Mobile menu toggle

How to watch Apple’s ‘Hello Again’ MacBook Pro keynote

By •

Apple's keynote invite makes an awesome wallpaper.
Apple's keynote invite makes an awesome wallpaper.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The new MacBook Pro is nearly here!

Months of rumors and leaked images finally culminate today with Apple’s second keynote in two months. Live from Apple’s campus, Tim Cook and Co. are expected to unveil the all-new Mac lineup.

Apple’s “Hello Again” keynote starts today at 10 a.m. Pacific and you don’t need a press badge to watch. All the festivities will be livestreamed from Apple’s HQ in Cupertino, California, so you can follow along on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV.

Here’s how to get in on the action:

Apple exec cuts deal to avoid jail in European tax probe

By •

money
Apple previously shelled out 318 million euros over its lack of corporate tax payments in Italy.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

An Apple executive has avoided jail as part of an Italian investigation into Apple’s failure to pay corporate tax in the country.

The executive in question, the head of Apple’s Irish-based Apple Sales International, was being investigated as part of the case. Apple agreed to pay 318 million euros last year to close the investigation, but the exec could still have been forced to spend six months in prison for his part in it.

Apple store line dividers suggest new MacBooks will go on sale today

By •

Apple Store
Apple's saying "Hello Again" to the prospect of queues.
Photo: wollae/Reddit

There’s typically a period of anticipation after every Apple keynote, between a new product being announced and it arriving in stores for customers to buy.

That may not be the case with today’s Mac event, as a photo shared online show Apple Stores set up with outside line dividers — suggesting that whatever Apple announces today may well go on sale immediately following the event.

Jaybird X3 Bluetooth headphones give AirPods a run for their money

By •

Jaybird X3 wireless earbuds
Jaybird's X3 wireless earbuds sing like two birdies in your ears.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

SAN FRANCISCO — Rene Oehlerking is positively stoked that Apple killed the headphone jack on the iPhone 7.

That’s because, as chief marketing officer of Jaybird, he’s been touting the winning combo of killer audio and wireless freedom for years. With its controversial move, Apple made Bluetooth headphones the new normal virtually overnight.

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Oehlerking said during a demo of his company’s latest headphones, the Jaybird X3. “It puts pressure on everyone to just buck up.”

Week’s best Apple deals: Super-low prices on iPad minis

By •

Snag great deals on tiny Apple tablets, a third-party Apple Watch band and an essential iOS app.
Snag great deals on tiny Apple tablets, a third-party Apple Watch band and an essential iOS app.
Photos: Apple, Cambond, Duet

We’ve got iPad minis for every budget (as long as your budget falls between $220 and $325). You’ll find those, plus a super-affordable third-party Apple Watch band, in this week’s roundup of the best Apple deals.

iPhone 7 Plus dominates Google’s Pixel XL in speed test

By •

Google Pixel phone family
Pixel XL is sloooooow.
Photo: Google

Google’s new smartphone, the Pixel XL, can’t match the iPhone 7 Plus when it comes real-world speed.

In a new speed test pitting the mighty iPhone 7 Plus against Google’s handset, the Pixel XL gets absolutely stomped, despite having more RAM and the latest SnapDragon 821 processor.

Watch the iPhone 7 kill the Pixel XL:

Microsoft’s giant touchscreen PC takes on iMac

By •

Microsoft Surface Studio
Microsoft's Surface Studio is a tablet and a PC.
Photo: Microsoft.

On the eve before Apple is expected to unveil the future of the Mac, Microsoft fired its biggest shot at taking down the Mac with its first ever all-in-one PC.

It’s beautiful. It’s powerful. And it could give the iMac some serious competition.

How the MacBook Pro’s Magic Toolbar can cast a spell on the world

By •

MacBook Pro
The Magic Toolbar will change depending on the app being used.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple faces a serious challenge when it rolls out the rumored OLED “Magic Toolbar” on new MacBook Pros tomorrow: It must convince the world that the new adaptive touchpad is more than a gimmick.

Offering customizable function keys that work in different ways depending on which apps are running, the Magic Toolbar could make the new MacBook Pro one of Apple’s most exciting laptops in years.

But to be more than a gimmick, the Magic Toolbar needs to improve the way we interact with our Macs, not simply add another confusing control element to the laptops. The Magic Toolbar needs to make it easier to perform tasks that we now do using keyboard shortcuts or on-screen toolbars. If it can’t do that, the Magic Toolbar will go down in the history books as a failure.

Luckily, there’s one simple step Apple can take to ensure that the Magic Toolbar becomes a success.

Next year’s iPhone may come in 3 sizes

By •

iPhone 7 black
This could be the last iPhone made of metal.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s next iPhone will feature an all-glass back, according to the latest rumor out of Asia that also claims the 2017 iPhone will come in three different sizes, with one that’s in between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Old iMacs don’t die. They become lamps and fish tanks in Nebraska.

By •

cult 2.0
Jake Harms in his Nebraska workshop, where he turns old iMacs into home furnishings.
Photo: Steph Harms

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugJake Harms was on his way to the warehouse when a supervisor asked him to take a cart full of garbage to the dumpster. On top of the cart was an old indigo blue iMac G3.

Crossing the warehouse floor, Harms needed to turn left toward the dumpster. Instead, he steered the cart right toward the parking lot so that he could offload the broken iMac into his car.

That rescued iMac would become the first of more than 700 to get a second life as an aquarium.

Apple to unveil new app for finding TV shows

By •

apple tv and siri remote
Apple TV may get some love at the "Hello Again" keynote.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple plans to unveil a new way to discover what to watch on TV at its event tomorrow.

The new recommendation service will come in the form of an app, according to a new report that claims it will also help networks by giving them a place to promote new show.

Say goodbye to cable hell with PowerHouse charging dock for Apple Watch and iPhone [Reviews]

By •

PowerHouse Charge Dock for Apple Watch and iPhone includes a built-in Magnetic Charging Module for Apple Watch.
PowerHouse Charge Dock for Apple Watch and iPhone includes a built-in Magnetic Charging Module for Apple Watch.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

If you’re an Apple Watch and iPhone owner, there’s a good chance you suffer from cluttered-nightstand syndrome. There’s only so much surface space on your standard bedside table, and plugging in multiple devices for overnight charging can mean a tangle of wires and general disarray.

The Belkin PowerHouse charging dock, which juices up an iPhone and an Apple Watch at the same time, will cure you instantly of this 21st-century malady.

This smartwatch keeps what’s best about your dumb one [Deals]

By •

Receive app notifications, track your phone's location and more with this next-level watch
Receive app notifications, track your phone's location and more with this next-level watch
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Let’s face it — smart watches are sleek and feature rich, but they also seem to miss the point of what a ‘watch’ is supposed to do. Watches used to be timepieces, something you look to for an instant check on where you’re at in the day. The Martian Notifier seems to have kept the essential usefulness of the wristwatch in mind, striking a balance between the familiar mechanical watch, and the usefulness of notifications and other smartwatch goodies. It’s a classic take on the new trend in watches, and right now you can get one for $29.00 at Cult of Mac Deals, a quarter of the usual price.

8 takeaways from Apple’s Q4 2016 earnings call

By •

Apple CEO Tim Cook
iPhone sales were down in Q4 2016.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple can’t make enough iPhone 7 devices to satisfy demand from customers (and from Wall Street to make more money).

During Apple’s Q4 2016 earnings call today, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri hinted that big things are in the pipeline that should put the company back on track to growth — and it all starts Thursday with the MacBook Pro.

Here’s what we learned from the Q4 earnings call:

Liveblog: Apple reveals its (relatively) meager Q4 2016 earnings

By •

Will Apple reach its own targets for Q2?
Revenues are expected to be down year-over-year.
Photo: Ste Smith

Apple is set to report its Q4 2016 earnings today, only instead of it being a time for celebration, the company is expected to announce its first annual revenue decline in 15 years.

[contextly_auto_sidebar]

Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri warned Wall Street that this quarter wouldn’t smash any records, but with the iPhone 7 doing better than expected, could relief be on the way?

Investors and analysts will grill Apple about how well the company expects to perform next quarter during today’s earnings call. And Cult of Mac will be right here, liveblogging the whole shebang when it starts at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Come join the fun — it’s livestreaming on Apple’s investor site.

Apple rakes in $9 billion in profit during Q4 2016

By •

money
Yep, Apple made a bunch of money, again.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple today revealed its results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2016. While the company made as much revenue as expected, it still posted its first annual revenue decline since 2001.

The good news for investors is that Apple is projecting a lot of iPhone growth next quarter. In Q4 2016, Apple earned $46.9 billion in revenue and $9 billion in profit, but in Q1 2017 Apple predicts it will rake in $76 billion to $78 billion.

What the Xiaomi Mi Mix could tell us about the next iPhone

By •

Mi-Max-display
Mi Mix is easily the prettiest smartphone to date.
Photo: Xiaomi

Xiaomi’s incredible new Mi Mix smartphone brings a jaw-dropping “edgeless” display, a ceramic design and groundbreaking new technologies.

Unveiled today, it isn’t just the prettiest smartphone of 2016; it’s the prettiest smartphone to date.

The Mi Mix is not an iPhone clone — something Xiaomi has become famous for — but it could tell us a lot about Apple’s next handset.

Apple leaks images of new MacBook Pro with ‘Magic Toolbar’

By •

MacBook Pro
The Magic Toolbar looks like one long key.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Need more proof that Apple is going to launch a new MacBook Pro on Thursday?

Apple accidentally leaked images of the OLED touchbar on the upcoming MacBook Pro in its latest update for macOS Sierra. Not only do the images confirm what we’ve known for months, but they also give us a glimpse at how the Magic Toolbar will work.

Check it out:

Apple squeezes Blackberry to build carOS

By •

Ford CarPlay
CarPlay has a new podcasts player.
Photo: Ford

The rotting corpse of Blackberry Ltd. may provide the extra juice needed to get Apple’s car project rolling.

Apple has reportedly poached key engineers from BlackBerry’s QNX team in Canada to help develop the operating system for its self-driving car. And the iPhone-maker has set up shop just five-minutes away from the QNX offices.

How do you beat light pollution? Try 40 OLED displays.

By •

The beauty of the aurora borealis, as seen on a giant wall of screens.
The beauty of the aurora borealis, as seen on a giant wall of screens.
Photo: LG Electronics

This post is brought to you by LG Electronics.

It’s a sad fact that around a third of people on Earth — and some 80 percent of Americans — can no longer enjoy the glory of the night’s sky, due to light pollution. The celestial firmament has been a source of wonder and inspiration for the entirety of human existence, making its sudden disappearance a truly significant loss.

Upgrade your parties with the LaserDock [Review]

By •

laser
If you’re having frequent parties, or if you’re a DJ, this is the perfect piece of kit for you.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Wicked Lasers, the company behind the popular Spyder lasers and the world’s most powerful flashlight, has a new product designed to take parties to the next level. The LaserDock houses a laser projector and music visualizer in one. And it promises to be easy enough for anyone with a Mac or PC to operate.

The LaserDock was introduced on Indiegogo with much fanfare in September, surpassing its original goal. But does it deliver? Check out our video review below.