Cult of Mac

One of the most common ways people break their smartphones is by ruining the charging port, usually by tripping over the charging cord and yanking it out. Once you’ve broken the charging port, your device is essentially useless until it gets repaired — and that can be expensive.

If you want to save yourself some frustration and a broken charging port, you should check out the Evri Magnetic Tip USB Cable for MacBook & USB-C Devices. This breakaway cable comes with a magnetic tip that won’t rip out of your charging port if you take a wrong step, and right now it’s on sale for $22.95. That’s about $10 cheaper than usual.

South Korea has become the first country to tell Apple that it must open up the App Store to third-party payment platforms. The same law also applies to Google, and other countries likely will implement similar rules.

The amendment to South Korea’s Telecommunications Business Act prevents large app market operators from forcing their own payment systems on users and developers. It also bans unreasonable delays in app approvals.

Google has rolled out its newest Chrome beta with a new WebGPU API that finally adds support for Apple Metal. The version 94 release should lead to improved rendering performance for websites and web apps.

A second trusted source for insider Apple information says future iPhones will be able to communicate with satellites, exchanging texts and possibly phone calls. But new leaked details indicate this feature will be more limited than some might hope.

It would still be a significant advancement by Apple. The company reportedly is even considering launching its own satellites.

The first Apple TV+ trailer for the upcoming film The Velvet Underground — director Todd Haynes’ first documentary — takes you on whirlwind tour of the history and milieu around the avant-garde rock band as it rose to become a major influence on music and culture.

Have you ever been absolutely exhausted, then finally made it to bed, only to be wide awake after just a few minutes on your iPhone? Approximately 66% of Americans admit they bring their smartphones to bed, but that number is likely even higher.

As common as it is, that time spent staring at your iPhone is actually making it harder for you to sleep, hurting your eyes, and causing a whole host of other issues. Constant exposure to blue light — the kind that comes from phones, laptops, tablets and other electronics — can keep you awake, cause headaches and produce all sorts of unpleasant results.

If you want to block blue light emitted by your screen, then get an Ocushield Anti-Blue Light Screen Protector. They’re designed for iPhone (and Android) — and they’re on sale for a limited time.

Apple Watch Series 7 may see the wearable’s most significant design change since the first iteration came out six years ago. The folks at phoneArena.com put together a set of 3D renders showing off the possible new look.

Get ready for Chewbacca to take on Boba Fett. Or maybe an Ewok fighting with a Tusken Raider. Have Yoda fight Darth Vader. All this will be possible in Lego Star Wars Battles, coming soon to Apple Arcade.

It’ll offer tower defense strategic combat in real time.

Kingston Digital, the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology, is rolling out its new DataTraveler Max. The company said the USB-C 3.2 flash drive “delivers record-breaking speeds up to 1,000MB/s read and 900MB/s write to make it one of the fastest USB drives on the market and the first of its kind.”

Apple Music’s purchase of classical music service Primephonic will give fans of the genre a richer experience, Cupertino said Monday.

Apple said it will work to incorporated the service’s features into a standalone classical app that will launch next year. The company promised high-quality audio, expert recommendations and playlists, exclusive audio content, “extensive contextual details on repertoire and recordings” and other advanced features for classical fans.

We last saw Redditor 17parkc after they took delivery of their lovely new blue 24-inch iMac in May. Now it looks like they moved to a new studio apartment with a few new toys. Actually, in one case, an old toy — an iBook from back in the day, sometime around the turn of this century.

In the wake of Hurricane Ida’s category 4 landfall in Louisiana on Sunday, officials and aid workers are assessing damage and needed relief efforts. Today Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the company will donate money in support of those efforts.

Tim Cook has been Apple CEO for 10 years and he’s considering his exit strategy. But it won’t be soon because the executive will wait until the launch of “one more major new product category,” according to a new report.

Accessories maker Hyper rolled out new HyperDrive 6-in-1 and 5-in-1 USB-C hubs today to expand what you can do with your 2021 24-inch iMac. And they look pretty good doing it, too.

The two new hubs don’t just add connectivity options with a variety of ports. They also clamp right onto the bottom of your iMac and feature faceplates in seven colors to match your machine.

Apple says a new service program will address sound problems some iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro users experience when placing or receiving calls. It’s the first service program for the iPhone 12 series.

The Problem with Jon Stewart — the late-night talk show host’s much-anticipated return to TV — is now scheduled to debut September 30. It’ll be exclusively on Apple TV+, though the show also has a YouTube channel. And there’ll be a companion podcast.

The announcement came in a video in which Stewart jokes about not looking quite as young as he used to. Watch it now:

If you want to keep your digital photos safe, one of the worst places to store them is on your iPhone. Statistically, about 33% of people lose or break their smartphones, and with that goes every photo that wasn’t backed up somewhere.

Keeping your pictures on a cloud service can be useful, but that also puts them at risk of being leaked onto the internet. What you really want is a robust physical location to store all your photos and videos safely and securely. The Photo Backup Stick is exactly that.

The iPhone 13 will offer two-way communication with low Earth orbit satellites, according to a report from a reliable Apple analyst. If the prediction proves correct, making phone calls and exchanging texts via satellite connection will be possible with Apple’s next handset.

Maybe it’s the impending iOS, iPadOS and macOS updates, but in checking out the App Store this past week, everything seemed to be “bug fixes and stability improvements.” Those are great things to have, but they aren’t as cool or exciting as fresh features or hot new apps!

Fortunately, a long-awaited feature is finally coming to the YouTube masses. Plus, I found another email app worth checking out. And, if you’re hoping to become an influencer, we’ve got an app to help you level up your videos in this week’s Awesome Apps of the Week.

It’s been a very weird summer for Apple’s beta program, with major changes happening months after the initial unveiling of the operating system upgrades. But iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 have finally reached the point where they’re stable enough for average users to try them out. The same goes for watchOS 8.

But that’s not true of macOS Monterey.

One of the best parts of owning an Apple Watch is the convenience. Right there, on your wrist, you have some of the most useful features of your iPhone, but in a far more portable package.

The charger for your Apple Watch should be just as convenient and easy to travel with. The Apple Watch Wireless Charger Keychain is a great companion for your Apple Watch and can keep you connected for hours longer every day. Right now, you can get one, two or four Apple Watch Wireless Charger Keychains on sale for $19.99, $38.99 and $76.99 respectively. And for a limited time, you will also get $10 in store credit when you spend $50 or more!

Truth Be Told, the gripping Apple TV+ drama about a true-crime podcaster, wades into the murky waters of men’s rights groups this week. The plot thickens — and the mystery darkens.

For season 2 of See, show creator Steven Knight warms up a second helping of his weird, post-apocalyptic gumbo for Apple TV+. This time, he spices things up with a key ingredient — the inimitable Dave Bautista — that almost redeems See’s crazy mix of bizarre rituals, bombastic fight scenes and bad dialogue.

The addition of Bautista proves most welcome indeed. The former pro wrestler and Guardians of the Galaxy star lends his steely gravitas to a sprawling show that wants nothing more than to make its mark as a sci-fi epic.

In season 2, which kicks off on Apple TV+ today, we learn a lot more about living in a blind society. And we come to grips with a blood feud that will haunt all concerned.

A new video for the Google Pixel 5a pokes fun at the ones Jony Ive used to make gushing about the smallest details in designs of Apple products.

While an homage, the video also exhibits a cutting edge. It highlights the new Android smartphone’s headphone jack, a feature Ive removed from iPhones. Still, Apple fans shouldn’t miss this well-made parody:

Redditor jackwong343 knows how to keep his work computing and his personal use separate — even within a clean, spare and capable computer setup. It all starts with an M1 MacBook Pro for work and an M1 Mac mini for play, and never the twain shall meet.