What kind of charging stand will you create? Photo: SwitchEasy
Build your own charging stand with the brilliant Blocks set from SwitchEasy. The kit includes everything you need (except charging cables) to create a wonderfully unique charging dock for iPhone, Apple Watch, or both.
Blocks makes a great gift for any creative mind, and it’s just $19.99 through the Cult of Mac Store.
Replay is the easy way to check out your most listened-to tracks. Photo: Cult of Mac/Apple
Apple launched its Replay 2021 playlist on Monday, giving Apple Music users a way to easily see a ranking of their most listened-to songs.
Unlike Spotify’s ultra-popular Wrapped feature, which summarizes annual listening, Apple updates its Replay feature constantly throughout the year. Updated rankings show up every Sunday.
Before he co-founded Apple, Steve Jobs had to apply for jobs like the rest of us. Photo: Esther Dyson/Flickr CC
Steve Jobs didn’t have to fill in a whole lot of job applications during his life. After founding Apple Computer at 21, Jobs’ name was well enough known that he didn’t have to mail off too many resumes and cover letters. Or have reasons to send them out.
However, one of the rare applications Jobs did complete is coming up for auction. It’s a great piece of memorabilia, even if it will likely set you back a whole lot more than Steve would have ever earned in the role.
Rumors of an Apple car continue to roil the automotive industry. Photo: Sgcdesignco/Unsplash CC
Welcome, Apple…. Seriously.
That, in essence, seems to be the message from Volkswagen chief exec Herbert Diess in a recent interview, responding to rumors about the Apple car.
“The car industry is not a typical tech sector that you could take over at a single stroke,” Diess said in a recent interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. “Apple will not manage that overnight.”
The iPhone 13 could stand out from its predecessors thanks to an always-on display. Artist’s concept: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The iPhone 13 series will borrow the always-on screen from the Apple Watch, according to an unconfirmed report. And the upcoming iPhone supposedly will support some new camera tricks, including Portrait Mode for video.
It’s shaping up to perhaps be more than a speed-bumped version of Apple’s 2020 models.
Foundation on Apple TV+ will be a mix of Star Wars and Game of Thrones. Photo: Apple/Skydance Television
Apple TV+’s ambitious version of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series is reportedly scheduled for fall of 2021. Previously, all we’ve known is a vague promise from Apple that the sprawling sci-fi epic is “coming soon.”
In addition, the series is expected to extend over dozens of episodes.
Get those perspectives in this week’s top opinion/analysis pieces from Cult of Mac Magazine. Then enjoy the rest of the week’s top Apple news, how-tos and reviews. It’s all free and ready to download and read on your favorite iOS device.
P.S. After weeks of Apple car rumors, don’t miss our thought experiment that explores five ways Cupertino could shake up our ideas about automobiles.
Simply add two or more to your cart to bag the discount. Photo: MagEasy
Save 15% on awesome iPhone and Apple Watch accessories from Just Mobile, SwitchEasy, and MagEasy in the Cult of Mac Store’s Valentine’s Day sale. Cases, screen protectors, portable battery banks and more are on offer. The sale ends soon, so enjoy it while you can.
AirTags and the 2021 iPad Pro could launch together in only a few weeks. Photo: Cut of Mac
Apple’s long-awaited AirTags personal item trackers might finally jump from rumor to reality. A reliable prognosticator says these accessories will reach customers in March.
And the same goes for an updated iPad Pro. Previous leaks also point to the tablet coming out before the end of Q1 2021.
Apple has repeatedly increased the size of the iPad over the years. A 15-inch version is the logical next step. Graphic Cult of Mac
While the iPad Pro serves as a primary computer for many people, the 12.9-inch version is simply too small. Apple needs to make a 15-inch iPad Pro Max to make the tablet truly useful for power users.
And a bigger screen is only the start. This version should include other top-tier features not found in Apple’s smaller tablets.
Things would have been even better had Steve Jobs held onto his original Apple shares. Photo: Jorge Palma Pastor/Flickr CC
One of the things that always surprised me was how, compared to some of his Silicon Valley peers, Steve Jobs’ net worth during his life paled in comparison to some of his contemporaries.
When Jobs died in late 2011, his net worth was reported as being $10.2 billion. That’s an enormous amount of money, but it was a drop in the ocean next to Bill Gates’ $56 billion that year, and less than Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page’s $19.8 billion apiece, Michael Dell’s $14.6 billion, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg’s $13.5 billion.
Had Jobs had the same share arrangement today, however, it would be a very different story.
Subscription apps are thriving right now, and nowhere more so than on iOS. According to a new report from app analytics platform Sensor Tower, worldwide spending on the top 100 subscription apps on the App Store generated $10.3 billion in 2020.
That’s a massive 32% increase from the $7.8 billion spent in 2019. It’s also close to four times what Android apps in the Google Play store pulled in in 2020. (They earned just $2.7 billion.)
That's a whole lot of Apple Watches. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
More than 100 million people in the world now wear an Apple Watch, Above Avalon analyst Neil Cybart claims.
Provided those numbers are accurate, that’s the equivalent of every single person in California, Texas and Florida, the three most populous U.S. states — and with a good few warehouses of Apple Watches left over.
The former CEO of Netflix thinks Apple needs to spend more money on content to take on Netflix and Disney+. Photo: Apple
Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph has some advice for Apple. He thinks the company needs to really commit by spending more money on content for Apple TV+ to successfully compete in the streaming market.
Dress to impress with the Adonit Prime iPad or iPhone stylus. Photo: Adonit
The Adonit Prime is a stylus for the luxury shopper. There are versions for Apple tablets or iPhone, and both are made with premium materials.
With a price of $250, the Prime is for business professionals who want a digital stylus for the boardroom or office. A desktop charging stand both stores and shows off the accessory.
Congress wants to know if Apple can confirm the accuracy of App Privacy labels like this one. Photo: Cult of Mac
A U.S. House of Representatives committee sent Apple CEO Tim Cook a letter with questions about the App Privacy labels displayed in the App Store. The letter was prompted by a published report that many of these privacy “nutrition labels” contain incorrect information.
Objects from For All Mankind seemingly float in front of you with a new augmented realty application. Screenshot: Apple TV+
Fans of the Apple TV+ sci-fi series For All Mankind can enjoy a free augmented-reality application that lets them virtually handle objects from the alternate-history show.
Season two — which premiers in February on Apple’s streaming service — begins about a decade after the events of season one. The For All Mankind: Time Capsule AR app helps bridge the gap.
There’s no need to carry around extra screens for your MacBook if you have augmented reality. Screenshot: Dominick Hofacker
Apple’s upcoming augmented-reality glasses could make additional MacBook screens unnecessary. An AR concept video shows how virtual displays could appear next to real ones, making the user more productive without having to carry around all that hardware.
Get up to $75 for your old buds. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
You can pick up new AirPods at pretty terrific prices right now, which means it’s a great time to upgrade if you’re still rocking Apple’s original wireless buds. And we can help make the upgrade even more affordable.
Safari’s anti-phishing tool is about to get even more secure. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The Fraudulent Website Warning system built into Safari in the upcoming iOS 14.5 reportedly takes an additional step to protect your identity. Apple licenses the scam-prevention service from Google, and going forward will block that company from knowing users’ IP addresses through the use of a proxy server.
David Wilcox's setup centers on a 27-inch 5K iMac with 28-inch Samsung monitors on either side of it. Photo: David Wilcox
David Wilcox is an IT consultant working from home in Bristol, England. His remote work situation means he gets to tweak his setup just as he likes, he told Cult of Mac.
Wilcox’s central command is a 27-inch 5K iMac from 2019. Humming along with it are two 28-inch U2HE850 monitors paired and run together via a Startech Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort Adapter.
With that much screen real estate and a plethora of networking gear, he gets a lot done.
“My first computer was a Sinclair [Research] ZX81,” he said, referring to a machine made by Timex Corp. in the United Kingdom starting in 1981. “So this setup is just about a home-computing Nirvana!”
With the global pandemic causing many students to rely on remote learning, it’s not a great time to be in higher education. But there is one small bright spot: Cupertino just doubled the free trial period for Apple Music for students in select countries.
Instead of the standard three-month trial, students in higher education can now get six months before they must shell out a monthly fee. The extended trial, only available to new Apple Music customers, runs through April 30.