App makers are stepping up to fight Donald Trump's executive order on immigration. Photo: The White House
President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigrants from some Islamic countries from entering the United States has been met with a flood of tech companies making record-breaking donations to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Still looking for the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day? In the year 2017, nothing says I love you more than a set of matching custom gold iPhones with engravings of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
SiriKit is one of the biggest features in watchOS 3.2. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The first beta build of watchOS 3.2 has finally been made available to developers today, less than a week after iOS 10.3 beta 1 and macOS 10.12.4 beta 1 came out.
Among the new features in watchOS 3.2 beta 1 is a new Theater Mode that makes wearing an Apple Watch in movie theaters a little less annoying for fellow film watchers.
Don't expect smaller iPhones to ever be as good. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Buying a Plus-sized iPhone doesn’t just get you a bigger screen, but also a better phone with more RAM and a greater camera. And there’s a good reason for that.
These things attract a greater number of buyers to Apple’s larger handsets, increasing its profits and the average selling price of the iPhone. And that’s why the iPhone Plus will always be better than its smaller siblings.
This is not your typical ugly router. Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac
For years, “the last mile” earned the title of broadband’s biggest boogeyman. Now that most of us benefit from having a fairly fat pipe to our houses, it’s more like the last 10 feet — Wi-Fi dead spots can drive you crazy.
The AmpliFi HD System, one of a new pack of mesh systems that pave the way to our trouble-free Wi-Fi future, solves the problem. With a charming little router and a couple of mesh points, AmpliFi HD makes it possible to get a strong Wi-Fi signal to your basement, your attic or that awkward back bedroom where you can never stream anything. It also eliminates the sort of nerdy pain points typically associated with setting up and managing a home Wi-Fi network.
Apple TV hasn't been the winner that Apple was hoping for. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Remember when we all got excited about Apple TV and how it had the potential to change TV as we know it?
It seems that fewer and fewer people do. New data from eMarketer suggest Apple is currently “at the bottom of the U.S. connected TV market, behind Google Chromecast and Roku, with its share shrinking.”
This heads up display for your car is as useful as it is futuristic. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
In the wake of CES, we’ve all got the next generation of tech on the brain. But we’re impatient, so we’ve gathered some of the best deals on the most futuristic gear and gadgets in the Cult of Mac Store.
Below you’ll find a head-up display for your car, a charging cable that adds a MagSafe-style connection to your phone, a flash drive for both computers and iPhones, and the most feature-packed charging hub you’ll find. By entering the coupon code CES10 at checkout, you’ll get 10 percent off each deal.
The "spaceship" is almost ready for blastoff. Photo: Matthew Roberts
A new 4K drone flyover video from UAV operator Matthew Roberts shows that Apple’s “spaceship” Campus 2 is looking virtually ready to go, with the final touches being added to the massive HQ.
The site was originally supposed to be completed last year, but overran slightly. From the look of things, however, the wait is going to certainly be worthwhile.
Tim Cook says that there are Apple employees directly affected by the order. Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC
In a message sent to Apple employees, Tim Cook notes that he is concerned about President Donald Trump’s recent executive order limiting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Cook said Apple employees are affected by the policy, and that they are going to be able to draw on the expertise of the company’s HR, legal and security teams.
The Activation Lock checker has mysteriously disappeared. Screenshot: Cult of Mac
Apple has pulled its iCloud Activation Lock page which helped users find out if an iOS device was locked to an iCloud account.
The tool could be used to verify that a used iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch wasn’t stolen before you purchased it — but the website’s URL now leads to an error page.
'Appy weekend, everyone! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
It’s the final day of the weekend, which means it’s time for us to share our picks for the week’s most important apps and app updates.
From a nifty Touch Bar-style app for iOS and Mac to a terrific retro-styled dungeon actioner, we’re confident we’ve got something you’ll enjoy. Check out our choices below.
Get all the fitness features of the Fitbit Flex for a fraction of the price. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
This week the Cult of Mac store we’ve got great deals on a brand new shipment of gear and gadgets. From refurbished Fitbits, water resistant Bluetooth speakers, a full-spectrum iOS recovery software, and a set of 3 lenses for your iPhone. And what’s more, everything is discounted by more than half off. Read on for more details:
Don't like the color of your AirPods? This company paints them black. Photo: BlackPods
I have a co-worker who bought a pair of Apple’s shiny white AirPods, turned a black Sharpie marker on them and has been cleaning ink out of his ears ever since.
A company called BlackPods, which says it has a proprietary coating system for Apple’s wireless earbuds, just announced its service this week in an email blast to tech journalists — though too late for my colleague, who now reports model paint worked no better than the Sharpie.
MailButler is packed with features that turn Apple Mail into a handy personal assistant. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Things are changing fast and, let’s be real, not exactly for the best. One good thing you can rely on though is the Cult of Mac Store bringing you a weekly batch of the best in gear and gadgets. This go around is an especially good one — we’ve got a lifetime of productivity-enhancing personal assistant built on Apple Mail, a plug-in that adds a MagSafe style connector to your iPhone, access for life to a powerful virtual private network, and a credit card-sized backup battery for your mobile devices. Everything’s massively discounted, as much as 90 percent off. Read on for more details:
Let us remind you of the weird Apple products that time forgot. Photo: Hartmut Esslinger
This week on The CultCast: We laugh and cringe about Apple’s weirdest, wackiest and worst products of all time! Plus: How Michael Scott almost single-handedly destroyed Apple; the cool new features in the iOS and macOS betas; facial recognition is coming to iPhone; and a look at the beautiful prototypes that led to some of Apple’s most iconic products.
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.
Peter Thiel separates Tim Cook and Donald Trump at tech summit. Photo: Sean Spicer/Twitter
The Trump administration and Apple appear to be patching up their rocky relationship after Apple CEO Tim Cook met with two of Trump’s closest advisers this week.
Get yours before they're all gone! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The iPhone has beaten Android as the smartphone of choice for the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) which is modifying the device so that it can handle military-grade secrets.
Satechi's Power Meter makes it easier to trust USB-C. Photo: Satechi
Satechi hopes to prevent dodgy USB-C accessories from causing damage to your MacBook with its new USB-C Power Meter, which shows you exactly how much power is being pulled from and passed into your machine in real-time.
The holidays were good to Apple. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
When Apple reveals its first quarterly earnings report of 2017 next Tuesday, the company could shock us with another record-breaking quarter.
The Q1 2017 earnings will cover Apple’s first full quarter of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus sales, and Apple should also get a big boost from the holiday shopping season, according to some Wall Street estimates. During its last earnings call, Apple predicted its revenue slump will end as the company finally returns to growth this quarter, but will it be enough to satisfy investors?
Here’s what to expect from Apple’s January 31 earnings report.
Undeterred by its massive tax bill from the European Commission, Apple has confirmed it is shifting its international iTunes business from Luxembourg to Ireland.
The move, which will take place on February 5, was announced in an email to developers today. However, Apple started planning for it last September when it transferred all developer accounts and around $9 billion in assets from Luxembourg to Ireland.
Name your price for more than 70 hours of instruction in the basics of coding for the web. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals.
Making money on the web is easy, especially when you know how to build websites. Breaking into the always-growing, always-lucrative field of web development typically takes time, guidance and often a fair bit of money, but right now you can get a comprehensive education in web development for whatever you’re willing to pay.
Single sign-on gets another big supporter. Photo: Apple
HBO Go is now compatible with Apple’s single sign-on feature on Apple TV and in the TV app for iOS 10. The feature, which was added back in December, means users are no longer required to sign into each app using the credentials assigned by their cable provider.
Surface Studio is a Windows all-in-one that finally gives the iMac a run for its money. Photo: Microsoft
Microsoft’s decision to wage a new war against Macs with premium Windows PCs is paying off, the company says. Thanks to high-end devices like the Surface Book and Surface Studio, Microsoft managed to steal market share from Apple last quarter.