The Note 7 is all washed up. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Galaxy Note 7 owners who refuse to give up their explosive device will soon have no choice but to use a different phone.
Samsung revealed today that it plans to release a software update later this month that will brick all Galaxy Note 7 units not returned during its recall.
Hey four eyes! The Kamerar ZOOM lens attachment expands the telephoto/zoom capabilities of the dual-lens iPhone 7 Plus. Photo: Ztylus and Kamerar
The geeky excitement shared by mobile photographers over the dual-camera of the iPhone 7 Plus has not waned.
And as they’ve played with the small optical zoom and blurring backgrounds in portrait mode, two small accessories companies have been quietly but furiously developing a two-lens attachment dedicated to enhancing the reach of the 7 Plus camera.
It's like Tetris crossed with that fingerprint pattern used for setting up Touch ID. Photo: Midnight Tea Studio
As much as I like the kind of long, winding, RPG-style games you can get lost in for months at a time, I’ll always be a sucker for a great mobile puzzle game.
That’s exactly what developer Midnight Tea Studio offers with its new game Dropa! Pitched somewhere between Tetris and that fingerprint pattern you have to fill in when you set up a new Touch ID profile, it’s a game that’s sure to keep you busy during the holiday season.
Mario won't run anywhere in offline mode. Photo: Nintendo
Super Mario Run will sprint into the App Store on December 15, but while there’s plenty to be excited about with Nintendo’s first Mario game to hit iOS, there is one big potential downside for users: the game requires constant internet connectivity.
According to Mario creator and Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, the decision to include no offline mode was made for anti-piracy reasons.
A crafty Redditor discovers a simple and free way to clear trapped water from your iPhone 7's speaker grille. Photo: Apple
Apple touts the new iPhone 7 as being water-resistant enough to take into the shower. There’s really no good reason to bathe with your smartphone, but the point is that iPhone 7 owners don’t need to worry about a little rain or spilled tea.
Naturally, some people waltzed into their shower stalls with their expensive new phones in hand — just cuz — and some found a weakness in the iPhone 7’s water-resistance. Luckily for foolhardy iPhone owners everywhere, a Redditor discovered a simple hack for getting the water out.
This will be Cook's third time as a university commencement speaker. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Steve Jobs gave one of the most memorable commencement speeches in living memory, and it seems that Tim Cook is set to take on the same challenge when he delivers the address at MIT’s 2017 graduation event next June.
“Mr. Cook’s brilliance as a business leader, his genuineness as a human being, and his passion for issues that matter to our community make his voice one that I know will resonate deeply with our graduates,” MIT President L. Rafael Reif said. “I am delighted that he will join us for commencement and eagerly await his charge to the class of 2017.”
If your iPod is broken or languishing in your junk drawer, it's time to cash in. Photo: Wikipedia CC
The iPod turns 15 this year. Hard to believe, right? It’s also hard to believe you still have that old iPod at all, what with the amazing music-carrying capacity of iPhones, iPads — heck, even your Apple Watch.
Cielo de la Paz shares her first look at a book produced by Apple that features the photographers from the "Shot on iPhone 6s" campaign. Photo: Cielo de la Paz/YouTube
If you like watching a kid opening a gift at Christmastime, you might delight in watching a video posted by iPhone photographer Cielo de la Paz that shows her opening an unexpected gift from Apple.
For the second straight year, the self-taught photographer had one of her pictures selected for Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” marketing campaign. In addition to compensation for use of the photos for the campaign, Apple surprises the photographers with a coffee table book displaying photos selected for the Apple World Gallery.
Avoidance collision in a self-driving car looks something like this. Document: Apple/U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
If there was doubt Apple is moving forward with development of a self-driving car program, events over the last week show Cupertino is indeed mapping out a course.
An Apple patent application for an autonomous vehicle collision-avoidance system published Thursday is the second public acknowledgment that Cupertino is very much in the game.
Stellar buys on refurb MacBooks are just the start of this week's Apple deals. Photos: Ste Smith and Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac; Cambond
Score bargains on iPads and MacBooks, both high-end and low, in this week’s roundup of best Apple deals. Plus, a third-party accessory that costs $139 less than Apple’s version.
GE's prototype adds Amazon's voice-activated assistant Alexa to a tabletop LED lamp. Photo: GE
We’ve heard for years that the internet of things™ would imbue everything in our lives with the power of the web, all accessible by voice. If you’ve been waiting for something that isn’t a computer or smartphone or smart home hub to ask for driving directions or movie times, here’s your dream device at last: It’s a lamp that gets its smarts from Alexa.
Apple wants a deal with studio execs to bring high-priced movie rentals to iTunes within days of release. Photo: William Iven/UnSplash
Apple and Hollywood are reportedly in talks to provide home-video rentals of movies as little as two weeks after theatrical release.
Studio heads from Warner Bros., Universal Pictures and 21st Century Fox have indicated recently they are looking for deals. Two unidentified sources close to the talks told Bloomberg News the studios are considering partnering with Apple and iTunes.
Juicing a dead phone is what the mophie juice pack does best. Photo: mophie
When mophie created a battery case for the iPhone, the company picked a name that confidently signaled an expectation — juice pack.
And behind that name is plenty of juice, especially for the latest cases that debuted this week for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, bringing extended battery life and easy wireless charging.
Apple says flaming Chinese iPhones were not based on manufacturing issues. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has denied that it is responsible for eight iPhone 6-series handsets bursting into flames in China, blaming the fiery phones on “external factors.”
The company came under fire (pun semi-intended) from Shanghai’s consumer watchdog for the alleged fault, but Apple said its own investigations have shown there is “no cause for concern.”
Ain't that just the way that sales go down, down, down, down. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple is reportedly set to launch new iPad Pros in the first half of 2017, but that may not be enough to stop iPad demand slipping to its lowest level to a new record low, claims a new report.
Citing sources in the supply chain, the report claims that chip demand for the iPad has continued to slow, meaning that shipments of iPad devices for 2016 may struggle to hit 40 million units in total. And things are likely to get even worse.
You could grab your DSLR. Nah, the iPhone will do the job. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Once again, the world’s most popular camera is a phone.
Smartphones, led by Apple’s iPhone, was the type of camera used most by photographers in 2016 on the photo-sharing site Flickr, according its annual analysis of EXIF data on pictures uploaded to the site.
The iPhone was in the hands of shooters for 47 percent of the pictures uploaded to Flickr. Canon and Nikon were second and third with 24 and 18 percent.
Apple has big plans for 2017, too. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple Pay is accepted at 35 percent of retailers — or around 4 million locations — in the U.S., claims Jennifer Bailey, the VP in charge of Apple Pay.
Speaking at San Francisco’s Code Commerce conference (try saying that five times quickly!), Bailey cited it as a victory for Apple, and evidence that the service is finding its mark.
Apple Music has hit a big milestone! Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple Music has passed the 20 million subscriber mark, according to new figures released by Apple.
Last time the company released adoption figures, back in September, those numbers hovered around 17 million — meaning the number of paying Apple Music users jumped 15 percent in the past three months.
Apple's got some recommendations for you! Photo: Apple
Looking for recommendations for possible Christmas gifts or end of year purchases? Don’t worry, Apple’s got you covered — and, crazily enough, all of it’s stuff you can buy through Apple.
Kidding aside, Apple just dropped its 2016 picks for the years best apps, movies, music, TV shows, podcasts and books. It’s a comprehensive list, and you can check out all the details below.
Christmas is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start shopping for your loved ones. If one of them is a hardcore Apple fan, that might be easier than you think.
Apple products aren’t cheap, but there’s something sweet at every price point, from maxed-out Macs that cost an arm and a leg, to the latest iOS devices for someone really special, and awesome accessories that fit into any budget.
In this week’s Friday Night Fight, we’re putting away our pitchforks for one week only and focusing on great gifts for every Apple fan.
Apple has settled claims with state regulators who allege the company mishandled electronic waste. Photo: Thomas Dohmke
Apple will pay the state of California $450,000 to settle claims that it improperly handled industrial waste at facilities the company ran in Silicon Valley.
Apple said the violations relate to reporting and tracking mistakes, claiming that health and safety standards at its waste facilities exceed the state’s requirements.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday brought relief to Samsung in its lawsuit with Apple over smartphone design patents. Illustration: Cult of Mac
The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Apple Tuesday when it sided with Samsung in a smartphone patent battle that had the South Korean company staring at hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.
In a unanimous ruling, the Court ruled a patent violator does not have to turn over all its profits from sales if the stolen design involved certain components and the not the entire device.