Cult of Mac

Jody Whitesides is a television and film composer so naturally his setup is audio-focused. Even with all the high-tech audio gear, it is hard to out-stage his epic 34-inch ultra-wide monitor.

He rocks both the Apple Magic Trackpad and a Logitech mouse. He has both because some tasks are easier to edit using a mouse and others with a trackpad, so it gives him the best of both worlds. The keyboard — a Komplete Kontrol Controller — gives him an additional 88 keys right above his Apple Magic Keyboard.

To handle all of his audio, Whitesides uses a PreSonas monitoring station to easily switch audio outputs. And the Apollo 8 Recording Interface gives him the power to handle all of this gear at once.

For the actual audio itself, he has a pair of KRK V4 Series Speakers to accompany a pair of Genelec 8020D Studio Speakers.

Driving all this is a 2013 “trashcan” Mac Pro, out of shot.

Apple is reportedly buying exclusive rights to podcasts that could someday become movies or shows on Apple TV+.

Turning podcasts into television programs is becoming increasingly common. A popular podcast starring Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd is being made into into a Apple TV+ show, for example.

An online Today at Apple at Home session released Thursday introduces using Apple Clips. This free software lets iPhone and iPad users combine video clips, photos and music into fun videos.

And because this is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the session is taught in American Sign Language by Gus from Apple Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C. Subtitles and audio narration are also included.

CarPlay makes it safe to use some of your favorite iPhone apps on the road, and by default, anything with CarPlay support will automatically appear in your car. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Simplify your experience and make CarPlay even easier to use by customizing your layout and ditching apps you don’t need.

Apple is working on a special pair of AR glasses that resemble the spectacles Steve Jobs famously wore, white-hot Apple leaker Jon Prosser told Cult of Mac.

Called the “Steve Jobs Heritage Edition,” this limited-edition version of Apple Glass would be round like a classic pair of John Lennon-style glasses. Cupertino would position it as a special edition of the core AR glasses, much like the original $10,000 gold Apple Watch.

This week on The CultCast: We talk Apple leaks with the man who’s driving Tim Cook crazy … Front Page Tech‘s Jon Prosser! And we cover it all, including juicy new details on Apple Glass, Apple Car, Apple’s master plan for the next iPhone, the next Apple TV, Apple’s secret VR gaming headset, which big leaks are coming next, and more.

After a series of uncannily accurate leaks, there’s no doubt Prosser has become Public Enemy No. 1 in Cupertino. (Just ask Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller, who blocked Prosser on Twitter.) You don’t want to miss this discussion about his methods, his motivations and his sources deep within Apple’s organization. The ProsserCast is real!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

The wait for Adobe Photoshop Camera is almost over. When it hits the App Store on June 9, the free iPhone application will let users add filters and effects before they even take a picture. And it will employ artificial intelligence to clean up images.

A prominent Apple analyst recently predicted that Apple’s rumored AR glasses won’t debut until 2022. But since then, other noted leakers have said these augmented-reality Apple Glasses will be out next year.

Have you noticed that your external display doesn’t look right when using it with a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? Is it far too warm, like everything is coated in orange? It’s a common problem, but there’s an easy way to fix it.

Find out how in today’s pro tip.

Apple hasn’t changed the physical design of its regular iMac in years — but that’s not enough to stop Apple fans dreaming up drool-inducing concepts.

The latest is from Kevin Kal, a 20-year-old engineering student in Paris, France. (Who, by my count, would have been in middle school the last time Apple changed up the iMac design.) His concept for the iMac boasts a slimmer bezel and chin, Face ID camera, and a next-gen trackpad that also charges your iPhone. Check it out below.

After an arbitration panel on Wednesday called AT&T’s use of the phrase “5G Evolution” in its advertising misleading, the company agreed to stop using it. However, iPhone and Android devices connected to this telecom’s upgraded 4G LTE network will reportedly continue to display a “5GE” icon.

The best way to get the most from your Mac is with the right software. So we rounded up four apps that enhance your computer’s capabilities. These apps make it possible to customize your Mac OS, edit PDFs, torrent media files and more. Even better, they’re all available for at least half off.

Hot off the heels of Netflix and ESPN’s smash hit The Last Dance documentary, Apple TV+ has announced a new sports documentary series of its own. Called Greatness Code, the series will, according to Apple, spotlight “untold stories from the greatest athletes in the world.”

The first slate of elite athletes is set to include an all-star cast of NBA star LeBron James, Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady, Olympic gold medalist soccer star Alex Morgan, Olympic runner Usain Bolt, Olympian swimmer Katie Ledecky, and champion surfer Kelly Slater. Each will get their own episode.

iOS 13.5 dropped Wednesday, introducing a slew of upgrades — including, most notably, the API for Apple’s coronavirus contact-tracing tool, developed in conjunction with Google.

But, despite what you might hear online, this is neither an “app” or an update that means downloaders are being tracked without their knowledge. Let’s correct a few popular misconceptions.

Apple Watch Series 5 is now more affordable than ever before. You can get your 40mm model with GPS connectivity on Amazon today for just $299.99 — a generous $99.01 off the usual selling price.

Just make sure you bag one before they sell out!

Few areas are booming right now like mobile apps, which have experienced massive growth during coronavirus lockdown. According to a new report from app analytics platform Sensor Tower, data used by mobile app downloads has surged during lockdown.

In a post published Wednesday, the firm said data usage for first-time installs of the top 250 mobile apps worldwide was up 34% from the same quarter last year. Based on an average of the last three years, it is up a whopping 52% — hitting an unfathomable 391 petabytes in Q1 2020. (A petabyte equals roughly 1,000 terabytes.)

Having last year created the first breakthrough jailbreak for up-to-date iOS devices in ages, the unc0ver team announced Wednesday that its new unc0ver 5 tool is on the way — and will work with every signed version of iOS.

That includes iOS 11.0 through the new iOS 13.5 which only arrived earlier the same day.

Espresso Displays produces premium external screens compatible with both MacBooks and iPad Pro. And these offer 10-point touch, creating the touchscreen Mac so many have asked for.

Studies have shown that a second display can make you up to 50% more productive. We tested a prototype from Espresso Displays to see if this very slim and light LCD monitor lives it up to its promise.

The cast and crew of Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet created a special quarantine episode of the Apple TV+ comedy. The actors had to film themselves, and collaborated via AirPods.

Rob McElhenney who co-created and stars in the show, along with co-creator Megan Ganz, gave an interview about the convoluted process to Hollywood Reporter.

The $1 billion Apple campus under construction in Austin will reportedly include a six-story hotel.

There’ll eventually be room for 15,000 employees in the extensive collection of buildings that are going up now in Texas. Adding this hotel allows visitors to stay on site.

Some U.S. high school students couldn’t submit their Advanced Placement tests last week. And it’s all because the College Board doesn’t support HEIC, the image format the iPhone uses.

Fortunately, there’s now a workaround. But that didn’t save the kids who failed their AP tests because they use an iPhone.

Just the image of a classic cassette tape is enough to evoke precious memories of great times gone by for a lot of us. That’s one of the reasons why we love Casetify’s terrific Mixtape case for iPhone.

It has all the charm of an old cassette and combines it with military-grade protection that keeps your precious smartphone looking brand-new. What’s more, it’s now available for the 2020 iPhone SE — as well as iPhone 11 and more.

One of the improvements you’ll find inside Apple’s new iOS 13.5 update, rolled out earlier on Wednesday, is the ability to stop people from getting larger or moving around the screen during Group FaceTime calls.

Here’s how to take advantage of it.

AT&T will stop using the term 5G Evolution to describe an enhanced type of 4G. Rival T-Mobile convinced an arbitration panel on Wednesday that the description is misleading.

This apparently means iOS and Android handsets will stop informing customers that they’re connected to a 5G E network.

Update: AT&T will stop including 5G Evolution in its advertising, but will continue to put the 5GE icon on iPhones and Androids connected to its improved 4G LTE network.

Twitter is expanding testing of a new feature that lets users specify exactly who can reply to their tweets. The new conversation settings, which Twitter said Wednesday it is rolling out to a small percentage of users, lets people limit replies to people they follow or to certain individuals.

It’s Twitter’s latest attempt to tame toxic conversations on the free-wheeling platform. (As you might expect, not everyone is thrilled with the concept.)