Many Apple devices work splendidly right out of the box. Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily true for the Apple TV’s Siri Remote, which has a notoriously finicky learning curve, even after the company updated the controller for the Apple TV 4K.
Thankfully, as with all Apple devices, third-party accessories can help you get the most out of your streaming experience. For example, you can purchase this Function101 Button Remote for only $24.95 with code BUTTON5 for a limited time.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We can’t figure out which is more exciting, the brawny new Apple Watch Ultra or the brainy new Dynamic Island. Will the rugged new smartwatch prove too big for Erfon’s skinny wrists? Or does its bold size and styling elevate it to “big enough” status?
Also on The CultCast:
Brace yourself for our breathless reactions to Apple’s Far Out event — which was actually pretty far out!
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.
Special thanks to this week’s sponsor, Squarespace. Get all the tools you need to set up your very own website and commence selling anything online. Start your free website trial today at squarespace.com/cultcast (no credit card required). Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain with code cultcast at checkout.
AHave your TV-watching habits grown stale? Stop settling for rewatches or ad-plagued streaming platforms and start exploring the world (and universe) around you without even leaving the couch. Curiosity Stream is your ticket to expanded possibilities that can keep you both entertained and enlightened.
This streaming service is packed with thousands of documentaries you can watch on-demand, and a lifetime subscription costs just $179 for a limited time (regularly $250).
★★★★☆
It’s Bibi Garvey’s time to shine this week on Bad Sisters, Apple TV+’s dark, depraved and hilarious comedy. She deals with the insurance investigators and hatches a new plan to kill the Garvey sisters’ brutish brother-in-law John Paul. But is she the crack shot she remembers?
Bibi and Eva both must overcome personal trauma to make it to their next appointment with death, while Grace starts to crumble as nothing in her life goes even remotely well. This week’s fine episode flirts with hitting risky subtextual bull’s-eyes.
It turns out that digital photography is more than just pointing a camera and pressing a button. Photography is one of those skills that seems simple, but it’s a lot harder once you get into it. So if you want to take better pictures with your iPhone (or your iPad — who are we to judge?), give this Digital Photography Insiders Course a try.
It’s on sale for just $60 (regularly $299) for a limited time. Dive into the courses in this bundle, and you’ll soon be snapping pro-level pictures of beautiful landscapes, gorgeous portraits and more.
Maybe you’re planning on a new iPhone 14 and wondering if you can still use your iPhone 13 case with it. Unfortunately, for most models the answer is a hard “no,” thanks to a bunch of subtle differences.
But you might get away with it on one model. For everyone else, buy a new case or try going without one (go ahead, put that Ceramic Shield to the test).
★★★★☆
Apple TV+ drama Five Days at Memorial, about the terrifying conditions inside a hospital after Hurricane Katrina, furthers its investigation into the actions taken by medical professionals in the wake of the disaster.
Investigators Rider and Schafer finally get inside Memorial Medical Center to survey the horrors waiting for them. And beleaguered doctor Anna Pou strengthens her defenses in preparation for a landslide. Bryant and Kristy get to tell their sides of the story, and the cuffs finally come out.
It’s a very fine episode of this miniseries as the show winds down.
Should AirPods Pro owners upgrade to AirPods Pro 2?
The new set boasts a host of upgrades that could easily be worth it for many people — especially because the price hasn’t increased — and may even tempt owners of the relatively new and well-reviewed AirPods (3rd generation).
★★☆☆☆
This week’s See finds everyone taking stock of their miserable situations before the inevitable next course of action. The Apple TV+ dystopian sci-fi epic about a world where most people lost their sight generations ago is getting ready for war.
Sibeth is missing, Baba is back, Maghra finally sees the light, Tamacti Jun is at his wit’s end, and Kofun steps up.
★☆☆☆☆
Central Park returns to Apple TV+ on Friday with more singing, dancing, rapid-fire jokes that aren’t funny and plots that go nowhere.
The third season of the cartoon from Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard, star Josh Gad and writer Nora Smith does the usual spinning in extravagant circles without gaining any momentum. And unfortunately, the songs don’t forward the plot, such as it is.
If you procrastinated on ordering one of the new iPhone 14 Pro models, there’s a good chance you’re looking at a lengthy wait for it to be delivered.
But Apple still has plenty of stock of the “standard” 6.1-inch iPhone 14 ready for delivery on launch day. The same is true for the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus.
Today’s featured computer setup displays an innovation we’ve seen from time to time, but not as often as we’d expect. It’s a custom keyboard wrist rest built to fit a Magic Trackpad or other trackpad in its middle section.
This one’s on the tall side, suitable for a mechanical keyboard. The developer who had it made to his specifications finds it — and the Magic Trackpad 2 — more than adequate for his needs.
Not everyone has access to the same learning resources. For example, an Ivy League student can tap into vastly different assets than someone paying their way through community college.
Online library Perlego can help level the playing field. By offering unlimited access to more than 900,000 academic and nonfiction books, it allows anyone to study and research thousands of topics. One-year, two-year and three-year subscriptions to Perlego are on sale for $99, $159 and $199 for a limited time.
☆☆☆☆☆
Apple TV+’s Gutsy, a deeply cynical PR stunt from former first lady Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea, attempts to preach to a very specific choir while celebrating everything human about someone who at this point couldn’t be less relatable to the American public.
Gutsy is an expensive, self-aggrandizing road trip shared by women who were never really like the rest of us and now never will be. The series, which premiered Friday on Apple TV+, is replete with jaw-dropping guest stars, rehearsed banter, and about as much “fun” as an orientation day skit at college.
Basically, Gutsy is the unappealing answer to the question, “What do you give the woman who has everything?”
Apple’s newest iPhone is here. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max represent the best of what the company has to offer customers this year.
But if you already own the iPhone 13 Pro, should you upgrade to the iPhone 14 Pro? Or is it better to save your money for next year’s model? Find out in this comparison.
As iOS and Mac become more friendly to amateur programmers, learning to code and build your own apps has never been more tempting. And you don’t need to set foot in an expensive school to do so.
Lifetime access to Code Direct’s Python Interactive Coding exercises can show you how to code powerful, flexible apps across Apple platforms, the internet and beyond. Lifetime access is available for $24.99 (regularly $79) for a limited time.
One of the bigger surprises at Apple’s Far Out event Wednesday wasn’t in the hardware itself, but in its pricing. As in, it didn’t go up as it often does, at least in the U.S. market — despite rising inflation and the supply chain backups we heard so much about.
In fact, considering inflation, it’s almost like prices went down. That said, while each iPhone 14 model kept the same price as its iPhone 13 counterpart in the U.S., prices rose in many foreign markets.
What gives? Is Apple impervious to inflation? Some analysts think it’s more likely a shrewd strategy to sustain demand.
The iPhone 14 series goes up for preorder on Friday, and Apple’s latest and greatest handsets are likely to sell out quickly. You need do some early prep work if you want to get your hands on the iPhone 14 Plus or the new Pro models as soon as possible.
AirPods Pro 2 also up for early orders at the same time.
Here’s how to be completely ready to put in a preorder for either or both items.
Something unexpected came out of Vox Media’s Code conference Wednesday — a birth announcement for The Steve Jobs Archive. The new repository celebrates the Apple co-founder’s life and strives to share his values. Various programs are planned.
In a panel discussion, Apple CEO Tim Cook, former design honcho Jon Ivy and Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, discussed the man’s legacy and introduced the archive.
★★★☆☆
EarFun has been putting out affordable audio gear since 2018. It released its latest active noise cancelling (ANC) wireless earbuds, EarFun Air S, in June. The company recently sent me a pair to try out.
The name of the game here is value. Like some of the company’s other earbuds, Air S offers quality sound and features found in more expensive earbuds. But the product is not without a few drawbacks, which I’ll describe below.
Note that if you want to give these a try and buy on Amazon by September 12, you get a discount plus a coupon that bring the regular price of $69.99 down to $56.41, EarFun said.
There are many reasons to run your own website, whether it’s to advertise your work, sell cool crafts, post pictures of your cooking or anything else. Sometimes you need a website. And in other instances, they’re just fun to have. However, making them can be a pain — especially if you don’t want to code.
Luckily, a drag-and-drop website builder like Buldix Pro can make launching your website easier. For a limited time, you can get a lifetime subscription to the simple no-code website builder for $59 (regularly $990).
Apple definitely over-delivered with Wednesday’s Far Out event. The rumor mill’s constant churn of leaks and speculation gave us a solid framework for our expectations, but Cupertino’s hardware and software wizards still whipped out a few surprises.
Here’s everything you need to know about the iPhone 14 lineup, second-gen AirPods Pro and the 2022 Apple Watch models — including that hot new Ultra version for extreme athletes (and couch potatoes with solid credit ratings).
Does the internet feel more like something you’re looking at and not participating in? You can stream content, but you can’t keep it. You can find practically every song ever recorded, but where’s your copy? And, while you can use a fake name, that doesn’t change the data profile third parties can construct from your browsing history.
It’s annoying running into obstacles online, but you can get past them with Offcloud. Rated 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot, you can unlock internet restrictions with a lifetime subscription to Offcloud, on sale for $39.99 (regularly $699).
At Apple’s Far Out event, the company got rid of the notch at the top of the screen in its iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models, replacing it with a smaller, pill-shaped cutout, as predicted.
More of a surprise is the functionality that comes with the cutout, which Apple calls the Dynamic Island. What the heck is it?
Apple revealed its new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max handsets Wednesday with numerous updates, including massive camera upgrades, always-on displays, an improved A16 chip and the notorious “notch” replaced with a pill-shaped cutout with new “Dynamic Island” interactive functionality.
“iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are the best iPhones we’ve ever created, with a new way to experience iPhone as well as the industry-leading A16 bionic chip, always-on display and powerful new camera technologies,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook during the company’s Far Out event.