Cult of Mac

One of the impressive features of the growing number of moderately priced, high-quality earbuds on the market is just how long playback lasts between charges. That’s in part because the case where you store them also charges them. But Audio-Technica just rolled out a new set of earbuds that really moves the needle on battery life.

The company’s new ATH-CKS50TW Solid Bass Truly Wireless Earbuds claim up to 20 hours of continuous playback on a single charge, or 50 hours counting the case’s charge. All that, plus the new buds feature low latency and active noise-cancellation (ANC).

Moment added to its lineup of MagSafe-compatible accessories for iPhone Tuesday with three new products and two product updates. The marquee event is the rollout of the Mobile Filmmaker Cage to enhance your iPhone video shooting.

The cage co-stars with the new Moment Strap Anywhere Mount and the new Stick-on Adapter, which can help mount your smartphone in a variety of situations.

Apple TV+ got lucky with timing of the April 8 debut of Friday Night Baseball. The live sports show will start with the much-anticipated New York Mets debut of three-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star Max Scherzer in a matchup with All-Star Juan Soto and the Washington Nationals.

That game will be followed by the Houston Astros versus the Los Angeles Angels. These weekly doubleheaders are free to watch and available to anyone with internet access (in eight countries to start). And they’re only on Apple TV+, with no subscription required (for a limited time).

Apple Watch Series 7 owners are suffering more charging problems just two months after earlier issues were eliminated. Some owners report that fast charging is broken after installing the latest watchOS 8.5 update.

Faster charging is one of Apple Watch Series 7’s biggest selling points. Top-ups are supposed to be around 33% quicker than on previous models — but only if you’re using the right charging accessories.

I’ve misplaced my AirPods case. It’s in my house … somewhere. Fortunately, I can use the Find My app to locate it, as though it were a lost AirPod or AirTag.

Ha, ha, ha! No, I can’t. AirPods cases don’t offer Find My support. Just as the feature is missing from far too many other Apple accessories.

This needs to change. Find My is amazing, but limited by not being on devices that need it.

Update: In autumn 2022, Apple built Find My support into AirPods Pro 2, a sign that the tracking system might be coming to more peripherals.

Yandex, sometimes called Russia’s version of Google, gathers data from millions of iOS users and sends it to Russia, according to a new report.

AirPods are some of the best wireless earbuds on the market. Once you use them with your iPhone, it’s hard to switch to something else. Unfortunately, all that AirPods magic doesn’t necessarily translate when you use Apple earbuds with a Mac.

There’s a workaround, though. The AirBuddy app adds some of that beautiful, Apple-style simplicity to the “using AirPods with a Mac” equation. And right now the Mac app is on sale for $6.29 with code DOWNLOADNOW.

Apple’s share price was up 0.5% at the end of trading on Monday, marking a 10th consecutive increase for the first time in more than a decade.

That’s despite reports that indicate Apple has been forced to slash iPhone SE 3 orders due to weaker-than-expected demand. But one analyst says investors are more interested in the performance of iPhone 14 later this year.

iTunes has become a slow and bloated mess over the years — which is why it no longer exists on Mac. But for those who are stuck with Windows, suffering iTunes is necessary if you want to enjoy Apple Music. Or is it?

There are other ways to take advantage of your Apple Music subscription on third-party machines. You could use the web app in a browser of your choice, or you could download Cider, a new and far greater iTunes alternative.

Cider, which is also available on Mac if you aren’t happy with the default Music app, offers a clean and simple user interface and almost all of the features we’ve come to expect from Apple’s streaming service — plus extras.

Don’t you just hate it when you accidentally refresh TikTok and lose the video you were watching? It can be incredibly difficult to track down the video again if you don’t know which account posted it. But a solution could be on the way.

TikTok is finally testing a new “watch history” feature where you’ll find all the clips you’ve recently consumed. It’s only available in the beta version of the TikTok app for now — but it could soon roll out to everyone.

Blue light from your iPhone display can make it difficult to fall asleep. And that’s especially true if you’re the type to lie in bed scrolling through social media at all hours.

Many devices come with built-in blue light filters that tint the screen yellow. However, those can actually make sleeping even harder. The Ocushield Anti-Blue Light Screen Protector is an attachable blue light filter for the iPhone 12 mini, Pro, Pro Max and older models. And right now it’s on sale for $29.99 (regularly $63).

The government of Ukraine recently created a chatbot within the Telegram instant messaging app. It lets Ukrainians use their iPhones to report to their country’s defenders exactly where they see invading Russian troops.

Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony shows why Apple should go back to doing live events.

No, not because we need to see deranged audience members assaulting Apple execs onstage. However, the mere possibility that something can go seriously sideways gives live events an undeniable advantage over the type of canned productions Apple began cranking out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’m sure this goes against Cupertino’s deeply ingrained cultural bias toward controlling absolutely everything within its power. But if Apple doesn’t get back to putting on live events, its product launches will drift deeper into the uncanny territory of the overproduced infomercial. That’s boring — and it’s bad for both Apple and Apple fans.

Anyone wondering why they’d want Apple’s much-rumored augmented-reality glasses should watch a new concept video. Rather than focusing on hardware, the concept explores daily use of realityOS, the operating system Apple is apparently creating for its AR glasses.

Watch it now to see what it might be like to wear Apple’s Next Big Thing.

The $1,599 price for the new Apple Studio Display makes it somewhat controversial. Samsung’s response is the $700 Smart Monitor M8, which measures 32 inches and has a UHD resolution.

Samsung clearly has its eye on Mac users. It built Apple AirPlay 2 into the screen. And an image of the display playing Apple TV+ is a prominent part of the press release.

The Pitaka Power Dongle for Apple Watch is a lot more portable than Apple’s own charger. And it looks better, too.

I tested this Apple-certified charger through real-world use. Here’s why it belongs in your luggage.

Limited77 is now running one of its biggest-ever sales in the Cult of Mac Store. You can enjoy 20% off all the company’s products for a limited time only.

iPhone cases, MagSafe chargers, charging docks and more are available from as little as $20. Check out the full lineup and bag a bargain before this sale ends.

We haven’t seen a tremendous number of computer setups centered on powerhouse 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pros — much less such workstations featuring both dual displays and paired original HomePods!

But today’s featured setup is an exception. It boasts those impressive characteristics as well as a useful lesson about not judging a book by its cover as well as striving to be kind online.

Do you ever find yourself scrambling to stop music playback on your Mac when a call comes in? QuietMeet is a new app that takes care of that for you.

Compatible with Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime and other popular services, QuietMeet automatically pauses your music when a call comes in — then resumes it when the call has ended. And it never gets in your way.

WhatsApp could soon let mobile users send significantly larger files by message. The platform’s current file size limit is a meager 100MB, but some beta testers have seen that limit increase to a generous 2GB.

Only a limited number of users can take advantage of the change for now. But the hope is that WhatsApp will eventually make the new limit available to all.

For just $10, you can learn new skills that could fuel a lucrative new income stream. From coding to crypto to graphic design, the subjects covered in these online courses scream “successful side hustle.”

These top-rated e-learning courses usually go for more than $1,000 apiece. But during our Best of Digital Sale, you can get them for just $10 each with coupon code LEARNNOW.

Apple is reportedly making big cuts to iPhone SE 3 production less than two weeks after the device made its official debut. Two separate sources claim Cupertino is seeing weaker-than-expected demand for the entry-level device.

One analyst points to the fact that the third-generation is still “in stock” — without any delays in shipping — as proof that it is not selling as Apple anticipated. Shipment estimates have been cut by 10 million units as a result.

Apple is expected to give iPhone 14 Pro a rather significant camera upgrade that could include a 48-megapixel wide angle sensor. It will mean sharper iPhone photos than ever before — but a much bigger camera bump.

According to one analyst, it will be “larger and more prominent” than the humps on previous iPhone models. That’s despite some rumors claiming that iPhone 14 itself would become thicker so that its cameras could sit flush with its shell.

Apple TV+ became the first streaming service to bag an Oscar for Best Picture, thanks to CODA‘s strong showing Sunday night at the Academy Awards. The movie won a trio of the prestigious awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor.

Troy Kotsur, who nabbed the latter of the three, also made history by becoming the first deaf man to pick up an Academy Award.

The best chargers are the ones you can forget about until you actually need them. Maybe you forgot to charge your Apple Watch overnight. Or perhaps you burned through a particularly long day (especially one filled with Apple Watch workouts).

No matter the reason, when your Apple Watch hits you with that power reserve warning, it’s great to have a charger on hand.

This Apple Watch Wireless Charger Keychain is powerful and compact. It’s there when you need it — and out of the way when you don’t. And you can get one on sale now for $19.99 (regularly $49). Or save even more by buying two for $38.99 (regularly $99) or four for $76.99 (regularly $199).