Apple has acquired the rights to two feature-length films as part of its original content efforts. The first is a feature documentary, titled The Elephant Queen of Athena, while the second is an animated film called Wolfwakers.

The Elephant Queen of Athena was opened up to buyers earlier this year at the European Film Market in Berlin, Germany. Following the story of an elephant matriarch who leads her family on journey across Africa in search of food and water, it’s been likened to 2005’s highly successful March of the Penguins.

Apple has removed a series of apps from the Mac App Store after they were found to be accessing users’ private data and sending it to remote servers. The apps in question include Adware Doctor, Open Any Files: RAR Support, Dr. Antivirus, and Dr. Cleaner.

The apps duped users into giving them access to their macOS home directories by promising to perform functions such as scanning for viruses or clearing caches. By accessing the home directory, they were then able to gain access to information about users’ browsing history, and more.

We know almost all of the specifications of the 2018 iPhones that are being announced this week, but the names remain something of a mystery. A mystery that might have been solved thanks to a leak from the wireless service provider China Mobile.

This confirms two of the product names from previous rumors, but the third comes out of left field.

I love my Apple Watch Series 3, but there’s one thing about it that annoys me: that red dot on the Digital Crown.

However, just because Apple thinks you should be stuck with a giant red dot on the side of your wrist, that doesn’t mean you need to put up with it. You can customize Apple Watch with a cool accessory called WatchDots.

This week, Apple warned the Trump administration that tariffs going into effect against China will raise the cost of many of its products.

President Donald Trump responded with a tweet suggesting that Apple build its products in the U.S. instead of China. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

Having an iPhone is convenient — until you need to charge it. The standard charging brick and Lightning cable combo means you’ve gotta make space in your bag to travel with the phone in your pocket.

Alex Jones and Infowars Official have been permanently banned from the iOS App Store.

An Apple spokesperson said it was because company guidelines prohibit software that’s “offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust or in exceptionally poor taste.”

By Chris Brantner

With the football season heating up, it’s time to make sure you have a way to catch all the biggest matchups. Luckily, watching NFL games no longer requires you to pay for an overpriced cable subscription. And Apple users have a plethora of options to stream pro football without cable this season.

No matter which Apple device you use, you’ll find a wide range of apps to let you watch NFL football. Here’s a rundown of some of the best options for streaming NFL games this season.

If you’ve read about technology in the last five years, you’ve heard about the internet of things. It represents a merging of the physical and digital worlds, where devices of all kinds are network-enhanced.

That futuristic world is already here, and we rounded up some of our best deals on IoT-ready gear so you can embrace it fully. You’ll find great buys on an Alexa-enabled smart clock, an app-connected outlet, a mini vacuum droid and more.

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: The annual Apple event we’ve all been waiting for is right around the corner.

On September 12, Apple will host a special keynote from the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, where it will reveal all the hardware it has planned for this fall.

We’re expecting a slew of big announcements, including updates for the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch — all of which will be covered by Cult of Mac. You’ll find that top story and much more. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Apple is trying to get three of the biggest newspapers in the U.S. to join forces for a new subscription service.

The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have all allegedly been in talks with Apple this summer. Apple is proposing that the newspapers join its digital magazine service, Texture.

President Trump’s latest list of proposed tariffs on products manufactured in China would have a negative impact on some of Apple’s most popular products.

In a letter sent to the U.S. Trade Representative, Apple says the Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple Pencil would be caught in the crossfire of Trump’s escalating trade war with China. And regular consumers stand to lose the most.

Apple will begin publishing “Top 100” Apple Music charts from its 50 million-plus subscribers as it seeks to apply more muscle in an ultra-competitive music-streaming business.

Apple quietly launched a software update today to roll out the numeric charts that will show a global “Top 100” plus lists for the top-streamed songs in every country the service is offered.

Apple is about to make the most significant change to its iPad lineup since 2015. And you don’t have to wait to find out what’s coming because just about all the details have already leaked out.

From what we can tell, Apple is going to make its Pro tablets better by making them smaller. However, there are some odd changes that have many people worried.

Mobile phone photography has been through a mostly meaningless megapixel war. Now on to the next battle – the smartphone with the most cameras.

Apple, true to its playbook, will watch while other companies fire opening salvos with smartphones packing three or more lenses.

The annual Apple event we’ve all been waiting for is right around the corner.

On September 12, the company will host a special keynote from the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, where it will reveal all the hardware it has planned for this fall.

We’re expecting a slew of big announcements, including updates for the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Here’s our roundup of everything Apple is likely to deliver at its “Gather Round” event.

A top paid app in the Mac App Store has been revealed as stealing the browser histories of anyone who downloads and uses it.

Adware Doctor is among the top grossing paid apps in the App Store’s utilities category. According to a report by TechCrunch, Apple was warned about the data pilfering several weeks ago, although it has still not pulled the app.

iOS 12 is coming soon, so now’s the time for developers to get familiar with all the new features in Apple’s next-gen mobile operating system.

This course offers a 10-day tour of the tools and concepts behind building apps in iOS 12. It’s suitable for all skill levels, and right now it’s available for just $15 at the Cult of Mac Store.

A number of tech companies are excited about the possibility of revolutionizing healthcare. However, a long-time Apple veteran believes that the “fast fail” approach employed by many Silicon Valley startups is fundamentally at odds with the requirements of digital health.

Interestingly, while her critiques certainly apply to a number of companies, they don’t totally apply to Apple. That certainly bodes well for the company’s health ambitions going forward.

This week on The CultCast: Get ready for the iPhone Max! Plus: Rumors indicate Apple’s new iPhones will receive a serious price cut; Apple is working on the one feature the  Watch desperately needs; and Leander reveals Apple’s secret sauce — the design and creative processes Cupertino developed over the years that help it create some of the world’s most iconic products.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off your first hosting plan or domain.

Qualcomm has seemingly made a big tactical error in the pre-trial run-up to its infringement court case with Apple — and now it’s trying to get out of it.

According to a report of the events, Qualcomm failed to dispute Apple’s legal argument that certain patents in the case were either invalid or that it did not infringe on them as suggested. Now that we’re closer to the trial, Qualcomm’s lawyers have seemingly realized that this wasn’t the best idea. And the judge isn’t too impressed.

Apple has hired ex-Condé Nast executive Liz Schimel to work as part of its Apple News team. Schimel joined the company earlier this summer, and will serve as the “head [of Apple’s] news business.”

It’s another illustration of how Apple is increasing its focus on this area. This comes at a time when rival tech giants like Facebook are more worried than ever about their role in helping disseminate news online.

Apple is set to unleash its newest iPhones on the world in just a couple weeks and based on the rumors, these will be the most lust-worthy phones to ever come out of Cupertino.

Not only will the 2018 iPhone lineup include the biggest iPhone display Apple’s ever made, it will also be more colorful and more expensive than ever. We’ve been keeping our pulse on all the rumors leading up to Apple’s big September 12 unveiling and have a pretty solid idea on what’s coming through the pipeline.

This is what the 2018 iPhone lineup will look like:

A hot topic of debate among Apple analysts is the prices for the three iPhone models expected next week. And there have been some leaks suggesting prices for the 2018 models. Thing is, none of these agree.

At this point, there’s enough disparity between what the rumors say and the various analysts’ predictions to question whether there’s a point of paying attention to any of them.  

As I write this, there’s a truck outside my window using its crane to shovel molten blacktop onto the street. Its diesel engine is revving hard, and has been for the last half hour. For the past two years, there’s been an apartment building under construction across the street from my office. Starting at (and often before) 7 a.m., six days a week, I’ve enjoyed a symphony of pumped cement, circular saws screeching through thin metal sheets, over-revved forklifts, and drilling into reinforced concrete.

I mention this to tell you that I know a thing or two about writing in a noisy spot. I also know how to stop it driving you nuts.