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).

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The first Mac Studio benchmarks make Apple’s much-ballyhooed M1 Ultra chip sound less amazing than we hoped. Maybe it’s not the unhinged beast we expected! But then, what do benchmarks really mean, anyway?

Also on The CultCast:

• The new Studio Display suffers due to some odd choices on Apple’s part.
• A software update might fix Studio Display’s tragic webcam.
• A 15-inch MacBook Air would tick a lot of the right boxes.
• And finally, a giveaway for the ladies!

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 sponsor is JAMF, an Apple device-management solution that gives individuals and businesses the tools they need to wrangle iPhones, Macs, iPads and more. Register with JAMF now to manage three devices for free.

When iPhone 14 launches this autumn, it’s expected to offer better 5G performance than its predecessors. The iPhone 13 already offers speedy connections, but a new modem in the 2022 version will bring advantages to the next iOS handset.

Chief among these is better connections in areas with weak 5G signal.

Continue reading

Whether you want to start an exciting new career or find a life-changing new income stream from a side hustle, online master classes are some of the best ways to go about it. You can learn new skills from the world’s leading experts, in your own time, from anywhere.

Cult of Mac Deals tracked down some great deals on exceptional e-learning course. Even better, right now you can take an extra 50% off the sale prices during our Best of Digital Sale. For a limited time only, enter coupon code LEARNNOW at checkout to take a further 50% off the sale price of every one of these top-rated course bundles loved by users.

Dorothy has one final trick up her sleeve on the season finale of Apple TV+ thriller Servant, M. Night Shyamalan and Tony Basgallop’s show about a mystic nanny and the troubled family she appears out of nowhere to help.

Just when it seems like things can’t possibly be more warped than they already are, a handful of desperate events throw the Turner household into tragedy and disarray. Is there any coming back from this?

Servant‘s riotous third season comes to a close on a dreadful cliffhanger, promising more chaos and darkness in the currently filming fourth season.

Apple is at it again, trying to retain top employees in a competitive marketplace by giving them big money. This time the Cupertino tech giant has handed out a round of special stock bonuses to a group of hardware and software engineers. The amounts range from $100,000 to $200,000.

Good software and e-learning courses can drain your bank account. At full price, some software packages can go for thousands of dollars, and many individual online courses cost hundreds of dollars each.

Cult of Mac Deals rounded up some of the highest quality apps and online courses, then slashed the prices to make them much more affordable. During our Best of Digital Sale, they’re all 30% off with coupon code DOWNLOADNOW.

Cue the lights, strike up the music and let the garden party begin. Ikea’s got a new outdoor lantern coming. What’s interesting is that it doubles as the first Bluetooth speaker on the market with Spotify Tap built in.

The one-touch Spotify functionality isn’t the only music streaming service you can use with the lamp, called the Ikea Vappeby. But it’s handy.

A depressing dance party and a murder round out the crazy goings on in this week’s episode of Severance, the Apple TV+ show about a workplace plagued by secrets and underhanded, science fiction-style practices.

Once Mark (played by Adam Scott) sees the truth of his situation, there’s no turning back. But he can’t fix the problems at Lumon Industries alone. Wouldn’t it be helpful if something traumatic happened to everyone on his team, aligning them against their employer?

This week’s episode of Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson’s trippy workplace thriller brings a cavalcade of violent upsets — and each new incident stings intensely. It’s all a hair convenient, but it’s compelling enough to clear the hurdle anyway.

Lego is bringing three new Star Wars diorama sets to a galaxy not at all far away in April, with preorders available now. Aimed at adult fans of the beloved franchise, all three cost under $100 — which is a lot cheaper than some Lego creations.

Lego has done plenty of dioramas, but these Star Wars vignettes are on a smaller, more affordable scale than usual.

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey takes a tour through the past this week and finds clues to its central mysteries. The Apple TV+ show, based on Walter Mosley’s book of the same name, continues to be one of the best shows on television, with actors Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback leading it to greatness.

The Last Days might be the best investment in a TV show Apple TV+ has yet made. All the right people will be talking about this series for years to come.

Not satisfied with the thermostats on the market that you can use with HomeKit? Aqara is rolling out its HomeKit-compatible Smart Thermostat S3 with Siri voice support.

While the device is initially available only in China, experts speculate it could be coming to the U.S. and Europe, as well.

The Satechi Type-C Aluminum Monitor Stand Hub for iMac adds some extra height to the all-in-one desktop. And it makes room for four additional USB ports, an SD card reader and an audio jack.

I put stand/hub combo through its paces to see how it stands up in everyday use.