This app analyzes your songs to create compelling playlists just for you. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
These days many of us let Apple Music, Spotify and other streaming services build our playlists for us. But lots of people also maintain music libraries of their own, so what can we do with all those tracks and albums?
Apple's answer to Street View continues to expand to new locations. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
Want to check out Chase Field, Wrigley Mansion or the Mystery Castle without actually traveling to Phoenix, Arizona? Thanks to Apple Maps’ Look Around feature, now you can.
As Apple continues to roll out cities supported by its answer to Google Street View, Phoenix joins the list of places you can explore on the ground. (Or, at least, a virtual version of it.)
Need a high-performance notebook that’s small enough to go everywhere with you? Look no further than a 13-inch MacBook Pro refurb. Woot is blowing out 2019 models with hundreds off the usual price today only.
Apple Arcade gets preferential treatment. Allegedly. Photo: Apple
Ex-App Store review boss Phil Shoemaker told the congressional antitrust subcommittee that Apple creates “arbitrary” rules which it uses as a “weapon” against competitors. One such example is allowing Apple Arcade, while blocking Xbox Game Pass.
Steve Jobs' old mantra about "It's better to be a pirate than join the navy" probably wasn't on Apple's application form. Photo: George Hodan/Public Domain Pictures
Showing its continuing closeness with the entertainment industry, Apple TV+ is joining a Hollywood industry group trying to crack down on piracy. Variety describes the move to sign up for the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) as a “strengthening” of the bond between Apple and other studios
Apple will be part of the group’s governing board. This also includes Amazon, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. ACE was set up in 2017, marking a combining of forces between traditional studios and streaming giants.
Sounds like the Tesla app could do with a bit of work. Photo: Tesla
Accidentally butt-dialing someone is annoying. Finding out that you just butt-dialed your way to a $4,280 in-app purchase is a whole lot worse.
That’s exactly what happened to Dr. Ali Vaziri, a physician who was recently surprised to find that he had upgraded to a pricey Enhanced Autopilot mode on his Tesla — by hitting an option on the iPhone app when he didn’t even realize the app was open.
Apple’s is prepping a pair of over-the-ear headphones, possibly as part of phasing out its Beats brand. Render: Jon Prosser/cconceptcreator
Mass production on Apple’s over-the-ear AirPods Studio headphones won’t be completed until October 20, claims Apple tipster Jon Prosser. That would mean that, if they’re unveiled at Apple’s October 13 “Hi, Speed” event, they may not be available until the end of the month or the beginning of November.
According to Prosser, this timeline means it’s questionable whether Apple will announce the new headphones next month. He suggests that Apple might instead announce them via press release or at an as-yet-unannounced “November event.”
The iPhone 13 notch might be shorter than the current version. Artist’s concept: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The notch in next year’s iPhone 13 allegedly is getting slimmed down a bit. It’ll be just as wide but not as tall, according to a tipster with history of inside information on upcoming devices.
Political contributions by Apple employees show a clear preference for Democrat candidates. Photo: Pixabay/Pexels CC
Apple employees show they lean to the left in the clearest way possible: with their wallets. Election contributions by Apple employees inclined strongly toward Democrats in the 2020 presidential race.
It’s not even close. Apple employee contributions to Joe Biden’s campaign were more than 13 times greater than they were to President Donald Trump’s, for example.
A fight between Epic Games and Apple gets real next May. Graphic: Cult of Mac
A court case to decide the fate of Fortnite on Apple devices will kick off May 3, 2021. But the arguments Epic Games and Apple will take before a judge are about more than a single game, albeit a very popular one. The court’s decision might have far-reaching implications for the iPhone App Store and Apple’s business.
Go beyond just viewing nature. Listen to it, in Earthsound on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple
Apple is carving out a niche with cutting-edge nature documentaries. It recently released Tiny World, and now reportedly bought the rights to Earthsound. This will take Apple TV+ subscribers on an audio tour of the natural world.
Apple tops analyst firm MBLM’s latest 2020 brand intimacy study, which ranks the companies that made the most emotional connections with customers during the year of COVID-19.
According to MBLM, Apple achieved a “Quotient score” of 74.0 out of 100. Some 40% of users said they could not live without the brand. Meanwhile, 21% said they would be willing to pay 20% more for the brand’s products and services (the so-called Apple Tax in action).
Health Records launched in the U.S. in 2018. Photo: Apple
Apple has expanded its Health Records initiative to Canada and the United Kingdom. This enables healthcare institutions in the countries to offer users the ability to safely and securely check their medical records using the iPhone’s Health app.
The service has been available in the United States since 2018. To date, some 500 U.S. institutions support Health Records on iPhone. However, this is the first time Apple has expanded outside the U.S.
Upgrade your home security with one of these advanced door locks. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Security is key, whether online or IRL. Thanks to smartlocks, though, secure doors don’t need keys. Install one on your door, and you can enter and exit more securely, using a simple code or even your thumbprint. That’s just what these two smart locks bring to any home or office.
Are you excited at the prospect of a new HomePod? Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Apple will introduce a HomePod mini in 2020, but don’t get your hopes up about a sequel to the original HomePod smart speaker, claims a reliable Apple leaker.
L0vetodream made the claim Tuesday on Twitter after Apple issued invites to its October 13 “Hi, Speed” event. Apple likely will unveil its final new hardware products of the year at that time.
Bag yours before the discount disappears. Photo: Apple
Pick up Apple’s newest ultraportable and enjoy up to $99.01 off for a limited time only on Amazon. The 2020 MacBook Air, complete with a brilliant new Magic Keyboard, is now available for as little as $949.99.
Earrings hug onto your AirPods for dear life. Photo: MISHO
London-based MISHO jewelry designer Suhani Parekh has created earrings that are designed to attach to AirPods to stop them falling out of wearers’ ears.
“The earrings fit on as regular earrings do, with a back and post,” Parekh told Cult of Mac. “They’ve been designed so you can slip your AirPods in and out as you use them through the day without the need to take the earrings off.”
The House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee revealed its recommendations for dealing with Big Tech Monday in a 449-page report, following 16 months of investigation.
While the report has recommendations for Amazon, Facebook and Google parent company Alphabet, it also focuses on Apple — and what needs to change to make Cupertino antitrust-compliant.
Shape recognition in iPadOS 14 makes your Apple Pencil even more useful. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
Most people’s drawing skills peaked in first grade. Which means the diagrams we include in handwritten notes often look like they were drawn by a moderately skilled raccoon. Fortunately, iPadOS 14 offers shape recognition, turning our scrawls into the neat geometric shapes we envisioned.
Using this feature in Apple Notes or Email is easy. But there’s a trick to it. Here’s how to use shape recognition with an iPad and any stylus.
This rig conveniently mixes fun with work. Photo: Merényi Márk
The heart of Merényi Márk’s setup is a 2018 Mac mini. Even though it’s a base-line model, this little Mac that could executes every task he throws at it.
Márk recently ditched his LG UlraWide Monitor and replaced it with an LG 32UK550-B 32-inch 4K VA Monitor, which is made for gaming. He prefers the standard 16:9 aspect ratio of his new monitor when playing on his Xbox. In terms of fewer viewing angles that come with a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel, he sits right in front of it, so it’s not an issue. And he “expected far worse viewing angles and colors from [a VA panel],” so it came as a “pleasant surprise” to him that it’s so good.
Many people can still name all four of women who’ll be the stars of The Supermodels. Photo: Apple
The careers of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington will be the focus of an upcoming docuseries for Apple TV+. The Supermodels will explore how these four disrupted the ’90s fashion scene.
This edited image highlights what might be AirTags in the Apple October event invitation. Edited image: Apple/Cult of Mac
The invite to an Apple October product event might have an upcoming device hidden in plain sight. Part of the graphic included with the invite apparently bears a strong resemblance to AirTags, the item-location tags that are supposedly on the docket for the October 13 event.
A unique thermoform exterior provides great protection. Photo: Twelve South
Keep your MacBook safe and snug while you travel with Twelve South’s awesome new SuitCase. It’s quilted and enveloped in a water-resistant twill, and features a hard shell for maximum protection.
The case also opens right up so that you can comfortably use your MacBook inside it without having to pull it out.
Don’t disrupt your desk with a dozen dangling dongles every time you need to connect peripherals to your MacBook. Anker’s excellent 7-in-2 USB-C hub is a much cleaner, more elegant solution that’s now $15 cheaper.
Enjoy this limited-time discount before it disappears.
The invite to the Apple October event includes a bit of augmented reality. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Hidden in Tuesday’s invite to the October Apple event is a hint that the company is about to make a big push into augmented reality.
The graphic for the event invite is the Apple logo surrounded by bubbles. iPhone and iPad users can transfer that design to the real 3D world, and put it in motion.