This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: iOS 16 makes our year-old iPhones feel fresh again. And the various “hidden” features flying under the radar make the iOS 16 experience even more impressive.

Also on The CultCast:

• We can’t wait for our first trip to the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island.
• Is the iPhone 14/iPhone 14 Plus really a failure? (Even Steve Jobs’ daughter is dissing this year’s “upgrade” to Apple’s midrange iPhones.)
• What to expect at Apple’s October event.

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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iOS 16 brings a lot of exciting changes, but no one seems to like the new Search button on the Home Screen.

It can clutter your aesthetic theme, it’s easy to press accidentally, and it’s not any faster than using the swipe-down gesture for search. Luckily, it’s possible to turn it off — read on to see how.

The Apple Pencil can open up a whole new dimension for creativity on your iPad. But does your creativity really cost $129? An Apple Pencil alternative can offer many of the same features, allowing you to sketch on your iPad — or any other tablet — without breaking the bank.

For example, the Digi Pen comes highly recommended by users. And it’s on sale right now for $39.99, more than half off its regular price.

The iPhone 14 Pro is raising the bar for on-the-go photography, but unless Apple adds propellers in next year’s models, you’re going to have to search somewhere else for a new camera perspective. That road might lead you to the Ninja Dragon Storm X, a drone with a dual 4K camera setup that’s easy to fly, even if you’ve never touched the controls before.

Garden Tails: Match and Grow is a new match-3 game for nature lovers who are looking for a calming time-killer. Play through a series of levels to unlock flowers, bushes and friendly animals.

It debuted Friday on Apple Arcade, and there are versions for a range of Apple computers.

Bad Sisters takes a look at John Paul’s mental health in a particularly solid episode of the murderously funny Apple TV+ hit. The series, about a family covering up a murder in the present — and trying to commit it in the past — takes a madcap turn this week.

Bibi is mad with grief, Grace is a broken woman, Roger’s going to jail and Becka’s falling in love. Plus, we get the funniest scene of the season. A fine showing from the cast helps this week’s episode get a good head of steam going in time for a great final sequence of dark slapstick.

Anyone having activation problems with their iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro series model should install iOS 16.0.1. Apple specifically created the update to deal with an issue in setting up its latest handset.

It also takes care of other bugs in the iPhone 14 series.

A new case is a good way to protect your pricey new iPhone 14 from scrapes and drops. But it’s not the only protective measure you should take, whether or not you pay for Apple Care insurance. You might also want to get a screen protector to safeguard the HDR display and a shield for those fabulous camera lenses.

The Cult of Mac Store has the goods you need. Its screen and lens protector collection features six screen protectors and one lens protector from two of our favorite brands, all at great prices.

War seems inevitable on this week’s episode of See, the Apple TV+ show about a world that lost its sight and its mind. Harlan gets closer to divining the nature of the explosive coup being plotted in Trivantes, and deposed queen Sibeth Kane is in the wind and shacking up with a serpent.

Baba Voss and his family go looking for trouble, and there are vendettas aplenty that need settling. All in all, it stands as a decent episode that exhibits few of the show’s worst habits.

Some well-developed computer setups go for quantity in their displays, with three or more, but others stick with a solo screen and go for quality.

And no, with today’s featured setup we’re not talking about a $5,000 Pro Display XDR. We’re talking about a massive, $1,500 OLED display. If you’re searching for the best monitors for Mac, be sure to check out this article on Apple Music Classical on the web for more insights.

This post on discount Microsoft software is presented by CDKeylord.

Software activation keys provider CDKeylord extends its September Sale with more fantastic deals on crucial Microsoft software. Better yet, as a Cult of Mac reader, you can click on the links below and get an even better deal on Windows 10. Plus, you can score big savings on plenty of other Microsoft software.

To achieve the biggest possible savings, 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.

iPhone 14 models require eSIM rather than physical SIM cards. That means those getting Apple’s latest handsets have to activate them via eSIM – they can’t simply plug in a SIM card to get connected to a wireless network.

It’s new to many iPhone users, but Apple released a video that explains how to activate an eSIM on an iPhone.

Five Days at Memorial, the riveting Apple TV+ drama about a hospital staff enduring Hurricane Katrina’s wrath — and the aftermath of their decisions under pressure and hellish conditions — comes to a close this week.

In the miniseries finale, entitled “Reckoning,” Dr. Anna Pou may or may not be put on trial for murder. And investigators Arthur “Butch” Schafer and Virginia Rider come up against the limitations of justice when a city’s future is on trial.

This tremendous series ends on a cloud of doubt, with the promise of lives lived in suffering and uncertainty.

We all have more photos, documents and data on our devices than ever. To keep them safe, you need a cloud backup plan you can rely upon. One of the most well-reviewed is Degoo, which is offering a lifetime of cloud storage with a one-time payment.

You can purchase a lifetime subscription on sale for just $149.99 (regularly $4,320). That’s the best price available anywhere online. Just imagine: No more monthly cloud storage subscriptions!

The first set of iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max preorders began arriving for customers around the world Friday morning. Further, the phones are now on sale in more than 30 markets.

Apple Watch Series 8 and 2022 Apple Watch SE preorders are also arriving for customers today.

Getting the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max for its Always-On display? True to its name, the display on the new iPhones remains in an always-on state, except in a few situations.

In a support document, Apple has detailed the scenarios when the iPhone 14 Pro’s Always-On display will go dark to save battery.

Walmart added Be Your Own Model to its iPhone application. The goal is to bring the in-store fitting room experience to online shoppers.

Customers scan in a photo, AI will analyze it, then the software can show what the user would look like wearing more than 270,000 items.

If you are attempting to gain an edge in a competitive job market or take your business to another level, a firm grasp of Microsoft Excel can help separate you from the pack. And the Essential 2022 Excel Wizard Bundle is built to take users far beyond the formation of standard spreadsheets.

Packed with 11 courses that will place you on a path toward advanced Excel understanding, this package is valued at $2,189 — but you won’t spend that much.

Speck released a wide assortment of 10 new cases for the iPhone 14 series. All but one of them are designed for MagSafe. The collection includes Presidio cases with 13-foot drop protection and and upgraded version of the colorful CandyShell Pro case.

The company said the cases are slim, durable and protective, with Microban antimicrobial protection.

Logitech unveiled its new Brio 500 webcam series and Zone Vibe headphones series for hybrid workers Thursday. The company said “they bring quality, style, affordability, and sustainability to today’s workers for ultramodern collaboration experiences.”

“Many remote and hybrid workers are still underequipped and grappling with pre-pandemic era solutions,” said Scott Wharton, Logitech Video Collaboration general manager. “Our innovative new genre of Brio webcams and Zone Vibe headphones answer the call of modern workers who need business-grade quality, style, and affordability for work and play.”

Some new accessories for iPhone 14 are almost unbelievably practical. Why just slap a plain-jane case on your handset when you get much more use out of a Laut MagSafe Urban Folio?

The Urban Folio is both a protective case and a handy, detachable wallet for your cards and cash. And you can get right now in the Cult of Mac Store.

Apple seeded iOS 16.1 to developers on Wednesday and could give the general public access on Thursday. But you should think twice about installing it if you intend to get an iPhone 14 as soon as it’s released.

It’s likely the new handset will launch running an earlier version of iOS, which might cause you difficulties.

The upcoming Apple Watch Ultra garners most of the oohs and aahs, and the Apple Watch SE takes the cake as Cupertino’s best-selling wearable, but gosh darn it, people like the Apple Watch Series 8, too. And by people, I mean reviewers.

Early reviews of Apple Watch Series 8 started coming in Thursday morning. They tend to emphasize that it remains the best smartwatch you can buy, even though its upgrades over the Series 7 seem minimal.

This post about ebook reader and management apps is presented by BookFusion.

If you love reading, BookFusion may be the ideal app for you. It allows you to have your entire ebook collection at your fingertips on any device you own. You can easily upload, organize, sync, read and share ebooks across all your devices.

All that, and the reading experience is pretty great, too. In fact, you can replace apps like Marvin 3, Kybooks and Calibre Companion with just one iOS app — BookFusion.

The first reviews of the new 2022 version of Apple Watch SE highlight was a value the device is. Engadget calls it “a $400 smartwatch for $250.”

Considering your first model? Or an upgrade from an older one? Read on to see if the revamped Apple Watch SE is right for you.