Mobile menu toggle

Top stories - page 510

Worries arise as Apple hands over iCloud accounts to China

By

Apple Store
Apple has had a number of challenges growing its market in China.
Photo: Apple

Apple has completed the transition of iCloud accounts registered in China to state-run Chinese servers, and privacy and human rights advocates are (rightfully) worried.

In addition to transferring the accounts to state-run servers, Apple may have also transferred the digital keys to Chinese jurisdiction, although Apple says it retains control of them. Nonetheless, it’s a concerning event — especially at a time when people are already worried about Xi Jinping, ruler of the Communist Party of China, ramping up censorship as part of the bid to establish himself as president for life.

4 tools that make iPhone a better road warrior [Deals]

By

Auto Roundup Collage
Perfect for those long commutes or road trips, these four gadgets will make driving a bit more fun.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Your iPhone makes daily life a lot easier. But when driving, the most you can expect is getting directions. That’s why we’ve rounded up four awesome iPhone car accessories. From smart license plates to wireless charging, speed trap detectors and more, there’s something in here for anyone who wants their phone to be a true road companion. Read on for more details.

Vintage computer museum on sale with 80 classic Macs

By

Benj Edwards Computer Collection
This is about half of Benj Edwards‘ computer collection
Photo: Benj Edwards

Many people can’t bear to part with their old computers, and slowly build a collection of aging models in their basement. Benj Edwards took that impulse to the next level: He owns at least 228 unique devices, many of them classic Apple products going back to the 1980s.

Now he’s put them all up for sale. Ready to start your own computer museum?

ShotBox brings instant screenshot markup to the Mac

By

shotbox
If you've used screenshot markup on iOS, you already know how ShotBox works.
Photo: Josh Parnham

If you like Instant Markup on iOS, then you’re going to love ShotBox. It’s a free app, available from the Mac App Store, that automatically pops up a panel of markup tools whenever you take a screenshot. It’s almost exactly like the Instant Markup tools built into iOS 11.

How to stream Xbox One games to your Mac

By

OneCast Xbox One for Mac
OneCast in action on macOS.
Photo: OneCast

Microsoft lets Windows 10 users stream Xbox One games to their PC, but it doesn’t support Mac. Now there’s a third-party solution that lets Apple fans get in on the action.

Here’s how to stream Xbox One games to your Mac using OneCast.

Pro Tip: How to pick a new thumbnail for your Live Photos

By

live photos key
With Live Photos new key-photo settings, you can go back in time.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Pro Tip Cult of Mac bugWhen you take a Live Photo, your iPhone automatically picks a key frame to serve as the non-animated thumbnail. Depending on your subject, this automatic pick may be terrible, showing a blurred frame, or worse. If you’ve shot a photo of a skateboarder popping a sweet heel flip, for example, the still frame may not even have the skater in it.

The good news is that you can easily choose your own key frame.

These smart glasses get me excited about how cool Apple Glasses could be

By

Trying out the Vuzix Blade augmented reality smart glasses at Mobile World Congress 2018.
The Vuzix Blade AR smart glasses offer a glimpse of the future.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Mobile World Congress 2018 BARCELONA, Spain — The best product I’ve tried out at this year’s Mobile World Congress is the Vuzix Blade AR glasses. These smart specs superimpose a sharp, high-definition display over your regular vision, making real life resemble an awesome Xbox game.

The Blade basically delivers on everything that Google Glass tried to do, but without sucking. I was skeptical about the rumors that Apple is developing its own augmented reality glasses. But what I saw through the lens of a Vuzix Blade showed me how far this technology has come — and just how cool Apple AR glasses could be.

iPhone X clones flood MWC and this one’s damn ugly

By

iPhone X clone
The Leagoo S9 is one of the better iPhone X knockoffs.
Photo: Benedict Evans

Mobile World Congress 2018Chinese smartphone makers turn up to Mobile World Congress with awful clones every year. This year, the iPhone X is the hottest handset money can buy — and just as expected, it has copycats all over the place.

Some of them are downright ugly — like this monstrosity from Oukitel.

VPNs are key to a private and restriction-free online life [Deals]

By

Guard your online life with fewer restrictions for a year with this great VPN deal.
Guard your online life with fewer restrictions for a year with this great VPN deal.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The internet is still like the wild west, with the online equivalent of the railroad companies looking to carve it up. It’s going to take people power to keep the internet open, like today’s Operation: One More Vote. But there are personal steps we can each take to maintain our privacy and freedom of movement online.

Apple wellness clinics will offer ‘world’s best healthcare’

By

AC Wellness clinics
AC Wellness clinics will open in California this spring.
Photo: AC Wellness

Apple plans to launch new wellness clinics that will offer employees and their families “the world’s best healthcare.”

AC Wellness will be independently operated, according to its official website — but job listings suggest it is a wholly Apple-owned subsidiary. One of its clinics will be situated inside Apple Park, the Cupertino company’s brand new headquarters.

iOS 11 gets first jailbreak with Cydia support

By

Electra jailbreak
Electra finally picks up Cydia support.
Photo: CoolStar

Jailbreaking is on its last legs, but it won’t go down without a fight.

One hacker just unleashed a new jailbreaking tool for iOS 11 — the first with Cydia support. Electra 1.0.1 is compatible with all of Apple’s latest devices, including iPhone X, and all versions of iOS 11 up to iOS 11.1.2.

Pro Tip: See full-screen Quick Look slideshows in macOS Finder

By

projector Quick Look slideshows
You don't need a projector to do a slideshow.
Photo: Kali Motxo/Flickr CC

Pro Tip Cult of Mac bugQuick Look is one of the Finder’s best features. Whenever you have a file selected in the Finder, just hit the space bar and you’ll see a preview of that file. It’s a great way to quickly view photos, or read the contents of a document, without opening it in an app.

But did you know you can pull up full-screen Quick Look slideshows just as easily?

Stream audio from iOS to multiple HomePods with AirFoil

By

HomePod
AirFoil is the missing link between your Mac and your HomePod.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Do you want to stream music from an app on your Mac to your HomePod? Good luck with that. The only app that supports AirPlay streaming is iTunes, and what’s the point in using that if you can stream your iCloud Music Library directly using the HomePod alone? For apps like Spotify, or VLC, you can resort to streaming your entire Mac system audio via Airplay, but then you have to listen alerts booming through the HomePod, and you can’t remote-control the Spotify Audio using Siri.

But if you use Rogue Amoeba’s AirFoil, you can fix all these problems.

20 HomePod tips you need to know

By

The HomePod is a lot smarter than you might think. Just take a look at these tips!
The HomePod is a smarter speaker than you might think.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The HomePod takes a lot of flak for being the dumbest smart speaker around, but it can do more than you might think. In today’s video, I’ll show you 20 HomePod tips you need to know.

(Just a quick heads-up: I’m going to be saying “Hey Siri” a few times in this video.)

Name your price for expert photo lessons and stock images [Deals]

By

Get this bundle of photography courses and resources for whatever you want to pay.
Get this bundle of photography courses and resources for whatever you want to pay.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Photography is one of those things that can make you more marketable, or just more happy. It’s an art, a skill, a form of communication, and a way of developing new relationships to the world around you.

Photography gets deep, and so does this bundle of photo lessons and resources. And it can be yours for whatever you want to pay.

Accessory maker promises iOS 11.3 release this week

By

iPhone X Animoji
Animoji are too much fun!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 11.3’s public debut is right around the corner, according to one iPhone accessory maker.

Shure, which manufactures iPhone microphone add-ons, told its followers on Twitter that a fix for its buggy accessories would be available with Apple’s next major update this week.

Leaked images offer first glimpse at apparent iPhone X Plus display

By

iPhone X Plus display leak
iPhone X Plus could pack a larger 6.5-inch OLED display.
Photo: MacX

Leaked photos of an apparent iPhone X Plus display have been published on a Chinese forum.

The device is expected to get its official unveiling this fall alongside a refreshed iPhone X and a more affordable handset with an edge-to-edge LCD display. The leaked displays are said to be from a “production equipment trial run” by LG Display.

Samsung takes shots at iPhone X ‘notch’ in Galaxy S9 debut

By

Galaxy S9
Samsung hopes its new handset will be an iPhone X killer.
Photo: Samsung

Mobile World Congress 2018Samsung just can’t debut a new phone without taking shots at Apple in the process!

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ flagship. And, as it was keen to point out in its presentation, “There’s no notch.”

(Although it does happen to feature an Animoji ripoff, better facial recognition tech, and iPhone X-style stereo speakers.)

5 ways Apple will rule Mobile World Congress (without even showing up)

By

Everyone who is anyone in mobile (except Apple) will be at Mobile World Congress 2018.
Everyone who is anyone in mobile (except Apple) will be there.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Mobile World Congress 2018 When the entire mobile phone industry heads to Barcelona next week for Mobile World Congress 2018, there will be one notable absence: Apple.

Cupertino doesn’t do trade shows. Not even really big ones like MWC. Yet, despite its absence from the massive Spanish trade show, Apple’s influence will loom large over Barcelona’s beautiful horizons.

Here are five things Apple fans should look out for at MWC next week.

Alto’s Odyssey, UniChar, and other awesome apps of the week

By

Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Awesome Apps

A brilliant sandboarding endless runner that’s sure to go down as one of this year’s greatest iOS games is just of one of the picks for this week’s “Awesome Apps of the Week.”

In addition, we’ve got a great Unicode app for iOS, a gambling-centric version of Angry Birds, and a significant update to one of the best image-editing apps available on iPad Pro. Check out our selections below.

Stock up on stretchy, Apple-certified Lightning cables [Deals]

By

This pair of Apple-certified Lightning cables cost a fraction the usual price, and keep clutter to a minimum.
This pair of Apple-certified Lightning cables cost a fraction the usual price, and keep clutter to a minimum.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Owning an iPhone means owning the fact that you’ll have to constantly replace flimsy Lightning cables. Their soft white coating is prone to fraying and tearing, and of course they’re easy to lose. So it’s nice when high quality backup cables don’t cost high quality prices.

Cult of Mac Magazine: 5 ways Apple will rule Mobile World Congress and more!

By

cover
Everyone who is anyone in mobile (except Apple) will be at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

When the entire mobile phone industry heads to Barcelona next week for Mobile World Congress 2018, there will be one notable absence: Apple.

Cupertino doesn’t do trade shows. Not even really big ones like Mobile World Congress. Yet, despite its absence from the massive Spanish trade show, Apple’s influence will loom large over Barcelona’s beautiful horizons. Cult of Mac shows you five things Apple fans should look out for at MWC next week.

In this week’s issue, you’ll find that story and more. Enter to win a HomePod through Cult of Mac Deals. Learn how to drag and drop text between apps on iPad. Shop Casetify’s Stainless Steel Mesh Bands in two new finishes — Gold and Irisdescent — in our Watch Store. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Each of these iPhone upgrades costs less than $25 [Deals]

By

Each of these awesome iPhone upgrades is less than 25 bucks.
Each of these awesome iPhone upgrades is less than 25 bucks.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

When you buy an iPhone, you’re just getting started. For become useful in your day-to-day life, you’ll want some extras. So if you’re going to listen to music, that means headphones. If you’re driving a lot, you’ve got to have a car mount. All those accessories can add up, which is why we’ve rounded up four key iPhone add-ons, each for less than 25 bucks. Read on for more details: