In its quest to create the ultimate streamlined products, Apple sure loves getting rid of ports. When it came to the development of the iPhone X, however, it temporarily toyed with an idea that would have made ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack pale into insignificance.
At least, that’s according to a new report which claims Apple considered getting rid of wired charging completely for its 2017 iPhone, in favor of embracing its vision of a wireless future.
Apple is set to begin using its Apple Maps minivans to collect mapping data in Japan later this year, the company has revealed.
Apple is due to begin carrying out surveys of Tokyo and Urayasu between June and October, marking the eleventh country that Apple has used its vehicles to collect data in. Previously, Apple’s map vehicles have collected data in Croatia, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the U.K., and, of course, the United States.
This week on The CultCast: it’s been over a year since Apple has updated virtually any of their Macs. Just what in the heck in going on? We discuss. Plus: why all your online purchases will soon be taxed; Instagram takes on YouTube with new IGTV app; MoviePass is about to change for the worse, AGAIN; America’s largest theater chain just put the final nails in the MoviePass coffin; and things get weird in an all-new what we’re into!
Our thanks to Linked-In for supporting this episode. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters… go to LinkedIn.com/cultcast and get a $50 credit toward your first job post.
Ever wanted to know would it be like to learn to play a musical instrument from A-list artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Sting, John Fogerty and Fall Out Boy? Want to find out for free?
Thanks to the 10.3 update of Apple’s GarageBand software, you can now do exactly that. And that’s just one of the big updates!
Forget everything you know about how to win in Fortnite Battle Royale.
Epic Games has confirmed that it plans to make huge changes to the game that could completely change the way you play. Master builders will suffer most, while new players will have a greater chance of winning matches.
Victory won’t be so dependent on shotgun skill and building the biggest bases. And that’s okay.
If you buy your products online, you could soon find that they get a bit more expensive — due to a Supreme Court ruling that states can now require internet retailers to collect sales taxes. This decision ends 50 years of legal battles banning states from imposing sales taxes on purchases sold by out-of-state retailers.
“Our state is losing millions for education, health care and infrastructure, and our citizens are harmed by an uneven playing field,” said Marty Jackley, South Dakota’s attorney general, summing up the argument in favor of the decision.
“Coopetition” best describes the relationship between Apple and Qualcomm. Wireless modems made by Qualcomm are used in iPhones even as the two companies are locked in a years-long patent dispute over billions of dollars.
The fight reached a new phase today as Apple challenged four Qualcomm patents, arguing they shouldn’t have been awarded in the first place.
Apple is actively working on a handwriting recognition system. This raises the distinct possibility that you might someday enter text by writing words on your iPhone or iPad screen, rather than tapping out letters on a virtual keyboard.
Some will remember that Apple’s tried something similar before and it didn’t go well.
A Grand Prix in the Cannes Entertainment awards went to “Welcome Home,” a long-form ad for the HomePod created by Spike Jonze. The goal of the “Lions” is to reward education or advertising excellent enough to qualify as art..
Watch the brilliant 5-minute ad below:
Fashion influencer Pia Muehlenbeck wore a red dress chosen by her social media fans for a sunny day in Santa Monica to make her first video for the new IGTV.
Once shooting finished, she posted it on YouTube.
YouTube has seen competitors come and go and none have been able to threaten its standing as the dominant video platform. But it has not faced a media company with the might to seriously cut into its ad revenues or lure away some of its most prominent talent like Instagram.
AT&T wants to stand out in the wireless market by combining streaming TV with unlimited data. Two newly-announced WatchTV options add dozens of TV channels and thousands of on-demand TV shows to the carrier’s unlimited data plans.
This move comes in the wake of the $85B AT&T/Time Warner merger, giving the carrier far greater access to video content that can be streamed to your iPhone or iPad almost anywhere.
Everyone’s attention is on iOS 12, but Apple still has a team working on a “bug fix” update to iOS 11.4. Among the reasons for this is the complaints from numerous iPhone users that this version causes their camera to malfunction in various ways.
This is on top of the battery problems with iOS 11.4 that have been widely reported.
Apple CEO Tim Cook made a quick stop in Ireland this week where he promised the country he’s interested in it for more than its sweet tax rate.
The company’s relationship with Ireland has been rocky the last year. Apple scrapped plans to build a billion-dollar data center and lost its tax deal, but Cook says he’s still as committed to the country as ever.
Apple has ordered yet another series for its original video content programming. This time, the series in question is an English language adaptation of Calls, a highly experimental French short-form series that tells short stories through real-life audio sources and minimal visuals.
Apple will finally deliver its AirPower charger in September after solving “a series of technical hurdles,” according to a new report.
Overheating is one problem company engineers have had to contend with. Another is AirPower’s complex circuitry, which is necessary to allow compatible devices to be placed anywhere on the mat for charging.
Apple supplier TSMC will reportedly invest a massive $25 billion in 5 nanometer node technology in its quest to fabricate next-generation chips which could help power iOS devices.
No timeframe was announced for the investment. Since the company is supposedly currently fabricating 7nm chips for the 2018 iPhone, this will hopefully help TSMC hold onto its status as Apple’s A-series chipmaker for at least a while longer.
For its latest Apple Pay weekly promotion, Apple is giving customers 15 percent off purchases made in the Adidas iOS app — provided it’s bought using Apple’s mobile payment service, of course!
The promotion runs from today through June 28. The Adidas app can be downloaded, free of charge, from the App Store.
The government of southeastern Australian state, New South Wales, has said that it plans to carry out a comprehensive review of smartphone use in schools. This will look at the effects of smartphones on kids in school, both in and out classrooms.
Why is that significant? Because, building on the growing concern about smartphone addiction, it represents a developing trend focused on cracking down on the use of phones. And New South Wales isn’t the only place doing this.
If you aren’t already using Apple Pay, you should be. Not only does it make shopping easier, but it can also save you money on all kinds of purchases every week. And now, Apple Pay users are getting faster service on discounted food and drink at concerts and festivals.
Apple Pay “fast lanes” have started popping up at concessions stands, helping users avoid the lengthy lines.
Cupertino’s city government decided to ask voters next year whether it should charge businesses a tax on every worker. Apple is the city’s largest employer, so most of the cost would have fallen on the iPhone maker.
The original plan, while vague, was to use the additional revenue to create more affordable housing options and improve Cupertino’s transit system.
A pilot project allows people who run Facebook groups to charge subscription fees for the content they create. During the testing process, this is an option for a limited number of group admins.
The fees can range from $4.99 to $29.99 a month. Facebook isn’t taking a share of the revenue.
It’s hard to imagine Steve Jobs ever needing to pass out business cards. But even for titans of industry, business cards were standard issue and if you happened to have one from Jobs, its worth a few bucks.
A seller on eBay is hoping to get $9,000 for a couple of Jobs business cards and a few sheets of his Apple letterhead stationary.
A Malaysian man perished in a fire in his bedroom, but his family and his company say he was actually killed when the phone charging near his bed exploded.
“He had two phones, one Blackberry and a Huawei. We don’t know which one exploded,” said the brother-in-law of Nazrin Hassan, the CEO of a venture capital fund.
Instagram is ready to take on YouTube with a new app.
The photo-sharing social network revealed its new standalone app today called IGTV that’s dedicated to long-form video.
Apple is getting its own kids’ TV series with talking puppets.
The iPhone-maker and Sesame Workshop have reportedly inked a deal that will bring a slate of new kids’ programming to the company’s worldwide video project. But don’t expect to see Big Bird and the Sesame Street gang.