The Logitech Crayon was designed for the classroom, but soon anyone can purchase this Apple Pencil alternative. Photo: Logitech
This spring, Logitech introduced an active stylus for iPad. People were excited that this was half the price of an Apple Pencil, but frustrated that the Logitech Crayon could only be purchased by schools.
Turns out both of those are about to change. This digital pencil will go on sale to the general public beginning September 12. And the price is going up.
"Do you want to eat pasta all your life, or join me and change the world?" Photo: Lou Stejskal/Flickr CC
It’s not exactly breaking news that Steve Jobs was a great salesman. But a hilarious anecdote from Adam Fisher’s recent oral history of Silicon Valley, Valley of Genius, gives a great example of Jobs’ next-level skills.
Want to know how Jobs persuaded a product marketing expert from Microsoft to join his company NeXT? It turns out it involved little more than a bit of patented Steve Jobs charm — and a helping hand from a local Italian restaurant menu.
This USB-connected microscope lets you get up close and personal with any object. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Digital cameras sure have come a long way, but they’re limited by the realities of glass and plastic. So if you want to capture far-off subjects, you need a telephoto lens. If you want to photograph something close up, you get a macro lens.
If you want to get really close, you want a microscope.
This could be an early glimpse of the iPhone 9. Photo: Slashleaks
The more affordable 6.1-inch iPhone expected to launch this year won’t be as exciting as its pricier siblings, but it seems Apple has some tricks up its sleeve to make it more appealing.
New photos reveal some of the fancier color options buyers will be able to choose from, including red and blue.
Ken Kocienda's book, Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Stave Jobs. Photo: St. Martin's Press
Why couldn’t you type the F-word on the iPhone? Why did Steve Jobs make weird eye movements during demos? What kind of manager was Scott Forstall?
These and other questions are answered in a new book by Ken Kocienda, a former iPhone programmer who spent 15 years at Apple helping to develop the first iPhone, iPad and Safari web browser.
Apple has run into more regulatory problems in India. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple is supposedly cooling its plans to bring Apple Pay to India, despite having discussions with leading banks and the National Payments Corporation of India.
Eddy Cue previously said that Apple hoped to bring Apple Pay to India sooner rather than later. “It is great that all of these payment mechanisms are coming out in India because it empowers people to be able to pay,” Cue said last year. “What Apple Pay does is make that process easy, integrated and safe. We absolutely want to bring Apple Pay to the market here.”
Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht are two of the masterminds behind Apple's original content strategy. Photo: Sony Pictures Television
Apple may be commissioning its own TV shows, but it’s also picking up finished productions, too. With that goal in mind, Apple is sending some of its top production names to the Toronto International Film Festival this week to try and acquire new content.
According to trade magazine Variety, at least one of Apple’s top entertainment programming execs, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, will be in attendance at the festival — and they’ll have “checkbooks in hand.”
Back in 1996, Steve Jobs’ sister, Mona Simpson, wrote a novel about a Silicon Valley tycoon who has a difficult and distant relationship with his oldest daughter. He even denies her paternity altogether, and then hands out meager amounts of child support to look after her and her mom.
At the time, Jobs denied that the protagonist in A Regular Guy was closely based on him. Others thought differently, however. More than 20 years later, Lisa Brennan-Jobs’ new memoir describes just how accurate Simpson’s novel was. And what she thought of it.
Which is more creative, Apple or Samsung? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
A new study tries to determine which companies are the most creative. The method used is open to dispute, especially as Apple is way back at eleventh place while its chief rival Samsung is in second.
Putting aside questions about methodology, the results are reflective of an attitude many people have about which of these two rivals is more innovative. This is the result of very different ways the two companies design their products. And it’s more than a bit unfair to Apple.
Somehow, this official photo of Apple Watch Series 4 leaked out early. Photo: 9to5Mac
The bigger display on the Apple Watch Series 4 will allow wearers to view more data at a glance and thanks to some new leaks, we now know the exact screen resolution it will come with.
We might have just found out all the 2018 iPhone prices. Photo: MobileFun
With most of the specifications of the 2018 iPhones already known, the largest remaining question is price. Possibly answering that burning question is a report coming out of Europe that indicates that the three upcoming iOS models will cost just the same Apple’s three most recent offerings.
These type of iPhone cables are about to become way more common. Photo: Apple
Third-party hardware manufacturers have finally been given the green light from Apple to start making USB-C to Lightning cables.
The new Made For iPhone (MFi) certification should open the door for a bunch of faster-charging solutions to come out for iPhone owners, but according to the report out of Asia, the new cables will be a little bit more expensive.
If a new rumor is correct, the device on the left won't be called the iPhone XS Plus. Photo: Lee Gunho
We’ve already head reports that Apple is going to ditch the “Plus” description for its larger iPhones. Now there’s word that the replacement term could be “Max.”
If true, this means that the company will announce a week from today the iPhone Xs with a 5.8-inch display and the iPhone Xs Max with a 6.5-inch one.
Many people are hoping the iPhone 9 will cost less than its predecessor, but it could be priced higher. Screenshot: Lee Gungho
The main reason the iPhone 9 is hotly anticipated is because it’s rumored to boast a large display but a relatively low price tag. However, some analysts are predicting that this 6.1-inch model will instead cost more than the iPhone 8.
They say Apple can do this because the one feature that consumers want more than anything else: larger screens. And we’re willing to pay more for them.
2018 Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons with his Beats. Photo: Beats by Dre
NBA players have rocked Beats by Dre before games for years but now the company is about to have an even larger presence in the world of basketball.
Beats by Dre revealed today that it has struck a deal that will make it the official headphone, wireless speaker and audio partner of the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League and USA Basketball starting when the preseason tips off in October.
Apple might combine video and music into one subscription. Photo: Apple
Apple’s video offerings could soon rival the biggest streaming service in the game, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Katy Huberty, who has a reputation as one of the best Apple analysts in the industry, thinks video services will be a huge driver of growth for Apple over the next few years. The company’s potential is so huge that Huberty predicts it will rival Netflix by 2025.
Think Steve Jobs was tough as a boss? Here's what he was like as a father. Photo: Luke Dormehl/Cult of Mac
Small Fry is the memoir of Lisa Brennan-Jobs, the daughter Steve Jobs didn’t want. Frequently sad and occasionally disturbing, it’s not the airbrushed portrait of Steve that Apple would like to see in print.
But it also relays some charming moments, showing us a side of the Apple co-founder that we’ve never seen before. It’s a glimpse of Steve Jobs at his most personal.
Discreet filming in two new fashionable frames. Photo: Snap Inc.
Spectacles by Snap are now a little easier on the eyes thanks to two new styles that add a fashionable flair to the wearable video camera.
The new Spectacles couldn’t look more different. Each has straighter lines and sharp corners, looking more like classic Ray-Ban Wayfarer frames, and should appeal to those turned off by the circular frames.
What’s on your wish list for a future iPhone? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
What do you want from Apple’s next iPhone? A faster processor? A better camera? A truly edge-to-edge screen without the controversial notch?
All of these things would make for nice improvements, but they’re not what most fans are asking for from their next iPhone. Better battery life is actually what tops the wish list in a survey of 1,665 Americans.
Apple can’t protect you from everything. Photo: Apple
You might consider Safari to be the safest web browser for macOS, but one security researcher has proven it’s not completely bulletproof.
Patrick Wardle has demonstrated how hackers can remotely infect a Mac with malicious software using a Safari vulnerability. Apple’s built-in protections can do nothing to stop it.
Instagram will use fact-checking teams to identify false information. Photo: Instagram
Instagram is a great way for you and your friends to find expression through images. With a billion monthly users, it’s also one of the most relevant social media platforms, and so a true marketing powerhouse. You might know just which filters to use, but do you know how to market on Instagram?
Former Apple programmer Ken Kocienda has written a great insiders account of how the company makes its products. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
“It’s this long process of demos and decisions and feedback that creates this long, iterative progression … that leads you from not-very-promising ideas to products you can ship.”
Curious what it was like to work at Apple during its Golden Age of design? What exactly did the creative process look like? On this episode of the Apple Chat podcast, I sit down with Ken Kocienda, a programmer who spent 15 years at Apple during the Steve Jobs era. He worked on the first versions of the Safari web browser, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. His new book, Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs, chronicles his experiences working at the company and offers an inside look at the creative process that made the team successful.
On the podcast, Kocienda discusses his role in the development of the iOS keyboard, explaining how text entry evolved and offering insight into the autocorrect algorithm. He walks us through the Darwinian process of creative selection, describing how the demo pyramid functioned to provide feedback and move an idea from prototype to product. Listen in for his experience presenting a demo to Jobs himself and learn how the original spirit of the Macintosh lives on at Apple today!
Coming soon to an iPhone near you? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
WhatsApp is finally giving iPhone users media previews inside their notifications.
When you receive an image or a GIF, you’ll have the option to view it without having to unlock your phone and open WhatsApp. The new feature can be disabled if you don’t like it, however.
A photo released by police shows a recent robbery. Photo: Roseville Police Department
The six San Francisco Bay Area Apple Stores targeted by thieves in the past several weeks have one thing in common (besides the iPhones, iPads and Macs on display). They don’t have uniformed police officers on site.
Speaking about the crime spree, San Francisco Police Officers Association President Tony Montoya noted that neither the Marina or Union Square Apple Stores in San Francisco have so far been targeted by thieves. His theory about why they’ve escaped the Apple crime spree? Because both have uniformed officers stationed there.