Shipping times for AirPods have finally fallen below one month. In most countries, the wait has been reduced to just two to three weeks when ordering from the Apple online store, which is the lowest it has been since the earphones made their debut last December.
Apple HomePod manufacturer Inventec Appliances warns that the device will be in limited supply when it launches this December.
Analysts expect the company to ship just 500,000 units by the end of 2017. However, supplies are anticipated to improve in 2018, when Foxconn will help with manufacturing duties.
Jony Ive has revealed that the company’s iconic white earbuds were inspired by Star Wars stormtroopers.
In a new interview, in which he also talks at length about Apple Park, the Apple design chief describes how he had the dark side in mind while creating them for the iPod.
Apple is giving away free Beats headphones for its latest Back to School promotion.
Students and teachers who purchase a qualifying Mac at reduced education pricing will get a set of Beats Solo3 wireless headphones at no extra cost, while those who purchase a new iPad Pro will be treated to BeatsX.
Updated: May 11, 2017
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are Apple’s first iPhones to drop the headphone jack. And while you can keep using your old headphones by plugging them into the adapter that comes in the box, that gets old as soon as you discover you left the little dongle at home connected to a speaker, and you can’t listen to any music.
You’ve got two options. One, stick with a cable and buy some Lightning headphones. That’s fine, but then you can only use them with recent-vintage iOS devices, and you can’t charge your device while you use them. Or two, go wireless. That means Bluetooth, either the vanilla kind, or Apple’s augmented Bluetooth headphones, with the special W1 chip added to make pairing easier.
If you’ve been waiting (and waiting) to get your hands on a pair of AirPods, now’s your chance. Apple’s wireless headphones currently appear to be in stock at Verizon Wireless with fast, free shipping.
Grab ’em while they last!
This week on The CultCast: Apple’s secret Siri speaker is just around the corner — we’ll tell you everything (we think) we know about it. Plus: Why AirPods are the best product Apple’s made in years; and why Microsoft’s MacBook clone is actually great for Apple fans.
Finally, we’ll deconstruct and decode Tim Cook’s mysterious and quickly deleted accidental tweet, and you’ll be shocked at the truth!
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.
Apple Watch gets a lot of stick for being a “me-too” product, and people who don’t see the need for a smartwatch assume the business is a bust. There’s this crazy perception that Apple Watch is just not selling — but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Apple Watch, alongside other Apple wearables, is now raking in billions of dollars every year. The business is huge. So huge, in fact, that it would be a Fortune 500 company all by itself, outselling supposed smash hits like Microsoft’s Surface tablets and the Amazon Echo.
Here’s why Apple Watch isn’t the flop you think it is.
Apple’s Q2 earnings report for 2017 just barely beat Wall Street’s expectations when the numbers were revealed this afternoon, but there are plenty of reasons to still be optimistic about AAPL.
During the company’s call with investors today, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri discussed some of the struggles the company experienced last quarter, from slumping iPhone sales to economic headwinds in China.
Here are the biggest takeaways:
Apple is set to reveal its second quarterly earnings report of 2017 this afternoon. And according to analysts, the numbers won’t be nearly as impressive as last quarter’s record-shattering results.
Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri will run through all the numbers with investors today at 2 p.m. Pacific. As usual, Cult of Mac will be liveblogging the action with all the analysis and snark we can muster.
Come join the fun:
Apple just posted its earnings for Q2 2017 and while the numbers aren’t as monstrous as last quarter’s, there’s a lot to love in the new report.
With revenues hitting $52.9 billion, Apple returned to growth for the second straight quarter with $11 billion in profit. iPhone sales were down year-over-year, but Apple CEO Tim Cook says demand for the iPhone 7 Plus is still high.
AirPods are the most beloved product Apple has launched in years, based on a new survey that found an astonishing percentage of AirPod owners are extremely satisfied.
Apple’s mission to kill the use of headphone jacks on the iPhone may be completed by 2018, according to a new report from Barclays.
In a note to investors today, the research bank says the three new iPhone models Apple introduces this year will all come with a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter, but this could be the last time buyers get a free dongle.
I’ve racked up dozens of hours wearing Beats X wireless earphones over the past month, and I still think they blow away the competition — even Apple’s AirPods.
For Cult of Mac’s latest video review, I’ve put together a definitive list of my thoughts on the innovative earpods.
The first big iPhone and iPad update of 2017 has finally arrived.
Apple finally released iOS 10.3 to the public today after months of beta testing the new software. iOS 10.3 can be downloaded now as an over-the-air update, or installed via iTunes. iPhone and iPad owners can expect a rash of new features that not only make iPhone and iPad easier to use, but also more secure.
Here’s everything that’s new:
Just three days after seeding the last betas of iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4, Apple is back with yet another new build.
Signaling that a public release is just around the corner, the new updates come with a number of bug fixes and under the hood improvements to go with new features that were added in previous versions.
First it was hoverboards. Then it was smartphones.
Now there’s a new exploding gadget you need to watch out for: headphones.
Registered Apple developers received some new beta software from Apple today with the release of macOS 10.12.4 beta 5.
The new beta comes one week after Apple released macOS 10.12.4 beta 5, bringing a number of new bug fixes and performance improvements to the Mac.
Apple has rolled out four new ads for its wireless AirPods, each one using the same motif of sheet music with the individual AirPods representing notes.
The ads were shared on Apple’s U.K. YouTube channel, and boast music from British artists Lianne La Havas, Craig David, and The 1975.
Check them out below.
Developers and members of Apple’s public beta software program can now install the latest beta of macOS 10.12.4 after Apple seeded the new update to testers this morning.
The new beta comes just one day after Apple gave developers a new fresh of software update for iOS 10.3, tvOS 10.2 and watchOS 3.2, bringing a bunch of bug fixes and under the hood improvements.
Developers received a fresh new batch of updates from Apple today: the third beta builds for iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2 and tvOS 10.2.
The new beta builds come two weeks after Apple’s last betas got made available to developers, bringing a host of bug fixes, performance improvements and even some new features and UI changes for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV.
I’ve never been a fan of Beats headphones. Whenever I’ve given them a go, I’ve found the sound quality to be less than stellar, with far too much bass. So when Apple unveiled Beats X wireless headphones alongside the AirPods last fall, the weird-looking white ones grabbed my attention.
Now that I’ve had a chance to try them both, it’s clear I got that backward. I give you all the details on Beats X versus AirPods in my Beats X review below.
Apple’s new BeatsX earphones are finally available for customers to buy, both in brick-and-mortar Apple stores and online.
The $149.95 earphones are available in four colors — black, white, gray and blue — although you’ll have to wait 7 to 10 business days to receive the latter two colors.
After leaving us hanging for five months, Apple’s new BeatsX headphones will finally go on sale this Friday, according to a new report.
The $150 wireless headphones will be available in white and black, as well as previously unannounced gray and blue options — although these will ship further down the line.
Apple’s new BeatsX earphones have begun popping up in some retail stores ahead of their official launch.
Although shoppers are unable to order or reserve the earphones for in-store pickup, this indicates they are close to finally making their debut.
