What does Apple have planned for the Mac in 2025? For the last couple of years, Apple’s been killing it with its desktop and laptop computers. The chips scream, the industrial design has never been better, and the Mac lineup is undoubtedly the best in Apple’s history. Just look at the amazing new Mac mini.
But can Apple keep up the pace next year?
Apple’s next AirPods Pro refresh could feature heart rate monitoring. But they are in “early development” and might not launch soon.
Engineers inside Apple are also working on several health-focused features for future models of the earbuds.
December 22, 2013: After months of false starts, Apple finally secures a deal with China Mobile to bring the iPhone to the world’s largest telecom company.
With 760 million potential iPhone customers in the offing, the deal shapes up as Apple’s most important yet for growing its brand in China. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook says the country soon will become the company’s biggest market.
Apple is reportedly working on a smart doorbell with Face ID-like facial recognition.
The device, still in its early development stages, seems unlikely to reach the market before late 2025 at the earliest. This timeline presumes Apple encounters no significant obstacles during development.
Apple might not drop support for any of its older iPhones with iOS 19. The next big iOS update reportedly will support the same devices as iOS 18.
However, iPadOS 19 supposedly will not be compatible with the seventh-gen iPad.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Some new iPhone 17 Pro renders make us ponder whether Apple will (or should) create such a device. We discuss the pros, cons and alternative theories.
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.
If your iPhone storage is full, you’ll need to quickly clear up space. You don’t need to panic and delete all your pictures, though. There are easy ways to free up iPhone storage without losing any precious data forever.
Apple put a convenient screen in Settings that can walk you through non-destructive ways to clear up space on your phone. Apps that you don’t use frequently can be temporarily uninstalled (and instantly redownloaded when you need them again). If you sync data to iCloud, like photos and music, your phone can automatically offload some of that data. You also can limit the number of podcasts your phone keeps, if you’re falling behind on your listening.
Here are the easiest steps you can take if your iPhone storage gets too full.
December 21, 1994: Mac gamers get their hands on Marathon, a sci-fi first-person shooter designed as an answer to the massive success of PC title Doom.
Created by Bungie, the team that would later make the Halo games, Marathon introduces important features to the FPS genre. Just as importantly, it isn’t available on PC. Marathon quickly becomes a favorite among Mac gamers.
The Casa Hub 360 lifts laptops and tablets off your desk to make them more ergonomic to use. But this iPad and MacBook dock stand also packs a happy surprise in its incredibly flexible (and sturdy) arm. The load-bearing arm — capable of holding aloft nearly 10 pounds — doubles as a USB-C hub, offering multiple ports.
It moves elegantly, something like the iMac G4, and spins around 360 degrees, so you can get your viewing angle just right. (See it in action in the video below.) Right now, you can grab a Casa Hub 360 on sale for just $99.99 instead of the usual $129.
A little-known feature in macOS lets you share your Mac’s screen to someone else’s Mac directly from the Messages app — no third-party apps or downloads required. It’s great if you need to give tech support to a far-off family member in a pinch. Often, you just need to see what’s happening instead of counting on what your dear old father is trying to describe over the phone.
Get him to share his Mac’s screen with you, and you likely can solve his problem quickly. Even better, it’s not complicated setting up screen sharing on a Mac like it is on a PC. It takes only a few clicks in the Messages app. Let me show you all around this awesome hidden feature.
Want to extend your AirTag’s battery life to 10 years and keep the tracker dry and concealed? Well, that’s easy to do with ElevationLab’s innovative new TimeCapsule AirTag battery case. The weatherproof case keeps an AirTag safe and sound — and frees you from swapping out the Apple tracking tag’s coin-shaped batteries every year.
When you run a ton of peripherals with your Mac, how do keep it all connected and running smoothly? Well, today’s featured M4 Pro Mac mini user drives a pair of 4K external displays, runs a power hub and input devices, and keeps backups on portable storage devices. And they keep it connected without a hitch using the well-regarded CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 hub named “Element.”
December 20, 1996: Apple Computer buys NeXT, the company Steve Jobs founded after leaving Cupertino a decade earlier.
The deal costs Apple $429 million. It’s a massive price to pay for the failing NeXT, a computer company that already saw its hardware division crash and burn. But the price is worth it when you consider what Apple gets as part of the deal: the return of Steve Jobs.
Like Santa Claus and his reindeer, here comes the festive CdkeySales Christmas Sale! You can nab an incredible deal on Windows 11 Pro and score savings on other Microsoft software. The sale slashes some prices by up to 91%! And since the latest Windows 12 rumors indicate Microsoft won’t release its next big operating system update until late 2025, you can update your PC now the quick and easy way rather than waiting. Just buy a Windows 11 CD key on sale during the CdkeySales event.
You can get great deals on upgrade-ready Microsoft productivity software like Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office. Savings include Windows 10 Pro for just $17.05 — with a free upgrade to Windows 11 Pro.
PDFs are arguably one of the most-used document formats by professionals, students and casual users alike. However, while they might be the best way to transmit documents, they’re not entirely easy to work with unless you own a capable PDF editor for Mac like PDF Expert.
Fortunately, this app makes handling, organizing, annotating, merging and editing PDFs effortless. And you can get a lifetime license to this award-winning Mac app for just $79.99 (regularly $139).
Popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee recognized Apple’s iPhone 16 series in two significant categories in his much-anticipated 2024 smartphone awards Thursday. No one will be shocked to hear iPhone 16 Pro won for Best Camera in the MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2024. But some might raise an eyebrow to learn iPhone 16 won for Best Small Phone.
And no iPhone took the coveted MKBHD Phone of the Year prize. That went to the “boring” Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which also won Best Big Phone.
ChatGPT’s Mac app is getting a big usability boost. It will now work directly with coding and note-taking apps, including Apple Notes, Notion, and others.
Previously, the ChatGPT Mac app could only see, read, and improve code in XCode, Terminal, and selected other apps.
Finding an outlet at the airport or keeping devices charged on a trip can feel like a treasure hunt. But this portable USB-C travel hub changes the game. Designed for on-the-go charging, this hub lets you power up multiple devices from just one outlet — no need for extra adapters or clutter. It includes a high-power USB PD slot for MacBooks and iPads, and a built-in wireless MagSafe charger for iPhone, AirPods and more.
Now at a budget-friendly $23.99 (regularly $36), it’s a great travel companion for those who value convenience, functionality and, most importantly, fully charged batteries.
If you love a good nature documentary — especially because the photography is so mind-blowing nowadays — you’re in for a treat with The Secret Lives of Animals. Apple TV+ dropped an official trailer for it recently (see below). The 10-part series is now streaming, as of Wednesday, December 18.
“Welcome to a world beyond imagination, where fish can fly and lizards walk on water,” the trailer’s voiceover says, as those images appear onscreen. “Animals do the most remarkable things at every stage of their lives.”
Update: The Secret Lives of Animals 10-part docuseries started streaming on Apple TV+ Wednesday.
The Mac pointer (also called the cursor) is black with a white outline by default, but you can change the pointer color if you want to make it more prominent. Plus, you can even change the Mac pointer size.
You might lose track of the small cursor if you have low vision — or just a really big monitor. Making the pointer larger can make it easier to see.
Changing the pointer color to, for instance, bright red can make it easier to see, too. You can choose any color, like light purple or green, to fit the aesthetic of your setup. (This is especially cool if you have a matching colorful iMac.)
Here’s how to change your Mac pointer size and color.
December 19, 2007: Apple settles a lawsuit with reporter Nick Ciarelli, resulting in the shuttering of Think Secret, his masssively popular Apple rumors website. Writing under the screen name Nick de Plume, the Harvard University student broke a number of Apple stories on the site, raising Cupertino’s ire.
The terms of Ciarelli’s settlement with Apple remain secret. In a statement, he says he will “be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits.”
International journalism organization Reporters Without Borders called Thursday for Apple to remove its new artificial intelligence-powered news notifications, following a complaint from the BBC over a wildly inaccurate news summary. Apple Intelligence’s notifications summary feature generated a misleading BBC News headline last week about a high-profile murder case in the United States, falsely stating the accused shooter had shot himself.
AirDrop and AirPlay are the latest Apple technologies the European Union wants to make more interoperable. This would give third-party developers, including rival handset makers, access to the tech.
But Apple is pushing back hard. Apple has made the jaw-dropping claim that opening up AirDrop and AirPlay would allow companies like Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) to read all your emails, messages, photos and even passwords!
The PowerBand is a sporty Apple Watch band that comes with a built-in magnetic Apple Watch charger. The clever design will help you deal with two of the smartwatch’s most annoying shortcomings: its so-so battery life and the fact that you can only top up the Apple Watch battery using a specific type of charger.
Right now, you can snag a PowerBand for only $39.99 (regularly $49.99). That’s less than the cost of many Apple Watch bands that don’t come with a secret charger built in.
Apple reportedly dropped a plan to offer the iPhone to customers as a monthly subscription. It would have allowed customers to pay for handsets as though they were a magazine or software, and upgrade annually.
Those feeling disappointed by the news likely aren‘t aware that Apple already offers a very similar payment plan.