Ed Hardy - page 105

If you need a Mac Studio this autumn, it might be smart to order it now. You could find yourself waiting for up to three months for delivery of some some top-tier configurations.

The macOS desktop appears to be caught by the same assembly delays that are affecting MacBook Pro.

Apple shipped more computers in the first three months of 2022 than any of its rivals, according to a market research firm. Increasing Mac sales helped Apple take the top spot away from Lenovo in the global market for laptops, desktops and tablets.

Apple could have done even better but supply constraints cut into the number of iPads it was able to ship.

Third-party iPhone apps scored significantly lower than their Android counterparts, according to an analysis of user reviews of 4,400 top mobile apps.

This does not necessarily mean that Android offers better third-party software, though. iPhone users simply expect more from their apps.

“The data shows iOS users are more critical of mobile apps than Android users are,” said David Kravets, senior content marketing manager for unitQ, the company that did the research, in an interview with Cult of Mac.

And after going through nearly 122 million reviews, unitQ analysts say there’s “lots of room for improvement” in mobile software.

The Transcend JetDrive Lite 330 is a memory card that sits flush in the SD slot in the 2021 MacBook Pro. Use it to add up to a terabyte storage to the notebook or for backups. It’s ideal for people who otherwise have no use for the SD card slot.

I put the just-released 1TB version of the memory card. Here’s why I love it.

The iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 2, a pair of tablets from nearly a decade ago, have been added to Apple’s list of vintage products. This somewhat limits the repair options for them.

It’s a step toward them being declared obsolete by Apple. But that won’t happen until at least ten years after the launch of these products.

Everyone waiting for a new MacBook Pro to be delivered can take heart from a report that Quanta Computer has restarted assembling Apple notebooks. This comes after its assembly plant in Shanghai had been temporarily closed as part of the Chinese government’s attempts to slow the spread of COVID-19.

In the meantime, though, wait times for top-tier MacBooks now stretch into July.

The metaphysical-horror-thriller Shining Girls only premiered on Apple TV+ a few days ago, but the Elisabeth Moss series is already in the top 10 most streamed shows. And it’s drawing positive reviews, too.

Plus, the Apple TV+ hit Severance remains on the weekly list of popular shows, despite wrapping up its first season more than three weeks ago.

Apple shipped 4.6% fewer tablets in the first three months of 2022 than it did during the same period of 2021, according to a market research firm. The iPad-maker blames the shortfall on the global chip shortage preventing it from making enough devices to meet demand.

This is the second quarter in a row that iPad shipments have been hurt by component shortages.

There’s never been a better time to buy an iPad mini 6, the brilliantly redesigned model from 2021. You can pick up Apple’s smallest tablet at its smallest price yet: an amazing $99 below the usual cost for the base model. And those willing to upgrade to more storage can save $109.

This deal is just in time for Mother’s Day. Plus Father’s Day and high school graduations are also coming up. An iPad mini makes a great gift!

Power up all your Apple mobile devices with the HyperJuice 4-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe. The desktop stand can simultaneously juice up an iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods and fourth device of your choice… like a second iPhone.

As a bonus, the iPhone MagSafe stand folds up for easier transport. And it can get power from either USB-C or a DC charger.

Apple Music is now available on Roku streaming devices. Starting Monday, subscribers to the Apple’s streaming music service can listen on any Roku.

This adds to the list of extensive devices that can play Apple Music.

Apple developers are trying to enable the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 to sense the wearer’s body temperature, according to a trusted analyst. But it’s not a done deal. Cupertino also hoped to make sensing body temp part of Series 7 but couldn’t work out the bugs.

This is just one of the health-related sensors that are proving to be a challenge for the Apple Watch team.

Apple still intends to remove iPhone applications it considers outdated from the App Store, but has given developers more time to update their software. The deadline has changed from 30 days to up to 90 days.

And Apple says it focuses the App Store Improvements process on applications that are hardly ever downloaded.

A year ago today, I reviewed the AirTag on launch day. I was unimpressed. Now that I’ve used Apple’s item tracker for 12 months, I can say it’s better than it seemed in my first impressions.

That said, there’s still room for improvement when Apple releases an AirTag 2 or AirTag Pro.

The Peanuts gang is about to star in their first Mother’s Day special. To Mom (and Dad), With Love will focus on Peppermint Patty, who doesn’t have a mom. Or does she?

A trailer dropped on Friday so you can get a glimpse of the troubles Charlie Brown and his friends will have celebrating this special day.

The global market for Android phones shrank considerably in the first quarter of 2022, even as iPhone shipments rose.

Shipments from every major Android maker declined, from Samsung on down. Their combined drops were enough to reduce world smartphone shipments in Q1 by around 10%.

An image supposedly showing the front screen panels of all four iPhone 14 models has leaked out. It gives a side-by-side comparison of some of the most significant changes coming this fall to Apple’s 2022 handsets.

The new “hole and pill” design for the Pro models is clearly on display, as is the first iPhone Max that isn’t part of the Pro series.

The first three months of 2022 were good to Apple, with revenue setting a quarterly record. But the company warned on Thursday that problems getting components and assembling products will take a nasty chunk out of revenue for the current quarter. The hit will to be between $4 billion and $8 billion.

But there’s also plenty of good news in from the conference call CEO Tim Cook had with investors after Apple’s March quarter results were announced.

Apple brought in $97.3 billion in revenue during the January-to-March period. That’s a new record for March-quarter revenue. And it’s an increase of 9% over the same period of 2021.

The company also set March-quarter records for iPhone, Mac, wearables and more.

The HyperDrive USB4 Mobile Dock offers ports for both HDMI and DisplayPort, giving users additional options for an external monitor. And the just-launched USB-C hub also includes dual USB-A ports, Ethernet and more.

And all this fits into a package not much larger than a Magic Mouse.

The iPad Air 5 has only been out a month and you can already buy it at a nice discount. The 10.9-inch mid-range tablet is available at $40 below the usual cost.

And this deal is on the base model, so you don’t have to pay more to save more. Though you can also get discounts of up to $70 on versions with 5G or more storage.

Wall Street analysts harbor modest hopes for Apple’s most-recent financial quarter. They predict the company saw its revenue rise by 5% versus the same quarter of 2021.

The iPhone-maker will announce the results of the January-through-March period ahead of Thursday’s quarterly earnings call. Investors will be looking closely to see how the company is managing the ongoing chip shortage, COVID-19 lockdowns at assembly plants, inflation and other challenges.

The European Union reportedly plans to accuse Apple of violating the law by limiting access to the iPhone’s NFC capabilities to the company’s own payment system. The goal is to give rival systems like PayPal access to the iPhone’s convenient tap-to-pay function.

Apple claims the limitation is there to protect users’ financial information. The EU calls it anticompetitive.

An intrepid Apple expert set out to convert an iMac on its last legs into a useful external monitor with the same general design and functionality as a new Studio Display. The inspiration comes from Apple’s recently released monitor using a 27-inch 5K LCD, as do all the iMacs made for many years.

Watch a video of this DYI project to see if this is something you’d like to do with that old iMac you have gathering dust.

People who ordered a top-tier MacBook Pro in February are being notified that it won’t be delivered until June. The delay results from COVID-19 lockdowns in China hampering notebook assembly.

New orders also face delays of several months, making a refurbished 2021 MacBook Pro a better option for some buyers.