Mobile menu toggle

Top stories - page 346

iPhone 11 threatens to steal Samsung’s smartphone crown

By

iPhone11
iPhone 11 has been good for business.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone may always be No. 1 in the minds and hearts of its users. Samsung, though, always had the shipment numbers to claim its smartphones made it the world’s best-selling brand.

Then the iPhone 11 lineup showed up. Now market research shows Apple has currently surpassed Samsung or, at the very least, is tied as the smartphone brand king.

Why Apple is right to keep ads off Apple TV+ [Opinion]

By

Why Apple is right not to have ads on Apple TV+ [Opinion]
Apple's not planning to make Apple TV+ into a billboard for other companies.
Photo: Paweł Czerwiński/Unsplash

According to Tim Cook, users won’t see any ads on Apple TV+ anytime soon. Or ever.

“For the TV+ business, we feel strongly that what that customer wants is an ad-free product,” Cook said during Tuesday’s record-breaking Apple earnings call. Considering how much money Apple could rake in from advertising, that’s leaving a lot of cash on the table. But it’s also completely the right thing to do.

Why the iConnectAudio4+ is the best audio interface for iPad and Mac

By

iConnectAudio4+ is the best gift you can buy for your iPad. And your Mac.
This is the best gift you can buy for your iPad. And your Mac.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The iConnectAudio4+ isn’t a new product. It’s been around for a few years. And this isn’t really a review. This article will be more of a PSA, telling you about a unique input device can change how you use your iPad for audio.

The feature that sets the iConnectAudio4+ apart from other USB audio interfaces is that it can connect to two computers at once, and send audio to both. It can even route audio — digitally — between your Mac and your iPad.

Apple TV+ popularity might surprise you

By

First 3 episodes of crime drama Truth Be Told debut on Apple TV+
“Truth Be Told” on Apple TV+ was the fourth most popular streaming show to debut last quarter.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ shows are drawing plenty of attention, according to a market-analysis firm. Six of the ten most popular streaming series premiering last quarter were reportedly made by Apple.

How to disable multitasking on your iPad

By

Ulysses split view
Split View is great, but it's way too hard to use.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apparently, some people really hate multitasking on the iPad. It’s easy to see why. All you have to do is accidentally drag a link in Safari, instead of just tapping on it, and you end up with a split-screen view, with that link in its own window. And getting rid of that window is a huge pain, even if you know how to do it.

Fortunately for people who hate iPad multitasking — which isn’t really multitasking, but is Apple’s term for the confusion of multiple-window views on iPadOS — Apple lets you turn off the feature. Here’s how to disable iPad multitasking (and why you might not want to).

2021’s LCD iPhone might feature capacitive power button with Touch ID

By

iPhone-Touch-ID-power
Touch ID isn't dead yet.
Mockup: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple is far from done with Touch ID. The latest research note from reliable TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicates the technology will return with at least one iPhone coming in 2021 — and it will have a new home.

Apple is expected to integrate a fingerprint scanner into a new capacitive power button on the side of its more affordable LCD device.

How Apple’s tight rein on iPhone security helps hackers

By

Hackers are always trying to crack iPhone security
While criminals probably can‘t hack an iPhone, government agencies can.
Photo: Soumil Kumar/Pexels CC

Apple keeps a very tight lid on iPhone security, but that might actually benefit very sophisticated hackers, according to some security experts.

This is how Saudi Arabia was allegedly able to hack Jeff Bezos’s iPhone X.

Kuo: Apple’s huge lineup of products for early 2020 includes AirPower alternative

By

AirPower
Apple hasn't given up on wireless charging pads.
Photo: Apple

Apple is planning a huge lineup of products for early 2020, including a brand-new AirPower alternative, according to reliable TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Fans can also look forward to a low-cost iPhone, upgrades to iPad Pro and the MacBook lineup, high-end headphones, and more before the summer, he reported.

Prepare your wallets for one hell of a beating!

Ming-Chi Kuo: Coronavirus could hurt Apple 2021 iPhone production

By

iPhone sales
The impact of coronavirus in China could hurt Apple in 2021.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo warns that Apple could experience product shipment delays and other risks if the deadly coronavirus spreading in China is not significantly contained before March.

In a note to investors Wednesday obtained by Cult of Mac, the respected soothsayer also warned that the coronavirus has caused consumer confidence in a market Apple has been trying to grow, especially with smartphones.

Wall Street analysts go all-out bullish on record Apple earnings

By

Bullish Apple analysts aren’t panicking about coronavirus…yet
With strong iPhone sales and improvements in China consumer sales, Wall Street analyst can't say enough good things about Apple.
Photo: Brad Gibson/Cult of Mac

Apple’s first-quarter results have triggered confidence among analysts that the future of the company is stronger than ever on the back of the iPhone.

Wall Street analysts began reporting Wednesday their thoughts on the tech giant – everything from strong sales growth in China, to rumors of a new low-cost iPhone to a 5G-ready mobile later this year.

First Apple Store in India might not open this year

By

India Apple Stores
Until real Apple Stores open in India, this is what customers have to use instead.
Photo: Lawrence Sinclair/Flickr CC

Apple’s first retail store in India reportedly won‘t open in time for the launch of the 2020 iPhone. And even online sales allegedly won’t begin until the second half of this year.

There have supposedly been problems in Apple’s efforts to begin selling iPhones and other devices directly to consumers in India.

AirPods Pro supply problems couldn’t stop Apple’s surging wearables business

By

Finally! AirPods Pro bring active noise cancellation.
They were tough to get at Christmas, but they still made Apple a lot of money.
Photo: Apple

When Apple reported an all-time record for quarterly revenue Tuesday, it got a big boost from one of its smallest products: the AirPods Pro.

Despite severe supply constraints, the new wireless earbuds helped Apple sell $10 billion worth of wearables and accessories in the holiday quarter, a 37% jump from a year ago, the company reported. Revenue for the wearables sector grew 17% to a new all-time record of $12.7 billion.

Apple TV+ subscriber numbers remain a total mystery

By

Tim Cook is keeping quiet about Apple TV+ subscriber numbers for now.
Tim Cook could open up on the success of Apple's various subscription services.
Photo: Apple

Apple just can’t stop touting its surging revenue from subscription services. But when it comes to Apple TV+ subscriber numbers, Cupertino is keeping suspiciously quiet.

“2019 was a historic year” for Apple’s services business, CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday during the company’s latest record-smashing earnings call. He then went on to drop specific numbers about services like the App Store and Apple Pay. But when it came to new services like Apple TV+, Cook kept things decidedly vague.

Cook loves to reiterate that Apple TV+ serves as a creative place for the world’s best storytellers. And the story he’s masterfully spinning about the streaming video service is a great big mystery.

The biggest surprises from Apple’s shockingly good earnings report

By

Tim Cook with money bag
Tim Cook
Illustration: Cult of Mac

The first Apple earnings report of 2020 was a smashing success that shattered most of Apple’s previous records. Thanks to shockingly strong iPhone sales and a surging wearables business that is bigger than the Mac and the iPad, Apple managed to surpass even the most optimistic expectations.

Apple CEO Tim Cook held a call with investors after the numbers came out to dive deeper into the impressive quarterly results. Cook dished on everything from the success of Apple TV+ and problems with AirPods Pro supplies to the Wuhan coronavirus affecting China. If you didn’t get a chance to join the call, don’t worry, Cult of Mac has you covered with all the need-to-know info.

Apple moves to blunt coronavirus’s impact on Chinese operations

By

Foxconn
But there's a definite chance of further delays.
Photo: Foxconn

Apple is bracing itself against a growing coronavirus outbreak, restricting business travel to China and closing one Apple Store as health officials try to contain the deadly virus.

Apple is also trying to gauge the potential disruption to production. Most of the world’s iPhones, as well as other devices, are assembled in China with components coming from a network of nearly 400 suppliers.

Apple’s best-ever quarter, strictly by the numbers

By

Apple financial results on an iPad Pro
A dive into Apple’s most recent financial results shows what’s really happening with the company.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple pulled in more revenue and profits last quarter than it ever has before. These numbers were buoyed by strong iPhone and wearable sales. But the news isn’t all good.

Check out these charts that show with a glance how the company made its money last quarter.

iPhone 11 propels Apple to another record-breaking quarter

By

apple earnings
Apple's money-making machine is on a new level.
Photo illustration: Steve Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s first earnings report of 2020 saw the company hit a new all-time record for revenue made in a quarter thanks to stronger than expected iPhone sales.

The iPhone-maker brought in $91.8 billion during the holiday quarter which has the stock soaring in after-hours trading. Worries over how the coronavirus in China might affect Apple’s production throughout 2020 had Wall Street worried yesterday and based on Apple’s guidance for Q2 2020, the company doesn’t seem overly concerned it will have a big impact on profits yet.

Get all the default Mac wallpapers, in gorgeous Retina 5K

By

Mac wallpaper on iPad
Isn't it beautiful?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The best ever Mac default desktop background (aka Mac wallpaper) was the blue Aqua picture that came with OS X 10.4 Tiger. It’s classy, restful and classic without feeling dated. It has enough depth to make it interesting, but is simple enough not to distract. Other Aqua-themed Mac OS X wallpapers followed, but that one remains the best. And if you want it, you can download it in beautiful 5K resolution.

But that’s not all. Over at 512 Pixels, you can download every default macOS wallpaper ever, also in 5K.

New Powerbeats4 images leak out with iOS 13.3.1

By

Powerbeats4-leak
Powerbeats4 (center) alongside Powerbeats Pro (left) and Powerbeats3.
Photo: Apple

Images of Apple’s brand-new Powerbeats4 headphones have been spilled for the first time in today’s iOS 13.3.1 update.

The sporty buds look near identical to Powerbeats Pro, but like their predecessors, they won’t be completely wireless. They are expected to pack Apple’s newest H1 chip with hands-free “Hey Siri” support.

Dealer will part with prized Steve Jobs autograph for $77,000

By

Plaque Steve Jobs
For 10-years of services.
Photo: RR Auction

How does an autograph collector part with a favorite item? Dan Caldwell of Billionaire Collectibles sets the price high enough so that letting go is not so painful.

He has what is likely the only Steve Jobs autograph currently for sale, a signed work-anniversary certificate for an Apple employee. The $77,000 asking price on eBay is how much someone “will have to pay to peel it out of my hands.”

How to make your Apple Watch tell the wrong time

By

Apple Watch clock
Find out how to never ever know the actual time with this great tip.
Photo: Jon Tyson/Unsplash

Did you know you can force the Apple Watch to display the wrong time? You can. In fact, you can make it add up to 59 minutes to the actual time, and show that bogus data on the main display.

It’s either the most useless setting on the Apple Watch or the most useful, depending on your point of view. Here’s how to make your Apple Watch tell the wrong time.

Neil Young slams MacBook Pro’s ‘Fisher-Price’ audio quality

By

MacBook-Pro-music
It's just "garbage."
Photo: Marc-Olivier Paquin/Unsplash

Neil Young believes there’s a big problem with making music on a MacBook Pro. In a recent interview, the acclaimed singer-songwriter slammed the “Fisher-Price” audio quality you get with Apple’s newest notebooks.

Young also revealed that Steve Jobs knew about his concerns, but felt that MacBook audio was good enough for consumers.

Behind the scenes of Apple’s powder-packed snowboarding video

By

Exclusive: Videographer behind latest Apple ad talks shooting snowboarding on iPhone
Apple's latest "Shot on iPhone" ad may be its most impressive yet.
Screenshot: Apple

Next time you’re shooting an iPhone video, be glad you’re not shooting in waist-deep snow in freezing conditions. That was the challenge posed to Joe Carlino, the intrepid videographer behind Apple’s latest “Shot on iPhone” promo.

The ad, which dropped yesterday, shows four pro snowboarders doing their thing in the wilds of British Columbia. Cult of Mac spoke with Carlino about how the ad came about, and the pros and cons of shooting on iPhone in inhospitable conditions.

Turn your to-do lists into actionable timelines with this Mac app [Deals]

By

Pagico
Boost your productivity with task timelines, project visualizations, daily planning and cross-links.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Staying on top of the day to day to-dos can be more complicated than it should. Ironically, that’s partly because of the technology that’s supposed to make our lives easier. We can do more in less time, so we expect to get more done. This task manager helps keep up by merging data and task management.