon's murder. Photo: Apple TV+
Exclusive interviews with eyewitnesses to John Lennon’s murder, unseen crime-scene photos and discussions with experts — including the psychiatrist who first assessed confessed murderer Mark David Chapman — shed light on the music icon’s killing, according to a new trailer Apple TV+ dropped Tuesday for the documentary series John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial.
The three-part series, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Kiefer Sutherland, debuts on Apple TV+ December 6.
★★★☆☆
Adonit Note+ 2 is actually better than Apple Pencil 2 in a couple of ways. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Adonit Note+ 2 is an iPad stylus with all the usual features as well as pressure sensitivity and a pair of programmable buttons. Plus there are writing tips in hard, medium and soft. These make it much better option for digital artists than typical styli. It actually goes head-to-head with Apple Pencil 2.
An iPad Pro is my primary computer, so I took the Note+ 2 for a hands-on test drive.
These Black Friday Apple deals are still live! Image: Rajesh/Cult of Mac
Black Friday and Cyber Monday provide an excellent opportunity to buy a new MacBook, iPad and other Apple products at heavily discounted prices. This year, we saw some hefty discounts on Apple gear during the shopping marathon.
But what if you missed buying the MacBook or Apple Watch you wanted? While Black Friday and Cyber Monday might be over, the deals are not all gone. Check out the five best Apple deals that are still live below.
Keep your iPad safe and secure at all times in a rugged Zugu case. Photo: Zugu
The prize in this week’s giveaway is every iPad owner’s dream: an iPad case from Zugu with a built-in Apple Pencil holder. We teamed up with Zugu to give five lucky winners the chance to win one of these fantastic iPad cases.
Zugu’s cases start at $49.99, fit a wide array of iPads, and come in nine different colors. So if you win, you will be spoiled for choice.
Apple Books' new Year in Review feature offers insights into what you read. Photo: Apple
There’s nothing like cracking open the ol’ iPad to the next page of the book you can’t put down — thanks to Apple Books. And now you can find your next great read from the service’s most-popular books of 2023 and enjoy a Year in Review with insights into the books and authors you enjoyed, Apple said Tuesday.
The Apple Podcasts app will show you to most popular offerings in your country. Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
One of the best ways to discover new podcasts is by finding out what other people are listening to. Apple made that easy Tuesday by tabulating the most popular podcasts of 2023.
These hit podcasts are available in localized versions for listeners in nearly 100 countries and regions.
The HEDock holds an Apple Watch in portrait or landscape mode. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Your Apple Watch can still be useful, even when you’re not wearing it. The HEDock holds the Watch up at a convenient angle while it’s charging.
This simple, very affordable accessory could be just what your desk or bedside table needs. And it’s on sale until the end of this year in the Cult of Mac Store for just $7.50.
Use your Google account before December 1 to make sure it doesn’t get deleted. Photo: cottonbro studio/Pexels
Google plans to purge old accounts starting in December. However, you can keep your Google account active and prevent it from being deleted. You have until the first day of December to save any inactive Google accounts.
What’s being cleaned out? Any Google account that’s been inactive for two years. If you received an email about a dormant account, you know for sure that you need to take action. However, that’s not foolproof. If your dormant account doesn’t have a recovery email set up, you’d never be notified in the first place.
If you have a bunch of alternate, backup Google accounts — as many do — here’s what you need to do.