The Apple MagSafe power bank might look something like this. If it ever gets launched. Screenshot: Jon Prosser/Front Page Tech
Two different leakers claim to give the world very early looks at Apple’s MagSafe power bank for on-the-go charging. This will allegedly attach to an iPhone with magnets so it can wireless juice up the handset.
But there are questions whether Apple can fix problems with development and actually release the product.
New AirPods could replace 2019’s AirPods 2 in Apple’s lineup. Graphic: Cult of Mac
Real-world images of the third-generation AirPods allegedly leaked out Wednesday. These could give an early look at the in-ear headphones that might launch before the end of March.
The pics supposedly show that AirPods 3 won’t borrow a major feature of AirPods Pro.
Photoshop now runs natively on the Apple M1 processor. Photo: Cult of Mac
Adobe released the first version of Photoshop with native support for Apple’s new M-series processor on Wednesday. And the company promises that this significantly increases the performance of the software compared to running it on Intel-based Macs.
This was last year's top game -- weighing in at 222MB. Photo: Roblox
Games in the App Store are getting bigger. An average of 76% bigger over the past five years to be precise. That’s according to a new report from app analytics platform Sensor Tower.
The firm recently analyzed the average file size of the top 100 revenue-generating mobile games on the U.S. App Store for each year since 2016. This includes only the file size of the original download, and not any additional content.
Imagine the hours it took to draw this. Photo: Wahyu Ichwandardi
Using a 1984-era Macintosh 128K and various retro tools, Pinot W. Ichwandardi painstakingly crafted a beautiful pixel art drawing of one of New York City’s most stunning skyscrapers.
Ichwandardi created his stunning image of the Flatiron Building one pixel at a time, a process he calls “pixel knitting” due to its time-intensive nature. But the incredibly detailed artwork isn’t even the point.
“The most rewarding thing from it is the process,” the 50-year-old designer told Cult of Mac.
It just goes to show that even a Mac that’s nearly 40 years old can still be used to make amazing pieces artwork. And you can buy a print of Ichwandardi’s Flatiron Building art — printed on a vintage dot-matrix printer, naturally!
Tiny in size. Tiny in demand. (At least by iPhone standards.) Photo: Apple
The iPhone 12 mini is looking more and more like the runt of the iPhone 12 litter — and not just because of its diminutive size.
While the iPhone 12 series reportedly has been a massive hit for Apple overall, the iPhone 12 mini hasn’t been along for the ride. On Wednesday, Nikkei Asia reported that Apple is “slashing its planned production of the iPhone 12 mini for the first half of this year.”
MacBook Pro is reported to get a big redesign this year. Screenshot: Apple
Apple delayed plans to start mass-producing its next-gen MacBook Pro until this fall, according to a new report from Nikkei Asia. Originally, Cupertino was expected to start building the new laptops in May or June.
The next generation of Apple chips incoming. Photo: Apple
Apple is investing upward of 1 billion euros ($1.19 billion) in building a European Center for Chip Design in Munich, Germany. This will be used, in Apple’s (translated) words, for developing processes involving “5G and the wireless technologies of the future.”
Munich is already the location of Apple’s biggest development center in Europe. It is home to close to 1,500 engineers from 40 countries. The new initiative will see them joined by hundreds more employees.
Change is intended to avoid user confusion. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple is making a minor change to its Apple Podcasts app with iOS 14.5, ditching the “Subscribe” label to one that says “Follow.”
This change reflects language used commonly on social media platforms. Moreover, “Follow” suggests that the podcast is free, while “Subscribe” implies a paid subscription. Especially as Apple moves increasingly into paid subscriptions, this wording alteration is intended to avoid confusion.
Apple TV+ is bringing back the charming It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, which has been on a shelf since 2014. Photo: Apple
It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown will have its Apple TV+ debut on March 26, slightly more than a week before Easter itself. It’s the return of a Peanuts classic from a long hiatus.
In 2020, Apple’s streaming service became the new home of all the Peanuts holiday specials, including this one. And more are being created.
Sonos Roam connects to your Apple devices over more than Bluetooth. Photo: Sonos
The Sonos Roam is a new high-end smart speaker with support for Apple AirPlay 2, so it plays nicely with iPhone or other Apple computers.
The tubular accessory weights in just under a pound, but Sonos says, “precision-engineered acoustics deliver the clarity, depth, and fullness you would expect from a much larger speaker.”
An AirPods Max firmware update is now available. Here’s hoping it fixes a bad bug. Photo: iFixit
Apple’s over-the-ears headphones got a firmware update on Tuesday. It’s not clear what’s in the new software for AirPods Max because Apple never discloses that detail, but many users are hoping it’s a fix for an irritating power drain.
A pair of Apple’s first wearables might sell for a high price because they’ve never been worn. Photo: Heritage Auctions
A couple of pieces of Apple history are on the auction block. An unworn pair Apple Computer Sneakers from the mid-1990s will be sold in the next two days. A rare Apple-branded paddle ball set from the same time is also being auctioned.
AirPods Pro aren’t the cheapest wireless buds you can buy, so the last thing you want to do is destroy them. Protect them with Elago’s gorgeous cases instead, and never worry about them getting beaten up.
Made from natural cowhide leather, they’re brilliantly robust and beautiful. They come in a number of color options, and include a clip that lets you attach them to almost anything.
Rocky Lira works his day job and podcast production here. Photo: Rocky Lira
Rocky Lira, aka “Rocky Bandit,” and his “knucklehead” friends Eddie and Paddy went big into podcasting on a moderate budget recently. And they have the gear and the podcasts in circulation to show for it.
He and his Chicago pals started the weekly show Bums of Manarchy for fun, recording more than a dozen episodes so far. Lira got off to a fast start handling the podcast editing and production. He said he uses an M1 MacBook Pro and an older model, along with two iPad Pros and his iPhone 12 Pro — in concert with a Rode RodeCaster Pro Integrated Podcast Production Studio console.
Easily make FaceTime calls with Belkin’s new charging stand that supports the iPhone 12 series’ MagSafe system. Photo: Belkin
The short list of truly MagSafe-compatible accessories grew a bit on Tuesday, as the Belkin Boost↑Charge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand can now be preordered. This holds up an iPhone 12 for easy viewing, and includes a pad for AirPods cases that support wireless charging.
This app can’t be a scam. Look at all those positive reviews! Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Stop using the reviews you see in the App Store to help you decide what applications to buy. They’re meaningless because so many of them are fraudulent. And these purchased fake reviews are frequently used to trick people into buying scam applications.
The problem is severe enough that Apple should take reviews completely out of the App Store if it can’t come up with a better solution.
Study involves participation from 10,000 users around the United States. Photo: Apple
Apple has published the first details of an ongoing Apple Women’s Health Study, using the iPhone to carry out longitudinal research on menstruation.
The project, which involves a team from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is based on data from 10,000 participants across the U.S. Users have been contributing their data using Apple’s Research app, starting late last year.
The iPhone camera setup is set to get even better. Photo: Apple
The iPhone will get a periscopic telephoto lens in 2023, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims in a new research note seen by Cult of Mac.
Although Kuo doesn’t provide much in the way of details, this would greatly improve the zoom capabilities of the iPhone. Currently the best iPhone for camera zoom is the iPhone 12 Pro Max. That handset features a 2.5x optical zoom in, and 2x optical zoom out. Digital zoom goes up to 12x.
A periscope zoom could increase this significantly. For example, the 2019-era Huawei P30 Pro and Oppo Reno offer 10x zoom capabilities using a periscope lens.
Microsoft's HoloLens are currently the mixed reality glasses to beat. Photo: Microsoft
Apple’s mixed reality/augmented reality headset will come with 15 camera modules, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo, who has a strong track record when it comes to reporting on Apple rumors, also suggests that it will feature “innovative biometrics,” along with the ability to detect the environment the user is positioned in at the time.
The iDrive is just one of the Big Tech concept cars imaged by Vanarama. Concept image: Vanarama
The Apple Car really is on the drawing board at Cupertino, but no one outside the company knows what it’ll look like. Vanarama came up with a concept design.
And it didn’t stop there. Its designers had fun imagining vehicles designed by Netflix, Peloton, Airbnb and Zoom if these other Big Tech companies got into the market.
Celebrate International Women’s Day by supporting Goldenerre, an awesome accessory company founded and operated by women. Its beautiful Pyramid bracelet is enough to give any Apple Watch a glamorous makeover, and it’s available in a number of color options.
Order yours today for 38/40mm or 42/44mm Apple Watch models.
Apple recommends you install iOS 14.4.1 on your iPhone to fix a security problem. And there are iPad and Apple Watch equivalents. Graphic: Cult of Mac
iPhone users should install iOS 14.4.1, which Apple released Monday entirely to kill a bug in the Safari web browser. Obviously, Apple considers it a significant enough threat to devote an entire software update to justify it.
There’s also an equivalent iPadOS 14.4.1 version. Plus, the newly released watchOS 7.3.2 deals with the same security problem, as does macOS Big Sur 11.2.3.
The iMac Pro never seemed to find an audience. Photo: Apple
The iMac Pro is seemingly nearing the end of its natural lifespan — and good riddance to it.
In fairness, the iMac Pro was not a bad computer. It was even, technically, a pretty great one. But it epitomized an era of Mac design that may have been the most uninspired and directionless in Apple history.