Mobile menu toggle

Music Man Valentine is the only electric guitar you’ll need [Reviews]

By

guitar in case
The Valentine is so versatile and addictive you'll want to take it everywhere.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

When this Valentine guitar arrived, I took a look at it, puffed out a quiet “Hmmph,” and carried on working. Even though I’d seen photos, I was still underwhelmed by the instrument’s appearance: pale, natural wood; a tortoise shell pickguard; and the kind of doughy, conservative shape that could make even an audience of meth-fueled Juggalos fall asleep.

Then I picked it up, and fell in love.

Mac design legend helps teen build ultimate Apple museum

By

cult 2.0
Former Apple design chief Jerry Manock is helping Alex Jason turn his extensive Apple computer collection into the Maine Technology Musuem.
Photo: Bill Jason

Cult of Mac 2.0 bug Apple famously wants no part in a museum dedicated to its revolutionary products. However, one key contributor to Apple’s early years feels differently — and is helping a Maine teenager elevate his basement computer collection into a thriving technology museum.

Jerry Manock, Apple’s first design guru, will serve on the board of directors for the future Maine Technology Museum, which will house the collection of 15-year-old Alex Jason, who has established what many serious collectors say is one of the best Apple collections anywhere.

Our best look yet at iPhone 7 and 7 Plus

By

iPhone-7-Plus-and-iPhone-7
Note the dual-lens on the iPhone 7 Plus.
Photo: Letemsvetemapplem

With the iPhone 7 just weeks away, new high-resolution pictures have popped up online revealing what appear to be the finished handsets as they’ll appear on launch day.

In terms of what we can expect from Apple’s new handset, these photos don’t reveal anything new, but instead apparently reconfirm reports like the dual-lens camera on the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus and the availability of a range of colors.

With this bundle of photo apps, who needs Photoshop? [Deals]

By

This bundle of powerful photo editing apps will let you make every photo a keeper.
This bundle of powerful photo editing apps will let you make every photo a keeper.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Everyone’s taking photos these days thanks to smartphones, but unless you’re a professional photo editor you don’t need an expensive subscription to Photoshop to make your images look their best. With this bundle of photo editing apps for Mac — from noise reduction and artificial light source simulators to photo stitching, mosaic makers, image organizers and more — you’ll have everything you need to make every image a keeper. And right now you can get the whole shebang for just $29.99 at Cult of Mac Deals. Here’s what’s included:

Security firm offers $500,000 to anyone who can find iOS security flaws

By

Apple takes a hacksaw to estimated trade-in values for its devices
There's money in discovering iOS flaws, it seems!
Photo: Pictures of Money/Flickr CC

Tech security company Exodus Intelligence is offering $500,000 to anyone who can discover and share with them critical holes which exist in iOS 9.3 and above — as well as smaller (but still significant) sums to anyone finding bugs in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Adobe Flash.

Apple Car may not be an articulated tank after all

By

Maintenance personnel from the 5055th Range Squadron drive an M-973 small unit support vehicle through the snow.
Tank different.
Photo: Wikipedia CC

You can breath a sigh of relief: Apple’s forthcoming Project Titan apparently isn’t going to be an articulated tank, after all!

As it turns out, the patent which circulated yesterday — showing how Apple had acquired a patent for allowing an articulated vehicle to survive gunfire or harsh weather situations — should never have been signed over to Cupertino in the first place.

Apple campus burglary leads to manhunt in San Jose

By

Thieves smashed a window to break into this Apple building.
Thieves smashed a window to break into this Apple building.
Photo: Matt Keller/Twitter

Three men broke into an Apple campus building in Cupertino this morning, prompting Silicon Valley law enforcement to conduct a huge manhunt for the burglars.

Sheriff’s deputies and police officers went door to door through the Cambrian Park neighborhood of San Jose in an effort to find the suspects, who were spotted by Apple security breaking a glass door of the building in the early morning hours.

Apple exec reveals how your iPhone data is used to improve Maps

By

Hair Force One wants everyone to become a coder.
Craig Federighi oversees the development of both iOS and macOS.
Photo: Apple

In a new wide ranging interview, Apple’s senior VP of internet software and services, Eddy Cue, revealed how the company fixed a lot of mistakes it made with the launch of Apple Maps in 2012 by utilizing data from the hundreds of millions of iPhones around the globe.

Cue and Apple software chief Craig Federighi sat down to talk about the troubles with Apple Maps, the difference between working for Tim Cook and Steve Jobs, Apple’s competition with Facebook and Amazon and learning from failure.

These weatherproof backpacks are the only tech bags you’ll ever need [Review]

By

Lowepro Streetline
These backpacks will carry your tech goodies in style and comfort.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Backpacks aimed at tech heads are seemingly everywhere these days. But even with such a crowded marketplace, a couple of bags really leap out.

Two such backpacks are the Lowepro’s Fastback BP 250 AW II and Streetline BP 250, both of which are my go-to carriers when I need to haul my camera equipment, laptop, tablet — and maybe even an odd change of clothes — around with me.

Why do these two bags stand out from the pack? Check out the video below for my full reviews:

Everything that’s new in iOS 10 beta 5

By

iOS
Check out the latest tweaks in iOS 10 beta 5
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We’re gradually getting closer and closer to the public release of iOS 10 later this fall, which means developer betas are dropping fast. Just a week after beta 4 was released, beta 5 is already here.

Check out what’s new in our hands-on video below.

USB travel charger reminds you where you parked your car [Deals]

By

Zus Smart Car Charger

Some ideas have a combination of common sense and innovation that it feels good just to think about. An example: since you’re charging your smartphone while you drive, why not turn that charger into a locator so you know where your car is after you get out? That’s exactly what this car charger from Zus does, a brilliant, simple device built for double duty that can be yours for almost half off — get one for $29.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Apple’s Rio Watch bands dodge official Olympics sponsorship

By

Apple-Watch-780x585
Smooth move, Apple! Smooth move.
Photo: Trayvon Bromell/Twitter

Apple’s decision to sell national flag-themed Apple Watch bands exclusively in Rio may look like an official Olympics tie-in, but it’s actually a smart bit of guerrilla marketing that’s having the (unintentional?) side effect of drawing attention away from rival Samsung, a.k.a. the official phone sponsor of the Olympic games.

Things go from bad to worse for iPhone display maker

By

The iPhone 6 Plus was Apple's biggest phone yet.
Japan Display is running into problems.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple display maker Japan Display continues to suffer setbacks, with the latest being a fall in its share price after it was revealed that the company is seeking financial support from a Japanese government-backed fund.

Japan Display has been hit by the triple whammy of iPhone sales falling, a damaging rise in the Japanese yen currency, and seemingly betting on the wrong horse by hanging onto LCD technology for too long while rival companies were ramping up their OLED facilities for next year’s big iPhone refresh.

Today in Apple history: iTunes catalog hits 1 million songs

By

Apple might start signing artists to contracts, in order to compete with the likes of Spotify. Photo: iTunes/Apple
iTunes hit a major milestone in 2004.
Photo: Apple

August10 August 10, 2004: The iTunes Music Store catalog grows to 1 million songs in the United States, a first for an online music service.

Stocking music from all five major record labels and another 600 indies, and with more than 100 million songs downloaded, the iTunes Music Store is officially established as the world’s No. 1 online music service.

“The iTunes Music Store offers the world’s most extensive collection of downloadable music with over one million tracks available,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of applications, in a press release. “With more than one million songs, over 600 independent labels and dozens of innovative features, iTunes is the ultimate destination for discovering and downloading music.”

Apple Car may use hollow batteries to stay cool

By

Charging the Apple Car.
Apple is making revolutionary batteries for its car.
Photo: Motor1

Apple might team up with “expert technologists in batteries” from South Korea to create hollow lithium-ion power cells that will fuel the upcoming Apple Car, according to a new report.

While the name of the South Korean company hasn’t been revealed due to a nondisclosure agreement with Apple, it’s supposedly comprised of just 20 people. The South Korean team reportedly joined Apple’s secretive Project Titan automotive effort earlier this year, and the battery innovations could help the Apple Car stand out from the competition.