This week we've rounded up tools for keeping your Mac clean, replacing the Apple Dock, maximizing your keyboard efficiency, and lots more. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Macs are powerful machines, but only when they’ve got the right apps. So we’ve rounded up four of the best Mac apps at some of the best prices. There are tools for keeping tidy drives, upgrading Apple’s Dock, expanding the potential of each keystroke, and lots more. Read on for more details:
Is a new iPad mini right around the corner? Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Apple will finally refresh the iPad mini next year, according to sources in the company’s supply chain.
A fifth-generation model is expected to make its debut during the first half of 2019, followed by a more affordable 10-inch iPad that will replace the existing 9.7-inch slate in Apple’s lineup.
Here's some holiday viewing for you. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Do you want to celebrate the end of another year by relaxing in front of a great informative documentary? Nobody would blame you! Fortunately, 2018 was a great year for tech- and science-focused factual filmmaking.
Here are our choices for the best science and technology documentaries 2018 had to offer.
Christmas time means packing up your daily troubles, forgetting work for a week, and heading home to … troubleshoot your parents’ broken computers and gadgets? Oh man, is it that time of year again already?
That’s the problem with being the family’s only geek — you get handed all the geek jobs. However, you can turn this to your advantage, and make it a lot easier, by going in prepared. Check out our Holiday Troubleshooting Guide right here.
Yum. Perfectly timed. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
“Hey Siri, 30-minute timer!” you shout across the kitchen, elbows deep in turkey gizzards. Only Siri isn’t interested. It’s already running that one-hour timer for the roast potatoes. Why would anybody want to run multiple timers at the same time? Silly human.
Thankfully, Shortcuts is here to save your bacon (and your Brussel’s sprouts, sage-and-onion stuffing, and so on). If you’re feeling fancy, you could even set this up to use with Siri, but today we’ll keep it simple. So, no matter how complex your Christmas Day cooking arrangement, Shortcuts will let you know when your goose is cooked.
John Giannandrea is Apple’s newest SVP. Photo: Apple
Apple has promoted John Giannandrea to its executive team as senior vice president of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
Giannandrea, who joined Apple back in April of this year after eight years at Google, is responsible for Siri and the Core ML framework. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is “fortune to have John … driving our efforts in this critical area.”
Apple is appealing the court's decision. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple will be barred from selling certain iPhone models in Germany, after a court ruled that Apple was infringing on a Qualcomm patent. While the ban isn’t immediate, provided that Apple appeals it, Apple has said that it will stop selling the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 in Apple Stores until the matter is resolved.
Apple apps no longer dominate App Store search results. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines to allow the gifting of in-app purchases.
Shoppers have long been able to gift apps and games, but Apple’s rules previously prohibited the purchase of in-app items for others. You probably won’t be able to gift in-app purchases in time for the holidays, however.
Dive into a comprehensive course in building iOS apps, for a deep discount. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Learning to build apps for iOS is a great way to expand your skills. That’s true whether you’re looking to get a new gig, or just want to work on personal projects. But coding is complicated, and iOS 12 is full of advanced features, so it helps to have a guide.
With an iPhone in China, apps close by shrinking, not by sliding off the screen. Screenshot: Joe Rossignol/YouTube
There’s now proof that Apple rushed iOS 12.1.2 out primarily to make changes to iPhones in China.We also have confirmation of exactly what the modifications are.
These were designed to convince a Chinese court that iPhones don’t infringe on two Qualcomm patents.The hope is that court will then reverse an iPhone sales ban that went into effect in that country last week.
The new Apple Pencil is much nicer than the old one. Photo: Andrea Nepori
Got a new Apple Pencil? Then you should change these two settings as soon as you’ve snapped it onto the side of your iPad Pro and experienced its satisfyingly solid magnetic click.
Some of these Apple numbers are just huge. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
2018 has been one of the best years ever for Apple. Looking at some of the company’s most popular metric shows that the numbers are up across the board (stock price excepted).
Never before have there been more developers making more money off iOS while Apple extends its ever-growing reach. Revenue hit an all-time high. And the next big thing feels like it’s just on the horizon.
The past 12 months have been one of the busiest ever for Apple’s video team.
Apple churned out more than 120 ads and other videos in 2018, unleashing some of its most memorable commercials in years.
After hours of watching all of Apple’s 2018 ads, we rounded up the 10 absolute best, some of which you probably haven’t even seen yet. Get ready to relive all the good times!
Look out for Apple Music on other Alexa speakers soon. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple Music will make its way to third-party Alexa speakers eventually, Amazon has confirmed.
The streaming service finally joined Alexa earlier this week — you may have gotten an announcement notification on your iPhone — but it’s currently available only on Amazon’s own Echo devices.
Take a deep dive into Microsoft Excel, and come out with a highly marketable certification. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
When it comes to appealing to potential employers, every bit of extra skill helps. And there are few skills more portable and marketable than mastery of Microsoft Excel. It’s used in countless offices, for everything from bookkeeping to contacts to project management and way beyond. So these Excel courses are a must-see for any digital professional.
Get all the resources you need to start building all kinds of Arduino projects. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
With Arduino, it’s possible to build almost anything you can imagine. Whether it’s wearables, apps, or robots, the freedom Arduino offers can be liberating or intimidating, depending on your skill level. So this bundle of parts and lessons is a great resource for anyone looking to break into Arduino.
Mark Rober wants thieves to think twice before swiping packages off a porch. Screenshot: Mark Rober/YouTube
Mark Rober already served the citizens of planet Earth by helping build the Curiosity rover currently roaming Mars. Now add holiday hero to his engineering credentials.
The ex-NASA engineer designed a series of revenge-bait packages that looked like HomePods — but showered unsuspecting thieves with glitter and deadly doses of fart spray.
Get in the mix with these great music apps. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
The iOS music scene is stronger than ever, and 2018 saw some pretty awesome apps, from the simple MIDI keyboard app KB-1, to an Nanostudio 2, an entire Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) app that took its English programming team 6years to build. And that’s just the beginning. Lets check out the best iOS music apps of 2018.
This flight tracker is built into every iPhone and iPad. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
It’s Christmas season, and you know what that means: Extra-long queues at airport check-in and “security;” once-a-year travelers who won’t just get out of the plane’s aisle and just sit the hell down; and of course parents/kids/friends who insist that you never emailed them the details of your flight.
We can’t fix the queues, the morons who mill in the aisles, or your lying friends and family, but I can show you how to quickly track a flight right from the Messages app, or anywhere else you see a flight number written down on your iPhone. Let’s take a look.
In the olden days, this was the only way to edit your photos. Photo: Agirldamednee/Flickr CC
Even if you don’t have much interest in editing RAW and JPG images on your iPad, you might still want to check out Darkroom. The brand-new iPad version of the popular photo app offers a view of your standard iCloud Photo Library that’s better-looking and easier to use than the native Photos app. And that’s just for starters.
Samsung has been getting a lot stick lately for posting tweets from an iPhone, but it turns out it’s not the only company that sometimes uses a competitor’s devices. Apple is guilty of it, too.
The official Apple Music account recently published a tweet using an Android device.
Stay in charge of your personal finances this holiday with highly rated app, CoinKeeper. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Many of us are learning how important personal finance is, mostly because we’re pretty bad at it. But getting a grip on your finances means coming to understand where you’re spending and where you should be saving. Luckily, technology can help.
Learn to grow your follower count on Instagram with this crash course. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Sure, it’s nice to have a gaggle of Instagram followers to like your pics. But building an audience on the world’s fastest-growing social media platform is more than just a vanity project. When Kylie Jenner turns her 121 million followers on to a product, she makes a cool $1 million per post.