The EU wants gadgets that are easier to fix and upgrade. Photo: iFixit
Future iPhones and MacBooks will be more robust and easier to repair if the European Commission has its way.
Parliament is pushing for gadget makers like Apple to prolong the lifespan of their products by eliminating planned obsolescence and making it easier for consumers to repair and upgrade their devices.
Were you a Jawbone user? Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Electronics company Jawbone is reportedly closing shop after years of financial pressures.
Having started life in 1998, Jawbone initially made Bluetooth-equipped earpieces and wireless speaker, before transitioning into wearable devices for use in fitness tracking. It was best known for the UP series of wearable devices, and at its height was valued at a whopping $3 billion.
It was a thing of beauty, but the software made it magical. Photo: Apple
It’s easy to ignore how intuitive it is to use an iPhone. But a team of designers painstakingly crafted the vast array of simple swipes and taps that give the iPhone its magic.
This week on The CultCast, we’ll tell you the stories behind inertial scrolling and Swipe to Unlock. And we’ll talk about Bas Ording, the man who brought iOS to life using the physics of our natural world.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.
You don't necessarily need expensive gear to make a great iPhone video. Photo: Marques Brownlee/YouTube
You can make great photos and videos with just an iPhone. There is nothing fake about that statement. Thousands of great iPhone photos appear on our camera rolls and Instagram feeds every day to prove it.
Nevertheless, a recent YouTube video suggested Apple uses more than just iPhones to create its “Shot on iPhone” commercials. The video quickly went viral. Headlines it generated sowed seeds of doubt about the authenticity of Apple’s claims.
So, are we really getting the great camera Apple says it puts in its iPhones?
Apple isn't happy with Imagination Technologies. Photo: Apple
Apple has finally hit back at British chipmaker Imagination Technologies for its “inaccurate and misleading” claims.
Imagination, which has been manufacturing graphics chips for iOS devices for the past decade, has been taking stabs at Apple since it revealed the company will be developing its own mobile GPUs. Now Apple is setting the record straight.
...and Apple may have helped. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Samsung’s Q2 operating profit rose 72 percent from this time last year, setting a new record for the South Korean tech giant in the process.
Operating profit likely sits around the 14 trillion won ($12.1 billion) mark, according to the company. Revenue meanwhile increased 18 percent from a year earlier to 60 trillion won — beating analyst forecasts in the process.
Jay Z's own streaming service has exclusivity. Photo: Jay Z
Jay-Z’s latest album is now available on Apple Music and iTunes. Tidal, the rap star’s own music streaming service, had exclusivity over 4:44 at launch — but that lasted just one week.
It’s not good news for Spotify subscribers, however.
Pegatron will team up with an Indonesian manufacturer.. Photo: iFixit
The ongoing fight between Apple and Qualcomm could result in an import ban on all new iPhones powered by Intel.
Qualcomm requested today that the U.S. International Trade Commission place a “limited exclusion order” on all iPhones that use Intel’s 4G wireless modem. iPhones powered by Qualcomm’s chip would be excluded from the ban.
Here's how to switch of ratings prompts, but you might want to leave them on. Photo: Cult of Mac
In iOS 11, app developers will no longer be able to beg you to rate their apps. Or rather, they will be forced to use the official new Apple rating system, which promises to be a whole lot less annoying. And one of the benefits of Apple’s built-in rating/feedback system is that you can switch off all review requests in one place, so you never have to see another pleading pop-up again.
The Switch is finally getting voice chat (kinda). Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
The newest iOS app from Nintendo will debut later this month. Instead of bringing another game to the iPhone though, Nintendo plans to make a new app dedicated to connecting owners of the new Switch console.
Here' our hastily-created Cult of Mac album. Imagine the productivity we're about to achieve. Photo: Cult of Mac
The Photos app is where all your memories live, and the place you go to share photos. But did you also know that it can make a great professional tool? Any time you need a group of people to have access to the same pictures, you can use Photos, and Photo stream sharing, as a great, slick alternative to clunky collaborative tools like Pinterest. Here’s how.
The next iPhone could be the most expensive smartphone Apple’s ever made, but according to some analysts, carriers might step in so customers’ wallets aren’t hit quite so hard.
Instagram Stories gets another new feature. Photo: Instagram
Now that Stories are huge on Instagram, the company is doing all it can to maintain its incredible growth. Today, it is added the ability to send photo and video replies to your friends.
Sure, there are a ton of great new games available for both macOS and iOS, but sometimes it pays to revisit the classics. That’s what users get with Battlezone 98 Redux, a remastered version of one of the best sci-fi strategy first-person shooter games of all time.
This was hot stuff back in the halcyon days of 1998, back when the iMac G3 was the hottest computer going. And now that it’s landed on both Mac and iPad, it remains pretty darn good!
Breathe new life into your aging MacBook Pro. Photo: iFixit
If your Retina MacBook Pro dies too quickly in between charges, you likely need a new battery. You can either pay Apple a small fortune to install a new one for you, or you can do it yourself with this new kit from iFixit.
Developers: get on top of iOS 11 before it drops this fall, with these five comprehensive courses. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
We all knew this day would come. Apple will soon release their latest and greatest mobile operating system yet: iOS 11. It’s packed with updated interfaces, expanded 3D Touch and Siri functionality, drag and drop, and lots more. That means developers have a lot of cramming to do before it drops this fall.
iPhone 8 could arrive on time after all. Photo: Martin Hajek
Apple’s switch to OLED displays for the iPhone could come sooner than expected. A report citing sources familiar with its plans claims all new models launched in the second half of 2018 will use the new display technology, as opposed to LCD panels.
Apple's smart tech will let the HomePod smart speaker perfectly rock your house. Photo: Apple
According to Apple, its upcoming HomePod smart speaker will “reinvent the way we enjoy music” thanks to its seven-tweeter array, 4-inch woofer, and smart “spatial awareness” technology that lets it “read” its environment.
If you want to find out more about how Apple’s smart speaker works, check out this new patent application. It describes an Apple speaker that uses digital signal processing, microphones and algorithms to play perfectly equalized music.
Apple is leaning more heavily on Samsung. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple is turning to Samsung to resolve some of the yield issues it is having with its NAND flash storage chips for the upcoming iPhone, claims a new report.
Existing suppliers SK Hynix and Toshiba have reportedly both experienced lower-than-expected yield rates for the next-gen iPhone chips. As a result, the overall supply of NAND flash chips bound for Cupertino has fallen short of demand by as much as 30 percent.
Apple's latest iPad is ready for the grabbing! Photos: Apple, SuperGoodDeals.com, Asmodee Digital
We’ve got a mix of hardware, accessories and downloads this week. So whether you need an iPad, a charging cable, a game or a MacBook Pro, check out this week’s best Apple deals.
Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Investors will get their next glimpse into how well iPhone sells are doing on August 1 when Apple reveals its Q3 earnings for 2017.
Apple updated its investor relations page today confirming the time and date of its next earnings call, which will include early sales of the new iPad Pro and MacBook Pros unveiled at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference at the beginning of June.
In fact, even if you could jailbreak iOS 10, Jay Freeman — the guy who invented Cydia, which was the App Store before the App Store was the App Store — says he doesn’t recommend it.
Brands are partnering with Apple Music to curate playlists. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Electric guitar fans can listen to Apple Music playlists from Fender, maker of some of the world’s most iconic axes.
Five new playlists emerged from the new Fender/Apple Music partnership. While rock ‘n’ roll might be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Fender, the company is also highlighting how its instruments have been used in R&B, hip-hop, jazz and other genres.