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.
If you look closely you can actually pinpoint the exact moment the Apple Watch heart rate monitor stops working. Photo: The Simpsons, 20th Century Fox
Apple issued its first Apple Watch software update this week, adding new emojis, fixes for Siri and more. Unfortunately, hidden among the positives is one fairly big negative: Multiple users are complaining that the 1.0.1 update stops the device’s much-touted heart rate monitor from running as it should.
The only charging Apple Stores want to worry about is charging your credit card.
If you wonder how the Apple Watches on display in retail stores differ from those you can buy, some new photos that surfaced online answer the question.
The iPhone 6s could be coming sooner than expected. Photo: Cult of Mac
We may only have to wait until August to get our first official glimpse of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, according to a new research note by well-connected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Don’t get too excited though — even though Kuo thinks the iPhone will be unveiled a month earlier than usual, he says it will be released in its usual September slot.
The respected KGI Securities analyst also sheds light on who is set to build the new iPhones, a few of the devices’ key features, and some details about the forthcoming 12.9-inch iPad. Check them out below.
If the multiple worlds theory of quantum mechanics is correct, there is a universe out there somewhere in which Apple slavishly copies every move Samsung makes in the handset department.
A new iPhone 7 concept by designer Hasan Kaymak shows us what that parallel world would look like by demonstrating an iPhone with an edge-to-edge display much like the one Samsung uses for its current Galaxy S6 Edge.
As pointless gimmicks go, it’s actually a pretty neat one.
It's a cloudy day for many Apple services. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
If you’re having problems with Apple’s iCloud services, don’t worry — you’re not alone!
On its status page, Apple is currently showing yellow alerts for Back to My Mac, Find My iPhone, iCloud Account & Sign-In, iCloud Backup, Drive, Keychain, Mail, iMovie Theater, iWork, and Photos — meaning that services are either running slowly or are down. While not all users are experiences these problems, Apple acknowledges that many are.
Where is QuizUp heading? a) Up. b) Up. c) Up. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
When Icelandic developer Thorsteinn Fridriksson unleashed QuizUp on the world in late 2013, the last thing he expected was that the trivia app’s questions would turn into the nerdy equivalent of Cupid’s arrows. However, a surprising number of people who fell in love with the app also fell in love with each other.
“Very soon after we launched, we started hearing about people connecting on the platform,” Fridriksson told Cult of Mac. “You’d be amazed at how many QuizUp couples there are — people who literally met each other because they shared interests in the game.”
Now QuizUp is poised to pivot, taking advantage of its innate ability to connect players — whether for love, friendship or just a killer trivia smackdown. Today’s update marks the biggest and riskiest change in QuizUp’s history, as the multiple-choice game relaunches with a new focus on social networking.
So long, Popcorn Time on Your Browser. Photo: Popcorn Time on Your Browser
Promising users access to as many free movies as they wanted via a torrent-streaming website, Popcorn Time’s newly-launched web app was as sweet as a bag of popcorn — and lasted about as long.
Launching just this week, Popcorn Time on Your Browser’s servers were apparently overwhelmed as the site went viral quicker than anyone had anticipated.
Yes, a site offering high quality streaming Hollywood movies for no money whatsoever proved popular — we’re shocked too!
Never mind Touch ID, this could be the best way of unlocking future phones.
Touch ID made unlocking your phone faster than previously, but you know what’s more secure than fingerprints as authentication? Brainwaves.
That’s according to Blair Armstrong of the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language in Spain, who feels that the most secure type of biometrics technology could one day involve measuring the brain response of individual tech users to various words or acronyms.
Piracy hasn't been this easy since the days of Blackbeard. Photo: Popcorn in Your Browser
In news that is likely to cause all manner of headaches around Hollywood, Popcorn Time — the streaming torrent service often described as “Netflix for pirates” — is now easier to access than ever, thanks to a new website.
Thunder and Lightning, very very frightening. Photo: Apple
Here’s one for the “better late than never” category: Almost three years after releasing the Lightning connector for the iPhone 5, Apple has unveiled its brand new official Lightning connector dock for use with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, and fifth-generation iPod touch.
One piece of product placement Apple can't be too happy about. Photo: HBO
Mike Judge’s great HBO comedy Silicon Valley has featured some fantastic references to Apple in the past — including a tongue-in-cheek dismissal of Steve Jobs as someone who “didn’t even code” and two not-so-obvious Apple logos that pop up during the show’s opening.
The most recent episode, entitled “Homicide,” contained one more namecheck of everyone’s favorite Cupertino company, but it’s unlikely to be a reference that got Tim Cook guffawing in front of his TV at home — since it skewered one of the most notorious Apple products of all time.
Apple has taken steps to avoid snooping. File photo: Cult of Mac
Apple has put its name to a letter which will be sent today, appealing to the White House to protect individual privacy rights in the face of suggestions that law enforcement should be able to access encrypted smartphone data via a backdoor.
“Strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy’s security,” argues the letter, which is signed by more than 140 tech companies, technologists, and civil society groups.
Forget joysticks, this could be the future of gaming. Photo: Apple/USPTO
There have been plenty of rumors about the refreshed Apple TV set to arrive at WWDC, but two of the biggest concern the fact that it will feature a revolutionary gesture-based user interface and a new focus on gaming.
Possibly tying into that is a newly-published patent from Apple, which describes a pattern projector which would use laser beams to map the 3D space between the device and a user — thereby allowing a person to carry out motions as a way of interacting with specific apps.
Barry sending his first tweet from an iPhone. Photo: White House
The Apple-watching world lost its shiz yesterday when Obama made his first tweet from his brand-new presidential Twitter account using an iPhone. But don’t get too excited, because the White House has revealed that the phone in question isn’t Obama’s regular handset after all.
Which prompts the question, “Who did it belong to?” Maybe Apple should commission JFK director Oliver Stone to shoot an advert/paranoid conspiracy thriller on the subject of the Obama iPhone.
Tim Cook's commencement address demonstrated again how deeply he understands Apple culture. Photo: George Washington University
Tim Cook welcomed students into the working world this weekend by giving the commencement address at George Washington University’s graduation ceremony.
Cook — who received an honorary doctorate as part of the ceremony — spoke about Apple’s status as a force for good in the world: something which has been a theme during his tenure as the company’s CEO. More importantly, he got in a great dig at the expense of Apple’s iPhone competitors.
Jay Z's got 99 problems, and Tim Cook may be one. Photo: Flickr/NRK P3
Tidal CEO and former Samsung sellout Jay Z may have wiped himself off the list of celebrities set to receive a complimentary Apple Watch, thanks to a vicious freestyle rap aimed at Apple, Spotify and YouTube.
New acquisition could be a major part of Apple's future roadmap. No pun intended. Photo: Apple
Apple has confirmed its acquisition of Coherent Navigation, a GPS company with expertise in mapping and self-driving vehicles.
Founded in 2008, Coherent Navigation is one of the leading companies behind what is known as High Integrity GPS or — appropriately enough for Apple — iGPS. Unlike regular GPS, which is accurate only within meters, iGPS’ high level of accuracy means it can provide geographic positioning data within centimeters.
New MacBook and iMacs are coming this week. Photo: Apple
A brand new 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch non-Retina iMac are rumored to be coming this Wednesday, according to the French Apple website MacGeneration which has a strong track record for breaking Apple stories.
A location fit for an Apple Store? We think so. Photo: Longhornsandcamels
If you live in Dubai and happen to be an Apple fan, you’re in luck — because the world’s largest brick-and-mortar Apple Store is set to open its doors close to you in just a few months.
Apple’s first ever store in the Middle East is set to be located at the Mall of the Emirates, where work is currently underway on the 50,000-square-foot retail outlet. Expect its grand unveiling in August this year.
Quanta says Apple Watch supply is finally reaching demand. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Quanta’s vice chairman has seemingly denied rumors that the Apple Watch has low yield rates, and that Apple was so upset about it that it’s considered outsourcing orders to other manufacturers.
In fact, according to him, Apple Watch production is no longer a problem “in both technology and quality,” despite a few hiccups early on in the production process.
The iPhone was once again the star of this year's Bentley shoot. Photo: Bentley
Luxury carmakers Bentley have once again turned to the iPhone to shoot the company’s latest short film: A video showcasing four major designers on London’s Savile Row, each given a commission to create a bespoke “driving jacket” for the high-end auto company.
Check out the short film and a special behind-the-scenes video below:
The fabled 12MP camera could finally be here. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
The iPhone 6s is set to get a considerable camera boost, as per a Weibo posting from Kevin Wang, IHS Technology’s research director in China.
After years of using 8MP cameras in its iPhones, Wang claims the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are likely to boast 12MP cameras — theoretically greatly improving the current standard of iPhone photography, which is already pretty darn high.
Apple's patent will help you find a coffee shop convenient to all your friends. Photo: Warner Bros. Television
You can add all the high-tech features you want, but ultimately one of the best ways to make people buy gadgets is to ensure that the devices are the same ones already used by their friends.
That’s the concept behind a newly-published patent application, titled, “Collaborative Location-Based Search Results.” It describes a way in which multiple iPhone users in different locations can search for shared information — say, finding a restaurant or movie theater that’s equally convenient for every member of a group of friends to reach.
The iPhone 6 is big. And not just in terms of size, either. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
According to a new research note issued by UBS’s Evidence Lab, the latest quarterly sales for the iPhone are set to be even more impressive than most people are anticipating.
And given that nobody is sleeping on the iPhone’s success as it is, that means some astonishingly big numbers.
The Apple Watch is on the Chinese military's watch list. Though not in a good way. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The Apple Watch is expected to do big things in China — with even the high-end Apple Watch Edition selling out within its first hour of preorders in the country — but one place the company’s debut wearable device won’t take off is the Chinese army.
That’s according to a recently released memo in which Chinese military leaders argue that wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers are sure to compromise soldiers’ security.