Cult of Mac

If you’re hanging out on the beach this summer, or kicking back on the porch with a beer and one of Cult of Mac’s amazing how-to articles, you might notice how hard it is to see the iPhone or iPad’s screen in the sunlight. How about sending that long article to you Kindle instead? Not only is the e-ink screen perfect for reading in bright light, but the battery lasts forever, saving you from burning through your iPhone’s juice even faster than usual because you have the screen brightness all the way up.

Happily, it is now easier than ever to send an article to you Kindle from your iPhone. Today we’ll see two ways to do it.

iOS 11’s Notes app is fantastic, and can probably replace apps like OneNote or Evernote for many people. In iOS 11, it mostly catches up with the Mac version — and adds a bunch more neat features only possible on the iPad, like sketching with the Apple Pencil.

Today, we’re going to see how to pin notes to the top of the list; how to swipe to delete, password-protect or move a note to a folder; and how to pick a stationery background for a new note.

Sick of those annoying bars that follow you around certain websites, urging you to share a story on Facebook? A new iOS app called Unobstruct lets you banish those “dickbars” forever.

The creator of the $1 app says he hopes it sends a clear message to web designers: Nobody wants these weapons of messy distraction.

Apple has been urged to bring an emergency location feature that could save countless lives to the iPhone.

Advanced Mobile Location (AML), a technology that allows the emergency services to more accurately locate a person in danger, was brought to Android over a year ago — but it still isn’t available in iOS.

When you think portable audio, Bluetooth box or pill-shaped Bluetooth speaker probably comes to mind. Although these popular personal audio devices are great, they’re hardly immersive. But when you turn one speaker into two, you can take immersive stereo sound on the road.

Apple is being sued by 28 developers in China for allegedly breaching antitrust regulations. According to the complaint, Apple charged excessive fees and removed apps from the App Store without a proper explanation.

In the past, Cupertino said its guidelines for allowable apps are consistent across countries. The lawsuit comes as Apple expands its developer relations team in China.

Ikea’s smart lighting range is now compatible with HomeKit. The company rolled out an update for its wireless hub today that adds the feature, as well as Google Home and Amazon Alexa integration.

iPhone 8’s new facial recognition functionality will be just as versatile as Touch ID, giving users the ability to authorize Apple Pay transactions, unlock third-party apps, and more.

Apple’s code suggests “Face ID” will even support multiple faces for different users.

Apple’s new Carpool Karaoke series may not have found favor with critics, but it’s still stuffed full of musical celebrities — ranging from Metallica to Ariana Grande to Will Smith.

One name you might not find among them, however, is Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington — who recorded an episode of the show last month, just six days before his untimely death at the age of 41. However, according to Apple it might not run.

Facebook is expanding its focus on video by introducing a new service called Watch, which will see the company enter the world of original content for the first time.

Available for desktop, mobile and TV apps, the new Watch tab will appear on users’ newsfeeds. It will include links to a variety of shows — including comedy, reality TV and live sport — some of which will be created by Facebook. The move puts Facebook into more direct competition with services like YouTube, as well as Netflix, Amazon, and Apple.

Apple is 0-2 when it comes to critical acclaim for its original series, after early reviews for its Carpool Karaoke spinoff show have been largely negative. The show debuted this week for Apple Music subscribers.

While it’s still early days for Apple’s original content, between this and Planet of the Apps, things aren’t exactly looking good!

Bidding goodbye to the iPhone’s physical Home button won’t be easy, but there are some advantages to going virtual for iPhone 8.

Not only will it allow for a larger edge-to-edge display, but it also means you’ll be able customize the virtual button. Apple code suggests we’ll have the option to resize it and hide it away if we don’t want it to be displayed on screen at all times.

Did you ever try to take a photo of something flat on the ground, and spend ages trying to line it up right so that it is square in the frame? No, well, humor me here, because Apple just granted everyone’s biggest iOS camera wish: The camera app now has a level that kicks in when you hold the iPhone horizontally, and which will tell you when you’re holding the iPhone, uh, level.

Samsung may have finally worked out how to rip off 3D Touch.

A new report claims its upcoming Galaxy Note 8 will be the first to offer the feature, which will recognize presses as well as touches — just like the iPhone.

The Files app is iOS 11’s Finder. You can use it to browse the files in your iCloud Drive, along with files and folders in your Dropbox, and inside other apps that open up their file systems to iOS. Apple has also added some keyboard shortcuts to the Files app. This lets you carry out many common tasks without touching the screen when you have a hardware keyboard attached.

Most of the new keyboard shortcuts are great, and show how serious Apple is about the new user-accessible iOS file system. But some serious limitations mean you’ll still need to reach up and tap the screen to do the most basic things.

Apple could be planning to add a pause and resume function to its Camera app in iOS 11. References to the feature have been spotted in the company’s beta code, but it’s not yet clear which devices will support it.

Apple’s share of the U.S. smartphone market rose last quarter, but that couldn’t prevent Samsung from stealing the top spot.

Strong demand for the Galaxy S8 helped the South Korean company overtake its biggest rival, but the “bounce” from its launch was less than expected for a flagship device.

Nineteen years after it arrived on the first-generation PlayStation console, RayCrisis, a.k.a. the final installment in Taito’s 1990s trilogy of awesome scrolling shooters, has landed on iOS.

The first two installments of the series, RayForce and RayStorm actually arrived in the App Store waaaaay back in 2012, but RayCrisis has been mysteriously missing in action. Now, finally, it’s possible to get the whole threesome on your iOS device!

Underneath the sleek Mac exterior is a machine hard at work. Accessing and crunching data takes a toll on any computer. As a result, any drive’s works will gum up without regular maintenance .

Component suppliers enjoyed stronger sales throughout July as Apple ramps up production of its next-generation iPhones.

Supply chain sources say all three models that will be unveiled in September have now entered mass-production, but shortages are still expected for iPhone 8.

This year marks ten years since the launch of the original iPhone and, appropriately enough, Apple has ramped up its R&D spending as a percentage of its total revenue to the level it was during the development of its debut handset.

In other words, something big is coming!

The iPhone 8 might use its 3D facial recognition sensor to silence notifications when you’re looking at the device.

Developer Guilherme Rambo discovered the possible UI element buried inside code accidentally released as part of Apple’s HomePod firmware. Coders digging into the software discovered numerous other details about upcoming Apple devices.

Carpool Karaoke, Apple’s second television series, is now available for Apple Music subscribers. Building on the Late Late Show format established by James Corden, the show features a variety of celebrities driving in a car, singing hit songs.

Despite rumors of production holdups, the next-generation iPhone won’t face a delayed launch, according to the latest report out of Asia. The new iPhone 8 will allegedly come in only three color options, with manufacturing hitting full swing next month.

Still, getting your hands on one might not be so easy.

Zoom’s new Livetrak L-12 could be the only box you need to turn your iPad into a mobile music studio. In one unit, the L-12 combines a mixer, a 12-track recorder, and an interface that lets you hook up all your musical instruments and gadgets to your iPad. And that’s just the beginning.