Why are Waymo's self-driving cars involved in so many more crashes than Apple's? Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer
A car designed to test Apple’s self-driving system was involved in a minor accident Monday, but a human was driving at the time. This is only the second such crash of an Apple car on record.
Google, and its autonomous vehicle spinoff Waymo, haven’t been so lucky over the years.
It's going to cost more to offer Android devices in the EU. Graphic: Google
Google is being forced to start charging Android device makers a fee to use the software that previously came free with this operating system. It’s possible device makers will pass this cost along to phone buyers.
This only applies in Europe, though, as it’s a result of the EU ruling that Google used anti-competitive business practices. The company was also fined about $5 billion.
Despite the smallest battery, iPhone XS Max lasts longer. Photo: Mrwhosetheboss
Apple promises that the iPhone XS Max delivers better battery life than any other iPhone. It also lasts longer than rival devices in between charges, according to a new battery test.
Apple’s most expensive smartphone to date easily outpaces the Sony Xperia XZ3 and the new Google Pixel 3 XL. It even manages to last a little longer than the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 — but there is a catch.
You get extra points if you remembered that Google+ was still a thing. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Google took a one-two punch to the chin today by having to admit its once-ballyhooed Facebook competitor is a dud. There’s so little interest in Google+ that it’s being killed off.
That would normally be bad enough, but the shutdown isn’t just because of lack of interest. A bug in Google+ exposed the personal information of users, something Google didn’t mention for a half a year.
Project xCloud won't require powerful hardware. Photo: Microsoft
Microsoft plans to start streaming high-end games to your iPhone, iPad, and other devices.
Its new service, dubbed “Project XCloud,” will remove the need for dedicated games consoles and pricey PCs — but you’ll have to wait until next year just to trial it.
Case explores the legality of data collection. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
A lawsuit against Google, claiming to represent 4.4 million iPhone users, has been thrown out of court by a U.K. judge.
The Apple-using coalition, a group called “Google You Owe Us,” was asking for up to $1 billion in damages. This was to have been split among Safari users affected by Google’s allegedly unlawful data collection, which involved Google supposedly bypassing privacy settings to categorize users for advertising.
Apple is way ahead of the competition in value. Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac
Apple has topped Interbrand’s annual list of the Best Global Brands for the sixth consecutive year.
The iPhone-maker, which has seen its brand value increase 16 percent this year, ranked highly in consistency, engagement, and differentiation. It is followed by Google, while Amazon has quickly climbed into third place after its brand value increased an impressive 56 percent.
Google Translate can speak in a variety of accents. And it's not just English. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The days are over when Google Translate could only provide spoken translations with an American accent. The latest iOS version adds regional accents from the former British Empire.
And it goes beyond English. French translations can be said in a Canadian accent, for example.
This game is being played in a web browser! Photo: Google
Google is making it possible to play high-end games on even the cheapest computers.
Project Stream is a new service that will bring the most demanding PC titles to Chrome this week, starting with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. You’ll need a speedy internet connection, but expensive processors and graphics cards aren’t required.
The amount Google pays Apple to remain the default search engine in Safari might be higher than you expect. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Google is the default iPhone search engine in the Safari web browser, but not because Apple thinks it’s the best option. No, Google will pay $9 billion this year for the privilege, according to an analyst’s estimate.
Bud Tribble has been with Apple longer than any other employee. Photo: CSPAN
Apple’s VP of software technology, Bud Tribble, made an appearance before the U.S. Senate’s Commerce Committee today to advocate for an overhaul of privacy laws in the country.
During the hearing, Apple was joined by other figures from tech giants like Google, Amazon, Twitter, and others to advise lawmakers on the current state of internet privacy. Tribble told lawmakers that Apple views privacy as a “fundamental human right,” but the company went short of offering solutions.
Pandora is about to become part of Sirius XM. Photo: Pandora
Two of the biggest companies in the music business are teaming up to try to better take on Spotify and Apple Music.
Sirius XM revealed today that it plans to acquire the music streaming service Pandora in a $3.5 billion all-stock deal. The merger is far from a done deal though and according to a report, Pandora will have the opportunity to find a better deal from another company.
Apple Watch doesn't face much real competition, but a new Qualcomm processor will improve one of its rivals. Photo: Google
After teasing it for months, Qualcomm today unveiled its processor designed for Wear OS smartwatches. The Snapdragon Wear 3100 is intended to put Google’s smartwatch platform on the map, instead of a distant third place.
The highlight of the new chip is improved battery life. Qualcomm is promising 4 to 12 extra hours of use, depending on the tasks the wearable is asked to perform.
When you're getting paid to promote the Google Pixel 2 XL, don't use your iPhone. Photo: Anushka Sharma/Marques Brownlee
It’s happened often enough now that it’s a thing: A celebrity is paid to gush about how much they love an Android device but they make their Twitter posts from an iPhone.
It’s a black eye for Android because it makes it clear which phone the celebrity really likes.
CarPlay is taking over the auto market. Photo: Hyundai
Apple’s CarPlay software for automobiles is quickly becoming a must-have feature for new car buyers, according to the latest rankings from J.D. Power.
Even though it was released four years ago, CarPlay is just starting to catch on with consumers who want a phone mirroring system on their dash. And when it comes to Apple vs Google, CarPlay’s satisfaction rating is significantly better than Android Autos.
There are two Titan Security Keys, one for your iPhone or iPad, the other for your Mac. Photo: Google
Google just began offering its Titan Security Keys. These can be used as part of two-factor authentication to secure a range of online accounts and cloud storage services.
A Titan key is a small USB or wireless device that provides a digital signature. Without the key’s two-factor authentication, the account cannot be accessed, even with the password.
Five of the biggest tech companies are mentioned in the suit. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple is one of five tech companies — along with Google, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter — targeted in a new lawsuit accusing them of displaying bias against right-wing news outlets.
The lawsuit comes from Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch and a former Department of Justice prosecutor. It alleges that the companies are working together to “quash and/or limit advocacy by conservative and pro-Trump public interest groups, advocates and others to further the leftist anti-conservative agendas.”
You can get hired at Apple even without a fancy piece of paper telling people you got a lot of book learning. Photo: Duncan Sinfield
The traditional life plan includes four years of college then a good job. But not everyone takes this path, and sometimes the lack of a college degree keeps some people from getting a job they are otherwise qualified for. But not at Apple.
Following a non-traditional career path is no problem getting hired at Apple. And that goes for positions beyond working at its retail stores.
Learn to drive traffic from Google with this 18-hour course. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Promoting a product or brand online means making the most of Google AdWords. So if you’re not set up with AdWords, or just want to know how to make better use of Google’s online advertising system, this crash course is for you.
Google One replaces Google Drive, and it offers cloud storage plans that actually compete with Apple iCloud. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Google One was unveiled this spring, promising 2TB of online storage at half the cost of the old Google Drive. As of now, you can actually subscribe to this service, which wasn’t possible before.
This revamp of this company’s cloud storage options seems to be intended to make them more competitive with Apple’s.
HomePod hasn't exactly taken over the market yet. Photo: Apple
Apple’s HomePod speaker sales might be weaker than previously estimated by analysts. The latest quarterly research report from Strategy Analytics claims that HomePod sales numbers only totaled 700,000 units.
Get the latest update today. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Google just rolled out its latest Gmail and Google Voice updates on iOS.
Users can look forward to big improvements, particularly in Voice, which now sports a brand new design. iPhone owners even get their hands on it ahead of those on Android.
Google is still tracking users' locations without their permission. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Google’s claim that it allows users to completely turn off all location tracking is completely false, according to research conducted by the Associated Press.
Whether you’re using an iPhone or Android device, the AP found that many Google services store your location data, even if you’ve used a privacy setting that is supposed to prevent Google from grabbing your data.
Fortnite isn't top of the list, but there's a catch. Photo: Epic Games
Google could miss out on a $50 million payday this year alone as a result of Epic Games’ decision not to distribute Fortnite for Android through the Play Store.
Android users must download the game directly from Epic‘s own website instead. This allows the company to sidestep Google’s 30 percent cut of all revenue.
Which wins the features arms race, Android 9 Pie or iOS 12? Here's how they compare. Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Android 9 Pie has landed on Google Pixel devices just a month before Apple rolls out iOS 12. Both come with a long list of new features and improvements, but is one better than the other?