Your iPhone doesn’t need to look like it came from 2012. You can easily swap out wallpapers and/or customize iPhone Home Screen layouts by adding widgets and folders (and by hiding unwanted apps from your view).
This guide will help set up your iPhone screen so it looks exactly how you want it to.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Surprise! Apple drops new MacBook Airs with M3 chips inside. The new laptops’ specs and first benchmarks make the performance boost sound quite impressive indeed. But what should we expect next for the MacBook, and when should we expect it?
Join us for a titillating conversation about the current state (and future) of Apple’s laptops.
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
It just became a lot easier to read along with a podcast, or pull an interesting quote out of one. The Apple Podcasts app now automatically generates transcripts for series and episodes.
Here’s how to find and read these transcripts in the iPhone Podcasts app.
Apple just dropped iOS 17.4, bringing a plethora of new features — some of which fundamentally change how the iPhone works.
The biggest point update to iOS 17, iOS 17.4 comes almost six months after the operating system’s initial release. It enables support for third-party app stores, browsers and payment apps on the iPhone. The bummer? These major changes are only coming to the European Union. Still, there are a lot of new iOS 17.4 features that will enhance the experience of every iPhone user.
Apple recently seeded the fourth beta of iOS 17.4. Despite this late into the beta cycle, iOS 17.4 beta 4 packs several notable changes.
Below are all the changes we have come across in the latest iOS 17.4 beta along with an archive of all the changes in the previous beta builds.
Apple Cash will soon give shoppers everything they need to make purchases online. Starting with iOS 17.4, a debit card number can be created for the financial service, along with the usual associated details.
This will be a boon for those who depend on the digital payment system, especially teenagers.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: A new round of Apple Vision Pro reviews gives us greater insight into what to expect from the high-priced headset. Is it utterly mind-blowing? Clunky and weird? So addictive that we’re doomed to a flat life in the boring 2D world when we take it off? Some might compare the experience to a sci-fi vision, much like James Cameron’s addictive Apple Vision Pro experience.
Sounds like all of the above!
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 17.4 to developers Thursday, offering a first look at new emoji coming soon to iPhone. For Europeans, the update will be a major one, as it will allow users to sideload apps (among other big changes).
Also on Thursday came the initial betas of iPadOS 17.4 and tvOS 17.4. There’s no sign yet of macOS 14.4 beta 1, however.
To comply with EU mandates, Apple will open the iPhone’s NFC payment chip to third parties, the company said Thursday. Starting in March, users in the European Economic Area will be able to utilize tap to pay on iPhone services other than Apple Pay when making purchases.
The new payment option, part of sweeping changes forced on the iPhone and iOS by the EU’s Digital Markets Act, could cut into Apple’s services revenue. And the company warns that it could put users at risk. Read more about the expansion of iPhone’s Tap to Pay feature across Europe.
iOS 17.3, the third major release of iOS 17, arrived Monday. It packs several new features, one of which is Stolen Device Protection. It also brings the much-delayed Apple Music playlist collaboration.
Once you install iOS 17.3 on your iPhone, check out the new features you must try below.
iPhone users can now install iOS 17.2.1. And macOS Sonoma 14.2.1 is out as well. These are minor bug fix updates, though. The changes are so small Apple didn’t bother to describe them.
These are the only updates introduced Tuesday. There’s no iPadOS version, nor one for Apple Watch. And no new betas, either.
iOS 17 brought dozens of great features and changes, but the latest 17.2 update adds even more.
The headline feature is the new Journal app — other new tweaks come to iMessage stickers, NameDrop and Apple Music. If you have a new iPhone 15 Pro, you can record Spatial Videos and use the Translate app directly from the Action button. You can also customize more notification sounds and StandBy.
Here are the ten best features in 17.2.
The first beta of iOS 17.3 is now available. It comes a couple of days after Apple released the stable iOS 17.2 update with plenty of new features to the public.
iOS 17.3 beta 1 does not pack many changes but brings an important new security feature to iPhones. Below are all the changes we have spotted in iOS 17.3 beta 1.
In iOS 17, many of the default sounds for notifications, alarms and timers have been changed — but how do you get back the old sounds if you don’t like the new ones?
A lot of people get deeply attached to the sound effects. If you want the old noises back, you can change (most of them) back manually. I’ll show you how.
Update: The new iOS 17.2 makes a nice change to alerts in third-party apps. Read on for more details.
The just-released iOS 17.3 beta 1 includes a surprise feature: Stolen Device Protection. The option makes it harder to reset the passcode on a stolen device if the thief already knows the current passcode. There are also new password protections.
Apple also seeded the initial betas of macOS 14.3, iPadOS 17.3, watchOS 10.3 and tvOS 17.3.
If you own an Apple computer of any shape or size, odds are it just got an operating system upgrade. Monday brought the public launch of macOS Sonoma 14.2, iPadOS 17.2, iOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2 and tvOS 17.2.
And these aren’t simple bug fixes. There’s new features.
Nearly two months after iOS 17‘s release, Apple released the iPhone operating system’s second major point build Monday. iOS 17.2 introduces several new features and changes, with many that Apple first demoed at WWDC23 in June.
iOS 17.2’s marquee feature is Apple’s new Journal app, though it enhances several other aspects of the OS. Find out everything new in iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2 below.
iOS 17.2 will introduce a new way for sharing boarding passes, tickets and other passes stored in the Wallet app.
Like NameDrop, the iOS feature that lets owners easily share contact info, the new way to share passes will require bringing your iPhone close to the top of another iPhone with the Wallet app open.
Apple seeded the release candidate for iOS 17.2 to developers Tuesday, signaling that beta testing for the upcoming operating system is almost over. The highlight of the update will be the new Journal app that Apple announced last summer.
The release candidates for macOS Sonoma 14.2, iPadOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2 and tvOS 17.2 were also seeded to devs Tuesday. The final versions are all expected to be publicly available to install on December 12.
The number of iPhones running some version of iOS 17 passed a milestone. The total recently topped 60%, according to an analytics firm.
Users were initially slow to make the jump past iOS 16, but a solid majority have now done so.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: It sounds like Apple’s partnership with Goldman Sachs is on the rocks. What does that mean for the future of Apple Card?
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
The new Personal Voice feature in iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma can restore a person’s voice even after they lose it for any reason.
Apple demonstrated that quite well Thursday in an article and video featuring a disability advocate suffering facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Tests performed on the M3 MacBook Pros reveal the performance-crushing effects of thermal throttling and skimpy RAM. Erfon is not impressed!
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
A week after seeding the second iOS 17.2 beta, Apple has released the third beta of the OS. The first two beta builds were loaded with new features, and iOS 17.2 beta 3 is no different.
Below are all the changes and enhancements we have found in iOS 17.2 beta 3 so far.
The good news is that iPhone could finally allow users to install applications directly starting in 2024, according to a reliable source. The bad news is that being able to go without the App Store will only be an option in Europe.
To be clear, sideloading is required by EU law so it’s definitely happening. The timing isn’t clear, though.