Apple CEO Tim Cook will introduce the band Imagine Dragons Satuday at the LOVELOUD Festival in Utah. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been named as one of Time’s 100 most influential people list that rounds up the top leaders, artists, and public figures that have shaped the world the most the last year.
Cook has frequently appeared on the list, but perhaps is more deserving of it than ever this year after leading Apple in a public fight against the federal government of digital security and privacy. Other notable people on the list include Bernie Sanders, Kendrick Lamar, Vladimir Putin, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Felix Kjellberg (a.k.a. PewDiePie).
Get your iOS device up to date fast and easy. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Members of Apple’s public beta testing program can now get their hands on all the new software updates Apple dropped on developers yesterday.
New betas for iOS, tvOS, watchOS and OS X have been seeded to the public, bringing a bunch of bug fixes for every Apple platform, as well as some new features on iPhone.
Bring all the fun of an analog board game to your iPad. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
If I ran the world, Krosmaster Arena, a fabulously fun and deep strategy game that started out as a board game with delightfully sculpted miniature figures, would be topping the charts right alongside stuff like Clash Royale or Angry Birds.
Of course, I don’t, but I’m hoping each one of you reading this tries it out on your iPad so you can experience the joy of playing it digitally.
Greg Packer goes where the new iPhones are. Photo: Gizmodo
Greg Packer is a shirtless footnote in the history of the iPhone. The retired highway maintenance worker from Long Island made a name for himself as the first person to line up for the sale of the first iPhone in 2007.
During his nearly weeklong stint sitting outside the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City, scores of reporters came by to interview him as he sat in a lawn chair, at times not bothering to put on a shirt during his many closeups.
Trust in an industry-leading VPN: surf the web anonymously and without restriction Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
There’s a good chance you’ve heard about virtual private networks, or VPNs, but have no idea what they are. VPNs are, in essence, a way of establishing a secure and direct connection — like one you might have between two computers in the same office.
Using fancy techniques like dedicated connections, virtual tunneling protocols and encryption, a VPN distributes a connection that runs according to the same security and operational rules as that direct connection, only it’s distributed through a public network — namely, the internet.
Your next iPhone may be powered by Intel. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Skylake processors aren’t the only new Intel tech Apple plans to use in 2016.
Starting with the iPhone 7, Apple may finally ditch Qualcomm modems in favor of a new chip from Intel which has pretty much missed out on the entire iPhone revolution.
New headphones will switch between wired and wireless modes without dropping audio. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
In advance of the next-gen iPhone, which will reportedly ditch its 3.5mm headphone jack in favor of wireless or Lightning EarPods, Apple had filed a patent application for hybrid headphones capable of switching between wired and wireless options without dropping audio in the process.
Note to self: always bet on Apple. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
As a tech fan, there are plenty of times — particularly when you hear about billionaire investors and record-breaking stock prices — when you wonder whether you would have had the foresight to predict things turning out the way they have.
Would you have bet big on Apple around the time of its 1980 IPO? Was it obvious that Steve Jobs was going to turn around the company in 1997? Or would you have been the equivalent of folks calling the Titanic an unsinkable ship, and pouring your life savings into pre-crash dot-com companies?
An amazing new data-viz shows how the returns on a $1,000 investment made in Apple, Microsoft and IBM would have fared over the next 20 years following January 1, 1996. Check it out below:
South Korea's fair trade watchdog persuaded Apple to change its conditions. Photo: Olly Browning/Pixabay
Apple has revised a so-called “unfair” business agreement concerning the conditions South Korean repair service providers must work under in order to do business as part of the Apple Authorized Service Provider Program.
South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) had complained that Apple had the ability to terminate contracts with local businesses without any prior notification, and without taking responsibility for losses incurred by its withdrawal of the Authorized Service Provider label.
Facebook just made chat more sociable. Photo: FacebookFacebook just made chat more sociable. Photo: Facebook
Facebook is continuing its mission to try and replace your standard telephone number with its latest update for Facebook Messenger — allowing up to 50 users to jump on a VoIP audio call for a group chat.
The feature, which started rolling out globally yesterday, allows anyone to start a group call by hitting the app’s Phone icon and selecting the group chat members they want included. The members will then receive a Messenger call simultaneously, which they can join at any point the conversation is taking place.
The iPhone SE is causing a headache for low-cost Chinese OEMs. Photo: AppleThe iPhone SE is causing a headache for low-cost Chinese OEMs. Photo: Apple
Apple’s affordable 4-inch iPhone SE is causing a major headache for Chinese makers of low-cost Android phones.
Supply chain manufacturers in Taiwan and China are reportedly becoming more conservative about building up inventories of smartphone components from companies including Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo as the iPhone SE squeezes the competition.
Look out, Apple! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of MacLook out, Apple! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Android
Samsung couldn’t have wished for a better start for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.
Not only are sales shaping up to beat expectations, with an estimated 10 million sales during March alone, but according to the latest data, the new handsets helped Samsung crush Apple in smartphones shipments last quarter.
Apple investors will have to wait a day to hear the latest financials from the mother ship. Photo: Apple
Apple has delayed its annual Q2 financial report by one day to April 26, 2016.
Apple’s investor site shared the news Wednesday, saying the postponement is out of respect for Bill “The Coach” Campbell, one of Steve Job’s favorite tech advisors and longtime Apple board member, who passed away earlier this week.
We’d almost forgotten about the eMac, but some designers have refreshed it for 2016.
The clever thinkers over at Curved have come up with a concept that brings the teardrop shape back for a new generation. Their version combines that classic design with more-recent Apple hallmarks. And while we’re not completely sold on some parts of it, it’s still a pretty handsome machine.
There's already a hot deal on the just-announced new MacBook lineup. Photo: Apple
Though it was announced just yesterday, the first deal on the newly updated MacBook with Skylake processor is already here. You’ll find that, plus refurbished iMacs, the lowest price we’ve seen on an iPad Air 16GB Wi-Fi, and more, in this roundup of the week’s best Apple deals.
Federico Vittici and Sam Beckett brought a better Control Center and more to life. Photo: Federico Vittici/MacStories, Sam Beckett
Since there is still much to learn about the upcoming iOS 10 debut presumably at WWDC this year, Federico Vittici of MacStories and concept designer Sam Beckett took it upon themselves to bring their dreams to life. They worked together to design an incredible concept video that fulfills Vittici’s wishes for the next version of iOS. The video is nothing short of stunning and their implementation of his (completely reasonable) feature requests will have you absolutely drooling.
Use your Apple Watch to find your iPhone, regardless of ambient illumination. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
I’m willing to bet that you’ve misplaced your iPhone around the house before. I know I have; almost once a week I’m wondering where I set down that magical device. Is it in the bedroom? The kitchen? The (gasp) bathroom?
If you’ve got an Apple Watch, though, you can use its ping feature to find your iPhone with an audible sound, and even a flashing LED if you need it.
Magna International Inc. is making cars for BMW. Photo: BMW
Talks between Apple and German carmakers Daimler and BMW have fallen apart, after Apple sought to strike a deal with the companies for its electric car project.
BMW and Apple have been rumored to be talking about a partnership for nearly a year now. Apple supposedly wanted to use BMW’s i3 carbon fiber body as the basis for its car but it appears that the company will have to go solo for now.
It's as easy as that! GIF: GoogleIt’s as easy as that! GIF: Google
Saving web pages to Google Keep is now even easier, thanks to a handy Chrome extension that’s available to download now. Google has also made organizing your notes a simpler task by adding support for labels.
A fresh new batch of Apple beta software is now available for developers two weeks after the company dropped its last big set of new software.
New beta builds of iOS 9.3.2, watchOS 2.2.1, tvOS 9.2.1 and OS X 10.11.5 can be found in the Apple developer center, bringing a bunch of new bug fixes, and hopefully some feature improvements as well.
The Pax 2 is so simple any toker can use it. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Best List: Pax 2 vaporizer by Ploom
Putting your mouth around a Pax 2 vaporizer is like smoking the future.
At a time when every other vape company is making smoke boxes that look giant battery packs with an exhaust pipe, Ploom — the Silicon Valley-based startup behind the Pax loose-leaf vaporizers — is killing the market with a dank dose of subtlety.
Snapchat desperately hopes every little thing will turn out to be alright. Photo: Ste Smith/Luke DormehlSnapchat desperately hopes every little thing will turn out to be alright. Photo: Cult of Mac
A Bob Marley-themed Snapchat filter designed to celebrate 4/20 has backfired, with hordes of users accusing the company of promoting “blackface.”
It’s the latest instant outrage to flare up on the internet, and a total bummer for anyone just trying to enjoy the high holy day for pot smokers. After all, isn’t April 20 the one day of the year we should all be kicking back and chilling out?