Apple has stopped signing iOS 15.1 and iOS 15.1.1, preventing users from downgrading their iPhone after installing the latest iOS 15.2 update.
If you have encountered bugs and other issues with this release, you’ll now have to stick with it until Apple rolls out iOS 15.3, which this week entered beta testing ahead of an official public rollout.
Several older iPhones and iPads reportedly won‘t be able to upgrade to iOS 16 when it debuts in 2022. While that’s sure to disappoint anyone still using these devices, the newest one will be 5 years old at that point. And one of them will be 8 years old.
Apple continues to offer operating system upgrades for its computers for many years, but iOS 16 will supposedly mark the end up of updates for the A8 and A9/A9X processor.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Our 2022 hopes are up, up and away on the latest rumors about what new features iPhone 14 Pro might bring. The camera sounds like it will once again deliver impressive gains, but it’s the potential for an iPhone 4-style makeover that’s really got us drooling.
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 livestream, embedded below.
Disney+ just got a new update that adds SharePlay support on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. The feature allows up to 32 people to get together and watch the same TV shows and movies simultaneously over FaceTime.
SharePlay is available across content from all Disney brands, including Marvel, National Geographic, Star Wars, and more. But you’ll need a device running iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, or tvOS 15.1 to take advantage of it.
I have two original iPhones in my possession. One sits in a junk drawer, untouched and unloved for many years.
The other has been carefully disassembled and the parts arranged in a handsome black frame that hangs on my office wall. Made by Grid Studio, the Grid 1 is my own personal iPhone teardown in a box.
iOS and iPadOS 15.2, which made its official public debut on Monday, makes it easier than ever to reset a locked iPhone or iPad.
You no longer need a Mac or PC to get into a device after forgetting your passcode — so long as you remember your Apple ID and password. Here are the steps you need to follow to perform a reset successfully.
You shouldn’t need separate charging cables for each of your devices. The Omnia Q5 5-in-1 Wireless Charging Station is one of the first wireless charging stations that works for five devices at the same time. It’s on sale now for $99.95 (regular price: $120), but you can save even more — get an additional 20% off with code GREEN20.
Earlier this year, accessories maven Nomad made its popular Base Station Mini wireless charger — suitable for juicing up one iPhone — MagSafe-comptible. Now it has added magnets to another popular product, the Nomad Base Station Hub, which can top off up to four devices at once.
December 14, 1999: Apple acquires the domain name www.iphone.org, prompting years of speculation that Cupertino is considering building a cellphone. While the news generates interest, some take it as a warning sign.
Apple only recently abandoned the kind of non-computer projects like games consoles, PDAs and digital cameras that proved to be dead ends earlier in the decade. An Apple phone could never be a thing, right?
Thanks to a new feature in iOS 15.2, you can designate legacy contacts so your loved ones can gain access to data on your iPhone or iPad after your death without your passcode. The Digital Legacy feature means your personal images, files and other data don’t need to remain locked away after your untimely demise.
It’s easy to specify a Digital Legacy contact. And, like writing a will, it’s a smart move almost everyone should make sooner rather than later. Here’s how.
SpotCam recently unveiled its new SpotCam Pano 2, a smart, 5-megapixel cloud security AI camera with free, full-time, continuous cloud recording to make sure you always have your footage. The company, founded in Taiwan in 2013, said it’s the only camera brand to offer that.
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says Apple and Google have unfairly “developed a vice-like grip” on how we use our smartphones and that “millions of people” are losing out.
In addition to dominating the smartphone market, Apple and Google also “set all the rules,” the CMA said in a report published Tuesday. The two companies are accused of limiting innovation and choice, and driving up smartphone prices.
Anker is out with yet another charging accessory, this time the Anker 333 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station. It’s another convenient means by which to power up your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch all in one place.
PlayStation Now, the streaming service that gives players access to more than 500 PlayStation 3 and 4 games, was on its way to iPhone and iPad back in 2017, according to documents that have surfaced as part of the Epic vs. Apple trial.
Apple had inside knowledge of Sony’s plans back in 2017, before PlayStation Now made its official debut. But for reasons currently unknown, the Japanese company never followed through on support for mobile devices.
![What Apple's got up its sleeve for 2022 [The CultCast]](https://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/CC-522.jpg "What Apple’s got up its sleeve for 2022 [The CultCast]")
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: It sounds like Apple has some really big plans for 2022. We’re psyched about some things, skeptical about others, but definitely shining up our Apple Cards.
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 livestream, embedded below.
Microsoft told Apple that it was willing to turn big Xbox exclusives into iPhone and iPad games before negotiations over bringing its Xbox Cloud Gaming service to the App Store broke down earlier this year, internal emails show.
Microsoft was also open to releasing individual apps for each of the titles available in its streaming catalog to comply with App Store rules. It changed course when it became apparent that appeasing Apple was just too difficult.
iPhone component suppliers are preparing for the launch of a next-generation iPhone SE in early 2022, according to a new report. Industry sources also claim that there have been no cutbacks in orders for the latest iPhone models.
The new iPhone SE is not expected to deliver a big redesign. However, recent reports have suggested it will feature a faster chip and 5G connectivity.
If you use an iPhone on Verizon, there’s a good chance your carrier has been tracking everything you do when you’re connected to its cellular network. This includes the websites you visit, the apps you use, your location and more.
It’s all part Verizon’s “Custom Experience” and “Custom Experience Plus” programs, which are designed to “personalize” the carrier’s communications with its customers. In other words, it’s to build a profile about you so Verizon can better serve you targeted ads. (According to Verizon’s typo-riddled website, “The Custom Experience programs help us personalize communications, recommandations [sic] and offers to make them more relevant to you.”
There’s nothing Apple can do to stop this — despite its new privacy protections baked into iOS — because its tracking does not require an app installed on your iPhone. But there is something you can do to prevent it. We’ll show you how.
Apple CEO Tim Cook “secretly” struck a deal with China in which he agreed to invest around $275 billion of Apple’s money to boost the country’s economy and “technological prowess,” according to a new report.
The five-year agreement was allegedly made during a series of visits Cook made to China in 2016 amid growing regulatory hostilities toward Cupertino. Since then, Apple has become China’s biggest smartphone brand.
Apple is expected to increase iPhone shipments by 30% during early 2022, according to a new report, which cites multiple sources familiar with the plan. It is believed Cupertino hopes to ship 300 million throughout next year.
A recent report claimed Apple had cut iPhone orders going into the holiday season as a result of weakening demand for its newest models — thanks in large part to the component shortages that have made some options hard to obtain.
Apple reportedly plans ambitious upgrades for a number of its hottest products in 2022, including major revamps for iPad Pro and MacBook Air — as well as an Apple silicon boost for the Mac Pro. Mac mini is also expected to see a refresh.
What’s more, the next-generation Apple Watch will come in a “ruggedized version aimed at extreme sports athletes.”
At least nine U.S. State Department employees saw their iPhone hacked by unknown attackers wielding Pegasus spyware from the Israel-based NSO Group. The attacks occurred over several months, Reuters reported Friday.
Scott Forstall, a former senior vice president at Apple, allegedly encouraged Pandora to jailbreak the original iPhone so it could get a head start on building a native music streaming app, according to a new report.
Forstall met with Pandora co-founder and CEO Tim Westergren during iPhone’s early days — before it had an official App Store — and encouraged the company to use “back door toolkits” while “we get our act together at Apple.”
How do you make MagSafe charging even better? Add a cooling fan that allows for the fastest possible charge over a longer period, of course. The Zike 2-in-1 does just that to become the “world’s fastest” MagSafe charger.
Zike promises 15W of power — the most MagSafe charging can offer right now — for significantly longer to enable up to 50% faster top-ups for iPhone 12 and 13. It also charges a second device, like AirPods, simultaneously.
Apple continues to work on a wireless charger, similar to the abandoned AirPower mat, that will allow users to charge multiple devices simultaneously, according to a new report. The company also hopes to develop truly wireless charging in the future.
Cupertino reportedly is working on “short and long distance” charging solutions that don’t require physical contact. It also wants to give all major Apple devices the ability to charge each other.