The iPhone 17 Air's thin design will come with a battery life compromise. Photo: Cult of Mac/Jon Prosser
Apple might rely on one of its old accessories to compensate for the iPhone 17 Air’s short battery life. The company reportedly will launch an iPhone 17 Air Smart Battery Case to extend the device’s runtime.
In Apple’s internal testing, the iPhone 17 Air reportedly does not last as long as other members of the iPhone 17 family. Given its focus on an ultra-slim design, this comes as no surprise.
And with Writing Tools, it can reply to your emails for you, too. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
With the new automatic mail categorization in Apple Mail, you can organize your emails and keep your personal inbox less cluttered. It’ll intelligently put all your newsletters, receipts and promotions into separate folders.
If you struggle keeping up with your inbox, this feature is a great way to make your email easier to understand at a glance.
The original Mac was a smash hit. Sort of. Photo: iFixit
May 3, 1984: Apple marks the all-important first 100 days of Mac sales, signaling whether the product launch is a hit with customers.
The results outstrip even Steve Jobs’ most optimistic targets. Unfortunately, not everything is as positive as it seems following the successful Mac launch.
Apple will use Anthropic's expertise for its vibe-coding platform. Graphics: Anthropic/Apple
Apple is using Anthropic’s AI models to build a “vibe-coding” software platform for programming. However, it may limit this platform for internal use, never releasing it publicly.
The Cupertino giant will partner with the young AI startup on this project.
Apple makes moving images and video from iPhone to iPad via a cable quick and easy. Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Now that both iPhone and iPad have USB-C ports, transferring video and images between them can be easily done by connecting them with a cable, without mucking about with wireless transfers.
It’s easy, and brings some advantages over AirDrop. Most notably, iPhone Pro 15/16 users get a big speed boost.
Genmoji can fit every occasion. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Using Apple’s Genmoji, you can create custom emoji when you can’t find the exact right one to express yourself nonverbally. The Apple Intelligence feature generates emoji on the fly based on your descriptions.
Finally, you can enhance your conversations about ostriches or shovels or tissue boxes with your own custom emoji. Or make an emoji that matches your pet, like a white cat or a Pomeranian dog. You can even make emoji versions of people you know.
The iPhone App Store won’t be quite the same. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple changed its App Store rules late Thursday to allow third-party iPhone application developers to steer customers toward their own websites to make purchases. The move comes after a years-long delay in complying with a court order.
The alteration in the rules should result in many iPhone apps allowing customers to pay for services and subscriptions without giving Apple a cut. Streaming music service Spotify became one of the first to take advantage of this major change to the App Store. The modification gives customers more buying options, and the hope is that this will save them money.
Apple's first watch was ... well, just a watch, actually. Photo: Jonathan Morrison
May 2, 1995: Apple enters the wearables space with its first watch. However, the first Apple watch is a timepiece with no fitness-tracking tech, no on-screen notifications and a whole lot of 1990s styling.
The device comes two decades before wearables actually will become a thing. A regular wristwatch, the freebie gadget is available via a special mail-in offer to Mac OS upgraders.
Spotify is putting the heat on Apple. Photo: Cult of Mac
Spotify submitted a major app update to the App Store with several significant changes Thursday. The company moved quickly to capitalize on a judge’s Wednesday ruling that requires Apple to allow external payment links in apps effective immediately.
Update: Apple quickly approved Spotify’s update. The company formally changed its App Store rules Thursday to bring them into “compliance with a United States court decision regarding buttons, external links, and other calls to action in apps.”
Apple plans to challenge the ruling, which forces major changes on the company’s handling of the App Store.
During a conference call with Wall Street analysts Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company strongly disagrees with the judge’s ruling. “We’ve complied with the court’s order, and we’re going to appeal,” he said.
The PlayAIBox does CarPlay (and Android Auto) without wires, and also supports streaming services like Apple TV+, Netflix and YouTube. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
With the PlayAIBox — a combination wireless CarPlay adapter and car streaming device — you can enjoy Apple’s in-car infotainment system, stream video and more without physically connecting your iPhone to your car. It works with nearly all cars, and puts CarPlay (or whatever you want to mirror from your iPhone or Android device) on your in-car display.
You could listen to your YouTube watchlist on the road, stream a quick episode of Fallout on your lunch break, or let your kids watch a movie while you watch the road. The first step is to get the PlayAIBox while it’s on sale for $74.97 (regularly $129.99).
Newly imposed tariffs could cost Apple $900 million dollars this quarter -- and that's just the start. Illustration: Midjourney/Cult of Mac
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that he expects the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump to add at least $900 million to the company’s costs during the current quarter, which ends in June.
Speaking with investors after the company announced its quarterly earnings results, Cook also said Apple will assemble most of the products it sells in the United States outside of China this quarter to avoid the tariffs fueling an ongoing trade war between the two countries.
Revenue from services like Apple Music jumped to an all-time high last quarter, and strong iPhone 16e sales didn't hurt, either. Illustration: Midjourney/Cult of Mac
Apple revenue increased 5% annually to $95.4 billion during the first three months of 2025, and profits grew 8%. Those are the top takeaways from the March-quarter financial results Apple revealed after Wall Street closed Thursday. Both numbers beat analysts’ expectations.
“Today Apple is reporting strong quarterly results, including double-digit growth in Services,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement.
Passkeys are here, and I’m here to tell you they’re awesome. Image: Santeri Viinamäki/Wikimedia Commons, D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Managing passwords is and always has been a giant pain. It isn’t the best system, but it’s the system we’ve got. Well, not if Apple can do anything about it. Passkeys are a new system that automatically signs you in to online services using your phone’s Face ID (or Touch ID) or your computer’s password. It’s one less thing to remember; it works without fiddling around with a password manager.
Passkeys aren’t an Apple-exclusive feature. You can bet the technology will be supported no matter what devices you have because all of these companies are part of the FIDO Alliance that created the system … eventually.
iTunes getting day-and-date releases for new movies was a big deal. Photo: Apple
May 1, 2008: The iTunes Store takes a gigantic step toward cinematic relevancy, selling new movies on the day of their DVD releases for the very first time.
“We’re thrilled to bring iTunes Store customers new films for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release,” says Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, in a press release. “We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios.”
Movies out that week include Cloverfield, Juno, Alvin and the Chipmunks and American Gangster.
You’re not a idiot. Stop acting like one. Photo: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Some people simply can’t stop using stupid, weak passwords. An analysis of the phrases used to secure various accounts in 2024 finds that “123456” was used 3 million times, making it the most popular. And the rest of the top 10 are all easily guessed also, with “password” showing up in the No. 4 slot.
It’s World Password Day, a good opportunity to change the horribly weak ones you’re using now. Especially as Apple makes it easy
The time has come to use a password manager. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
The new Apple Passwords app makes it easier than ever to save login details for your apps, start using passkeys and create shared groups.
iCloud Keychain has been around for years, saving your passwords for you. But if you’ve ever had to copy a password out of the system to enter on a different computer, you had to dig through Settings — if you could even figure out how. The functionality discouraged a lot of people from using Apple’s password manager. It’s easy to find in iOS 18, thanks to a dedicated Passwords app you can put on your Home Screen.
The time of using the same password on all your internet accounts is over. Apple’s password manager is free, syncs everywhere (even with Windows PCs) and is incredibly easy to use. It creates strong passwords and automatically fills them in so you never need to.
Learn the financial lingo to get the most out of earnings call chatter. Photo: Kevin Dooley/Flickr CC
When companies talk about quarterly earnings, executives often deploy language designed to puff up, excuse or obfuscate their companies’ recent performance. The goal is to excite investors over implied future success. And ultimately to give the company more money. Always. More. Money. The Apple quarterly earnings call takes place Thursday afternoon.
But when you’re the iPhone giant — with a mind-blowing market cap and a seemingly never-ending supply of hit products, including ongoing growth in services — you typically don’t need to craft hopeful-yet-non-material statements or deflect questions designed to get at the true bottom line.
So CEO Tim Cook and new CFO Kevan Parekh will report on all the numbers (former CFO Luca Maestri stepped down January 1, 2025). Because many tariff impacts are yet to come, analysts predict a 4% revenue increase year-over-year, plus a jump in earnings per share. Note that Apple starts its fiscal year with Q1 in the previous year’s holiday season, so calendar quarters trail its fiscal quarters.
iOS 19 could finally bring deeper Gemini integration to iPhones. Photo: Concept logo: Kevin Kall/Google
Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, hopes to strike a deal with Apple to bring Gemini to iPhones by the middle of this year. The CEO revealed this during his testimony in an antitrust trial against Google.
Pichai discussed the possibility of bringing Gemini to iPhones with Apple CEO Tim Cook last year.
Judge's ruling will force Apple to make big changes to the App Store. Photo: Brett Jordan
In a major blow to Cupertino, a judge ruled Wednesday that Apple “willfully chose not to comply” with a 2021 injunction that required the company to let developers include in-app links directing users to third-party payment options on the web.
“Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated,” said U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the ruling.
She also found clear evidence that an Apple executive lied under oath in his court testimony, and asked U.S. attorneys to investigate whether Apple’s vice president of finance should be charged with criminal contempt of court.
Get an aloSIM Traveler's Mobile Data Plan for $34.99.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Staying connected while traveling can feel like a nightmare, especially when those international roaming fees hit you like a ton of bricks after your trip. An international eSIM like aloSIM makes it easy to stay online while you travel abroad.
Sure, you could buy a SIM card for every new place you visit, but aloSIM is a simpler option. The company’s international eSIM plans let you tap into local data networks in more than 175 countries. That means you can ditch those pesky roaming fees and stay connected without worrying about your budget. It costs just $24.97 to get the base eSIM (which lasts for life), and you also get a $50 credit.
It seems a bit surprising, but analysts think Apple is about to deliver some upbeat financial news. AI image: Google Gemini/Cult of Mac
Wall Street is putting out positive vibes about the March quarter results Apple will announce Thursday. Analysts anticipate a 4% increase in Apple’s revenue, plus a jump in earnings per share.
That might seem surprising in the wake of President Donald Trump imposing a 20% tariff on electronics coming in from China. However, the Apple financial results about to be revealed are for the quarter that ended in March. Trump didn’t announce the tariffs until April, so they don’t affect these numbers. That won’t happen until Apple provides its June quarter results.
Search for products and get information with Visual Intelligence. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Apple’s new Visual Intelligence feature provides a quick way to find information just by pointing an iPhone 16’s camera at an object in the real world. Then you can ask ChatGPT to explain what you’re looking at, do a reverse image search to find products and look things up visually, get information on a business as you walk down the street, quickly add events to your calendar and identify plants and animals.
With the release of iOS 18.4, Apple added the capability to use Visual Intelligence on iPhone 15 Pro models. Here’s how it works.
Once again, conflicts arise over App Store practices. Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
A new battle brews in the tech world as major app developers band together to challenge Apple and Google’s control over the mobile ecosystem, according to a new report. Meta, Match and Spotify join forces against Apple and Google, forming a lobbying coalition aimed at influencing policy around age verification requirements and addressing long-standing grievances about app store practices.
This dream setup features an M4 Pro MacBook Pro and a Studio Display. Photo: [email protected]
“Everything starts with a dream,” goes an old saying — and it even applies to computer setups. Today’s attractive and highly functional M4 Pro MacBook Pro, Mac mini and Studio Display setup amounts to a dream for its owner. But in expressing that dream on social media, its owner found commenters had plenty to say about their versions of “an Apple fan’s dream setup.”
The iPad was the fastest-selling new product line in Apple history. Photo: iPad
April 30, 2010: Almost a month after the first-gen iPad went on sale, the first Wi-Fi + 3G iPads arrive in the hands of U.S. customers.
The devices ship in boxes identical to the Wi-Fi-only models, but with an additional sticker noting their cellular connectivity capability. The tablets come preloaded with micro-SIM cards branded AT&T, the only wireless carrier that initially supports the iPad.