Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems ... and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
Apple is being "very aggressive" about orders for its wearable sequel. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple’s announcements about the new watchOS 3 was one of the exciting highlights of Monday’s WWDC event, and it seems that Apple’s just as enthusiastic about its next-gen Apple Watch hardware — with sources in the supply chain claiming it’s ramped up component orders for the wearable sequel.
Apple is making a new push into artificial intelligence, giving developers access to the company’s neural network technology in a move that should mean big things for apps you’ll use in the future.
While opening up Siri to third-party developers was the most attention-grabbing news coming out of yesterday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Apple has also revealed that it is will allow developers to tap into the company’s artificial neural network technology. And once the dust is settled, this could turn out to be the biggest development of WWDC, bar none!
Apple Logo was Apple's first go at getting kids into coding. Photo: Apple2history
Under Tim Cook’s leadership, Apple has been upping its focus on teaching kids to program — thanks to events such as its free “Hour of Code” classes at Apple Stores around the world.
But Apple’s been helping introduce young people to coding for far longer than that. In fact, years before Apple ushered in its Swift Playgrounds app as it did this week at WWDC, it helped popularize home programming thanks to Apple Logo, a basic coding language which found success on the Apple II.
The Apple Car is on the way, but how will it look? Photo: Cult of Mac
Although Apple is rumored to have already started prototyping its much-rumored Apple Car, what the vehicle will look like if and when it rolls out of Cupertino’s Product Realization Lab (yep, that’s a real place!) is still anyone’s guess.
With that in mind, the folks over at automotive industry website Motor1 recently took a stab at guessing how Apple’s Project Titan will appear.
Apple is being "very aggressive" with component orders for its sequel wearable. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple’s announcements about the new watchOS 3 was one of the exciting highlights of Monday’s WWDC event, and it seems that Apple’s just as enthusiastic about its next-gen Apple Watch hardware — with sources in the supply chain claiming it’s ramped up component orders for the wearable sequel.
Apple loves its geeky WWDC Easter eggs. Photo: The Simpsons/Ste Smith
With WWDC kicking off this week, Apple is embracing its fun, nerdier side with ID badges for the event written in the Swift coding language. (Apple debuted Swift in 2014 at the same developers’ event.)
June 13, 1989: Canon Inc. invests $100 million in NeXT Inc., the computer company founded by Steve Jobs after he left Apple.
The massive cash infusion gives Canon a 16.67% stake in NeXT. It also helps the money-losing company find a direction that ultimately leads Jobs back to Cupertino.
Apple TV's App Store may have some challenges. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
tvOS devs may be driven away from developing for Apple TV, claims a new report citing poor audience retention rates.
Suggesting that users are “generally disinterested” in Apple TV, the report from mobile app analytics company adjust says they found that just 8.9 percent of users return to a tvOS app seven days after installing it. That’s roughly half the number seen on mobile devices, where the comparable numbers stand at nearly 20 percent on tablets and 18.5 percent on smartphones.
‘Appy weekend everyone! If you’re anything like me, Sunday’s the perfect time for kicking back and catching up on everything you missed during the week — not least the top apps to have either arrived in the App Store, or been the recipient of major upgrades.
Fortunately we’ve done the hard work of sorting through them for you to pick out to pick out the cream of the crop. Check out our picks below.
Steve Jobs? Wasn't he the guy who helped the government invent the iPhone? Photo: Ben Stanfield/Flickr CC
Apple may be one of the world’s profitable tech company, but you know who invented its biggest single product, the iPhone? If you’re House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the answer is simple: not Steve Jobs, Jony Ive or any combination of Apple employees — but rather the federal government.
Who would've thought such small devices could trigger such a big war? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Holy timewarp, Batman! Despite already being five years old, the U.S. Department of Justice has suggested that the Samsung vs. Apple patent case could continue to rage for at least a few more years — by recommending that the Supreme Court return the case for yet more examination.
By asking the Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court ruling in favor of Apple, the D.O.J. is basically asking that Apple’s current damages award (which stands at $548 million) be reassessed.
India is a project for the long haul it seems! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
With Apple running into problems in China, it’s been upping its focus on India as another relatively untapped market where Cupertino hopes to expand its market share. But can India, which has a population of 1.25 billion people, really serve as a substitute for China, with its comparative 1.36 billion people?
Not according to a group of Mizuho Securities analysts, who argue that regulatory politics, competition, low wages and lack of carrier support are all obstacles in India which means it will struggle to offset a slowdown in Apple’s China business.
The iPhone 3G became a big hit for Apple. Photo: Apple
June 9, 2008: In the music industry, they talk about the “difficult second album.” Fortunately, that doesn’t hold true when Apple unveils the highly successful second-gen iPhone.
Adding GPS, 3G data and a higher-quality build than its predecessor, the iPhone 3G is arguably just as revolutionary for what it does on the software side. iOS 2 introduces push email, turn-by-turn navigation and, most significantly of all, an App Store — something Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said the company wouldn’t allow.
Woz has never been shy about speaking publicly about Apple. Photo: Madame Tussauds
What does Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak think is the most important product in the company’s history? Nope, it’s not the Apple II, or even the iPhone. Instead, Woz told the audience at this week’s Salesforce TrailheaDX conference in San Francisco that his personal pick is none other than the App Store.
Apple Music could be the death knell for iTunes music downloads. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
With a major Apple Music refresh likely to be arriving at WWDC, there’s no doubting that Apple sees subscription-based streaming music as the way of the future. But where does this leave iTunes music downloads?
Despite Apple’s denials, according to “sources with close knowledge of the company’s plans,” the company continues to plan to “phase out” music downloads in a “just a few years” — depending on how this whole streaming music thing does, of course!
Are you ready for the iPhone 7 Pro? Photo: Martin Hajek
We’ve still got a little over three months before Apple unveils its next-gen iPhone handsets, but — as always — designers are more than willing to help us imagine how different our lives will be come September.
From flip-phone versions of the iPhone to a retro “dumb” version without any of the added goodies, designer Martin Hajek has long been creating iPhone renderings. For these, however, he sticks to what we’ve heard from the rumor mill to bring us concepts for both the iPhone 7 and the possible iPhone 7 Pro.
Apple Pay has a new market opportunity. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple’s VP of Apple Pay recently said that Apple was “working rapidly” to bring its mobile payment system to new markets — and according to a fresh report that rapid progress may result in Apple Pay arriving in Switzerland, its seventh market, as early as next week.
Samsung has been investigating this tech for years. Photo: DVICE
Apple’s been rumored to be investigating flexible iPhone, capable of bending and folding without damage, for years now — but it seems that Samsung may beat Cupertino to actually launching a handset like this into the marketplace.
According to a new report, Samsung is planning to introduce two new smartphone models featuring flexible displays, including one able to fold in half “like a cosmetic compact.”
The latest such example comes out of Cairns, Australia, when a mother used her iPhone 6s’ “Hey Siri” feature to call an ambulance after her one-year-old daughter stopped breathing.
Instagram just added a big new update. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Instagram’s latest update makes it far easier to post from other iOS apps, thanks to a new shared extensions feature which allows users to upload images directly from their image rolls in apps such as Photos.
June 7, 2010: Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone 4 at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
“For 2010, we’re going to take the biggest leap since the original iPhone,” Jobs says, addressing a crowd inside Moscone Center. “So today, we’re introducing iPhone 4. Fourth-generation iPhone. Now, this is really hot.”
He then touted the device’s all-new design — and cracked a joke about the sensational leak that revealed the iPhone 4’s look in the preceding months.
“Now, stop me if you’ve already seen this,” Jobs said, to raucous applause, before cannily reclaiming the narrative. “Well, believe me, you ain’t seen it. You’ve gotta see this thing in person. It is one of the most beautiful designs you’ve ever seen.”
Indian Apple Stores may finally be on the way. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple’s plans to open own-brand Apple Stores in India may finally be gaining momentum, with a new report claiming that the Indian government is likely to give the company a two or three year exemption to local sourcing laws in order to establish its retail outlets in the country.
Turns out that Apple's got some great accountants. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
It’s not just handset design that Chinese tech companies seem keen to “borrow” from Apple. According to a fascinating new report, a growing number of Chinese companies are copying Apple’s “balance-sheet strategy” by issuing debt as a way to increase their return on equity and hand money back to shareholders.
It didn't hurt that Jobs negotiated a sweet deal from Intel! Photo: Apple
When people look back on Steve Jobs’ most audacious moves during his 1997-2011 stint as CEO, launching the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and iPad are most frequently singled out as rightfully big achievements — as is his decision to open Apple-branded retail outlets and the iTunes Stores.
Back on June 6, 2005, Jobs made another major announcement, however, when he revealed that Macs were switching their CPUs over from PowerPC processors to Intel ones.