The tech accessories industry had better get to work on coming up with a protective case for a new Apple product that appears to be fragile – the remote control for Apple TV.
The above remote fell onto a tiled floor from a person’s lap and shattered. It does not work, costing the owner an extra $79 to replace it (nope, he did not purchase Apple Care).
This week: Apple just had their best year ever, and it’s hard to fathom how much cold hard cash they made—we’ll put it in perspective. Plus: Nintendo’s first iOS game confuses us; the new Apple TV isn’t quite the revolution Apple promised; and stick around for a spooky new Get to Know Ur Cultist… if you DARE.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Build a beautiful website quick at Squarespace.com, and enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off.
It’s finally here! The Apple TV we’ve all been waiting for should be arriving in homes across the world today. We’ve got our review of the cute little black box, plus a ton more, including the biggest takeaways from Apple’s recent earnings call, how Google is facing its own Bendgate issues, 10 delightful new iOS games from the month of October, and how to get those gorgeous Apple TV screensavers right on your Mac.
All that, plus the usual plethora of news, reveiws, and how-tos, and you’ve got yourself a hot new free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Be sure to download our fantastic app today.
Here’s the rundown of the top stories this week:
The new Apple TV is here, and there’s no doubt it’s the best set-top box we’ve seen from Cupertino, with powerful new hardware and the tvOS operating system, Siri integration — and most importantly, support for third-party apps and games.
If you’re into movies and TV shows, or playing the greatest iOS games on your big screen, the new Apple TV is probably at the top of your wish-list if you haven’t already bought one. But how does it compare to the other products Apple has launched this year? Is it better than the rest?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over that very question!
If you didn’t pre-order the new Apple TV earlier this week, there’s still a chance to get the new TV box before other Apple fans even receive their shipments.
Apple didn’t announce what day the Apple TV would be available at retail locations, but it appears that Apple Stores across the US have the new Apple TV in stock starting today.
The Apple TV is capable of supporting stereoscopic 3D apps on 3D-capable televisions, according to longtime Apple game developers Pangea Software.
So when can we expect the first wave of 3D Apple TV games? The answer to that question is “right now,” since Pangea has revealed that five of its titles already take advantage of the technology.
If you’ve got an Apple TV, you’ve got a ready way to get any videos from your iPhone or iPad onto your big screen.
While we all wait for the latest version of Apple’s famous “hobby,” why not watch a video or two on our current Apple TV, right from our iOS device of choice.
Here’s how to AirPlay videos from your iPhone to your giant TV.
When Apple TV units finally ship tomorrow, they will bring iOS apps to the big screen for the first time.
Some of the best apps from your iPhone are making the jump, including Periscope, Zillow and Airbnb. And of course all the old Apple TV apps like Netflix, HBO Now, Hulu and Showtime will still be available.
Now that the new Apple TV’s arrival is imminent, developers are ready to flood the device with a tons of apps focusing on everything from cooking and exercising to gaming and news.
Here’s a list of new apps available on Apple TV:
Apps on Apple TV could allow for Periscope-style feedback to live broadcasts, says Apple Senior VP Eddy Cue in a new interview with CNNMoney‘s Brian Stelter.
That’s one of the most fascinating points raised in a short conversation about Apple’s streaming set-top box ambitions, which also touches on a number of other topics — including Apple’s plans to make original Netflix-style content for Apple TV.
Apple TV’s Siri-enabled universal search feature is set to come to Apple Music early next year, Apple has confirmed.
The feature means that Apple TV users will be able to request to find songs, artists or albums in the way that they can currently find movies or TV shows.
The BBC has confirmed that its on-demand “catch-up” iPlayer service is coming to the new Apple TV for the first time.
Despite being available on other platforms including Roku, Google Chromecast, Amazon’s Fire TV, Sky’s Now TV and various video game consoles, iPlayer has not previously been available through Apple TV — although it was possible to use the BBC’s free iPlayer app for the iPad or iPhone via Airplay.
The new Apple TV looks like the old one, but it’s a complete overhaul of the little black puck. It now comes with a full-blown App Store, a touch-sensitive remote and voice controls via Siri.
You can preorder it now, and it’ll ship Friday.
We got our hands on a developer model and have been playing around with it. We like it a lot. Setup is fun, the interface looks stunning, and the touch remote works beautifully. If the Music app is any indication, apps on this thing are going to be great. There’s just one little thing wrong. And it’s not little, actually. It’s big.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly about the 4th-generation Apple TV.
Apple made its refreshed Apple TV available for pre-order earlier this week, and now Best Buy is also accepting pre-orders for the next-gen streaming set-top box.
As with Apple’s official pricing, the 32GB model will set customers back $149.99, while the 64GB version costs $199.99. Best Buy notes that the product will be available for in-store pickup from November 4.
Apple is scheduled to reveal its earnings for the final fiscal quarter of 2015 on Tuesday, October 27, and investors are expecting monstrous results.
Sales of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus should boost revenues to new heights after Apple announced that it sold a record 13 million units of the new devices during launch weekend alone. Exactly how many iPhones Apple sold won’t be revealed until the bell closes, but Tim Cook seemed pretty optimistic in a recent interview.
Cook told The Wall Street Journal that Apple Watch shipped even more watches last quarter than in the first quarter. It’s unlikely Apple will give us the actual Apple Watch sales figures during the earnings call, but there should be a lot of juicy Apple bits.
Here’s everything to expect from Apple’s Q4 2015 earnings:
One of the coolest features of the new Apple TV is its absolutely stunning new screensavers, which fly you through some of the most gorgeous locations in the world.
Apple hasn’t announced any plans to bring the screensavers over to the Mac yet, but they’re such a perfect fit that developer John Coates created a new Swift app that lets anyone get the beautiful backdrops on their desktop.
Here’s how to do it:
Apple has just made its new Apple TV refresh available for pre-order from its online store in 80 countries — with orders with one day shipping set to ship from October 30.
What a way to kick start the week!
This week on The CultCast: our hands-on first impressions of the new Apple TV! Plus: the new and notable in OS X 10.11.1 and iOS 9.1. And if you want to hear why a half-cyborg Woz might one day lead the AI armies of Armageddon, stick around till the end for an all new (and totally ridiculous) Get To Know Your Cultist, #FutureDay edition. Because quite frankly, your life might. Just. DEPEND on it…
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Build a beautiful website quick at Squarespace.com, and enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off.
If you’re a developer eager to take advantage of the new Apple TV App Store, today’s your lucky day — because Apple just opened up its submission process for tvOS apps.
The first big updates for iOS 9 and El Capitan were released by Apple this morning, but the company has some smaller updates for the Apple Watch and Apple TV 4, too.
The GM for tvOS was seeded today to developers who already got their hands on the early release Apple TV 4 units. That software will be the final version the new set-top box ships with next week. Apple Watch owners also received an update in the form of watchOS 2.0.1.
The Apple Watch update contains the following fixes:
A ton of new emoji land on iOS devices today with the public launch of iOS 9.1.
Apple released iOS 9.1 this morning to users after five beta builds of the first big iOS 9 update were tested by developers. Among the new features: dozens of new emoji for everything from tacos, burritos, unicorns — and even a middle finger.
iOS users currently running iOS 9.0.2 can grab the new software via an over-the-air update or download it directly from iTunes.
Here’s everything that’s new in the update:
Apple TV has locked up some fancy, exclusive content ahead of the launch of its new set-top hardware next week.
M2M, which is a really chic way of saying “Made to Measure,” will air content devoted to the fashion world and its icons. It comes courtesy of a partnership between Apple and sports/fashion titan WME/IMG, and you’ll only be able to see it through Apple.
Here’s what you can expect your Apple TV to be wearing when the channel launches Tuesday.
The eagerly-anticipated Apple TV refresh will be available for pre-orders next Monday, said Tim Cook during his on-stage appearance at the Wall Street Journal Digital Live conference.
Customers won’t have to hang about, either, as shipments are likely to be sent out by the end of that week.
Another week, another fantastic Cult of Mac Magazine ripe for your perusal! We’ve got a ton of stuff on the latest iPhone 6s controversy, unfortunately dubbed “Chipgate,” as well as a deep dive into OS X El Capitan with a tour and some great tips, a head-to-head comparison of Apple TV versus its next big rival, Roku 4, some fear and loathing over the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic, and a sexy (?) power strip and some other fantastic product reviews.
Check it all out in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, available for download at the incredibly low price of free!
Here’s the rundown for this week’s issue:
Those on the lookout for a new streaming box this fall will have a tough decision to make when the fourth-generation models of both Apple TV and Roku hit the market. And while they both have some solid features, which one you end up buying depends a lot on what you already own.
Here’s how the two streamers measure up.
A new study puts Apple TV at the top of the streaming-box charts, but it’s faring less well in public perception on social media.
Adobe draws data for its quarterly survey, Digital Video Benchmark, from hundreds of apps and billions of online views. And the second chunk of 2015 had some surprises.