Cult of Mac

Best List: NuForce BE6i by Optoma

Earbuds are essential for activities like running or working out, and they’re fantastic for those times when I don’t want to be wearing a heavy set of cans on my head.

Still, running when wired is an exercise in frustration for me, as I usually end up flailing at some point and yanking out the headphones in my ears via the trailing cord.

These NuForce BE6i Bluetooth earbuds solve both problems: they’re fantastic-sounding, good-looking in-ear headphones without the cord issue.

If you visit this site regularly, you know that we’re fans of virtual private networks (VPN) for getting online. By carefully channeling your data through a protected network, they are a great and accessible option for anyone looking to anonymize and protect their online activity. Well, today we’ve got a deal from VPN Unlimited, offering a lifetime of VPN access for just $29.

Forget political polls. The real horse race is in iPhone cases — and Donald Trump is dominating the field.

Whether it is the proud, orange face of Trump as Uncle Sam or a slogan that encourages others not to vote for him, The Donald is yuuuuuge.

New resources discovered in Apple’s first iOS 10 beta confirm the company is developing a new dark mode. One developer has been able to active the interface inside the iOS simulator using a simple tweak.

WWDC 2016 brought a lot of exciting new software updates, and we’re working our way through hands-on demos with all of them. We’ve already covered iOS 10, macOS Sierra and tvOS 10 betas — and now it’s time for watchOS 3.

Apple’s latest operating system for the Apple Watch brings a lot of changes and improvements that fix the user experience. Watch the video below to see the new OS in action.

There was, to put it mildly, a lot that was insanely great about Steve Jobs’ return to Apple. But one thing that always struck me as less than good from an Apple fan’s perspective was that he stopped giving revealing in-depth interviews.

As his ability to command the narrative increased, Apple’s CEO understandably shifted away from playing the media hound he’d been for the first part of his career, where he’d speak with often painful honesty to seemingly any magazine that would have him. One of his last such interviews? The one that appeared in the June 16, 1994, edition of Rolling Stone.

Apple may be running into roadblocks during its expansion in China, but that’s not stopping the company from pushing forward with its retail plans — with Macau, a glitzy city often referred to as the “Las Vegas of China,” set to receive its first Apple Store later this month.

According to Apple, the store will open at 10am local time on June 25, based at the upmarket Galaxy Macau resort shopping mall. Its opening will mark the 41st dedicated Apple Store to open in China.

Along with macOS, iOS and watchOS Apple recently unveiled the latest system update to their Apple TV operating system: tvOS 10.

tvOS 10 brings some great new additions along with a new iOS remote app. To see the new Apple TV and remote app updates in action, check out the video below.

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If you aren’t already stoked for this year’s big MacBook Pro upgrade, perhaps this concept will help. The video imagines the rumored OLED touch bar that all the rumors have been promising, and all the incredible functionality it could bring.

Drivers tired of forking over cash to toll booths on the morning commute are getting some welcomed relief thanks to iOS 10.

Apple Maps didn’t get much stage time during the WWDC 2016 keynote earlier this week, but along with adding proactive route suggestions, Apple has also made it super easy to avoid any toll booths that might be on your route.

Apple might add a new color to the iPhone lineup and this year it won’t be a new shade of gold.

Recent rumors have claimed that the iPhone 7 will come in a “Deep Blue” color option when it launches this fall, which sounds kind of strange, until you look at the beautiful mockups created by Martin Hajek.

Even though the iPhone 7 isn’t expected to feature any major design changes, we will gladly fork over the cash for an upgrade if it looks this good:

Most Apple fans don’t start drooling at the mention of speech-recognition APIs, Xcode thread sanitizers, Metal tessellation or Pixar USD model support. However, if you’re a developer, those can be huge game-changers that mean you can make your apps better than ever.

While Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2016 keynote revealed loads of fresh features coming in iOS 10 and macOS Sierra — including some amazing stuff that should delight iPhone, iPad and Mac owners when the final versions launch this fall — developers watching Monday’s event saw tons of seemingly minor updates that will let them make apps better than ever.

To find out what the little updates could mean for typical users, Cult of Mac asked some of this year’s Apple Design Award winners what WWDC additions they’re most excited about.

Here’s what they told us.

Apple is finally dropping the ban hammer on HTTP.

As part of its overall efforts to increase security on iOS, Apple revealed to developers at WWDC that it will soon force all apps to use a secure HTTPS connection to access web service, so that users’ data stays encrypted while in transit.

You’re probably itching to get your hands on the new iOS 10 beta, but if you’re not a registered developer, that’s not easy. But it’s not impossible. Here’s how fans are downloading and installing iOS 10 months early!

We’ve got items big and small in this week’s roundup of best Apple deals. Whether you want to take advantage of all the latest updates from WWDC 2016, or just want an affordable refurb Mac that will get the job done, read on for savings.

Every single model of the iPhone has shipped with a physical home button, but that could change this September. According to the latest iPhone 7 display leak, Apple is planning to swap it for a touch-sensitive alternative.

Of all Apple’s products, the MacBook is probably the one most associated with a price tag that reflects its quality. That makes the idea of getting a free MacBook all the more hard to wrap your head around, but that’s exactly what we’re offering today. If you’re 21 or older, enter for your chance to win a 12-inch MacBook like the one pictured, worth $1,299. No strings attached.

Among the myriad improvements Apple is making with iOS 10 is the ability to, for the first time, delete the stock apps which come pre-packaged on your iPhone and iPad.

That means that, should you not use your Calendar, Compass, Mail or Weather app (to name just 18 stock iOS apps), you’ll be able to banish them from your device — having to re-download them via the App Store if you change your mind.

But things aren’t quite as straightforward as they might sound!

While Apple originally introduced the diminutive Mac mini in 2005, it was on June 15, 2010, that it launched the sleek, unibody aluminum Mac mini redesign that persists to this day.

Starting at $699, the mid-2010 era Mac mini gave users a 2.4-GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 2 GB of RAM, and a 320 GB hard drive. It also boasted an HDMI-out port for the first time, an SD card reader, a dazzling new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics chip and — very excitingly — no power brick, since all the power circuitry was housed inside the minimalist device, which stood at a not-so-imposing 1.4 inches tall.

The first macOS beta was released this week, so of course I downloaded it straight away on my Mac to bring you all a quick hands on video.

Although this is still the first beta, and many functions still don’t work as intended, it gives us our first glimpse at Apple’s next-gen desktop OS in action. Check out the macOS Sierra hands on video below.

Apple’s announcements about the new watchOS 3 was one of the exciting highlights of Monday’s WWDC event, and it seems that Apple’s just as enthusiastic about its next-gen Apple Watch hardware — with sources in the supply chain claiming it’s ramped up component orders for the wearable sequel.

Apple’s WWDC 2016 keynote came and went without any new hardware announcements, but you might not have to wait much longer for the unveiling of the new MacBook Pro.

Source code in the first beta build of macOS Sierra hints that Apple plans to add support for an OLED touchpad, seemingly confirming the accuracy of the leaked MacBook Pro photos Cult of Mac published last month.

With a host of new features, many of which go more than just skin deep, iOS 10 will bring loads of new functionality to iPhones and iPads.

We got the developer beta up and running to get a look at all the new iOS 10 features in action, and caught it all on video to share with you. Get a glimpse of the iPhone’s future in our iOS hands-on video.

You won’t be forced to use Apple’s teeny tiny Siri Remote to play games on Apple TV much longer.

Apple is turning its little black box into a more serious gaming console with tvOS 10 by giving developers the ability to require a third-party controller for games.