AirPods - page 31

Apple Music on your iPhone or Mac can be controlled with fingers, mouse, keyboard, or voice. But with the HomePod, you’d better get used to talking. While you can stream music to your HomePod with any AirPlay device, if you want to control the speaker direct, you’ll have to do some talking. Happily, you can get practicing right now. Siri already has a bunch of useful Apple Music commands you can use, so let’s take a look.

Apple’s first big product launch of 2018 is finally here after the HomePod launch was pushed back last year.

HomePod pre-orders are set to open to the public in just a few hours on Friday, January 25th. If the launch is anything like the iPhone X or AirPods, shipping times could slip quick, but it’s going to be hard to know when you can buy one.

The company behind some of the best AirPlay speakers on the market is ready to give Apple’s AirPods a new challenger.

Libratone revealed its new set of wireless earbuds at CES 2018. And while the Track+ earbuds pack as much good design as the AirPods, they come with a feature Apple’s own wireless headphones can’t match: noise cancellation.

Amazon is rolling out an update to the Kindle Oasis which activates a hitherto-dormant Bluetooth chip, allowing you to connect it to speakers and headphones. That includes your Apple AirPods, if you have some. Today we’ll see how to connect and use your AirPods with your Kindle Oasis, and take a look at the other new features in this recent update.

We’re only five days into the new year and I’m personally already itching to see what Apple has planned for this year.

While 2017 was a disappointment of a year in general, Apple released some brilliant products. But what better way to get excited about the year than rounding up all of the rumors for what to expect this year.

2017 was a pretty damn good year for the world’s most profitable tech company.

Apple did much more than rake in more cash than any company this year. Cupertino also pushed out its most impressive product lineup ever, laid the groundwork for the future of augmented reality, moved into a new spaceship campus, battled other tech giants and got tossed into the political spotlight.

Apple dominated the tech scene in 2017 more than any other company. Here’s a recap of some of the year’s most memorable Apple moments.

Very spicy episode this week on The CultCast: We break down why everyone is pissed that Apple is slowing down iPhones and Macs with older batteries, and how you can tell if you’re being throttled. Plus, it’s been a great year for Apple hardware — don’t miss our picks for Apple gadget of the year!

Our thanks to Upsie for supporting this episode. Why pay $200 for AppleCare+ when an iPhone X accidental damage warranty from Upsie is $80 less? Get 10 percent off your first purchase at upsie.com with code “CultCast” at checkout.

Apple’s pretty darn good when it comes to advertising, and 2017 was no exception. Whether it was Portrait mode, AirPods or the iPhone X, creatives working on Apple ads found new and exciting ways to sell us on Cupertino’s latest innovations.

Check out our picks for the year’s best Apple ads below.

Welcome to Cult of Mac‘s Gadget of the Year extravaganza. Unlike some other blogs, where harassed writers get a last-minute order from the boss to come up with an end-of-year list, and then spend a half-hour writing up the first five Google results for their given subject, our top gadgets are all rad, and all genuinely worth your cash.

Two of them will even change how you use technology, which isn’t a bad score for just one year. Let’s take a look at our favorite gadgets of 2017, and see why they’re so good.

With 2018 about to begin, why rehash everything that already happened, just to fill up some space while we take time out for Christmas? Let’s go with a different year-end cliche? Yes, it’s a wish list for Apple products in 2018.

Some of these will almost certainly come to pass, while others perhaps will not. One is probably doomed before you even read about it here. Let’s take a look at what Apple products I hope will part me from my money in the coming year.

Treat the Apple Watch lover in your life to some sweet gifts this holiday season.

Cult of Mac can help you pick out the finest accessories money can buy for Apple Watch fanatics. We have everything from swanky straps to chic charging stands in our best Apple Watch accessories roundup.

Right now, you can get that massive MacBook Pro with Touch Bar that you’ve always wanted. Plus, a pair of iPads at great prices, and the hottest wireless headphones in the land at the best price yet.

You’ll find them all in this week’s roundup of the best Apple deals.

This week, on a holly jolly edition of The CultCast: The next-gen AirPods are supposedly coming in 2018; next-day delivery of iPhone X is a sprinkling of Christmas magic; how to listen to Youtube videos when your iPad or iPhone screen is off; and we wrap up with our favorite TV shows of 2017!

Our thanks to Backblaze for supporting this episode! Backblaze online backup is Mac native, unlimited, unthrottled cloud backup, and it’s only 5 bucks a month. Try it totally free for two weeks at backblaze.com/cultcast.

Apple is planning to release an updated version of its AirPods wireless earbuds in the second half of 2018, respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims in a new note to clients.

While he doesn’t share too many details about what the new AirPods will do differently, he does suggest that they will adopt a smaller quartz component — quite possibly making them even smaller than the first-gen model currently available.

If you’re planning to pick up some last minute AirPods as a Christmas gift, sadly you may have left it a little bit too late — because both Apple’s website, and those belonging to other retailers we checked, are all showing that the next-gen earbuds are sold out.

Apple is now quoting the first or second week of January for delivery, having previously got shipping down to just 3-5 days.

Apple marketing guru Phil Schiller has heard the haters saying the iPhone X wasn’t the first smartphone to get facial recognition. But according to Schiller, that doesn’t matter at all.

“They all stink,” says Schiller in a new interview discussing Apple’s new facial recognition feature. The wide-ranging interview touches on everything from AirPods to virtual reality, but what sets Face ID apart is what got Schiller the most excited.

The New York Times best-selling author Tim Ferriss is widely regarded as one of today’s leading productivity gurus. His latest book, Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice From the Best in the World, just dropped, and it’s full of great pointers for people looking to make the most out of their time and energy. To mark the book’s release, we’re sharing this giveaway of top-shelf Apple tech.

There are three chances to win, and entry is free. Read on for details on the three awesome bundles of Apple gear you could win.

Wired earbuds still sound better than similarly priced wireless earbuds, plus they don’t usually require charging. But the wires are a big enough pain that going wireless is a one-way trip. Never again will you have to untangle your earbuds to listen to a podcast in bed. You won’t have to put up with rustling cables as you walk, or suffer having earbuds ripped out when the wire catches on your hand.

But not all wireless earbuds are worth the switch. And there are also several big differences in style and function that you should consider. Here, then, is your guide to the best wireless earbuds around.

The iPhone comes in such a simple form that you could think of it as the core brain of a larger system. If you need to go underwater, you can get a case for that. If you want to turn it into a satnav for your bike or stroller, you can do that, too (see below).

The iPhone accessory market is huge, and there is a gadget or gizmo for almost anything. Here are some of our favorite iPhone accessories, for the new iPhone X as well as for older iPhones.

AirPods shipments are expected to double next year as demand for one of Apple’s best accessories remains incredibly strong. Shipping times have already been reduced to just 1-3 days thanks to an improved assembly process.

Apple will make you cough up $69 for a new case if you want to charge your AirPods wirelessly, according to some reports. But if you can get your hands on the right components, you can add wireless charging capabilities to an existing case for next to nothing.

Here’s how.

The first big Apple ad of the holiday season is here just in time for Thanksgiving.

Apple published its holiday ad “Sway” to Youtube today. The whimsical ad features a winter holiday cityscape that transforms into something magical as a couple dance through it. Of course, they’re rocking AirPods and the iPhone X the entire time.

Check it out:

Apple surprised investors with its best Q4 earnings report ever today. The outrageous numbers dispelled doubts about the iPhone-maker’s strategy — and pushed Apple closer to becoming the world’s first trillion-dollar company.

With the launch of the iPhone X just hours away, Apple CEO Tim Cook had a lot to be happy about during the earnings call with investors. Analysts quizzed Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri on everything from iPhone 8 sales to how Apple plans to monetize its augmented reality efforts.

Here’s what we found out:

We hope you didn’t spend the last of your savings on iPhone X, because you’re going to need more if you want an AirPower charger to go with it. According to one retailer, Apple’s latest accessory will be wildly expensive.

iOS 11 brings a great new AirPlay switcher for routing your music or movie audio to AirPlay and Bluetooth speakers. It can be accessed from several places, and overall the new switcher is a big improvement on the old one. It is also quicker to respond, and more reliable. Let’s take a look.