iPhone zombie apocalypse

I’m a huge fan of Danny Boyle, the endlessly creative and innovative British filmmaker behind hit movies like Slumdog Millionaire and 28 Days Later. (He also directed the amazing opening ceremony to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London — a treat if you’ve never seen it.)

Boyle’s back in theaters next month with a second sequel to 28 Days Later — entitled 28 Years Later — that was shot largely using iPhones.

But not any old iPhones. Among other tricks, Boyle and his team rigged up to 20 iPhones in arrays to create what he calls a “poor man’s bullet time,” a reference to the pioneering effects first made popular in the Matrix movies.

Boyle hints that his use of iPhones wasn’t just to keep things cheap or mobile, but was an integral part of the story. He notes that if the apocalypse did happen, it would largely be shot on iPhone anyway!

It all sounds very interesting — and don’t miss a picture of the iPhone rig.

Also in today’s newsletter:

• Even though the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air just launched, you can snag one for just $1,024, a great price for this beautiful machine. And the 13-inch version, which is lighter and better for carrying around, costs as little as $865. See here for more MacBook bargains.

• I’m seriously thinking of going with a regular iPhone 17 model, not a Pro one, if/when I upgrade in the fall. I just don’t make good use of all the advanced features, and the regular handsets are actually better looking. The good news is, the regular iPhone’s all-important screen size will be the same as its pricier Pro sibling.

• If you want to relive your wasted youth and squander hours playing retro games on your Mac, here’s how to get started.

• Back in the day, I never bought an iPad Touch (I already had an iPhone, natch). In fact, I was always a bit skeptical about why anyone would want one. So I’m genuinely surprised to learn what an enormous hit the iPod Touch was.

• I don’t want to be hawking too many deals, but I think this is a genuinely good price on a great VPN. Surfshark VPN is a top-tier service and works on unlimited devices, so it’s great if you want to share it with the whole family.

• Check out the X posts below for an interesting idea. What if Apple doesn’t name its operating systems after the release years (“iOS 26” sounds goofy, after all) but instead uses the macOS naming convention of California place names? “iOS Los Angeles” sounds pretty exciting. See below.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

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