You should ring in the New Year with the first new Peanuts special since 2011. In Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne, Lucy is having a party but everything is going wrong. It’s her fault but she blames everyone else. So the gang has to come together to save the day.

As a Peanuts fan going back decades, I watched the new holiday special with a skeptical eye. I found a lot to like, whether this is your introduction to Charlie Brown and his friends, or you’re a long-time watcher like me.

In a festive New Year’s promotion, Elago is offering every accessory in the Cult of Mac Store — hundreds of items, all in one place — at 15% off through January 7. No matter what Apple products you may have received as gifts over the holidays, there’s something for your in the sale. We cover some highlights below.

With the omicron variant fueling lightning-fast spread of COVID-19, it’s a good time for iPhone owners to take advantage of the exposure notifications feature built into iOS. By simply enabling this feature, you will get an alert after being exposed to someone who tests positive for the virus — as long as they also have contact notifications turned on, and they report their test results.

For obvious reasons, this automatic version of contact tracing works more effectively if more people utilize it. If you discover that you’ve been in close contact with an infected person, you can take appropriate steps (getting tested, staying away from vulnerable people, etc.)

We’ll show you how to take control of COVID-19 exposure notifications on your device.

The new M1 Macs are impressive — especially the newest of the new, the M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBooks. They’re so impressive, we see them replacing even late-model desktop Macs that have years of useful and even impressive life left in them. Such is the case with today’s year-end setup.

In a twist on the old phrase uttered at this time of year, “Out with the (not very) old, in with the (insanely great) new.”

Apple might break into a new product category in 2022. The company reportedly will unveil its long-rumored virtual reality and augmented reality headset.

Over the years, Apple profoundly changed the smartphone, tablet, smartwatch and MP3 player markets, taking niche products mainstream. It’s possible it’s about to do the same for VR/AR.

This discount software activation keys post is brought to you by CDKeylord.com.

In its New Year Sale, software seller CDKeylord.com offers good deals for the taking. Cult of Mac readers can get 35% off the regular price of a Genuine Lifetime Windows 10 Pro key and many other product-activation keys. And when you buy a Windows 10 key, you can get a free upgrade to Windows 11! Just enter the special discount code CULT at checkout.

See all the currently available discounts on Microsoft software in the list below.

With everyone living and working digitally more than ever, it’s never been so important to protect our files. So, if you could use some reliable cloud storage for your devices, gives this Degoo Premium: Lifetime 1TB Backup Plan a look.

A $900 value, you can snag this deal for a fraction of that cost for a limited time. For a single payment of less than $40 (with coupon code CYBER20), you’ll get more backup space than Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive combined.

With 2022 approaching, you should aim to start the new year organized and ready for action. That includes your devices. It’s time to say goodbye to flat batteries and stay fully powered with a new charger you can rely on.

From charging in your car to optimizing your desk space, the chargers in this roundup deliver everything you need to never be left with a dead battery again. And you can save on them during our second Cyber Week sale.

You can never be too thin, too rich or have too many USB ports. The EZQuest USB-C Gen 2 Hub Adapter adds four USB-C ports and three USB-A ones, making room for an array of peripherals for your Mac or iPad.

I put the USB-C hub through real-world testing. Here are its strengths and weaknesses.

A year after the debut of AirPods Max, an analysis of user reviews found that buyers like the over-the-ear headphones less than rival products. The main problem: price.

For comparison, the same study by consumer research company Revuze shows people who buy Apple’s basic AirPods seem much more satisfied. And user reviews of other Apple products are usually quite positive, too.

“It is off-brand and surprising to see how poorly the AirPods Max product was received over the course of the year since its release,” Revuze CEO Boaz Grinvald told Cult of Mac. 

This MagSafe charger post is brought to you by Journey, a brand of Alogic. 

You probably have cables to charge your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch. But wouldn’t it be great to charge them all at once, in one place, like on your nightstand or desk? Without a bunch of wires? With the handsome new Journey 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station, you can.

Journey’s newest charger also serves as a stand for your gadgets — and it looks good doing it. And, by the way, if you act fast, you can get the new charging station for 30% off with the coupon X30.

Apple Watch’s Digital Crown helps users take full advantage of the watchOS interface, beyond using the wearable’s touchscreen. But it looks like future Apple Watches might ditch the crown in favor of optical sensors, according to a new patent the Cupertino tech giant filed.

The well-regarded Slopes app that provides resort information to skiers and snowboarders — and helps them track their exploits carving mountain trails — saw four major updates in December. They include privacy-focused live location sharing and enhanced maps for iPhone and Apple Watch.

2022 could be the year Apple takes iMac to the next level. Various leaks point to an iMac Pro with a blazing-fast processor and a beautiful screen.

But it’s not supposed to be any larger than the biggest current iMac, though the overall design is expected to change.

A Sam’s Club membership, usually a $45 value, is already a deal. It gives you access to essential everyday products at exclusive low prices. The warehouse superstore’s prices are hard to beat.

Currently, a one-year Sam’s Club membership is 65% off at $19.99. Grab one now to open the door on exceptional deals on Apple products and other essentials.

Reading more books consistently ranks as one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, and it’s a good one!

If reading more and learning something new is on your list, then you’re in luck. 12min is a book service that condenses some of the most popular books into 12-minute, easily processable packages. And right now it’s on sale for just $31.20 (regularly $399) with coupon code CYBER20.

We keep coming across two great secrets of super-clean desktops when it comes to computer setups. As shown in today’s featured setup, they’re both about creating significant amounts of open desk space in different ways — without losing any access to your gear or forfeiting any computing power.

And we’re not just talking about clearing away basic clutter, or even cable clutter, although that always helps. We’re talking about how you can get some of your main equipment up and off the desk so you have room in front of you. Redditor kurtvdpoel demonstrates the two excellent methods in his post, “Home office with Mac mini Apple M1.”

If you got an Apple Watch for Christmas, or even if you already had one — congratulations on owning one of the best smartwatches! Now, it’s time to up your band game (aka your Apple Watch strap). For a limited time, you can get the Speidel Square Tip Oiled Leather Band for Apple Watch for just $9.89 in the Cult of Mac Store. That’s 70% off the regular price!

Competition for highly skilled engineers and programmers is fierce in Silicon Valley, and Apple’s answer is big bonuses for employees it really wants to hold on to. It reportedly rewarded some workers with up to $180,000 in company stock.

These were apparently unscheduled and not part of usual compensation packages.

Apple won‘t let the iPad languish in 2022. Most notably, some big improvements are reportedly coming to the display and charging capabilities of the iPad Pro line.

And the iPad Air and iPad won‘t be overlooked, either.

The AirPods experience is great overall, but let’s be honest. The way Apple’s earbuds work with a Mac is a pale imitation of the seamless functionality you get when using them with iPhones and iPads.

Luckily, an innovative Mac app called AirBuddy fixes that. And right now, you can save 20% on AirBuddy with code CYBER20.

One of the greatest goals you can have for 2022 is to explore the world around you and surround yourself with nature — and this awesome Carsule pop-up cabin for your car will allow you to do exactly that.

Not only is it discounted right now from its regular price of $379, but you can enjoy even more savings by taking a further 20% off the sale price with the coupon code CYBER20. That knocks the price all the way down to $239.99 for a limited time.

This iPhone 13 cases post is brought to you by Totallee.

With the release of the tough iPhone 13 series handsets, with their Ceramic Shield and Gorilla Glass, more and more people started talking about going without a case altogether. Others, of course, weren’t about to drop a grand on a smartphone and then not protect that pricey gadget. There may actually be a perfect third path, whether you just got an iPhone 13 for Christmas or have had one for a while. You can try Totallee’s extremely thin and light iPhone 13 cases. They help protect and showcase your new smartphone without adding bulk.

Apple received a patent for a foldable iPad cover/stand capable of holding the tablet up in a range of viewing angles. It’s a notable improvement over the current Apple Smart Cover.

Of course, there are plenty of third-party folding iPad stands with comparable capabilities. But people are more likely to pick Apple’s version because it’s Apple.

The eagerly anticipated and much-praised Apple TV+ original series Foundation, based on the epic Isaac Asimov novels of the 1950s, has received a modern-day distinction, of sorts — it’s among the most-pirated shows of the year online. As such, it’s in good company.

It’s not quite the same sort of honor as the scads of awards Apple TV+ has been winning for shows like Ted Lasso and Stillwater, but it’s impressive nonetheless.