Cult of Mac

Apple TV+ snapped up CODA, a coming-of-age movie screened at this year’s virtual 2021 Sundance Film Festival. The $25 million acquisition, which followed a bidding battle between Apple and Amazon, set a new record for Sundance.

Unfortunately, connecting to the internet is not as harmless as you probably think. From viruses and malware to scams and phishing campaigns, you could face any number of threats that leave your sensitive private data — including your credit cards, Social Security number, home address and more — totally open to the world.

And, it doesn’t really matter whether you use a private internet connection, a public Wi-Fi network or your phone’s cellular data. Savvy hackers know how to access your personal information. Luckily, you can lock in a hot deal on a lifetime subscription to KeepSolid VPN Unlimited. This virtual private network will secure your online activity no matter what kind of connection you use. And it still allows you to browse without restrictions.

So-called App Store nutrition labels that detail exactly how an app handles your data sounded like such a fantastically simple idea when Apple described them last year.

Now that the feature is live, the devil is apparently in the details. As it happens, you can’t just trust all app developers to tell you exactly how much data their software hoovers up — or how they share it with potentially nefarious third parties. Apple says it’s working to police the problem, but it’s a black eye for the privacy-conscious company.

We’re all spending a lot more time connected to the internet these days — whether clocking more hours at your new standing desk, playing games, scrolling through your iPhone or FaceTiming friends and relatives with your iPad.

Unfortunately, you’re probably not the only one in your family who’s taking advantage of the extra digital time. Instead of battling over who should be playing video games when other people (i.e., you) need to be in a Zoom meeting, consider upgrading to this Asus AC1900 dual-band gigabit Wi-Fi router.

It’s important to protect your pricey iPhone 12, but you don’t want to ruin one of its best features. MagEasy’s affordable cases keeps yours covered up without spoiling MagSafe functionality.

They’re available in a wide range of designs and color options, and prices start at just $24.99.

Apple committed to turning the epic rise and fall of WeWork into a limited series on Friday. And WeCrashed is set to star Oscar-winners Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto.

In this week’s episode of Dickinson, Emily veers nearer to romantic destruction as the whole cast decamps to the Boston opera house to see a show. The episode makes time for everyone in the cast to take a solo. And the show finds its strengths renewed in simply detailing Emily’s emotional inner life.

Apple’s new privacy “nutrition labels” in the App Store might not be as useful as hoped. Spot checks by a Washington Post writer turned up applications with incorrect information.

The basic problem? Apple asked developers to describe their own privacy practices. And some of them were less than honest.

In this week’s episode of Losing Alice, the new Apple TV+ limited series about a disastrous relationship between a cunning young screenwriter and a desperate director, the show moves into the psychodramatic territory it’s been threatening to enter.

In “The Obsession,” an audition goes haywire, Sophie the screenwriter bares her teeth and Alice the director doesn’t notice anything — which will cost her dearly.

Populus Run isn’t a typical running game. Players control a group of people, not a single runner. And, oh yeah, you have to evade gigantic fast food and engage in rap battles. Because games.

The title zoomed onto the Apple Arcade subscription service on Friday.

Brawl Stars, the multiplayer arena battle game, is the latest mobile game to pull in more than $1 billion in gross lifetime revenue, app analytics platform Sensor Tower reports.

This means that the title, made by Finnish developers Supercell, is now part of an exclusive club of Supercell titles that includes Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, and Hay Day.

Whether you’re working from home on your laptop, scrolling through your iPhone for updates from friends, or video-calling people from your iPad, the main way most of us stay connected right now is through our screens. All that extra time spent on our devices can mean our eyesight and sleeping patterns suffer from too much blue light.

These four blue-light-blocking glasses and screen protectors are just the thing to keep your eyes (and iPhone) safe.

Hyundai executives are reportedly split on whether the South Korean automaker should partner with Apple to build an electric car. Their concerns, which are supposedly “dimming the outlook” for a deal, apparently center on fears that Hyundai could become simply a contract manufacturer for Cupertino.

Apple has come a long way this century alone. In 2001, Apple had yet to release the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. While the turnaround under Steve Jobs was underway, it was still in its earliest stages.

What has Apple’s ascension in the years since done to AAPL’s share price? On January 28, 2001, Apple — adjusted for splits and dividends — was trading at 30 cents a share. On January 28, 2021, Apple closed at $137.09. That’s an astonishing 45,697.7% increase!

A YouTuber hacked a 17-year-old iPod Classic to let it stream Spotify tracks, successfully bringing a relic from the MP3 days into the modern era.

To be clear, this isn’t just a software hack. Guy Dupont pretty much gutted the vintage Apple music player. He added components like a Raspberry Pi Zero W board, a new LCD color display, a haptic motor, and a 1,000 mAh rechargeable battery.

iPad shipments shot up 40% during the last quarter of 2020, according to a market research firm. And the whole tablet market increased dramatically.

This growth helped Apple hold onto its place as the world’s second largest computer maker.

The Elago Charging Tray Duo adds color to your MagSafe and Apple Watch chargers. And brings them together into a single unit for your office or bedside.

I added this accessory to my home. Here’s how well it works in real life use.

The iPhone 13 is in the prototype phase, and some of those prototypes include 1TB of storage capacity, according to a reliable tipster. That’s twice as much as is available in the current model.

The same source says Apple is still working to decease the size of the iPhone notch.

Are you one of the many who have decided to ditch WhatsApp in favor of Telegram? If so, you’ll be pleased to know Telegram’s latest update makes it possible to import all your WhatsApp chat data so that you don’t lose it when you switch. We’ll show you how.

The war of words between Facebook and Apple heated up further on Wednesday, with the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stating, “we increasingly see Apple as one of our biggest competitors.” And the rivalry between the might be headed to court, with the social-networking giant accusing Apple of using the App Store to disadvantage rivals.

The Robinhood stock-trading app suffered from “degraded performance” Thursday morning, the company said. The problems arose as users bombarded the app with negative reviews after Robinhood stopped the sale of certain stocks driven up by Reddit users.

This is the latest twist in the tumultuous (and still unfolding) story of Reddit versus Wall Street. It started when coordinated Redditors banded together to drive up the share price of GameStop after a hedge fund shorted the stock.

Smartphone sales cratered during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’re now starting to climb out of the hole, suggest new research from analysts at IDC. And the iPhone 12 is leading the way.

According to data from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors shipped 385.9 million devices in the holiday quarter of 2020. Although the year as a whole represents a dip of 5.9% compared to 2019, the last calendar quarter saw 4.3% growth.

Getting fit is a pretty classic New Year’s resolution — but what about improving your state of mind? Aside from boosting productivity, improving rest and encouraging a general sense of wellbeing, meditation is a proven tactic for quelling anxiety and stress.

And after a pretty harrowing 2020, who couldn’t use a little more of that? These four meditation apps help get your mindset right for 2021. Get one them to become the most centered, grounded version of yourself (and to assist with that little mental push you need during the last mile of your morning run).

Fan of Metroidvania games? Like mice and pixelart? Then you might want to check out Micetopia, a new game starring a “brave mouse who must fight, jump, and explore its way through a world of mystery.”

Micetopia, created by Russian developer NinjaRabbitStudio, is available now to download on iOS and iPadOS in the App Store. Check out the trailer below.

Pick up the best tablet money can buy for as little as $69.99 in Woot’s spectacular sale on iPad refurbs. There’s a huge range of models to choose from, and they’re all available at big discounts.

This sale is good for today only, so don’t miss out!