Phone side screens.could take the place of physical buttons and switches. And there'll be app icons and notifications on the edges, too. Photo: Apple
Apple is considering bending an iPhone display around the sides of the device, making additional room for buttons and status notifications.
This isn’t a new concept, as rival devices have does something similar for years. But Apple filed a patent for these side-screens just 9 months ago, so it’s clearly still interested in the idea.
Japan loves its iPhones. But a proposed law could make some consumers consider cheaper Android handsets. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The Japanese government is considering a move to block carriers from bundling the cost of smartphones into monthly services fees. This comes after regulators last month said Apple violated anti-trust laws by forcing carriers to subsidize iPhones.
Apple has dominated the Japanese smartphone market for the last five years. The flagship iPhone X is the most expensive smartphone on the market at more than $1,000, but customers feel little to no pinch in the pocketbook as the cost becomes part of a fixed contract with monthly service fees.
Another day, another new weather app. Dark Sky was already a big favorite, thanks to its hyper-local forecasts that tell you when it will rain outside your door, down to the minute.
Well, the app just got updated to version 6.0. According to the Dark Sky developers, it’s a completely new app — an update in name only. Let’s take a look.
That Apple Watch band you wanted may be gone. Photo: Apple
Apple has removed a bunch of Apple Watch bands from its online store while many others are sold out ahead of its annual September event.
It seems likely Apple will introduce new band designs and styles alongside Apple Watch Series 4 this fall. Regulatory filings for the new wearable all but confirm a new model is imminent.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has lived the risk-to-riches story. He built computers in a garage with a good partner and we all know how that turned out.
But red flags are waving as the Woz takes an interest in cryptocurrency. He’s reportedly hitching his wagon to partners with a dubious track record.
Apple expertise could help Tesla meet its production goals for the Model 3. And Tesla could help create the iCar. Photo: Tesla
Tesla is struggling to get its cars into customer’s hands. Apple is quietly developing its own self-driving car. The two should team up, according to one investor.
Apple would provide its long experience in bringing high tech products to market. Tesla would contribute fresh ideas to the partnership.
Parallels 14 is a massive upgrade. Photo: Parallels
Parallels, the popular virtualization software for Mac, just got a massive upgrade.
Version 14 comes with macOS Mojave support and a significant speed boost, as well as welcome storage optimizations. It also brings a bunch of handy new features, including the ability to access Windows apps shortcuts on the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar.
Netflix is experimenting with a way to bypass paying Apple. Photo: Flickr/Stock Catalog
Netflix is among the highest-grossing apps in the App Store, but that might not be the case for much longer. That’s because the video streaming company is supposedly looking for ways to bypass iTunes so as to save itself the money that it currently pays Apple.
The decision is at least partially linked to Apple’s efforts in producing its own original video content, which would make it a direct competitor to Netflix.
The App Store is another major growth driver for Apple. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple’s worth a crazy amount of money these days, but what really separates it from previous eras is that it no longer lives or dies by one product. Look at any part of Apple’s business and you’ll find reasons to be optimistic.
The latest example of this comes from Bank of America, which bumped its price target on Apple stock from $230 to $250 a share. Why? Because the bank noticed that the App Store is booming — and not just in the category you might expect.
Learn to drive traffic from Google with this 18-hour course. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Promoting a product or brand online means making the most of Google AdWords. So if you’re not set up with AdWords, or just want to know how to make better use of Google’s online advertising system, this crash course is for you.
Fortnite will expand its reach even further. Photo: Epic Games
Updated 3:20 p.m. August 21: Epic Games says it does not plan to bring Fortnite to Apple TV after all. “References to tvOS in the Fortnite files are the result of general Unreal Engine support for the Apple TV platform,” the company said in a statement sent to CNet.
The original report follows….
Fortnite Battle Royale already supports more platforms than most games, but it seems it hasn’t finished expanding its reach. New evidence suggests the biggest game on the planet will soon be available on Apple TV.
You don't get to $1 trillion without knowing a thing or two about saving cash. Photo: Apple
Apple may have just passed the $1 trillion mark, but it’s still looking for ways to save money. In its efforts to keep manufacturing costs as low as possible, the company is supposedly shifting production for its various devices from Taiwanese suppliers to Chinese ones.
There's yet another place to use Apple Pay. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
You can now use Apple Pay at all 750 Costco warehouses across the United States. The retailer is also retrofitting its gas stations with contactless readers, although only a small number of these have so far gone live.
Don't mess with Apple fans! Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac
The latest snatch-and-grab Apple Store robbery didn’t turn out all that well for the thieves.
Over the weekend, the Apple Store at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, California, was targeted by three men who walked in and began snatching products. But angry customers got involved, leading to all three would-be thieves being arrested.
The Logitech MX Vertical is here to save your wrist. Photo: Logitech
To create its new vertical mouse, Logitech borrowed from its expertise creating peripherals for players of first-person shooters. The goal? A kill shot aimed straight at the ugly heart of repetitive strain injuries.
The result of the company’s efforts is the Logitech MX Vertical. The ergonomic mouse, unveiled today, offers appealing features in a strangely beautiful design that looks something like a seashell.
This isn't even all the devices that will run the betas Apple released today. Photo: Apple
Monday is Beta Day at Apple. Today brought shiny new versions of iOS 12 and macOS Mojave. The newest versions are only for developers, but the public just got access to the iOS 12 and Mojave betas released to developers last week.
New betas of watchOS 5 and tvOS 12 for devs also launched today.
Can the iPhone X really be selling too well? Photo: Cult of Mac
A few months ago, analysts were predicting that terrible sales of the iPhone X would devastate the company. They were wrong. Today, an analyst says very strong sales of the iPhone X are going to damage Apple next year.
The 2018 Mac mini Pro is rumored to be much powerful than the "current" model, which hasn't been updated in almost four years. Photo: Apple
The last time Apple gave any love to the Mac mini was way back in 2014. But a refresh is reportedly coming.
This inexpensive macOS desktop is apparently popular with developers and server farms. The 2018 mini is supposedly being created with these professionals in mind.
Here I could have blurred the netting by using a wider aperture. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
A few days ago, we learned about the iPhone’s shutter, the part of the camera that “opens and closes” to let light onto the sensor. Today, we’re taking an in-depth look at the aperture, aka hole. The aperture is an opening in the lens that can be made bigger or smaller. Like shutter speed, its primary purpose is to control how much light reacts with camera the sensor (or film).
Also like shutter speed, aperture has some extra effects on how the image looks. Specifically, it can control how much of the image, front to back, looks sharp.
How do you send a photo to several of your family members? Do you compose a group message, adding all their various addresses and phone numbers manually? Do you have several existing threads, each with a different combo of family members?
Today, we’re going to see a much easier way to send a photo to multiple recipients using Siri Shortcuts (or Apple’s Workflow app). It’s so simple that it should be built in to the iPhone.
We now have a fairly firm idea of when the 6.5-inch iPhone will debut. The 6.1-inch model isn't expected until months later, though. Photo: OnLeaks
We already know quite a bit about the next-generation iPhones, and one of the remaining questions may have just been answered: when they’ll go on sale.
A German wireless phone provider has leaked part what we want to know: the date preorders will begin. The most likely release date can be extrapolated from that.
The first commercial product with Wi-Fi connectivity. Photo: Apple
How many important moments at Apple started with Steve Jobs being late to a meeting that ended with him making a seemingly impossible demand?
This is exactly how one former executive of Lucent Technologies describes the birth of commercial Wi-Fi, which took place in a meeting room at Apple headquarters in Cupertino on April 20, 1998.
Minecraft: Education Edition can teach math, science, history, and more. Photo: Microsoft
Minecraft: Education Edition is one of the best-known applications to gamify learning. After launching back 2016, an iPad version will finally debut next month.
The Minecraft game is hugely popular, and the version created for schools also has millions of users learning math, science, history, and more.
You don't need a weather app to see what's going to happen here. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
There are roughly a billion weather apps on the App Store, and several them are very good indeed. But my current favorite is Hello Weather, which was just updated to get some great international features, as well as some awesome radar maps. It’s so great-looking, and so easy to use, that it’s been my go-to weather app since I discovered it.
The iPhone X notch isn't the "deal breaker" so many thought it would be, but the screen cutout could be replaced with an under-display camera in 2019. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The first camera that can be embedded under a phone’s display might launch next year. If this comes to pass, it would remove the need for the screen cutout in the iPhone and many rival Android models.
It’s no secret that companies are trying to develop in-display cameras. The promise that one will be on the market in 2019 comes from an unnamed source.