Mobile menu toggle

Walk into 2018 with iOS 11 coding skills [Deals]

By •

Add iOS 11 development to your skillset with this comprehensive coding course.
Add iOS 11 development to your skillset with this comprehensive coding course.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

2017 was a beast of a year, so let’s best it in 2018. A solid resolution for anyone to make is to learn some new skills. And one thing that definitely hasn’t changed since last year is the value of coding skills.

South Korean regulator wants answers from Apple about slowing old iPhones

By •

5 tips to fix an unresponsive iPhone screen
Apple has admitted to throttling older iPhone performance.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

South Korea’s broadcasting and telecom regulator, the Korea Communications Commission, wants an explanation from Apple as to why it purposely slowed down old iPhones.

“We are hoping to get some answers on whether Apple intentionally restricted the performance of old iPhones and tried to hide this from customers,” the KCC said in a statement.

Tim Cook will take home $102 million this year

By •

Tim Cook
Tim Cook has good reason to be cheerful right now.
Photo: Apple

Apple has had a great year, and CEO Tim Cook is being rewarded accordingly. According to a new report, Cook will take home a massive $102 million this year, composed of his $3.06 million salary, $9.33 million incentive payment, and an equity award of $89.2 million.

For security reasons, the Apple board now stipulates that Cook use private planes for all business and personal travel. His personal security costs in 2017 were calculated at $224,216, while he ran up a $93,109 bill for traveling on private planes for non-business trips.

Original source code for Apple’s ill-fated Lisa will be made public next year

By •

Take a sneak peek at upcoming Apple Lisa documentary
The Lisa didn't sell, but it was immensely significant.
Photo: Auction Team Breker

Apple isn’t the most transparent of companies when it comes to its technology, but from next year you’ll be able to dive into the code of one of its most revolutionary operating systems to see how it was achieved.

The operating system in question is that of the ill-fated Apple Lisa, a $10,000 machine which debuted in 1983 — and included Apple’s first ever graphical user interfaces, and one of the first in computer history as a whole.

Best Mac games of 2017

By •

Best Mac games 2017
2017 brought us some terrific games for macOS.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac's 2017 Year in Review Game developers are embracing macOS like never before, which means Windows isn’t the only place to get the greatest titles anymore. The past year brought us a ton of terrific Mac games, from intense first-person shooters to gorgeous platformers filled with charm.

Here’s our roundup of the best Mac games of 2017.

This tiny cube connects your iPhone to guitars and microphones

By •

iTrack One Pre
The iTrack One Pre won't slide off your desk.
Photo: Focusrite

Focusrite’s iTrack One Pre might be the ultimate portable recording gadget for musicians. It’s a little cube that fits in a pocket, but that packs in connections for a microphone and a guitar, as well as a port for charging the iPad or iPhone you connect to. It can even supply Phantom Power to a microphone, and has it’s own gain (“volume,” kinda) knob.

Best (and most memorable) Apple ads of 2017

By •

Best Apple ads of 2017
From AirPods to iPhone X, Apple sold us the goods in 2017.
Photo: Apple

Cult of Mac's 2017 Year in Review Apple’s pretty darn good when it comes to advertising, and 2017 was no exception. Whether it was Portrait mode, AirPods or the iPhone X, creatives working on Apple ads found new and exciting ways to sell us on Cupertino’s latest innovations.

Check out our picks for the year’s best Apple ads below.

Best iOS games of 2017

By •

Best iOS games of 2017
2017 didn't disappoint when it came to great iOS games.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac's 2017 Year in Review 2017 has been one heck of a year for iOS gaming fans. From action-oriented arcade blasters to strategy games so deep they should come with a warning, just about every genre has been well represented.

Distilling hundreds of great titles down to a single shortlist isn’t easy, but we’ve done our best. These are our picks for the 15 greatest mobile games of 2017.

Huawei executive arrested for allegedly taking bribes

By •

Huawei
Huawei is the top-selling smartphone brand in China.
Photo: AndroidCentral

The China sales head of Huawei Technologies’ smartphone division has been arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes.

According to an internal memo sent to staff, Teng Hongfei was detained for, “the suspected crime of accepting bribes as a non-state functionary.” Huawei is currently the top smartphone maker in China by market share, and could soon overtake Apple in terms of global market share.

Kanye West gifted his wife Apple stock for Christmas

By •

Kanye
Kanye West was among the first people to get an Apple Watch Edition.
Photo: Justjared

Kanye West is an Apple fan. So what better Christmas gift for him to buy his wife, Kim Kardashian, than AAPL stock?

Kardashian shared her surprising story online, saying that West gifted her the shares, alongside some Apple headphones, and some stock from other select companies including Amazon, Disney, and Netflix. While she didn’t share the exact amount, considering that AAPL is up 47 percent in 2017, that’s a pretty great gift!

Apple is searching for new modem chip suppliers to replace Qualcomm

By •

chips
Apple's feud with Qualcomm shows no signs of slowing down.
Photo: Intel

Apple has reportedly shifted half of its baseband modem chipsets for iOS devices to Intel from Qualcomm, and is now considering shifting additional orders to Taiwanese manufacturer MediaTek.

The news comes at a time when hostilities between Apple and former manufacturer Qualcomm continue to heat up, with no signs that they will come to a close soon.

Best gadgets of 2017

By •

Best gadgets 2017
What gadgets grabbed our attention in 2017? Funny you should ask.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac's 2017 Year in Review Welcome to Cult of Mac‘s Gadget of the Year extravaganza. Unlike some other blogs, where harassed writers get a last-minute order from the boss to come up with an end-of-year list, and then spend a half-hour writing up the first five Google results for their given subject, our top gadgets are all rad, and all genuinely worth your cash.

Two of them will even change how you use technology, which isn’t a bad score for just one year. Let’s take a look at our favorite gadgets of 2017, and see why they’re so good.

Udemy classes cost just 10 bucks through December 29

By •

Jump at this chance for lifelong access to Udemy courses for just $10.
Jump at this chance for lifelong access to Udemy courses for just $10.
Photo: Udemy

This post is presented by Udemy.

Massively online open courses have transformed learning. Thanks to MOOCs, pretty much anyone with an internet connection and a desire to learn can receive a vital education on almost any topic.

Of course, these online courses aren’t free. But Udemy is holding a Holiday Flash Sale that’ll get you pretty close. From now through Friday, December 29, 2017, Cult of Mac readers can access any course costing $200 or more for just $10.

Cult of Mac’s 2018 Apple wish list

By •

iPad Pro2
What the next iPad might look like.
Photo: Martin Hajek

Cult of Mac's 2017 Year in Review With 2018 about to begin, why rehash everything that already happened, just to fill up some space while we take time out for Christmas? Let’s go with a different year-end cliche? Yes, it’s a wish list for Apple products in 2018.

Some of these will almost certainly come to pass, while others perhaps will not. One is probably doomed before you even read about it here. Let’s take a look at what Apple products I hope will part me from my money in the coming year.

Upgrade all your geekiest Christmas gifts [Deals]

By •

Main Image

Christmas is coming, and along with it (if you’re lucky) a bunch of cool new tech. Whether you’re getting a new iPhone, computer, mp3 player, or basically any device that carries a charge, we’ve gathered some great deals on accessories for them. That includes wireless charging, to VPN protection, portable charging and more. Read on for more details:

Sail through Apple Watch setup with these handy tips

By •

The Apple Watch is gorgeous (and comfy, too).
Your Apple Watch setup will be a breeze with these handy tips.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

You’ve got your Apple Watch, you lucky devil. Now it’s time to tweak it to make it as personal as possible with these Apple Watch setup tips.

Although Apple walks you through many of the basic steps, there are plenty of choices to be made before you’ll be able to squeeze maximum utility and joy out of your sleek, stylish smartwatch.

Cult of Mac’s roundup shows you exactly how to make the most out of your new favorite gadget.

Best iPhone accessories [2017 Gift Guide]

By •

iPhone Gift Guide 2017
Need gift ideas? Find them right here!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2017 Gift Guide bugThe holidays are right around the corner, which means it’s time to start picking out the perfect gifts for your loved ones. Cult of Mac can help! This gift guide offers up a whole bunch of awesome gift suggestions for the iPhone lover in your life.

We handpicked some of the finest cases, wireless chargers, Bluetooth earbuds and more. They’re better than a bookstore voucher, and they’re guaranteed to fetch a smile.

Civilization VI, Rainbrow, and other awesome apps of the week

By •

App holiday1
'Appy holidays!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A brilliant iPad port of one of the greatest turn-based strategy games of 2016, Civilization VI, is just of one of our picks for this week’s “Awesome Apps of the Week” roundup. In addition, we’ve got neat updates for the official Reddit and Shazam apps, plus a game that you control… using your eyebrows?

Check out our picks below — and have a very happy holidays!

Best Apple Watch accessories for smartwatch fans [2017 Gift Guide]

By •

Apple Watch gift guide
Great gift ideas for any Apple Watch wearer.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2017 Gift Guide bugTreat the Apple Watch lover in your life to some sweet gifts this holiday season.

Cult of Mac can help you pick out the finest accessories money can buy for Apple Watch fanatics. We have everything from swanky straps to chic charging stands in our best Apple Watch accessories roundup.

Best iPad accessories for tablet fans [2017 Gift Guide]

By •

These iPad accessories will thrill anyone who gets them.
These iPad accessories will thrill anyone who gets them.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2017 Gift Guide bugStill stressed about holiday shopping? Don’t fret! Cult of Mac is here to help you pick out the perfect gifts for your loved ones this Christmas. This gift guide offers up a bunch of brilliant suggestions for the iPad addict in your life.

We’ve handpicked the best accessories, the finest cases, and more.