Mobile menu toggle

Apple is already going top speed with Apple Silicon MacBook production

By

Apple Silicon
Apple will show off its first Apple Silicon MacBooks next week.
Photo: Apple

Ahead of next week’s “One More Thing” Apple event, the company is ramping up production of MacBooks using its new in-house CPU architecture. According to Nikkei Asia, Apple aims to manufacture 2.5 million MacBooks with Apple Silicon by early 2021.

To put that in context, it’s about a fifth of the 12.6 million MacBooks Apple shipped in 2019. The report continues that Apple will introduce other MacBooks with its Apple Silicon chips in the second quarter of 2021. The goal is to cease producing any Intel Macs inside of two years.

Is this our first glimpse of the next-gen AirPods?

By

Are these the next AirPods
The basic AirPods are in line for a Pro redesign.
Photo: 52Audio

Apple’s third-generation AirPods reportedly will look very similar to the AirPods Pro, and a new photo shared online may give us our first glimpse of the new design.

Posted by the website 52Audio, and linked to by Japanese Apple blog MacOtakara, the image shows what could be the top of Apple’s AirPods 3 and the enclosure cover for the new charging case.

Mujjo makes the standout iPhone 12 leather wallet case [Review]

By

Mujjo Full Leather Wallet Case for iPhone 12 review
Mujjo’s leather wallet case manages to appear both professional and elegant.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Mujjo Full Leather Wallet Case for iPhone 12 protects your valuable handset and gives you a place to carry your credit cards and driver’s license. Plus, it looks amazing while doing so.

Here’s why I love this case after using it for several weeks.

First iPads with mini-LED displays will be a feast for the eyes

By

2020 iPad Pro with Apple Pencil
The first mini-LED iPad should look amazing.
Photo: Apple

Evidence continues to grow that 2021 will bring an iPad with mini-LED, a type of display that will make the tablet look noticeably better than Apple’s current models.

An unconfirmed report says LG Display will supply this cutting-edge screen to Apple, with production supposedly begining before the end of 2020. Earlier leaks indicated this will go into an iPad Pro that’ll debut in the first half of 2021.

Apple Pay is gearing up to launch in Israel

By

Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple has been in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel for a while.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay is finally gearing up to launch in Israel, marking the 61st territory to offer Apple’s mobile payment solution. Apple has been supposedly negotiating for months to bring Apple Pay to Israel, six years after the service initially launched in the United States.

The Isracard Group, a financial group including MasterCard and American Express Israel, will support the service. No launch date has yet been announced, although the deal reportedly runs for four years.

Evergreen smash hit Pokémon Go rakes in $1 billion this year alone

By

birthday
Still raking in the cash more than four years later.
Photo: Niantic

When it comes to people’s spare dollars, Pokémon Go really is taking that “gotta catch ’em all” mantra seriously!

According to a new report by app analytics firm Sensor Tower, Niantic’s still-ultra-popular AR game, which launched in July 2016, has raked in $1 billion in the first 10 months of 2020 alone. Lifetime spending, meanwhile, hit $4.2 billion globally.

iPhone 5c may be officially ‘vintage,’ but its mission is still very much alive

By

iphone5c
The 'flop' that really wasn't.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 5c is officially considered “vintage” by Apple. While that term might summon images of hipster retro chic, it means that iPhone 5c owners can still get support from Apple, but only “subject to availability of inventory.”

That puts the divisive device one step closer to joining Apple’s “obsolete” list, at which point the company will no longer service it. But while the 2013-era iPhone 5c may be reaching the end of the line, its mission remains very present at Apple.

In fact, it’s much more significant than many remember. A budget device that packed many top-of-the-line features — and introduced the concept of launching multiple iPhones in a year — the humble iPhone 5c changed the course of Apple smartphones.

Here’s another clue that Apple’s ‘One More Thing’ is new Macs

By

Steve Jobs’ estate triumphs in battle over SteveJobs.com
Steve Jobs announced a dramatically changed MacBook as a “one more thing” before. And Apple might do so again.
Photo: Kazuhiro Shiozawa/Flickr CC

By calling its November product-launch event “One More Thing,” Apple seems to be dropping a hint that history is about to repeat itself.

Way back at Macworld 2006, then-CEO Steve Jobs introduced a MacBook that set a new course for Apple. This came as a “one more thing” addition at the end of his keynote. Something like that might be about to happen again.

iPhone 12 mini charges more slowly with MagSafe

By

A smaller battery and slower MagSafe charging seem to be the iPhone 12 mini's only weaknesses.
A smaller battery and slower MagSafe charging seem to be the iPhone 12 mini's only weaknesses.
Photo: Apple

If you’re still on the fence about whether to buy an iPhone 12 mini, here’s one reason you might want to avoid it. Apple’s smallest 2020 iPhone charges more slowly than other models in the lineup when you use the new MagSafe charger.

There’s a massive error with UK’s contact-tracing coronavirus app

By

covid.19.coronavirus.graphic1
App may not have been sending out alerts correctly.
Photo: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The UK’s botched contact-tracing COVID app has run into its latest hurdle — this time the fact that thousands of people have been possibly exposed to coronavirus without being told that this is the case.

The reason for this is that the app used the wrong risk threshold to send out warnings. In essence, it assumed that people were too far away for transmission to be possible — even when they weren’t. As a result, “shockingly low” numbers of people received warnings.

Keep your real phone number hidden with a second, ‘burner’ line

By

Hushed
Get a second phone number that you can use for Craigslist deals, dates, work calls, and other times when you'd rather keep your real number private.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The internet changed a lot about how we communicate. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the sensitivity of giving out your personal phone number to randos.

Craigslist, Tinder dates — heck, even work associates — there are lots of people you might not want to be able to reach you on a whim. This inexpensive private phone line offers an invaluable buffer between you and the unknown.

This app lets sexting couples sign an NDA first

By

Couple in bed
E-gree is a free legal contract service.
Photo: Womanizer WOW Tech/Unsplash CC

Want to receive an intimate photo from a romantic partner? You’d better be ready to sign on the dotted line (or, at least, the smartphone screen.)

A new app called e-gree allows couples to create legal contracts that could help stop the saucy selfies from being shared without permission. No legal fees involved.

Don’t expect the first Apple Silicon MacBooks to look radically different

By

Apple_macbookpro-13-inch_screen_05042020
Don't expect a significant (exterior) redesign for the first MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
Photo: Apple

Don’t expect to see any major design changes when Apple introduces its first Apple Silicon MacBooks at next week’s “One More Thing” event, claims Bloomberg.

The unprecedented third Apple media event in three months will take place on Tuesday, November 10. At the event, Apple will show off the initial Apple Silicon Macs, first announced at June’s WWDC. But it seems that the MacBooks won’t be getting fancy new exterior redesigns to go along with their new processors.

Want to make a MagSafe accessory for iPhone 12? Follow these guidelines

By

MagSafe on iPhone 12 Pro GIF
MagSafe is back — but not as you knew it.
GIF: Apple

Apple has created a guidelines document for third-party manufacturers who want to create their own MagSafe accessories for the iPhone 12.

It contains specific guidance, such as the fact that MagSafe cases must have a a maximum thickness of 2.1mm, and should be capable of clinging on securely to an iPhone without necessarily having to rely on the magnets to do so.

Christopher Walken will surely creep us out in Severance on Apple TV+

By

Christopher Walken will be in ‘Severance’ omn Apple TV+.
Christopher Walken can’t stand on a sidewalk without looking frightening.
Photo: Wikipedia CC

Any doubts that the Apple TV+ workplace thriller Severance will be creepy were laid to rest Monday when word got out that Christopher Walken has joined the cast. He’s added an eerie tone to many roles in the past.

He’s just one of multiple big names already involved in the upcoming Apple series. Patricia Arquette is also set to star, while Ben Stiller will direct.