The iPad got developers excited from day one! Photo: Apple
June 30, 2011: A little more than a year after the iPad goes on sale, the number of iPad-exclusive apps in the App Store passes 100,000.
The milestone caps a brilliant first year for Apple’s long-awaited tablet. And the amazing breadth of iPad-only apps proves the device is much more than just a bigger iPhone.
iPhone Pro concept kills the notch by placing the necessary components under the display. Photo: Jermaine Smit/Concept Creator
The many iPhone 11 rumors reveal a device with only a few changes, and one of those is a relatively giant camera hump. A graphic designer created a video for a concept device that takes this device forward in a way that people will probably prefer.
The "fiddle factor" is the tactile magic of Apple design. Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
What will Apple miss most as design chief Jony Ive spacewalks out of the spaceship campus? We think it’s the “fiddle factor” he injected into all his best Apple design.
Find out all about this tactile innovation in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iOS. We’ve got the lowdown on Ive’s exit — and the elusive “>Evans Hankey, the woman who will lead Apple’s famous Industrial Design studio going forward.
If you prefer to read in a browser, you can find links to the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos below.
As a design student back in the 1980s, a teenage Jony Ive spent a semester with a design agency in London, the Roberts Weaver Group. One of his first projects was designing a new pen for Japan’s Zebra Co. Ltd., a pen-maker based in Tokyo.
Ive’s TX2 pen was made of white plastic — the beginning of a life-long obsession with the color — and had a pair of rubbery side panels for a better grip. But what set the pen apart from every other was a nonessential feature — a ball-and-clip mechanism on the top that served no purpose other than to give the owner something to fiddle with.
Ive noticed that people fiddled with their pens all the time. So he decided to give his pen something he called the “fiddle factor.” This crucial insight ultimately became an essential element of Apple design as Ive rose to become Cupertino’s chief design officer.
Apple News+ revenues fail to impress publishers. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple is already having to consider some major changes to its new Apple News+ service just three months after it launched earlier this year.
The subscription news service was supposed to be a boon for publishers and bring in a ton of extra cash, but a new report claims most publishers are only seeing a fraction of the revenue Apple promised.
iFixit turned its teardown pics into cases. Photo: iFixit
iFixit has been helping iPhone owners fix their busted devices for over a decade. Now the company is ready to help you from breaking your iPhone in the first place with a new line of cheap iPhone cases that also give your device an X-ray look.
The Mophie Juice Pack Air is a protective case that also keeps an iPhone’s battery topped off. Photo: Mophie
Mophie is out with a fresh variation on its battery cases for the iPhone XR and XS series. Unlike an earlier option from this company, the Juice Pack Air and the iPhone inside it share a single Lightning port for recharging. Wireless charging is available, too.
In an unusual move, this accessory is an Amazon exclusive in the run up to Prime Day.
Like Tetris 99, but for your phone. Photo: The Tetris Company
The Tetris Company is bringing a brand new Tetris game to mobile, and it’ll be unlike any Tetris game you’ve played on iOS or Android before.
Tetris Royale fuses the beloved falling block franchise with the incredibly popular battle royale genre. Fans have already gotten a taste of what to expect with Tetris 99 on Nintendo Switch, and soon everyone else can enjoy it.
But is it just coronavirus? Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
There’s never been a better time to upgrade to the latest iPad Pro, with Amazon currently offering big discounts of up to $249 off all models. And you can make yours even more affordable by selling your old iPad today.
Cult of Macoffers real cash for your old Apple devices, and we typically pay more than anyone else. What’s more, the process is incredibly quick and simple, and we will even buy back battered tech in need of repair.
The only Apple device that is produced in the U.S. is about to have its manufacturing operations moved overseas.
Apple reportedly plans to make its expensive new Mac Pro in China according to a new report that claims an assembly partner has already been lined up. The previous “trash can” Mac Pro was made at an Apple facility in Austin, Texas where the company also has a software engineering hub.
Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a memo to all Apple employees Thursday informing them that long-time Chief Design Officer Jony Ive is leaving the company.
Instead of talking about the giant hole Ive will leave behind, Cook spun the Apple design guru’s exit as an “important evolution” for the company. He also talked about how great it will be for everyone as Ive pursues his passions as head of his new design firm, LoveFrom.
Encryption could be the next big conflict between Apple and the White House. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has banged heads with the Trump administration before, but its biggest clash could be yet to come.
According to a new report, senior White House officials met this week to discuss banning end-to-end encryption. This would affect a number of tech companies — including Apple, which has long touted its focus on user privacy.
The Galaxy Note 10 is expected to arrive in August. Photo: TechTalk TV
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 10 — the company’s latest answer to the iPhone XS Max — just leaked out ahead of its official unveiling in August.
New photos reveal the flagship version of the phablet in the wild for the first time. It sports a giant, edge-to-edge display, as expected. But it’s not just a larger version of the Galaxy S10.
This week on The CultCast: We knew it was coming, but now it’s official. Jony Ive is leaving Apple. Plus: The 16-inch MacBook Pro could arrive sooner than you think; Apple just poached one of the world’s premiere ARM CPU architects; and we’ll tell you about the huge Apple scam going around that you need to watch out for!
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Apple makes it easy to monitor how much we use our devices. Photo: Apple
Apple is proud of its Screen Time feature for iOS, and it shows it off in a new ad.
Part of an ongoing series of ads highlighting different iOS features, the short spot is designed to make users aware of something they can do on their iPhones they may not know about.
Apple's new store isn't going to suffer from a lack of footfall. Photo: Apple
Apple is gearing up to open its second retail store in Singapore. The new store will be located at Jewel Changi Airport, the entertainment and retail complex adjoining Changi Airport.
Located in one of Asia’s largest transport hubs, Apple Jewel Changi Airport isn’t exactly going to suffer for lack of traffic.
Ive only visits Apple's campus a couple of times a week. Photo: BBC
News of Jony Ive’s departure from Apple may have come as a shock to some, but to many others, it has been a long time coming. A new report claims Ive has been slowly reducing his responsibilities since the launch of Apple Watch.
Sources close to Apple have revealed that Ive has been visiting the company’s new headquarters as little as twice a week. “This has been a long time in the making,” one said.
One of Apple's more stylish recent ads. Photo: Apple
Apple has debuted a slick, black-and-white ad showcasing its massively popular AirPods.
Titled “Bounce,” the ad shows an AirPods wearer springing through the streets. It’s intended to show off the unencumbered, wireless freedom of the iconic earbuds. (Including the new AirPods’ wireless charging capabilities.) And you know what? It’s pretty darn great.
Jony Ive designed many of Apple's most iconic products. Photo: Vanity Fair/YouTube
With the exception of Tim Cook, Jony Ive is almost certainly the most famous person associated with the modern era of Apple.
As the iconic Brit designer known to millions for waxing lyrical in front of a white backdrop on Apple keynotes (and, you know, designing a whole bunch of insanely great products), he’s an Apple icon.
So what kind of impact did his newly announced departure have on Apple’s stock price? Maybe not as much as you might think.
AirPower is one of Jony Ive’s most notable recent failures. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
While Jony Ive’s departure from Apple is being called “the end of an era,” not everyone is sad to see him go. This company’s Chief Design Officer has legions of fans but he also has detractors who blame Ive for repetitive designs, flawed keyboards and more.
LoveFrom, the name of Jony Ive's new design studio, is inspired by a Steve Jobs ideal. Photo: Allie Osmar Siarto/Flickr CC
News that Jony Ive is leaving Apple to start his own design company is rocking the tech world this afternoon. Apple has already signed up to be the first client for Ive’s design firm called LoveFrom.
In a new interview discussing his departure from Apple, Ive explained how Apple co-founder Steve Jobs helped inspire the name for his new company.
Evans Hankey just took on a huge role that will help shape the company for years to come. Photo: Apple
Jony Ive’s departure from Apple puts Evans Hankey in charge of the Industrial Design team that created everything from the iMac to the iPhone — a position critical to the future of the company. Her new title is VP of Industrial Design,
Jony Ive’s role was so large that that two people will be needed to replace him. Alan Dye will be VP of Human Interface Design, so he’ll be leading the software group.
Sabih Khan has worked at Apple for 24 years. Photo: Apple
Apple’s top leadership teams are seeing quite the shake-up today. First, we got news that design boss Jony Ive departing with two new people filling his shoes. Now it looks like Apple has a new senior VP of operations too.
Apple’s long-time design boss Jony Ive revealed today that he is leaving the company.
After helping create some of the most iconic consumer products of all time for Apple, Ive says he is going to strike out on his own to create a new creative business called LoveFrom.