In partnership with
Something very strange is happening.
A few years ago, the Mac was an afterthought. Everything from AAA games to the latest apps was Windows-first, and often Windows-only.
That’s still true of games (for now), but look at the hottest sector in the software world — AI, ofc — and these days the latest, hottest apps are Mac-first and sometimes Mac-only.
Take Anthropic, which takes a macOS-first approach for the most advanced, agentic features of its apps. Claude’s ability to control your computer, for example, is Mac-only. Similarly, OpenAI adopted a Mac-first strategy for its desktop apps and prioritizes macOS over Windows for the release of its latest tools.
Some of the top AI tools are Mac exclusives. Examples include MacWhisper (transcription), Fluid (local Llama 3), Elephas (a writing assistant), Raycast AI (productivity) and DiffusionBee (image generation).
I might be wrong, but I’m not familiar with any AI tools that are Windows-first or Windows-only (I Googled it btw) — despite Windows still having a much, much larger installed base.
A lot of this has to do with the fact that many developers and power users are Mac users — but still, what kind of cats-and-dogs-sleeping-together, topsy-turvy world are we living in?
This renewed popularity of the Mac is giving Tim Cook headaches — but the good kind.
Also in today’s newsletter:
Record incomes, sky-high revenues, obscene profits, blah, blah, blah. Apple’s latest quarterly results once again defy gravity. Tim’s going out on a high note.
Tim’s tariff reinvestment move has got to be designed to keep a certain person happy. Another smart move from Tim.
No surprise perhaps, but the iPhone 17 lineup is officially the most popular yet. Like Steve Jobs said, make great products and the bottom line will follow — and boy, is it following.
Tim gave similar advice to his successor, Johnnyboy Ternus, as revealed during yesterday’s Apple earnings call. And Ternus is already pretty good at hyping the company he’s about to take over — saying the upcoming product pipeline is as exciting as anything he’s seen during 25 years at the company.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: This Anker three-in-one charger ticks all my boxes: foldable AC prongs, whopping-big battery and built-in USB-C cable — and it’s pretty darn cheap, too.
Apple’s Passwords app has gotta be one of my most-used apps — thanks to the nightmare of passwords. One trick you should definitely know is how to set up a shared password group.
Good lord, what’s going on in No. 5 of this roundup of the top 10 maximalist Mac setups we’ve ever seen?
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
A message from Wispr Flow
Speak messy. Prompt clean.
Go on tangents. Change your mind mid-sentence. Say "um" twelve times. Wispr Flow doesn't care — it takes everything you say, strips the filler, and gives you clean, structured text ready to paste into any AI tool.
The result: prompts with the full context your AI tools need to give you useful answers. Not the abbreviated version you'd type because typing is slow.
Works inside ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and every app on your screen. Millions of users worldwide, including teams at OpenAI, Vercel, and Clay.
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
Cult of Mac’s buyback program
A message from Rugiet
Rugiet Ready™ is a 3-in-1 ED treatment that targets your brain and body. Dissolves under your tongue. Works in as little as 15 minutes. No pill. No guesswork. Try Ready™ now.
Tweets of the day
Wallpaper of the day
One more thing ...
Woz was very bright in some areas, but he’s almost like a savant, since he was so stunted when it came to dealing with people he didn’t know. We were a good pair.
Today’s poll
How should Apple spend the $111.2 billion it made last quarter?
Results from yesterday’s poll:
Best reader comments
Subscribe to The Weekender — Get the week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.