Animoji are too much fun! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The latest iOS 12.2 beta Apple seeded to developers today brings four new Animoji options to iPhone X, XS, XR and XS Max owners.
Now iPhone and iPad Pro users can choose between the new giraffe, shark, boar and owl Animoji characters during FaceTime calls and in the effects option for iMessage.
The Vitero Ruby Grey aluminum band is now compatible with Series 4. Photo: Juuk
If you’ve got a new Series 4 Apple Watch, but have been lamenting that the precision aluminum bands from Hong Kong-based Juuk don’t fit, fret no longer.
After painstaking detective work and many hours of redesign, the fruits of Juuk’s labors are starting to hit the market. Currently the Vitero Ruby Grey, Vitero Cosmic Grey and Ligero Obsidian are available for the Series 4 Apple Watch, with more to follow.
Search like a pro with Google search operators. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
For many folks, Google is the front page of the internet. You don’t type Facebook.com into your browser. You just type “Facebook,” and then click the first Google result. Or you do a basic search by tapping in what you’re looking for.
But Google is way more powerful than that. You just have to learn a few of its secret code words, and then you can slice and dice your searches like a pro. No more wading through pages of results to find what you want. Use these tricks, and you’ll almost always get what you want on the first page. You can even ask Google to show you the weather.
You can save a pretty penny on a sweet upgrade, whether you need a new iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac — and we’ll help you get the money you deserve for your old gear.
Quit wasting time and learn something with Brilliant. Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
Whether you’re addicted to Twitter, obsessed with Fortnite or wasting the day away on Netflix, you can kill hours on your iPhone without ever doing anything useful or productive.
Instead of mindlessly killing time, Brilliant gives you a way to expand your mind and learn something new every day.
Apple's FaceTime bug allowed users to eavesdrop on others. Photo: Apple
Apple has apologized for its FaceTime bug, and assured customers that an iOS software update is coming next week to fix it.
The FaceTime flaw allowed users to see and hear individuals before they answered a Group FaceTime call. Apple took the Group FaceTime servers offline after the news broke, but from the sound of things, it regrets how long it took to deal with the situation.
This week on The CultCast: A new report details what’s (probably) next for Apple’s 2019 and 2020 iPhones. Plus: Apple plans Netflix-for-games subscription service (with Alex E. Heath!); it’s not just you, everyone got way more spam calls in 2018. And we talk a new wireless charging brick for iPhone, a smart outlet with HomeKit support, and the super-smart HomeKit thermostat you’ve never heard of, in an all-new Under Review.
Our thanks to Dashlane for supporting this episode. Dashlane is the official password manager of Cult of Mac. It’s so good, even Leander Kahney’s mommy uses it. Use it for free for one device at Dashlane.com/CultofMac.
Wait just a minute… Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Did you ever look at the five-minute intervals on the Calendar app’s time picker and think, “I really wish I could set that appointment at 09:03 and not 09:05”?
No, neither did I (nor did anyone else that isn’t some kind of control-freak psychopath). But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Today we’ll see how to tweak the Calendar’s time wheel to show one-minute increments instead of the usual five-minute segments.
Your next iPhone might come with 3 cameras. Render: OnLeaks/Digit.in
The 3D sensing capabilities on the iPhone are set to get a big upgrade in 2020, according to a new report.
Apple is supposedly planning to add a laser-based 3D camera system to the 2020 iPhone lineup that will be more powerful than the dot-projection system currently used by the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR for facial recognition.
Ever looked at your iPad and thought, “I’d love to hold that huge thing up to my ear and make a phone call. I’d look to-ta-lee badass. Now, where’s my cellphone holster?”? Bonus points if you had this thought while looking at a huge 13-inch iPad Pro.
Of course, it might actually be handy to make calls on your iPad, especially as you probably would use AirPods or EarPods to do so. Your iPhone may be charging, or in another room, or maybe you’re there with a number ready to call on your Mac or iPad. Now, the iPad still can’t use its cellular connection to send or receive SMS messages, or make phone calls, but if you have an iPhone nearby you can use it as a bridge to do both. Bonus: This even works with the Wi-Fi-only iPad.
Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park Photo: Duncan Sinfield
Tim Cook sounded confident about Apple’s future when he got on today’s Q1 2019 earnings call with investors this afternoon. Despite slumping iPhone sales and declining revenues, Cook told investors that his company is being managed for the long-haul instead of short-term gains.
Wall Street is already responding positively to Apple’s earnings report with shares trading up in after-hours trading. The company has 1.4 billion active Apple devices in the world, positioning Apple to continue raking in money as no other company can. However, today’s call revealed some new challenges Apple faces going forward.
You can now play at 120Hz on iPad Pro. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Fortnite for iOS finally supports wireless game controllers. After installing the latest version 7.30 release, you can connect a compatible MFi controller and bid goodbye to fiddly touch controls.
But don’t expect exactly the same experience as on consoles, and don’t assume you’re going to have an advantage over other mobile players.
Here’s what you need to know about playing Fortnite for iOS with a controller.
iPad mini 5, supposedly pictured here, could have been listed in a Eurasian database. Photo: Mr-white
Reports that Apple plans to bring out new iPad models in the near future strengthened today when several new tablets appeared in a Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) database.
These could be an update for last year’s 9.7-inch model and the rumored return of the iPad mini.
New AIrPods with health sensors in 2019? Is Apple killing 3D Touch? We'll tell you what we know. Photo: Apple
This week on The CultCast: Why iPhone’s 3D Touch is probably dead; new reports say AirPods packed with health sensors are coming in 2019; the MacBook Pro “stage light” flaw affects all models built after 2016 — and could cost you $600 to fix. Plus, the wild saga of MoviePass … continues.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first hosting plan or domain.
This parking garage could totally have a band inside. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
I can’t tell you how much I love GarageBand on the iPad. But even though it’s a fantastic app, and totally self-contained, sometimes you need to use a Mac. That’s because the iOS version lacks several features of the desktop version. But that’s OK, because the Mac can open iOS GarageBand projects easily. And today we’re going to see how to do it.
Things have come a long way in 35 years. Photo: iFixit
Today marks 35 years since the launch of the original Macintosh computer, the product which most defined Apple until the iPod and iPhone came along years later. The Mac changed the course of personal computing history, and started a product line which Apple continues today. But which Macs along the way rank as the biggest game changers?
We went right back to the start to bring you our picks for the top 20 most important Macs of all time.
The new Sutter Slim Backpack provides special pockets to store your Apple gear. Photo: WaterField Designs Sutter Slim Backpack
WaterField Designs’ new Sutter Slim Backpack keeps a low profile while swallowing up a 15-inch MacBook, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro and a bunch of other gear.
A few neat features make it sound like a pretty great way to carry all that tech we drag around everyday.
Stop! The! Madness! Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Whenever you click a link in a Google search, it replaces the URL of the site with a tracking URL. If you hover over a link with your mouse before you click it, Safari will show you the full URL of that link. It’s a great way to check where you’re about to get sent. Google plays along with this, showing you the proper URL for the link in question.
Only when you actually click on it, it swaps out that link, replacing it with its own tracking link.
Fortunately, there’s a way to block this sneaky, underhanded and totally unsurprising behavior.
We're not exactly clamoring for one. Photo: Lin Bin/Xioami
“What’s the point of a foldable phone?” That’s the question the Cult of Mac team was asking when Samsung confirmed its first is coming this year. But after seeing Xiaomi’s impressive foldable phone prototype, I really, really want one.
Check out the teaser video below and try telling me it doesn’t look awesome.
The new AirPods sound intriguing. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Updated AirPods are supposedly on their way in the first half of 2019, possibly bringing new health-monitoring functions to Apple’s wildly popular Bluetooth earbuds. The upgraded AirPods’ impressive new features are “expected to receive enthusiastic market responses,” according to the report.
With other companies, such as Google and Amazon, supposedly launching rival wireless earbuds this year, the move could keep Apple ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation.
These cables can wear out and cause your MacBook Pro’s display to fail. Photo: iFixit
Every MacBook Pro since 2016 harbors a hidden design flaw that inevitably will require an expensive repair, according to DIY repair website iFixit.
The problem supposedly lies in “delicate” ribbon cables that connect the screen with the display controller inside the main body of the laptop. Opening and closing the clamshell case eventually causes these to wear out and begin to tear, iFixit says.
Imagine this, only more dynamic. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
The Dynamic Desktop is a great macOS Mojave feature. It changes the desktop image throughout the day, so your wallpaper always matches the time of day — nighttime images at night, shadowless glare at noon, and so on. Today we’ll see how to switch it on, and where to find new Dynamic Desktop images to add to the defaults.
Download Pixelmator Pro 1.3 today. Photo: Pixelmator
Pixelmator Pro, one of the finest and more affordable alternatives to Photoshop, just got a big new update that adds a bunch of new features and improvements on macOS.
Image editors can take advantage of clipping masks, layer tags, quick opacity and blending controls, and more in version 1.3.