Team Rumble just got a lot better. Photo: Epic Games
It’s hard to escape tricky situations in Fortnite Battle Royale, but not if you have a rift in your pocket. This week’s update will add the Rift-To-Go into the game, giving players a quick and easy route out of intense fights when things aren’t going their way.
Apple's App Store cash cow may not last forever. Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The App Store is a big money spinner for Apple, but that could change if more developers, helped by regulatory intervention, push back against the commission that Apple currently takes.
In a note to clients, Macquarie Research analyst Ben Schachter suggests that this could cost Apple up to $16 billion annually. This follows news that Netflix is currently experimenting with a way to circumvent the cash it has to pay Apple.
Bid goodbye to Office Sway for iOS. Photo: Microsoft
Microsoft has confirmed plans to discontinue its Office Sway app for iOS.
The service will no longer work on iPhone and iPad as of December 17, 2018. Sway will be removed from the App Store two months earlier. You will still be able to access the service through your web browser, however.
Jen Folse presenting at an Apple event in September 2015. Screenshot: Apple
Jen Folse, the former Apple TV executive who is best known to Apple followers for her on-stage presentations at Apple events, has left the company for the startup Caffeine.
Caffeine is a social broadcasting platform for gaming, entertainment, and other artistic content. Folse will take the role as new Vice President of Product, helping to company to create its product roadmap, among other things.
You can get hired at Apple even without a fancy piece of paper telling people you got a lot of book learning. Photo: Duncan Sinfield
The traditional life plan includes four years of college then a good job. But not everyone takes this path, and sometimes the lack of a college degree keeps some people from getting a job they are otherwise qualified for. But not at Apple.
Following a non-traditional career path is no problem getting hired at Apple. And that goes for positions beyond working at its retail stores.
Apple India seemingly can't open its own a flagship store like the one in NYC, so it's forced to turn to franchisees to do it. Photo: Simone Lovati/Flickr CC
It’s going to be years before Apple India can hope to open flagship retail stores. So the company is allowing local franchisees to open huge Apple stores in major cities to take their place.
India puts stringent requirements on companies who want to open retail stores, and so far Apple hasn’t met them.
This book is definitely meant to be read later -- it's not even written yet. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Instapaper and Pocket are the big two read-later services. The former locked out European users for months and months earlier this year, and the latter is, well, it’s fine I guess. Both of them do a great job of letting you save articles from the web and read them later in a clean, text-and-images-only format.
But what if you want something controlled just by you? A read-later service that doesn’t mine your saved articles to make recommendations — one that just turns your read-later list into nicely formatted, text-only articles. Then you should try Indiepaper. Let’s check it out right now.
New York Times writer Nathaniel Rich Photo: Democracy Now!/YouTube
Apple is adding a highly anticipated climate change drama series to a burgeoning roster of original television content that may one day rival Netflix.
Apple reportedly fought off aggressive competition to produce a TV series based on Nathaniel Rich’s New York Times Sunday Magazine story entitled “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change.”
With cellphones, international calling got more complicated. Depending on your provider and your plan, dialing up your friend or loved one abroad could be free — or painfully pricey.
Instead of dropping coin for an international plan, you can pay as needed with an international calling app like KeepCalling. It offers a cost-effective alternative to expensive cellular plans, phone cards and online calling cards. Plus, its high-quality connections come free of extra charges and maintenance fees.
Phone side screens.could take the place of physical buttons and switches. And there'll be app icons and notifications on the edges, too. Photo: Apple
Apple is considering bending an iPhone display around the sides of the device, making additional room for buttons and status notifications.
This isn’t a new concept, as rival devices have does something similar for years. But Apple filed a patent for these side-screens just 9 months ago, so it’s clearly still interested in the idea.
Japan loves its iPhones. But a proposed law could make some consumers consider cheaper Android handsets. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The Japanese government is considering a move to block carriers from bundling the cost of smartphones into monthly services fees. This comes after regulators last month said Apple violated anti-trust laws by forcing carriers to subsidize iPhones.
Apple has dominated the Japanese smartphone market for the last five years. The flagship iPhone X is the most expensive smartphone on the market at more than $1,000, but customers feel little to no pinch in the pocketbook as the cost becomes part of a fixed contract with monthly service fees.
Another day, another new weather app. Dark Sky was already a big favorite, thanks to its hyper-local forecasts that tell you when it will rain outside your door, down to the minute.
Well, the app just got updated to version 6.0. According to the Dark Sky developers, it’s a completely new app — an update in name only. Let’s take a look.
That Apple Watch band you wanted may be gone. Photo: Apple
Apple has removed a bunch of Apple Watch bands from its online store while many others are sold out ahead of its annual September event.
It seems likely Apple will introduce new band designs and styles alongside Apple Watch Series 4 this fall. Regulatory filings for the new wearable all but confirm a new model is imminent.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has lived the risk-to-riches story. He built computers in a garage with a good partner and we all know how that turned out.
But red flags are waving as the Woz takes an interest in cryptocurrency. He’s reportedly hitching his wagon to partners with a dubious track record.
Apple expertise could help Tesla meet its production goals for the Model 3. And Tesla could help create the iCar. Photo: Tesla
Tesla is struggling to get its cars into customer’s hands. Apple is quietly developing its own self-driving car. The two should team up, according to one investor.
Apple would provide its long experience in bringing high tech products to market. Tesla would contribute fresh ideas to the partnership.
Parallels 14 is a massive upgrade. Photo: Parallels
Parallels, the popular virtualization software for Mac, just got a massive upgrade.
Version 14 comes with macOS Mojave support and a significant speed boost, as well as welcome storage optimizations. It also brings a bunch of handy new features, including the ability to access Windows apps shortcuts on the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar.
Netflix is experimenting with a way to bypass paying Apple. Photo: Flickr/Stock Catalog
Netflix is among the highest-grossing apps in the App Store, but that might not be the case for much longer. That’s because the video streaming company is supposedly looking for ways to bypass iTunes so as to save itself the money that it currently pays Apple.
The decision is at least partially linked to Apple’s efforts in producing its own original video content, which would make it a direct competitor to Netflix.
The App Store is another major growth driver for Apple. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple’s worth a crazy amount of money these days, but what really separates it from previous eras is that it no longer lives or dies by one product. Look at any part of Apple’s business and you’ll find reasons to be optimistic.
The latest example of this comes from Bank of America, which bumped its price target on Apple stock from $230 to $250 a share. Why? Because the bank noticed that the App Store is booming — and not just in the category you might expect.
Learn to drive traffic from Google with this 18-hour course. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Promoting a product or brand online means making the most of Google AdWords. So if you’re not set up with AdWords, or just want to know how to make better use of Google’s online advertising system, this crash course is for you.
Fortnite will expand its reach even further. Photo: Epic Games
Updated 3:20 p.m. August 21: Epic Games says it does not plan to bring Fortnite to Apple TV after all. “References to tvOS in the Fortnite files are the result of general Unreal Engine support for the Apple TV platform,” the company said in a statement sent to CNet.
The original report follows….
Fortnite Battle Royale already supports more platforms than most games, but it seems it hasn’t finished expanding its reach. New evidence suggests the biggest game on the planet will soon be available on Apple TV.
You don't get to $1 trillion without knowing a thing or two about saving cash. Photo: Apple
Apple may have just passed the $1 trillion mark, but it’s still looking for ways to save money. In its efforts to keep manufacturing costs as low as possible, the company is supposedly shifting production for its various devices from Taiwanese suppliers to Chinese ones.
There's yet another place to use Apple Pay. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
You can now use Apple Pay at all 750 Costco warehouses across the United States. The retailer is also retrofitting its gas stations with contactless readers, although only a small number of these have so far gone live.
Don't mess with Apple fans! Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac
The latest snatch-and-grab Apple Store robbery didn’t turn out all that well for the thieves.
Over the weekend, the Apple Store at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, California, was targeted by three men who walked in and began snatching products. But angry customers got involved, leading to all three would-be thieves being arrested.