Apple is investing upward of 1 billion euros ($1.19 billion) in building a European Center for Chip Design in Munich, Germany. This will be used, in Apple’s (translated) words, for developing processes involving “5G and the wireless technologies of the future.”
Munich is already the location of Apple’s biggest development center in Europe. It is home to close to 1,500 engineers from 40 countries. The new initiative will see them joined by hundreds more employees.
Apple is making a minor change to its Apple Podcasts app with iOS 14.5, ditching the “Subscribe” label to one that says “Follow.”
This change reflects language used commonly on social media platforms. Moreover, “Follow” suggests that the podcast is free, while “Subscribe” implies a paid subscription. Especially as Apple moves increasingly into paid subscriptions, this wording alteration is intended to avoid confusion.
It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown will have its Apple TV+ debut on March 26, slightly more than a week before Easter itself. It’s the return of a Peanuts classic from a long hiatus.
In 2020, Apple’s streaming service became the new home of all the Peanuts holiday specials, including this one. And more are being created.
The Sonos Roam is a new high-end smart speaker with support for Apple AirPlay 2, so it plays nicely with iPhone or other Apple computers.
The tubular accessory weights in just under a pound, but Sonos says, “precision-engineered acoustics deliver the clarity, depth, and fullness you would expect from a much larger speaker.”
Apple’s over-the-ears headphones got a firmware update on Tuesday. It’s not clear what’s in the new software for AirPods Max because Apple never discloses that detail, but many users are hoping it’s a fix for an irritating power drain.
A couple of pieces of Apple history are on the auction block. An unworn pair Apple Computer Sneakers from the mid-1990s will be sold in the next two days. A rare Apple-branded paddle ball set from the same time is also being auctioned.
AirPods Pro aren’t the cheapest wireless buds you can buy, so the last thing you want to do is destroy them. Protect them with Elago’s gorgeous cases instead, and never worry about them getting beaten up.
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Rocky Lira, aka “Rocky Bandit,” and his “knucklehead” friends Eddie and Paddy went big into podcasting on a moderate budget recently. And they have the gear and the podcasts in circulation to show for it.
He and his Chicago pals started the weekly show Bums of Manarchy for fun, recording more than a dozen episodes so far. Lira got off to a fast start handling the podcast editing and production. He said he uses an M1 MacBook Pro and an older model, along with two iPad Pros and his iPhone 12 Pro — in concert with a Rode RodeCaster Pro Integrated Podcast Production Studio console.
The short list of truly MagSafe-compatible accessories grew a bit on Tuesday, as the Belkin Boost↑Charge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand can now be preordered. This holds up an iPhone 12 for easy viewing, and includes a pad for AirPods cases that support wireless charging.
Stop using the reviews you see in the App Store to help you decide what applications to buy. They’re meaningless because so many of them are fraudulent. And these purchased fake reviews are frequently used to trick people into buying scam applications.
The problem is severe enough that Apple should take reviews completely out of the App Store if it can’t come up with a better solution.
Apple has published the first details of an ongoing Apple Women’s Health Study, using the iPhone to carry out longitudinal research on menstruation.
The project, which involves a team from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is based on data from 10,000 participants across the U.S. Users have been contributing their data using Apple’s Research app, starting late last year.
The iPhone will get a periscopic telephoto lens in 2023, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims in a new research note seen by Cult of Mac.
Although Kuo doesn’t provide much in the way of details, this would greatly improve the zoom capabilities of the iPhone. Currently the best iPhone for camera zoom is the iPhone 12 Pro Max. That handset features a 2.5x optical zoom in, and 2x optical zoom out. Digital zoom goes up to 12x.
A periscope zoom could increase this significantly. For example, the 2019-era Huawei P30 Pro and Oppo Reno offer 10x zoom capabilities using a periscope lens.
Apple’s mixed reality/augmented reality headset will come with 15 camera modules, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo, who has a strong track record when it comes to reporting on Apple rumors, also suggests that it will feature “innovative biometrics,” along with the ability to detect the environment the user is positioned in at the time.
The Apple Car really is on the drawing board at Cupertino, but no one outside the company knows what it’ll look like. Vanarama came up with a concept design.
And it didn’t stop there. Its designers had fun imagining vehicles designed by Netflix, Peloton, Airbnb and Zoom if these other Big Tech companies got into the market.
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iPhone users should install iOS 14.4.1, which Apple released Monday entirely to kill a bug in the Safari web browser. Obviously, Apple considers it a significant enough threat to devote an entire software update to justify it.
There’s also an equivalent iPadOS 14.4.1 version. Plus, the newly released watchOS 7.3.2 deals with the same security problem, as does macOS Big Sur 11.2.3.
The iMac Pro is seemingly nearing the end of its natural lifespan — and good riddance to it.
In fairness, the iMac Pro was not a bad computer. It was even, technically, a pretty great one. But it epitomized an era of Mac design that may have been the most uninspired and directionless in Apple history.
BMW’s Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Peter isn’t worried about Apple’s entry into the automotive industry. Or, if he is, he’s not willing to say as much.
“I sleep very peacefully,” Peter said when asked about the rumored Apple car. “Competition is a wonderful thing — it helps motivate the others. We’re in a very strong position and we want to remain in a leading position of the industry.”
Apple revealed on Monday a new “multiyear programming partnership” with women’s rights activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai to produce content for for Apple TV+.
Yousafzai will produce original programming for the streaming service, spanning drama, comedy, documentary, animation and kids’ shows.
Get your wallets ready, because Apple will supposedly launch an array of new products on March 23. On the docket for the event will supposedly be an updated iPad Pro, AirPods and Apple TV, as well as the debut of AirTags.
Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso scored a hat trick of awards at the 2021 Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday, garnering prizes for Best Comedy Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Hannah Waddingham and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Jason Sudeikis.
Considering that it’s an underdog tale about a fish-out-of-water football coach struggling to adapt to the world of soccer, the fact that Ted Lasso is proving to be Apple TV+’s MVP — winning against the likes of Netflix, Hulu and CBS — seems weirdly appropriate.
A respected Apple analyst just made a startling prediction about mixed reality/augmented reality: “We believe that MR/AR products could replace all display-equipped electronics in the long term,” wrote Ming-Chi Kuo in a note sent to investors Sunday.
Kuo said he expects Apple to play a big part in taking these emerging technologies mainstream. And he sees Cupertino making augmented reality contact lenses eventually, and a variety of AR products before then.
An unusually deep and detailed report from one of the world’s most reliable Apple analysts gives us a possible look at where the iPhone is headed in the next few years.
From no-brainers like bigger batteries (coming later this year) to more mysterious possibilities like a folding model (2023 at the earliest), this week’s top stories offer a glimpse of what the next generation of iPhones might bring.
Get up to speed with this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on iPhone or iPad, or get all the top headlines in the link lists below. And let us know if the features you’re craving are on Apple’s agenda.
Apple discontinued the iMac Pro, which is still one of the fastest Macs available despite being more than three years old. Whether the move means an updated version of the all-in-one desktop is on the way is unclear.
UPDATE: Don’t miss the Cult of Mac editorial “Good riddance to iMac Pro and the era of underwhelming Macs.”
A second season of the documentary series Dear… will take a look at the lives and careers of more actors, musicians and athletes like Viola Davis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and 8 more. It was approved on Friday, and is set to premiere later in 2021 on Apple TV+.