Cult of Mac

After Apple began running new advertisements in the App Store on Tuesday, some developers checked their product pages to find banner ads for adult video chat apps, video poker apps and gambling apps of all varieties.

The fact that some of these advertisements appear on apps for children and apps for addiction recovery adds insult to injury. I asked a few independent developers to get their reaction to the news — and they were not happy.

Update (October 27): Apple has revised the types of ads that may appear, but the new ad placements remain.

Halloween is almost here, and OtterBox is celebrating with Nightmare Before Christmas iPhone cases in a variety of new styles.

OtterBox also just added iPhone cases featuring classic Disney villains, like Captain Hook and the Evil Queen.

If you’re looking to start an IT career, you may find CompTIA’s exam path useful. The 2022 CompTIA and AWS Practice Exam E-Book Bundle can help launch your career into high gear, and it’s on sale at a blowout price as part of our Overstock Deals event, which runs until October 31 at 11:59 PM.

As we develop better tools to understand our health, we’re learning just how important sleep actually is. The Snore Circle is designed to help you sleep better and get hard facts on how you sleep. For a limited time, this innovative wearable is on sale for $79.99 (regularly $119), the best price on the web.

The Cupertino tech giant expanded its free Apple Learning Coach program Wednesday to invite more tech instructors of various stripes across the U.S. to join. Once certified, they can show school teachers how to get the most out of Apple products to help their students.

Folks like tech coaches and digital learning specialists who want into the program can apply by November 16, Apple said.

The handy Apple Pencil 2 is down to its lowest-ever price of $89 on Amazon. That’s a sweet $40 discount off its $129 MSRP.

The Apple Pencil 2 will perfectly complement your new M2 iPad Pro or M1 iPad Air.

Apple apparently plans to “grande size” the iPad. A version with a 16-inch display is reportedly being developed.

If true, this will be a considerable jump up from the Apple’s largest current tablet, which includes a 12.9-inch screen. And the device – perhaps called iPad Ultra – will have a display the same size as the largest MacBook Pro.

Some people need more than one or two displays. Like software developers. Today’s featured MacBook Pro-and-custom-PC setup manages to rely on five different screens like some sort of mini Mission Control. But launches controlled from here are new software products and updates, not rockets.

A new iPhone 14 is a substantial investment in what may be your most important piece of technology — often in-hand, always within reach. So shouldn’t you protect it? iPhones have become tougher over the years, but you wouldn’t want to risk yours being out of commission even for a day.

Momax covers two of the best ways to safeguard iPhone 14. One is a slim-but-tough magnetic case in clear or colorful options. The other is a tempered glass screen protector. Together, they’re like armor for your iPhone. And right now, Cult of Mac readers can save 10% on these Momax accessories with code CULTOFMAC10.

Apple TV+ received five nominations for the 32nd Annual Gotham Awards Tuesday, including two nominations apiece for the series Pachinko and Severance and one for the film Causeway.

This comes after Apple took two wins in the 2021 Gotham Awards, which recognize visionary work in indie film and TV. This year’s awards ceremony takes place November 28.

An Apple executive confirmed that iPhone will drop the Lightning port in favor of USB-C. It’s a change being forced by the European Parliament, and Apple VP Greg Joswiak says the company won’t try to get around the new regulation.

Until now, it could only be assumed iPhone would give up Lightning.

Many of us need help winding down at the end of the day. For some folks, that means turning on the TV or getting some late-night gaming in. But those activities might be detrimental to your overall sleep quality.

Restflix, a restful sleep streaming service, offers more than 10 channels that can help you unwind at night. And it’s available at a blowout price of $69.99 (regularly $599) thanks to our Overstock Sale, which runs through October 31.

Order tracking is a mess. You might get a tracking number with your online order, but you have to bring up the tracking history on the carrier’s website or plug it into an app. With iOS 16, Apple hopes to end this madness with order tracking right in the Wallet app. You can see all* of your orders and their progress** in one convenient*** spot.

Apple’s latest iPad Pro lineup and the new iPad 10 are now on sale in the United States and 27 other key markets. The company announced the new iPads via press releases last week.

The launch of the new iPads comes hot on the heels of Monday’s iPadOS 16.1 release.

If you’ve got a lot of devices, then you need multiple charging ports to go with them, something even our favorite MacBooks can seriously lack. The secret to keeping all your devices connected is a multi-port USB accessory like this Mini 5-in-1 Type-C to USB Hub.

It’s available for just $16.99 (regularly $48) during our limited-time Overstock Sale. During this event, we’re passing along incredible Prime Day-style savings on some of our bestselling products. But you’ll have to be quick — this special promotion ends on October 31 at 11:59 p.m.

Major updates for all Apple operating systems just reached users on Monday, but Apple is already looking ahead to the next versions. The initial betas of iOS 16.2, macOS 13.1 Ventura, iPadOS 16.2 and watchOS 9.2 were all seeded to developers the next day.

These will bring new features and changes to the various Apple devices. Many iPad users will be especially pleased by full support for external displays. And Apple’s Freeform app is coming, too.

Place the Lion 50W Foldable Solar Panel in the sun and it can power most devices with a USB-A or USB-C port. It’s portable enough to take on a multi-day hike, or to not take up much room in a closet for power outages.

I put the solar charger to the test and I’m quite pleased with how easy it is to use and how well it performs.

Early reviews of iPad 10 compliment its larger display, relocated camera and faster processor. But they also have plenty to say about the steep increase in price.

Read on to see if the new “budget” iPad, which now starts at $449, is right for you.

Updated: In spring 2024, Apple lowered the cost of the iPad 10 to $349.

Tech accessories brand Mujjo, known for its leather iPhone cases, introduced a new collection of leather MagSafe wallets for iPhone Tuesday.

The wallets hold three cards and stick to any iPhone with MagSafe — with or without a case — the company said.

You don’t find many brands on Amazon with an average rating of 5 stars, but Zugu is one of them. The company focuses intently on making the best iPad cases it can, and if rave reviews are anything to go by — and they certainly are — Zugu is wildly successful at its endeavors.

After all, seeing all 5 stars filled in for thousands of ratings of each iPad case has got to be reassuring for shoppers looking to protect their tablet. And that includes cases for iPad mini, iPad Air and iPad Pro, in all sizes.

We’ll take a closer look at Zugu’s iPad cases and how the company got to where it is today below.

EcoFlow rolled out three new River 2 series power stations Tuesday. The under-1kWh devices charge to 80% as fast as 48 minutes and offer a long life, making them cost-effective for on-the-go uses like camping as well as home power backup, the company said.

PayPal just adopted passkeys as an easy and secure log in method for user accounts. Users with an iPhone, iPad or Mac will be the first able to take advantage of the passwordless biometric security system because Apple built support for it into its devices.

Passkeys are an improvement over passwords, as they can’t be phished, stolen or guessed.

The days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting cozier, which means we could all do with more light in our homes. Thankfully, even if you’re short on space, this minimalist corner floor lamp by Lamp Depot will light up the darkest of rooms without requiring practically any floor space.

You can purchase it for just $59.99 (regularly $149) during our limited-time Overstock Sale. You won’t need a coupon code to grab this Prime Day-style discount. But you will have to be fast — this event ends on October 31 at 11:59 p.m.

Google upgraded the iOS YouTube application with a number of enhancements, including pinch to zoom in videos and a new way of showing thumbnails while rewinding will make it easier to find an exact location.

There are other changes too, and some of the enhancements are coming to the desktop version.

Apple devices are becoming enhanced in remarkable ways. In addition to being a provider of a regularly evolving stream of high-performance communication devices, Apple also provides its user base with compatibility. When explored, compatibility and the overall device potential can improve a team’s efficiency, performance, and communication.

The challenge in trying to make the most out of a business’s Apple devices is finding a strategy for optimization that also maximizes your resources. Considering the many facets of device setup, management and security, managing your team’s Apple gear can call for a sophisticated platform and a dedicated team of professionals — until now.

Jamf Now is an easy-to-use platform that helps small-to-medium-size businesses with all of the above and more — no IT team necessary.