The newest beta of Microsoft Office gives iPad users the option to convert handwriting done with an Apple Pencil or other stylus into text using Apple’s Scribble system. It’ll should be available to all in the near future.
Apple’s handwriting-recognition system uses AI to recognize letters and words, and will allow users to quickly edit a document or spreadsheet on the go with a stylus. But it could also be used to write entire Word docs.
Apple tried to talk Facebook into creating a version of its social network without adverts, according to a new report. Users would pay a subscription fee and would not be tracked for advertising purposes.
Obviously, it didn’t happen.
You don’t have to wait until September to get the details on the next-gen Apple Watch. Many of them leaked out already.
Here’s what to expect out of the upcoming Series 8, and a new “extreme sports” Apple Watch. An updated Apple Watch SE is also supposedly in the offing.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We’re taking a long look (and listen) at all the hottest new features coming in iOS 16, including the return of the battery percentage indicator. Some of the impending changes look (and sound) great. Others … not so much.
We want two big tweaks: a polished version of the battery percentage indicator, and an iPhone ping that doesn’t sound like garbage. (The existing one is great, and the proposed one is definitely not an upgrade.)
But, hey, there’s still time for Tim Cook’s team of tweakers to bring things up to snuff. In fact, somebody already did the heavy lifting for them on that battery icon (see below)!
Play pinball in a galaxy far, far away as an update to Zen Pinball Party adds two new tables based on Star Wars. Enjoy characters and music from some of the bast of the Skywalker saga.
The pinball game launched on Apple Arcade in 2021, and already lets players have a go at tables with a Kung Fu Panda theme, or Trolls, or How to Train Your Dragon.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert created a parody Thursday night of the psychological thriller Severance on Apple TV+. The segment’s a must-see for fans of the show, or for fans of nouveu-comedy classic The Office, which figures into the mashup heavily.
I just called Severance a psychological thriller. In his lead-in to the video, which you can watch below, Colbert was probably more accurate.
“Severance is easily one of the top dystopian workplace sci-fi mystery black comedy psychological thrillers I’ve ever seen,” he deadpanned, getting a laugh.
With so many people working from home these days, a whole lot of them spend much of their life in one room — wherever the computer setup is, that is. And that’s all the more the case in apartments and small homes. So improving the setup can have a pretty big impact.
In today’s featured Mac Studio setup, swapping out two smaller displays for one bigger one, adding a desk shelf and making a few other changes made quite a difference in enhancing the workspace.
AirPods users will soon be able to discover what’s new in each firmware update. The current iOS 16 beta includes a link to a description of the current firmware on Apple’s website.
That’s a notable change from iOS 15 and before, where firmware updates for these wireless earbuds are an almost complete mystery.
Physical starring Rose Byrne will return to Apple TV+ for a third season. The dark comedy about a female fitness guru is set in the 1980s.
There were some questions about the show’s future after a shaky first season, but season two made continuing the series a no-brainer.
The web browser that Meta built into the iPhone Facebook and Instagram applications can collect far more information about users than they probably realize. It can “track every single interaction with external websites,” according to a developer.
But users don’t have to stay in this sketchy browser. Leaving it is easy – here’s how.
Accessories-maker Grovemade recently added small and medium sizes to its lineup of desk shelves, which are wooden stands or risers for monitors and laptops that help you organize and store other items.
We see the Portland, Oregon-based company’s desk shelves from time to time in people’s workstations in Setups feature articles.
August 11, 1950: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is born. While Steve Jobs may be the most admired Apple figure, Woz might be the most well-loved by fans.
In addition to his most famous creation, the Apple II, Wozniak is also responsible for imbuing Apple’s products with his fun-loving personality.
Happy birthday, Woz!
Apple aficionado Basic Apple Guy ran a “bracket” polling competition — think March Madness basketball, but without any perspiration — to determine the greatest macOS wallpaper ever. And users have spoken, according to a tweet pointing to final results Wednesday.
In a field of 18 competitors, macOS Catalina wallpaper emerged the champion (pictured above).
Disney will soon hike the monthly subscription price of its streaming service almost 40%. When Disney+ first launched, it was one of the cheapest streaming streaming services. Not for much longer.
The company also increased the cost of Hulu and ESPN+.
Rodolfo Castro of the Pittsburg Pirates made an epic slide into third base Wednesday. His iPhone also tagged third – we know because the handset flew out of his pocket and hit the base.
The umpire had to point out to the baseball player that that the iPhone was lying on the field.
Anker has been on a roll lately with new chargers, and it kept going Wednesday with the release of its PowerCore 24K, aka the Anker 737 Power Bank.
The gadget packs a 24,000mAh battery, three ports for charging devices (up to and including your MacBook) plus a handy digital display that shows you what the device is doing.
Jon Hamm’s humorous request to be included in Apple TV+ has been answered. The actor has been added to the third season of the drama The Morning Show, which is expected to premiere on Apple’s streaming service before the end of 2022.
Ask and ye shall receive, apparently.
The just-announced Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 offer the clearest evidence yet that Apple is correct to hold off on releasing a folding iPhone. Flexible screens still come with too many problems to be acceptable in an iPhone.
Of course, that didn’t stop Samsung from releasing handsets with these drawbacks.
Venerable audio brand Sennheiser rolled out its new Momentum 4 wireless over-ear headphones Tuesday. The successor to the much-liked Momentum 3 aims for the same high-end sound and comfort along with a more modern look.
The cans, which will compete with the likes of Sony’s top headphones and AirPods Max, also claim an impressive battery life of up to 60 hours.
Apple’s tiny yet powerful M1 Mac mini is again down to its lowest-ever price on Amazon. This is for the 512GB variant that is available for $749.99, down from its $899 retail price.
The listing page only has a $30 discount, with the additional $119.01 discount automatically applied at checkout.
People swear by their iPads. And when they get one, they have many choices of cool accessories that help expand what it can do and how they use it.
SwitchEasy is a major accessory-maker for iPads, and for a limited time, you can get 20% off the company’s goods in the Cult of Mac Store.
But if you want to score a deal, you need to do it today. Our sale on SwitchEasy iPad gear ends at 11:59 p.m. PDT on August 10, 2022.
We’ve seen a few computer setups lately where the owner switches from one or more large monitors to something smaller. But they don’t necessarily see losing the screen real estate as a “downgrade.”
That’s the case with today’s featured M1 Pro MacBook-centered setup. It went from a 34-inch ultra-wide 4K monitor to a new 27-inch Studio Display.
Essentially it boils down to “size isn’t everything.” When it comes to displays, there’s actually a lot more to the picture.
You probably spend a fair chunk of change on your Apple Watch and you should take care to protect it — especially if you’re the sort of person who does a number on watches.
If you really want to safeguard it, you could get a rugged case and band combo like the one Elago makes.
You can find the Elago Armor Case Apple Watch Band in the Cult of Mac Store for just $15.
Google’s campaign to talk Apple into supporting Rich Communication Services in iMessage continues. The Android-maker introduced a new website Tuesday that claims that because iPhone does not support RCS it lacks “modern texting standards” and causes unnecessary problems.
Apple has long resisted RCS, choosing instead to reserve the best benefits of its messaging software to iPhone users.
The Gamevice Flex and PowerA MOGA XP5-i Plus are both game controllers for iPhone, but that’s almost the only thing they have in common. The Gamevice product wraps around the handset to put buttons and d-pads on either side of the screen, while PowerA’s mimics an Xbox controller but with a phone mount.
No matter the design, these let players escape using onscreen touch controls when accessing cloud-gaming services, Apple Arcade and other games.