The long wait for Group FaceTime calls is nearly over.

Apple revealed today that the big iOS 12.1 update will finally be released to the public tomorrow, bringing a host of new features and fixes to the iPhone and iPad.

The second-biggest Apple keynote of 2018 is nearly here, and for some Mac fans, the wait can’t end soon enough.

Unlike last month’s iPhone XS keynote, all the details haven’t leaked ahead of the “There’s More in the Making” event. Still, we have a pretty good idea what Apple’s magic pipeline will pump out next Tuesday.

Drop tests show that the new iPhone XR breaks as readily as the more expensive iPhone XS if you drop them 6 feet onto concrete. Note: don’t try this at home.

But Apple’s latest is slightly more resistant to bending.

Wireless earbuds are great but with this statement comes a couple of asterisks. Careful stowage is critical or risk losing one. Remembering to charge Bluetooth buds is not quite second nature.

Ascape Audio aims to remove the asterisks with an earbuds/smartphone case combo called SoundFlow.

Grab your iPhone, if you’re not holding it already. Then open the Photos app, go to the Albums tab, and scroll down. On iOS 12, you’ll see a list showing pretty much every kind of photo you have: Live Photos, Panoramas, screenshots, and a lot more. This is powerful stuff, so let’s check it out

The monstrous notch on Google’s new Pixel 3 XL phone is getting even worse thanks to a hilarious software bug that is plaguing users.

A small number of users have reported on Twitter and Instagram that their Pixel 3 XL has sprouted a second notch from a software glitch that’s putting another blank space on the right side of the screen.

My mom, who is 75, loves her Apple technology. She’s a full-fledged member of the Cult, with an iPhone, iPad, MacBook, iMac and Apple TV. She uses them all, all the time, to do everything, just like the rest of us.

But she always had trouble with passwords — at least until I introduced her to Dashlane, the official password manager of Cult of Mac.

In our video below, you can see exactly how easy it was for her to start using Dashlane.

Olixar is best known for two things: one, regularly showing its cases wrapped around unreleased Apple products, and two, having its predictions turn out to be correct.

That’s why it’s a big deal that this company posted images on its site of an iPad Pro with a USB-C port.

After 1473 days of waiting for an update, new Mac minis might finally be on the horizon.

Apple’s ‘More in the Making’ keynote is less than 24 hours away and one of the most anticipated new devices is expected to be an updated Mac mini. We’ll have to wait a few more hours to see what it looks like, but for now, we’re busy drooling over this gorgeous Mac mini concept that brings a pro look to Apple’s smallest Mac.

Take a closer look:

Apple’s big “More in the Making” event is less than a day away, which means one thing: It’s almost time to get your hands on a brand new iPad Pro. They should be available to pre-order on Friday, November 2, and just like their predecessors, they’ll be pricey.

But there’s one quick and easy way to fund yours. Start by selling your old model to Cult of Mac!

At this point, it seems that everyone is agreed that the next iPad will replace the excellent Lightning connector with an inferior USB-C connector. But I’m not so sure. Not only is the “evidence” for this huge change sketchy and speculative at best, but USB-C would bring almost no benefit to anyone — not users, and not Apple.

Apple’s ‘More in the Making’ keynote is less than 24 hours away where the company is expected to unveil a slew of new iPads and Macs.

Unlike last month’s iPhone keynote at Apple Park, this week’s event will be hosted at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and it’s starting early at 10 a.m. ET. If you didn’t get an invite to the event, don’t worry, the entire thing will be live-streamed.

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

Commercial photographer Paul Adshead could have spent a few bucks for a macro lens attachment for his iPhone. Instead, a MacGyver-type of a hack gave him a lens and ethereal macro photos that seem achievable with only a high-powered microscope.

Feeling adventurous and uninspired by his smartphone photos, Adshead harvested an internal lens from a 1990s-era CD drive and, with a little tack-it putty, affixed it to his iPhone.

Apple’s burgeoning Services division could make up 40 percent of the company’s gross profits by fiscal 2020, predicts Jefferies analyst Timothy O’Shea.

O’Shea says that Apple’s growing Services are the creamy sweet icing (not exactly his words) on top of the cake that is the existing “stable” iPhone business. As a result, he puts a price target of $265 a share on the Cupertino giant.

Apple Pencil is the best iPad stylus money can buy — and it could be about to get even better.

iOS code reveals an updated model, which is likely to make its debut during tomorrow’s “More in the Making” event, will support gestures that make it even more powerful. It could also pack a physical button that provides access to useful functions.

Apple has said that it will investigate allegations that one of its manufacturers used high school students to build Apple Watches in China.

The news came to light late last week, when the Hong Kong-based labor rights group Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) said it had received a report. Today, Apple issued a statement saying previous audits revealed no cases of underage labor, but that it will carry out its own investigations.

iBeacons haven’t exactly caught on as Apple hoped, and neither have the similar smartphone-communicating beacons launched by other companies like Google.

But why has beacon adoption slowed to “a trickle?” A new report lays out several possible explanations.

If you’ve tried a desktop client for your mobile device, it was probably not the most streamlined affair. Many remote desktop apps don’t emphasize mobile interactions, after all. So they require lots of pinching and zooming just to get a good view of a file or app.

Apple Watch Series 4’s best feature isn’t available yet, and when it finally arrives later this year, it will officially be exclusive to users in the U.S. But with a simple trick, you should be able to take electrocardiograms anywhere around the world.

These days, the term “Apple wearable” immediately makes you think of the Apple Watch. But back in the 1990s, Apple created sneakers that carried the company’s rainbow-colored logo.

Jump forward a quarter century, and Versace’s head sneaker designer just posted an image on Instagram that bears a striking resemblance to Apple’s sneakers. Check it out.

Apple has published an updated iPhone User Guide for iOS 12.1 ahead of its public release. The document confirms a number of new features are on the way in this update, including Group FaceTime and Dual SIM support for the latest iPhone lineup.

It also details improvements to Apple Music and more.

Qualcomm has told a federal court in San Diego that Apple is $7 billion behind in its royalty patents to the firm for technology which uses Qualcomm licenses.

Apple, which has been locked in a battle with Qualcomm for close to two years, has disputed the amount that it owes. It also claims that Qualcomm is trying to force it to pay for certain patents twice over: once for the use of Qualcomm’s chips in iPhones and once for patent royalties.

The iPhone XR is typical Apple. It’s an entry-level phone with a bunch of premium features. Jony Ive just cannot cut corners, even if he wanted to. This is no plasticky, cut-rate phone built to meet a price point. It’s a primo phone with primo features (and a primo price tag, TBH). It just happens to be the cheapest new iPhone in Apple’s lineup.

The XR delivers everything customers care about: a big, beautiful screen; great cameras; long battery life; and Face ID.

The iPhone XR is arguably Apple’s most interesting smartphone of 2018 because of this slightly odd bundle of budget/premium features. It’s arguably a $1,200 phone in a $750 package.

For a chance to win a brand-new iPhone XR, enter our free giveaway here.

If anyone still needs to be convinced that the iPad Pro series is about to undergo a major facelift, the most compelling evidence yet has come to light. An icon that clearly shows the look of Apple’s next tablets has just been found buried in iOS 12.

These devices are getting a nip here and a tuck there, resulting in their biggest redesign since… ever.

On Tuesday, Apple is almost certainly going to unveil the first iPad with a USB-C port. This could easily mark the beginning of the end for the Lightning connector across all iOS devices.

USB is a welcome addition to the iPad, but Apple should take a more radical step for the iPhone line. Instead of exchanging the Lightning connector for another data/power port, maybe these handsets shouldn’t have one at all.