iPhone X needs a customizable status bar. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Huawei was developing smartphones with notches in their displays years before iPhone X made them cool, it claims.
The Chinese company ultimately decided not to release one because it was “too conservative and cautious” at the time — but now that Apple uses notches, it’s okay.
Enjoy a free medium fries when you use Apple Pay at McDonald’s on a Friday. Apple’s latest promotion runs throughout the rest of April, which gives you just two more Fridays to take advantage of it.
It’s time to cut the cable and set Apple Watch free Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
For activity tracking, fitness and notifications, Apple Watch is pretty awesome, and these days, that’s all most people use it for. Which is a shame.
When it launched back in 2015, Apple had a much bigger vision: a wearable computing platform supporting a rich and varied ecosystem of apps. Like an iPhone strapped to your wrist. But the reality has turned out to be rather different. Instagram is just the latest of a series of high profile apps to desert the platform. So what’s up?
I believe Apple Watch’s dependence on iPhone is holding it back, and the time has come for Cupertino to set its smartwatch free. In this, the third and final part of my wish list of watchOS 5 features, I’ll focus on how I hope Apple will improve setup, apps and iCloud to create a badass stand-alone device.
I wanted a Galaxy S10, but I'm stuck with iPhone. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple shares fell 3 percent this morning after iPhone chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) cut its revenue forecast for the second quarter of 2018.
The company and industry analysts point to weak demand for high-end smartphones as the main reason for the poor guidance. This likely has something to do with the fact that iPhone X sales have been in the gutter since early hype quickly died out late last year.
This add-on promises to make the Magic Mouse better than ever. Photo: Moonimal
The Magic Mouse is one of the best mice Apple has ever built, but it doesn’t suit everyone. Some users complain that it has a high level of friction on certain surfaces, while also making an annoying scratching noise when it moves.
If you’re one of those folks, you may be interested in a new Kickstarter campaign — offering a new mousepad and simple add-on for the Magic Mouse which promises to make it glide across your desk as though it’s floating.
Can new platformer Oddmar live up to Leo's Fortune? Photo: Senri & Mobge
The makers of superb 2014 game Leo’s Fortune are back with a new action platform game for iOS. Trading Leo for a cartoony world based on Norse mythology, Viking-themed platformer Oddmar lands in the App Store today.
Can this new iOS platformer repeat the success of its spiritual predecessor?
Netflix previews will help you hunt down the perfect show. Photo: Netflix
Netflix has added a new feature to its iOS app, allowing users to watch a 30-second video trailer of content they are interested in.
The company began testing the feature in early March, but is now rolling it out to all users. The video previews are viewable in portrait mode, which ensures that they do not interrupt your browsing experience by having to constantly change the orientation of your device.
Qualcomm has been battling Apple since early 2017. Photo: Qualcomm
Chipmaker Qualcomm is reportedly cutting around 1,500 jobs in an effort to reduce its costs by $1 billion. Most of these jobs will be in California, although some will be in other locations.
Qualcomm has been engaged in an ongoing legal battle with Apple since early 2017.
The LMG is deadly, but only up-close. Photo: Epic Games
Epic today rolled out its latest content update for Fortnite, adding its first light machine gun and a new limited-time game mode. You can enjoy it all across all platforms — including iOS — right now!
Olaf, the friendly Viking mascot of Opera VPN, is sad. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The end is nigh for a free VPN service for iOS and Android. Opera VPN will close at the end of this month. No reason has been given.
A Virtual Private Network protects users by hiding their IP address, making it much harder to be tracked. Opera Software’s version would even let you appear to be in another country.
The 6.1-inch iPhone rumored for this fall will have an LCD screen, but otherwise resemble a larger iPhone X. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Speculation about the 2018 iPhone is running hot and heavy. It seems there are new reports on these unannounced devices almost every day. But not all of these carry the gravitas of Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with a long track record of being right about Apple.
So when Kuo says a 2018 iPhone with a 6.2-inch display could cost between $550 and $650, people take notice. Previous reports had pointed to a price range $100 higher
The latest Dropbox version lets you move files around with a finger. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The latest version of Dropbox allows iPad users to move files around with a fingertip. It also works better with long file names.
Even though iPad was designed to be controlled with touches, drag-and-drop file management has been slow to come to this tablet. Still, Dropbox is on board.
Need to talk to the waiter in a French restaurant? Microsoft Translator wants to help, even if you're offline. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Microsoft Translator has been around for a while, but this app is getting a huge improvement: artificial intelligence-powered translations even when the iPhone is offline.
Using translation apps in a foreign country can be nerve wracking.Such software almost always depends on remote servers to do the hard work. Microsoft, however, has squeezed the necessary AI into a mobile app.
What’s on your wish list for a future iPhone? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
You might want to think twice before plugging your iPhone into a friends laptop for a quick charge.
Security researchers have discovered an all-new type of iOS hack called “trustjacking” that uses one of a little-known WiFi feature to access a device’s data, even when the targeted device isn’t in the same location anymore.
Captured, edited, and filtered, all inside the Camera and Photos apps. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
One lesser known ability of the Photos app on your iPhone is that is can use third-party filter packs. If you install a photo-editing app that supports them, then you can apply that apps filters without ever leaving the Photos app. This makes it super quick to add sophisticated effects to your pictures, and you can revert to the original photo at any time in the future.
Today we’ll see how to use these filter packs, and look at a couple of great apps that have them.
It’s all thanks to the August Smart Lock. Photo: August
If you’re forever losing your keys, why bother using them at all? Now you can unlock your doors using your Apple Watch, thanks to the August Smart Lock.
It’s one of the easiest and fastest ways to get into your home, and you don’t even need your iPhone.
Like an electronic whammy bar. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Vulse is a neat app for musicians. More specifically, it’s for guitarists. The app has been around for a while, but got a big old update this week that makes it worth a new look. The idea of the app is that you stick your iPhone onto your guitar, just below where you strum the strings, and then use a combination of wild flailing and screen-stroking to apply crazy effects on the fly.
iPhone unlockers are blocked if a week goes by without the correct passcode being entered. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple hasn’t found the security holes that iPhone unlocking tools use, but iOS 11.3 took a step that makes these cracking devices less useful. Police now have a limited amount of time to circumvent the user’s passcode before it becomes impossible.
This is part of an ongoing struggle between Apple and law enforcement agencies. The iPhone maker wants to protect the privacy of users, while police want access to information stored on devices used in crimes.
The Dark Sky app provides a useful look at the next hour. Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
Weather is something we all deal with, and an accurate idea of what’s coming can help inform your day-to-day decisions. With the Dark Sky Weather app, you can know exactly when to expect a change in weather conditions.
Unlike many of its competitors, Dark Sky goes deeper than a simple high-level summary of the day’s forecast. It offers hyperlocal forecasts for your exact address, with down-to-the-minute notifications about changing weather conditions. Uncannily accurate, it’s a shining ray of light in the storm of weather apps.
The latest update to Disney and Lenovo's AR Star Wars game makes the holochess portion free on ARKit-enabled iPhones. Screenshot: JB Hi-Fi Official
If you’re going to play Holochess on the Millennium Falcon, there’s just one rule: Let the wookiee win. To play it in your living room, the only requirement is having a new-ish iPhone.
No one likes autoplaying videos on the web. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Google has done us all a favor by asking Chrome to block autoplaying videos with sound. No longer will our ears be sodomized unexpectedly by obnoxious ads that we’ll never look at. There are some caveats, however.
Get the skills and confidence to be an effective public speaker. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
There are few things more stressful than public speaking. But there are also few opportunities to make an impact with your ideas or message. Just think of Steve Jobs, and what comes to mind? Probably a mental image of him speaking on stage.
Windows Defender is now available inside Google Chrome. Photo: Microsoft
Windows Defender, which protects Windows 10 PCs from malware, can now keep your Mac safe from inside Google Chrome.
Microsoft has turned its antivirus app into a Chrome extension that promises to detect phishing links in your emails and dodgy sites that distribute malicious software. It’s 99 percent effective, according to Microsoft, which makes Windows Defender better than rival browser protections.
According to a new report, Apple Music is set to achieve annual growth of 40 percent a year over the next three years. By our math, that would mean that Apple is looking at around 110 million users by around 2021.
Could this be one of the year's most stunning iOS games? Photo: Still Here
2018 is shaping up to be one heck of a year for iOS gaming. The latest example? A stunning new game called Still Here, set to debut in the App Store later this month.
Set in an alternate version of reality, in which mankind has vanished and been replaced by artificial lifeforms, it’s a gorgeous platform game boasting lush animation and visuals. Check out the trailer below.