Apple TV+’s newest film is the streamer’s big flagship collaboration with Skydance Animation under the new leadership of disgraced former Pixar chief John Lasseter.

Can the film’s relative charms tip the scales in favor of a new endeavor, instead of back toward the hasty assembly of a company around a man who never really answered for his allegations? Unfortunately, Luck, which premieres Friday on Apple TV+, would have had to have a lot more going for it to get people talking about the movie on pure merit.

A firmware update released Thursday fixes an audio problem that has afflicted the Apple Studio Display. Users of the pricey monitors have been complaining of choppy playback, audio that cuts out unexpectedly and playback speed issues.

Previously, Apple’s only solution to the problem was a variation on “turn it off and then back on again.”

The Mophie Powerstation Pro boasts 20,000mAh of power, and dual USB-C ports to quickly deliver it to a MacBook or other computer at up to 45W. Apple likes the new power bank enough to launch it Thursday on its online store.

For a deeper look at its performance and features, check out our Mophie Powerstation Pro review.

The same is true of the Mophie Speedport 120, a 4-port charger that can provide up to 120W of power.

In addition, a collection of car chargers from Mophie also just debuted on the Apple store.

Email marketing delivers some of the highest returns on investment, but it’s also hard to get right. If you’re trying to get more eyes on something you have to offer, you could spend a few years mastering email outreach. Or, if you want to save time and still get great results, you could try EmailWritr, a marketing tool designed for email outreach.

If the convenience isn’t enough, maybe this deal will sell you. For a limited time, you can get a lifetime subscription to EmailWritr’s premium plan for just $59 (regularly $3,480).

Apple will add support for wirelessly charging accessories to the iPhone 14, according to a tipster. iPhones already have limited support for reverse wireless charging, but the capability is supposedly being expanded.

This would make a range of third-party MagSafe accessories more useful.

Grid Studio disassembles well-loved gadgets and presents their rearranged innards as framed wall art. And its nostalgic collection for Apple fans just got two new entries.

The collection now includes a fourth-generation iPod Classic and a first-generation iPad mini for your aesthetic consideration.

Exclusive to Cult of Mac readers, we have a massive price drop on Microsoft Office for just $39.99 until 11:59 p.m. PDT tonight.

Cult of Mac has an exclusive on this deal. No one else is offering MS Office for this low. Office is normally priced at $349, but we have it for less than a few gallons of gas. Act fast, though, because the Cult of Mac MS Office sale ends in a few hours.

The Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is a powerful, portable outdoor speaker you might want to nab before summer’s over. The boombox-style Bluetooth speaker brings the brawn — 80 watts of power — along with a bit more heft than some competitors.

When you factor in the excellent sound quality, some sporty features and the relatively low price of $179.99, it’s a worthy choice for outdoor use. Some folks might even use it indoors, but many never would because of its black plastic design. It might look at home in a college dorm, but probably not in most living rooms.

The 10.2-inch iPad expected in fall 2022 supposedly will get a facelift. Leaked CAD drawing indicate the upcoming tablet will have a larger screen and the flat edges Apple includes in its other tablets.

But the low-cost iPad 10 reportedly will remain the last iPadOS device with a Home button after the redesign. The audio jack could be out, though.

Apple has a new tool to determine if your iPhone is restarting unexpectedly. It can be challenging for Apple repair technicians to determine if your device is rebooting randomly.

The company aims to fix this problem with its new diagnostic tool.

Do you ever arrive at work and have that little panicky moment where you’re unsure if you locked the door? Do you go back? Call a neighbor? Hope your autopilot self was responsible today?

Why not just pull out your phone and check to be sure? With the Bosma Aegis, you can control your deadbolt with an app, but that’s not all you can do. For a limited time, the Bosma Aegis Smart Door Lock is only $79.99 (regularly $119) with code SMARTLOCK. If you’re interested, act fast though — this sale only lasts through August 2022.

Flowers aren’t the only way to add a pop of color to your garden. Whether you want a rainbow road or just some colorful flavor throughout your greenery, this 12-pack of decorative LED lights could be the next beautiful addition to your outdoor aesthetic.

With 16 rotating color options and a smart design, these outdoor LEDs are on sale for only $39.99 (regularly $79).

Dimming your lights is just the most obvious feature of the newly announced Wemo Smart Dimmer with Thread. It uses mesh networking to provide fast, reliable connections to your HomeKit home-automation system so you can control the switch from anywhere – across the room or across the country.

Plus, the wall dimmer switch doesn’t require a neutral wire so it can be installed in older homes as easily as new ones.

Apple first said it would transition from Intel chips to Apple silicon more than 2 years ago. Then Cupertino launched the first M1 Mac in November 2020. And, finally, today Microsoft said its Teams app will now run natively on M1 and M2 Macs.

So it’s about time.

But don’t get greedy and expect the upgrade immediately. The Redmond tech giant said the rollout to users will be incremental.

iPadOS 16 reportedly won’t be introduced in September, as expected. Instead, the next major iPad upgrade has supposedly been pushed back by a month.

The upcoming version is packed with new features, including giving iPads with an M-series processor support for floating app windows on the tablet screen and on external displays

Some computer setups will make you green with envy, considering their gear’s quantity as well as quality. Take today’s featured setup, a delight for both gamers and podcasters.

It sports not just a new M1 MacBook, but also a powerful custom gaming PC. It boasts not just a solid 27-inch full HD display, but a monster 49-inch super-ultra-wide screen. And it relies on not just a good webcam, but a premium mirrorless digital camera.

And the list goes on, extending to audio and even a new mechanical keyboard. Read on.

It might be time to get a new backpack. The British company Troubadour Goods makes just just what you need. It recently released four of its sustainable bags in a limited-edition color, a dark khaki.

They sent me the Troubadour Pioneer Backpack to try out. And it’s a stunner, fit for taking to work or outdoor hikes and trips to the gym in between.

The OWC Envoy Pro FX is a very rugged external SSD that previously topped out at 2TB, but is now available with 4TB of storage capacity.

The solid state drive is dustproof, drop-proof, and waterproof. It’s compatible with Mac, iPad, and many other devices. Plus, it supports Thunderbolt as well as USB connections.

Although economists can’t agree whether a global recession is on the way, it’s definitely a possibility. But Apple execs don’t seem to have a lot to worry about – market analysts remain generally upbeat about the company.

Here are comments from a range of experts that are sure to warm Apple CEO Tim Cook’s heart.

A New York City man had his scooter stolen. But he’d put one of Apple’s AirTag item trackers on the bike, so he was able to track down the thieves … who beat the $%#@ out of him.

Stephen Herbert said he feels lucky he got out of the unfortunate encounter alive.

Your smartphone isn’t the only way to stay connected to the world of music, sports and news. Even before TVs, people had a fun, portable, convenient way of staying tuned in their interests: radio.

It turns out that video didn’t completely kill the radio star, because the medium is making a comeback. And you can tune into a world of music and more with the Eton Elite Traveler. This compact radio is an Amazon’s Choice product, but we’ve got a better price at $49.99!

The new M2 MacBook Air got an amazing score on the Speedometer 2.0 benchmarking app. Apple’s latest notebook solidly beat other Macs in this test of web browser speed.

The performance boost comes from the new Apple M2 processor – the MacBook Pro with the same chip scores equally well.

How’s that Netflix documentary list looking lately? Still pretty sparse? You could watch the Bob Ross documentary again, or you could check out a streaming service that lives and breathes documentaries.

Curiosity Stream offers thousands of incredible documentaries, educational television and more, all in one location. That means no more bouncing between streaming services as you burn through the paltry selection. For a limited time, you can get a lifetime Curiosity Stream HD Plan for only $179 (regularly $250).

If you ride a bike, now you can now get turn-by-turn navigation from Apple Maps in all 50 states. That’s because cycling directions recently arrived in Hawaii.

If you get rolling now, there’s just time to bike through the whole country in … never. Not gonna happen.

But it’s nice to know directions are available all over if you ever need them.

Nomad’s refined and costly Base One and Base One Max MagSafe chargers are widely considered to be of excellent quality,  even “high-end” status. But now you can feel even more like a king — maybe King Midas — by snagging one with a rich golden hue.

That’s right, Nomad just rolled out golden gear for you, the Gold Base One and Base One Max.

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