Super-adjustable laptop stand comes with a 6-way hub in its base [Price drop]

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This adjustable laptop stand doubles as a 6-in-1 connector hub, now only $102.
Take 20% off this swiveling laptop stand and detachable 6-in-1 USB-C hub.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Don’t underestimate the importance of good screen placement. Too many remote workers get into the habit of craning their necks because their desks are too low or too high. The Casa Hub Stand Pro, a laptop stand with hub that adds six multifunctional ports for easy connectivity, addresses that problem and many more.

Through February 19, this comfort- and productivity-enhancing accessory is on sale for only $94.97 (regularly $129).

Kiss productivity goodbye: TikTok just launched a Vision Pro app

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TikTok Vision Pro app
You haven't really seen TikTok videos until you've been immersed in them with Vision Pro.
Screenshot: TikTok/ByteDance

TikTok just outraced some of its biggest rivals by releasing a native Vision Pro application. The short video service that’s become a global phenomenon can now be enjoyed on Apple’s AR headset thanks to the TikTok Vision Pro app.

The head of development for the new app says the company “redesigned the entire TikTok experience.”

This ChatGPT training bundle reveals how to use AI the right way

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Save over $100 on a training bundle and learn to use ChatGPT the right way.
Get over $100 off this ChatGPT business training bundle.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

ChatGPT can boost your business in many ways — but only if you know how to properly use the buzz-worthy tool. The ChatGPT for Business Mastery Bundle brings together seven ChatGPT courses designed to turbocharge your AI skills.

This unique collection will help you get the most from OpenAI’s generative AI. And fast-acting Cult of Mac readers can grab this comprehensive training bundle for only $29.99 (regularly $133). It’s an inexpensive and easy way to instantly boost your business with ChatGPT.

3 wild new spatial games coming soon to Vision Pro

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new Vision Pro games
Are you ready to blow your mind with new spatial games for the Vision Pro headset?
Photo: Apple

Three games designed for visionOS spatial experiences through the new Vision Pro headset will soon join a dozen existing such titles, plus another 250 compatible games already in Apple Arcade, Apple said Thursday.

The company highlighted all the fun Vision Pro users can have, including descriptions of the upcoming versions of Alto’s Odyssey, Gibbon and Spire Blast for Vision Pro.

Today in Apple history: A young Steve Jobs appears on Time cover

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With Steve Jobs first Time magazine cover, he becomes the face of the 1980s tech boom.
Steve Jobs becomes the face of the 1980s tech boom.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

February 15: Today in Apple history: Young Steve Jobs appears on Time magazine cover February 15, 1982: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs appears on the front cover of Time magazine for the first time. The lengthy cover story makes Jobs the public face of successful tech entrepreneurship.

The first of many Time covers for Jobs, the article — titled “Striking It Rich: America’s Risk Takers” — casts him as the prototypical young upstart benefiting from the burgeoning personal computing revolution. It also identifies him as part of a surge of freshly minted millionaires running their own businesses.

How to charge the battery on your Vision Pro

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Vision Pro battery plugged in, sitting on a pine desk
It’s not a small battery.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

If you get a Vision Pro, you’ll soon need to learn how to charge up that battery. Apple only promises two hours of battery life on its revolutionary headset. Although real-world usage is pushing closer to three, if you want your spatial computing to be untethered, you’ll need to charge the Vision Pro battery often.

Here’s how to do it — along with some tips that will keep you (and your data) safe.

Take AirTag for a ride and track your bike with these Laut mounts

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Laut AirTag bike mount
Attach AirTag beneath your bike's saddle, or under your bottle holder.
Photo: Laut

If you love your AirTag soooooo much that you take it on romantic bike rides (or, more likely, you just want to track your sweet ride), check out these brilliant bike mounts from Laut. They’re well-designed and wonderfully affordable.

You can either attach your tracker to your saddle for less than $20, or beneath your water bottle for even less cash. And because Laut’s mounts are so inconspicuous, thieves won’t even see that your AirTag is there.

Typing on Vision Pro: A scientific test with surprising results

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Hand touching a floating keyboard typing on Vision Pro
Using Vision Pro's virtual keyboard, you just reach out and touch parts of the screen when you need to.
Photo: Apple

The Vision Pro’s virtual, floating-in-the-air keyboard has been nearly universally condemned. There’s no way around it: Typing on Vision Pro sucks.

But people said the same thing about the original iPhone, which ditched a physical keyboard compared to the BlackBerry. And these days, physical keyboards for your iPhone are more of a novelty than a standard accessory that everybody buys.

So to get to the bottom of exactly how bad the Vision Pro keyboard is, I took a bunch of different typing tests across a bunch of different keyboards. And the results I found were incredibly surprising. I accidentally discovered the best way to input text in Vision Pro.

Check out our latest YouTube video or keep reading to see what happened.

Upgraded iPhone 16 Neural Engine could power iOS 18 generative AI features

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Apple's new A17 Pro chip is amazingly small for its power.
Apple's next mobile SoC should bring a big boost in AI and ML performance.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s next-gen A18 and M4 SoCs will reportedly feature an upgraded Neural Engine with a lot more cores. The additional horsepower in the A18 chip should help the iPhone 16 deliver better performance in AI/ML tasks.

The powerful Neural Engine should help power the generative AI features rumored to debut in iOS 18.

Enjoy wireless CarPlay with this 9-inch touchscreen display

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Upgrade your vehicle with a 9-inch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-compatible touchscreen for $119.99.
Install this 9-inch wireless touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for only $119.99.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Built-in car touchscreens that work with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto come standard in most modern cars, but there’s an easy way to enjoy the benefits even if your car is a little dated. Simply add an affordable aftermarket CarPlay display.

With this 9-inch wireless car display, you can enjoy safer accessibility to your smartphone while driving. For a limited time, it’s on sale for only $119.99 (regularly $179).

People are returning Vision Pro in droves … or are they?

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Apple Vision Pro box in a bag
Apple Vision Pro is being returned in droves by early adopters.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Many early adopters seem set on returning their Apple Vision Pro headsets. As the 14-day return window approaches for people who bought the device on launch day, an avalanche of posts on X and other social media channels point to a wave of Vision Pro returns.

Apparently, it’s not just Mark Zuckerberg who thinks Apple’s expensive headset isn’t worth the money. There appears to be a mass exodus of early adopters who ponied up the cash for Apple’s pricey headset. They cite three main reasons for returning Vision Pro. But is the situation really as bad as it seems?

Time for deep discounts on Apple Watch 9

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deep discount on Apple Watch 9
Don't waste another minutes. Seize these watch deals.
Photo: D. Griffith Jones/Cult of Mac

Giant online retailers Amazon and Best Buy are offering deep discounts on Apple Watch 9. At Amazon you can choose different Series 9 versions ranging from $70 to $100 off regular prices. Best Buy offers tons of options, all at $70 off, from the cheapest to more pricey models.

And notably, Best Buy lists all of its $70-off sale items as “With blood oxygen feature.”

Conspiracy thriller Prime Target ready to sneak onto Apple TV+. Or is it?

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Quintessa Swindell and Leo Woodall star in Prime Target on Apple TV+.
Quintessa Swindell and Leo Woodall star in upcoming series Prime Target, coming soon to Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

Prime Target is an incoming Apple TV+ thriller that combines conspiracy theories with math theorems. Seriously. It’s about a mathematician whose research is being suppressed as part of a mysterious conspiracy.

The upcoming series will star Leo Woodall and Quintessa Swindell.

Get up to $100 off AirPods Max while you can

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AirPods Max on charging stand
Getting $100 off the top-shelf cans is a good deal, even with an updated version on the way.
Photo: Floating Pixels

In what appears to be the first big discount on Apple’s $549 over-ear, noise-canceling headphones in 2024, you can currently get up to $100 off AirPods Max at Amazon and Best Buy ($449.99).

The last time folks had a shot at a deal like this was Black Friday 2023. It’s not clear how long the deals might last. And other AirPods models are also on sale.

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

These French studio-monitor speakers never surrender [Setups]

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Focal Shape 65 speakers
These intriguing studio monitors from France -- plus a massive subwoofer to match -- have never appeared in our Setups coverage before.
Photo: Focal

We love it when an interesting computer setup on social media — something real and well-used, not staged — shows us a brand-new thing (new to us, that is). And this week that comes in an audio engineer’s iMac Pro setup featuring brilliant Focal studio-monitor speakers on stands above a massive Focal subwoofer under the custom-made desk.

We’re pretty sure Focal speakers have never appeared in setups featured on Cult of Mac. For one thing, they’re from France. That country comes to mind less for premium audio than the United States, UK, Germany, Japan and Denmark, to name a few leaders. 

Today in Apple history: Intel and Microsoft face lawsuit for stealing Apple code

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Apple vs. Microsoft was one of the big tech battles of the 1990s.
Apple vs. Microsoft was one of the biggest tech battles of the 1990s.
Photo: Brian Turner/Flickr CC/Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

February 14: Today in Apple history: Intel and Microsoft face lawsuit for stealing Apple code February 14, 1995: Apple Computer extends a lawsuit against developer San Francisco Canyon Company to include Microsoft and Intel. The lawsuit concerns allegedly stolen Apple code that’s used to improve Microsoft’s Video for Windows technology.

The lawsuit comes to a head with Apple threatening a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against Microsoft. Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates threatens to cancel Office for Mac.

Protect your iPad with a colorful and practical Laut Huex Folio

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It comes in a nice array of colors.
It comes in a nice array of colors.
Photo: Laut

It’s wonderful how slim and light iPads are, including the capable 11-inch iPad Pro and 10.9-inch iPad Air. But while it may be tempting to carry yours around without any sort of case, it’s risky.

So you might consider a slim and lightweight case and stand that protects your tablet and adds a splash of color — like the Laut Huex Folio Case with Pencil Holder. You can get one at a good price in the Cult of Mac Store.

Apple tests AI software to transform images into video

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Apple tests Keyframer, AI software to transform images into video
Keyframer is only a research project, but it confirms that Apple is hard at work on LLM-based AI software.
Screenshot: Apple

The latest demonstration of Apple’s AI expertise is Keyframer, software that turns an image into a video based on natural language instructions.

It offers an early glimpse at the type of AI tools that might come bundled into future versions of macOS or iOS.

How to let other people see what you see in Vision Pro

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Apple TV showing a screen mirrored Vision Pro with the Explore Mars app
Let other people see what you’re seeing. (Featuring the Explore Mars app.)
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

It’s possible to share your screen in your Vision Pro so that other people can see what you’re seeing, too. This is especially helpful in Vision Pro Guest Mode, to help you guide newbies through the unfamiliar headset.

Vision Pro is an exciting new product, but it can be isolating. The incredible experiences it enables aren’t social. However, you can AirPlay your screen to a nearby Apple TV, iPad, Mac or iPhone.

Here’s how.

How to fix eye and hand tracking on Vision Pro

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Man sitting on a couch with a Vision Pro making a pinch gesture with his fingers
You won’t be smiling when your Vision Pro refuses to follow your eyes correctly.
Photo: Apple

You can easily fix Apple Vision Pro eye tracking and hand tracking if your headset starts to act up. You’ll want to follow the steps below if the device stops accurately tracking your gaze or your hand gestures.

As you probably know, hand tracking and eye tracking are essential to using Vision Pro. When they don’t work as well as possible, it’s incredibly frustrating. I know, because sometimes the headset’s sensors have a hard time tracking my eyes up and down. It’s like using an iPad stylus on a touchscreen that’s slightly uncalibrated.

The quick methods below can fix some Vision Pro eye- and hand-tracking problems for you.  You can approach trigger a reset three different ways — by pressing a button on the headset, going into Settings or asking Siri for help — all with the same ultimate result. (In my experience, this is one situation in which Siri excels.)

Mark Zuckerberg says Quest 3 is better than Vision Pro

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Vision Pro sitting on a desk
Zuckerberg has thoughts on the Vision Pro.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company’s mixed-reality headset beats Vision Pro in almost every way, despite the fact that it costs far less than Apple’s device. In a short video posted Tuesday on Instagram, Zuckerberg called the Meta Quest headset the “better product, period.”

While he praised the Vision Pro’s high-resolution displays, he said he thinks Apple made a lot of compromises on its $3,499 headset.

With this thing, your iPhone 15 Pro can go nearly naked

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Nomad Magnetic Leather Case Back for iPhone 15 Pro:Pro Max
It's sort of like going halfway from case to caseless.
Photo: Nomad

When I first saw Nomad’s brand-new Magnetic Leather Back for the iPhone 15 Pro series, I thought, what is this, like a thong for iPhone?

Well, it’s what its name describes, a partial case. And it’s for those who wish their handset was naked, but they can’t bring themselves to strip it completely.

Aliens don’t quit: Invasion rages on with season 3 on Apple TV+

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Sci-fi drama
Maybe this time we'll get a sense of who's actually winning this battle.
Photo: Apple

Sci-fi drama Invasion will return for a third season, Apple TV+ said Tuesday. Apparently, it’s going to take at least 30 episodes — 10 per season — to declare an outcome to mankind’s desperate global battle with alien invaders. (Or maybe more, with a fourth season, if the war drags on.)

The streamer said production on the season three of Invasion will start before the end of February.

Get Speidel’s soft silicone Scrub Band for Apple Watch for just $6

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Speidel's Matching Scrub Band for Apple Watch is just $5.99 for a limited time.
Speidel's Matching Scrub Band for Apple Watch is just $5.99 for a limited time.
Photo: Cult of Mac Store

Speidel makes all sorts of watch bands and straps — including a wide range of bands for Apple Watch. Little did we know there’s one made for medical workers, as in doctors and nurses. It’s the Speidel Matching Scrub Band for Apple Watch, and it’s on sale in the Cult of Mac Store for just $5.99, or 70% off the regular price.

You don’t need to work in health care to grab one. But if you like the looks of these colorful and inexpensive silicone Apple Watch bands, you should act fast — once they’re gone, they’re gone.