Apple wants everyone to learn to code in Swift. Photo: Apple
Apple will soon lose the veteran coder who helped make Swift one of the fastest-growing computer languages in the world.
Chris Lattner, who has worked as Apple’s director of developer tools for the past few years, revealed today that he is leaving the company to join Tesla.
Get refurb deals on Apple gear or the amazing Duet Display at half price. Photos: Apple, Duet
If you’re experiencing a post-holiday spending hangover, don’t fret! There are still plenty of Apple deals available for anybody on a budget. Score factory-refurbished Apple Watches and a popular productivity app at the best price we’ve seen. You’ll find those deals and more in this week’s best Apple deals.
We got a glimpse of Pokémon GO for the Apple Watch during the iPhone 7 event. Photo: Apple
Pokémon GO is finally ready for Apple Watch. The iOS game, one of 2016’s biggest breakout hits, got an update today that includes the long-awaited Apple Watch app.
According to the game’s maker, Pokémon GO is a perfect match for Apple’s wearable.
It’s been a banner year for iOS apps. From smart photo-editing tools to music-generating apps, Apple and third-party developers alike brought some serious heat to the App Store. We’ve combed through our home screens to pick out the best iOS apps of 2016.
This app may inspire you to grab an old camera and shoot a roll of film. Photo: Filmborn screenshot/Mastin Labs
What is the best way to convince a global community of mostly digital photographers that they should pick up an old camera and shoot film? Put film on the iPhone.
That is exactly what Seattle-based Mastin Labs has done with its new film emulation app for iOS, Filmborn.
Pic Scanner Gold and an iPhone will preserve treasured family photos. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
For longer than I have allowed myself to believe, the iPhone has been called a scanner that fits in your pocket. But if I wanted a high-quality copy of an old photograph, I still sought out a flatbed scanner, presuming the results would be superior to taking a picture of a picture with a phone.
But the iPhone camera, as maybe you are tired of hearing, improves with each generation and the so-called scanner apps prove more valuable as a way to copy a photograph for sharing and even printing. One such app is the new Pic Scanner Gold.
These guys rock — and design great apps. Bassist Joe Cieplinski, left, and lead guitar and vocalist, Dave Wiskus, of the band Airplane Mode. Photo: Airplane Mode
The indie rock band Airplane Mode does indeed get its name from the feature on an iPhone that shuts off wireless transmission.
The name and the resumes of three of the band’s musicians — well-established iOS designers — have led more than a few people to assume they have found a source of cute parody music about Apple culture.
In fact, you won’t find any iPhones, iMacs or odes to Steve Jobs in the lyrics of the tight, hard-charging synth-driven music. However, the band’s roots in Apple culture permeate everything else, from its use of technology and understanding of social engagement to its start-up energy.
And there is one other way: Airplane Mode is making money.
Reddit finally got around to supporting the iPad. Photo: Reddit
Seven months after its debut, the official Reddit app has finally been optimized for iPad. The new interface lets you enjoy the most popular posts and the latest memes in all their high-resolution glory on the tablet’s larger screen.
Paid apps are an endangered species: Only one of the 200 top-grossing apps on the App Store is a paid download. Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
I work on an iPhone app called Reps & Sets as a hobby project in my spare time. This week, my partner and I came to the conclusion that there is no future for our app as a paid download, so we have reluctantly decided to make it free.
This was an incredibly tough call, because we have invested literally thousands of hours in developing our app over the years. Giving all that hard work away for free is heartbreaking. But we didn’t feel we had much choice.
Snag great deals on tiny Apple tablets, a third-party Apple Watch band and an essential iOS app. Photos: Apple, Cambond, Duet
We’ve got iPad minis for every budget (as long as your budget falls between $220 and $325). You’ll find those, plus a super-affordable third-party Apple Watch band, in this week’s roundup of the best Apple deals.
Dreampad is a pillow that joins forces with your iPhones to help you sleep. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
A good night’s sleep could start with a good pillow. But the part of our bed designed to rest our head doesn’t do anything to shut it off.
But what if it could?
The Dreampad along with an iPhone app promises to do just that. The firm and fluffy pillow uses a patented technology that delivers relaxing music through the pillow that can be heard only by you and not the sleeper next to you.
Apple's bold vision of future tech inches closer to reality. Photo: Apple
This week on The CultCast: Revamped iPads coming this spring; Apple lays the groundwork for the next era of personal technology; how smart homes get hacked; Google’s Pixel phone versus iPhone 7; and we reveal our favorite new iOS and Mac apps!
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to build a website that looks beautiful on any device that visits at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off.
Embrace "new to me" and you'll save big with refurbished and open-box Apple gear. Photos: Apple, Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Discounts on not-new laptops and tablets continue to shine this week, with Apple itself offering its legendary factory-refurbished MacBook Pros, and eBay offering an open-box 10-inch iPad Pro. You’ll find these deals and more in this week’s roundup of best Apple deals.
Carry an extra iPhone or carry a SIMpro to manage that extra phone line. Photo: SIMpro
Too bad Hillary Clinton is busy or she could serve as a celebrity endorser for a Kickstarter campaign sure to interest people whose important lives depend on carrying two smartphones.
SIMpro is a credit-card-sized device that serves as a dual-SIM adapter with data connection that can manage two active phone numbers. SIMpro works with an iOS app and even works with Bluetooth to turn an iPod or iPad into smartphones.
Get in shape with your new Apple Watch. Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
If you’ve just bought a shiny new Apple Watch Series 2, hoping it will help you get in shape, then here’s some advice: Invest a little time setting it up so your wearable is tailored to your personal fitness level and goals.
These quick and easy setup tips will help you get the most out of your Apple Watch fitness routine.
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the new Cult of Mac Fitness Handbook. It’s coming soon, loaded with iPhone and Apple Watch fitness tips — and it will be exclusively free for Cult of Mac readers.
There's more to a great running watch than GPS, but it's a good place to start. Photo: Apple
With the addition of GPS, you might imagine Apple Watch is now a credible runner’s watch. Not so fast.
It may have made a big splash with swimmers, but to appeal to runners, there are more issues that Apple needs to address. Like a screen that stays on while you are running, and controls that still work when you get really sweaty.
Dr.Fone gets under the hood of iOS to make iPhone data recovery simple. Image: Wondershare
This post is brought to you by Wondershare, maker of Dr.Fone.
Say you’ve deleted your messages before backing up your iPhone. Usually the best iTunes can offer is a shrug. With a convoluted and opaque system of options, it makes a task that should be a simple matter — finding the stuff you need and getting (or returning) it to your device — overly confusing and frustrating. Worse yet, iTunes can often lead to results you’re not looking for.
Nike has turned its running app into a dodgy mashup of Instagram and Snapchat Photo: Graham Bower / Cult of Mac
All hell broke loose last week when Nike relaunched its much loved Nike+ Running app with a new offering called “Nike+ Run Club.” Plagued with bugs, sluggish performance and missing features, this update has infuriated some of Nike’s most loyal users, including me. Nike+ Running used to have an impressive 4.5 star rating on the App Store. Since the update, this has plummeted to just 1.5 stars. And Nike’s Facebook and Twitter accounts are now flooded with gripes.
So what happened? How could a single update turn one of the best iPhone running apps into one of the worst?
Putting a price tag on in-house app development can be tricky. Photo: MacPaw
Our new App Business section is brought to you by MacPaw, maker of proven Mac apps.
If you’re developing a Mac app, you’re faced with a major either/or decision: whether to distribute inside or outside of the Mac App Store (MAS). Sticking to the MAS means you’ve got access to tools for licensing, hosting, crash reporting and other necessary tasks. However, Apple’s tools may not be what’s best for your app.
If you want a MacBook Air, now's the time to get a deal. Photos: Apple, IdeasOnCanvas GmbH
With the announcement of a new iPhone (and who knows what else) barely two weeks away, Apple deals are a little scarce this week, but we still found some good ones. Get apps at the best prices we’ve ever seen, $25 off a brand new MacBook Air and more.
Project Planning Pro is a great tool for keeping your projects on track. Photo: i2e Consulting
This post is brought to you by i2e Consulting.
Keeping any project on track is like cooking a meal, requiring close attention to all the ingredients as well as the sequence and timing of critical tasks. In the kitchen you use a cookbook; in the digital workplace, you face a dizzying array of platforms and software for keeping all the goals, team members, deadlines and contingencies in order.
Project Planning Pro streamlines all that, and right now Cult of Mac is offering a special 30 percent discount on the Mac version of the easy-to-use software.
A 10-mile run or a tasty bun — track your calories in and out. Table: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
Calorie-tracking apps like MyFitnessPal and MyNetDiary are no fun to use. Logging all your meals is a tedious chore, and unlike fitness apps that praise you for your hard work, diet apps tend to just tell you off for eating too much.
But when you are trying to lose or gain weight, these apps provide indispensable insights into where your calories are coming from and how you can optimize your diet to get the best results. So I’ve compared the leading calorie trackers to find out which one you should count on.
What was the first app you downloaded on your iPhone? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
July 14, 2008: Apple crows that its newly opened App Store hit a massive 10 million downloads in its first 72 hours.
“The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days,” Steve Jobs said in a statement issued eight years ago today. “Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly.”
Actor Edward Kerr brings stardom - or just fun - to the small screen with his iOS app ROLR. Photo: ROLR
A star of silver and television screens wants to help others become stars of the small screen – their iPhone screens that is – with an iOS app that lets users act out their favorite movie scenes.
Actor Edward Kerr on Tuesday rolled out ROLR, a new video collaboration app he created to help people connect around the world through a universal love of films. An in-app teleprompter feeds you your lines from scenes from a selection of classic films, you record your part and then invite members of ROLR community to be your co-stars.