Night Shift mode is a must in iOS 9.3. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
iOS 9.3 might not look like much of an upgrade, but there’s one feature you should definitely be excited about. It’s called Night Shift, and it makes using your iPhone or iPad before bed more comfortable, more enjoyable and healthier by banishing blue light.
Here’s why you should use it once iOS 9.3 becomes available.
Apple raked in the cash last quarter. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple is set to reveal how much money it made over the 2015 holiday shopping season, and per usual, it’s expected to be a record-breaker.
Tim Cook and Luca Maestri will dive into all the details of Apple’s Q1 2016 earnings report tomorrow at 2 p.m. Pacific but there’s really only one number Wall Street really wants to know: total iPhones sales. Even though Apple may record its highest earnings ever, some analysts are predicting that iPhone sales may have declined for the first time, which could send Apple’s stock price sinking.
Here are six things to watch for during Apple’s Q1 2016 earnings call:
YouTube videos come to Picture in Picture mode on iOS 9, thanks to Corner Tube. Photo: App Advice
Picture in Picture mode is one of the best features of iOS 9. On iPads, it lets you continue to watch a video from one app (say, Netflix) in the corner of your screen, even while you’re browsing a webpage, reading your email, and so on.
A lot of cool video apps already support Picture in Picture mode, but curiously, Google’s YouTube app isn’t one of them. But if you want to watch YouTube in PiP mode, there’s another app you can try.
A good reason to sign up for loyalty cards. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
A New Zealand loyalty card program is appealing to its customers’ “good nature” to return brand new iPads after it mistakenly made them available for virtually nothing as part of an unexpectedly special offer.
A tricky customer service problem. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple has made a big show of just how seriously it takes your privacy — but it’s not just criminals and government spying agencies whose hands it wants to keep off your devices.
According to a recent news story, Apple insisted that a Canadian widow sought a court order to retrieve her deceased husband’s password so that she could access his iPad — just to play a card game.
In the not-so-distant future, car drives YOU! Illustration: GraphicaArtis/Getty Images
This week on The CultCast: super-sized drones, app-controlled robot bartenders, smart coffee mugs and the coolest of gadgets from CES 2016. Plus, don’t miss our picks for the absolutely, positively, you-should-install-them-today, most essential Mac and iOS apps.
Our thanks to Harry’s for supporting this episode. Harry’s super-sharp, German-made razors ship free right to your door and for way less than drugstore razors. Learn more at Harrys.com and save $5 off your first order with code CultCast.
Apple's Mac business is still growing... but how? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple was the only computer maker that didn’t endure a blue Christmas, with Mac sales up 3 percent year-over-year as worldwide PC shipments declined. But for how long can the Mac business continue to fight on, immune to the growing thread from other industries?
Smartphones and tablets are now capable at handling many of our daily tasks, and every year they get better. Will the iPad Pro ever be powerful enough to replace your iMac, or will we forever be reliant on powerful processors and dedicated GPUs?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Macas we battle it out over these questions and more!
Presumably he'll have lots of time to play with his iPad in prison. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
So you’ve just successfully stolen an iPad and are now pondering your next move. Do you A) Not switch it on and sell it for cash as soon as humanly possible, or B) Play around on it, while making sure to snap a few celebratory selfies to commemorate the occasion?
If you voted “A” then, congratulations, you’re already a smarter class of criminal than 19-year-old Ralphy Olivero of Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
The magic buttons on this Logitech keyboard make connecting to three different devices as simple as 1, 2, 3. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Best List: K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard by Logitech
Not one, not two, but three devices, all commanded by a single keyboard.
Three Bluetooth presets on one thoughtfully designed, battery operated, portable input device.
I’ve been using the Logitech K380 for a little while and I still can’t get my head around why someone would need to hook up a keyboard to three different devices at the same time. However, if you do, this keyboard is a no-brainer.
"Yes, I'd like to buy $16k worth of iPhones please." Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Two New York criminals managed to buy $16,000 worth of iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches using fake driver’s licenses and credit cards, before their purchases were flagged as being suspicious.
Jorge Escotto, 23, and Joshua Gonzales, 25, were arrested and charged with identity theft and receiving stolen property after the spending spree — much of which appears to have taken place in Verizon stores.
This is a bigger update than anyone anticipated. Photo: Apple
Apple released the developer beta for iOS 9.3 today. To the surprise of many, it actually includes quite a few brand new and useful features whether you’re in the classroom or trying to sleep — or both. There are so many new features that we can actually dedicate an entire post to explaining all of them. So here we are doing exactly that.
Note that since today marks iOS 9.3’s release only for developers, it might be a while before the rest of us see the final version show up in the Settings app. But without further ado, here is everything you can look forward to in iOS 9.3.
Should it address falling iPhone sales first and focus on making iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus the best smartphones money can buy? Should it put more effort into making iPad the tablet it once was? Or is it time for something new?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over all this and more!
Make sure you get your iMessages no matter where you are. Photo: Rob LeFebvre
I’ve always loved being able to pick up an iMessage conversation that I started on my iPhone right on my Mac, and vice versa.
Unfortunately, I’ve been having an iMessage issue for the last few months — I can have conversations via Messages on my Mac and conversations via Messages on my iPhone, but my iMessages have stopped synchronizing across my devices.
Gamification app would help to diagnose concussions. Photo: Brains Worldwide
Austin-based research group Brains Worldwide Foundation is developing a new iPad app to help parents carry out concussion tests on their kids at home, if they fear their children might have suffered a brain trauma during a sports game or similar.
Are you predicting big things from Apple next year? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
2016 has not exactly been a spectacular year for Apple. There have been some nice highlights, like major changes to the MacBook Pro lineup and the wildly successful AirPods, but it hasn’t really been a year to remember for fans or investors.
Will 2017 be different? We know the next-generation iPhone will be big, but does Apple have more up its sleeve that will help turn around its fortunes and make the next year a spectacular one?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over Apple in 2017.
It's on many devices, but we still don't know what kind of devices. Photo: Microsoft
Microsoft is excited, as it’s almost got as many installs of Windows 10 as there are iPads. Of course, the Redmond-based tech company didn’t put it in as many words, rather shouting out that Windows 10 is on now on a ton of devices.
“As of today,” writes Microsoft on its website, “there are more than 200 million monthly active devices around the world running Windows 10.”
That’s surely a lot of installs, showing significant growth.
Germany's raising prices on iPhones and iPads. Photo: Stilgut
German iPhones and iPads are going to cost more in 2016, thanks to pesky copyright laws that will up the price of every Apple smartphone and tablet sold in the country.
An iPad Air 2, running Mac OS 7.5.5 Screenshot: Cult of Mac
Since it was first released, people keep asking when the iPad will be able to run OS X, and while iOS keeps on becoming more like OS X with every passing version, you still can’t run Mac apps on your iPad… right?
Not quite. Technically, it’s possible to run Mac apps on your iPad Air 2. But prepare for it to be sloooooooow, and don’t expect El Capitan, Yosemite, or even Snow Leopard compatibility. This technique tops out with Mac OS 7.5.5, which was first released 19 years ago.
Back up and expand your mobile capacity by 32 gigs without having to sign up for cloud storage. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks are great, but they can always be improved. Whether you’re looking to game better on your mobile or just make sure you’ve got a spare charger when your old one goes kaput, we’ve collected some of the best deals on peripherals for your portable tech.
We’re finishing up 2015, and now that you’re all good and tired of your families, we’ve checked out some great December iOS games to help you decompress in solitude.
This month’s offerings should cover all of your needs, whether you like to relax with a simple match-three title or need something more strategic. We have high-def graphics, pixel art, orchestrated music, chiptunes, straight-up fighting, and strategizing. December had something for everyone.
In no particular order, here were our favorite diversions from the December rush.
Windows could change work on the iPad. Photo: Steve Troughton-Smith
iOS 9 finally brought split-screen views to the iPad, but it’s still not nearly as useful as the windowed multitasking views you get on a Mac. Developer Steve Troughton-Smith has come up with a much better solution with a new proof-of-concept called iOS window management that would bring the joy of working in a windows environment to the iPad.
Apple already has the foundation built thanks to UIKit. It only took Troughton-Smith 500 lines of code to build the concept with the UIWindow subclass, allowing individual app screens to be resized an overlaid on top of each other.
No matter what Apple gear you got (or gave), we're here to help. Photo: Pixabay
This time of the year typically means gifts, both giving and receiving them. Surely some of you have gotten a brand new Macbook, iMac, iPhone or iPad (Pro, anyone?).
If so, you might be looking at a lovely morning playing with your shiny new toys. But where to start? What essential tweaks, software tricks and necessary little tips do you need to make sure they’re set up the right way?
Well, we’ve got your back, with roundups to help you easily set up your iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, iPad (Pro, Air 2 or mini), Apple Watch or new Apple TV the right way. Here’s the list of setup guides to get you up and running with your brand new Apple gear.
Disconnect your iPhone while still connected via USB and charge without iTunes bugging you. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Sometimes you just want to plug your iPhone into your Mac without having to deal with all that iTunes stuff, like synchronizing or backing up.
Or, maybe a friend of yours needs to sip off your Macbook’s power and you don’t want to have iTunes sync their iPhone.
Either way, you can eject the connected iPhone, thereby avoiding all the iTunes stuff but still letting the physically connected iPhone pull power from the USB port. Even better: when you’re done charging, just pull the USB cable out from your Macbook without any worry.
Free iPads for a game of football a week? Where do I sign up? Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
With his ability to fire people up and get them motivated, Steve Jobs has been likened to a great football coach. And now to bring things full circle, a real football coach (or “soccer” to you American readers!) is using Jobs’ creation, the iPad, to help coach his players.
The coach in question is Gary Neville, who a new report claims has distributed iPads to the Valencia football team to teach them strategies on the pitch, while covering up for his lack of fluency in Spanish.