Apple quickly ran through its launch-day inventory of Vision Pro headsets Friday, but customers continued to place preorders for units to be delivered later. The weekend total could have reached 180,000 units, according to a report from a trusted analyst.
Wait times for the device to be delivered now stretch out to March, but questions remain about long-term demand.
After several months with my iPhone 15 Pro Max, I’m stripping off its case and going “nearly nude.”
Yes, there’s a chance I’ll drop it and incur a hefty repair bill. (If so, AppleCare+ will ease the sting.) But the unbridled joy of the naked iPhone in my hand — and the lurid thrill of leering at its sleek natural titanium finish — make it worth the risk.
Rumors indicate Apple is working on a 12.9-inch iPad Air due to launch later this year. A new leak shows off alleged design renders of the upcoming tablet.
The CAD renders show that the 12.9-inch iPad Air will resemble its 10.9-inch sibling. However, it apparently will feature a redesigned rear camera module.
January 21, 2015: Months before the first Apple Watch goes on sale, users get a glimpse at what playing games might look like on the smartwatch.
Thanks to Apple making the WatchKit API available to third parties, game developer NimbleBit releases a mockup of its simple work-in-progess word game, Letterpad. Suddenly, we get a peculiar desire to play games on our wrist that we haven’t had since the days of the Nintendo Game & Watch three decades earlier.
The description of Chrome’s Incognito mode will soon be changed to make it clear that Google tracks people who use the web browser. It also will warn users that websites can gather data about them as well.
This means the only people blocked from knowing your browsing history when using Incognito mode are family/friends who use the same computer.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple Vision Pro preorder week brings interesting new details about the mixed-reality headset. Will it be a sellout success? An amazing entertainment device? A $3,499 pain in the neck?
Maybe all of the above! We go over the last-minute pros and cons.
Also on The CultCast:
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 live stream, embedded below.
January 20, 1985: Attempting to build on the triumph of the previous year’s “1984” Macintosh commercial, Apple deploys another dystopian Super Bowl commercial. The new ad, titled “Lemmings,” promotes the company’s upcoming business platform, called The Macintosh Office.
The dark, 30-second spot depicts blindfolded executives marching to their doom. The widely reviled ad will go down in history as one of Apple’s biggest stinkers.
The days of the iPhone’s NFC capabilities being limited to just Apple Pay are coming to an end. Apple is open to allowing rivals to use the iPhone wireless tap-to-pay system. But only in the European Union.
The change is the result of antitrust charges brought by the EU.
Cybersecurity is a field with undeniable demand. The reason is obvious: Most businesses and companies rely heavily on digital means to conduct daily operations, facilitate communication and much more. To acquire the expertise needed to work in the cybersecurity field, consider an affordable start with some well-sourced e-learning.
You can gain critical skills with this comprehensive cybersecurity and ethical hacking training bundle. The courses in this bundle will help you prepare for certifications. And the whole thing is on sale now for only $32.97 (regularly $130).
Whether it’s an old iPhone you need to get back into or your passcode just slipped your mind, there’s more than one way to get into your iOS devices. MobiUnlock is an iOS unlocking tool that works for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to bypass your passcodes and get you back inside, no hacking needed.
January 19, 1989: Apple introduces the Macintosh SE/30, arguably the greatest of the classic compact Macs with black-and-white screens.
When you picture the ideal 1980s Macintosh, this is likely the machine that comes to mind. And for good reason!
Check out Apple’s new video for the Vision Pro: It’ll definitely give you FOMO. Labeled a “guided tour,” the 10-minute video shows a newbie user testing the AR/VR headset for the first time.
You’ll see lots of moments where the newbie gasps with Steve Jobs’ famous childlike wonder. But while Vision Pro looks amazing for consuming media, the video suspiciously skips over work you might do with Apple’s new spatial computer. It’s mentioned, but briefly: Here’s your workspace, now let’s watch Godzilla!
There were gasps when Apple first revealed that the Vision Pro headset costs $3,499, but shoppers who load the spatial-computing device up with additional storage and Apple’s recommended add-ons pay almost twice as much.
But to put that price in perspective, an earlier ground-breaking Apple product — one that changed computers forever — cost even more than that when it launched decades ago.
Even if you have zero interest in buying a $3,499 mixed-reality headset, you should stop right now and watch the new Making Apple Vision Pro video. It’s an absolutely mesmerizing video that shows the elaborate manufacturing process for Apple’s upcoming “spatial computing” device.
It takes just over a minute to watch, and it’s truly stunning!
How much does Apple Vision Pro weigh? That was one of the great mysteries about the $3,499 mixed-reality headset before Apple published the Vision Pro technical specifications Friday.
The answer? Between 21.2 and 22.9 ounces. That’s 1.325 to 1.431 pounds, or 600 to 650 grams. (The “weight varies depending on Light Seal and head band configuration,” Apple says.)
Isn’t it great when someone on social media humbly displays a well put-together and complete computer setup that makes yours look like random debris? Well, at least it’s a good learning opportunity. And today’s MacBook Pro setup is an exceptional example, as it doesn’t look like “all that” — even though it is.
At a glance you might not guess that it packs about two dozen components, and the user is happy to explain how he uses most of them.
Cult of Mac joined forces with Pitaka again for another unmissable giveaway. Four fortunate winners will receive one of two iPhone cases: either a gorgeous orange-and brown Sunset case — inspired by Jack Kerouac’s Beat Generation novel On the Road, and previously sold out — or a blue-tinged variant called the Moonrise case. (That one’s color scheme pays tribute to “the ‘blue hour’ between sunset and moonrise,” according to Pitaka.)
Each case retails for $69.99, and winners will receive one or the other at random. Don’t miss your shot at landing one of these sought-after iPhone cases!
Apple Watch is a serious tool, but that doesn’t mean all its accessories need to be straight-faced. Elago excels at making lighthearted and charming retro-style accessories for Apple products, and its W9 Stand for Apple Watch is no different. It makes your wearable look like an old-school Mac.
Compatible with all Apple Watch series, from Ultra down through the smaller sizes, the W9 stand is available now in the Cult of Mac Store.
Learning a new language is a great way to keep your mind sharp, widen your intellectual horizons and build new career skills. However, it can be tricky without the proper teacher or platform. Luckily, Cult of Mac readers can enjoy big savings on Rosetta Stone, a proven method for language learning.
Through January 21 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, you can snag a lifetime subscription for only $149.97 (regularly $399) with coupon code ROSETTA.
Highly respected British audio brand KEF released an “LT” version of its stellar, versatile AirPlay-ready LSX II speaker line this week, keeping most key features but dropping the price by about $300 to $400.
That doesn’t make them budget speakers by any means, at $999, but nobody shops KEF for that.
Seven months after its announcement at WWDC23, Apple started accepting preorders for its Vision Pro headset Friday morning — and quickly sold out. Shipping dates for the company’s first AR headset slipped within minutes of preorders opening.
The preorder also answered some questions about the Vision Pro. Plus, if you want one, you still have a chance to get one. The $3,499 mixed-reality headset — which Apple hails as the dawn of “spatial computing” — goes on sale February 2 in Apple retail stores in the United States.
Heads up to Apple users: iCloud isn’t the only cloud storage option out there. Even though the built-in features might be a good fit for those in the Apple ecosystem, the storage caps and monthly fees can cramp your productivity and put a dent in your budget.
If you’re looking for a solid alternative, Prism Drive offers a plan that nets you a whopping 20TB of cloud storage at a one-time cost of $89.97 (regularly $1,494).
Friday morning ushers in Apple’s era of spatial computing when the Vision Pro goes on sale, and the cutting-edge headset is likely to sell out almost immediately.
But that won’t be a sure indication of huge demand for the new product — Apple has reportedly produced a relatively small number of the $3,499 headsets.
Seagate unveiled the world’s highest-capacity hard drive Wednesday with its Exos Mosaic 3+ HDD platform, hitting the 30TB mark for the first time, the company said. That’s enough space to store a thousand Blu-ray movies.
The company said it used several new technologies to get there, and its road map shows the arrival of even bigger storage devices in the coming years. And while businesses will certainly go for these megadrives, they will also be available to many kinds of end users and require no special hardware to read.
January 18, 1983: Computer manufacturer Franklin Electronic Publishers takes the wraps off its Franklin Ace 1200 computer, an unauthorized Apple II clone that triggers an important legal battle.
Cupertino will soon target Franklin’s line of unlicensed clone computers with a lawsuit. In the resulting trial, a U.S. court will decide whether a company can protect its operating system by copyright.
