Cupertino sent out a new summer-themed Apple Pay promotion Thursday with special deals on clothing, shoes, accessories and more. You can get up to 70% off items from GOAT and significant discount from a dozen other retailers. That means you can get the crazy-looking Yeezy 450 ‘Sulfur’ sneakers for $157 (regularly $200).

The discounts come from popular stores like Crocs, Ray-Ban, J.Crew, Lands’ End, Gymboree, Matt & Nat, The RealReal and others. Hit the links below.

When you spend a pretty penny on an iPhone 13 — OK, more like a thousand bucks, probably — you realize you better protect the dearly expensive gadget. Good thing SwitchEasy features all the accessories you need. You have your choice of cases, plus screen protectors and more.

And best of all, you can get 20% off all SwitchEasy iPhone 13 accessories in the Cult of Mac Store. But you need to act fast: This sale ends at 11:59 p.m. PDT on July 21.

The Satechi USB-C Slim Dock for 24-inch iMac sits on the stand for Apple’s all-in-one desktop and adds six frequently used ports. It also sports an enclosure for user-installed SSDs.

The hub and drive enclosure has been in my home office for several days. Here’s what it’s like to use in the real world.

July 21, 2011: Apple officially passes Nokia to become the world’s top smartphone vendor.

It’s a major milestone for Apple, which launched the iPhone just four years earlier. For Nokia, the Finnish company that dominated the cellphone market during the 1990s and early 2000s, it marks the end of an era.

Eve Systems offered its second-generation Eve Motion sensor Thursday, adding a light sensor and Thread mesh networking support. The device detects motion to activate other HomeKit-enabled devices.

And it’s actually less expensive than the previous model by $10.

The Thread standard that will be integral to the upcoming Matter home automation technology standard that helps different manufacturers’ devices work together.

Yesterday’s iOS 15.6 update and the newest iOS 16 beta show a surprising move on Apple’s part. It took away the Find My app’s AirTag battery indicator.

Previously, when you opened an AirTag card in Find My, you’d see a small battery icon showing remaining power below the tracking device’s name and location, Now you don’t, or at least not until remaining power is critically low.

Microsoft Excel isn’t the easiest program to learn if you’re doing it on your own. That is, unless you’ve got the All-in-One 2022 Microsoft Excel Certification Bundle to help you.

This massive, 80-hour Excel training package can help even the greenest beginner become an Excel analyst. And for a limited time, it costs only $29.99 (regularly $499).

A new support document from Apple explains what happens when games exit Apple Arcade — and how long you can play them after they disappear from the subscription service.

The support page went live after Apple added a “Leaving Arcade Soon” section to the App Store highlighting 15 games due to exit the program.

Using your iPhone to navigate while driving is convenient, except it can be annoying when you don’t have anywhere safe to keep it. Of course, you could throw it in a cup holder, but then you can only listen to directions. Plus, you would be out a cup holder.

The Phone Vine Plus Vehicle Phone Mount gives you a secure place to keep your iPhone while driving. This unique car mount will definitely make navigation easier while you drive. And, for a limited time, it’s only $17.99 (regularly $48).

Some people buy vertically striped shirts in order to look slimmer. But on an Apple Watch band, stripes generally just make it look different from every other strap out there.

Casetify calls its Saffiano leather Apple Watch bands with such decoration “Chic Stripes,” and it looks like a pretty accurate description. Buy one of these affordable bands and you might look a little more chic.

So check out the pair of elegant choices in the Cult of Mac Store’s Casetify Chic Stripes collection.

Beta testing on iOS 15.6 and macOS Monterey 12.5 is over, and these updates are now available for anyone to install. They bring a number of small tweaks to iPhone and Mac.

Don’t confuse these with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, which are major upgrades coming this fall.

Apple also released the full versions of iPadOS 15.6, watchOS 8.7 and tvOS 15.6 on Wednesday.

The guy who brought us the world’s first USB-C iPhone (and sold it for $86,001 on eBay) is now training his soldering pen on the AirPods charging case.

Engineering and robotics student Ken Pillonel put out a new video addressing AirPods’ repairability problem — they’re made to be replaced, not repaired. He demonstrated how he 3D-printed a new case and swapped the Lightning port for USB-C.

Some of the best computer setups look a little boring at a glance. But that’s just because they include only essential gear and they keep it well lit and free of cable (and other) clutter.

Today’s featured M1 MacBook Air setup is a good example. And that’s not to say it’s plain or overly simple. You can see that in  the well-thought-out gear list below, which features 19 items.

Mobile Pixels started a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign Wednesday for Geminos, its new stacked, dual-screen desktop monitor intended to enhance workstations.

This follows last month’s launch of the LG DualUp, a 28-inch screen with a 16:18 aspect ratio, somewhat like two stacked screens in one.

The products aren’t quite the same, but could this be the start of a trend toward tall, oddly shaped monitors?

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Apple laid out its far-reaching goals for the health and wellness tech built into iPhone and Apple Watch in a report issued Wednesday. It details how Apple intends to develop technology to support personal health, medical research, and patient care.

“We believe passionately that technology can play a role in improving health outcomes,” said Apple’s chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, in a statement. 

Sometimes, a USB-C port just doesn’t cut it. But your options don’t need to be limited by your hardware.

This inexpensive hub can add five ports to any device with a USB-C port. Grab one for just $19.99 and you can start living the dongle life.

The Brydge ProDock is a newly announced vertical stand for recent MacBooks. It holds the notebook vertically, off the desk, and adds 11 ports. That includes three Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports.

As a bonus, the stand’s base includes an MagSafe wireless charging mat to power up an iPhone.

Productivity apps can definitely help you stay on top of the dizzying array of tasks in the modern world. But when you use a different app for every endeavor, you end up wasting precious time.

All-in-one productivity app Lunatask bundles a to-do list, a notebook, a habit tracker, a Pomodoro timer and a journaling app into one neat hub to keep you focused. And for a limited time, you can get a lifetime subscription for only $49 (regularly $180).

Need quicker and more convenient charging for your Apple gadgets? Accessory maker ESR launched its CryoBoost line of MagSafe-compatible accessories Tuesday.

The new CryoBoost lineup includes a 3-in-1 charger, a 2-in-1 charger and car charger. They all increase charging speeds by circulating air over the charging coil and your iPhone, the company said.

A major Thread networking standard update Tuesday brings the Matter home automation technology standard a step closer for those who already own certain devices. Namely, gear that can act as a border router in the smart home — like Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini.

Thread 1.3.0 lets Thread devices work with any other Thread border router. That’s big because Thread will be Matter’s main wireless protocol, along with Wi-Fi.

Apple agreed to a preliminary settlement Monday for a class-action lawsuit that claimed the company knew the MacBook’s “butterfly” keyboard was defective but kept selling it. Apple admits no wrongdoing but agreed to pay up to $50 million, most of which will go to customers who had to replace the faulty keyboards.

This is good news for people in seven U.S. states who experienced problems with their MacBook butterfly keyboard.

In recent years Apple Watch has shown itself to be a lifesaver, either by calling for help when a person’s incapacitated or by offering health readings that lead a person to see a doctor.

In the latter category it just happened again. A woman in Maine didn’t believe what the wearable was telling her at first. But going to the ER led to open-heart surgery that saved her from a probable fatal stroke.

The iPhone’s wireless payment system is more secure than credit cards, and Apple wants to make sure everyone knows it. That’s why the company created three short video ads to show off the advantages of Apple Pay.

Watch them now to learn more about the contactless payment system built into certain Apple devices.

In the ongoing mania for wireless earbuds and headphones, it’s easy to forget that their older wired siblings still have distinct advantages — namely, great sound for less money.

With no need to worry about analog-to-digital conversion and compression for Bluetooth, wired-gear manufacturers can focus on audio quality at a good price.

New York City-based Strauss & Wagner sent me a pair of its EM205 wired earbuds to try out, and they didn’t disappoint. You can find cheaper wired earbuds with good sound, but you can’t really go wrong with these for $39.95. They feature excellent balance and clarity with a comfortable fit and good build quality.