A brand-new look for iOS 14. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
iOS 14 finally brings the ability to change your CarPlay wallpaper so that you don’t have to look at a blank background. Here’s how you can change yours in a few simple steps.
Niv Sultan plays the lead in Tehran, a thriller coming next month to Apple TV+. Photo: Apple
Apple’s fall TV season will kick off with Tehran, a spy drama about a young Israeli agent trying to destroy an Iranian nuclear reactor. Apple revealed on Tuesday that the series will debut Friday, September 25 on Apple TV+.
Speidel’s leather band and case bring a semi-casual look and extra protection to your Apple Watch. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Your Apple Watch is always with you, which exposes it to occasional rough treatment. The Speidel Light Brown Leather Luxury Watch Band comes with a case that wraps around all the edges and corners of your wearable, protecting it from bumps.
I tested this case, and the Watch band it comes with. Read on to see how they stood up to daily life.
Apple’s newest MacBook Pro is a worthy upgrade for anyone who wants rid of the problematic butterfly keyboard. It’s also more powerful than ever before. Bag yours today and get $200 off the usual price!
Power through book summaries on hundreds of topics in just 12 minutes each. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Books are one of the best things humans ever came up with. But let’s be honest — not every one of them requires days of your attention. Why devote precious hours to reading when it makes more sense to spend a few minutes getting the gist?
A catalog of amazing apps, one small monthly fee. Photo: Setapp
Setapp, the brilliant app subscription service from MacPaw, has finally landed on iOS. The service offers eight titles at launch, including task-management app 2Do and wonderful writing tool Ulysses.
A small monthly fee gets you complete, unlimited access to every app in the catalog, with more being added on a regular basis. And if you’re already a Setapp subscriber, you may get the iOS apps for free.
Tim Cook’s net worth has gone up, up, up! Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The CEO of Apple reportedly passed a huge milestone: He’s now a billionaire. Tim Cook’s net worth has risen significantly, partially as a result of Apple stock more than doubling in value in the past 12 months.
But Cook is not likely to stay a billionaire. And not for the reason you might think.
The 2020 iMac is certainly worth your cash. Photo: Apple
Apple’s newest iMac is by far the fastest yet, with huge increases in both CPU and GPU performance. It also ships with improved speakers and microphones. And yet, it seems a lot of Apple fans don’t care.
The reason? The new iMac is powered by Intel processors, like all its predecessors since 2006, instead of Apple Silicon. Since Apple revealed its plan to switch to its own custom chips at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Intel processors just don’t hold the same appeal.
But there are some great reasons to continue buying Intel-powered Macs in 2020. Here are a few.
If Apple makes a foldable iPhone, it might look like this concept design. Screenshot: ConceptsiPhone
When Apple gets into the foldable phone market, as arch-rival Samsung has already done, its first model might well look much like the iPhone 12 Flip. But for now, this is only a concept design.
Ben Feinstein appears in the terrifying Apple TV+ documentary Boys State. Photo: Apple TV+
If you looked at the crowds of white nationalists bearing tiki torches at the infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and wondered what took them from innocent children to gimlet-eyed monsters of borrowed ideology, Boys State is a harrowing but necessary research tool.
The new Apple TV+ documentary by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss delivers a frightening look at a time-honored tradition that appears to have actively made the world a worse place.
Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner Boys State, which premieres Friday on Apple TV+, may nauseate you. But you’ll be glad you saw it, if only because it’s a shocking and sobering reminder that the next generation of conservatives is ready to step in and replace the one about to die — and they’re no less efficacious.
Wring out stress and encourage positive vibes with a combination of binaural beats, ASMR, sleep tracking and more. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Instead of stressing out over unanswered emails or mindlessly scrolling through social media, you can use your smartphone to get your head straight and settled.
Master the many features of the leading digital audio workstation with 45 hours of lessons. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
One of the greatest things about computers is how easy it is to create music. Even more so if you use a Mac, because of Logic Pro X, Apple’s industry–leading Digital Audio Workstation. With this massive collection of lessons, you can learn to use it like a pro.
Easily expand your working space, or enjoy a movie on a larger display, with the Vissles-M. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
A portable monitor makes you more productive on the go. And the 15.6-inch Vissles-M is a thin and lightweight LCD screen that easily connects to a Mac or iPad Pro through its USB-C port.
I tested this affordable external display in a variety of conditions, and used it for both for work and fun. Here’s how it held up.
Here's why we love this longtime Apple exec. Cover: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
We’re all going to miss Phil Schiller now that he’s stepped down from his role as Apple’s marketing chief. He was a close friend of Steve Jobs, and he played a major role in Cupertino for decades.
To be clear, he’s not leaving Apple entirely. Instead, he became an Apple Fellow (and he’ll run the App Store and Apple Events). Still, it’s a big change for Cupertino. In tribute to an Apple OG, let’s take a trip down memory lane and relive Phil Schiller’s greatest hits.
That post is just one of the good reads you’ll find in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now and get all the week’s top Apple news, reviews and how-tos in an easy-to-read package.
This massive bundle of lessons will teach you how to connect your brand or products with the widest possible audience. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Marketing moved online long ago, and every week that goes by, it becomes more fundamental to the ways we buy and sell. Facebook, YouTube, Google and Amazon have become the core of our modern economy. So if you’ve got a product, brand or anything else you want to connect with customers or audiences, you’ve got to learn the ins and outs of digital marketing.
Which makes a better investment, iMac or AAPL? Photo: @YSR50
This week on The CultCast: The brand-new iMac may look the same, but it’s so powerful that video editors are gleefully buying two or three at a time — we’ll tell you everything that’s new.
But look, forget buying the shiny new iMac, and put your money in Apple stock instead! I’m going all in on AAPL. Find out why I’m about to dump a huge cash stockpile into Apple stock, and the cash value of my current investments. We’re talking real numbers here, people.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
Buyers of the newest iMac can look forward to better performance, along with other new features. Photo: Apple
The very first benchmark scores are coming to light for the 2020 iMac that Apple unveiled Tuesday, and this computer is already showing a healthy performance increase over the 2019 version.
Despite a beta test, the Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming service isn’t headed for iPhone. Photo: Microsoft
Google Stadia and Microsoft Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming services aren’t debuting on iPhone or iPad anytime soon. And the holdup isn’t for technical reasons. It’s about Apple’s App Store policy.
These services could bring desktop-level games to Apple mobile devices. But Microsoft’s offering definitely won’t debut in the App Store this autumn, and Google’s isn’t available, either.
Don't be fooled by fake news stories. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
WhatsApp has long been taking steps to fight the spread of fake news on its platform. The latest, a new feature being piloted in many markets, makes it easier to fact-check any news stories you receive.
YouTube videos can look a lot better thanks to macOS Big Sur Beta 4. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple released the public beta of macOS Big Sur beta 4 Thursday, and the hottest new feature is very high-resolution YouTube videos. Once Mac users get their hands on the OS upgrade this autumn, they’ll be able to stream video from this service in 4K.
Just tap on the Apple TV widget to jump to your favorite shows in iPadOS 14. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
A highlight of iOS 14 beta 4 is a TV widget on the Home screen, giving users easy access to shows in the Apple TV app. And the Weather widget returns for iPad users, among a handful of other tweaks.
Apple released the public beta Thursday after seeding it to developers earlier this week.
There’s new evidence the iPhone 12 notch will be the same size it’s been for years. Photo: Apple
A supposed image of the iPhone 12 display hardware shows that the screen cutout in the upcoming handset remains the same size as in its predecessors.
Earlier this year, we heard unconfirmed reports that this feature, usually called the notch, would shrink considerably in the iPhone 12. That’s not going to happen, if the image that leaked out Thursday is legit.
Twelve South's HiRise Duet is a primo charging dock for iPhone and Apple Watch. Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac
Twelve South’s HiRise Duet iPhone and Apple Watch Stand is one of the best high-end charging stands on the market.
It charges fast, keeps my Apple Watch in nightstand mode, and takes up minimal room on my bedside table. Constructed from premium materials, the HiRise Duet makes decluttering sleek and stylish.