Cult of Mac

OCD users of macOS 10.13.4 rejoice! You can now reorder your Safari bookmarks alphabetically. Instead of having to settle for having Safari’s bookmarks always being in the order you created them, or having to manually drag them into the order you want, you can now have Safari sort them for you.

Why would you want to do this? Well, if you’re browsing through a huge folder of bookmarks, then having any kind of sort order is better than none. And if you’re using accessibility options — for instance if you are using screen readers because your sight is impaired — then alphabetical listings are essential.

HomePod owners no longer need to be a developer to test AirPlay 2.

Apple seeded the first public beta of iOS 11.4 to testers today, allowing anyone who signs up for the beta testing program to play with some of the new features coming out later this spring.

Snapchat just rolled out a big update that gives users the ability to tag friends in Stories and enjoy chaotic group video chats with up to 16 people. It has also added support for even more ridiculous voice calls that support up to 32 people.

The elderly can be grumpy, and Sumner Redstone is a prime example. The man who owns most of CBS now lets an iPad do most of his talking, and the only responses are “yes,” “no,” and “f— you.”

When you break your iPhone, you want it fixed fast and frugally. That’s why our cheap iPhone repair service stands out. We’ll get your broken iPhone fixed up and shipped back to you in no time, at an extremely competitive price.

Apple has rolled out its new music video-oriented Apple Music app update for Android.

Now available to download in the Google Play store, the Apple Music 2.4.2 update boasts the same “music video experience” recently added with iOS 11.3. That means that users can access a plethora of exclusive music video playlists curated by Apple.

Apple is under fire for nagging iPhone users to activate Apple Pay.

Some users say its persistent notifications in iOS are “the most aggressive” push Apple has ever made to encourage users to adopt a new service. Analysts are even labeling it “antitrust behavior.”

Losing track of personal or sensitive data is getting easier, and riskier. Most of us worry about our online activity and information, so we sign on with VPNs, encrypt our web traffic, and take other measures. But the data on your machine itself is worth protecting too.

Apple only just got done introducing the new iPad at its recent education-themed event, and already the folks at iFixit have gotten hold of a unit and broken it open.

Their findings? That the device is virtually identical to last year’s iPad, albeit with a few cheaper touches like not laminating the screen. The most notable part is that, despite the new focus on the education market, the new iPad remains next to impossible to repair. Tsk, tsk!

Happy birthday to the iPad.

Apple’s revolutionary tablet first went on sale eight years ago today, two months after its big unveiling at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. It remains the best tablet money can buy, and recent rumors have claimed it’s going to get even better in 2018.

Apple is going all-in on MicroLED displays, a new report claims. The company is reportedly gearing up to use the next-gen displays in future Apple Watches, Macs and even an as-yet-unreleased wearable device, which could be Apple’s augmented reality glasses.

The first MicroLED displays may arrive sooner than expected, too.

Buyers just aren’t going for the latest iPhone models. An industry analyst says nearly half the handsets Apple shipped last quarter were older devices, not the company’s latest. 

Even worse, the Apple reportedly sold about 45 million devices, down about 13 percent from the same quarter a year ago. 

The date for Apple’s second financial earnings call of 2018 was revealed on its investors’ website today, setting Tuesday, May 1, as the big date.

Apple has reportedly been facing slumping iPhone sales amid waning demand for the iPhone X. Investors will find out just how bad (or good) the sales figures are when Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri go over all the numbers at 2 p.m. Pacific. Per usual, Cult of Mac will be here live-blogging the whole thing.

Apple Watch sells very well, but apparently not strongly enough for some companies. A deadline requiring developers to base their apps on newer versions of watchOS just passed, and some businesses choose to pull their software rather than update it.

Instagram garnered the most attention, but there are surely other examples. 

The iPhone X and iPhone 8 significantly outlast the Galaxy S9 on a single charge. Samsung once mocked the iPhone for its battery life, but the shoe is on the other foot now — benchmarks indicate that the the iPhone X goes more than an hour longer than the Galaxy S9.

The next Mac you buy may not have Intel inside.

Apple is pushing forward with plans to ditch Intel’s processors in favor of its own chips, according to a new report that claims the transition away from Intel CPUs will likely take multiple steps.

Developers received the first beta build of Apple’s new iOS 11.4 software update, bringing a ton of bug changes and performance improvements to go with a couple of new features.

iOS 11.4 beta 1 can be downloaded directly from Apple’s developer center. You can install it as an over-the-air update once you install the proper profile to your iOS device. The first beta builds of tvOS 11.4 and watchOS 4.3.1 were also released to developers this morning.

Jony Ive designs all iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and he says in a new interview that he’s a hands-on part of the creation process all the way through, not just a guy who makes sketches. Apple’s top designer also talks about his relationship with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Fortnite, the hottest game of 2018, is finally available on iOS for everyone to download, no invite code needed.

The game has been in beta on iOS the last few weeks and required a special invite code to get in on the battle royal action. Now anyone with an iPhone SE or later can get in on the action anywhere you have an internet connection.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken exception to Apple CEO Tim Cook’s comments that Facebook doesn’t care about its customers because it sells their data to advertisers.

Zuck went on the defensive in one of his first interviews since news broke that Cambridge Analytica leaked the personal data of 50 million users. The interview touched a number of topics, but when asked specifically about Cook’s comments Zuckerberg unleashed a tangent on why Tim Cook is wrong.

What’s next for Apple? We’ll find out in June, when the company hosts devs from around the world at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2018.

Every year, the event gives Cupertino execs a chance to show off Apple’s new software and hardware. It’s a chance for outsiders to get a direct look at what’s in the Apple product pipeline. In the video below, we round up all the latest WWDC 2018 rumors to give you a heads-up about what’s on the horizon.

Keyboards have come a long way, but not always in a better direction. Get your hands on a clackety old mechanical keyboard and you may wonder why soft keys became a thing. And the look of old keyboards, especially typewriters, are masterclasses in classy design.

A great music-making app recreating one of the all time great synthesizers on iOS is just one of our picks for this week’s “Awesome Apps of the Week.”

In addition, we’ve got a superb Twitter client app update, the world’s most popular battle royale game, and a gamebook RPG recreating some of the genre classics of the 1980s. Check out our selections below.

Anyone who works in design knows the value of a good library of assets and templates. That definitely applies for WordPress, where getting designing a page can quickly add up to hours.

Having reminders on our phones is super convenient. But no touchscreen can replace the satisfaction of slapping an actual snooze button on a good old alarm clock.