This week we make music with Koala Sampler and snap long-exposure photos with Halide’s new app, Spectre Camera. Plus, we keep it together with Keep It Mobile, and way more.
These are the best apps of the week!
If you thought we were past the age of spam calls, sorry, but no. From intrusive advertising to scam calls, some estimate that billions of scam calls afflict us per month.
Luckily, in the arms race against robocalls, machine learning joins the fight — on your side!
The Apple Smart Keyboard Folio for the 2018 iPad Pro is slim, lightweight and very useful. It’s also ugly as a mud fence. Slickwraps makes an array of “skins” designed to improve the appearance with bright colors, simulated wood grain or other options.
We tested this device cover to see whether it really enhances this iPad Pro add-on. Read on to find out how it did.
If your fitness-freak friend challenges you to an Apple Watch Activity Competition, don’t recoil in horror. Accept the invitation — and crush the contest with these insights and tips.
Get the lowdown in the latest free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iOS. Or hit the links below to get the latest news, reviews and how-tos from our website.
It’s been a red banner week for deals at the Cult of Mac Store. So we rounded up four of the very best, from refurbished iPhones to affordable AirPods alternatives. We’ve also got a replacement for your Mac’s Dock and more.
Most of these deals are discounted by more than half, so get ’em before they disappear!
Apple CEO Tim Cook is very upbeat about where his company is going. He told investors today that upcoming Apple products will “blow you away.”
Cook also indicated that Apple’s magic pipeline isn’t just brining more of the same. Cupertino is branching out.
A judge sentenced a former high school teacher to 34 months in prison Friday after the man pleaded guilty to his role in the “Celebgate” hack of iCloud and other accounts.
Of those convicted for the high-profile hack, Christopher Brannan, 31, received the harshest sentence for breaching accounts. The attack led to the circulation of nude photos and videos of model Kate Upton, actress Jennifer Lawrence and others.
Apple may or may not be ready to euthanize 3D Touch. My view is that it sticks around, neglected and unloved, forever more. Like Dashboard on macOS. (Yes, Dashboard still exists.)
That would be a shame, as 3D Touch really is an excellent augmentation to a touchscreen device. It’s also quite tweakable. Here’s how to adjust how it works, and — if you really hate it — how to turn 3-D Touch off altogether.
A handful of Apple shareholders argued today that the company’s board of directors needs more conservative voices.
CEO Tim Cook responded that Apple has policies, not political beliefs. And a vote on the conservative proposal found very little support.
Apple is walking back yesterday’s warning to podcast producers that putting episode numbers in titles risked the podcast getting kicked out of Apple’s service.
It’s likely complaints from users brought about the change in this policy.
Apple appears to be doubling-down on software over hardware when it comes to hiring new employees right now.
For the first time in years, Apple now has more software job opening than hardware. According to a new report that analyzed Apple’s job listings, Software Engineers became the most in-demand employees at Apple starting in Q3 and the trend is still holding strong.
Apple is expanding its “There’s More to iPhone” marketing campaign to more countries in Europe after launching it last year in Germany.
New pages have been created on Apple’s websites for France and the United Kingdom detailing how the iPhone is “more than the device in your hand.” Security, recycling and privacy are some of the topics covered by little blurbs that tout the iPhone’s superiority. There are also three new videos to go along with it.
You can’t watch these on Apple’s U.S. YouTube channel though:
As much as I love my smartphone, there’s no doubt that they raise some problematic questions. From concerns about social media’s impact on mental health to the very real chance of being so glued to our devices that we miss what’s happening around us, the abundance of connected gadgets has caused plenty of problems.
Can you put down your iPhone, iPad, and other devices for 24 hours? This weekend’s National Day of Unplugging challenges you to do just that. From sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, it’s intended as a 24-hour global respite from technology. Can you bring yourself to take part?
Reduced iPhone demand in China has hit Foxconn employees’ salaries and benefits, according to a new report.
A number of workers say that their salaries were reduced at the end of last year, due to a smaller number of working hours available. There has also not been the usual Foxconn recruitment drive, which was previously an expected part of the iPhone manufacturing process.
These days, video is in vogue. From vlogs to music videos to product reviews and on and on, social video makes for content people love. But not everyone has time to master industry standard platforms, let alone the money to buy them. So intuitive, affordable alternatives go a long way.
Creative Pros across the web are salivating after a recent rumors claimed Apple is preparing to launch a 16-inch MacBook Pro. Details about the machine are scarce, but it could be the most amazing new Apple releases in 2019. It could also be a disaster.
CultCast host Erfon Elijah is out with a hilarious and informative new video that takes Apple to task for precious missteps on the MacBook Pro line. He also warns Apple that there are 8 things MacBook Pro-lovers are especially anxious about.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro could be a disappointment if it messes up these features:
The GPS function on a stolen Apple Watch helped retrieve the device for its rightful owner, says a report from The Sacramento Bee.
After arriving back home to find her house had been burgled, the 25-year-old rightful owner contacted the police. They tracked the Apple Watch down to a local Walmart, where two suspects were arrested. It turns out that it’s never a good look to deny a crime while carrying a stolen watch in back pocket!
With foldable smartphones becoming the hot new trend for 2019, iPhone fans are wondering when we’ll see something from Apple. It’s likely to be a while before a foldable iPhone hits the market, but there’s no question Apple is looking into it.
The company’s latest patent application details how it might prevent a foldable smartphone from breaking in cold weather.
What’s old is new again! According to a new report, U.S. music buyers now spend more money on vinyl and CDs than they do on iTunes downloads.
That’s a big fall for Apple’s 99 cents-per-track music service, which was on top of the world just a few years ago.
Apple’s AirPods 2 are coming March 29 — at least, if a slightly sketchy new report is to be believed.
The report comes from Spanish Apple rumor site Applesfera. It claims that it has received data from “several different” sources saying that Apple’s new AirPods will land on shelves at the end of this month.
It seems like Apple’s Reminders app was made by a surly teenager who would rather have been watching YouTube videos than coding that afternoon. It offers the bare minimum of everything.
Our hypothetical teen developer clearly never actually needed to be reminded of anything, because entering something as obvious as a task with a due date takes four taps at various spots on the screen just to get to the date picker. And remember that this is a reminders app, the purpose of which is to remind you of things. Imagine a text editor where you had to press each letter key several times to type that letter.
Fortunately, you can pick from a zillion other iOS reminders apps, and all of them use the same central Reminders lists you already probably utilize. Today we’ll see how to set a reminder way, way quicker than with Apple’s built-in abomination. Today we’ll check out how to use Memento.
In a campaign called “Fix it Already!,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is urging tech giants to remedy nine security and privacy problems in their products.
In Apple’s case, it wants the iPhone maker to encrypt iCloud backups so that only users can access them.
The 12-inch MacBook remains Apple’s smallest and most portable notebook, and it’s a great machine — especially when you get it at a big discount. Woot is currently offering refurbished 2017 models for just $829.99. It’s just one of the awesome offers in today’s Deals & Steals roundup.
You will also find refurbished Apple Watch Series 2 units for under $150, a delicious discount on the amazing Instant Pot, and more than half off Powerbeats3 wireless headphones. Plus, Amazon has knocked $17 off the Apple Magic Keyboard with numeric keypad again.
The Cult of Mac Watch Store loves the Apple Watch, yes, but what we really desire is power. While we might never get the power to do whatever we want, there is plenty of power that we can acquire for a reasonable cost. Yes, we’re talking about chargers and electricity here, not dominion over all things.
The store recently added some slick ways to keep your devices full of juice from our friends at Just Mobile. See those below, and be sure to check out all our other power options.
Only in the United States do men try to carry all their essential out-of-home possessions in their pockets. Wallet, keys, phone, spare battery, AirPods, Leatherman. So wedded are men to this principal that they ridicule small bags by calling them “murses.” Either that, or they use things like cellphone holsters or fanny packs, which are pretty much social death.
In Europe (but not in the U.K.), men just carry small bags. And they call them “bags,” or whatever the local name is. Whatever, it’s definitely not el murse. Now, men in the U.S. can catch up to the the rest of the world with WaterField Designs’ Sutter Sling Pouch, a gentleman’s handbag that’s just big enough for you to empty your pockets into.