Mobile menu toggle

Apple TV+’s gaming comedy has already been renewed for second season

By

Apple TV+’s gaming comedy has already been renewed for second season
The comedy about making a video game sequel is getting a sequel.
Photo: Apple

Talk about confidence! Apple has renewed its upcoming Apple TV+ gaming comedy series Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet for a second series. That’s despite the fact that the first season is not set to debut until February 2020.

The gamer comedy series, from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia stars Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, follows a team of video game developers trying to create a sequel to an ultra-popular title. Think The Office meets Silicon Valley, only with a shedload more gaming.

Get the gist of popular books in just 15 minutes [Deals]

By

Booknotes
This digital library for busy people offers summaries of over 1,000 best-selling books in just 15 minutes each.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Books a key part of human culture, and an essential way of staying informed. Unfortunately, many of us have limited time for reading, so getting through a book is an accomplishment that can take weeks or longer. Luckily, you can get a lot out of a book without reading the whole thing, and that’s what BookNotes offers.

Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison

By

Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
Kerem Albayrak sent Apple messages demanding a ransom.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

A hacker who tried to extort Apple into paying him $75,000 in Bitcoin or a thousand $100 iTunes gift cards has been spared prison.

22-year-old IT analyst Kerem Albayrak, from London, claimed that he could leak passwords or carry out factory resets for devices attached to 382 million iCloud accounts. He was 19 at the time that he committed his crimes under the name “Turkish Crime Family.”

Apple removes ToTok messaging app which spied on its users

By

Maker of banned ‘spy’ messaging app plea for App Store reinstatement
Maker of banned ‘spy’ messaging app plea for App Store reinstatement
Photo: ToTok

Apple has given the boot to a messaging app called ToTok. This app was reportedly an United Arab Emirates spy tool used for tracking users’ conversations and movement.

ToTok has been very successful in the UAE. The country limits access to other popular messaging apps including WhatsApp and Skype. The UAE also bans FaceTime from Apple devices sold in the region.

PureVPN offers good VPN for Mac at an 89% Christmas discount

By

Get a great deal on a VPN for your Mac with PureVPN.
Get a great deal on a VPN for your Mac.
Image: PureVPN

This VPN post is presented by PureVPN.

There are many good reasons to use a virtual private network (VPN). Now you can add one more to the list. PureVPN just announced its biggest deal of the year — an 89% discounted Christmas sale price on its five-year plan (now $69). That’s a good VPN for Mac at a great price.

URCDKeys offers Windows 10 Pro OEM key for $12.48

By

This is your chance to score Microsoft software at a great price.
This is your chance to score Microsoft software at a great price.
Photo: bruce mars/Pexels CC

This Windows upgrade post is presented by URCDKeys.

‘Tis the season to seriously upgrade your old Windows OS. In a Christmas sale, URCDKeys offers a genuine Windows 10 Pro OEM key for just $12.48. That’s a substantial savings over what you’d have to pay Microsoft for a key. Once you enter Cult of Mac’s special discount code at purchase and get the key, you’ll be free to install Windows 10 Pro on any PC.

10 things you didn’t know about iPhone [Cult of Mac Magazine 328]

By

iPhone trivia: Bet you didn't know all 10 of these iPhone facts.
Bet you didn't know all 10 of these iPhone facts.

Even if you’re a die-hard Apple fan, there’s still plenty you most likely don’t know about the company’s most popular product. Get ready to wow all of your Apple-loving in-laws over the holidays with 10 things you (probably) don’t know about the iPhone.

Beyond the iPhone trivia, we’ve got a bumper crop of Apple tips and how-tos in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Things like how to find AirPods Pro in time for Christmas, how to add music to your Mac in a post-iTunes world and more. Download your free issue now to enjoy it on your iPad, or read the stories in any browser below.

Pick the perfect Bluetooth keyboard for your phone or tablet [Deals]

By

Wireless Keyboard Roundup
No matter what kind of Bluetooth keyboard you want, we've got it!
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Being attached to our computers doesn’t have to mean literally being attached. Whether for phones or tablets, a portable wireless keyboard offers tons of extra flexibility and accuracy.

That’s exactly what you’ll find in these four great deals on our favorite Bluetooth keyboards. Each is already significantly discounted, but using the promo code MERRYSAVE15 at checkout takes an extra 15% off.

New book shows how to take control of iOS Shortcuts

By

Apple Shortcuts
A new Take Control book explains Apple Shortcuts step-by-step.
Photo: Apple

Apple Shortcuts are an easy and powerful tool to automate actions on iOS devices. A new ‘how-to’ from the people at Take Control Books walks users through setting up and building customized shortcuts with step-by-step ‘recipes’.

Lego waxes poetic with new Apple Arcade puzzler

By

Lego Builder’s Journey
Lego Builder’s Journey isn’t what you’d usually expect from a Lego game.
Photo: Apple/Lego

Lego’s latest Apple Arcade entry builds an atmospheric puzzler brick by brick. Lego Builder’s Journey is “a story about play, connections and adventure.”

It’s available only to those who subscribe to Apple’s gaming service.

How to sync your iPhone with your Mac in Catalina

By

iTunes-as-Swiss-Army-knife-pun.
iTunes-as-Swiss-Army-knife-pun.
Photo: Goran Ivos/Unsplash

In macOS Catalina, iTunes has been replaced by separate apps, but none of those new apps takes on the tasks of syncing your music, books, photos and other data to your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. That responsibility now falls upon the Finder.

So, does this means you can plug in your iPad and drag and drop all your apps’ files between it and your Mac? Of course not. In fact, apart from this functionality now being in the Finder, not much has changed at all.

This app extracts all the data your locked iPhone can’t tie down

By

iOS-Forensic-Toolkit
iPhone encryption can't keep everything tied down.
Photo: Elcomsoft

Elcomsoft claims its iOS Forensic Toolkit can now extract certain pieces of data from an iOS device before it has been unlocked.

Almost all of the data stored on an iPhone or iPad is securely encrypted after a reboot or restart — until a passcode has been entered. But the little bit that isn’t, which includes keychain records, can now be obtained.

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the iPhone

By

10-facts-iPhone
Get ready for some iPhone trivia!
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Even if you’re a die-hard Apple fan, there’s still plenty you most likely don’t know about the company’s most popular product. And, whether you want to wow your Apple-loving in-laws over the holidays or just feel the need to fill your brain with some iPhone facts, we’ve got you covered.

Here are 10 things you (probably) don’t know about the iPhone.

AirPods could be a $15 billion business in 2020

By

Apple reportedly adding another supplier for its ultra-popular AirPods Pro
AirPods have been an enormous hit for Apple.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone might still be Apple’s biggest product by a wide margin, but the AirPods have a good claim to being Cupertino’s MVP of the year.

Accord to Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, Apple sold $6 billion worth of AirPods in 2019. And it could sell more than double that number in 2020.

Apple exploring satellite network to beam data directly to iPhones

By

satellite
The iPhone maker seems serious to create a satellite network to beam data directly to devices like the iPhone and Apple Watch.
Photo: ESA

Apple is building a larger research group to investigate ways to transmit data directly to iPhones and other devices, Bloomberg reported Friday.

According to the report, Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly made the project a company priority.

Apple offers up to $1.5 million to anyone who spots a software flaw

By

Apple offers up to $1.5 million to anyone who spots a software flaw
White hat hackers assemble!
Photo: United Artists

Spotted a vulnerability in Apple software, but not among Cupertino’s chosen developers tasked with seeking out bugs? No problem. As of today, Apple’s $1.5 million bug bounty program is available everyone who wants to participate. Previously, it was only open to a select few.

The bug bounty means people can earn up to 7-figures for finding weaknesses in Apple software. These could otherwise be exploited by nefarious hackers.

Digitimes: 2020 iPhones could get special sensor-shift camera stabilization

By

sensor-shift stabilization
Next year's iPhone cameras could get a nifty new feature.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Some 2020 iPhones will feature special sensor-shift stabilization technology for their cameras, according to Digitimes.

This technology, used in many high-end cameras, would further reduce camera shake on the next-gen iPhone. It differs from the optical image stabilization currently used in iPhones.

It’s the hottest gifts, tech and stuff of 2019, this week on The CultCast

By

CultCast 419
It's time to reveal all our favorite stuff of the year!
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: From the hottest gift of 2019, to our favorite tech and travel locations, catch our picks for Best of the Year!

This episode supported by Squarespace

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.

It’s season finale time for The Morning Show and For All Mankind

By

It’s season finale time for The Morning Show and For All Mankind
Two of Apple TV+'s top shows are finishing up for the year.
Photo: Apple

It’s the last Friday before the holidays, and appropriately enough, two of Apple’s most popular Apple TV+ Originals are wrapping up. On Friday, Apple debuted the season finale for both The Morning Show and For All Mankind.

There are new episodes of both Servant and Truth Be Told as well. That’s plenty to keep you entertained between frantic bits of last-minute shopping!

Mario Kart Tour‘s eagerly anticipated multiplayer beta goes live

By

Mario Kart Tour's anticipated multiplayer beta goes live
The wait is over.
Photo: Nintendo

If you’ve beaten the computer a thousand times on Mario Kart Tour (which, let’s face it, is pretty tough not to do), you can finally pit your Mario and Luigi-steering abilities against other flesh-and-blood players.

That’s because Nintendo has launched the eagerly anticipated multiplayer online beta for Mario Kart Tour. You’ll need to sign up to the Gold Pass to play it, though.