Ridiculously rich people are the problem, ridiculously rich person Molly Wells (Maya Rudolph) says in the season two trailer for comedy series Loot, out Thursday. And that’s why she’ll give away her whole $120 billion fortune. Or she’ll try, anyway.
Loot season two debuts with two episodes April 3 on Apple TV+.
Loot season 2 trailer mixes comedy with extreme philanthropy
Here’s how Apple TV+ describes the show and its new season (at unusual length):
Loot season two kicks off a year after Molly Wells (Rudolph) settles her very public divorce from tech billionaire John Novak (Adam Scott), and we find her thriving in her role as the head of her philanthropic organization, the Wells Foundation. Focused mainly on her charity work, Molly has sworn off any new relationships with men and embarks on a wellness journey. Fabulously single but not particularly independent, Molly keeps her trusty assistant Nicholas (Booster) by her side. He diligently caters to her every whim … and occasionally feeds her a kale smoothie spiked with gin.
Sofia Salinas (Rodriguez), the no-nonsense executive director of the Wells Foundation, continues to run things with compassionate efficiency, but her all-business ethos is thrown for a loop when she meets Molly’s charismatic architect friend Isaac (O-T Fagbenle). The bromance between Howard (Funches) and Nicholas also continues to flourish as they support each other in their endeavors both inside and outside the workplace.
Meanwhile, Arthur (Faxon) has moved past his feelings for Molly and has adopted a new devil-may-care attitude on life, a change encapsulated by a very lame leather bracelet. The Wells Foundation team, including Rhonda (Meagen Fay) and Ainsley (Stephanie Styles), must pull together as co-workers and friends as Molly strives to publicly live up to her promise of giving away all of her vast fortune.
New guest stars
And while most of cast will be familiar to fans of the show, the new season brings new cast members, too. Guest stars include Benjamin Bratt, Ana Gasteyer and O-T Fagbenle, among others.
Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard created Loot and also write and executive produce it. Other executive producers include Rudolph, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Dave Becky of 3 Arts and Natasha Lyonne. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, produces the show for Apple.
Watch Maya Rudolph in Loot season 2 trailer:
Watch Loot and other comedies on Apple TV+
Loot season debuts with the first two episodes on Wednesday, April 3, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through May 29.
But first you can stream the whole first season of Loot on Apple TV+. The service is available by subscription for $9.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
After launching in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 471 wins and 2,090 award nominations and counting,” the service said.
In addition to award-winning movies and TV shows (including breakout soccer comedy Ted Lasso), Apple TV+ offers a variety of documentaries, dramas, comedies, kids shows and more.
Record your trips, and back up safely, with this dual-cam touchscreen that mounts on your rearview mirror. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
The more time you spend in your car, the more dashcams seem like a really good idea. They’re a great way to monitor the road and protect yourself in case of an accident, but a cheap cam can be more trouble than it’s worth. This 4K dashcam/backup cam combo covers all the bases — and it’s on sale for a limited time.
When it comes to features, this 4K touchscreen dashcam and backup cam delivers everything a safe driver needs. The 10-inch IPS touchscreen attaches easily to your rearview mirror. And for a limited time, you can grab one for just $76.79 with code ENJOY20.
4K dashcam and backup cam in one
From the moment you turn on this 4K dashcam, you’ll be surprised by the clarity of the imagery it captures. The front cam records in a colorful 170-degree view. And it can switch to a super-sharp night vision mode when the sun goes down or conditions get dark.
Recording is automatic, and a loop feature lets it keep taking footage even after your memory fills up on long road trips. Best of all, there’s no need to lift a finger if you want to take a still photo or stop the camera altogether. You can do just about anything you need with a simple voice command.
Parallel parking made easy
And the cam doesn’t just keep you safer in the front. You can switch the view between the 4K dashcam and a 160-degree rear lens that works as a backup camera.
When you drop your car into reverse, the backup cam automatically displays assist lines to help you ease into tight parking spaces. Plus, a G-sensor can detect incoming collisions and alert you if you get too close to something.
Save on a 4K dashcam that doubles as a backup cam
During this limited-time price drop, you can get this rearview mirror-mounted 4K touchscreen with a dashcam and backup camera for $76.79 with code ENJOY20. That’s a substantial discount, considering the regular price is $120. Sale ends March 10.
Making the switch from iPhone to Android will get easier. But there’s a caveat. Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple is building a way out of the iOS “walled garden.” It promised on Thursday to make it easier to switch the data from an iPhone to an Android or other handset.
That said, the migration tool is part of Apple complying with the European Union’s Digital Market Act so the solution might not be available outside of the EU.
Apple building tool for iPhone-to-Android switchers
There’s criticism of both Apple and Google for building so-called walled gardens – operating systems crafted in such way that it’s difficult for users to shift between them.
Among the topics covered is a promise to make the switch from iPhone to Android or another operating system easier.
The report says:
“Apple plans to make further changes to its user data portability offering. Third parties offer migration solutions that help users transfer data between devices with different operating systems. To build on those options, Apple is developing a solution that helps mobile operating system providers develop more user-friendly solutions to transfer data from an iPhone to a non-Apple phone. Apple aims to make this solution available by fall 2025.”
More people might use this tool than the critics who talk about Apple or Android walled gardens might suspect. A recent poll found that 13% of U.S. iPhone buyers had an Android as their previous device.
But again, it’s possible U.S. handset buyers won’t have access to Apple’s future data migration tool. It’s being created to comply with the DMA so it might only be available in the EU.
March 9, 1996: Apple confirms that it will shut down its eWorld online service at the end of the month.
Part messaging service, part news aggregator — and all with Apple’s customary premium prices — the short-lived eWorld proved ahead of its time. Apple tells disappointed eWorld subscribers they can switch to America Online instead.
Apple eWorld closes
Apple launched eWorld on June 20, 1994, less than two years before shuttering the service. It represented Apple’s first deep dive into providing internet services. It came several years before Steve Jobs returned to the company and embraced the importance of going online with devices like the iMac G3 and iBook.
The impetus behind eWorld was a proto-social network called AppleLink that connected Cupertino with its dealers and support centers. In the early 1990s, when John Sculley still ran Apple, the company decided to transform this concept into a consumer-facing service.
To pull it off, Apple acquired a data center in the San Francisco Bay Area from banking giant Citigroup. It also came to a licensing agreement with AOL, the company that built the basic technology eWorld was based upon. This was years before Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, iCloud and other internet-based services.
Now, of course, Apple’s services division alone is worth more than most countries. A 2022 Wall Street estimate pegged the value of Apple services at $1.5 trillion — more than a third of the company’s total market cap.
Apple’s first go at the internet
The electronic village comes to life. Photo: Apple
Typically for Apple, the idea was for eWorld to be a “walled garden” so Cupertino could totally control the user experience.
Today, Apple’s carefully moderated approach to running the App Store makes it something of a rarity. (But change, forced by EU antitrust regulators, is here.) In the 1990s, however, this perspective basically proved the norm. AOL, Prodigy and CompuServe all attempted to do similar things.
Still, nobody seemed quite sure what the internet would ultimately turn into.
eWorld didn’t just contain material written by Apple. A bit like the Apple News app, it served as an aggregator of news and entertainment from other sources, all filtered through a familiar Apple interface.
Why Apple’s eWorld failed
Eyeing eWorld now, the big surprise for a lot of people will be how cartoonish it looks. The notion of turning the internet (or, at least, a version of it) into a SimCity-style settlement, with different buildings representing different services, seems very unnecessary — and non-workable — today.
It makes sense, though, when you consider that eWorld narrativized an abstract idea. In fact, the approach worked much the same way the graphical user interface borrowed the metaphor of a physical desktop to explain computing concepts to a new audience. Full web-browsing support didn’t arrive in eWorld until 1995.
The other massive shock for modern audiences will be how expensive eWorld was. Two off-peak hours with eWorld’s dialup service cost $8.95. (That’s the equivalent of more than $17 today.) Hourly costs beyond that (or during the day) set people back $4.95.
These days, Apple typically gauges the right moment to leap into new technologies. Sadly, in the 1990s the company did not seem to possess such perfect timing. eWorld only attracted 147,000 users at its peak.
Do you remember eWorld? Leave your comments below.
These new MacBook Airs sound like absolute screamers. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Surprise! Apple drops new MacBook Airs with M3 chips inside. The new laptops’ specs and first benchmarks make the performance boost sound quite impressive indeed. But what should we expect next for the MacBook, and when should we expect it?
Join us for a titillating conversation about the current state (and future) of Apple’s laptops.
Also on The CultCast:
Apple launched the M3 MacBook Airs with amazing specs, but nothing but a press release. Sounds like it’s about to do the same with new iPads. There’s a lot to look forward to if you’re a fan of Apple tablets.
An inside look at the canceled Apple car project offers fascinating details about crazy prototypes, dashed dreams and crushing indecision.
How cool would a MacBook with a folding 20-inch screen be?
The European Union demands a cool 1.8 billion euros from Apple over its dealings with Spotify. Sounds like a shakedown!
iOS 17.4 brings some useful new features to your iPhone, and Griffin tells us all about the best ones.
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.
The CultCast live stream archive: M3 MacBook Air specs and benchmarks
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This week’s top Apple news
On the show this week to talk M3 MacBook Air specs and benchmarks, among other things: Your host Erfon Elijah (@erfon), Cult of Mac managing editor Lewis Wallace (@lewiswallace) and Cult of Mac writer D. Griffin Jones (@dgriffinjones).
Here are the headlines we’re talking about on this week’s show:
Add Constellation to the lengthy list of Apple TV+ shows that are stand-out hits. The new sci-fi mystery horror series sits near the tops of popularity charts of two different ratings services, and has ever since the premiere in February.
Masters of the Air remains popular, too. As do the historical dramas Napoleon and Killers of the Flower Moon. That puts all four of these series/films ahead of almost all the content on any streaming service.
Constellation combines sci-fi, mystery and horror
In Constellation, an astronaut returns to Earth after a disastrous mission to find parts of her life missing, and it appears a horrifying conspiracy may be to blame.
Apple calls the show an “action-packed space adventure,” but it’s more of a sci-fi horror mystery. The series is “an exploration of the dark edges of human psychology, and one woman’s desperate quest to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel and recover all that she has lost,” according to Apple.
Whatever the mix of genres, Constellation pulls in a big audience. The series is No. 3 on JustWatch‘s list of top streaming shows for the week ending March 3. And it’s at No. 4 on ReelGood’s list of Top 10 TV shows on streaming during the week ending March 6. The series has been on both lists since it launched February 21.
Estimates from companies like JustWatch and Reelgood are necessary because streaming services rarely reveal how many people watch their offerings.
The first five episodes of Constellation are ready to watch now on Apple TV+. The finale comes next week.
Masters of the Air stays popular
The Apple TV+ WWII drama Masters of the Air continues to draw in a big audience. The series stays on the popularity charts week after week.
It is an in-depth look at the “bomber boys” in the U.S. Army Air Force squadrons that took the war to Hitler via brutal and harrowingly dangerous bombing campaigns through skies filled with exploding flak and increasingly deadly Nazi fighter planes.
There’s clearly an audience for this type of show. ReelGood puts the historical drama at No. 9 on its list of most popular TV shows on streaming last week. And it sits at No. 8 on JustWatch‘s list of top streaming shows.
The first eight episodes of Masters of the Air are available to watch now on Apple TV+. The finale premieres Friday, March 15.
Napoleon storms onto the popularity charts
Napoleon, a historical epic from director Ridley Scott, began streaming on Apple TV+ on March 1 and plenty of viewers have since tuned in to stream it.
The movie stars Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor who conquered much of Europe. It details the tyrant’s ruthless rise to power and his obsessive love for his wife, Empress Josephine.
The Oscars mostly snubbed the film, but it is nevertheless pulling in an audience. For the most recent week, JustWatch puts it at No. 5 on its list of most popular streaming movies and ReelGood had it at No. 6.
Napoleon is ready for Apple TV+ subscribers to watch now.
Killers of the Flower Moon is just as popular
Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon has been drawing a crowd of viewers since it hit the Apple TV+ streaming service in mid January, and that continues.
The historical crime drama scored ten Oscar nominations — including for Best Picture — which surely helped keep it on the top ten lists of popular films. For the most recent week, JustWatch puts it at No. 7 and ReelGood had it at No. 8.
Killers of the Flower Moon is available to stream now.
Watch now on Apple TV+
Watching Constellation or any of these other series or films comes with a subscription to Apple TV+. The service is $9.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle.
And Apple’s streaming video service also includes much more, of course. There are comedies, musicals, children’s shows, nature documentaries, etc.
Want more tips on what to watch on Apple TV+? Read our guide to the 15 best shows on Apple TV+.
Save $15 on this smart light that pairs with your iPhone. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
If you’re looking for a stylish new LED table lamp that can set any mood, this one delivers — and it gives you notifications right from your iPhone. The Notti smart light hooks up to your smartphone through Bluetooth to give you a heads-up with a pop of color for calls, texts, Facebook updates and more.
For a limited time, you can get the Notti smart light on sale for just $24.99.
Notti smart light gives you iPhone notifications with a colorful twist
LED lamps (like this modern floor lamp) are all the rage these days. They’re both useful and fun, because they can turn your home or office lighting into something spectacular.
The Notti table lamp boasts an elegant white design that blends in with any room’s aesthetic even when it’s turned off. It offers 16 million colors to play with, lighting up your space however you want. With this LED light, you can set the mood for a quiet evening or get the vibes just right for a party. You can even sync this smart light to your music, letting it groove to the beat with you.
Plus, it lights up for your iPhone notifications
It also allows you to turn your iPhone’s (sometimes) annoying rings and buzzes into something more fun and visually appealing. Plus, it comes with an alarm function to make waking up a bit more bearable.
The Notti’s battery life stretches more than 720 hours in notification mode and more than five hours when used for continuous light. Power up with a micro USB, and pair with your device via Bluetooth 4.0 BLE up to 15 meters away. You can connect iPhone models starting from the iPhone 5 and later, iOS versions from 8 onward. It works with Android devices running 4.3 or above.
Save on an LED table lamp that offers 16 million colors
Level up your decor with the Notti smart light, on sale for just $24.99 for a limited time (regularly $39.99).
Buy from: Cult of Mac Deals
Prices subject to change. All sales handled by StackSocial, our partner who runs Cult of Mac Deals. For customer support, please email StackSocial directly.
There are lots of questions about how to take solar eclipse photos with your iPhone. Firstly, can a solar eclipse harm your iPhone’s camera or lenses? Won’t the sun’s rays damage the camera?
Not according to Apple. Cupertino says it’s safe to photograph a total solar eclipse with your iPhone; but be sure to protect your eyes.
However, photographing the solar eclipse is hard without the right tools. To get a good picture of the solar eclipse with your iPhone, you’re going to need a 12-18x telephoto lens attachment, a solar filter and a tripod. Make sure you have everything you need before the big day next month.
Here’s how you can get prepared. Watch our new video or keep reading below.
This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.
How to take solar eclipse photos on iPhone
A total solar eclipse is one of the most awe-inspiring sights in all of nature. It’s dramatic and beautiful, especially when the moon’s shadow finally blots out the sun. The sudden darkness of the totality is stunning and unlike anything you’ll have ever seen.
To photograph it, preparation is key. The more prepared you are now, the more you can live the moment as the eclipse is happening without worrying about capturing it on your iPhone.
The Great American Eclipse
April 8, 2024 is the Great American Eclipse, so called because the path of totality will cover Mexico, Texas, the Midwest and the border between New England and Canada. There won’t be another total solar eclipse like it until 2044 and 2045. Check NASA’s website for maps of its path across the United States.
Taking a good picture of a total solar eclipse is a big challenge. Even your best iPhone shot is not going to rival images made by pros. Nonetheless, you can still get good snaps with proper preparation.
Never look at the sun directly
Note: Never look at the solar eclipse through a camera lens, telescope or binoculars: This will fry your eyes instantly. Don’t even look at the sun with your naked eyes. Doing so can damage your eyesight permanently, even when the sun is mostly eclipsed. It’s only safe to look at the eclipse during totality, when the sun is entirely blocked by the moon.
Prepare to photograph the eclipse now
If you want to get good pictures of the total eclipse — especially the spectacular ring of fire — pulling out your iPhone at the last second isn’t going to cut it.
Now is the time to stock up on filters, lenses and tripods — all of which can be acquired pretty inexpensively — and make sure your Apple Watch is set up to act as a remote. It’s also a good idea to practice photographing the sun now, preferably in the same location you’ll be watching the eclipse.
Pro tip: The full moon will give you a good idea of how large the sun will appear during the eclipse. Practice photographing the moon now, and it’ll give you a good idea of how big the sun will appear with your iPhone’s standard lenses or a telephoto attachment.
1. Avoid blur; get a tripod
A compact tripod might be all you need. Photo: SwitchEasy
A tripod will keep your phone steady at the perfect angle. You can pay better attention to everything else going on if you don’t need to worry about holding the phone in your hands.
2. Attach iPhone with a tripod phone mount
If you have a tripod but you don’t have a way to mount your phone, I highly recommend a MagSafe tripod mount.
For getting a good video of the darkness in the middle of the day, a tripod and a phone mount is all you’ll need. But if you want to try to get solar eclipse photos of the sun itself, here are three more things you’ll want to pick up.
3. Make your own iPhone solar filter
Just tape one of the lenses over your phone cameras. Image: Kesseph
Pointing your phone camera at the sun won’t hurt your phone’s camera sensor — it’ll just be really hard to get a picture that isn’t blurry. If you want a good, clear picture of the sun, you’ll need a solar filter.
If you have a spare pair of solar eclipse glasses, you already have one! Just cut it up and tape the filter over the lens of your phone. Don’t use sunglasses — they’re nowhere near strong enough.
If you don’t have any old eclipse glasses, these VisiSolar Smartphone Photo Filters are well suited for use with an iPhone. The large circular filter entirely covers the three-lens camera setup of the latest Pro models. For best results, remove your case first.
Note: You’ll want to remove any filters during totality. You’ll need filters right up to the moment the sun is blotted out, but when the sun is fully eclipsed, you should ditch the filters. The sun’s corona is much fainter than the photosphere, so any pictures taken at this time with a filter will be extremely murky. It’s also safe to look at the eclipsed Sun with your naked eye. In fact, you won’t see much of anything if you’re still looking through your eclipse glasses or a filter.
4. Get way better eclipse shots with a zoom lens
With the Moment case, you can just screw an additional telephoto lens onto your phone. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
If you want a good picture of the solar corona (the white ring of light called the “ring of fire”), you’ll need a bit more zoom than you get out of the box with your iPhone.
If you put a 2× zoom lens over the iPhone 15 Pro Max 5× Telephoto lens, then you’ll get an impressive 10× optical zoom for a great shot of the sun.
The Moment Tele Lens is the easiest way to get more zoom, using their simple screw-on system.
It’s a lot to buy, but when you have the whole system, you’ve effectively doubled the capability of your iPhone camera.
5. Use a camera app with manual controls
Halide gives you the manual controls the iPhone camera app doesn’t. Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Sometimes, the stock Camera app on the iPhone doesn’t play nicely with the Moment lenses — much less the weird lighting conditions of a solar eclipse.
If you want fine-tuned manual controls, just like a full-size dedicated camera, I recommend using Halide. This app lets you manually set the lens, the focus, the exposure, the resolution and more.
Tap the 1× button in the bottom corner to manually set the lens; drag your finger up or down on the camera screen to set the exposure. Tap AF to turn off autofocus and set the focus manually. For capturing the sky, you can drag it all the way to 1.0 for maximum distance.
Halide packs in loads of pro features, but thanks to its clever design, it isn’t impossible for novices to figure out like a DSLR camera.
Price: $2.99/month, $11.99/year or $59.99 lifetime Download from: App Store
6. Mount your iPhone on a telescope
Mount your iPhone in an actual telescope. Image: Celestron
Even better than zoom lenses is a telescope. You’ll need an iPhone mount like Celestron’s $80 NexYZ DX Kit, which holds your iPhone next to the eyepiece and includes a Bluetooth shutter release remote. You can even pick up a cheap scope, like the Celestron EclipSmart, for $130, which includes a solar filter.
7. Trigger eclipse pictures with Apple Watch — Siri is even better
Control your iPhone camera from your Apple Watch. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Once you’ve got everything set up — tripod, lenses, and filters — you’ll want to make sure your Apple Watch can act as an iPhone camera remote. Luckily, it’s easy. Open the Camera Remote app on your Apple Watch. Twist the Digital Crown to zoom. To adjust exposure, just tap on the key area of the photo on your Apple Watch’s face. To take the shot, tap the Shutter button. By default, there’s a three-second delay.
Even better, use Siri. Just tell your Apple Watch: “Take a picture” and it’ll snap a shot with your iPhone. Make sure this works beforehand and you won’t have to take your eyes off the eclipse as it is happening.
You can also try using your iPhone’s timer setting.
8. To get a great eclipse shot, practice beforehand
For many of us, this upcoming total solar eclipse is literally going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Don’t ruin it by futzing about with your iPhone. Best to practice now, before the big day. Luckily, the sun is going to be the same brightness as the sun during an eclipse, so play around with filters and lenses now.
You’ll want to figure out the best composition for your photos, so try to figure out where the sun will be in the sky during the total eclipse.
Can a solar eclipse damage iPhone cameras?
Photographing the sun will not damage your iPhone’s camera or lens. The cameras and lenses are designed to capture light — that’s the sea they swim in — and even direct rays from the sun won’t harm them.
However, leaving your iPhone camera and lens pointed directly at the sun may cause your iPhone to overheat. According to Apple, iPhones are designed to operate at temperatures between 32º to 95º F. Apple explicitly advises against “leaving your device in direct sunlight for an extended period of time.”
If your iPhone overheats, it’ll automatically regulate its behavior to prevent damage, including shutting off the screen, dialing back charging and disabling wireless. If your iPhone overheats, you should see a warning message on the screen.
To avoid overheating, use your iPhone only for short stretches of time, and definitely try shading it when not in use.
Can you look at a solar eclipse with your iPhone?
Theoretically, yes, you could watch the total solar eclipse on your iPhone’s screen instead of looking at it directly. But why would you want to?
Watching the eclipse onscreen is going to be blurry, wobbly and overexposed. Plus, holding your iPhone up to the eclipse, you greatly risk looking directly at the sun instead. Plus, you’re going to need a solar filter for your iPhone, and if you have one, you might as well use it to look at the sun directly. It’s not worth the trouble.
Don’t forget to take pictures around you
To be honest, the best pictures you’ll likely take during the total solar eclipse won’t be of the sun. It’ll be the landscape and people around you. Be sure to get pictures of your friends and family watching the eclipse with you. Take a selfie with the eclipsed sun behind you. Or get a Reservoir Dogs shot of everyone in their eclipse glasses.
Again, it’s a good idea to practice. Before the big day, take some photos of people and your surroundings just before or after sunset. The light level at twilight will be similar to the totality.
Check out more tips on how to take the best pictures.
You can now get the M3 MacBook Air from your nearest Apple store. Photo: Apple
Apple’s new M3 MacBook Airs, announced earlier this week, are now on sale. The 13-inch and 15-inch models feature upgraded internals and faster Wi-Fi.
Pre-orders for the new Airs went live right after Apple’s announcement on March 4.
2024 MacBook Air is all about the M3 chip
From the outside, the M3 MacBook Air(s) look the same as their predecessors. But internally, they pack two key changes. The first is the switch to a faster and more efficient M3 chip. Apple claims a performance boost of up to 60 percent than the M1 chip and “up to 13x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air.”
The M3 SoC debuted on the M3 MacBook Pro last fall. It also features a revamped GPU with mesh shading and ray tracing for better performance and higher-quality graphics. While there are no new AI features on the M3 MacBook Airs, Apple claims they are “the world’s best consumer laptop for AI,” thanks to the faster 16-core Neural Engine.
Besides the faster performance, the new M3 Airs support dual external displays — a first in the lineup. But there’s a catch: you can only use the second monitor with the laptop’s lid closed.
Lastly, Apple’s 2024 MacBook Air lineup has Wi-Fi 6E support, allowing for faster wireless transfer speeds. You can read our M2 vs. M3 MacBook Air comparison to learn more about their differences.
Despite the big performance boost, Apple claims the new M3 Air can last up to 18 hours on a charge.
Same starting price as their M2 predecessors
The new 13-inch MacBook Air and 15-inch Air with M3 chip have the same starting price as their predecessors: $1,099 and $1,299, respectively. Education customers can get an additional $100 off this price.
If you pre-ordered the laptop, you should receive it today. If not, you can buy one from the Apple store nearest to you.
AutoFill on iPhone is supposed to help you out when you’re entering a password or typing in your email. When it doesn’t work, it can be incredibly frustrating — especially if you don’t know some complicated password offhand. The phone’s supposed to remember it so you don’t have to!
Now, in iOS 17, AutoFill has been put on steroids. The new AutoFill is much more expansive than the old, and unlike previous versions, works anywhere you can input text, including third-party browsers. To autofill passwords, credit cards, contacts and more, you no longer have to dig through Settings > Passwords or through the Contacts app to pull out the information.
You can even autofill scanned text from documents, signs and more using the camera. Here’s how it’s done.
How to autofill passwords on iPhone
AutoFill a password from the pop-up menu. Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
In Safari, tap on a text box. There should be an option to autofill a saved password in a toolbar above the keyboard. You can tap on a username (and authenticate with Face ID) to fill it in, or you can tap the Passwords key icon to pick a different one.
If no such menu or option shows up, you may be frustrated, but there’s another option. Tap on the text field again and you should see a pop-up menu. Tap AutoFill > Passwords and authenticate with Face ID to bring up saved passwords. Scroll through the list or search.
If you want to look through and edit or clean up your saved passwords, you can always find them inside Settings > Passwords.
If you want easier access, you can make it its own standalone icon your Home Screen. Download this Shortcut, tap the ⋯ button to edit it, hit the Share button and tap Add to Home Screen.
How to autofill email addresses and phone numbers on iPhone
The fastest way to type in an email or phone number from a contact. Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
You can just as easily autofill your phone number, email address, home or work address and more (or that of another contact).
Tap on a text field and tap again to bring up the pop-up menu. Hit AutoFill > Contact. Pick a contact and tap on a field to autofill.
This works anywhere you can enter text, not just in email and phone number fields in Safari.
Need to send someone a friend’s phone number? You don’t need to switch from Messages to Contacts, dig through, copy it and paste it back. Directly inside Messages, tap to bring up the pop-up menu and tap AutoFill > Contact.
Need to send someone the Netflix password? Tap AutoFill > Passwords. It can save you a lot of hassle.
AutoFill scanned text using the camera
Type in text directly from the camera. Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
There’s one more trick up the AutoFill menu’s sleeve. Say you need to Google a really long serial number, or you need to type in your car’s VIN on an insurance website.
Any time you need to type something exact that isn’t easily human-readable, tap the text box and hit AutoFill > Scan Text. The keyboard will be replaced with a small camera — just point it at the text you want to scan, hold it steady and tap Insert.
You can also tap the Live Text button in the bottom-right. In this mode, you can drag your finger along the scanned text to choose precisely what to enter in.
Tap on the text field to bring the keyboard back up to make precise edits.
March 9, 1996: Apple confirms that it will shut down its eWorld online service at the end of the month.
