Mobile menu toggle

Top stories - page 523

Best Apple Watch accessories for smartwatch fans [2017 Gift Guide]

By

Apple Watch gift guide
Great gift ideas for any Apple Watch wearer.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2017 Gift Guide bugTreat the Apple Watch lover in your life to some sweet gifts this holiday season.

Cult of Mac can help you pick out the finest accessories money can buy for Apple Watch fanatics. We have everything from swanky straps to chic charging stands in our best Apple Watch accessories roundup.

Best iPad accessories for tablet fans [2017 Gift Guide]

By

These iPad accessories will thrill anyone who gets them.
These iPad accessories will thrill anyone who gets them.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2017 Gift Guide bugStill stressed about holiday shopping? Don’t fret! Cult of Mac is here to help you pick out the perfect gifts for your loved ones this Christmas. This gift guide offers up a bunch of brilliant suggestions for the iPad addict in your life.

We’ve handpicked the best accessories, the finest cases, and more.

Updated AirPods plus our picks for best TV of 2017, on The CultCast

By

CultCast iPad

Photo: @YSR50

This week, on a holly jolly edition of The CultCast: The next-gen AirPods are supposedly coming in 2018; next-day delivery of iPhone X is a sprinkling of Christmas magic; how to listen to Youtube videos when your iPad or iPhone screen is off; and we wrap up with our favorite TV shows of 2017!

Our thanks to Backblaze for supporting this episode! Backblaze online backup is Mac native, unlimited, unthrottled cloud backup, and it’s only 5 bucks a month. Try it totally free for two weeks at backblaze.com/cultcast.

Best Mac accessories for gift-giving [2017 Gift Guide]

By

These best Mac accessories are perfect for any Mac owner on your gift list.
These accessories are perfect for any Mac owner on your gift list.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2017 Gift Guide bug Christmas creeps up on you quickly, so if you haven’t already started your shopping, it’s time to do something about it. Cult of Mac can help! In this guide, you’ll find a selection of stellar gifts that are perfect for the Mac lover in your life.

We have killer keyboards, stunning stands, super speakers and more!

Revised App Store guidelines give devs a reason to celebrate early

By

App Store
Template apps don't mean much to you? They would if you were a developer.
Photo: Graham Bower

A minor change in its App Store guidelines this week concerning template apps doesn’t sound like much. But if you’re one of the many, many iOS developers running a small business who rely on the App Store for a living, either directly or indirectly, it was a major triumph.

Here’s why it’s given developers another reason to celebrate this holiday season.

The latest version of Toast offers total control of digital media [Deals]

By

The latest version of Toast adds enhanced integration with other apps, along with powerful new tools.
The latest version of Toast adds enhanced integration with other apps, along with powerful new tools.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Capturing, converting, editing, burning to DVD. Each of the many ways we work with digital media files requires the right software. Roxio Toast has long been seen as one of the top digital media apps for Mac. With the latest version, Toast 16 Titanium, that title seems even more secure.

iPhone X demand may be weaker than Apple expected

By

iPhone X
Apple may be considering a price reduction in early 2018.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone X shipments are likely to be somewhere between 30-35 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, a new report claims.

If true, this would be something of a disappointment for Apple. Sources in the semiconductor packaging and testing service industry suggest that iPhone X pre-orders in markets including the United States, Taiwan, and Singapore were not as strong as expected.

Cowen analyst Karl Ackerman previously claimed that sales of the new device are “good,” but possibly not as good as anticipated.

Apple hit with two lawsuits over slowing down iPhones

By

iPhone SE 2 could cost $399 just like the first-gen iPhone SE
Apple says that it slows down older iPhones, but for good reason.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Well that didn’t take long! Within a day of Apple acknowledging that it’s software updates cause older iPhone models to slow down, Apple has been hit with not one, but two class action lawsuits from folks outraged that it would behave in this way.

Both suits are asking for unspecified damages from the company.

High Sierra ‘Content Caching’ turns your Mac into a local iCloud server

By

iMac content caching
If you have a spare Mac, you could turn it into a local iCloud cache.
Photo: Dean Hochman/Flickr CC

When iOS update time rolls round, you probably run through all the devices in your home, downloading those multi-gigabyte updates over and over. If you have a few iPhones, plus a couple of iPads, it all adds to a lot of data, and a lot of waiting. New in macOS 10.13 High Sierra is Content Caching, which stores these downloads on a Mac, so they only have to be downloaded once.

This doesn’t only save on internet data usage. It also makes it way faster to update several devices. And it’s not just updates either. Content caching can also cache iCloud documents, your photo library, and app updates.

New tax break could allow Apple to bring its overseas cash pile back to the U.S.

By

Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Apple currently has around $252.3 billion held overseas.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The newly-passed Republican tax overhaul will allow Apple to repatriate its giant $252.3 billion overseas cash pile without paying as much tax as it would have previously.

Under the new rules, it would be able to take advantage of a one-off 15.5 percent tax rate, meaning it would owe around $39.1 billion — much of which Apple has already set aside for the purpose.

Apple confirms it makes old iPhones run slower (for a good reason)

By

iPhone 6S
Does your iPhone 6s feel slower?
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Does your iPhone seem to get slower and slower as it grows older? Well, according to Apple, that is exactly what’s supposed to happen.

Many iPhone users have long suspected that Apple throttles performance of aging iPhones. The popular theory is that Apple does so to entice users to upgrade. However, Apple says there are really good performance reasons behind the practice.

Slow iPhone? Here’s how to check the health of your battery

By

iPhone battery
Brazil demands easy iPhone battery replacements.
Photo: iFixit

With all the fuss about depleted old batteries slowing down iPhones, it might be a good idea to at least check the health of your iPhone’s battery. To do this, you can use a free tool called coconutBattery. This handy app digs into your iOS and Mac devices to tell you how old they are, and how strong your battery is compared to when it was new.

This SD card reader can transfer any file to iPad and iPhone

By

The Kingston MobileLite G3
This little box solves all kinds of problems.
Photo: Kingston

If you’re traveling to see family this Christmas, then you may like the Kingston MobileLite G3, which is — amongst other things — a wireless SD card reader that lets you load and save any files you like. Unlike Apple’s own SD card reader, which only works with video and photos, the MobileLite can read any file you want, and then hand it off to any app that can open it.

Not only that, but the MobileLite also works with USB drives, and can juice your iPhone with its built-in 5,400 mAh battery.

Apple’s got a secret plan to merge iOS and Mac apps in 2018

By

Coronavirus could have a surprisingly positive impact on App Store revenue
Mac apps? iOS apps? There soon might be no difference.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has always denied that merging its mobile and desktop operating systems, the way that Microsoft has done, is a good idea. But from 2018, it is reportedly starting to explore that road by giving developers the ability to create apps which work on iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Depending on the hardware you use them on, these apps could be controlled via touchscreen, mouse, or trackpad — and would be equally at home on both iOS and macOS.

Samsung could provide 4x as many OLED iPhone displays in 2018

By

iPhone 7
Apple started selling OLED iPhones this year with the iPhone X.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Samsung Display will continue churning out OLED displays for Apple in 2018, with a reported 180 – 200 million flexible OLED iPhone panels scheduled to ship next year, a new report claims.

That’s around 4x the estimated 50 million OLED panels that Samsung supplied Apple with in 2017, which suggests that Apple is planning on expanding its number of OLED handsets in the new year.

Fusion Guitar packs an iPhone dock and speakers

By

fusion guitar
With the Fusion Guitar, you too can sit in a chilly, graffiti-covered street and smile.
Photo: Fusion Guitars

What would happen if you took an electric guitar, made it as thick as an acoustic guitar, and stuffed the extra space not with boring old air, but with speakers and an electronic brain that works with your iPhone?

Then, you might put in a cutout on the guitar top to hold that iPhone, and a rechargeable battery to power it all. If you did all that, then you’d have invented the Fusion Guitar.

Activate iPhone X Reachability with a flick of the thumb

By

gestures iPhone x
Your thumb will get a workout now that the home button is no longer around to do all the work.
Photo: Apple

Here’s a great Reachability tip for iPhone X users. It’s so neat that even if you find Reachability pointless, you’ll love it. Or at least, you’ll love how absurd the gestures are to activate it.

What am I talking about? Let’s just say that if you’re a close-up conjurer who specializes in card tricks, then you will have no problem with this iPhone X tip. If you’re a normal human, it might take a bit of practice.

How to calibrate your Apple Watch for accurate workout stats

By

Apple Watch
Get ready to run (or walk).
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The Apple watch is pretty good at counting your steps, and guessing the length of your strides, but does it really know how far you have run or walked? With a Series 3 Apple Watch, the onboard GPS almost takes care of it for you. If you have an older Apple Watch, though, you’ll need to take your iPhone along for a few runs to let the watch calibrate itself using the iPhone’s GPS. Here’s how.

Beware the App Store’s Cuphead scam

By

Cuphead
News of this game's arrival on iOS was too good to be true.
Photo: Studio MDHR

Retro-style run-and-gun game Cuphead has landed in the App Store. Unfortunately, it’s not legit!

One of the Xbox’s best games, the retro-inspired Cuphead arrived on consoles back in September, and immediately became a massive hit — thanks to its combination of addictive gameplay and vintage 1930s-style graphics. Sadly, you’ll have to wait to play the real thing on iOS.

Selfissimo!, Life is Strange, and other awesome apps of the week

By

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

A unique selfie app, created by Google, that summons up your inner supermodel is just of one of the picks for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

In addition, we’ve got part one of an excellent episodic adventure finally available on iOS, a sound-matching app for any guitar players out there, and an augmented reality-focused update to Facebook Messenger. Check out our picks below.