Let’s not beat around the bush — the new iPhone names are a mess. “iPhone XS Max” sounds like a body spray for teenagers and the “XR” in iPhone XR means … well, not very much at all.

Today’s iPhones are an explosion of confused branding.

But the 2018 iPhones definitely aren’t the first time Apple products bore baffling, awkward or just plain rubbish names. Brace yourself for a repulsive refresher as we recount the worst Apple product names of all time.

Apple Watch Series 4 is now available to preorder ahead of its official launch on September 21. It’s packed with new features, but considerably more expensive than its predecessors, with prices starting at $399.

Last year’s Apple Watch Series 3 is also still available. It’s not quite as impressive as the latest model, but it’s now more affordable at $279.

Which one should you buy? Find out right here in our 2018 Apple Watch comparison.

If a tablet computer is a window on the world, then live snakes recently crawled through that window in a mall in Germany thanks to the iPad magician Simon Pierro.

Pierro operates his iPad in a space that can not be explained with a chip, graphics card, app or even augmented reality. All that shoppers knew is that one second Pierro was showing them a picture of a snake and then guiding it out of the iPad to slither and wiggle the next.

This, as you can imagine, scared the bejesus out of people.

The reason why Apple’s lowest cost new iPhone, the iPhone XR, isn’t shipping for another month is due to challenges relating to both software and the device’s LCD display, a new report claims.

According to Ryan Reith, IDC’s vice president of research on mobile device, Apple has been struggling to secure enough of its completed LCD displays. In addition, it has had to make software-related changes to improve the visuals for its so-called “Liquid Retina” display.

If you’ve got an iPhone, you’ve got a great mobile camera. But like any camera, they can’t take great pictures unless you know how to make great pictures. So instead of aimlessly pointing and shooting, here’s a chance to learn from a master of mobile photography.

Apple has quietly increased the price of its AppleCare+ warranty plan for Apple Watch Series 4.

It will cost $79 to cover the company’s latest wearable — $30 more than AppleCare+ for an Apple Watch Series 3. However, buyers now have the option to pay for the service monthly.

This week on The CultCast: Hot off the heels of Apple’s keynote, it’s our unfiltered Gather Round event reactions! We’ll tell you what we think about iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and the new Apple Watch Series 4. Plus: Is it worth upgrading from iPhone X to iPhone XS? We discuss that and all the other products that were noticeably missing from the keynote.

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% off your first hosting plan or domain.

You can now preorder the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. If you’ve already claimed yours, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to make back the fat stack of cash you just dropped. It might be easier than you think.

Start by selling your old iPhone to Cult of Mac. It’s quick and easy, and we pay real cash. What’s more, we typically pay more than other buyback services. Get a quote now and you can hold onto your device until your upgrade arrives on September 21.

One feature that didn’t get mentioned during this week’s iPhone event is the fact that the new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR models let users scan NFC tags without requiring an app running in the background.

This means that places such as museums, retail stores, and other locations which make use of NFC tags can utilize them more readily — or, at least, that iPhone users can access them more easily. Instead of having to launch an app that puts your iPhone in NFC Reader mode, just walk up and scan any compatible tag. Easy, right?

Did your alarm fail to go off? Were you on the fence about the new iPhones and Apple Watch Series 4, but now feel like you should place an order after all? Sorry to break it to you, but you might have left things too late.

According to frantic would-be customers, many of Apple’s new devices have already sold out. In fact, some models of the new iPhone and Apple Watch Series 4 sold out in less than a minute!

After being down for a few hours in preparation for the launch of the iPhone XS and Apple Watch Series 4, the Apple Store website is now back up, and ready to roll. For tips on how to make sure your pre-order goes smoothly, keep reading.

Conspicuously absent from the Apple event yesterday was the AirPods wireless charger that the company first showed off last year. Well, you don’t have to wait for Apple to get its act together because a third-party accessory maker called Hyper just announced its own solution.

HyperJuice is a snap-on adapter to the Apple AirPods Charging Case, allowing it to get power from any Qi wireless charger.

There is a lot for everyone to like in the 2018 iPhone models. But T-Mobile and Sprint customers have additional reasons to upgrade to the latest iOS devices: they’re the first to support some of these carriers’ wireless technologies.

This means the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and the iPhone XR will perform better on both networks than any of their predecessors.

Portrait Mode on the iPhone XR may not be as fully-baked as the version found on Apple’s other iPhones.

The iPhone XR looks like it has almost all of the same features as its higher-priced siblings. Even though it only has one camera lens in the back, it can still take Portrait Mode photos. However, attendees at Apple’s keynote yesterday found out the iPhone XR version only works on people.

It’s an incredibly big deal that Wednesday’s Gather Round keynote featured Lisa Jackson, Apple’s head of environmental initiatives.

The annual iPhone unveiling is Apple’s biggest product event of the year. Every single word and image is carefully calibrated to do one thing, and one thing only: sell as many of the new products as possible.

So why did Tim Cook turn over several precious minutes to Jackson to talk about renewable energy and recycling?

Can Apple Watch Series 4’s fall-detection feature tell when you have fallen in love? I hope so, because I’ve really fallen for it. Big-time. I haven’t felt this way about an Apple Watch since my first love, the original model, was announced back in 2014.

It’s not just the sleek new design. Nor the spacious new screen. It’s not even the breakthrough new health features. It’s when you combine them all together. It defies all logic and reason that Cupertino managed to cram so much awesomeness into such a tiny, beautiful package.

I can’t wait to strap an Apple Watch Series 4 onto my wrist next Friday and take it for a run. But until then, here are my first thoughts on this exciting new direction for Apple Watch.

The new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR haven’t been released yet, but a handful of Geekbench scores are already available. 

These reveal more than just how fast the devices run (spoiler: very fast) but also how much RAM is in each model.

The world’s first MFi certified wireless battery case for the iPhone X is finally ready for the public, right after Apple just discontinued the iPhone X.

Moment – makers of some of the finest iPhone camera lens attachments you can buy – is out with a new case that adds a physical camera shutter button to your iPhone X. It also packs enough juice to recharge your iPhone and it doesn’t even need a wire.

Huawei, one of Apple’s biggest competitors in smartphone sales, fired off a series of tweets that mocked the iPhone maker immediately following Wednesday’s unveiling of new products.

Most of the tweets originating from Huawei’s mobile division were a kind of sarcastic appreciation, including one that said, “Thank you for keeping things the same.”

The Apple Watch Series 4 is set to go up for pre-orders on Friday at 12:01 AM PDT, but if you’re hoping to snag one of the Nike+ models you’ll have to wait a little bit longer than everyone else to get the new watch on your wrist.

Don’t have a heart attack, but the new electrocardiogram feature in Apple Watch Series 4 won’t work when the wearable launches.

Apple isn’t exactly hiding this fact, but it’s certainly keeping it quiet.

When you get a Mac, you’ve got a machine with almost unlimited potential, limited only by the apps you use. This bundle of 10 apps is a great way to expand the possibilities of your Mac — and it’s yours for whatever you want to pay.

Thanks to Apple, virtually everyone with an iPhone understands the Japanese word and photo term known as bokeh.

Thanks to Apple, virtually everyone mispronounces the word.

At yesterday’s iPhone and Apple Watch event, Apple revealed that it has received Food and Drug Administration clearance for the Apple Watch Series 4’s new electrocardiogram feature. In theory, this marks the ascension of the Apple Watch from a wellness health tracker to a full-fledged medical device.

But people shouldn’t be too quick to jump to conclusions about the Apple Watch’s FDA-approval stamp. Adam Masin, a litigator who deals with medical device manufacturers in product liability lawsuits, made a few crucial points on Twitter.

With the iPhone XS Max running up to $1,449 for the 512GB version, Apple’s smartphones have never been pricier. But Tim Cook insists that they still represent a good deal for customers.

Why? According to a new interview with the Apple CEO, it’s because they’re such multi-functional devices — which allow us to own one single gadget in place of many. And that’s worth the cash.