Apple has joined Alphabet, Amazon, and Facebook in opposing a proposed Australian law requiring tech companies to let law enforcement access private encrypted data in suspected criminal investigations.
The law would seek to punish companies which don’t comply with $7.2 million fines, along with prison terms for individuals. It would make Australia one of the first nations to pass major legislation in this area, although other countries may be keen to follow in its footsteps.
Apple Music is teaming up for an exclusive playlist deal with the popular Ministry of Sound music label. The first playlist is set to debut on Thursday, October 4.
The move isn’t just about helping Apple, however. It also hurts Spotify, the only other streaming music company to offer much of a challenge to Apple Music. At present, the Ministry of Sound has several popular playlists on Spotify, which will be removed from all non-Apple streaming services in the days to come.
This week’s Fortnite update is now available across all platforms, including iOS.
Version 6.0.1 isn’t quite as exciting as last week’s big season six launch, but it does bring some new content to enjoy. Players can take advantage of the Chiller trap in Battle Royale and there are more options to play around with in Playground mode.
The Apple Store app has been updated to support Siri Shortcuts. It provides shoppers with an “even faster way” to preorder the iPhone XR later this month, Apple says. Here’s what you need to do to get everything set up before October 19.
Okay, so the new iPhones are more waterproof than ever, but if you don’t fancy taking your Apple handset for a dip, the next best thing is a new game that landed in the App Store today.
Called True Surf, it’s a surf sim which claims to be the most authentic surfing experience you’ll find on a mobile device. Check out the trailer below.
Your iPhone could send out a pair of alerts this afternoon, but they aren’t ones you’ve set yourself. Instead, they’re from the U.S. government, and both are test messages.
The goal is to try out a pair of systems set up to notify the public of emergencies. Again, these are only tests.
The Appel community is all over Samsung these days. And, no, before you accuse us of failing to properly proofread these articles, we’re talking about Appel, a hamlet in the Netherlands with a population of just a few hundred residents.
In an effort to drum up a bit of publicity, Samsung recently handed out free Galaxy S9 handsets to people living in Appel as a marketing stunt. Because, you know, getting people who live in a town with a kinda similar name to that of your competition is totally the kind of thing that keeps Tim Cook up at night!
Some, but not all, iOS 12 users complain their iPhone or iPad won’t begin charging if it’s in sleep mode when a Lightning cable is plugged in. Apple has introduced a beta of iOS 12.1 that appears to fix this problem.
Microsoft today unveiled a new generation of its Surface Pro 2-in-1. This has a faster processor than its predecessor but other than that remains practically unchanged. The long hoped for USB-C port is still missing.
The improvements are so marginal that Microsoft is left emphasizing that the Surface Pro 6 is available in a new color.
Tim Cook went on the offensive toward competing companies like Amazon and Google in a new interview tonight on privacy.
Appearing on Vice News Tonight on HBO, the Apple CEO was asked if his company’s stance on privacy is stopping Siri from becoming more competitive with Alexa. Cook pushed back saying any company that says it needs all your data to make its service better is telling you a “bunch of bunk.”
The last Apple earnings call of 2018 has already got an official date.
Investors will get their first glimpse of iPhone XS sales numbers during Apple’s Q4 2018 earnings call that has been slated for November 1.
Tile offers some of the most popular Bluetooth trackers, but these had a significant drawback: non-replaceable batteries. Getting a fresh battery required buying a whole new tracker. That finally changed today.
The latest Tile Mate and Tile Pro also offer longer range and louder volumes.
The new S4 chip in the Apple Watch Series 4 is an absolute beast when it comes to processing power.
Apple didn’t brag too much about the S4 during its September keynote other than saying the chip is two times faster than last year’s model. There aren’t any benchmark scores for it. However, a developer recently put the S4 through some serious tests — and the results are insanely impressive
Apple is plugging away at updates for all its operating systems, and just came out with no less than four new betas exclusively for developers. These are the second pre-release versions of iOS 12.1, macOS 10.14.1, watchOS 5.1, and tvOS 12.1.
In a somewhat unusual circumstance, the highlight of three of these disparate updates is the same feature: Group FaceTime.
Instead of waiting for the yet-to-be-determined release date of Apple’s AirPower charging mat to fire up your iPhone and Apple Watch simultaneously, consider the HiRise Duet charging stand.
This luxury charging stand is fully compatible with all versions of Apple Watch (including Series 4) and all of the latest iPhones including XS, XS Max and XR. Best yet, this gorgeous stand is on sale in Cult of Mac’s Watch Store.
A fresh batch of new emoji are coming soon to your Mac, iPhone and iPad.
This morning, Apple posted a teaser of over 70 new emoji that are being included in iOS 12.1 once it launches to the public. Some of the new characters include new smiley faces, a raccoon, llama, swan and new sports equipment.
Take a look at what to expect:
If you’re running macOS Mojave (and you really should be), probably one of the first things you did after installing it was to test Dark Mode. The new theme darkens the Mac interface and makes everything look cooler — apart from text, which is just harder to read.
But there’s no built-in way to have Dark Mode switch on automatically at sundown. That’s where NightOwl comes in. The free app switches your Mac between Dark Mode and the traditional lighter look automatically.
Google is making it possible to play high-end games on even the cheapest computers.
Project Stream is a new service that will bring the most demanding PC titles to Chrome this week, starting with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. You’ll need a speedy internet connection, but expensive processors and graphics cards aren’t required.
Apple contributed $1 million to help survivors rebuild after a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi last week.
In this day and age, if you don’t have cloud storage, what are you even doing? It’s an easy way to back up your most important files and keep them accessible anywhere.
Apple has rolled out its Business Chat platform in new countries, including Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Singapore, the U.K., and Hong Kong.
The platform is designed to make it easy to exchange messages with companies — whether that is for making purchases, scheduling appointments, or simply asking questions.
Nyloon makes one of the best nylon NATO Apple Watch bands out there, and now offers a brand-new unboxing experience. Your shiny new Series 4 deserves a band made with really high-grade materials and hardware — Nyloon is that band.
First impressions are so crucial, especially when cold hard cash is involved. That’s why I love that Nyloon has such sleek and streamlined packaging, a nod to the high-quality Apple Watch band nestled inside. Cult of Mac takes a look inside the box for the Moai — Nyloon’s best-selling band. Let’s check it out.
Starting today, students at three U.S. universities — including Tim Cook’s alma mater, Duke University — can use their Apple Watch or iPhone for their campus ID.
The feature, also available at the Universities of Alabama and Oklahoma, lets students add their ID cards to their Apple Wallet app. This can then be used by campus ID holders to pay for laundry, lunch, book supplies and more, along with accessing dorms, the gym, or the school library.
Apple Pay Cash could be ready to make its debut in Europe.
Screens invited users to set up Apple’s peer-to-peer payments service have started popping up on devices on the other side of the Atlantic this week. Apple has also started publishing Apple Pay Cash support pages in European countries.
The fast and simple mobile browser from Opera is now available on iOS.
Opera Touch was built with gesture-based devices like the iPhone X and iPhone XS in mind, and it’s optimized for one-handed use on larger screens. It boasts a number of useful features, including Flow, which lets you share content with Opera on your desktop.