January 22, 1984: Apple’s stunning “1984” commercial for the original Mac airs on CBS during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. Its dystopian theme and epic visuals pitch the Macintosh 128K as a revolutionary computer coming to smash the status quo.
Probably the most famous TV ad for a computer in history, the commercial is directed by Alien and Blade Runner helmer Ridley Scott. It reaches millions of viewers during the big game. However, it very nearly didn’t air at all.

Apple delivered some genuinely meaningful upgrades with the iPhone 17 Pro, fulfilling all the fundamentals: better performance, display, battery life and overall polish. Under normal circumstances, this would make an easy upgrade.
Yet, I’m choosing to skip it. If the iPhone 17 Pro nailed the basics, the iPhone 18 Pro looks set to finally push Apple’s Pro lineup forward in a meaningful way.

To make the most of the upcoming Lunar New Year in China, Apple is running some special offers at its stores. The sale will run from January 24-27, with Apple taking up to 1,000 yuan (~$145) off on select products. 
The limited-time promotional offer should help further boost iPhone shipments in the country.

Apple is reportedly exploring a new category of wearable hardware: an AirTag-sized AI pin designed to clip onto clothing and function hands-free without a screen.
After mostly sitting on the sidelines for years, Apple is apparently jumping into the AI game in a big way.

Forget the old, nearly useless Siri — Apple reportedly plans to upgrade the iPhone’s voice assistant into an AI-powered chatbot with iOS 27. Users will supposedly be able to converse with the new Siri, not just give it orders.

If true, this will let Apple compete directly against Android and Windows computers with built-in AI chatbots.

A major ransomware attack on Luxshare, one of Apple’s most critical manufacturing partners, allegedly exposed over 1TB of confidential data from the iPhone giant and other tech behemoths. Stolen information in the Luxshare data breach includes product designs, engineering documents and employee information spanning from 2019 to 2025, according to a new report.

You can get the time without even looking at your Apple Watch using a little-known feature called Taptic Time. Simply hold two fingers on the device’s screen, and the watch will tap out the time on your wrist.
This is handy if you’re in a meeting and need to know the time, but you don’t want to look rude checking your watch. Or maybe you’re in the middle of a presidential debate.
Whatever the situation, turning on this little-known Apple Watch feature — and familiarizing yourself with how it works –can come in handy.

January 21, 2015: Months before the first Apple Watch goes on sale, users get a glimpse at what playing games might look like on the smartwatch. Thanks to Apple making the WatchKit API available to third parties, game developer NimbleBit releases a mockup of Letterpad, its simple, work-in-progress word game.
Suddenly, we get a peculiar desire to play games on our wrist that we haven’t had since the days of the Nintendo Game & Watch three decades earlier.

If you’ve noticed your iPhone storage filling up faster than it used to, you’re not imagining things. Modern iOS apps now routinely consume hundreds of megabytes, with some reaching multiple gigabytes in size. What’s behind this relentless growth? Why do iOS apps take so much space? And what can you do about it? Read on. 

On Tuesday, Apple released firmware updates for the Magic Keyboard designed for the iPad Pro and iPad Air. This is something the company does periodically.
Making sure the accessory is on the latest version ensures it works reliably and remains fully compatible with the latest versions of iPadOS.
Updating is really very easy. Here’s what to do.

The Blip file transfer app is a delightful utility that lets you move extremely large files and folders quickly across the internet — directly from your computer to somebody else’s.
With Blip, there’s no middleman uploading to and downloading the file from a cloud, and no pesky web app to sign into. It’s like beaming your files onto someone else’s computer.
It’s the easiest, most straightforward way to send someone large folders of files or complex projects from your Mac, iPhone, PC or Android device. And best of all, it’s totally free and secure. You can get it from blip.net.

Nomad Goods’ rugged Stratos band for Apple Watch just got a glow-up — literally. The new limited-edition Icy Blue Glow version of the titanium and fluoroelastomer strap casts an eerie glow on the wearer’s wrist.

The band “adds a little fun to your look, glowing electric blue in the dark and staying clean and minimal in daylight,” Nomad wrote Tuesday on X. “Built with titanium and FKM for durability and comfort, it’s proof that performance and fun can happen at the same time.”

While Cult of Mac hasn’t tested the band, the promo shots make it look wildly futuristic, like something you’d spot on the wrist of a rugged adventurer in a sci-fi flick.

Death, taxes and running out of storage on your Mac — few things in life are as certain. If you’re experiencing the latter, before you go around deleting files, you should take stock of what’s filling up your computer. There are three easy ways to clear disk space on your Mac.

The Mac’s System Settings offers a built-in storage manager that lets you see which categories of files are filling up your drive. It makes clearing out useless junk fast and easy.

A pair of third-party apps can help out, too. Hyperspace removes duplicate data across your Mac’s hard drive, cleaning up your file system without deleting anything. And CleanMyMac can find the system files, junk and other cruft that can build up over time in places you don’t even think to check. 

Whatever the reason you need more storage, read on to learn how to tidy up your Mac.

The long, happy relationship between Apple and chipmaker TSMC is going through a rough patch. It seems Nvidia has come between them.
As a result, Apple reportedly must pay significantly more for the processors it acquires from the Taiwanese foundry — and Cupertino might even need to fight to gain access to the latest chips.
It’s yet another example of how AI causes problems for Apple.

January 20, 1985: Attempting to build on the triumph of the previous year’s “1984” Macintosh commercial, Apple deploys another dystopian Super Bowl commercial. The new Apple ad, titled “Lemmings,” promotes the company’s upcoming business platform, called The Macintosh Office.

The dark, 30-second spot depicts blindfolded executives marching to their doom. The widely reviled ad will go down in history as one of Apple’s biggest stinkers.

New security research repository Firehound uncovered widespread data leaks affecting millions of iPhone users who downloaded AI-powered apps from the App Store.

If you’ve downloaded AI apps lately, as millions of others have, you might want to check to see if they made Firehound’s list.

Eating healthy would be easier if food manufacturers told us exactly what’s in their products. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that perfect world. But Fooducate, a clean eating app that can help you achieve your nutritional and fitness goals, is here to keep the grocery stores honest.

This easy-to-use food planning app makes every aspect of your diet easier, from the checkout counter to the doctor’s office. Better yet, Fooducate is designed to help users create a healthier relationship with food. Now, a lifetime subscription to the Fooducate Pro Plan costs only $39.97 with code SAVE10.

A massive sale on Apple gear slashes the prices on everything from the high-end Pro Display XDR monitor to everyday necessities like charging cables.

The sale’s on now at Amazon-owned daily deals site Woot. And if you use the code APPLEFIVE at checkout, you’ll get an extra $5 off. (Limit one coupon per customer, valid through January 21, 2026, at 11:58 p.m. Central.)

That extra $5 discount doesn’t make much of a difference on large items like the aforementioned Pro Display XDR. But on things like Apple Watch chargers and Thunderbolt cables — already offered at steep discounts — it makes for a nice cherry on top of your savings.

Apple is prepping a surprising change to the Dynamic Island with the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro, according to a well-known tipster. The screen cutout will supposedly get a lot smaller, and it’ll move to a new location.

If true, it’ll be the most significant revamp to the Dynamic Island since it debuted in 2022.

With the ever-growing number of devices on my desk, a charging station has become a non-negotiable accessory. Instead of juggling multiple chargers, cables and adapters, a charging station can keep everything organized.

That’s where Acefast’s 6-in-1 80W foldable GaN charging station shines. Despite its compact size, it can charge up to six devices simultaneously, all while reducing the clutter and chaos on my desk. 

iOS 26’s Liquid Glass user interface brings dramatic change to the iPhone, so it’s no surprise that some people hate it. If the new translucent look is just not for you, you can tweak or turn off Liquid Glass in iOS 26.2. And it’s easy.

Plus, you will find the same settings in macOS Tahoe 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2, so you can turn off Liquid Glass on all your Apple devices if you like. Here’s how.

January 19, 1989: Apple introduces the Macintosh SE/30, arguably the greatest of the classic compact Macs with black-and-white screens.

When you picture the ideal 1980s Macintosh, this is likely the machine that comes to mind. And for good reason!

Order a MacBook Pro today, and you may never get it at all. But it’s not some horrible scam — Apple is very close to introducing new models, and the company knows you probably won’t want the ones available today once the new ones launch.

That’s why the wait times on many MacBook Pro models with M4 Pro and M4 Max processors stretches out well into February. It gives buyers time to change their orders.

Apple dedicated its website homepage to Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, as it has done on his national holiday each year since 2015. This year a free book of the slain Civil Rights movement icon’s essential works and a Time to Walk podcast with King’s daughter, Bernice A. King, are included.

“We honor Dr. King and reflect upon his life and legacy,” Apple said in print alongside a pixellated, constellation-like image of a smiling MLK against a black background filled with stars.

Apple likely will struggle to acquire a critical component for all its products this year. In fact, the whole electronics industry will face the same problem, and the competition will drive up prices, according to analysts.

What’s the missing product? RAM. Why is it so hard to get? AI. But the full story is more complex than those two basic facts.