It's easier than you think. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Are you constantly being ignored by the HomePod that’s closest to you when asking Siri for assistance? Sadly, Apple doesn’t make it completely obvious how to manually specify which HomePod listens to you when you’re using more than one. But it is possible — and super-simple.
It's time to give Flash Player the boot. Image: Adobe/Cult of Mac
At long last, Adobe Flash Player is finally dead. Not only do you no longer need to have it installed on your Mac, but as of January 12, Adobe will actually begin blocking Flash Player content from working at all.
We’ll show you how to remove Flash Player from your Mac right away.
Time’s up for excuses - get in shape in 2021 Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
Apple Fitness+ makes it easier than ever to get in shape. So you should have no problem smashing your New Year’s resolution. Right?
Wrong. The sad fact is, despite the best of intentions, most New Year’s resolutions fail. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I know from personal experience as someone who went from a middle-aged slob to the proud owner of six-pack abs for the first time in my life. Now I’m a qualified personal trainer and I write about fitness for Cult of Mac.
So what’s the secret? Why do some resolutions succeed where others fail? Here are my top five tips for how you can use Apple Fitness+ to get in shape in 2021 and stay that way.
By this point, the honeycomb app grid that debuted with the original Apple Watch must have fueled millions of frustrated app hunts.
That swirling sea of apps certainly looked innovative and magical during Apple’s demo in 2014. Apple called the unique interface “fluid and vital,” but in practice, the honeycomb grid often makes it difficult to find the particular app you want.
Luckily, Apple gave you another option. These days, there’s no need to suffer through the search for the app you want. You can easily switch to an alphabetical list view that makes it much easier to find Apple Watch apps.
Reconfiguring the buttons on an PS4 or Xbox game controller connected to an iPad or iPhone is easy. Here’s how. Graphic: Cult of Mac
Serious gaming on your iPad or iPhone gets better with an external Xbox or PlayStation controller instead of a touchscreen. And Apple recently improved the experience even more by allowing you to reconfigure the buttons on your game controller.
Here’s how to customize what those all-important buttons do.
It's now easier than ever. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Nintendo’s latest Switch update (version 11.0.0) makes it easier than ever to share all those screenshots you capture during your finest gaming moments. It’s now possible to quickly transfer them to your iPhone.
A simple Bluetooth adapter is all you need. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
AirPods, like most wireless headphones, use Bluetooth to connect to your iPhone and other devices. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to enjoy them with older gadgets that don’t have Bluetooth connectivity baked-in.
With a simple and affordable Bluetooth dongle, you can use your AirPods with an old iPod, home stereo system, gym equipment, Nintendo Switch and other consoles, and more. If you’re looking for a guide on airpod max bluetooth pairing, check out this article for step-by-step instructions.
It's quick and easy to find out if your iPhone 11 is eligible for a new display. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple has launched a new repair program to fix iPhone 11 units that have faulty touchscreens. The company says only a “small percentage” of handsets is affected — but is yours one of them? Here’s how to find out.
Most of the interesting stuff in your body happens in your core, not on your wrist. Photo illustration: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
Apple’s VO2 max metric measures the performance of your heart and lungs when you push yourself to the limit. Up until now, though, it’s only been useful to serious fitness fanatics. No wonder Apple buried it in the Health app, where most users never found it.
But watchOS 7.2 and iOS 14.3, which Apple released Monday, change all that. In those updates, the VO2 max metric has been renamed Cardio Fitness. Now it can detect lower ranges and send alerts when the reading gets too low. That makes it the latest in a series of potentially life-saving health notifications from Apple Watch.
Here’s everything you need to know to get the benefit of this essential new feature.
Did you know that you can transfer your music from iPhone to HomePod — and vice-versa — in just a tap? It’s quick and simple and works amazingly well, and we’ll show you how to set it up.
Find out which artists you've enjoyed most in 2020. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
It’s almost the end of 2020 (hallelujah!) which means it’s time to start looking back at all the things you’ve enjoyed this year. All the vacations, parties, social events … okay, maybe not those things. But what about the music?
If you have Apple Music, it’s easy to check out all the artists, tracks, and albums you’ve enjoyed this year with your 2020 Replay mix. You can even see how long you’ve listened to your favorite artists and played your favorite albums. We’ll show you how!
Make sharing a Mac a little easier. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
If you share a Mac with others and are frequently switching between user accounts, you’ll be pleased to know you can do that quicker than ever in macOS Big Sur, thanks to a new feature called fast user switching.
You’ll need to set it up yourself because Apple doesn’t enable it by default, but it’s super-simple to do. We’ll show you how.
Here’s how to get your Apple Watch ready for your new iPhone. Photo: Cult of Mac
You just got a shiny new iPhone 12 and of course you want your Apple Watch to play nicely with it. You could reset the Watch to start out fresh, but there’s an easier way switch your Apple Watch to your new iPhone.
Bring an unresponsive HomePod back to life. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Many of the glitches and frustrations you might encounter with HomePod and HomePod mini can usually be fixed with a simple factory reset. It’s easy to do and doesn’t take long, but Apple doesn’t make it immediately obvious how a reset is performed. So we’ll show you what you need to do.
It's not quite the same as it was in iOS 13. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple did away with the Clock app’s scroll wheel for setting alarms in iOS 14, swapping it for a numeric keypad instead. But the scroll wheel isn’t dead yet … if you know where to find it.
How to reinstall macOS when things go wrong. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple has confirmed that some M1 Mac owners may run into an error message when attempting to reinstall macOS on their new machine. If you’re one of them, there are some things you can do to avoid it.
These include using a bootable installer, rather than macOS Recovery, or initiating a reinstall from Terminal. We’ll show you how.
Get your Mac up and running again after Big Sur broke it. Photo: Apple
Apple this week published a support guide for those running into installation errors when updating to macOS Big Sur on a 2013 or 2014 MacBook Pro. Its tips may help bring bricked machines back to life.
Get your new iPhone set up the right way. Photo: Apple
For many people, iPhone 12 will be radically different from previous iPhone models. Despite this, the iPhone setup process hasn’t changed much. However, while you might find yourself on familiar ground, there are still plenty of little things you really ought to do before you fire up your new phone for the first time (or pretty soon thereafter).
Let’s take a look at all the things you can do to get your iPhone set up exactly how you want it.
Do you know how Apple Watch counts your swim strokes? Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
Apple Watch is a great swimming companion, offering highly accurate length counts, pace measurements and stroke recognition. But the benefits to swimmers don’t stop there.
You’ll find plenty more useful swim stats in the Fitness app on your iPhone. Strokes Per 25/50/100 is especially valuable because it tracks your swim efficiency, which is key if you want to go faster, further or just look more cool in the pool.
But the way Apple Watch counts your strokes is not as simple as it seems. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert swimmer, it’s worth taking time out to understand exactly how it works.
Get ready for kickoff at 10 a.m. Pacific. Photo: Apple
Apple’s next big keynote of 2020 is less than a couple of hours away. We expect the “One more thing” event to bring the first Macs powered by Apple Silicon, new AirPods Studio headphones, and more.
When the keynote kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific, you’ll be able to watch it live online from almost anywhere. We’ll tell you how.
Intercom is on its way. Here's all you need to know. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple’s new Intercom feature lets you use HomePods to send short audio messages to almost anyone with an Apple device. While Apple showcased Intercom when unveiling the upcoming HomePod mini smart speaker, the feature also works with the regular HomePod as well as iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and more.
If you a HomePod, and you’ve updated it (and your other Apple devices) with the latest software, you can use Intercom to communicate with your family or housemates in new ways.
Do you have Facebook's new dark mode yet? Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Facebook this week quietly rolled out a brand-new dark mode for its iPhone app. It’s not yet available to every user, but it seems a large number of people are already able to activate it. We’ll show you how.
Speed through the preorder process on November 6. Photo: Apple
If you plan to preorder iPhone 12 mini or Pro Max on Friday, November 6, through the iPhone Upgrade Program, then do yourself a massive favor and get preapproved early. It will make the whole process quicker and easier.
What does your 5G icon mean? Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
If you’re lucky enough to have already picked up an iPhone 12 or 12 Pro, and you live in an area where 5G is available, you may have noticed that you sometimes see different 5G icons in your status bar.
There are three altogether, and they change depending on what kind of 5G network you’re connected to. Here’s how to understand them.
Running an iOS beta can cause problems when you get a new device. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Everyone in Apple’s beta program is running a pre-release version of the next iOS version. Which is great, until you get a new iPhone or iPad. Then you can’t restore the new device from the backup made on your previous one because the old device is running a newer OS.
If you find yourself in this situation, don’t panic — there are a couple of possible solutions. We’ll walk you through both.