News - page 347

Update: The Apple Online Store is down as well now. Expect it to go back up following the conclusion of today’s Apple event.

The Apple Online Store sitemap page is down ahead of today’s “Spring Loaded” event.

Usually, Apple takes the entire Apple Online Store down ahead of its special events. Today that doesn’t appear to have happened. (Although this could change as the day progresses.)

Nonetheless, this highlights that Apple is expecting to make some changes to the products on offer — likely including a new iPad Pro, iMac, and possible other products like Apple’s location-tracking AirTags. There may also be more information about Apple’s rumored Podcasts+ service.

A 2021 iMac is supposedly among the highlights of Apple “Spring Loaded” event on Tuesday. Concept artists have dreamed up proposals for what the upcoming all-in-one desktop might look like.

These vary as to details but are likely to please anyone tired of the very large screen bezels that have marked previous iMac models… and is looking forward to a speedy M-series processor.

Take a look at some of the eye-opening concepts before the big reveal on Tuesday.

Get your Apple Watch ready for summer with these colorful, high-quality Milano leather bands from Laut. They’re beautifully made, with a slim and lightweight design that’s great for warm weather, and they’re nicely priced at under $50. Bag yours today from the Cult of Mac Store.

Lucky beta testers will get first access to Xbox Cloud Gaming this week. This allows subscribers to play 100+ console-quality games on an iPad or iPhone.

Apple put restrictive rules on cloud-gaming services wanting to appear in the App Store. Microsoft’s solution was to create a web app for its service.

The controversial social-networking service Parler will soon reappear in the App Store. Apple reportedly un-banned the service Monday after it promised to start moderating content.

Then service was banned from the iOS and Android software stores after it was used to plan the attack on the U.S. Capital in January.

Adobe co-founder Charles “Chuck” Geschke passed away Friday at the age of 81, Adobe has confirmed. During his career, Geschke oversaw Adobe’s operations as it released game-changing innovations include Photoshop, along with ubiquitous file formats such as PDF.

Adobe’s history has long been entwined with Apple — including a $2.5 million investment from Apple in 1985 that led to the creation of a PostScript controller for the Apple LaserWriter.

Redditor skylar_schutz makes music on keyboard and guitar, but their Mac mini M1’s sound quality doesn’t do it for them. That’s not a huge shock. Many mini owners, past and present — if they’re even close to identifying as audiophiles — use AirPlay 2, Bluetooth or USB-wired speakers with their setups.

“The sound coming out from the M1 mac mini is just so-so … wouldn’t recommend it if you aim to enjoy listening to music from it, more so if you intend to do music production,” skylar_schutz wrote in reply to a question.

The iPhone 13 will introduce the ultra-fast 5G mmWave to more countries, TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims. This could include rollouts in places likes Canada, Japan, Europe, and elsewhere.

Apple could debut a premium podcast service at Tuesday’s “Spring Loaded” event, according to Recode reporter Peter Kafka.

“Pretty sure Apple is prepping its own podcast plan – a paid subscription service – on Tuesday,” Kafka tweeted Sunday.

No additional details are known about the possible podcast initiative, which presumably would join paid subscription services Apple News+, Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple Fitness+. The possibility of a paid podcasting service from Apple was rumored earlier this year.

Last week, Siri leaked the date and time of the upcoming Apple event. And this wasn’t the first time Apple’s own virtual assistant told the world about an upcoming event before the official announcement.

So step back Jon Prosser. Stand aside Mark Gurman. Siri is now the most accurate Apple leaker.

As you might expect, we can’t wait to see what new gear Apple unleashes next Tuesday.

If you don’t mind spoiling the surprises, take a look at our predictions about what will bounce out of Cupertino’s magic pipeline during the “Spring Loaded” event.

However, if you’d rather skip the spoilers and spend your weekend watching astonishing animals, check out our reviews of the totally binge-worthy new season of Tiny World and the other new nature shows that just arrived on Apple TV+ for your Earth Day enjoyment.

Get up to speed with our iOS publication, Cult of Mac Magazine. Download the app for free to read on your iOS device, or get the links below.

This week, Cult of Mac is giving away four beautiful, protective MacBook folios from our friends at Woolnut. Retailing at $196, Woolnut’s Folio is constructed from high-quality Scandinavian leather and German natural wool felt. The luxurious case is tailor-made to fit the MacBook like a glove.

If you want to protect your pricey MacBook, be sure to enter this giveaway.

Trusted tipster Mark Gurman says the 2021 iMac all-in-one desktop might be the next to get the M1 processor. The announcement could be only a few days away.

And that’s only the beginning. There’s plenty more evidence that an upgraded iMac will launch at Apple’s April 20 event.

Apple’s music service pays musicians double what archrival Spotify does to stream each song to subscribers.

This amount doesn’t directly affect users of either service, but it might make some people consider using the service that sends artists more money.

Redditor XTJ7, a programmer and photographer based in Germany, knows how to make a setup last and do just what he needs it to do. As his recent post declared, his setup’s core is two “trash can” Mac Pro towers from 2013 plus a racy gaming PC.

Yeah, you heard right: That’s two computers running from 2013 to now. Eight years might as well be a few decades as far as computer performance goes. But he has his reasons to wait on the upgrade.

Apple has saved 861,000 metric tons of copper, tin, and zinc ore by removing power adapters from iPhones, starting last year. That’s one of the tidbits from Apple’s factoid-studded Environmental Progress Report, released Friday.

It showcases how Apple is working toward its efforts of achieving net carbon neutrality across its whole supply chain by 2030. As Apple notes, that includes “How [an Apple product is] designed, how it’s made, how it’s shipped, how it’s used, [and] how it’s recycled.”

Both Apple and Amazon pride themselves in technology that “just works.” One thing that hasn’t previously “just worked,” however, was the cumbersome way purchases had to take place on the Amazon-owned Audible audiobook service.

While people who listen to their audiobooks on iPhone have to use the iOS app, and this app allowed them to search the catalog for other titles, there was no way to actually buy a new book via the app. Instead, users had to go to Audible.com to buy the books they wanted, before switching back to the app to listen to them.

It’s a busy day for Apple TV+ — with plenty of new material to watch on the Apple streaming video service. In addition to a new episode of For All Mankind, there is a plethora of new nature documentaries, narrated by some big names, and more.

Here’s what Friday, April 16 has in store for subscribers.

Apple TV+ landed the rights to Fathom, a documentary about the quest to unravel the mystery of why humpback whales sing. And maybe even how we can communicate with them.

It’ll premiere on Apple’s streaming service this summer.

Apple Fitness+ added screen legend Jane Fonda to the Time to Walk feature for Earth Day. She discusses her life as well as the fight against climate change.

Time to Walk promises interesting and encouraging audio stories to liven up walking for exercise. It’s part of Apple Fitness+, a $9.99-a-month subscription workout service built around Apple Watch.

Apple Fitness+ will introduce new workouts geared specifically toward pregnant women and older adults next week, the company said Thursday. There will also be new Yoga, High Intensity Interval Training and Strength workouts for beginners coming soon to Apple’s subscription fitness service.

Apple on Thursday unveiled a $200 million fund to back responsible forestry efforts around the world. The Restore Fund, launched with Conservation International and Apple Card partner Goldman Sachs, aims to remove at least 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year.

That would be equivalent to removing more than 200,000 passenger vehicles from the road.

Apple may be on the verge of showing off new AirPods and a third-gen Apple Pencil, claims a tipster on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

An image, posted by user UnclePan, shows what they claim are the next-gen AirPods, along with text claiming that Apple is currently gearing up to show off the Apple Pencil.

Apple’s A-series chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) has warned that constrained chip supply will continue for the rest of this year and into 2022.

While it didn’t specifically mention Apple, it nonetheless admitted that capacity will remain “tight” for the immediate future. TSMC is currently gearing up to manufacture the A-series chips for Apple’s next-gen iPhone, set to debut in the fall. This will reportedly begin in May.

Earth Day takes place on April 22 and, as it has for years, Apple has its own tie-in promotions ready to help publicize the annual event dedicated to environmental protection.

From today through Earth Day, Apple will donate $1 to Conservation International — up to a maximum of $1 million — for every Apple Pay transaction via Apple’s website, the Apple Store app, or in physical Apple Stores.