Phone and software companies are moving away from a realistic gun emoji to a harmless one. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Google today joined the movement replacing the gun emoji with a water pistol. A number of other companies already made the same move amid a growing awareness of gun violence.
Apple started this trend several years ago when it exchanged the pistol emoji for a harmless pool toy in iOS 10.
Tim Cook sat down to dinner with Donald Trump, along with dozens of other politicians and CEOs. Photos: White House/Apple
President Donald Trump held his first White House state dinner tonight since moving into the Oval Office, and Apple CEO Tim Cook was on the guest list.
The left-leaning Cook might have felt very much in the minority. Trump didn’t invite a single Democratic member of Congress to the dinner, but arch-conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch was in attendance.
A security update for macOS 10.13.4 patches some potential problems. Photo: Apple
Several weeks after the release of macOS 10.13.4, today came a security update that patches some holes in this High Sierra version. This isn’t so critical that it has to be installed right now, but Apple says “This update is recommended for all macOS High Sierra users.”
There’re also security fixes for Safari 11.1, which was introduced recently too.
App subscriptions are great, mostly. Trial subscriptions let you try out all the app’s features for free, and if you like the app enough to keep using it, the developer gets an ongoing income that lets them keep improving the app. It’s a win-win.
But what if you signed up for a trial subscription, and you don’t like the app? Or maybe you subscribed to a monthly magazine, and those unread copies just keep piling up? Canceling a subscription is easy, whether it’s a fresh trial, or a years-long subscription you just don’t want any more. Here’s how.
An appeal of an EU ruling that Apple benefited from Ireland functioning as a tax haven will kick off this fall. Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
A court case to determine if Apple owes the European Union about €13 billion will begin in about six months.The trial will determine if Ireland gave Apple illegal tax incentives.
The two are actually appealing a decision by the European Commission made in 2016 that Ireland is effectively a tax haven.
Instagram has a new tool for downloading old photos. Photo: Instagram
Pulling your photos off of Instagram just got a lot easier.
Instagram revealed today that it is finally starting to roll out a new tool that lets any Instagram user retrieve all of the photos, videos, comments, likes and other data stored on Instagram’s servers.
This clock illustrates the time component of 'recent' items. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
One of the handiest features on iOS 11’s Files app is the Recents view. This view — available in the Files app itself, and in any other app that uses the Files picker to locate documents — shows all the files you have created or opened in the last few days.
Did you ever wish you could do the same on your Mac? Well, you can. Today we’re going to see how to add a folder to your Dock that shows recent iCloud Drive files.
Cheap iPhone 8 displays should work with iOS 11.3.1. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple just rolled out iOS 11.3.1 with a fix for third-party iPhone displays that stopped working properly after an earlier software update. The release also promises security improvements for iPhone and iPad.
What does Apple's next-gen iPhone have in store? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple is reportedly dropping Touch ID altogether this year in favor of Face ID for its next-gen iPhones. However, Apple is still keeping its suppliers in the dark about plans, a new report suggests.
Shares in AMS, a supplier which produces some of the components for Apple’s TrueDepth camera, have fallen 9.1 percent as a result. That’s its biggest decline in two years. And other suppliers are hurting, too.
Want to own a genuine rare piece of Apple history? Up for auction right now is an original Beta cassette dub from 1983, containing two different edits of Ridley Scott’s iconic “Nineteen Eighty-Four” Macintosh commercial.
The tape is signed by the ad’s late art director Brent Thomas. It came from his estate, and is a pre-Super Bowl dub of the same original master tape seen by the Apple executive board. They absolutely hated it!
Easily edit PDFs with this Mac app Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
PDFs are the go-to format for documents of all kinds. They’re convenient and make everything from forms to novels look great. But many people know that PDFs can be a real pain if you’re doing anything but reading them.
Everyone should welcome skill-based matchmaking. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Fortnite’s latest update has revealed a bunch of new cosmetics that are coming soon to Battle Royale. Players can look forward to at least two new outfits and a new pickaxe skin.
Epic has also added new items inside Tilted Towers that suggest an in-game comet will strike soon.
The latest Samsung vs. Apple trial kicks off next month. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple has revealed which executives will be taking the stand when it comes to court for its latest bout with Samsung — and, no, sadly that doesn’t include Tim Cook or Jony Ive.
Instead, at Apple’s May 14 hearing it will call Richard Howarth, senior director of the Apple Design Team, and Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of product marketing to testify. More intriguingly, it will also call original Mac icon designer Susan Kare to the stand.
The clinger grenade sticks to players and objects. Photo: Epic Games
Fortnite’s latest content update is rolling out now with a new Clinger grenade, a tweak for mobile controls, and a long list of bug fixes and performance improvements. Epic has also added the ability to claim refunds for purchased items — but you can only claim so many.
Apple is keen to show off the Apple Pencil. Photo: Apple
Apple wants everyone to know about the Apple Pencil compatibility with this year’s 9.7-inch iPad refresh — and a new series of ads aims to help with that mission.
Appearing on Apple’s U.K. YouTube channel, the short ads demonstrate how the Apple Pencil can be used for image markup, writing and drawing. The spots are set to NONONO’s track “Masterpiece.” Check them out below.
iPhone SE set for biggest upgrade yet. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple’s new iPhone SE is shaping up to be the biggest upgrade the smallest, most affordable iPhone has seen in years. Alongside more powerful internals, the 4-inch device is expected to come with a tweaked design that makes way for one of iPhone X’s best features.
Apple is ramping up its use of OLED displays in 2018. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple is upping its use of OLED displays for this year’s iPhone refresh — and it wants a better deal as a result.
As was the case last year, this year’s iPhone displays will reportedly be manufactured by Samsung Display. Due to the numbers Apple is projecting for this year’s OLED iPhone orders, it wants Samsung to lower the costs it charges Apple by around 9 percent.
The iPhone X isn't a dud, but it also it's Apple's top seller. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The iPhone 8 is Apple’s best-selling model, and the larger 8 Plus is in second place. The controversial iPhone X is currently Apple’s third best-selling model, according to a market analysis firm.
Apple’s older models make up 40 percent of the company sales, a higher percentage than last year.
Up your selfie game with Portrait Lighting. Photo: Apple
Apple is back with a new set of ads aiming to get Android users to switch to iPhone. The two new ads showcase Portrait Mode and Portrait Lightning on the newest iPhones, while also bragging about the App Store’s security compared to Google Play.
Throwboy puts the soft in software for Apple fans. Photo: Throwboy
Two Apple geeks were dating during Christmas 2007 when the young man of this story, Roberto Hoyos, made his girlfriend hand-sewn pillows that looked like Mac desktop icons.
A picture of the finished pillows went viral and orders began to flood Hoyos’ inbox. To meet the sudden demand, he started the company, Throwboy. To celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary, Hoyos has issued a second collection of icon pillows.
This GE window AC unit is HomeKit compatible, making it far more intelligent than typical ones. Photo: GE
When people think of home automation, something like the Nest thermostat probably leaps to mind first. But not everyone needs something that elaborate. For those who needs are simpler, GE just launched a window AC unit that’s HomeKit compatible so it can be controlled by an iPhone.
DNS is what sends you to the correct site when you browse the internet, but it is also non-encrypted, and reveals your entire browsing history. Your browser’s private mode does nothing, and the little green lock icon that denotes a secure connection doesn’t help either.
DNS is also slow. So, in order to fix both of these problems, you need to change your DNS provider to one that is both private, and fast. That’s Cloudflare’s new 1.1.1.1 service.
A survey shows 97 percent of iPhone X owners are satisfied with this device, including its screen cutout. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
More than 90 percent of iPhone X users like the design without a Home button, according to a scientific survey. That’s good news for Apple, as most of the 2018 models are expected to use a similar form factor.
That’s not to say there’s no room for improvement. The survey also pointed several aspects of the iPhone X that responders didn’t like as much.
Apple must wait for EU approval. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple’s acquisition of Shazam is now under investigation by antitrust regulators in Europe.
The European Commission is concerned that the deal will give Apple an unfair advantage in stealing users from its rivals. It has promised to provide a decision by September 4.