BMW’s Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Peter isn’t worried about Apple’s entry into the automotive industry. Or, if he is, he’s not willing to say as much.
“I sleep very peacefully,” Peter said when asked about the rumored Apple car. “Competition is a wonderful thing — it helps motivate the others. We’re in a very strong position and we want to remain in a leading position of the industry.”
Apple revealed on Monday a new “multiyear programming partnership” with women’s rights activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai to produce content for for Apple TV+.
Yousafzai will produce original programming for the streaming service, spanning drama, comedy, documentary, animation and kids’ shows.
Get your wallets ready, because Apple will supposedly launch an array of new products on March 23. On the docket for the event will supposedly be an updated iPad Pro, AirPods and Apple TV, as well as the debut of AirTags.
Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso scored a hat trick of awards at the 2021 Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday, garnering prizes for Best Comedy Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Hannah Waddingham and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Jason Sudeikis.
Considering that it’s an underdog tale about a fish-out-of-water football coach struggling to adapt to the world of soccer, the fact that Ted Lasso is proving to be Apple TV+’s MVP — winning against the likes of Netflix, Hulu and CBS — seems weirdly appropriate.
A respected Apple analyst just made a startling prediction about mixed reality/augmented reality: “We believe that MR/AR products could replace all display-equipped electronics in the long term,” wrote Ming-Chi Kuo in a note sent to investors Sunday.
Kuo said he expects Apple to play a big part in taking these emerging technologies mainstream. And he sees Cupertino making augmented reality contact lenses eventually, and a variety of AR products before then.
An unusually deep and detailed report from one of the world’s most reliable Apple analysts gives us a possible look at where the iPhone is headed in the next few years.
From no-brainers like bigger batteries (coming later this year) to more mysterious possibilities like a folding model (2023 at the earliest), this week’s top stories offer a glimpse of what the next generation of iPhones might bring.
Get up to speed with this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on iPhone or iPad, or get all the top headlines in the link lists below. And let us know if the features you’re craving are on Apple’s agenda.
Apple discontinued the iMac Pro, which is still one of the fastest Macs available despite being more than three years old. Whether the move means an updated version of the all-in-one desktop is on the way is unclear.
UPDATE: Don’t miss the Cult of Mac editorial “Good riddance to iMac Pro and the era of underwhelming Macs.”
A second season of the documentary series Dear… will take a look at the lives and careers of more actors, musicians and athletes like Viola Davis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and 8 more. It was approved on Friday, and is set to premiere later in 2021 on Apple TV+.
If you’ve been paying attention to cutting-edge smartphones, you probably noticed a trend — foldable screens. And while folding phones might seem gimmicky, I think they present the perfect solution to a market-inflicted problem.
Unfortunately, while Apple is reportedly working on folding iPhone prototypes, the latest report suggests it we might wait nearly three more years for Cupertino’s first crack at such a device.
That’s way too long when the Android market is pressing forward fast. Please, Apple, don’t make us wait for a folding iPhone.
Need a MagSafe charger for your new iPhone? Don’t splash out on Apple’s. Instead, choose Limited77’s new Wood Charger. It does exactly the same job, looks a lot better, and costs a lot less at under $25.
Bag yours from the Cult of Mac Store today while it’s on sale.
SMG Studios calls Sp!ng “a stress ball for your brain.” The goal of the new title is to maneuver a ball through a maze while collecting gems, but in a relaxed way. There’s only one control to grab the ball, spin it and release it.
The puzzle game debuted Friday on Apple Arcade.
Reddit is a great place to seek advice about computer setups. Redditor CompilingTheFuture did well recently when puzzling over replacing the triple-monitor display running off his M1 Mac mini.
The problem? One of the main issues was that three screens were so wide that peering into the corners required a lot of “neck twisting.” Sounds painful.
Apple Watch shipments increased by 19% last year, according to a new report from Counterpoint Research. Those are respectable numbers. However, they look even better compared to the performance of other smartwatch makers like Samsung and Fitbit, whose shipments declined in 2020.
This trend runs counter to the trajectory seen with most other Apple products. Even smash hits like the iPhone and AirPods, which grew over time, gradually made up a smaller piece of the pie as rivals gobbled up market share. In the case of the Apple Watch, however, not only is Apple remaining No. 1 — with 33.9 million units reportedly shipped in 2020 — but it’s retaining its lead.
Apple will bring OLED displays to both the iPad and MacBook in 2022, according to a new report from Digitimes.
OLED (short for “organic light emitting diode”) screens offer several advantages over older technologies, including more-vibrant colors, higher contrast, thinner hardware and increased power efficiency.
Apple started issuing $500 digital vouchers to developers following the return of their Developer Transition Kit Macs.
The company introduced the custom DTK Macs last year at its Worldwide Developers Conference. As their name suggests, the hardware was intended to help developers transition their apps from Macs’ previous Intel architecture to new Apple Silicon processors.
They were offered as a one-year lease, although Apple wound up requesting them back at around the nine-month mark.
TikTok has cemented itself at the top of the App Store for yet another month, showing the seemingly unassailable dominance of the video-sharing app. According to app analytics platform Sensor Tower, TikTok was the top-grossing, non-gaming app worldwide for February 2021.
For the month, it raked in more than $110 million in user spending across both iOS and Android. That’s approaching twice what it earned in revenue that month last year, although marginally down from the $128 million it pulled in back in January.
Apple TV+’s Wolfwalkers received a whopping ten nominations for the 48th Annie Awards, which celebrate excellence in animation. That put it in a tie for most nominations with Pixar’s Soul.
Wolfwalkers also scored a Golden Globe nomination, and is widely expected to be nominated for an Oscar later in March.
The latest USB-C multiport hub from Satechi is designed with portability in mind. It packs in nine frequently used ports so it’s not too tiny. But designers built in a slot to hold a short travel-ready connection cable to cut down excess bulk.
Apple laptops and tablets lack a variety of ports, but adapters like this one make for easier presentations, data transfers or network connections.
It won’t be possible for someone to hide an AirTag on you and track your location without permission. iPhones will notify their users if one of Apple’s item tracker tags is moving along with them.
Spotify’s accusation to the European Union that Apple uses its control of the App Store to squeeze out competition reportedly will soon result in antitrust charges being filed against the iPhone-maker. This comes on the same day the UK begins an investigation of the App Store.
The two antitrust agencies could force Apple to lower the commissions it charges software developers. Or even require rival iPhone app stores.
The new “Apple for Kids” online portal, rolled out on Thursday, makes it easier for parents and guardians to manage iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices used by children. The hub includes useful links that will help with everything from initial setup to reversing accidental purchases.
WhatsApp’s official desktop app is getting a big update to add support for voice and video calls. The new features will be available on both Mac and Windows in the newest WhatsApp release, which is rolling out now.
How do you get the kids to tune into your underachieving streaming service? Buy a documentary about one of the hottest young singer/songwriters in the world.
That’s what Apple TV+ did when it snapped up the rights to new doc Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry — and the strategy apparently worked. As per usual, Cupertino won’t reveal the actual number of people who watched the film since its premiere last week. However, an insider report says the music doc brought a ton of new, young viewers to Apple TV+.
We noticed business and technology author and noted Mac guy Ben Thompson volunteered a pic of his setup on Twitter when tech and politics writer Casey Newton posted a shot of an immaculate setup, wondering if he has “remotely what it takes to put something like this together.”
Well, Taiwan-based Thompson certainly has what it takes to put together a great setup — even if it’s more lived in and not quite as photo-ready as the one Newton posted.
The IOGear KeyMander 2 Mobile is for iPhone users that prefer gaming with a keyboard and mouse instead of a touchscreen or controller. It works with Apple Arcade, Google Stadia and App Store games. Even ones that don’t offer native support for desktop-type input devices.
Beyond iPhone, it also works with iPad and Apple TV.