design - page 4

Apple chronicles 20 years of iconic design in pricey new book

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Designed-by-Apple-in-California-2
The perfect gift for the Apple fan in your life?
Photo: Apple

Apple has announced that it will be debuting a new hardbound book, entitled “Designed by Apple in California,” chronicling 20 years of its groundbreaking designs — boasting 450 photographs of past and present Apple products.

The book, which is dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs, will also include exclusive details on the design processes used by Apple’s design team under the leadership of Jony Ive.

Here’s why Apple will never give MacBook a touchscreen

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macbook pro
The new MacBook Pro is stunner.
Photo: Apple

Desktop computers aren’t going away any decade soon. Not if Jony Ive and Phil Schiller have to say anything about it.

In an interview with Ive, Schiller and Magic Man Craig Federighi, Apple’s team of vets explain that they don’t plan to ever morph the iPad and Mac together to make a Frankenstein desktop tablet like the Surface Studio.

Miss Apple’s MacBook Pro keynote? Stream it!

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Tim Cook was short on surprises at the 'Hello Again' keynote.
Tim Cook was short on surprises at the 'Hello Again' keynote.
Photo: Apple

Apple debuted the all-new MacBook Pro and its gorgeous Touch Bar at an event this morning, but if weren’t able to catch the action at work, you can now watch all the videos online.

The full video for the “Hello Again” keynote can be streamed from Apple’s website. Apple also uploaded five new videos to YouTube featuring the history of the MacBook Pro, the new Touch Bar and Accessibility features.

Watch them all below:

Next year’s iPhone may come in 3 sizes

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iPhone 7 black
This could be the last iPhone made of metal.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s next iPhone will feature an all-glass back, according to the latest rumor out of Asia that also claims the 2017 iPhone will come in three different sizes, with one that’s in between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple film shows how Rapha designs cycling gear with iPad Pro

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Rapha designer Alex Valdman uses iPad Pro for everything.
Rapha designer Alex Valdman uses iPad Pro for everything.
Photo: Apple

The iPad Pro and Apple Pencil have completely changed how the cycling clothing company Rapha designs its fashionable road gear.

In a new short film, Apple goes behind-the-scenes with Rapha’s head of design, Alex Valdman, discussing everything from his approach to design, creative process, and how he uses the iPad Pro to get work done.

Google Pixel review roundup: iPhone’s toughest Android competitor

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Google Pixel
Google's first phones are a hit.
Photo: Google

Google stepped up its fight against the iPhone with its new Pixel smartphone, but has it found a formula that’s good enough to worry Cupertino?

The Pixel looks pretty at first glance, and it’s the first handset to offer Google’s latest Android 7.1 Nougat software. It also promises a great display, stunning photos, and peak performance. Here’s what the first reviews have to say about it.

Galaxy Note 7 review: The best smartphone money can’t buy

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Galaxy Note 7
Don't let a few explosions put you off.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Forget what you’ve read about the Galaxy Note 7 exploding (and wiping out family cars, hotel rooms and homes). Samsung’s latest phablet delivers an improved design, faster internals, an iris scanner, the same great camera we got with the Galaxy S7 and an even better display.

When this baby goes on sale again, without that dreaded battery fault, it will be the best smartphone available — and the iPhone 7 (probably) won’t change a thing.

Last chance to save on top Mac apps, decoy phone lines and more [Deals]

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Now's your last chance to save on these top-notch Mac creativity and productivity apps.
Now's your last chance to save on these top-notch Mac creativity and productivity apps.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Summer’s here and last season’s deals are heading out the door. Don’t let these deals expire before you’ve had your chance to get in on them: top notch data recovery software, Dragon’s industry-leading transcription software, comprehensive digital design lessons, and a private phone line. Take a look:

Instagram’s gorgeous new logo comes with revamped iPhone app

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download (1)
It's about time!
Photo: Instagram

Instagram is rolling out a brand new user interface on iPhone that ditches bright colors to make your photos look even prettier… but no one really cares about that. The real news is the brand new logo that comes with it.

Filled with beautifully bright colors like a sweet acid trip, it’s the first new logo Instagram has had since it launched five years ago, and it replaces the familiar retro camera, which was starting to look a little long in the tooth.

iPhone 7 likely to boast same height and width as last year’s iPhone 6s

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Keep your Amazon details safe with two-step verification.
Would Apple stick with the same design three years in a row?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

In another piece of evidence that September’s iPhone 7 may not offer a radical redesign of the curvaceous iPhone 6 or 6s, a newly-released schematic suggests that the next-gen iPhone 7 will boast an identical height and width to last year’s 2015-era iPhone refresh.

Good thing or not? Either way, check out the picture below.

Does Apple’s design team need some fresh blood? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf1
Or is its best yet to come?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

You can’t think about Apple without thinking about great design. The two go hand-in-hand, thanks to the company’s incredible ability to churn out hit products that make billions of dollars one after the other, year after year.

FNF-bugBut Apple’s design team isn’t perfect. There have been some missteps over the years, and it seems like they’ve become more common under Tim Cook. Its design has also become predictable; even before we get a new product, we have a good idea what it will look like.

Are we worrying about nothing, or is it time Apple invited some fresh blood into Jony Ive’s lair? Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we fight it out over this and more!

New Android app design guidelines ripped from iOS playbook

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More of your Android apps are going to look like this.
More of your Android apps are going to look like this.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
More of your Android apps are going to look like this. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
More of your Android apps are going to look like this. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Your Android apps are going to get an iOS-style makeover soon, thanks to new design guidelines from Google.

Mostly concerned with the bottom of Android apps, Google is looking to have its developers place a bar across the bottom of their apps that will let users navigate between different sections of the app, just like iOS currently does.

Make your app look badass with free trial of Adobe XD

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Get prototyping right on your Mac, for free.
Get prototyping right on your Mac, for free.
Photo: Adobe

If you’ve been itching to design the next big app in your spare time, Adobe’s just made it easier with a free trial of its user interface (UI) design tool, Experience Design (XD) CC for Mac.

Previously known as Project Comet, Adobe XD is a full-fledged design tool that lets you prototype mobile or web apps fast, and you can download a free preview right now.

8 alternative Uber logos that are better than the real deal

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uber-new-logo-app-icon
Some freelance designers wanted to help out this atrocity.
Photo: Uber

Given that Uber’s new brand and logo aren’t exactly winning any awards, Freelancer posted a contest for its designers to take a crack at giving the online taxi service a new look. The assignment was simply to submit your own idea of what Uber’s redesigned branding should look like. The site received 147 entries from 27 freelancers and the winner was awarded a cool $100.

Shortly after Uber announced its new logo, people took to Twitter to mock it mercilessly because it’s … well, just not that good. Several of the most popular logo submissions by freelancers are arguably miles better than Uber’s.

Check out the winning design, as well as several honorable mentions, below.

Apple Pencil makes app designers stand up and shout

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iPad Pro and Apple Pencil keep designers happy and eraser dust-free.
iPad Pro and Apple Pencil keep designers happy and eraser dust-free.
Photo: Apple

The iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are making paper and pencil design workflow a thing of the past.

Amanda Somers, a user experience (UX) designer for mobile app developer Mindsea Development, writes on Medium about her newfound respect for the Apple Pencil and iPad Pro combination.

“We are confident in saying we are able to sit down with iPad Pro and Apple Pencil and create something just as good, if not better, than sketching traditionally using pencil and paper,” she writes.

Uber’s new logo sure is a bit bizarre

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uber-new-logo-app-icon
Uber's new app icon is already getting insults.
Photo: Uber

Uber dropped a surprise announcement today that it has completely changed its logo and branding. The new logo is only slightly modified, featuring an altered font with letters that are closer together. The bigger news is the new app icon reflecting a total branding change. People already aren’t thrilled with it.

The picture you see above is indeed using the new Uber icon. It’s supposed to represent very small, simple forms of matter and technology coming together: atoms and bits.

This concept turns the iPhone 7’s touchscreen into an infinity edge pool

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If Apple took a page out of Samsung's bezel-less design book.
If Apple took a page out of Samsung's bezel-less design book.
Photo: SCAVidsHD

There have been plenty of rumors about Apple creating bezel-less iPhones over the years, and as many concept videos turning those rumors into sci-fi CGI.

This concept’s different, though, in that it’s actually plausible. Meet the iPhone 7 Edge, a concept that takes the concept of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and applies it to the next iPhone.

What happened to Apple’s faultless design?

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Are these signs of a larger design problem?
Are these things signs of a larger design problem?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Unlike any other consumer electronics company, Apple has been nailing product design for decades. Jony Ive and his incredibly talented team have produced countless iconic gadgets that rivals can only dream of, and it’s the biggest reason why the company is so successful today.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2But there are suggestions that Apple’s design prowess is beginning to slip away. Under new leadership, Apple has rolled out a number of products — most recently the butt-ugly Smart Battery Case — that have led some fans to question various design decisions.

Are those fans right to be concerned? Is it downhill from here for Apple’s design team, or is this a whole lot of fuss over nothing?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over those questions and more — and weigh in with your thoughts down in the comments section!

5 Apple accessories every bit as crappy as the iPhone battery case

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Smart case
Help! My iPhone 6s has eaten my iPhone 4.
Photo: Apple

The consensus view of Apple’s newly launched hunchback iPhone battery case is that it should ideally be hidden from human view, spending its life in isolation ringing bells in Notre Dame.

Immediately upon release, the Internet filled with loud, angry protesters saying this kind of thing would never have happened in Steve Jobs’ day (and accusing Jony Ive of snoozing on the job). While I’m definitely no fan of Apple’s $99 Smart Battery Case, this isn’t the first time the company has released a less-than-stellar piece of design work amidst its usually gorgeous offerings.

Check out the list below for five of the worst pieces of design to come out of Cupertino since … well, yesterday, actually.

Bing’s redesigned iPhone app focuses on instant answers

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bing-iphone-app-redesign - 2
Bing's new app is both pretty and powerful.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft released a completely revamped Bing app for iPhone today with a redesigned home page and a much larger emphasis on instant answers to search queries. Finding what you’re looking for now takes much less time.  It’s possible that this release is a stepping stone to the iOS debut of Cortana, Microsoft’s answer to Google Now.

Top tools and tips for mastering the modern design landscape [Deals]

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Macaw's Web Design Tool makes coding an simple matter of moving visual elements around on the screen.
Macaw's Web Design Tool makes coding an simple matter of moving visual elements around on the screen.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The way we use technology to communicate is transforming, and design is changing right along with it. Being caught up with the tools and techniques of web, visual and interactive design is key to being effective in the field of technology, which makes these deals especially exciting and useful.