At CES 2022, Samsung Electronics showed a new portable screen and entertainment device it’s calling “The Freestyle.” The company also called the device the first of its kind. It’s a small projector and smart speaker that works with iOS and Android devices to stream video or sync audio to ambient lighting.
It seems it’s not that difficult to make millions of dollars on the App Store if you’re willing to charge people for a “free” service and you have money to spend on blatantly fake but seemingly effective reviews.
That’s how one developer, which offers an app that claims to make your music louder, has collected a cool $13 million — and somehow been featured by Apple multiple times in various countries — in under four years.
The first trailer for Suspicion, a new Apple TV+ thriller starring Uma Thurman, sets up the series’ intriguing storyline.
After the son of a prominent American businesswoman, played by Thurman, is kidnapped from a New York hotel, four seemingly ordinary British citizens who just happened to be there that night find themselves caught up in an investigation.
Apple has discontinued the Beats Pill+ wireless speaker — one of the first brand-new products it launched after acquiring Beats in 2014. It was the only speaker available under the Beats brand, and there is no replacement.
You can still buy a Pill+ from third-party retailers while stocks last. However, you won’t find one in the Apple Store.
Apple’s first mixed-reality headset will ship with the same 96W power adapter that you get with some 14-inch MacBook Pro models, according to an analyst, who says that’s proof the device will pack plenty of computing power.
TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also expects Apple’s “metaverse headset” to be around two to three years ahead of competing products. And he says it could sell as many as 3 million units during its first full year of availability, rising to 20 million units in 2025.
Apple has confirmed that it will allow developers to offer third-party payment systems for app purchases in South Korea, according to a new report.
The move comes after Korean regulators last August ruled that smartphone makers, including, could not force users to make purchases through their own app marketplaces exclusively. But Apple won’t give up its cut of revenues.
If you want to call an Uber, you’ll have to do it from your iPhone — the Apple Watch app was disabled on Monday. Apparently permanently.
Uber gave no reason for the change.
Apple TV+ might be ready to play in the big leagues. Major League Baseball, to be exact. The company reportedly engaged in “substantial talks” with MLB about acquiring the rights to stream games.
If such a deal comes together, it would be a game-changer for Apple’s streaming service.
Apple TV+ renewed the hit series The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, for a third season, the company said Monday. The streaming service also signed a multiyear deal with WGA Award winner Charlotte Stoudt to be the third season’s showrunner and executive producer, and to produce other scripted series.
In addition to Stoudt (whose credits include Fosse/Verdon, Homeland and House of Cards), Aniston and Witherspoon serve as executive producers on The Morning Show, which has won Emmy, SAG and Critics Choice awards. It is directed by Mimi Leder and produced by the studio Media Res, Hello Sunshine and Echo Films.
Rumor has it the iPhone 14 Pro will dump the screen notch for a pill-shaped camera hole. A concept artist turned the unconfirmed report into a possible design for Apple’s 2022 flagship phone.
He even put the additional screen space to good use.
Why wear Apple Watch on your wrist like a filthy commoner when you can carry it like a pocket watch? Bucardo’s new Pinstripe collection takes the smartwatch back to the 16th century in the coolest, flashiest way possible.
Get yours in gold, silver or black and join the Apple Watch aristocracy.
Reader and technologist Andrew (last name redacted, so to speak) runs a “boutique AV, IT [and] cyber systems integration company from a home office” in London — though he supports sites worldwide. Clearly, he has a lot to do.
And he does it using a late-2013 Mac Pro he fondly said should be on the Death Star from Star Wars, plus a 2017 MacBook Pro he described to Cult of Mac as “perhaps the worst-constructed laptop I have ever owned.”
In 2021, Jason Sudeikis won the first-ever Golden Globe for Apple TV+. On Sunday night he repeated, again winning the Best Television Actor in a musical or comedy award for his leading role in the streaming service’s comedy hit Ted Lasso.
And just like in 2021, Sudeikis’ win was the only one for Apple TV+, despite a handful of other nominations.
While Apple is creating a VR headset, it’s reportedly not developing a complete virtual world for users. It plans on virtual reality games, video and other experiences. But these supposedly won‘t be connected into a single VR metaverse.
That sets it apart from Meta (formerly Facebook), which does hope to create a virtual world it controls.
Google is once again calling on Apple to adopt a more open text messaging standard after accusing Cupertino of benefitting from bullying.
It comes after a report highlighted the struggle some teens face when using an Android device, which results in broken group chats and green bubbles — as opposed to blue ones — when texting peers who own an iPhone.
A former iMessage manager explained the reasoning behind the differences in Apple’s defense. But some might (rightly) say the arguments hold no value today, with text messaging in a better place than it was when iMessage landed.
European are joining forces in a bid to block iCloud Private Relay — a feature Apple introduced in iOS and iPadOS 15 to bolster its privacy protections. It seems some have already begun disabling it on cellular plans.
A group, which include Vodafone and T-Mobile, has signed an open letter that says Private Relay prevents them from obtaining “vital network data,” and will impact their ability to “efficiently manage telecommunication networks.”
![Apple's hardware plans for 2022 sound intoxicating [The CultCast]](https://www.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/CC-526-1.jpg "Apple’s hardware plans for 2022 sound positively intoxicating [The CultCast]")
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Even more details surface about Apple’s hardware plans for 2022. If last year was “modest” (LOL), this year looks jam-packed with major updates. We’re talking redesigned AirPods Pro, a new Apple monitor, even-more-impressive MacBook Airs and … an iPhone? You gotta be kidding us.
Also on The CultCast:
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.
There is a lot to get HomeKit fans excited at this year’s CES tech showcase in Las Vegas. Quite a few companies announced products that will support Apple’s home-automation system, including lights, door cameras and more.
Glitzy projects like concept cars get more attention, but HomeKit accessories are more likely to make people’s lives better.
Like a lot of companies showing their wares at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, Anker is addressing today’s hybrid WFH culture with new gear. Through its AnkerWork division, it rolled out a video bar webcam with sound to help improve your video calls. Through its Nebula brand come a couple of crowd-funded premium laser projectors. And the company had a few other items, as well.
Apple TV+ reportedly bought the rights to a film about the life of Audrey Hepburn. And Rooney Mara, best known for her role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will take the lead.
It’s just one of many projects with big stars headed for Apple’s streaming service.
Two monumental events happened this week. Apple became the first U.S. company to be worth an astonishing $3 trillion. And a day later came the official end of BlackBerry — a series of phones that once dominated the market.
The collapse of BlackBerry is proof that today’s winners aren‘t inevitably tomorrow’s. While in the coming years Apple could become the first company to reach $4 trillion, it also could start down a path that ends in failure.
Here’s some of what Apple will do so it doesn’t end up like BlackBerry.
In recent years, CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics confab, has become quite the major auto show. After all, consumer tech and automotive tech keep blending more and more. For CES 2022, automakers like BMW, Cadillac, Hyundai, Mercedes and Sony — wait, who? — really put some crazy futuristic concepts into high gear.
Overall, the mix of ideas ranged from mildly interesting to jaw-dropping. You had the prosaic news, like Amazon Fire TV integrating with Ford and Lincoln vehicles and YouTube video appearing in Volvos. But you also had the wild stories, like some concept cars that look like they belong elsewhere in the galaxy and others that change colors by themselves.
Meanwhile, the projected year when Apple might release an autonomous car through Project Titan keeps getting pushed back despite keen interest in the project.
iPhone SE could go without a significant design upgrade until 2024, according to one tipster. This year’s refresh is expected to add 5G connectivity and beefier internals, but it probably won’t look any different to the last iPhone SE.
When Apple does finally get around to giving its most affordable smartphone a lick of paint, it is expected to look a lot like iPhone XR or iPhone 11, but with “a slightly smaller screen.”
Apple Fitness+ is getting a number of upgrades that will help users who have vowed to get fitter and healthier in 2022. Starting next week, new Collections and Time to Run features will roll out for the first time, with more to come later.
Collections is a curated series of workouts and meditations designed to help users reach a certain goal — like running their first 5K or improving their sleep. Apple describes Time to Run as a new “audio running experience.”
Apple suppliers have began preparing shipments of second-generation AirPods Pro ahead of their introduction later this year, according to a new report.
AirPods Pro 2 are expected to come with a revised design that does away with stems, as well as improved audio quality — including support for lossless Apple Music tracks. They could also be a lot easier to find when they go missing.