Ed Hardy - page 4

Robot vacuum cleaner support now coming to Home app in 2025

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Robot vacuum cleaner support in iPhone Home app
Soon you’ll be able to ask Siri to clean a specific room, or add it to a Routine in the Home app.
Image: Apple

Turns out we won’t be able to order robot vacuum cleaners around with Siri commands and the Home application quite as soon as hoped. Apple moved the release date for this feature to early 2025.

When it launches, though, it’ll be a powerful tool for controlling these automated home-cleaning devices.

iPhone helps bring super-size Wallace & Gromit to Battersea for Christmas

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Wallace & Gromit tower over Battersea Power Station this Christmas
Visit Battersea Power Station to watch Wallace & Gromit decorate their Christmas trees… with a bit of help from iPhone.
Photo: Apple

London’s iconic Battersea Power Station is decorated with a sort of enormous Christmas card starring the beloved characters Wallace & Gromit.

The short animation of the man, his dog, and their Christmas trees was filmed on an iPhone 16 Pro Max and then projected onto the 101-meter (330 foot) chimneys that rise above the River Thames.

A portable SSD I love is on sale for Cyber Week [Still going!]

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Kingston XS1000 works well with a range of Apple computers.
Kingston XS1000 works well with a range of Apple computers.
Photo: Kingston

Apple charges too damn much for additional storage for Macs and iPads. I got tired of overpaying for internal storage and went for an external SSD instead. The Kingston XS1000 is my favorite — portable, reliable and affordable.

And it’s an even better deal now that Cyber Monday is coming up: under $75 for a terabyte of storage.

Get 4 AirTags for $73 with this Cyber Week deal [Updated]

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Grab AirTag at its lowest price yet with these Black Friday AirTag deals
Don't miss your chance to get AirTags at one of the best prices we've seen.
Photo: Kehn Hermano/Pexels

A Cyber Monday sale on a four-pack of AirTags brings the Apple tracker close to its lowest price ever. Each AirTag costs just $18.25 after a 26% discount from Amazon. If you’d prefer a single tracker, you can get a solo AirTag for up to 14% off the usual price from Best Buy. Use these Cyber Monday AirTag deals to stock up on Apple’s tracking tags.

AirTags are a great way to keep you from leaving important items behind, or to help you find them if you misplace them.

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

Why Apple won’t make a TV

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Why Apple won’t make a television set
We’re never going to see an Apple-branded TV.
AI image: Imagen 3/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly considering making a television set, but don’t get your hopes up. There are simply too many reasons why Apple won’t make a TV. Like so many things, it all comes down to profits (and the lack thereof).

You need look no further than Apple’s set-top box and monitors to see why an Apple-branded television isn’t going to happen.

How to share your AirTag location with an airline to find lost luggage

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Find lost luggage by sharing your AirTag location with your airline
Now you can temporarily share the location of your lost bag with your airline.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple added Share Item Location to the Find My app to let AirTag users securely share with an airline the exact position of a tracking tag attached to lost luggage.

Here’s how to use the new feature to show an airline employee that your bag is actually just outside Concourse C in the Atlanta airport, not in Denver where they think it is. They can even see the exact position of the luggage.

Best apps and games: Apple picks 45 App Store Award finalists

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Best apps and games: Apple picks 45 App Store Award finalists
Apple salutes “amazing apps that users love” with the finalists for the App Store Awards.
Image: Apple

Apple named the finalists Monday for its annual App Store Awards. These awards honor “exceptional user experience, design, and innovation,” according to the Mac-maker. App awards come in a range of categories, like iPhone App of the Year, Mac Game of the Year, and many more.

The nominations aren’t just kudos for developers — they’re a great way for users to find high-quality software.

How to choose the right iPad for you

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iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad and iPad mini
With a variety of models to choose from, what the best iPad for you?
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Shopping for an iPad can be overwhelming. Apple sells six iPad models in a wide range of sizes, prices and capabilities. Each tablet has its strengths and weaknesses. You don’t want to get one that doesn’t have all the features you want, but you also don’t want to pay too much for features you won’t use.

Here’s some straightforward advice on picking the right iPad for you.

How to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for free [Too late]

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How to watch ‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ for free
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is available for free all this weekend. Here’s how to watch it.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, it’s time to watch the beloved Peanuts holiday special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. While Apple TV+ subscribers can watch it anytime, the special is also free for anyone to stream all this weekend.

And you do not need an Apple device to do so. It’s easy on Roku, Windows and many more options.

Grab Black Friday deals on the brilliant Apple Pencil

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Apple Pencil in use
Black Friday brings welcome deals on Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil USB-C.
Photo: Apple
Stylus maximus
Apple Pencil Pro
5.0
$129.00 $114.99

The best stylus for 2024's new Apple tablets: the M4 iPad Pro, the M2 iPad Air and iPad mini 7. We gave it the maximum rating in our hands-on review, and found that its pro features are worthy of the price.

Pros:
  • Advanced features like the new squeeze gesture, haptic feedback and support for hover.
  • Excellent for note-taking, image editing and artistic endeavors.
  • Finally works with Apple's Find My network.
Cons:
  • Only works with latest iPads.
  • High-end stylus comes with high-end price tag.
01/09/2025 02:57 am GMT

More Cyber Monday Apple deals: 

Our favorite Cyber Monday Deals on gear we love:

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

UK could force major iPhone changes

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Image of an iPhone with a Union Jack flag, used to illustrate a story about possible U.K. regulations that will affect Apple's Safari web browser.
The U.K. government seems poised to force Apple to fundamentally change the way iPhone browsers work.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The United Kingdom could precipitate a significant iPhone revamp after a government report found that “Apple’s rules restrict other competitors from being able to deliver new, innovative features that could benefit consumers.”

The findings in the report are sure to inform government regulators as they enforce the U.K.’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, which goes into effect in January 2025.

Max out your M4 Mac mini with this multiport hub/stand

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Satechi Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure
This stand, hub and SSD enclosure might be just the accessory your Mac mini M4 needs.
Photo: Satechi

The just-announced Satechi Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure adds an array of front-facing ports to Apple’s slimmed-down desktop. There’s also room inside for an NVMe SSD.

The multi-purpose accessory is designed to match the size and appearance of the Mac.

How to set AirDrop to share iPhone photos with anyone [Pro Tip]

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How to set AirDrop to exchange pictures with anyone's iPhone [Pro Tip]
Here's why you might be having trouble exchanging images with your friend's iPhone over AirDrop, and how to fix it.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Pro-tip-4 You’re at a party and your friend takes a great picture. You ask them to AirDrop you a copy and the two iPhones won’t connect. So frustrating … what the %^#* is wrong? Why can’t you share iPhone photos the way you used to? You probably just need to tweak a setting to turn on AirDrop’s capability to work with any iPhone.

You see, Apple changed the way AirDrop works in iOS 16. If you haven’t updated your AirDrop settings, it might not work the way you want. Here’s how to set the easy wireless file-transfer system so you can get that picture from your friend.

Shazam reaches 100 billion song milestone

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Shazam’s 100 billion milestone
That is a lot of songs recognized.
Image: Apple

Apple’s music recognition service Shazam surpassed 100 billion song recognitions since it launched in 2002. A person would need to use it on their iPhone, iPad or Mac to identify a song every second for 3,168 years to reach that number.

“This monumental milestone not only reflects how much people enjoy using Shazam, but also their appetite for new music,” said Oliver Schusser, VP of Apple Music and Beats. “Music discovery is at the core of everything we do, and we keep innovating to make sure music lovers around the world can tap the Shazam button no matter where they hear music playing!”

Why Apple should start selling Mac mini SSD storage upgrades

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M4 Mac mini teardown showing its SSD
The Mac mini SSD can be removed, making storage upgrades theoretically possible.
Photo: iFixit

In a surprise move, the M4 Mac mini includes a removable, swappable SSD. Apple really should give customers the option to buy high-capacity versions of these as storage upgrades for the tiny desktop. It would be a win for both the Mac-maker and its customers.

The option would be welcome addition even if the SSDs only came from Apple at fairly high prices.

Google might be forced to sell Chrome web browser

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Chrome web browser
Chrome might not belong to Google much longer — a sale could be in the offing.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly hoping to require Google to sell Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser — it’s even preferred by a majority of Mac users.

And this is just one of the possible consequences of a federal judge ruling this autumn that Google is a monopolist.

Expand your podcast library from Apple’s list of most popular ones

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Apple’s list of top podcasts for 2024
Apple shared its list of the most popular podcasts of 2024.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Getting a bit bored with the podcasts you subscribe to? One of the best ways to discover new ones is by finding out what other people are listening to. Apple made that easy on Tuesday by tabulating the most popular podcasts of 2024.

There are charts localized for listeners in nearly 100 countries and regions.

Don’t miss our M4 Mac mini and iMac video reviews

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Mac mini M4 video review
Watch our video reviews of the Mac mini and iMac with the Apple M4 processor.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Anyone considering the newly launched Mac mini and iMac with the speedy M4 processor needs to watch our video reviews of these new desktops. We talk design and performance… just what you need to know to make a buying decision.

As a bonus, don’t overlook our video review of Apple’s USB-C Magic Trackpad, keyboard and mouse.

Watch them now:

How to make your Mac mini a portable computer

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How to make Mac mini portable
We have tips for making your Mac mini into your portable computer.
Photo: Cult of Mac/Fernando Silva

The M4 Mac mini is so tiny that taking it on trips isn’t an unreasonable idea. With the right accessories, you might not need a MacBook. Seriously.

Here’s the gear needed to turn Apple’s diminutive desktop into a portable computer for your next holiday or even business trip.

Shrinking and Disclaimer stay hits for Apple TV+

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Harrison Ford and Jason Segel in Shrinking season 2
Harrison Ford and Jason Segel in Shrinking on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

The Apple TV+ dramedy Shrinking stayed among the top 10 most popular streaming series for another week, according to two ratings companies. And the sexy drama Disclaimer continues to pull in a large audience, too.

Both have been among the most-watched series on streaming since they debuted.

OtterBox makes the best iPad wraparound folio case [Review] ★★★★★

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OtterBox Statement Series Studio iPad case review★★★★★
Your iPad is safe and not too bulky in the OtterBox Statement Series Studio.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The OtterBox Statement Series Studio case for iPad Pro or iPad Air finds a brilliant balance of protection and portability. It’s slim and relatively lightweight, but wraps completely around the tablet to save it from disaster. And there’s a built-in adjustable kickstand and Apple Pencil holder, too.

I tested it with my M4 iPad Pro, and haven’t found a wraparound folio case I like better. Here’s why:

Bigfoot emoji might be sighted next year

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Bigfoot emoji might be sighted next year
Say, what’s that "hairy creature"?
Photo: Emojipedia/Cult of Mac

The list of additions to the official collection of emoji we can use in text message includes an orca, a trombone an Apple core and, wait, is that Bigfoot?!

The industry group responsible for choosing new emoji proposed nine major additions and dozens of tweaks for the next update. If approved, they will come to iPhone, Mac and iPad, as well as Androids, PCs and many social media applications.

Google’s Gemini AI gets its own chatty iPhone app

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Google Gemini for iPhone app
The Google Gemini for iPhone app can generate images with text prompts.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Gemini application for iPhone that launched Thursday gives users direct access to Google’s AI-powered virtual assistant.

Have a conversation, get advice or generate images with the app.