Cult of Mac

Art Gensler, the pioneering American architect who founded the world’s largest architectural firm and played a key role in the iconic look of Apple Stores, died Monday at the age of 85.

To try and distill Gensler’s career into “he helped create the Apple Store” is doing him a big disservice. His firm, founded in 1965, operates in 50 countries and produces an annual revenue of $1.5 billion. Nonetheless, for Apple fans, his work on Apple Stores is one of his many indelible contributions.

And he once got fired by Steve Jobs for it.

At the core of Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple is the assertion that the iPhone-maker has a monopoly. With testimony from an expert witness, the game developer has begun laying out its arguments to convince the judge why she should agree.

Essentially, it claims that switching from iPhone to another device is so difficult that Apple can treat its users as if they had no other options.

Legal action taken against Apple in the United Kingdom could see the company have to repay close to 20 million customers for allegedly overcharging them.

A landmark class-action lawsuit argues that Apple’s 30% commission on App Store purchases bilked customers out of more than $2 billion over a number of years. The plaintiffs want Apple to repay the money it supposedly owes.

If you’re a digital content creator, you’ve definitely seen a dreaded message flash across your screen: This device is running low on storage space.

Production on iPhones made in India has hit a major hurdle as coronavirus cases have surged in the country. More than 50% of one Foxconn factory’s production capacity has reportedly been cut.

India has seen its number of coronavirus cases ramping up significantly in April. To date, there have been 22.9 million confirmed cases of COVID in India, while 249,992 people have reportedly died. However, the actual numbers are thought to be even higher.

Jamie Bell — best known for his titular role in Billy Elliot and appearances in Rocketman, King Kong, and other movies — is the latest actor to sign on for an Apple TV+ series.

Bell will act opposite Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale) and Narcos‘ Wagner Moura (“Narcos”) in an adaption of the time-traveling serial killer novel Shining Girls.

It should be a happy scene — a man courting a woman. But the reality is much darker. The man and woman will marry, then he’ll kill many of her relatives to get control of the oil riches they inherited. All of this will play out in Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon.

The film will star Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro — and will appear on Apple TV+. An image of DiCaprio and Gladstone in character, released Monday, offers our first glimpse of the upcoming movie.

A pair of concept artists want Apple to bring dramatic improvements in iPadOS 15. They separately created videos with specific suggestions on how iPad could become a more useful computer with the operating system update expected this autumn.

Both agree that the iPad should gain better support for external screens — though they came up with different ways to implement the feature.

While your health probably sits somewhere at the top of the list of your priorities, it can prove difficult to find the motivation to get out of the house and go to the gym or whatever fitness class you wanted to take that day.

Apple Fitness+ is an option, but this one-year subscription to Studio Sweat onDemand is the perfect pick for anyone who has difficulty leaving the house to break a sweat — or who even just gets bored easily at the gym. And it’s available now for just $99.

Apple’s newest software updates give us the ability to quickly sort Reminders by date, priority or title. We’ll show you how you can use the feature to easily organize your to-do lists on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

iOS 14.5 lets you answer or reject incoming calls with your voice on iPhone — without the need to say “Hey Siri.” In this tutorial, we’ll cover which headphones are compatible and how to get the feature set up.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max whipped all other top-tier handsets in a rigorous battery test. Doxomark simulated using the handsets over several days, and also factored in how long they took to recharge. In the final score, Apple’s offering came out way ahead.

Apple plans to release a surprisingly thin MacBook Air in the same colors as the current iMacs, according to leaker Jon Prosser.

The redesign, as shown in renders produced by Ian Zelbo in collaboration with Prosser, abandons the MacBook Air’s classic tapered design. Prosser said the renders are based on images shared with him by a reliable source.

When you look at lots of computer setups people pimp out on social media, you see the same questions cropping up among the comments. One common query: What good are monitor light bars? And what are they for, exactly?

It came up again the other day when Redditor Strigga posted about their MacBook Pro-based setup. Almost at the same time, we saw it again in Maize-Calm’s post about finishing up a setup with, guess what, a light bar.

Seven Apple suppliers in China are accused of using forced Uyghur labor, a report for The Information reveals.

The companies in question include Advanced-Connectek, AcBel Polytech, Avary Holding, CN Innovations, Luxshare Precision Industry, Shenzhen Deren Electronic Co., and Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co.

All participated in what are referred to by the Chinese government as “poverty alleviation programs.” However, these may not be exactly how they sound.

Apple finally revealed the release date for its upcoming documentary series co-created by Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. The Me You Can’t See, as it is now known, will debut May 21, the company said in a press release Monday.

First announced in 2019, before Harry and wife Meghan’s highly publicized split from the U.K.’s royal family, the series supposedly will focus on the “human spirit fighting back from the darkest places.”

Whether you already have an established career as a designer or want to start dabbling as one to flex your skills as a creative, most employers agree: Being proficient in Adobe is a base requirement. Specifically, knowing how to leverage Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop is a must, whether you’re developing graphics for a website, building out a logo for a business or custom-printing your own work to sell.

A Florida man allegedly used an iPhone as a makeshift tracking device, attaching it with magnets to the car of a man he intended to rob, then using it to follow him to a party at a nearby apartment. Suspect Derrick Maurice Herlong and an unnamed accomplice then robbed the man and fatally shot another person, Orlando police said.

Apple is handing another $45 million to the company which makes Gorilla Glass for the iPhone. Announced Monday, Apple’s eight-figure award will help Corning “expand manufacturing” and “drive research and development” in the United States.

It’s part of Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund, dedicated to supporting American businesses that are creating the jobs of the future. But, like the recent $410 million cash injection to the company that makes laser components for the iPhone, it also helps out Apple’s future plans.

Apple’s transition from using Qualcomm modems to its own 5G designs could roll out as soon as the next couple of years, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests, in a research note seen by Cult of Mac.

We’ve got a mix of “new” new and “old” new in this week’s roundup of the best apps for iOS devices and Macs.

A new scoring app frees board game players from pesky pens and pencils, and a new avatar app gives users a futuristic way to establish and secure their online identities. Meanwhile, upgrades to well-known apps Brave (a fast web browser for privacy freaks) and Carrot Weather (a sarcastic weather app for masochists) gain interesting new features. Image-editing app Photo Sense and Luna Display also got big upgrades.

In recent years, millions of Americans have been perfecting “the art of the side hustle,” or an additional job that usually allows one to accumulate cash through a specialized skill. Side hustles may even be more common than you think. According to a 2019 Bankrate survey, 43% of full-time employees say they have a job outside of their primary work.

Whether it’s motivated by money or creativity, everyone has an opportunity to excel at their own side hustle. And if you’ve got an eye behind the camera, then photography is an easy choice as a fun and lucrative gig.

If you think Apple Watch makes workouts fun and efficient, wait till Apple’s mixed-reality glasses land on your face. Graham Bower outlines how and why augmented reality will take fitness to the next level in Cult of Mac Magazine‘s cover story this week. It all sounds quite incredible — and yet also quite possible.

Also this week, we’ve got plenty of fresh Apple rumors, plus a trove of tantalizing tidbits gleaned from insider emails that came to light during the Epic Games v. Apple trial that’s currently unfolding.

And if you haven’t watched Mythic Quest or The Mosquito Coast yet, it’s time to start streaming. It looks like Apple TV+ has a couple more winners on its hands.

This week, Cult of Mac is giving away one ParcSlope stand from Apple accessory powerhouse Twelve South.

The ParcSlope is a dual-purpose desktop easel that functions as a typing stand for MacBook and as a sketching wedge for iPad. It elevates your MacBook or iPad Pro for a better working angle and an ergonomic viewing height.

If you win, you can use the ParcSlope stand for all of your tasks. And if you don’t, Twelve South is sweetening the giveaway with a $10 promo code to purchase the ParcSlope for everyone who enters.

The process for checking applications submitted to the App Store became the major focus of the Epic Games v. Apple court battle Friday. An important detail that came to light is that Apple employs 500 human experts checking submissions.

Epic Games used Friday’s trial testimony to bring to light fraudulent or inappropriate apps that slipped past Apple’s review team and onto the App Store. Fortunately, the problem is fixable: Put more people on the job. Double or triple the number.