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Conventional wisdom says that an iPhone that’s been dropped in water should immediately go into a bowl of dry rice to absorb the excess moisture. Turns out that’s rubbish advice for dealing with a wet iPhone.
Worse yet: It’s actively bad for your device. Here’s what to do instead.
Apple Pencil Pro is the best iPad stylus on the market, and a new deal knocks 25% off the regular cost. It’s packed with high-end features, including pressure sensitivity, Find My support and more.
And for those who don’t need all the bells and whistles of the Pencil Pro, the basic Apple Pencil (USB-C) is currently $69.
Want to add Touch ID to your Mac without giving up your favorite keyboard? A DIY Touch ID project called the Dashboard Touch shows how you can build your own fingerprint sensor for less than $35.
It’s not as secure as Apple’s own implementation, but Anil Dash’s new DIY Touch ID hack should be safe enough for most users.
August 22, 2001: Apple takes home a technical Emmy Award for developing FireWire, the high-speed serial port that allows users to transfer data quickly between a Macintosh and another device, such as a digital camera.
“Apple enabled the desktop video revolution with its invention of FireWire,” says Jon Rubinstein, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, in a press release about the Emmy win.
FireWire plays a key role in Apple CEO Steve Jobs‘ “digital hub” strategy for the company. However, the technology’s origins go back much further than that.
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: The Apple leaks are getting out of hand! Code in the macOS 26.7 release candidate spills the beans on tons of unreleased Apple products, and that’s just the start.
Tim Cook must be fuming — unless it’s the world’s craziest marketing campaign!
Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:
Listen to this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast 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 version, embedded below and also available on our YouTube channel.
Norton Mobile Security protects iOS and Android devices from many of the modern world’s most insidious tech problems. With AI scam detection, real-time malware defense and Wi-Fi security, it can keep your iPhone from falling prey to bad actors.
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After years of small updates, Apple Watch Series 12 looks ready to kick things up a notch. Rumors point to a faster chip, a returning ceramic option and new AI-powered features.
The launch of the new smartwatch is mere weeks away. Here’s everything reported so far.
Apple’s AirPods with cameras just got a lot less mysterious. Buried in the macOS 26.7 release candidate’s code is a hidden framework that reveals exactly how the earbuds will perceive and process the world around you.
The discovery goes far beyond the recently leaked demo video spotted in the same code. It details resolution numbers, capture modes, calibration systems and a built-in privacy light. This gives us the clearest picture yet of the long-rumored AirPods upgrade.
After years of refusing to support Apple Pay, Walmart is finally letting shoppers tap their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay.
So, shopping at the largest U.S. retailer is about to get easier. But don’t try it this weekend!
August 21, 2008: Microsoft recruits comedian Jerry Seinfeld for a series of ads. It’s a naked attempt to shake the company’s reputation as a stodgy oldster (as opposed to Apple’s trendsetting hipster image).
Microsoft pays Seinfeld a reported $10 million for the ads. However, thanks to the Mac’s appearance in virtually every episode of Seinfeld over the years, the comedian remains the world’s most famous Apple fanboy.
Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2026 is a full coding environment for building, testing, debugging and collaborating on software projects.
It doesn’t run on our beloved Macs, but we know that some Cult of Mac readers use Windows PCs (and also love a good deal). And this is definitely that: You can get a lifetime license to Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2026 for just $29.97 (regularly $499.99).
Managing passwords is and always has been a giant pain, but passkeys offer a better way. They are an advanced system that automatically signs you in to online services using your phone’s Face ID (or Touch ID) or your computer’s password.
Switching to biometric authentication or your device’s password means one less thing to remember. Plus, passkeys work without fiddling around with a password manager.
The technology promises a simpler, more convenient and more phishing-resistant way to log in. However, getting started can still feel confusing. Here’s how passkeys work and how to use them across your iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Apple Music will start labeling songs created using AI platforms as “Made with AI.” The company sent a note to its industry partners this week informing them of the change.
The move will require record labels and artists to tag songs if they used artificial intelligence to create a “material portion of the content.”
ChatGPT on Mac can now work with the Messages app to read and send texts on your behalf. The integration also works with SMS and RCS messages.
You can install the Apple Messages plugin from the Plugins section in the ChatGPT Mac app.
Apple asked a federal judge to keep its trade secrets lawsuit alive Wednesday, saying OpenAI’s motion to dismiss relied “on distortion, speculation, and improper extrinsic evidence.”
Apple’s 32-page opposition brief, filed Wednesday, doubles down on Apple’s original accusations against two former Apple employees now working for OpenAI. It also sets up a key court hearing scheduled for October.
August 20, 2019: The Apple Card launch brings the titanium credit card to U.S. consumers for the first time. It gives them a new option for payments when Apple Pay isn’t available.
The iPhone’s Wallet app handles statements and payments. And the innovative card is “designed to help customers lead a healthier financial life,” according to Apple. Surveys show the card soon becomes beloved.
“We’re thrilled with the overwhelming interest in Apple Card and its positive reception,” says Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay, in a press release. “Customers have told us they love Apple Card’s simplicity and how it gives them a better view of their spending.”
If you want a reliable place to keep your photos, videos and other files, try Internxt Cloud Storage’s 10TB cloud storage plan. Instead of paying Apple or Google every month for a little extra space, you can get 10TB of secure cloud storage for life for a one-time payment of $269.97.
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★★★★★
When I first reviewed Halo Collar 5 in fall 2025, I called it “simply the best GPS dog tracker.” Imagine my surprise that it got better. Since the product launch, Halo added Precision+, which makes tracking your pet even more exact.
It’s also a real benefit with Holo’s virtual fence feature.
I tested Halo Collar 5 with Precision+ added, and came away even more impressed.
That video of AirPods with cameras built in? Cool. But don’t expect to buy them anytime soon. Despite a leak that made AirPods with cameras look imminent, Apple is still holding the product for 2027. This year’s iPhone event won’t be the moment they show up.
If you were hoping to buy AI-powered earbuds alongside your next iPhone, you’ll have to wait. And that’s actually the more interesting story here: what almost shipped this year, and why it didn’t.
Fresh leaks apparently revealed practically everything there is to know about Beats 360 headphones. The as-yet-unannounced headphones feature a fresh new look, with rounder ear cups than previous Beats models and a customization option that sounds both colorful and cool.
The noise-canceling headphones — which Apple looks set to pitch as great for workouts, thanks to sweat- and water-resistance — appeared briefly on various online retailers’ sites Wednesday. Multiple Reddit users spotted them before they disappeared.
Apple may be planning to port the iPhone’s Camera Control button to a future version of the iPad. A newly granted patent shows a pressure-sensitive iPhone control mapped onto a tablet-shaped devices. This could hint at where Apple’s photography ambitions are headed next.
Obviously, a patent filing does not mention a release date or even confirm an upcoming product. But it does indicate that Apple already invested time engineering how the button could work on a much bigger device.
August 19, 2004: Google floats its initial public offering on the stock market. The Google IPO cements the company’s status as a tech giant, as founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin turn into instant billionaires.
Relations between Google and Apple are good at the time, with Apple CEO Steve Jobs serving as a mentor to the search company’s two young founders. Google’s Eric Schmidt will soon join Apple’s board of directors. However, the peace won’t last long.
Your iPhone can become a remote control for your iPad. It’s a convenient way to control a film or TV show playing on the tablet without having to get up off the couch.
And this doesn’t require a third-party application. All you need is Control Nearby Devices, a feature built into iOS and iPadOS.
Here’s how to do it.
UmanWrite is an AI writing platform that generates unlimited copy, learns your writing style for personalized results and even humanizes AI drafts.
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