Wednesday is the twentieth anniversary of Mac OS X. And those who went though the many versions over the decades can download some reminders. Every major new version came with a fresh wallpaper, and they’re all available for free.
An iPhone SE Plus with an edge-to-edge screen and Touch ID in the power button is supposedly coming in the second half of 2021. A concept designer transformed the leaked specs into a beautiful video exploring features of the proposed iOS handset. Watch it now.
OS X, the most important piece of software in Apple history, turns 20 today.
Going on sale in its full, public version on March 24, 2001, Mac OS X 10.0 — code-named Cheetah, the first of many cat-themed names — transformed Apple’s operating system forever. It brought user interface enhancements that persist to this day, as well as technological advances that form the backbone of Apple’s current operating systems. In fact, OS X paved the way for today’s post-PC devices, from the iPhone and Apple Watch to HomePod and Apple TV. If you’d like to know more about Apple’s operating system evolution, check out this deep dive into its history.
While Apple eventually ditched the “OS X” branding for “macOS,” and switched from naming Mac software after big cats to California locations in 2013, Cheetah’s impact continues to be felt two decades after its introduction.
Apple TV+ on Wednesday promised a third season of the comedy series Trying. And it announced the second season of the show about a couple undergoing the herculean trials of adopting a child will debut worldwide in mid-May.
On social media, crowing about the beautiful computer setup you finally finished putting together can be a risky gambit. Because, you know, people. They might just gleefully and repeatedly point out small flaws in your masterpiece as if they’re the main thing. Picky, picky, picky.
Tom Hiddleston has signed on to star with actor Claire Danes in The Essex Serpent for Apple TV+. The drama series is based on a book about Victorian repression, science and faith, and fear of the unknown, which sold upward of 200,000 copies.
The Essex Serpent was originally due to star Keira Knightley in the lead. However, she dropped out of the project as the result of COVID-related scheduling issues. Knightley was replaced by Danes.
Fans of Crash Bandicoot can now get their fix on the go with Crash Bandicoot: On the Run, a brand-new game from Activision and King.
The free-to-play runner features stacks of original Crash content — including new characters and an awesome soundtrack — as well as material you’ll recognize from previous entries in the series.
There are 50 bosses to take on across 12 different lands, and a bunch of skins to collect. Get the game on iPhone and iPad today.
Apple’s new betas are, by definition, a glimpse at the future when it comes to Apple’s upcoming releases — and the latest crop is no different. From new iMacs to a possible controller redesign for Apple TV, here are some of the hardware breadcrumbs they drop about future Apple plans.
Apple took Pages, Numbers and Keynote to 11 on Tuesday. Version 11 of all three iWork productivity applications debuted for macOS, iPad and iPhone.
The highlight of the iOS/iPadOS versions are precise controls for sizing and arranging objects. The macOS version got an updated media browser. Both received a range of other enhancements as well.
PopGrips add a handle to the back of your iPhone, and now there’s a version that’s even more useful thanks to a built-in multitool. Slip out this stainless steel accessory to use the bottle opener, screwdriver and other functions.
PopSockets teamed with multitool-maker SOG on the design.
The notch in this autumn’s iPhone 13 will slim down noticeably, according to pictures that supposedly show the front glass panels of the upcoming handset. None of the components will be removed, just rearranged.
Jon Prosser’s eyebrows are officially toast.
Prosser, the serial Apple leaker with a big personality and a seemingly deep field of sources inside Cupertino, pledged to shave his eyebrows if we didn’t get an Apple event on March 23.
Well that day has come. And the Apple event didn’t. So he took a trimmer to his precious eyebrows in the most Prosser way possible — on YouTube, with a solid sense of humor (and a charity to boot).
An investigation into the alleged “sexist” Apple Card has concluded with New York’s Department of Financial Services saying Tuesday that it has found no evidence of unlawful discrimination.
The investigation was launched in late 2019. Laws stop algorithms from determining treatment based on things like age, creed, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, and more.
As part of its education initiatives, Apple has launched a new “professional learning recognition badge” called Apple Teacher Portfolio that educators can earn using the Apple Teacher Learning Center.
Apple Teacher is a free professional learning program for educators who use Apple products as part of their teaching. The Apple Teacher Portfolio gives teachers 21 templates and lesson ideas and plans. These suggest how teachers can enhance lessons using apps like Keynote, GarageBand, and iMovie.
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority is looking into accusations of “collusion at a very senior level” against Apple and Google.
Online campaign group Marketers for an Open Web made the complaint. It says the two tech behemoths are “not competing head to head,” but rather working together when it comes to search.
The group points to documents uncovered in a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit, including a 2018 internal email in which Apple and Google staffers discussed how they “work as if we are one company.”
Apple’s augmented reality/mixed reality headset reportedly will weigh less than 150 grams. That’s about half the weight of current VR headsets, suggesting that Cupertino plans to make its debut AR/MR headset more streamlined than competitors. (What a surprise!)
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities made this prediction in a new note to clients, seen by Cult of Mac.
Ron Okamoto quietly retired after two decades as Apple’s vice president of Developer Relations. He helped oversee the tools provided to third-party iPhone and Mac application developers, and helped set policies for the App Store.
His retirement comes as governments around the world are investigating whether Apple treats fairly the third-party developers who depend on the iPhone and Mac App Stores.
A Federal judge granted class-action status to a lawsuit accusing Apple of putting defective keyboards in various MacBook models made between 2015 and 2019. These laptops all use the butterfly keyboard design which uses a key mechanism that is allegedly prone to sticking.
Since the very start of the App Store, some developers have criticized Apple for being opaque with its decision-making. Apple, it seems, doesn’t agree with these claims.
In a response to formal complaints made to Australia’s antitrust watchdog by Epic Games and others, Apple defends its reviews process. Far from being slow and tough to deal with, Apple argues that it works quickly, and provides all the information it needs to in a swift and open manner.
Canadian iOS developer and YouTuber Stewart Lynch got lucky when he broke the USB-C port connector on his brand new 27-inch LG monitor the first day he had it. Huge-upgrade lucky.
Lynch, who hails from North Vancouver, British Columbia, took the stricken display, under warranty, to a repair shop.
“About a week later LG called me and said they did not have any 27-inch monitors in stock so they offered me a 38-inch upgrade at no cost,” Lynch told Cult of Mac. “I took it and sold my dual monitor arm that was holding the 27- and 24-inch monitors and went with the setup I have now.”
The iPhone 13 will boast a maximum storage capacity that’s double that of the iPhone 12, claim Wedbush analysts Strecker Backe and Daniel Ives in a new note to clients, seen by Cult of Mac.
Unlike the iPhone 12, which tops out at 512GB, the iPhone 13 could offer up to 1TB. That’s also 62 times the storage of the original iPhone, which topped out at 16GB.
The HomePod mini has a hidden capability that Apple has yet to put into action: a sensor that measures both temperature and humidity.
According to Bloomberg, the sensor could be used to trigger smart home actions, such as turning a fan on or off depending on the temperature. It’s not clear why Apple has not yet activated the sensor so customers can utilize the feature — or when it might do so.
The iPhone 12 is on course to give Apple its best-ever year for iPhone sales, according to Wedbush analysts Strecker Backe and Daniel Ives. In a new note to clients seen by Cult of Mac, they predict Apple could sell between 240 million and 250 million iPhones this year.
That would “easily eclipse” Apple’s previous record, set in fiscal 2015, in which it sold 231 million iPhones. That year’s super-sized lineup — the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus — remain the top-selling models in history. However, it looks like that record could soon fall.
Ted Lasso is the gift that keeps giving when it comes to racking up awards for Apple. On Sunday, the hit Apple TV+ comedy — about a hapless football coach who journeys to England to ply his trade with a soccer team — was honored with a pair of 2021 Writers Guild of America Awards.
Ted Lasso won both the Best New Series and Best Comedy Series prizes, adding a couple more accolades to the impressive collection the popular show has racked up since debuting.
Pour one out for our homie, the HomePod.
Apple recently pulled the plug on its sweet-sounding smart speaker, and the move is definitely not music to our ears. In fact, it calls into question Apple’s strategy of releasing — and then rudely abandoning — expensive, niche products. Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel on that.
Find out why we hope that never happens again in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it to enjoy on iPhone or iPad, or get the stories below in your browser.