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Most Apple fans have no idea what to expect from iPhone 8

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iPhone 8 render
iPhone 8 will be a huge upgrade, but most fans aren't prepared.
Photo: Quinton Theron

If you’ve been keeping up with the iPhone 8 rumors, you’ll know exactly what to expect from Apple’s big refresh this fall. But for the vast majority of fans, the upgrade will come as a huge surprise.

One survey has found that for ordinary iPhone users, the urge to upgrade is no more significant than it has been for previous, more incremental releases.

Without a Home button, here’s how the new iPhone 8 UI will work

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iPhone color
iPhone 8 will feature Apple's biggest redesign in years.
Photo: Ben Miller

It’s no secret that Apple is planning to ditch its Home button for the next-gen iPhone 8, but with the exception of how Touch ID will be replaced by facial recognition, very few details have been circulated about how the move will impact the iPhone UI.

A new report may change that, however, by revealing how the removal and replacement of the Home button, which has existed on every iPhone since 2007, will actually work.

How to use AirDrop for instant file sharing

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Airdrop ios iPad iPhone
AirDrop works across the room to make sharing files between Apple devices easy as can be.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

AirDrop, Apple’s built-in sharing feature, lets you beam pretty much anything between any Apple devices. You can use it to share photos, videos, URLS, documents, snippets of text — in short, anything that can be shared using the standard “sharing arrow” icon is fair game for AirDrop.

AirDrop really should be your first choice for sharing, because it doesn’t use the internet to send the files. It connects you and the recipient directly to each other using Wi-Fi, and makes the transfer that way. This makes AirDrop secure and lightning-fast. It also mean it works as well on the top of a mountain as it does in a busy office.

See all the new tweaks in iOS 11 beta 5

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iPhone 7 iOS 11
Check out all of the new features and tweaks within iOS 11 Beta 5.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Just like clockwork, two weeks after the release of iOS 11 beta 4, Apple has graced developers with iOS 11 beta 5. As per usual, we went straight ahead and installed it to dig around and see what’s new. Among our finds were new camera settings and a pretty cool feature for FaceTime.

Check out all of the new tweaks and changes in action in our video below.

5 tips to fix an unresponsive iPhone screen

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5 tips to fix an unresponsive iPhone screen
Is your iPhone screen acting up? Here's how to fix it.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you’ve been having problems with your iPhone or iPad screen not acting quite as responsive as usual, don’t panic: You can try out plenty of quick and easy tricks before heading to your closest Genius Bar.

Get five tips for fixing an unresponsive iPhone screen in our how-to video:

His eye and iPhone reveal shapes of San Francisco

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Burton Rast iPhone photos
Unpainted Ladies from Burton Rast's Shapes of San Francisco.
Photo: Burton Rast

Burton Rast had his first look at San Francisco 20 years ago and wondered aloud to a friend if it was possible to photograph one of the world’s most photographed cities in a new way.

With his iPhone 6s and some creative tweaking of the pictures in Adobe Lightroom Mobile, Rast has succeeded in producing a unique view of the city’s iconic architectural landmarks.

Apple gear looks impossibly cool in classic movies

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Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy using an iPhone is a crazy sight.
Photo: Pablo Larrocha

Remember the time Laurel and Hardy rocked an iPhone in one of their movies? Or when Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews used one of Apple’s handsets to snap a selfie at the 1965 Oscars?

Obviously such scenes can’t be real — but that’s not stopped a bunch of 2017-era Apple gear showing up in classic movies, thanks to one Apple fan’s work.

The inside story of the iPhone’s ‘Slide to Unlock’ gesture

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slide to unlock lock screen
Slide-to-unlock is one of the iconic gestures of the iPhone. It looks simple, but it was tricky to get right.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 This an excerpt from Unsung Apple Hero, an e-book about UI designer Bas Ording’s career at Apple. Ording is responsible for a big chunk of today’s computing interfaces, but is little-known because of Apple’s super-strict privacy policies. Hit the link at the bottom of this post to get a free copy of the e-book.

One of the key design decisions that Apple’s Human Interface Team made early on while developing the iPhone was to go all in on big, simple gestures. They wanted to make a single, simple swipe accomplish as much as possible.

It’s a bit ironic. After investing so much in multitouch technology, which relies on multiple touch inputs, one of Apple’s key edicts was to make as many gestures as possible work with a single finger.

iPad Pro unboxing video: Our hands-on with Apple’s 10.5-inch beast

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10.5-inch iPad Pro
Get a first look at the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We finally got our hands on Apple’s new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which just landed in Apple stores today. Our unboxing video will show you all the ins and outs of the new tablet. Take a look at the packaging, what’s in the box and the device itself before you rush out and pick one up.

Get your (virtual) hands on this sexy new iOS device by watching our 10.5-inch iPad Pro unboxing video below.

Hands on: iOS 11 brings brilliant new features (especially for iPad)

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iOS 11 on iPad
New features in iOS 11 make the iPad a multitasking beast.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 11 brings brilliant new features and enough design tweaks to make everything feel fresh. The first developer beta landed this week, and we’re loving what we see – especially when it comes to the great new options for iPad users.

See for yourself in our iOS 11 hands-on video.

macOS 10.13 Wish List: What we want from Apple’s big update

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macOS-dark-mode
A system-wide dark mode for macOS has been rumored for years.
Photo: Guilherme Rambo

There are less than two weeks until Apple introduces the next version of macOS at the WWDC. While the rumor mill has been busting out tons of hardware leaks, details have been scant on the software side of things.

Apple is expected to reveal some amazing features for the Mac with the new software update. We still don’t know everything that will be included in macOS 10.13, but of course, we have our own wish list of the features that we really hope make it onto the Mac.

This is what we want to see in Apple’s next big update:

WWDC over the years: How it became a tech juggernaut

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WWDC has been home to some seismic announcements over the years.
Photo: Daniel Spiess/Flickr CC

As Apple’s longest-running annual keynote event, it’s no surprise that WWDC has played host to some absolutely enormous announcements over the years.

From strategies that changed the company’s course to the debut of astonishing new products, here are our picks for the most important ones. Check out the list below.

Google Photos is getting some incredible new features

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Google Photos sharing
Sharing have never been easier.
Photo: Google

Google Assistant may have just made its way to iPhone, but it’s not even close to the most exciting thing to come out of Google I/O today.

That would be all of the incredible new features coming to Google Photos, including new sharing options, stunning Photo Books you can build in just a few taps, intelligent photo editing, and Google Lens integration.

Apple’s new Siri speaker could be revealed at WWDC

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Ask Alexa to manage your appointments for you.
Ask Alexa to manage your appointments for you.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple could unveil its new smart speaker powered by Siri at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, according to new claims.

Earlier this week, we heard the company is currently in the process of finalizing the design of its first standalone Siri device, which is expected to take on the Amazon Echo. Now we have an idea what it might look like and when it could be revealed.

How to plug your guitar into your iPhone and rock out

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guitar iPhone setup
Recording guitar into iPad is sometimes painful.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Short of learning air guitar, hooking a guitar up to your iPhone is just about the easiest way to get started playing music. But it’s not just for practice, or goofing around at home. You can record and edit serious music with an iOS device, and even produce whole records.

But we’re already getting ahead of ourselves. Today, we’re just going to hook things up and rock out.

Leaked iPhone 8 schematic reveals dual-lens front camera and more

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iphone
We hope the next iPhone is this beautiful.
Photo: AlHasan Husni

Another alleged iPhone 8 schematic has leaked out of China, providing new details about Apple’s upcoming handset — including the tech behind its wireless charging capability.

The supposed iPhone 8 drawing surfaced on Weibo today. Unlike the last two schematics that leaked, this one includes detailed labeling of each part, revealing a dual-lens camera in the front and wireless charging in the back.

‘Leaked’ iPhone 8 drawings reveal surprising design

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iPhone 5's straight edges could be making a comeback.
iPhone 5's straight edges could be making a comeback.
Photo: Sonny Dickson

A new photo of what is believed to be iPhone 8 schematics reveals a surprising new design direction.

Apple appears to have done away with the smooth curves we’ve come to expect from its smartphones in recent years, opting instead for sharper edges and flat sides. This image suggests the next iPhone will be much like the iPhone 5, only bigger.

Much bigger.

Awesome Mac Pro concept packs expansion slots pros want

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Apple should steal ideas from this Mac Pro concept.
Apple should steal ideas from this Mac Pro concept.
Photo: Curved

Professional Mac users will have to wait until 2018 for a glimpse at the new Mac Pro Apple is working on, but if the next-gen computer looks anything like this new concept, it might be worth the wait.

German site Curved created a Mac Pro concept that shows how Apple could add modular features, allowing professionals to swap out pretty much every component. The concept artists even dreamed up a Cinema Display that packs plenty of ports for expansion.

Take a closer look:

Should fans skip iPhone 8 and buy the Galaxy S8? [Friday Night Fights]

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You have to be impressed by the new Galaxy S8 — even if you’re a long-time iPhone fan. Samsung’s new phone boasts everything you could want in a smartphone, and it packages it all into a stunning curved-glass shell with an edge-to-edge Infinity Display.

Friday Night Fights bug But can the Galaxy S8 help you forget about the iPhone 8? Should you wait for what might be another boring iPhone refresh, or throw in the towel now and finally make the leap to Android?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we duke it out over Samsung’s latest flagship and whether it can help Apple fans forget about the iPhone.

Everything you need to know about the new Apple File System

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APFS
APFS arrives in 2017.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

(Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in June 30, 2016, but has been updated with new info since the release of iOS 10.3)

It’s hard to believe that Apple’s speedy Macs are still using a file system that was developed more than 30 years ago, when floppy disks and spinning hard drives were considered cutting-edge technology.

But that’s going to change in 2017 with the new Apple File System — or APFS — that debuts in iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4. Here’s everything you need to know about APFS and how it’s going to make your life better, no matter what Apple device(s) you use.

4 biggest surprises from Apple’s totally unsurprising update

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Will we get more than the iPhone 7 next week?
None of today's announcements were keynote-worthy.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s “surprise” announcement of new products and software wasn’t all that surprising if you’ve been keeping up with the latest rumors.

Today’s updates were practically announced yesterday when the company said its store would be down in the morning for “maintenance.” Despite all the rumors of new iPads and RED iPhones that have been out for weeks, Apple still managed to sneak in a few surprises that were both good and bad.

We’re eagerly awaiting Apple’s rumored April keynote, but here’s the biggest, most surprising news from today’s teaser.