AirTags to follow? Screenshots: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple’s newest iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 betas add a new “Items” tab to the built-in Find My app that allows users to tracks Beats headphones, luggage and other third-party gadgets.
Apple could be planning to stop apps written for Intel chips from working on M1-powered Macs.
New code discovered in the latest macOS Big Sur 11.3 beta suggests Apple might remove Rosetta 2, the software that translates older software to run on the new generation of Macs, at least in some regions.
Fantasian for Apple Arcade Screencap: Mistwalker/Apple
Fantasian is the next creation by Hironobu Sakaguchi, who also made the classic Final Fantasy series. His latest mixes computer-generated characters with handmade sets for a truly unique look.
The role playing game by Mistwalker is set to debut on Apple Arcade for a variety of platforms.
The feminist short-story collection Roar is being made into an Apple TV+ series. Photo: Grand Central Publishing/Cult of Mac
A star-studded collection of women will appear in Roar on Apple TV+. This anthology series of “darkly comic feminist fables” will feature Nicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo, Merritt Wever, Alison Brie and more.
This Mars rover and the brightly colored 1998 iMac have more in common than you might think. Photo: NASA
A rover that recently landed on the surface of Mars uses the same processor that powered the 1998 iMac. NASA built Perseverance around a chip from decades ago because reliability is more important than being cutting edge when the computer is 130 million miles away.
Bigger and better for your eyes. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
An Australian iPhone owner whose day job is working as a scientist at the University of Melbourne is suing Apple after his iPhone X exploded in his pocket.
Robert De Rose says that he was sitting in his office in 2019, with the iPhone in his pocket, when suddenly he felt an intense pain in his thigh. He was left with second-degree leg burns after the incident.
They’re all spectacularly made from high-end materials like fine Italian leather, making them the perfect Apple Watch upgrade. Get yours today for just $79.
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run is coming to the App Store this month. Photo: King
Preorders for Crash Bandicoot’s first iOS game in a decade are now up and (endless) running.
The endless runner game, titled Crash Bandicoot: On the Run, is the famous PlayStation mascot’s first game for the iPhone since 2010’s sequel to Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, a game that’s no longer available through the App Store. It is scheduled to hit the App Store on March 25.
The iPhone 12 is a monster hit for Apple. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
The iPhone 12 looks like a monster hit for Apple, a new note to investors by research analysis firm Cowen suggests. The firm estimates that iPhone orders climbed 50% year-over-year last quarter, propelled by the enormously popular iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models.
For the March 2021 quarter, Cowen thinks Apple will build 57 million iPhones. That’s up from the firm’s own previous prediction of 55 million.
This isn’t an improvement. Artists concept: Cult of Mac
Apple might get rid of the screen notch in the 2022 iPhone. But before you start celebrating, there’ll be a hole-punch camera in its place, according a trusted analyst. If true, this will be one step forward and two steps back.
The notch is a superior solution to a hole in the middle of the display. Here’s why.
Highly respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo can find no evidence that Apple plans to remove the iPhone’s Lightning port for charging and data transfers. It won‘t be replaced by USB-C. And a portless model isn’t coming, either.
All 270 Apple retail stores in the United States opened on Monday. Many had been shuttered for months during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not any more.
This is a boon not only for shoppers but for those looking for repairs and tech support for their Mac, iPhone or other Apple gear. But don’t jump in the car quite yet.
AirPods Max and Pro stand in for speakers in this setup, which uses a Palm Vx as a desk clock. Photo: Singulaffect @ Reddit
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.
A faster refresh rate might be a highlight of 2021’s iPhone 13. Concept: ConceptsiPhone
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 be set to follow Samsung into the world of folding phones. Photo: Samsung
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.”
The 2020 iPhone SE is Apple’s most affordable new model, but it’s getting a high-end feature in 2022. Photo: Apple
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.
New book tells the story of pioneer Jennifer Doudna. Photo: Simon & Schuster
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.
New video celebrates Black History Month. Photo: Apple
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:
A big win for the hit Apple TV+ series. Photo: Apple TV
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.
AirPods Pro were purchased on expenses during push to home working. Photo: Apple
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.
The past possesses a certain appeal. Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
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.)
Looks like the Mac lineup is about to get even more magical. Image: The CultCast
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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A drama series based on Masters of the Air is headed for Apple TV+. Graphic: Simon & Schuster
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.
Halfway between a physics puzzler and a psychedelic light show. Photo: Emoak
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.
There’s a to of hope that the 14-inch MacBook Pro will have slim screen bezels. Photo: Apple
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.