This desk gives Van Der Post plenty of room to work with. Photo: Brice Van Der Post
A MacBook Pro runs this triathlete’s setup. Brice Van Der Post is always on the go so it makes sense that he uses a laptop to power his rig, instead of being chained down by a desktop.
The highlight of this desk might actually be the desk itself. Since Van Der Post works for a furniture company, his factory custom-built the desk for him. The 70×30-inch unfinished teak top gives him ample space for his work. It is also a great canvas for all of the tech on it.
He has a 34-inch LG UltraWide Curved Monitor, which continues to make frequent appearances in our ‘Setups’ series, and a Logitech MX Master 2S, which is a multitasker’s dream mouse.
Van Der Post also has a pair of KRK studio monitors for audio, while a M-Audio AIR Hub take the speakers to the next level.
Apple’s latest acquisition aims to give Siri better data to work with. Photo: Apple
Apple purchased Inductiv, a Canadian company that focused on using artificial intelligence to clean up data. They created HoloClean, which was designed to get useful predictions from “noisy, incomplete, and erroneous data.”
The employees of Inductiv joined the team developing Siri, Apple’s voice-driven AI assistant, according to Bloomberg.
"Human Kind" by Tristan Eaton would make a great wallpaper for your iPhone.
Today was supposed to be the day that NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX sent a manned mission to the International Space Station — the first launch from American soil in nine years, and the first manned rocket launch by a private company.
Instead, due to bad weather, the launch was scrubbed and rescheduled for Saturday afternoon. If it goes off as planned, some striking artwork by Tristan Eaton will accompany astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley into space.
The pieces Eaton made are called “Human Kind” and we are highlighting them for Wallpaper Wednesday.
Widgets might be coming to iPhone, and they’re demonstrated in this iOS 14 concept.
iOS 14 will supposedly include Home screen widgets, and a concept artist dreamed up a design. His short video is sure to excite anyone who’s ready for their iPhone’s main screen to become more dynamic and informative.
This game is determined to be the very best. Like no game ever was. Photo: Niantic
Pokémon Go‘s Buddy feature gives you a, well, Poké buddy to go on adventures with, much like Pikachu was to Ash in the animated series.
Now, thanks to a new feature called Reality Blending, the experience is going to get even better — and a lot more glitch-free. If you haven’t seen it, check out the (weirdly tear-jerking) ad for the Buddy Adventure feature below, as well as details about how it’s been improved.
YouTube Kids is no longer limited to tablets and smartphones. Photo: YouTube
The YouTube Kids app, a special child-friendly version of the YouTube app with additional parental controls, has landed on Apple TV.
The app was launched on iOS and Android in early 2015. However, while users could previously use AirPlay to stream content from their iPhone or iPad to Apple TV, this is the first time YouTube has created a native Apple TV app for the service.
HBO Max has one of the deepest content archives of any streaming service yet. Photo: WarnerMedia
HBO Max, the streaming platform that bundles together new and existing HBO content with a massive WarnerMedia library of TV shows and movies, has officially launched in the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
The service launches with some 10,000 hours of programming, making this a serious contender to the likes of Netflix and Disney+ from day one. It costs $15 per month (covered by your existing subscription if you’re already an HBO subscribers), although a special offer makes it just $12 a month for the initial year.
Samsung could profit big from the iPhone 12, too. Image: ConceptsiPhone
Samsung will once again play a big role in making the next-gen iPhone as it has secured the majority of orders for the OLED displays for the iPhone 12, claims a report published Wednesday.
The iPhone 12 series of phones is expected to be Apple’s biggest upgrade in several years — featuring a new chassis design, OLED screens in every model, and Apple’s first 5G compatibility. And Samsung, Apple’s long-time frenemy, will seemingly get a big, lucrative piece of the pie.
Apple will air original show, alongside producing new episodes. Photo: HBO/Jim Henson Company
Apple TV+ will be seriously upping its quotient of Fraggle Rock content, the Jim Henson kids’ puppet show which debuted in the 1980s.
Apple has acquired the streaming rights to all 96 episodes of the original show, which ran on HBO from 1983 through 1987, alongside specials. These will debut on Wednesday, May 27, and will be the first time that Apple TV+ has aired rerun content previously shown elsewhere.
Notifications that Handouts are due soon are part of Apple Schoolwork 2.0. Photo: Apple
A major update debuted Monday for Apple’s free Schoolwork app, which helps students and teachers collaborate on school assignments. Version 2.0 not only got an new tab-based design, there are numerous enhancements to make the Handouts feature more useful.
Apple also updated its companion Classroom app, though only modestly.
Busy medical student Zach Hicks spent years developing this mouth-watering, Mac mini-powered setup. His main screen is actually a 43-inch smart TV, which gives him a bunch of screen real estate so he can open up a lot of PowerPoint presentations at once.
To accompany these big screens, he uses an Apple Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse. A HomePod pumps out the audio, while two Philips Hue Bloom lamps illuminate everything. And, if you are wondering about the Apple boxes above his desk, they serve as a visual reminder of his journey to build this dream setup.
A new Battery Health Management feature should extend the time before you think about replacing your MacBook Air. Photo: iFixit
Beta testing is over, and Apple released macOS Catalina 10.15.5 to the general public today. It includes a new Battery Health Management feature intended to reduce wear and extend the useful life of MacBook batteries.
Apple said Tuesday it intends to open its retail locations in 21 U.S. states. But some stores will reportedly only offer curbside service, with customers not allowed to go in. The dates these Apple Stores would reopen were not announced.
Virtually all of Apple’s storefronts have been closed since March to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Apple Pro Display XDR was lauded for advancing the state of the art in display technology. Photo: Apple
The Society for Information Display on Tuesday named Apple’s Pro Display XDR one of its 2020 Displays of the Year, among the industry’s highest honors.
This top-tier display debuted in December alongside the latest Mac Pro. It sports a 32-inch Retina 6K screen, with 10-bit color and a super-wide viewing angle.
Apple looks to be gearing up to port iPad’s built-in Messages app over to Mac. The move could immediately fix Messages’ biggest problems on Mac, including its glaring lack of features.
The desktop version of the app still does not support iMessage apps, Apple Pay, message effects and other key features. Evidence of the move has been uncovered in leaked iOS 14 code, indicating it could be executed this fall when Apple drops its next major macOS update.
Picture this guy investing in Apple. Stranger things have happened! Photo: Fulvio Obregon
The Gates Foundation, the charitable organization belonging to Bill and Melinda Gates, snapped up more than half a million Apple shares during the first three months of 2020, a new report claims.
Future AirPods won't just play music. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Future AirPods could boast ambient light sensors that track users’ heart rate, head movements and steps taken, Digitimes claimed Monday.
The report says the new health-tracking tech might find its way into Apple’s AirPods in the “coming 1-2” years. The feature reportedly will enable the ultra-popular wireless earbuds to track various activities and potentially monitor certain health conditions.
Unlike most, Huawei had a great first three months of the year. Photo: Huawei
The iPad no longer rules the tablet roost in China, the country Tim Cook previously claimed is Apple’s future biggest market. According to a Tuesday report from the South China Morning Post, Huawei has overtaken Apple to be the No. 1 tablet maker in China for the first quarter of 2020.
China’s tablet shipments fell a massive 30% in the first three months of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, while most manufacturers (including Apple) shipped fewer units for the quarter, Huawei actually grew 4.3% year on year. In doing so, it claimed 40.2% of the market, next to Apple’s 31.5%.
The iPad is more of a real computer every day. Photo: Apple
Is the iPad Pro good enough to double as a serious desktop computer? If you ask Steven Sinofsky, former president of the Windows division at Microsoft, the answer is a resounding “yes.”
In a recent tweet, Sinofsky shared a photo of the setup for his “new desktop PC.” And, for a guy who made his name working for one of Apple’s long-time biggest competitors, it’s pretty darn Apple-centric.
Apple ditched Lightning for USC-B on the iPad Pro in 2018, but you shouldn’t expect a similar move for this year’s iPhone 12 refresh, according to an Apple leaker.
A Monday tweet by Fudge, aka @choco_bit, suggests that the iPhone 12 will come with a Lightning port. The reliable tipster says Apple will continue to use the proprietary Lightning until the iPhone goes all-in on wireless charging.
Apple's most recent store opened in Tokyo in September. Photo: Apple
Apple will start reopening Apple Stores in Japan this week, following on from reopening in Australia, Germany, Austria, South Korea, Switzerland, and select stores in the United States and Italy.
Like all other non-China markets, Apple’s Japan retail stores have been closed since the middle of March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Here's how Apple's COVID-19 contact-tracing system works. Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
When Apple released iOS 13.5 this week, it paved the way for privacy-focused contact-tracing apps to fight COVID-19. However, these apps don’t yet exist. And, despite some panicked reports online, your iPhone isn’t going to start snooping on you as soon as you upgrade your operating system.
Elsewhere in the free iOS mag, you’ll get the scoop on our podcast interview with Jon Prosser, the Apple leaker who’s making headlines. Plus, the usual Apple news, reviews and how-tos. Download it now and get to reading, or get the stories in the links below.