What’s better than a great game? A great free game. Thanks to a new promotion from Apple, that describes Starman: Tale of Light, a dream-like puzzle game for iPhone and iPad which now won’t cost you a penny.
Reminiscent of the excellent Monument Valley games in terms of bewitching atmosphere, the game revolves around a space man character who you guide through multiple levels, collecting lights as you do.
Jimmy Iovine will step back from his role at Apple and transition into a consultancy position this August, according to a new report.
Sources say he will “support” Apple executive Eddy Cue while spending more time with his family. It’s the second time we’ve heard that the Beats co-founder will leave Apple this year, but Iovine has previously labeled the claims “fake news.”
This week’s episode of The CultCast is packed with great Apple stories. We talk: Reports of a cheaper, smaller HomePod; the end of iTunes; MoviePass tracking your every move; the first security camera for your car; and more! Hit play to catch the discussion.
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Do you find it suspicious that the Internal Revenue Service would allow you to pay back taxes with iTunes gift cards? That’s because it’s not true, and is in fact a scam.
Sadly, it’s a scam that people appear to be falling for. That’s why the Treasury Department has issued a scam alert to point out that, “Any caller requesting taxpayers place funds on an iTunes gift cards or other prepaid cards to pay taxes or fees is an indicator or fraudulent activity.”
Apple could kill off iTunes in the near future, a new report suggests.
It cites an email that Apple reportedly wrote to people in the music industry recently, announcing the “end of iTunes LPs.” The iTunes LP format was first introduced in 2009 and let publishers add interactive artwork, along with assorted iTunes Extras, with their content.
The LP format never achieved great popularity. However, the fact that Apple plans to ditch iTunes LPs in 2018 potentially hints at the possibility that Apple may stop selling iTunes music downloads in the near future.
Did you ever hit your macBook’s play/pause key to pause that YouTube video, only to have iTunes launch instead, and start playing that embarrassing tune from your last home workout session? Then you may be interested in a way to have your media keys control the site or app you want to control, instead of the app that Apple decides it will control. Luckily, there’s an app for that, called BeardedSpice.
iTunes will drop support for the “obsolete” first-generation Apple TV in May, Apple has confirmed.
Windows XP and Windows Vista are also being pushed out. Apple says that “security changes” will make these older products incompatible with the iTunes Store.
Apple Music is great, but sometimes swiping and tapping around on your iPhone to find the right track is the opposite of great. That’s where Smart Playlists come in. These playlists automatically update themselves, based on criteria you choose, so you can quickly listen to, say, all the songs you have Loved, or everything you’ve added recently.
Let’s take a look at some of the best Smart Playlists for Apple Music on your iPhone.
Apple’s sponsorship of the 2018 Brit Awards, the musical awards ceremony held last night in London, brings special playlists and an exclusive live performance for Apple Music users.
Shuffle and skipping are two great tools for listening to new music on your iPhone, using Apple Music. You can download lots of new music to your iPhone, then set it to shuffle while you take a walk. If you’re also wearing a pair of AirPods, a double tap on one of them will skip any tracks you don’t like. It’s a great way to listen to new music, with one big, annoying side-effect: You end up with lots of unwanted downloads cluttering up your iPhone.
But with one simple smart playlist, you can fix that right now.
Music journalist Alex Gale is the new head of editorial for Apple Music, according to a new report. Gale, who has previously worked for the likes of Billboard, XXL and Vibe, will be responsible for all written content on Apple’s music platforms.
The first big Apple earnings report for 2018 is nearly here. And, based on analysts’ expectations, it will likely be Apple’s biggest moneymaking quarter ever.
After weeks of waiting, investors will finally get their first look at how well the iPhone X is selling. Apple’s holiday sales probably hit historic levels. But with recent reports that Apple slashed iPhone X orders in half, there could be quite a few surprises in store.
As usual, Cult of Mac will be here to liveblog all the action as it transpires on Thursday, February 1, at 2 p.m. Pacific. Get ready to watch for these six things during the call:
You’ll need an Apple Music subscription to make the most of HomePod. But new details that have emerged since the device went on sale last week suggest you’ll be able to play tracks in your iTunes Match library, too.
iOS’ Files app is one of the best new features in iOS. It lets you move files from app to app almost as easily as in the Mac’s Finder. The problem is, not all apps support it. To use an app with Files, that app needs to either accept files dragged onto it via drag-and-drop, or it needs to integrate the Files picker.
But you can still use Files with some older apps, or apps from developers who don’t want to add support: Many file-based apps will open up a web server to let you load stuff in via a browser on a Mac or PC. We can exploit this old-fashioned workaround with a workaround of our own, effectively adding local Files support. And don’t worry, it’s dead easy.
Windows 10 users hoping for some love from Apple by the end of the year are in for a dose of disappointment.
Apple says it won’t be bringing iTunes to the Windows Store this year. The move comes after Microsoft announced in May that iTunes would be supported on Windows 10 S machines by the end of 2017.
Apple will reward you with a $5 gift card for using Apple Pay at select retailers over the holidays. Your credit can be spent in the App Store or on iTunes. There’s a limit of one card per retailer, and the promotion is only available in the United States.
Canadian rocker Neil Young, an outspoken promoter of high-definition audio, calls out Apple in his latest diatribe about declining standards in the streaming music biz.
While ripping Apple Music for distributing what he calls “low-quality audio,” he throws down the gauntlet and challenges Apple to make music great again.
Taylor Swift’s new album is finally available for streaming through Apple Music. Reputation’s arrival comes three weeks after its initial debut on iTunes. It’s also showing up on Spotify and other streaming services.
Apple Music won’t be streaming Taylor Swift’s new Reputation album when it makes its official debut on November 10.
The Bad Blood singer has decided to hold back from all streaming services for at least a week. Sources claim Swift’s team are still negotiating a release date.
Apple will give investors their first insight into iPhone 8 sales, right on the eve of the iPhone X launch.
The final Apple earnings call of 2017 takes place Thursday, November 2, at 2 p.m. Pacific. Apple’s fourth fiscal quarter ended right after the iPhone 8 started shipping. The results aren’t expected to be record-breaking, but this first glimpse should give us a better idea of how monstrous Apple’s holiday season will be.
This is what to watch for:
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At long last, Apple released the latest and greatest version of iOS. Now anyone eyeing a new iPhone 8 or iPhone X, or simply upgrading to iOS 11, faces the always-fun process of using iTunes to manage and back up data. Prepare for ham-handed syncing, and repeated tries before you get your device’s data in order.
If you’re looking forward to a new device, but not to the process of using iTunes, you’ve got other choices. One option is MacX MediaTrans, which you currently can try for free, thanks to a limited-time giveaway.
It’s not uncommon to see a random popup that asks you to “Sign In to iTunes Store” on iOS. They sometimes appear unexpectedly, but they’re usually genuine. However, one developer is warning users not to enter their password when the popup appears in third-party apps.
There is a chance that the app’s developer is phishing for your Apple ID password. Luckily, there’s an easy trick to distinguish legit popups from phishing attempts.
Apple has released an alternative version of iTunes that still includes the App Store, ringtones, and other features that were removed last month.
You can download and install iTunes version 12.6.3 for Mac and PC now — even if you have already upgraded to iTunes version 12.7.
iPhone and iPad users received a surprise update from Apple today in the form of iOS 11.0.2.
The new update was never seeded to developers for beta testing, but it appears to come with some much-needed bug fixes and performance improvements for Apple’s mobile devices.
Apple TV has finally caught up with the 4K revolution.
It may be late to the game, but Apple’s newest set-top box pulls out all the stops to be the best on the field. It’s packing incredibly powerful new hardware that leaves competitors in the dust, and a much-improved tvOS platform that is years ahead of its rivals.
It may seem pricey starting at $179, but with amazingly sharp videos and great apps and games all rolled into one, Apple TV 4K is well worth the upgrade.
