New ‘Apps by Apple’ guide serves up great apps on a platter

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The new Apps by Apple webpage gives you an overview and access to Apple's first-party apps.
The new Apps by Apple webpage gives you an overview and access to Apple's first-party apps.
Photo: Apple

Apple quietly added a helpful new “Apps by Apple” section to its website last week. Cupertino’s new guide breaks down the world of great Apple apps into helpful sections all in one place.

Some people wonder if it’s part of Apple’s response to the European Union’s moves to force sideloading of apps on iPhones.

Apple TV+ goes German with dark comedy Where’s Wanda?

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Apple TV+ goes German with dark comedy 'Where’s Wanda?'
Carlotta and Dedo do whatever it takes to find their daughter in Where’s Wanda?, coming soon to Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

The upcoming series Where’s Wanda? is a dark comedy that follows parents searching for their missing daughter who discover that behind closed doors, none of their neighbors are who they pretend to be.

It will be the first Apple TV+ series in German.

Report to the future with wild new Voyager split keyboard

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Emphasizing ergonomic typing and loads of customization options, it's especially useful for laptop users, the company said.
Emphasizing ergonomic typing and loads of customization options, it's especially useful for laptop users, the company said.
Photo: ZSA

The slim new Voyager mechanical keyboard that ZSA launched Wednesday, radically split into two low-profile pieces, looks mighty futuristic.

Emphasizing ergonomic typing and loads of customization options, it’s especially useful for laptop users, the company said.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs unveils Rokr E1, the first iTunes phone

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The Motorola Rokr E1 was Apple's doomed
The iPhone's terrible ancestor proved disastrous from Day 1.
Photo: Apple

September 7: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs unveils Rokr E1, the first iTunes phone September 7, 2005: Apple and Motorola launch the Rokr E1, the first Cupertino-sanctioned cellphone to run iTunes.

Even the high-profile demo goes wrong, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs is very unhappy with the results. The compromised device shows what an error it is to let an outside designer create a phone under the Apple banner. The company won’t make the same mistake twice.

Adorable classic Macintosh mini is really multiport dock

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Adorable classic Macintosh mini is really multiport dock
RayCue 128K puts the fun in functional.
Image: RayCue

The RayCue 128K looks like a tiny version of the iconic Macintosh from 1984, but it’s useful in 2023. Very useful — it packs 14 ports and Bluetooth speaker. And the display acts as a digital picture frame.

If that’s not enough, the matching “keyboard” adds seven more ports.

LimeWire AI Studio helps creators cash in on their content

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LimeWire rebranded as an AI-powered content-sharing platform and community. Check out the merch store.
LimeWire rebranded as an AI-powered content-sharing platform and community. Check out the merch store.
Photo: LimeWire

LimeWire, the popular file-sharing software that launched in 2000, recently rebranded itself as an AI-powered content-publishing and community platform.

SPONSORED
This post is brought to you by LimeWire.
With the launch of LimeWire AI Studio, the company aims to give content creators ownership through the power of artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies.

Power up iPhone and more with this 3-in-1 kickstand battery [Review] ★★★☆☆

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Ugreen's 10000mAh power bank is a wireless charger and stand for iPhone and can also charge other devices by wire.★★★☆☆
Ugreen's 10000mAh power bank is a wireless charger and stand for iPhone and can also charge other devices by wire.
Photo: Ugreen

When your iPhone dies while you’re out an about it can be a real drag. That’s why it pays to make a power bank part of your everyday carry — like the recently released Ugreen 10000mAh Magnetic Wireless Power Bank.

You can use it as a wireless magnetic charger for iPhone or AirPods and power up two other devices via USB-C and USB-A ports at the same time.

New GaN multiport charging station sports LED display

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Stick this thing in your computer setup and you probably won't need another device charger or power strip.
Stick this thing in your computer setup and you probably won't need another device charger or power strip.
Photo: Baseus

The new Baseus PowerCombo Tower Series Power Strip 35W, featuring an LED display and festooned with AC outlets and USB ports, is a great charging station for the desktop, the company said Wednesday.

Baseus called it “the world-first charging station with LED display.”

With this 3-way charger, a leather case is just the beginning

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This 3-in-1 charger is on sale for $99.99 and can streamline your charging experience.
This leather-wrapped three-in-one charger is on sale for just $99.99.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

This sleek 3-in-1 wireless charger is covered in genuine black leather and can charge iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods all at the same time.

It looks luxurious, but you can get it at an affordable price. It’s on sale for only $99.99 (regularly $149), and it can upgrade your current charging game in several ways.

Apple’s custom 5G modem for iPhones to debut in 2025

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Apple 5G modem chip
Apple is hard at work on its 5G modem.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

According to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s 5G modem will debut in 2025. The Cupertino giant has been working on its in-house modem for a few years now.

Qualcomm currently supplies Apple with 5G basebands for its entire product lineup. But the company knows Apple is developing its own cellular modem, and it will be ready sooner than later.

Apple’s conversational AI efforts began 4 years ago

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John Giannandrea
John Giannandrea started Apple working on conversation AI long before ChatGPT came along.
Photo: Apple

Don’t accuse Apple of just waking up to benefits of conversational AI. It reportedly started developers working on voice-driven artificial intelligence systems four years ago.

And the company is now pouring money into the project.

Learn to write killer ChatGPT prompts

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Learn how to make the most of ChatGPT with this $30 prompts guide.
This ChatGPT prompts guide gives you the knowledge you need to take advantage of the latest AI sensation.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

ChatGPT can save you tons of time — if you know how to write effective ChatGPT prompts. Without some know-how, you can actually waste time with the AI chatbot.

To harness ChatGPT to boost your business, work and other efforts, you need a lifetime subscription to the Ultimate ChatGPT Prompts Guide. It’s your key to using ChatGPT for maximum productivity — and it’s currently on sale for only $29.99 (regularly $119).

Apple won’t be forced to pull iMessage and FaceTime out of the UK

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iMessage and FaceTime
U.K. residents, looks like you get to keep using iMessage and FaceTime.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

The U.K. government dropped a plan that would have allowed it to access the contents of any online message looking for illegal content. It had sought a way around the encryption that protects messaging services like iMessage and WhatsApp.

Apple threatened to disable iMessage and FaceTime in the UK rather than submit to the proposal on the grounds that it would completely compromise the privacy of all users. Other companies said the same about their apps.

Sonos Move 2 speaker brings stereo sound, double the battery life

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In addition to the black or white options to match other Sonos speakers, you can get Move 2 in a new olive color.
In addition to the black or white options to match other Sonos speakers, you can get Move 2 in a new olive color.
Photo: Sonos

The revamped Sonos Move 2 portable speaker sports stereo sound, up to 24 hours of battery life — twice that of its predecessor — and a slew of design changes since the water-resistant speaker’s initial release four years ago, the company said Wednesday.

Sonos Move 2 becomes available September 20 for $449.

Severance fans get ‘8 Hour Work Day Innie Mix’ of theme song

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Adam Scott stars in
Adam Scott stars in "Severance." While you wait (and wait) for season 2, treat yourself to 8 hours of the show's theme music.

Fans who miss the psychological dark dramedy Severance on Apple TV+ can now drone out to a full day of the show’s ghostly piano-based theme song with the “8 Hour Work Day Innie Mix,” which Apple released Tuesday on YouTube.

Get it, innies? You can play the eerie mix for your whole 8-hour workday. It’s like having the show’s credits roll all day in your head as you start to question your choices in life.

Today in Apple history: Raging success of Windows 95 makes Cupertino worry

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Windows 95 banner
With Windows 95, Microsoft clearly had a hit on its hands. And that spurred nervous Apple execs into action.
Photo: Microsoft

September 6: Today in Apple history: Windows 95's success gets Cupertino worried September 6, 1995: The newly launched Windows 95 operating system dominates software sales, sending virtually every other company scurrying for cover — Apple included.

Microsoft’s $85 PC operating system only went on sale at the end of August. But by early September, the company reportedly sells a massive 1.63 million copies of Windows 95, according to excited analysts. It represents a massive triumph for Apple’s biggest rival of the 1990s.

Chinese government workers banned from using iPhones

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A new wave of lockdowns in China could put Apple millions of units behind on iPhone production.
No iPhone for you, China government workers!
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Apple has been caught in the middle of the high tech trade war between the United States and China. Many government employees have been ordered to not use an iPhone for work. Official government disapproval could result in lowered sales in the country, which currently contributes heavily to Apple revenue.

iPhone has not been singled out, though. The workers are not allowed to use any smartphone made outside of China.

Big-time gamer’s rig doubles as dream shopping list [Setups]

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This Mac Studio and Studio Display setup is a gamer's paradise, with six gaming systems.
This Mac Studio and Studio Display setup is a gamer's paradise, with six gaming systems.
Photo: BornforOne@Reddit.com

If you’re an avid gamer or you’re shopping for one, you could do worse than to check out today’s featured Mac Studio and Studio Display setup.

The user gets seriously greedy with a peripherals lineup that others might want to emulate, including six gaming systems, four keyboards, four mice and a stellar sound system.

Nomad upgrades fancy Base One Max to 3-in-1 charger

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The solid glass-and-metal charger lies flat to power up iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods.
The solid glass-and-metal charger lies flat to power up iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods.
Photo: Nomad

Nomad’s premium metal-and-glass Base One Max 2-in-1 charger got an upgrade this week to 3-in-1. It can charge iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch simultaneously, the company said.

The charger boasts official MagSafe tech, so it will goose your handset with a full 15 watts.

EU Digital Markets Act will open iPhone to sideloading of apps

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European Union
The European Union takes another step toward tough regulations on tech giants like Apple.
Photo: Freestocks.org

Now that iOS and the App Store have been labeled “gatekeepers” by the European Commission, the EU’s Digital Markets Act requires Apple to allow users to install applications directly onto iPhones. And sideloading is just one of the sweeping changes resulting from the DMA. Users apparently will be able to replace Siri with one of its rivals, for example. Other services, like iMessage, might require modification later.

One thing’s clear: The iPhone won’t be the same after the Digital Markets Act goes into effect in spring 2024.

You know you want to watch this trailer for The Super Models

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From left, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington became icons of fashion and culture in the 1980s.
From left, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington became icons of fashion and culture in the 1980s.
Photo: Apple

The four women who sparked the term “supermodel” in the 1980s — Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington — were a close-knit sisterhood and “the original influencers,” according to the new trailer Apple TV+ dropped Wednesday for the upcoming documentary series The Super Models.

The four-part series, which promises never-before-seen commentary from fashion and pop culture luminaries, walks the runway September 20.

How to save your Live Photos as a video

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Make A Video Out Of Your Pictures
Turn your many, many cat photos into a few great videos.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

You can turn multiple Live Photos shot on your iPhone into a video. Simply select a group of Live Photos taken in a burst, and you can create a single, stitched-together video that you can save to your library and share on social media.

Here’s how it’s done.

Leak details iPhone 15 Pro’s camera specs

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iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max brought big-time camera-system upgrades.
iPhone 15 Pro Max's camera bump could be bigger than ever.
Photo: Leander

With less than a week to go for Apple’s “Wonderlust” event, a new report revealed key details about the iPhone 15’s camera setup. It appears Apple plans big camera upgrades this year — but probably not in the way you expect.

Corroborating previous rumors, the report confirms the periscope camera will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Today in Apple history: iPod shows it has life after iPhone

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The first iPod touch, released in 2007.
Apple released three new iPods, including the first iPod touch, in 2007.
Photo: Apple

5SeptSeptember 5, 2007: Apple introduces its first new iPods after the release of the iPhone. The lineup includes the third-gen iPod nano, the newly renamed iPod Classic and — most significantly — the debut of the iPod touch.

In doing so, Apple sets out to demonstrate that there is still plenty of life left in the iconic portable music player.