Apple introduced audio sharing to Beats Studio Pro over-ear headphones in a firmware update Tuesday, a feature already known to AirPods Max and AirPods users. So once your Beats Studio Pro update over the air to firmware version 2C301, up from version 2B68 installed at launch, you can easily share what you listen to with family and friends via a connected iPhone or iPad.
In the battle of 5K resolution displays, it’s Studio Display against a small-but-growing army of foes (at least for Mac fans). Today’s M1 MacBook Pro user looks to replace a 1440K gaming display with either a Samsung ViewFinity S9 curved 5K monitor or with Apple’s well-liked but somewhat-pricey Studio Display. The advice she got leaned heavily toward Apple.
The CEO of Sonos threw cold water on hopes that the speaker-maker would replace its much-maligned new application with the previous version. Turns out that would make the problem worse.
Sonos users will instead have to wait for the new app to be improved — a process the company promises it’s working on as quickly as it can.
Apple is now giving customers an additional 15 days to renew AppleCare+ coverage for their Apple devices after the plan initially expires. The company silently increased the timeframe from 30 days to 45 days.
However, the change only applies to selected EU countries, the US, the UK, and select other markets.
Beware, Apple leakers: The hoaxer who created a fake Apple invite for the iPhone 16 event says he’ll probably try to pull off a similar prank in the future. Lorenzo, a 14-year-old video editor from Italy, says he created the bogus invite in about 10 minutes out of boredom when he was sick. Then he sent the image to a known leaker — and watched as the fake document whipped up a frenzy in the Apple rumor mill.
“I feel like leaks can be boring sometimes so I want to spice it up,” he told Cult of Mac in a direct message. “Maybe by putting more effort into making a good concept next time.”
A supposedly leaked Apple invite for the iPhone 16 event looks like a well-executed hoax. The date, the event title and even the fake invite’s color palette seemed to confirm previous leaks about Apple’s upcoming iPhone lineup. However, a video editor who goes by Lore claims he created the invite as a prank.
“Fun fact: i made the ‘leaked’ Apple Event invite in less than 10 minutes using figma and an Ai generated texture and i sent it to the leaker just because i was bored,” Lore wrote Tuesday on X.
In a message to Cult of Mac, Lore confirmed that he created the bogus invite mainly because he was “sick and had nothing to do.” Read Cult of Mac’s interview with the 14-year-old Italian video editor who fooled the internet with his fake iPhone 16 invite.
xMEMS Labs, creators of all-silicon micro speakers for earbuds and headphones, plan to roll out the xMEMS XMC-2400 µCooling chip, the company said Tuesday. It noted the 1mm xMEMS fan on a chip is the first all-silicon, active micro-cooling fan for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.
“Our revolutionary µCooling ‘fan-on-a-chip’ design comes at a critical time in mobile computing,” said Joseph Jiang, xMEMS CEO and co-founder. “Thermal management in ultra-mobile devices, which are beginning to run even more processor-intensive AI applications, is a massive challenge for manufacturers and consumers. Until XMC-2400, there’s been no active-cooling solution because the devices are so small and thin.”
The company declined to comment on whether it’s in talks with Apple as a client or partner with the new innovation. See our Q&A with xMEMS Labs below.
Apple will reportedly manufacture the iPhone 16 Pro within weeks of its global launch at its manufacturing facilities in India. This will give the company’s manufacturing efforts a major push in the country.
So far, the Cupertino giant has only manufactured non-Pro iPhones in India.
Apple released watchOS 10.6.1 and tvOS 17.6.1 on Monday, a pair of “bug fix” patches for Apple Watch and Apple TV that offer no new features.
New versions of iOS 17.6.1 and iPadOS 17.6.1 from two weeks ago went out at the same time, but don’t appear to be available for most models.
As an alternative to using the Apple Podcasts app, as of Monday anyone can browse, hear, sync and share Apple Podcasts in 170 countries on all major web browsers, including Safari, Chrome, Edge and Firefox.
So now Apple Podcasts joins the likes of Podbay and Podurama in offering its own online player for anyone on any platform.
To celebrate the U.S. National Park Service hitting its 108th birthday, Apple will donate $10 for purchases made in its retail stores or online store this week to the National Park Foundation.
This has become an annual tradition for the iPhone-maker.
To the delight of their many fans like me, the Garvey women of Ireland will return soon in Bad Sisters season two, Apple TV+ said Monday. The streamer offered a “first look” photograph along with scant plot details. The darkly comedic drama’s creator and star, Sharon Horgan, returns with her close-knit fictional siblings on November 13.
But with one abusive husband down in season one of Bad Sisters, what new nemesis will emerge in the sophomore season? From the sound of it, two years after they took care of that problem in white-knuckle fashion, it could be them against everybody. Because they’re not in the clear yet.
The dual-camera system in the two basic iPhone models is an unnecessary complication. The iPhone’s secondary Ultra Wide camera simply doesn’t get used enough to justify building it into a handset.
Apple should focus entirely on the primary camera — the only one most people ever use. The iPhone’s Ultra Wide camera just adds unnecessary bulk and expense.
As the seasonal ads on TVs everywhere ask, are you ready for some football? The Apple Sports app certainly is, having launched full support Monday for real-time scores and stats for the onrushing NFL and college football seasons. They kick off with pro preseason play now underway and the first college games starting August 24.
Apple’s latest promo will get new Apple Card users up to $300 in bonus Daily Cash. The company never before gave new Apple Card users such a high welcome bonus.
Apple is running this offer for select U.S. customers. To be eligible for the cashback, you must sign up for the card through the promo link.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Who cranked up production in the Apple rumor mill? We talk through the latest ones on this week’s show, and some of them sound pretty wild. Fresh details about the iPhone 16 Pro’s new camera button make it sound very cool. A rumored bigger iMac sounds very exciting. And an Apple skunkworks project — a $1,000-plus device that puts an iPad on a rotating robotic arm — sounds absolutely bizarre.
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
A new buddy action comedy starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck is more popular than any film on streaming, according to a rating analysis firm. And The Instigators is more popular than any streaming series, too.
Meanwhile, three Apple TV+ series pull in plenty of viewers too, including the newly launched Bad Monkey.
After receiving an ominous note from an Apple attorney, concept artist Antonio De Rosa is waiting to find out how, exactly, the company wants him to alter his photorealistic images that depict unreleased Apple products.
De Rosa said he wants to work with Apple to resolve the situation. But when asked what he thinks will happen if he doesn’t make changes to his Apple concept images, he sounded slightly intimidated by the powerful tech company.
“I don’t know,” De Rosa said in an email to Cult of Mac, “but honestly I don’t want to find out.”
Apple TV+ committed on Friday to Dark Matter season two so fans of the popular sci-fi series won’t be left wondering what will happen with Ryan and Amanda.
The show now heads into uncharted territory — season one followed the events of a bestselling novel, but there’s no sequel for the book.
When we first saw a Harmon Karmon SoundSticks speaker system many years ago, we thought it looked weird, cool and futuristic. And all these years later, it still looks like nothing else on the market. The company is justifiably proud of the “inspiring industrial design,” and the Apple administrator who runs today’s M2 MacBook Pro setup is happy to have the speaker system filling his room with sound.
Among the casing color options for the two iPhone 16 Pro models will supposedly be bronze titanium. The first image apparently showing this colorway leaked Friday.
The picture reveals the other three upcoming color options, too.
From the “he must be doing something right” department: An Apple attorney sent a note and called designer Antonio De Rosa this week, asking him to adjust some of his design concepts for possible new Apple products because they look “too real,” according to De Rosa, CEO of ADR Studio.
“I received a call from an Apple attorney asking me to adjust some of my concepts because they were considered too realistic,” De Rosa wrote Wednesday on X. He told Cult of Mac it came as quite a shock.
Update: De Rosa responded to Cult of Mac‘s initial inquiries and we included them below.
The Epic Games Store launched Friday, allowing iPhone users to install the popular Fortnite for the first time since Apple kicked Epic out of the official App Store in 2020.
But there’s an important caveat: the new iOS app marketplace is available only in the European Union.
California residents will soon gain the ability to add their driver’s licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet, Apple said Thursday. The feature will let users present their identification using just an iPhone or Apple Watch rather than using a physical card. California drivers licenses in Apple Wallet is a big step forward for the program, given that the Golden State is the country’s most populous, with nearly 40 million residents.
“We’re excited to be working with the state of California to bring IDs in Apple Wallet to Apple’s home state soon, and provide residents with an easy, secure, and private way to present their California driver’s license and state ID in person and in app using Apple Wallet,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
“Whether using IDs in Apple Wallet to breeze through travel, or to securely verify age or identity at businesses, California driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet make ID presentment seamless — all with the security built into iPhone and Apple Watch,” she added.
The new Beats Studio Pro x Kim Kardashian over-ear headphones came out Thursday in moon, dune and earth colors, broadening the noise-canceling cans’ color palette with some neutral Kardashian hues a la her previous Beats Fit Pro earbuds release. But the over-ear cans in new colors cost full price, at $350, whereas it’s not difficult these days to find the four regular colors on sale for about $180.
“I’m so excited we’re bringing these three popular, chic colors to Beats’ most iconic and advanced headphones,” Kardashian said in press materials. “Beats Studio has always been a fashion statement, so I can’t wait to see how everyone styles them.”