Mobile menu toggle

News - page 176

Apple TV+ Sharper trailer spins a web of secrets and lies

By

Veteran actors John Lithgow and Julianne Moore star in the new film.
Veteran actors John Lithgow and Julianne Moore star in the new film.
Photo: Apple

“Sharper” is old slang for a con artist or swindler. And in the trailer Apple TV+ dropped Thursday for its first film of 2023, a “neo-noir thriller” that shares the slang term as a title, it’s not easy to tell the con artist from the conned.

But it looks like it’ll be fun guessing which rich Manhattan people will lose their shirts in the film, starring Julianne Moore and John Lithgow.

It comes out in theaters February 10 and streams February 17, Apple TV+ said.

Apple ‘seriously considering’ a touchscreen MacBook

By

A Macbook with the words: Macs? With touchscreens? Seriously?!?
Apple might right-size the Touch Bar lol.
Image: Devin Pickell/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac

Apple now has engineers “actively engaged in the project” of adding touchscreens to Mac computers, starting with the popular MacBook Pro. According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, a consistent and reliable leaker, the first Mac with a touchscreen display could ship as soon as 2025.

The product is evidently still being tested internally, with no definitive plans for a product launch set in motion.

iPhone 15 Pro will not have actual, physical buttons. Really.

By

iPhone 15 Pro will not have actual, physical buttons. Really.
Apple might be about to give old-fashioned buttons the heave-ho.
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly phasing out traditional buttons, starting with the iPhone 15 Pro models. The handsets will still seem to have them, but it’ll be a high-tech trick performed with haptic feedback.

The change should make the iOS devices more durable and waterproof.

Developer craves more pixels in ultra-wide display [Setups]

By

Text renders more clearly on the MacBook Pro's Liquid Retina display than on the ultra-wide monitor.
Text renders more clearly on the MacBook Pro's Liquid Retina XDR display than on the ultra-wide monitor.
Photo: [email protected]

With modern computer displays, you can have brilliant colors, tons of screen real estate and even a cool curve in the screen. But will you be happy reading text on it? That’s not necessarily a sure thing.

In today’s featured MacBook Pro-based computer setup, a developer finds she likes her 34-inch curved ultra-wide display, but not in every possible way. She craves more pixels, having been “ruined” by her MacBook Pro’s crisp display.

Companies control how their info appears in Apple apps with new tool

By

Companies control how their info appears in Apple apps with new tool
Companies can edit their Apple Maps place cards with the new Business Connect tool.
Screenshot: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple Business Connect is a new tool that enables businesses to claim their location place cards in Apple Maps, Messages, Wallet, Siri and other apps.

It debuted Wednesday, and owners of businesses of all sizes can now customize their place cards.

US judge rules Apple Watch infringes on sensor technology patent

By

Apple Watch 6 was the first model to include the pulse oximetry sensor.
Apple Watch 6 was the first model to include the pulse oximetry sensor.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

A judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday that Apple infringes on one of medical device maker Masimo’s patents for light-based pulse oximetry sensor functionality and components used in Apple Watch 6 onward. The sensor measures blood oxygen levels.

Next the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will decide whether to ban imports of Apple Watches that include the sensor, Masimo said.

In a statement, Apple disputed the ruling.

Mac shipments grew in 2022 while PC tanked

By

M2 MacBook Air review roundup: The fast and the beauteous
A redesigned MacBook Air surely helped push up 2022 Mac shipments.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s shipments of Mac desktops and notebooks grew modestly in 2022, according to market research firm. That’s in stark contrast to shipments of PCs that dropped enormously last year.

And Apple could have done even better if it hadn’t pushed back the release of new Macs past the fourth quarter.

Apple’s in-house display could debut on the Apple Watch Ultra in 2024

By

Apple Store logo in Chengdu, China with two people standing in front of it
Apple wants to shift away from Samsung for its product displays.
Photo: Unsplash

Apple wants to reduce its reliance on sourcing displays for its products from Samsung and LG. So, the company is working on its own custom displays that it intends to use as early as 2024.

This would mark another move from Apple to develop more components it uses on its devices in-house.

Add a touch of class to your setup with new white-oak desk shelves

By

Grovemade's popular desk shelves now come in white oak.
Grovemade's popular desk shelves now come in white oak.
Photo: Grovemade

Home-office goods maker Grovemade rolled out white-oak versions of its popular desk shelves Tuesday, adding a classy new option for anyone trying to improve their computer setup.

You can get the new desk shelves in small, medium or large sizes. They’re not cheap, but you deserve to have nice things.

Protect your valuables with Yale’s new HomeKit-enabled smart safes

By

Yale's new smart safes come in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi versions.
Yale's new smart safes come in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi versions.
Photo: Yale Home

Worried about keeping your valuables safe? Venerable lock maker Yale said Tuesday it has two new smart safes for you: Yale Smart Safe and Yale Smart Safe with Wi-Fi.

And you can control the new safes using the Home app via HomeKit. Or, in the case of the Wi-Fi-enabled safe, with the Siri voice assistant.

iPhone 16 could shrink the Dynamic Island with under-display Face ID

By

iPhone 16 could shrink the Dynamic Island with under-display Face ID
iPhone 16 Pro might show only a holepunch camera.
Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Face ID sensors reportedly will be hidden from users in next year’s iPhone 16 Pro. That would free up space for more screen area.

If true, under-display Face ID might mean that the days of the Dynamic Island are numbered, even though the feature only recently debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro.

iPad mini 6 drops to its Black Friday price in this killer deal

By

iPad mini on table
At $400, the iPad mini 6 provides a lot more value for money.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Did the iPad mini catch your fancy? Amazon has a killer deal on Apple’s smallest tablet, knocking $99 off its retail price.

After the discount, you can get the 2021 iPad mini for $399.99, down from its original $499 MSRP. This is the same price the tablet was available for during Black Friday.

Black Bird’s prime directive: Giving serial killers the finger

By

Paul Walter Hauser playing serial killer Larry Hall in Black Bird on Apple TV+.
Paul Walter Hauser lit up Black Bird with his depiction of suspected serial killer Larry Hall.
Photo: Apple TV+

BOSTON — Before he put pen to paper and gave us violent sagas of lowlife P.I.s and desperate criminals, Dennis Lehane used to deliver flowers to a hospital next door to the Liberty Hotel. Now the novelist, who acted as writer and showrunner for the brilliant Apple TV+ miniseries Black Bird, is sitting here in the Liberty, so named because of its former vocation: a prison.

It’s an appropriate setting. Black Bird tells the true story of Jimmy Keene, a prison informant who risked his life to nail a serial killer. (The series is based on Keene’s autobiographical novel, In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption.)

Lehane and his chilling Black Bird star Paul Walter Hauser sat down with Cult of Mac and other journalists recently to discuss their critically acclaimed Apple TV+ show, which is racking up nominations as awards season gets underway. If Black Bird’s outstanding cast and crew receive the recognition they deserve, the show stands a good chance of picking up a handful of awards — and adding to the growing glow of prestige programming on Apple TV+. (Update: Hauser won the Golden Globe on Tuesday night for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.)

In the group interview, Lehane and Hauser talked motivation, working conditions and seeing into the mind of a psychopath, among other things.

First Apple Watch with microLED screen could be on the way

By

First Apple Watch with microLED screen could be on the way
A future Apple Watch Ultra might include a cutting-edge microLED screen.
Photo: Apple

Apple will bring a microLED screen to its wrist wearable, according to a reliable source of insider info. This would replace the OLED displays currently in Apple Watch.

A switch to microLED would bring an improved type of screen: brighter and less prone to burn-in.

Apple’s new ads highlight iPhone 14’s Action Mode and Undo Send in Messages

By

iPhone 14 in purple
Apple is highlighting iPhone 14's Action Mode in a new ad.
Photo: Unsplash

Apple has released a couple of new ads highlighting the iPhone 14’s Action Mode and the Undo Send feature in iOS 16’s Messages app. The features are available on both regular iPhone 14 and 14 Pro series.

This is the second ad Apple has released since the iPhone 14 release to promote Action Mode. The advanced stabilization mode provides gimbal-like stabilization.

Apple’s custom 5G iPhone modem could finally launch in 2024

By

Apple 5G modem chip
Qualcomm is slowly but surely getting the boot.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple’s drawn-out effort to make its own 5G modem will reportedly begin to bear fruit in 2024. This will replace ones now sourced from Qualcomm.

And the iPhone-maker is also working to produce other wireless chips it currently gets from Broadcom.

How to make parking in the city easier with Apple Maps and SpotHero

By

How to make parking in the city easier with Apple Maps and SpotHero
Apple Maps now has the SpotHero parking-space finder built in. Here's how to use the new combination.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iPhone users can now find a parking space with Apple Maps. Starting Monday, the navigation application has SpotHero built in, giving parking options for more than 8,000 locations across North America.

The feature is free, though the spaces are not. Here’s how to use it.

Old Cinema and Thunderbolt displays handle new gear and gaming [Setups]

By

With the right adapter you can use a new Xbox with an old Cinema Display (on the right).
With the right adapter you can use a new Xbox with an old Cinema Display (on the right).
Photo: [email protected]

So many people love Apple gear because the Cupertino tech giant gets a lot right with its hardware. That certainly includes monitors, and not just the phenomenal Pro Display XDR and new Studio Display. We see a fair number of new computer setups relying on classic Apple screens like Cinema Display and Thunderbolt Display.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro and Xbox setup is a good example. Even with a modern gaming console — and given the right adapter — a display from a dozen years ago is still keeping it real.

iPhone 15 already in trial production

By

iPhone 15 already in trial production
Apple is hard at work on the iPhone 15.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac/Pixabay/Pexels

The iPhone 15 is reportedly in trial production, a fairly early stage in bringing the product to market. Still, it means the final feature set and design are essentially complete and Apple is thinking about assembling the device.

Trial production is going on at a Foxconn plant in China. The iPhone 15 will also be made in India.

Apple’s first retail store in India takes one step closer to opening

By

iPhone 14 Pro in India
Apple's first retail store in India could finally open its doors soon.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple’s first retail store in India has moved closer to its opening. After years of delays, the company has started hiring retail store workers in the country.

The company has posted 12 job positions on its career page in India as it looks to fill various retail positions.

No major AirPods, iPad or Apple Watch upgrades planned for 2023

By

Apple logo with red background.
Apple seems to be focusing on the launch of its AR/VR headset this year.
Image: Rajesh

Every year, Apple has some significant hardware upgrades planned for at least a few devices in its product lineup. 2023 could be an outlier, though.

This year, Apple’s major hardware launches will include its first AR/VR headset and the iPhone 15 series. While other products in the company’s lineup will receive a refresh, they will be relatively minor upgrades.

Apple silicon Mac Pro might not feature user-upgradeable RAM

By

Side look at 2019 Intel Mac pro
The upcoming Mac Pro could look like this.
Photo: Unsplash

Contrary to rumors, the upcoming Apple silicon Mac Pro might disappoint many in the design department. A new report suggests the forthcoming Mac Pro refresh will have the same design as the 2019 Intel-based model.

The Apple silicon Mac Pro is widely expected to launch later this year. It would stand out in the Mac lineup by offering a certain degree of user upgradability but come with non-upgradeable system memory.