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iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 12: Should you upgrade?

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iPhone 12 to iPhone 14 upgrade: Is the jump worth it, or should you wait for iPhone 15?
iPhone 12 to iPhone 14 upgrade: Is the jump worth it, or should you wait for iPhone 15?
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

Six months from now, the iPhone 12 will be 3 years old. If you got the phone on launch day in October 2020, it must already be showing its age, with poor battery life and sub-par camera performance.

Does that mean it’s time to ditch your iPhone 12 and upgrade to the iPhone 14, which starts at $799? Or should you save your money and wait for the upcoming iPhone 15? Find out with our comparison.

iPhone 16 Pro Max could pack a seriously big display

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iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island.
Apple could give the 2024 iPhone 16 Pro series a big display upgrade.
Photo: asda

Apple could bump the screen size by nearly 0.2 inches on its 2024 iPhones. The iPhone 16 Pro could ship with an OLED display nearly 6.3 inches large.

As for the iPhone 16 Pro Max model, it could use a gigantic 6.9-inch panel. The screen sizes of Pro iPhones have remained unchanged since the 2020 iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max.

Save big on 2023 MacBook Pro refurb units straight from Apple

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2023 MacBook Pro in 16-inch and 14-inch sizes
The 2023 MacBook Pro is very sleek, whether it's the 16-inch or 14-inch variant.
Photo: Apple

Apple just began offering refurbished units of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 series processors. These launched in early 2023, and shoppers can save almost $1,000 by choosing a refurb unit.

These are primarily devices that consumers bought then returned so supplies are limited. But these selection is surprisingly broad.

Severance severed: Writers strike starts to affect Apple TV+ production

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From left, Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, John Turturro and Britt Lower star in “Severance.”
"Severance" season 2 is on hold because of the writers strike.
Photo: Apple TV+

The Writers Guild of America is on strike, causing problems both immediate and long-term for TV and movie production. And Apple TV+ certainly is not immune.

Production on two Apple series already stopped because of picketing, including the bugle popular Severance. And that raises questions about other series and movies.

Tackle projects big and small with this powerful visual organization app

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Get organized with a $60 lifetime subscription to this visual organizer app.
Put your work where you can see it with this discounted visual organizer app.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

xTiles is a powerful visual organization tool that helps you lay out a plan so you can accomplish tasks great and small. Whether you’re working on a big coding project, a lengthy memo or something else entirely, this iOS app will help you achieve your goal.

If you like to see all the moving pieces of what you’re working on, having xTiles on your iPhone is a real boon. This visual planning app is smart and simple to use, and a lifetime subscription is only $59.99 (regularly $90). That’s the best price online!

Belkin packs noise canceling and more in nicely priced earbuds

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You get hybrid ANC and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity for $120.
You get hybrid ANC and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity for $120.
Photo: Belkin

Belkin is getting set to release new active noise-canceling (ANC) earbuds, and this time they pack in some premium features at a surprisingly affordable price point.

Belkin SoundForm Pulse earbuds will cost $119.99 and feature not only ANC, but multipoint Bluetooth connectivity and relatively long battery life. Available for preorder, they start shipping at the end of May.

Inflation deflates iPad sales

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iPad (10th gen) came out with several new features and a higher price tag than before.
iPad 10 didn't bring a surge in sales in the March 2023 quarter.
Photo: Apple

iPad shipments dropped by double digits in the first quarter of 2023, according to two different market-analysts firms. But Apple’s tablet was hardly alone — the entire global market dropped nearly 20%. As a result, iPad held on to its huge lead over its rivals.

The analysts blamed the decline in global shipments on inflation as well as a post-pandemic reduction in demand for tablets.

Apple TV+ takes top Irish honors for Bad Sisters

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Eva Birthistle, Anne-Marie Duff, Sharon Horgan, Sarah Greene, and Eve Hewson are Bad Sisters.
Eva Birthistle, Anne-Marie Duff, Sharon Horgan, Sarah Greene and Eve Hewson star in Bad Sisters.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ notched four wins Sunday at the 20th Annual Irish Film and Television Awards for the hit dark dramedy series Bad Sisters.

The show won Best Drama Series, Best Lead Actress for Sharon Horgan, Best Supporting Actress for Anne-Marie Duff and Best Director for Dearbhla Walsh.

WFH gear to get when the boss pays for it [Setups]

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An M2 Max MacBook Pro and a 42-inch OLED display? Yes, please.
An M2 Max MacBook Pro and a 42-inch OLED display? Yes, please.
Photo: [email protected]

Oh, what a joy to go computer-setup shopping — when your employer readily agrees to pay for everything. Today’s featured M2 Max MacBook Pro setup, which features a gorgeous 42-inch OLED smart TV as a display, came into being that very way.

Check out the setup’s gear, below, and see if that’s what you’d buy if your boss handed you a blank check.

Soundcore’s gorgeous new Bluetooth speaker brings spatial audio [Review] ★★★★★

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With good looks, excellent sound and waterproofing, the Soundcore X600 is a great portable Bluetooth speaker.★★★★★
With good looks, excellent sound and waterproofing, the Soundcore X600 is a great portable Bluetooth speaker.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

Soundcore’s new Motion X600 Hi-Res Bluetooth Speaker is a keeper if you’re after a fantastic-looking portable speaker with convincing-enough spatial audio.

It starts shipping May 9, and if you pay just $1 for an early-bird coupon Monday — before the preorder promotion ends early Tuesday morning — you get the X600 for $149 instead of $199 at launch. That’s a fantastic value for anyone unsure they want to pony up twice as much for a second-gen HomePod.

Save on airfare with a discounted Dollar Flight Club lifetime subscription

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Grab huge savings on your summer vacations with a Dollar Flight Club lifetime subscription, less than $50 today.
Save on your summer vacation with $400 off a Premium+ Dollar Flight Club membership.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

According to travel experts, airfare costs are set to remain high throughout 2023. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to see the world. The secret to snagging cheaper flights is using a tool that will help you find cheap and discounted tickets: Dollar Flight Club.

Right now, you can choose from two lifetime Dollar Flight Club memberships. You can get a Premium Plus+ Lifetime Subscription for just $99.99 or a Premium Lifetime Subscription for only $49.99. You won’t find better prices anywhere online.

Apple Maps Lock Screen directions could get a new look in iOS 17

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Apple Maps iOS 17 Lock Screen Live Activity renders
Do you like this alleged iOS 17 Apple Maps Lock Screen Live Activity?
Renders: @analyst941
WWDC23

Apple will reportedly bring a new Apple Maps Live Activity to all iPhones with iOS 17. The new Lock Screen layout will show the date and time at the top and the navigation directions on the display’s bottom half.

Your unread notification count, flashlight, and camera app shortcuts will appear below it. A swipe-up on the Lock Screen will expand the Notification Center and show all notifications.

This feature-packed quadcopter is the perfect drone for beginners

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Launch your drone hobby with this $99.99 foldable quadcopter model.
This drone can stay in the air for 40 minutes (and costs less than $100).
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Flying drones is a hobby that can quickly become an obsession — and an expensive one at that. But finally, there’s a “unicorn” model that’s perfect for beginners.

The Super Endurance Foldable Quadcopter packs enough features to impress real aficionados. But with easy-to-master controls and a price point of less than $100, this compact flier is a perfect starter drone.

3 Reasons to Watch: Drops of God, the stylish wine drama on Apple TV+

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Fleur Geffrier in
Wine is a battlefield in Drops of God.
Photo: Apple TV+

Cult of Mac is pleased to debut a new feature, 3 Reasons to Watch, in which we highlight an Apple TV+ show or movie worthy of consideration. This week we’re looking at sommelier potboiler Drops of God, based on the manga by Yuko and Shin Kibayashi.

The show is currently airing its first season. Here’s why Drops of God is worth your time.

Here comes the MacBook Air we’ve been waiting for [The CultCast]

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15-inch MacBook Air will be a dream machine.
The 15-inch MacBook Air will be a dream machine.
Image: Cult of Mac
WWDC23

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: What will WWDC23 bring us? In addition to a sweeping look at the future of all Apple’s platforms, it sounds like we’ll get some major new hardware. Yes, there’s that $3,000 AR/VR headset, but there’s also something we really want: a 15-inch MacBook Air.

Also on The CultCast:

  • The Apple Watch interface will get a major upgrade with watchOS 10. And the same holds true for Stage Manger in iPadOS 17.
  • All about Apple’s new Rapid Security Response system for deploying urgent upgrades.
  • Shockingly, internal strife seems to be one of the things holding back Siri and Apple’s artificial intelligence efforts.

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.

Enter to win a stylish MacBook case from SwitchEasy [Cult of Mac giveaway]

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A pedestrian carries a SwitchEasy Urban MacBook Sleeve while walking in a crosswalk.
Protect your MacBook the best way possible while out and about.
Photo: SwitchEasy

For this week’s giveaway, we teamed up with SwitchEasy, maker of one of the finest MacBook cases around. Two lucky winners will bag a SwitchEasy Urban MacBook Sleeve.

Made of water-resistant threaded polyester material, these laptop cases will protect a MacBook from scuffs and scrapes. And they look good while doing so!

Get the most out of ChatGPT with this top-rated training bundle

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Get the most out of ChatGPT with this top-rated training bundle, less than $7.50 a course today.
Become a ChatGPT pro with this top-rated training, now less than $30.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Has there ever been a new technology that has risen so rapidly and been as influential as artificial intelligence, and more specifically, ChatGPT? The OpenAI tool changed the game in almost every industry, seemingly overnight. Potential applications including content generation, translation and even coding iPhone apps from scratch.

There’s arguably no hotter skill to train in right now. So, get ahead of the curve and become a ChatGPT specialist with The Complete ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence OpenAI Training Bundle. It’s a boot camp of four top-rated courses that can teach you everything you need to know to get the most from this exciting AI tool.

Usually $800, you can grab it for only $29.99. That’s less than $7.50 a course — and potentially the best investment in your resume that you’ll ever make.

Launch unlimited websites with a major discount on lifetime access to iBrave

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Launch unlimited websites with a major discount on lifetime access to iBrave.
Save on this proven cloud-based web hosting platform, now only $99.99.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Businesses and individual brands have become increasingly reliant upon an established online presence, so mistakes in that department can result in serious setbacks. Avoid common frustrations with website building by investing in a proven platform at a surprisingly low price.

Typically priced at $899, a lifetime subscription to iBrave Cloud Web Hosting with unlimited websites currently comes at the discounted cost of only $99.99 with no coupon required. In addition, you can also grab a Professional plan for up to 10 websites at $49.99 (regularly $539) or a Startup plan for one site at $24.99 (regularly $179).

Idris Elba’s Hijack thriller series flies onto Apple TV+ in June

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Idris Elba in 'Hijack,' premiering globally June 28, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Idris Elba in Hijack, premiering globally June 28, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ revealed the launch date for Hijack, a seven-part thriller starring Idris Elba. When it debuts June 28, the series will follow a hijacked plane in “real time,” with Elba playing a passenger trying to negotiate with terrorists.

The first images from the show were also released on Friday.

Drops of God flashes back for a revelation [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Margaux Chatelier in ★★★
Drops of God pours out some backstory this week.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ series Drops of God, about two wine experts competing to win a priceless cellar and their dead father figure’s favor, takes a trip down memory lane this week.

Alexandre and Marianne Léger relive their first tribulations, as well as their decision to move to Japan. And Issei’s mother remembers her first encounter with Alexandre, and how he ended up changing her life.

It’s a bit of a letdown that the episode, entitled “Foundation,” drifts from the show’s main action. However, this beautifully acted and well-directed detour proves very good nevertheless.

The Last Thing He Told Me digs up clues in an Austin bar [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Angourie Rice in ★★★
Bailey (played by Angourie Rice) is looking for clues to her father's disappearance in all the right places.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review The Last Thing He Told Me,  the Apple TV+ limited series about a shady software developer with a checkered past who vanishes from his wife and daughter’s life, heads to a bar for a fateful drink and a little interrogation this week.

Hannah and Bailey find themselves dancing ever closer to the truth about their missing husband/father, and danger looms around every corner. The episode, entitled “The Never Dry,” makes for a pretty tense outing of the sometimes-too-casual mystery series.

Ed Sheeran opens new Apple Music Live season May 10

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Ed Sheeran plays on Apple Music Live from London May 10.
Ed Sheeran plays on Apple Music Live from London May 10.
Photo: Apple Music

Apple Music Live returns for its second season May 10 with a concert by Ed Sheeran at the Eventim Apollo in London. He’ll perform the whole of his new album “-” (aka “subtract,” because it’s a minus sign), Apple Music said Friday.

For the show, Sheeran will play with a 12-piece band that includes The National’s Aaron Dessner, who also produced Sheeran’s album. And in a new twist, you can watch Sheeran’s show and others to follow during the season on Apple TV+.

You paid how much for that Pro Display XDR? [Setups]

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A Pro Display XDR typically costs about $5,000, but this user got his for quite a bit less.
A Pro Display XDR typically costs about $5,000, but this user got his for quite a bit less.
Photo: [email protected]

In a world of shockingly expensive Apple products, one magnificent items stands supreme — Pro Display XDR. If you’re among the legion of Apple fans who can’t quite crack open their wallets wide enough for a $1,600 Studio Display, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Today’s MacBook Pro setup sports a Pro Display XDR that came at a shocking price, too — shockingly good, that is, all things considered.

Apple explains how to use AirPlay to stream video from iPhone to your TV

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Apple explains how to use AirPlay to stream video from iPhone to your TV
Thanks to AirPlay, you don't have to watch video on your iPhone's small screen.
Screenshot: Apple Support

With AirPlay, you can wirelessly stream video from your Apple devices to a large-screen TV. It’ll let you enjoy Ted Lasso or share a TikTok video with a group of friends on a big screen, not your iPhone’s relatively small one.

If this handy option is new to you, Apple made an explainer video. Watch it now.

May Software Sale: Save up to 90% on Windows 10, get Windows 11 free for life

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Save big-time on Microsoft software by using promo code CULT at CdkeySales.com.
Get genuine Microsoft software on the cheap using promo code CULT at CdkeySales.com.
Photo: CdkeySales.com

In the big new May Software Sale at software activation keys provider CdkeySales.com, springtime deals on Microsoft software are blooming. You can find great prices on Microsoft Windows, Office and more. Don’t pass it up.

SPONSORED
This post is brought to you by CdkeySales.

If you could pay much less than full price for Windows 10 and other critical software, wouldn’t you? Just click on the links below to secure low prices on loads of Microsoft software. Plus, Windows 10 comes with a free upgrade to Windows 11.

Note: To get the absolute best savings possible, enter promo code CULT at CdkeySales.com. That will slash an additional 30% off the site’s super-low prices on keys for Windows 10 Pro Global, Microsoft Office 2021 Pro and more.