2016 sent Apple for a wild ride full of fantastic new products, crazy controversies and tons of extra drama with its rivals.
Tim Cook and his colleagues probably can’t wait to jump into 2017. But before we start looking toward Apple’s future, let’s take a quick look back at all the stories that made 2016 a year Apple fans will never forget.
We’ve heard for years that the internet of things™ would imbue everything in our lives with the power of the web, all accessible by voice. If you’ve been waiting for something that isn’t a computer or smartphone or smart home hub to ask for driving directions or movie times, here’s your dream device at last: It’s a lamp that gets its smarts from Alexa.
The wait for Apple’s new wireless AirPods is nearly over.
Apple revealed the earbuds alongside the iPhone 7, promising an October delivery date, but anxious customers have not been able to buy a set. But Apple CEO Tim Cook supposedly says they’re being finalized right now.
Apple will reportedly slash its 30 percent App Store fee in half for video services that support its upcoming TV app, according to a new report. The incentive should persuade more providers to support the app, which is set to be released next month.
Hackers have discovered a new method to unlock photos and messages on any iPhone, thanks to an iOS security flaw that utilizes Siri and VoiceOver.
iPhones running iOS 8 software and newer are vulnerable to the flaw, which was discovered by EverythingApplePro and iDeviceHelp. The group revealed the hack in a new video that shows you don’t need any coding experience or special hardware to pull it off. All you need is a few minutes alone with a victims iPhone and some help from Siri.
PayPal is making it super-easy to send friends money, thanks to new Siri support introduced in the company’s iOS app today.
Now you can use voice commands to tell Siri how much money to send, and who to send it to. All you have to do is set up the PayPal app to give Siri access. Here’s how to do it:
The fate of Apple’s proposed data center in Ireland is finally on the fast-track.
After facing an 18-month delay due to an appeal from two Irish residents, Ireland’s High Court agreed to Apple’s request to speed up the legal process. Now instead of waiting until 2018, the court has to resolve the case within six months.
Apple is using a “secret office” in Cambridge, in the U.K., to make Siri smarter, claims a new report.
Located approximately five minutes walk from the city’s train station, the fewer-than-30-person office shows no outward sign of being an Apple office. It includes a number of employees from VocalIQ, a Cambridge University spinoff, which was acquired by Apple in 2015 for as much as $100 million.
Turning your dumb old house into a Jetsons-style smart home of the future just got a little bit easier, with Elgato’s introduction of a super-cheap motion sensor.
The HomeKit-connected device, called Eve Motion, lets users pair it with other smart appliances and gadgets to automate workflows. You can then use Eve Motion to trigger a series of tasks, like turning on the lights when it detects that you walk into a room.
Apple debuted the all-new MacBook Pro and its gorgeous Touch Bar at an event this morning, but if weren’t able to catch the action at work, you can now watch all the videos online.
The full video for the “Hello Again” keynote can be streamed from Apple’s website. Apple also uploaded five new videos to YouTube featuring the history of the MacBook Pro, the new Touch Bar and Accessibility features.
Watch them all below:
With the improvements Apple made in iOS 10, Siri is more useful than ever. It is proving particularly helpful to lonely guys desperately looking for love, with hundreds of people turning to virtual assistants for “sexually explicit” conversations every day.
Apple’s wireless future has been delayed.
The iPhone-maker revealed today that it is still not ready to start shipping AirPods, even though customers were told they would launch by the end of October.
Apple plans to unveil a new way to discover what to watch on TV at its event tomorrow.
The new recommendation service will come in the form of an app, according to a new report that claims it will also help networks by giving them a place to promote new show.
Apple is set to report its Q4 2016 earnings today, only instead of it being a time for celebration, the company is expected to announce its first annual revenue decline in 15 years.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri warned Wall Street that this quarter wouldn’t smash any records, but with the iPhone 7 doing better than expected, could relief be on the way?
Investors and analysts will grill Apple about how well the company expects to perform next quarter during today’s earnings call. And Cult of Mac will be right here, liveblogging the whole shebang when it starts at 2 p.m. Pacific.
Come join the fun — it’s livestreaming on Apple’s investor site.
Much like Google offers personalized searching, macOS Sierra delivers location-based tips as part of its suggestions within Spotlight, Siri, Safari and Maps. That means Apple will try to recommend relevant services within your immediate vicinity.
If you don’t want this feature, however, there is a way to get rid of it. Check out our guide below to show how to do this — and how to turn it back on again if you change your mind.
The public release of macOS Sierra 10.12.1 has finally arrived for Macs everywhere, bringing a bunch of bug fixes and tweaks.
Apple Watch owners will definitely want to grab the new update ASAP because it makes unlocking your Mac with your watch a lot more reliable. There are also some new additions for iPhone 7 Plus owners.
Watching television is still a dreadful experience, according to Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior VP of internet software and services.
The Apple exec sat down for a joint interview with HBO CEO Richard Plepler at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco today. The two media titans discussed the rapidly changing landscape of television, but Cue told the audience that more changes are needed to make the experience better.
Siri is about to get a lot smarter thank to Carnegie Mellon researcher Russ Salakhutdinov, who announced today that he is joining Apple to lead the company’s artificial intelligence efforts.
This week on The CultCast: Learn Instagram tips, tricks and techniques to take beautiful iPhone photos and build a massive following. Plus: The crazy exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 saga ends with a strange twist; rumors point to Macs with radically new e-ink keyboards; and an honest look at Siri versus the AI competition.
This episode is supported by CultCloth, the best way to keep your iPhone 7, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean. Check them out at CultCloth.co and for a limited time save 20 percent with code JetBlack.
The ability to activate Siri by saying “Hey Siri” is an incredibly useful feature on iOS. Want to do it on macOS Sierra? Too bad you can’t.
Or, rather, you can’t through the usual Siri system preferences. However, if you’re really intent on being able to start up Siri without hitting a single key or mouse click, it’s possible to do it using Sierra’s Accessibility options. Here’s how.
Siri may have celebrated five years since its iPhone 4s debut this week, but Apple didn’t rush to acquire Viv, the follow-up AI assistant created by Siri’s makers.
Instead, Samsung snapped up Viv for an undisclosed amount.
After decades of showing us the best ways to interact with computers, Apple is lagging on the UI of the future — voice controls powered by smart, conversational AI.
Google, on the other hand, is placing artificial intelligence, in the form of Google Assistant, at the center of its new Pixel smartphones and Google Home smart speaker.
Cupertino’s mastery of the user interface is legendary: Macs, iPods and iPhones made the GUI, the mouse, the scroll wheel and multitouch mainstream. But Apple needs to get into the AI conversation if it’s serious about securing a place in our gabby future.
Apple has taken big strides to make Siri even greater in recent years, like bringing it to Apple TV and macOS, and opening it up to third-party developers. In that time, Apple’s virtual assistant has also gotten more accurate and more reliable.
But some might say third-party alternatives — particularly those from Google — are still a step ahead, with greater features and more flexibility. So, is Apple doing enough to make Siri just as stellar as Google Now and the new Google Assistant?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we go head-to-head over virtual assistants.
iPhone 7 users can finally enjoy uninterrupted audio through the Lightning port, now that Apple has released an iOS 10 update full of bug fixes.
iOS 10.0.2 was made available to all iPhone and iPad owners today, fixing issues with audio, photos and app extensions.
Apple plans to take on the Amazon Echo with a standalone Siri device, according to a new report.
The project is said to have begun two years ago, but has only now entered the prototype testing phase. Much like the Amazon Echo, this device would be able to look up information and control smart home appliances using voice recognition — but possibly include facial recognition tech, too.