Apple has updated its website with new details about about its privacy policy and how it uses customer data.
Under the heading “The most personal technology must also be the most private,” the site runs down all of Apple’s core services, and explains how Apple protects user data in each case.
Here are some of the highlights:
It’s almost the end of September, which not only means the evenings are starting to draw in for most of us, but also that Apple Music’s three-month free trial is about to come to an end — with the $9.99 per month premium service kicking in from October.
After its Apple Music Emmys ad, Apple is making one more big push to sell users on its streaming music service. If you want to throw in the towel before getting charged, however, now’s the time to do it.
Read on if you need a quick “how to” reminder.
iOS 9’s Wi-Fi Assist feature helps when you’re connected to a slow Wi-Fi connection by kicking in your cellular data network to help things seem a bit snappier.
The problem is that it can also rack up some data charges if you end up going over your data cap. If you’ve got a limited data plan with your wireless carrier, you’ll want to find this iOS 9 setting, which is on by default, and kind of buried in the Settings.
With just days to go before free Apple Music trials start to expire, Cupertino is finally getting serious about explaining exactly how its streaming music service works.
A new wave of “guided tour” videos demystifies Apple Music’s functionality and features — but will this marketing and educational push be too little, too late to stop a wave of defectors from leaving the fledgeling service at a critical time?
Major Leaugue Baseball doesn’t have a great reputation of embracing Apple products on baseball diamond, but starting this week, teams will finally be allowed to replace their paper binders with iPads to look up everything from statistics, scouting reports, spray charts.
Teams were given the MLB’s blessing to start using iPads in the dugout during games, however there’s a catch: teams can’t connect iPads to WiFi during games, and all info must be downloaded before the first pitch.
The iPhone 6s has the best camera Apple’s ever made, but have you ever wondered how much better the new camera is than the original iPhone that launched back in 2007?
Lisa Bettany put the iPhone 6s camera through its paces in a new comparison test that pits the new device against the previous eight iPhones. Her images show how far Apple’s smartphone photography game has improved since the original iPhone debuted with its 2-megapixel sensor.
Check out the comparison shot below:
So, you’re one of 13 million people to get a brand new iPhone 6S over the launch weekend. Congratulations, you now have access to a faster phone — potentially a rose gold one, better cameras, stronger aluminum and of course, 3D Touch. The latter is actually extremely useful, but it’s only as useful as developers allow.
Since the feature is brand new, 3D Touch mostly works with Apple’s stock iOS apps for quick application shortcuts on the Home screen, plus Peek and Pop inside apps to preview different types of content. A few productive developers saw the light and quickly updated their apps to support this drastically new way to use an iPhone.
You can tell that the future is very bright for 3D Touch as developers are just getting started figuring out how to unlock all of its potential. Until we reach that 3D utopia, here are five terrific apps that already do Apple’s latest innovation plenty of justice.
iPhone 6s is a mirror image of its predecessor at first glance, but thanks to improved internals and innovative new technology, it’s very much a different beast.
With Apple’s latest A9 processor, a new 12-megapixel iSight camera, Live Photos, and 3D Touch, this is much, much more than just an “incremental” iPhone upgrade. It’s the iPhone that will change the way you use your iPhone. It’s Apple most exciting smartphone in years.
Tim Cook revealed that Apple sold more iPhones 6s units this weekend than any other iPhone launch in history, but apparently the historic sales just aren’t enough to please Wall Street.
The iPhone 6s is so fast, not only does it destroy the iPhone 6 in speed tests, it tops the iPad Air 2 and every Android device on the market, according to initial benchmark tests.
Apple’s engineers managed to make some huge GPU improvements on the iPhone 6s thanks to new technology that allows the the A9 chip to deliver higher performance and lower power consumption. According to early benchmarks by tech gurus at AnandTech, all the improvements add up to make the iPhone 6s nearly twice as fast as the rest of the industry.
In some benchmarks, the iPhone 6s nearly tops the Surface Pro 3:
If the fear of loss doesn’t persuade you to print the pictures on your smartphone, perhaps your curiosity about cool gadgets will. In this case, consider the Polaroid ZIP photo printer.
It is a tiny ink-free printer slightly bigger than a deck of cards that, with an easy-to-use app, lets you make small prints from your phone or tablet. The photos are the size of a business card, adding charm and fun to the photo sharing experience.
Symbols have been key to the way humans express ideas for millennia, and and as visual communications get supercharged by the internet, designers can never have too many options. The universal power of symbols inspired the creators of the Noun Project, a massive collection of royalty-free icons meant to empower designers with the means to visually express almost any idea. Right now, you can get two years of unlimited access to the Noun Project’s archives for just $39.
We’ve heard very little about the official Apple Music app for Android since the service was announced back in June, but now a third-party company claims to be running a new beta program on Apple’s behalf.
Betabound is giving Android users the opportunity to register their interest in Apple Music for a chance to get early access — but we’re not totally sure it can be trusted.
The Apple advertising campaign “Shot on iPhone 6” can now be a line on the closing credits of a Swiss news station, which now does 100 percent of its broadcasts on the iPhone.
During the summer, Léman Bleu gave each of its reporters an iPhone 6 kit to shoot their stories and use for live shots. That means a reporter with a mic in one hand can use the free hand to grip a selfie stick for live standup shots.
Apple is presenting gay propaganda with its same-sex emoticons — and Russia isn’t Putin up with it any more!
According to a new report, the Russian police are stepping up their investigation of Apple for “promoting homosexuality” with its range of LGBT-friendly emojis.
And the punishment could be a whopping 800,000 to 1 million rubles — which is roughly what Apple makes in 2.5 seconds, if our calculations are correct.
Every Apple fan is likely familiar with Steve Jobs’ pilgrimage to India, during which he formulated some of the ideas that would serve him so well in the future.
But did you know that, years later, Jobs would suggest that fellow entrepreneurs follow in his path by visiting the same mountain Kainchi Dham Ashram temple that he once had?
According to a new story told by Mark Zuckerberg, that’s exactly the advice that Jobs once laid out for the then-green Facebook CEO. And Zuckerberg was pleased to take him up on his advice.
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have sold a record 13 million handsets in their first three days on the market, according to Apple.
“Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple’s history,” said Tim Cook.
Apple may be one step closer to bringing Apple Pay and a permanent manufacturing base in India, following a meeting between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tim Cook.
“Cook responded positively,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Vikas Swarup said after the meeting. “I think India does fits into his long term plans.”
Apple hasn’t advertised the iPhone 6s as being waterproof, but it seems that the new handset (unofficially) isn’t totally adverse to taking a dip.
In a new video test, YouTuber Zach Straley submerged both the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in a bowl of water and let them sit there for an hour, powered up.
While the test certainly isn’t comprehensive — and we recommend all Cult of Mac readers leave their new handsets on dry land — it certainly bodes well if you happen to accidentally drop your iPhone 6s in the bath or down the toilet sometime in the next year.
Tim Cook and Steve Jobs screenwriter Aaron Sorkin had a war of words last week.
First off, Cook made some disparaging comments about the upcoming movie biopic on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — prompting Sorkin to lash back by criticizing Apple for employing a “factory full of children in China” who are paid “17 cents an hour” for building iPhones. Ouch!
It seems that PR types have worked their dark magic calmer heads have prevailed, however, because in a new interview, Sorkin says that him and Cook “probably both went a little too far” with their comments.
Pope Francis landed on U.S. soil for the first time last week on Tuesday, September 22. He has talked to victims of sexual abuse, spoke out about his views on immigration and gave several moving speeches across the country. However, the pope was also able to impact American culture in a way that is completely unintentional: he put the mobile phone revolution on giant display.
The last time a pope visited the United States was back in April 2008 when Pope Benedict XVI was still at the reigns of Catholicism. A lot has happened in seven years. Modern smartphones were only starting to become prevalent back then. Apple had just released the first iPhone less than a year ago and Android was still in development.
The change in our culture needs no explanation because photos of crowds swarming Pope Francis through his journey across America manage to say it all. Crowds glow with endless displays.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The embargoes have lifted and the iPhone 6s reviews are in. We’ll tell you what folks love — and don’t –about Apple’s newest iPhone. Plus: Apple car coming in 2019; why we love the new watchOS 2 update; and, with our three-month Apple Music trials running out, we ponder — is the service worth paying for?
Our thanks to Lynda for supporting this episode. Lynda is like the Apple Music of online education, with more than 3,000 expert-taught video courses you can stream straight to computer or mobile device. Learn how to use Logic’s new super-powerful Alchemy synth, or develop Mac apps for OS X — learn all you want for free for 10 days at lynda.com/cultcast.
Write anything longer than a couple paragraphs or involving more than a couple sources of research, and the computer can quickly become a confusing morass of pages, websites, and notes. Scrivener 2 cuts through the computerized clutter, making it easy to simultaneously outline ideas, take notes, and view research without flitting between pages and programs. It’s an invaluable tool for anybody who writes with any degree of regularity, and right now is your last chance to get it for $19.50 at Cult of Mac Deals.
There’s never been a better time to be called a geek — the term has come to describe a culture represented by some of the biggest films, TV shows, games and gatherings in the whole world. Those who speak geek love to express their fandom for the fantastic in the tangible form of gear, collectibles, toys, apparel, artwork. Loot Crate delivers all of the above and more right to your door each month, and right now you can get a 3-month subscription for just $49.
It takes years to understand the appeal of the unboxing video. On the face of it, they’re very silly. And yet unboxing is one of digital video’s most popular and enduring genres.
Who wants to see someone else opening the box of a brand new gadget? Wouldn’t you want to do it yourself?
And therein lies their appeal — the vicarious pleasure of seeing a stranger enjoy a gadget you covet.
With that, here’s our contribution to the genre: Cult of Mac’s first unboxing video. Watch in enraptured fascination as we take the iPhone 6s Plus from its box.