The 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has met a lot of criticism. But all anyone really wants to know is, is it time to upgrade?
Cult of Mac put the entry-level 2015 and 2016 MacBook Pros head to head to see if it’s worth snapping up a shiny new Touch Bar machine.
Apple’s new single sign-on feature can be a serious timesaver. Just sign in to your cable, satellite or internet TV accounts — like Dish, DirecTV, Sling TV, etc. — via your iPhone or Apple TV. Then you’ll be automatically logged in to any app that’s compatible with your service.
No more fumbling around trying to remember your user name and password when you just want to watch some video!
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.
Portrait Mode has quickly become the standout feature on the iPhone 7 Plus. When you get the new dual-lens camera in the hands of pro photographers, it’s not hard to see why.
Apple published a new guide today that reveals how photographers are using the new Portrait Mode. Most of the tips are pretty simple and can be mastered quickly.
Here’s how to get the most out of Portrait Mode with iPhone 7 Plus.
Apple’s Mac App Store has been a desolate wasteland of mediocrity for years, but a new service called Setapp wants to breathe new life into macOS apps.
Setapp app claims it’s an “Unstore” alternative to the Mac App Store. Instead of paying for apps individually, you’ll pay a monthly subscription fee for access to 300 popular apps.
In addition to being a photo viewer, the Preview app for Mac offers basic image-editing functionality. If you want a quick and easy way to resize images, this built-in Apple app will do the trick.
Here’s how to use Preview to resize photos and other images in macOS Sierra.
Apple has acknowledged that the problem with certain iPhones shutting down at random may be more widespread than initially thought.
Apple’s innovative new MacBook Pro may come with a battery that is a magnet for problems.
Several owners of the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar have taken to Apple’s support forums and Twitter to complain that the battery inside the new machine doesn’t last nearly as long as advertised.
Wireless speakers tend to be cheap and nasty — or fantastic and expensive.
There are exceptions, though, and Moshi’s Spatia wireless AirPlay speaker is one of them.
At $399, the Spatia isn’t cheap by any means, but its sound and features rival systems costing much more.
And does it sound sweet. With five drivers, including a subwoofer, the Spatia serves up a rich, wide soundstage. Lots of speakers claim “room-filling sound,” but the Spatia truly fills the bill.
This week on The CultCast: Why building a Hackintosh can get you the monster Mac you’ve always wanted. Plus: Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reveals iPhone 8’s marquee feature; AirPods ship date is finally revealed; and stick around for our top Apple AirPort router replacement picks!
Our thanks to Casper for supporting this episode. Casper’s American-made mattresses have just the right amount of memory foam and latex, and people everywhere love them. Learn why and save $50 off your order at casper.com/cultcast.
The writing has been on the wall for smartwatches ever since Cupertino chose to focus on sports and fitness features for Apple Watch Series 2. Smartwatch sales are plummeting, and fitness seems to be the only profitable area remaining in the wearables sector.
More evidence of this trend emerged this week, with smartwatch trailblazer Pebble reportedly being acquired by fitness wearables specialist Fitbit. We might very well be witnessing the demise of the smartwatch as we know it.
So how did we get here? Is Apple Watch really only fit for fitness, or could it still one day fulfill its destiny and become a true wrist-based computing platform?
Apple is offering iPhone 6s customers a free battery replacement for devices that unexpectedly shut down. The problem mostly affects iPhone 6s units made between September 2015 and October 2015.
If you’re not sure when your iPhone 6s was made, you can use a new tool created by Apple to find out if your device has a faulty battery.
Here’s how to check:
It is not practical (or all that smart) to keep all your data on a single device. Even external hard drives can give up the ghost before you’ve backed the up, making cloud storage a necessary part of any sensible data plan. Cloud storage can usually be pretty expensive, but pCloud is offering a deal that’s tough to refuse. Right now you can get half a terabyte of cloud storage for life for $59.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Apple plans to use a combination of drones, indoor mapping and other smart tech to improve its Apple Maps service, claims a new report.
Employing drones could help Apple catch up with industry leader Google. The search giant has routinely outpaced Apple on mapping technology ever since Cupertino entered the space with its (initially disastrous) Apple Maps in 2012.
The wait for Apple’s new wireless AirPods is nearly over.
Apple revealed the earbuds alongside the iPhone 7, promising an October delivery date, but anxious customers have not been able to buy a set. But Apple CEO Tim Cook supposedly says they’re being finalized right now.
If you’ve been dying to watch Netflix offline, your life just got better. An update to the official Netflix app lets you download TV shows and movies so you can view them without munching through your data allowance.
Anyone who’s dreamed about watching Stranger Things or The Crown on the subway to work, or at 35,000 feet, this is your lucky day! Here’s how to get in on the action.
It’s been four long years since Apple’s last big update to the MacBook Pro lineup. But Apple finally answered our prayers and delivered us the brand new MacBook Pro we’ve been waiting for — or did it?
It’s a beautiful machine with an intriguing new interface element called the Touch Bar. Check out my full MacBook Pro review below for more.
If you’re in the market for a new MacBook, you’d better also be in the market for some accessories. The newest version of Apple’s flagship laptops have decided USB C is all you need — and if you need some other format like standard USB or SDXC (which, of course, you will), then you’ll have to buy a special dongle. Well we’ve got a solution that’s less expensive and less frustrating — the HyperDrive a single device that expands your single USB-C port into five others. And right now you can get it for just $39.95 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Apple has filed a patent for a wraparound glass enclosure that would be perfect for next year’s “all-glass” iPhone 8. It is designed to be thin and light, but also robust, scratch-resistant, and radio-transparent.
The new MacBook Pro may not have been worth the long wait for many customers that preordered.
Early owners of Apple’s new machine are reportedly encountering problems with the GPU that cause the display to glitch so bad the MacBook Pro becomes unusable at times.
Rachel LaCour Niesen was grieving the loss of her grandfather in 2013 when she posted a photo of him on Instagram to celebrate his legacy and asked family members to share their memories.
In a way, the celebration of him hasn’t ended, with more than 32,000 followers from around the globe contributing their cherished family photos and stories on the popular Instagram feed, SaveFamilyPhotos.
LaCour Niesen’s personal mission to help families celebrate and keep their stories alive has now branched out into a website and apps for iOS and Android called weGather.
Rumors continue to stack up claiming that next year’s iPhone will ship with a curved display, but The Wall Street Journal suggests that such a smartphone is just “one of more than 10 prototypes being considered.”
Apple generously gives new Apple Music subscribers a three-month free trial before demanding its monthly fee, and now Google is beating it.
For a limited time, the company is offering four months of free access to Play Music and YouTube Red for new customers.
This week on The CultCast: Is a secret Apple project stalling Mac updates? It wouldn’t be the first time. Plus: Apple teases Black Friday deals; AirPort routers are walking dead, and the Mac Pro might be next; the future of Time Machine; why iPad should be an iOS/OS X hybrid; and Jony Ive’s new role designing Apple itself.
In the last decade or so, lots of companies have gotten design religion. Design has been brought in-house, where it can shape products from the very get-go. There’s an obvious source for this idea — Apple.
This week on the Kahney’s Korner podcast, I talked to Oliver Seil, senior design director of Belkin International’s Innovation Design Group. We discussed Belkin’s products and design process; the surprising complexity of USB cables (and why they cost so much); and why Apple has had such an enormous influence on design and manufacturing.
You can listen to the podcast or read a full transcript of the interview below. (Or dive into the show notes.)