iPhone X won't be hit with severe throttling. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple won’t need to throttle the performance of iPhone 8 or iPhone X so severely as they age.
Its latest devices use more advanced hardware and a different power management system that allows iOS to avoid unexpected shutdowns without having to cap processor performance.
Never send a misspelled, badly written email again thanks to this web-based grammar checker. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Writing is rewriting, they say. And a lot of rewriting is just correcting grammar or spelling. And unless you’re a professional copy editor, you’re not getting paid enough to polish every badly written email. So something like WhiteSmoke Web is worth checking out.
Ullu offers a line of luxury Apple Watch bands in premium leathers that include stingray. Now on sale at 60% off in Watch Store. Photo: Ullu
Ullu offers a taste of the accessibly exotic with its line of handcrafted leather bands for Apple Watch. The Apple-centric accessories brand offers luxurious bands in stingray and ostrich, as well as its signature Italian leather bands.
Peruse the collection of colorful, artisan-made bands in our Watch Store, and step up your style for spring. Ullu’s Stingray bands for Apple Watch are on sale for $99 (regularly priced at $249). Order now in time for Valentine’s Day!
Name your price for a massive set of photography lessons and resources. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
We live in a world saturated by images. So it’s extra hard to make photographs that stand out, especially as a professional.
Whether you’re looking to make a living or just make nice pictures, it pays to get expert instruction. Unfortunately, that instruction is also something you have to pay for. But not with this packed bundle of photography lessons and resources. Right now, it’s yours for whatever you want to pay.
The bugs keep on coming. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple is investigating another iPhone X bug that’s causing users to miss incoming calls.
Some report that their device refuses to wake when a call is received, leaving them unable to answer it. It appears the problem surfaced in December but Apple has only just acknowledged the complaints.
The right case is not only protective, but functional, and even classy. Photo: Pad&Quill
You have in your hands a brand new iPad. Now what? Sure, you can just go ahead and use it au natural. But consider: While iPads may look like hulking slabs of aluminum and glass, they are deceptively delicate. They cry out for protection.
Gauging which is the best case to safely secure your tablet is not for the faint of heart, given the myriad options out there. That’s where our iPad case roundup comes in. We’ve scoured the best reviews, including our own, and looked at buyers’ favorite cases on shopping sites like Amazon.
Then we gathered our picks into several categories, depending on how much you want to pay, what type of protection you need, and any extra functionality offered (like keyboard cases). And we’ve also put together a list of runners-up — cases that are pretty good, or even great, but just didn’t make our cut.
Use the cable that came with your iPhone as a reference to spot fakes. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Who cares if that cheap charging cable you buy is a fake? It’s just a cable, right? Maybe, maybe not. A fake Lightning cable could contain malware, for instance. Or it could be miswired, damaging your iPhone the way a miswired USB power cable can destroy a laptop computer.
The best case is that your device may not sync or charge. The worst case is that your iPhone could get damaged, or the cable could overheat and set fire to your home while you sleep. Here’s how to make sure a Lightning cable is legit.
Clessant's Batik Apple Watch Bands are a beautiful blend of ancient Indonesian art, batik, and French leather-making. Available in red or blue.
Make your Apple Watch your own with a truly distinctive, statement-making strap worthy of a double take.
The Batik Strap from French company Clessant is a refreshing take on an everyday accessory. No two are ever alike. And, you can take a look at it now in Cult of Mac’s Watch Store.
Apple’s got big plans for iOS 12, and we’ll tell you all about them this week on The CultCast. Plus: New details tell us more about 2018’s iPhone X Plus; Nintendo says a new Mario Kart is coming to iOS; Apple works to bring iPad apps to Mac; and don’t miss our review of the Elgato Stream Deck, a must-have accessory for you Twitch, Mixer and YouTube streamers.
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% off any hosting plan.
Is HomePod finally sold out in the U.K.? Photo: Apple
With HomePod just over one week away from making its debut, Apple has confirmed which audio sources are officially supported. Apple Music and AirPlay are obviously on the list, but there are some big omissions.
This single app offers several layers of protection from online security and privacy threats. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
You don’t need us to tell you that the internet is a dangerous place. Surely you need no reminders of the malware, data thieves, and snoops that swim the interwebs. And if you’re aware of all those threats, you’re probably aware that a VPN is one of the easiest security measures you can take to protect yourself.
Live Photos are great. They can capture special moments in a way that some pictures just can’t. The little movie clips that play when you force-touch a Live Photo can show the joy or wonder of the image. But therein lies the problem. They’re basically video clips embedded into photos, which makes sharing them to non-iOS users a nightmare.
A plethora of apps can convert Live Photos into GIFs or a standard video clip, but iOS 11 makes it even easier. Check out our video below to see how to quickly convert a Live Photo into a GIF.
HomePod likes to be touched. Photo: Apple/Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
The HomePod’s fancy gimmick is that you can use Siri to control it. Even when the music is loud enough to get your neighbors banging on the walls, Siri can hear you thanks to the six microphones’ ability to ignore the sound from the speakers. But touch is always faster than talk, so a quick tap on the top of the HomePod will often be better than trying to get Siri to understand you.
Brushing is getting a 2018 overhaul. Photo: Luke Dormehl/Cult of Mac
Colgate’s new iPhone-compatible smart toothbrush promises to transform the way you brush your teeth, thanks to the magic of machine intelligence.
So is the E1 Smart Electronic Toothbrush With Artificial Intelligence like having a virtual dentist at your beck and call? Here’s what we make of it after a week of tooth-cleaning action.
Take your iOS charging to the next level with these awesome accessories. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
iOS devices are sleek and stylish and exciting to use. But none of those terms usually apply to charging them up. So we’ve rounded up some of the slickest charging accessories for iPhone. From a walnut-lined Qi charger, to an understated wireless charging pad, and a pair of eye-catching Lightning chargers. There’s something here that can juice up anyone’s charging game.
HomePod will get software updates just like your other Apple devices. Photo: Apple
Apple will issue software updates for HomePod with important bug fixes, performance improvements, and (hopefully) new features. Here’s how you will update yours.
The iPhone X is the new Apple flagship. But some like their old iPhones just fine. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
We can forget about big new features for iOS 12. Apple is focused on “addressing performance and quality issues” in 2018, according to a new report. Here are five things that should be at the top of the company’s repair list.
Who owns your workout data? Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
The workout data I log with my Apple Watch belongs to me. It‘s not Apple’s — nor is it Nike’s, Strava’s or anyone else’s, for that matter. It is mine. I paid for it with my own blood, sweat and tears. (OK, it’s mostly sweat, but there were some tears along the way, too.) Over the years, I’ve logged more than 18,000 miles of running data and it is something I’m pretty proud of.
So it really bugs me when mega-corporations try to corral my activity data into their fancy walled gardens, like they think they own it. Apple used to be just as guilty of this as all the other workout rustlers. But the folks in Cupertino did a major pivot in iOS 11. They decided to actually put users in control of our workout data. Apple made it easy for apps to share workout route maps with each other via HealthKit.
The trouble is, none of the major fitness apps are playing ball, and that sucks. Luckily, some indie devs are doing the right thing.
Launchpad is totally worth a second look. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Try this: If you’re reading on a Mac, go ahead and pinch in on your trackpad with all five fingers. If it’s enabled, then you’ll see a grid of apps. lots of apps. That’s Launchpad, which is kind of like an iOS home screen for your Mac.
The problem is, it shows all your apps, in seemingly random order. There’s a search bar to narrow things down, but by the time you’ve got that far, you may as well have used Spotlight to launch your app. Happily, the Launchpad is quite customizable. You can make iOS-style folders, and organize the apps into any order you like. Here’s how.
The HomePod version of Siri is a lot dumber than the iPhone version. Photo: Apple
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.
The Vitero Ruby Grey aluminum band is now compatible with Series 4. Photo: Juuk
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.
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!
Look at all those knobs. Just look at them. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
The Eventide H9 is a magical effects box for musicians, and it is especially relevant to iOS users because it can be completely controlled by an iOS app via Bluetooth, putting virtual knobs and dials on the screen of an iPad or iPhone. Today, we’ll review the EvenMidi, which is a box that does one thing — adds bunch of knobs the the Eventide H9 so you never need to touch a screen again.
Most people are animals. They drop files onto their Mac desktops the way teenagers drop junk food and candy wrappers in the street, littering the place up until you can’t find anything. I’m not gong to try to cure you of that habit. That was your parents’ job, and they already failed. But I can show you a few quick ways to access your shameful desktop when you decide you can face it.
Prepare for an all-new iPad Pro. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple left a big clue in iOS 11.3 that it is working on a brand new iPad for release later this year.
After Apple released the first beta of iOS 11.3 earlier this week, developers dug through the new software. They found references to a mysterious “Modern iPad” that packs Face ID.