Got a MacBook? No problem, the Apple Creator Studio bundle with Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro and more goes with you and your Mac. Photo:
Apple has been busy this week rolling out updates to two of its most popular creative apps — Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro. The updates bring meaningful new features to musicians, producers, photo editors and designers alike. The rest of the iWork lineup got minor updates, too.
Apple wants to make your iPhone into your car key, if it can keep getting automakers to cooperate. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
Update: And just like that, now Lexus enters the fray. Reports indicate the Toyota-owned luxury brand will add support for iPhone car keys in the coming months, according to references found in Apple’s backend code. It joins many others.
From a single BMW model in 2020 to dozens of brands today, Apple Wallet’s digital car key keeps gaining momentum. Could it soon become as standard as a seat belt? It looks to be headed that way, at least — and for good reason.
The soon-to-close Apple Towson Town Center store in Maryland was the first one to unionize. Photo: Apple
Apple will permanently close three of its U.S. retail locations this June — one of which made history as the first Apple Store in the country to unionize — citing deteriorating conditions at the shopping malls that house them, the company said Thursday.
The closures have drawn swift backlash from the workers’ union. It called the move a deliberate effort to undermine organized labor.
That's an LG smart TV as a main display. To the right of it is a converted iPad HDMI display and a Beelink Mini PC in a 3D-printed housing with a 7-inch touchscreen. Photo: [email protected]
Not everyone who switched to Mac left the PC world entirely behind. Whether it’s a gaming rig they can’t give up, a work-issued Windows laptop they feel stuck with or a legacy tower they repurposed for specialized tasks, plenty of power users run both platforms side by side. Behold the top 9 Mac-and-PC setups from the Cult of Mac archives.
Track all your subscriptions the easy way. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Track every subscription, avoid surprise charges, and take control of recurring spending with SubscriptionNotebook, a tool that makes it easy to answer the question, “What subscriptions do I have again?”
You can get this money-saving subscription finder for a one-time payment of $47, a 90% discount off the regular price of $504.
The Peabody Awards are considered to be equivalent to Pulitzer Prizes, but for TV, radio and online media. Photo: Apple TV
Apple TV scored five nominations for the 86th Annual Peabody Awards, the streamer said Thursday. Nods spanned entertainment, documentary and children’s programming categories.
The nominated titles — Pluribus, Come See Me in the Good Light, Mr. Scorsese, Vietnam: The War That Changed America and Shape Island — are all currently streaming on Apple TV.
Steve Jobs was distraught at being removed as general manager of the Mac division. Photo: Apple
April 10, 1985: During a fateful meeting, Apple CEO John Sculley threatens to resign unless the company’s board of directors removes Steve Jobs as executive VP and general manager of the Macintosh division.
Sculley’s threat triggers a series of events that ultimately will result in Jobs’ exit. The marathon board meeting — which continues for several hours the next day — leads to Jobs losing his operating role within the company. However, the Apple board allows him to stay on as chairman. Things won’t exactly play out like that.
CarPlay keeps improving and further integrating with cars, via voice command or otherwise. Photo: Apple
Apple’s CarPlay voice commands offer a safe way to handle dozens of tasks without lifting a finger or shifting your gaze away from the road. CarPlay’s Siri integration is one of the most underused safety tools in modern cars. However, it only works if you know what to say.
Get to know the best CarPlay voice commands for every driver with Cult of Mac’s handy roundup. Commit them to memory now so you’ll know how to employ them once you hit the road.
There's a new version of macOS ready to install on your Mac. AI image: Apple/ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Apple on Thursday released macOS 26.4.1, a minor but essential update for Mac users running macOS Tahoe. The software arrived a day after the corresponding iOS 26.4.1 and iPadOS 26.4.1 reached iPhone and iPad users.
The update does not introduce major changes. Instead, it focuses on fixing bugs.
MacBook Neo, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air all pushed up Mac sales in Q1 2026. AI image: Apple/ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Apple shipped more Macs in the first three months of 2026 than it has in any quarter going back years. And its share of the world PC market reached a milestone, too.
It’s surely no coincidence this occurred in the quarter the the MacBook Neo launched — Apple’s first entry-level notebook is a huge hit.
The iPod was Apple's most successful product yet. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
April 9, 2007: Apple sells its 100 millionth iPod. Coming just five-and-a-half years after the portable music player went on sale, the landmark event confirms the iPod as Apple’s most popular product of all time.
Until the iPhone arrives a couple of months later, that is!
How to use this top party feature. Image: Ronyyz/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Apple Music comes with a karaoke mode for people who love to sing along as they listen. It’s called Apple Music Sing, and it lets you turn down the lyrics in your favorite songs with just a tap.
It’s much nicer than searching out karaoke versions of songs on YouTube. Those often don’t use the original backing track, but re-create it (with varying levels of quality). Also, if you’re still learning a song, Apple Music Sing can keep some of the original vocals to guide your singing.
Get one month of access to Microsoft 365 Personal at 20% off. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Need Microsoft Office right now without committing long-term? This one-month Microsoft 365 Personal plan is the easiest way to get in, get it done, and get out. It gives you instant access to all the classic Office apps — Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more — and it works on up to five devices simultaneously (including Macs, iPhones and iPads as well as Windows PCs and Android devices). It even comes with 1TB of secure cloud storage!
iOS 26.4.1 is a small but important update. Image: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
Apple rolled out iOS 26.4.1 for compatible iPhones on Wednesday. While it looks like a minor update on paper, it fixes a frustrating issue and quietly introduces a major security change.
The update resolves an iCloud syncing bug that Apple introduced in iOS 26.4. It also enables Stolen Device Protection by default for enterprise iPhones.
LunarWall is a shortcut that helps you add Artemis II moon wallpapers to iOS or macOS. Photo: LunarWall
The Artemis II mission has delivered some of the most breathtaking lunar and Earth imagery in decades. And there are two easy ways to get those photos from the Orion spacecraft onto your Apple devices right now — directly from NASA, or via clever free shortcuts that cut out some steps.
The new cat tracker is small enough to (probably) not bother your cat. Photo: Tractive
An AirTag with the proper collar can tell you where your cat or dog is. Tractive’s new Cat 6 Mini and Dog 6 XL devices can do that, too, but they also can tell you whether your pet is stressed, scratching themselves too much or breathing differently than usual, the company said Wednesday.
Your dog or cat can’t wear an Apple Watch. These collar-based trackers seem to be the next best thing.
“Since Tractive’s founding, we’ve helped pet parents know where their pets are,” said Michael Hurnaus, CEO and founder of Tractive, in a press release. “Now we’re helping them understand how their pets are doing. ”
John Sculley goes from pushing Pepsi to running Apple. Photo: Web Summit/Flickr CC
April 8, 1983:John Sculley, former president of PepsiCo, takes charge as Apple’s third CEO.
Despite a total lack of experience selling tech products, Sculley was lured to Apple by Steve Jobs himself. The Apple co-founder famously pitched the Pepsi exec with the line, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”
Apple has a problem with the MacBook Neo that other companies can only dream of. AI image: Apple/Gemini/Cult of Mac
Want a MacBook Neo? Better order it soon. It’s possible Apple will sell out of the affordable notebook … and not just for a few weeks. It’s not impossible that the laptop will go completely off the market until Apple can solve a shortage of a critical component … and it’s not RAM! Alternatively, Apple could be forced to raise the price.
And it’s all because the Neo is so wildly popular. Here’s what’s going on.
A folding iPhone concept shows open and closed versions of the new handset. AI image: ChatGPT/Sonny Dickson/Cult of Mac
Apple signed a 3-year exclusive agreement with Samsung Display to supply the foldable OLED panels in its long-anticipated folding iPhone, according to a new report Wednesday.
Manage your accounting books and finance easily with Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2024. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Whether you’re growing a small business or running an established company, you can benefit from organized, efficient financial management. If you want to track your income, expenses and more with greater ease, consider investing in Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2024.
This app makes finance tracking easier on your Mac. And that will make tax time a million times easier when it comes around. With this new price drop, you can save on a lifetime subscription to Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2024. Get the Mac version for only $224.97 (regularly $699). Or snag the Windows version for just $194.97.
Not the iPhone Fold at all. You could be looking at the iPhone Ultra. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Surprise! Apple might not release an iPhone Fold this fall.
Wait, it’s a joke. Sort of. It’s still virtually certain that Apple will introduce a folding handset in a few months. However, it reportedly won’t be named what everyone expects. A reliable source says the real name is (drum roll) … iPhone Ultra.
Will Apple delay the iPhone Fold's launch? AI image: ChatGPT
Apple has reportedly run into complex engineering problems as it races to complete work on the first folding iPhone. The complications could derail the company’s mass production plans and, eventually, the device’s shipment schedule.
While Apple often runs into early manufacturing hurdles, it usually resolves them in time for planned releases. With its first foldable, things might not be so straightforward, according to a Monday report from Nikkei Asia.
However, Bloomberg pushed back Tuesday on the notion that the folding iPhone won’t launch on time.
“Apple’s foldable iPhone is — as of now — on track for a September debut with the iPhone 18 Pro,” wrote Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman on X. “While supply could be limited initially, it’s also on track to go on sale at the same time — or soon after — the Pro models. Nikkei report is off base.”
This was the beginning of the end for System 7. Photo: Apple
April 7, 1997: Apple’s System 7 operating system receives its last update with the shipment of Mac OS 7.6.1.
The update brings a few bug fixes and support for Apple’s new PCI Power Macs and the PowerBook 3400. Most importantly, it marks the end of the System 7 era, which dawned way back in 1991.
The iPhone 18 Pro and folding iPhone should look much like this. Photo: Sonny Dickson
“Dummy” units of all three smartphones that Apple is expected to launch this fall appeared in images posted Tuesday by some noted leakers. The pictures show the first folding iPhone, as well as the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, all in a strange magenta color.
The basic iPhone 18 doesn’t appear in the pictures. And there’s a good reason for that: It’s reportedly not coming this fall.