Apple’s new HomePod speaker might be the dumbest smart-speaker on the market.
Based on early reviews and leaked info, it appears that Apple has seriously crippled Siri on the new HomePod speaker and removed some features, making it vastly different than the version of Siri that lives on your iPhone.
Apple is said to be planning “at least three” new Macs with custom security co-processors for 2018. Two of the machines will be updated MacBooks, while the other will be a desktop, according to a source familiar with the plans.
There are some incredibly creative games in the App Store, but never did we think we’d live to see the day in which a cartoony sliding blocks puzzler is mashed together with the hyper-violent Friday the 13th series of slasher movies.
Best of all? It totally works. Trust us, the hockey mask-wearing Jason Voorhees hasn’t been this much zany fun since 2001’s Jason X movie.
WhatsApp has become the first major messaging platform to add CarPlay support. Users can have their WhatsApp conversations read to them, dictate replies, and more without taking their hands off the wheel.
Apple ramped up its spending on semiconductors by more than a quarter in 2017, a new report from Gartner claims.
In the past 12 months, Apple spent a massive $38.754 billion on chips, making it second only to Samsung in terms of semiconductor spend. In 2016, Apple spent “just” $30.39 billion — or 27.5 percent less.
You’ll need an Apple Music subscription to make the most of HomePod. But new details that have emerged since the device went on sale last week suggest you’ll be able to play tracks in your iTunes Match library, too.
Apple has rolled out four new ads for HomePod after finally kicking off pre-orders on Friday. Each is just 15 seconds long and focuses on sound quality rather than Siri. Apple clearly has no intention of fighting more affordable smart speakers.
Apple has reportedly halved its production target for the iPhone X, a new report claims.
In the three month period starting January, Apple reportedly planned to manufacture 40 million handsets during the quarter. It is now aiming for around 20 million units, based on “slower-than-expected sales in the year-end holiday shopping season” in the U.S., Europe, and China.
Apple will report its quarterly earnings this Thursday and, according to analysts, it could be about to beat its own record for most profitable quarter in corporate history.
The current forecasts call for Apple to announce a net income of at least $19 billion for the three months leading up to December 2017. The holiday quarter, which is traditionally Apple’s biggest, was the quarter in which Apple introduced its next-gen iPhone X and iPhone 8 handsets. Up to now, Apple’s most successful quarter of all time was in 2015.
In a weekend report to investors, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities reiterates that Apple is planning two OLED iPhones and one LCD model for this year. The two OLED models, he says, be 5.8- and 6.5-inches in size, while the LCD model will be 6.1-inches.
This differs from a report last week suggesting that Apple is leaning toward two LCD iPhones and a single larger OLED model for its 2018-era iPhones.
A game in which you stick to surfaces in order to capture slices of pizza, while avoiding enemies? Yep, it’s another oddball (but brilliant) iOS puzzle game.
That’s just one of the picks we’ve highlighted for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup. We’ve also got major upgrades of Logic Pro X and Apple’s educational Swift Playgrounds, and a Friday the 13th title which really shouldn’t work, but totally does. Check out our picks below.
Update: Juuk’s added five new Vitero Apple Watch bands now available for preorder, which will ship the first week of February. The new finishes available for preorder are: Vitero Cosmic Grey, Vitero Granite, Vitero Ruby Silver, Vitero Silver and%20Vitero%20Ruby%20Grey.%20Many%20of%20the%20original%20Vitero%20finishes%20are%20sold%20out%20until%20June: Vitero%20Fire, Vitero%20Cerulean, Vitero%20Ruby%20Grey,%20Vitero%20Citron, Vitero%20Sapphire and%20Vitero%20Crimson.
Our%20friends%20at%20Juuk%20have%20done%20it%20again!%20The%20Hong%20Kong-based%20company%20has%20created%20a%20totally%20unique,%20aluminum%20Apple%20Watch%20band%20with%20an%20aggressive%20design%20inspired%20by%20motor%20racing.Juuk’s%20Vitero%20band%20looks,%20feels%20and%20performs%20like%20no%20other%20Apple%20Watch%20band%20on%20the%20market%20–%20or%20any%20watch%20band%20for%20that%20matter.%20When%20these%20bands%20debuted%20a%20few%20months%20ago,%20they%20sold%20out%20quickly%20and%20a%20new%20batch%20won’t%20be%20back%20from%20production%20until%20June.Until%20then,%20Juuk’s%20satiated%20customers%20with%20five%20brand-new%20finishes%20available%20now%20for%20preorder%20to%20ship%20the%20first%20week%20of%20February%20— Vitero Cosmic Grey, Vitero Granite, Vitero Ruby Silver, Vitero Silver and Vitero%20Ruby%20Grey. These%20will%20sell%20out,%20so%20reserve%20yours%20today!
In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: Don’t make the mistake of comparing HomePod to rival smart speakers and lamenting its $349 price tag. There are good reasons why the device costs more than three times as much as an Amazon Echo — and yet is still an absolute steal.
In this week’s issue, you’ll find that story and more. Learn awesome Apple Watch tricks and tips to get the most out of your wearable. Discover how to add sketches to emails in iOS 11. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.
The HomePod presales have begun, but we’ll tell you why Apple’s new smart speaker may be a huge flop, this week on The CultCast. Plus: Audiophiles are comparing HomePod’s tech to speakers that cost $85,000; Apple adds some long-awaited features to iOS 11; how to back up your iCloud photo library to your PC (and why you should). And we wrap with another episode of Drone Chat! This time, we’ll tell you why DJI’s Mavic Air is the perfect drone for almost everyone.
Our thanks to Pitney Bowes for supporting this episode. Print postage from your office and take advantage of special shipping discounts at pb.com/cultcast, and beat the postage rate increase with exclusive discounts on letters. Plans start at just $5 a month!
Logic Pro, GarageBand’s big brother, just got a big update to coincide with the NAMM music trade show. In addition to lots of new effects plugins, and a couple of relaxed new Drummers is something called Smart Tempo. This banishes the click track, and lets you create music that is much more organic, but still perfectly in time.
Apple has whipped up some new commercials to celebrate the upcoming Grammy Awards by combining some of today’s best artists with the iPhone X’s new Animoji feature.
The new ads, titled “Amigos” and “Alien,” feature Migos singing their song “Stir Fly” and Childish Gambino performing “Redbone.” Migos appear as a fox, dog and pile of poop, while Gambino appears as an alien.
Check it out:
Apple’s recent acquisition of Shazam might be a great way for the company to drive subscriber growth, according to one early Shazam investor.
DN Capitol chief executive, Nenad Marovac, gained a deep understanding of Shazam’s business model after his firm invested in it back in 2004. Marovac says Shazam will be a great way for Apple to try to catch up with Spotify in terms of subscribers, if it can convert enough Shazam users.
One of the biggest directors in Hollywood is ready to totally embrace filming on the iPhone.
Steven Soderbergh — whose titles include everything from Ocean’s Eleven to Magic Mike — filmed his latest movie entirely an iPhone. Only instead of using it as a gimmick, Soderbergh says he’s likely going to start using iPhone on most of his future films.
Pre-orders for Apple’s new HomePod speaker went on sale this morning and it looks like there’s still plenty of supply to go around.
HomePod doesn’t hit stores until February 9th but most Apple fans have already made up their mind on whether its a must-buy. Cult of Mac is running a poll and we want to know who’s ready to plop down $349 on the first Siri-powered speaker.
Submit your vote below:
With Apple Park now completed, Apple employees are finally moving into the company’s brand new sprawling campus — although it won’t happen all at once.
Given the size of the building, which can hold 12,000 employees, the city of Cupertino has issued Apple a series of temporary occupancy permits allowing employees to move into selected parts of the main building.
Apple’s upcoming iOS 11.3 update makes App Store reviews more useful by allowing them to be sorted. Users can cut through the clutter to find the most helpful reviews, the most critical reviews, and more.
Apple has given its Clip app for iOS a minor upgrade, celebrating Chinese New Year, which takes place next month.
The app’s update includes a commemorative Chinese New Year label and poster, along with minor updates for improved stability when recording Selfie Scenes on iPhone X, and a fix for an issue that caused the “Top Secret poster” to animate incorrectly during playback.
The time to pre-order your HomePod has finally arrived. Customers in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia can place an order for Apple’s $349 smart speaker now. The device makes its official debut two weeks today, on February 9.
Apple has rolled out its first public beta of iOS 11.3, just a day after its first developer release.
The update brings a whole host of new features, including new Animoji for iPhone X, Business Chat for iMessage, Messages in iCloud, and more.
Apple has rolled out its first watchOS 4.3 beta ahead of a public release this spring. The update brings a number of welcome improvements, including a new Nightstand Mode and greater control over your music.