This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Looks like we have a date for the next big Apple event: Mark your calendars for September 7! We’re expecting iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 — which both sound awfully familiar — and hoping for something surprising.

Also on The CultCast:

• Kim Kardashian’s “neutral colors” for Beats Fit Pro actually look pretty enticing. Who woulda guessed?
• An Apple stock update from Erfon might leave you jealous if you sold in a panic.
• Let’s drag Mark Zuckerberg for his pathetic metaverse avatar. Everyone else is!

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 livestream, embedded below.

Our sponsor: Squarespace

Special thanks to this week’s sponsor, Squarespace. Get all the tools you need to set up your very own website and commence selling anything online. Start your free website trial today at squarespace.com/cultcast (no credit card required). Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain with code cultcast at checkout.

Grab your iPhone or iPad to play Madden NFL 23 Mobile, which has just been updated for the new football season.

This is the ninth season of the mobile game from Electronic Arts. It not only put players on the field in the biggest games of the season, it also has a General Manager mode to let players build a team.

Continue reading

Ready for your big break in an IT career? With the Complete 2022 CompTIA Certification Course Super Bundle, you can learn all about the core components of the tech industry.

You’ll get the lowdown on IT infrastructure, database use, software development and cybersecurity with this complete study guide. Plus, the courses will prep you for the Computing Technology Industry Association’s crucial certification exams. Master these concepts, ace the exam(s), and get ahead in the IT industry.

This in-depth course is currently available for $51.99 — a massive discount off the regular price of $4,425.

A classic action game gets fresh update in Jetpack Joyride 2. There are new weapons and equipment, and tougher enemies, too.

Fans of the original can strap on a jetpack and fly through a version with plenty of new features, on Apple Arcade starting today. And it’s now for Mac, too!

If you work in a creative industry — or aspire to one day — then you need to be familiar with the same software titles that the pros use. Ready to develop your skills? Now’s a perfect time to invest in your education.

You can get nearly 100 hours of expert-led Adobe Creative Cloud training for just $24.99 during our Back to Education Event, which runs until August 24. Plus, during this event, 50 cents of each bundle sold will be donated to a school or charity you can vote on. (We’ll send you an email to vote for the organization you feel is most deserving of your contribution.)

The web browser built into the TikTok iPhone app can monitor your keystrokes. A developer who researched the software called it “the equivalent of installing a keylogger,” and warns that it can potentially grab passwords and credit card info.

A similar warning went out recently about the browsers built into Facebook and Instagram.

Apple TV+ medical drama Five Days at Memorial, about the terrible misfortune of the staff of an abandoned hospital during Hurricane Katrina, hits the fourth day of disaster this week.

The power is still off, and the A/C is a distant memory. Helicopters are coming to evacuate, but the elevator to the roof is broken. Things are going to get worse before they get better. The gripping drama stays madly compelling and deeply tragic.

Apple’s next big thing might not be a car or an AR headset. Thanks to a rule change announced this week by the Food and Drug Administration, Cupertino could soon add hearing aids to its product lineup. The potential market is huge, and Apple stands uniquely positioned to disrupt the status quo.

The new rules allow companies like Apple to sell hearing aids over the counter and online, so buyers can set them up in the comfort of their own homes. Previously, if you wanted to buy hearing aids, your only option was to make an appointment for a hearing test and fitting at a specialist store.

This small change looks set to have a big impact. FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf told CNN he expects the ruling “will unleash the power of American industry to improve the technology.” And there’s one company in particular that has all the know-how to do just that — Apple.

BenQ unveiled its new TH690ST short-throw 4LED projector Friday, calling it “the world’s first 4LED video party projector with preset game modes for bringing big entertainment to any gathering.”

You connect it to any gaming console or other video source with an HDMI cable to get the party started. Oh, and don’t forget to have a wall to project on.

Apple TV+ mystery Surface, about a woman suffering from amnesia at the center of a dark web of mystery, finally tells the truth about who mystery woman Sophie really is.

Turns out she was the brains behind the operation, bringing herself and her husband from nothing to a beautiful house, a six-figure income, and more problems than they know how to handle.

So just how did she and James go from a young power couple lying their way to the top to a couple of criminals looking at the barrel end of jail sentences?

You can enjoy the classic link look on your Apple Watch with the stylish and sophisticated Casetify Link Bracelet. It not only looks great, but it’s robust and comfortable all day long. It also comes in three stylish color options.

Here’s why it’s one of my favorite bands after six months of wear.

An app to make Androids copy the look of iPhone running iOS is widely popular. So many people wish their Android was an iPhone that Launcher iOS 16 has been downloaded over 50 million times from Google Play. And a rival app has just as many.

That sure is a lot of jealous Android users.

Accessories maker Moft offered a new folding wallet Thursday that magnetically sticks to your iPhone 12 or 13, but also acts as a stand whenever you need one.

Carry your license and another card with your handset. Set the stand to take a video call or watch a YouTube video. What’s not to like?

Well, some folks might not like the two-card maximum, but that could work fine for others.

Apple TV+ family comedy Trying hits a snag or two this week, as Jason and Scott both realize they’re running out of road before a fall.

Jason needs money if he wants to pay for the house he’s been renting, which otherwise will be sold out from under him at any minute. Scott needs to make enough money to pay for Karen’s incoming baby, or she’ll continue looking at him as the fatuous loser with his head in the clouds that the show has more than shown us that he is.

On top of that, the adoptees’ grandmother is gunning for custody and she’s willing to fight dirty. Good, I say. This show needs some actual tragedy.

Imagine buying a massive new ultra-wide, curved monitor to display what you do on your Macs in style. But once you get it all set up, the monstrous thing won’t stop wobbling.

Today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro and Mac mini setup suffers just that problem, despite the use of a recommended monitor arm attached to a solid standing desk.

Check out the advice the user got and all the gear in play below.

This post on discount Microsoft software is brought to you by Keysbuff.

As the world heads back to school, the School Season Sale at software activation keys provider Keysbuff.com unlocks bargains on essential Microsoft software. And, as a Cult of Mac reader, you can click on the links below and get an even better deal on Windows 10 — and score big savings on plenty of other Microsoft software, as well.

For the biggest savings, enter promo code COM at Keysbuff.com. That will take an extra 25% off the site’s already-low prices on keys for Windows 10 Pro Global, Microsoft Office 2021 Pro and other software.

Apple bought the popular music-recognition app Shazam, which can name any song you hear, in 2018. Friday marks the app’s 20th birthday. And this week it officially surpassed 70 billion song recognitions, Cupertino said.

That’s a lot of people in bars wondering what the tune is.

Ever wonder what song is the most “Shazamed” of all time? Well, Apple provided that nugget and many other factoids, and referred to a lot of interesting music you may want to check out.

A recent macOS Monterey update deals with a nasty security problem in WebKit. But Apple is aware many users don’t upgrade to the latest operating system versions, so it also released Safari 15.6.1. The web browser update allows anyone using older macOS versions to avoid the vulnerability.

The browser update is free and available now.

The iPad Pro is extremely expensive, so you’d be wise to protect yours from damage. You can safeguard your investment with a protective case like the CoverBuddy.

During our Back to Education promotion, it’s on sale for only $34.99 (regularly $42). Plus, for every CoverBuddy purchased during this event, we’ll donate 50 cents to a school or charity in need.

New Apple TV+ dark comedy Bad Sisters follows a family of Irish women who vow to help each other through thick and thin. Thick comes in the form of a miserable brother-in-law, who’s lying in a coffin and represents loose ends for all of them.

Can they outmaneuver a desperate insurance investigator and keep from turning on each other? This is good TV. Let’s just watch it cook.

See is coming to an end, and it’s not going quietly. A trailer for the final season of the Apple TV+ post-apocalyptic adventure series shows there’s a war brewing. One that Baba Voss (Jason Momoa) must win.

Season 3 is set to kick off on August 26.

Why settle for one lamp when you can grab one that does two things at once? This LED lamp lights up your room in a big way, but also gives you a smaller, more focused lamp for reading, crafting etc.

This vibrant LED floor lamp broad spectrum light and a focused reading lamp, and it’s on sale for $34.99 (regularly $52) for a limited time. Even better, 50 cents of your purchase will help a school or charity as part of our Back to Education event. You’ll receive an email to vote on organizations that provide kids’ school lunches, fill school-funding gaps and more!

Three new colors of Beats Fit Pro wireless earbuds — a collaboration between Beats and celebrity Kim Kardashian — went on sale at Apple online Tuesday and promptly sold out. But now you can get them on Amazon, too.

The three new “neutral” colors are designed to blend in more than most earphones. Following Tuesday’s launch at Apple.com/Kim, they went on sale Wednesday at select Apple Stores and resellers.

Apple Card earned top marks in the annual J.D. Power U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. Apple/Goldman Sachs beat out their rivals in the Midsize Credit Card Issuer segment, with users liking the benefits, rewards and more.

2022 is the second year in a row Apple Card took home this honor.

If you’re thinking of starting a podcast — better hurry up, every single person on earth has one, it seems — you need a good USB microphone.

And now you can get a good deal on a popular one, as Amazon has knocked 30% off the regular price of a Blue Yeti Nano USB Microphone.

That’s a savings of $30 on what was already a pretty affordable mic for podcasters and streamers.