A free Samsung charger with every phone might soon be a thing of the past. Photo: Samsung
Samsung is reportedly considering not bundling a wall charger with future phones. This comes after reports that archrival Apple is considering the same move for the iPhone 12.
The goal is allegedly the same for both companies: reducing production costs. Taking the charger out of the box would also make shipping cheaper.
A new course taught by Apple will help educators learn to teach Swift and Xcode. Photo: Apple
Apple on Thursday unveiled a free course to train educators to teach others how to program in Swift and Xcode, tools used to write apps for iPhone and Mac.
In addition, Apple improved its Develop in Swift and Everyone Can Code curricula. And it’s adding new remote learning resources for parents and teachers educating children at home.
Quibi is taking a different approach with streaming. Photo: Quibi
According to mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower, 4.5 million people have downloaded bite-sized video subscription service Quibi since its highly publicized launch. Of these, around 8% are continuing to use the service.
However, Quibi says that this estimated number of paid subscribers is “incorrect by an order of magnitude.”
Apple paid $7.8 million, according to a new report. Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
Apple paid 6.2 million British pounds ($7.8 million) on U.K. retail sales of $1.37 billion and gross profits of $337 million last year, a report published by i News claims.
The publication viewed Apple’s latest annual results filing at Companies House, and found that Apple Retail UK was able to reduce its pre-tax profit to only $39 million after accounting for costs and expenses.
TikTok enjoyed another month at the top of the App Store charts in June, becoming the most downloaded non-gaming iOS app, according to a new report from Sensor Tower.
The leading app analytics firm says the Chinese social video app was installed more than 87 million times last month on iOS and Android. That represents an impressive 52.7% increase from June 2019.
Apple has been disputing the fine since the moment it was levied. Photo: Pixabay/Pexels CC
The second-highest court in the European Union will make a ruling next week regarding Apple and Ireland’s appeal of a $16 billion fine in back taxes for Apple.
The European Commission ordered Apple pay the sum in August 2016. This was based on a so-called sweetheart deal under which Apple allegedly received favorable tax rates in Ireland.
A new Tablo over-the-air DVR holds about a month of HD shows, and can stream them to your Apple device without ads. Photo: Tablo/Cult of Mac
A Tablo over-the-air DVR released this week boasts 1 terabyte of internal storage. That’s enough space to hold 700 hours of HD shows. This digital video recorder from Nuvyyo captures up to four shows at once off free local airwaves, then streams them to a phone or tablet without ads.
“Shop with a Specialist” puts you one-on-one with a salesperson at Apple Stores. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Schedule a visit to an Apple Store and you’ll have an expert standing by just to answer your questions. That’s the promise of the “Shop with a Specialist” program that launched Wednesday.
While this is a touch of luxury, it’s also a necessity brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple is trying to keep its retail locations from being overcrowded. That apparently means limiting the number of customers to one per salesperson.
Tom Hanks gives us an inside look at the naval action shown in his new Apple TV+ film, Greyhound. Photo: Apple
Tom Hanks wrote and stars in Greyhound, a feature film about World War II debuting Friday on Apple TV+. In a new video, the beloved actor talks about the real-life story it depicts: the challenges of Allied ships crossing the Atlantic infested with Nazi submarines.
Watch Hanks’ inside look at his upcoming film now:
James Blake is a fan of Logic Pro X. This music production software many have contributed to all his awards. Photo: Apple
Apple shared a brief look into the creative process of James Blake. A video released Wednesday shows the Grammy winning artist assembling a song on a MacBook with Logic Pro X.
Apple and Intel developed Thunderbolt, and a new version debuts later in 2020. Photo: Intel
Intel unveiled the specs for Thunderbolt 4 on Wednesday without bringing dramatic changes to this connectivity standard built into most Macs. Still, any computer running the new version has to offer an upgraded set of specifications, including the ability to handle a pair of 4K monitors.
Update: Apple promised to build Thunderbolt 4 into future Macs. “We remain committed to the future of Thunderbolt and will support it in Macs with Apple silicon,” an Apple spokesperson told The Verge.
Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department launched probes into allegations that TikTok breached an agreement regarding child-privacy protections, Reuters reported Wednesday.
News of the investigations follows a story earlier this week claiming the U.S. government might ban TikTok for security reasons.
The program launched in the United States last fall. Today it is expanding out of the U.S. for the first time. It’s also announcing that a total of more than 700 registered independent repair providers are now available across America.
Anker eufyCam 2 protects your privacy. Photo: Anker
Anker has launched its new HomeKit-compatible smart security camera. The EufyCam 2 Pro, exclusive to Best Buy, boasts 2K resolution and free local video storage.
It also carries over the 365-day battery life, on-device human detection software, and “user-friendly interface” of the previous generation EufyCam camera.
Jobs was predicting the power of Slack and similar tools 30 years ago. Photo: The Machine That Changed the World
As a result of coronavirus-induced lockdowns, the way we work has changed dramatically in 2020. Plenty of employees and businesses are now talking seriously about remote working and whether it represents a viable path forward for reimagining employment.
It turns out that Steve Jobs was talking about this exact topic 30 years ago. No, Jobs didn’t foresee COVID-19. But an old interview clips unearthed by journalist Jon Erlichman shares Jobs’ thoughts on the way technology can transform the way that you and I work.
That's a whole lot of QR codes. Photo: Thomas Leuthard/Flickr
iOS 14 will allow users to make payments using QR codes with Apple Pay, a hidden feature in the Wallet app discovered by 9to5Mac suggests.
While the feature isn’t functional yet, it will allow users to point their iPhone camera at a QR code or barcode in order to pay bills. Apple didn’t make any mention of it at WWDC 2020, but that could potentially be transformative for scan-as-you-go shopping and other scenarios.
Apple Chadstone is one of the stores to re-close. Photo: Apple
Apple is re-closing four more of its Apple Stores in Melbourne, Australia as coronavirus cases spike again in the region.
Apple Chadstone, Apple Southland, Apple Doncaster, and Apple Fountain Gate will all be temporarily closing down, along with Apple Highpoint, which closed its doors last week. Australian Apple Stores began reopening two months ago, after having been shuttered since March 14.
All it takes to build a nice setup is a MacBook and an UltraWide. Photo: @developerdylan
Programmer Dylan Garrett used to have a dual monitor rig, until he became enlightened in the ways of the UltraWide. Although the extra screen space that comes with having two monitors was an obvious plus, their resolutions were terrible and he decided to throw them both in the trash and adopt the LG 34-inch UltraWide as his sole monitor.
As these iPhone 12 dummy units show, Apple’s 2020 handset is expected in a wide range of sizes. Photo: Marques Brownlee
iPhone 12 dummy models supposedly show how this upcoming handset will look in various sizes. Reliable leaker Marques Brownlee got his hands on some, and videoed them in action.
Meanwhile, a separate report claims to show the packaging of the iPhone 12, adding weight to rumors that this handset won’t come with a wall charger.
The new Files widget is the biggest change in iPadOS 14 and iOS 14 beta 2. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple seeded the second beta versions of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 exclusively to developers Tuesday. The most notable new feature appears to be a widget for the Files app, giving users access to recently used files directly from the Home screen.
The latest betas bring some small changes as well, of course. Development of these operating systems continues, with full releases expected this autumn.
Apple patented a folding iPhone with a section of the screen ialways available for notifications or other functions. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple has undoubtedly been investigating a folding iPhone for years because it keeps patenting designs. Including one awarded on Tuesday for an iPhone that folds closed while leaving a portion of the screen exposed to display status updates.
Tom Hanks thanks Apple TV+ for throwing his new World War II movie a lifeline. Photo: The Today Show
Tom Hanks said Tuesday that Apple TV+ “saved the day” by releasing his new World War II movie during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the actor couldn’t say enough good things about Apple when he hit The Today Show to promo Greyhound, which debuts on Apple TV+ this Friday.
All the happy talk came a day after Hanks made headlines for calling Greyhound’s upcoming streaming debut an “absolute heartbreak.”
If you’re kind of a big deal. If you own many leather-bound books and an apartment that smells of rich mahogany. Then, boy, do we have the perfect Apple Watch charging stand for you.
Made in London from sustainably sourced walnut, cherry, and maple wood, these Anden stands add a touch of sophistication to any living room or home office. Get yours now from the Cult of Mac Store.
Apple will ditch its original AirPods design completely with the next-gen model. Photo: Apple
Apple’s third-gen AirPods will boast a design and compact system-in-package (SiP) solution similar to AirPods Pro, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims in his latest research note to clients.
Kuo suggests that the next-generation wireless earbuds will arrive in the first half of 2021. That would be approximately 18 months after Apple debuted the AirPods Pro design in 2019.
The firm’s 245 million Apple shares have increased in value by more than $55 billion since the start of 2019 to be worth upward of $91 billion. Still, from an investor’s perspective, it makes you wonder whether you’d be better off simply investing in AAPL itself, rather than paying a fund manager!