Cult of Mac

Apple shares shot up more than 3% Monday following a 4-for-1 stock split that took place after the market closed Friday.

This morning, every Apple shareholder who owned one share at Friday’s closing price of $499.23 owned four shares, each with one-quarter that value ($124.81). After soaring as high as $131 in trading Monday, AAPL closed at $129.04, up $4.23 (3.39%) for the day.

Netflix made a selection of its popular shows and movies available for free over the weekend. The freebies include hit sci-fi show Stranger Things, Boss Baby: Back in Business and several more.

Watching these Netflix originals doesn’t require signing up with streaming service — but for some strange reason, they can’t be viewed on an iPhone.

One of Apple’s first ARM-powered notebooks could be a 12-inch MacBook with butterfly keyboard, according to one tipster. The entry-level machine could sell for just $849 with 256GB storage as standard.

Other specifications are said to include up to 20 hours of battery life in between charges, up to 16GB of RAM, and a single USB-C port.

Whether you’re trying to market your products, expand your brand, or get your ideas out into the world, a good website is key. Not all of us are up to speed with coding, though.

Unfortunately, building a website is just the first step in finding an engaged audience. This bundle includes not just a powerful website builder, but also a range of lessons to make the most of your new site.

Cult of Mac’s Ian Fuchs says new features in iPadOS 14 make the Apple Pencil an indispensable tool — even for people who aren’t artists.

That’s the cover story in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now for that story, plus the latest Apple news, leaks, how-tos and reviews. (In case you hadn’t noticed, Apple’s battle with Fortnite dev Epic Games is getting nasty.)

The last few months have been fantastic for Jeff Bezos and the other billionaires. They continue to make money at absurd rates despite a global pandemic and the related economic fallout.

For most people, though, work — and income — are not guaranteed. However, you can develop a reliable income stream with this course, which offers a range of lessons for launching a successful side hustle.

Apple terminated Epic Games account on the App Store on Friday. This is the latest move in a battle between the two companies over revenue from in-app purchases in the popular game Fortnite.

Fortnite itself had already been booted from the App Store, and today’s move means other offerings from Epic Games are also unavailable to iPhone and iPad users.

If you’re looking to pick up a used iPhone and you want to be sure that it’s unlocked before handing over your cash, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s a quick and easy way to find out in iOS 14.

There’s no need to call any carriers or swap out any SIM cards. Just take a quick dive into the Settings app and you’ll find all the information you need. We’ll show you how.

Apple’s lead story on the App Store Today screen is about the upcoming season of PUBG Mobile. The iPhone-maker also recently did a similar promotion for Butter Royale.

It’s clear Apple wants everyone to know that while Fortnite was kicked out of the App Store, there are other battle royale games.

The Cult of Mac Store’s big back-to-school sale kicks off today with sweet discounts on awesome iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods and Mac accessories from Elago, Just Mobile, Mujjo and Twelve South.

Save up to 72% on brilliant bands, stands, cases, and more, with prices starting at a mere $9.95. The discounts are good for a limited time only, so enjoy them while you can!

Running out of storage on your Mac? Join the club! But it doesn’t have to be that way. WD’s terrific MyPassport is a portable SSD drive with 1TB of storage that’s ideal for carrying your photos, music, and more.

Get yours today from Best Buy to enjoy $90 off the usual price.

Sofia Coppola’s forthcoming Apple TV+ movie On the Rocks will premiere at the New York Film Festival, which runs from September 17 through October 11 this year.

The movie reunites director Sofia Coppola with actor Bill Murray for the first time since 2003’s Lost in Translation. That movie won Coppola the Oscar for best original screenplay, while Murray was nominated for his acting performance.

In need of a cheap Mac or iPad? Check out Woot’s latest one-day sale on MacBook, iMac, and iPad refurbs. Prices start at just $209.99, and there is a whole bunch of great devices to choose from.

Stock is selling fast and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Don’t miss out!

Back when Apple introduced the Apple Pencil, the company positioned the stylus primarily as a tool for artists. And try as I might, I’ve never been particularly great at drawing. That said, it didn’t stop me from picking up an Apple Pencil to annotate documents, edit photos or use as an alternative way to touch the screen.

Then the Magic Keyboard came along with a fantastic trackpad experience. It offered a different way to interact with the screen without touching it with my finger. But now, with iPadOS 14, Apple has rewritten the story of what Apple Pencil can do, and it’s completely changed how I use my iPad once again.

Vlogging is a lot of fun. At the end of the day, it comes down to sitting in front of a camera and expressing your thoughts. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that, from planning to setting up lighting and backgrounds. But maybe the most critical stage is editing, which can also be the biggest pain in the butt.

Luckily, technology has made it so that you don’t have to worry about editing your vlogs.

Apple has launched a new artificial intelligence and machine learning residency program for people from other STEM disciplines wanting to “dip their toe” into the world of cutting edge machine learning.

Michael Rennaker, manager of Apple in Research Academia (ARIA), announced the new initiative on Twitter. The program seeks experts in fields like design, linguistics, neuroscience, and psychology whose interests may cross over with AI.

Facebook claims Apple stopped it from telling users about the 30% commission that Cupertino takes from sales in a new online events feature.

According to a Reuters report published Friday, Apple said its rules stop developers from showing “irrelevant” information to users.

It’s a relatively lean week for Apple TV+ subscribers this week as the streaming VOD service added just one new episode of comedy series Ted Lasso to its offerings. The preview for episode five of Ted Lasso reads as follows:

“With his wife and son visiting from America, Ted makes drastic changes to the lineup during a critical match.”

It’s the end of the line for Fortnite on iOS and Mac. For now, at least. In an email sent to users, Epic Games says that users on Apple platforms will no longer be receiving new content for the game.

And, you know, to drum home the point that, as Epic is keen to suggest, Apple’s the one entirely at fault.

Hey there, all you tab hoarders: Google Chrome just gave you a handy tool to bring some order to the nightmare lurking at the top of your web browser. A new Chrome feature lets you group tabs together with custom names to tame the chaos.

Unfortunately, it’s not completely obvious how to get in on the tab-grouping action. Here’s how to make it work for you.

The Last Campfire joined the ranks of puzzle games on Apple Arcade on Thursday. This is an adventure, but one sweeter and calmer than many, as players help a lost little ember find its way home.

Filming of Invasion, an ambitious alien invasion series for Apple TV+, is reportedly back on. It halted in March at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but production resumed in the UK last week.

It’s been called “a large budget, ambitious, character driven genre show” by Deadline, and the cast includes Sam Neill.

If you never looked at the iMac and wished it was way, way smaller, then you’re not Michael Pick. He built what he calls the “world’s smallest iMac.”

The modder filmed a video demonstrating the process of creating this tiny, yet fully functional, computer. Watch it now:

TikTok is all about short-form videos, but who knew it was about short-form chief executives as well? That’s one possible takeaway from the news that TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has resigned after just three months at the helm.

Mayer cites the massive disruption resulting from President Trump’s attack on the platform, and the possibility of a sale to Microsoft or Oracle.

Apple has partnered with Washington D.C.’s Gallaudet University — the world’s leading university for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind students — to offer all students and faculty Apple devices. Learners and teachers alike will receive an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and SmartFolio for iPad Pro.

The offer is also available to students and teachers at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, Gallaudet’s partner program for students in grades K-12.