Your next iPhone could be assembled in India rather than China. Photo: Cult of Mac
After recent problems in China, Apple is ramping up iPhone assembly in India. The number of iOS handsets assembled in that country will reportedly triple in the coming years.
Previous reports have also indicated that Apple is putting a much greater emphasis on making iPhones in India.
Use a second number on your phone with this top-rated app, less than $25 today. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
If you’re still using one phone number for everything, it’s time to upgrade your cell. Forget giving out your personal number to companies, private sellers and strangers. With a private phone line, you can keep different callers totally separate from your personal life.
For one week only, you can get a second phone number with Hushed for just $19 (regularly $150) with coupon code HUSHED.
Enhance your personal computer setup by taking advantage of a major discount on this advanced monitor. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Considering the shift toward work-from-home models and online academic options, there’s never been a greater need to maximize your home office. An external monitor from Desklab can help you accomplish more, and it’s on sale for less than half of its standard cost.
For a limited time, you can pick one up for only $289.99 (regularly $700) — the best price you’ll find online.
★★★★☆
Spy games have deadly consequences on Slow Horses. Photo: Apple TV+
There’s a man down this week on Slow Horses, the Apple TV+ show about underdog British spies and their disheveled bureau chief. The horses say goodbye to one of their own, but they don’t get much time to grieve.
Peter Judd’s giving everyone grief again, the Russians are in town doing damage, Lamb’s off the radar conducting his own investigation, and River’s in deep cover … though not that deep.
The episode, entitled “Drinking Games,” is a rough and engaging chapter of the saga. Everyone plays their part beautifully, and the stakes continue to climb.
Put infinite toys on your desktop with our December Deal of the Day. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Our toys may become more complex as we grow up, but nobody ever quite lets their preadolescent fantasies go. And now, you can relive that childlike fascination with your own young ones with the Toybox, a kid-friendly 3D printer.
And thanks to our December Deal of the Day event, you can purchase the Toybox 3D Printer Deluxe Bundle for $299.99 (regularly $349.99) until December 13, with guaranteed delivery by Christmas.
★★★☆☆
Karla (played by Antonia Desplat, left) will seemingly stop at nothing to save Lin (Charlie Hunnam). Photo: Apple TV+
Our outlaw hero Lin is running out of road this week on Shantaram, and everyone wants him dead or simply out of the way. Karla is neck-deep in a desperate attempt to clear Lin’s name — and makes Bombay a war zone in the process.
Also in this week’s episode, entitled “Banquet of Consequences“: Lisa and Modena’s great escape turns into no such thing. Prabhu makes a promise he can’t keep. Wally Nightingale closes in on his prey. And Ravi decides he’d rather not change after all.
It’s a thrilling penultimate episode, as the Apple TV+ limited series finds all its bloody pieces falling into place.
★☆☆☆☆
Amber alert! Echo 3 goes completely off the rails this week. Photo: Apple TV+
This week on Echo 3, showrunner, writer and director Mark Boal — known for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty — gets lost upriver trying to graft some semblance of a worldview onto his hollow, sadistic Apple TV+ jungle adventure.
The kidnapped Amber’s captivity is explored, as is her captors’ thin psychology and political motivation. She tries to escape and everyone else suffers for it. It’s a boring and grim edition of Boal’s G.I. Joe fantasy.
★★★☆☆
The Las Colinas crew is in total disarray. Photo: Acapulco recap Apple TV+: The Los
Bilingual Apple TV+ comedy Acapulco goes to the edge of misfortune this week before pulling back. Maximo should be happy with his new life with Isabelle, but can’t help but feel like he’s missing out on something. And Julia and Chad must think about their futures now that they know neither of them will be a part of the other’s.
Meanwhile, Memo misses Maximo, Hector’s confused, Chad is lost, and Diane needs Don Pablo back in a hurry. All told, “The Power of Love” is a very convenient episode of the lightweight series.
This AI voiceover program can speak 129 languages, and we've got the best price online. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Writing a script is a ton of work, and that doesn’t even account for reading it live. If you want to avoid spending hours recording voiceovers for your podcasts, YouTube videos or training materials, you may want to give Micmonster a try.
This AI-based voiceover tool provides hundreds of lifelike voices, in 129 languages, to create custom voiceovers. And lifetime subscriptions are on sale now for $59 — the best price on the web.
★★★★☆
The sudden appearance of old nemesis Richard (played by Ariyon Bakare) means trouble on The Mosquito Coast. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ thriller The Mosquito Coast picks up its cliffhanger and heads into ever darker territory this week. Allie is caught between a rock and a harder place than usual. Dina takes her anger out on Margot, but Charlie would rather take it out on Richard.
Margot’s stuck between trying to win back her family’s approval and not caring enough to get it back. The Foxes may still be in hot water with the U.S. government after all, which means there’s a clock ticking faster than they imagined.
It all adds up to a white-knuckle episode of the drama about a family of terrorists on the lam in Central America.
Apple and Ericsson buried the hatchet in their latest patent fight. Photo: Cult of Mac
After a muti-year argument, Apple and Ericsson agreed to cross license each others patents on cellular standard-essential technologies. And they’ll drop their lawsuits, too.
What’s really happening though is that the two companies have negotiated how much money Apple will pay to license Ericsson patents for use in the iPhone.
★★★★☆
Would you entrust Christmas to this guy? Nope. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest rings in the holiday season with a very special Christmas episode this week. The Mythic Quest offices are full of misery as David makes everyone stay and work through Christmas Eve. His attempts to cheer them up come to naught. And when Poppy and Ian try to salvage things at their old company, they go too far.
Meanwhile, Poppy and Rachel must learn what Jo’s definition of friendship is, and Rachel has her first brush with success. All in all, “The 12 Hours of Christmas” stands tall as a stellar episode of Apple TV+’s funniest show.
★★★☆☆
First you struggle, then everything works out. Right? Photo: Apple TV+
Little America, the easygoing Apple TV+ series about the immigrant experience in America, returns this week for a second season of predictably uplifting storytelling.
This parade of hard-luck stories features happy endings that range from gentle to ecstatic. Just like last season, the show is largely successful — if frequently too well-behaved for its own good.
Lots of toys live in this MacBook Air and gaming PC rig. Photo: [email protected]
Some setups are no-nonsense, just the facts, ma’am — strictly utilitarian. Others are fanciful and full of toys. Today’s featured setup leans toward the latter, with its burgeoning population of Transformer figures crowding the shelf above the display and even related wall art.
And there’s plenty of gaming going on there, too, via a custom gaming PC and Nintendo Switch OLED in addition to an M1 MacBook Air and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Oh, and it has one of the coolest speaker systems ever made, too.
“Get your bling on with the Casetify Glitter Apple Watch Band!” says Casetify in its listing for the distinctive band. And at this time of year, the festive bands — available in four fun colors — seem especially merry.
But you can rock the sparkling band any time of year for whatever festivities you’re into. Just head to the Cult of Mac Store.
Be sure to use promo code CULT when shopping for software deals at CDKeylord.com to get the lowest possible price.
Image: CDKeylord.com
‘Tis the season to save on crucial Microsoft software. Just shop the Christmas Sale at software activation keys provider CDKeylord.com to save on Word, Office and more. Even better, Cult of Mac readers can click on the links below and get even more savings on Windows 10 and other Microsoft software.
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In order to maximize the deals, enter promo code CULT at CDKeylord.com. That will take an extra 30% off the site’s already-low prices on keys for Windows 10 Pro Global, Microsoft Office 2021 Pro and more.
★★★☆☆Puppy Place can't stop being adorable. Photo: Apple TV+
Puppy Place returns to Apple TV+ this week with a second batch of adorable, low-stress hijinks centered on a family that fosters cute pooches.
The Petersons and their four-legged charges once again set out to teach us to love dogs — and ourselves in the process. The puppies are cute and plentiful, the lessons come hard and fast, and no problem is so difficult that it might stress out a child.
The show remains a pretty good afternoon time-waster for kids under 10.
Is there a better gift you can give this holiday season than a career level-up? An app for constructing the perfect résumé is a great gift idea for doing that. And you can also get lifetime access to Resoume, an AI-based résumé writing assistant, for just $39.99 (regularly $600). ´
★★★★☆Emancipation is an action-packed look at the brutality of slavery that should make you forget The Slap. Photo: Apple TV+
Based on a true story about a slave’s quest for freedom during the Civil War, Apple TV+’s oddly positioned Oscar contender Emancipation pairs action with an unflinching look at slavery’s brutality.
It stars Will Smith, whose bizarre post-Slap apology tour makes for strange bedfellows with Emancipation’s stark subject matter and the film’s action-oriented director, Antoine Fuqua. But this cautiously made movie is probably the best possible film this team could have produced. And indeed, it’s quite a bit better than an Oscar-ready slavery drama made in today’s Hollywood has any right to be.
★★☆☆☆
New episodes of Carpool Karaoke are all about the stars, like Duran Duran and Sandra Oh. Photo: Apple TV+
New episodes of Carpool Karaoke: The Series just popped up on Apple TV+, with zero fanfare or build-up or warning, because, well, who’s going to stop them? You? I didn’t think so.
Still, the showrunners did the one thing possible to entice me to review this new batch: They snagged some interesting guest stars. And you know what? A few actually charming moments emerge, despite the cringe-inducing artifice and sheer laziness of Carpool Karaoke’s premise and production.
These no-shipping music lessons make the perfect last-minute Christmas gift. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Not sure what to get the person who has everything this Christmas? Forget useless gifts they’ll never unbox and give them something they’ll appreciate. This mega-bundle of piano and guitar lessons from top instructors has earned rave user reviews and doesn’t require any shipping time, making it a fantastic last-minute gift.
During our Last Chance Sale, you can purchase the collection for just $29.99 (regularly $1,600).
There's no excuse to not watch Emancipation with a free two-month trial. Graphic: Apple TV+
The docudrama Emancipation hits Apple TV+ tomorrow, and to make sure Will Smith fans can watch it, Apple is offering a free two-month trial of its streaming video service.
Google is improving Chrome so it takes up less of Mac's system memory. And it'll go easier on batteries, too. Photo: Google/Apple
Google tweaked the desktop version of Chrome so that background tabs take up less memory. The widely used browser will also use less power when a laptop’s battery is getting low.
The changes are coming soon to the macOS version as well as other desktop OSs.