This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest benchmarks make Apple’s M2 chip sound better than we thought. In fact, the new MacBook Air that the processor powers might be the perfect laptop for almost everyone.

Also on The CultCast:

• The iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on screen looks sweeeeet.
• How does Apple keep pulling off earnings miracles?!?
• What not to do when a creep steals your AirTag-equipped scooter.
• Somebody built an Apple Store time machine.
• And a truffle tangent to end all tangents.

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.

Few industries have grown as quickly or found such an important niche as cybersecurity. With so many people working online and volumes of important information being traded daily, there’s practically always a demand for skilled cybersecurity workers. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you’ll need to prove to employers that you’ve mastered the NIST Framework, completed a CISSP exam or passed other cybersecurity benchmarks. The 2022 Ultimate Advanced CyberSecurity Professional Certification Bundle covers these topics and more for $69 (Reg. $1,475). 

Loot, the Apple TV+ comedy about a woman with everything who learns from people who have nothing, has a play, a zoning board meeting and a summit to prepare for this week.

Howard and Nicholas must patch up their friendship. Sofia and Molly need to work out their differences of opinion and ambition. Molly comes face to face with the bad side of charity work. And in general, the characters needs to make some hard choices about the people they want in their lives.

You might know what books you want to read, but do you have the time? Between work and life, that reading list definitely isn’t getting any smaller, and who can blame you?

You could try reading summaries, but most of those are made to entice people to read the whole book instead of distilling the message. However, with Mentorist, you get an entire library of bestselling books to read, and all of them are broken down into functional summaries with guides for applying what you learned to your life.

For a limited time, you can purchase a lifetime Mentorist Pro subscription for $49 (regularly $490).

Surface, the new Apple TV+ mystery series about a woman who can’t remember her life or lies, keeps up the erotic intrigue this week. The show avoids all of its worst tendencies for a basically good fourth episode.

Amnesiac Sophie and her lover Thomas clandestinely chase leads as they try to solve the mystery of who almost killed her. Sophie’s husband, James, desperately runs around trying to hide his crimes, and Caroline gets pulled back into his orbit once again.

The investigation and the cover-up proceed apace. It’s just a matter of who’s smarter, more thorough and more careful.

There’s a fresh addition to the classic Bomberman series. Like its many predecessors, Konami’s Amazing Bomberman involves moving through various game levels while blowing things up, but is more musical than before with original songs.

The action title debuted Friday, August 5 in Apple Arcade. It’s playable on a wide range of Apple devices.

With summer still blazing, Apple offered a useful Today at Apple Creative Projects video on Friday. It teaches you how to capture “Dramatic Summer Light” with your iPhone camera.

In the video, Apple Creative Pros Jahmyra and David bring in professional photographer Eddy Chen to explore great tips about snapping better shots and editing them to make the most of light.

For All Mankind holds a few cliffhangers up its sleeve in season 3’s penultimate episode, but first it must deal with its soapy dilemmas.

Ellen and Larry are in the hot seat, Kelly Baldwin’s baby is coming along ahead of schedule, Aleida Rosales is all out of heroes, Karen and Dev might switch jobs — and Danny Stevens’ goose might be cooked!

A decent episode of the Apple TV+ alt-history sci-fi hit focuses on plot nitty-gritty and emotional turmoil, until it gives way to a typically frustrating final reveal.

Apple TV+’s second season of Physical draws to a merciful close this week. Though she’s finally gotten John Breem out of her bedroom, Sheila still has to deal with him. He’s still making Danny crazy — and he’s still the only man in town with power enough to satisfy Sheila’s needs.

Wouldn’t it be funny if she had to wind up trapped with him in a business agreement? Well, no, it wouldn’t, and it isn’t, but that’s where we’re headed.

Anybody can walk around with one fine Italian leather Apple Watch band. But what about two? Now you can, with petite double Italian leather Apple Watch bands. They stylishly cut one band into two thinner straps on the same watch.

And it’s not like you have to pay a fortune or one, either. They’re just $75 in the Cult of Mac Store.

If you’re heading back to school/college, or even constantly on the go for meetings, the backpack in this week’s giveaway is perfect for you. We teamed up with Laut to give Cult of Mac readers a chance to win a roomy City Daypack 12ltr Backpack, retailing at $69.99.

Enter below for your shot at becoming one of three lucky winners who will take home one of these convenient backpacks.

Apple Watch Series 8, at least in the standard 41mm and 45mm models, will see the same design as Apple Watch 7 rather than adding new elements like flat edges or bigger screens, a new report indicated Friday.

And the source added there may be no new sensors and fewer color choices with Apple Watch 8 than with the 7 series.

Trying, the Apple TV+ comedy about middle-class ghouls making the once-a-generation decision to start families, plans a birthday party for special little boy Tyler this week.

Tyler’s party is too overwhelming at first, but with a little help from a lot of people it becomes fun. Elsewhere, Karen is pregnant and nervous, Nikki resents her fertility, Scott has to quit a burgeoning career, and Jason is still on the hook for a dream house.

Anyone who uses an Apple Card can get Apple TV+ free for three months. And the deal isn’t limited to new subscribers – current ones also qualify.

It’s a promo for the new Apple TV+ movie Luck, and has the tagline, “It’s your lucky day. For three whole months.”

Some older iMacs are being shown the door, giving way to newer Macs paired with Studio Displays. That’s the case with today’s featured computer setup. In it, an iMac gave way recently to a plenty-powerful M1 MacBook Pro paired with a brilliant Studio Display.

And the attractively spare setup, well placed in a beautiful coastal setting, is nearly all Apple — down to the input devices and audio gear.

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

In its big Back to School Sale, software activation keys provider Keysbuff.com lets you nab great deals on Microsoft products. As a Cult of Mac reader, you can click on the links below and save big on Windows 10 — and find major savings on lots of other Microsoft software, too.

Just be sure to 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 other software.

Apple TV+ murder mystery Black Bird draws to a pulse-pounding close as jailhouse informer Jimmy Keene’s last-ditch efforts to stay alive are being threatened at every turn.

Serial killer Larry Hall is inches from confessing, Jimmy’s about to get shanked — and nobody’s coming to help either of them. Plus, Jimmy’s dad Big Jim is dying in a hurry outside prison walls.

The limited series saves its best mechanics for last as the clock runs out on all of our heroes.  Black Bird concludes on a high note indeed.

Foxconn will begin shipping the iPhone 14 from its assembly plant in India almost as soon as its Chinese plant starts shipping Apple’s next smartphone, according to an industry analyst. This is apparently a sign that Apple is decreasing its dependence on China.

And Foxconn is reportedly building up its assembly capacity in India.

We might still be a ways off from actual floating hoverboards, but that doesn’t mean you can’t zip around at ground level with a bit more style. Whether you’re coasting through campus or taking your dog for a rolling stroll, a self-balancing scooter like the Hover-1 Ranger is a fun way to go for a ride.

Especially when it only costs $129.99 (regularly $229).

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.