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Everything you need to know about your iPhone camera’s shutter speed

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iPhone shutter speed
Camera blur can be your friend.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Your iPhone camera is pretty good at taking photos automatically. You just point it, shoot, and the camera works out all the tricky stuff. But what is actually going on in there? How does it take the light that you see and render it as an image on the screen?

In this short series, we’ll look at the physical parts of a camera — the aperture, the shutter, the magnification of the lens, and so on — and see how they affect the final image. Today’s topic: shutter speed.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 prepares to face the 2018 iPhones

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The Galaxy Note 9 will have to face not just the iPhone X, but also the models Apple will launch next month.
The Galaxy Note 9 will have to stand up to not only the iPhone X, but also the models Apple will launch next month.
Photo: Apple/Samsung/MobileFun

This spring’s Galaxy S9 hasn’t sold all that well, so Samsung is pinning its hopes on the Galaxy Note 9, just announced this morning.

This 6.4-inch Android device will have to compete with the iPhone X, and also the new smartphones Apple will introduce in a few weeks. Let’s see how it compares.

Tim Cook: $1 trillion cap ‘not the most important measure of success’

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WWDC 2019
Apple CEO Tim Cook on stage for WWDC 2018.
Photo: Apple

Apple became the first company to ever reach a $1 trillion market cap on Wednesday as its share price soared to $207.39. But according to CEO Tim Cook, this is “not the most important measure of our success.”

In an email to Apple employees, Cook says that financial returns are simply the result of innovation — and that it’s the team behind them that really makes Apple so spectacular.

2018 MacBook Pro performance, after the patch, on The CultCast

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CultCast MacBook Pro
Just how good is the 2018 MacBook Pro after Apple's patch?
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: Apple has issued a patch that significantly increases performance for all 2018 MacBook Pros, but there’s one glaring problem it doesn’t fix…. We talk benchmarks and real-world performance. Plus, we take a peek at the new HomePod features from iOS 12 beta, and we wrap up with your emails!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first hosting plan or domain.

Apple won’t give your older MacBook an improved keyboard

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Apple MacBook Pro keyboard
How’s the sound on your 2018 MacBook Pro?
Photo: Apple

Apple refreshed its MacBook Pro lineup last week, and faster Intel processors weren’t the only thing to be excited about. The update also brought a quieter keyboard that’s less prone to being ruined by dust.

Unfortunately for existing MacBook and MacBook Pro owners, Apple won’t fit its newer keyboard into older machines — not even if yours is in need of repair.

Teardown reveals MacBook Pro keyboard is redesigned to prevent keys sticking

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The third-generation
The third-generation "butterfly" MacBook Pro keyboard has a membrane to keep out damaging grit.
Photo: iFixit

Apple made potential buyers of the new MacBook Pro models very nervous when it said no effort had been made to fix the problems plaguing the keyboards in earlier versions. Happily, it turns out the company was fibbing.

Taking apart this just-released Mac laptop shows that Apple definitely modified its butterfly keyboard mechanism to make it less likely to jam.

MacBook Pro’s third-gen ‘butterfly’ keyboard doesn’t fix its worst problem

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MacBook butterfly keyboard
The keys of the "butterfly" keyboard in the 2016 MacBook Pro get stuck very easily. It's possible that's true of the 2018 models too.
Photo: Apple

Editor’s note: There’s good evidence that the new MacBook Pro keyboard actually does address the problems experienced by some owners. Read our: Teardown reveals MacBook Pro keyboard is redesigned to prevent keys sticking


People around the world are hoping the new MacBook Pro models introduced today have a keyboard that’s been carefully designed to not have the same sticky keyboard keys as their predecessors. But it didn’t happen.

A company spokesperson says the problem of grit causing the keys to stick in previous macOS laptops was not addressed.

But that’s not necessarily the whole story. It’s possible Apple did fix the problem but doesn’t dare talk about it.

‘Coffee Lake’ chips could give 2018 MacBook Pro a jolt

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The 2018 MacBook Pro is expected to look much like its predecessor.
Despite faster connections, display support hasn’t improved.
Photo: Apple

Apple is apparently planning to upgrade the MacBook Pro line to the latest generation of Intel processors. Benchmarks for a macOS laptop running a “Coffee Lake” chip showed up on Geekbench.

The eight-generation Core i7-8559U CPU in this device has a base frequency of 2.7GHz, but a maximum turbo speed of 4.5GHz. It has 4 cores and 8 threads, and was built with a 14nm process.

Why Apple should build a car

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Something like this concept Apple car would become a reality if a couple of analysts are correct.
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

For the last few years, Apple has been investigating making autonomous cars, even though this is well outside its core competency of computers and their accessories.

The move leaves many observers scratching their heads, but a pair of analysts put together reasons why self-driving automobiles should be Apple’s next product category.

What’s new in iOS 12 beta 2?

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There are lots of welcome tweaks in iOS 12 beta 2.
There are lots of welcome tweaks in iOS 12 beta 2.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Two weeks after the initial — and surprisingly solid — beta of iOS 12, comes the second update. iOS 12 beta 2 has tweaked the operating system in several places, mostly in Screen Time, which was quite sparse in the first round. Let’s take a look at what’s changed.

Why Apple Watch Series 4 will probably get better GPS

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New running features coming in watchOS 5 are all about pace -- the Achilles' heel of Apple Watch.
New running features coming in watchOS 5 are all about pace -- the Achilles' heel of Apple Watch.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Apple took the wraps off watchOS 5 last week at WWDC, revealing loads of new features that we can look forward to this fall. Among them were some big improvements for runners: Cadence, Rolling Mile Pace and Custom Pace Alerts.

What I find most exciting about these new features is that I think they hint at a much-needed hardware upgrade coming in Apple Watch Series 4, which is expected to debut this fall. Here’s why.

Speed through the WWDC 2018 keynote with sketchnotes

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Apple WWDC 2018 keynote in sketchnotes, Part 1 of 4.
Sketchnotes deliver all the WWDC 2018 keynote highlights the easy, visual way.
Photo: Andy McNally/Cult of Mac

WWDC 2018 bug Cult of Mac It is always exciting to capture the WWDC keynote in sketchnotes, and this year I filled up four pages of my notebook with drawings showcasing the biggest new features coming in iOS 12, macOS Mojave and watchOS 5.

As seen in my first sketchnote, above, iOS 12 makes performance on both old and new devices a priority. ARKit 2 brings more augmented reality goodness to Apple devices, including the ability for up to four people to share the same AR space at the same time.

For a quick and easy recap of the rest of the WWDC 2018 keynote highlights — plus a bonus sketchnote that proved kind of prescient — check out the rest below.

Don’t expect new Macs, iPads, or Apple Watch at WWDC

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WWDC 2019
Apple CEO Tim Cook on stage for WWDC 2018.
Photo: Apple

Apple still has a bunch of new devices up its sleeve for 2018 — not including the new iPhone lineup — but we won’t see any of it at WWDC.

A new report claims we can expect refreshed MacBook and MacBook Pro models, a more affordable machine to replace the MacBook Air, a new iPad Pro with Face ID, and a new Apple Watch. However, we’ll have to wait until later in the year to get our hands on them.

iOS 12 concept dreams of grouped notifications and more

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iOS 12
It's time for Apple to bundle notifications.
Photo: Matt Birchler

The grand unveiling of iOS 12 is just a few weeks away and there’s one feature on everybody’s wishlist: grouped notifications.

iOS 11’s notification screen is a mess when you get multiple notifications from the same app, but developer Matt Birchler has created a simple concept that shows how Apple could make the lock screen notifications so much better.

Here’s how they would look:

Caviar’s solar-powered iPhone X Tesla costs a paltry $4,600

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iPhone X Tesla
The iPhone X Tesla is solar powered, with gold trim. Each is hand delivered to its buyer.
Photo: Caviar Globsl

Russian luxury brand Caviar just launched the iPhone X Tesla, a solar-powered version of Apple’s flagship device. Parts are gilded in gold, and the whole deal costs 284,000 ₽ ($4600) for a 64GB version.

It’s a device any Russian oligarch would be proud to own.

So long, aluminum! Why the iMac needs a total redesign.

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Will the iMac design ever be this exciting again? The original iMac G3.
Will the iMac ever be this exciting again?
Photo: Apple

When the first iMac debuted 20 years ago, it shook the tech world with its completely unorthodox appearance. The blobby, curvaceous and colorful computer looked, in Steve Jobs’ words, good enough to lick.

It was a statement computer, both for those who owned it and for those who made it.

However, with the iMac not having had a substantial redesign since 2012, Apple’s all-in-one desktop is getting a bit long in the tooth. It’s time for Apple to give it an overhaul with a new iMac design that would get the world excited about Macs again — and prove Apple remains committed to innovative computing.

5 big revelations from Apple’s surprising Q2 earnings call

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Will Apple reach its own targets for Q2?
Apple stock is booming after today's report.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple blew analysts’ expectations out of the water this afternoon with its historic Q2 2018 earnings report that saw the company post the most revenue ever in the March quarter.

Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri were absolutely giddy during today’s call with investors. Everyone expected the iPhone X to be a bust, but even Apple was surprised by its success as it still dominates the iPhone sales charts. New products are on the horizon too as Apple’s executives teased new goodies coming down its pipeline:

These were the biggest takeaways from the call:

Is this the year Apple fixes its broken iPhone naming strategy?

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iphone glitch
iPhone naming is all kinds of broken these days.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple could be about to change the way it names successive generations of iPhone. The aim would be to simplify a naming pattern that has become increasingly unwieldy in the past few years.

It’s about time — although that doesn’t mean a new iPhone naming system will necessarily make things any less confusing. Here’s why.

‘Trustjacking’ is the dangerous new iPhone hack you’ve never heard of

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iphone
What’s on your wish list for a future iPhone?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

You might want to think twice before plugging your iPhone into a friends laptop for a quick charge.

Security researchers have discovered an all-new type of iOS hack called “trustjacking” that uses one of a little-known WiFi feature to access a device’s data, even when the targeted device isn’t in the same location anymore.

Why you can’t play Fortnite mobile with a game controller

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Fortnite mobile controller
You can now play at 120Hz on iPad Pro.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Fortnite Battle Royale on mobile is a boatload of fun — but it could be a lot better. Clunky touch controls make it more difficult to play on iOS than on console or PC, and there’s nothing game controller manufacturers can do about it right now.

Gamevice has explained why its controllers do nothing if you attempt to use them in Fortnite — and why it’s taking Epic Games so long to add controller support.

The next Mac Pro won’t arrive until 2019

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The Mac Pro is being
Turn your dusty old Mac into a fat stack of cash.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Professional Mac users holding out for the next Mac Pro are going to have to wait at least another year.

After revealing in 2017 that it was completely redesigning the Mac Pro, some fans held out hope that the new Mac Pro would come out by 2018. That’s not going to happen though. In a series of interviews, Apple executives revealed that the new Mac Pro will be a 2019 product.

Stylish poster shows the evolution of Apple computers over the years

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Moonimal
Wouldn't this look awesome in your study?
Photo: Moonimal

So you’ve got your iMac, iPad and iPhone at the ready. Your bookshelves are heaving under the weight of all the Steve Jobs biographies, and you’ve got a cabinet containing various rare vintage Apple products, like the ill-fated Pippin games console and that weird vertical Mac display from back in the day.

Now all you’re searching for is a little Apple-themed something for the wall to say to visitors “I’m a little bit too into this Cupertino-based tech company.” Well, look no further — because we’ve got the poster for you!

Street Fighter hits the actual streets in new ARKit demo

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Street Fighter II in AR shows that old games can learn new tricks.
Street Fighter II in AR shows that old games can learn new tricks.
Screenshot: Abhishek Singh/YouTube

All the Yoga Flames, Dragon Punches and Sonic Booms of Street Fighter II spill out into the real world in a new demo that mixes classic gameplay with augmented reality.

Michigan-based software developer Abhishek Singh‘s “Real World Warrior” edition of Street Fighter II features all the familiar characters, moves and sounds of the original. But now, the game’s arena is the outside world.

“I loved playing [Street Fighter] as a kid with my sister on an actual arcade machine,” Singh told Cult of Mac. “I was thinking about multiplayer experiences and this kind of popped into my head.”

Pro Tip: How to add blank spaces to your iPhone home screen grid

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blank icon
A blank row helps organize your home screen.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Pro Tip Cult of Mac bug Some of the most creative iPhone home screen designs we’ve ever seen use blank gaps to separate icons into groups or to create interesting stepped patterns. But how is that even possible? After all, if you delete a home screen icon, the others close ranks to fill in the space.

The answer is to add blank icons to create those gaps. Then, you can add a blank row to organize your iPhone home screen, or move all your apps the the bottom of the screen instead of the top.