Adding an extra camera lens and LiDAR to the 2020 iPad Pro changed the design enough that virtually all keyboard cases designed for its predecessor can’t be used with the new model. And Apple’s own Magic Keyboard won‘t debut for months.
Still, there are already a couple of keyboard cases available for people expecting a new iPad Pro to arrive this week.
This week we stay in touch with Slack, show appreciation with Props Love, download YouTube with ViDL, and more.
As COVID-19 continues to impact businesses big and small across America, Best Buy announced Saturday it is closing all of its 997 North America locations temporarily except for curbside pickup services. Best Buy is one of the nation’s largest independent retailers of Apple products.
The Fortune 100 company with 125,000 employees has not offered a timeline for how long the new policy will last.
Netflix is stepping up to help people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by creating a $100 million fund that will go to support production and other workers in the industry.
The moves comes after production on nearly all major TV shows and movies has come to a grinding halt as more states and cities in act stay-at-home mandates.
Apple enhanced its Siri voice assistant Saturday with a step-by-step query instructing users on determining if they have been exposed to COVID-19, the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
The instructions are based on specific instructions from the U.S. Public Health Service, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A major new feature in this fall’s iPhone 12 is rumored to be a LiDAR scanner. A concept artist created a series of images showing what this change might look like.
This scanner would enable the next high-end iPhone models to create an accurate 3D map of their location, greatly improving augmented reality applications.
With U.S. cinema chains like AMC, Cinemark, Landmark, Alamo Drafthouse and Cineplex Odeon closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Walt Disney Company moved up the online release of Pixar animated film Onward two weeks.
Apple has pledged to donate two million industrial respiratory masks to help health-care workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and Europe, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence revealed during Saturday’s White House press briefing.
Pence called on other companies to step up and follow suit with more physical donations. Pence was optimistic about the supply of masks and said clothing-maker Hanesbrands is retrofitting some of its factories to make masks.
Repaired devices that customers couldn’t pick up before Apple Stores closed will remain piled up for some time due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Many Mac and iPhone owners now find themselves between a rock and a hard place, according to various reports and social media posts.
From a hardware perspective, the new iPad Pro seems unassailable. The new Magic Keyboard with trackpad looks amazing. And iPadOS 13.4 feels like a game-changing upgrade.
It’s true: The iPad Pro is really having a moment right now. One could even argue that Apple’s tablet is better than a Mac at this point.
Find out what makes that practically blasphemous statement true in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now and read it on your iPad or iPhone. Or get the links below for our blowout coverage of the new iPad Pro. You’ll also find the rest of the week’s top Apple news, reviews and how-tos.
Following a request to streaming services to switch from high definition to standard in an effort to reduce the strain on the internet, indications were Friday that Apple has followed suit of other major services and slowed down its Apple TV+ streaming service.
Cult of Mac has confirmed through two Apple TV users – one in Great Britain and one in southern France – that the quality of content on Apple TV+ has been lowered. Subscribers described the differences as primarily fast-moving content that is slower to refresh, heavily compressed and more pixelated.
Worldwide smartphone shipments took a much-anticipated nosedive in the month of February as the COVID-19 outbreak began to spread around the globe.
Strategy Analytics reported Friday a 38% drop in shipments, the worst ever since smartphone sales began more than a decade ago.
Spyder brings a new perspective on the spy thriller. Today’s addition to the Apple Arcade subscription service features a tiny robot spider on a mission to save the great big world.
This itsy-bitsy superspy must use his gadgets to sabotage the nefarious plans of villians, requiring players see everything from a new perspective.
Apple is making it easier for Podcasts users to discover new shows focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The app’s new “Coronavirus: Stay Informed” section highlights content from the likes of CNN, NPR, BBC and ABC News.
The MacBook Air unveiled this week offers performance up to 73% faster than the version of this Mac laptop released in 2018, according to benchmark tests done by a reviewer.
The speed boost comes from the new model‘s 10th-generation Intel Core processor. Its predecessor has a slower, 8th-gen chip.
Gary Waterfield should be collaborating with colleagues today over the hum of sewing machines producing an elegant leather crossbody laptop bag.
The small-batch tech backpacks and shoulder bags of WaterField Designs since 1998 have attracted discerning Apple users. Waterfield likes to time a new production run with an Apple product launch.
But when Apple unveiled the new MacBook Air and iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard this week, the handful of WaterField employees were stuck in their San Francisco-area homes on one of the strictest lockdowns since the coronavirus invaded American soil.
A new MacBook Air or iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard deserves protection that smells good.
Hear the name WaterField Designs and the part of the brain connected to the nose instantly recalls the rich scent of full grain leather.
One day after Apple announced its two newest products, the small-batch San Francisco manufacturer unveiled the Hitch Crossbody Laptop Brief, in two sizes with two padded compartments for both an iPad and MacBook.
Using Apple’s CarPlay platform in its current state is worse for drivers’ reaction times than being high on weed, at the drink-drive legal limit, or texting behind the wheel, a new study claims.
IAM RoadSmart, the biggest road U.K. safety charity, analyzed the impact of various in-car distractions. While CarPlay may make the experience of using your car’s infotainment system more enjoyable, the group’s research concludes that it certainly won’t make you a better driver.
“The fundamental issue of these systems [is that they require] you to take your eyes off the road ahead,” Neil Greig, policy and research director for IAM RoadSmart, told Cult of Mac. However, Greig said steps could be taken to make systems like CarPlay safer.
The 2020 iPad Pro is less than 1% faster than the previous model, according to a popular benchmarking test. The numbers appear to be the result of the new model not using Apple’s latest-generation processor.
The new tablet does offer improved graphics capabilities, however.
Apple is doing its part to help positive messaging regarding the coronavirus pandemic by sharing a White House video emphasizing the importance of social distancing.
The public service announcement features three core members of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force. It’s visible in the video carousel on Apple Music and iTunes. You do not need an active Apple Music subscription to view it.
YouTube and Amazon Prime Video confirmed Friday they will will start throttling video quality in Europe in an effort to reduce the strain on network infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The temporary measure will see all YouTube videos displayed in standard definition by default, though, it is still be possible for viewers to select a higher resolution.
Apple’s supply chain is still weathering the effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, a report published late Thursday by Bloomberg makes clear.
Even though China has seemingly overcome the worst of the coronavirus spread, Apple products are continuing the suffer the impacts. That is likely to manifest itself in the form of delays for new products and fresh batches of existing ones.
This week on The CultCast: Our reactions to Apple’s new hardware! Plus, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about Apple’s new Mac mini, MacBook Air, iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard.
Out thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast, and use offer code CultCast at checkout for 10% off your first purchase.
Apple is planning another iPad Pro refresh for 2020 that will introduce its first Mini LED display, according to a new report. The technology could pave the way for thinner devices, but it may be exclusive to 12.9-inch models initially.
Apple’s most recent iPad Pro refresh, unveiled on Wednesday, is expected to boost shipments by as much as 40% in the meantime.
Struggling for ways to entertain your kids with schools out and social distancing in play? Streaming audiobook company Audible has your back.
Audible is offering free audiobook stories for kids to “help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids.” (And, hopefully one day, Audible subscribers.)