There’s plenty of reason to be concerned about your computer’s security and health. Data and identity theft is real and rampant, so virtual private network (VPN) protection is a must. But your machine can become a threat to itself with age, making diagnostic tools essential as well.
In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: If you’re one of the smiling Apple fans who picked up an iPhone XS or XS Max today, use these tips to ensure you get everything up and running optimally.
You’ll find that story and much more. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.
Just got a new iPhone XS but are confused about where to find all of its amazing new features?
Apple just put out a new video that gives an in-depth look at all the fun new stuff you can do with the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR. Depth Control, Dual SIM, Memojis and much more are all covered in the quick video. It should help you master your new device.
Watch and learn!
If you take a photo inside the Messages app in iOS 11 and earlier, that photo stays trapped in the message thread forever, unless you explicitly long-press and save it to your camera roll. In iOS 12, that’s changed. Now, when you take a photo using the messages app, any pictures you snap are saved to your Photos library. But that’s not quite the whole story.
Today Apple finally released the iPhone XS, XS Max and Apple Watch Series 4. Now, in true Cult of Mac YouTube tradition, we’ve gotten our hands on it and made an unboxing video.
You can see the full unboxing in all of its golden glory, the box design, its contents and a quick hands-on with the iPhone XS.
Check it out:
iPhone XS and Apple Watch Series 4 owners looking for the perfect chargers to both of their new devices just got a lot of love from Belkin with a dock that works on both iPhones and Apple Watch.
Belkin introduced its new BoostUp wireless charging dock for iPhone + Apple Watch today that not only keeps your new tech juiced up, but it’s also so pretty you won’t be ashamed to have it on full display in your house.
Here’s another angle:
Apple CEO Tim Cook joined Apple Store employees in Palo Alto, Calif. this morning to greet customers as they arrived to purchase the latest Apple Watch or iPhone.
This is a fall tradition for Cook, who stood outside the door to be the first to greet and shake hands with customers as they came through the door.
Creating a better, more active version of yourself just got a whole lot easier today with the release of Apple Watch Series 4.
To celebrate its new wearable, Apple put out a fun 30-second ad on its Canadian YouTube channel. Titled “Better You,” the ad features a frumpy looking guy and alternative versions of himself utilizing the Apple Watch to get into better shape.
Get motivated by watching the ad:
Remember that time the world thought Apple had gone mad because it launched a $17,000 Apple Watch Edition? That figure is dwarfed by the price of TAG Heuer’s new luxury smartwatch, the Connected Modular 45. Its asking price: $198,000.
By our count that’s equivalent to around 396 units of Apple’s brand new $499 cellular Apple Watch Series 4 watches. It also qualifies for the status of most expensive smartwatch in the world.
Your shiny new Apple Watch Series 4 is finally on your wrist. What are you going to do with your old one?
It might seem like a relic now, but it’s probably still worth a small fortune — if you sell it properly. Here’s how to get the best price for your old Apple Watch.
Bluetooth audio is popular because it’s portable, wireless and generally convenient. Unfortunately, it’s also energy-intensive, so commutes or trips to the gym often need to be coordinated with battery life. Not so with this set of long-lasting Bluetooth earbuds.
The world’s not fair. Most people haven’t even gotten their hands on the new iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, and already a video of Apple’s top newest handsets being purposely damaged has shown up online.
It’s the work of YouTube channel TechSmartt, which describes it as the “ultimate drop test” for Apple’s new handsets. And while we think that the “ultimate” suffix might be better saved for a more scientific drop test, we’ll take what we can get at this early stage!
This week on The CultCast: Is iPhone XS the worst Apple “S” phone of all time? We compare the XS to Apple’s other flagship “S” releases. Plus: We round up what reviewers are saying about iPhone XS and Apple Watch 4; reveal which Apple Watch feature is giving people a serious case of FOMO; and discuss a leaked detail in iOS 12.1 that all but confirms a new iPad event this fall.
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.
With no mention of it during the iPhone XS keynote, and little sign of it on Apple’s website, it was beginning to look like AirPower had been wiped entirely from Apple’s plans. But it seems the wireless charger isn’t quite dead yet.
AirPower is mentioned in the iPhone XS user guide, early adopters have noticed today. A reference in the latest iOS 12.1 beta also provides hope for the device.
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei recently stole Apple’s crown as the world’s second biggest smartphone maker on volume. But it’s still keen to position itself as a scrappy young upstart, jabbing away at the larger, trillion dollar Cupertino giant.
With that goal in mind, the Chinese manufacturer today trolled Apple at the launch of its iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. How? By parking up a Huawei van outside Apple’s flagship retail store in London to engage with prospective customers.
Chris “Captain America” Evans is the latest star to sign on for an original Apple TV series. Evans will star in and executive-produce Defending Jacob, a limited series based on a best-selling novel from 2012.
It follows the story of a father whose teenage son is accused of murder. Defending Jacob will be Evans’ first non-movie role since he starred in the Opposite Sex miniseries way back in 2000.
Some iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 buyers are disappointed after finding out that their shiny new devices won’t be arriving today as expected.
A number of customers are reporting that their delivery dates have slipped to Monday, September 24 — but that may not be the case, after all.
Forget Amazon’s Prime Day, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday — if you’re an Apple fan, the biggest non-holiday day of the year is new device day. And it’s finally here!
As of 8am local time on Friday, September 21, the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 go on sale around the world. While we’re still a few hours away from that time rolling around in the U.S, a number of places in the world have already received their devices. And, boy, do their customers look happy!
Hordes of Apple fans hoping to get their hands on the new iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are starting to form massive lines at the company’s stores all over the globe.
The two new iPhones and Apple Watch Series 4 go on sale Friday, September 21 but there will only be a limited supply available. Some of the iPhone XS Max models sold out within the first few minutes of preorders being opened, but that hasn’t stopped some fans from trying their luck by waiting in line, even if it means standing in the rain for hours.
Check out some of these huge lines:
The iPhone XS is already being delivered to some lucky customers on the far side of the globe.
Apple fans in the U.S. still have over 12 hours to wait before their iPhone XS pre-orders start being delivered, but in New Zealand that pre-ordered the iPhone XS, XS Max and Apple Watch Series 4 are already reveling in their new devices.
One fantastic new feature of iOS 12 is that password manager apps can integrate into the built-in password autofill. You know how when you tap a password field in Safari, and it offers to fill the password in from your iCloud Keychain? It’s pretty handy right?
Now it can also serve up passwords form third-party apps like Dashlane and 1Password. And that’s not all.
While the camera upgrades have some Apple fans considering paying the price of a MacBook for an iPhone, Samsung announced a three-camera smartphone today that will retail for about $400.
While Apple is reportedly on track for a three-camera iPhone sometime next year, the Samsung Galaxy A7 2018 joins Huawei’s P20 Pro as the only handsets to feature a third rear-facing lens.
Amazon hosted its annual “secret” event this morning in Seattle where the company unleashed a tidal wave of new Alexa-powered Echo products that are designed to take on pretty much every major tech company in the world.
From its new microwave to a pricey new subwoofer, Amazon has a new product for pretty much everybody at every price point. The event was so action-packed it was hard to keep up with the catalog of new options, but we’ve rounded them all up so you can figure out what Alexa products you should splurge on next.
Check out all these new goodies:
Anyone who’d like to try out iOS 12.1 can now do so. Apple just seeded the first public beta, a couple of days after the developer-only version.
Be warned: those who are going to trade in their current iPhone for a shiny new iPhone X’s tomorrow absolutely should not install this.
If you record podcasts, audio interviews, or anything else were you need to record and edit a bunch of people talking, then you may already know about Ferrite Recording Studio. It’s an app designed for the exact purpose, making it easy to gather your audio “footage,” edit it, and then post it to your outlet of choice.
Version 2.0 just launched, and it makes the app better than ever.