With PlugBug Duo, you can simultaneously charge your MacBook, iPhone, and iPad from one wall socket. Photo: TwelveSouth
Everyone wants to tote around less stuff, so add-ons that make your current gear more useful are welcome.And that’s just what the new PlugBug Duo by TwelveSouth does: it clips onto your MacBook charger and adds a pair of USB ports.
It’s especially handy for people who have a MacBook Pro with a USB-C port, but need to charge gadgets that take a traditional USB port.
Scotty Allen says DO NOT try this on your only iPhone. Photo: Strange Parts/YouTube
Scotty Allen, who describes his work as “Adventures from the Technological Fringe,” pulled off another DIY feat by bringing wireless charging to an old iPhone 7.
True to the word adventure, the task was not effortless for the YouTube host, whose channel is called “Strange Parts.” It took Allen a couple of failed attempts before he could deliver on the hack requested several times by followers.
One day I'll run out of street-sign photos to illustrate notification how-tos, but not today. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
One of iOS 12’s big changes is Notifications Center. It gets the seriously great Do Not Disturb at Bedtime feature, and it also now groups notifications, stacking them per-app in order to reduce clutter and increase clarity on the lock screen and elsewhere.
Notification grouping is totally automatic, but there are new settings that let you customize it if the auto options don’t suit you. Let’s take a look.
TSMC beat out Samsung and Intel to make Apple's A11 Bionic processor, and will apparently be the sole producer of its replacements. Photo: iFixit
TSMC has produced every iPhone processor for several years, and is reportedly going to continue to be Apple’s sole source for chips.
Apple generally prefers to get components from multiple sources, but apparently no company — not even Samsung or Intel — can compete with TSMC. That makes the two companies very dependent on each other.
Drafts is on its way to the Mac. Photo: Agile Tortoise
Drafts, the best text notes/writing/wrangling app on iOS, is coming soon to the Mac. Drafts, for those who haven’t tried it, is a kind of universal inbox for text. Whenever you want to write something — a note, an email, a blog post or an essay — you launch Drafts and start typing.
It’s always ready with a blank page. Then, when you’re done, you can use Drafts’ many, many actions to send that text elsewhere — beautifully formatted for the Notes app, as a list to the Reminders app, as a post to Twitter, a task in Things, etc. The list is almost endless thanks to a shared directory of new actions that can be installed with one click.
Until now, Drafts has been iOS-only. But soon, probably later this year, it’s coming to the Mac.
Get our there and earn your special award on September 1. Photo: Apple
Apple is helping fans support and enjoy America’s national parks with a new Apple Pay donation program and Apple Watch Activity Challenge.
Apple will donate $1 to the National Park Foundation every time Apple Pay is used in its stores, on Apple.com, or in the Apple Store app between August 24 and August 31. It will also reward Watch wearers with special badges for completing National Park events.
Apple may have pipped Amazon to the post by being the first company to hit $1 trillion (despite some predictions to the contrary), but Amazon has nothing but good things in its future.
According to a new report from MKM Partners, by 2024 — roughly five years from now — Amazon could be valued at a whopping $2.5 trillion. Amazon Web Services alone could, meanwhile, be valued at a whopping $1 trillion, approximately the same valuation Apple holds today.
Stay safe and anonymous online, for life, and for about 40 bucks. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
These days, online security is super-important. And if you’ve visited this site before, you know we’re big fans of virtual private networks (aka VPNs). So when a top-shelf VPN is available for 95 percent off, we take notice.
This week’s Fortnite Battle Royale update has landed — and it’s a big one!
Players can explore the new Tomato Temple area and take advantage of the Rift-To-Go to escape tricky situations. Epic Games has also added a brand new game mode called Score Royale, and made big improvements.
Here’s everything you can expect from the version 5.30 update.
Will this help Apple grow its market presence in India? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has so far created 3,500 jobs at its offices in Hyderabad, India — and it plans to hire 1,500 more people, bringing the total to 5,000. That’s in excess of the 4,000 jobs Apple initially promised it would create in India.
The news was shared by Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of IT and Industries in the Telangana government, located in the southern part of the country.
The multi-tiered design is sure to be a winner. Photo: Apple
Ahead of this Sunday’s opening of Apple’s first store in Kyoto, Japan, the company has published a few images of the store — showing the interior of what looks to be a stunning addition to Apple’s high-end retail outlets.
The store is located on one of Kyoto’s main shopping streets, surrounded by some of Kyoto’s most famous shrines and temples. The Apple Store pays homage to Japanese culture and design, while still maintaining a uniquely Apple look.
Onavo Protect doesn't comply with App Store rules. Photo: Facebook
Facebook has removed its Onavo Protect app from the App Store after reportedly violating Apple’s data-collection policies.
The VPN service was being used to gather information about how people use their devices outside of Facebook. Apple officials informed Facebook that Onavo violated new rules introduced in June, which are designed to limit data collection by app developers.
The view from the proposed new Apple Store. Photo: Federation Square/Apple
Apple’s ambitions to open a new “global flagship” Apple Store in Melbourne, Australia, are at risk — thanks to the granting of a new heritage protection order that will let the government deliberate on whether to permanently protect the site.
The store, supposed to be located on Melbourne’s Federation Square, has been the subject of controversy since day one. The new heritage protection status, which runs to late 2018, could prevent Apple from opening its planned retail outlet.
Making the 5G iPhone is going to be a complex and expensive business. Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
There’s no doubt Apple will eventually make a 5G iPhone. The high-speed standard was finalized a few months ago, and wireless service providers are building 5G networks.
The next step is for the companies that developed the technology to decide what they’ll charge Apple and other phone makers to license their patents. The total might be more than you expect.
And then there’s the day an Apple Store employee opened a package to find it stuffed with tens of thousands of dollars worth of extremely illegal crystal meth.
Apple is asking customers to consider a donation to flood relief efforts in India. Screenshot: iTunes
Customers shopping the iTunes or App stores are being asked to consider monetary donations for flood relief in Kerala, India.
Banners seeking donations began appearing on both sites Wednesday and directed concerned customers to button presents that make donations in increments of $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 and $200.
This is an almost impossible lighting situation for most automatic cameras. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
White balance is one of the most important settings on any camera. It can make the difference between vibrant, accurate colors, and a muddy, flat mess. It is also the setting least likely to be tweaked manually by casual photographers. There’s not even a good way to adjust white balance in the iPhone’s own Photos app.
But don’t despair. Today we’ll learn everything you need to now about how white balance works, and what to do with it.
Microsoft Word 2019 requires running a somewhat recent version of macOS. Photo: Microsoft
Microsoft clearly expects Office 365 for Mac users to keep their computers at least generally up to date. The company requires users to run macOS Sierra or a newer version to have access to additional features coming next month.
Subscribers who are running 11.12 Sierra or its replacement 11.13 High Sierra in September will get an upgrade from the Office 2016 client to Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac.
A new Apple Watch doesn’t have to break the bank. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
This year’s Apple Watch refresh could be the biggest yet. With rumors surrounding a new design and a larger edge-to-edge display, every smartwatch wearer is going to want to upgrade.
To help you pay for yours, you can turn your old Apple Watch into real cash. And we can show you where you’ll find the best price!
The wait for Apple to acquire a popular music-identification app is almost over. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple has been trying to buy Shazam since last December, but the deal has been held up for months by regulators in the EU. That’s reportedly just about to change.
It’s likely Apple wants this music-identification app as part of its ongoing battle with Spotify.
A picture and three words are advertising gold. Photo courtesy of Jen Pollack Bianco
Within a week’s time, two of the Apple’s biggest rivals got caught using misleading photos in ad campaigns that promoted the quality of their smartphones’ built-in cameras.
The embarrassing screwups of Samsung and Huawei showcase the simple brilliance of Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign.
Day One makes some pretty sweet-looking journals. Photo: Day One
Day One, the super-popular journaling app for people who want their most important thoughts, experiences, and notes to be left to future generations, just got a huge update. Day One version 3.0 gets a whole new editor, plus audio recording and a bunch of other tweaks.