Get a smartphone the size of a credit card for just $95

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Product photo of the Mini 4G dual-SIM, a small Android phone.
Get a Mini 4G dual-SIM phone on sale for just $94.99.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Want a small phone with a price tag to match? This Mini 4G dual-SIM smartphone is fully functional but actually fits in your pocket. This little phone is about the size of a credit card, but comes packed with the features you expect from a smartphone.

The only thing it skimps on is the price: It’s on sale for just $94.99 (regularly $119).

How to create a toggling Lock Screen wallpaper [Pro Tip]

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How to create a wallpaper that can switch with a single tap
Create a wallpaper that can switch with a single tap.
GIF: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Pro tip bugIn just a few minutes, you can create a cool iPhone Lock Screen wallpaper that can switch between two images with just a tap. Add the right images to your photo library, and you can toggle between them like magic.

For instance, you might pair up nearly identical photos of a muscle car with and without its headlights on. That way, when you tap your iPhone screen, the car’s lights flash on or off. Or maybe you take duplicate photos of your boss and add fiery red laser eyes to one of them so you can tap between “nice boss” and “boss from hell.”

To pull off this fun iPhone wallpaper trick, you need to add the right kinds of images to your photo library — I’ll share a few examples — and then create a custom Photo Shuffle wallpaper to toggle between them. Watch the video or keep reading below.

Affordable iPad stylus copies one of Apple Pencil Pro’s best features

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Geo Digital Pencil
ESR’s Geo Digital Pencil is inexpensive but still offers a range of useful features.
Photo: ESR

The Geo Digital Pencil from ESR costs a quarter of what Apple Pencil Pro does, but both iPad styli support Find My so they can be easily located. And they cling magnetically to an iPad, and can be used for writing or sketching.

In addition, ESR also unveiled a mouse that magnetically attaches to a MacBook for easy portability.

Nanoleaf wants you to put these LED lights right on your face

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Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask
It's an LED face mask for light therapy.
Photo: Nanoleaf

Known for its modular light panels, Nanoleaf pushed boundaries Tuesday at CES 2025 with a new and slightly disturbing LED Light Therapy Face Mask as well as its first smart floor lamp. Those are in addition to other lighting products, like light strips, plus a new software subscription service.

Price drop: Digitize all your old film and slides with this Kodak scanner

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Product shot of a person using a Kodak Slide N Scan slide film scanner
This affordable Kodak scanner can preserve your old negatives and slides so you can enjoy them.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Memories fade, and so does film. Whether it’s old negatives or a box of dusty slides, your memories are safer in a digital format. The Kodak Slide N Scan digital slide and film scanner transforms old film negatives and slides into digital images you can save, share and enjoy — forever.

Normally, this classic media scanner would cost $224. But you can get it at a serious discount for a limited time.

Record terabytes of ProRes video onto tiny ShiftCam Planck SSD

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ShiftCam Planck
This svelte combo is ready to record 2TB of ProRes video.
Photo: ShiftCam

ShiftCam calls the Planck “the world’s smallest portable SSD,” and it’s certainly very small. That and the unusual placement of its USB-C connector allow the drive to fit neatly on the bottom of an iPhone Pro and hold up to 2 TB of high-resolution ProRes video as it’s being recorded.

The accessory hits the market soon and is being shown off at CES 2025 this week.

Take Espresso’s compact 4K touchscreen monitor to go

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espresso 15 Pro
A 4K 15-inch portable touchscreen monitor is coming from espresso Displays
Photo: espresso Displays

The espresso 15 Pro checks all the boxes for Apple users looking for a high-end portable monitor. 4K? Check. Touchscreen? Check. USB-C? Check.

The 15-inch screen — a smaller version of the espresso 17 Pro — is on display at CES 2025. It even scored espresso Displays a CES Innovation Award.

Do summer right with Anker’s solar beach umbrella and power-packed cooler

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Anker solar beach umbrella
The new solar umbrella and cooler can work together and charge up other gear.
Photo: Anker

Anker Solix unveiled two cool outdoor products Monday at CES 2025 in Las Vegas: Its first solar-powered beach umbrella, and an upgraded, high-performance electric cooler in three sizes, designed for extended outdoor use.

They can work together, and both charge other gadgets, so you can be tech king of your beach trip or barbecue come summertime.

Today in Apple history: Woz and Jobs reunite onstage

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Photo of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, joining Apple CEO Gil Amelio for an onstage reunion on January 7, 1997.
It's an Apple reunion, with the Steves joining then-CEO Gil Amelio onstage.
Photo: Apple

January 7: Today in Apple history: Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs reunite onstage January 7, 1997: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak returns to the company to participate in an advisory role, reuniting with Steve Jobs onstage at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

Woz’s homecoming is revealed at the end of the Macworld conference. With Jobs’ recent return to Apple (thanks to the NeXT acquisition), it marks the first time the two co-founders have been at Apple together since 1983. It’s a great way to celebrate Apple’s 20th anniversary. Unfortunately, the reunion won’t last.

mophie charger/battery combo packs everything needed to power iPhone or Mac [Review] ★★★★☆

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mophie Powerstation Plus Ultra review★★★★☆
With the mophie Powerstation Plus Ultra in your bag, you’re always ready to charge your iPhone anywhere you go.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The mophie Powerstation Plus Ultra plugs directly into a wall, and built-in cables let it plug straight into your iPhone or Mac. But it’s no simple wall adapter — it’s also a 10,000mAh power bank.

I put the all-in-one device to the test. It’s a bit of a brick, but delivers when it counts.

First Thunderbolt 5 display with 6K res ideal for M4 Pro/Max users

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LG UltraFine 6K Monitor
We'll have to wait for full specs and price on the sleek new Thunderbolt 5 monitor with 6K resolution.
Photo: LG

In a move that’s sure to catch the attention of Mac users — particularly those with the latest M4 Pro machines — LG just unveiled its new UltraFine 6K Display at CES 2025. It calls the monitor, model 32U990A (no firm release date yet), the world’s first 6K display to feature Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.

So not only does it share Pro Display XDR’s amazing resolution, it packs the bleeding-edge connectivity speeds of TB5. That makes it an ideal companion for the recently launched M4 Pro Mac mini and M4 Pro and Max MacBook Pro models.

Turn your iPhone into a guitar teacher and get ready to shred

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Photo of acoustic guitars used to illustrate a post about online guitar lessons.
Learn how to play guitar with this 14-course bundle that costs just $39.99.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Look at your iPhone. Now look at that acoustic guitar that’s been sitting in your room for half a decade — dusty, untouched and sad. It’s time you strummed the strings as much as you text, and these online guitar lessons can help.

You don’t have to be a fan of school. In fact, it’s best if you aren’t — these video lessons are designed to be taken at your own pace, with lifetime access priced at just $39.99 for 14 courses.

Powerful new charger boasts display and ‘vertical hanging ports’

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new Anker chargers
What's cool about the charger? Its display window and its downward-facing ports.
Photo: Anker

A powerful new Anker Charger (140W) featuring a window display plus “vertical hanging ports” (aka downward-facing ports) to help keep USB-C and USB-A cables secure debuted Monday evening at CES in Las Vegas, the company said.

And along with the 140-watt charger, the accessories giant added a potent new 25,000mAh power bank (165-watt) that features retractable cables and TSA certification for air travel. Both devices are available now, see below.

Chrome vs. Safari on Mac: Why Google’s browser wins for me

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Chrome vs Safari on Mac
Safari is great, but Chrome is my browser of choice on a Mac.
Graphics: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

Safari on the Mac feels a lot faster to use than Google Chrome. It is also more battery efficient and takes fewer resources. Yet, I prefer using Google Chrome on my MacBook.

Despite its faults, Google Chrome trumps Safari in many key aspects. There’s a reason why Google’s browser is the most popular choice worldwide.

First-ever detachable 3-in-1 robot vacuum rules over your mess

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eufy Robot Vacuum 3-in-1 E20
It's three different vacuum cleaners in one.
Photo: eufy/Anker

Home cleaning technology saw an advancement at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Monday in Las Vegas when eufy unveiled its new eufy Robot Vacuum 3-in-1 E20. Billed as the first successful integration of robot vacuum, stick vacuum and handheld vacuum in a single, transformable unit with a number of advanced features, it won a CES Best of Innovation award.

New SanDisk SSD clings to iPhone to store terabytes of high-res video recordings

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SanDisk Creator Phone SSD
Add terabytes of ProRes video storage to your iPhone with SanDisk Creator Phone SSD.
Photo: SanDisk

The SanDisk Creator Phone SSD sets itself apart from rival portable drives with MagSafe. This means the drive magnetically clings to an iPhone where it’s available to hold up to 2 TB of ProRes video as it’s recorded.

SanDisk unveiled the SSD at CES 2025, along with other new storage options.

Price drop: Get a versatile iPhone scanning app for $28 (works with iPad, too)

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Scan documents with your iPhone or iPad with iScanner, now only $35.
This iPhone and iPad-compatible scanning app works wonders.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With the right scanning app, your iPhone or iPad can scan documents with vivid clarity. There’s no need for a printer-size scanner — you just need your Apple gear. A great example of such an app, iScanner is now on sale for only $28 with code FESTIVE30 (regularly $199.90).

MagSafe goes cross-platform as Samsung finally commits to Qi2

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Samsung Qi2
The Qi2 charger in iPhone just got a boost from Apple’s biggest rival.
Photo: Samsung/Wireless Power Consortium

Samsung committed itself on Monday to integrating Qi2 wireless charging into its Galaxy line of Android-based smartphones. It’s been dragging its feet for years, while the last four generations of iPhone models all support the standard.

Samsung’s just-announced adoption of Qi2 should benefit iPhone users, who until now have been the only ones able to take advantage of the new standard. More handsets using the magnetically enhanced wireless charging capability should lead to more accessories that employ it. More cross-platform accessories are a win for everyone.

EarFun’s top new earbuds feature real-time AI language translation

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EarFun language translation earbuds
EarFun Air Pro 4+ will translate languages in real time, the company said.
Photo: EarFun

The new flagship EarFun Air Pro 4+ noise-canceling earbuds feature AI-powered language translation. EarFun also will roll out other new products this week at CES, the big consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. The lineup includes clip-on earbuds and hook-on open-ear earbuds for workouts, affordable noise-canceling over-ear headphones and an Auracast USB-C dongle that can enable lossless audio for devices.

Upgrade your M4 Mac mini with clever multiport hub/stand

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Satechi Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure
Max out your Mac mini with this hub.
Photo: Satechi

The Satechi Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure expands the capabilities of Apple’s tiny new desktop with additional front-facing ports and more storage. It even makes pressing the computer’s hidden power button easier.

Satechi gave a sneak peek of the product in November, but on Monday revealed the full specifications, including a price and release date.

Talk to different AI personas with new HumanPods wireless earbuds

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Natura Umana Humanpods
Tap to talk with a variety of "AI people," depending on your needs.
Photo: Natura Umana

New open-ear wireless earbuds called HumanPods unveiled at CES 2025 offer voice access to different artificial intelligence personas with a tap, according to startup Natura Umana.

The new earphones, which also play music, of course, promise to deliver what the company calls “the closest experience to a telepathic connection with your technology” by offering direct access to AI assistance through simple touch controls. The company’s CEO provides a little video demo below (complete with a few bugs).

Apple goes on a bug hunt with iOS 18.2.1

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iOS 18.2.1
Your iPhone needs iOS 18.2.1. And there’s an iPadOS version, too.
Photo: Cult of Mac

iOS 18.2.1 went out Monday with the intent of removing bugs that snuck into the earlier version of the iPhone operating system. Apple also released an iPadOS equivalent.

Apple recommends both to anyone who installed the previous versions.

This smartpen automatically digitizes anything you write

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Photo of a person writing with the SyncPen 4 smartpen.
Get a SyncPen 4 smartpen set on sale for $129.99.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The SyncPen 4 smartpen makes note-taking easy. Just jot your notes on the system’s reusable notebook, and the smartpen automatically digitizes your handwritten notes and drawings in real time. It also translates your notes, captures audio and performs other neat tricks.

This unique smartpen set is on sale for $129.99 (regularly $139), but supply is limited.