Someday, you might be running everything from your Home button. Photo: Apple
Apple filed a patent application today that could someday help you use Touch ID to run everything on your iPhone or iPad without covering the screen with your fat digits.
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.
Forget 35mm, the iPhone is the future of filming. Photo: HypeBeast Photo: HypeBeast
It’s easy to think that Steve Jobs’ biggest contribution to movies was his work at Pixar. In fact, according to no less an authority than Walt Disney and Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter, Jobs’ biggest lasting influence on cinema could turn out to be none other than the invention of the iPhone.
Speaking at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday, Lasseter said he can easily see a day when the big award-winning movies we watch are produced by filmmakers using only their iPhones and GoPro cameras.
Android Wear isn’t officially iPhone-friendly just yet (though it should be very soon) but you can already connect a Moto 360 to your iPhone. A new Android app called Wear Connect makes the unlikely pairing possible, and it requires no jailbreak or unauthorized hacks.
Take your phone on the road without risking a ticket with the ExoMount Touch. Saving 33% off the list price, this safe and solid mobile phone dock can be yours for only $19.99 with Cult of Mac Deals.
Europe was supplanted by China this past quarter as the second most important market for Apple, but according to a new report from Kantar, the iPhone-maker is gaining grown in Europe thanks to Android switchers.
Over 30% of Apple’s new customers in Europe last quarter switched over from Android. All the new converts have pushed iOS’ marketshare in Europes five largest countries to 20.3%, marking a 1.8% increase from 2014.
Gene testing, coming soon to an iPhone near you. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac Photo:
The next big feature for the iPhone might involve a lot of spitting. Apple is planning to launch new Research Kit studies at WWDC in June that will focus on DNA studies, according to a new report, claiming Apple is collaborating with researchers in the U.S. to create two new apps.
The new apps will be based on ResearchKit, Apple’s software platform that helps scientists and hospitals run medical studies on the iPhone. If successful, the new studies could give many iPhone users their first look at their genetic information by sending a ‘spit-kit’ to an Apple-approved laboratory.
With its small screen and 0.46-inch thickness, the original iPhone from 2007 looks like an antique these days. Put it next to the Apple Watch, however, and it’s remarkable how similar the two devices look in terms of their design language.
At 0.45 inches, the Apple Watch is ever so slightly thinner, but its rounded edges, color and overall aesthetic certainly appear reminiscent of the first-generation Apple handset, don’t you think?
One of the hundreds of great touches I love about Grand Theft Auto V is the way that it uses in-game smartphones as menus for added realism — giving players the opportunity of sending and receiving messages, taking photos, and managing their contacts in a way that feels real-world authentic.
With the arrival of GTA V on PC, some smart iPhone-using modders have taken this as the basis for a nifty Xcode tweak, which allows the user to control the in-game phone via a real iPhone app.
Pacquiao used a Galaxy S6 ringside, but uses iPhone at home. Photo: Manny Pacquiao/Twitter
Manny Pacquiao is expected to have made $80 million off the very boring ‘fight of the Century’ this past weekend just off the ticket sales. Pac-Man made a few extra million on the side too by becoming the latest iPhone-loving celebrity to convert to a Samsung salesman.
As part of the sponsorship, Pacquiao – who’s tweeted from an iPhone from years – crafted his tweets on a Samsung Galaxy S6, including two selfies he posted at weigh-in and on his way to the ring with Jimmy Kimmel. Samsung also filmed an entire behind-the-scenes video of Pacquiao on a Galaxy S6 Edge. But now that the fight’s over and Pac-Man’s cashed in, he’s back to using Apple devices.
Here’s the Samsung spokesman’s latest tweet, sent from an iPhone.
Chinese interest in Apple is at a boiling point. Photo: Apple
Apple is closing in on becoming the number one smartphone company in China, according to new figures released by Strategy Analytics.
Although Apple ripoff Xiaomi remains in the number one position — thanks to its strategy of selling low-cost devices — analysts note that the company’s momentum is starting to slow down, while Apple’s just keeps on building!
Samsung, by comparison, fell to an embarrassing fourth place after Huawei.
Adobe’s Behance, Adobe Color CC, and Creative Cloud apps have all been updated to include Apple Watch support in a move designed to both sell more iOS apps as well as inspire their current customers to get outside of the computer and create.
“That’s because designers get a lot of their best ideas,” writes Adobe’s David Macy, “not while sitting at our desks, but from interacting with and observing the world around us.”
Keep your ringtone volume and media volume separate. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
There are two different channels for audio on your iOS device: there are ringers and alert sounds and there are media sounds, like from the Music app or various games on your iPhone.
The hardware volume buttons on the side of your iPhone are set to control both by default, but you can separate it out, making the hardware buttons only turn down the media sounds instead of both media and ringer sound.
Here’s our recipe on how to make sure you never miss a call because someone “accidentally” turned your volume all the way down.
This'll teach you to back up your iPhone. Photo: Metallica/Cult of Mac
Metallica lead guitarist and songwriter Kirk Hammett has lost his super-valuable iPhone. No, it’s not one of those gold-plated ones favored by celebrities like Justin Bieber — it’s the iPhone on which he’d stored 250 riffs for the band’s next album.
In terms of money lost, this has to make you feel better about that time you dropped your iPhone in the bath, right?
Tim Cook meets with members of Apple's manufacturing team. Photo: Apple Photo: Apple
Apple is reportedly keeping its options open when it comes to selecting manufacturing partners for the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch by broadening the number of companies it contracts work out to.
In other words, those supply-and-demand issues that have hit Apple in recent years shortly after new product releases could soon be a thing of the past.
Gather all your friends for a groupie with the timer on your iPhone. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
It can be tricky to get the best shot when taking a selfie or group shot with your iPhone. If you want a better angle than the length of your arm can provide (or your ridiculous selfie stick will telescope to), you might consider setting your iPhone on a ledge or tripod and using the built-in timer mode to get yourself and everyone else into position before the shutter goes off.
It’s not super-tricky, but you do need to know where to look. Here’s our recipe to enable timer mode on your iPhone.
We're seeing the light. Photo: Leap of Faith. Paramount Pictures.
We cover all the best Apples stories on each week’s CultCast, but this week we take it to the next level. Hit play to hear: why trying on the Apple Watch will make you a believer; our WWDC hardware predictions; why a recent acquisition might mean a revolutionary new iPhone camera; and Leander reviews the new Macbook.
Our thanks for Freshbooks for supporting this episode. FreshBooks is the easy-to-use invoicing software designed to help small business owners get organized, save time invoicing and get paid faster. It also makes tax time a cinch. Get started now with a 30-day free trial.
Two roommates in Tulsa, Oklahoma, took fanboyism to a whole new extreme after stabbing each other with broken beer bottles during an iPhone vs. Android debate.
Keep your activity data private. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
With the advent of Apple’s motion coprocessor chip (the M8 in recent iOS devices), any apps that you download and grant permission to can use this data to enhance their offerings.
This lets apps like RunKeeper, Carrot Fitness and others both gather fitness data from your iPhone as well as send it to the Health app.
This could raise privacy concerns for some, so being able to decide which apps we allow to access our fitness-tracking data — or whether the iPhone tracks these activities at all — can be a helpful.
Here’s our recipe for getting finer-grained control over your fitness-tracking data.
It’s not totally gone now in iOS 8.3, but there is a new way to access it along with a new layout. There are also some funky ways to move around your Calendar app that may not be as intuitive as they should. These aren’t necessarily new to iOS 8.3, but it’s handy to know them, as well.
Here’s the recipe you’ll need to view your iOS Calendar the way you want on your iPhone and iPad.
What tech advances will the next iPhone camera bring? Photo: Apple Photo: Apple
Apple is looking to ramp up its camera technology with the acquisition of Israeli company LinX.
The two companies reached a deal that will see Apple paying about $20 million for the startup, but if the company’s multi-aperture cameras are actually as stunning as advertised, future iPhones could gain SLR-quality images.
iPhone patent would take a note out of the I.M. playbook. Photo: Kiwihen
The iPhone is more advanced than it’s ever been, but there’s one thing Apple’s smartphone can do no better than the Nokia 3310 I had when I was a teenager: stop you getting calls at inappropriate times.
That may be about to change, however, as a newly-published patent describes an Instant Message-type system whereby future iPhones could automatically broadcast their user’s status — essentially advising others on whether it’s a good time to ring or not.
Foxconn is buying more iPhones per day than even this guy can carry. Photo: Sina News
Looking for more evidence that China is set to take over from the U.S. as Apple’s biggest market?
According to a report from the Chinese-language news outlet Tencent, Foxconn is currently buying 50,000-60,000 second-hand iPhones per day through worldwide channels, and then selling these on to the Chinese market.
Roughly 80 percent of the iPhones are said to sell through stores in Hong Kong.
Shooting ultra slo-mo videos are one of my favorite things about the iPhone 6 Plus, and thanks to Twitter, it’s now far easier to share them via social media.
That’s because the micro-blogging network now supports the posting and embedding of slow-motion iPhone clips; opening up whole new possibilities when it comes to making sure that video of your office work party, your pet running across a field, or your kid practicing skateboard stunts looks as dramatic as possible.
Slow-motion enthusiasts like director John Woo are going to have a field day…
Sony is planning to invest $376 million dollars to boost capacity for chips used in smartphone camera sensors, including the iPhone. The company announced today that this will be the second boost to capacity made this year to meet demand.