Cult of Mac

A federal jury found two Chinese men living in Maryland guilty Tuesday in a fake iPhone fraud scheme. They attempted to defraud Apple in a $3 million scheme to replace fake iPhones with real ones, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said.

Haotian Sun and Pengfei Xue’s mail fraud convictions carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

UPDATE: Five years after their arrest, Sun was sentenced to 57 months in prison and Xue was sentenced to 54 months in prison, according to Justice.gov, for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud. And the judge ordered Sun to serve three years of supervised release and pay $1,072,000 in restitution. Judge Kelly ordered Xue to serve three years of supervised release and pay $397,800 in restitution.

Soundcore’s new flagship Liberty 4 Pro earbuds boast the company’s most sophisticated active noise cancellation (ANC) yet, plus a cool new charging case with a screen and touchbar that let you view and adjust settings on the buds, the company said Thursday.

The iPhone’s Action button replaces the former ring/mute switch, and while it can fulfill the same purpose, there’s much more you can do with it. Apple gives you a bunch of options out of the box if you want instant access to your flashlight, camera, Shazam and more.

You pick the function, and it’s just a button push away. You can even turbo-charge the Action button by running a shortcut.

Setting up the Action button to do your bidding is easy. And once you do, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy quick access to your favorite feature.

The mystery that unfolded in the Apple TV+ series Sugar will continue with season two. The streaming service approved more episodes of the dark, gritty tale Wednesday. Highlights of the first season include a brilliant performance by Colin Farrell, as well as what was called “one of the greatest plot twists in recent TV history.”

“It has been incredibly exciting to see audiences around the world embrace Sugar, and we are thrilled to return for a second season,” said executive producers Audrey Chon and Simon Kinberg in a press release.

ChatGPT and AI automation tools are taking over the workplace, allowing businesses and individuals to boost their productivity and streamline their workflows. If you want to market yourself as an expert in these areas, you need training in AI and ChatGPT. And that’s exactly what you get with the ChatGPT & Automation E-Degree.

For less than $25 and a little bit of study, you can get up to speed on the hottest tech of the moment.

Continue reading

There’s an old stereotype that Germans aren’t funny (because they’re so orderly, strict and serious, supposedly). But with a new trailer for German-language dark comedy Where’s Wanda?, Apple TV+ seems to want to prove that stereotype wrong once and for all, American sitcom-style.

But is it funny? Sort of. It’s also just odd because the trailer is dubbed in English. The show is supposed to be in German. And that may feel more natural and less like an imitation of an American sitcom than the trailer does. But most American viewers will need subtitles for the show itself. So get ready for that when the eight-episode series debuts October 2 on Apple TV+. It might actually be funnier in its mother tongue, even with subtitles.

UPDATE: While the trailer was dubbed in English, you have language options when you watch the show, streaming on Apple TV+ as of Wednesday. We figured this would be the case. You can watch it in German, German with English subtitles (recommended) or dubbed in English (or in other languages, like Spanish). Jetzt ansehen!

iFixit performed teardowns on the new AirPods 4 and AirPods Max with USB-C on Wednesday, issuing repairability scores of 0 out of 10 for the tricky earbuds and 6 out of 10 for nearly unchanged headphones — and utterly destroying AirPods 4 in the process.

“AirPods have historically been a nightmare to take apart, consistently earning 0 out of 10 on our repairability scale, but their bigger and more expensive sibling the AirPods Max are bordering on repairable with the first version earning a 6 our of 10, thanks to a relatively easy disassembly process,” iFixit said.

 In iOS 18, Apple adds several handy new features to the iPhone’s Notes app. These upgrades will help you create better, easier-to-follow notes while significantly speeding up the overall process of creating said notes.

AI-powered summaries should make it easy to review long notes, while Smart Script will help make handwritten notes legible. For those who want to convert transcript to notes AI seamlessly, these enhancements will make the process even more efficient. Below are the top new features coming to the Notes app this year.

Lots of Mac users pump up their computer setups with pricey, high-powered speaker systems. But it doesn’t have to cost much to provide a bigger, fuller sound than most computers or monitors can provide on their own. Today’s MacBook Air user enjoys Sanyun Bookshelf Speakers, which pump out 60 watts of sound using proprietary technology, and look pretty good doing it. And you can get a pair for less than $70.

October 2, 1991: As the Cold War comes to an end, hell freezes over a second time as Apple and IBM agree to put aside their differences. Having been bitter rivals for the past decade, the two tech giants host a press conference at the Fairmont hotel in San Francisco to unveil their new partnership.

“We want to be a major player in the computer industry,” Apple CEO John Sculley says. “The only way to do that is to work with another major player.”

Just as your house accumulates dust and trash, your computer gets cluttered with unnecessary, often automatically generated, files known as “system junk.” The files pile up gradually and then start affecting your Mac’s performance. Fortunately, simple tools like JWizard Cleaner quickly and easily clean up your Mac so you don’t need to do it manually.

In a major milestone for Apple TV+, star-studded thriller Wolfs emerged as the most-viewed movie in the streaming platform’s history, according to new report. The achievement highlights the film industry’s ongoing debate over theatrical releases versus straight-to-streaming. With George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s star vehicle, Apple pulled back from a broad theatrical release to a limited one before streaming.

Whether you’re a professional graphic designer, an aspiring photographer or a hobbyist exploring your creative side, it’s worth it to invest in software that really lets your creativity run wild. This Adobe Creative Cloud discount gains you access to more than 20 Adobe apps that professionals love, including Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro.

Normally, this three-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud would cost $179. But the price dropped recently to $75 — although that’s not going to last much longer.

If you got a new iPhone 16 series smartphone, you probably want to protect it with a new case. And if you’re into classic materials, you can’t go wrong with a Mujjo Full Leather Case for iPhone, one of  best-looking and best-made leather cases out there. For this Mujjo leather iPhone case review, I tried it out on my new iPhone 16 Pro in three different colors.

Apple’s iPhone production in India hit a major hurdle following a fire at a Tata Electronics plant. The fire, which occurred over the weekend, will seemingly have a 10-15% impact on the production of older iPhone models in the country.

More importantly, Apple will fall back on its suppliers in China to meet the component shortage.

The revamped iPad Air debuted in May, but there’s already word that a replacement is on Apple’s drawing board for early next year.

Apple will apparently improve the performance of the Air, which will make deciding between it and the iPad Pro more challenging for tablet shoppers.

iPhone SE 4 will debut early next year, according to a reliable source, and supposedly will support Apple Intelligence, the AI-powered features coming soon to iOS, macOS, and iPadOS. The previous iPhone SE 2022 model didn’t perform as well as expected, which may have led Apple to rethink its strategy. Learn more about why Apple created the iPhone 16E in response to the SE’s shortcomings here.

Apple’s 2025 budget handset reportedly will receive a significant redesign. And previous rumors suggest the handset will come with an upgraded display, too.

To enhance users’ podcast listening experiences, a suite of new Apple Podcasts features will “elevate and celebrate narrative series,” Apple said Tuesday. Series refers to multi-episode stories. Updates introduce a Top Series chart, a dedicated Series category and a new editorial initiative called Series Essentials.

“Serialized podcasts are some of the most impactful shows in podcasting, featuring captivating voice talent and best-in-class writing and sound design. They are the stories we can’t stop thinking about and are talking about even years later,” said Ben Cave, Apple’s global head of Podcasts.

“We are thrilled to celebrate this incredible catalog with a new Top Series chart, Series category and Series Essentials on Apple Podcasts, making it easier for listeners to discover their next favorite show,” he added.

Attach the Pebblebee Clip to your keys, backpack or purse and you won’t need to worry about misplacing your item or leaving it behind. You can locate the missing item with your iPhone (or Android), or have the tracker tag play an audible alarm.

The item tracker is a rival to Apple’s AirTag, and both use Apple’s Find My network so they can be located almost anywhere on Earth. But Pebblebee has a new advantage: it just launched a Universal version that supports either Apple’s or Google’s similar tracking service.

I tested the new version of Pebblebee’s tracker tag and found a lot to like. It even improves on Apple’s offering, but not in every way.

Most of us store thousands of pictures and videos on our iPhones. If you want to create a bulletproof backup, you need to know how to transfer photos from iPhone to an external hard drive, SSD or flash drive. It’s easy, assuming you have the right software and (and possibly an adapter). 

October 1, 2011: Just days before Apple plans to unveil the iPhone 4s, the device’s name leaks after the latest iTunes beta inadvertently spills the beans on the new name.

The code also reveals that Apple’s new handset will come in black and white color options.

Mac and iPad users have a lot to look forward to in October: rumors say an Apple event should bring new MacBook Pro and Mac mini models with the M4 chip, with a new iPad mini and budget iPad also on the agenda. To know more about what’s coming, check out the latest insights on Apple’s Mac Studio and Mac Pro updates.

Here’s what to look forward to at an October Apple event, plus the products that’ll likely come even later.

Most new cars come with intuitive displays and smart rearview cams that make driving easier. But you don’t need a new car for that kind of royal treatment. You can install your own 8-inch rotating touchscreen display in your vehicle and enjoy wireless CarPlay or Android Auto.

It’s super-easy to do.  Plus, it’s on sale for just $99.99.

Wifi Porter takes the hassle out of letting friends or guests access your wireless network. Just tap this accessory from Ten One Design with your iPhone or Android device and the login details will be transferred. 

The hardware is attractive, and it’s certainly a unique idea. We went hands on to see how it works in real life.

September 30, 2002: Apple introduces iSync, a tool that lets Mac users synchronize their address books and calendars with their cellphones, iPods and Palm OS-compatible handheld organizers via Bluetooth.

“iSync is the beginning of something really big,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs says in a press release announcing the iSync public beta. “With the push of a button, iSync synchronizes the address book and calendar on your Mac with those on your mobile phone.”

It represents a big leap forward in the ability of computers and mobile devices to talk with one another. And it hints at some of Apple’s later advances.