Top stories - page 369

This week on The CultCast: The new 16-inch MacBook Pro just leaked, but its “new design” leaves a lot of people disappointed. Plus, we’ll tell you why 2020 could deliver Apple’s most impressive hardware in years. And stick around for our favorite new router, mouse, keyboard and iPhone 11 case in an all-new Under Review!

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.

Mount your iPhone almost anywhere while it’s charging with Xvida’s brilliant magnetic charging pad and case combo. It’s now available for iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max for the first time — and you can save 20% on yours today.

But you’ll need to act fast. This discount ends this Saturday!

The Sentis Libra gives an iPad Pro a keyboard and trackpad, allowing it to act as both a tablet and a laptop — something no MacBook can do.

However, rival keyboard maker Brydge accuses Sentis of using its patented design. Cult of Mac has both a Libra prototype and the most recent Brydge Pro, and we compare the two and let everyone judge whether the accusations made against this device stand up.

The Libra is undoubtedly great, including a highly-functional trackpad. So the real question is, who deserves credit for the design?

In iPadOS and iOS 13, long-pressing a link does two things simultaneously. It brings up a contextual menu with options for sharing and so on, and it loads a preview of the linked web page. Apple calls this a link preview.

But what if you don’t want a link preview? Maybe you’re on a cellular connection and you don’t want to waste data by loading pages you won’t read. Or maybe you only need the link, and never want to see the page. What if it’s a link to a huge image, or an MP3? Or perhaps it’s a link in an email, and you want to use the contextual menu to check the URL for scams. In this last case, there’s no way you want that link to load. It could prove disastrous.

The good news is that you can disable link previews in iOS 13 with a single tap.

A next-generation Apple Pencil could have a built-in touchscreen. And it’s apparently an actual improvement, not just something bolted on to make it cost more. The display would let the user know what color they’re about to draw with.

My Apple Watch Series 5 gets seriously good battery life. I can easily get 24 hours out of it, but I don’t really stress it by doing multiple daily workouts or by streaming audio directly to Bluetooth headphones. But what if your watch has trouble lasting the whole day? Or if you’re traveling, and not able to just stop and charge the watch whenever it needs a quick boost?

Today, we’ll check three settings that can prolong your Apple Watch battery life.

The iPhone 11 along with the Pro series reportedly accounted for a sizable chunk of Apple’s August-through-September handset sales, even though they were only available for two weeks during that quarter.

The most popular new model is the 6.1-inch iPhone 11, which costs significantly less than that iPhone 11 Pro series.

A seemingly small number of Mac users are reporting that their machines have been bricked after upgrading to macOS Catalina.

It is believed a potentially unsuccessful EFI firmware update is responsible for the issue. All affected users see nothing but a folder icon when attempting to boot up their Mac.

Plenty of us want to learn a new language. But no matter what app or book we study, there’s no substitute for conversations with native speakers.

No one considers canvas to be an obviously attractive material. Not unless you have an unhealthy relationship with tents. But pair it with leather and slap it on an Apple Watch and, boy, does it look good.

Case in point: Monowear’s terrific Urban Canvas band. It’s immensely durable, comfortable all day long, and surprisingly beautiful. And it costs just $38.

I don’t consider myself much of a gamer, but the idea of games always seems to appeal to me. That’s why, when Apple Arcade launched, I activated my subscription to test the waters. My hope was that I’d get some clarity before it cost me anything to try.

Now, a month has passed, and I’ve got some mixed feelings about the service. Should I keep paying for it? Are its 100-plus games worth the monthly fee? Can I play it when and where I want? Get the lowdown in my Apple Arcade review.

4Pockets’ MultiTrack Recorder Plugin is an audio-recording app that can be loaded inside other music apps. If you’ve ever seen an app like GarageBand or Logic in action, you’ll be familiar with the layout of multiple tracks on a horizontal timeline. MultiTrack Recorder Plugin offers exactly that, only it’s designed to be used inside other music apps. Apps that don’t have their own recording functions.

The Reminders app got a total revamp in iOS 13, making it way quicker and easier to add due dates, alerts and location-based notifications to new reminders. But it also added one killer new feature: Remind me when messaging.

This lets you add a contact to the reminder, and the next time you’re messaging that person, a notification will pop up.

The first year of Apple Entreprenuer Camp today wraps up after its fourth cohort of 2019. It has helped more than 42 companies, all led by women, since it kicked off last November.

Apple is now inviting others to sign up for next year’s cohort, which runs from January 28 to February 5. You have until November 15 to submit your application.

Strong demand for the iPhone 11 lineup has boosted Apple’s market share in several regions around the world.

Cupertino made gains in Europe, Australia, and Japan last quarter, according to new figures. But iPhone suffered a market share decline in China — and on its home turf.

Cult of Mac is now offering an exclusive deal on the excellent AluBase wireless charger from Just Mobile.

It’s the perfect time to treat yo’ self to the fastest possible wireless charge for iPhone, and great design that you won’t want to hide away.

Order yours today from the Cult of Mac Store to get $15 off the usual price. You won’t find this discount anywhere else.

In watchOS 6, your Apple Watch can monitor the noise levels around you, and warn you when things get too loud. This is an essential tool to help people who work in noisy environments avoid hearing damage, but it’s also a handy safeguard against excessive noise for anyone.

Here’s how to set up Apple Watch noise alerts.

Apple Watch Series 5 is here with its first always-on display and a built-in digital compass. Apple will charge you $399+ for your very own — but we’re giving one away for free!

Enter the Cult of Mac giveaway today for a chance to win a brand-new Sport model in the color and size of your choice.

Instant Markup is one of the best parts of the iOS screenshot tool, and in iOS 13 and iPadOS it’s better than ever. The tools are more flexible, you get more colors, and it even remembers your selections for next time. It still doesn’t offer all the advanced features of a markup app like Annotable (you can’t pixelate parts of the image, for example), but it’s more than good enough for most uses.

Let’s see what’s new in the iOS 13 screenshot markup tool.

Google’s latest Pixel smartphones might be able to compete with iPhone 11 in camera performance. But when it comes to battery life, they have no hope of keeping up.

Android fans are slamming the Pixel 4 lineup for its poor stamina in between charges. Even if you cough up extra for the XL model, you’ll get battery life that’s “just OK.”

The company that makes face filters for Instagram will soon remove all filters that offer AR plastic surgery.

The new policy will be welcomed by body-positive activists and mental health professionals who believe social media is feeding a rise in body dysmorphia. They point to anecdotes from cosmetic surgeons who get requests from patients to match the look created by so-called beauty filters.

Bluetooth earbuds are all the rage, but if you want a set from Apple, you’ll have well north of $100. Luckily, some alternatives prove as good or better than Apple’s earbuds. And they are certainly more affordable. You can get this set of top-notch Bluetooth earbuds for less than $35. That means you could set up family members and friends for the price of a single set of AirPods.

Apple reportedly is working on a number of big design changes for the 2020 iPhone lineup. It wants to shrink the notch (finally!) and add wider antenna bands that will support 5G connectivity.

The company is said to be testing a number of prototype designs — all of which feature smaller notches. Apple also is planning for a future without Lightning connectivity.

At Monday’s premiere of See, star Jason Momoa called his role in the upcoming Apple TV+ series “challenging, beautiful” and his “favorite role to date.”

The Game of Thrones star, who attended the Los Angeles premiere with his wife, Lisa Bonet, praised the original premise of the fantasy show. “It’s a world we’ve never seen before,” Momoa said, “and in a world that everything has been done, this is something very new and fresh.”

Juuk’s awesome new Qrono is my favorite metal band for Apple Watch. I just reviewed the cosmic gray model and I absolutely love it. And now you can get yours in several new color options.

Find brun, obsidian, and silver in the Cult of Mac Store today.