Apple pissed off a lot of people in 2016. In hindsight, some of Cupertino’s moves look clumsy, and others seem truly clueless, but Tim Cook and Co. also made some brilliant moves during this turbulent year.
Let’s go to our happy place and relive the smartest moves made by Apple in 2016.
Apple Watch owners will be rewarded with a special achievement medal for completing the New Year Challenge. Users will have four attempts to complete the challenge, which starts on January 2 and runs through to the end of the month.
If you find yourself at a loose end today, perhaps after overindulging on the eggnog and looking to sit down for a few minutes, why not check out our picks for the top apps of the last week?
Whether you own an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or MacBook, we’re confident you’ll find something to enjoy on our list!
The big day is almost here, but there are still plenty of options if you want to pick up a Christmas gift for the Apple fan in your life. From expedited shipping to in-store pickup, MacBooks to accessories, here are the week’s best Apple deals.
Apple is now selling refurbished Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 models.
These devices aren’t outdated: They debuted back in September, when they got unveiled alongside the iPhone 7. You can find them cheaper if you buy them second-hand on eBay or Craigslist, but refurbished units from Apple offer a number of advantages.
Getting your hands on an Apple Watch Series 2 in time for Christmas has become nearly impossible for holiday shoppers.
Demand for the new watch has ticked up to a new level in the last month, according to Apple employees, who told Cult of Mac that stores are selling out of the Apple Watch Series 2 so fast that production can’t keep up.
2016 has been a tough year for fitness trackers, with scientists questioning their effectiveness and headlines boldly proclaiming that “fitness trackers don’t work.”
And yet, sales of fitness trackers are healthier than ever, while struggling smartwatch makers are desperately trying to reposition their gadgets to muscle into the fitness market. So what is going on? If fitness trackers really don’t work, why are consumers still buying them?
Maybe your Apple Watch is broken, or you want to get some extra cash to spend on a Series 2 upgrade (or a totally different device). Whatever your reason for wanting to sell your Apple Watch, the best and easiest bet is selling it to us through Cult of Mac’s Apple gear buyback program.
The Apple Watch’s improved waterproof technology is on full display in Apple’s newest ad, which catches some waves with the wearable.
Go Surf is the latest in Apple’s “Give the gift of go” series of short holiday ads that show off Apple Watch Series 2’s fitness features. The new ad is accompanied by another spot titled Go Ride that zips through the city on a bike.
Check ’em out:
The people on your holiday shopping list deserve cutting-edge gifts. That’s why you won’t find ugly sweaters or gifts that are actually meant for pets not people in the Cult of Mac gift guide.
Loaded with tech gift ideas for Apple fans, this handy guide will make you the best gift-giver in the family for once.
This week on The CultCast: Why Apple’s done pursuing the “new hit product business.” Plus: The demise of Pebble Watch is a bad omen for wearables; Foxconn secretly prepares to make more Apple products in the United States; and we remember our favorite movies of 2016!
Our thanks to Harry’s for supporting this episode. Harry’s super-sharp, German-made razors ship right to your door for way less than drugstore razors, and you can use code CultCast at checkout to score $5 off your order at Harrys.com.
Apple hopes the new Apple Watch Series 2 will become one of the most popular tech gifts this holiday season, so the company made some new ads highlighting the wearable’s fitness skills.
The two new ads, showing how Apple Watch can help you live a healthier life, were published on Apple’s U.K. YouTube channel today.
Watch them both:
Christmas is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start shopping for your loved ones. If one of them is a hardcore Apple fan, that might be easier than you think.
Apple products aren’t cheap, but there’s something sweet at every price point, from maxed-out Macs that cost an arm and a leg, to the latest iOS devices for someone really special, and awesome accessories that fit into any budget.
In this week’s Friday Night Fight, we’re putting away our pitchforks for one week only and focusing on great gifts for every Apple fan.
A day after a gloomy third-quarter sales report about the Apple Watch, CEO Tim Cook says the device is already having a record holiday as one of the season’s most popular gifts.
He shoppers bought a record number of Apple Watches during the first week of holiday shopping, and the wearable is on pace to have its best quarter ever to close out 2016.
Developers received a fresh new batch of beta updates this morning. Apple seeded the sixth build of iOS 10.2, just a few days after the last beta build was released.
Other beta builds include updates for macOS Sierra 10.12.2 and watchOS 3.1.1 that bring a number of bug fixes.
Apple Watch may be the most recognizable product in the wearables space, but it isn’t the best-selling.
Sales of Apple Watch are down more than 70 percent, according to IDC Research, which cites third-quarter sales figures of the wearables market.
The writing has been on the wall for smartwatches ever since Cupertino chose to focus on sports and fitness features for Apple Watch Series 2. Smartwatch sales are plummeting, and fitness seems to be the only profitable area remaining in the wearables sector.
More evidence of this trend emerged this week, with smartwatch trailblazer Pebble reportedly being acquired by fitness wearables specialist Fitbit. We might very well be witnessing the demise of the smartwatch as we know it.
So how did we get here? Is Apple Watch really only fit for fitness, or could it still one day fulfill its destiny and become a true wrist-based computing platform?
Could future Apple Watches ditch the rectangular form factor of current models and opt instead for a round watch design, similar to the Pebble Time Round?
A pair of patent applications filed today suggest this is something Apple is considering. Titled “Electronic device having display with curved edges,” the twin applications make no secret about what they contain.
The question is whether Apple will follow through with them.
Developers and public beta testers can now get their hands on updates for macOS Sierra 10.12.2, iOS 10.2 and watchOS 3.1.1.
Thanksgiving might be over, but with a new year right around the corner, it’s time to think about whether we should be thankful for Apple in 2016.
It hasn’t exactly been a spectacular year for Cupertino, but it certainly hasn’t been boring. We’ve gotten a new iPad Pro, iPhone 7 with big improvements, a greater Apple Watch, and the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Touch ID.
But was all that enough? Is this a year you’ll look back on fondly as an Apple fan, or is it one to forget? Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we decide whether we’ve been thankful for Apple over the past 12 months.
Apple’s one-day Black Friday event is now live in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and other markets around the world. Just as expected, there are no discounts to take advantage of, but Apple is giving away free gift cards with eligible orders.
Apple is taking part in Black Friday this year, but it looks like it won’t be slashing any prices.
The company’s promotion has already gone live in Australia and New Zealand and it brings free gift cards with eligible purchases rather than tasty discounts. But don’t expect to get those gift cards with the latest Apple products.
With the launch of a GPS watch, and a renewed Nike partnership, Apple is getting serious about targeting runners. So is Apple Watch Series 2 the perfect running partner that Cupertino promises?
As an avid runner myself, I was keen to find out. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been training for the TCS New York City Marathon, and I took my Apple Watch Series 2 with me every step of the way — right up to the finish line in Central Park last week. Here’s how it measured up.
Apple’s HomeKit platform is set to power an entire community currently under construction in San Jose.
Real estate development firm KB Home revealed today that its new community, Promenade at Communications Hill, will be the first ever in the US to have HomeKit technology built-in, providing a seamless experience from the foundation up.
Ryan Verbeek is fashionable enough as he moves about Holland’s oldest city, but he says his style is not likely to draw much attention. His friends and more than 51,000 followers on Instagram beg to differ and are always curious about one detail — the band Verbeek is wearing with his Apple Watch.
The 17-year-old student has a collection of nearly 40 bands that he routinely switches out depending on his mood or wardrobe. His enthusiasm has gained him Instagram fame, free bands from companies hoping he will model them for his social media account, and a deal to collaborate with a French company to design a couple of bands.