Mobile menu toggle

News - page 1642

Weird Rumor Says Apple & Intel Are Working On An iWatch For 2013

By

Apple-iWatch

For a couple of glorious years, Apple’s iPod nano came in a form factor that could be worn as a watch. Then this year, as Apple is wont to do with the permanently schizo iPod nano line, Apple switched to another design entirely, leaving fans who want a bonafide iWatch in the lurch. But perhaps there is method in Apple’s madness, as a new rumor suggests that Cupertino has phased out the watch-like nano to build their own Bluetooth Smart Watch for 2013.

Apple’s SEC Filing Reveals Tim Cook’s 2012 Compensation & Pay Raises In Wake Of Scott Forstall Departure

By

GYI0064876379

Back from the holidays, Apple has just filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC today in preparation for its annual shareholder meeting in 2013. It’s filled with a lot of insight into the inner workings of our favorite company, and while the biggest news is probably Tim Cook’s remuneration for 2012, there are also other interesting tidbits, including Apple’s resistance to the idea of the appointment of a Board Committe on Human Rights, and the fact that Scott Forstall’s departure lead to a pay raise for the rest of Apple’s executive team.

Apple To Make Mac Mini, Not New Mac Pro, In U.S. Next Year [Rumor]

By

apple-mac-mini

When Tim Cook said that Apple would start manufacturing part of its Mac lineup stateside in 2013, many speculated that the Mac Pro would be the most likely candidate. We postulated that the upcoming Mac Pro would make the perfect choice because it is easier to build and doesn’t sell as well as the other Macs. Apple would be able to test a desktop production line in the U.S. with a niche Mac that won’t create huge consumer demand.

According to a new rumor, it will not be the Mac Pro, but instead the Mac mini that gets manufactured in the U.S. next year.

Google Play Grew Rapidly In 2012, But App Store Is Still Cash Cow [Report]

By

Apple wins this round.
Apple wins this round.

Mobile app analytics firm Distimo annually publishes a review of the past year’s growth and trends in the app space. For 2012, Distimo compared Apple’s App Store vs. Google Play on Android handsets. While both marketplaces are considered winners in their own right, the App Store is still where the real money comes from.

Google Play has technically been growing faster than the App Store in recent months, but the daily revenues generated in the App Store are still far greater than anything Google has been able to muster.

New Tweak Unlocks The Hidden Topography Mode In Google Maps For iPhone [Jailbreak]

By

Google Maps hidden topography

Open the Apple Maps app in iOS 6, tap the bottom right page curl, and enable Satellite view. All of a sudden whatever you’re looking at will be filled in with realistic details like grass, pavement, and buildings. The Google Maps for iPhone app is capable of displaying satellite imagery as well, but Google has also baked a hidden topography mode into the app.

Thanks to jailbreak tweak developer Ryan Petrich, there’s a new package in Cydia that unlocks the Google Maps for iPhone Topography mode.

Our Editor’s Picks For 2012’s Best iOS Apps [Feature]

By

IMG_0091

As we near the end of 2012, Cult of Mac has taken a look back at some of the best iOS apps that have hit the App Store over the last 12 months. There have been some terrific releases this year, and we could have named a hundred that are well worth your hard-earned cash. But we’ve managed to whittle our list down to just ten titles that have really stood out for us this year. Check out our best apps roundup below.

Apple Reverses Stance On Lighting Rules To Allow POP Kickstarter Project

By

POP is back in business!
POP is back in business!

Last week, we told you about how Apple’s ridiculous Lightning rules forced a Kickstarter project to shut down after raising $140,000. The POP Station was intended to provide charging for multiple kinds of connectors, including Lightning and the older 30-pin. For users who own newer Apple devices and legacy 30-pin devices, the POP solved the problem of constantly switching out cables.

After raising the money, the makers of POP were informed that Apple’s new licensing rules wouldn’t allow Lightning and 30-pin connectors to be packaged together. There was such an outcry from backers and the online media that Apple has since reversed its stance.

Steve Jobs’s Super Yacht Is Now Free To Sail The High Seas

By

jacht6

One of the last design projects Steve Jobs ever worked on was his super-yacht Venus, which he co-designed with famed designer Phillipe Starck. Unfortunately, though Venus was completed, it looked a little dicey for a while that it would actually hit the high seas, as a dispute between Starck and Jobs’s estate over payment lead to Venus being impounded. Now, that dispute is apparently at an end.

Apple’s “Lucky Bags” Are Coming To Japan On January 2nd

By

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 9.12.02 AM

In the Western world, Santa Claus and Christmas rule the holiday season, but in Japan and other parts of Asia, it’s all about Fukubukuro or Lucky Bags, the annual New Year’s tradition where merchants distribute grab bags full of mystery contents at a huge discount to crazed shoppers.

This year, like every other year, Apple is taking part in the Lucky Bag phenomenon, allowing shoppers to spend about $400 for an Apple-certified Lucky Bag.

Usually, these bags have lower ticket items in them, like iPod touches and t-shirts, but every once in a while, some lucky S.O.B. gets a MacBook Air or a top-of-the-line iPad. There’s only a limited number of them, so you need to line up hours ahead of time. Anyone wish Apple did Lucky Bags over here?

Source: Apple

Auxo, The Reinvented iPhone App Switcher, Is Now Available In Cydia [Jailbreak]

By

9

Last week we told you about Auxo, an innovative concept for the iPhone app switcher that was brought to life in the form of a jailbreak tweak. Auxo takes the bland iOS multitasking bar to the next level with live app previews, gestures, settings toggles, and more. iPhone jailbreakers on iOS 6 can now install Auxo in Cydia for $1.99.

Unlike Apple’s stock app switcher, Auxo shows you live previews of apps you have running. You can use swipe gestures to close apps or kill all running apps at once. Auxo also comes with an enhanced music player that gives you basic controls and even the ability to view album artwork. Swipe to the far left and there are toggles for various settings, like Wi-Fi and Airplane Mode. If you hate having to go into the Settings app to constantly toggle Wi-Fi or change your screen brightness, then Auxo is a breath of fresh air.

Cult of Mac Holiday Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers [Updated]

By

image

Believe it or not, Christmas is almost here, and we’ll mark this midwinter festival by getting together with friends and family and continuing to drink and eat far too much.

Meanwhile, we also buy gifts for those same friends and family members, whether they want them or not. Luckily, we’re here to help, and if you follow our festive advice, your gifts just might make it into the “wanted” category.

Today, we’re looking at last-minute stocking stuffers. To be honest, if you still haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, you should really be out hitting the malls today. But seeing as you’re here reading this instead, here are a few ideas.

Cult Of Mac’s Awesome 2012 Advent Calendar: Day 24 — Hero Academy

By

adventcalendarday24

One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

Hiding behind door number 24 is a little game that will help you extract revenge upon all your family members and friends. It’s Hero Academy.

iBeam.it Tries To Make Holiday Photo-Sharing Easier

By

1356342503.jpg

Sharing your holiday photos is always a pain, and e-mail is usually the “answer.” Mom wants the pictures in her Facebook, your smart sister wants them in her Dropbox, and her stupid hippie boyfriend wants them on paper, because bits are like, so ephemeral, man.

IBeam.it is a service that promises to make this easy, by letting you share photos from any service you like, and letting the recipient pick where they receive them. Sadly. it looks like a no-go.

‘Free The Photos’ Copies Your Instagram Pictures To Flickr

By

1356339586.jpg

After last week’s Instagram furore, many people threw a hissy fit and quit the free photo-sharing service for which they have never paid a penny. And a lot of those quitters went over to Flickr and its outstanding new iOS app.

Over the weekend, Flickr gave its regular free members a three-month Pro subscription. This is super smart, and not only as a way to entice yet more users away from Facebook’s newest toy – a Flickr Pro account ups your limit on photo uploads, which lets you bring in all your pictures from, say, Instagram.

And the best way I have found to do this is with the new Free The Photos service.

iPad 5 To Come In March, Retina iPad Mini Will Have A6X Processor [Rumor]

By

iPad-Mini-iPad-4

With Apple having recently updated the iPad after a mere seven months, there’s been talk lately that instead of Cupertino’s schedule of annual updates, they might be moving to a bi-annual update schedule instead.

It doesn’t take a genius, then, to trace the newest rumor to mere speculation: according to a hit-or-miss Japanese Apple blog, Apple will release the iPad 5 in March, and it will have a chassis design similar to the iPad mini.

Cult Of Mac’s Awesome 2012 Advent Calendar: Day 23 – Big JamBox

By

ws_Holiday_Lights_1600x1200

One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

Day 23 is here, and today, we’re talking about JamBox’s bulkier big bro: the Big JamBox.

Why Apple Needs a Really Expensive iPhone

By

sateliphone

Some pundits are predicting, and others are advocating, that Apple launch an iPhone that’s much cheaper than the current iPhone in order to keep up with Android phone sales. For more details, check out why Apple might release a cheap iPhone 15.

This is crazy talk.

Apple doesn’t need a cheaper iPhone. They need a more expensive one — much more expensive. Here’s why.