Cult of Mac

After a full day of toiling inside Vision Pro, I often keep my headset on for evening entertainment — shows, games or looking at photos. Vision Pro has almost completely replaced my television. It enables a new way of watching videos as well; I watch video all around the house as I wander about doing chores.

The Vision Pro also excels for perusing my photo library. It’s the best way to view photos ever — and by a huge margin. Spatial photos are unbelievable. Videos look fantastic. Panoramas, a largely forgotten feature, are mind-blowing.

In other areas, Vision Pro disappoints. I’ve played some super fun games, but gaming isn’t a serious thing on Vision Pro yet. And while Apple’s own immersive 3D movies on Apple TV+ are super cool, it feels like we’ve only been given an appetizer.

Watch our video or keep reading for more detail.

October 20, 2009: Apple goes big with its iMac redesign, introducing the first 27-inch all-in-one Mac.

The sleek, sophisticated aluminum unibody design looks so good that the iMac will remain virtually unchanged for years. As with the first Macintosh with a built-in CD-ROM drive, the iMac’s 27-inch display represents a sea change for tech. The big, beautiful screen signals that larger displays need no longer remain the domain of pampered professionals.

Apple could unveil a pair of hotly anticipated upgrades for its consumer-oriented desktops this week. The Mac mini and iMac are both likely to get enhanced with the powerful M4 processor, plus there’s supposedly a major design change coming to the mini.

Here’s what rumors reveal about these two.

To heck with “go big or go home” because there’s never been a better time to go mini: these Mac mini deals are the cheapest way to buy a new Mac.

The Mac mini is a desktop computer, so you’ll need to supply your own display, keyboard and mouse. It seamlessly replaces an aging PC and its diminutive size fits on any desk.

And even though Black Friday sales are still weeks away, now is an ideal time to buy. Apple’s smallest Mac carries big discounts. The entry level (and current) M2 and M2 Pro models at least 12% off, while the prior M1 model can be had for $400.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: iPad mini 7! But does this mean Apple canceled its October Mac event? And if so, are updated M4 Macs still coming this year?

Also on The CultCast, we discuss a “Cheaper” Vision headset, what Steve Ballmer is up to, plus Apple’s smart home strategy.

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.

Apple’s AI efforts are significantly behind Google, Meta, and OpenAI. Reportedly, some inside the company believe it is “more than two years behind the industry leaders.”

Apple previewed Apple Intelligence at WWDC 24. However, the public will only get a taste of its AI efforts when iOS 18.1 drops later this month.

Families with a tradition of watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown can enjoy the classic Peanuts Halloween special on Apple TV+ for free this weekend. You can watch it on a very wide variety of streaming boxes, like Roku and Amazon Fire, not only an Apple TV set-top box, Mac, iPad or iPhone.

Update: Sorry, the free weekend for people who don’t subscribe to Apple TV+ is over. But look below for when the Peanuts Thanksgiving and Christmas specials stream for free and add them to your calendar.

October 19, 1992: Apple launches the Mac IIvx, the first Macintosh computer to ship with a metal case and, more importantly, an internal CD-ROM drive.

The last of the Macintosh II series, the Mac IIvx experiences one of the more notorious price adjustments in Apple history. Within five months of shipping, Apple slashes the computer’s launch price of $2,949 to $1,899. That’s one way to reward early adopters!

Apple’s rumored iPhone 17 Air for 2025 could use a new A19 chip and a single rear camera. It would seemingly sport an all-new, slimmer design.

Rumors suggest Apple will shake up its iPhone 17 lineup next year, ditching the Plus model in favor of this “Air” model.

Multi-device chargers for iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch come and go, but Journey just rolled one out that really catches the eye: the Journey Nova 3-in-1 Fast Charging Station. It’s available for preorder now.

“Our designers envisaged an anti-tech aesthetic for Nova,” said a Journey spokesperson. “The exterior complements decors much like a vase, chair or pot plant might.”

A pot plant, they say! Well, that is a good aesthetic model to emulate, although it being on the “anti-tech” side seems debatable.

Two new external monitors BenQ showcased this week at Adobe MAX in Miami cater specifically to Mac and MacBook users — especially creative professionals. PD2730S and PD3226G, part of BenQ’s DesignVue PD series, promise to deliver exceptional color accuracy and performance for designers, illustrators and content creators.

“BenQ has meticulously gathered feedback from professionals to design monitors that precisely meet their requirements with always accurate and consistent colors,” said Houston Wei, senior director of BenQ North America. “The new PD2730S and PD3226G were designed with both Mac and PC users in mind to provide unparalleled color features with invaluable new software including Display ColorTalk and Palette Master Ultimate.”

Reduce Interruptions is a new Focus in iOS 18 that judges on the fly which notifications seem important, using Apple Intelligence.

Setting up a Focus mode by hand is a bit of a chore. You need to know exactly which contacts and apps you want to silence and let through. You need to keep maintaining them as you add new contacts and download new apps.

Reduce Interruptions is a new Focus mode that’s a slightly smarter Do Not Disturb. There’s no work necessary. And, if you do have a highly customized existing Focus, you can add its smarts on top of your existing rules and customizations. Here’s how to make the most of it.

 Beloved Apple TV+ soccer comedy Ted Lasso begins pre-production on a long-hoped-for fourth season in January in London, according to a Thursday report. This follows recent news about the studio picking up cast members’ options, the first concrete clue that Ted Lasso season four might actually happen.

Apple TV+ ended the hit show after three seasons. But if Ted Lasso season four production starts as expected, it’s time to believe again! Fans eager to know more about the Ted Lasso platform and its future can check out Apple’s confirmation of season 4.

UPDATE: The Film & Television Industry Alliance confirmed via scheduling information that Ted Lasso shoots for season four will indeed start taking place in both London and Los Angeles in January 2025. A Mastodon post from the original leaker points to the confirmation.

These days, all sort of people need a microphone in their Mac computer setup — podcasters, streamers, gamers, videoconferencers or anyone recording pretty much anything. The list goes on. Today’s featured M1 Pro MacBook pro user, a video editor, relies on the Maono PD200X dynamic microphone, which packs both XLR and USB modes, to keep his vocal work clear.

Early benchmark tests for the recently announced iPad mini 7 show it’s around 30% faster than its predecessor, and perhaps a bit more. This is a detail that might help anyone wavering on the new tablet make up their mind.

The same tests indicate that iPad has 8GB of RAM — an expected increase.

October 18, 2010: Just six months after the original iPad debuts, Steve Jobs reveals that Apple’s tablet already outsells the mighty Macintosh computer.

During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Jobs says Apple sold 4.19 million iPads during the previous three months, compared with 3.89 million Macs.

Designer Basic Apple Guy, purveyor of fine wallpapers for your devices, found a way to blow up a bunch of tiny background shots of Apple Park in Cupertino into fine wallpapers for Mac and iPad displays. The background shots are included in macOS Sequoia for small-scale uses in apps like FaceTime and Photo Booth, so they had to be majorly upscaled. BAG dropped the wallpaper versions online Thursday for your downloading pleasure (see below).

One of the highlights of the iPhone 16 is its longer runtime. However, numerous owners of Apple’s latest iPhones are reporting significant battery drain issues.

Most users report “horrible standby battery life,” with their iPhones losing most of their charge when idle.

There comes a time in nearly every adult’s life when you must install Microsoft Office. Yes, you can technically get by without Word, Excel and the other essentials. But if you want to get certain tasks done on your killer Mac setup, you’ll need these tools. And this limited-time deal on Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac might be the time to get them.

For a limited time, you can get yourself or a fellow Mac user lifetime access to Microsoft Office for Mac for only $24.97 (regularly $229).

Popular young movie stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy star alongside Sigourney Weaver in the upcoming thriller film The Gorge on Apple TV+, the streamer revealed Thursday. It noted the film, which has no firm release date yet, will get promoted along with season 2 of hit series Severance at pop culture festival CCXP24 in early December.

“They’re not keeping you out. They’re keeping them in,” reads the tagline for the Apple Original Film. And in bigger news for fans of the mind-bending workplace drama series, Apple noted Severance returns with its second season January 17 (for those who don’t already know).

October 17, 1996: Apple launches its Performa 6360 Mac in North America, sold elsewhere as the Power Macintosh 6300/160.

An impressive multimedia Mac, the Performa 6360 comes bundled with a TV/video card. It also lets users make phone calls, listen to CDs, and watch television — all of which seemed amazingly futuristic at the time. As Macs went, it was pretty affordable, too.

Apple TV+ reportedly renewed its comedy/drama Shrinking for season three on Thursday, continuing the teamup between Jason Segel and Harrison Ford.

Season two is streaming now. And with the new announcement, fans can enjoy it without any worries it’ll end with a cliffhanger that never gets resolved.

When the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban took control of Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021, it stripped women of their right even to go outside without a chaperone. So when a woman surreptitiously taping herself says “the situation is dire” in the Bread & Roses documentary trailer, which Apple TV+ dropped Thursday, it seems like an understatement. A heavily armed force stripped even their most basic rights.

The Apple Original Films documentary film, which follows three women fighting to reclaim their lives, premieres November 22 on Apple TV+. Watch the trailer below.

As of Wednesday, Chief People Officer Carol Surface leaves Apple, the latest in a string of executives to do so. And she’s going after an unusually short two years of service for a top executive, according to a new report.

Other executive departures and role shifts include like Luca Maestri stepping down as CFO and longtime engineering exec Dan Riccio retiring.

PayPal debit card users will be able to see their PayPal balance in Apple Wallet starting in 2025.

Plus a new Tap to Provision feature lets users add a credit or debit card to Apple Wallet by simply tapping an eligible card to the back of their iPhone.

These are among a number of features that are new or coming soon to Apple Pay.