Upgrade to the latest iPhone whenever you want. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
We’re less than one month away from the iPhone 6s being announced, and carriers are tripping over themselves and each other trying to offer the best terms for customer upgrades.
The latest carrier to throw its name in the ring is Sprint, which has just launched its new iPhone Forever plan, which lets users upgrade to the latest iPhone any time they want — without having to pay an upfront fee or experience a hike in rates.
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s plus are coming on September 18th, according to German carriers. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Following the lead of other carriers, Verizon Wireless is killing subsidized phones and will streamline its data plans. New subscribers will no longer have the option to get a new iPhone subsidized when signing up for a two-year contract.
With the iPhone 6s launch likely two months away, this might sound like bad news for Apple, a company that has gotten fat off carrier-subsidized iPhones over the last eight years. But the death of subsidized iPhones could be a really good thing for Apple.
iOS 9 beta 5 has some of the most exciting goodies yet including a new wallpaper set. Photo: Apple
The brand-new beta of iOS 9 brings an entirely new set of wallpapers, some welcome improvements to Apple Music and more new treasures. These are some of the most exciting changes yet to Apple’s upcoming mobile operating system (the previous beta brought back Home Sharing and delivered lots of tiny design tweaks).
Let’s run through all the changes in iOS 9 beta 5, which was made available to developers today.
Trading your iPhone in now could save you $130. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The iPhone 6s is still a couple of months away from going on sale, but if you’re hoping to offset the cost of buying a new iPhone by selling your old handset, now’s the time to do it.
That’s because resale values drop by around 10 percent in September and October, according to gadget trade-in site NextWorth, which analyzed thousands of eBay sales. If you wait until November or December, meanwhile, be prepared to lose around 30 percent of current resale value.
The carrier that’s built up quite an army of discontent from its customers over the years probably didn’t win over anyone with its latest announcement. AT&T is raising its upgrade fees for postpaid customers and tacking on a weird, unnecessary activation fee for new AT&T Next customers.
Apple Pay swings for the fences at this year's All-Star game. Photo: Wells Fargo
After invading sport stadiums across the country, Apple Pay is preparing to make an appearance at the biggest baseball game of the season: the 2015 MLB All-Star Game.
The Pride Flag at Apple HQ Photo: Rachel Goldeen/Twitter
This week has been one of the most miraculous weeks we’ve seen in recent history. We’ve seen a 25 year-old country girl bend the will of a bunch of rich ass middle-aged white men in Silicon Valley. 150 after their defeat, in the Civil War, Confederacy loyalist are lowering the stars and bars. And you can finally marry anyone you want in any state you want in America, regardless if a bunch of religious people aren’t cool with it.
Celebrations have been ringing out across the country in light of the Supreme Court’s decision that same-sex marriage is right. Silicon Valley execs tweeted their approval of the decision this morning, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who had the Pride Flag raised at Apple HQ in celebration.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.
The country is talking about the Supreme Court’s historic ruling that gives all citizens the right to marry the person they love, regardless of sexual orientation, and the tech community is stoked. Everyone from Apple CEO Tim Cook to T-Mobile to Uber are coming out in favor of the ruling and love.
Take a look at the celebration party everyone’s having on Twitter:
The next iPhone is getting some big upgrades. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Looking to buy a new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus from Apple on AT&T but don’t want to sign up for the carrier’s Next plan? Too damn bad.
Just days after AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega promised subsidized phones are going away, the company has completely removed subsidized options for the iPhone from the Apple Store as well.
From smartphones to the Internet of Things, Google wants to be woven into the fabric of our lives.
The company detailed some of its latest hardware and software projects — some truly innovative, some strictly playing catch-up — during the annual Google I/O developer conference Thursday.
From the iterative improvements coming in Android M to the blue-sky thinking of Project Brillo, everything plays into Mountain View’s master plan, which Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president in charge of Android, Chrome and apps described as “putting technology and computer science to work on important problems that users face” — and doing it “at scale for everyone in the world.”
Google’s goals are similar to Apple’s: Both companies are trying to integrate their products (and possibly their worldviews) into every facet of our lives to make tech personal and useful. In many ways, Google’s approach is far more ambitious.
Here are the six things you need to know from the Google I/O 2015 keynote.