Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
Foxconn is Apple's biggest contract manufacturer. Photo: Puddingworld, CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
The Chinese government began multiple investigations into Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that assembles the iPhone, MacBooks and other Apple devices in China.
There are suspicions that the investigations are politically motivated: Foxconn founder Terry Gou is running for president of Taiwan.
This cooking show comes with some broiling-hot commentary. Photo: Apple
Brie Larson as a frustrated scientist with a love of cooking is a recipe for a hit series on Apple TV+. After premiering earlier this month, Lessons in Chemistry is already the second most popular series or film on streaming, according to a market analysis.
New episodes debut every week on Apple’s streaming service.
The new Dungeon Hunter 6 is loads of fun and free (sort of). Image: Gameloft/Goat Games
Dungeon Hunter 6, the new installment in the long-running RPG series, offers heaps of fantasy-themed battle. It’s a mix of real-time fighting and strategy, and offers a fun look to its characters and many, many monsters.
It’s a free to play game for iPhone and iPad, with in-app purchases.
And that's a wrap for "The Problem with Jon Stewart." Photo: Apple TV+
The Apple TV+ commentary series The Problem with Jon Stewart reportedly has abruptly been canceled. The reason is supposedly creative differences between the host and Apple over covering China and AI.
The decision was made before filming of the third season could begin.
★★★★☆
The Samsung T9 puts terabytes of storage in your pocket. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The Samsung T9 solid-state drive is small enough and tough enough to go almost anywhere. And it’s available in capacities up to 4 terabytes.
I put the recently launched SSD to the test with a range of Apple devices and came away pleased with the design and performance. That said, Mac users can’t take advantage of one of its best features.
Future Apple Vision headsets might be more comfortable to wear because of an FCC vote. Photo: Apple
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to allow unregulated devices to use the 6 GHz band to wirelessly communicate over short ranges. Apple could use this to enable fast communication between its Vision AR headsets and other computers, like an iPhone.
Apple is one of several companies that asked the FCC to make the change back in 2019.
It's going to cost more for many to Netflix and chill. Photo: Brad Gibson / Cult of Mac
Netflix raised the price of two tiers of its streaming video service by up to $3 a month. This comes a week after subscription fees for Disney+ and Hulu went up.
The changes make Apple TV+ one of the lowest-priced streaming services.
X-rays reveal the differences between high-quality Thunderbolt and USB-C cables versus cheaper options. Photo: Lumafield
Thunderbolt cables cost far more than standard USB-C ones, and a series of X-ray scans of various options reveals why. The virtual teardown shows that the Apple Thunderbolt 4 (USB‑C) Pro cable has far more features than one might expect for such a simple accessory. Cheaper ones are as bare-bones as could be expected.
Apple's item tracker is a hit, and a new version is on the way. Photo: Mark Chan/Unsplash
It seems the wait for Apple’s second-generation tracker tag will be longer than previously thought. A trusted Apple tipster predicted Wednesday that AirTag 2 won’t be out until 2025.
That’s somewhat surprising considering the original model has been very successful.
mophie's latest is both a power bank and a portable stand for your iPhone. Photo: mophie/Zagg
The mophie snap+ juice pack mini with stand is more than a MagSafe-compatible power bank. Its built-in kickstand means it can also prop up your iPhone while it’s charging for FaceTime calls or watching videos.
It’s the latest addition to a sizable collection of chargers and stands from mophie.
iOS 17.1 is about a week away. Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple gave developers access to the release candidates of iOS 17.1 and macOS 14.1 on Tuesday. This is the last round of testing before introducing them to the public.
Release candidates for iPadOS 17.1, watchOS 10.1 and tvOS 17.1 also went out.
You iPhone and AirPods can have some Hallowe'en fun, too. Photo: Casetify
Hallowe’en is right around the corner, and to celebrate Casetify launched a collection of iPhone cases
featuring Disney villains. And there are accessories for AirPods and Apple Watch, too.
More of a Rick and Morty fan? Casetify has an array of iPhone, MacBook, etc. options for you, too.
Apple Pencil (USB-C) with iPad is the lowest-cost stylus made by Apple. Photo: Apple
Apple just took the wraps off a lower-price version of its iPad stylus. The new Apple Pencil uses a USB-C port for charging so it’s a better fit for use with the budget iPad.
“Apple Pencil has revolutionized note taking, sketching, and illustrating, unleashing endless possibilities for productivity and creativity,” said Bob Borchers, Apple VP of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Combined with the versatility of iPad, the new Apple Pencil unlocks another great option to experience the magic of digital handwriting, annotation, marking up documents, and more.”
The new version is $50 less than Apple Pencil 2, the premium model. But it lacks some of the features of the top-of-the-line version.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max Bill of Materials is higher than for previous models. Photo: iFixit
The cost of the components that go into the iPhone 15 Pro Max is up significantly when compared to its predecessor, according to an analysis of the various parts that make up Apple’s latest smartphone.
The change helps justify the jump in price for this model.
Tiffany Haddish led an ensemble cast in "The Afterparty," which won't be coming back to Apple TV+. Photo: Chris Miller
The Apple TV+ series The Afterparty has reportedly been cancelled after two seasons. The genre-mixing comedy starring Tiffany Haddish won’t get a third season.
Fans can still hope the show will move to another streaming service, though.
Apple Card is great for card holders -- not so much for Goldman Sachs. Photo: Apple
Being the bank backing the Apple Card isn’t going well for Goldman Sachs, and it’s proposed a change that’s it thinks would make the job easier: stop billing every customer at the beginning of the month.
But some bank executives say the whole deal with Apple is untenable. “We should have never done this f—ing thing,” a Goldman partner is quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stomps onto Apple TV+ in November. Photo: Apple TV+
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premieres in November, and Apple TV+ released the full trailer for the series set in the MonsterVerse that contains Godzilla and other classic kaiju.
It’s a must-see for anyone who enjoyed the series of hit movies also set in the same universe.
iOS 17.1 will be here before November. Image: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
We now know the last possible day Apple will release iOS 17.1: Wednesday, October 24.
That is the date by which the iPhone-maker committed to introducing an update that reduces the amount of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the iPhone 12, as required by a French regulatory agency. And that update is part of iOS 17.1.
Very popular series grew the Apple TV+ audience this year. Photo: Apple
Apple TV+ now has 7% of the U.S. streaming market, according to a company that follows the industry. That’s more than double the measly 3% the service had two years ago.
At the top of streaming market are Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Broadcom Wi-Fi modems were at the center of a lengthy lawsuit that's finally been settled. Photo: Florian Knodt/Flickr
The California Institute of Technology got what it wanted out of a years-long patent-infringement lawsuit against Broadcom and (peripherally) Apple. Caltech filed paperwork in a California court dismissing its case.
It’s not clear at this point whether or how much Broadcom and Apple paid the university as part of a settlement. It could be hundreds of millions, though.
The Qualcomm X75 modem will almost certainly appear in the iPhone 16 Pro and add support for 5G Advanced. Image: Qualcomm
The Qualcomm X75 modem unveiled in February will be part of the iPhone 16 Pro models when they launch in 2024, according to an industry analyst. It’s the first from the modem-maker to support the speedy 5G Advanced standard.
But the cutting-edge chip supposedly won’t be included in Apple’s more affordable non-Pro handsets.