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3 best SSDs for iPhone: Fast, secure or cheap

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3 best SSDs for iPhone
Whether you want fast, secure or affordable, we found the best iPhone SSD options.
Image: Cult of Mac

Adding storage space to your iPhone is easy — you just need the right SSD. I’ve tested ones that work with Apple’s handset and found three standout options for holding gigabytes of images, video and more without massively bulking up the handset.

So here are the best SSDs for your iPhone. All you need to do now is decide whether you want the tiny drive to emphasize speed, security or affordability.

Apple TV’s For All Mankind spinoff Star City gives off serious Soviet vibes

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Star City season 1
Rhys Ifans stars in Star City, from the creators of For All Mankind. It premieres May 29, 2026 on Apple TV.
Photo: Apple

Star City is an ambitious new Apple TV drama set in the Soviet space program. It expands the alternate-history universe established by the streamer’s acclaimed series For All Mankind. And the new show got the “first-look” treatment Thursday, when Apple sent out a new photo to get fans excited about the premiere of Star City season one.

 The eight-episode series debuts May 29 with two episodes, followed by one new episode each Friday through July 10.

Tim Cook promises ‘big week’ of product launches — what to expect

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Colorful budget MacBook concepts: Apple might launch it in March
The colorful budget MacBook could be the star of Apple's March product announcements.
AI image: Gemini/Cult of Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed Thursday what had previously been rumored: The company will launch new products starting Monday, March 2.

The graphic he posted on X hints at the new MacBooks that are expected to be among the announcements. Beyond notebooks, the iPhone 17e, revamped iPads and possibly more could all be unveiled in just a few days.

Today in Apple history: iTunes becomes No. 2 music retailer in US

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iPod silhouette ad, part of the marketing campaign that boosted iTunes Music Store sales
In the early 2000s, the iTunes Music Store went from strength to strength.
Photo: Apple

February 26: Today in Apple history: iTunes becomes No. 2 music retailer in U.S. February 26, 2008: Less than five years after launching, the iTunes Music Store becomes the No. 2 music retailer in the United States, second only to Walmart.

In that relatively short period, iTunes sells more than 4 billion songs to more than 50 million customers. The rapid rise to prominence stands as a massive achievement for Apple — and for the revolutionary digital distribution model Cupertino helped pioneer.

Hive AI’s collaborative tools handle writing, research and more, all in one place

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Photo of Hive AI shown on the screen of a laptop
Save 87% on lifetime access to Hive AI's Unlimited Plan.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s easy to lose track of your projects when all your ideas and notes are scattered across different apps. If you want a simpler way to get organized, try Hive AI. This browser-based workspace pulls documents, visual boards and structured data into one place — and adds AI tools to help you clean things up faster.

It’s part workspace, part AI-integrated project manager, and it’s great for working alone or collaborating with others. Right now, you can get a lifetime subscription to Hive AI for just $79 (regularly $619).

Ever heard of a concrete keyboard for Mac? Well, now you have.

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Keychron K2 HE concrete or resin keyboards
This Hall Effect keyboard's body, or housing, is solid concrete.
Photo: Keychron

Never shy about making keyboards that look as good as they perform, Keychron just pushed that idea into genuinely unexpected territory. Launched Tuesday, the K2 HE Special Edition comes in two versions — one with a body made entirely of concrete, and one cast in resin. Both cost $199.99.

“Mechanical keyboards have advanced significantly in switch engineering, but enclosure materials have remained largely unchanged,” said Keychron co-founder Paul Tan. “With K2 HE Special Edition, we applied magnetic switch performance to a material-driven redesign, expanding how a keyboard can look and feel.”

Make AI undetectable: Get a lifetime of human-like content for 95% off

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Screenshot showing Undetectable Humanizer with the words
Make your AI-generated writing sound ... human!
Image: Cult of Mac Deals

AI writing tools work wonders, but AI detectors can flag your content if it leans too heavily on robo-prose. If you want your AI writing to be undetectable, you must edit all that content yourself, but it takes time to add the human touch. Sometimes, there just isn’t room in the schedule, but that’s OK. There’s a robot for that, too. You can use an AI humanizer like Undetectable Humanizer.

The Undetectable Humanizer transforms your AI-generated text into natural, human-like prose to help it bypass AI detection systems. This tool is a great get for writers, content creators and business owners who need to save as much time as they can when creating engaging content. A lifetime subscription to this effective AI humanizer’s pro plan is on sale now for $139.99 (regularly $2,880).

This tiny 45W charger is smarter than it has any right to be [Review] ★★★★★

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Anker Nano Charger (45W, Smart Display, 180° Foldable) in a wall socket★★★★★
Anker's new miniature wall charger sports a smart display and other innovation.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Anker Nano Charger (45W, Smart Display, 180° Foldable) — that’s its actual name — is the smartest wall charger I’ve ever used. It recognizes my iPhone and iPad when I plug them in and even displays the device’s current battery level.

I can set it to quickly or slowly juice up my device, helping to protect its battery. Or order it to slow charge my handset overnight.

Here’s why I love Anker’s tiny new charger after testing it for several weeks.

Today in Apple history: Massive layoffs clear out Apple’s ‘bozo explosion’

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logo
This was one of the worst (and one of the most significant) days in Apple history.
Photo: Bonhams

February 25 Today in Apple history: Apple layoffs: Black Wednesday clears out the 'bozo explosion' February 25, 1981: Original Apple CEO Michael Scott oversees a mass firing of employees, then holds a massive party. The Apple layoffs follow a hiring boom that led to what Scott called a “bozo explosion” at the company. They also stand as an early sign that the fun startup culture of Apple’s early days are gone forever.

“I used to say that when being CEO at Apple wasn’t fun anymore, I’d quit,” he tells a crowd of Apple staffers. “But now I’ve changed my mind — when being CEO isn’t fun anymore, I’ll just fire people until it is fun again.”

For many people at Apple, the day is the worst in the company’s history.

Give your MacBook a sidekick screen for just $60

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Photo of AOC E1659FWU 15.6-inch USB-3.0 Portable LED HD Monitor
MacBook screen feeling cramped? We've got a $60 solution for you.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

A lightweight USB-powered portable monitor can instantly double your screen space, anywhere you go. It’s an excellent productivity booster for MacBooks and other laptops when you venture away from the big screen in your home setup.

And right now, you can treat yourself to all that precious extra screen real estate for just $59.99 (MSRP $139) with this 15.6-inch refurbished portable monitor from AOC.

Never miss a live show in your hometown with Apple Music Concerts

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Apple Music Concerts graphic
A great new feature comes to Apple Music.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Upcoming iOS 26 feature Apple Music Concerts solves one of music lovers’ biggest heartbreaks — finding out too late that your favorite artist already passed through your neighborhood on tour, unbeknownst to you.

The feature lets you see shows coming soon to your city, with convenient details on venues, ticketing, set lists and more. You can also look up an artist’s tour and see all their upcoming shows.

Supposedly, Apple Music Concerts will even notify you when a tour is coming nearby. The feature, available now in iOS 26.4 beta 2, hasn’t been out long enough for me to test. But if it works like the Apple Music notifications that alert you about new tracks, it could be a lifesaver.

Unfortunately, though, there’s one serious drawback. Here’s an overview of Apple Music Concerts. 

1Password price increase makes Apple Passwords look better

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Photo of an iPhone with the 1Password and Apple Passwords apps showing in Spotlight on iPhone 15 Pro Max
Time to jump ship?
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

1Password, a popular third-party password manager service among Apple users, will soon cost significantly more. The company plans to raise prices for both individual and family accounts by as much as 33%.

After the increase, 1Password’s individual subscription will cost $47.88 yearly, while the Family plan will rise to $71.88 annually. 

New macOS interface will be key to touchscreen Macs’ success

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macOS 27 needs a touchscreen-enabled redesign
Rumors suggest a touchscreen-enabled macOS 27 might look something like this concept.
AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

Building a touchscreen into the MacBook Pro coming late this year will require significant changes to macOS 27. Some early details of what Apple has in store for macOS leaked out Tuesday from a generally reliable source.

The upcoming notebooks will supposedly be the first Macs with a Dynamic Island — but that’s just the start of what Apple has planned.

Never lose a show: Keeprix saves your favorite streams for offline viewing

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Photo of Keeprix streaming downloader open on a laptop on a desk.
All-in-one streaming video downloader Keeprix makes it easy to watch offline.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Streaming is great until you want to watch something offline, save a show before it disappears, or avoid the limits most platforms put on downloads — that’s when you need a streaming downloader like Keeprix.

It works with Netflix, YouTube and other major streaming services, letting you save the videos you care about so you can watch them whenever you want. That means no dealing with ads, expiration timers or unreliable Wi-Fi. And a lifetime subscription to Keeprix is on sale for $95.99 (regularly $159.99).

Next-gen Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD gets 2X faster but smaller

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Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD in use
Add terabytes of storage to your Mac, iPad or iPhone with SanDisk's latest SSD.
Photo: Sandisk

Sandisk just launched a third generation of the Extreme Portable SSD. It offers 2,000 MBps data transfers, drop protection and more. Capacities go up to 4TB.

The drive will be joined later in 2026 with two more additions to the line of SSDs — one with even faster data transfer speeds, and the other expected to be more affordable.

Earth-Mars tensions flare in For All Mankind season 5 [New Apple TV trailer]

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For All Mankind season 5
Has Happy Valley on Mars finally grown too big for its britches? Some people on Earth are up in arms.
Photo: Apple TV

Earth almost seems to have a “make Earth great again” moment in the new For All Mankind season five trailer Apple TV released Tuesday. Happy Valley, the burgeoning Mars colony that the alternative-history drama depicts, needs so much funding and resources it’s starting to piss people off — on both planets. 

The new trailer, full of new characters and aging favorites, ratchets up the tension for the upcoming 10 episodes. Season 5 debuts on Friday, March 27 on Apple TV. 

Why Apple users should care about a ‘looming Taiwan chip disaster’

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TSMC chip
Apple silicon devices are powered by TSMC chips made in Taiwan. Apple is trying to change that, but it's slow going.
Photo: TSMC

Nearly every high-end chip powering Apple devices is manufactured in Taiwan, a small island democracy over which China claims ownership. U.S. officials have warned Apple and the rest of Silicon Valley for years that a Chinese blockade, invasion or prolonged military standoff — possibly coming by 2027, according to intelligence sources — could cut off the chip supply.

And with a too little, too late response by tech giants grinding forward, a chip shortage could crush the tech industry, hobble the U.S. economy and keep your next iPhone out of reach for a long time, according to a new report.

Today in Apple history: Happy birthday, Steve Jobs!

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Steve Jobs-inspired art
Steve Jobs was born on this day in 1955.
Photo: Jason Mercier

February 24: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs birthday February 24, 1955: Steve Jobs is born in San Francisco. He will go on to co-found Apple and become one of the most important figures in the history of consumer technology. He’s also probably a big part of why you’re reading this website right now.

Happy birthday, Steve! Let’s take a moment to reflect on your innovation, artistry and overall brilliance.

Apple Studio Display 2: Everything we know so far

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Apple Studio Display in use
Apple Studio Display 2 might build considerably on the current model.
AI image: Cult of Mac/ChatGPT

Apple will soon replace the Studio Display with an even more gorgeous second-generation version with a range of upgrades, according to reliable rumor sources.

Read on for all the enhancements that rumors indicate will come to the high-end Mac monitor.

This secret iPhone gesture will come in handy everywhere [Pro Tip]

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Photo showing the two-finger select gesture on the iPhone
This gesture comes in handy all the time.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Pro tip bugA hidden gesture on the iPhone and iPad lets you quickly select a bunch of items in a list — kind of like Command-A (⌘A) for Select All on a Mac. I use it all the time to select a bunch of emails to archive, a bunch of reminders to rearrange, a batch of files to sort, etc. 

Once you learn this two-finger swipe gesture, you’ll use it everywhere. It’s great for getting work done on the go with your phone. Watch our quick video or keep reading.

WhatsApp prepares to add this useful iMessage feature

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Live Photos WhatsApp
No more late wishes.
Photo: WhatsApp/Rajesh Pandey/Cult Of Mac

WhatsApp is preparing to add a long-requested message scheduling feature. The app will let users compose messages in advance and send them at a chosen time, similar to how iMessage handles scheduled texts.

References to the feature popped up in the latest WhatsApp beta release on TestFlight.

Apple is bringing Mac mini production home to Texas

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Mac mini M4 pictured from above, with various things plugged into the back.
"Made in the USA" Mac minis are coming soon!
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Apple will start assembling Mac mini in the United States later this year. Foxconn will build the tiny desktop computers at its facility in Houston, Texas.

The assembled units will primarily serve local demand, which surged recently due to interest in agentic AI OpenClaw. (For more info, see: How OpenClaw turns your Mac into an action-based AI agent.)

How Apple’s Visual Intelligence could change everything

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iPhone 16 using Visual Intelligence
The iPhone's Visual Intelligence feature is a sign of things to come.
Photo: Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook has a well-established habit of dropping subtle hints about where the company is headed. This time, the dropped breadcrumbs all point toward Visual Intelligence. And the impression they leave is of a company preparing to reshape how humans interact with the world around them.

Today in Apple history: iTunes hits 10 billion downloads

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With iTunes 10 billion downloads milestone, Apple becomes the world's biggest music vendor.
Apple becomes the world's biggest music vendor.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

February 23: Today in Apple history: iTunes hits 10 billion downloads February 23, 2010: The iTunes Store officially passes the 10 billion music downloads mark, reaching a major milestone. The 10 billionth purchase? “Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash.

The buyer of the song in question is Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia. As part of a “Countdown to 10 Billion Songs” promotion by Apple, Sulcer wins a massive $10,000 iTunes Store gift card. He also receives a personal phone call from Apple CEO Steve Jobs for good measure!

16 coolest (and weirdest) keyboards in Mac setups

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coolest (and weirdest) keyboards
This two-MacBook setup uses a Keychron Q3 Pro custom mechanical keeb.
Photo: [email protected]

For years, Mac users contentedly typed away on Apple’s sleek but simple keyboards. Then the mechanical keyboard revolution really took off, transforming computer setups everywhere.

These days, more and more Mac enthusiasts trade their Magic Keyboards for an astonishing variety of mechanical alternatives — some practical, some quirky, and some downright bizarre. I collected 16 fascinating examples below.