Cult of Mac

The iPhone 12 is on course to give Apple its best-ever year for iPhone sales, according to Wedbush analysts Strecker Backe and Daniel Ives. In a new note to clients seen by Cult of Mac, they predict Apple could sell between 240 million and 250 million iPhones this year.

That would “easily eclipse” Apple’s previous record, set in fiscal 2015, in which it sold 231 million iPhones. That year’s super-sized lineup — the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus — remain the top-selling models in history. However, it looks like that record could soon fall.

Sony’s terrific WF-1000XM3 earbuds are widely regarded as the best alternatives to AirPods Pro. Some say they’re even better, despite their silly name. Bag yours today for just $178 — down from $229.99 — for a limited time only.

The buds offer up to 24 hours of playback with their included charging case, plus active noise cancellation, built-in Amazon Alexa, and all-around terrific sound.

Ted Lasso is the gift that keeps giving when it comes to racking up awards for Apple. On Sunday, the hit Apple TV+ comedy — about a hapless football coach who journeys to England to ply his trade with a soccer team — was honored with a pair of 2021 Writers Guild of America Awards.

Ted Lasso won both the Best New Series and Best Comedy Series prizes, adding a couple more accolades to the impressive collection the popular show has racked up since debuting.

This new year has arguably been the best one to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. With campsite bookings increasing a whopping 500% in 2021 from previous years, it’s pretty evident that the desire to explore nature isn’t going away soon.

While one of the best parts about getting away is the opportunity to disconnect for a little bit, the reality is that it’s important to be able to reach out in case of an emergency. Or even take a work meeting if you absolutely must. This Chargeworx 10,000mAh Power Bank with AirPods Holder will help keep you connected when you need to be. And unlike other power banks, this one can charge both your iPhone and your AirPods at the same time.

Pour one out for our homie, the HomePod.

Apple recently pulled the plug on its sweet-sounding smart speaker, and the move is definitely not music to our ears. In fact, it calls into question Apple’s strategy of releasing — and then rudely abandoning — expensive, niche products. Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel on that.

Find out why we hope that never happens again in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it to enjoy on iPhone or iPad, or get the stories below in your browser.

Podswap takes AirPods nearing the end of their useful life and replaces them with a fresh pair. And the recycling service costs considerably less than Apple charges to replace these wireless earbuds.

Plus, anyone using the service can take comfort knowing that their old AirPods will be recycled, not thrown away.

The demand for engaging videos isn’t going away anytime soon — in fact, there are 2.3 billion YouTube users waiting for their next fix.

That means whether you’re a marketer or an entrepreneur, it’s a good idea to use videos to get your message out. While your MacBook might come with iMovie, you’ll probably find that app a little lackluster as your video editing needs grow more robust. Ramp up your video game with The Essential Movavi Mac & Windows Software Bundle. It includes enough tools to meet all your video editing needs, whether you want to educate an audience about your services or boost your sales with a product demo.

Two weeks after Apple discontinued the iMac Pro, the company pulled the powerful all-in-one desktop from its website Friday.

The computer hadn’t been updated in three years and there have been no reports of a new version in the works. This may be the last iMac Pro … just as it was the first.

Starting your own business can be incredibly difficult, especially if you’re doing something no one else has done before. Entrepreneurs who launch startups can feel incredibly lonely or lost day to day — mostly because there’s not the same support system that exists for people who are breaking into established industries.

If you’re a budding business owner who’s looking for education, support and tools to help your startup launch successfully, a lifetime subscription to Startups.com Unlimited will provide the resources you need to get your operation off the ground.

Never again send a text or email you think is fine but enrages a coworker or your spouse. Use the tone detector Grammarly just added to its iPhone keyboard app to learn what impression your messages will make on readers. The app alerts you if something you’ve typed sounds rude or hostile before you hit send.

The characters in For All Mankind, Apple TV+’s space-race melodrama, all try to find their sea legs … or, uhh, space legs … in this week’s tense episode. Astronaut Ed Baldwin is under the sea. And his wife, Karen, is losing her cool. Meanwhile, Tracy Stevens is on the moon, and her ex Gordo is losing his mind!

There are many games about ghostbusting. Cozy Grove is the exact opposite. The latest Apple Arcade title takes players camping on a haunted island where the goal is the help the spirits, not fight them.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reflects on COVID-19 and how it heightened racial injustice in the United States in an op-ed he wrote for The Wall Street Journal.

Cook’s opinion piece, published Thursday, is titled “The Urgency of Racial Justice.” It’s just one of several — written by big names like actor Tom Hanks and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson — published in the Journal’s “What I’ve Learned From the Pandemic Year” package.

Alex Goulielmos, based in Piraeus, Greece, works as a software engineer for a maritime shipping company. He keeps it steady as she goes with his WFH setup, figuring, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Or don’t go buying expensive new gear to replace it, anyway.

Good thing his recently acquired and “very snappy” MacBook Air works just fine with a 12-year-old Apple Cinema Display and audio equipment that dates back to the turn of this century. His new M1-powered laptop replaced a 2017 MacBook. But the monitor and audio gear may go on forever.

Verizon is now offering the iPhone 11 Pro with 64GB of storage for free when you activate a new line on its Unlimited Plan. You can also receive a $250 credit if you’re switching from another carrier.

The deal could save you as much as $1,249 in total. It’s only available for a limited time, so take advantage of it before it’s too late.

Thriller fans should brace for an Apple TV+ binge-a-thon this week. They can watch all nine episodes of creepy new show Calls, which debuted on Apple TV+ Friday,  or take in the first two full seasons of M. Night Shyamalan’s gripping Servant.

The Servant season finale arrived today alongside a new episode of alt-history space race show For All Mankind.

If you haven’t dusted off your resume or CV and taken a crack at updating it in a while, it can be intimidating to know where to start. Maybe you struggle with formatting as you try to whittle down your word count. Or maybe you spend inordinate hours looking up the necessary keywords to include for hiring managers. And then there’s the question of whether to include a summary.

Throughout the process, you’ll face loads of necessary choices that don’t necessarily feel intuitive. The 2021 Complete Resume Builder Master Class Bundle fixes that. It packs essential tools and resources to make writing a killer resume a total breeze. And that helps you stand out to hiring managers so you can land the interviews you want.

With new show Calls, Apple TV+ brings a French TV sensation to America and it’s three things in one. It’s a fascinating experiment, an old idea repackaged — and something of a missed opportunity.

The series, which premieres this Friday, hides its star-studded voice cast behind pixelated images and on-screen text, making it sort of an anti-event. That alone means Calls faces an uphill climb to find a new audience.

Apple has insisted that it will be applying its App Tracking Transparency globally following reports that developers in China are trying to find workarounds to the feature. A report this week suggested Apple was turning a blind eye to the efforts.

Apple and Facebook may be on a collision course with one another, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he’s confident the social media giant “will be able to manage through” upcoming privacy changes made by Apple.

Apple’s upcoming augmented reality head-mounted display will be controlled by eye-tracking technology, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says in a note sent to clients Friday.

Instead of using hand controls, the technology will be able to detect wearers’ eye movements and blinking, then instantly compute the required information so it can be seen on the device’s micro-OLED display.

AirPods Max offers many premium features, but not wireless charging. A small German design studio dreamed up a fix. The Max Stand from Floating Pixels not only holds Apple’s new over-the-ears headphones upright, it also adds wireless charging.

Astropad released a free public beta of the Windows version of its software that turns an iPad into a second screen for a laptop or desktop. With the beta, users can test out mirroring their favorite apps on the tablet, including using an Apple Pencil to draw in Windows software.

SNL alum Maya Rudolph will star in a half-hour comedy series on Apple TV+. The show is being created by Emmy winners Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard.

It’ll be part of a growing collection of comedies on Apple’s streaming video service.

Worried your iPhone might be picking up all kinds of nasty germs while you’re out and about? Sterilize with ultraviolet (UV) light while it charges with this 2-in-1 stand from Limited77 — now on sale for a limited time.

The device promises to kill 99.99% of bacteria, and packs a removable sterilization stick that you can use to clean almost anything. Order yours today from the Cult of Mac Store to save 17%.