European iPhone and iPad users will be able to kick Apple’s Phone and Messages apps to the curb if they wish. The same goes for an array of other applications that iOS currently makes the default options.
These join a long list of other changes being forced on Apple by the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
A multifunction button specifically to control the Camera app will be included in all four iPhone 16 version, not only the Pro models, according to an unconfirmed report published Thursday.
The same source details a range of improvements to the cameras built into these iOS handsets expected to launch in September.
★★★☆☆
The Zagg Crystal Palace solves a vexing problem for iPad users: you want to show off your gorgeous iPad but you need to protect it too. That’s why most of this folio case is transparent. Nevertheless, it provides 6.5 feet of drop protection.
It also acts as a stand, and there’s a useful Apple Pencil holder.
Zagg’s case offers plenty of great features, but an unfortunate design flaw in the cover flap makes it hard for me to recommend this product.
Want to make your iPhone crash? It’s easy. Type four simple characters into the App Library’s search field and the iOS SpringBoard will go down like a house of cards.
The good news is that a fix already seems to be on the way from Apple for this extremely minor bug.
iCloud+ is Apple’s most successful service by a wide margin, according to an analysts’ report released Monday. Seems plenty of iPhone and Mac users are willing to pay for more than the 5GB of free storage available.
Adoption rates for the Mac-maker’s other services might surprise some people: A third of all Apple users subscribe to Apple TV+, for example.
The CEO of Sonos threw cold water on hopes that the speaker-maker would replace its much-maligned new application with the previous version. Turns out that would make the problem worse.
Sonos users will instead have to wait for the new app to be improved — a process the company promises it’s working on as quickly as it can.
A supposedly leaked Apple invite for the iPhone 16 event looks like a well-executed hoax. The date, the event title and even the fake invite’s color palette seemed to confirm previous leaks about Apple’s upcoming iPhone lineup. However, a video editor who goes by Lore claims he created the invite as a prank.
“Fun fact: i made the ‘leaked’ Apple Event invite in less than 10 minutes using figma and an Ai generated texture and i sent it to the leaker just because i was bored,” Lore wrote Tuesday on X.
In a message to Cult of Mac, Lore confirmed that he created the bogus invite mainly because he was “sick and had nothing to do.” Read Cult of Mac’s interview with the 14-year-old Italian video editor who fooled the internet with his fake iPhone 16 invite.
★★★★☆
After years of waiting, there’s finally a travel hub that can handle a USB-C external display. And the EZQuest USB-C Slim Gen 2 Hub Adapter 6-in-1 can charge a computer while connecting it to up to four other accessories. Plus it’s small enough to go anywhere.
I tested the hub and am really quite pleased, though it does get a bit warmer than I like.
Apple released watchOS 10.6.1 and tvOS 17.6.1 on Monday, a pair of “bug fix” patches for Apple Watch and Apple TV that offer no new features.
New versions of iOS 17.6.1 and iPadOS 17.6.1 from two weeks ago went out at the same time, but don’t appear to be available for most models.
To celebrate the U.S. National Park Service hitting its 108th birthday, Apple will donate $10 for purchases made in its retail stores or online store this week to the National Park Foundation.
This has become an annual tradition for the iPhone-maker.
The dual-camera system in the two basic iPhone models is an unnecessary complication. The iPhone’s secondary Ultra Wide camera simply doesn’t get used enough to justify building it into a handset.
Apple should focus entirely on the primary camera — the only one most people ever use. The iPhone’s Ultra Wide camera just adds unnecessary bulk and expense.
A new buddy action comedy starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck is more popular than any film on streaming, according to a rating analysis firm. And The Instigators is more popular than any streaming series, too.
Meanwhile, three Apple TV+ series pull in plenty of viewers too, including the newly launched Bad Monkey.
Apple TV+ committed on Friday to Dark Matter season two so fans of the popular sci-fi series won’t be left wondering what will happen with Ryan and Amanda.
The show now heads into uncharted territory — season one followed the events of a bestselling novel, but there’s no sequel for the book.
A sale on a four-pack of AirTags brings the Apple tracker close to its lowest price ever. Each AirTag costs less than $20 after a 19% discount from Amazon or Best Buy. If you’d prefer a single tracker, you can get a solo AirTag for up to 14% off the usual price.
AirTags are a great way to keep you from leaving important items behind, or to help you find them if you misplace them.
Among the casing color options for the two iPhone 16 Pro models will supposedly be bronze titanium. The first image apparently showing this colorway leaked Friday.
The picture reveals the other three upcoming color options, too.
The Epic Games Store launched Friday, allowing iPhone users to install the popular Fortnite for the first time since Apple kicked Epic out of the official App Store in 2020.
But there’s an important caveat: the new iOS app marketplace is available only in the European Union.
★★★★☆
ESR’s Rebound Magnetic Keyboard Case 360 includes a protective case for an iPad as well as a keyboard and trackpad. It offers typing with the tablet in portrait or landscape, a trick Apple’s own case/keyboard can’t match. You also can use the case when you leave the keyboard behind.
I tested it with my 13-inch iPad Pro. Here are my hands-on impressions.
Apple is reportedly ramping up work on a tabletop computer that’s essentially an iPad on a robot arm that can rotate and tilt the tablet to keep it facing the user.
This might be the source of previous rumors of a HomePod with a large screen.
I’ve read complaints online that Face ID on iPads is defective. I think what’s happening instead is that the biometric security system in Apple’s tablets has been set to be overly exacting. If it seems like Face ID is not working on your iPad, changing a single security setting can help.
I turned off the Require Attention setting on my iPad Pro and it made Face ID noticeably better. Presto, unlocking anything on my iPad became quick and easy. Previously, it felt like the computer was working to avoid giving me access.
Admittedly, changing this setting made my tablet a little bit less secure. But that’s a very small risk for a significant gain in usability. I recommend it to anyone who uses an iPad and thinks Face ID is not working properly.
Correctly determining when soccer players are offside turns out to be surprisingly difficult. And the English Premier League turned to an unusual source for a fix: an offside-detection system powered by dozens of iPhones.
The same system might someday be used to track players in other sports, too.
Leaks tell us Apple is prepping a super-slim version of next year’s iPhone 17 without all the features of the Pro models but with a price that’ll make it the most expensive in the lineup. These reports left many of us skeptical. Would anyone pay more for a slim-but-stripped-down iPhone?
But let’s change the rumor slightly — what if Apple is prepping a super-slim iOS handset that folds? If the recent leaks are actually about the iPhone 17 Fold, they make a lot more sense.
Western Digital has been showing off its upcoming SD card with a whopping 8TB of storage capacity. And if that weren’t enough, the company’s SanDisk subsidiary is also prepping a tiny microSD card that can hold 4TB.
The days when a bulky external hard drive was necessary to carry around a huge collection of files are almost over.
Patreon, a service that many authors, artists, etc. use to get funding from fans, has to switch its iPhone/iPad application to Apple’s in-app purchase system by November. The company criticized the requirement on Monday, and pointed out this will add Apple’s 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased through the iOS software.
But Patreon isn’t being singled out — Apple makes virtually all applications use its purchasing system. Not that’s everyone is happy about it.
A button being added to the iPhone 16 Pro models is designed to act like the shutter button on DSLR cameras, according to information leaking out of Apple. That includes doing much more than simply taking pictures when pushed.
After years of keeping the iPhone buttons to a minimum, the number continues to expand.
Rumors indicate the iPad 11 is nearly here, and an iPad mini 7 is in development, too. Neither tablet has been updated in years, but that could change this autumn. Finally! We can look forward to better performance and maybe Apple Intelligence.
Here’s what’s likely coming in late 2024 to Apple’s budget tablet, and what we’ve heard about an iPad mini 7 release date.