Game of Thrones

Join the Night’s Watch in Game of Thrones: Tale of Crows on Apple Arcade

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Try too pretend Season 8 didn’t happen in ‘Game of Thrones: Tale of Crows’
Return to the world of Game of Thrones in a new game for Mac, iPhone and Apple TV.
Photo: HBO

Travel to before the events of HBO’s hit series in Game of Thrones: Tale of Crows, a new game released Friday on Apple Arcade.

Explore the history of the Night’s Watch in this narrative-driven, real-time idle game that extends beyond the TV series. Become the shield that guards the realms of men, the sword in the darkness and the enduring sentry upon the Wall.

HBO unlocks 500 hours of free content, but not Game of Thrones

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You'll have to subscribe to HBO Now to see Game of Thrones.
You'll have to subscribe to HBO Now to see Game of Thrones.
Photo: HBO

HBO is joining the wave of companies that are offering free access to their content to placate everyone sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting on April 3, the HBO Now and HBO Go apps will offer freebies to anyone the doesn’t already have a paid subscription. The trove of over 500 hours of free content includes all seasons of The Sopranos, Silicon Valley, The Wire and Ballers. But if you’re hoping to finally catch up Game of Thrones for free, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

Game of Thrones star joins Dickinson for season 2

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finn-jones
Jones played Loras Tyrell for six seasons of Game of Thrones.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Apple is quickly adding new members to the cast of Dickinson as it gears up for a new season, including the actor who played one of the most iconic minor characters of Game of Thrones.

Finn Jones, of Loras Tyrell fame, has reportedly signed on for a role in season 2. He will be joined by Pico Alexander as newcomers on the teen drama show that has been lauded as one of the best series to come out of Apple TV+ so far.

Verizon customers score 12 months of Disney+ for free

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Disney+
Disney+ will take on Apple TV+ and Netflix.
Photo: Disney

Disney is ready to tap into Verizon’s massive customer base to give it a massive influx of viewers for its upcoming streaming service Disney+.

Verizon revealed today that all of its customers will receive 12 months of Disney+ for free starting on November 12. The offer matches Apple’s own 12 free months offer for Apple TV+ to customers that buy a new Apple device.

Apple launches in-house studio with Band of Brothers follow-up

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Bandofbrothers
The best WWII mini-series is getting another sequel.
Photo: HBO

Apple is launching its own in-house studio and teaming up with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks to create the first series that it will own full rights to.

The new limited series, titled Masters of the Air, will be a follow-up to HBO’s successful series Band of Brothers and The Pacific.

What Game of Thrones tells us about Jony Ive’s departure from Apple [Opinion]

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The epic downfall of Daenerys Targaryen left many Game of Thrones fans disappointed.
Why Jony Ive is like Daenerys Targaryen and Apple is not doomed.
Photo: HBO

It’s been more than a week since the shocking news that Jony Ive is leaving Apple, and everyone is still trying to make sense of what it means for the company’s future.

According to some, it’s an internal coup: Tim Cook’s operations team finally wrested control from Ive’s industrial design crew, and the company‘s glory days of innovation are over. Others claim Ive’s days have been numbered ever since his dream of a solid gold Apple Watch flopped.

How can there be so many conflicting accounts of one man’s departure? Surprisingly, it may be for the same reason that the final season of Game of Thrones sucked. It all boils down to how we tell stories.

Apple launches YouTube channel all about TV and movies

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Apple TV
Apple’s new YouTube channel is a bit odd.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple is gearing up for the launch of its Apple TV+ streaming service this fall with the creation of a new YouTube channel dedicated to movie and TV shows.

The channel serves up teasers, clips, behind the scenes looks, interviews and more about upcoming shows. While Apple’s lineup of original TV shows are still in development, Apple is focusing on other shows, like Game of Thrones which is in the middle of its final season.

Every Apple TV+ series and movie currently in the works [Updated]

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Apple spent more than $20 million advertising Apple TV+ last month
Here’s what’s on Apple TV+ right now
Photo: Apple

The star-studded Apple TV+ lineup is starting to look like it could become a legitimate contender to Netflix and HBO. After going on a Hollywood spending spree in the last eight months, Apple appears poised to make a huge push into original content.

Thanks to its new worldwide video executive team, many of the Apple TV series in development actually look really promising and diverse. From Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories to mysterious new sci-fi series See, Apple’s working on some shows everyone could enjoy.

Check out the full list of Apple TV+ series and movies currently in the pipeline.

Update: We’ve added all the shows we know about heading into Apple’s big March 25 event, where the company expected to finally unveil its TV streaming service.

Apple picks up high-budget TV series Pachinko

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Pachinko
Pachinko got has been greenlit by Apple.
Photo: Grand Central Publishing

Apple may have found its own answer to Netflix’s popular TV show, The Crown

The iPhone-maker has reportedly ordered an eight-episode series based on the New York Times bestselling novel Pachinko. After beating out multiple other bidders for the project Apple is allegedly throwing more money behind the Pachinko than most of its other series as it aims to make a splash at the Emmys in 2020.

Hollywood lines up to help Apple make its own Game of Thrones

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Planet of the Apps
Apple's next TV shows should be a lot better than Planet of the Apps.
Photo: Apple

Hollywood is racing to do business with Apple in hopes to help the iPhone-maker create its first breakout TV series and movies.

Apple’s LA-based TV execs, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, have been lining up meetings with some of the top names in town, according to a new report that sheds some light on the company’s TV strategy. Everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Steven Spielberg has pitched the duo. But in true Apple fashion, they’re being very picky about what they say yes to.

Catch our iPhone 8 event predictions, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast on iPhone 8
It's about time for a big change.
Photo: Johannes Eret

This week on The CultCast: It’s official — Apple’s next iPhone event happens September 12! Tune in to catch our hardware predictions. Plus, we take a look at the leaked iPhone 8 UI, and how the new phone will work without a Home button.

Then we’ll regale you with the story behind the evolution of the Apple logo, and the story you’ve never heard about the purpose of its iconic bite. And stick around for an all-new What We’re Into, where Leander tells us why Game of Thrones has turned into his most despised show!

Carpool Karaoke ads show off the series’ big celebrity pairings

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Carpool Karaoke
Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner are stars of HBO's Game of Thrones.
Photo: Apple

To hype its new Carpool Karaoke series on Apple Music, Apple has debuted two new teaser ads, offering a preview of what fans can expect from the show.

One ad features Game of Thrones stars Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner as they belt out Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and Miley Cyrus’ song “Wrecking Ball,” and get ready to prank fans. The other ad includes Ariana Grande and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane singing show tunes.

Check them out below.

8 takeaways from Apple’s Q4 2016 earnings call

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Apple's Q2 earnings weren't that impressive.
iPhone sales were down in Q4 2016.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple can’t make enough iPhone 7 devices to satisfy demand from customers (and from Wall Street to make more money).

During Apple’s Q4 2016 earnings call today, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri hinted that big things are in the pipeline that should put the company back on track to growth — and it all starts Thursday with the MacBook Pro.

Here’s what we learned from the Q4 earnings call:

Eddy Cue says TV ‘needs to be reinvented’

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Eddy Cue
Apple VP Eddy Cue runs Apple's media business.
Photo: CNBC

Watching television is still a dreadful experience, according to Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior VP of internet software and services.

The Apple exec sat down for a joint interview with HBO CEO Richard Plepler at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco today. The two media titans discussed the rapidly changing landscape of television, but Cue told the audience that more changes are needed to make the experience better.

Siri unleashes her inner khaleesi for fiery WWDC answers

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Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant
Tell me your WWDC secrets or I'll throw you in the dungeons of the Red Keep!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s big keynote for WWDC is just a few days away, but if you want some hints about what the company will unveil, just ask Siri.

Apple’s digital assistant won’t spill the beans on iOS 10 or macOS, however asking her questions like “What will happen at WWDC?” currently cause Siri to unleash some hilarious responses that are straight out of Game of Thrones.

Take a look at some of these funny answers:

Garageband’s Chinese instruments are perfect for playing Game of Thrones theme

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Anyone can create the Game of Thrones song in Garageband.
Anyone can create the Game of Thrones song in Garageband.
Photo: HBO

HBO’s Game of Thrones is the hottest show on TV right thanks to Khaleesi and her dragons, now with the new Garageband update for China you can embrace your inner Westerbro create the entire GoT theme song in minutes.

Playing the theme song is actually amazingly easy now that Apple has added new instruments like the Pipa, Erhu, and Chinese Drum Kit that can more easily recreate the ancient sound much better than a Fender Stratocaster.

Apple superfan iPhonedo put together a quick guide on how to unlock the new Chinese instruments and create the Game of Thrones song in just minutes:

Siri has her own take on what happened to Jon Snow

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Game-of-Thrones-Finale-Jon-Snow-Dead-Killed
"Siri, what happened to Jon Snow?"
Photo: HBO

SPOILER! The last season of Games of Thrones didn’t go too well for Jon Snow, but the internet is seemingly not giving up hope that one of the show’s most popular characters survived an (attempted?) assassination at the hands of the Night’s Watch.

Well, apparently Siri is among the conspiracy theorists not convinced by Snow’s death: With the show’s Season 6 premiere mere days away, Apple’s AI assistant has a few thoughts on whether we’ve seen the last of The Bastard of Winterfell.

Check out the responses below.

Apple TV is a tool of seduction in hilarious new ad

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Apple TV will make you weak in the knees.
Apple TV will make you weak in the knees.
Photo: Apple

Alison Brie and that guy who got his arm chopped off in Game of Thrones are bringing their talents to Apple TV in a funny new ad called “The Kiss” that highlights Siri remote features.

Apple premiered the ad today, which puts the two as actors on a dramatic war movie set. Using Apple TV, Brie is intensely studying a kissing scene the two are trying to recreate. Just when it appears Nikolaj Coster-Waldau can’t take another second of over analyzing everything from the angle of their heads to how much tongue the kiss should contain, he comes up with a brilliant idea to loosen up the mood using Apple TV.

Check it out:

How real historical intrigue inspires Game of Thrones

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The Lancasters always pay their debts. In blood.
The Lancasters always pay their debts. In blood.
Photo: TED-Ed

You know nothin’, Jon Snow. Especially how much more full of shifting alliances and intrigue The Wars of the Roses was than your epic television series is able to show. Game of Thrones superfans may already know that 15th-century England inspired much of the structure of George R. R. Martin’s overarching book series, but having it all laid out — lovely animations and visuals to support the historical information — is our first exposure to that fact.

The short animated video, written by Alex Gendler and animated by Brett Underhill, even illustrates how Game of Thrones matches directly to historical facts with some fun Pop-Up Video-style flourishes. You’ll love it.

What Westeros would look like in Apple Maps

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The Lands of Always Winter look like my backyard. Photo: MongoLife/Etsy
The Lands of Always Winter look like my backyard. Photo: MongoLife/Etsy

Let’s just leave aside the obvious Apple Maps jokes and focus on how cool this Etsy user’s Westeros map is.

It’s the continent where the war, sex and epic political conniving takes place in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, made to look like a modern map you might find on your iPhone or Mac.

How cool is that?

‘Synergy, bitches’: Silicon Valley premieres right after Game of Thrones

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It's getting hot up in here. Photo: HBO
It's getting hot up in here. Photo: HBO

For nerds of all stripe, this Sunday night will be an imploding black hole of greatness, with the Season 5 premiere of Game of Thrones, and, right after that, the Season 2 debut of our favorite tech-themed dramedy, Silicon Valley.

In the delightfully awkward trailer, you’ll see the boys rounding up their VC resources to compete with Google stand-in Hooli, who’s hot on the Pied Piper trail to get their algorithms for data compression to market first.

Get your Apple TV ready, because Sunday is all HBO.

This is the best Game of Thrones recap ever

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Key and Peele GoT

Game of Thrones…is coming. The fifth season takes over your Apple TV this Sunday and we’re all pumped for the latest intrigue, dragons, and deeply menacing looks. Not to mention all the great naked people.

If you’ve missed the first four seasons of Game of Thrones, however, you have two choices.

You can binge watch all 40 hours of HBO’s take on George R.R. Martin’s blood and sex-fest, or you can catch up in two minutes, 49 seconds, with this absolutely hilarious recap from comedy duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.

Sesame Street parody makes Game of Thrones look absolutely adorable

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Get ready for Game of Chairs. Photo: Sesame Street
Get ready for Game of Chairs. Photo: Sesame Street

We can’t wait for Game of Thrones to make its fifth season debut next Sunday filled with all the mystery, violence and betrayal that have cemented the fantasy epic as one of TV’s best shows.

We don’t recommend letting your kids tune into the newest episodes, but Sesame Street gives kids the next best option with a funny parody of the hit HBO show that pits Joffrey, Daenerys, Tyrion and Cersei in a serious Game of Chairs contest. Ned Stark does the officiating without managing to lose his head, and Grover makes a surprise power play at the end that could forever change Westeros.

Watch the full clip below.