The second Apple earnings report of 2018 is set to come out on May 1 and Wall Street’s top analysts are worried that disappointing news is on the horizon.

Rumors have been circulating for months that iPhone X sales have been far weaker than Apple expected. The company’s stock price has been slipping in the last two weeks leading up to the Q2 2018 earnings report. Everyone’s waiting to see if Apple can pull out another surprise, but the signs don’t look too promising.

Per usual, Cult of Mac will be here to live blog all the action as it transpires on Tuesday, May 1, at 2 p.m. Pacific. Here’s what to watch for on the call:

As Apple collectibles go, a Steve Jobs autograph is almost as rare as the Apple 1. Both are pricey investments.

However, a TIME magazine cover featuring Jobs and the signature he loathed giving out is kind of a bargain at a penny shy of $20,000.

Have you ever visited a website, only to be bombarded with pop-ups, ads and “dickbars“? Purify ad blocker for iOS will kick those annoying JavaScript trackers and ads to the curb, providing you a faster, more private browsing experience.

Apple is offering a free book excerpt from Senator John McCain’s new political memoir, The Restless Waves, coming out on May 22.

The section, which is available through the Apple News app, is referred to as an Apple News exclusive. While it was not written exclusively by Apple, it nonetheless underlines how Apple is taking a renewed interest in news reportage and publishing.

In a disastrous turn of events, Apple may have lost up to half its market share in Greater China, analysts report.

A combination of poor adoption of Apple’s latest generation of iPhone handsets and increased competition from domestic handset makers like Huawei and Oppo might have slashed Apple’s business in a market Tim Cook is convinced is Apple’s biggest hope.

Using a password manager is a great way to make your online logins and forms easier and more secure. It organizes and deploys all of your login information from a central, secure location. So when you log in somewhere, you can save time and worry in keeping your passwords strong and secure.

When it comes to analysts and Apple-watchers, Ming-Chi Kuo is one of the most accurate sources out there; having covered the Cupertino company in his job at KGI since early 2012.

However, it seems that Kuo is moving on to greener pastures for a job with another firm. Unfortunately for Apple fans, this may mean focusing on non-Apple companies instead.

Volume production of Apple’s budget MacBook Air has reportedly been delayed until the second half of 2018, according to sources in the supply chain.

Usually reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said he expected the next-gen MacBook Air to launch during the second quarter of this year, between April and June.

Siri may be a friendly (if slightly dim) neighborhood smart assistant, but not everything about Apple’s A.I. voice is entirely G-rated.

Over the weekend, Reddit went Siri mad after one user noted that it was possible to get Siri to spout our the word “mother*@$^%r” in response to a seemingly innocuous question. Check below for the video evidence.

Do you get your iPhone service from Sprint? Not for much longer. The third and fourth largest U.S. carriers just announced they’re merging. But the plan to join Sprint and T-Mobile is already drawing significant criticism.

The combined company will be called T-Mobile, and will be headed by John Legere, T-Mobile’s current CEO. That’s assuming the $59 billion deal gets approved by government regulators.

Just about all of us have a few classic Apple devices we just can’t bear to get rid of.  But Hap Plain takes it to the next level. And beyond. He collects and sells Apple prototypes for top dollar.

He has about 258. And his collection is a more than just a history of the company. It’s a testament all the effort needed to create the great Apple desktops, PDAs, and phones of the past.

There’s been a lot of pessimism about the iPhone X lately, but a market research firm says that this device was the top selling smartphone in the world by a wide margin in February.

The company also says Apple had all four of the best selling smartphones globally that month. 

This week you can block all kinds of evil internet content with, make your music sound like it was recorded onto a crappy old cassette tape, translate any web-page right inside mobile Safari, and listen to the songs of bands that are playing live in your town. Yes, its time for your favorite Sunday read, the cult of Mac Apps of the Week roundup.

There are something like 3 million apps in the App Store on any given day. So there’s plenty of evidence that almost anybody can make an app, including you. It just takes understanding the basics.

When touchscreens and wafer-thin keyboards are the norm, the feeling of putting your fingers to work on an old typewriter is surprisingly satisfying. Heck, even an old chunky keyboard can bring a tactile sensation to digital work that seems rare today.

The good news is that someone managed to create an iOS 11.3 jailbreak. The bad news is that the person who managed the trick probably won’t turn it into anything the general public can use.

While this once would have left a significant percentage of the iPhone community tearing its hair out, these days jailbreaking is almost dead.

This week on a very feisty episode of The CultCast: New iPhone SE will steal one of iPhone X’s best features; how Steve Jobs saved Pixar, then stole all their stock; MoviePass ends its unlimited movie option; Gal Gadot promotes Huawei on Twitter … from an iPhone; and we wrap with the best iPhone camera lenses, wireless security system, and the most powerful flashlight on Earth in an all-new Under Review.

Our thanks to Udemy for support thing episode. Whether you’re looking to learn something new or just sharpen your skills, Udemy has over 65,000 courses starting at just 11.99.
Visit Ude.my/CULTCAST or download the Udemy app to learn anytime, anywhere.

Apple’s next big thing could be a virtual reality headset.

According to a new report, the iPhone-maker is planning to launch its own headset in 2020 that can handle both AR and VR technology. And in true Apple fashion, it’ll pack some innovations that could finally bring VR into the mainstream.

It pays to keep an eye open for great opportunities at Cult of Mac. Sometimes you’ll spot a great deal or tech insight — and sometimes you win brand new Apple gear for free!

Microsoft released Office 2019 Preview today, with the full release expected later this year. This early version is only for Windows, though a macOS edition will be out “in the coming months,” according to the company.

This version of the giant productivity suite is for those who don’t want to pay a monthly fee for Office 365. 

Gmail’s sweet new interface is rolling out to users. It offers the familiar simple text-based interface from the Gmail you all know and “love,” but it manages to be both less messy, and more useful. If you want to take it for a spin, then switching it on is easy.

Public transportation can be a nightmare. Traveling in an unfamiliar city or relying on trains and buses to get around can leave you feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.

Transit for iPhone makes finding train bus, and subway schedules simple. With support for more than 80 U.S. cities and dozens more around the world, it is one of the most useful apps for making the right choice of transportation.

This week’s Apple deals roundup will help you get into shape without breaking the bank. You’ll see deals on the Apple Watch as well as Totu Sports Headphones. Plus, save on the newly released Space Gray Magic Mouse 2!

Steve Jobs was a mercurial genius with a singular knack for turning bright ideas into shiny new products. Tim Cook is an operations wizard who hammered Apple’s supply chain into a manufacturing powerhouse.

If you’re an Apple fan, you know the widely accepted narrative. You’ve heard the stories about these powerful CEOs and their various strengths and weaknesses. But who helmed Apple most successfully?

We put Cupertino’s most capable execs head-to-head to determine which Apple era was really the best. Get ready to settle things once and for all!

Google Inbox will finally be optimized for iPhone X “soon,” according to a new report.

Google has been working hard to update its most important iOS apps for Apple’s flagship smartphone since it made its debut last November — but Inbox, its nicest Gmail client, has somehow been neglected. Now that Gmail’s big redesign is out of the way, that’s set to change.