Your mother was a hamster, and your father bought elderberries with Apple Pay. Photo: Apple
Apple Pay is likely to launch in France by the end of 2016, according to a new report — claiming that it will be a gradual rollout over the course of several months.
There’s no exact date cited, but it is quite possible that it will take place by September, before Apple ships the iPhone 7.
Easily find businesses near you thanks to the updated glances on WatchOS 2.2 Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The fourth beta for watchOS 2.2 adds cool new features that work with the latest version of iOS 9.3 as Apple continues its push to make Apple Watch even more powerful. In today’s video, we’re going to take a tour of all the new changes and improvements the latest beta has in store.
This week on The CultCast: With the FBI-versus-Apple privacy battle heating up, some lawyers say Tim Cook could land in jail; why Siri in the next version of OS X may point to redesigned MacBooks; and, just how much would you pay for a box of Steve Jobs’ old crap? Plus we pitch you our favorite tech and apps in an all-new Faves ‘N Raves!
Apple avoided a potentially embarrassing incident by altering OS X marketing materials on its website to make the word “click” in the slogan “There’s more to love with every click” look … well, less like a certain term for the male sexual apparatus that begins with a “D.”
If you start work now, you'll be in line for "Best Picture" at next year's Academy Awards. Photo: Appsolute Inc.
More and more videos are being shot on iPhones and iPads, and if you’re looking for a great video editing app to help you make the most out of your footage, you’ll find it with Videoshop — the ultra-popular movie editing app which currently carries a 4.5-star rating in the App Store, following more than 2,100 reviews.
The best news? Right now, it’s available for free, down from its usual price of $1.99.
Jef Raskin's original concept for the Mac was very different. Photo: Apple
Everyone associates the Mac’s creation with Steve Jobs (with very good reason), but there is another person without whom we wouldn’t have Apple’s iconic home computers: user interface guru Jef Raskin, who passed away on February 26, 2005 — exactly 11 years ago today.
Raskin not only named the Macintosh — after his favorite type of apple, the McIntosh (even though that spelling was already being used by an audio company) — he also gave the lovable computer some of its lasting personality traits.
Dividing up the bill just got a whole lot less comfortable. Screenshot: EquiPay
Anyone who eats out with friends has likely used their iPhone to split the bill at some point, perhaps making a few extra pluses or minuses according to whether your friend ordered the gold-plated lobster thermidor while you went for a salad and a glass of water.
But a new iOS app in the making promises to make bill-paying a whole lot more contentious: by splitting it based on the race and gender of those people eating at the same table.
Because why should billionaire Oprah Winfrey have to pay the same amount as my pallid white Cult of Android friend, Killian Bell?
Apple isn't getting the Republican vote. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Color us somewhat unsurprised, but all five remaining GOP presidential candidates are siding with the FBI over Apple in the ongoing disagreement over whether Apple should help hack the iPhone of one of the dead San Bernardino shooters — thereby setting a potential precedent regarding future user security.
If you've seen these two guys who may be scamming stores, there could be a reward in it for you. Photo: Encinitas Sheriff's Department/Jim Merithew
We fully support efforts to reuse and recycle garbage, but two Apple Watch scammers are using their conservation powers for evil.
The Encinitas, California sheriff’s department is on the lookout for these men (pictured above), who have worked out an effective and completely infuriating way to convert a water bottle and a few paper towels into hundreds of dollars. And authorities are offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to their arrest.
I'll take a double-shot half-caff soy latte with a side of massive MacBook selfie stick, please. Photo: MacBook Selfie Stick
Selfie sticks are bad enough, and while we’ve not seen anyone taking photos with an iPad and a long stick yet, here’s something even wackier: a MacBook on the end of a stick.
Created by an artist collective and showing on the streets of New York City, the oversize selfie sticks seem to be making the point that perhaps the technology that serves our obsession with selfies should be as outsize as our egos.
We doubt we'll see this at any WWDC keynotes. At least, we hope we won't. Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac
Apple has officially asked a judge to dismiss a court order requiring the company to unlock a terrorist’s iPhone at the FBI’s request.
We knew the legal filing was coming, but now we have the actual defenses Apple is using to defend its refusal to create what it calls a “GovtOS” that would let officials potentially bypass the security measures of millions of iPhones. The 65-page document released today details Apple’s history of assistance in the case — and the reasons it believes the original order is both bothersome and possibly illegal.
Tim Cook's tech friends are coming to Apple's defense. Photo: ABC News
The FBI’s demand that Apple build a backdoor into a terrorist’s iPhone has done the seemingly impossible by getting Microsoft, Google and Apple all on the same team.
Many of the country’s top tech firms have revealed that they will file friend-of-the court briefs in defense of Apple’s position that no company should be compelled by the government to break its own security and thus put the public safety of millions of users at risk.
The new Apple Store coming soon to San Francisco appears to be making decent progress. Leo Cheng snapped a nice photo from Solano Labs across the street from the new location and tweeted it at us. The store still looks like a hot mess, but the workers are apparently working on the glass doors for the entrance in this picture. Take a look.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee announced both FBI director James Comey and Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell are testifying at a congressional hearing on encryption March 1. The saga is far from over, since both will state their cases on the matter of whether the government should have access to users’ iPhone data.
The congressional hearing ultimately revolves around a single question: how can the FBI efficiently do what’s necessary to combat threats without invading users’ privacy and potentially making iOS a more vulnerable operating system? Right now there are two polar opposite positions.
Third-gen owners deserve some love too. Photo: Apple
Apple released a very small update for third-generation Apple TV owners today. The update still shows up as iOS 8.4.1 but has a new build number, so it’s probably just a bug fix update. If you plan to stick by your third-gen Apple TV for a while, it’s probably worth downloading.
Google’s neural network continues to amaze. With a new deep-learning machine called PlaNet, which has been trained by 126 million images and their accompanying EXIF data, it has picked up the “superhuman” ability to pinpoint the location of almost any photo.
Signal is the world's most secure messaging app. Photo: Open Whisper Systems
Apple plans to make future versions of iOS so secure even it can’t hack it, and the company is wasting no time stocking up on talented developers that specialize in encryption.
One of the iPhone-maker’s most recent hires, Frederic Jacobs, was previously a lead developer for Signal, which has earned a name as one of the most secure messaging apps available. It’s so good, it’s become a favorite of former NSA-contractor Edward Snowden who says he uses it everyday.
Learn the basics of developing for Apple TV here. Photo: Apple
Apple TV does apps, and you could be the next breakout star of the App Store with these new educational videos straight from the mothership.
Apple’s providing developers with 11 new video tech talks to help you understand how it all works, in hopes that even more developers and designers will choose Apple TV for their next project.
Will hacking the iPhone set a precedent, or won't it? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Caution: Weasel-words ahead! FBI director James Comey today defended iPhone hacking again, this time in front of a congressional panel — saying that it was absolutely a one-off case which wouldn’t set a precedent, only to acknowledge that the verdict “will be instructive for other courts” in future.
Comey also said that he thinks this question needs to be resolved by Congress — backing up an argument that Apple has made this week.
Save yourself the best part of thirty quid with MasterCard and Apple Pay. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
If, like me, you live in the U.K., you get bad weather, gray skies, and a baffling international reputation for bland cuisine and poor dental hygiene — but also free London travel for certain Apple Pay customers on selected days in January.
That’s because MasterCard is revisiting its pre-Christmas promotion, by offering more of its “Free Fare Mondays” on the London Underground to promote Apple Pay.
Do you know FaceSwap Live? It’s this wonderfully grotesque app created by Laan Labs that lets you switch faces with anyone using your iPhone camera.
There’s all sorts of awesomely surreal uses for the app, but I don’t know a better one than what Rhett LeCompte did: He used FaceSwap Live to sing every single part in the 1985 supergroup classic, “We Are the World.”
Tim Cook's office has more Easter eggs than a Marvel movie. Photo: ABC News/"World News Tonight with David Muir"
We don’t know if Apple head Tim Cook’s office got a good going-over before ABC News stopped by last night, but we like to think that it’s always that tidy.
The CEO appeared on World News Tonight to discuss privacy and the company’s ongoing conflict with the FBI, but it was significant for another reason. And both Cook and anchor David Muir couldn’t help but point it out.
“Thanks for having us in your office,” Muir said. “I don’t think we’ve ever done an interview in your office before.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever done an interview in the office,” Cook replied.
So what does the head of Apple keep handy when he’s hard at work? A lot of cool stuff, actually.
Apple is doing its bit to combat terrorism. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple may not be willing to help hack its iPhones for the FBI, but (contrary to certain spin) it’s in no way supportive of terrorism, either.
To demonstrate this, Apple is one of several tech and media companies which met with the Justice Department yesterday to discuss ways to counter the spread of ISIS messaging on social media platforms.
Wonder what Siri for Mac will be like? To find out, you’ll have to wait for OS X 10.12, code named Fiji, to land later this year. But here’s the next best thing: a concept video that makes us want Siri on the Mac right this second.
On second thought, the Kyon Pet Tracker might have more sensors than the Apple Watch. Photo: Kyon
Pet owners like to pretend their animal friends can speak with human words. Some even do a little voice when they’re projecting emotions and motivations on to their buddies. It’s okay — I do it, too. But an upcoming device might make your role as Puppy Lorax unnecessary because it will do the talking for you.
It’s called the Kyon Pet Tracker, and that simple and almost cold name belies its really impressive functionality: Not only does it tell you where your best dog (or cat) friend is at all times, but it can also warn you when they’re in danger or lost. And it does so with a cool app and an adorable onboard LED display.
Check it out in action in the video below, but be warned that the part where the collar saves the dog from drowning is really sad.