This week someone paid about $1,000 on eBay for an allegedly fake Apple employee badge masquerading as the 1977 ID of employee number 10.
The employee badge is a convincing phony, according the an intrepid blogger and the longtime Apple employee (number 8) he contacted to confirm the forgery. And the proof of provenance the blogger sought from the seller appeard to be fake, too, according to several sources.
KRK Rokit 5 speakers are the crown jewel among the audio gear in today’s M1 Max MacBook Pro setup. The rig belongs to an iOS and macOS developer who only counts music production as a hobby. But we’ll take his vote of confidence in a fine audio product.
We’ve seen the Rokit 5 boxes in setups a few times, not often, but we have no doubt they sound great and look good doing it.
M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air users are justifiably excited by Apple Pencil Pro’s fantastic and highly functional new features. But now they’re discovering a delightful feature Apple didn’t highlight at its recent “Let Loose” event. The stylus casts a shadow of the selected tool in use on the screen.
That feature may not equal the functional importance of the new squeeze gesture or haptic feedback, but judging by user reactions in the videos below, it’s pretty much the coolest thing ever.
The first trailer for Apple TV+’s The Big Cigar, below, looks like so much fun I almost don’t want to know how true the “incredible true story” about Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton actually is. And as of Friday, the show’s on with its first two episodes.
The upcoming drama series tells the tale of Newton enlisting a Hollywood producer to fake out the FBI, providing cover for the political activist’s escape to Cuba in 1974. That came after Newton jumped bail on murder and assault charges he called false.
UPDATE: The Big Cigar now airs on Apple TV+. The first two episodes came out Friday. The third episode airs May 24.
Belkin is such a favored maker of MagSafe chargers and other Apple accessories that the iPhone giant sells many of them directly on its site. But for bagging bargains in the Memorial Day Sale Belkin launched this week ahead of the holiday, you’re better off hitting the links to its site, below.
You can get 20% off site wide, plus an additional 50% off refurbished products! The sale started Tuesday and runs through May 27.
Three new videos test just how “bend-but-don’t-break” Apple’s new super-thin M4 iPad Pro is, and the answer is “very.” Reviewers came away impressed by how well even the ultra-thin 13-inch M4 iPad Pro performed. And the 11-inch model did well, too.
JerryRigEverything performed bend tests as part of a teardown of the 13-inch M4 iPad Pro. AppleTrack stuck with comparing bends of 11- and 13-inch 2024 iPad Pro models against the 2022 versions. And MobileReviewsEh showed new models held up under massive pressure about as well as older models despite being about 20% thinner.
The iPad buying cycle has slowed because iPad owners increasingly hold onto their old tablets for longer periods than in the past, a new analysis showed Wednesday.
However, the just-ended wait for the latest iPad Pro and iPad Air could be a big reason why. It was a long one. The previous generations both came out in 2022.
Apple showcased some remarkable new accessibility features for people with disabilities Wednesday, including Eye Tracking, Music Haptics and Vocal Shortcuts.
The new features, coming later this year to Apple devices, harness Apple silicon, artificial intelligence and machine learning. They will come mainly to iPhone and iPad, though some new ones will appear in Vision Pro’s visionOS, too.
“We believe deeply in the transformative power of innovation to enrich lives,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a press release. “That’s why for nearly 40 years, Apple has championed inclusive design by embedding accessibility at the core of our hardware and software. We’re continuously pushing the boundaries of technology, and these new features reflect our long-standing commitment to delivering the best possible experience to all of our users.”
Our setups coverage often reveals clues to Apple hardware’s functional longevity. An iOS and macOS developer uses today’s setup. Even though two new generations of powerful Apple silicon chips have supercharged more recent MacBooks, he’s still cranking away on an M1 Max MacBook Pro run through an OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock.
In fact, he just updated his setup. But that turned out to have nothing to do with the computer. It was all about adding decorative toy figures, an LED light strip and a new wooden countertop as a desk.
The new M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air finally make it easy to manage your tablet’s battery heath from the Settings app. iPadOS finally has a Battery Health menu in its 17.5 version, but it only works with the new iPads, not older models.
The new feature lets you limit charges to 80% capacity, which can extend the battery’s lifespan.
The App Store prevented more than $7 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions over the past four years, Apple said Tuesday, when it published its fourth annual fraud prevention analysis report.
Apple has lost its customary lead on smartphone customer satisfaction as archrival Samsung has drawn even overall and gone ahead in one area, according to new data.
New findings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) show Apple’s rating went up a point, but Samsung’s rose three points to tie overall and creep ahead on 5G satisfaction.
Audio specialist Denon added the Siri voice assistant to certain wireless speakers and a soundbar this week — only the second third-party product line to do so. But there’s a catch. Siri only works with the speakers if you also have a HomePod or HomePod mini speaker to act as a relay.
The same is true of the first non-Apple products that added Apple, ecobee smart thermostats. But it’s a little weirder this time because it’s all speakers. Only an Apple speaker will let you use Siri with Denon’s speakers.
The new iOS 17.5 update brings cross-platform tracking notifications for unwanted Bluetooth trackers plus a new Quartiles spelling game and an Offline Mode for Apple News+ subscribers, Apple said Monday.
And that’s in addition to the new Pride and Unity Lock Screens and Apple Watch faces we can expect. As far as other Apple OS updates go, macOS 14.5 got compatibility with Apple News+ features and bug fixes, watchOS 10.5 incorporates new Pride updates and the rest are performance and stability updates.
Savvy, bargain-conscious Apple shoppers know new model releases can also herald the lowest-ever prices on recent, not-actually-new but new-to-them products. And with the recent rollout of M2 iPad Air, great deals on M1 iPad Air abound.
These limited-time deals on Amazon — including a new price drop that makes the M1 iPad Air just $399.00 (33% off) are great examples.
Streamers and podcasters often worry over their choices of microphones and audio interfaces for sound quality. But they shouldn’t forget to select great co-stars for that gear like the Elgato Wave Microphone Arm.
A good microphone boom arm makes working with the mic easy, especially in a computer setup where you need to move it aside to do other tasks. Today’s MacBook Pro and Studio Display setup makes great use of the extremely popular Elgato Wave Microphone Arm supporting an Audio-Technica mic.
And right now you can get one version of the suspension boom microphone arm for 20% off at Amazon ($99.99 $79.99), and it’s the one our user deploys.
Something as simple as the right lamp can make a huge difference in a computer setup. Today’s sexy M3 Max MacBook Pro and Studio Display workstation benefits from a big, wide, clamp-on double-headed Pzloz LED Desk Lamp to brilliantly light the scene.
So it seems sometimes an overhead lamp can beat a monitor light bar, especially on a big, wide desk.
Did you know Mexico established an all-female police force decades ago? Well, now you do, thanks to the first look Apple dropped Friday for the Women in Blue crime series (aka Las Azules). The new Spanish-language, 10-part drama is set in 1970 against the backdrop of a serial killer’s spree.
Created by International Emmy Award winner Fernando Rovzar and featuring Ariel Award nominee Bárbara Mori, the show debuts July 31 on Apple TV+.
BenQ, inventor of the original monitor light bar, launched the new BenQ ScreenBar Pro this week. And it included a contest so you can win it and other prizes, the company said.
What looks like the lowest price ever on the entry-level 2022 M2 MacBook Air just popped up on Amazon. That’s $829, or $170 off the current average price.
Other major retailers are nearly matching that deal at $150 off. So take your pick of your preferred shop, if that matters more to you than grabbing the absolute lowest price.
Apple’s “Crush!” video advertising the new iPad Pro is rubbing a lot of people the wrong way with its graphic destruction of creative tools.
The video first aired during Apple’s “Let Loose” event Tuesday. And when CEO Tim Cook included the video in a post about iPad Pro on X, hundreds of people replied with irritation. You can see some of the strongest reactions, and the video itself, below.
Updates on Thursday: Later on Wednesday Hollywood names piled on with more criticism of the “Crush!” video. Actor Hugh Grant, for example, referred to it as, “the destruction of the human experience, courtesy of Silicon Valley.”
And filmmaker Rizo Sixo Safai made more of a splash when he told Apple he “fixed” the video by running it in reverse with some tweaks, resurrecting the creative tools. See that version below.
It also came to light that Apple’s “Crush!” ad closely resembles an LG Renoir phone ad from 2008, as pointed out in yet another X post (also below) and elsewhere. Some call Apple’s ad a rip-off.
And on Thursday, Apple issued an apology for the ad in a statement to Ad Age, saying the ad “missed the mark.”
“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Apple marketing VP Tor Myhren said. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”
The new Pitaka MagEZ Folio 2 serves as a case and holds the recently released M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air in landscape and portrait orientations as a stand, the company said Wednesday. It provides an option for new tablet owners in search of an affordable case and stand.
“We are thrilled to introduce the Pitaka MagEZ Folio 2, the ultimate accessory for the new iPad Pro,” said Pitaka CEO James Zheng. “Designed with the modern professional in mind, this folio combines sleek design, premium materials, and innovative features to elevate the iPad Pro experience.”
Amazon bargains site Woot! always brings the bargains on Apple gear and accessories. Now you have your pick of super-low prices on iPhone cases and other accessories, mixed in with some of the same for Android users.
And while the sale includes 85 items as of midday Wednesday, seven have sold out so far. The sale ends May 31 at 10 p.m. Pacific.
Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone will follow up Killers of the Flower Moon with a powerful new family drama on Apple TV+, if the trailer the streamer dropped Wednesday for Fancy Dance is any indication.
Fancy Dance premieres in select theaters June 21 and streams on Apple TV+ June 28.
A prolific YouTuber runs today’s featured MacBook Pro setup. And you can tell it’s the pride and joy of a streamer or podcaster just by some of the crucial equipment. Namely, an excellent Shure SM7DB microphone run through a Focusrite Vocaster Two audio interface to ensure high-quality audio recording.