In gift-giving season, sometimes you get something you already have or something that isn’t quite what you wanted. So, if you can exchange the item for something you truly covet — like a killer pair of Apple AirPods or Beats earbuds — you probably should.

But how do you choose between earbuds made by Apple and earbuds made by Apple subsidiary Beats by Dre? We’ve laid out the specs for four popular sets of buds, below, pitting AirPods Pro against Beats Fit Pro and the new AirPods (3rd gen) against Beats Studio Buds. But all the specs listed in each chart are the same, so it’s not difficult to compare and contrast all four.

A new, red-and-gold, limited-edition design for Beats Studio Buds will celebrate the Lunar New Year in China and other countries — the Year of the Tiger — Apple said on Monday.

This follows a recent release of another predominately red, limited-edition design in collaboration with the men’s fashion store Union we wrote about earlier in December.

The new, highly transmissible COVID-19 variant reportedly forced Apple to shut down around 20 of its retail stores in the United States. Coronavirus cases continue to rise dramatically because of the omicron variant, with the daily national average more than doubling in the past two weeks.

Those planning to return a gift at a brick-and-mortar Apple Store, or use a gift certificate, should check to see if it’s open before heading out.

With 2022 almost on us, it’s time to look forward to the massive MacBook Air refresh expected next year. Tipsters say there’ll be a slim new design, a much better screen and a range of other improvements.

This notebook is also expected to be the debut of the super-speedy Apple M2 processor.

You may own the fanciest gadgets in the world, but none of that really matters if you pay very little attention to your data protection and online privacy. Don’t lull yourself into a false sense of security, thinking cyberattacks only happen to large businesses and corporations. They’re prevalent in small organizations and individuals, too.

The responsible thing to do is to tighten up your security, and you can do that with The Lifetime Backup & Security Subscription Bundle. Available for an extra 20% off with code CYBER20, it offers total online freedom. It pairs a subscription to a top-rated VPN service with lifetime access to 10TB of cloud storage that will keep your data secure.

Three months after launch, a lower percentage of iPhone users have adopted iOS 15 than they did its predecessors in previous years. Cult of Mac asked readers to explain their hesitancy.

Turns out there’s not one single reason.

There are portable batteries, and then there are powerhouses like the ScoutPro Ultimate All-in-One Charger with LED Display. This beefy portable battery can fully charge a MacBook and four other devices at once. And for our second Cyber Week sale, it’s just $127.20 (regularly $349) with code CYBER20.

Apple reportedly hired Meta’s AR communications chief recently, a move that fits with Cupertino’s long-rumored plan to launch an augmented reality/virtual reality headset.

Observers expect Apple to unveil its mixed-reality headset sometime in 2022. And, according to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple is forming a team to handle the hardware’s launch and marketing. Part of this appears to be the hiring of Andrea Schubert, chief of communications and public relations for AR at Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook.

If you’re an avid gamer, or maybe just an aspiring one, it pays to know which displays and accessories will best serve your needs. Not just any display, input device and headset will keep up with today’s graphically rich games. The dual M1 Mac and Sony PlayStation 5 computer setup we look at today demonstrates some good choices you might consider.

Redditor smhppp uses an M1 Mac mini for personal uses, an M1 MacBook Air for work and a Sony PS5 for gaming. They showed their setup in a post entitled, “Current setup, spec in comments for those interested.” It’s one of those one-vertical-and-one horizontal-display setups so many people are trying lately.

Apple proves that demo videos don’t have to be dry and boring. It premiered a trio of short videos Sunday that show off the capabilities of the iPhone 13 Pro camera — and they’re actually fun to watch.

Plus, if you were just gifted Apple’s latest handset, watch all three and you might be inspired to go make a movie with it.

2022 might bring some significant swings in Apple’s phone strategy. The “regular” iPhone 14 series reportedly will include a more affordable 6.7-incher in place of the 5.4-inch mini model. And the two upcoming iPhone Pro models could get rid of the notch, replacing it with a smaller alternative.

Plus, there allegedly will be a big improvement to the rear-facing camera, as well as other changes. And an iPhone SE 3.

How are you going to take your life to the next level in 2022? Whether you set yourself a goal to travel more, boost your career, or simply invest in some much-deserved self-improvement, one activity will improve all of the above: learning a new language.

Excitingly, you can learn languages more effectively — and more affordably — than ever with the renowned Babbel Language Learning. And right now, you can grab a lifetime subscription in the Cyber Week II sale for just $199 — a 60% discount off the regular price of $499.

Having all the Apple gadgets is great for fun and productivity. There’s nothing like the ease of having your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods all synced up together. Keeping them all charged and running throughout the day, though, can be a real pain. Apple is doing a better job, but the battery lives are still painfully short.

However, keeping your batteries topped off is a cinch with the MagStack Foldable 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station with Floating Stand. Even better, this MagStack station is available at a deep discount for our second Cyber Week sale! You can get this charging station on sale for only $35.99 (regularly $69) when you use the code CYBER20.

This 4K Dual-Camera Pro GPS Drone is, without a doubt, the coolest thing any gadget or photography enthusiast can treat themselves to this year. Even better, during our Cyber Week II sale, you can take 20% off this awesome drone by entering the coupon code CYBER20 at checkout. That drives the price down to $55.96 for a limited time (regular price $69.95).

In today’s world of virtual presentations, classes and meetings, screen recording isn’t just nice to have — it’s an essential tool for your Mac. So, this bundle of lifetime subscriptions to the top-rated AnyMP4 Screen and Audio Recorders for Mac is a major steal.

Not only is it on sale with 70% off, but you can drive that price down a further 15% to just $25.49 during our Christmas Sale. Just you use the code MERRY15 at checkout.

Dickinson bids us farewell this week — too soon, but beautifully. What lies in store for Emily and her family in their final outing? Can she overcome history to find a happy ending denied her by fact and legacy?

The Apple TV+ alt-history show says goodbye on a sweet, lightly ambiguous note — and finds its strength in invention. Emily Dickinson we hardly knew ye.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: New renders give us an even better vision of what Apple’s mixed-reality headset might look like. We’re still not convinced we’ll be wondering around with these things strapped to our heads — especially if they cost $3,000. However, we must admit that the concept art by Ian Zelbo does look pretty cool.

Also on The CultCast:

• Your Apple Wallet might get you on a plane next year.
• An AirTags Christmas miracle.
• An unfortunate darts disaster.
• More picks for Gear of the Year!

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.

Christmas time is here, and Apple TV+ is ready to help you celebrate. There are some wonderful specials on Apple’s streaming service that can get you in the holiday spirit.

Any and all of them are ready to watch now.

It’s Christmas Eve, and all we want for the holiday is a Porsche 911. It could be a gleaming new one, with a base price of a mere $99,200. It could be super-cool vintage one. Or it could even be a Lego one like the one featured in today’s MacBook Pro and iPad Pro-driven setup.

OK, given our paltry income, who are we kidding — we’d even take a die-cast 911, like the Matchbox cars of our youth.

This Christmas software activation key sale post is presented by CdkeySales.com.

Just as with previous sales events, Cult of Mac readers can grab special discounts on the already-low-priced software activation keys available at CdkeySales.com. Now it’s time for the Christmas Sale, featuring deals up to 35% off regular prices.

An iPhone and AirPods can be used to listen to conversations without people knowing. Such iPhone spying is really just a tricky use of the Live Listen feature built into iOS.

And, even if you’re not a budding James Bond, knowing about this trick could keep someone from eavesdropping on you. Here’s what to do if you want to use your iPhone to spy on someone. (Or what to watch out for if you don’t want to fall victim to iPhone spying.)

Ever wondered what today’s most popular Mac apps might have looked like on earlier Macintosh machines? These incredible design concepts imagine the likes of Google Chrome, Spotify and Zoom running on the 22-year-old Mac OS 9.

Graphic designer Michael Feeney created the collection as part of his terrific (mac)OStalgia project. Check it out in the four-minute video below.

If you’re looking for a way to juice up your brand-new Apple Watch on the go, Cult of Mac Deals has the perfect thing! These Apple Watch Wireless Charger Keychains are compact, powerful and the perfect blend of fun and usefulness.

And during our sitewide Christmas Sale, you can get one ($16.99), two ($33.14) or four ($64.44) of them on sale with coupon code MERRY15.

It’s unlikely the average AirPods Pro owner would be wearing their buds into a real battle to listen to some banging tunes. But if they were, they would protect them with Elkson’s ultra-rugged Military Bumper case.

With its tough exoskeleton design, made from a mixture of flexible polyurethane and sturdy polycarbonate, the Military Bumper is all you need to keep your favorite wireless headphones in top condition. It’s also surprisingly affordable.

Graphic design and web design are two of the hardest professions to learn. The cost of classes is enormous, and pretty much the only way to really master these skills is with a combination of practice and consistent guidance that isn’t locked to a class schedule.

That’s why The 2022 Premium Learn to Design Certification Bundle was developed to provide a comprehensive design education without the cost or commitment of in-person courses. And for a limited time, this bundle is on sale for only $30 (regularly $2,000).