The Apple App Store ecosystem contributed over half a trillion dollars to the global economy in 2019, according to a study commissioned by Apple.
This total encompasses far more than just what iPhone or Mac users pay for software. It includes transactions done through these apps, from grocery deliveries to streaming services.
Apple inadvertently confirmed rumors that iPhones will soon function as car keys. Buried in the privacy information for Apple Wallet in the iOS 13.6 Beta is a lengthy description of the upcoming feature.
Called “Adding and Managing Car Keys,” the verbiage details how wireless keys can be added to Wallet and how they can be shared.
The Apple Developer app is the one-stop-shop for all the information devs need, but until now there’ve only been versions for iPhone and iPad. On Monday, the company finally brought out a version for Mac. This guide to the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference comes a week before WWDC kicks off.
And while this event will be entirely online, Apple is sending out press invites anyway.
Summer is just starting but Apple is already thinking back-to-school. College students and teachers can save up to $200 on a MacBook or iMac. Or up to $100 on iPads. And get a pair of AirPods gets thrown in for free.
In previous years, Apple’s back-to-school promo always included Beats headphones. This is the first time AirPods have been part of the deal instead.
Apple has updated its 16-inch MacBook Pro buying options by offering the new Radeon Pro 5600M mobile GPU. This joins the existing Radeon Pro 5300M and 5500M GPU options for the MacBook Pro.
Kitting out the new MacBook Pro with a AMD Radeon Pro 5600M GPU with 8GB of HBM2 memory adds $700 onto the base model MacBook Pro. According to Apple, it will improve performance by up to 75% compared to the 5500M configuration. Is that worth it? It absolutely depends on how much of a pro user you are!
Apple has expanded its 0% Apple Card financing option for products, including the Mac, iPad, AirPods Pro, AirPods, and Apple Pencil. (No Apple Watch, though!)
The company previously launched a 0% Apple Card financing option for iPhone in December. However, this is the first time that Apple has expanded this to cover other Apple products. Tim Cook suggested that Apple would be expanding the program during Apple’s most recent earnings call.
Sports merchandise online store Fanatics is offering customers in the U.S. a 20% on selected goods so long as they buy them using Apple Pay. The special offer, the latest example of Apple partnering with a retailer for an Apple Pay promotion, is being marketed as a Father’s Day special offer.
Father’s Day 2020 falls on Sunday, June 21. The offer, however, is valid only through 11.59pm EST on June 19. That means that you’ll need to get a bit organized, rather than just settling for the “buy dad a last minute gift the night before” act.
Apple’s “foldable” iPhone will use dual displays to get around the foldable screen problem that plagues other folding phones like Samsung’s beleaguered Galaxy Fold, claims Apple leaker Jon Prosser.
“The current prototype has two separate display panels on a hinge,” Prosser wrote in a tweet Monday. He claims the foldable iPhone prototype boasts “round, stainless steel edges like current iPhone 11 design” and features no notch. Instead, there is a “tiny forehead” on the outer display that houses the Face ID sensors.
In another piece of possible evidence that this year’s iPhone 12 handsets will feature ToF (time-of-flight) camera sensors, a report published Monday claims that component makers in the Apple supply chain are gearing up their production for mass-manufacturing.
Time-of-flight camera sensors typically work by emitting a laser pulse which is used to bounce off objects. By measuring how long it takes for the laser to hit the object and return to the sensor, you can work out how far away it is. This makes it possible to create detailed 3D maps of spaces. That could help Apple in both improving its iPhone camera tech and augmented reality ambitions.
When it comes to how much content you get for your dollar, Amazon Prime Video is the best value VOD (video-on-demand) service and Apple TV+ is the worst, claims movie and TV search engine Reelgood.
At a time when new streaming services are launching all the time, the company ran the numbers to compare the likes of Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, and Apple TV+. Unsurprisingly, Apple TV+ doesn’t fare too well.
Images which showed up on Twitter over the weekend depict what may be the new iPhone 12 series of handsets with both physical molds and CAD drawings.
As expected, this includes four different versions, rumored to include a 5.4-inch handset, two 6.1-inch versions, and a giant 6.7-inch edition. More importantly, though, the images showcase the handsets’ reported redesign — with flatter edges like the iPhone 4 or newer iPad Pro models.
Giving HealthKit an iCloud injection would make Apple’s health-tracking framework much more powerful. Will this be the year Apple takes HealthKit to the next level?
Find out why it should be, in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. You can download it now from the iOS App Store. Grab it now and get the week’s top Apple news, including some juicy new bits about what’s coming next from Cupertino’s product pipeline.
P.S. Don’t miss the big Father’s Day Sale in the Cult of Mac Store.
Apple’s first ARM-based computer will be a very slim and light MacBook, according to a leaker claiming inside information and sources in Apple’s supply chain. The Mac-makers move away from Intel chips will begin with a 12-inch MacBook that supposedly will include the controversial butterfly keyboard.
As a fitness writer and app developer, there’s just one thing I’m hoping to see at WWDC next week: a major upgrade to HealthKit.
Don’t get me wrong. I think Apple’s health-tracking framework is great, but there’s so much more it could do. Moving HealthKit to iCloud would finally set Apple Watch free from its iPhone dependency, launch a brand-new Apple subscription service, enable users to access health and fitness data on all their devices, create a whole new class of TV fitness apps, and much, much more.
Despite rumors that Apple is ready to take the wraps off the 2020 iMac during its developers conference later this month, a report on Friday indicates this all-in-one desktop isn’t in production yet.
And the same leak adds weight to unconfirmed reports that Apple is prepping an iPad for release in the second half of the year.
Little Orpheus takes a Soviet cosmonaut on a journey to explore lost civilizations, jungles and undersea kingdoms buried deep in the Earth.
This sidescrolling adventure game launched Friday on Apple arcade.
This week on The CultCast: An all-new iMac, and the mythical ARM Mac, will likely be unveiled at WWDC. We’ll tell you what we know! Plus, we wrap up with our favorite new 360 camera, feather-light carbon fiber bike wheels, and a must-have Ethernet testing tool in an all-new Under Review.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
One of Apple’s manufacturing partners for iPhone 12 has reportedly failed to deliver its first shipment of OLED panels this week. BOE is said to have run into quality assurance troubles ahead of mass-production.
It’s not yet clear if this will have an impact on iPhone 12 supply.
Apple’s plan to get retail stores back in action will see the reopening of locations in the United Kingdom starting Monday, June 15.
The government confirmed on Thursday that non-essential stores, most of which have now been closed for as many as three months, could begin reopening next week — provided they follow COVID-19 safety measures.
Apple is expected to open all stores in England and one in Northern Ireland first. Another five in Scotland and Wales must wait.
Apple on Friday dropped its first trailer for Dads, a new documentary headed to Apple TV+ ahead of Father’s Day.
Described as a “joyful exploration of contemporary fatherhood,” the film features the likes of Will Smith, Judd Apatow, and Conan O’Brien. It promises rare home-movie footage, hilarious anecdotes, and more.
Jonas Grossecappenberg is a professional filmmaker and photographer so he needs to work with high quality screens. He rocks a two-monitor, MacBook Pro setup. The other laptop is a Dell XPS. Grossecappenberg’s 34-inch LG UltraWide stands below a LG 27-inch UltraFine, giving him lots of premium screen real estate.
He has both the Logitech MX Master Mouse and MX Keys wireless keyboard. A pair of Yamaha Hs8 speakers give him great sound quality.
He also sports a heigh-adjustable Flexispot standing desk to loosen up his joints.
Anyone buying a 2020 iPad Pro from Apple.com will need patience. Orders placed on Thursday won‘t ship until next month.
It’s not really clear why, as this tablet is widely available at Apple retail locations.
Greyhound, written by and starring Tom Hanks, was originally headed for theatres. But the World War II film set in the Atlantic changed course to be an Apple TV+ exclusive.
Apple announced Thursday that the drama, with Hanks portraying a navy captain struggling to get a convoy through submarine-infested waters, will debut Friday, July 10.
There’ll be versions of Apple’s clip-on Magic Keyboard for other models besides the iPad Pro, according to a reliable source.
Apple’s accessory wowed reviewers and users this spring, but it’s currently only for the company’s top-tier tablets. Apparently, that’s going to change.
OtterBox on Thursday launched protective covers for AirPods and AirPods Pro cases. The Ispra and Lumen series are this company’s first for Apple’s truly-wireless earbuds. They come in a range of colors, and are designed to save the AirPods case from scratches and drops.