Cult of Mac

Monitor light bars are commonplace in computer setups for good reason. They often do a better job of cutting monitor glare and lighting up desks than overhead lights or simple desk lamps. But what if a desk lamp worked more like a monitor light bar? That’s what so-called architect desk lamps do. They’re often called double-headed LED lights. Attached to their own stand or clamped arm, they can arch right over a display, providing tons of light, control options and physical flexibility.

December 9, 2011: Apple opens a store in New York’s fabled Grand Central Terminal, the company’s fifth Manhattan retail outlet.

Overlooking the terminal’s Main Concourse, the enormous Apple Grand Central makes a stunning addition to the 140-year-old train station, which is one of New York’s busiest transportation hubs.

While it’s only about half the Golden Globe nominations Apple TV+ racked up in the awards for 2024, the streamer managed to snag eight nominations this year. The 2025 nominations include no movies. But three nods go to TV series Slow Horses, two apiece honor Disclaimer and Shrinking, and one goes to Presumed Innocent. This edition marks the Golden Globes’ 82nd year.

Apple intends to introduce its first MacBooks with an OLED screen in 2026, according to industry analysts. And the iPad mini will allegedly go OLED that same year. Apple’s full transition to OLED will take until 2028, though.

And that’s supposedly the same year the company will introduce a computer with an 18.8-inch foldable display.

If you’ve ever had a brilliant idea for an app, website or automation but felt intimidated by coding, Twidget is about to become your new best friend. This no-code platform makes  creating APIs, building websites and automating workflows as easy as dragging and dropping. And for just $39 (down from $600), a lifetime subscription gives you endless opportunities to bring your ideas to life.

Over about a week of testing for this Status Audio Between 3ANC earbuds review, I found the distinctive buds to be a product of intriguing contrasts — ambitious in some areas while falling short in others.  Currently priced at $179 (recently reduced from $199 and $249 before that), the earbuds try to compete with industry leaders like AirPods Pro 2 through a unique triple-driver design and striking looks. In fact, these earbuds even claim in ads to have a “subwoofer” for the low end. But while Between 3ANC buds boast good sound, I found overall performance results somewhat mixed.

Apple is expanding its retail presence in Saudi Arabia. In the summer of 2025, the company will launch its online Apple Store in the country, followed in 2026 with its first physical stores there.

Support for Sony PlayStation VR2 hand controllers is reportedly coming to Apple’s Vision Pro headset. The goal is supposedly to make playing virtual reality games easier on the AR headset.

Apple and Sony allegedly worked together for months to make this happen.

December 8, 1975: San Francisco Bay Area entrepreneur Paul Terrell opens the Byte Shop, one of the world’s first computer stores — and the first to sell an Apple computer.

Years before Apple would open its own retail outlets, the Byte Shop stocks the first 50 Apple-1 computers built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

Looking for a device that’s small enough to carry anywhere but powerful enough to handle everything? This fifth-gen, grade-A refurbished iPad mini combines portability and performance, and it’s on sale for a limited time for just $279.99.

With Wi-Fi and cellular capabilities, a sleek 7.9-inch Retina display and the powerful A12 Bionic chip, it’s the perfect mix of productivity and entertainment.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: An interesting new gadget called the Flexbar takes Apple’s doomed Touch Bar idea and runs with it. Instead of being fixed in place like on the MacBook Pro, this customizable OLED strip connects to Macs and PCs via USB-C.

It looks pretty cool! But can it succeed where the Touch Bar failed?

Also on The CultCast:

• Almost as surprising as the Touch Bar making a comeback: A company figured out how to offer aftermarket SSDs for the Mac Studio, at much more affordable prices than Apple’s upgrades. (OK, that last part’s not surprising.)
• The first M5-powered iPad Pros reportedly will arrive in the second half of next year. And it sounds like that crazy hybrid iPad/HomePod might become a reality in 2025, too.
• And finally, Erfon tells us all about a sweet aftermarket CarPlay display in a new “Under Review” segment.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

iOS 18.2 drops a huge number of new features onto the iPhone. The second major iOS 18 update, available now, expands the capabilities of Apple Intelligence — and adds plenty of goodies for everyone else, too.

Keep reading or watch our video on the new features awaiting iPhone owners in iOS 18.2.

December 7, 2007: Apple opens its magisterial store on West 14th Street in New York City. The new Apple Store features a three-story glass staircase deemed the most complex ever made.

The store is Apple’s biggest in Manhattan (and second-largest in the United States, after the one on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue). The first three-story Apple retail outlet, it boasts an entire floor dedicated to services. It’s also the first Apple Store to offer free Pro Labs classes to customers.

The sheer size of this Apple Store — with its 46-foot Genius Bar — proves impressive. However, its astonishing spiral staircase steals the show as its most iconic design feature.

A MacBook capable of directly connecting to 5G cellular wireless networks is one potential result of the modem that Apple intends to introduce in 2025, according to a reliable source of insider information.

The 5G modem will supposedly go first into iOS handsets, including the extra-slim one dubbed the “iPhone 17 Air” that Apple is allegedly preparing to launch next year.

iOS 18.2 will go out to iPhones everywhere next week, but you don’t need to wait. It’s possible to go ahead and install the iOS 18.2 release candidate — the final version before Apple pushes it to the public — this weekend. That way you’ll have time to play around with the AI-powered Image Playground and other new Apple Intelligence features.

Getting iOS 18.2 now doesn’t require doing anything dodgy or risky. You’ll download the final version of the upgrade straight from Apple … just a little earlier than scheduled.

Amazon bargain site Woot! brings you all the colors of the rainbow in deeply discounted Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop Apple Watch bands. You can get incredible price cuts —  59% to 70% off — on many classic colors through Friday at 10 p.m. Pacific. That means you pay prices like $20 instead of $49.99 for Solo Loop and $30 instead of $99 for Braided Solo Loop.

And, as part of Woot’s “buy more, save more” promo, you can cut those prices even further. “Spend $39 or more & use code ‘APPLEBANDS’ at checkout for an extra 15% OFF these items,” the bargain site says.

Not everyone would consider a well-equipped M4 Pro Mac mini driving a pair of 4K external displays a “budget” computer setup, but today’s user does. After suffering a job loss, they replaced an M1 Mac mini with the tiny new powerhouse and a nice array of peripherals, including data and power hubs and solid input devices.

December 6, 2000: Apple Computer’s stock price falls after the company posts its first quarterly loss since Steve Jobs’ return to Cupertino in 1997.

Shares tumble $3 to just $14 a share as doom-predicting pundits worry that the big Apple comeback might come screeching to a halt. Little did they know …

With the CdkeySales Black Friday Sale now extended, you can still find the biggest discounts you’ve ever seen on Microsoft software like Windows 11 Pro. The CdkeySales Black Friday Windows sale slashes some prices by up to 91%! And since the latest Windows 12 rumors indicate Microsoft won’t release its next big operating system update until late 2025, you can update your PC now the quick and easy way rather than waiting. Just buy a Windows 11 CD key on sale during CdkeySales’ extended Black Friday Sale.

During the sale, you can get great deals on upgrade-ready Microsoft productivity software like Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office. Savings include Windows 10 Pro for just $17.05 — with a free upgrade to Windows 11 Pro.

The alternate-history comedy Fly Me to the Moon starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum launched on Apple TV+ on Friday. The film covers events that definitely did not happen during the 1969 moon landing.

It premiered in theaters over the summer, and is only now reaching streaming.

The new Meross Matter Smart Home Thermostat works with HomeKit and other smart-home platforms, offering an affordable entry point at $70 (limited time price, regular $99.99), the company said Thursday. And the new device represents one of only a few Matter-compatible smart thermostats currently available for U.S. HVAC systems.

iOS 18.2 will make searching on Apple Music and Apple TV much easier with natural language support. This means you can use natural language to describe and search for TV shows or music you are looking for.

The revamped Photos app gained support for similar search capabilities with the iOS 18.1 update.

New Mexico just joined the list of states whose residents can store a digital version of their driver’s license and state ID in Apple Wallet on their iPhone.

With Thursday’s addition, there are now nine U.S. states that support the feature.

With Thursday’s introduction of the release candidates for iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2, we’re likely a week away from the debut of the second wave of Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji, the Image Playground and more.

Release candidates for watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2 and visionOS 2.2 also went out.

After the disappointing launch of its Ai Pin wearable device, San Francisco-based tech company Humane shifts its focus to CosmOS. It’s a new AI-powered operating system that promises to revolutionize how users rely on artificial intelligence to interact with their smart devices, including Apple’s. The Humane AI Pin struggled to deliver on its promises, prompting the company to pivot toward software-driven innovation.

That might remind folks of Steve Jobs’ long-ago move from Apple to NeXT, which ended up dropping hardware entirely and focusing on software.

Humane demonstrated CosmOS running across multiple platforms including car entertainment systems, smart speakers, TVs and smartphones in a new video Wednesday. The system aims to provide functionality similar to AI assistants like Siri, but appears more advanced, enabling complex, context-aware interactions across various devices.