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This 24,000mAh power bank packs an AC outlet

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Product shot of HyperGear Power Brick, a power bank with AC outlet, charging multiple devices
This 24,000mAh beast can power up multiple devices at once.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

HyperGear’s Power Brick is a beefy, 24,000mAh power bank with an AC outlet that can fully charge most laptops, juice up your iPhone several times and/or keep multiple devices going through a full day off the grid.

And it does all that without requiring a bulky backpack or a dedicated suitcase. At about the size of a small hardcover book (and weighing just 25 ounces), it slips easily into a work bag, carry-on or glove compartment.

And right now, you can grab this monster at a monstrous discount. Get HyperGear’s Power Brick 24000mAh AC Laptop Power Bank for just $114.99. That’s a 22% discount off the regular price of $149.

Why an all-American iPhone is impossible

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An AI image of a hand holding an iPhone in front of an American flag, with the word
Don't mean to burst your bubble, but an American-made iPhone isn't in the cards.
AI image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

A top goal of President Donald Trump’s hefty tariffs on essentially all imports is to force companies to move their production to the United States. That includes bringing iPhone assembly to America. The problem is, there are huge roadblocks that make that goal virtually impossible.

In broad terms, America doesn’t have anywhere close to the production capacity, or sufficient numbers of workers interested in low-paying factory jobs, to produce an all-American iPhone along with everything else Trump wants made in the U.S. Also missing from the equation: customers thrilled about paying much higher costs for products made in the United States.

The result is shaping up to be years of economic difficulties for Americans.

Instagram may finally release a native iPad app

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Instagram not coming to iPad
Will it finally happen?
Image: Instagram/Cult of Mac

Meta may finally launch an Instagram app for the iPad. Reportedly, the company plans to launch a dedicated iPadOS app to capitalize on the current situation surrounding TikTok.

The move could help further drive Instagram adoption among iPhone and iPad users.

Save plenty on two brilliant travel adapters for iPhone

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Travel adapter deal
Get a deal on the unique travel adapter that suits you, either a PlugBug or a ButterFly
Photo: Twelve South/Cult of Mac

Frequent travelers can take their choice of deals on two travel adapters from Twelve South, each with a unique feature to set them apart from competitors. Both are now available at steep discounts.

An Amazon deal knocks 39% off the PlugBug 50W with built-in Find My, while the ButterFly foldable wireless charger price drops by 34%.

What the Clash? and 4 other games hit Apple Arcade in May

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Screenshot from
What the Clash? is an Apple Arcade exclusive.
Image: Apple

Apple Arcade continues to grow next month with an exciting lineup of five new titles. A quirky multiplayer game from award-winning developer Triband — What the Clash? — headlines the bunch.

The subscription gaming service also adds With My Buddy, Lego Friends Heartlake Rush+, Words of Wonders: Search+ and Sumi Sumi: Matching Puzzle+. You can read more about them below.

Today in Apple history: John Sculley takes over as Apple CEO

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Former Apple CEO John Sculley talks at Web Summit 2015 in Dublin, Ireland.
John Sculley goes from pushing Pepsi to running Apple.
Photo: Web Summit/Flickr CC

April 8: Today in Apple history: John Sculley takes over as Apple CEO April 8, 1983: John Sculley, former president of PepsiCo, takes charge as Apple’s third CEO.

Despite a total lack of experience selling tech products, Sculley is lured to Apple by Steve Jobs himself. The Apple co-founder famously pitched the Pepsi exec with the line, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”

Customers worried about price hikes pack Apple Stores to buy iPhones

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tariffs drive iPhone sales
iPhone shopping picked up over the weekend on fears of tariff-induced price increases.
Photo: Apple

Employees at Apple Stores across the country reported throngs of iPhone buyers over the weekend, according to a new report. Larger-than-average crowds look like a response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods imported from China and other countries — and the specter of rising iPhone prices. In a happy surprise, the tariffs might actually drive iPhone sales before they potentially jack up prices.

Most iPhones come from China, which is up against a 54% tariff on exports to the United States. Most experts agree that rising costs will be passed on to consumers.

Power 5 devices around the world with this USB-C travel charger [Review] ★★★★

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EZQuest WorldTravel 65W GaN 5 Port with PD Wall Charger review★★★★
EZQuest WorldTravel travel adapter can keep five devices juiced up on seven continents.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The EZQuest WorldTravel 65W GaN 5 Port with PD Wall Charger can keep your notebook, phone, tablet and smartwatch powered up in more than 200 countries. It packs four USB-C ports plus a USB-A one for compatibility with a range of electronics.

Of course, the travel adapter includes retractable power prongs for Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and most of Asia. And EZQuest built in some welcome safety features.

I tested the 65W power plug adapter out, and it’ll certainly go on my next international trip. Here’s why.

Save on the best cable management system around

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Photo of Function101 Cable Blocks, a desk cable management system
Get a six-pack of these weighted and magnetic cord organizer blocks for a fraction of the normal price!
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

A proper cable management solution can transform a messy desk into a stunning setup. Function101’s innovative Cable Blocks are weighted, magnetic cord holders that can bring order to cable chaos.

Cult of Mac publisher Leander Kahney called them his “favorite cord management system” in his Cable Blocks review. And now, Cult of Mac Deals offers a great discount on them. You can pick up a Cable Blocks six-pack on sale for just $29.99 (regularly $39). Each one can hold a single cable in place — and they even stick to each other if you want to keep all your chargers neatly aligned.

Get your groove on with iPhone’s free ambient music feature

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Ad-Free Ambient Music
Throw on some background sounds without any fuss.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

If you like working, sleeping, relaxing or meditating to ambient music — and you own an iPhone — you’re in luck. You can now play background tunes from Control Center on your iPhone. The feature is ad-free and doesn’t require a subscription to Apple Music.

If you usually put on a lo-fi music stream on YouTube, you should give this new feature a shot instead. You don’t need to keep the YouTube app open, and annoying ads won’t interrupt you.

Here’s how the iPhone’s ambient music feature works.

iOS 19 leak reveals squircle icons and redesigned system apps

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iOS 19 home screen leak
iOS 19's home screen could look like this.
Render: Jon Prosser/YouTube

A new YouTube video offers a glimpse at major design changes reportedly coming to iOS 19, with visionOS-inspired user interface elements and rounder “squircle” app icons.

Released Monday by Front Page Tech, the video shows re-created renders of the iPhone operating system based on information provided by an unnamed source within Apple.

New Thunderbolt 5 hub boasts amazing 20 ports

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CalDigit TS5 and TS5 Plus
Both the CalDigit TS5 and TS5 Plus offer more than a dozen ports.
Photo: CalDigit

The newly announced CalDigit TS5 Plus is for very elaborate setups. The sort of professional-grade setups that can make use of 20 ports, including a pair of Thunderbolt 5 ports, five more USB-C ports, 140W charging, a 10Gb Ethernet port and plenty more.

Those who can struggle by with a mere 15 ports might choose the smaller CalDigit TS5 instead.

Court breaks silence on secret UK demand to spy on iCloud data

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Apple decryption
The British government can’t keep the wraps on its attempt to spy on iCloud users globally.
Image: Apple/Cult of mac

A U.K. court on Monday confirmed Apple’s legal challenge of a secret government order to provide a backdoor into encrypted iCloud data. The U.K. government wanted its demand — which would compromise the encryption for iCloud users anywhere in the world — to remain hush-hush.

News of the government order (and Apple’s appeal) previously leaked out. And Apple already disabled its Advanced Data Protection encryption in Britain to comply. However, both the U.K. government’s demand and the legal battle it provoked were supposed to be secret. The ruling by the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal drags the whole thing out into the open.

How to remove duplicate photos on iPhone, iPad and Mac

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Get Rid of All Those Copies
Find and delete copies of your photos on your iPhone.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

You could have dozens of copies of the same images in your Photos library, taking up space on your phone and in your iCloud account. Luckily, Apple offers an easy-to-use little tool that lets you find duplicate photos and delete the copies, all right from the Photos app.

These types of duplicate images can accumulate more quickly than you might expect. They arise if you make a copy of a photo to edit, if you screenshot a photo to bump it to the top of your Camera Roll, or if you and your partner both upload the same picture to your Shared iCloud Photo Library. In fact, I found hundreds of duplicates in my own carefully curated library.

It’s a surprisingly sophisticated feature that took Apple engineers a fair amount of smarts to cook up (more on that later). Here’s how to use Apple’s duplicate image remover and get rid of all those unnecessary files. Keep reading or watch our video instructions.

Add great audio to your workstation the easy way [Setups]

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Blue Yeti mic
This user's Blue Yeti mic on a nice boom arm plus a Behringer audio interface get the job done.
Photo: [email protected]

Sometimes a computer setup showed off on social media demonstrates just how easy and affordable it can be to add a nice set of audio gear for podcasting, streaming, Zoom meetings and more. Today’s M4 iMac workstation sets a good example. It not only includes AirPods Max, Apple’s premium over-ear headphones. It also features one of the most popular USB microphones mounted on a boom arm, plus a capable audio interface. And it’s all pretty much plug and play, so the user can start broadcasting or recording in minutes.

Today in Apple history: Mac OS 7 gets its final update

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Today in Apple history: Mac OS 7 gets its final update: Mac OS 7.6.1 was the beginning of the end for Mac OS System 7.
This was the beginning of the end for System 7.
Photo: Apple

April 7: Today in Apple history: System 7 gets its final update with Mac OS 7.6.1 April 7, 1997: Apple’s System 7 operating system receives its last update with the shipment of Mac OS 7.6.1.

The update brings a few bug fixes and support for Apple’s new PCI Power Macs and the PowerBook 3400. Most importantly, it marks the end of the System 7 era, which dawned way back in 1991.

Apple stocked up on iPhones and more before Trump tariffs kicked in

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Apple shipments
Apple rushed enough inventory into the United States that price hikes seem unlikely… for now.
Photo: Cult of Mac

President Donald Trump’s tariffs started going into effect on April 5, and Apple reportedly brought as many products into the United States as possible just before the deadline. That includes five planes full of iPhones and other products coming in from India.

New taxes on imports are expected to push up prices for electronics, including ones from Apple. But with a considerable stockpile, it might be months before Apple is forced into a price increase.

Turn your photos into cool collages

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You don't need a collage degree to make something cool with this collage app, only $39.99.
Transform your photos into eye-catching collages with this easy-to-use app.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Pic Stitch is a versatile collage app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. With this easy-to-use software, you can take advantage of a robust menu of editing tools, and hundreds of layouts, to customize your photo collage before you can share it to social media — without ever leaving the app.

And instead of paying the normal price of $149, you can get a lifetime subscription to Pic Stitch Pro for $39.99. That means you won’t wind up paying monthly fees for a collage-making app that will give you years of utility.

Party at Lumon HQ with Severance cast, creators and Stephen Colbert [Photos/video]

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Severance event with Stephen Colbert
Severance takes over Bell Works in New Jersey for an ORTBO Activation and panel discussion.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ brought Lumon Industries to life Saturday in a surprise, star-studded event — and it confirmed renewal of Severance for season three in the process.

The streamer surprised thousands of the show’s fans with a Lumon-style Outdoor Retreat Team-Building Occurrence, aka ORTBO. It featured a panel discussion moderated by Stephen Colbert at the surreal workplace thriller’s primary location, Bell Works in Holmdel, New Jersey.

Today in Apple history: Future Apple CEO John Sculley is born

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Fremont, California, 1990.
John Sculley in Fremont, California, 1990.
Photo: Doug Menuez/Fearless Genius

April 6: Today in Apple history: Apple CEO John Sculley born April 6, 1939: John Sculley is born in New York City. He will grow up to be hailed as a business and marketing genius, eventually overseeing Apple’s transformation into the most profitable personal computer company in the world.

After a remarkable stint as president of Pepsi-Cola, Sculley will take over as Apple’s third CEO in 1983. He will run Apple for a 10-year period, guiding the creation of the revolutionary Newton MessagePad.

During Sculley’s decade at the helm, Apple will sell more personal computers than any other company. But most people still remember him for his role in kicking Apple co-founder Steve Jobs out of Cupertino.

Final iPhone 17 Pro design might defy the leaks

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iPhone 17 rumors
The iPhone 17 Pro's design changes may or may not impress you.
Concept image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro lineup might not ship with as many design changes as rumors initially suggested. Instead, a new report says the iPhone 17 Pro could look much like the iPhone 16 Pro.

Despite this, Apple reportedly will introduce the biggest design changes to the iPhone lineup this year since the iPhone 12 in 2020.

3 reasons to watch The Studio on Apple TV+

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The Studio review
Seth Rogen co-created, writes and stars in "The Studio" on Apple TV+
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ comedy The Studio brings a biting perspective to the entertainment industry, pulling back the curtain on Hollywood’s most absurd realities. The series, starring Seth Rogen, takes viewers deep into the chaotic world of a legacy movie studio struggling to survive in modern-day Hollywood, which is decidedly different from classic Tinseltown. So this The Studio review says green-light this one for your watchlist.

Unlike showbiz satires before it, The Studio focuses tightly on the clash between artistic vision and evolving corporate demands in a streaming-media world. And where else are you going to see Martin Scorsese weep and Ron Howard go ballistic? See three reasons to watch it below.

How to tag photos on iPhone with people and pets

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Tag Your Friends And Family
Despite what my hairline would imply, Craig Federighi is not family. Just friend.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

You can quickly tag photos on your iPhone with the names of your friends, family members and pets so you can easily find pictures of them later on. The Photos app will detect pictures of people automatically — you just need to give them a name. I’ll show you how to fine-tune the results as well.

I’ll show you how to find this long-standing feature in the new Photos app and make the most of it. Keep reading or watch our video guide.

Today in Apple history: Boot Camp lets Mac users run Windows

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Boot Camp finally allowed Macs to run Windows with ease.
Boot Camp finally allowed Macs to run Windows with ease.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

April 5: Today in Apple history: Mac users can run Windows with Boot Camp April 5, 2006: Apple introduces the public beta of Boot Camp, software that allows users with an Intel-based Mac to run Windows XP on their machines.

Boot Camp will officially arrive in Mac OS X Leopard, which debuts at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference a few months later.

AirPods airplane adapter makes in-flight entertainment sound great

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Product shot of Eve II Bluetooth adapter for using AirPods and other earbuds on airplanes.
Use your AirPods to hear the plane's in-flight movies with this inexpensive Bluetooth transmitter and receiver.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Even in 2025, most in-flight entertainment systems don’t offer Bluetooth connections. But with this affordable Bluetooth adapter, you can pop in your AirPods and enjoy your choice of the airline’s featured movies, TV shows and music in a glorious state of noise-cancellation-induced bliss.

That’s way better than packing an additional pair of wired headphones or using (or even purchasing) a crappy pair of earbuds on the plane. That’s why this Eve II Bluetooth Transmitter and Receiver is such a useful device for travelers. Perfect for any upcoming air travel, it’s on sale now for only $42.97 (regularly $59) with free shipping.