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Best CES finds for Apple fans

Best CES finds for Apple fans

Check out the latest cool iPhone, Mac and iPad accessories.

Lewis Wallace
January 11, 2025

In partnership with

Just because Apple skips CES every year, that doesn’t mean you should. The annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas always brings a deluge of new and interesting products.

All week long, we kept a lookout for new gear that would appeal to Apple fans. We spotted tons of accessories for iPhone, iPad and Mac, plus the usual array of weird and wonderful new tech coming your way in 2025. See our CES highlights in the special section below for our top picks.

Also in this edition of The Weekender:

If you haven’t yet tried Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tools, let us show you what you’re missing.
Chrome or Safari? Our writer Rajesh Pandey explains why he sticks with Google’s resource-hogging web browser.
One of our pro tips shows you how to teach your iPhone a cool party trick.
Shockingly, the best deal we’ve seen on AirTags is still going strong. And if you want a wallet-friendly tracking tag — I mean one that actually slides into your wallet — check out our exclusive discount on the credit card-size MagTag. (It also works with Apple’s Find My network.)

Enjoy your weekend!

— Lewis Wallace, managing editor

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CES 2025 roudup

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

The new LG UltraFine 6K Display -- the first Thunderbolt 5 monitor with 6K resolution -- looks perfect for M4 Pro and Max Mac users.

Plus, more Mac accessories:

CES 2025's best and weirdest new gadgets [The CultCast]

This week on Cult of Mac's podcast: Erfon hits the Apple Store to peep the MacBook Pro's new nano-texture screens. Plus, CES 2025 is a wrap!

Belkin Stage PowerGrip makes iPhone into a better camera

Make your iPhone easier to hold while taking pictures with Belkin Stage PowerGrip, which is being unveiled at CES 2025.

Plus, more iPhone and iPad accessories:

Powerful new AI party speaker becomes colorful karaoke machine

A powerful new karaoke speaker from Soundcore, the Rave 3S, can strip vocal tracks and comes with speakers for hardcore karaoke.

Plus, more audio gear:

MagSafe goes cross-platform as Samsung finally commits to Qi2

The Qi2 charger in iPhone just got a boost from Samsung. Expect more Qi2-compatible accessories now that Android-makers are on board.

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

The new Anker Solar Beach Umbrella and cooler both charge other gadgets, so you can be tech king of your beach trip or barbecue.

Plus, more random interesting gear:

How-tos

How to use Apple Intelligence writing tools

Apple Intelligence brings a new set of free AI Writing Tools. You can invoke these anytime, anywhere to rewrite text on iPhone, Mac or iPad.

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

In just a few minutes, you can create a cool iPhone Lock Screen wallpaper that can switch between two images with just a tap.

How to back up your messages and save on storage space

You can back up your text messages (and iMessages) with iMessage Exporter, a free tool for the Mac. This lets you save space on your phone.

Cancel unwanted subscriptions and save money

Find and cancel subscriptions you don’t want or need any more in Apple’s App Store. It’s easy: Just follow this guide.

Copy a YouTube link that starts and stops at a specific time [Pro Tip]

You can send someone a YouTube link with a timestamp, to show them a specific part halfway through, using either the website or app.

A message from Writer

Writer RAG tool: build production-ready RAG apps in minutes

RAG in just a few lines of code? We’ve launched a predefined RAG tool on our developer platform, making it easy to bring your data into a Knowledge Graph and interact with it with AI. With a single API call, writer LLMs will intelligently call the RAG tool to chat with your data.

Integrated into Writer’s full-stack platform, it eliminates the need for complex vendor RAG setups, making it quick to build scalable, highly accurate AI workflows just by passing a graph ID of your data as a parameter to your RAG tool.

Learn more about our production ready RAG tooling here.

News

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

Google Chrome or Safari — which is the best Mac browser? I prefer Chrome over Apple's browser despite some major shortcomings.

Apple goes on a bug hunt with iOS 18.2.1

Your iPhone needs the bug fixes in iOS 18.2.1, released Monday. And there’s an iPadOS equivalent version, too.

iPhone 17 Air may be nearly as slim as M4 iPad Pro

The iPhone 17 Air could be slimmer than rumored, measuring just 5.5mm. But this thinness may come with some compromises.

Plus, more Apple rumors:

Dell ‘borrows’ Apple’s Pro and Pro Max product names

Get ready for the Dell Pro Max. The company rebranded all its PCs with names that should sound very familiar to Apple users.

Mac shipments grow strongly, outpace all PC-makers

Mac shipments soar in Q4 2024 with 17.3% YoY growth. Apple outperforms competitors as computer sales continue to rise.

Deals

Exclusive price drop: An AirTag won't fit in your wallet, but this $24 tracker will

MagTag functions similarly to AirTag, but the wallet tracker's credit card-size design is a massive improvement for sliding into tight slots.

Plus more gadgets and gear from Cult of Mac Deals:

AirTag sale drops Apple Bluetooth trackers to all-time lowest price [It's back!]

You can get a stocking stuffer for a loved one or make the whole family a bit more organized thanks to a sale on Apple AirTag.

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

This powerful scanning app offers loads of features at a low price. Turn your iPhone or iPad into a full-service scanner with iScanner.

Plus, more software and services from Cult of Mac Deals:

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

With The Complete 2025 Beginner to Expert Guitar Lessons Bundle you will learn how to play guitar a 14-course bundle of online guitar lessons.

Reviews

You have to see this super-slim, 15-inch portable display [Review]

The Espresso Display 15 is the perfect companion for your MacBook or iPad. Boost your productivity with this stylish portable monitor.

Mophie charger/battery combo packs everything needed to power iPhone or Mac [Review]

Never be without power again with the Mophie Powerstation Plus Ultra. This versatile device acts as a wall adapter and a 10,000mAh power bank.

Setups

First-time Mac owner KVM-switches between M4 Pro mini and Windows laptop

Using a Mac-Windows KVM switch, this M4 Pro Mac mini setup brings in a Windows laptop on the fly using the same peripherals.

Triple Mac Pro rig could serve as camera network command center

This power user maxes out a triple-Mac Pro setup with an array of UNVRs for massive video recording and storage.