TP-Link just flipped the switch on a new lineup of smart LED light strips and light bulbs, some of which you can use with HomeKit or other home-automation systems.

The main selling point here is budget-friendliness. Prices range from $25 to $50, so you won’t break the bank lighting up your space.

If you’re counting down the days until an international trip, you might want to prepare yourself in the meantime. Of course, you need to pack the appropriate clothing and book your stay. But being able to communicate with the locals may be just as important, if not more so.

The Babbel language app can lead you down the right path. And, for a limited time, new users can purchase a lifetime subscription and start learning up to 14 languages for $199 (regularly $499).

With Thursday’s release of the new Soundcore Space Q45 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones and sibling Space A40 earbuds, Soundcore began replacing its Life series of sound products. The company sent me both products to test. This review covers the Q45 cans (my A40 review will appear tomorrow).

I’ve spent a couple weeks with the Q45 over-ear, closed-back headphones. Soundcore pushes two main selling points: strong noise cancellation and long battery life. And with the Q45 headphones, the company has hit it out of the park on both counts.

And they sound good for the price, too.

People love to examine Apple’s event invites looking for hints of what will be unveiled. The starry invitation to the September 7 Far Out event that went out Wednesday might drop a clue to one or more long-rumored features finally coming to the iPhone 14.

And, of course, we’ve seen some deliberately silly suggestions for what the image and theme are hinting at.

Or the Apple logo made out of stars could be simply a cool-looking image. (There are new wallpapers for those who think so.)

It’s not easy getting noticed on the internet. With so much competition on most search engines, ranking high enough to make it to the first page takes a ton of work and research. However, it’s easier if you use the right SEO tools.

LongTailPro is an intelligent keyword research tool that can improve your site’s SEO ranking. And you can purchase 10,000, 100,000 or 1 million keyword lookup credits on sale.

Users who aren’t ready to to take the plunge into full home-automation system like HomeKit and related accessories have another option to make a dumb lock smarter.

SwitchBot recently launched a new version of SwitchBot Lock. The company said it’s the best way to make a door lock smart without refitting, so users can lock or unlock their door via devices like iPhone or Apple Watch.

Better yet, right now you can get 15% off on Amazon, or about $15 off the $100 price.

Apple now offers the parts and tools to fix several MacBook models. This is a hassle but lowers the cost, right? Not necessarily.

The total cost of one of the most-common DIY repairs is more than double what is to have Apple do it.

Concealed in Wednesday’s invite to the Apple early fall event is an augmented reality Easter egg. It’s not just cool – it might be a hint of what to expect.

The graphic for the September 7 “Far Out” event shows the Apple logo made of stars. The AR version is a 3D orb filled with stars floating in space.

Known for camera-rig and lighting hardware, SmallRig released its new, portable Forevala W60 wireless microphone system this week.

That gives podcasters and other content creators a new option for quality audio on the go.

Central Park is coming back with more musical adventures. Season three of the highly rated animated comedy will return to Apple TV+ in early September, and a trailer offering a glimpse at the upcoming fun premiered Wednesday.

The second season of Central Park scored an amazing 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

A new interactive website called Design the Next iPhone lets you have a laugh by making whatever monstrosity you want out of Apple’s market-leading handset, due for a major refresh with the iPhone 14 series on September 7.

And each time you make a new design, Apple CEO Tim Cook pops up with some encouraging marketing-speak.

Apple sent out invitations Wednesday to a “far out” event scheduled for September 7. There’s nothing in the invite to indicate what’s on the agenda, but this will almost certainly be the debut of the iPhone 14 lineup and Apple Watch Series 8.

Unlike such events for the past couple of years, members of the tech press are being invited to attend in person.

For details of what’s likely on the agenda, check out our rundown of everything Apple is expected to announce at the “Far Out” event.

Everybody knows a leather Apple Watch band is a timeless and elegant accessory, just as it has been for watches in general for decades. But not all leather bands are equal.

Laut, for example, offers its Prestige Leather Apple Watch Band made from premium Saffiano leather. It finishes your look in style.

And you can get it right now in the Cult of Mac Store for just $49.99.

Some people care deeply about cable management, with nary a cord to be seen in their computer setups. Others couldn’t care less about it, leaving wire-spaghetti all over the place. And folks in the middle want to do it right, but meh, maybe next week, and maybe only somewhat.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro and iPad Pro setup stakes out much of the ground described above. Cable management is in play, but it’s done in a way that drove some neatniks crazy while others applauded the controlled mayhem.

Steelseries, known for gaming headsets, has jumped into the desktop speakers pool with a big splash. Its new Arena line of desktop speakers is the company’s first product of that type.

And it includes what the company calls the world’s first 5.1 surround sound speakers you can run with a single USB connection to a Mac, PC, gaming console or TV.

This post on iPhone boot loops is brought to you by iToolab FixGo.

iPhones are justifiably well-known for reliability, but problems can come up. Sometimes malware’s the culprit. Other times a software update doesn’t end well and jams up your handset.

On those rare but incredibly frustrating occasions when your iPhone can’t get past the Apple logo and keeps rebooting — known as getting stuck in a “boot loop” — or freezes up for any reason, iToolab FixGo can help.

The Mac app can fix all kinds of operating-system problems with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Place the new Belkin Connect USB-C 6-in-1 Multiport Hub in the back of an iMac or monitor to discreetly add multiple ports to a computer. It offers a couple of USB-A ports, memory card readers and more.

The hub is available now.

Planning on traveling soon? If you’re going international, you might want to bring along something that will make communicating in another language easier. No, we don’t mean a dictionary, and we certainly don’t mean Google Translate.

Mymanu Clik S are award-winning translation earbuds. Pop them in your ears, and they will feed you a live translation of a conversation in a variety of languages. And right now, these futuristic earbuds cost less than ordinary AirPods. You can snag a pair for just $99 (regularly $220) with code CLIK.

Developer Mode is a security feature. It will prevent unsigned code from running on your device — apps that are not on the App Store, app marketplaces or TestFlight. Most people can enjoy the added layer of security for free. But, this also means that if you’re writing your own apps in Xcode, you will need to enable Developer Mode on your iPhone or iPad before running your app.

There are also a few apps you can only install by sideloading onto your device from a Mac, using an app like Sideloadly. These could include apps that aren’t allowed on the App Store, such as Hot Tub, a porn app; or apps that are no longer available from their original developers, like Apollo, the former Reddit client. For side loading to work, you’ll need Developer Mode enabled as well. 

Read on to see how to turn it on.

You can now subscribe to and pay for AppleCare+ annually in Canada, Australia and Japan. All Macs, plus Apple’s Pro Display XDR and Studio Display monitors, are eligible for this yearly plan.

It is also possible to renew your AppleCare+ subscription every year after that — there’s no need to stop after three years.

In the first trailer for upcoming docuseries Gutsy, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton take part in animated discussions with strong and accomplished women who inspire them.

The list of participants in the series, which premieres September 9 on Apple TV+, is truly varied. It includes famous names from different walks of life, including Kim Kardashian, Gloria Steinem and Jane Goodall.

Apple just keeps adding new features to the iPhone camera, but don’t count on Cupertino introducing wings so you can capture aerial footage. For that, you need a camera drone like the Ninja Dragon Blade X Pro.

It offers simple flight controls so you can easily capture crisp 4K footage. And it’s on sale for $85.99 (regularly $169) for a limited time.

Apple seeded iPadOS 16 beta 7 to developers on Monday, and its build number confirms that the release of this new version has been pushed back several weeks. This is in-line with an earlier leak that iPads wouldn’t see an update until October.

In addition, there has now been no new macOS Ventura beta for over two weeks, showing it’s also not close to release. That’s not surprising, however.

iOS 16, watchOS 9 and tvOS 16 are in the final stages of beta testing, and are expected to become debut in September, as expected.

The Adonit Neo Pro iPad stylus gets power just by being placed on the edge of the tablet. This is a trick that used to be reserved for Apple Pencil, but no more. Even better, the stylus is well designed for note taking and sketching, and offers palm rejection and tilt sensitivity.

I’ve used the affordable iPad stylus as part of my job for over a week now. Here’s why I love it.

You can grab Apple’s petite but powerful 2021 iPad mini with a sweet $59.01 discount on Amazon. The deal brings the price down to $439.99 from its retail price of $499.

You will see an 8% discount on the listing page, with an additional $19.99 off applied during checkout.