The AirPods Pro 2 could be made in Vietnam Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
A reliable Apple analyst claims AirPods Pro 2 will enter mass production in the second half of 2022. The noise-canceling earbuds’ charging case will continue to feature a Lightning connector instead of switching to USB-C.
This time around, Apple suppliers will mass produce the AirPods Pro 2 in Vietnam instead of China, long the company’s primary manufacturing hub.
Apple acquiring Electronic Arts is probably what it would take to bring games like Madden 22 and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to Mac. Image: Cult of Mac
Apple reportedly held talks about buying out Electronic Arts, the company behind the wildly popular Madden series, The Sims series and many more.
But EA has also supposedly held acquisition talks with others, including Disney.
Generate passive income from online courses with this top-rated, all-in-one platform. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Sharing your skills through online courses allows you to enhance your brand, establish yourself as a thought leader and make a sizable income — even in your sleep. The simplest way to create your own is with an all-in-one tool like OnlineCourseHost. And lifetime subscriptions are on sale now for just $99.99.
An effective mirror that's always with you. Photo: Casetify
When you want to look good but need to travel light, ditch the compact mirror and slap Casetify’s Mirror case on your iPhone.
Its reflective back will keep you from rushing to the bathroom to ensure your hair is in check, while its shockproof shell protects your iPhone from bumps and scratches. Bag yours today from the Cult of Mac Store.
An always-on display is a highlight of a new iOS 16 concept,. Concept: Nicholas Ghigo
When Tim Cook and other Apple executive first show off iOS 16 in early June, there’s a good chance it’ll have much in common with a recently released artists’ concept. The new video shows some of the most-anticipated features, including an always-on screen and interactive widgets.
Watch the iOS 16 concept video now for a sneak peek at what might be coming soon to iPhone.
Get the most battery life out of your Mac. Image: Apple
How do you kill that which cannot die? The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro boast industry-leading battery life. In the PC world, the high power consumption of Intel processors means you generally must choose between battery life and performance.
The latest MacBooks use Apple’s own custom chips, cut from the same cloth as the iPhone and iPad chips Apple has been designing since 2010 (and, in a roundabout way, the one they made for the Apple Newton in 1994). This is what powers them to last all day at full speed.
If you want to take your M1 Max MacBook Pro to the coffee shop to get work done, and you leave your power cable at home — even if you’re editing 8K ProRes video streams in Final Cut Pro — you still might be ordering lunch and staying through dinner. How could one possibly need more battery life, and how do you get it?
Grab the iPad Pro at its lowest-ever price on Amazon Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The M1 iPad Pro just dropped back to the lowest price we’ve seen. Amazon is currently selling the 11-inch model with 128GB of storage for just $699.99 after a $100 discount. (Note that part of that discount shows up at checkout.)
On higher-storage variants, you can score a discount of as much as $200. As usual, there’s no way of knowing how long these deals will last.
The 10,000mAh 3-in-1 wireless charger is made to look like a digital camera. Photo: Zendure
Wireless magnetic chargers don’t have much of a reputation for being fun, but a new one features a playful design, at least. Zendure will soon launch preorders for the new SuperMini Go, which features MagSafe-compatible docking and up to 15W of wireless charging power.
A crowdfunding campaign for the pocket-sized power bank starts in June, the company said.
Narcissists rejoice! iPhone 14 might help you take better selfies. Concept: the Hacket 34
Add an autofocus front camera to the list of improvements expected for the iPhone 14 when it debuts this autumn. This supposedly tripled Apple’s cost for the component.
If the unconfirmed report is true, the upcoming model will be the first iPhone with an auto-focus selfie camera.
If you count the MacBook Pro, it's a triple-display workstation. Photo: Mia@Detroit
Mia, a software developer from Detroit who writes mobile apps, got in touch with Cult of Mac recently to share her MacBook Pro-driven, dual-display workstation.
“I love your setup articles but sometimes they make me feel bad about myself,” she said.
Tap in a password directly onto the touchscreen of Kingston's IronKey external SSD. Photo: Kingston
The Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD includes a touchscreen and hardware encryption to protect user data. Unlock the XTS-AES 256-bit encryption by tapping in a password or numeric passcode onto the touchscreen.
World of Warcraft imparts many powerful lessons, if you're wise enough to listen. Photo: Adobe Stock
This post on World of Warcraft is brought to you by MmoGah.
Since its debut nearly two decades ago, World of Warcraft has claimed its place at the top of the gaming industry. This massively multiplayer online roleplaying game is probably the most successful video game ever created.
More than 100 million World of Warcraft accounts have been created since the game’s inception in 2004. Additionally, the game has grossed more than $9 billion, making it the highest-earning video game of all time. While its subscription numbers have fallen over the years, WoW offers plenty of lessons for developers and gamers.
One of the main reasons World of Warcraft remained popular all this time is because it equips players with skills and lessons that they can apply in real life. And it’s not only players who can learn from this game. Game developers, especially up-and-coming ones, can pick up a few notes on how to improve their creative output.
Let’s start with what game devs can learn from World of Warcraft.
Apple CEO TIm Cook is influential enough to make the cover of Time. Graphic: Time
Apple CEO Tim Cook once again shows up on Time‘s list of “The World’s Most Influential People,” which pays tribute to 100 important figures from film, music, politics and global culture in general.
Others on the list include Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Channing Tatum, Mary J. Blige, Kris Jenner and Ron DeSantis.
Make smart investments with this easy-to-use, all-in-one, stock-picking platform. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
We all know that we should be investing to create real wealth. But where do you start? Especially when the market is choppy?
A stock management platform like Tykr Stock Screener makes it easy, even if you’re a beginner. And right now, you can grab a lifetime subscription for just $119 (regularly $900).
The Wild Journey meditation and sleep app is a great way to relax and unwind, and even get to sleep. Photo: Wild Ventures/Joe White
Honestly, I think we could all do with a bit of Wild Journey in our lives. Wild Journey is my favorite mindfulness app for iPhone and iPad.
When I reach the end of the day and feel the need to relax and unwind, Wild Journey is the app I turn to. I find it helps me switch off and empty my mind like no other relaxation app. Let me explain why, starting with the basics.
The Aqara Smart Door Lock D100 Zigbee works with HomeKit and Home Key. Photo: Aqara
Aquara launched its third and most-advanced smart lock for HomeKit and Home Key on Thursday, the D100 Zigbee.
Unlike the previously released N100 Zigbee and A100 Zigbee, which are handle locks, the new D100 is an automatic mortise lock that lets users open a door without pushing a handle or turning a knob.
It’s expected to roll out in more countries soon, but for now you can get it in parts of Asia and the Middle East. You can find more information about its distribution below.
Use this top-rated AI tool to build the perfect resume. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
There’s a secret trick to getting your resume to the top of the pile: Use a smart AI resume tool to supercharge your job application. One of the best out there is Resoume. And right now, you can grab a lifetime subscription on sale for just $39.99.
That’s a 93% discount off the regular price of $600. And it’s a tiny investment when it comes to landing your dream job.
Apple wants to expand its product manufacturing outside China Illustration: Cult of Mac
Apple is reportedly looking to expand the production of its devices outside China due to its strict anti-Covid policy.
The Chinese government’s uncompromising zero-covid policy has affected the manufacturing of Apple devices, with shipping times slipping to July for some products.
Will Apple Watch Series 8 bring the redesign we've been waiting for? Image: Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: That big, flat Apple Watch redesign we expected in 2021 might arrive this year to soothe our lingering disappointment. The latest renders by Ian Zelbo, spurred by a tweet from leaker ShrimpApplePro, make Apple Watch Series 8 look quite appealing.
Also on The CultCast:
Is Cupertino about to “fix” Apple TV’s biggest problem?
The AR/VR headset Apple’s been working on for so long sounds like it’s almost ready for prime time.
Apple employees, like many other tech workers these days, just don’t want to report to the office. Who can blame ’em?
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.
This week’s show is sponsored by Jamf Now and Squarespace. See below for special offers.
★★★★☆
Get to know Tyrannosaurus rex all over again in the new Apple TV+ docuseries. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+’s newest docuseries is Prehistoric Planet, which delves into the lives and habits of a host of dinosaurs. Arriving next week — just in time to get kids of all ages excited about Jurassic World Dominion — the five-part series offers all the usual pleasures of presenter David Attenborough’s nature documentaries.
Viewers can learn — and be awed by the state-of-the-art CGI creature design and gorgeous location photography — all at once.
Sometimes it’s your browsing data that gets turned into targeted ads. And sometimes it’s your identity that gets fully compromised. Either way, you should have some security tools at your disposal to keep your data safe.
That’s why we found 10 of the best virtual private networks around for you to check out. And all of them are marked down if you use the code VPN20 with your purchase! This deal only lasts until May 24, 2022, so grab a VPN soon!
Twitter can be ... fun? Preliminary research suggests it can. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Twitter: the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems. People have been talking quite a bit about Twitter lately.
When friends of mine complain about how they don’t enjoy using Twitter, I used to be confused. Twitter is what you make it. If you don’t like Twitter, you can simply follow different accounts and get a completely different experience.
It’s important to note that none of my friends have tens of thousands of followers and/or are regularly harassed on Twitter. That can be a very different experience outside of one’s power to control, to put it lightly.
Twitter has changed, and now, the people you follow might have very little bearing on what you actually see on Twitter at all. Here are my tips on how to take back control of your timeline and make Twitter enjoyable.
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A pool party is just another chance to dip your toes in deceit. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ spy thriller Tehran throws a sexy and tense pool party so Mossad agent Tamar can get one over on her targets: the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and his tech bro son. She has to play a game of cat and mouse with a couple of rich, violent people to get close enough to deploy a decoy that will give her the upper hand — and maybe kill the man responsible for the deaths of her family.
Of course, she put them in danger in the first place, something the show isn’t interested in exploring anymore now that there’s a new spy game afoot. But no matter. Once more unto the breach.