UPDATE: The “Scary Fast” event has come and gone, and it brought the fresh MacBook Pro models and the iMac — all powered with a new M3 processor — that leaks predicted. Check out Cult of Mac‘s full coverage for more details.
Apple fans are getting a treat this Halloween: an event that’ll bring the M3 processor and a range of new Macs to run it.
Here’s everything we’re expecting at Monday’s event, including an iMac and MacBooks, with some accessories thrown in.
Halloween is almost here, making this a great weekend to play some spooky games. Apple Arcade has a nice selection of these to help you enjoy the creepy season.
Here are the best options in Apple’s gaming service to find ghosts, ghouls and goblins.
The most-recent iOS update increases the battery life of several older iPhone models, according to tests on a range of devices. And it’s a jump for almost every model tested over the first iOS 17 version.
But there’s still room for improvement.
NexDock and the infiniteX2P app are designed to turn an iPhone 15 into a laptop. Connect Apple’s latest to the touchscreen/keyboard/mouse and run the app to start multitasking on a 13-inch display.
The USB-C port in the iPhone 15 makes this combination possible.
Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 17.2 to developers on Thursday. The major new feature seems to be the AI-enhanced Journal app that Apple previously promised. macOS 14.2 beta 1, iPadOS 17.2 beta 1, watchOS 10.2 beta 1 and tvOS 17.2 beta 1 are also available to devs.
These come just a day after the previous versions of all these operating system went out to the public.
Apple sells millions of AirTags because people want to track the location of their stuff. But the tracker does only part of the job — it only warns the user when their iPhone moves too far away from the tag. Making it also set off an alarm when the tag moves away while the user is sitting still would be a welcome improvement.
This could be done with a changes to the Find My application. No new hardware is required.
★★★★☆
Apple dropped its leather iPhone cases, but the Mujjo Full Leather Wallet Case with MagSafe is a brilliant alternative. It protects your valuable handset while also providing an easy way to carry credit cards and drivers license. Plus, it looks gorgeous while doing so.
I carried my iPhone 15 Plus this case on holiday, to restaurants … everywhere I went for weeks. Here’s why I love this case for my iPhone 15 Plus, despite a notable drawback.
NBA 2K24 Arcade Edition, the latest addition to the long-running esports games franchise, launched a bit earlier than expected. The feature-packed basketball game is now on Apple Arcade for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.
This is the definitive basketball game for Apple devices, and each new version adds even more features.
Apple introduced macOS Sonoma 14.1 on Wednesday, so it’s out of beta testing and ready for Macs going back about five years. The update includes a few modest enhancements and bug fixes.
Here’s what’s new.
The cost of watching Apple TV+ series and movies just went up 40%. A monthly subscription is now $9.99.
The price for Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and Apple One also increased. But the Apple Music cost remains the same.
Apple invited the world to a product-launch event on October 30. And the invitation strongly suggests that new Macs will be on the agenda.
It’s not surprising — leaks coming out of Cupertino already said the event will bring updated MacBooks and an iMac.
Add Amazon to the list of tech giants throwing their weight behind passkeys. With the new system, customers can shop online or in Amazon’s apps without passwords. Passkeys are considered safer and easier.
Apple, Google and others have already started their own move away from passwords.
Spring 2024 could bring array of new iPad models, according to a reliable Apple tipster. This might include models from the smallest iPad mini to the largest iPad Pro.
Some of the changes will be only a faster processor, but other tablets will supposedly see more dramatic improvements.
Anyone with an iPhone 15 Pro should install iOS 17.1 when it launches this week, especially if their new handset seems to be suffering from screen burn-in. Turns out it’s not a hardware problem but the result of a software bug that gets fixed by the upcoming update.
Plus, there are other new features coming in iOS 17.1.
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.
Update: This report has now been confirmed. On Tuesday, Apple invited the world to watch a product event on October 30. The theme is “scary fast.”
Fresh MacBooks and an iMac might be the highlights of an Apple event the last week of October, according to a high-profile tipster.
Exactly what’s on the agenda isn’t yet clear, but there are a number of strong possibilities, including some potential surprises.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
The scans are both beautiful and informative.
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.
Apple’s first computer with a foldable display will reportedly be an iPad. And the folding tablet could be on the market as early as 2024.
This is just the latest in a long series of reports about the device, so it might really be happening.