After Apple unveiled AirPods Max this morning, the internet jumped quickly into mockery mode. The pricey over-the-ears headphones come with a case that lots of jokesters think looks like a bra.
And that’s just the start.
Need to pick up an affordable Mac ahead of the holidays? Check out Woot’s one-day sale on iMac and MacBook refurbs. There are a whole bunch of models to choose from, with prices starting at just $359.99.
They’re selling fast, so bag yours before they’re all gone!
This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.
OWC’s just-released Copy That application frees up space on iPhone or iPad by transferring images or videos to external drives. Alternatively, it can easily back up an collection of these files.
And it’s free, with an in-app purchase for extra features.
Logitech unveiled the Circle View Doorbell on Tuesday, calling it “the first wired video doorbell developed exclusively for Apple HomeKit.”
The $199.99 accessory features Face Recognition and Logitech TrueView video, and works with most wired doorbell systems, Logitech said.
If you wanted AirPods Max in blue, pink or green, it looks like you’ll be waiting till well into 2021. Order one of the three hottest colors of the pricey new over-the-ear headphones now, and they won’t be delivered for 12 to 14 weeks, according to Apple’s online store.
Those shipping times slipped quickly after Apple launched the high-end headphones via press release early Tuesday morning. By late morning West Coast time, space gray AirPods Max delivery times had slipped as well — to December 31. Only the silver option still showed as being available for delivery prior to Christmas.
Act fast, and you can get them between December 15 and 17. But adding custom engraving pushes the delivery date to December 29 for that model. (Update 2: By midafternoon West Coast time on Tuesday, even the silver AirPods Max delivery window had slipped to December 31 – January 8.)
Apple has pulled the Tripadvisor app from its China App Store on the orders of the Chinese government as it works to “clean up” the internet, CNN reports.
The Tripadvisor app, which somehow ran afoul of the government, was one of 105 apps deemed to be illegal. Since the Tripadvisor app is mainly concerned with hotel reviews, its removal seems more than a little surprising. However, it’s far from the first app to get the boot from the localized China App Store.
A second judge in the United States has granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s attempted ban on TikTok.
Washington-based US District Judge Carl Nichols made the decision late Monday. This followed US judge Wendy Beetlestone in Pennsylvania making a similar ruling in late September. Trump’s ban would have stopped Apple and Google from offering TikTok downloads in their respective app stores.
Apple expanded its popular AirPods lineup Tuesday, unveiling a new over-the-ear model dubbed AirPods Max.
The high-end headphones promise to deliver “the magic of AirPods” in an all-new design. They boast high-fidelity, spatial audio and active noise cancellation like AirPods Pro. And they come in five colors. They’re available to order today, priced at $549.
Apple Fitness+, Apple’s $9.99-a-month subscription workout service built around Apple Watch, will launch December 14.
The service will launch with 10 workout types. These include High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Strength, Yoga, Dance, Core, Cycling, Treadmill (for running and walking), Rowing and Mindful Cooldown. The sessions are led by an elite team of fitness experts we profiled here.
Apple Music subscribers can now use Apple’s streaming music service on Google Nest smart speakers, thanks to an update. It means that users can access the Apple Music catalog with voice commands on their Nest Audio, Nest Hub Max and Nest Mini.
Google’s smart speakers supports various streaming audio services, such as Spotify. However, Apple Music was not among them. In order to listen to Apple Music, users previously needed to use an Amazon Echo device or Apple’s own HomePod.
Apple may have staged an unprecedented three product events in three months, but it could have one more debut up its sleeve. (Yes, even after calling last month’s event “One More Thing” .)
If a last minute report is to be believed, Apple could, as early as Tuesday, unveil its AirPods Studio headphones. Well, maybe.
Both sizes of Apple’s smart speaker got an update to HomePod Software Version 14.2.1 on Monday. The new system software promises just general improvements. It’s not yet known if that includes squashing a reported bug in Wi-Fi connectivity for the HomePod mini.
Apple Watch offers watch faces that’s do much more than tell time. But a user thinks the extra snippets of information — called complications — junk up the appearance of the wearable. They created an Apple Watch concept that moves them off the display and onto the pop-up window that’s currently the Control Center.
Samsung is copying Apple again. The Galaxy S21 series reportedly will not come with a wall charger or a pair of headphones when the new top-tier handset debuts in January.
This despite Samsung mocking Apple in October for leaving these accessories out of the iPhone 12 box.
A faster version of the Apple TV set top box apparently isn’t going to unveiled Tuesday morning, despite significant speculation.
Apple is reportedly going to launch something on December 8, and earlier today a noted leaker seemed to hint about it being new Apple TV hardware. But that’s now been retracted, and other sources have stated that whatever gets announced tomorrow, it won‘t be an Apple TV.
UPDATE: Apple took the wraps off AirPods Max headphones and Apple Fitness+ on December 8.
California will launch a COVID-19 exposure-notification system Thursday that uses smartphones to track interactions with infected people.
The state “has partnered with Google and Apple to launch a #COVID19 exposure notification app, CA Notify,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday on Twitter. “Starting Thursday, you can opt in to get push notifications on your phone if you have been exposed to COVID-19.”
The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max are reportedly proving to be customer favorites this year, based on a new report by J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee.
In a note to clients, Chatterjee observed that the lead times for the two high-end iPhones “continue to build,” representing a “favorable indicator of customer demand.”
Season two of Tehran, the excellent spy drama whose first season just wrapped up on Apple TV+, is underway — although Apple has yet to give it the official go-ahead.
“I can say that we are working on the second season,” said Julien Leroux, CEO and founder of production company Paper Entertainment. “It’s not been officially greenlit, but we are working on it, so hopefully we’ll have some good news by the end of the year.”
The first M1 Macs just hit desks and laps around the world, but Cupertino’s already hard at work on next-gen Apple Silicon processors, Bloomberg reported Monday.
According to the report, Apple is working on “several successors” to the surprisingly powerful M1 chip. These could “significantly outpace” the performance of the top computers currently running Intel chips — including the first 32-core processor high-end Macs.
Barack Obama, the last Democratic POTUS, was reportedly a big Apple fan. And his successor, President-elect Joe Biden, is supposedly an Apple guy as well — more specifically Apple News.
Evan Osnos, CNN’s newest contributor and author of Joe Biden: The Life, The Run, and What Matters Now, says Biden “relies on Apple News to help him get headlines from … reputable media sources.”
You can make like an intergalactic outlaw or keep in touch like a pro with two of the new apps and updates featured in the week’s roundup. And the other two featured apps show off the growing versatility of macOS Big Sur and CarPlay, two Apple platforms that deserve a little extra love.
Get the scoop in this week’s edition of Awesome Apps of the Week.
Apple launched an iPhone 11 Display Module Replacement Program late on Friday. It’s intended to repair a small percentage of units that are experiencing problems with the touchscreen.
These units “may stop responding to touch due to an issue with the display module,” according to Apple.
It’s December, so it’s time to brace yourself for the annual onslaught of “best of” recommendations. Cupertino came out of the gate early this week, crowning its favorite 15 apps and games of the year.
Separately, the company also highlighted the biggest hits on Apple Music, diced in a variety of ways, as well as the best podcasts, books and audiobooks of 2020. And, like last year, Apple Music users can check out their own personal hit lists. Take a look at your Replay 2020 playlist for insight into what you streamed with abandon during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Get the lowdown in this week’s free edition of Cult of Mac Magazine. It’s loaded with the week’s top Apple news, plus plenty of how-tos for iPhone, HomePod and Mac users.
We’ve also got reviews of three new Apple TV+ shows this week: astonishing nature docuseries Earth at Night in Color, uplifting kids show Stillwater and Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special.
Wristcam puts a camera into an Apple Watch band. That’s a product many people have been asking for, but this version seems impractically large. Much larger than anyone wants to wear on their wrist.
Take a look at a product video to see for yourself.
When we published a Setups post with the headline “This desk has a minimalism level of over 9,000,” consultant Mike Leardo felt compelled to send in his own rig to show what peak minimalism really looks like.
You can’t get more minimalist than this — mouse, keyboard and screen.