Apple will snub Samsung and call upon TSMC to exclusively produce all of its next-generation A10 processors for 2016’s iOS devices, according to a new report. It’s thought Apple considers TSMC’s chips to be superior to Samsung’s in performance and efficiency.
Apple has released a new ad for iPhone 6s, focusing on its incredible new 3D Touch technology.
The 30-second video highlights the Peek and Pop gestures, and demonstrates the many ways in which that can be useful during everyday use.
Apple’s new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus may be packing its best iSight camera yet, but it’s not good enough to topple the latest Android devices.
In DxOMark’s expert camera tests, Apple’s latest smartphones achieve a score of 82, which is five points less than the current mobile leader, Sony’s Xperia Z5.
iOS 9 is still a wide open frontier for anybody looking to develop the next hit app. If you want in on the action, you’re going to have to learn to use iOS 9’s various powerful coding tools and languages, which is why this course is ideal. By building 20 separate apps, you’ll learn the ins and outs of developing for iPhone, all for just $19 at Cult of Mac Deals.
iPhone 6s manufacturer Foxconn has posted revenues of $318.4 million for the month of September, largely as a result of Apple’s next-gen handset.
The monster earnings for the month were not only the best month of Foxconn’s year so far, but represented a 30 percent rise from the previous month and an increase of 17.8 percent year-on-year.
And Apple’s main manufacturer is expecting October to be even better!
This week: we celebrate CultCast 200! And just in time for the party—it’s the iPhone 6s scandal we all knew would someday come… #CHIPGATE. We’ll tell why the internet is nerd-raging over this newest iPhone scandal, and why it might just be diminishing your iPhone 6s’ battery life. Plus: the new Jobs movie is generating Oscar buzz. Seriously! And since he’s seen it—twice—Alex E Heath is here to give us his review. And stay tuned till the end for our favorite memories of CultCast’s past. It’s CultCast 200!
Our thanks to Harry’s for supporting this episode. Harry’s super-sharp, German-made razors ship free right to your door and for way less than the drugstore razors. And be sure to use code CultCast at checkout save $5 off your first order.
The iPhone 6s and 6s went on sale in an additional 36 markets today, bringing the total number of countries where Apple’s latest handset is available to well over 40.
Check out the list of second-wave countries (and a few snaps of celebrating Apple fans) below.
People who have been waiting to pick up their iPhone 6s or 6s Plus without a SIM card can start planning out their weekend — because Apple has just started offering unlocked, carrier-free, SIM-free versions of its next-gen iPhones direct from the Apple Store.
If you’re confused about the so-called ‘Chipgate’ controversy swirling around the Internet today, we’re here to help.
It just wouldn’t be an iPhone launch without something going awry, and the latest outcry concerns the relative performances of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus’ A9 processors, especially their effects on the phones’ battery lives. And if that all sounds a bit technical and boring, it is. But it’s not too hard to understand.
The app that Chipgate made famous is returning to the App Store after a brief hiatus.
Developer Lirum Labs has told Cult of Mac that its diagnostic tool, that can tell people which A9 processor their iPhone 6s contains, is back by popular demand.
Heading to social media to vent about Chipgate, some iPhone 6s owners are upset to discover that not all A9 chips are created equal.
Worse, some feel duped by Apple, which used two vendors to supply different versions of the chips in “identical” phones. Others worry about reports of inferior battery life — and some are thinking seriously about returning their new iPhones. Still others are playing the latest Apple controversy for laughs.
The Chipgate controversy upsetting iPhone 6s owners over the past 48 hours is completely overblown, Apple said this afternoon, claiming battery life on iPhone 6s units varies only slightly.
iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus owners have discovered that devices with a TSMC A9 chip get considerably better battery performance than ones sporting an A9 made by Samsung, based on GeekBench 3 scores and some real-world testing. However, Apple says that “manufactured lab tests” that continuously run a heavy workload don’t represent the iPhone 6s’ true capabilities.
Here’s Apple’s full statement on Chipgate:
iPhone 6s units with a TSMC A9 processor score two hours’ better battery life over those with Samsung chips in GeekBench test scores, but real-world gains of the “good” chip might be much less significant.
Several YouTubers have put the iPhone 6s TSMC and Samsung A9 chips to the test in real-world scenarios to get to the truth of Chipgate — and what they discovered was quite surprising.
Not all iPhones 6s units are created equal, and yours just might have a weaker processor thanks to Samsung. Chipgate rocked the Internet with the revelation that Apple used two different suppliers for the A9 chips in its latest iPhones and one processor looks like a serious under-performer.
Even though Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s 14-nanometer A9 chips are bigger than Samsung’s 12-nanometer A9 chips, if you have an iPhone 6s with a TSMC chip, you might get an extra two hours of battery life on your device.
There’s no way to tell if you’re getting stuck with a Samsung A9 processor when you purchase your iPhone 6s in stores or online, but you can find out whether you got saddled with a crappier processor with some help from a couple of apps.
Here’s how to find the maker of the A9 processor in your iPhone 6s or 6s Plus:
As iPhone 6s owners freak out over whether their new smartphones might be saddled with a performance-deficient chip, an app that makes it easy to identify the type of chip inside the new smartphones mysteriously vanishes from the App Store.
It’s enough to get “Chipgate” conspiracy theorists churning, but the reality is a little less dark than all that.
It’s no secret that the iPhone 6s packs a pretty darn great camera, but how does it compare to a professional DSLR like the Nikon D750?
A recent 4K video shootout compares the two and, wouldn’t you know it, finds that Apple’s next-gen handset pretty much owns the Nikon in terms of filming beautiful, crisply detailed footage.
Check out the video below.
A new controversy is brewing online after it’s been revealed that not all iPhone 6s units get the same amount of battery life. The apparent culprit? The new A9 processors, which power Apple’s latest iPhones and were sourced by two chip manufacturers.
Apple sold 13 million iPhone 6s handsets in its opening weekend, but you probably won’t be Russian rushing to buy this “anniversary” iPhone 6s featuring the gold visage of Russia’s glorious leader, Vladimir Putin.
Created by Russian jewelry company Caviar, the limited edition custom iPhone will help you show those decadent capitalist pig-dogs in the West who’s boss thanks to a titanium finish, gold recreation of Putin’s chiselled face, velvet wooden collector’s box, and “free” car charger.
And all for the low, low price of $3,193.
Does your iPhone feel like it’s been running slower since the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus came out? It turns out there’s a good reason for that.
Apple has praised the iPhone 6s for selling a record-shattering 13 million units in its first three days. However, a new report suggests that in Japan the 6s and 6s Plus actually sold 10-15 percent fewer units than last year’s iPhone 6.
How can both of these reported facts (record-breaking sales figures and lower demand) be true at the same time? There is an answer — and, no, it’s not Schrödinger’s iPhone.
These days, the charging cable for our mobile devices is almost as important to keep on our person as the house keys. Titan Loop is a great way to keep both on hand, a lightweight, steel-sheathed lightning cable that can also fold into a loop that attaches to anything else you regularly carry around with you. For a very short time, Titan Loops are still available for $19.95 at Cult of Mac Deals.
This week: we’ve spent seven full days with iPhone 6s and we’re ready to report what we love and what we don’t. Plus: El Capitan just made your Mac a lot better! We’ll cover the cool tricks your Mac just learned. And then, how does $9 for an Apple Watch Sport band sound? How about $28 for a Leather Loop? Sure, the fake Apple Watch bands are 1/5 the price of genuine bands, but are they any good? We’ve been testing two fakes to find out, and the results might surprise you.
Our thanks to Lynda for supporting this episode. Lynda is like the Apple Music of online education, with over 3000 expert-taught video courses you can stream straight to computer or mobile device. Learn how to use Logic’s new super powerful Alchemy synth, or develop Mac apps for OS X—learn all you want for free for 10 days at lynda.com/cultcast.
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus came out last week, and it’s been a fun ride getting to know what makes these sexy beasts tick.
Check out this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine for all the tips, tricks, reviews, news, and just plain great content with yet another digital issue of your favorite magazine.
Download the brand new Cult of Mac Magazine app from iTunes right now, and you’ll get all this, and more, absolutely free.
If you’re looking for an app to wow you with the revolutionary powers of 3D Touch, look no further than Instagram. The photo sharing app has already created some great new interactions with 3D Touch by letting users peek at photos and profile info using three new APIs provided by Apple.
We’ve only had 3D Touch iPhones for a week, but Instagram’s engineers have already managed to set a high bar for other apps to aspire to. In a new engineering blog post, the company gives developers a peek at how they implemented the new 3D Touch APIs so seamlessly, and show how other apps can make 3D Touch much more powerful than just a 2015 version of the right click.
Here’s some of the pointers they collected:
There’s never been a more confusing time to buy an iPhone.
If you’re looking for the best deal on a new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus, you have tons of options. From Apple to AT&T, Verizon to T-Mobile, carriers and retailers have expanded their options for buying a new iPhone. That, plus an upheaval in traditional cellphone pricing and plans led by T-Mobile, has us all rather confused.
Where can you find a comparison of all the major US options? Right here, of course. We spent the time with our spreadsheets and the websites of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Apple, T-Mobile, Cricket Wireless, Boost Mobile, and (yes) Consumer Cellular to help you cut through the confusion and find the best iPhone purchase plan for you.
This is a comparison of buying your iPhone 6s, not the coverage or monthly cost of phone calls, text or data on any specific carriers, though that will factor in to your choice, of course.
