HomeKit is now getting packaged into new homes. Photo: KB Home
Apple’s HomeKit platform is set to power an entire community currently under construction in San Jose.
Real estate development firm KB Home revealed today that its new community, Promenade at Communications Hill, will be the first ever in the US to have HomeKit technology built-in, providing a seamless experience from the foundation up.
Wouldn't you like a powerful PC running macOS? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has finished unveiling its product lineup for 2016, and yet again it appears to have forgotten about the Mac Pro. The high-end desktop will be three years old next month, and although it might look pretty on the outside, it’s way past its best on the inside.
Apple won’t tell us why the Mac Pro isn’t a priority anymore, but its focus is clearly elsewhere. This is a problem for creative professionals who rely on the extra power the machine provides. For some, the iMac just isn’t beefy enough.
Some believe Apple should license macOS to third-party computer makers that are willing to cater to the pros Apple is ignoring. It’s a move Apple would never make, but is it a good idea?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over whether Apple should let rival PC vendors build macOS machines!
Get rid of certain extensions for good! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Extensions can be very useful on Safari for Mac, adding functionality, and — in Apple’s words — letting users, “explore the web the way you want.” But how do you get rid of them once they’re installed?
If you have issues with extensions causing crashes, glitches, or you just don’t plain want them anymore, here’s our easy guide to removing them.
Belkin's design director Oliver Seil says designers are basically psychologists. Photo: Oliver Seil/Belkin
For many ugly years, manufacturers considered industrial design an afterthought. They would outsource the task to a contractor or neglect it altogether, in an effort to get products out quickly and cheaply.
The result: hideous-looking products that didn’t work well or proved difficult to use.
Nowadays, companies like Apple are changing the game when it comes to incorporating industrial design and user experience into product engineering.
On this episode of Kahney’s Korner, I talk with Oliver Seil, senior design director with Belkin International’s Innovation and Design Group. Seil is Belkin’s Jony Ive, the top designer who overseas the company’s diverse array of products.
Apple is already driving an OLED boom. Photo: iDropNews
The iPhone 7 has barely been out for two months but the first concept designs of next year’s iPhone are ready to get you hyped for a future without bezels.
Early rumors for the 2017 iPhone have claimed Apple plans to make some major changes. The home button and bezels at the top and bottom could get the boot. And with a curved OLED display, Apple’s next phone may be the most beautiful one ever.
Is your MacBook Pro reporting the right graphics? Photo: MacRumors
A bug in macOS Sierra is incorrectly telling some users that their MacBook Pro just got a nice graphics upgrade.
Some 15-inch units are packing Intel Iris Pro 580 graphics, according to the built-in System Information report. But in actual fact, they have Intel Iris Pro 530 graphics instead.
Zoolz is offering two forms of high capacity cloud storage for a single super low price Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
These days, having a mixed storage strategy is the only sensible way to consider your data ‘backed up’. The cloud needs to be part of the equation, and if the high cost of secure cloud storage has kept your storage on the ground, we’ve got good news. As of today, Zoolz is offering a terabyte of secure cloud storage for life at 10 bucks less off an already massive discount. Right now you can get a lifetime of Zoolz for just $29 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Apple's pricey book is the subject of a new parody. Photo: Apple
Earlier this week, Apple debuted its pricey $200-$300 Designed by Apple in Californiacoffee table book — and, boy, has it already garnered a ton of publicity. Not all of it favorable.
In a fake ad which debuted on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Apple book is ridiculed for, well, basically being an insanely expensive book.
The mural outside one of Apple's Chinese Apple stores. Photo: Apple
Apple has hired a former Wall Street Journal correspondent from China to assume the post of PR Director for its Shanghai office.
Given that Apple shows such a mastery of the press, it’s no surprise to hear that it’s used to picking the cream of the tech-reporting media crop to work in its PR roster. Wei Gu falls into this category — even if her new role comes at a challenging time for Apple in China.
Get your flickering iPhone 7 Plus repaired now. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has finally responded to the “touch disease” issue plaguing older iPhone 6 Plus units. The company this week launched a new repair program that gives users the option to get their handset fixed for a flat fee of $149.
These guys rock — and design great apps. Bassist Joe Cieplinski, left, and lead guitar and vocalist, Dave Wiskus, of the band Airplane Mode. Photo: Airplane Mode
The indie rock band Airplane Mode does indeed get its name from the feature on an iPhone that shuts off wireless transmission.
The name and the resumes of three of the band’s musicians — well-established iOS designers — have led more than a few people to assume they have found a source of cute parody music about Apple culture.
In fact, you won’t find any iPhones, iMacs or odes to Steve Jobs in the lyrics of the tight, hard-charging synth-driven music. However, the band’s roots in Apple culture permeate everything else, from its use of technology and understanding of social engagement to its start-up energy.
And there is one other way: Airplane Mode is making money.
The Touch Bar is Apple's newest brilliant idea. Photo: Apple
The new MacBook Pro finally lands in stores this week, and an awesome new Apple ad celebrates the arrival.
In the new spot, called “Bulbs,” Apple links the invention of fire, the wheel, plow and more to the creation of the Touch Bar, the thin OLED strip that completely changes how you interact with your Mac.
Apple will reportedly slash its 30 percent App Store fee in half for video services that support its upcoming TV app, according to a new report. The incentive should persuade more providers to support the app, which is set to be released next month.
The Withings Body Cardio smart scale adds crucial cardiovascular insights to your health data mix. Photo: Withings
This post is brought to you by Withings, maker of the Body Cardio smart scale.
One of the great promises of the mobile and wearables revolution was that we’d all get unprecedented insights into our personal health. Apple even built a Health app into its mobile operating system. And what icon did Apple choose for its trailblazing Health app? An unmistakable red heart.
Now a heart-healthy smart scale can capture critical data about your cardiovascular health that can provide a fresh perspective on your wellness regimen.
Next year's dual-lens camera will get a big upgrade. Photo: Apple
The dual-lens camera on the iPhone 7 Plus is set to get a big stabilization upgrade next year.
While Apple only added optical image stabilization to the wide-angle lens on the camera this year, a new report claims that Apple plans to bring the feature to the telephoto lens in 2017.
It's never too early to grab a Black Friday deal. Photos: Apple
Black Friday is still a week away, but that doesn’t mean the savings are: Best Buy is already offering its Black Friday price on a MacBook Air. That, plus iPad keyboards, a Time Capsule and a MacBook Pro are in this week’s best Apple deals.
Designed by Apple in California. Assembled by Foxconn in USA? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The iPhone may soon be made in the USA.
Donald Trump claimed during his campaign that he would force Apple to move production of its products back to America. According to a new report, Apple has already started looking into whether that would be possible.
AirPods could finally be arriving soon. Photo: Apple
Some rumors have warned that we might have to wait until the new year for AirPods to arrive, but a number of retailers expect them to arrive much sooner. According to one, they’ll start shipping before the end of the month.
It's shockingly easy to get into someone's photos. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Hackers have discovered a new method to unlock photos and messages on any iPhone, thanks to an iOS security flaw that utilizes Siri and VoiceOver.
iPhones running iOS 8 software and newer are vulnerable to the flaw, which was discovered by EverythingApplePro and iDeviceHelp. The group revealed the hack in a new video that shows you don’t need any coding experience or special hardware to pull it off. All you need is a few minutes alone with a victims iPhone and some help from Siri.
Apple receives user call histories when iCloud is enabled, claims a new report. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple receives user call histories when iCloud is enabled, claims a new report from Russian digital forensics firm Elcomsoft.
The logs include information about calls made and received on an iOS device, along with phone numbers, dates, times, call duration, and even missed and bypassed calls — for both regular and FaceTime calls.
Starting today, save even more on the best tool for screen capture, burning digital media and editing videos. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
If you work with digital media, you’ve caught a whiff of Toast. It’s one of the premier software tools for converting and working with digital media of all kinds, whether video or audio, for online or physical playback. And now the 15th and most powerful version of Toast Titanium has dropped in price from a previous discount of 50 percent. As today’s deal of the day, you can get Toast Titanium 15 for $35 at Cult of Mac Deals.
In previous years, Apple ran the events for just one day. Photo: Apple
Apple has officially opened registration for its free “Hour of Code” workshops, which this year will run every day for a week at around 500 Apple stores around the world.
In previous years, Apple has offered just one day of workshops for its introduction to programming events, produced in partnership with Code.org.