Contrary to reports suggesting otherwise, the European Commission has revealed that it will appeal a recent court decision that went in Apple’s favor concerning a massive $14.8 billion tax bill.

The EC made the tax demand to Apple in 2016, accusing it of benefitting from illegal state aid from Ireland. However, Apple appealed the decision and, in a July hearing, had its objections upheld. Now the EC is asking another court to overturn that verdict.

It’s a packed day for Apple TV+ as the service debuted multiple episodes of new shows. The crown jewel of the bunch is Tehran, a new spy series about a Mossad hacker-agent who tries to infiltrate Tehran to destroy Iran’s nuclear reactor.

Apple TV+ dropped the first three episodes of the acclaimed show (check out Cult of Mac‘s effusive review) Friday. New episodes will debut each subsequent week.

Apple quietly snapped up podcasting app Scout FM, which tries to make podcasting sound more like tuning into radio stations, for an undisclosed amount earlier this year.

Scout FM worked by letting users choose particular topics, then automatically customizing a radio station-like podcasting listening experience for them. It was intended as a way to cut through the findability clutter of hundreds of thousands of available podcasts.

Apple TV+ invites you to take a look at the things beneath your feet in its new documentary series Tiny World. Narrated by Paul Rudd, this show is charming, if maybe too cute for its own good.

Tiny World, which premieres on October 2, is the first of three new docuseries coming to the streaming service this fall. It’s a shrewd and promising start, as Apple TV+ positions itself as a provider of episodic nonfiction content to match its high-profile dramas and films.

This portable storage post is presented by HyperAccessory.

If you’re a photographer, videographer or content creator who likes to travel light, leaving the laptop behind, we found a must-have storage device for you. HyperAccessory’s skyBox features all-in-one portable SSD storage with built-in wireless connectivity and universal compatibility. It will have you streaming and sharing media on the go with gusto.

Mac users can update their computer on Thursday with macOS Catalina 10.15.7. It’s important for anyone who’s noticed their computer not connecting to Wi-Fi like it ought to. There are no new features.

This might be the last Catalina version before the big macOS Big Sur upgrade gets introduced.

Fortnite developer Epic Games has warned iPhone and iPad users that they could lose access to its hit battle royale game when updating to iOS 14. But there is a way to ensure that doesn’t happen.

We’ll show you how before you start installing the latest update.

Amazon on Thursday unveiled a cloud gaming service that can play console-quality games on mobile devices and a range of other computers. Unlike rival streaming services from Google and Microsoft, Amazon Luna will be available on iPhone and iPad. It’s also coming to Mac.

Apple released a bug-fix update to iOS 14 on Thursday. iOS 14.0.1 removes a number of problems — most notably, a bug that prevented users from permanently picking a new default email app and web browser. And iPad users get iPadOS 14.0.1 with the same fixes.

There are also bug fix updates out for Final Cut Pro and some of Apple’s other media-production applications for Mac.

The new iPad 8 is only a “speed bump” version of the seventh-generation model, but it certainly offers a noticeable increase in performance. Benchmarks show this recently released tablet is about twice as fast as its predecessor.

Spotify, Match, and Fortnite developer Epic Games have joined a nonprofit that advocates for regulatory and legal action against Apple for what they claim is it unfair control of the App Store.

Their main objection is the way that Apple charges up to 30 percent for in-app payments. Apple lays out a detailed set of rules which apps must follow in order to be allowed in the App Store.

It’s always been smart to shield our phones with a protective case when we step outside. But nowadays, it’s not just our phones that need protection. Phones are major vectors for germs and viruses, so it makes good sense to get a case that guards against those, too.

Woot is blowing out 2018 iPad Pro refurbs at big discounts for one day only. You can bag an 11-inch model for as little as $599.99, while 12.9-inch models start at just $679.99.

Get yours before they’re all gone!

Twitter user @laobaiTD, aka Mr-white, posted images late Wednesday of what he claims is the braided Lightning cable that will come with iPhone 12.

At present, the Mac Pro is the only Apple product to come with a more-durable braided cable, which also provides a premium look. Check out the images of the alleged iPhone 12 cable below.

After seeming to defy the general COVID-19 downturn, tech stocks have taken a dip as of late. Loup Ventures’ tech analyst Gene Munster thinks there is going to be a split in future fortunes — with some soaring back up to previous highs and others, well, not.

Apple, he believes, is going to be a big winner. And from my calculations he thinks it could be just a couple of years from another major financial milestone.

Actors Cherry Jones and Jason Segel have joined the cast of upcoming Apple TV+ original movie The Sky Is Everywhere. Jones (HBO’s Succession and Apple TV+’s Defending Jacob) and Segel (the excellent Forgetting Sarah Marshall) will join relative newcomer Grace Kaufman.

The movie is an adaptation of a Jandy Nelson young-adult novel. The plot follows a high-school girl mourning the death of her sister. She becomes romantically attached to her late sister’s fiancé and another young man newly arrived in town.

Over 30% of iPhones are running iOS 14 exactly a week after the release, according to data from an analytics company. That’s a 50% faster adoption rate than iOS 13 a year ago.

Minix Neo Storage Plus handles two jobs. It’s a multiport USB-C adapter, adding USB-A, HDMI and Ethernet to Mac or iPad. And this accessory is also an SSD, bringing 480GB of storage.

We tested all the features of this multifunction hub. Here’s how it stands up to real-world use.

Thanks to iOS 14’s new widgets, seemingly everyone is redesigning their iPhone Home screens right now. Some of these look amazing. Others evoke the eyeball-abusing tragedy of late-stage MySpace, serving as painful reminders of why most of us didn’t become professional graphic designers.

Here are some of the better iOS 14 custom Home screens we’ve seen. (Want to make your own? We’ve got a guide for you: How to give your iPhone Home screen a new look with custom icons).

It’s no longer necessary to jailbreak your iPhone to completely overhaul the appearance of its Home screen. All you need is the Shortcuts app in iOS 14, and you can use custom icons for any app you have installed.

With some simple tweaks and plenty of spare time, you can make your iPhone feel like a brand-new smartphone with a completely different operating system designed just by you. We’ll show you how.

Ever wanted to make your brand-new iPhone look like it’s running Windows 95? That’s the outrageously novel idea that sprang into the mind of Ashley, an 18-year-old from Indiana who wants to work as a graphic designer, after she upgraded to iOS 14 last week.

Taking advantage of iOS 14’s new Home screen widgets feature, and a clunky workaround that employs the built-in Shortcuts app, she gave her iPhone 11 a vintage Microsoft-style makeover that screams retro cool and picked up 4.4 million views and 664,000 likes on TikTok.

“As someone who wasn’t even alive in the ’90s, other operating systems, such as Windows XP, are more nostalgic to me, but I went with Windows 95 because it furthered the contrast between old and new,” Ashley, who did not want her last name revealed, told Cult of Mac.

The iPhone 12 will debut at a special event on October13, multiple sources claimed on Wednesday. The release date will reportedly come shortly thereafter.

Cupertino is widely expected to introduce its next-generation handset in October, with only the date remaining a mystery. According to several sources, there’ll be an Apple event the second Tuesday of that month to take the wraps off.

Apple computers hold their value remarkably well — especially when they’re well looked after. Keep your MacBook looking brand-new with an ultra-slim, ultra-affordable hard case from Elago.

These snap-on protectors prevent your machine from picking up scuffs and scratches while it’s on the move. They’re not too thick or too heavy, and they don’t hide your MacBook’s gorgeous design.

Get yours today from the Cult of Mac Store for as little as $24.99.

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing unexpected consequences, including a sudden sharp rise in tablet sales, according to a market-research firm. Specifically, there’s significantly increased demand for large tablets with removable keyboards that can function as laptops.

In order for any streaming service to keep up with the competition, it must serve up serialized shows that people can’t wait to finish. Until now, Apple TV+ did not offer one of those. Not even the star-studded and fairly engrossing Defending Jacob proved so compelling you couldn’t turn it off.

That all changes this Friday, when Israeli spy thriller Tehran premieres on Apple TV+. The streaming service’s best dramatic show by a mile, it delivers stunning displays of intrigue and backstabbing.