Cult of Mac

As winter shambles coldly toward much of the U.S. and the world, feast your eyes on a beautiful, custom-built backyard shed housing a hot Mac mini computer setup (in the photo above). It doesn’t even need heating because it’s in California. Jealous yet?

Today’s featured setup pairs a Mac mini with dual HP displays, a Logitech webcam designed for the Pro Display XDR and some slick audio gear we haven’t seen before.

This post on discount Microsoft software is presented by CdkeySales.com.

It’s that spooky time of year when you can get frighteningly good deals on Microsoft software. Just haunt the Halloween megasale at software activation keys provider CdkeySales.com. As a Cult of Mac reader, you can click on the links below and get a spooktastic deal on Windows 10 that gets you a free upgrade to Windows 11. And you can dig up big savings on plenty of other Microsoft software, too.

If you want to make the most of your savings, enter promo code CULT at CdkeySales.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.

Zagg built plenty of features into its new Pro Mouse. That include support for wireless charging so keeping it topped up just means occasionally placing it on a charging mat.

And the Bluetooth accessory can pair with Mac, MacBook and iPad simultaneously so it’s ready to switch to whichever one you’re using. Plus it works on glass.

In aimless new dramedy Raymond & Ray, Ethan Hawke and Ewen McGregor play half-brothers who must bury their father — and decades of trauma — over the course of a long, late-summer day.

Directed by Rodrigo García, and produced by Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity, Roma), the film is never believable for even a second. Inessential by design and pleasant enough, this one’s built to go in one ear/eye and out the other just as quickly.

Google is raising YouTube Premium’s Family plan pricing in the US, Canada, and several other parts of the world. In the US, the YouTube Premium family plan will now cost $22.99 per month, up from $17.99.

YouTube’s Premium plan for families is getting a similar price hike in Canada, with the rate increasing from CA$17.99 to CA$22.99. The higher subscription prices will go into effect from November 21.

From office work to home maintenance, personal obligations have a way of getting between you and a good reading session. Fortunately, advanced book-summary service Four Minute Books created a new approach to staying entertained and informed from anywhere, even with limited free time.

A lifetime subscription to Four Minute Books is on sale for $39.99 a fraction of its standard cost of $399.

Apple’s newest iPad features a redesigned chassis, a bigger 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display and faster internals. Thanks to these changes, the iPad 10 carries a significantly higher starting price tag of $449.

Meanwhile, Apple sells the M1 iPad Air, with more powerful internals, for $599. So, should you spring for the Air and pay that additional $150, or save your money and buy the new 10th-gen iPad?

There’s nothing like leather to add stylish protection to your iPhone. If you have a new iPhone 14, it’s a good idea to dress up that pricey device in a high-quality leather case that’ll protect the handset and look good doing it.

For whichever iPhone 14 model you have, you can find eight Mujjo leather and leather-wallet iPhone 14 cases in the Cult of Mac Store.

Apple’s M2 iPad Pro lineup does not pack significant upgrades over the 2021 models. If you don’t need the extra power, you can get the M1 12.9-inch iPad Pro for $200 off on Amazon.

The entry-level variant of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro for $899, down from $1,099. You can use the money saved towards additional accessories or upgrade to a higher storage variant.

The wait for the first major update to iOS 16 is almost over. Apple revealed Thursday in a backwards sort of way that iOS 16.1 will reach iPhones everywhere on October 24.

The update will bring iCloud Shared Photo Library, Live Activities and other new features.

Apple Fitness+ will finally become available to iPhone users starting next week. The subscription service, which offers an array of recorded workouts for a wide range of health levels, previously focused on Apple Watch, showcasing users’ performance metrics in real time.

The expansion to iOS handsets is not the only move in the works to make Apple Fitness+ more mainstream. Music by Taylor Swift is also coming to Fitness+, with workouts focused on the artist’s new album, Midnight.

Keychron launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign Wednesday for its slim, highly customizable new K3 Pro mechanical keyboard. The company called it “the first-ever low profile mechanical keyboard to come with wireless connectivity and support QMK/VIA.”

And it’s “the first keyboard to ever be equipped with double-shot PBT low profile keycaps,” the company added.

The funding campaign has already eclipsed its initial campaign goal, so the product is likely to ship, just as the original K3 did.

Blackmagic Design confirmed Thursday that its DaVinci Resolve professional video editing application will be released for iPad before the end of 2022.

It puts the third-party software developer ahead of Apple, which has yet to bring Final Cut Pro to its tablets.

If you’re on a quest to boost your efficiency during daily computer-related tasks, there’s a limited-time bundle to know about leading up to Apple Day, which comes on October 21.

During our Apple Day sale, we’re dropping prices on our favorite Apple refurbs. This includes a 2015 MacBook Pro for just $449.99. And it comes with lifetime access to Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac.

If you want a tactical-looking Apple Watch band that doesn’t skimp on comfort, the Mifa Nylon Sports Leather Band is for you. In this week’s giveaway, you can win one — along with an Elkson Quattro Bumper Case that will protect your Apple Watch from whatever mayhem you might get into.

We teamed up with Mifa and Elkson to give four lucky entrants the chance to win one of these great Apple Watch accessory bundles worth $36.99.

If you want to transfer files between devices, an SD card can do the job in a pinch, but not all are created equal. They all vary in speed and capacity, so you have to do your homework and consider your use case before purchasing.

If you’re looking for an all-rounder offering excellent bang for your buck, consider the SanDisk Extreme Pro. For a limited time, this 128GB SanDisk SD card is on sale for $24.99 (regularly $31).

The decision to make the all-new iPad compatible with the original Apple Pencil looks likely to go down as one of Apple’s most ridiculous design decisions.

Since the new entry-level iPad utilizes USB-C rather than Lightning, you can’t plug the Apple Pencil into the tablet to charge the stylus. And Apple’s “fix” — the $9 USB-C to Apple Pencil Adapter that will come packaged with old-school Apple Pencils — sent some Apple fans into an accelerated version of the five stages of grief.

The fourth-gen iPhone SE might be a blast from the past: leaked renders of the upcoming budget handset show it greatly resembling the iPhone XR.

If so, it will be the first in the SE line with an edge-to-edge screen and no Home button.

With Apple’s top-shelf AirPods Max over-ear active noise cancelling (ANC) wireless headphones due for a refresh, competitors keep coming with hot new products.

High-end audio maker KEF jumped into the market for the first time this week with its KEF Mu7 headphones, not long after venerable brand Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) rolled out its newest flagship, the PX8.

Once you shell out a couple thousand bucks or more for a marvelous Mac Studio desktop machine, how do you add an ultra-wide display without running up your already-tortured credit cards?

Today’s featured dual-monitor Mac Studio setup solved the problem by going back in time. Its owner added an ultra-wide display — and much of the other gear in the workstation — from a few years ago.

The latest version of the Logitech Crayon iPad stylus charges via USB-C, just like the new iPad 10. That makes it a simpler option than the Apple Pencil 1 that still uses Lightning.

And the stylus is designed with children in mind.

This post on unique MacBook, iPad and iPhone stands is brought to you by Momax.

It can pay to place your most important devices on stands, like your MacBook, iPad and iPhone. It usually makes them easier to view and use while also creating some extra space on the desktop for other items or uses, and out of the way of spills and other workstation calamities.

If you need a stand for a laptop, tablet or smartphone, Momax features a whole lineup. And better yet, as a Cult of Mac reader, you can get 10% off any purchase, plus an extra 5% off if you buy more than one item. See below.

It looks like something big and bad is about to happen to London, and it may fall to a team of remedial MI5 back-benchers to step up and stop it.

That’s at least according to the season 2 trailer of the darkly comedic Apple TV+ espionage thriller Slow Horses, which dropped Wednesday. The series resumes December 2. Watch the trailer below.

Apple seems to be focusing more on sports and the outdoors these days, but you don’t necessarily need a new Apple Watch to stay active. For example, if you already own an iPhone, you can turn it into a golf coach with a Phigolf swing trainer, on sale now for $199.99 (regularly $279).

The Logitech MX Mechanical Mini is a keyboard optimized for Mac. It features low-profile mechanical switches and backlighting, and can be paired with up to three computers

I’ve been using the Bluetooth keyboard in my home office for weeks. Here’s why I’ve come to love it.