Apple has paid out a massive $163,338,890 in “accrued historical unmatched royalties” for Apple Music. That’s more than any other streaming music service, including Spotify, which currently leads the overall global market share.
The Mechanical Licensing Collective received a total of $424.3 million in these historical royalties. Variety notes this means some songwriters and publishers will receive a big “windfall.”
Long before we all started carrying around powerful computers in our pockets, there was the tiny Toshiba Libretto. A game-changing device when it arrived in the 1990s, the Libretto downsized the entire Windows PC experience into a subnotebook the size of a paperback.
As the world’s smallest commercially available Windows PC, it certainly proved revolutionary. The only problem is the Libretto was … well, a Windows PC.
YouTuber Action Retro recently set out to right that wrong with an awesome Hackintosh project. After transforming the diminutive Libretto into a miniature Mac, he spoke with Cult of Mac about the experience (and his love of vintage Macs).
Austin, Texas-based photographer Matt Tran initially built his impressive setup to share his pics on Instagram, and you can certainly see a lot of them there. But now he uses his workstation, centered on a MacBook Pro and two monitors of vastly different sizes, to film and edit videos.
“I like having the 38-inch [LG] ultrawide to view the timeline on Final Cut Pro and the smaller, 15.6-inch Desklab portable monitor to review the footage,” he told Cult of Mac.
Almost exactly one year after it arrived on iPhone, Microsoft’s unified Office app is now finally available for iPad. The app combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in one single package.
That means that all your documents are in one place, and you don’t need to switch between apps depending on whether you’re editing a text document or using a spreadsheet.
Apple on Tuesday revealed the 13 app companies that will take part in its first Entrepreneur Camp for Black Founders and Developers.
The company called the program part of its “ongoing commitment to empower the Black community and dismantle barriers to opportunity.”
Apple fixed a bug in the macOS Big Sur installer that could result in data loss and a perpetual install loops for unlucky users.
The macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 fix, released Monday, causes Macs to carry out checks to see if users have enough free space for installation prior to updating their systems.
To prevent your Apple Watch Series 5 or Apple Watch SE from refusing to charge when it’s in Power Reserve, you need watchOS 7.3.1. Apple rushed this update out on Monday specifically to fix this bug.
Any Apple Watch hit with this bug drains until it’s dead, and can‘t be recharged. But Apple will repair the affected devices at no cost.
Apple TV+ is launching a podcast dedicated to For All Mankind, the streaming service’s alternate-history show about the space race. The podcast will serve as a platform for real astronauts and scientists to discuss space travel with the series’ cast and creators.
The first episode of the podcast debuts Friday, the same day season two of the sci-fi series arrives.
Microsoft has already begun internal testing of a cloud-based version of Xbox Game Pass playable on an iPhone or iPad. Public beta test is scheduled to begin in the spring.
Ryan Brookes, who works in sales for a financial services firm in Denver, Colorado, likes his open spaces. That includes indoor ones, like a spare, clean setup on his desk. Physical space helps him think, he told Cult of Mac.
His Mac mini with an M1 chip tethered to a 49-inch Samsung curved monitor probably help him think, too. Those and his iPad, which he will soon pair with a Keychron K1 Mechanical Keyboard.
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.
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.
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.
Apple’s talks with Nissan about collaborating on an electric car may have fizzled, the Financial Times reported Sunday.
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 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.
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.
When it comes to iPad Pro, bigger would be better. And when it comes to iPhone 12 mini, smaller was definitely not better – at least from a sales perspective.
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.
Facebook is reportedly building a smartwatch that’ll offer instant messaging on the go. And help users stay fit.
Of course, the Facebook watch will have to go head-to-head with Apple Watch, the 500-pound gorilla of the wearables market.
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.
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.
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.
The UK government’s Department for Work and Pensions is reportedly buying 11,000 iPhone SE handsets for use by employees.
The report claims that it is paying around (4.1 million British pounds) $5.7 million for the total quantity of 64GB handsets.
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.)
