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Belkin iPhone stand cleverly keeps camera focused on you [Review] ★★★★★

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Belkin Auto-Tracking Stand Pro review: iPhone camera dock★★★★★
Enhance your video calls and content creation with the Belkin Auto-Tracking Stand Pro.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Belkin Auto-Tracking Stand Pro can hold up an iPhone, rotate and tilt to keep the camera focused on the user during video calls. It’s wish fulfillment for every TikTok or YouTube creator working alone. The same goes for anyone who’s frequently in video conferences.
I went hands on with the accessory and my iPhone 15. And wow, this thing is impressive.
Or if you’re looking for a Belkin iPhone mount with MagSafe for Mac desktops and displays, there are other solutions designed to enhance your workflow.

Some of the best 2024 Macs are still ahead of us

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The Mac in 2024
2024 will bring lots of M3-based Mac desktops, and maybe an M4 MacBook.
Image: Apple/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

After Apple’s thunderous launch of the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips a few months ago, these chips likely will roll out as spec bumps in the MacStudio, Mac Pro, and Mac mini later this year. Additionally, Apple enthusiasts are eager to see how the m3 ultra chip will further enhance Mac performance in upcoming releases.

An M4 MacBook Pro remains a possibility for this fall. (I suspect M4 will be the first “must-have” Mac upgrade for anyone still on an M1-series chip.)

Apple licenses Shutterstock’s massive image library for AI model training

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Apple.logo.paris.store
Apple has paid Shutterstock millions of dollars for access to its copyrighted photos and videos.
Photo: Josh Davidson/Cult of Mac

Apple reportedly struck a deal with Shutterstock to license its massive library of images and videos to train its AI models. The precise deal value remains unclear, but estimates suggest a range of $25 million-$50 million.

As a part of the licensing, Apple will gain access to millions of images and videos in Shutterstock’s library.

iOS 17.5 beta 1: All the new features and changes

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iOS 17.5 beta
iOS 17.5 beta 1 is light on changes.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Following a lull of a few weeks, Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 17.5 to developers Tuesday. While iOS 17.4 was a big release, iOS 17.5 beta 1 packs relatively minor (albeit important) changes.

Below are all the changes we have spotted in the first iOS 17.5 beta.

Taiwan earthquake seems unlikely to seriously disrupt Apple chip production

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Taiwan earthquake affects TSMC
TSMC appears to have successfully ridden out the earthquake in Taiwan.
Image: TSMC/Cult of Mac

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan on Wednesday — the worst in 25 years — killed at least nine people, injured more than 900 and toppled buildings. It also reportedly forced Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to stop chip production, at least temporarily.

TSMC makes the processors that go into iPhone, Mac and other Apple products.

Free-floating Spatial Personas arrive in visionOS 1.1 for Vision Pro

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Spatial Personas on Vision Pro
Spatial Personas put you and others right in the shared workspace.
Photo: Apple

Apple will make Spatial Personas, a more lifelike enhancement of the Persona feature for the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, available in the visionOS 1.1 update coming Tuesday.

In beta test versions of the software, Spatial Personas allow Vision Pro users to create and interact with customizable, free-floating 3D digital avatars in virtual spaces. They enhance collaboration via SharePlay while going beyond the limits of a little box on a FaceTime call.

7 reasons to get an Apple TV instead of a Roku

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Apple TV Better Than Roku?
Could it be? Yeah, I think so.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Comparing the Apple TV vs. Roku vs. other smart TV products, there are a lot of good reasons to stick with Apple’s offering — even though it’s more expensive.

Roku is the more popular product, selling plug-in devices for as little as $30. And if you buy a new TV today, it’s probably running Roku or Google TV software. Although the latest Apple TV 4K is a pricey $129, it offers better privacy protection, it’s easily controlled with your iPhone and Apple Watch, makes FaceTime calls, plays better games and runs faster.

Check out our latest video or keep reading.

iMessage getting RCS for better cross-platform texting in fall 2024

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iMessage vs. RCS ends in last 2024
The feature-limited version of texting available between iPhone and Android will come to an end in about six months.
Image: Apple

Google let slip that Apple will fulfill its promise to add support for Rich Communication Services to the iPhone Messages app “in the fall of 2024.”

That almost certainly means iPhone and Android users will enjoy higher quality cross-platform texting with the release of iOS 18 and not before.

Apple Pencil for Vision Pro might be in development

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Apple Pencil for Vision Pro might be in development
Vision Pro users could someday grab an Apple Pencil for fine drawing.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

A version of Apple Pencil stylus that can be used with the Vision Pro AR headset is in testing, according to an unconfirmed report.

And there’s proof that Apple is at least considering the idea — it filed for a patent on methods of using a stylus to create virtual objects while wearing a headset.

Redesign could give Apple M3 Ultra processor wicked performance boost

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Apple M3 Ultra chip
The M3 Ultra could be the high-performance chip that so many professionals need.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple’s upcoming M3 Ultra chip won’t consist of two M3 Max processors merged together, according to information leaking out of Cupertino. The change from its predecessors would free up designers to make the next-gen Apple silicon even more powerful.

It even raises the possibility of an M3 Extreme, a workstation-level processor that would give the Mac Pro a reason to exist. With Apple continuing to push the boundaries of performance, the Apple M3 lineup is expected to redefine computing power—learn more about it in Apple’s unveiling of the M3 Ultra chip.