Cult of Mac

With tomorrow’s Apple announcement, the public will definitely get to see first-hand the improvements and new features of iOS 12. Apple’s new operating system is designed to hit on three marks: speed, responsiveness and delight. Some of these upgrades include launching apps faster and new augmented reality capabilities powered by ARKit 2.

Just from this year’s WWDC preview, we should expect to be in awe as the full potential of iOS 12 is unlocked. Now you can learn to code for Apple’s upcoming operating system with a comprehensive, six-course bundle. Get The Essential iOS 12 Development Bundle for just $29 from Cult of Mac Deals.

Apple’s fleet of self-driving cars is expanding at an astonishing pace after starting with just three vehicles a year ago.

New records posted by the California Department of Motor Vehicles reveals that Apple currently has the third largest number of autonomous cars in the state, but it’s closing the gap on the Google’s self-driving car project that holds the number two spot.

You might be pronouncing the name of Apple’s next smartphone incorrectly. And this goes beyond the confusion resulting from people not calling the iPhone X the “iPhone 10”. But it’s related.

It turns out the “S” in the iPhone XS doesn’t mean what you think it means.

Apple’s huge iPhone keynote tomorrow won’t give any stage time to the company’s Beats-branded headphones.

Despite being the largest headphone brand in the world and inking a sweet new deal with the NBA, new Beats headphones aren’t planned to be revealed at Apple’s biggest event of the year.

The 2018 iPhone lineup is shaping up to be the most colorful Apple ever put out, based on new leaked images of alleged SIM card trays destined for the iPhone 9 (or iPhone Xr or Xc — whatever Apple calls it).

Photos of the SIM card trays surfaced on Twitter this morning. It’s hard to tell if they’re legit. But if they are indeed destined for Apple’s cheaper 6.1-inch iPhone model, there will be at least five color options to choose from. Including brown!

Take a look:

The Apple Store crime spree continues in California.

While another Apple Store robbery in the state may not be a shock, the number of times this particular store has been robbed certainly is. Monday’s robbery of the Apple Store in Roseville marked the fourth time in 20 days that the outlet has been burglarized — and the second in just 24 hours!

Instagram is testing a new feature which lets users tag their friends in video posts, instead of simply still photos. The feature is currently being trialled with a small number of users, although hopefully it won’t be too long before it rolls out to everyone.

The feature works in a similar way to tagging photos, only that instead of overlaying tags on top of the content, there is a page titled “People in this Video” that shows everyone in a video.

Apple’s biggest event of 2018 is just a day away. We’re expecting a long list of exciting announcements, including a new iPhone lineup, upgrades for the iPad Pro, and an Apple Watch Series 4. Apple could have other surprises up its sleeve, too.

If you’re an Apple fan, you certainly won’t want to miss it. And you don’t have to! Apple is streaming the entire keynote live from 10 a.m. PT on September 12, so you can watch it unfold from the comfort of your couch.

Here’s how to tune in on whatever device you’re using.

A number of Apple devices, including the iPhone X and iPad Pro, run the risk of being banned from South Korea, the home of Apple’s long-time frenemy Samsung.

The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy is currently investigating allegations that Apple has infringed on a patent belonging to KAIST, a public research university based in South Korea. The investigation period has already been extended twice, and BusinessKorea suggests that the regulatory commission is likely to make its “final determination” in favor of KAIST.

Apple’s efforts to encourage developers to use in-app subscriptions continued this week with a new video published to its developer portal.

“Developer Insights” highlights the benefits of a subscription model with reoccurring payments, and features testimonials from app makers who are already enjoying a subscription model. Apple has already held meetings with developers to warn them that one-time purchases are dying.

You can now use Apple Pay (and Google Pay) at 7-Eleven stores across the United States.

“Most stores” will be accepting Apple’s mobile payments service by the end of this month, the retailer says. Gurmeet Singh, CDO and CIO of the company, says it’s one more reason why you should shop at 7-Eleven.

Apple’s decision to boot five of far-right conspiracy theory website InfoWars’ podcasts off its platform was the trigger for Facebook doing the same with several of host Alex Jones’ pages on the social network.

The factoid was revealed in a new profile of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, published in the New Yorker. Apple has since banned Jones from the App Store permanently.

There are few streets more ritzy than the Champs-Élysées. That’s likely why an Apple Store is opening there this fall.

At the same time, the company is closing its location in the Carrousel du Louvre, underneath the pyramid in front of this world-famous museum.

After teasing it for months, Qualcomm today unveiled its processor designed for Wear OS smartwatches. The Snapdragon Wear 3100 is intended to put Google’s smartwatch platform on the map, instead of a distant third place.

The highlight of the new chip is improved battery life. Qualcomm is promising 4 to 12 extra hours of use, depending on the tasks the wearable is asked to perform.

The full release of iOS 12 is right around the corner. If you just can’t wait, it turns out you don’t have to. The last beta version Apple introduced is extremely stable. And it’s available now.

You could be among the first to play around with all the new iOS 12 features. You could be the first to send a Meemoji message to your friends. There’re some nice benefits to not waiting, though admittedly it’s mostly bragging rights.

Anyone eagerly awaiting a 5G iPhone probably should be an AT&T subscriber. This wireless service provider will have mobile 5G service in a dozen cities before any of its rivals have it in even one.

Still, rival Verizon hit a milestone today by making the world’s first 5G NR call from a smartphone-size device.

The Smark modular translator is something like Star Trek’s universal translator, a device able to instantly convert spoken words from one language to another.

In the 1960s, this was pure sci-fi. But here in 2018, translation apps on our smartphones can handle the task with ease and accuracy. At this point, is there any reason for a standalone translation device? Smark offers some features that might make it appealing to travelers.

Trump’s latest round of proposed tariffs will negatively impact Apple’s revenues but according to some numbers crunched by an Apple analyst, investors shouldn’t worry about the company’s profits being hit too hard.

Apple revealed last week that some of the proposed tariffs would hurt the profitability of Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod and Apple Pencil. Price increases would be passed on to consumers, however, it probably won’t be more than a 20% jump.

The iPhone XS Max is set to be the biggest phone Apple’s ever made once it officially debuts this week. It’s also poised to be the most expensive iPhone you could ever buy, but that apparently isn’t going to deter fans from gobbling up stock as soon as it hits stores.

In a recent poll asking Cult of Mac readers which 2108 iPhone they plan to buy, the pricey iPhone XS Max had more interest than the other two new iPhones and it wasn’t even close.

Check out the results:

Apple’s biggest keynote of the year is just days away and while the iPhone XS will be the main attraction of the event, Apple Watch Series 4 could steal the show with a bevy of new features.

Rumors about the Apple Watch Series 4 have been heating up leading up to next week’s event. Leaked images of the new wearable have already surfaced online, but there’s still a bit of mystery surrounding the new gadget.

Here’s everything we know about Apple Watch Series 4:

This report would probably be dismissed out of hand if it came from anyone else, but when Ming-Chi Kuo says the 2018 iPad Pro will have a USB-C port it has to be taken seriously.

This analyst has a long history of reliable predictions, so its possible Apple is finally going to make a change to its professional tablets that many people have been requesting for years.

New details about the upcoming Apple Watch Series 4 have been revealed just days before Apple is set to unveil the upgraded wearable.

One of the most respected Apple analysts in the business just put out a new report that claims the metal back of the Apple Watch will change to a ceramic design. Even better, the watches will come with a new health sensor.

If you’ve been itching to get yours hands on iPhone X but don’t want to spend $1,000 on a phone, Apple’s rumored 6.1-inch LCD handset could be exactly what you’ve been waiting for.

But good luck getting one this fall. A new report, citing sources familiar with Apple’s plans, claims the device will suffer supply shortages at launch as a result of “minor complications” with its new display.

What’s more, some of the other products you we were hoping to see this week may not be announced until later.

Is Apple’s push to release ever-larger iPhones anything to do with the growing success of its Services division? That’s the theory put forward by the Wall Street Journal.

Drawing on Kantar data, the report notes how larger screens are linked with greater usage of everything from apps to watching videos. It would also explain why Apple is seemingly in no rush to upgrade its 4-inch iPhone SE, despite the fact that some users love it.

Our iPhones are good at a lot of things, some of which are bad for health and productivity. But your phone doesn’t have to be a source of distraction. With the right app, it can help foster healthy meditation habits.