Those eager for the next iPad Pro might not have long to wait. The first Apple tablet with a gorgeous mini-LED display will launch before the end of March, according to an unconfirmed report.
If true, it’ll mean the 2020 iPad Pro will have an unusually short product run.
What pandemic? According to a new report from app analytics firm Sensor Tower, global spending on mobile apps across both iOS and Android hit an astonishing $111 billion in 2020. That’s a massive 30% growth from 2019.
The overwhelming spend — $72.3 billion — was on iOS, despite the larger number of Android devices. Google Play revenue, meanwhile, came in at $38.6 billion. Both app stores showed approximately the same level of growth over the year.
Monica Lozano, the president and CEO of College Futures Foundation, has joined Apple’s board of directors. Lozano is also on the boards of Target and Bank of America Corporation.
Want to take iPadOS 14’s keyboard and mouse support for a gaming spin? Pascal’s Wager has you covered.
The dark fantasy action RPG, showcased at Apple’s 2019 iPhone event, is reportedly the first iPad game to benefit from this treatment. Apple said it would bring keyboard and mouse support to iOS devices at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
Apple temporarily closed all its brick-and-mortar stores in the United Kingdom on Tuesday as a result of new COVID-19 lockdown measures imposed by the government.
Twenty of the 38 U.K. Apple stores were already closed due to coronavirus. However, new national lockdown measures that came into place Tuesday shuttered the other 18.
A designer’s radical new concept shows what future Macs could look like if augmented reality glasses replaced the computers’ physical screens.
Dominik Hofacker, a 24-year-old designer who just landed a job at Facebook, calls his well-thought-out virtual Mac concept “macOS reality.”
“With AR glasses on the verge of release, and eventually replacing our smartphones for almost all tasks, I asked myself, ‘How does productivity look like in the future?'” he told Cult of Mac. “GlassOS that runs on Apple Glasses is one thing, but nobody has ever thought about the next generation of Macs.”
MacBook users might be getting a charger from Apple that’s less of a brick. At last! The Mac-maker reportedly will start sourcing power adapters made with gallium nitride. GaN semiconductors allow these vital accessories to be significantly smaller than the old silicon ones.
That should be welcome news to Mac users, as the power adapters that come with MacBooks now are noticeably bulkier than third-party options.
Two noted sources for insider Apple information talked about the upcoming AirTags on Monday. That includes a video of one of these item-tracking tags supposedly created by Apple itself.
Apple plans to release an augmented-reality device in 2021, according to a trusted analyst. This could be the AR glasses that were the subject of so many rumors in 2020.
A much-requested feature could make its debut in the iPhone 13. The refresh rate for the phone’s display reportedly will make the jump from 60 Hz to 120 Hz, leading to a smoother appearance.
A record 1.4 billion voice and video calls were made using WhatsApp on New Year’s Eve 2020, Facebook reveals in a new blog post.
Facebook says that is an increase of more than 50% compared to the same day last year.
Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier, looks to be getting in on the electric vehicle business. According to a Monday report from Bloomberg, the Taiwanese manufacturer is in talks to invest in Chinese EV startup Byton.
Foxconn reportedly plans to invest around $200 million in the company to begin mass-manufacturing the anticipated Byton M-Byte car by Q1 2022. An announcement could come as early as today.
A Mac app that raised Apple’s ire with its drug-referencing name won’t be pulled from the Mac App Store, its developer says.
Apple reportedly threatened to remove utility app Amphetamine, which stops your Mac from going to sleep. The reason? Violating rule 1.4.3 of the App Store guidelines, which prohibits apps relating to “consumption of tobacco and vape products, illegal drugs, or excessive amounts of alcohol.”
2020 was rough. However, the pandemic gave Apple a chance to show its true colors. From fantastic new products to altruistic accomplishments, the company found many ways to excel.
Read Leander Kahney’s recap for an informed look at Apple’s incredible year. Then read Ed Hardy’s predictions about what to expect from Apple in 2021. And, if you’re ready to achieve your fitness goals, read Graham Bower’s piece on how to make your New Year’s resolutions stick with Apple Fitness+.
It’s all in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on your iOS device, or get the links below.
New Year, new you? Maybe not. But how about a new look for your Apple Watch instead? The Cult of Mac Store today kicked off its big New Year sale, saving you up to 72% on bands, stands, and other brilliant accessories. Take advantage before the discounts disappear!
Apple broke new ground in 2020, and will build on that in many ways in 2021. It should be a really significant year for Mac. And iPad and Apple Watch are expected to get important new features as well.
Plus, this could be the year a product Apple has been quietly developing finally breaks out.
In spite of a devastating pandemic, a moribund economy, widespread unemployment, factory and store closures, and a workforce toiling from home, Apple in 2020 had one of its best years ever.
The company released a raft of new products, saw its stock soar, enjoyed a record valuation, made record amounts of money, experimented with virtual product launches and events, released great advertising, and mostly skated through government antitrust hearings.
The company even killed off a hated product feature, to widespread plaudits from fans.
Apple is reportedly testing two different folding iPhone designs. But only one of them has a flexible screen. If one of the prototypes successfully passes testing, it could become the first foldable iOS handset.
Apple can reportedly drag its feet when removing repeat labor violation offenders from its supply chain, a new report from The Information claims.
Cupertino supposedly postpones taking action when it has no other companies lined up to pick up the slack, or in other scenarios that would cause financial damage due to delays or higher costs.
Brave, a privacy-oriented, Chromium-based web browser, has been updated to add native Apple Silicon support for first-gen M1 Macs.
Brave’s big claim to fame is that it blocks ads and website trackers by default. It also lets users compensate creators by sending them cryptocurrency contributions, called Basic Attention Tokens.
The App Store in China had its biggest single-day removal of apps ever — with a massive 39,000 games given the boot by Apple on Thursday alone. This is as a result of Chinese laws stating that all game publishers must obtain a special license in order to distribute their titles.
According to research firm Qimai, only 74 of the top 1,500 games in the App Store survived the massive app bloodbath. Major titles that vanished included the likes of Assassin’s Creed Identity and NBA 2K20.
For many people, Christmas was a bit more of a subdued affair in 2020 than in other years. But things were far from subdued in the App Store. According to new figures published by Sensor Tower, spending on mobile apps hit a big high point on Christmas Day in Europe.
The iOS App Store accounted for 60% of total app spending, adding up to almost $32.7 million on Christmas Day alone. That’s a massive 39% increase year-over-year. Android, by comparison, rose 17.4% year-over-year to hit $22 million on December 25.
A small German design studio dreamed up an improvement to AirPods Max. The Max Stand from Floating Pixels holds Apple’s new over-the-ears headphones upright, making them easy to pick up and use. And it adds wireless charging, rather than requiring users to plug in a cable.
Apple’s developers are surely already thinking about iPadOS 15, and will almost certainly unveil it in June 2021. Considering iPadOS 14 was thin on exciting new features, it’s easy to look ahead. Here are some suggestions from a heavy iPad user of what the devs should have on their to-do list.
For obvious reasons, New Year’s Eve plans aren’t quite what they normally are in 2020. But thanks to a new Apple Pay offer, at least you can get 20% off a food delivery from Grubhub.
Provided that you pay using Apple’s payment platform, that is.