Cult of Mac

Mac users can grab macOS Catalina 10.15.6 starting Wednesday. This update adds local coverage to Apple News in select areas. And this new version kills a few bugs, too.

Starting Wednesday, an Apple Watch can be used to unlock a car, replacing the key, thanks to the release of watchOS 6.2.8. But it’s early days yet for this feature, as it doesn’t yet have wide support.

In addition, this software update enables people in a handful of additional countries to take advantage of the ECG in Apple’s wearable.

Apple TV+ has just a tiny fraction of the U.S. streaming video market, according to a market-research firm. Even nine months after its launch, it’s well behind well-established rivals like Netflix and even the other newcomer, Disney+.

Apple released iOS 13.6 Wednesday, boosting its Apple News offering and bringing other new features to iPhone and iPad.

As expected, the company added audio versions of key stories from Apple News+, the paid version of its news aggregation service. Apple also added a new daily audio show called Apple News Today, which is available in the free version of the Apple News app.

In addition, the company beefed up its list of organizations pumping news content into the service. However, the Apple News audio features will only be available to U.S. users, the company said.

A concept artist shows what the iPhone’s Health application could look like after being redesigned for Mac.

Currently, this software is only for iOS. There’s not even an iPad version. This concept, created in SwiftUI, hopes to convince Apple to change that.

Amazon today instructed Echo Buds owners to urgently update their headphones to avoid a “potential safety risk.” The company says that in rare cases, Echo Buds can overheat while charging.

A new firmware update addresses this problem, and helps ensure that headphone batteries last as long as possible, by making charging more efficient. Here’s how you can install it.

NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock launched Wednesday, complete with iOS and Apple TV apps.

Peacock, which joins a plethora of similar streaming services, has been up and running for Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex cable customers since April. However, today it gets a wider U.S. release, with both paid and free tiers.

Amazon is today offering its biggest discount yet on the brilliant new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. You can enjoy a rare $19.02 off the 12.9-inch model, which is down to just $329.98 for a limited time.

Bag yours before they sell out.

Mocking Apple keynotes is probably about the laziest advertising trope you’re likely to see. But that doesn’t stop attempt after attempt after attempt by companies to copy it.

The latest to try and rinse the remaining laughs out of the concept is Budweiser company AB InBev and their new ad for limited edition Busch Light Apple. It’s an apple-flavored drink, which makes it all too easy to picture how some tired group of copywriters sitting around at 4.45pm threw up their hands and said, “Why don’t we do it as an Apple parody?”

Does it raise the slightest smile? Check it out below to find out.

Vinyl is back in vogue. With the world’s smallest wireless record player, you can take your favorite albums anywhere you go, and enjoy them without having to lug your turntable along with you.

Apple eliminated upward of 2,500 games from its China App Store in the first full week of July, a new report from app analytics firm Sensor Tower notes.

Mobile gaming regulations in the country mean that all games must receive a license from China’s National Press and Publication Administration prior to release. Regulators had promised a crackdown on offending apps since 2016. However, they were slow to act. In the meantime, unlicensed games continued to be published in the App Store.

Woot’s brilliant discounts on the 2018 iPad Pro are now better than ever, with prices starting at just $599.99 for 11-inch models, and $699.99 for 12.9-inch models. Bag yours before the sale ends tonight!

In something of a surprise outcome, Apple and Ireland have won their appeal against a European tax bill order which fined Apple $14.8 billion.

The European Commission ordered Apple pay the enormous sum in August 2016. According to the EU, Apple paid a tax rate as low as 0.005% of its European profits in 2014. This was supposedly part of a “sweetheart” deal it received in Ireland.

Lawmakers from the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Reform want Apple and Google to investigate where third-party apps are storing their data.

In two letters sent Tuesday, Stephen Lynch, chairman of the National Security Subcommittee, wrote to Apple and Google that certain non-U.S. apps could pose securities risks.

Never carry your MacBook or iPad around “naked,” but a bulky case can be just too much. A laptop sleeve is a compromise, like the one recently released by Ekster. This protects your 13-inch computer, and includes room for a few accessories.

I’ve been using this leather-and-canvas folio for a couple of weeks. Here’s how is stands up to daily use.

Tom Hanks’ feature film about World War II brought in the largest opening-weekend audience Apple TV+ has netted so far. Even better for Apple, Greyhound reportedly brought plenty of fresh customers to its still-new streaming video service.

The iPhone 12 might not come with a charger, but it’ll supposedly get a nicer charging cable.

A leaker with a history of accuracy re-tweeted images that allegedly show a braided Lightning cable intended for the 2020 iPhone. And, it will connect to USB-C ports, not USB-A.

A strange bug introduced in a recent iPhone and iPad update is preventing many users from scheduling features like Dark Mode and Night Shift. But you don’t need to wait for Apple to fix it.

Discover the simple solution to this problem right here.

With nearly 18 million Americans out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple, IBM and other companies teamed up with the White House to help workers find new jobs.

The result is the Find Something New campaign. The program encourages to people explore a wide range of education and training options beyond the traditional four-year degree.

I bet you never imagined you might one day run Windows XP on an iPhone or iPad. But thanks to a brilliant app called UTM, it’s not only possible, but it is incredibly easy. You don’t even need to jailbreak.

We’ve already showed you how to use UTM to run Mac OS X on an iOS device. In this how-to, we’ll show you how to get set up with Windows XP. It’s even easier, requires less storage, and takes half the time.

Ready to return to the golden age of Windows?

Apple just dropped a Ted Lasso trailer that gives the world its first glimpse of Jason Sudeikis reviving his clueless coach character for Apple TV+.

Sudeikis first played Lasso in a hilarious 2013 ad for Premier League soccer games on NBC Sports. With this Apple Original, he will extend the gag to series length, portraying a hapless, small-town college football coach hired by a U.K. soccer team.

Check out the amusing trailer below.

Amazon is offering big discounts on some of the hottest Razer gaming gear for Mac and PC today only. Prices start at just $9.99, with mice, microphones, keyboards, and more on offer.

Ahead of tomorrow’s ruling by a European Union court on Apple’s tax appeal for $14.8 billion, the leader of an electoral alliance has argued that Ireland rejecting the decision would be tantamount to “economic treason.”

Forgetting a password can cost time and peace of mind. But even simply entering passwords costs time, so why not just skip that entire step? That’s exactly what a password manager offers.

The Apple IIe was introduced 37 years ago in 1983. But don’t think it’s not up to performing the latest productivity tasks, circa 2020. Well, kind of.

Twitter user @ReEstInv and Oliver Schmidt, a.k.a. @dangerfreak, recently showcased how it’s possible to get an Apple IIe to run modern, up-to-date apps like writing in Slack and Evernote, sending emails, or even controlling smart home gadgets.

So long as you’re not necessarily expecting the latest UI elements, that is.