Welcome to Cult of Mac’s new look.
We redesigned the site’s front page to better display the day’s most important stories, make it easier to find content, and to surface parts of the site that are sometimes not easy to find.
We hope you like the result.
Apple Watch owners who send their device in for repair must remove bands first or risk losing them for good.
Apple has updated its support documentation to make it clear that it does not return bands and other add-ons. “Please remove them before sending your Apple Watch in for repair,” it states.
For many of us, working from home is the new normal. That’s a mixed bag — more comfortable, no commute, but it’s also harder to stay focused, and distractions abound. So we’ve discovered an unexpected ally in the fight for productivity at home: AirPods Pro.
The first benchmark for the 2020 iPhone SE has surfaced, revealing huge performance increases over earlier Apple handsets.
It seems that pricier iPhone 11 models still have a slight advantage, but there’s no doubt that iPhone SE is by far the fastest smartphone you can buy for as little as $399.
Apple plans to start selling new Macs powered by custom ARM processors in 2021, according to a new Bloomberg report, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The company is said to be working on three of its own chips — all based on the A14 processor than will ship inside the next-generation iPhone lineup this fall. The first version will reportedly be “much faster,” according to sources.
Some people make a big production out of unboxing their new iPhone. What’s supposedly an upcoming iPhone SE ad takes the opposite approach with Apple’s just-released budget handset.
Watch it now:
An iOS 14 concept video shows how an iPhone might look if it gains home screen widgets, as has been rumored.
Plus, it envisions several features currently available for iPad jumping to iPhone, like Split Screen multitasking, a floating Dock, and more.
Watch it now:
B&H Photo just dropped the biggest discount we’ve seen so far on Apple’s new 2020 MacBook Air. You can save $100 on yours for a limited time only.
That’s just one of the awesome offers in today’s Deals & Steals roundup. Other highlights include:
Find all these discounts and more in today’s Deals & Steals roundup.
This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.
Sell your old Apple devices to Cult of Mac now to earn an additional $10 for Earth Day. We typically pay more than other buyback services, and we cough up real cash, fast!
Find out how much your old iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and other Apple devices are really worth — and use our promo code to get even more.
Twelve South’s stunning SurfacePad is a case (kind of) for iPhone owners who hate cases — and it’s now available for iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.
SurfacePad is a sheet of high-end leather that sticks to the back of your device and wraps around to cover its display. It keeps your iPhone free from scracthes, without the drawbacks of a traditional case.
Order yours today from the Cult of Mac Store.
This is the second of a two-part video feature on integrating your Elektron synthesizers, samplers and drum machines with Ableton Live on your Mac.
In this video, we’ll show you how to use the brand new Overbridge 2 app and plugin to record up to eight tracks simultaneously over a single USB connection. We’ll also dive into FX routing on the Elektron’s Digitakt sampling drum machine, which is powerful but confusing at first. Finally, we’ll explain how to use the Overbridge plugin to sync Ableton and the Digitakt, and to record loops through a normal analog mixer.
Americans love Apple’s video chatting app FaceTime, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday. But they don’t use it for group chats. As a result, use of FaceTime hasn’t increased at all while millions of people around the world self quarantine.
Instead, rival Zoom has enormously increased in popularity in recent weeks.
Someone sends you a link that looks like this:
https://youtu.be/rZdrlpz3MOo
What do you do? Well, that one is probably safe, as it uses YouTube’s own URL shortener. But what about all those other shortened URLS you see in emails, on Twitter and everywhere else? They could link to anything. A cautious person never clicks on links in emails. And only an insane person would click on shortened links in emails. That’s why you need today’s shortcut, which lets you expand a URL, preview the actual link, and then tap a button to either open it or dismiss it.
The just-released iPad Pro Magic Keyboard costs more than some iPads, and it’s possible to get AppleCare+ repair insurance for it. Just not directly.
Purchasing AppleCare+ adds accidental damage coverage to an iPad, as well as some Apple-branded accessories. That includes keyboards, like the very expensive one that debuted last week.
A redesigned iMac, a more affordable HomePod, and a powerful new Apple TV are just some of the products Apple has planned for 2020, according to one reliable reporter.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also revealed expectations for the 5G iPhone lineup, scheduled to launch this fall, and for a 14-inch MacBook Pro during a Twitter Q&A with followers on Tuesday.
The iPhone SE, with its iPhone 8 form factor, proves that you can teach an old dog new tricks. With the first reviews for the new handset having hit the internet, pundits are in agreement that, well, the iPhone SE is pretty darn great.
In fact, if Apple’s made any kind of misstep it may have been showing us that you can get a pretty amazing iPhone for the price of a mid-level handset. Here’s what the initial reviewers are saying:
Flowcharts are one of the easiest tools for charting ideas and deciding next steps. Too bad they’re not always very easy to create. So this tool cuts through the clutter and makes the task of creating flowcharts quick and simple.
We know Apple makes some of the prettiest packaging you’ll ever find wrapped around electronics, but it’s really just trash when you’re done with it. Samsung has found a terrific way to make its packaging useful.
Boxes built for the company’s newest TV sets can be turned quickly and easily turned into cardboard cat houses, small furniture, and other useful things when you’re done with them.
Zoom calls have exploded during the current coronavirus lockdown. But if you’ve already exhausted the possibilities of different angles and backdrops for your video calls, why not try being a different person entirely? You know, like former Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs.
At least, that’s the tech demo/experiment created by coders Ali Aliev and Karim Iskakov. They’ve developed an Animoji or Memoji-style tool called Avatarify that lets users superimpose a real-time mask onto themselves during video calls.
A set of concept 3D renders released Tuesday depict all the latest iPhone 12 rumors, including a recent report that this upcoming handset will have a substantially smaller screen cutout.
The images also include other features widely expected to be part of the autumn 2020 iPhone, like a LiDAR scanner.
One way to score a deal on the the latest Apple Watch Series 5 is buy a unit that someone purchased then returned to Apple. These get rigorously refurbished, then are offered to the public at up to 15% off the regular price.
Tuesday is the first day Series 5 units have been available refurbished.
Apple is going to increase the sizes of the displays in the 2020 iPad Air and an iMac model also coming later this year, according to an unconfirmed report coming out of Asia.
But neither of these will be MiniLED screens, as Apple will reportedly not have any computer using this type of display until 2021.
Overbridge 2 is an amazing new app/plugin from Swedish drum machine and synthesizer maker Elektron. As its name suggests, it acts as a bridge between your computer and Elektron’s hardware boxes.
Using Overbridge, you can plug in, say, the Digitakt drum computer and sampler, and stream all eight of its audio tracks to your Mac or PC over a single USB cable.
Apple famously boasts the greatest attention to detail in consumer technology. Some say it’s been disappearing over the years, but if you look for it, you’ll find plenty of examples today.
Take the new ad for iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard, for instance. Pause it at just the right moment and you’ll see the time Steve Jobs announced the very first iPhone beautifully reflected in the eye of a hummingbird.
Got Bluetooth problems like a glitchy mouse or an unreliable keyboard? Maybe a screwy trackpad or poor headphone connection? Any of those problems could result from a glitch in your Mac’s Bluetooth radio. Maybe you’ve already tried everything — unpairing your devices, resetting them or even creating a pristine new user account on your Mac solely for troubleshooting purposes. If you’re stuck in a situation where your mouse isn’t working, here’s a guide on how to turn Bluetooth on Mac without mouse.
You may even know about the hidden Bluetooth menu that appears when you option-click on the Bluetooth menu bar icon. But did you know that there’s another, deeper, super-hidden menu with extra troubleshooting tools? There is. Here’s how to fix Bluetooth problems when nothing else seems to work.