UPDATE: This prediction can true very quickly. HomePod 2 launched on January 18. Get all the details:

• Apple resurrects full-size HomePod with hot new features, same old price
• HomePod 2 can’t join in stereo pair with earlier models
• Secret sensor in your HomePod mini will activate soon

Apple’s new full-size HomePod with even better sound quality could launch “fairly soon,” according to the latest rumor. The updated smart speaker should pack improved touch controls and feature Matter with Thread support for more reliable use as a home-automation hub. And it should come at a lower price than the original model.

The HomePod debuted in 2018, but Apple discontinued it in 2021 following poor sales due to its steep $299 price.

The most important feature of the new Hyper Thunderbolt 4 Power Hub is something it doesn’t have: a giant power brick. The three-port hub offers 40Gbps data transfers as its rivals do, but in a more compact form.

The device was unveiled in summer 2022 and went through crowdfunding but is only now available for all to buy.

We’ve been hammering away at this remote work thing for a while now. So why are we still holding meetings the same old way? Instead of “stop everything and head to the conference room,” it’s “stop everything and open up Teams.”

Let’s face it, though. Stand-up meetings are awkward at the best of times. But they can be counterproductive when colleagues are on different schedules or time zones. Luckily, Standuply users are starting to discover a better way to organize meetings.

A Canadian regulatory agency recently approved a MacBook Pro that Apple itself has yet to announce. Few details were leaked aside from the notebook supporting Wi-Fi 6E, an improvement on the current version of the short-range wireless networking standard.

Currently, only the newest iPad Pro has Wi-Fi 6E.

To snooze a wake-up alarm on your iPhone, you can tap the screen or press any button. Or you might build an elaborate mechanism that spans most of your bedroom and sends the handset on a wild adventure. That’s what one inventor recently did.

The Rube Goldberg device is the creation of Joseph Herscher, who makes them for a living.

Update: This prediction came 100% true. Apple took the wraps off a pair of Macs on January 17. Don’t miss Cult of Mac‘s full coverage:

• New MacBook Pro models come supercharged with M2 Pro and Max chips
• Apple launches powerful new Mac mini at a lower cost
• Apple’s new M2 Pro and M2 Max chips raise the performance bar … again
• How the new M2 Pro and Max MacBook Pros compare to M1 models

Rumors suggest Apple is preparing for a quiet release of new Mac computers as early as Tuesday. These will include updates to the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models in addition to the Mac mini. The updates reportedly will be minor, bringing the new M2 chips to the computers.

There won’t be an Apple event — the company will announce the new computers by press release, if the rumors prove correct.

Some workstations look boring and utilitarian while others, at least sometimes, look otherworldly. The difference between the two usually comes down to good lighting, skillful photography — and often a key visual you don’t see every day.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup relies on atmospheric lighting and exceptionally cool desktop wallpaper on the displays to make it look fascinating.

And because the workstation is used mainly for audio design and includes great gear, it undoubtedly sounds great, too.

The time when iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max buyers could expect a long wait to get Apple’s latest are over. The top-of-the-line iOS handsets can now be ordered from the Apple store for next-day delivery.

That’s a far cry from last fall when the wait stretched out over a month.

If you’ve traveled extensively to other countries, especially more than one on a single trip, you know keeping your gadgets charged can be a tricky business. New day, new country … what kind of plug do you need this time?

As it has done over the past several years on this national holiday, Apple dedicated most of its homepage Monday to honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Along with a photo of King preaching at the pulpit, this quote by him urging a response to the Vietnam War appeared: “This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive education.”

And the Cupertino tech giant offered a book by King for free on Apple Books.

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Consumer electronics maker Alogic rolled out a new lineup of chargers for travelers in early January. The range includes car chargers as well as portable GaN wall chargers that work in multiple countries to keep your iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and more going.

Equipped with various power capacities and port selections, the chargers could be useful for travel and in hybrid work environments, the company said.

If you’re looking for a simple, no-frills way to store and transfer files, a flash drive might be your best bet. With this four-in-one flash drive, you can just plug it into your computer. And even better, it can connect to iOS and Android devices, thanks to its four different tips.

I’ve been on a quest to discover the perfect Mac keyboard. I’m looking for a compact keyboard with modern Mac styling — and the best key switches money can buy.

That’s when I discovered Model F Labs, whose keyboards are truly one-of-a-kind. They offer plenty of normal designs — but I ordered one in silver with blank unprinted keys. Keep reading to find out why I ordered what I did, why I love it and why I’ll be keeping it on my desk.

The last few years have seen a huge rise in spam calls and texts, but that doesn’t mean you’re stuck listening to strangers ask you about your car’s extended warranty forever. Adding another number to your phone can help you filter out the calls and texts you don’t want to answer.

A Hushed private phone line gives you full control of a second phone number — and it’s only $24.99 for lifetime access! That’s a small price to pay for freedom from spammers.

You may have felt a seismic shift recently. The origin was Apple Park in Cupertino, where Tim Cook and Co. decided to start work on a touchscreen MacBook Pro. This is something the company has been adamantly against for many years, going back to a scathing comment from the late Steve Jobs.

But the computing world has changed enormously since Jobs mocked touchscreen laptops. Today, there are plenty of reasons for Apple to make one.

If you’ve been reading the tech news anytime in the past decade, you know that no one — not even Apple — is safe from cybercrime. But there’s a bright side to all this hacking, especially if you work in IT: The job market for cybersecurity experts is as robust as it’s ever been.

And if you’re not currently in that growing corner of the tech sector, it might be easier to train yourself than you think.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Deep down inside, you know you want to give your Mac the finger. Apple might make that happen in the (somewhat) near future, according to the latest rumor. That’s right — Apple reportedly is “seriously considering” making a touchscreen MacBook. That’s enough to get us chattering!

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple’s headset inches closer to (mixed) reality. But where are you going to put that waist-mounted battery pack if you don’t wear a belt?!? This is chaos!
• Lots of geeky talk on the future of Apple screens, and why microLED will make a big difference.
• What Apple products to expect this year, and when we think we’ll see them.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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Apple apparently plans to re-release its update to the underlying architecture of its HomeKit home-automation system in the near future. The upgraded platform for the Home app is included in the latest iOS and iPadOS betas.

The company briefly made this update available to all users in December before withdrawing it due to unspecified problems.

Owning a copy of Microsoft Office is simply essential in today’s remote and hybrid working world. Set yourself up to work from home — or anywhere at all — with a lifetime license for Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac.

It’s on sale at the all-time low price of $25 (regularly $349) for the next three days only.

The pursuit of consistently solid sleep is crucial for personal health, but a variety of factors can prevent that from happening. Snoring is one of the chief offenders.

Problems associated with snoring are unfortunately common, and can negatively impact the sleep cycles of both the snorers and their partners. The Snore Circle is a simple way to work toward solutions. And this effective anti-snoring device is currently available for just $79.99 (regularly $119).

The iPhone 15 is expected to get a facelift along with other design changes, and a new concept video and images present a very early look at the handset Apple might launch this autumn.

The concept artist started with details that have leaked out already and mixed in some of their own hopes. The result is splendid.

New Apple TV+ documentary series Super League: The War for Football examines a dark and very recent chapter in the beloved sport’s history when the bubble threatened to burst.

Capitalism’s slowly tightening stranglehold over the sport meant that some owners saw the potential for growth that meant cutting off not just more than half of the European teams, but the thousands of fans of those teams. This is the story of the people who saved football … for now.

Illustrated is a new puzzle game — literally. Players put together jigsaw puzzle pieces to assemble beautiful illustrations.

Putting puzzles together is a meditative process for many, and the new game embraces that, with each containing a quote or other wisdom. It’s now available on Apple Arcade for iPhone, Mac and more.

Enervating Apple TV+ series Echo 3 comes to a close this week. The show finally springs kidnapped CIA plant Amber from her prison, but there’s a lot more to freedom than no longer seeing the same four walls.

This bizarro, jingoistic wife-guy fantasy comes to a screeching halt with a conclusion preordained from its first incredibly strange seconds. Come for the last gunfight, stay for the most risible attitude toward human life I’ve yet encountered on scripted television.

Some computer setups are more Apple-ish than others. Apple-y. Apple-centric. Today’s featured M1 Max MacBook Pro outfit welcomes a new Studio Display to replace a recently “retired” 20-inch Cinema Display, and that’s just the start of the Cupertino madness.

Almost everything else in the setup is Apple, too. The input devices, the audio gear — even some of the wall art. And what’s in the book collection? The Cult of Mac hardcover book.