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Is the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar a touchscreen replacement? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Would you prefer a touchscreen?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new MacBook Pro has arrived with its exciting OLED Touch Bar, giving users a brand new way to interact with macOS. It’s the closest we’ll get to a touchscreen on a Mac — at least for the foreseeable future — but is it a suitable replacement?

Friday Night Fights bugThe Touch Bar is already supported by all of Apple’s own apps, and the company says developers are quickly adapting their own software for it. It’s only going to get more useful over time, but would a Mac touchscreen be even better?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over the Touch Bar and whether it can help macOS users forget all about touchscreen computers.

MacBook Pro’s new Touch Bar is powered by iOS

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macbook pro touch bar
I bet you didn't know that!
Photo: Apple

One thing Apple didn’t tell us during its big MacBook Pro unveiling on Thursday is that its new machine runs iOS. However, it’s not quite the iOS you’re already used to.

Instead, Apple’s mobile operating system is there solely to power the MacBook Pro’s new OLED Touch Bar.

Here’s why Apple will never give MacBook a touchscreen

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macbook pro
The new MacBook Pro is stunner.
Photo: Apple

Desktop computers aren’t going away any decade soon. Not if Jony Ive and Phil Schiller have to say anything about it.

In an interview with Ive, Schiller and Magic Man Craig Federighi, Apple’s team of vets explain that they don’t plan to ever morph the iPad and Mac together to make a Frankenstein desktop tablet like the Surface Studio.

New MacBook Pro is thinner, faster and more magical

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macbook pro
Meet the new MacBook Pro.
Photo: Apple

The MacBook Pro refresh we’ve been eagerly anticipating for months is finally here, and it’s everything we dreamt it would be.

Apple’s new high-end notebooks deliver a sleeker design, Intel’s latest Skylake processors, and that magic Touch Bar with Touch ID that we’ve been hearing so much about. The only real problem is the price.

Does the new MacBook Pro need an OLED touchbar? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf1b
Useful upgrade or unnecessary gimmick?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new MacBook Pro is right around the corner, if recent rumors are to be believed, and it’s shaping up to be one of the most significant refreshes we’ve seen in years. Spy photos all but confirm a new OLED touchbar is coming, but is this advanced hardware really necessary?

Friday Night Fights bug Those who are excited about it can see the how customizable function keys might improve their experience in macOS, while others believe it will be little more than a gimmick.

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we discuss whether the MacBook Pro really needs an OLED touchbar.

5 hidden macOS Sierra features you may not know exist

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macOS Sierra
There's plenty of hidden macOS Sierra features, here's our top 5.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s latest Mac operating system has a host of big new features including Siri, Apple Pay on the web and Universal Clipboard.

But with so many marquee features, you may be missing some of the more hidden capabilities and tips. Check out our video below of the top five hidden macOS Sierra features you may not know exist.

Apple drops new betas for iOS, tvOS, watchOS and macOS

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Hold off on iOS 10 for now.
The first iOS 10.1 beta is already here.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple just released macOS Sierra to the public yesterday, but work on a fresh new update is already underway after Apple seeded macOS Sierra 10.12.1 to developers this morning.

Along with the new macOS Sierra beta, Apple has also released the first beta builds of iOS 10.1, tvOS 10.1 and watchOS 3.1, bringing a slew of bug fixes to every single platform as well as Portrait Mode for the iPhone 7 Plus dual-lens camera.

How to use Siri to multitask more efficiently in macOS Sierra

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macOS Siri Multitasking
Siri on macOS takes multitasking to the next level.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Through innovations like “Hey Siri” on iOS, and the ability to pin Siri search results to your Mac’s Notification Center, Apple has been working to make its virtual assistant more useful than ever. One more such application is the ability to use Siri to multitask on macOS Sierra.

Here’s how to take advantage of this feature when running the latest Mac operating system, which is currently in public beta and will be released this fall.

macOS Sierra and tvOS 10 get sixth beta builds

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Picture in Picture macOS Sierra
macOS Sierra brings Picture-in-Picture to the Mac.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple continues to polish macOS Sierra and tvOS 10, seeding the sixth beta builds of the new software updates to developers today.

The new betas come a week after Apple dropped the last batch of betas, which brought a number of new bug fixes and performance improvements to the gigantic releases that are set for public launch this fall.

macOS Sierra beta 4 is now available to developers

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macOS Sierra is here!
macOS Sierra is here!
Photo: Apple

Along with dropping three new beta builds for iOS 10, tvOS and watchOS this morning, Apple has seeded a fourth beta of macOS Sierra for developers to test.

The new beta is available for download directly from the Mac App Store if you have the previous build installed and comes just two weeks after Apple dropped macOS Sierra beta 3. The upcoming update for Macs brings a ton of new features, including Siri for Mac, auto-unlock with Apple Watch, Apple Pay, better iCloud integration and more.

Apple seeds macOS Sierra public beta 2 to testers

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You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
Photo: Apple

Along with dropping the second public beta of iOS 10 this morning, Apple has seeded a new beta of macOS Sierra for members of its Apple Beta Software Program.

The new build comes two weeks after the first macOS Sierra was made available to testers, and is available for download immediately through the Mac App Store’s software update section.

When will Apple take gaming seriously? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Gaming isn't great on most Apple devices.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Less than two weeks after making its debut, Pokémon Go is already the most popular mobile game in U.S. history, earning developer Niantic millions of dollars every day. Apple takes a 30 percent cut of that, but is it doing enough to make gaming great on its own platforms?

Friday Night Fights bug It’s hard to argue gaming could be better on iPhone and iPad — though we could use better gaming accessories — but platforms like tvOS and macOS seem somewhat neglected. With Mac sales finally falling, should Apple do more to appeal to gamers?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we throw virtual hands over gaming on Apple devices.

How to install iOS 10 public beta the right way

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PublicBeta
Try out Apple's latest OS before anyone else.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iOS 10 public beta is finally here! It’s never a great idea to install beta releases on a primary device, but many of us just can’t wait to get our hands on the latest features. Fortunately, if you update properly, there’s an easy route back if you decide it’s just not stable enough for you.

Our helpful step-by-step tutorial video that will walk you through the whole process!

How to install the macOS Sierra public beta the right way

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macOS Sierra
Install macOS safely with this handy how-to video.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you’ve been thinking about downloading and installing the latest macOS Sierra public beta, but you’re worried it might be too difficult, Cult of Mac is here to help.

Although using beta releases on your primary computer isn’t recommended, a lot of people (including myself) just can’t wait until the public release later this fall to try out the latest features Apple has to offer.

We’ve gone ahead and installed the public beta to bring you this handy step-by-step tutorial video. Check it out below.

Dark mode might get even darker in macOS Sierra

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You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
Apple is working on a better dark mode for macOS Sierra.
Photo: Apple

iOS 10 might not be not be the only Apple operating system set to get a darker coat of paint later this year.

After scouring through Apple’s first two betas of macOS Sierra, an OS X developer has discovered that Apple has hidden the ability to activate Dark Mode in a broader way on the Mac — and it’s making it easier for third-party developers to take advantage of the new feature.

macOS Sierra hands on: Apple’s best desktop OS yet

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macOS Siri
Watch macOS Sierra's latest features in action.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The first macOS beta was released this week, so of course I downloaded it straight away on my Mac to bring you all a quick hands on video.

Although this is still the first beta, and many functions still don’t work as intended, it gives us our first glimpse at Apple’s next-gen desktop OS in action. Check out the macOS Sierra hands on video below.

Clues in macOS Sierra point to OLED touch bar for MacBook Pro

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Adding an OLED touchpad could make the MacBook Pro even more magical.
Adding an OLED touchpad could make the MacBook Pro even more magical.
Photo: Martin Hajek

Apple’s WWDC 2016 keynote came and went without any new hardware announcements, but you might not have to wait much longer for the unveiling of the new MacBook Pro.

Source code in the first beta build of macOS Sierra hints that Apple plans to add support for an OLED touchpad, seemingly confirming the accuracy of the leaked MacBook Pro photos Cult of Mac published last month.

Safari 10 puts another nail in Flash’s coffin

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sheet
Apple still doesn't like Flash.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s next Safari update will arrive with new ways to handle legacy plugins like Adobe Flash to provide users with a better browsing experience, improved performance, and greater battery life.

Safari 10 will also use the speedier and more stable HTML5 over Flash whenever possible.

Apple gives devs the chance to harness power of neural networks

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A rough approximation of a neural network.
Photo: Fdecomite/Flickr CC

Apple is making a new push into artificial intelligence, giving developers access to the company’s neural network technology in a move that should mean big things for apps you’ll use in the future.

While opening up Siri to third-party developers was the most attention-grabbing news coming out of yesterday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Apple has also revealed that it is will allow developers to tap into the company’s artificial neural network technology. And once the dust is settled, this could turn out to be the biggest development of WWDC, bar none!