Apple released software upgrades for all its computers Monday. After finishing weeks of beta testing, macOS Monterey 12.4, iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, watchOS 8.6 and tvOS 15.5 are available for anyone to download.
Many of them include an update to the Podcasts application to keep it from taking up too much storage space. And the webcam in the recently released Apple Studio Display will work better after a firmware update.
An Amazon seller has discounted the 2022 10.9-inch iPad Air with Wi-Fi connectivity to its lowest-ever price of $554.87, a sweet $44.13 discount from its retail price of $599.
The discount is only available on the pink shade of the iPad, with other colors discounted by anywhere between $30 and $40.
You look at enough computer setups online and you realize people are never really done with them. There’s always something to add. It could be some gear got held up by shipping delays, or the setup’s owner got a sudden urge to try another type of input device or some other gadget. And people often take ages to tame the cable clutter.
So you rarely see people claiming a setup’s done for good. Or it’s the best it can be. Or it’s the proverbial “dream setup.”
But sometimes they say that. Today’s setup got called a “dream setup” by its proud owner. Would you agree?
If you’re a fan of critically acclaimed Apple TV+ space drama For All Mankind, brace for impact. Apple launched the season 3 trailer Monday.
In it, the alt-reality vision of a decades-long space race rockets off to Mars.
Deleting videos you might have wanted and purging apps you could have used are some of the worst outcomes of seeing the dreaded notification that your device is running out of storage. Additionally, it’s hard to use your phone, laptop or tablet how you want when there’s always a limit to how much you can save.
You can make those problems disappear with a lifetime subscription to Koofr cloud storage. It offers a full terabyte of easy-access cloud storage, so your devices always have room. And for a limited time, it only costs $169.99 (regularly $2,700).
Apple has started testing its new “Tap to Pay” iPhone feature in the Apple Park Visitor Center in Cupertino.
Tap to Pay allows small businesses and merchants the ability to accept payments using only their iPhones. The feature makes it possible to receive payments using Apple Pay, credit/debit cards, and other compatible digital wallets.
If you are looking to buy the Apple Watch Series 7, you are in luck, as Amazon has certain variants discounted by as much as $100.
You can get the 41mm GPS-only Apple Watch Series 7 for just $329 post the discount, while the 44mm model is available for as low as $359.
Beyond iPhones, Apple is looking to switch to USB-C on all its other products with a Lightning connector like the AirPods, Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, and more.
A reputable Apple analyst thinks the Cupertino company will make the transition in the “foreseeable future.”
The Apple TV+ teaser trailer for the upcoming animated film Luck explains how luck really works: it’s controlled by magical creatures. The star-studded film by Skydance Animation will be about the unluckiest person in the world visiting the Land of Luck.
Watch the trailer to see more – and learn more about luck.
Even if you use Microsoft Office every day, you probably aren’t getting the most out of the world’s most popular software.
For instance, every time you start with a blank Word document instead of utilizing a template that does the job for you, that’s time wasted. And every time you add up all the numbers in a list on Excel instead of hitting the SUM button, that’s math you could have avoided.
The Premium Microsoft Office Training Bundle + Lifetime License of MS Office Home & Business for Mac 2021 teaches you how to get more out of the apps you might be using for work and school every day. And it gives you lifetime access to those apps, too — all for just $79.99 (regularly $,1549).
★★☆☆☆
Apple TV+ show Tehran puts its second-season plot in motion this week, but the Israeli espionage drama keeps making bizarre missteps in its pursuit of pulse-pounding thrills, twists and turns.
Manjar steps into Farraz’s home in the perfect disguise, Tamar tries out her new character, Milad almost screws everything up for all of them.
Everybody’s tense and everybody’s guilty, as usual. And Tehran continues to benefit from good performances, tight editing and solid music and sound design, which keep every nail-biting scene running efficiently. But is that enough to save the show from an increasingly blinkered perspective?
Apple TV+ listed its new lineup of shows and specials for kids and families set to air this summer, including new series like Duck & Goose and Best Foot Forward plus Peanuts specials and new episodes of fan-favorite shows.
The new summer lineup of kids shows will kick off in July with the first series, Duck & Goose.
You can watch a trailer all about the summer’s content and how to watch it below with Jack McBrayer from Hello Jack! The Kindness Show.
★★☆☆☆
Popular new Apple TV+ series Shining Girls keeps finding new clues to the identity of its time-traveling menace Harper. Meanwhile, Kirby and her reporter co-worker Dan get closer to breakthroughs — and further from normalcy — at every turn.
Kirby must ensure she doesn’t alienate everyone in her life just when she needs them most, even as she tightens the noose around Harper. Dan just needs to make sure Kirby doesn’t come across as an unreliable witness.
Being done with school doesn’t have to mean you’re done learning. These days, you can learn exactly what you want, however you want, and at your own pace.
Sound appealing? The Lifetime Project Professional Agenda 14 Premium Bundle gives you two things to make learning beyond the classroom truly rewarding. It pairs an app to make note-taking and project management simple with a vast catalog of courses to choose and learn from at your leisure.
Plus, it’s affordable. This learning bundle is on sale for a limited time at only $29 (regularly $1,529).
Amazon has the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip and 1TB storage discounted to just $2,249 — down from its retail price of $2,499.
On the listing page, Amazon is offering a $50 discount, with the additional $200 off being applied checkout. Do note the offer is only available on the silver shade for now.
Apple is testing an iPhone with a USB-C ports and planning to launch a USB-C adapter that can be used with devices with Lightning connectors, according to a new report.
The news comes on the heels of an analyst’s prediction on Wednesday that the switch to USB-C in Apple’s handsets will come with iPhone 15 in 2023.
☆☆☆☆☆
Apple TV+’s most shameless cash grab is back for a truly unearned victory lap. Gotham Chopra and Co. have crafted the thoroughly un-asked-for second season of Greatness Code, the only show on TV about how great and talented athletes are.
Oh, what’s that? There are 10 million other shows about the same thing, and they’re all more involved than 10-minute interviews with competently animated interstitials and some vague notion of what makes an athlete “great”?
Well shut my mouth. Guess there’s no reason to watch this one, is there?
A new Apple TV streamer will launch in the second half of 2022, according to a trusted analyst. And there’s a hint in the prediction that the device will cost less than its predecessors.
A cheaper version of Apple’s set-top box could help it grab a higher share of the set-top box market. And it could certainly use the boost.
Gear4, an accessories brand owned by Zagg, just added two nylon Apple Watch bands to its lineup. One is a braided nylon band priced at half the cost of Apple’s popular Solo Loop. The other is a two-tone sport band with Velcro. Both are made with recycled materials.
Hard to say if the quality meets Apple’s, but the prices certainly beat Apple’s.
“Drop it, we dare you,” says Limited77 of its Clear Magnetic iPhone Case Series 13. Now that’s confidence. The slim, clear case can protect and showcase your iPhone 13 at the same time.
Not only does the case feature solid drop protection, its coating eliminates bacteria. We all know how dirty handsets can be because we touch them constantly. And in addition to those features, the case is MagSafe compatible, so it won’t interfere with charging your iPhone 13 wirelessly.
But even counting all those features, the best thing about the case might be its price right now. You can get 20% off the regular price in the Cult of Mac Store, a savings of $7.
A cool aspect of both Mac minis and the newer Mac Studio are the platform-like USB-C hubs festooned with ports and added storage capacity that third parties have designed for them to sit on. Satechi was quick out of the gate with one for the mini, but there are other such cleverly designed, space-saving hubs on the market. And many of them also fit the Studio.
Today’s featured setup boasts a powerful new Mac Studio perched on a Qwiizlab hub as it drives an LG UltraWide display, among other gear.
This post on discount Microsoft software is brought to you by Keysbuff.
Mother’s Day itself may be just past, but Keysbuff’s Mother’s Day Sale for great deals on software is ongoing. Cult of Mac readers can still get deep discounts from the software activation keys provider. You can save up to 90% off the full price on Windows 10 and find great savings on lots of other Microsoft software, too.
To nab these bargains, just use promo code COM at Keysbuff.com. That will save you an extra 25% off the site’s already-low prices on keys for Windows 10 Pro Global, Microsoft Office 2021 Pro and others in the list below. You can purchase many products with lifetime licenses.
★★★★☆
The Essex Serpent is Apple TV+’s first foray into folk horror and a welcome return to BBC-style costume dramas. Based on the book by Sarah Perry, and starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston, this series holds a lot of promise in its deviously clever premise.
Shepherded by writer Anna Symon (Dark Matters: Twisted But True, Deep Water) and director Clio Barnard (The Arbor, The Selfish Giant), the series’ excellent production design and game cast make The Essex Serpent appointment television. You can watch the first two episodes Friday on Apple TV+.
Elon Musk has put his Twitter acquisition on hold, he said early Friday in a tweet. Musk said he awaits further details and calculations confirming Twitter’s claims that spam accounts on the platform account for less than 5% of active users.
The move comes less than a month after Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition offer.
Between all the pictures of pets, files from work, app data and everything else that builds up on your Apple devices, you have a lot less storage than you might think. Record just a few videos, and what used to be a few gigabytes of room can barely fit a compressed JPEG.
But you can fix all that with a lifetime subscription to Prism Drive Secure Cloud Storage. It gets you a huge 2TB of storage you can access from any device, forever. And for a limited time, it’s on sale for $49 (regularly $790).