This week we read the news (later) with Fiery Feeds, squeeze out music with Korvpressor 2, add photos to our contacts with Vignette, and way more.
For months, reports have indicated that this fall’s iPhone models will have three camera lenses in a single large hump, a design that’s drawn criticism. An artist created a concept design of what the device would look like without the hump.
Check it out:
With the extra day off this holiday weekend, why not take the opportunity to sharpen your skills and tidy your home? In part two of our Memorial Day Weekend, we’ve got Corel creative apps, Photoshop lessons, and a robot vacuum assistant. Everything is discounted by more than half, some as much as 97%. Read on for more details:
Apple just brought Intel’s latest eighth- and ninth-generation chips to the MacBook Pro, making it the company’s fastest-ever laptop.
The newest 8-core models deliver up to twice the performance of a quad-core MacBook Pro, and up to 40 percent more than a 6-core model. They also promise powerful graphics, a T2 Security Chip, super-fast SSDs and “all-day” battery life.
Find out what’s going on in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iOS.
Or read on to get the rest of the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos in your browser.
This Memorial Day, hopefully you’ll be taking an extra day to relax, reflect and recharge. Something else you can do is take advantage of some great deals on gear, tools, and training. We’ve got discounts as high as 96% on things like VPNs, Excel training, and more. Read on for more details:
Apple taught Elvin Hu new languages.
Born in China, Hu refined his English by watching Apple keynote events. He also came to understand the visual language of Apple’s product photography.
The latter inspired Hu, a design student at The Cooper Union in New York City, to create a series of product shots showing broken and well-worn Apple gadgets in hands that share similar gouges and scratches.
Apple unexpectedly introduced iOS 12.3.1 this afternoon. It comes just a few weeks after the last update, and apparently only takes care of three bugs, two of which relate to spam in Messages.
There’s a glimmer of hope that Apple will once again make a truly budget handset. Information leaking out of this company’s supply chain indicates that there could be an iPhone SE 2 introduced in 2020.
WWDC 2019 and the grand unveiling of iOS 13 is just over a week away and based on the rumors, it could be one of the biggest iPhone and iPad upgrades ever.
Designer Alvaro Pabesio published a beautiful new concept that showcases what some of the most popular requested features could look like. Dark Mode, an updated Files, a redesigned volume indicator, iMessage profiles and more are on full display, plus some tweaks that Alvaro dreamed up himself.
Take a look:
While Apple seems to be phasing out fingerprint scanners in favor of facial recognition, sources in the Asian iPhone supply chain reportedly claim that Touch ID will actually be back next year, and better than ever.
The 2020 iPhone will also supposedly be the first with 5G as well as a 3D rear-facing sensor.
Apple just dropped a new MacBook Pro with faster Intel processors that deliver even greater performance. But more importantly, it features “new material” that Apple hopes will fix its keyboard woes.
The machine now been pulled apart by iFixit so that we can see exactly what’s changed under the hood. Don’t expect anything too dramatic or you’ll be sorely disappointed.
As battle lines are drawn between China and the U.S. in its burgeoning trade war, China has one big advantage working in its favor. The country is a primary source of “rare earths” used by manufacturers around the world — including Apple.
This category of 17 elements is used in multiple iPhone components. These include cameras, speakers, taptic engines, and receiver components. It’s yet another way Apple could be hurt by a trade war.
Apple has kicked a popular iOS game out of the App Store after a Chinese company stole its name.
Clicker Heroes, which first made its debut on iPhone and iPad back in 2015, is a highly-rated idle RPG from Playsaurus. It’s usually free to download, but it’s no longer available on iOS.
There’s currently no word on if or when it will return, but it doesn’t look good.
The benefits of using a VPN to connect to the internet almost always outweigh the costs. It also helps if the VPN is rated highly on the App Store (4.6 out of 5 stars from over 27,000 reviews). But if price is what’s holding you back, this deal is for you.
This week on The CultCast: Apple releases the MacBook Pro we never thought possible, packed with Intel’s newest 8-core chip! But can a machine this slim handle the heat? Plus: WWDC 2019 is officially on! We talk our keynote predictions. And even more good news, Apple announces two new warranty repair programs to fix MacBook’s most troubling issues… for FREE.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. 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..
Worse Than Death, the new game created by horror title Home creator Benjamin Rivers, has a release date in the App Store.
The pixel art action-adventure game, which combines puzzle solving and exploration with plenty of scares will debut on June 26. Check out the trailer below.
The future of Samsung’s first foldable phone looks uncertain again after Best Buy canceled all existing preorders.
The retailer says it wants to put customers first and “ensure they are taken care of in the best possible manner.” It doesn’t want people hanging on for a phone that still has no release date.
A new image posted online shows that Apple is gearing up to open its second Apple Store in Taiwan. The photo shows that Apple has erected its customary white construction barriers around the new store, complete with Apple branding.
The new retail outlet is located at the bottom of the Xinyi A13 shopping mall in Taipei’s commercial hub District. From the look of things, the store has a roof design reminiscent of its Chicago flagship store.
Apple’s got no shortage of celebrity friends — and a few of them just shared their summer playlists to Apple Music.
Apple’s “Summertime Sounds” curated playlist collection contains the tracks hand-picked (well, presumably) by names including Chris Hemsworth, Lizzo, Shawn Mendes, J Balvin, and more. Want to know what Thor is bumping as he heads on the latest Avengers press tour? This might be your best hope of answering that question.
Apple Pay users can now enjoy $1 tacos at Taco Bell.
Apple’s latest promotion, which applies to any regular crunchy or soft-seasoned beef taco, runs through May 29. You’ll need the Taco Bell app on your iPhone to take advantage of it.
Gameloft has confirmed it is working on a brand new role-playing game for mobile that’s set in the Lego universe.
Lego Legacy: Heroes Unboxed will make its debut this fall. It’s the first Lego game in the RPG genre, and it promises to be a lot of fun for fans of the Lego franchise and RPG games.
Check out the first teaser trailer right here.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could take that awesome (and hilarious!) GIF, and use it as an animated wallpaper for your iPhone? You could wake your iPhone, press on the screen, and watch the action unfold. Over and over. And over.
Sadly, GIF wallpapers are impossible. Or are they? Well, you can’t set an actual GIF to run as your lock-screen wallpaper, but you can convert any GIF into a Live Photo, and use that to animate your iPhone’s lock screen.
Here’s how.
All who’ve upgraded their phone or tablet to iOS 12.3 can no longer backtrack to the previous version. This is because Apple has stopped signing iOS 12.2.
It’s not a reflection on that older version, but a standard action for the company to take. It always ends the installation of obsolescent versions shortly after a new one is introduced.
The Apple Smart Keyboard Folio turns an iPad Pro into an ultralight laptop, but it’s so slim it doesn’t do much to shield the tablet inside. We tested a sleeve from Dodocase that goes around Apple’s keyboard to protect both it and the iPad. It also improves the look of the keyboard case.
Be sure to read our hands-on review of the handy Keyboard Folio Sleeve.
Now that Netflix is the 800-lb gorilla of content providers everywhere, accessing and streaming their vast library has improved from its modest beginnings. Yet even despite the enhancements to their service, it can still be a pain to have to open a browser and enter your password to get to your queue.