Nine years later, the original iPhone is still pretty great at rendering the modern web... except when it isn't. Photo: Medium
When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone nine years ago this month, he made a big point about iOS Safari, the first desktop-class mobile browser. He said — and proceeded to prove — that Mobile Safari could render the web with no compromises.
But that was a decade ago. The web’s moved on. So how does today’s web look on an original iPhone?
Coming soon to a wrist near you. Photo: Eric Heisuman
Quanta is reportedly set to enter trial production of the Apple Watch 2 by the end of this month, with a likely launch around April. That means we’d see the sequel wearable just a year after Apple introduced the product line.
Could this be the missing piece of the puzzle? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple is reportedly watching the potential Time Warner sale very closely, with a possible deal in the making that would see Cupertino secure the entertainment company’s impressive assets to help build up its Apple TV service.
Nine-year-old Olivia Retter (right) got a chemical burn from her iPhone case. Ouch. Photo: Daily Mail
Olivia Retter purchased a New Look iPhone case for her iPhone 5c. Sadly, the permanent scar the 9-year-old girl got from it wasn’t quite the “new look” she was going for.
Apple was the only major personal computer maker that didn’t see a global sales decline during the holiday quarter, claims new research carried out by analysts at Gartner.
Tim Cook thinks the government needs to be strong in its pro-encryption message. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Tim Cook reportedly hit out during a meeting of White House officials with tech leaders in San Jose last week, slating the White House for its lack of leadership and insisting that the Obama administration should issue a strong public statement defending anti-encryption software.
Liberal arts training with a computer science degree? That's like the ultimate Jobs/Wozniak mix. Photo: Pirates of Silicon Valley/Turner Network Television
There’s no shortage of people in Silicon Valley wanting to connect themselves in some way to Steve Jobs, whether it’s driving the same type of car as Apple’s late CEO, or rocking the same John Lennon glasses.
Now Reed College, the liberal arts school Jobs famously dropped out of, is planning to offer its first undergraduate degree program in computer science — courtesy of a special grant from … Microsoft?
iOS 9 is on a huge number of Apple's mobile devices. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Apple’s iOS 9 has been adopted by users at a pretty rapid rate, one that’s faster than even iOS 8 enjoyed.
Apple just updated its developer information page, claiming that iOS 9 is now on 75 percent of all iOS devices out there. This is four percent more than it was just a month ago, showing steady, if slower, growth than the first few weeks after the iOS 9 release.
Your iPhone or iPad won't put up the actual transcription of Siri's beatbox skills. You'd die. Screenshot: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac
We think Siri’s been holding out on us. It turns out that Apple’s digital assistant has been quietly working on a skill that we only recently discovered.
It’s not very useful, but it should give you a smile: A simple request will make Siri beatbox for you.
It seems that Apple doesn't think you should have to choose which single Apple Watch is right for you. Photo: Apple
We were a little skeptical (and sarcastic) when we heard that Apple was trying out a feature in iOS 9.3 and watchOS 2.2 that will let Apple Watch owners pair multiple devices to one iPhone, but some new details have us rethinking our position.
The feature, reportedly called “Auto Switch,” does exactly that, and based on what we’ve heard, it could very well not just be for developers.
Group video on your smartphone – hoorah! Photo: SkypeIn celebration of the 10th anniversary of its free video calls, Skype is giving everyone a present: group video calls on mobile devices.
It was only six years ago that Skype video calling premiered on mobile phones, setting one-to-one video calls free from the laptop or desktop.
Now, you’ll be able to group video chat via Skype on Android, iPhone, iPad and Windows 10 Mobile. Here’s a cute video Skype created to celebrate.
Goodbye, Internet Explorer. We won’t miss all of those security breaches. Photo: Everyone Ever
Internet Explorer is dead, and some nerdy designers are taking their good-riddance to Kickstarter.
The campaign will produce classy, poster-sized screen prints of a fictional speech that perfectly captures how little anyone will actually miss the maligned web browser. It’s seeking a measly $500 to start production, with extra money going toward making the prints available in additional languages.
VLC will make it easy to stream to Apple TV from anywhere. Photo: VideoLAN
Finally, the play any video everywhere convenience of super-video app VLC is coming to your new Apple TV.
As the go-to video player app on OS X and iOS, it’s about time we see it on the big screen, considering it was planned last September.
Once you search for and download VLC on your Apple TV, you’ll be set to play any videos you can possibly throw at it, whether stored locally, on a local media server, or even right from your browser.
Creative types will find the Staad Attaché a good fit for the iPad Pro and all its accessories. Photo: WaterField Designs
Companies have designed shoulder bags exclusively for iPads, but let’s face it — most of us just toss them in whatever bag we have. Sure, we’ll spend on a hard cover or even a protective sleeve, but the iPad’s size and sleekness don’t demand that we dedicate a separate bag.
But the iPad Pro changes things a bit. It’s larger, is best utilized with an attachable keyboard and, if you live the creative life, you need a place to stow that Apple Pencil.
Perfect for an iPhone, right? Photo: Jake Sargeant/Apple
If you’re looking for some amazing new Retina-display-quality images to wallpaper your Mac, iPhone or iPad, you might want to head over to Apple’s “Start Something New” campaign web page.
The sub-site — part of an ongoing advertising campaign highlighting how creative you can get with Apple products — has a bunch of amazing images that zoom around when you mouse a cursor across them.
If you’re not already subscribed to Amazon Prime, you’re missing out on what might be the best deal on the planet. And today it gets even greater, because Amazon is now giving all Prime subscribers 20 percent off pre-order and newly-released video games.
Rap Genius is partnering with Spotify. Photo: Spotify
Understanding what your favorite rapper is saying is finally going to get a lot easer, if you’re a Spotify user.
Spotify revealed a new feature going out to users, starting today, that allows you to look a song’s lyrics, as well as the meaning behind them. Songs will be compiled into a weekly ‘Behind the Lyris’ playlist that utilizes Genius’ collection of rhyme translations.
Instagram's user base just keeps growing. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Ever wonder what life would be like if you were Instafamous with millions of followers blasting your pics with likes?
Seeing your feed blow up with thousands of likes moments after posting is usually reserved for people named Kardashian, but that’s just another day in the office for the creator of the Instagram profile 433. The football feed has amassed over 8 million followers thanks to its fantastic curation of the most epic football content on the web.
Demy de Zeeuw uploaded a video showing what an iPhone’s push notifications look like when you have that many eyeballs eager to double-tap your pics right after posting.
Sometimes what you really need is a well-built pair of inexpensive headphones. Jlab's Flex fills that bill perfectly. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Best List: Flex headphones by JLab Audio
If you are on a budget and routinely trash your headphones, JLab Audio’s Flex is just what you have been looking for: a decent pair of cans built to withstand regular abuse.
The Flex headphones come folded down compactly into their included case, and for $70 deliver pretty impressive sound quality.
Twitter just found a way to take up even more of your time. Photo: Periscope
Twitter is using its subsidiary streaming service, Periscope, for a direct assault on your attention. That’s the only conclusion we can reach, anyway, as the social-media giant’s mobile app now supports both live streams and replays of content from Periscope.
And it’s hitting iOS first, with the feature rolling out today.
This sleek drone is also one of the smallest to also carry a camera. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Meet one of the smallest drones in its class to also sport a camera for shooting photo and video. It also keeps the best qualities of quadcopters, with omni-directional controls perfect for the dips, dives, and barrel rolls of modern day barnstorming (probably a gingerbread barn, but still). It’s a feature-rich flier that you don’t have to be rich to play with — right now this drone and a bonus 2 gigabyte micro SD card are just $34.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
You'd better Watch out! Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
We’re used to hearing about iPhone thefts to the point that one method for measuring interest in Apple launches is to see whether or not there’s an appropriately-timed spike in muggings around launch day.
But with the Apple Watch still finding its way in the world, we haven’t yet heard too many stories about thefts of Apple’s debut wearable device. Until now, that is!
Ain't that just the way that sales go down, down, down, down. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple has never reported a decline in iPhone sales. That may be about to change, however, with seven top Apple analysts all predicting that the company is either experiencing — or on the verge of experiencing — a drop in the number of iPhones being bought.
Apple’s analytics tools are invaluable to developers who want to gain better insight into who is downloading their apps and how well they’ll be monetized. They’ve previously been available to iOS and Mac developers, but tvOS devs were second-class citizens, with no analytics tools to draw on.
Now Apple is finally making its App Analytics dashboard available to Apple TV devs as well.
Apple car concept art shows what Cupertino might put on the road. Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer
The Apple Car has its share of skeptics, but there’s at least one person who believes it is coming, and he should know: Tesla founder Elon Musk says it’s an “open secret” that Cupertino is working to become Coupe-rtino. Get it?