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2021 MacBook Pro proves Apple got its groove back

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The HDMI port, MagSafe charger and SD card reader in the new 2021 MacBook Pro models prove Apple design is back on track.
The HDMI port, MagSafe charger and SD card reader in the new 2021 MacBook Pro models prove Apple design is back on track.
Photo: Apple

In 2016, Apple proudly unveiled a new MacBook Pro that rejected the HDMI port, the MagSafe charger and the SD card reader of the past. Fast forward to 2021, and the company just released new MacBook Pro models with an HDMI port, MagSafe and SD card reader.

Why the reversal? Apple’s head of design Jony Ive left in 2019 after decades with the company. His tendency to push form over function led Cupertino down the wrong path in many ways. And Apple is just now undoing mistakes Ive was responsible for. Like taking out ports that most buyers wanted.

Incredibly rare Apple VideoPad ditched by Steve Jobs heads to auction

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Apple VideoPad 2 prototype
It's expected to fetch up to $12,000.
Photo: Bonhams

An incredibly rare Apple VideoPad 2 prototype is headed to auction after it was purchased from an Apple engineer back in 1999. It comes with a black leather carrying case that features the Newton logo, and is expected to fetch $12,000.

The VideoPad, which was scrapped by Steve Jobs upon his return to Apple in 1997, was a personal digital assistant (PDA) similar to the Newton that would have allowed users to carry out video calls. But it never made it to market.

Play 400 retro games on this portable console, on sale for less than half-price

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Grab this awesome handheld retro 8-bit game console.
Grab this portable retro games console with more than 400 games.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Remember when tech was … simpler? No matter how far technology advances, you just can’t beat the fun of 8-bit video games. That’s why we were excited to discover this Handheld 3-inch LCD Video Game Console with 400 built-in games. And for a limited time, this retro gaming device is on sale for just $24.99 — more than half off the regular price of $59.

Kim Kardashian spills unreleased Beats Fit Pro wireless headphones

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Beats Fit Pro wireless headphones
Just days after they were leaked in iOS 15.1.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s upcoming Beats Fit Pro wireless headphones have been spilled by Kim Kardashian. The reality TV star was spotted wearing the unreleased buds, which are expected to debut next month, in paparazzi snaps published this week.

It’s not the first time celebrities have appeared wearing new Beats headphones before they’ve been officially unveiled by Apple. Beats Studio Buds were donned by LeBron James weeks before they made their debut back in June.

Early benchmarks show crazy performance gains for Apple M1 Max

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2021 MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips
Up to 181% faster graphics than the last 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Photo: Apple

Buying a new MacBook Pro with a high-end M1 Max chip? You can expect crazy gains in both processing and graphics performance — no matter which Apple notebook you’re upgrading from, according to early benchmarks.

The M1 Max blows all the MacBook chips that came before it — not just those made by Intel, but even Apple’s own M1 — right out of the water, with up to 181% faster graphics than the previous 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Cancel countertop clutter with this on-the-wall phone and tablet charger [Review]

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RapidX MyCharging Station review
RapidX MyCharging Station can wirelessly charge your iPhone in a vertical tray. And power four other devices at the same time.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Mount the RapidX MyCharging Station on a wall socket and it can juice up all your gear without taking up counter space.

I added the accessory to my office and have been using it to keep my phone and tablet going. Here’s what it’s like to use the MyCharging Station in real life.

Apple reaches out to developers with free, live Tech Talks 2021

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Apple reaches out to developers with free, live Tech Talks
Series of online sessions and one-on-one conversations will support developers.
Photo: Apple

Apple will provide one-on-one guidance to developers in a series of online events dubbed Tech Talks 2021. There will be presentations from Apple experts, each followed by a Q&A session. Plus experts will open their virtual doors in “office hours” meetings.

The free series will include more than 100 live sessions and 1,500 office hours. All coming from Apple locations around the world in multiple time zones.

Hate the MacBook Pro notch? At least it won’t block your mouse cursor.

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MacBook Pro notch won’t hinder mouse cursor movement
Good news: the MacBook Pro notch doesn’t hinder cursor movement.
Photo: Apple

The recently announced MacBook Pro models are the first with a screen notch. This raised questions about how the cursor handles the cutout. Will the cursor get stuck on the notch? Or will it pass through? Or automatically flow around?

Wonder no more: We have an official answer from Apple.

Twelve South’s PowerPic Mod picture frame juices up your devices

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Twelve South's PowerPic Mod Wireless Charger looks like an unassuming piece of decor.
Twelve South's PowerPic Mod Wireless Charger looks like an unassuming piece of decor.
Photo: Twelve South

Your iPhone charger doesn’t have to look like a charger when it’s off-duty. Twelve South launched its PowerPic Mod Wireless Charger on Wednesday. The Qi-enabled charging stand serves as a picture frame, with a detachable magnetic lucite frame that fits any 4 x 6 photo or graphic.

6 awesome MagSafe accessories for your new AirPods

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Best MagSafe accessories for AirPods
Prices start at just $12.99.
Photos: Elago, SwitchEasy, Anker, Limited77, myCharge

Apple’s third-generation AirPods and slightly refreshed AirPods Pro ship with Charging Cases that are fully compatible with MagSafe. And there are whole host of third-party accessories that make MagSafe charging even better.

Choose from a wide variety of docks and trays, in-car mounts and more. We’ve rounded up some of the best MagSafe accessories for AirPods to help you ensure that you’re hard-earned cash is well-spent.

Blow your ears clean off with perfectly mounted desktop speakers [Setups]

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Ready, aim, fire! Get the perfect sound with mounted desktop speakers.
Ready, aim, fire! Get the perfect sound with mounted desktop speakers.
Photo: [email protected]

These days, you can find computers and monitors with pretty good speakers. Or you can set up a pair HomePod minis or some other nice little Bluetooth speakers for solid computer setup sound.

But some people aren’t happy unless they have massive audio power on the desktop, complete with perfectly positioned speaker stands for maximum balance and clarity — and all of their speakers’ impressive wattage pointed right at their face.

Save up to $100 on a brand-new iPad Pro with M1 chip

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2021 iPad Pro with M1 chip
Claim yours before the discount disappears.
Photo: Apple

Now is a great time to pick up the newest iPad Pro with M1 chip, with Amazon offering savings of up to $100 — the biggest discount we’ve seen so far — on some models.

Prices start at $749 for an 11-inch device with 128GB of storage and Wi-Fi connectivity. The discounts won’t last long, so enjoy them while you can.

Stream thousands of TV shows and movies, plus live TV, from one app, for less than $80 for life

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Spend less time scrolling and more time watching with this smart TV app.
This smart TV app lets you watch hundreds of thousands of movies and TV shows.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

How many streaming services do you use? And how much time do you spend scrolling through each one before deciding what to watch? Now, you can spend less time searching and more time watching with the super-smart Select TV Streaming App. And we found a lifetime subscription on sale for just $99.99 (regularly $478).

But wait — there’s more! This deal comes with $20 to use in store credit at Cult of Mac Deals. And you can grab an additional 20% off for a limited time when you enter the code STREAM20 at checkout. That brings the price down to just $79.99.

Apple hints at Apple Music for ‘gaming consoles’ after PS5 leak

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Apple Music for gaming consoles
Is a rollout imminent?
Photo: Apple/Sony

Apple’s website has been updating to include a reference to Apple Music for “gaming consoles.” It comes less than a week after the service was first spotted (but unavailable to download) on PlayStation 5.

The reference all but confirms Cupertino is indeed working to bring Apple Music to the latest game systems from Microsoft and Sony, alongside Apple TV, which is already available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X.

27-inch iMac could get big refresh with 120Hz mini-LED display in early 2022

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2020 iMac: The new iMac looks just like the old one (only faster).
It's about time the larger iMac switched to Apple silicon.
Photo: Apple

Apple didn’t deliver the 27-inch iMac refresh many fans were hoping for during its big “Unleashed” event on Monday, but according to one analyst, it will arrive in early 2022 — complete with a mini-LED display and ProMotion technology.

The next-generation all-in-one is also expected to finally ditch its Intel processors for new Apple silicon chips that bring huge performance gains.

Instagram finally lets you upload photos and videos from your desktop

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Instagram uploading on the desktop
Coming later this month.
Photo: Instagram

Instagram is rolling out the ability to upload photos and videos from your desktop through a web browser. You can already access the platform on your Mac or PC, but the experience has always been extremely limited.

Instagram admits that uploading through a web browser is one of its most requested features, and it began testing the upgrade over the summer. The Facebook-owned company has now confirmed it will soon be available to all.

Free up space on your computer with 4TB of secure cloud storage

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Get 5 years of safe cloud storage at an unbelievable price.
This subscription offers a safe place to store your data.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Need a secure place to store your data? With a five-year subscription to Treasure, you can store 4TB worth of personal photos, files, videos and documents for only $169.99 (regularly $900).

But if you want that storage, you better act quick. This deal is available for a limited time only.

Apple’s new 140W USB-C Mac Power Adapter remains offensively huge

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Apple's very thick 140W Charging block
Apple's solution to fast-charging your new MacBook Pro is a Fiat-sized charging block.
Graphic: Apple / Ian Fuchs

Apple Unleashed event bug Along with the reintroduction of MagSafe in the new MacBook Pro lineup, Apple released a new 140W (!!!) charger Monday to enable faster charging. And while getting 50% battery in a mere 30 minutes sounds impressive, the charging block that enables it looks comically large.

The 140W charger, which comes with all the new 16-inch MacBook Pros rolled out Monday during Apple’s “Unleashed” event, continues that trend.

Oops, some of Apple’s own apps don’t support new MacBook Pro screen notch

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Oops, some of Apple’s own apps don’t support new MacBook Pro screen notch
Apple Logic Pro running on the 2021 MacBook Pro shows a lot of dead space because there’s no support for the screen notch.
Photo: Apple

The just-launched MacBook Pro models are the first with a screen notch. And this apparently came as a surprise to many of Apple’s own software developers as some of the company’s professional apps don’t support the screen cutouts. Which means they can’t fill the new Mac displays and must leave blank areas.

This won’t make it easier for Apple to convince third-party developers to fully support the latest macOS notebooks.

Apple TV+ Snoopy in Space season 2 trailer lifts off in search of life

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Astronaut Snoopy goes where no beagle has gone before.
Astronaut Snoopy goes where no beagle has gone before.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ released its trailer on Tuesday for season two of it Daytime-Emmy-nominated series Snoopy in Space. After the first season’s visits to the moon and the International Space Station, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang get ready for a journey across the universe in search of life.

Season 2 of Snoopy in Space premieres all 12 episodes on Friday, November 12, on Apple TV+.

I got Sherlocked at Apple’s ‘Unleashed’ event!

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Apple Polishing Cloth sherlocks CultCloth. I did not expect to see this new product in Apple's online store.
I did not expect to see this new product in Apple's online store.
Screenshot: Cult of Mac

Apple Unleashed event bug Like most of you, I sat glued to my screen Monday during Apple’s “Unleashed” event. I was tickled to see the new MacBook Pros finally revealed — laptops that resurrect tons of useful ports, bring massive performance improvements, and benefit from great battery life (thanks in part to a slightly thicker design).

Excited, I fumbled my way through the preorder process in Apple’s online store. But as I got toward the end, something stopped me dead in my tracks. There, on the screen where Apple presents an array of accessories for the MacBooks, I saw a jaw-dropping product … Apple’s new Polishing Cloth.

You gotta be kidding me. There I sat there, stunned, mouth agape. Tim Cook just Sherlocked me!

Bidding on super-rare Chaffey College Apple-1 computer starts at $200,000

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Only six examples features the koa wood case.
Only six known examples features the koa wood case.
Photo: John Moran Auctioneers

As many Apple fans knows, the company’s first products was the Apple-1 personal computer, initially put together in a garage by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs in 1976. Now one unit in their early run of 200, known as the “Chaffey College Apple-1” because its first owner taught there, is going up for auction November 9 with a starting bid of $200,000.

Head for a galaxy far, far away in Lego Star Wars: Castaways on Apple Arcade

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‘Lego Star Wars: Castaways‘ will debut on Apple Arcade in November, 2021.
You and your friends can each design a minifig and join the fun in Lego Star Wars: Castaways.
Photo: Gameloft/Apple Arcade

Explore a mysterious new planet with friends in Lego Star Wars: Castaways. It will be the first social, action-adventure Lego Star Wars game, so it’ll offer chances to relive great moments from the movies or have dance parties.

The upcoming Gameloft title will be available only on Apple Arcade.