If you’re not ready to chance running the latest iOS 13 beta on your daily driver, let Cult of Mac take the risk for you. We found some great new features in iOS 13 beta 2 — along with some neat fixes and plenty of rough edges.
Find out what we liked (and what we didn’t) in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iOS. Or hit the links for the usual roundup of top Apple news, reviews and how-tos.
The dutiful iPad has found itself in the middle of the United Kingdom’s bitter divide over leaving the European Union.
A freshly sworn-in member of European Parliament cried foul over being issued an iPad, implying to followers on Twitter the device was nothing more than a pricey perk.
But her grandstanding backfired when critics informed her that the iPad is a cost-saving tool for her to do her job.
Apple discontinued the AirPort line of wireless routers last year but continues to support them, including efforts to keep out hackers. The US government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a statement urging users of networking equipment to install a new firmware patch to block attacks.
Google won’t make any more tablets, and dropped plans to introduce two models it was prepping for release.
No reason was given, but heavy competition from Apple’s iPad line had to have been a factor.
Apple Watch has proven to be a lifesaver many times over for its owners but now it’s also being used to help save people that don’t even own one.
A physician in San Diego recently shared how he used the ECG on his Apple Watch Series 4 to detect atrial fibrillation in someone while chilling at a restaurant. And it probably saved the person’s life.
Weak iPhone sales over the last two years could cause Apple to bring OLED displays to the iPad or MacBooks a bit earlier than expect.
Apple owes Samsung Display hundreds of millions of dollars because it agreed to purchase a certain amount of OLED displays per year. With iPhone sales in a slump, Apple hasn’t bought as many OLEDs as it promised but the two sides are reportedly discussing alternative solutions other than sending a giant pile of cash to Samsung.
It’s the International Day of Yoga, and Apple created a yoga Activity Challenge to urge Apple Watch wearers to participate.
The reward is three stickers to be that can be used in Messages and FaceTime. Also, you’ll be more flexible from doing yoga.
A Florida appeals court has sided with a criminal defendant who refused to turn over his iPhone passcode to the cops.
The 1st District Court of Appeal was responding to a 2018 robbery case in Alachua County. Previous courts had come to conflicting decisions about whether the defendant must reveal how to unlock his devices.
Terry Gou, departing founder of Apple’s biggest supplier Foxconn, has urged Apple to move manufacturing out of China. Gou suggests that Apple select neighboring country Taiwan as a location.
This would allow Apple to avoid any tariffs that come from the United States’ burgeoning trade war with China.
This week on The CultCast: New iPhone rumors point to some big changes coming in 2020. Plus: Leander gives his take on the new betas; two long-awaited features are finally coming to tvOS; and scientists say iPhone is making teenagers too … horny.
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AT&T has beaten out its rival networks to claim the title of fastest LTE carrier in the United States.
That’s according to a new rundown of mobile networks by PCMag. The publication issues its report every year, with Verizon and AT&T typically battling back and forth for first place. This year was AT&T’s turn — marking the first time in six years that it’s managed to overthrow Verizon.
Foxconn, Apple’s oldest and largest supplier, has announced its new boss. Young Liu will step into the role of chairman after billionaire founder Terry Gou announced that he was stepping down.
Gou, who is 68 years old, is planning to run as a candidate in the 2020 presidential election in the Taiwanese elections.
The legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm may be settled. But that hasn’t stopped Qualcomm from bringing up Apple’s name in court.
As part of a hearing to stop the enforcement of an antitrust ruling, Qualcomm used internal Apple documents as evidence. And the U.S. Federal Trade Commission wasn’t too happy about it.
The way iPhone handles incoming calls is probably one of the worst UI elements still around in iOS. Instead of only showing a small alert, the entire screen is taken hostage by a caller. This especially sucks in the age of endless robocalls, yet Apple has shown no motivation to change all of that.
Concept designer Vinoth Ragunathan has come up with a clever solution that fixes all that and it doesn’t even require much work on Apple’s part. All you would have to do is swipe up to dismiss the screen.
The new Mac Pro sure looks a lot like a cheese grater, but it turns out that it’s pretty bad at grating cheese.
YouTuber machinist Winston Moy painstakingly re-created the complex circular structure of the new Mac Pro grille using his Shapeoko mill to put Jony Ive’s work to the test. The video of the entire process proves quite fascinating. However, the end result kind of disappoints.
Skip to the 5:30 mark to see it in action:
A much-anticipated game set in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World just launched a day early. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has been compared to Pokemon Go, as gameplay revolves around using a phone to find augmented-reality objects scattered around the real world.
Apple warned U.S. trade representatives this week that President Donald Trump’s plan to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods will negatively impact its contributions to the U.S. economy.
In a letter written to U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, Apple urged the government not to impose tariffs. The new set of tariffs would make Apple’s products more expensive and give Apple’s competitors an advantage.
One new feature in the upcoming Kindle Oasis will make a huge difference to many people. The new model adds a Night Shift-style display capable of shifting color to match the warmer light of evening.
Other than that, the new Kindle Oasis is almost exactly the same as the current model. But this great new addition means no more cold blue pages when you’re reading in bed at night.
Doctors have noted a change in the shape of many millennials’ skulls: spikes are growing just above the neck, and researchers into the phenomenon blame it on too much cell phone use.
Apple is now inviting some 15-inch MacBook Pro owners to return their machines for a battery replacement.
The company says some aging units “contain a battery that may overheat and pose a safety risk.” The problem affects machines sold primarily between September 2015 and February 2017.
Apple is asking customers to stop using their MacBook Pro if it is eligible for a free battery replacement.
Tim Cook will receive the “Champion Award” from GLSEN later this as recognition for his ongoing fight for LGBTQ rights.
Cook says he is “grateful” for the honor and insists Apple’s commitment to inclusion helps it do its “best work, each and every day.” This is one of several awards he has earned for his efforts since becoming Apple CEO.
Adobe has brought its professional photo editing software to the Mac App Store.
Lightroom for macOS is available now as a free download, and you can try it for seven days before deciding whether or not you want to cough up for it. This is the full version of Lightroom — just like you would get from Adobe.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives thinks this could be a bad time for Apple to shake up its supply chain by moving iPhone manufacturing out of China.
In a note to clients, Ives singles out the first 5G iPhone and the launch of Apple TV+ as reasons why Apple should seek to minimize stress right now. In other words, Apple execs could do without the “gargantuan” headache that shifting around its supply chain would involve.
UPDATE: See the statement received from Google at the bottom of this story.
You might want to think twice about buying used Nest security cameras.
A new report reveals that secondhand models can allow previous owners to spy on new users — even if they correctly follow Nest’s instructions on resetting the device. There’s currently no fix for the security flaw.
$120,000 of knockoff parts for iPhones and other handsets have been seized by customs officials in Hong Kong. The parts were being used to repair handsets sent in from countries including the United States, U.K. and Australia.
The director and manager of the company were arrested during a raid on the company’s offices in the city of Tuen Mun. The offices were being used as a workshop and warehouse. One hundred phones sent in for repairs were found onsite.