Mobile menu toggle

News - page 131

What’s next for Apple Card? [The CultCast]

By

Apple Card on an iPhone. CultCast episode 623.
Changes could be coming to Apple Card.
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: It sounds like Apple’s partnership with Goldman Sachs is on the rocks. What does that mean for the future of Apple Card?

Also on The CultCast:

  • The latest iOS 17.2 beta reveals some interesting new features.
  • Apple’s deal with Arm is pretty sweet … and pretty annoying for Arm!
  • Those panicky headlines about NameDrop you’ve been seeing that paint the iOS 17 feature as danger to children? Ignore them.
  • Apple seems pretty committed to Vision Pro: Multiple lower-priced versions of the headset are reportedly in the works.

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 live stream, embedded below.

Take a rare look inside Apple silicon lab

By

CNBC video Apple silicon lab
A technician works in the Apple silicon lab in Cupertino.
Photo: CNBC

Apple showed off its Apple silicon lab to media for the first time recently, allowing unusual access along with video interviews with executives about Cupertino’s major chipmaking strides in recent years, culminating in the current M3 series.

“One of the most, if not the most, profound change at Apple, certainly in our products over the last 20 years, is how we now do so many of those technologies in-house,” Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus said in one interview.

‘Winter edition’ MacBook Pro rig boasts fine 5K display and top-shelf scotch [Setups]

By

MacBook Pro setup with scotch
"The whiskey bottle adds a lot to it," a commenter noted.
Photo: [email protected]

As we ring in the first day of December, let us toast winter. More specifically, let us toast what a user calls their “winter edition” computer setup in Berlin, Germany, featuring a powerful MacBook Pro, a gorgeous 5K display, a cool mechanical keyboard and the best tool of all for toasting — a bottle of extremely good, peat-forward scotch from Islay, Scotland.

Get up to 47% off compact magnetic chargers for all your Apple devices

By

This magnetic wireless charging stand powers up four Apple devices at once.
This magnetic wireless charging stand powers up four Apple devices at once.
Photo: SwitchEasy

If you haven’t tried a multi-device charging stand, you’re missing out. There’s nothing like the convenience of plopping your Apple devices — iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods — in one place like a side table or night stand to top them off.

And right now you can get up to 47% off SwitchEasy’s 4-in-1 and 2-in-1 magnetic wireless charging stands in the Cult of Mac Store.

You won’t believe this bride’s mind-bending iPhone photo

By

Tessa Coates wedding dress photo
Look at Coates' arms in the three places she appears in this otherwise-normal iPhone photo. Mind. Blown.
Photo: Tessa Coates

A bride in England recently snapped an iPhone photo of herself trying on a wedding dress in front of mirrors. She was shocked to find her reflection looked different in each one.

That may sound like a disturbance you’d see in dark sci-fi series Black Mirror, but it’s actually a rare but understandable result of a computational-photography error.

Entire iPhone 16 lineup could feature force-sensitive Action button

By

Closeup of iPhone 15’s new Action button.
iPhone 16's Action button could benefit from force-detection capabilities.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple reportedly will bring the iPhone 15 Pro’s Action button to the entire iPhone 16 lineup next year. It will seemingly be a capacitive button and pack a lot of additional functionality.

The new rumor indicates the iPhone 16’s Action button will use a force sensor, allowing it to detect changes in pressure.

Apple’s new Personal Voice feature rings clear in ‘The Lost Voice’ video

By

Tristram Ingham 'The Lost Voice' video
Disability advocate Tristram Ingham prepares to record Apple’s “The Lost Voice" video.
Photo: Apple

The new Personal Voice feature in iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma can restore a person’s voice even after they lose it for any reason.

Apple demonstrated that quite well Thursday in an article and video featuring a disability advocate suffering facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).

Tiny fan makes MacBook Air perform like MacBook Pro

By

Frore Systems AirJet cooling chip fits MacBook Air
A Frore Systems cooling chip can boost MacBook Air performance.
Photo: Frore Systems

MacBook Air performs well without a MacBook Pro’s cooling fan, but now a tiny cooling chip can bridge the difference between the two laptops, according to a new report.

The thin membrane-based AirJet chip fits in Apple’s lightest laptop and boosts its performance when needed. Too bad you can’t just buy it and install it.

AirPods Pro 2 drop back to Black Friday price after 24% discount

By

AirPods Pro 2 in hand with case opened
Here's another chance at getting the AirPods Pro 2 at their Black Friday price.
Source: Unsplash

Amazon is once again running an insane deal on the AirPods Pro 2, dropping them to their Black Friday price. You can get the earbuds for $189.99, a whopping $59 off their $249 MSRP.

With no AirPods Pro successor coming anytime soon, Apple’s 2nd gen earbuds are the best earphones you can get for your iPhone.

New deal means fully American-made Apple silicon chips

By

TSMC chip wafer
Chip wafers can't simply be plugged into a computer. They must be packaged first.
Photo: TSMC

Apple silicon processors that TSMC makes at its Arizona plant will be packaged by Amkor at a nearby facility. This will save them from having to be shipped to Taiwan before going into iPhone, Mac, etc.

“Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we’ll continue to expand our investment here in the United States,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s COO. “Apple silicon has unlocked new levels of performance for our users, enabling them to do things they could never do before, and we are thrilled that Apple silicon will soon be produced and packaged in Arizona.”

Try one of Elago’s stylish steel bands for Apple Watch

By

Elago's new stainless steel bands for Apple Watch come in three colors.
Elago's new stainless steel bands for Apple Watch come in three colors.
Photo: Elago

There are few things more classic than a stainless steel watch band. It’s durable yet stylish, rugged yet elegant, and appropriate for work or play. You can wear it with a T-shirt or a tuxedo. And that goes for your grandfather’s Rolex as much as it goes for your Apple Watch.

Lucky for you, Elago’s stainless steel watch bands for Apple Watch in three colors to the Cult of Mac Store. And they’re affordable, too.

These apps and games won the 2023 App Store Awards

By

Apple Store Awards 2023
These are the App Store Award winners of 2023.
Photo: Apple

Apple has announced the 2023 App Store Awards winner after highlighting the 37 finalists earlier this month. The iPhone App of the Year went to AllTrails, while Prêt-à-Makeup won the iPad App of the Year.

Photomator was crowned as the Mac App of the Year. Unsurprisingly, generative AI was the Trend of the Year, with App Store Editors highlighting some apps that used it to deliver an innovative app experience.

Robert De Niro jabs Apple over deleted anti-Trump comments

By

Robert De Niro, 2023 Gotham Awards
De Niro wasn't happy Apple deleted his anti-Trump comments.
Photo: Gotham Film & Media Institute, YouTube

Actor Robert De Niro slammed Apple this week over anti-Donald Trump comments deleted from his speech at the Gotham Awards Monday evening.

The legendary actor noticed the commentary missing from the teleprompter as he began to introduce the Gotham Historical Icon and Creator Tribute to Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon, produced by Apple (and starring De Niro). So he took out his smartphone and read them anyway.

Arm ain’t happy about how little Apple pays for its chip tech

By

Apple gets Arm chip tech on the cheap
Whatever you think Apple pays Arm to license its technology, the real number is probably less.
Photo: Arm/Cult of Mac

All Apple computers run on chips based on technology licensed from Arm. And it turns out the licensing fee is surprisingly low. Pennies per device.

Apple is one of Arm’s most important customers, and the two have a relationship that goes back to the early 1990s. That’s turned into a sweet deal for the iPhone-maker.

Flexible device and display mounts make this home office [Setups]

By

MacBook Pro setup with mounted devices and displays
Everything in this setup but the keyboard, wrist rest, mouse and desk mat is mounted.
Photo: [email protected]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If you’re not elevating your laptop, iPad and displays on mounts and arms, you’re limiting your computer setup. Today’s feature MacBook Pro and iPad setup illustrates the point well by putting those devices and dual displays on four separate mounts, some with moveable arms.

That makes all of those devices more flexible, and much easier to move around than they would be on stationary stands. It also frees up space on the desk.

Apple reportedly ending Apple Card partnership with Goldman Sachs

By

Making Apple Card payments is as simple as its design.
Apple might have to find a new banking partner for Apple Card.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s partnership with Goldman Sachs for the Apple Card is reportedly coming to an end. The Wall Street Journal says Apple sent a proposal to the bank to exit from the agreement in the next 12 to 15 months.

At the moment, it remains unclear if Apple has zeroed in on another banking partner for Apple Card.

New doc takes closer look at John Lennon’s killer [Apple TV+ trailer]

By

Trailer for
Lots of information from various sources plus exclusive interviews shed light on the music icon's murder.
Photo: Apple TV+

Exclusive interviews with eyewitnesses to John Lennon’s murder, unseen crime-scene photos and discussions with experts — including the psychiatrist who first assessed confessed murderer Mark David Chapman — shed light on the music icon’s killing, according to a new trailer Apple TV+ dropped Tuesday for the documentary series John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial.

The three-part series, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Kiefer Sutherland, debuts on Apple TV+ December 6.

Last chance to win a super-protective iPad case from Zugu [Cult of Mac giveaway]

By

Lather your iPad in a luxurious sheild.
Keep your iPad safe and secure at all times in a rugged Zugu case.
Photo: Zugu

The prize in this week’s giveaway is every iPad owner’s dream: an iPad case from Zugu with a built-in Apple Pencil holder. We teamed up with Zugu to give five lucky winners the chance to win one of these fantastic iPad cases.

Zugu’s cases start at $49.99, fit a wide array of iPads, and come in nine different colors. So if you win, you will be spoiled for choice.

Peruse Apple Books’ top titles of 2023 and learn more about your own favorites

By

Apple Books Year in Review
Apple Books' new Year in Review feature offers insights into what you read.
Photo: Apple

There’s nothing like cracking open the ol’ iPad to the next page of the book you can’t put down — thanks to Apple Books. And now you can find your next great read from the service’s most-popular books of 2023 and enjoy a Year in Review with insights into the books and authors you enjoyed, Apple said Tuesday.

Pick new podcasts from Apple’s list of most popular ones

By

Pick new podcasts from Apple's list of most popular ones
The Apple Podcasts app will show you to most popular offerings in your country.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

One of the best ways to discover new podcasts is by finding out what other people are listening to. Apple made that easy Tuesday by tabulating the most popular podcasts of 2023.

These hit podcasts are available in localized versions for listeners in nearly 100 countries and regions.