Here at Cult of Mac, we’re big advocates of using a virtual private network to stay safe and anonymous online. So when Dashlane announced it would build a VPN into its already useful password manager, we were thrilled.
More Americans own tablet than did two years ago. The same can't be said of laptop and desktop ownership. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The number of Americans who own an iPad or other tablet computer increased marginally in the past two years. However, ownership of a laptop/desktop has dropped significantly in the same period.
Smartphone ownership stayed at the high rate it’s held since 2016. And that’s what’s really cutting into sales of traditional computers.
Save a small fortune on prepaid iPhones at Best Buy. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Best Buy is running another big Apple Shopping Event, with impressive discounts on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It’s just one of the awesome offers in today’s Deals & Steals roundup. We also have Apple-certified Lightning cables at a bargain price, and $20 off a great USB-C hub for MacBook.
Plus, you can save $60 on the Astro A20 gaming headset for Mac, and there’s still time to save $55 on the Belkin Valet charging stand for Apple Watch at B&H Photo.
Despite its many flaws, Siri is still useful for lots of tasks: Setting a coffee timer, adding a reminder, looking up a fact. But what I almost never want is Siri’s voice feedback.
Usually I’m looking at my iPhone when I use Siri, and I don’t use Hey Siri ever. What I want is to ask Siri a question, and have it answer, without all the usual smart-mouthed nonsense. Thankfully, there’s one setting that does just that: Mute Siri.
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! is partnering up with Apple to help the streaming service give more exposure to new and emerging musical artists.
The two sides revealed today that the second iteration of Apple Music’s “Up Next” program will let bands and other musical acts perform on Kimmel’s stage. K-pop boy band NCT 127 will be the first group to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, marking the first time Apple has promoted Korean band for its tastemaker series.
You can already get an early glimpse of their new single:
The new Google Maps Commute tab shows the trip to and from work, combining driving and mass transit. Graphic: Google
Google Maps just added additional tools designed to make long commutes more tolerable. These include a new tab that combines features commuters need, such as warnings that the trip will take longer than normal and integration with some popular music-streaming services.
Some of these tools are already available in rival applications, but nevertheless should be welcome to fans of Google Maps.
With the Major League Baseball playoffs starting Tuesday, fans will be anxiously watching to see if their team advances and, eventually, who will bring home the World Series title.
Whether you have cable or not, you can still watch the entire MLB playoffs season from the Apple device of your choice. Here’s how to catch all the action on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, etc.
It's like a Lidar crossed with an iPod. Photo: Aeva
Apple still hasn’t publicly revealed whether it’s working on an autonomous car, but a company started by former Apple engineers certainly is.
Opening up about its plans, startup Aeva has revealed that it is building a smart sensor that will help self-driving cars make sense of the world. And, from its sleek design to its mix of hardware and software magic, it totally looks like the kind of product Apple would design and make!
Reading is a skill, and this pair of courses will help you sharpen it, boosting reading speeds and retention while breaking bad habits. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Reading is a skill, and like all skills, there’s always room for improvement. So if you constantly find yourself re-reading paragraphs, or just staring at a book but never finishing it, these courses can help you out.
Do you see it yet? Screenshot: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
YouTube’s handy picture-in-picture mode has started making its way to desktop. The new “miniplayer” function lets you watch while you browse on Mac and PC. Here’s how to activate it.
Apple wants to make learning on iPad even bigger. Photo: Apple
Apple’s “Everyone Can Create” curriculum is now available as a free download on Apple Books. The course is designed to help teach students to, “develop and communicate ideas through drawing, music, video and photos on iPad.” And help out their teachers, for good measure!
Steve Wozniak’s Woz U online coding educational platform has disappointed some students, a new CBS report claims.
The online education company, which offer a 33-week program for $13,200, is criticized for supposed low quality teaching resources. According to CBS, these allegedly range from out-of-date materials to unqualified student mentors.
No, this isn't the suspect in question! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
According to a new report, for the first time in the U.S. and possibly elsewhere, law enforcement recently accessed a suspect’s phone by using their face to unlock Face ID.
The incident took place on August 10, when the FBI searched the house of 28-year-old Ohio resident Grant Michalski, later charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. Michalski was told to put his face in front of the phone, thereby unlocking it. This allowed agents to look through his online chats, photos, and other material deemed worthy of investigation.
This week we use Berkanan to avoid talking to the people around us, we make music with the amazing new Gestrument Pro, and we take old-school film photos with I Love Film.
The iPhone XS Max is 25 percent larger than any previous iOS handset. So how is it as an iPad mini replacement? Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple stopped updating the iPad mini a few years ago because sales dropped off at the release of the first iPhone Plus model. Seems lots of people prefer a large-ish smartphone to a small tablet, even if the iPad is bigger than the iPhone.
And now there’s the iPhone XS Max, Apple’s biggest smartphone ever. So we explored using one as a replacement for an iPad mini 4.
Learn the ins and outs of writing, publishing, and getting paid in the eBook ecosystem. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
They say everybody’s got a book in them. Unfortunately not everybody is familiar with the publishing process, so many books remain unwritten. But in this day and age, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to make your book idea a reality.
We've rounded up some of the best deals on the coolest Bluetooth audio gear out there. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Bluetooth is the way personal audio works these days. But there are so many variations on the wireless theme, it can be hard to know where to start. So we’ve rounded up some of the best deals on the coolest Bluetooth audio gear. Bone conduction earphones, noise cancelling headphones, and other top shelf gear is here for bottom dollar prices. Read on for more details:
Qualcomm had a small victory today in its patent-infringement battle with Apple, but not the big win it was hoping for. Photo: Qualcomm
A judge with the International Trade Commission ruled that iPhone models infringe on a Qualcomm patent. However, he declined Qualcomm’s request to ban the import of the infringing devices into the U.S.
The judge also said the iPhone doesn’t infringe on two other patents owned by the chip maker.
Everything is big when you own an iPhone XS Max, based on the latest ad Apple put out today about its new phone.
The whimsical new ad called “Growth Spurt” imagines a world where anything viewed through the iPhone XS Max’s 6.5-inch display instantly becomes larger than life. Cats, golf balls, even babies aren’t safe from the iPhone XS Max’s amazing powers.
The Sprint 4G coverage area is far smaller than its rival's. Something the carrier itself admits. Photo: Sprint
Any iPhone user who wants wide access to 4G LTE should avoid Sprint like the plague. The carrier reportedly produced a series of maps comparing its coverage area to those of its top three competitors, and Sprint loses by a wide margin in all of them.
But the company’s management hasn’t lost their minds. There’s a good reason why this wireless service provider is going out of its way to look terrible.
The amount Google pays Apple to remain the default search engine in Safari might be higher than you expect. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Google is the default iPhone search engine in the Safari web browser, but not because Apple thinks it’s the best option. No, Google will pay $9 billion this year for the privilege, according to an analyst’s estimate.
Some people get better looking with age and some get better looking with the iPhone XS. Screenshot: Unboxing Therapy/YouTube
The selfie camera on the iPhone XS may soon return your sudden good looks back to your old face. Apple is reportedly working to dial back some of the effects from its front-facing camera after several complaints of unnatural skin hue, glow, and smoothness.
Shortly after the iPhone XS and XS Max got into the hands of eager upgraders one week ago, users took to Twitter, Reddit and YouTube about their experiences with the front-facing camera.
Turns out the A7, A8 and A8X didn't infringe on a patent held by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Photo: Apple
An appeals court just reversed the 2015 decision against Apple made in a patent-infringement lawsuit brought by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The original court ruled that the iPhone-maker owed the university $234 million for infringing on patented microchip technology in the iPhone and iPad.