TikTok topped the App Store charts for another month as the top non-gaming app worldwide. Across both iOS and Android, the popular video-sharing app racked up more than 58 million installs.
The No. 1 audience for TikTok is China, where the app is called Douyin. China accounted for 11% of downloads, followed by the United States with 10%.
Apple reminded developers on Monday that new iOS, iPadOS and tvOS versions coming soon will block applications from tracking users without specific permission. It’ll no longer be possible for networks of apps to surreptitiously track what people use their devices for.
The same note includes a warning that its also is also forbidden to try to find a workaround for this block by “fingerprinting” devices.
Microsoft pretends to compare its Surface Pro 7 with the iPad Pro in a video released Monday. Not surprisingly, the Windows product comes out way ahead. But to make that happen, Microsoft had to leave out some facts and distort reality a bit.
To see all the ways Microsoft stretched the truth, watch its video now:
A new behind-the-scenes video on the making of Wolfwalkers shows that much of the animated movie was sketched and painted the traditional way. Kind of surprising — one might think an Apple TV+ film would be an intensely computer-driven production.
Watch the amazing video now:
Hey, iPhone gamer, save yourself some money: Subscribe to Apple Arcade. A recent study showed that the average American spends way more on games every year than the annual cost of Apple’s $4.99-a-month gaming service.
Plus, the deal just got a lot better. Almost a dozen original games debuted on Apple Arcade last Friday, and the service added a bunch of classic ones as well. After launching with just a few dozen games in 2019, Apple Arcade is now closing in on 200 really great titles.
After toiling for many months to get it right, Southeast Asia-based Redditor vostok91 finally finished fitting a vibrant computer setup on a small desk in a small room. The result may be a small setup compared to some, but that doesn’t make it a “small setup.” It’s plenty feisty.
A 15-inch MacBook Pro paired with an LG 32UL950 Ultrafine 4K LED Monitor make up the setup’s core.
Apple rejects a large percentage of App Store submissions, CEO Tim Cook said Monday, arguing that the company’s strict oversight is necessary to keep iPhones secure.
He was responding to questions about moves by government regulators around the world that might result on Apple being forced to allow rival iPhone software stores.
It’s never easy to get Apple’s CEO to talk about the future. But Kara Swisher from The New York Times managed to get Tim Cook to drop a few hints about some of the company’s future plans.
Cook says Apple is committed to Apple TV+. And to user privacy. But he’s not promising that the Apple Car will ever be real.
Among the improvements expected in the iPhone 13 is a smaller notch. The latest evidence is a 3D-printed mockup of the device that supposedly shows how Apple rearranged the components behind the screen cutout for the upcoming model.
In some ways, it’s hard to remember what the world looked like before Apple arrived in 1976. The upstart company made computing consumer-friendly, fashionable and, ultimately, ubiquitous.
In just four and a half decades, Apple made a surprisingly big impact on the tech scene and the world at large.
As we look back on the company’s 45th birthday this week, we take stock of 45 ways Apple put a ding in the universe. Hit the highlights in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Get the free app to enjoy the stories on your iOS device. Or read them on the web via the link stacks below.
A Mission Control-looking setup featuring an ultrawide monitor with a spacious screen above it and a portrait-oriented screen on either side of it was bound to get some attention — especially with ring lights sticking up from it like antennae. And it did.
“That just seems so excessive that it isn’t even funny,” one Redditor commented on KipKang’s post promoting his MacBook Pro setup and its relative orgy of displays. “I love it and I am jealous of it. Long winded way of saying NICE!”
“Thanks! ‘Nothing exceeds like excess,’” KipKang replied.
Apple made a huge push for its gaming service on Friday, launching 11 original games. These cover a range of genres, from NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition to Star Trek: Legends. And Fantasian from the creator of the Final Fantasy series also launched in Apple Arcade. Plus many, many more.
Apple’s subscription gaming service grew significantly Friday. Apple Arcade added 30 titles and two new categories: Timeless Classics and App Store Greats. This adds favorites like Monument Valley and Fruit Ninja Classic. And there are now versions of Suduku, chess and other perennial favorites.
“Today we’re launching our biggest expansion since the service debuted, now offering more than 180 great games that include new Arcade Originals, Timeless Classics, and App Store Greats,” said Matt Fischer, Apple’s vice president of the App Store.
Apple Arcade subscribers are in for a treat. Hironobu Sakaguchi, who also made the classic Final Fantasy series, also created Fantasian for Apple’s gaming service. It mixes computer-generated characters with handmade sets for a truly unique look.
Don’t get your hopes up for an iPhone SE Plus this year. Or next. This is rumored to be the first in the SE series with an edge-to-edge screen, but an analyst focused on the display business said Thursday that the wait will stretch into 2023.
However, a new model using the current design might arrive before then.
The average U.S. iPhone user shelled out $138 for apps in 2020, according to a market research firm. That’s a 38% year-over-year increase.
As has held true for many years, mostly what people are buying is games.
Apple will announce the financial results of its winter quarter on April 28. So far, people forced to work and learn from home have been very good for the Mac-maker’s bottom line. We’ll soon see if that carried through to the beginning of 2021.
Your hands are full and you need to look something up on your Apple Watch. Engineers at Apple dreamed up a system that would allow you to control the wearable by blowing on it. A newly filed patent application also imagines a breath-controlled iPhone.
So far, there’s no sign this is an April Fools’ Day joke. But it’s possible.
Today marks 45 years since a little outfit called the Apple Computer Company was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Apple set out to build and sell personal computers. Since then, it’s risen from a hobbyist startup to a tech giant valued at more than $2 trillion.
In the last four and a half decades, Apple changed the tech world in all kinds of ways — some big, some small. Here, in no particular order, are 45 of the most notable ways Apple put a ding in the universe.
The indie Opera browser, one of the oldest browsers still operating today, has been updated with native support for Apple Silicon Macs. The update means that the Opera browser now runs 2x faster on M1 Macs.
Opera first debuted on Mac way back in 1996. That’s approaching a decade before Safari made its debut. One of Opera’s first big claims to fame was that it made it easier to browse several web pages at once. Today, its big appeal is its minimalist aesthetic, innovative sidebar design, and (now faster than ever) performance.
Russia’s “anti-Apple” law came into force today, meaning that all smartphones, tablets, and computers sold in the country must offer local software and apps as part of the setup process.
Apple reportedly “strongly opposed” the law, and even went so far as to threaten to pull out of the Russian market over it. However, as was the case with a government-created “Do Not Disturb” app in India, it eventually relented.
The app ecosystem did very, very well during the global pandemic. While many businesses struggled, the app industry experienced a massive boom in sales, as people were stuck home with, in many cases, a lot more time on their hands.
It seems the 2020 rise in sales isn’t slowing down, either. According to a new App Annie, consumer spending on apps achieved a new record high in the first quarter of 2021. Across both iOS and Android, customers spent $32 billion on apps in the quarter. That’s a 40 percent increase from the same period last year — and the biggest quarter on record.
Life can be hard on desktop accessories, and so Satechi created the Cybermouse. It’s made of indestructible “Super-Tough” aluminum in a design sure to widen the eyes of Elon Musk.
And the designers didn’t leave out other advanced features, like wireless and solar charging.
There could soon be an alternative to the current, simple Apple TV remote. A schematic showing a rumored new version has leaked out, and it includes a wide array of buttons. It’s therefore likely to please those unhappy with the present version.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina screen released in late 2012 was a groundbreaking model in its day. But now, many years later, it’s been classified by Apple as obsolete.
This means that getting repairs or even spare parts for this device just got much more difficult. But it has been out of production for more than 7 years.