A Charlie Brown Christmas is free to watch on Apple TV later this month. Photo: Apple TV
The Christmas season is starting, and there’s good news for fans of the Peanuts holiday specials. Apple made the holiday classic A Charlie Brown Christmas available for everyone to stream free this weekend, whether they’re an Apple TV subscriber or not.
That gives everyone the opportunity to watch Linus teach his friends what Christmas is all about.
Don't miss a thing from WWDC22. Photo: Cult of Mac
One of Apple’s biggest events is right around the corner. This year’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote promises to deliver our first look at the company’s next-generation software updates for iPhone, iPad, Mac and more. And it’s all happening on June 6.
Just like past WWDC keynotes, this year’s will be streaming online, so you’ll be able to watch it in its entirety as it all unfolds. Here’s how.
No need for third-party sound apps anymore. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
One of the upgrades to Accessibility in iOS and iPadOS 15 is a new Background Sounds feature that plays relaxing audio tracks to help you stay calm and focused, and to block out background distractions.
Live Text works surprisingly awesomely in iOS 15. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
iOS and iPadOS 15 introduce a brilliant new feature called Live Text, which not only identifies text in your photos, but also allows you to interact with it. You can use it for all kinds of things, like making a call, sending an email, or looking up directions to an address.
Here’s how to use the feature to copy and paste text from your images on iPhone and iPad.
There are plenty of ways to tune in. Photo: The Olympics/Cult of Mac
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games officially kicks off on Friday, June 23, and you can enjoy it all on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac. We’ll guide you through who’s hosting the action, and which apps you’ll need to watch it.
These are just some of the proposed emoji that could be coming to your iPhone or Mac. Graphic: Emojipedia
Soon there could be new emoji that let you show you are melting, have a low battery or are feeling ambivalent or teary-eyed. These and more are on the list for approval in Emoji 14.0. But they might not appear in iPhones and other devices until 2022.
The list appears with World Emoji Day coming July 17.
This crazy hackintosh has a palm-size keyboard and screen but still runs macOS Big Sur. Photo: iketsj
Maybe you’ve been thinking that MacBooks are just too practical. What you want is a handheld Mac with a screen you can barely see and an uncomfortable keyboard. Well, T. Sanglay, Jr. has just the project for you. He created miniature hackintosh that runs macOS Big Sur.
And he filmed a video to show the computer coming together. Watch it if you have a hard time believing someone could assemble a Mac about the size of paperback novel.
In Los Angeles, young creatives will receive mentorship from Grammy Award-winning producer Larrance “Rance” Dopson. Photo: Apple
Apple announced a new global initiative today called Today at Apple Creative Studios. It aims to provide career-building mentorship, creative-industry skills training, resources and access to Apple products to workers from underrepresented communities globally.
Want to relive Craig Federighi’s daring iPad catch from Monday’s keynote, set to a toe-tapping tune? Of course you do. Fortunately, Jonathan Mann is here to help.
Mann, a prolific musical YouTuber, has been writing songs about Apple dating back to the days of Antennagate and the iPhone 4. None other than Steve Jobs once played one of Mann’s iPhone ditties on stage at an Apple event. Each year after Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Mann pens a song based on the event.
His song this year won’t leave you any the wiser if you didn’t watch this year’s WWDC keynote. But it will certainly get you nodding your head — and reliving that Federighi catch over and over. Check it out.
Give others the ability to use your Apple Card. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple Card now gives users the ability to add a co-owner from their Family Sharing group. Co-owners share the same credit line and have the ability to add the card to Apple Pay, view their own spending activity, and more.
It’s also possible to share Apple Card with other members of your family (aged 13 years or older) and give them their own spending limit. Here’s how to start sharing yours on iPhone and iPad.
Note the stenography machine in the foreground of this "after" photo. Photo: yyzgal@Reddit
In the before-and-after pics of Reddit user yyzgal’s dual-monitor/MacBook Pro setup, guess which one has the stenography machine? Trick question. They both have it.
And it’s what most Redditors admiring the new-and-improved setup wanted to talk about in the comments section of yyzgal’s setup post. Well, that and the Sonnet eGPU Breakaway Puck hidden behind the laptop in the setup’s “after” photo (above).
There's no need to say "Hey Siri" first anymore. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
iOS 14.5 lets you answer or reject incoming calls with your voice on iPhone — without the need to say “Hey Siri.” In this tutorial, we’ll cover which headphones are compatible and how to get the feature set up.
You can use your voice to stay safe while driving. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple Maps gives users in the U.S. the ability to report accidents, hazards and speed traps in iOS 14.5. The information you submit could help other road users avoid lengthy jams and expensive tickets.
Here’s how to file your own report inside the Maps app.
Xcode is just one of the Mac applications that should be available for iPad now that it has an M1 processor. Photo: Cult of Mac
The Apple M1 processor in the 2021 iPad Pro could make it the most productive tablet ever. But only if Apple takes the logical next step and lets iPads run Mac apps.
M1-powered Macs can run iPadOS applications. The reverse should be true.
Ready for the next iteration of Face ID? Photo: Apple
Apple will debut an under-display Face ID setup to debut in 2023, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims in a Wednesday report to clients, seen by Cult of Mac.
Kuo doesn’t elaborate on the feature but, provided he’s accurate, this could potentially mean the end of the “notch” which has been a part of the iPhone design dating back to 2017’s iPhone X.
Initiate a shutdown from within iOS. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Broken one of the physical buttons on your iPhone or iPad? That won’t prevent you from shutting it down completely. This simple trick allows you to turn off your iPhone or iPad from within iOS in just a few steps.
Every AirPods owner needs an AirFly Pro. Photo: Twelve South
AirPods might be one of the best accessories Apple has ever made. But there’s a quick and easy way to make them even better: Pair yours with the AirFly Pro from Twelve South.
This second-generation dongle lets you connect your AirPods or AirPods Pro to almost anything. It has better battery life than its predecessor, and supports two pairs of headphones simultaneously.
Here’s the abstract wallpaper from Mac OS X Tiger released in 2005. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Wednesday is the twentieth anniversary of Mac OS X. And those who went though the many versions over the decades can download some reminders. Every major new version came with a fresh wallpaper, and they’re all available for free.
A quick search in Apple Maps displays nearby COVID-19 vaccine sites on a map. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
An update to Apple Maps adds COVID-19 vaccination locations. Users can find nearby businesses and organizations providing the life-saving injections from the Search bar in Apple Maps by selecting COVID-19 Vaccines in the Find Nearby menu.
An AirPods Max firmware update is now available. Here’s hoping it fixes a bad bug. Photo: iFixit
Apple’s over-the-ears headphones got a firmware update on Tuesday. It’s not clear what’s in the new software for AirPods Max because Apple never discloses that detail, but many users are hoping it’s a fix for an irritating power drain.
Wolfwalkers sniffed out ten nominations in the Annie Awards. Photo: Cartoon Saloon
Apple TV+’s Wolfwalkers received a whopping ten nominations for the 48th Annie Awards, which celebrate excellence in animation. That put it in a tie for most nominations with Pixar’s Soul.
Wolfwalkers also scored a Golden Globe nomination, and is widely expected to be nominated for an Oscar later in March.
Share snippets from your favorite tracks. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 offer the ability to share lyrics directly from Apple Music for the first time. You can use the feature to send snippets from your favorite tracks to social media, messaging apps, and more.
The Cold War heats up -- on the moon! -- in Season 2 of For All Mankind. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+’s alternate-history space race extravaganza For All Mankind is back for a second season (with a third already paid for). Things are different on the moon but they’re very much the same in the drama department.
Save it as an editable, shareable PDF. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Have you ever found yourself snapping multiple screenshots when you want to share or save an entire webpage on iPhone and iPad? There is an easier way — a neat trick to capture the whole thing in an instant.
Curtis Sponsler's iMac Pro-based setup requires both processing power and huge storage capacity for animation.. Photo: Curtis Sponsler
Miami-based Curtis Sponsler has been a 3D animator and motion graphics designer for more than 30 years. These days, that work takes copious amounts of computing power and massive storage capacity.
Fortunately, his current iMac Pro-based setup handles his needs well.
The man even built his own render farm in a closet with dedicated air conditioning to store and cool his video-rendering machines.