graphics

Make your Mac Pro graphics pop with new AMD Radeon Pro GPU

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AMD's latest GPU can boost your Mac Pro's graphics performance.
AMD's latest GPU can boost your Mac Pro's graphics performance.
Photo: Apple

Need to add a little more graphical firepower to your Mac Pro? AMD rolled out its new Radeon Pro W6600X GPU for Mac Pro on Tuesday, now available at Apple for $700.

The new graphics processing unit is designed to boost image quality and performance for design pros and other content creators.

Score a massive library of royalty-free icons and stock images

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The Ultimate Design Assets Bundle
Bolster any design project with thousands of royalty-free and licensed flat icons, stock images, and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

For digital designers, assets are everything. They put flesh on the framework of your site, application or other design projects. So access to a massive library of royalty-free icons, stock images and other assets is an invaluable resource. The Ultimate Design Assets bundle includes three libraries, with lifetime access to thousands of assets.

macOS 10.13.4 lands with eGPU support and business chat in iMessage

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iMac
A new update is out for the Mac.
Photo: Apple

Mac owners can finally use an external GPU to boost their computing power now that Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 to the public.

The software update has been in beta testing with developers for months and is now available to everyone for the first time. macOS 10.13.4 brings a number of improvements to the Mac, including some updates to iMessages, Safari and more.

No, Apple is not slowing down your iPhone to force upgrades

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5 tips to fix an unresponsive iPhone screen
Is your iPhone slower with iOS 11? It's all in your head.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Every major iOS update slows down older devices to force users to upgrade. At least that’s what recent reports have suggested.

The truth is, Apple is doing no such thing. Benchmark data proves that iPhone performance drops over time are just a myth. The 4-year-old iPhone 5s is about as fast with iOS 11 today as it was with iOS 7 when it made its debut in 2013.

Apple speaks out about Imagination’s ‘misleading’ claims

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Apple isn't happy with Imagination Technologies.
Apple isn't happy with Imagination Technologies.
Photo: Apple

Apple has finally hit back at British chipmaker Imagination Technologies for its “inaccurate and misleading” claims.

Imagination, which has been manufacturing graphics chips for iOS devices for the past decade, has been taking stabs at Apple since it revealed the company will be developing its own mobile GPUs. Now Apple is setting the record straight.

iPhone chipmaker no closer to ending dispute with Apple

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Apple patches things up with mobile GPU maker Imagination
Imagination has been building GPUs for Apple since the iPod.
Photo: Apple

Imagination Technologies, the company that has been making graphics chips for Apple’s mobile devices for well over a decade, says it has made no progress in its ongoing dispute with the iPhone maker.

Imagination is still in talks with potential buyers after putting itself up for sale, but it is adamant that it will continue its fight with Apple after the company’s “unsubstantiated claim.”

iMac Pro’s insane price tag is actually a great deal

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Apple
Is the iMac Pro really worth $5,000?
Photo: Apple

When Apple unveiled the new iMac Pro at WWDC this week, not only was it the most powerful Mac ever made, it was also one of the most pricey ever.

At $5,000 for the baseline model, the iMac Pro is aimed at the most professional of Pro users, but according to a new price analysis on competing super-powered PC, the iMac Pro might actually be a killer deal.

Imagination Technologies files formal dispute with Apple

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Apple isn't happy with Imagination Technologies.
Apple isn't happy with Imagination Technologies.
Photo: Apple

Imagination Technologies, the British company that has been designing Apple’s mobile GPUs for years, has started a “dispute resolution procedure” with the Cupertino company over a licensing standoff.

Imagination has already confirmed that Apple will be dropping its graphics chips within two years and adopting its own instead. But the company suspects Apple has stolen its intellectual property.

Safari update will boost battery life on MacBook Pro

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Safari will be kinder to MacBook Pro battery life.
Safari will be kinder to MacBook Pro battery life.
Photo: Apple

A Safari Technology Preview rolled out this week brings changes that make battery life even better on the MacBook Pro.

Release 23 of Apple’s web browser is better at switching between GPUs for WebGL content, which means your MacBook’s dedicated graphics chip carries out less work.

Don’t worry, Tim Cook says new iMacs are coming

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iMac
The iMac is in desperate need of an update.
Photo: Apple

The iMac didn’t get much love in 2016, but according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, killer new desktop Macs are coming.

In a note to Apple employees, Cook assured staff that desktop computers are still “really important” and that they shouldn’t worry about future machines.

Video glitches plague new MacBook Pro

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Apple's new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar should be hitting store shelves by the end of the week.
You might want to hold off on buying the new MacBook Pro.
Photo: Apple

The new MacBook Pro may not have been worth the long wait for many customers that preordered.

Early owners of Apple’s new machine are reportedly encountering problems with the GPU that cause the display to glitch so bad the MacBook Pro becomes unusable at times.

macOS bug gives MacBook Pros a fake graphics upgrade

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intel-graphics-800x600
Is your MacBook Pro reporting the right graphics?
Photo: MacRumors

A bug in macOS Sierra is incorrectly telling some users that their MacBook Pro just got a nice graphics upgrade.

Some 15-inch units are packing Intel Iris Pro 580 graphics, according to the built-in System Information report. But in actual fact, they have Intel Iris Pro 530 graphics instead.

Apple poaches top talent from iPhone 7 GPU chipmaker

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A10 processor
Custom graphics chips could be Apple's next big move.
Photo: Apple

Apple is siphoning talent from one of its key partners, Imagination Technologies, which makes the graphics chip for the iPhone 7.

The British chipmaker was rumored to be in acquisition talks with Apple earlier this year. Apple told the press it wasn’t interested in buying Imagination Technologies, but based on a slew of recent hires, the iPhone-maker does want its employees.

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.

How to represent your town with custom Snapchat geofilters

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Your bedroom probably doesn't count as a
Your bedroom probably doesn't count as a "location."
Photo: Maurizio Pesce/FlickrCC

If you’re looking to show a little local pride in Snapchat, the company made it pretty easy to make and upload your own so that you (and anyone else who’s in that location) can swipe right and show off a custom geofilter.

All you need is a graphics program like Illustrator, Photoshop, or (my favorite) Pixelmator, a little bit of time, and you can represent your town with a custom Snapchat geofilter.

Here’s how.

How Intel’s Skylake processors will supercharge your MacBook

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Intel-Kaby-Lake
Intel's Skylake chips are coming to your MacBook.
Photo: Intel

This year’s MacBook and MacBook Pro upgrades are expected to bring Intel’s latest Skylake processors. Delivering more than just speed improvements, the new chips will bring far greater performance, graphics and battery life to Apple’s notebook lineup for 2016.

Here’s what makes those Skylake processors so special — and how they’ll supercharge that new Mac you’ll soon be drooling over.