Apple Stores, like this one in Hamburg, Germany, are digitally checking the temperatures of customers as they enter. Photo: Thomas Knoop (via Twitter)
As Apple reopens its retail stores throughout Germany, regulators are considering investigating whether temperature checks of customers to ensure the safety of visitors and employees is a violation of European Union privacy laws.
The Cult of Mac Store’s big Mother’s Day sale is still running — but not for long. Today is the final day to save up to 30% on brilliant AirPods, Apple Watch, and iPhone accessories from Twelve South, Elago, and Form Function Form.
An AirPods 2 firmware update benefits everyone who uses these earbuds, but some people should be extra happy. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple on Tuesday introduced the first firmware update for second-generation AirPods since late last year.
This should benefit those who received a replacement AirPods bud last month with unreleased firmware. They can now update both to the same firmware version so they’re usable again.
The people behind the popular iPhone, iPad and Mac email client Spark announced Tuesday full support for trackpad and mice on iPadOS, as well as the ability to add emoji reactions to shared emails or comments.
The updated August smart lock is 45% smaller with HomeKit support. Photo: August Home
Remote home security company August Home announced Tuesday it’s new HomeKit-enabled Wi-Fi Smart Lock is now on sale, after its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January.
The electromechanical lockat $249.99 is 45% smaller than the original model with integrated Wi-Fi and easy setup for Apple’s HomeKit that lets users control smart-home appliances using Apple devices.
An iOS 15 concept design simplifies the Home screen... and looks familiar. Concept: Roland Mészáros
When concept designers imagine the future of iOS, they often pack in new features. A new design goes the opposite route, simplifying the look of the iPhone to “keep you focused,” in the words of the artist.
Still, it finds space for some Home screen widgets, which are supposed to debut in iOS 14.
What better way to take your iOS gaming to the next level? Photo: SteelSeries
SteelSeries, the worldwide leader in gaming peripherals, announced its new Nimbus+ Wireless Gamepad Controller for Apple devices Tuesday.
The Nimbus+ improves on the original Nimbus controller by adding a plethora of new features. These include clickable joysticks, new Hall effect triggers, and an impressive 50-hour battery which should make it perfect for gaming during your weekly commute. Once those become a thing again.
It's copy and paste: the next generation. Photo: Cyril Diagne/AR Copy and Paste
Sometimes you have to trust your gut when you launch a new app, believing that if it’s good enough people are going to find out about it. Other times, the demand is so great that you quite literally can’t ignore the clamor.
This second scenario is the one that 34-year-old artist, designer, and programmer Cyril Diagne recently found himself in. After showing off one of the coolest AR demos seen in ages on Twitter, he was inundated with requests to turn the futuristic “copy and paste” demo into a real app. Less than two weeks later, Diagne has done exactly that.
iPhone users will be able to stream via AirPlay. Photo: Quibi
Short-form video app Quibi has had a rough start since launching in April, and co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg says there’s only one thing he blames: COVID-19.
“I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus,” Katzenberg told the New York Times in a report published late Monday. Katzenberg said that the initial app downloads have not been “close to what we wanted.” Now Quibi is going to let iPhone users watch it on their TVs to try and make up some of the lost ground.
It's like the ultimate "Shot on iPhone" ad. Photo: Cult of Mac
As the entertainment industry grinds to a halt during COVID-19 lockdown, Apple’s getting a whole lot of free publicity for the power of its iPhone camera. More and more productions are filming on the iPhone, with the latest being American Idol.
And Apple took a moment Monday to humblebrag about it.
Apple is actively investigating new types of display. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Apple could underline its interest in MicroLED displays by investing close to $334 million in a dedicated MicroLED factory in Taiwan, a Tuesday report for the Economic Daily News claims.
MicroLED is another future display technology Apple has been actively investigating for some time. While it sounds similar to the MiniLED tech rumored to play a part in many future Apple devices, it is very different.
TikTok was the number one app in the App Store in April. Photo: Aaron Yoo/Flickr CC
TikTok had another massively successful month on mobile in April, a Tuesday report by leading app analytics platform Sensor Tower claims.
According to the report, users spent more than $78 million, across both iOS and Android, on TikTok last month. TikTok ranked number one on the App Store’s list of Top Grossing apps for the month, followed by YouTube, and then Tinder. This list does not include games. TikTok’s user spending is up by 10x compared to April last year.
Who says a MacBook-centered setup can't be epic? Photo: Aral Tasher
Front-end web developer Aral Tasher’s MacBook-powered rig is minimal but powerful. With just his laptop, a 49-inch monitor and a Thunderbolt 3 cable, he gets desktop-level performance from his humble MacBook.
To hold his MacBook, the nerve center of the setup, he uses a premium wood mount by Grovemade. This is paired with a custom-built keyboard from KBDfans, and a top-of-the-line MX Master 3 mouse from Logitech.
Tasher is also wired for sound. A pair of KRK studio monitors and LG noise-canceling headphones would make any audiophile jealous.
Soon, it'll be all in the neck and not the ear. Photo: Apple
Apple’s rumored over-the-ear headphones will include sensors to detect if they have been removed from the owner’s head or neck to stop or start audio, according to a Monday report from 9to5Mac. The headphones apparently will offer customizable equalizer settings as well.
HyperDrive Duo connects a MacBook to a 4K display, iPhone, memory cards and more.. all at once. Photo: Sanho
The redesigned Sanho HyperDrive Duo 7 hub, which launched Monday, attaches more securely to the side of the MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. The second-generation clip-on adds 60Hz, 4K video support through its HDMI port.
A familiar sight on mobile, desktop and laptop devices, advertisements disguised as surveys will soon be on YouTube via your Apple TV.
With viewership surging, YouTube says it soon will add on-screen advertising surveys to its Apple TV apps, including its YouTube TV subscription service.
You can now open two Word documents side-by-side with Microsoft Office for iPad. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Almost a year ago, Microsoft promised to add Split View to its Office for iPad suite of applications. The feature is available now, at long last. This allows users to work with two Word or Powerpoint documents side-by-side.
Cook's 2020 commencement speech was to Ohio State grads, only virtually. Photo: Apple
Apple CEO Tim Cook will be part of a special podcast highlighting various college commencement speeches across the United States, featuring his virtual address last week to graduating students at Ohio State University. The speech will also be broadcast on some 850 road stations as part of commencement excerpts.