News - page 876

This week on The CultCast: Early reviews for the new iPad Pro and HomePod show Apple’s done it again. Plus: Someone in the Apple supply chain just accidentally leaked some of iPhone 8’s marquee features; speed tests show a big CPU boost in the new MacBook Pro; Apple finally offers us iCloud Storage sharing; our favorite unannounced iOS 11 features; and we’ll tell you what we like (and don’t) about the apps and gadgets we’re currently testing in an all-new Under Review.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code “CultCast” at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.

GarageBand’s most recent update for macOS adds a few neat new Mac-only features, but perhaps its biggest addition is for iPad users. Now the Mac version of GarageBand can sync a cut-down version of any song with the iPad or iPhone, allowing you to add new tracks, then sync them back with the master project back on your Mac. It’s a feature that only came to Logic in January of this year.

This is big, because it lets musicians use the full power of the Mac GarageBand in their studio or bedroom, and still add tracks to that project from a phone. You could, for instance, take a mix with you to band practice, lay down some new tracks on your iPhone, then sync them back.

The launch of the iPhone 8 may not happen until October of this year, based on the comments of one of Apple’s suppliers that is making a key component for the new device.

Apple allegedly plans to take its augmented reality tech to the next level by adding lasers to the iPhone 8. One of the companies that is likely supplying Apple with the parts, Finisar, dropped some details during its latest earnings call that hints when fans can finally expected to see the iPhone 8.

Backing up your iOS devices can be a pain — but not if you have iMazing Mini, a smart yet simple new tool from DigiDNA that makes backups a breeze.

It not only gives you more control over your data, but it can perform backups wirelessly on a schedule that suits you. It also has a whole bunch of other awesome features, and it’s completely free — without any pesky ads.

Do you a) like Eddy Cue, b) want a sneak peak of Apple’s spectacular new Apple Park campus, and c) have a truckload of money to spend?

If the answer to this is “all of the above” then you might be interested to hear of a new Charitybuzz’s latest auction — offering a lunch date with Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services.

Amazon is coughing up a whopping $13.7 billion in cash to acquire Whole Foods Market.

The two companies will merge but Whole Foods stores will continue to operate independently, with co-founder John Mackey retaining his role as CEO. The move instantly gives Amazon almost as many stores as Apple.

As part of its renewed focus on original programming, Apple has hired two Sony Pictures Television presidents, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, for positions overseeing worldwide video-related work for the company.

“Jamie and Zack are two of the most talented TV executives in the world and have been instrumental in making this the golden age of television,” said Eddy Cue, who the two new recruits will report to. “We have exciting plans in store for customers and can’t wait for them to bring their expertise to Apple — there is much more to come.”

In love with your new iPad Pro? You can thank Microsoft for that.

Microsoft executive Ryan Gavin claims Apple’s latest take on tablets wouldn’t have happened without the Surface Pro. It is a “clear example” that the company is following Microsoft’s move into ultraportable 2-in-1 machines.

Microsoft has beaten Apple to delivering a wireless keyboard with biometric security.

Its new Modern Keyboard is built out of aluminum to be slim and strong and features a hidden fingerprint scanner that makes login passwords a thing of the past. It’s also compatible with your Mac.

One of the fascinating tidbits of Apple history that emerged online this week was the story that Phil Schiller was insistent that the original iPhone ship with a physical keyboard.

Only problem is, no-one seems to know whether it’s true or not. Former Apple exec Tony Fadell claimed it is. Schiller denied it. Now Fadell has denied it, too, but the author he told the story to is sticking by what he was told. What a mess!

We know you’re starting to come down off your WWDC high. To ease your transition, check out a rare offer on the latest Apple Watch, and the best price we’ve ever seen for an iPad mini 4. Find out where to snag these big bargains and more are in this week’s roundup of best Apple deals.

Apple is stepping up its video game by hiring one of the key employees from YouTube that helped the service become the world’s biggest video streaming platform.

Vijay Karunamurthy, who worked at YouTube in its early years and then went on to co-found the food rating app Nom, has reportedly joined Apple, though the company is staying tight-lipped on what he’s working on.

IBM is expanding its efforts to be the go-to company for mobile enterprise software by opening up new Garages that will serve as hubs for the quick design and deployment of MobileFirst apps.

Apple and IBM created the MobileFirst partnership three years ago as a way to push iPhone and iPads into the enterprise markets by coupling them with software built by IBM. With the expansion of new Garages, more international business will have access to the companies’ business tools.

When Macphun entered the imaging software game, it wanted to make products as powerful as Photoshop, Aperture or Lightroom yet with fewer clicks to well-styled photos.

Today, Macphun released an update to its all-in-one editing app Luminar that can make a photo beautiful in still fewer steps.

How does one sound?

Access to free music continues to make Spotify a much more popular platform than Apple Music. The company now boasts more than 140 million active users worldwide, with its free, ad-support tier growing more than 50 percent year-over-year.

Twitter has begun rolling out the latest version of its mobile apps today, introducing a big redesign that unifies the user experience across Android and iOS.

It’s prettier and easier to navigate, but it still doesn’t deliver the option to edit tweets.

Former iOS chief Scott Forstall has been pretty much MIA since leaving Apple in 2012. However, he will be making a rare appearance to talk Apple next week.

In a public fireside chat with long-time tech journalist John Markoff (for my money, one of the best tech writers working today), Forstall will discuss working with Steve Jobs on the project which became the iPhone.

Apple wants to make your iPhone a “one-stop shop” for all your medical data.

A secret team is working to make multiple logins for different medical services a thing of the past by turning the iPhone into a central hub of information about doctor’s visits, lab test results, prescription data, and more.

Google is introducing a new tool to Google Drive that will make it easy to back up and sync the most precious data on your Mac.

You’ll gain the option to upload your most important folders to the cloud — leaving out the data you don’t need to keep — then restore them on a new machine when you upgrade.

Bloomberg has released some more highlights from its recent conversation with Tim Cook, touching on a number of important topics.

Having already confirmed Apple’s interest in self-driving car systems, Cook now speaks about Steve Jobs, why he doesn’t spend any time thinking about his legacy at Apple, Apple’s $1 billion advanced manufacturing fund, his response to accusations that Apple isn’t as innovative as previously, and more.

Check out a few highlights below.

Excitement for the forthcoming iPhone 8 may be continuing to build, but the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are still holding strong in the sales department.

According to new figures released by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, the two current generation iPhone models were the top two smartphones in the U.S., in terms of sales, for the three months ending in May.

For users, the Mac App Store makes finding, purchasing, and downloading new software a breeze. But is the experience as enjoyable for the developers behind that software?

Setapp surveyed over 700 macOS developers to find out what they really think of Apple’s marketplace. The results give us an interesting insight into the challenges they face when choosing the Mac App Store, whether life is better without it, and how Apple has improved.

Today, roaming charges have been dropped across the European Union. If you live in Berlin and travel to Budapest, you can keep using your existing data plan at no extra cost, and you keep (more or less) the same data allowance. That’s neat for Europeans, but it’s also good news for international travelers, because you only need to buy one SIM card at the start of your trip, and then you’re covered until you go home.

The only thing that comes close to trumping this Singapore couple’s love for each other is their unbridled passion for Apple products.

Self-professed Apple megafans Jermyn Wee and Chia Suat celebrated their marriage earlier this month by visiting the only Apple store in Singapore. They used the retail outlet as a backdrop for their cute wedding photos. The funny couple’s snaps almost didn’t happen because the usually shy guy didn’t want a photoshoot. When his soon-to-be wife proposed the Apple store as the location, Wee went all in.

Watch the happy couple walk down the Apple store aisle as customers clap:

You’ve heard my speech from the soapbox: Backup your iPhone photos. A little device called Fotofami couldn’t make it easier.

In fact, it’s shaped like a little thin box that will travel well in a pocket. It works by getting to know the faces of family and friends in those pictures while fiercely defending them from the reach of hackers.