News - page 165

To say that it’s been a while since we featured new or interesting Awesome Apps would be an understatement. Fortunately, all that time has allowed me to discover a few great, useful apps to share with all of you. Whether you need something to help keep you in shape this summer, or want a quick and easy way to record a call on your iPhone, we’ve got some awesome apps for you.

And as I’ve said in the past, if you have something you want us to check out for a future Awesome Apps post, be sure to email your suggestions or tweet them over or toot at me.

The Crowded Room, a psychological thriller starring Tom Holland, is bringing in plenty of viewers. For two weeks now, the Apple TV+ series has been among the most popular shows on any streaming service.

And it’s not the only Apple series doing well — Silo continues to draw a large audience, too.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Those EU technocrats plan to force Apple (and everybody else) to make batteries in their devices easier to replace. The specifics remain vague. But is forcing changes to the iPhone and iPad design a good thing or a bad thing?

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple gives us a peek at how the software sausage will be made for the upcoming Vision Pro headset. Looks promising!
• Some of the features coming to the Photos app in iOS 17 work wonders. Others not so much.
• HomePods are about to get a long-awaited feature — sort of.
• The latest Mac sales data seems impossible to believe.

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.

Klipsch unveiled two new powered Bluetooth bookshelf speakers in its Reference series recently. The R-40PM and R-50PM speakers replace older “41” and “51” models, upgrading design, pumping up bass response and broadening connectivity with a phone preamp so you can easily connect a turntable, in addition to most other sound sources via USB and other line-in connections.

What you don’t need with these speakers is an amplifier, because they’re powered already.

Adding a second or third external display in portrait mode can really enhance a computer setup and its workflow. The owner of today’s featured MacBook Pro setup lucked into a second monitor and set it up vertically. Many people find the orientation suits certain tasks, like coding or reading email.

And who doesn’t love a classic Apple poster? Don’t miss the nice framed PowerBook G4 poster on the wall above the desk in the photograph above.

The sports games Retro Bowl+ and Retro Goal+ hit the Apple Arcade on Friday. And Bold Moves+ was added earlier in June. These are the latest classic games to make their way to the subscription service, and join many others already available.

This is in addition to all the original games that are Apple Arcade exclusives.

Apple is reportedly in talks with HDFC Bank to bring Apple Card to India. The latter is among the country’s largest credit card issuers and private banks.

The Cupertino giant also held discussions with NPCI to launch Apple Pay in the country.

If you own a Mac, it’s almost certainly a MacBook rather than a desktop. New data from a market research firm shows that Apple’s notebooks made up the lion’s share of macOS sales over the last year.

Of desktop models, the all-in-one iMac is the most popular. On the other hand, the cheapest Mac is among the lowest-selling, according to the analysts.

The first trailer for upcoming Apple TV+ movie The Beanie Bubble has a lot of fun with the Beanie Babies fad of the 1990s.

“Witness the crazy … behind the craze,” shout title screens in all caps between scenes. And Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks, as the partners behind the bean-filled-stuffed-animal business, do a good job of showing it.

While Apple is encouraging developers to write software for the Vision Pro AR headset, there are some types of applications it doesn’t want. Camera-related apps and movement-based ones can’t be made.

Some of the restrictions don’t seem to be about privacy but instead result from limitations in the hardware. Others are a mystery.

 Ugreen introduced its latest on-the-go charger for MacBooks and other gear Thursday. The new Ugreen 145W Power Bank offers fast charging and a rather large 25,000mAh battery capacity.

The company said, “the intelligent power bank can charge three devices simultaneously and even charge a 13-inch MacBook Air in just 90 minutes.” If you’re looking for the best GaN charger, check out this great option that provides high-speed charging in a compact design.

Apple’s entry-level 10.2-inch iPad is down to its all-time low price of $249.99. That’s a massive $79 off the tablet’s retail price, making it much more affordable.

Amazon is providing a $59.01 discount on the listing page, with an additional $20 off applied at checkout.

Venerable audio brand Denon, founded in 1910 and now owned by health-and-audio-device maker Masimo, introduced its first sets of wireless noise-cancelling earbuds with audio personalization Tuesday — Denon PerL and PerL Pro featuring Masimo AAT.

AAT stands for “adaptive acoustic technology,” something Masimo enhanced when it absorbed Australian sound-personalization innovator Nura months ago. Hear that, AirPods Pro 2?

Turning the Apple Vision Pro headset from an announcement into a shipping product took a big step forward Wednesday with the release of the visionOS SDK. This includes the software tools developers will use to write applications for the AR headset that Apple unveiled earlier this month.

Apple also said it will open developer labs around the world soon, giving coders a chance for some hands-on time with Vision Pro, which won’t launch until 2024.

Apple just introduced a slew of operating system updates. That includes iOS 16.5.1, macOS 13.4.1, watchOS 9.5.2 and iPadOS 16.5.1, which fix bugs in the most recent versions.

But it also released bug-fix updates for older versions of the operating systems going back as far as 2020.

What hasn’t yet arrived on Wednesday are the much-anticipated second round of betas for iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma.

I always had a thing for mechanical watches’ intricate machinery. But I gave up my Swiss timepiece for Apple Watch’s amazingly smart functionality.

And now someone has gone to the trouble of marrying the two on video. He replaced a nearly defunct Apple Watch’s circuitry with watch-movement technology first established more than 200 years ago.

And the end result is a gorgeous watch, if you dare try this sort of recycling project yourself.

There’s nothing like working with windows — floor-to-ceiling ones with epic views of a world-class city, that is, not Microsoft’s OS software.

In today’s featured computer setup, a MacBook Pro and a Surface 8 laptop vie over a nice Dell 4K display overlooking Sydney, Australia.

If you feel lost in a sea of podcasts without a paddle, Apple offered some new rowing implements Tuesday. After all, navigating podcasts can feel as hopeless as floundering among streaming TV shows and movies.

The company said Apple Podcasts will elevate nine “new and noteworthy” subcategories for browsing, plus related popularity charts and the new Podcasts by Language browsing tool.

A National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Tuesday that Apple used illegal means to convince employees at one of its retail stores in New York not to form a union.

The judge issued several instructions to Apple that might assist in future unionizing efforts at the company’s 270-plus U.S. retail locations.

iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma are not big upgrades. However, they will bring plenty of little improvements that add up to a better experience on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Despite that, Apple dropped support for some older iPhones, iPads and Macs with its upcoming OS releases.

That’s only part of the disappointment equation, though. Several new features won’t work on older Apple gear, even though the devices can run the new operating systems.

Many of the new features in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 that won’t make it to older iPhones and iPads will go missing primarily because they are very resource-hungry. As for Macs, several macOS Sonoma features won’t come to Intel-based machines. This is sort of a given, since Apple switched to in-house chips that deliver better performance while maintaining ruthless power efficiency. The list of features not available on Intel Macs will only expand over time until Apple eventually drops support for them altogether.

Now that you the reasons for the omissions, here’s a rundown of new features in iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma that won’t work on older devices.

Google is making Chrome better on the iPhone and iPad with several new AI-powered features. The browser is gaining deeper Google Maps and Calendar integration as a part of its latest release.

Additionally, Google Chrome can now partially translate text on a page without you having to leave the app.

Turns out Apple TV+ is not going to turn Fritz Lang’s sci-fi classic Metropolis into a series. The ongoing writers’ strike reportedly caused the project to be shut down.

And it’s not the only Apple TV+ project to run afoul of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.

Ted Lasso, the comedy that became the first surprise Apple TV+ hit, earned rave reviews with its recent series finale — and now Apple CEO Tim cook wants more!

That’s according to Brendan Hunt, one of the creators and stars of Ted Lasso. Whether Cook will get it or not remains an open question, however.

Our password-free future just took a step closer. Apple has begin rolling out signing onto its online store can with a passkey instead of a password. The change allows shoppers to access the site with Face ID or Touch ID. The same is true for iCloud.com and Apple’s dev site.

However, the feature is still in testing so it’s not available for everyone. It requires a beta of iOS 17, iPadOS 17 or macOS Sonoma.

Always wondering where you left the Apple TV remote? Maybe you should always put it in the same place when you’re done with it. And Elago makes that easy with its updated magnetic Metal Plate R1.

Just stick it to a surface on or near your TV and your R1 remote sticks to it. And viola, once you get in the habit of putting it back there, your remote is always where it’s supposed to be.