News - page 259

With the right charger, your iPhone 12 or 13 can top up pretty fast. But can it charge to 50% capacity in 15 minutes, wirelessly? Nope. But that’s what former Huawei sub-brand Honor promised Monday at MWC 2022 with its latest flagship handset, the Honor Magic 4 Pro.

Fast charging with iPhone runs about half the speed Honor claims. And though we doubt many folks would ditch their iPhones for the Honor Magic Pro 4, who knows if they’ll be able to get one, anyway. The company hasn’t specified a release date or where the phones will sell.

Is it reasonable to call a computer setup “budget-friendly” if it includes a new 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro? Well, is there such a thing as an Lamborghini economy car? How about a thrift-store Faberge egg? Or maybe a bargain-basement super yacht?

OK, we exaggerate slightly. You don’t have to be a billionaire to afford a nice Mac. But it helps.

Today’s featured setup makes a go of getting some “budget-friendly” cred despite its high-powered centerpiece — with mixed results.

Whether you’re looking to redesign your space with a fresh look or you just want to block out more light on a sunny morning, Lutron’s updates to its smart shades and blinds might help do the trick.

Lutron rolled out its HomeKit-enabled Serena Smart Architectural Honeycomb Shades on Monday with more than 40 fabric choices and some new refinements to block more light.

In the 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held Sunday night, Apple TV+ won two awards apiece for its sports comedy hit series Ted Lasso and its popular and groundbreaking film CODA.

This year will be “the biggest in the history of Apple Watch since the original model,” according to a new report. Apple Watch Series 8 is expected to come in three new versions that will bring “major updates to activity tracking.”

Apple could also (finally!) retire Apple Watch Series 3, which has looked painfully outdated for some time now, later this year.

Apple looks set to introduce new color options for its official iPhone 13 cases in the coming weeks. A leaked photo reveals an alleged “spring collection” for the Silicone Case with MagSafe, which includes new yellow, pink, and green shades.

The image comes just a week before Apple is expected to host its spring event, which is rumored to bring big refreshes for iPhone SE, iPad and Mac.

More than 12 years after the iPad made its debut, it still doesn’t have a native Instagram app. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to get one any time soon. Instagram head Adam Mosseri believes that not enough people want it.

“It’s still just not a big enough group of people to be a priority,” Mosseri said Sunday in response to a tweet from Marques Brownlee (MKBHD).

If Apple makes a folding Mac, it might look a lot like the MacBook Folio. A concept artist dreamed up this merger of macOS laptop and tablet.

But it’s not a mere daydream — a reliable source says Apple is interested in developing a foldable MacBook with a 20-inch screen.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: As Apple’s rumored spring event approaches, all signs point toward new Macs. Lots and lots of new Macs. And an iPhone and an iPad. But we can’t stop talking about Macs. It’s like a cult or something around here.

Also on The CultCast:

• Is Apple fixing AirTag — or ruining it?
• Most Apple Stores in the United States lift their mask mandates (but they’re handing out freebies).
• Apple needs to put a ring on our fingers.

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 livestream, embedded below.

Just in time for the weekend, you can download and play a new farming simulator and adventure game called Sunrise Village. Indie developer InnoGames released it Friday for iOS and Android devices.

Tumblr founder David Karp has said he never wanted advertisements on his social network and microblogging platform, Tumblr. But they came in after a sale of the company in 2013. A lot of people find them tacky and annoying.

Fortunately for those who hate the ads, Tumblr said Thursday you can now pay to make ads go away.

Find out what it’s like to swing through the trees as a gibbon in a game that debuted Friday on Apple Arcade. Gibbon: Beyond the Trees is the story of a family trying to survive amid an encroaching human threat.

The ecological adventure is available to play on a variety of Apple devices.

Spoiler alert: For the seventh year in a row, Apple topped consumers’ lists as the most relevant brand to their everyday lives. Seems like the Cupertino tech giant can’t lose in this particular race.

You have to wonder who placed 293rd. That’s how many companies the annual survey evaluated, in 27 categories.

With a dozen ports, the Belkin Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock lets users connect a Mac to multiple accessories for data, video, Ethernet and power. All through a single high-speed cable connection.

Belkin also introduced a Thunderbolt 4 cable capable of handling data transfers at 40 Gbps.

Have you ever seen two big ol’ Apple Cinema Displays mounted vertically, in portrait mode, bookending an iMac? We didn’t think so. Or at least, it seems like a rare sight. But today’s featured setup has that nuevo-retro styling going on, big-time, and folks took notice.

After all, secondary displays in portrait mode seems to be all the rage lately, but not so much back in the glory days of Cinema Displays. Or were they?

The Apple TV+ thriller/comedy Severance started out strong. It’s on Reelgood’s list of the Top 10 most-streamed shows of the week.

The series debuted February 18 on Apple’s streaming video service to very positive reviews from critics and audiences.

Apple News’ local coverage feature this week expanded its reach to Canada. Users in Montreal and Toronto can now enjoy local news from a number of different sources, including CTV News and Toronto Star.

Local coverage was first added to Apple News in July 2020, but growth has been slow since then. Although it has made its way to additional U.S. cities since it debuted, this is the first time the feature has landed in another country.

Apple TV+ released the first full trailer for WeCrashed to get viewers pumped for the limited series that premiers in March. It’ll star Jared Leto as the controversial co-founder of WeWork as he builds a cult of personality that eventually helps take the company down.

Watch the trailer to get ready for the wild ride up… then down.

The Wemo Smart Plug with Thread simplifies controlling lamps, fans, and other appliances with an iPhone or Siri. Anything that plugs into a standard wall outlet can be turned on or off.

Rather than Wi-Fi, the HomeKit accessory communicates with other accessories over Thread, a mesh networking standard.

A world where Bluetooth rises above compression and delivers full-stream, hi-res, lossless audio remains in the future. But sound specialist Astell&Kern said it’s about the roll out the world’s first Bluetooth speaker with support for the rarefied LDAC and aptX HD codecs — which should at least allow for CD-quality wireless streaming.

The Acro BE100, Astell&Kern’s first Bluetooth speaker, goes on sale March 7, the company said. And it’s not just the codecs that make it special.

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The OtterBox Wireless Power Bank for MagSafe offers two-sided charging capability. It clings magnetically to an iPhone while charging it, and the external battery also magnetically attaches to MagSafe chargers to receive power. It’s that second feature that sets it part from rivals.

There are versions with 3,000mAh and 5,000mAh of capacity.

On the heels of a big Obscura 3 camera app refresh, another popular and powerful photo app sees major changes this week. This time, it’s the Halide MK II app for iPhone and iPad, from Lux Optics, which also makes the Spectre app for creating long exposures.

The Halide app’s important updates include the addition of batch actions — so you can finally work with multiple photos at the same time — and an improved “Image Rescue” function.

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Our friends at MacPaw in Kyiv, Ukraine, are today facing the horrifying reality of a Russian invasion. But they want to assure users of their software — including CleanMy Mac X and Setapp — that support will continue.

An emergency plan is in place to ensure that there are no disruptions to MacPaw’s operations, development or customer assistance. “We’ve been enjoying working for you all these years and appreciate all the trust you’ve put into our company,” said CEO Oleksandr Kosovan in a blog post Thursday. “We won’t disappoint your expectations.”

Apple previewed its “dramatic” new Al Maryah Island store in Abu Dhabi Thursday, showcasing design elements never seen before at Apple stores, as well as special programs.

The retail location opens Friday at 5 p.m. United Arab Emirates time.

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Apex Legends Mobile, the smartphone and tablet version of the popular battle royale game, expands its reach to 10 new countries next week ahead of an official global rollout.

The game has been in testing since EA and Respawn launched a closed beta almost a year ago. It still doesn’t have a release date, but Respawn says it will share more details “coming out of the limited regional launch.”