Cult of Mac

Your Mac is an amazing piece of technology … but are you getting the most out of it? One simple way to boost your productivity is with The Complete Limited Edition Mac Bundle.

It’s a curated selection of 12 highly reviewed apps that offer the very best in productivity, video, security and more.

Sold separately, everything in this bumper bundle would usually cost $1,040. But right now, not only is it on sale for $29.99, but for a limited time, you can save an extra 40% off the sale price when you enter the code MACBUNDLE40 at checkout. That drives the price down to just $17.99.

Give your Apple Watch a suave and sophisticated makeover with this stunning Steel Loop band from Laut. It’s made entirely from high-grade stainless steel and available in a number of cracking color options.

It’s also wonderfully affordable at under $34 after a 15% discount.

Apple this week dropped a pair of new ads for iPhone 13, highlighting its newest handset’s brilliant battery life and durability.

One of the one-minute clips shows iPhone 13 being used to film a boy during a day-long bike ride. The other shows the device being used as a toy, hammer, baseball bat and more by an energetic toddler.

The watchOS 8.4 release candidate that rolled out to beta testers on Thursday eliminates an Apple Watch charging bug that first surfaced around a month ago.

The issue, which mostly affected Apple Watch Series 7, prevented devices from charging when using third-party accessories from a wide range of brands. But with the latest watchOS 8.4 update installed, everything is back to normal.

Apple TV+ is making a series set in Legendary’s MonsterVerse that includes movies like Godzilla vs. Kong. The show will be live action, and continue the story of humanity’s battle to survive in a world populated with city-crushing behemoths.

The U.S. Apple Store for Education now requires shoppers to prove they are a university student or teacher before they can get products at a discount. Before now, it essentially operated on the honor system, which was a giant loophole.

After the change, shoppers can’t even see the discounted prices without getting verified first.

Update: Apple flip-flopped on this change.  Read more in, “Apple’s educational discount ‘loophole’ is back!“

With a new year comes new possibilities and the chance to achieve an exciting new set of goals. Whether yours are personal or professional, we could all use a way to maximize the time we have — and productivity apps are the best way to do that.

It’s time to get more done, in less time — and enjoy more free time as a result.

The macOS Monterey 12.2 release candidate went to developers on Thursday. This makes a full launch only a few days away.

Apple has yet to give an official list of changes in the upcoming version, but beta testers indicate it will offer smoother scrolling on MacBooks with ProMotion displays and a rewritten Apple Music app.

Apple also seeded to developers iOS 15.3 RC, iPadOS 15.3 RC, watchOS 8.4 RC and tvOS 15.3 RC on Thursday.

Every year Samsung subsidiary JBL rolls out a tempting raft of updated or new audio products at CES, but you can’t get them right away. CES 2022, held in Las Vegas earlier this month, was no different. The company showed its new JBL PartyBox Encore and a slew of other Bluetooth speakers, earbuds and headphones. We’ll round them up below. Some are coming in spring and others in summer.

Apple seeded the iOS 15.3 release candidate to developers on Thursday, along with the iPadOS equivalent. Surprisingly, the updates appear to include nothing but bug fixes and security updates. There are no new features. Still, I t’s possible these will take care of a headline-making WebKit bug that leaks user information.

Release candidates for macOS Monterey 12.2, watchOS 8.4 and tvOS 15.3 are also out on Thursday.

Apple TV+ will premiere The Sky Is Everywhere, a story of love and loss, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

A trailer for the upcoming film debuted Thursday, giving viewers a first look at a young woman simultaneously dealing with the death of her sister and her first love.

iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey allow you to use tags inside the Notes app to keep everything organized. They can help you quickly separate notes for different projects, and they make it easier to find things later.

Here’s how to use tags in Notes on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

It’s your last chance to save on a range of stellar accessories for Apple Watch, AirPods and more. Everything from Elkson and Mifa is currently discounted by 15% in the Cult of Mac Store, but the sale ends later today.

Enjoy it while you can!

The quality of the images you use can make or break any marketing materials, business presentation or website — and they’re a direct reflection of your brand. Whatever you create, using a high-quality stock photo service can change everything.

For a limited time, you can grab an unlimited lifetime subscription to Scopio Authentic Stock Photography for just $29 (regular price: $3,480).

Illinois is the latest U.S. state to file a bill that could force Apple and Google to accept third-party payment systems inside apps.

The “Freedom to Subscribe Directly Act,” supported by Hey app developer Basecamp, wants to prohibit both companies from requiring developers to use the App Store and Google Play to sell software and subscriptions.

With a 15% share of the market, Apple Music is now the second-biggest music streaming service in the world, according to the latest data. It remains significantly bigger than rivals like YouTube Music and Deezer. Over the years, Apple has consistently evolved its music offerings, with features like apple.music replay allowing users to revisit their favorite songs and discover their listening trends.

However, Apple Music will have to fight to stay ahead of Amazon Music, while catching up with Spotify will be an incredibly difficult task.

iOS and iPadOS 15 fix a pretty serious security flaw that allowed third-party applications to access Apple ID information and recent search terms.

Apple this week confirmed the fix in an update to its security content guide for iOS 15. It does not look like the issue has been eliminated in iOS 14, which is no longer receiving standalone security updates.

Apple has confirmed that giving users the option to skip iOS 15 updates and stick with iOS 14 was always intended to be temporary.

Its clarification comes after it last week stopped delivering security updates to those who have chosen not to update their devices since iOS 15 made its debut last September. iOS 15.2.1 is now the only upgrade option.

If you live in a big city, you likely suffered the misfortune of having something stolen. Maybe thieves swiped your bike, motorcycle, car or backpack.

Whatever the item, it sucks. But this week’s Cult of Mac giveaway can help you when disaster strikes. Invoxia, an award-winning designer of tracking devices, is giving three lucky winners its Cellular GPS Tracker and a one-year subscription to 4G networks that let the device work its magic.

If you constantly misplace your bag or worry about getting your bike stolen, make sure you enter our  giveaway.

Both AT&T and Verizon began rolling out a new 5G version on Wednesday. And getting access via C-band doesn’t require getting a new iPhone. If your iOS device supports 5G, it can use the new version.

The same goes for iPad. If it has built-in 5G, it supports C-band.

Golf is one of those games where it’s difficult to improve without real-life practice. But this TruGolf Mini Golf Simulator helps you practice your swing — and enjoy beautifully rendered virtual courses — without going to the range in person.

It’s a futuristic way to enjoy the game of golf without gambling on clear weather (or spending money on green fees). It’s fun, it’s perfect for both newbies and regular golfers alike, and its built-in analytics will help you boost your game.

As the number of officially certified third-party MagSafe accessories grows, Mophie adds to the product pile with a new multi-device travel charger. It folds, stores away in a handsome felt case — and you can only get it through the Apple Store.

While there are a lot of generic iPad cases, the new BookBook Cover from Twelve South is completely eye opening. It turns an iPad and keyboard into a leather-bound book. While making the tablet look medieval, it’s also protecting the valuable computer inside from bumps and blows.

Unlike the standard BookBook Case for iPad, this version has room to hold an Apple Magic Keyboard.

The Visual Effects Society nominated Apple TV+ titles Tuesday for seven honors in its 20th Annual VES Awards, including the Tom Hanks film Finch and the epic sci-fi series Foundation.

The first trailer for the Apple TV+ series WeCrashed focuses on the eerie cult of personality that WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann built before his company crashed. The series will star Jared Leto as Neumann, with Anne Hathaway playing his wife (and fellow WeWork exec), Rebekah.

The series will portray “the love story at the center of it all,” according to Apple. The streaming service also revealed on Wednesday the premiere date for the WeWork series: March 18, 2022.