Mobile menu toggle

News - page 310

iPad sales continue to be hot, hot, hot

By

There are no iPad or iPhone purchases limits
iPad shipments last quarter are up about 50% from where they were two years ago.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

iPad sales kicked onto high gear in 2020 and haven’t slowed down since. In the April-through-June quarter of 2021,
Apple shipped around 15 million tablets, roughly 50% higher than shipments in the same period two years ago.

Plugable’s new hub adds 7 USB-A ports to your MacBook

By

Plugable's new USB-C charging hub keeps gadgets going and files transferred.
Plugable's new USB-C charging hub keeps gadgets going and files transferred.
Photo: Plugable

Nobody’s too happy when Apple decides to subtract ports from a new MacBook, but that’s what connectivity hubs are for. The newly launched Plugable 7-in-1 USB-C Charging Hub is no exception, adding seven USB-A ports to your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

You can finally preorder the kooky-cool Playdate game console [Updated]

By

Preorders for the Playdate game console open soon. Note the crank.
Preorders for the Playdate game console open soon. Note the crank.
Photo: Panic

MacOS and iOS app developer Panic initially said in May 2019 its kooky-cool Playdate handheld game console would come out in early 2020. Last week it said preorders would start July 29 and, hey, that’s today. Preorders have started.

The original announcement got a lot of looks because of the gadget’s interesting, retro design. It looks like a child’s toy — in a cool way — with a yellow casing and a black-and-white display. But it packs some tech.

Install these critical security patches for Mac, iPhone,iPad and Apple Watch today [Updated]

By

Mac malware is real. Watch out.
macOS Big Sur 11.5.1, iOS 14.7.1 and iPadOS 14.7.1 each take care of the same dangerous bug.
Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Three of Apple’s biggest products received security patches Monday — and another got its version on Thursday. You should probably install them as soon as possible.

The company started with macOS Big Sur 11.5.1, iOS 14.7.1, and iPadOS 14.7.1 to fix a security hole reportedly used by at least one hacker already. That’s why they are “recommended for all users,” according to Apple.

Apple followed up Thursday by releasing watchOS 7.6.1 to patch the same bug on Apple Watch. It’s also recommended.

GarageBand teaches music remixing with Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa songs

By

Apple’s GarageBand teaches music remixing with Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa songs
GarageBand now includes an expanded Sound Library with new Sound Packs from top artists and music producers.
Graphic: Apple

Apple wants to help people get over the hump of learning art of music remixing with its free GarageBand application for iPad and iPhone. Two new Remix Sessions offer step-by-step video instruction in the app itself. Thy use hit songs from Grammy-winning artists Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga.

Musicians can also now create tracks with seven new Producer Packs full of beats, loops and instruments.

Apple chipmaker receives approval for next-gen 2-nanometer factory

By

TSMC 7nm processor
Coming soon(ish) to an iPhone near you.
Photo: TSMC

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the semiconductor company that builds the A-series and M-series chips for Apple, has received approval for its most advanced chip plant to date.

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, the factory — located in Hsinchu, Taiwan — will be dedicated to building next-generation 2-nanometer chips. The iPhone 12, by comparison, features an A14 chip made using the 5nm process. The smaller the number of nanometers, the more transistors can be fitted onto a piece of silicon. That typically means more powerful chips.

HomePod smart speaker had a great quarter in the US

By

HomePod mini
The HomePod mini likely had a lot to do with it.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

HomePod shipments in the United States increased 180% year-on-year in the last quarter, eclipsing the growth of smart speaker makers Amazon and Google during the period, market intelligence firm Omdia reports.

While Apple still lags behind the other two companies on shipments, it is looking more competitive than it has at any point in the history of the HomePod so far. That’s particularly impressive when considering that this was a rough three-month period for smart speakers in the US, whose growth is stalling.

App Tracking Transparency hasn’t hurt Facebook’s ad revenue… yet

By

Facebook logo
Facebook released its latest earnings report Wednesday.
Photo: Brett Jordan/Unsplash

Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature hasn’t been enough to stop Facebook from pulling in a massive $28 billion in ad revenue for the second quarter of 2021. That represents a 56% increase year-on-year. Facebook earned $10.4 billion in total profits for the quarter.

While Apple’s anti-tracking privacy measures weren’t explicitly designed to hurt Facebook, Facebook has been outspoken about the impacts they would have on its business. A recent Facebook-funded research paper called the iOS 14 feature an “anti-competitive strategy disguised as a privacy-protecting measure.”

Paper job application filled out by Steve Jobs in 1973 sells for $343,000

By

NFT vs physical
Both physical and NFT versions were up for sale.
Photo: Steve Jobs Job Application

A job application filled out by 18-year-old Steve Jobs in 1973 has sold for $343,000 — and, based on its history, that may actually be a pretty good deal.

The rare paper document, possibly the only job application Apple’s late co-founder and CEO filled in in his life, has proven to be a pretty great investment over the years. This time, it was accompanied by an NFT sale for the same document, which pulled in around $23,000.

Brilliant iPhone 13 concept shows new features we’re hoping for

By

Brilliant iPhone 13 concept offers new features we’re hoping for
Many of these features are expected to be in the real iPhone 13. Some are just wishes, though.
Screenshot: the Hacker 34

The next iPhone is just a couple of months away, but an artist has given us an early glimpse of what it might look like. His iPhone 13 concept combines new features revealed leaks and rumors, but there are also a couple that are just hopes.

Watch his high-quality video to see a handset Apple might unveil soon.

OnePlus guns for AirPods Pro with new $149 ANC earbuds

By

OnePlus Buds Pro will feature active noise cancellation and support for Dolby Atmos.
OnePlus Buds Pro will feature active noise cancellation and support for Dolby Atmos.
Photo: OnePlus

OnePlus is rolling out another Apple-esque product at a lower price point — a new set of Buds Pro that improve on its original Buds with active noise cancellation (ANC) and some upgraded audio features. They look a lot like Airpods Pro, actually, except with silver stems rather than white ones.

Apple shows you how to take ‘otherworldly’ iPhone images

By

Apple shows you how to take 'otherworldly' iPhone images
Professional photog Maria Lax shares tips on taking eerie pictures with an iPhone’s Night Mode.
Screenshot: Apple

Explore some of the more exotic possibilities of your iPhone’s camera with a free tutorial from a professional photographer. An video Today at Apple session shows how to use Night Mode to take and edit “otherworldly” images.

Get these free suggestions now:

Should you put a keyboard cover on a MacBook Pro? [Setups]

By

Note the cool-looking keyboard cover on the MaBook pro at left.
Note the cool-looking keyboard cover on the MaBook pro at left.
Photo: [email protected]

When a computer setup is as clean and spare as Redditor whatsyourname’s, the eye tends to go to the most unusual item. In this case, it’s probably the colorful keyboard cover on the MacBook Pro, making it look like some other model of laptop.

And, of course, what did commenters most want to talk about in the setup? That thing. Naturally, a little bit of a debate ensued. Should you use a keyboard cover on a MacBook at all?

Brace yourself: iPhone app lets you try on braces in augmented reality

By

Brace
All through the magic of augmented reality.
Photo: Enis Yavuz/Unsplash CC

A new augmented reality iPhone app lets users try different styles of braces on before they visit an orthodontist. Clarity Smile, which launched in the App Store this month, features a range of braces — ranging from ceramic, metallic, and colored braces to clear aligners and even fun (not dentally approved) options like diamond grills.

Users get to see what these look like on them as they talk and smile. They can even use the app to share new brace selfies with friends and family.

Apple closing down internal Slack channels where employees debate remote work

By

Slack
Solve the problem or delete the channel?
Photo: Stephen Phillips/Unsplash CC

Apple is closing down internal Slack channels to stop employees discussing remote working options, reports Zoe Schiffer from The Verge.

Many Cupertino employees are currently engaged in a Cold War of sorts with their employer over the remote working arrangement coming out of the coronavirus pandemic. As the arguments flare up among staff, Apple has taken the step of shuttering the Slack channels where these are taking place.

Nintendo’s Dr. Mario World will stop practicing on iOS this fall

By

Dr. Mario
Not the prescription Nintendo wanted.
Photo: Nintendo

If you want to see the doctor, you’d better hurry for an appointment. Dr. Mario, that is!

The worst performing of Nintendo’s mobile games on iOS, Nintendo has announced that it is shutting down Dr. Mario World, its update of 1990s puzzle game Dr. Mario. The game will be going offline on October 31 or November 1, depending on timezone. It launched in 2019.

For All Mankind has been renewed for a fourth season on Apple TV+

By

‘For All Mankind’ season two premiering globally on Apple TV+ on February 19, 2021.
For All Mankind will continue until at least 2023.
Photo: Apple

For All Mankind has reportedly been renewed for a record (for Apple, at least) fourth season, according to a post on the Writers Guild of America webpage.

The sci-fi show, which is based in an alternate history in which the global space race continued, wrapped up its second season in April 2021. The second season was accompanied by a podcast by Apple titled For All Mankind: The Official Podcast.

Smashed records, short supplies and other takeaways from Apple’s record Q3

By

Smashed records, short supplies and other takeaways from Apple's record Q3
Apple broke records in multiple types of revenue last quarter, from Macs to Services. And its installed base of user hit a new record, too.
Photo: Cult of Mac/EverythingSuperMario

Apple just revealed that its made heaps of money last quarter. It broke all kinds of revenue records, and Mac, iPhone and iPad contributed strongly to the total.

But there are also some dark clouds in Apple future. Read on to get the good news and bad from the company’s most recent financial earnings results.

Apple earnings blow past analysts’ estimates yet again

By

Apple earnings blow past analysts’ estimates yet again
Apple had another record-breaking quarter, with strong growth in iPhone, Mac, iPad, Services, etc.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple took in $81.4 billion in revenue during its most recent financial quarter, up 36% from the same quarter of last year. And profits were up as well, with earning per share hitting $1.30.

Market analysts just can’t keep up with how well the iPhone-maker is doing. These results beat expectations handily.

Upgrades might make next-gen iPad Air more ‘Pro’

By

iPad Air 4 comes in a range of colors.
The iPad Air 5 could look quite a bit like its predecessor while also getting upgraded features.
Screenshot: Apple

The difference between the current 10.9-inch iPad Air and the 11-inch iPad Pro is relatively slim. And now it seems more of the features of the Pro tablet are moving to the Air. Apple is reportedly going to build on the powerful 2020 model with an iPad Air 5 that offers a dual-lens camera and optional 5G. Plus, the tablet is getting a processor upgrade.

These changes would make it a stronger mid-range tablet in Apple’s product lineup.

Latest iPadOS 15 beta makes big changes to Safari

By

Latest iPadOS 15 beta makes big changes in Safari
Apple isn’t exactly walking back some of the biggest changes in iPadOS 15. But it’s giving users to option to do so.
Screenshot: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apparently responding to criticism of the Safari redesign in iPadOS 15, a beta released Tuesday makes significant changes to the layout of the Safari web browser. The newest iteration gives users the option to view the Address Bar very much like it looks in iPadOS 14. But those who prefer can keep the new compact view.