Mobile menu toggle

Rare Steve Jobs signed plaque goes up for auction

By

Plaque Steve Jobs
Would you want this hanging on your wall?
Photo: RR Auction

A 10-year Apple employment plaque signed by Steve Jobs is up for auction. The 6 x 12-inch framed plaque was given to Apple employee Suzanne Lindbergh in 2000. It is signed in black felt tip by Apple’s former CEO and co-founder, whose autograph is considered one of the most sought-after from collectors.

Online bidding is currently at $4,189. The item is expected to sell for upward of $15,000 when biding closes on April 10.

Judge rules that Apple does, in fact, own iPad name

By

iPad
Wait a second, that doesn't look like Apple branding!
Photo: ipadtoday

Apple has emerged triumphant in a seven-year legal battle with the company RXD Media over who owns the name “iPad.”

RXD had claimed that it owned the rights to the name based on its ipad.mobi platform, which launched two years before Apple debuted the iPad. The resolution to the case, which backs up a 2018 trademark hearing, finally brings an end to the saga.

Samsung will give you $200 for any old iPhone

By

iPhone SE
It’s time to dig out your old iPhone.
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

Samsung will give you a minimum of $200 for any old iPhone — no matter what condition it’s in.

As long as your device turns on, has been restored, and is not blacklisted, you’ll qualify for the offer. But there is a catch: Your credit can only be spent on a new Samsung phone.

Apple secures new supplier for Apple Watch Series 5 screens

By

new Apple customers
Apple Watch could be better than ever next year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Japan Display will supply OLED screens for the upcoming Apple Watch Series 5, according to a new report.

This will be the Japan Display’s first foray into OLED screens. The deal is said to be a “breakthrough” for the company, which has been suffering as a result of Apple’s move from LCD to OLED displays for the iPhone.

ACLU says Apple employee was illegally harassed by U.S. Customs

By

Silk Labs
Andreas Gal is the founder of AI startup Silk Labs, acquired by Apple.
Photo: Silk Labs

An Apple employee was allegedly illegally harassed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) while passing through Customs. Andreas Gal, founder of Silk Labs, an AI startup acquired by Apple, says he was asked for the passwords to his Apple-issued phone and computer.

When he asked to speak with a lawyer, due to the contents being covered by a nondisclosure agreement, CBP officials reportedly refused. Instead, Gal was threatened with prosecution.

Apple Watch ECG already helped save a life in Germany

By

Apple Watch ECG debuted in Germany last week.
Apple Watch ECG debuted in Germany last week.
Photo: Apple

The electrocardiogram (ECG) feature of the Apple Watch was only turned on last week in Europe there’s already a report of it discovering a serious heart condition in a German man.

This is exactly what it’s intended to do: find heart problems for which there are no obvious symptoms.

Pizza boxes are the new innovative frontier in funny Apple ad

By

Apple ad
See what Apple can do for you..
Photo: Apple

Apple’s entire line of products are on full display in the company’s brilliant new ad that also features a patented Apple pizza box.

The new video, which clocks in at just over three minutes long, shows a team of low-level corporate workers using Macs, iPads, iPhones and Apple Watch to execute a moonshot idea that could get them the promotions they’ve been dreaming off. Apple’s software shines just as bright as the hardware while the team races to finish their project ahead of schedule.

Watch the team pull off the impossible!

How to get Apple News outside the U.S.

By

Who doesn’t want to read all the most important news of the day?
Who doesn’t want to read all the most important news of the day?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

This post could more correctly be titled “How to get Apple News outside Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.” Those are still the only places that Apple News is available, almost four years after the service’s launch in September 2015.

Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to get the app even if you don’t live in one of those countries. Here’s how.

iPhone app helps fight foul smells in cities

By

Smell MyCity
Don't just hold your nose. The Smell MyCity app could help clear the air.
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Smartphone apps are powerful tools — especially one that eliminates foul smells in your city.

OK, the Smell MyCity app is not that powerful. But it does give users a reliable way to report offensive stank. And in some cases, their complaints go directly to air-quality authorities.

Gorgeous iPhone XI concept kills the notch… sort of

By

This is what the iPhone XI might look like if it had a “hole-punch” instead of a notch.
This is what the iPhone XI might look like if it had a “hole-punch” instead of a notch.
Photo: ConceptsiPhone

The notch at the top of the iPhone display has become a familiar part of recent models, but one designer considered another option. He created an iPhone XI mockup with a small hole in the screen instead.

Watch the video he created to demonstrate the idea now:

Now your old MagSafe chargers can power any USB-C device

By

Put your old MacBook charger to good use with AnyWatt MS power adapter.
Put your old MacBook charger to good use with an AnyWatt MS power adapter.
Photo: Elecjet

This post is presented by Elecjet.

What did you do with the MagSafe power adapter for your old MacBook?

When the peripherals for our devices become obsolete, we face a grim choice. Throw them into the trash, and contribute to the massive problem of e-waste, or toss them into the drawer, graveyard for forgotten accessories.

OWC can double or quadruple the RAM in 27-inch iMac 5K

By

Apple iMac 2019
You can now take the 2019 iMac 5K to 128GB of RAM.
Photo: Apple

OWC just introduced a kit to upgrade the new 27-inch iMac 5K to 128GB of RAM. That’s up to four times the maximum available from Apple, depending on the configuration of the computer.

But these upgrades don’t come cheap. And they are only for this version of the iMac, not the iMac Pro.

How to use Keynote to make interactive diagrams

By

Key. Notes. Pretty funny right? Right?
Key. Notes. Pretty funny right? Right?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Sometimes, when I want to wire up a few guitar pedals and connect them to my iPad, maybe via a mixer or audio interface, I make a diagram before I plug everything in. But the trouble with drawing a wiring diagram on the iPad is just the same as drawing it on paper: If you want to move a component, or change the routing, you have to erase the wires and redraw them.

There are apps made for this. Omnigraffle is one, and it’s great. But it also costs $60, which is too much just for a few diagrams.

Then I thought, what about using Keynote, Apple’s free presentations app? Doesn’t it do diagrams? It does, and it’s quite good.

Fortnite update brings brand new Boom Bow

By

Fortnite Boom Bow
Have a blast with Fortnite's new Boom Bow.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite’s newest content update is out, adding the brand new Boom Bow to Battle Royale.

The weapon fires arrows with shotgun shell tips that explode on impact. A direct hit deals more than 100 damage to your opponent.

Why Apple was right to scrap AirPower [Opinion]

By

AirPower
Apple hasn't given up on wireless charging pads.
Photo: Apple

Let me be among the first to thank Apple for killing the wireless charging pad known as AirPower.

While tech commentators try to rank this failure against other doomed Apple products, I feel grateful that Cupertino pulled the plug. AirPower, an ambitious attempt to use multiple coils to charge an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods, was a public health hazard.

Apple pledges to do more to stand up for equal pay

By

European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
Apple has signed California's new Equal Pay Pledge.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has committed to carrying out an in-depth review of its gender pay divide, as part of California’s new Equal Pay Pledge.

It joins 12 other companies in California in doing so — including Airbnb, AT&T, Autodesk, Salesforce and Square. The initiative is led by California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Apple has previously suggested that it has solved the gender pay gap within its own company.

iPad mini 5 teardown uncovers big improvements on the inside

By

iPad mini 5 teardown
This is what's inside the new iPad mini.
Photo: iFixit

The fifth-generation iPad mini has started making its way into the hands of early adopters. One unlucky unit ended up with iFixit, which has already torn it apart to show us what’s inside.

Unsurprisingly, it’s not a whole lot different to its predecessor. But there are plenty of new chips and components under the hood.

Foxconn gears up to make flagship iPhones in India

By

iPhone XS Max vs. iPhone XS size: Sometimes bigger really is better.
Designed in California, built in India.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Foxconn is reportedly “within weeks” of starting trial production of the iPhone XS in India, Bloomberg reports.

Manufacturing will take place at a Foxconn factory in the southern city of Chennai. Rival manufacturer Wistron already makes the iPhone 6s, iPhone SE and — now — the iPhone 7 at its own facility in Bangalore.

Swatch triumphs over Apple in court battle over ‘Tick different’

By

Swatch Tick different
Swatch's slogan sounded weirdly familiar.
Photo: Swatch

A Swiss court has ruled in favor of Swatch in a trademark battle with Apple over Swatch’s use of the slogan “Tick different.”

While “Think different” is a phrase synonymous with Apple, Swatch’s lawyers argued that it was not sufficiently well known in Switzerland to warrant being legally protected. The country’s Federal Administrative Court agreed with them.

You’ll have to wait until 2020 before iPhones go all-in on OLED

By

The iPhone XS Max screen delivers more of that OLED awesomeness.
Currently, two out of three of Apple's new iPhones are OLED.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple likely will keep an iPhone with an LCD screen hanging around for one more year.

According to a new report, this year’s iPhone refresh will keep the same approximate model breakdown as last year’s iPhone XR, iPhone XS and XS Max. That means 5.8- and 6.5-inch OLED iPhones, with a cheaper 6.1-inch LCD handset in the middle.

Apple’s 2018 earnings dwarfed by Saudi oil giant

By

Tim Cook earnings apple
Apple wasn't close to the world's most profitable company last year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2018 was the year in which Apple became the first public company in history to reach a valuation of $1 trillion. Many articles and listicles have listed Apple as the world’s most profitable company at various points in its existence.

But is it? Based on the last year, the answer is no. Not even close. In 2018, Apple’s $59.53 billion in net income was dwarfed by the $111 billion made by state-run Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco.