Consumer Reports just unloaded a mighty smackdown on the new MacBook Pro lineup, citing “highly inconsistent” battery life as the reason the latest Apple laptops failed to earn a coveted recommendation.
It’s the first time the well-regarded reviews organization flunked an Apple laptop. And the test results should give serious pause to anybody who is considering buying a new MacBook Pro.
Apple’s EarPods have always been a go-to favorite for me. They’re included with every iPhone, always sound good enough for what I need, and I’ve always found them comfortable. Even going back to the good old iPod days, I’ve always kept a pair close to hand.
But now Apple’s moving on into the “wireless future” with its new AirPods. These completely wireless earphones let you listen to music and podcasts, make phone calls and talk to Siri. But just how do they measure up?
The holidays are a great time to hide away from visiting relatives and enjoy a good book. Fortunately, when it comes to tech-centric books released this year, there’s a great crop to pick from.
Here are our choices for the best tech books of 2016 (and no, we’re not including Jony Ive’s $300 tribute to himself).
Apple is reportedly replacing or repairing iPhone 7 Plus units that have developed camera faults.
Some users on Reddit and around the web have complained of black and purple screens and error messages when opening the camera app, supposedly due to a dodgy iSight sensor.
Musicians who can’t read sheet music play by ear. What about a photographer who doesn’t fully understand the science behind imaging software?
That’s me and I’d call myself a fiddler. When it comes to toning an image in Adobe Photoshop, I don’t analyze the spikes on a histogram or adjust pixel color values. I fiddle with a picture until it looks right.
Macphun seems to design photo imaging programs with my brain in mind. Its newest app, an all-in-one program called Luminar lets photographers of all levels quickly improve the look of a photograph without even knowing how certain tools work.
As wireless Bluetooth earbuds become the norm, Apple’s expensive, stormtrooper earing-looking buds look less appealing. Instead of AirPods, consider AirBeans — they’re a high quality, noise-canceling, more affordable, and honestly just cooler looking set of buds. Right now you can get a set of AirBeans for $69.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
We roll our eyes when Tim Cook introduces a new iPhone and says, “This is the best iPhone ever” each year. But the iPhone 7 Plus will be different.
Sure, ambitious upgrades remain in the pipeline, but the remarkable camera in the iPhone 7 Plus will make this year’s model memorable. Fifty years from now, photography historians will talk about the iPhone 7 Plus they way they do the first Leica or the first Polaroid.
Most of the videos we watch these days come to our screens thanks to streaming sites like YouTube and Hulu. Obviously we don’t always have the opportunity to connect to these sites when we want to, which makes saving them to our computers and mobile devices a great option. MovieSherlock Pro makes that easy, a powerful tool for downloading and converting video from a range of sites and for a wide range of devices. And right now you can get MovieSherlock Pro for just $15 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Apple is now selling refurbished Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 models.
These devices aren’t outdated: They debuted back in September, when they got unveiled alongside the iPhone 7. You can find them cheaper if you buy them second-hand on eBay or Craigslist, but refurbished units from Apple offer a number of advantages.
Getting your hands on an Apple Watch Series 2 in time for Christmas has become nearly impossible for holiday shoppers.
Demand for the new watch has ticked up to a new level in the last month, according to Apple employees, who told Cult of Mac that stores are selling out of the Apple Watch Series 2 so fast that production can’t keep up.
Moshi’s Mythro Air wireless earbuds look good and sound good. They offer all-day battery life, a clever magnetic clip to keep them in place, and a unique feature that allows you to share music from a single source to two sets of Mythro Air earbuds.
Best of all, they cost $69.99, and sound better than premium earbuds costing two or three times more.
Apple’s swanky new AirPods are finally shipping, which means the teardown experts at iFixit have pulled them apart to give us a glimpse at their internals.
The AirPods themselves are filled with tiny components and copious amounts of glue, while an X-ray scan of their charging case could reveal the reason behind the lengthy shipping delay.
Getting online means leaving a trail of personal data that can expose you to attacks and identity theft. Hotspot Shield vastly reduces that risk, encrypting and anonymizing your traffic through a simple one-click interface. And right now you can connect 5 devices simultaneously by signing up for a lifetime of the Hotspot Shield Elite Plus plan for the newly dropped price of $54.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Want the MacBook Pro’s fancy new Touch Bar without forking out crazy money for a new machine? Now you can bring it to any Mac with Duet Display on your iPad.
Apple’s Mac team has “lost clout” with the company’s industrial design group and software team, claims a new report, arguing that Cupertino has “alienated Mac loyalists.”
The picture painted by the article is of a division with a lack of clear direction from senior management, departures of key employees, and technical challenges — all conspiring to make the Mac one of Apple’s forgotten divisions.
Apple may not have launched its most innovative products in 2016, but when it comes to marketing, Cupertino is still killing it.
By utilizing celebrities, musicians, athletes and everyday iPhone owners, Apple created some of its most memorable ads ever in 2016. Whether they were touting Apple TV with Kobe Bryant, or using the story of an autistic boy to show how technology can change the world, Apple ads entertained us and gave us all the feels.
These are our favorite Apple ads of 2016.
We value our Mac computers. Whether on a desk or in a lap, they help us complete many life tasks. But you and your machine wouldn’t make it without reliable accessories — especially now that we live in the USB-C era.
Storage drives, hubs with extra ports, a good pair of headphones, maybe a bag to carry your tech — all these Mac accessories play important roles. They often remain unsung, but sometimes come through to help us avoid a devastating loss of hardware or important work.
So if you are looking to bolster your Mac support team, look no further than this list of some of Cult of Mac’s favorites accessories from 2016 for iMacs, MacBooks and MacBook Pros.
The eagerly-awaited Super Mario Run made upwards of $4 million worldwide in its first day on the market, according to analytics company App Annie.
The analytics firm suggests that the game — which represents the first official appearance of Mario on iOS — was downloaded around 10 million times, and was the top-ranked game by downloads in 60 of the 151 countries it launched in within hours of its debut.
The guitar is a fantastic instrument, but it’s not exactly convenient to travel with. However, with the Jamstik and an iPhone or an iPad, you can shove a digital six string in your bag and play it pretty much anywhere. It packs all the features of a real guitar into an uber-portable package, with the versatility of MIDI. And right now you can get one for just $149.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Apple’s AirPods were due for release in late October, but the wireless headphones didn’t become available until last week from stores and via online orders (expect a six-week wait for the latter!)
Fortunately, we were able to get hold of a pair first thing today. Check out the video below to see what’s inside the box and get our first impressions.
The Cult of Mac Store keeps managing to top itself with great new deals on gear and gadgets. This week’s best new arrivals include a charging and storage hub for five devices, a single cable that connects USB, MicroUSB and USB-C, a rugged smartwatch that puts Alexa on your wrist, and a powerful VPN going for a mere fraction of its usual price. All of them are massively discounted, and great ideas for gifts and stocking stuffers.
Read on for more details:
It’s the week before Christmas and, if you’re tired of buying gifts, decorating trees, or complaining about the weather, why not download some of the week’s hottest App Store titles?
Check out our picks below. From the long-awaited Super Mario Run and beyond, these are the most notable app launches of the past seven days.
You can never have too much storage or battery life with your smartphone. The iXtra case adds more of both to your iPhone, with up to 128GB of built-in memory and up to 2,000mAh of additional juice.
It could be the perfect iPhone case, and you can claim yours now on Kickstarter.
The year’s coming to a close, but the great deals on gear and gadgets just keep coming in. This week, we’ve got a service for sidestepping geo-restrictions on your favorite video channels, a full blown telephoto lens for the iPhone, a rock solid car mount for your mobile devices, and a lifetime of super secure cloud storage. Most of them are discounted by 80 percent or above. Read on for more details:
This week on The CultCast: An honest look at Super Mario Run; we review better-sounding AirPods alternatives; the cool new stuff in the iOS and tvOS updates; and we reveal the hands-down best TV shows of 2016!
This episode supported by: Jamf Now, the affordable, cloud-based solution you can rely on to manage the iPads, iPhones and Macs in your workplace. Manage three devices for free at jamf.com/CultCast.