iOS 16.4.1 is ready for your iPhone. And there are macOS and iPadOS updates, too. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
iPhone, Mac and iPad users got fresh operating system updates on Friday. iOS 16.4.1, macOS 13.3.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1 fix a smattering of bugs on the devices — including some security vulnerabilities that Apple admits may have been exploited — but there are no new features.
At this time, there are no equivalent updates for Apple Watch or Apple TV.
★★★★☆
Nobody's really going to the moon ... are they? Photo: Apple TV+
The first season of Hello Tomorrow!, the Apple TV+ show about men selling lunar dreams and lies, comes to a close this week in high style.
Jack needs to tie up some loose ends, and he has no plan for what happens when his clients finally get to the moon. His son Joey must figure out who to honor, his mother or his father. Eddie has butterfingers and Shirley has to pay for it. And someone is, at long last, awake.
The season finale, entitled “What Could Be Better?,” is a great conclusion to a great season.
In Silo, if the lies don't kill you, the truth will. Photo: Apple TV+
Silo premieres in May, and Apple TV+ just released the full trailer for the upcoming drama series based on a bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels.
In the series, a few thousand people are left on earth hiding in a mile-deep silo. But what if everything they’ve ever been told about the outside world is a lie?
★★☆☆☆
Nothing could stop Boris Becker's rocket ride to the top of tennis. Photo: Apple TV+
New Apple TV+ docuseries Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker centers on a famous tennis player embroiled in a scandal. Directed by prolific but utterly predictable documentarian Alex Gibney, the two-part series charts the rise and fall of the youngest Wimbledon champion in history.
Debuting today on Apple TV+, the straight-ahead documentary goes from Boris Becker’s historic wins to his similarly historic losses on the world stage thanks to dicey financial decisions. And it does so in the most formulaic fashion possible. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s no ace, either.
★★★★★
Here’s your classic product shot with everything sitting directly on a floor without anything plugged in. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
The new Mac mini is the best value in the entire computer industry, point blank. It’s a $700 computer that won’t break a sweat editing high-resolution video, exhaustively long podcasts or giant graphic design projects — all at the same time. The M2 Pro model takes it even further.
Because of my job here at Cult of Mac, I wear a lot of hats. In a typical week, I edit videos, record a podcast, dabble in graphic design, compile open-source projects in Xcode and research topics for my writing. I’m basically all the creative professional stereotypes Apple loves to put in their promotional videos rolled into one.
After living with the new Mac mini for over a month, I can confidently say this is a fantastically powerful machine within the reach of independent creators, small businesses and schools.
Will Patricia Arquette's second show on Apple TV+ be as big a hit as Severance? Photo: Apple TV+
High Desert will join the collection of comedies on Apple TV+ when it premieres in May. This won’t be light fare, as it follows an addict who decides to become a private investigator.
The upcoming series stars Patricia Arquette, winner of several Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy awards.
Have ChatGPT always available on your iPhone with S-GPT. Photo: Federico Viticci/MacStories
Don’t be jealous of Microsoft Bing’s new AI capabilities: A new Shortcut called S-GPT integrates OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot into Apple devices. It works as a conversational search engine but can do much more, including summarizing a webpage and creating an Apple Music playlist from a list of suggested songs.
It’s a Shortcut rather than an app, and it’s free to download. There’s a very small fee for using it.
★★★☆☆
Change is definitely in the air on The Big Door Prize. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+’s high-concept existential comedy The Big Door Prize tackles the big questions this week. A small town has been invaded by something called the Morpho machine, a device that prints out cards based on people’s identities and tells them what they’re meant to be in life.
Some people love the Morpho machine and the big changes it triggers. Others, like our hero Dusty and a local priest, have issues with it. A strong showing from The Big Door Prize cast helps this week’s episode, entitled, “Father Reuben,” go down easy.
★★★☆☆
Nate (played by Nick Mohammed, left) and Ted (Jason Sudeikis) come face-to-face for a big match. Photo: Apple TV+
It’s payback time this week on Ted Lasso. Nate and Ted are due to face off after their acrimonious split at the end of last season. As usual, Ted doesn’t want to go negative. And, though Nate has unequivocally already gone negative, he feels bad about it.
Meanwhile, Keeley’s having second thoughts about Jamie and Shandy, Rebecca’s in an awkward position, an important financier shows up to the game, and Ted’s got the blues. Entitled “Big Week,” it’s a pretty solid episode of the biggest hit on Apple TV+, all things considered.
Mifa's Every Day Carry (EDC) nylon sports band comes in four colors/styles, including a new green color. Photo: Mifa
In the Cult of Mac Store’s Easter Sale, you can slash up to 25% off regular prices on a variety of cool Apple Watch bands. Bands by Mifa and Elkson are 20% off while bands from Rilee & Lo and Laut are 25% off.