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Ed Hardy - page 9

Upgrading Siri with Google Gemini will be $1 billion quick fix

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Upgrading Siri with Google Gemini will be $1 billion quick fix
At the heart of the new Siri will be Google AI. But it’s not as bad as you might think.
Graphic: Apple/Google

The brains behind the upcoming AI-enhanced version of Siri will reportedly be provided by Google, not Apple’s own tech. For a hefty price.
Google’s software will supposedly run on Apple servers, so user data isn’t being handed over to Google.

Apple quietly added this awesome feature in iOS 26.1

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The best iOS 26.1 feature you probably haven’t noticed yet
Apple made a simple change in iOS 26.1 that you’ll probably love.
AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

My favorite change in iOS 26.1 has nothing to do with Liquid Glass, though cosmetic tweaks to the glossy user interface have drawn the most attention in the latest OS update. To me, the biggest improvement is the option to disable the Lock Screen swipe to open the iPhone’s Camera app.

I frequently pull out my iPhone to find the Camera app has been running in my pocket, draining the battery. It’s that damn Lock Screen swipe at fault. If this happens to you, too, here’s how to disable it in iOS 26.1.

Jawohl! Full Live Translation with AirPods coming to EU.

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Live Translation with AirPods
Live Translation with AirPods breaks the language barrier.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s nifty new feature that lets AirPods translate speech in real time will reportedly become available to EU residents while they’re in Europe next month.
That will put an end to an odd situation: Currently, non-Europeans can use the AirPods Live Translation feature while in Europe, and EU residents can use it when traveling outside the European Union but not within the EU.

Save up to 32% on Apple’s official iPhone 17 cases

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Photo of a cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro in an orange Apple silicone case, sitting on a bathroom sink.
Apple's silicone cases feel silky smooth and come in a variety of vibrant colors.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Getting an iPhone case has never been more important with the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models seemingly quite susceptible to scratches. Fortunately, deals save you up to 26% on the full range of official Apple cases for the new models: bumper case, silicone case and clear case (just not TechWoven).
An iPhone case is always a good idea, especially with these deals. But don’t delay — the savings are available for a limited time.

Your MacBook needs the ‘world’s smallest 1TB USB-C flash drive’

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SanDisk Extreme Fit USB-C Flash Drive: In use
You can carry your MacBook around without removing the SanDisk Extreme Fit USB-C Flash Drive.
Photo: SanDisk

The SanDisk Extreme Fit USB-C Flash Drive packs up to a terabyte of storage, but is tiny enough that you can leave it plugged into your MacBook. SanDisk touts it as “the world’s smallest 1TB USB-C flash drive.”
Outgrown the storage capacity of your older MacBook? This drive could be just the boost you’re looking for.
The mini SSD can even be used with an iPhone, as well as an iPad.

Thank goodness Slide Over is back in iPadOS 26.1

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Toggling Slide Over on the iPad
Slide Over multitasking returns to iPad!
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Slide Over, one of the best iPad multitasking features, got rescued from the rubbish heap with the new iPadOS 26.1. It’s an ideal way to keep an application that you check frequently but not constantly within easy reach — it’s offscreen but accessible with just a flick of a finger.
Here’s how to use Slide Over, and why you shouldn’t ignore the option now that it’s back in iPadOS 26.1, which launched on Monday.

Apple builds App Store for the web, and everyone asks, ‘What took so long?’

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Apple App Store on the web
Apple — finally — put the App Store on the web.
Screenshot: Lewis Wallace /Cult of Mac

The iPhone App Store is now accessible on a Mac. And iPad users can research what macOS applications are available. Anyone can see what Apple Watch apps are available. All of these are possible now that Apple finally put the App Store on the web Monday.

It’s long overdue, and still missing a feature many users would like.

Today in Apple history: iPad mini arrives

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The iPad mini made a big splash for such a tiny device.
The iPad mini made a big splash for such a tiny device.
Photo: Apple

November 2: Today in Apple history: iPad mini launch brings smaller size and price tag November 2, 2012: The first iPad mini goes on sale, shrinking both the size and the price tag of Apple’s groundbreaking tablet computer.

With a reduced screen size of 7.9 inches – instead of the then-standard 9.7 inches – the original iPad mini is the fifth iPad to be released by Apple. Critics hail Apple’s most affordable iPad ever, although some people complain about the tablet’s lack of a Retina display.

Why iPhone’s Wi-Fi 7 performance can’t beat Wi-Fi 6E

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Testing shows iPhone Wi-Fi 7 performance can’t beat Wi-Fi 6E
The iPhone 17 Wi-Fi 7 performance isn’t really turtle-like, but it’s not half as fast as it could be.
Illustration: ChatGPT

Although Wi-Fi 7 is theoretically more than four times faster than Wi-Fi 6E, tests of wireless performance on newer iPhone models that support the upgraded standard show no real improvement in speed. This is reportedly because Apple did not implement the Wi-Fi 7 changes that would boost performance over iPhones with Wi-Fi 6E.

In Apple’s defense, it did implement the portion of Wi-Fi 7 intended to make wireless connections more reliable. That’s arguably the part of the standard that benefits average users the most.

Top 4 Apple products with most upgraders in Q4 2025

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Top 4 Apple products with most upgraders in Q4 2025
Here are the products getting repeat customers into Apple stores.
AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

Record numbers of customers upgrading their gear helped push up Apple’s revenue into record territory last quarter, and that’s boosting AAPL’s stock price.

Here are the products that the company says are the most popular with upgraders in Q4 2025. Some you might be able to guess, but there’s a very conspicuous absence from the list.

Apple posts record revenues — and predicts the best is yet to come

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Colorful, stylized AI image of the Wall Street bull rampaging on a brick street, with the Apple logo in the sky above it.
Apple beat Wall Street expectations yet again, and set records in some important categories.
AI image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

Apple set a new record for iPhone revenue in its most recent financial quarter. Total company revenue reached $102.5 billion, an 8% increase over the same quarter of last year. And earnings per share hit $1.85, a rise of 13%, the company said Thursday.

Plus, Apple CEO Tim Cook predicted the current quarter will be “the best ever in the history of the company” — and AAPL’s stock price shot up in after-hours trading.

Yes, you can repair an M5 iPad Pro — but you probably shouldn’t

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M5 iPad Pro teardown reveals it’s a challenge to repair
Look deep inside an M5 iPad Pro in a teardown of the new tablet.
Photo: iFixit

iFixit did its traditional teardown of the M5 iPad Pro on Thursday and gave Apple’s newest tablet a much better reparability score than previous models. That doesn’t mean the computer is easy to fix, though.

Watch the teardown to take a deep dive into the guts of the M5 iPad Pro.

Trump cuts China tariff that costs Apple billions

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U.S. President Donald Trump with China President Xi Jinping
A trade agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping benefits Apple.
Illustration: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

The tariff Apple must pay to import iPhones and other products assembled in China will be cut in half — down to 10%. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the change after a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

It’s a change that could save Apple billions of dollars.

Slim wall charger blows away anything from Apple [Review] ★★★★

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Satechi OntheGo 67W Slim Wall Charger review★★★★
The Satechi On-the-Go 67W Slim Wall Charger packs outsized power.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Satechi OntheGo 67W Slim Wall Charger lives up to its name. It’s sleek and very portable, but can pump out enough power to juice up a MacBook. It makes anything from Apple seem bulky, slow and limited.

I tested out its capabilities for this hands-on review.

Weird AirPods Pro 3 glitch proves unbearable at 30,000 feet

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A photo illustration of AirPods Pro 3 floating in the air with a bright light emanating from behind them, over rugged mountains with an airplane wing in the background
AirPods Pro 3 might have an altitude problem.
Photo illustration Cult of Mac

Imagine being on a long plane flight and one of your new AirPods Pro 3 earbuds keeps whistling in your ear. Infuriating, eh? That’s what some users of Apple’s latest wireless earbuds say happens while flying.

It certainly doesn’t happen to every user. But there’s no easy solution for those experiencing the problem. Still, there are a few things you’ll need to be ready in case you’re unlucky.

Here’s when every iPad gets a beautiful OLED screen

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OLED iPad mini concept
Add iPad mini to the list of Apple devices getting an OLED screen.
Image: Cult of Mac/Apple/Paul Inkles

The next-generation iPad mini will be upgraded with a gorgeous OLED display, according to a generally reliable source of Apple insider info. It’s apparently part of a drive that will eventually see an OLED screen coming to the iPad Air, too. But there’s bad news about the budget iPad.

The move comes as the oft-predicted OLED MacBook Pro moves closer to release.

iOS 26.1 and macOS Tahoe 26.1 take their last big step before release

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iOS 26.1 release candidate
The iOS 26.1 release candidate means the final version is almost out.
Image: Cult of Mac

Apple seeded the release candidates of iOS 26.1 and macOS Tahoe 26.1 to developers and the public on Tuesday. This is usually the final step before new versions launch — which should happen next week. The highlight is a new setting that makes the controversial Liquid Glass UI less transparent.

Release candidates for iPadOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, tvOS 26.1 and visionOS 26.1 also went out to on Tuesday.

These 4 pro Mac apps could soon launch on iPad

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These 4 pro Mac apps could soon launch on iPad
Pixelmator Pro is one of the Mac apps that could could hit iPad.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Those clamoring for more professional-grade iPad applications could soon get a quartet of them. An analyst found evidence on Monday that Pixelmator Pro and three more Mac apps for graphics professionals are getting ported to iPadOS.

If true, the move should help quiet the critics who complain that the iPad Pro isn’t very “pro.”

How Apple might give the M6-powered iPad Pro a serious performance boost

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How Apple might give the M6-powered iPad Pro a serious performance boost
Getting max performance out of the next iPad Pro might require more than a faster chip.
Image: ChatGPT

The next-generation iPad Pro will almost certainly get an Apple M6 processor for better performance, but Apple will go beyond a new chip to make its next premium tablet even faster: it’ll build in a vapor chamber cooling system, according to a reliable source of insider information.

The change will especially benefit graphic designers who push the GPU in current iPads to its limits.

What controversy? Cult of Mac readers love Apple’s Liquid Glass.

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Liquid Glass love
There are far more Liquid Glass fans than you might think.
AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of mac

The upcoming iOS 26.1 makes it easy to disable Liquid Glass, the translucent, glasslike user interface recently added to the iPhone (and Apple’s other devices). But judging from the results of a poll of Cult of Mac newsletter readers, a large majority of users are quite happy with Liquid Glass.

There’ve been plenty of complaints about the new look, but it seems these are coming from a vocal minority.

M5 iPad Pro review: What’s actually new — and worth your attention ★★★★★

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An image of an M5 iPad Pro floating above grass, used to illustrate a hands-on review of Apple's new tablet.★★★★★
The M5 chip is only one of seven major ways that Apple improved the latest iPad Pro.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The 2025 iPad Pro is the best high-end tablet Apple’s ever made. Don’t make the mistake of dismissing it as a “chip and ship” upgrade because the major change is the new M5 processor. Plenty of other enhancements make the tablet better than the M4 model. It moves files much faster, charges more quickly, offers better Wi-Fi and more.

If you’re still using an older model like the M1 iPad Pro, you’ll see really huge changes for the better if you upgrade to Apple’s latest tablet.

Based on my time with the M5 iPad Pro, here are seven new features that make the tablet really stand out.

iPhone Air flop proves Apple should make fewer phone models

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iPhone Air flop
As beautiful as the iPhone Air is, the super-slim handset simply is not selling well.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

The iPhone Air is Apple’s latest attempt to make a fourth iPhone variant. It’s bombing, just like previous similar efforts. It’s clear that the vast majority of customers are happy with the other versions and have no interest in another type of iPhone, no matter what design it uses.

Apple should drop the whole idea. Too many options are as bad as too few.

West Virginia becomes latest state to allow driver’s licenses in Apple Wallet

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West Virginia is the latest state to allow driver’s licenses in Apple Wallet
West Virginia motorists, add your driver’s license to Apple Wallet today.
Graphic: Cult of Mac

West Virginia has just become the thirteenth U.S. state or territory to support digital driver’s licenses and IDs stored in the Wallet app on iPhone or Apple Watch.

Check our list to see if your state has already joined the program.

Why Apple might kick the iPhone 19 to the curb

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iPhone 20 concept
The iPhone 20 might step on the iPhone 19.
AI concept: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 20 is reportedly coming sooner than you might think. Apple is so eager to release the 20th anniversary model that it might skip a number and introduce the iPhone 20 months before the usual schedule.