Top stories - page 341

Unless you hate yourself, or you have an uncommonly close relationship with Siri, anytime you need to reply to a message on your Apple Watch, you pull out your iPhone. Scribble, the watch’s laborious handwriting-recognition input, is fine for very short replies, but it takes so long for anything else that it makes T9 text input look appealing.

But what if there was some kind of iPhone-esque Scribble autocomplete? What if I told you that this hidden feature is already there, and that you just never noticed it? Prepare to have your mind blown.

Apple asked a federal judge on Tuesday to toss a movie director’s lawsuit, arguing similarities between her work and the Apple TV+ series Servant are “common” and “unprotectable ideas” found in other works.

Francesa Gregorini’ has accused Apple, and Servant’s creators M. Night Shyamalan and Tony Basgallop’s of ripping off her 2013 film The Truth About Emanuel. Both movie and television series features a traumatized parent who hires a babysitter to care for a baby that turns out to be a doll.

Making videos on Mac is easy, if you have the right tools. But subscriptions to creative software suites are expensive, and can take up a lot of space. Often, they’re too complicated for casual users.

Not so with Filmage Screen, a single app that offers a one-stop shop for all your HD video needs.

Larry Tesler, a pioneering computer scientist who worked at Apple from 1980 to 1997 and created computerized cut, copy and paste, died Monday at the age of 74.

Tesler served as VP of AppleNet and Apple’s Advanced Technology Group. During his time at Apple, he played a key role in the development of products ranging from the Lisa to the Newton MessagePad.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to his contribution to computing.

Lockdown, the open-source firewall app for iOS, is now available on the Mac. And just like the iOS version, it blocks all kinds of connections to trackers and other unwanted snoop-ware.

Mac users already enjoy good options when it comes to privacy apps, so how does Lockdown match up?

The newly-released watchOS 6.1.3 fixes a significant bug, but only for the residents of Iceland. Still, Apple thinks it’s important enough to put out a software update primarily for this reason.

Before the iPhone 11, holding down the shutter button in the camera app would capture a burst of photos. That was great for capturing action, or for making sure you get a group photo where everyone has their eyes open (and is grimace-free). But press and hold the shutter on the iPhone 11, and you get a QuickTake video.

Fortunately, burst mode is still there. It’s just hidden behind a secret gesture.

Apple’s fall product launch will include a tiny gadget with a big responsibility: knowing the whereabouts of your devices when you lose them.

AirTags, a circular Bluetooth tracking keychain attachment similar to Tile, got on the radar of supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who reported news Tuesday on the supplier charged with producing the circuitry.

More devices, more trouble keeping them all charged. Whether you’re at home or at work, we count on our mobile gear to stay on, so this roundup of chargers offers just the right solution for your specific power needs. From multi-port wall outlets, to 5-at-once charging hubs and more, your search for the ideal charging solution stops with this gear from Naztech.

Apple will make its new iPhone SE 2 (or iPhone 9?) official on March 31, a new rumor, citing sources within Apple, claims today. The low-cost handset is then expected to go on sale just a few days later.

Apple’s next iPad Pro refresh could give fans a new 12-inch screen option, according to a new report. It is expected to arrive in March with a revamped camera system that includes a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor for 3D scanning.

Amazing Stories debuts on Apple TV+ in just a few weeks, and a new trailer previews the five episodes in the first season of this sci-fi/fantasy anthology.

Watch it now:

Apple expects to fall short of March quarter revenue goals as the coronavirus outbreak in China constrains manufacturing, supply chains and retail.

The statement released Monday is likely to trigger dips in stock prices when the market reopens Tuesday after being idle for Presidents Day.

Apple apparently wants to make sure the European Union doesn’t put too many restrictions on artificial intelligence. John Giannandrea, Apple’s AI chief, is reportedly in Brussels while lawmakers debate new rules on machine intelligence.

Take one look at any screenshot from a pre-iOS 7 iPhone, and you’ll wonder how we ever used such a hideous interface for so many years. The skeumorphic design language included so much fake wood, glossy plastic and gray gradient that there’s almost nowhere to put the actual contents of the app.

iOS 7 went way too far in the opposite direction, with flat white pages and skinny text. Is that a button? Is it just a label? Can I press it? Who knows? We’re still suffering from this UI ambiguity today, in iOS 13. Text got thicker, but it’s still hard to know what to press, and what is just there to be read.

Clearly, there’s a space between these two extremes. Something as clean as iOS 7 and, at the same time, as obvious and usable as iOS 6 and previous versions. But what would that look like? I know what I want it to look like. It’s called “neumorphism,” and it looks fantastic.

See in spring in style with these hot new Apple Watch bands from Speidel.

We’ve got stunning double tours, traditional leather straps, and premium stainless steel bracelets — all available today on the Cult of Mac Store. Prices start at just $19.95.

Switch on a hotel TV, and you’ll likely run into its paywall very quickly. You probably don’t want to view any of the hotel’s stupid pay channels, but maybe you do want to hook up your iPad and watch some of the shows you brought along with you.

You’re typically still out of luck, though. These locked-up TVs won’t let you access their HDMI ports. Nor will they let you connect via AirPlay, if they even support Apple’s streaming protocol. However, there’s an absurdly easy way to disable all this dumb “security” and watch video from your iPad or iPhone to a hotel TV.

Now might be the best time to buy that MacBook you’ve been considering. Factory shutdowns in China because of the coronavirus outbreak will reportedly lead to shortages of components needed to make laptops.

We could be waiting longer for the mysterious “AirPods Pro Lite” headphones Apple is rumored to be developing. A new report claims production will not begin during the second half of 2020 as originally planned.

Apple is expected to deliver a big iPad Pro refresh this March, and that’s still on track despite the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, according to a new report. Supplies could be limited at launch, however, with production likely to be slow to ramp up until after April.

Any day that you can save on great digital goodies is a holiday to us. So these Presidents Day deals on gear, gadgets and apps deserve double celebration. They include deals as high as 99% on VPN protection, noise-canceling headphones, iOS coding training and more.

This week we dock apps with SwitchGlass, convert photos from Aperture to Lightroom with Avalanche, rip music to shreds with Scatterbrain, and more.

This Presidents Day, instead of thinking about presidents, why not upgrade the apps in your iOS and Mac devices? We’ve rounded up some awesome deals on great software, from half off to as much as 94% off of VPNs, website builders, task managers and more.

The Scosche BaseLynx can quickly charge every Apple device you have — AirPods to MacBook Pro — either wirelessly or via cable. And this system is modular so you can get just the components you need and not the ones you don’t.

I’ve used it to power my Apple Watch, iPhone and iPad. Here’s how it survived real-world use.

With Samsung trotting out its newest smartphones — including one that folds like a clamshell, and one with an advanced camera system — it’s time to compare the South Korean company’s offerings to Apple’s gear.

Cult of Mac identified five features Apple should totally swipe from Samsung for the next iPhone. Find out about Samsung’s state of the art — and what it means for Apple — in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine. The free iOS mag is stuffed with Apple news and opinion, tips and how-tos for Apple device owners, and product reviews and recommendations. Download it to read on iPad, or visit the links to this week’s top posts below.