Mobile menu toggle

Apple Support app gets step-by-step troubleshooting guides

By

Apple Support 4.0 runs on iPhone but covers all Apple products and services.
Apple Support 4.0 has a new, customized user interface to highlight info about products you own.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The official Apple Support iOS app got a facelift, including adding step-by-step guides to fixing common problems. And Dark Mode, too.

The app runs on iPhone or iPad, but offers information on Mac, AirPods and many other Apple products and services.

Apple Maps now displays COVID-19 testing locations

By

apple-covid-19
Consumers in the U.S. can now search or browse for COVID-19 testing facilities through Apple Maps.
Photo: Apple

Apple has added COVID-19 testing locations throughout the United States to its Apple Maps, effective Tuesday. Users can search for COVID-19 testing locations or browse for them on visual maps.

Spy firms push iPhone-hacking tools to trace coronavirus, raising privacy concerns

By

cellebrite.flicker.jpg
Systems like that from Cellebrite are now being pushed to track COVID-19, but have serious privacy concerns.

Multiple companies that created software to hack into mobile phones now offer versions of their products to trace the spread of COVID-19, according to a published report Tuesday.

Very different from contact-tracing technologies that focus on finding the virus but at the same time protect privacy, these new systems would not need a patient’s consent to gain entry into the device.

Apple explores flexible batteries for folding iPhones and iPads

By

This is an early concept drawing from Apple for a folding iPhone.
This is an early concept drawing from Apple for a folding iPhone.
Photo: Apple

It would be easier to make a foldable iPhone or iPad if it could include a flexible battery. Apple is investigating these as a power source, and was granted a patent on the technology on Tuesday.

In recent years, the company received many patents related to computers built around folding displays. They’re proof that Apple is actively exploring using these in future products.

Save $49 on 2020 MacBook Air, $200 on 16-inch MacBook Pro

By

macBookpro
Claim yours before the discounts disappear.
Photo: Apple

What better way to upgrade your home office than with a brand-new Mac? Amazon is currently offering big discounts on the latest models, like $49 off the 2020 MacBook Air and $200 off the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

You can also pick up the 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and more at reduced rates. Order yours today before the prices return to normal.

Force Mac apps to open in glorious full-screen mode

By

Full-screen works great on a MacBook.
Full-screen works great on a MacBook.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Full-screen mode on a Mac is pretty great. Unlike Windows, where full-screen apps have been the default since forever, the Mac’s full-screen abilities are a fairly recent addition. And the default is still for apps to launch in smaller windows, which is the Mac Way. But what if you want those apps to launch in full-screen every time you open them? Well, by changing one setting — and abandoning an ingrained habit — you can have exactly that.

Bonus: Full-screen app launching will only apply to the apps you choose, leaving the rest of them to behave normally.

13 Apple Stores in US malls could reopen by May 2

By

apple.store.barton.creek.austin.texas
Apple's Barton Creek retail store in Austin, TX could be one of many stores in the U.S. to re-open starting May 1.
Photo: Apple

Simon Property Group, the biggest mall owner in the United States, will reopen 49 of its shopping centers in early May — potentially bringing 13 now-shuttered Apple Stores back online.

The locations span across seven states, in major cities including Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis and Austin, Texas.

Stellar writing app Ulysses gets mouse support on iPad, big improvements

By

Ulysses-19
Get the update today on Mac and iOS.
Photo: Ulysses

Ulysses, the outstanding writing app for Mac and iOS, just got its big version 19 update. It brings full mouse and trackpad support on iPad, as well as a number of neat improvements to things like keywords and Files integration.

It also boasts a new feature dubbed Material sheets, which allows you to mark sheets you’ve used for brainstorming and research, and have them excluded from counters, goals, and exports.

Mozilla rates the video-calling apps; praises FaceTime for ‘holy grail’ of encryption

By

A Group FaceTime call on the Mac.
FaceTime isn't perfect, but it's pretty great for encryption.
Photo: Apple

Video-calling apps are booming right now, but which ones can you trust when it comes to security? A Mozilla report published Tuesday assesses all the major platforms, noting which apps do and do not pass the privacy-conscious foundation’s minimum security standards.

The big takeaway? Most of the top video conferencing apps, FaceTime included, are actually impressively secure. But there are a few outliers.

Score extra-affordable Mac apps, noise-canceling headphones and more [Deals]

By

Price Drop Sale Roundup
Why pay full price? We're offering discounts of 75% or more on these great apps and gear.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Everybody loves a good sale, so we rounded up the biggest price drops currently offered by Cult of Mac Deals. We’ve got a powerful iOS alternative, noise-canceling headphones, language courses and five years of at-home exercise, all discounted by 75% or more.

Gadget spending skyrockets as lockdown brings unbearable boredom

By

Spending money laptop 1
"This laptop can't last forever. Better buy a spare just in case."
Photo: Rupixen/Unsplash

The coronavirus pandemic might have wreaked havoc on the economy, but consumer spending on tech gadgets actually seems to be up during lockdown. Like, way up.

According to NPD analyst Stephen Baker, there was a surprising 23% hike in consumer tech sales year-on-year for the week ending April 18. That compares to an overall decline of 23% across all industries the firm tracks.

Israeli president uses AR to visit nation during lockdown

By

Israeli president AR 1
When's the last time a politician visited your home?
Photo: 8th Wall

With coronavirus lockdown stopping a large number of public gatherings, Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, took a high-tech approach to addressing the nation on Israel’s Independence Day Tuesday: he used augmented reality.

With the aid of augmented reality and volumetric video, Rivlin found a way to visit every home in the country. Now that’s one form of democracy that the AR-loving Apple could surely get on board with!

Crafty kid uses clever trick to watch YouTube despite iPhone restrictions

By

youtube on a phone
Here's how to do it.
Photo: Szabo Viktor/Unsplash

Apple makes technology so intuitive that even a kid can pick it up and use its basic features without too many problems. But they probably shouldn’t be able to find feature-breaking bugs, right?

According to a recent Reddit post, an 8-year-old kid was able to find a workaround to the Screen Time restrictions that let parents block out access to apps like YouTube. This feature was introduced in iOS 12 to record the amount of time users spend looking at their devices. It also lets parents better control what their offspring are doing on an iOS device.

Well, at least it does in theory…

Apple’s VP of retail says ‘many’ Apple Stores will reopen in May

By

apple.store.regent.street.london.1
Only a few more weeks to wait.
Photo: Richard Shrum for Cult of Mac

In a video update to Apple employees, Deidre O’Brien, VP of retail and people, says that “many more” Apple Stores will start reopening next month.

In comments shared by Bloomberg, O’Brien said that: “We are continuing to analyze this health situation in every location, and I do expect we will reopen up many more stores in May.” She didn’t state exactly which stores Apple would be reopening.

iPhone SE uses software trick to give photos beautiful bokeh

By

The iPhone SE bokeh effect is do we entirely with software.
The iPhone SE can take a 2D image and make it into a Portrait Mode picture with the bokeh effect.
Photo: Apple

The 2020 iPhone SE is the first Apple smartphone to offer Portrait Mode photos created entirely with software techniques rather than hardware. That’s not true of any previous iOS device, not even the one you think it is.

Lux Optics, maker of Halide, examined how Apple’s new budget phone adds the bokeh effect to 2D pictures.

Verizon, Comcast and T-Mobile won’t cut off nonpaying customers before June 30

By

Comcast, Verizon and T-Mobile will cut you some slack during the COVID-19 crisis.
Your Mac and iPhone will continue to get service from Comcast, Verizon or T-Mobile if you’re laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: Pexels CC

Verizon or T-Mobile won’t disconnect your iPhone if you can’t pay your bill because COVID-19 cost you your job. And Comcast won’t cut your Mac off from the internet either.

The companies committed on Monday to not terminate service or charge late fees through June 30.

Aqara HomeKit-enabled smart wall switches more likely to work in your home

By

Aqara HomeKit-enabled smart switches work in older homes.
The new Aqara smart switches with HomeKit don’t require a neutral wire. That’s critical for many homes.
Photo: Aqara

There are quite a few wall switches that support Apple’s HomeKit home-automation system, but Aqara on Tuesday unveiled two that should catch the eye of anyone with an older home. Unlike virtually all competitors, these don’t require a neutral wire, something that exists primarily in newer buildings.

These switches make any ceiling fixture smart. They can be controlled via an iPhone or Siri commands from anywhere.

Haptic Touch goes missing on new iPhone SE notifications

By

haptic.touch_.image_.jpg
Haptic Touch notifications aren't working - sort of - on the new iPhone SE.
Photo: Brad Gibson / Cult of Mac

Since receiving their new 2020 iPhone SE mobile phones on Friday, customers have been reporting the inability to press on notifications in the Notification Center and to select various shortcuts and commands, better known as Haptic Touch. From all indications, it appears the specific inability is deliberate on the new device.

If your MacBook Pro overheats, you might be charging it from the wrong side

By

It takes years of professional training to place MacBook stickers this badly.
Even the new-ish 16-inch MacBook Pro runs hot.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Does your brand new MacBook Pro go into meltdown when it’s plugged into power? Do the fans spin up into a blast of white noise, while the heat makes your hands sweat as you type? Is your kernel\_task pegged using 100% of the CPU when you check things out in the Activity Monitor app?

If so, don’t worry — it’s not your Mac’s fault. It’s you. You’re charging it wrong.

Yes, if you plug your USB-C power cable into the left-hand side of your MacBook Pro, you might make it overheat.

Using the Space bar for Push to Talk makes Zoom calls bearable

By

filthy spacebar zoom push to talk mute
Would you touch this Space bar?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Zoom is the world’s favorite app during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its flagrant privacy abuses, and a history of startlingly bad security holes, people are using the videoconferencing service for remote teaching, conference calls and virtual get-togethers.

If you — or your boss or a stubborn family member — insist on using this software rather than one of the safer Zoom alternatives, this Mac tip will save you a lot of trouble. Using the Push to Talk feature will make your Zoom life a lot easier.

HBO Max to launch May 27 on Apple devices; current App Store customers to get free upgrade

By

hbo.max.logo
As expected, HBO Max will launch May 27 with support for Apple devices.
Photo: WarnerMedia

HBO Max will be available on all Apple devices when it launches on May 27 and will be fully integrated with the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV, WarnerMedia announced Monday.

Apple and WarnerMedia also announced that that existing HBO Now customers, billed through the App Store, and HBO subscribers who subscribe through ‌Apple TV‌ channels, will be upgraded to HBO Max at no additional charge.

UK rejects Apple/Google COVID-19 contact-tracing system

By

nhs.x.contact.tracing.app.logo
The UK's National Health Service won’t use Apple/Google tech to warn users if they've recently been in contact with someone infected with coronavirus.
Photo: NHS

The U.K. reportedly decided to go with a coronavirus contact-tracing application different from the system Apple and Google are creating jointly. The National Health Service built an app that creates a central database of people who have tested positive for COVID-19. The Apple and Google solution uses a decentralized system for privacy reasons.