Cult of Mac

This week: Tons of new details on the awesome iPhones coming this fall, months-long delays are hitting the Mac mini and Mac Studio, possibly existential news for the MacBook Neo, how to get stunning space wallpapers, and the best Mac Studio setup of all time!
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The Cult of Mac Today and Weekender newsletters. Cult of Mac Today is a rundown of the top daily news, plus reviews and how-tos, with commentary by Leander himself. And the Weekender is an easy-to-digest roundup of the week’s top stories. Sign up at newsletters.cultofmac.com.
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First look: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Fold ‘dummy’ units appear in new leakGet a first glimpse at iPhone 18 dummy units, including the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Plus the folding iPhone, too.
iPhone Fold may face delays due to engineering challenges
Apple’s folding iPhone might ditch expected branding

Mac mini and Mac Studio face long shipping delaysMac mini and Mac Studio orders are facing unusually long shipping delays, stretching up to 4-5 months. This could hint at an upcoming M5 refresh or supply constraints.

Biggest problem with the MacBook Neo? It’s too popular!Apple has a problem that other companies can only dream of — it might completely sell out of the MacBook Neo. Here's why.

AirPods Max 2 are gorgeous, dreamy headphones — for nowYou don’t need to be a big audiophile to love AirPods Max 2. But you must be a little bold to buy them yourself. Our AirPods Max 2 review.

How to put stunning Artemis II moon wallpapers on your iPhone, iPad or MacIf you love the space photography coming from the Orion spacecraft, find out how to put Artemis II moon wallpapers on your devices.
Download the LunarWall shortcut

Power to burn: Top 10 Mac Studio setupsApple's powerful and compact desktop machine has wowed users since it came out in 2022. Behold the top 10 Mac Studio setups we've seen.
Powerful Mac Studio drives epic ultra-wide display

Listener QuestionMore on iPad vs. MacBook Neo: What about security?

This week: Griffin’s first impressions of the AirPods Max 2, we bid farewell to the Mac Pro by honoring a top setup, and our celebration of Apple’s 50th birthday.
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Send us a text with comments, questions, feedback or a video to play on the show: [email protected]
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The Cult of Mac Today and Weekender newsletters. Cult of Mac Today is a rundown of the top daily news, plus reviews and how-tos, with commentary by Leander himself. And the Weekender is an easy-to-digest roundup of the week’s top stories. Sign up at newsletters.cultofmac.com.
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First impressions with AirPods MaxAirPods Max 2 are the surprise update to Apple’s premium over-the-ear headphones. Now in feature parity with the regular AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3, the price makes some kind of sense.

Ultimate power: Top 9 Mac Pro setupsTruly the stuff of dreams, the top 9 Mac Pro setups from Cult of Mac's archives showcase the Apple flagship desktop's amazing power.
Two ‘trash can’ Macs form core of nerdy workstation built to last
Apple quietly kills Mac Pro

50 years of the most important Apple productsApple produces plenty of hits, but you don't know them all. These are the most important Apple products of the company's first 50 years.

Our first Apple products: How we joined the Cult of MacApple's 50th anniversary makes us look back on how we got started using various Macintosh computers decades ago. Here's how it all began.

This week: What the new Siri will actually do, WWDC26 is official, the grim reaper of services revenue is coming for Apple Maps, the top features of iOS 26.4 and the iPad Air versus the MacBook Neo!
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Send us a text with comments, questions, feedback or a video to play on the show: [email protected]
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The Cult of Mac Today and Weekender newsletters. Cult of Mac Today is a rundown of the top daily news, plus reviews and how-tos, with commentary by Leander himself. And the Weekender is an easy-to-digest roundup of the week’s top stories. Sign up at newsletters.cultofmac.com.
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What the new, AI-powered Siri will look like (and do) in iOS 27Apple plans a total revamp of Siri in iOS 27 that turns the beleaguered voice assistant into an AI chatbot (and maybe a standalone app).
From 2024: Apple Intelligence is AI, done Apple’s way

Apple sets June dates for WWDC26 and its next major software updatesApple sets June dates for WWDC26, its major conference where it will unveil the next versions of iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS and visionOS.

Apple plans to bring ads to Maps app this summerSeems like it had to happen eventually, right? Apple plans to bring ads to Maps on all devices and online, probably in summer 2026.

Everything new in iOS 26.4: Emoji, Apple Music features and moreiOS 26.4 brings a bunch of great new features to your iPhone: new emoji, Apple Music Concerts, Playlist Playground, video podcasts and more.
British Punk Anthems: From '70s to Now
Thanksgiving Harmonies: From Eve to Blessings

Listener QuestionShould you buy a MacBook or iPad?

This week, with special guest Christina Warren: The surprise drop of AirPods Max 2, a deep dive on OpenClaw and agentic coding, and our final thoughts after a full week with the Studio Display XDR, MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e!
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Send us a text with comments, questions, feedback or a video to play on the show: [email protected]
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The Cult of Mac Today and Weekender newsletters. Cult of Mac Today is a rundown of the top daily news, plus reviews and how-tos, with commentary by Leander himself. And the Weekender is an easy-to-digest roundup of the week’s top stories. Sign up at newsletters.cultofmac.com.
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AirPods Max 2 pack AI-powered listening and stronger noise cancellationH2-chip-powered AirPods Max 2 enhance sound quality and noise cancellation and bring new features like Adaptive Audio and Live Translation.

The MacBook Neo is the fantastic new Mac for the massesThis will be a lot of people’s first Mac, and they’ll be very happy. A hands-on review of the MacBook Neo leaves us highly impressed.

The Studio Display XDR is the final boss of all Mac displaysApple’s new flagship desktop display, the Studio Display XDR stands high in a class of its own. And for, like, half as much money.

The iPhone 17e, now a solid budget phone with minimal compromiseThe iPhone 17e is a slight upgrade that makes all the difference. Now with MagSafe, it doesn’t have many compromises.

This week: We go hands-on with the new Studio Display XDR, MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e! Also: The Neo has everyone freaking out, bad news about the M6 MacBook Pro and new emoji coming in iOS 26.4.
Watch this episode on YouTube
Send us a text with comments, questions, feedback or a video to play on the show: [email protected]
Sponsors:
The Cult of Mac Today and Weekender newsletters. Cult of Mac Today is a rundown of the top daily news, plus reviews and how-tos, with commentary by Leander himself. And the Weekender is an easy-to-digest roundup of the week’s top stories. Sign up at newsletters.cultofmac.com.
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Hands-on with the Studio Display XDR, MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e
Another PC maker sounds alarm as MacBook Neo shakes up industryWe recently wrote about how $599 MacBook Neo could shake up the PC industry. Now more laptop makers are freaking out.

MacBook Ultra rumored as Apple’s most expensive laptop yetApple’s next big MacBook Pro refresh could bring an OLED touchscreen, but it may also come with a higher price tag and an "Ultra" moniker.

iOS 26.4 beta 4 gives us first look at Apple’s new emojiApple continues testing iOS 26.4 with the release of beta 4, with the new build adding eight new emojis and renaming a new feature.

Listener QuestionWho should buy a MacBook Neo?