While today’s iPhone snapshots are easily preserved and shared, families can struggle to retain older memories recorded on film. The Kodak Slide N Scan can not only preserve negatives and slides, but it can also restore them with a few button presses.
★★★★☆
The Pitaka MagEz Slider 2 combines a desktop stand for your iPhone with a MagSafe power bank, so your handset can get juiced up wherever you go. Just slide the external battery out and take it with you. As a bonus, the swiveling stand also includes an AirPods charger.
It originally launched in 2022, and there’s second-generation version out with an improved design. I put the updated charging stand on my desk to test it out in everyday use. Here’s what I found.
If you’ve ever had writer’s block, you know the spiral it can cause. But with the power of AI in your back pocket, there’s no need to go down that hole. With the help of AI, Write Bot allows you to write faster so you can generate content, translate text, summarize information and more without the threat of an empty page staring back at you.
For a limited time, you can grab a lifetime subscription this incredible tool for only $39.99 (regularly $539) — the best price online.
iPhone and Mac users can now install iOS 16.6 and macOS Ventura 13.5. These are mostly bug-fix updates with only a few tweaks, but are still worth installing.
Apple also launched iPadOS 16.6, watchOS 9.6 and tvOS 16.6.
Mechanical keyboards are all the rage for those who love the old-school typing feel and don’t mind the clackety-clacking noise. Today’s featured MacBook Pro and Studio Display setup features an old Apple A1048, which certainly looks the part of a mechanical keeb (but it’s not).
Read on the learn more about Apple’s past keyboards that are mechanical — and some that only look like it.
No matter how many apps you have on your smartphone, it can’t do everything. It can’t, for example, serve as a reliable flashlight. Sure, it does have that function — but try using that meager and unwieldy beam to change a tire or find your way down a hiking trail at night.
Luckily, there’s a lighting solution that’s compact, easy to handle, and powerful: the Cob mini keychain multifunction flashlight.
Languages: They’re key to traveling the world like a local, making lasting friendships, and have even been shown to add a significant chunk of change to your salary. To learn a new one, you don’t need to sign up for expensive or time-consuming classes. Instead, you can learn on your own time, from anywhere, with one of the world’s most trusted language-learning platforms.
Cult of Mac readers can now grab a lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone for only $159.97 (regularly $189.99) with code VACATION15 at checkout. You’ll have to act fast, though, since this deal ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific tonight.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest rumors point to impressive iPhone upgrades on the horizon. Stacked batteries might deliver the holy grail of longer battery life as early as this year. And in 2024, the iPhone Pro Max camera might graduate to a mind-blowing 12x zoom. Excuse if we’re a little excited!
Also on The CultCast:
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.
Most of us know to double-check for the physical necessities before we travel outside the country. That includes (but isn’t limited to) passports, phone chargers, swimsuits, etc. What less experienced travelers don’t know is that it’s just as important to prep your smartphone for the trip. Once you cross international borders, you might not be taking your mobile plan with you, and that can mean expensive roaming charges for text messaging and internet use. That is unless you’re prepared with an eSim card from aloSIM.
Just in time for upcoming trips, you can now score the aloSIM Lifetime eSIM Plan for only $21.99 (regularly $50) and even get an additional $50 of data credit with your purchase. You’ll have to act fast since this deal only lasts until July 23 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.
★★★★★
Swagger takes a hard look at incarceration this week in a season-best episode of the Apple TV+ basketball drama.
With the eyes of their community on them, Jace and Team Swagger head to a juvenile detention center to learn and to play as they sweat their futures. Entitled “Are We Free?,” it’s a terrific episode filled with great performance notes and stunning direction.
Anybody that’s ever tried to touch up patchy paint knows that you should never try to “eyeball” the right shade. Even subtle color differences can result in a wall that looks like a crazy quilt. And cans of paint are not cheap.
Luckily, there’s an easy way to match that color right the first time: the Nix Mini 2 color sensor. This tiny but mighty gadget should become an essential part of any home improvement or decorating toolkit. And through July 23, you can grab this helpful color-matching device for only $59.97 (regularly $99).
★★★★☆
The SwitchEasy MagPower 4-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand can wirelessly power up a MagSafe iPhone while also juicing up an Apple Watch, AirPods and more. And it even has a nightlight as a bonus.
I’ve had the stand either on my desk or beside my bed for a couple weeks now. Here’s what it’s like in real-world use.
Note: This stand is currently on sale in the Cult of Mac Store’s SwitchEasy flash sale.
Soccer legend Lionel Messi recently joined Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, and Apple TV+ hopes to score off the Argentine star’s high-profile arrival. The streaming service is offering a range of MLS Season Pass content complementing the games it will air, starting July 21 with Leagues Cup coverage.
“Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami marks a historic moment for the sport in the U.S. and reflects the incredible momentum behind Major League Soccer,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in a press release Friday. “We couldn’t be more excited to give fans around the world the opportunity to watch the greatest footballer of all time on MLS Season Pass.”
★★★☆☆
Apple TV+’s epic science fiction series Foundation deals with the fallout from an assassination attempt, a potential marriage and the opening of a puzzle cube this week.
In the episode, entitled “A Glimpse of Darkness,” Salvor and Gaal have their overdue reunion with Hari Seldon. Plus, some new converts are betrayed by their faith. And Hari, like Schrodinger’s cat, may or may not be in a box. It’s a very good episode between major developments.
Nomad introduced ChargeKey in 2013, and at long last the popular little keychain charging cable got an update. Now it sports a fresh design and USB-C and Lightning versions to help you power up today’s devices on the go.
★★★☆☆
New Apple TV+ sports doc Stephen Curry: Underrated follows the Golden State Warriors star and his quest to bring his team back after a bad season.
The film documents the various rises and falls of the player with the three-pointer record and the slim build, showing us who Curry is off the court as well as on. It’s a very conventional but likable look at the kind of talent that doesn’t come along every day.
Our travels online among computer setups show that a great many Apple users don’t choose Magic Mouse — and many even detest it. So they select popular products from Logitech and other makers. But some people, like graphic designers, passionately defend Apple’s sleek and slippery mouse, and today’s featured MacBook Pro-and-custom-PC setup is a testament to that. Long live Magic Mouse!
Savvy shoppers can score a boatload of summer savings through Apple Pay’s promotion running through July 26.
Just head to the sellers’ websites through Apple’s promo page for great savings from the likes of Ray-Ban, Sonic, Gymboree and nine others. See below.
Home cooks depend on their knives more than any other utensil in the kitchen. Unfortunately, blades also need the most care, and too few of us can fully provide it. If you already invested in a decent set of knives, it pays to find a sharpener that can keep their edges keen. The Angle Pro Knife Sharpener is a unique tool that gives you custom blade sharpening and care, no matter what kind of knives you have in your kitchen arsenal.
Luckily, giving your beloved blades TLC doesn’t have to come at a steep cost. You can score the Angle Pro Knife Sharpener with Angle Gauge for only $59.97 (regularly $199). You’ll have to act fast, though, since this deal only lasts until July 23 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific!
Almost everybody loves houseplants, but sometimes it can seem like they don’t love us. To those of us who don’t have a degree in botany, it can be a mystery why some plants thrive while others wither in the same spot. Now there’s help for everyday plant moms and dads in the form of Plantum, an AI-based app that can help you both identify and care for your flowers, ferns, and other flora. A lifetime subscription is only $14.97 through July 23.
The Kuxiu X40 3-in-1 charger simplifies travel by juicing up your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods from one device, cable and outlet. It folds flat for sticking in your bag — it even comes with a little carrying case. Its handsome design and premium materials make it suitable as a permanent desk companion, too.
Without a handy travel charger like this, hitting the road with all your devices — iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods and possibly a MacBook, iPad or Nintendo Switch — can become a big nightmare of device-specific cables. iPhones and AirPods charge with a Lightning cable, the Apple Watch has its own unique puck thing and most other devices are on USB-C, except for some MacBooks that have MagSafe, too.
The Kuxiu X40 replaces two to three of the special charging cables that we, people with Apple devices, are used to taking with us everywhere we go. You don’t need your Lightning cable and your Watch cable. All you need to put in your bag is the Kuxiu X40 and a beefy USB-C power cable to charge all your devices on a weekend away from home.
It’s regularly on sale for less, but even its original $79.99 price is competitive for what you get.
Streaming services like Netflix pose challenges for travelers away from their home countries. Accessing your account can prove difficult or downright impossible if you use a standard connection. Luckily, there are smart ways to get around geographic restrictions to stream whatever you want, whenever you want, and wherever you are.
Getflix is a smart DNS/virtual private network combo specifically designed to let you bypass those annoying limits. And right now, you can pay one low price to open up a whole new world of content — for life!
If you’ve ever built or operated a website, you know the expenses don’t stop once you go live. You still need to pay fees for your domain and web hosting, which can amount to hundreds or even thousands every year. Web hosting doesn’t need to cost that much, though.
For a limited time, you can get lifetime access to iBrave’s top-tier unlimited web hosting package for a one-time payment of just $79.97.
★★★☆☆
Sam runs out of options, and Stuart runs out of patience, in this week’s tense installment of Apple TV+ hostage thriller Hijack.
Stuart’s secrets start to spill out as a desperate move to save someone close to him brings the whole operation dangerously close to failure. While Sam tries to stay a step ahead of everyone, there are just some things he can’t know or understand until it’s too late.
Who doesn’t love a clean, uncluttered computer setup? It doesn’t have to be “minimalist,” like it’s trying to impersonate a Zen rock garden, it just has to be simple and productive.
Today’s featured 15-inch M2 Pro MacBook Air and 11-inch M2 iPad Pro setup gets by quite nicely with one external monitor and the use of Sidecar.