Redditor Singulaffect stirred up a swarm of comments recently when posting a MacBook Pro-based setup featuring an LG 21-inch 4K display but no speakers — and two sets of AirPods. But what really stole the show was a Palm Vx from 1999.
As the saying goes, you can never be too rich or have too long a battery life. Apple apparently listened, because a respected analyst says there will be room in all the 2021 iPhone 13 models for larger batteries.
These iOS handsets supposedly will all come with smaller notches, better 5G modems and fancier cameras, too.
Apple could release its first folding iPhone in the next couple of years, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says.
In a new research note to clients, seen by Cult of Mac, Kuo writes that “if Apple can solve the foldable mobile device’s key technology and mass production issues in 2021, then [it] may launch the 7.5 [to] 8-inch foldable iPhone in 2023.”
Apple won’t update the iPhone SE in 2021, according to a trusted analyst. But there is a new version coming the year after. And this will be the first in this line of budget iOS handsets with 5G cellular networking.
Steve Jobs’ hand-picked biographer, Walter Isaacson, has a new book out this month. Titled The Codebreaker, it’s the story of Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Jennifer Doudna, one of the inventors of DNA gene-editing system CRISPR.
She was also one of the pioneers in the discovery of RNA, the molecule behind the COVID-19 vaccines currently rolling out around the world.
At the conclusion of Black History Month, Apple this weekend debuted a new Shot on iPhone video filmed by 21-year-old director Philip Youmans, the first African-American filmmaker to win the Founders Prize at Tribeca Film Festival.
The five-minute video “follows a number of our image-makers as they each celebrate the Black experience, Black excellence, love, and imagination.” It features the work of photographers Lawrence Agyei, Gabriella Angotti-Jones, Lauren Woods, and Julien James. Check it out below:
Apple TV+ has picked up its first Golden Globes win, rewarding Jason Sudeikis for his lead role in the excellent comedy series Ted Lasso.
Sudeikis won the award in a ceremony Sunday night. He received the award virtually from London. This is the first time Apple TV+ has won at the Golden Globes, although last year it received its first nominations for the series The Morning Show.
A politician in the UK is being blasted for spending public money on personalized AirPods, despite far cheaper wireless earbuds being available.
Labour politician Angela Rayner spent more than $3,300 on Apple gadgets at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. This was as part of new home-working measures. Politicians were allowed to claim money to pay for technology they required to do their job.
If the latest Apple leaks and rumors prove correct, this year’s new Macs might seem strangely familiar. From colorful iMacs to the reintroduction of long-lost MacBook ports, it looks like Apple might go retro in a big way.
Cult of Mac writer Luke Dormehl dives into the phenomenon and makes the case for why going “Mac to the future” might be just fine.
And speaking of bad things … our Apple TV+ reviewer Scout Tafoya got an early look at Cherry, the new movie from longtime Marvel directors the Russo brothers. Let’s just say things went a little sour. (Scout’s blistering review of Cherry is pretty epic.)
On the other hand, he liked the new documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry. That movie arrived on Apple’s streaming service this week, in case you’re looking for a little weekend viewing.
Read these stories and more in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. It’s free and built for easy reading on your favorite iOS device. (If you don’t want to download the free app, you can get the links in any web browser below.)
This week on The CultCast: We’ve got new details and leaks on the upcoming MacBook Pros, iMacs and Mac Pro mini … or will it be the Mac mini Pro? Plus: Lossless music is coming to Spotify, which means the mythical Apple Music lossless is likely right around the corner!
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Apple TV+ reportedly picked Austin Butler and Callum Turner for the cast of Masters of the Air, a followup to HBO’s mega-hit Band of Brothers. Supposedly, two more lead actors have been chosen but not yet named.
The limited series will follow a group of bomber pilots during WWII.
Lyxo is an ultra-realistic game about bounced light. It’s also one of the most aesthetically beautiful games to arrive in the App Store for quite a while. And, yes, it’s possible to be both at once.
“I first had the idea while lying in bed one morning,” Tobias Sturn, the one-person development studio known as Emoak, told Cult of Mac. “I saw a beam of light falling beautifully into the room, and cutting through the shadows. Immediately, I thought of a game where the player uses mirrors to guide a beam of light through a completely dark room.”
Jump forward a little over a year, and this week Lyxo launched on iOS. Sturn took us through the game’s creation, including opening up his sketchbooks, and explained his crash course in physics to build the game engine.
Apple reportedly plans to shake up the design of the MacBook Pro later in 2021. Sources in the company’s Asian supply chain assert that a 14-inch model is on the way, a first for Apple.
Just as importantly, it and an improved 16-inch MacBook Pro supposedly will be the first macOS notebooks with a mini-LED display, improving the look of the screen.
San Francisco-based designer Arun Venkatesan is about to take delivery on a 2020 MacBook Air with an M1 chip to replace the 2013 MacBook Air he uses in tandem with his 2018 MacBook Pro. But the new Mac isn’t really what he’s excited about.
He thinks less about having the latest technology and more about how his tools fit into his design philosophy, which he wrote about at length here. Form and function meet in his elegant and minimal setup.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, one of the many, many impacts of the spread was the delaying of Apple’s iPhone 12 series. While Apple and its suppliers were able to claw back some of the lost time, the iPhone 12 devices were ultimately pushed back to late October and early November, rather than the usual September release.
But while this might have been frustrating for Apple and customers alike, a new piece of research suggests it may have actually been a net positive. According to Counterpoint Research, the delay could turn out to have been a prudent move for Apple. It reports:
Antitrust investigators in the Netherlands are reportedly coming to the end of a “years-long” investigation into Apple and its control of the App Store.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has been investigating this matter since 2019. It focuses on Apple’s “payments system” in the App Store, which charges developers 15% to 30% in commission. With its impending decision, it could become the first antitrust authority to rule on this contentious issue.
Apple is not developing a coronavirus vaccine passport with Google, despite European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s assertion that such an app is in the works.
On Thursday, von der Leyen told reporters Apple and Google were developing a potentially travel-boosting solution for the World Health Organization. However, “a person familiar with Apple’s position” says the EC boss is mistaken.
The will-they-won’t-they drama involving Apple and Kia’s possible team-up to build an Apple car is on again.
Shares in the automaker rose by up to 8.1% Friday, after rumors abounded that there is still a chance that they will work with Apple on an electric vehicle. Even if it turns out to be a slightly different vehicle to the one some are expecting.
Get ready to start traveling again with Casetify’s brilliant iPad cases. They protect your beloved tablet while safely carrying your credit cards and essential documents. And they’re available in a number of awesome designs.
A concept artist proposes an iPhone Pro without a Lightning port. Instead, he envisions a new dock port on the back of the handset where clip-on accessories could attach.
A beautifully made video shows off the concept iPhone as though it were real. Watch it now.
Many Target stores will become better places to buy Macs, iPhones and other Apple products. In a deal announced Thursday, there’ll be twice as much space dedicated to the devices in these locations, and Target employees will get additional training on using them.
Apple on Thursday released a critical macOS update that might save your MacBook from being damaged by a misbehaving USB-C hub or dock. The problem is severe enough that macOS Big Sur 11.2.2 was rushed out solely to fix this problem.
This new version might not be available for all users, as it affects only certain models.
Apple will highlight the contributions of women to society in many ways during Women’s History Month, including suggesting relevant outstanding books, podcasts and apps. It also plans virtual Today at Apple sessions led by female creators.
Plus, there’ll be an International Women’s Day Apple Watch Activity Challenge for March 8, and there’ll be other ways of observing this day.
Something weird is brewing in Apple land. The company, which for years wasn’t big on embracing its past, has gone retro.
While the innovations — ranging from the first 5G iPhones to the exciting new Macs powered by Apple’s proprietary processors — keep coming, Cupertino is reportedly revisiting some of its past designs for its next generation of products.
And you know what? I like it.
It’s a great time to pick up a new M1 MacBook Pro, with retailers like Amazon now slashing up to $100 off brand-new models, and Apple itself offering bigger discounts on refurbished units. And Cult of Mac can help make yours even more affordable.
We pay great prices for used Apple computers (and other Apple devices) — and we make the whole process quick and simple. We also cough up real cash that you can spend anywhere you like.