Explore the inside of the new 16-inch MacBook with a teardown by iFixit. Photo: iFixit
Disassembling the new 16-inch MacBook Pro finds plenty to like. There’s a keyboard that’s almost certainly more reliable, a revamped thermal system and a bigger battery.
On the other side of the coin, repair company iFixit did a teardown and gives this laptop a low, low rating for repairability.
Here’s Pure Acid with a fetching gold makeover. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Pure Acid is a bass synthesizer and drum machine app for the iPad, and it might just be the best drum machine app ever. It is, for me, the first app that actually feels like you’re using physical drum machine hardware instead of just another touchscreen app. Part of this is down to the one-screen interface, where everything is (mostly) always in the same spot — just like real buttons. And part is due to the app design genius of Pure Acid’s creator, Dmitrij Pavlov (aka Jim Pavloff).
Tim Cook meeting with China's vice premier. Photo: Tim Cook
One of tech’s biggest opponents in Washington D.C. proposed a new bill this week that could have huge implications on Apple and TikTok’s business operations if put into law.
GOP senator Josh Hawley from Missouri introduced legislation today that would prevent the Chinese company that owns TikTok from collecting information on American users and sharing it with the Communist Party of China. The bill would also stop American companies like Apple from storing user data in China.
It’s not better, but it offers a different perspective. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
You’ve always been able to crop photos on your iPhone and iPad. It’s easy to “zoom” into your images, cutting out cruft and distraction at the edges of the frame to focus on what’s important. But now, in iOS 13 and iPadOS, you can do more than crop and chop. Now you also can skew images — aka correct perspective errors — all inside the Photos app’s edit mode.
You can do all kinds of things with this new Photos tool. If you snapped a picture of a painting in the gallery, and didn’t hold your iPhone parallel to the wall, you can fix that. Or you can get more radical, perhaps by “fixing” an image of a skyscraper to stop it from disappearing to a point in the distance. The good news is that these perspective tools are fun and easy to use. Let’s check them out.
It's time to update your iPhone again. Photo: Cult of Mac
Apple is continuing its push to patch the numerous bugs that still plague iOS 13 with a new software update for iPhones and iPads.
iOS 13.2.3 was released this morning as a free update that promises to fix a number of issues with the system search on iOS while also resolving issues with the Mail app and problems with iMessage.
ColorWare can make a set of AirPods Pro uniquely yours. Photo: ColorWare
Apple sells AirPods Pro in any color you want, as long as it’s white. But ColorWare brings some style to these in-ear headphones. The company offers 64 color options, and shoppers can decorate each AirPod differently.
Apple and Salesforce announced partnership last year. Photo: Apple
Tim Cook will join Salesforce founder Marc Benioff for a fireside chat at the Dreamforce 2019 conference in San Francisco. The event will take place at 1:30 p.m. PST at the Yerba Buena Theater.
Salesforce also today announced the launch of its two latest apps for iOS. The redesigned Salesforce Mobile App and new Trailhead Go learning app represent the first products coming from a strategic partnership between Apple and Salesforce, which began in 2018.
Mario Kart Tour’s next update will help racers get into the holiday spirit with “a flurry of fun.”
Its upcoming winter tour will bring the snow-covered DK Pass track from Mario Kart DS, plus a number of festive unlockables. You’ll be able to enjoy it starting tomorrow, November 19.
Get ready to annoy those around you. Photo: Pablo Rochat
Everyone loves the AirPods. They’re one of Apple’s most popular accessories, and those who don’t own them lust after them. Which is exactly why cold-hearted Twitter prankster Pablo Rochat created life-size AirPod stickers to place around his neighborhood.
Because the only thing better than an AirPod is watching random strangers try and pick up an AirPod that’s not there.
The paid features will let you, “appoint one lucky animal as your camp caretaker and get some extra help around the campsite” and “receive fortune cookies and store your furniture and clothing items in warehouses.”
iPhone sales struggled in China last year. Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo
iPhone sales seem to be rebounding in China. According to a new report, based on government data, Apple shipped 10 million iPhones in China during September and October. That’s an increase of 6% from one year earlier.
It indicates that the iPhone 11 series is seemingly selling better the its predecessors, the iPhone XR and iPhone XS. Those were the handsets that caused Tim Cook to cut Apple forecasts due to weaker than expected sales in China.
This highly rated smart home camera can be your extra layer of protection. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Home security cam shoppers are always looking for that middle ground between a feature-laden device and the sticker shock that usually comes with such units.
The Blurams Dome Pro 1080p Security Camera hits that sweet spot. It packs loads of high-quality, super-cool extras into a versatile, modestly priced package that should fit most user’s security needs.
A massive improvement over the original. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Consumer Reports has issued its verdict on Apple’s AirPods Pro — and it’s a positive one. The nonprofit consumer-testing publication praised the AirPods Pro as sounding “really good.” It also lavished praise on the sound-cancelling tech and the earbuds’ transparency mode.
However, it still thinks you could do better with Samsung’s Galaxy Buds.
But Cortana isn't dead yet. Photo: Microsoft/Cult of Mac
Microsoft has confirmed plans to kill off Cortana — but only on mobile in only eight countries.
A new support article confirms that the Cortana app will disappear on January 31. You will still see it in Windows 10, and Microsoft says it will be more deeply integrated into Office 365.
Mac Pro is being made in the US of A. Photo: Apple
The White House has confirmed that President Donald Trump will visit Apple’s Mac Pro factory in Austin, Texas, this Wednesday.
While the Mac Pro is only a bit player in Apple’s overall revenue and profit strategy, its “made in Texas” status reflects Apple’s desire to invest in the United States. Since Trump took office, Apple has expanded its “job footprint” to 2.4 million people in the United States.
Radio and research. Horror and HomeKit. Photo: Cult of Mac
This week we get healthy with Apple’s Research app, build ridiculously-powerful shortcuts with Toolbox Pro, listen to internet radio with Triode, and scare ourselves silly with Layers of Fear. Shiver.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro isn’t quite as svelte as it could be. And that’s good news. Photo: Apple
The new 16-inch MacBook Pro is a sign of a fundamental shift at Apple: It includes a keyboard that makes this laptop slightly less stylish but more useful. It’s hard to believe this would have happened in the days when chief designer Jony Ive’s habit of putting form ahead of function still reigned supreme over all Apple’s products.
As Ive slowly exits the company, we’re already seeing products less willing to make compromises in functionality in order to get super-sleek looks.
Open a gate or unlock your bike at just the press of a finger with Tapplock One+. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The combination lock you used in school is a dinosaur now. It’s been replaced with much smarter versions like Tapplock One+. This has a fingerprint scanner, and a Bluetooth connection to your iPhone. It’s a padlock with no key to lose or combination to memorize.
Learn the foundations of graphic design with these seven courses. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Just because you’ve got a well tuned aesthetic sense or strong visual eye doesn’t mean you can jump into the graphic design field. To get working in the design game, you need a firm command of the core principles and key tools used by industry professionals.
16-inch MacBook Pro sports better fans and a bigger heatsink, allowing it to run faster. Photo: Apple
The just-released 16-inch MacBook Pro handles heat better, giving it faster performance than the 15-inch models introduced earlier this year, even though both laptops use exactly the same processor.
Sayonara Wild Hearts is fast-paced fun, with a great beat. Photo: Apple
Speed and techno-pop blend in Sayonara Wild Hearts, one of the best titles on Apple Arcade. Ride a motorcycle, fly or battle opponents to the beat of the music.
Read on to see why everyone with a subscription to Apple’s gaming service should be playing this new offering.
We've been waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
Apple unleashed the 16-inch MacBook Pro this week, delivering a powerful beast of a machine that answers many of our prayers. That butterfly keyboard? Gone, replaced with a Magic Keyboard. And those thermal throttling problems? Supposedly fixed forever.
Sure, we found a couple of not-so-happy surprises. But all in all, we feel just a little bit giddy. Find out all the reasons why in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. You can download it free from the iOS App Store. As always, it’s jammed full of Apple news, reviews and how-tos.
This kit includes wall chargers, portable battery, and a reinforced Lightning cable so you'll never have to worry about losing juice. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Staying charged on the go takes a lot of effort, and a lot of gear. From backup batteries to adapters to cables that won’t break after just a few uses, that can all add up. Luckily, this kit includes everything you’ll need to reliably juice up your phone or tablet, so you can travel without worrying about your next charge.
An iPad with a Brydge keyboard is a pretty good replacement for a Mac! Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
A year ago, when Apple introduced the latest iPad Pro models, I called the tablet the computer for everywhere. To this day, I still think the 2018 iPad Pro, complete with Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio, is an incredible setup for tons of situations. At the same time, it’s anything but cheap, starting at $1,107 for an 11-inch model with keyboard and Pencil.
Then there’s the Mac laptop lineup. Apple’s current cheapest offering is the MacBook Air, also starting at $1,100. Fortunately, you don’t have to drop over a grand to get an incredibly versatile, powerful, and portable budget laptop made by Apple.