The operating system that powers the iPhone has undergone radical changes since Apple launched the device 10 years ago.
As part of Cult of Mac’s collaboration with Wired UK to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, we took a look at the evolution of iOS, from a simple touchscreen operating system lacking key features into a true computing behemoth with more tools than any one user could possibly need.
Thanks to Apple’s engineering magic, the iPhone has long outpaced its Android-powered rivals.
In real-world speed tests, the iPhone can blaze past high-end competitors from the likes of Google, Samsung and LG, despite slower processors and less RAM. But not anymore. We finally have an Android device that packs more power than the iPhone 7 — and that’s the OnePlus 5.
Whether Apple will be able to deliver on the rumor that it will be embedding its Touch ID fingerprint sensor beneath the display of the iPhone 8 remains to be seen.
However, a new demo coming out of the currently-happening Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2017 demonstrates that it is indeed possible — with Qualcomm showing off ultrasonic technology that allows fingerprint unlocking even through OLED displays.
You don’t have to visit a Foxconn factory to see an iPhone built from scratch.
Visit China’s black market and you’ll meet traders with the components, tools, and know-how to build you a working handset for a fraction of the price you would pay Apple. The whole process is complete by the time you’ve finished your coffee.
Apple Music and chill, anyone? Apple has started rolling out a new Apple Music feature called “My Chill Mix,” designed to select music from the songs and genres you dig and present them to you in a calming playlist.
Apple is making more revenue off the App Store alone in 2017 than it did in all of 2007, according to a new study that analyzed Apple’s money-printing app empire.
When the iPhone launched in 2007, Steve Jobs absolutely refused to let third-party apps on his beloved device. Fast forward ten years later and not it’s not just hard to imagine the iPhone without the App Store. It’s hard to imagine Apple being as profitable without it.
Updated 27 June, 2017: This post now includes details about the iOS 11 public beta.
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote this June was so packed that even two-and-a-half hours didn’t seem like enough time. And yet the biggest announcement wasn’t new hardware, or a new app. It was an update.
Specifically, the iOS 11 update for the iPad, which turns Apple’s tablet from little more than a big iPhone into a full-featured touchscreen PC. In one go, Apple showed that it is still full-steam behind the iPad, and that a desktop-class touchscreen computer doesn’t have to actually run a desktop OS, like Microsoft’s Surface.
If you jumped into the future and upgraded to a beta version of iOS 11, but now found the cutting-edge software a bit too rough around the edges, don’t panic. Downgrading from iOS 11 back to the more familiar (and totally stable) iOS 10.3.2 isn’t difficult. All you need is a Mac or PC running iTunes.
If you’re worried about losing data, that’s completely avoidable! Just follow our how to downgrade from iOS 11 video, below and your iPhone or iPad will be back to normal in no time.
The iPhone is turning 10 years old this week and we’re ready to celebrate with more coverage and insight than any Apple fanboy could ever want. Every day through June 29, we’ll be publishing a batch of stories focused on the greatest device Apple’s ever made.
Cult of Mac is collaborating with Wired UK for the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. We’ll run down some of the device’s biggest innovations, failures and what’s in store for the future.
Check out what we’ve written so far:
Apple’s retro IIc computer that was released in 1984 has been obsolete for 30 years, but an NYC-based illustrator has just proven that it is still capable of creating amazing stuff, if you’re willing to put in the time.
Animator Wahyu Ichwandardi unveiled his Apple IIc masterpiece on Twitter by re-creating the latest Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer in using software from the early 80’s.
Prepare to be blown away:
As the iPhone turns 10 years old this week, the Apple’s long streak of dominance makes it seem like iPhone will rule the tech world for the forseeable future. Nothing last forever though, so what could the iPhone look like in 2027 when technology is more seamlessly embedded in our lives?
Cult of Mac is collaborating with Wired U.K. all this week for an in-depth look at the iPhone’s lasting impact and possible future. Tech experts that Wired talked to are pretty optimistic that the iPhone will still exist in some form 10 years from now. But interacting with it will be completely different.
Sometimes you need an app to perform a certain task, but you don’t know where to find it. With the latest version of Setapp, you can get personal, hand-picked app recommendations based on how you use your Mac.
Finding the perfect software has never been easier!
Greenpeace has launched a new campaign, seeking signatures to push Apple and other device makers to make more repairable, longer-lasting products to cut down on electronic waste.
In partnership with our friends over at iFixit, the campaign casts a critical eye over 40 different devices made between 2015 and 2017, and then assesses them according to how repairable each one is.
Buying a birthday present for your boss can seem impossible. But the friends and co-workers of MacPaw CEO Oleksandr Kosovan — a diehard Apple fan — saw an opening after he bought a treasure trove of vintage Macs to create a museum at his company’s headquarters.
MacPaw’s mini Apple museum, filled with vintage gear auctioned off by fabled Apple repair shop Tekserve, contained no iPhones. Leaving out the smartphone that changed the world seemed like a glaring hole in a collection that otherwise did a good job of showing Apple’s role in revolutionizing personal computing.
Just three weeks after presenting iOS 11, and making the first iOS 11 betas available to developers, Apple has released a public beta of the next iPad and iPhone operating system. That means that anyone, including you, can sign up, download and run iOS 11 public beta on your iPhone or iPad. Doing so is super easy. Here’s how:
Apple has begun selling refurbished models of the Apple Pencil at a discount. iPad Pro owners in the United States can save a pretty penny when picking up the best stylus available for their tablet — but it’s still not the most affordable.
It’s a common joke to say that our Mac’s built-in speakers sound better than you’d expect. They actually don’t, but we do consume a lot of music on our Macs, and especially with Macbooks. Listening through built-in speakers or earpods can feel limiting as far as audio quality.
The more powerful the iPhone camera gets, the less practical the iPhone design is for certain jobs. Holding a thin, pocket-shaped device out in front of your face with your forefingers and thumbs on both ends to view the screen is risky and shaky, especially for video.
But there are accessories that can give the mobile video shooter a secure and steady grip without adding much weight or bulk in the field. Among the best tools come from a company in Spain called Shoulderpod.
As Apple scrambled to create the first iPhone, the company’s engineers tore apart literally dozens of rival products to work out what made them tick, according to a new interview with former Apple exec Tony Fadell.
He may be best known today as the founder of Nest, but Fadell was one of the fathers of the iPhone — which, if you haven’t heard, celebrates its 10th birthday this week. Fadell reveals more about Apple’s reverse engineering efforts in an interview with Wired U.K..
Cult of Mac is collaborating with Wired U.K. all this week for an in-depth look at the iPhone’s first decade — and the device’s lasting impact.
When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, no one imagined that in 10 short years it would become the world’s most popular camera and herald a new era of visual communication.
Yet we are witnessing the death of point-and-shoots, the explosion of massive social networks devoted to pics and videos, and the rise of perhaps the most popular photo style of all time — the selfie.
Just consider that we are expected to take 1 trillion pictures this year alone. That’s a million million photos.
Here’s a brief overview of some of the ways the iPhone was transformed photography forever.
Tim Cook met with the prime minister of India over the weekend, concerning permission to open official Apple stores in the country.
This is something Apple has been chasing for some time now, but has yet to get off the ground. However, with Apple now officially selling iPhones that have been made in India, the hope is that it has sufficient leverage to get permission to open retail stores.
iPhone 8 production has reportedly hit another roadblock, with the problem this time being the OLED panels Apple is using for its next-gen handsets.
The use of OLED panels, instead of the LCD screens used on current iPhones, has been heavily rumored as one of the biggest selling points of the new iPhone for quite some time. A report earlier this year claimed that Apple will snap up 14 percent of all OLED panels produced in 2017 for the iPhone 8.
Google has been fined 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion) by European Union regulators for reportedly skewing its search results in a way that hurts smaller shopping search services.
In addition to the massive fine, Google has been told that if it doesn’t stop its “illegal” suppression of rival price comparison services within 90 days, the European Commission will fine it up to 5 percent of its daily revenue.
Apple may have just made a key acquisition that could help the company create a truly revolutionary augmented reality headset. According to a new report, German eye-tracking company SensoMotoric Instruments has been purchased by an Apple shell company, giving the iPhone-maker access the company’s trove of patents related to eye-tracking glasses and other systems.
Handoff is one of those iOS/Mac features that seems great, but is limited in use. However, a simple tweak has made Handoff waaaay better in iOS 11. Now, instead of having a tiny app icon appear in the corner of your lock screen, Handoff apps show up right there in the new iOS 11 Dock.
This simple change has gotten me using Handoff again, instead of ignoring it like I have for the past however many years.