| Cult of Mac

Goodbye to Cult of Mac Magazine

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Cult of Mac magazine last issue cover
Sadly, it's time to say 'bye' to Cult of Mac magazine.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Unfortunately this is the last issue of Cult of Mac Magazine.

We launched Cult of Mac Magazine back in September 2013 and have published 411 weekly issues since then. Yes, 411 issues!

Highlights include a cover made especially for us by Susan Kare, the designer of the original Mac’s icons, and a string of great-looking magazine covers by Ste Smith, a former staffer.

But declining readership, competition from news apps and difficulty getting advertising has led us to retire the publication. It’s been a great run, but it’s time to shut up shop.

In season 2, Ted Lasso settles into being the world’s most positive sitcom [Apple TV+ review]

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Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt and Nick Mohammed in Ted Lasso
Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt and Nick Mohammed survey the pitch.
Photo: Apple TV+

The big American heart in the body of the United Kingdom is beating again. Ted Lasso is back for another season of relentless positivity, and fans of the hit Apple TV+ comedy can rest easy. They know exactly what they’re getting.

The title character, played by Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis, returns for more unorthodox soccer coaching with his deep bench of homespun aphorisms intact. In short, if you liked the first season — and who didn’t? — you’ll enjoy this one as well.

Apple should go all in on iPhone 12’s reverse wireless charging

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Apple should go all in on iPhone 12’s reverse wireless charging
What if you could charge your AirPods just by putting them on your iPhone?
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Turns out the iPhone 12 could do reverse wireless charging all along — Apple just didn’t talk about it until this week. And now that the cat’s out of the bag, Apple should embrace the capability and let iPhones wirelessly charge any other compatible device.

Long and fraught: The path to success for Apple TV+

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Apple TV+ Autumn 2021: Apple TV+ has some big shows coming this year.
Apple TV+ has some big shows coming this year.
Photo: Apple TV+

A year and a half in, Apple TV+ remains something of a black box. Ever since the streaming video service’s launch in November 2019, Cupertino has refused to reveal hard data about just how well Apple TV+ is doing.

In some respects, the future looks promising. Apple TV+ continues to add high-profile projects to its production queue. Apple TV+ shows and movies continue to rack up awards. And upcoming originals like an epic sci-fi adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and the second season of surprise hit Ted Lasso are generating buzz.

Plus, with the original one-year free trials ending — and new free Apple TV+ trials slashed to just three months — the $4.99-a-month streaming service seems increasingly confident about its value proposition for viewers.

Still, the Apple TV+ library continues to be dwarfed by rivals like Netflix and Disney+.

So what does the future hold? And what does “success” look like for Apple TV+ anyway? Cult of Mac asked the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a pseudonymous entertainment executive who writes about the business, how Apple TV+ is faring and what to expect next. His responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Hands on: Safari in iOS 15 takes some getting used to, but it’s worth it

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Hands On: Safari in iOS 15 takes some getting used to
Safari in iOS 15 moves the Address Bar and adds Tab Groups.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The most controversial change in iOS 15 — moving Safari’s Address Bar to the bottom of the screen — doesn’t deserve the deluge of criticism some users are heaping upon it.

I tried out the latest iOS 15 beta to check out that feature, plus the new Tab Groups and other changes coming to Safari. Here’s what I like and what I don’t.

‘Boring’ iOS 15 shows just how far iPhone has come

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‘Boring’ iOS 15 shows just how far iPhone has come
iOS 15 brings the many advantages of boredom to the iPhone.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iOS 15 is kind of boring. It brings some welcome new features, but nothing that will change the way you use your iPhone forever.

Some people might find the lack of earth-shaking new features dull. But the bottom line is, when it comes to something as integral to our daily lives as the way you interact with your iPhone, “boring” is shorthand for “good.”

9 things that blew us away at WWDC 2021

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Apple CEO Tim Cook wraps the WWDC21 keynote on June 7, 2021.
Apple CEO Tim Cook wraps the WWDC21 keynote on June 7, 2021.
Photo: Apple

Some new features really stood out when Apple revealed the next versions of all its operating systems during Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. Users of iPhone, Mac and iPad, and Apple Watch, too, can look forward to welcome improvements this fall.

We picked out the best of these to make sure they don’t get overlooked.

iPadOS 15 to MacBooks: Everything we’re looking forward to at WWDC 2021

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What to expect at WWDC 2021: iOS 15, macOS 12, new MacBook models, and more.
Get ready for updates to five operating systems. And maybe a pair of new MacBooks.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

June 7 will be the single most important day of 2021 for Apple. It’s the start of the annual Worldwide Developers Conference where the company will ceremoniously unveil fresh operating system updates for iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and more.

Big changes are anticipated for iPadOS 15, and some nice enhancements are also predicted for iOS 15. The improvements in macOS 12, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15 are likely to be more modest.

But the show won’t stop there. While WWDC is supposed to be about software, there’s a good chance we will see new MacBooks announced Monday as well.

Amazing Mac Pro concept shrinks the casing but keeps the cheese grater

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Amazing Mac Pro concept shrinks the casing but keeps the cheese grater
If the Mac Pro and the Mac mini had a baby, it might look like this concept.
Concept: Róbert Hallon.svetapple.sk

A concept artist took the rumors about an Mac Pro desktop with Apple Silicon and created a design that might really be what’s on the drawing board.

The concept combines the look of the current Mac Pro tower with the Mac mini to create a unique device.