Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com's senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late '90s and early '2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and '90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs' leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK's National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He's an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California's legendary Death Ride.
Thanks to its clever hinge and nano-texture glass, the iPhone Duo appears crease-free (at least for now). Photo: Apple
Judging by social media, the iPhone Duo looks like it will be a big hit, not least because the first folding iPhone appears to have no visible screen crease when opened to full size.
That’s a big drawback for other foldable devices. Here are some other revealing tidbits about the iPhone Duo.
John Ternus brings years of hardware experience to his new role as Apple CEO. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
John Ternus officially took over as Apple’s CEO on Tuesday, and his key challenge will likely be the classic “innovator’s dilemma.” Should he focus on maintaining Apple’s dominant position or ruthlessly cannibalize the products he helped develop during his 25-year career at Apple?
Ternus, a certified hardware guy, replaced operations whiz Tim Cook, who served as Apple’s CEO for 15 years after taking over from Steve Jobs. Apple updated its website’s leadership page to reflect this gigantic change — and it reveals some of Ternus’ top priorities going forward.
★★★★☆
Incogni's personal data scrubbing service helped stop an elderly relative from getting scammed. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
When fraudsters targeted an elderly relative of mine last year, they scammed her out of thousands of dollars. We tried to stop them, without much success. But then we scrubbed her personal data from the internet using a service called Incogni.
Surprisingly, using this affordable data removal service made all the difference. Here’s how I stopped my relative from getting scammed.
Siri AI now lives largely in the iPhone's Dynamic Island. Photo: Apple
Apple reinvented its smart assistant Siri as “Siri AI,” with a new range of advanced capabilities and its own dedicated app, the company said Monday during its WWDC26 keynote.
Siri, Apple’s long-maligned smart assistant that was often not terribly smart, gets a new architecture that better understands personal context and can perform a wide range of actions across devices.
“We couldn’t be happier to bring you Siri AI, our new version of Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence,” said Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi during the keynote. “It’s more intelligent, knowledgeable and capable.”
President Donald Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook shake hands in the White House. Photo: The White House/Wikimedia Commons
President Donald J. Trump paid tribute to outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday. In a post on Truth Social, the president’s social network, Trump praised Cook in his signature style, calling Cook “Tim Apple” and claiming he called to “kiss my ass.”
Trump applauded Cook’s leadership at Apple, saying he did a better job than Apple co-founder Steve Jobs himself would have. And, as is his way, Trump littered the post with capital letters, hyperbole and a fair amount of not-so-humble brags.
Tim Cook's had a remarkable run as Apple CEO, with perhaps only one single misstep in 15 years at the top. Photo: Apple
Is Tim Cook Apple’s best CEO? No, that title belongs to Steve Jobs — but Cook definitely comes in a very close second.
In a remarkable 15 years at the helm of Apple, Cook oversaw extraordinary growth, released a string of innovative products, and instituted important internal changes.
He performed almost flawlessly, and, to my mind, has only done one thing wrong.
Some of the most important products from Apple's first 50 years might surprise you. Image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac
Apple produced an amazing string of hit products over its 50 years, but to paraphrase Napoleon the pig: Some are more important than others.
Here are the most important products in Apple’s 50-year history. And no, this list is likely not what you were expecting. They’re not necessarily the biggest or the most well-known.
Apple: The First 50 Years is David Pogue’s latest book. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Bestselling author David Pogue just published Apple: The First 50 Years, an ambitious book about the history of Apple.
The approximately 600-page, full-color book spans the company’s epic saga, from its founding by two college dropouts to its latest machinations with Apple Intelligence. It’s a fun and informative book, and an easy read despite being a doorstop.
I interviewed Pogue about his book and the wild ride that Apple’s been on for the last five decades.
Steve Jobs once owned these Apple-1 computer components, which were stored in a weathered cardboard box mailed to the house where he and Steve Wozniak set up shop in the 1970s. Photo: RR Auctions
How would you like to own a ribbon cable once owned by Steve Jobs? Or how about a heat sink? What about his boyhood collection of bow ties?
These are just three of about 200 items associated with the Apple co-founder currently being auctioned online to celebrate Apple’s 50th anniversary.
Entitled “Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution: The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction,” the collection of weird auction stuff is more interesting than usual. It provides a glimpse inside Jobs’ childhood home and the legendary Silicon Valley garage where Apple was born. There’s also Apple’s very first check, expected to go for a cool half million.
iFixit's AI-powered app promises to put a master technician in your pocket. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
A decade after getting banned from the App Store, iFixit is back with a free DIY repair app that uses AI to diagnose problems and guide users as they fix their Apple devices.
iFixit trained the app’s AI-powered FixBot on 20 years of the company’s highly regarded repair guides. Now the iFixit app, released Tuesday, promises to make fixing broken iPhones and MacBooks a breeze (as long as you don’t have clumsy sausage fingers).
Plus, the iFixit app features a built-in real-time battery monitor that will prompt you when to replace a failing battery (with iFixit parts, of course).
Lots of Apple fans are saying good riddance to Alan Dye, but they're overlooking his best work. Screenshot: D&AD
Alan Dye, the former chief of Apple’s user interface design, has done brilliant, groundbreaking work — but almost no one is getting to experience it.
Dye just got poached by Meta, and the majority opinion among Apple fans seems to be “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
Some of Dye’s critics, like John “King of the Apple nerds” Gruber, are scathing. “His tenure is considered a disaster by actual designers inside and outside the company,” Gruber wrote after Dye’s departure from Apple became public Wednesday.
High-level execs Kate Adams, left, and Lisa Jackson will leave Apple in 2026. Photos: Apple
Right after UI chief Alan Dye quit Apple, two more executives are poised to leave the company. Next out the door are Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, and Kate Adams, Apple’s general counsel, the company said Thursday.
Jackson will retire in late January 2026, according to Apple. Adams will retire late next year.
In the meantime, Apple said Jennifer Newstead, Meta’s chief legal officer, will become Apple’s general counsel on March 1, 2026.
Stephen Lemay will step into the shoes of the departing Alan Dye as Apple's new lead UI designer. Photo: LinkedIn
Meet Steve Lemay, the new head of user interface design at Apple — the highest-profile software design job at the giant company, and possibly the world.
Unfortunately for Lemay, who has worked at Apple since 1999, he shares the same first name as the late Steve Jobs, who nicknamed him “Margaret” — a name that reportedly stuck.
Aside from being called “Margaret” internally at Apple, Lemay has a long and stellar design record at the company. He’s helped shape everything from OS X to visionOS. He is named on hundreds of patents and helped develop one of Apple’s most highly celebrated UI tricks.
Every model of Apple Watch is on sale for Black Friday week, but some are better deals than others. Image: Cult of Mac
Apple Watch Cyber Monday 2025 deals are live, featuring significant price drops on entry-level models and premium variations.
The best deal so far is the newest Apple Watch Series 11, which has dropped to its lowest price to date — just $339 (regularly $399). Another great buy is the entry-level Apple Watch SE 3, on sale from just $199 (save $50 or 20% off). This is a superb starter watch and perfect for kids (and you can use it to track the little darlings). And even the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on sale (although not by much).
Plus, if you want to save even more, you might be able to grab a previous year’s model before the clearance sales in effect decimate the inventory forever.
The back of an iPhone Air demo unit already shows extensive scratching. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
SAN FRANCISCO — The iPhone 17 Scratchgate drama is real. Demo units of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models in Apple retail stores are showing scratches on opening weekend. The scratches appeared on their aluminum frames and on the glass panels on their backs.
I examined demo iPhones at Apple Stonestown in San Francisco on Friday (the busy iPhone 17 launch day) and again on Sunday. Many of the new iPhone 17 Pros and iPhone Airs are already scratched, especially the iPhone 17 Pro in deep blue and the iPhone Air in space black. But other colors showed scratches, too, even the iPhone 17 Pro in cosmic orange — the hot color this year.
Like some other Apple Watch health features, hypertension monitoring will run in the background. Photo: Apple
Apple’s innovative new high blood pressure alerts will not be exclusive to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Series 11. The feature is coming to several older models, giving millions of Apple Watch owners access to potentially lifesaving hypertension alerts.
We're getting fired up and ready to be awed! Image: Cult of Mac
This week, invites are out for the “awe dropping” iPhone event! Also: Touch ID and bumper cases making a comeback like it’s 2013, how to combine emojis, the first ergonomic dual-ultra-widescreen setup, Twitter versus Mastodon and Leander’s review of PowerBeats Pro 2!
Here's why the folding iPhone sounds cooler than previously rumored. Photo: Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Leander and Griffin are joined by Graham again to talk about the folding iPhone, the biggest little change coming to the M5 iPad Pro, more changes in iOS 26, tips for running with your Apple Watch and why we all lust for a colorful iPhone!
The most likely person to take over as Apple CEO when Tim Cook steps down is a dark horse candidate. Photo: Apple/Grok
With the surprise retirement of Apple COO Jeff Williams on Tuesday, all bets are off concerning the next CEO of Apple.
Williams, a 27-year Apple veteran, was widely regarded as the likely next CEO of Apple when Tim Cook eventually steps down.
But with Williams out of the running, Apple senior vice presidents John Ternus or Craig Federighi are now seen as the most probable candidates for the top spot.
But I think it could be someone else entirely — and it’s a pick I haven’t seen anyone else make.
Here’s who I think might be the next CEO of Apple, and why.
Score an Apple Watch Series 10 at a big discount. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
This year’s Amazon Prime Day sale may be the best one yet to score a deeply discounted Apple Watch — if supplies last.
Last year, models like the Apple Watch SE and Series 9 hit their lowest ever prices on Prime Day. This year sees all the major Apple Watch models at record lows, including the latest Series 10, the already low-price SE and the refreshed Ultra 2.
However, there’s a strong possibility stock may sell out before the four-day sale ends.
Apple's Senior VP of Software Craig Federighi introduces Liquid Glass. Photo: Apple
For the first time, Apple will unify software design across it various platforms with a new interface design called Liquid Glass. Inspired by visionOS, Liquid Glass is, as its name implies, a translucent and fluid new interface for iPhone, iPad, Mac and other devices in Apple’s ecosystem.
“It’s the kind of project that only comes along about once per decade,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, as he introduced Liquid Glass during Monday’s WWDC25 keynote.
In demos, conference attendees and online viewers got to see “glassy,” translucent menus, panels and icons throughout the system. The new look and feel creates a more immersive and modern visual experience.
An AI-generated image of Jony Ive and Sam Altman with a next-gen AI device. AI image: Grok/Cult of Mac
Will Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s new partnership dethrone Apple? A lot of people seem to think that in a battle of OpenAI vs. Apple, the iPhone maker is on borrowed time.
Looking at social media, the hype about OpenAI’s acquisition of Ive’s startup io is off the charts. Many pundits predict doom for Apple, which is already widely assumed to be woefully behind in AI. Apple’s stock took a big dive on the news of OpenAI’s acquisition of Ive’s secret company Wednesday.
But I highly doubt that Ive and Altman will topple Apple from its throne. Apple still has massive advantages — and they’re perhaps unassailable. Here’s why.
Apple Watch has helped save plenty of lives. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
The Apple Watch repeatedly saves lives around the world, thanks to its health monitoring features and emergency functions.
Here’s a comprehensive roundup of some of the most notable ways Apple Watch has saved people’s lives. From fit teenagers with undiagnosed health problems to car crash victims in danger of drowning, Apple’s smartwatch helps people cheat death in remarkable ways.
This seems like a major omission. Image: Cult of Mac
There’s one feature missing from the new iPhone 16e that makes it a big “no” for me, dog — MagSafe. Apple’s failure to include a few cheap magnets, which could have enabled a wonderful array of iPhone accessories, seems like the ultimate cost-cutting fail. If you’re comparing it with the iPhone 16, you’ll notice that Apple’s flagship model retains full MagSafe compatibility. For those looking for a long iPhone experience with the latest features, MagSafe might be a key deciding factor. If you frequently use MagSafe accessories like the MagSafe wallet, make sure to check out our list of the best iPhone 16e cases to find a case that fits your needs.
If you’re comparing it with theiPhone 16, you’ll notice that Apple’s flagship model retains full MagSafe compatibility.