Apple’s plans to open own-brand Apple Stores in India may finally be gaining momentum, with a new report claiming that the Indian government is likely to give the company a two or three year exemption to local sourcing laws in order to establish its retail outlets in the country.
When people look back on Steve Jobs’ most audacious moves during his 1997-2011 stint as CEO, launching the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and iPad are most frequently singled out as rightfully big achievements — as is his decision to open Apple-branded retail outlets and the iTunes Stores.
Back on June 6, 2005, Jobs made another major announcement, however, when he revealed that Macs were switching their CPUs over from PowerPC processors to Intel ones.
Here’s why it mattered.
In a week where Cult of Mac brought you exclusive next-gen MacBook pics and controversial ex-iPad creator Tony Fadell parted ways with Nest, we got some great new apps arriving in the App Store.
Which apps were dominating our iOS devices over the past seven days? Check out our picks below. Trust us, it’s the perfect way to spend your Sunday!
You’ve gotta love the tools and toys you never knew you needed, and this week’s latest deals include a few. An app for tracking your car and preventing theft, a pair of extra long Lightning Cables, lessons in iOS coding and comprehensive instruction in one of the leading illustrator apps. The first step in wanting something is knowing it exists, so read on to get first dibs on these great deals:
This week brought warmer weather and a whole bunch of great new deals. From iFixit’s invaluable electronics repair kit, to a lifetime of virtual private network access, a digital note-taking set and a massive storage upgrade that hides in the SD slot. Take a look and take something cool home with you:
This week on The CultCast: MacBook Pro spy photos reveal some juicy new features, but some old favorites go bye-bye. Plus: Apple may finally update its ancient Thunderbolt display; why moving iPhone to a three-year update cycle would suck; and stay tuned for more weird and wacky super-fan stories from The Cult of Mac.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to build a website that looks beautiful on any device that visits at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off.
In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine we have a great lineup for you. Read about Parry Gripp, whose career in music was given a boost thanks to Apple and the iPhone.
Check out the precise design features and attention to detail at the newest Apple store in San Francisco, where all architectural elements align. Plus, view leaked photos of the new OLED touchpad that is very, very likely to appear on this year’s MacBook Pro.
These and many more great stories in Cult of Mac Magazine, free for you right now.
Here are this week’s top stories.
Mainland China is Apple’s second biggest market, and will one day be its first. The company is making a big push on the mainland, opening new stores and investing in home-grown companies. Why the interest? Because China is the new Japan — it’s where the future is happening. All this week we take a look at the cutting-edge apps that define mobile life on the mainland.
SHANGHAI CITY, China — In China, 478 million people — more than the entire population of the United States — listen to music online, according to government statistics. I am one of those people, and in China I have joined the reported 80 million active users of QQ Music to stream music on my iPhone.
Google’s DeepMind team has been working with scientists to create a way in which humans can kill artificial intelligence agents before they can turn on us.
It’s a concern many have as the AI systems being developed by tech giants become more intelligent and more capable — but Google has us covered.
Apple’s business model is based on the future, but sometimes a fan pines for the machine they had as a kid.
Self-taught hardware hacker and 3D printer artist Charles Mangin happily tries to satisfy those vintage tech longings by recreating pieces of Apple’s past in miniature. He even brings the screens to life — sort of.
Getting online is getting in position to be hacked, snooped or blocked. Hotspot Shield dramatically reduces the risk of all of the above, encrypting your data through high speed connections with a secure and private network even via public Wi-Fi. If you’re uneasy about identity theft, frustrated by geo restrictions, or having your activity tracked, sign up with Hotspot Shield Elite VPN for life for $39.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Mainland China is Apple’s second biggest market, and will one day be its first. The company is making a big push on the mainland, opening new stores and investing in home-grown companies. Why the interest? Because China is the new Japan — it’s where the future is happening. All this week we take a look at the cutting-edge apps that define mobile life on the mainland.
SHANGHAI CITY, China — A Chinese friend of mine recently started a fashion blog and asked me to take and edit some photos of her. We met up one sunny afternoon and I snapped various shots of her posing in a local park for an hour or so. After the shoot, we took a look at the photos together and she selected a few for me to edit. I took a crack at the photos in Photoshop, but she was far from satisfied.
“You barely even fixed my face,” she told me. “Just send me the photos and I’ll edit them on my iPhone.”
I was mystified. What iPhone app can rival the technology of Photoshop? How exactly was she going to “fix” her face?
Apple is expected to introduce a massive MacBook Pro redesign later this year, and photos recently published by Cult of Mac all but confirm it will feature an OLED touchpad and USB-C connectivity.
But it seems the company will have to win some fans over first, because many aren’t happy about these changes.
We’ve got another bonanza of discounted Apple gear, from laptops to desktops. These and more are in the best Apple deals we’ve seen this week.
Other World Computing discounts a selection of used Apple MacBook Air Laptops, with prices starting at $479. This price was found on a 13″ MacBook Air with Core i5 Sandy Bridge processor, 64GB SSD and 4GB RAM. Plus, all orders qualify for free shipping. Available quantities for some models may be limited. Each is covered by a 90-day warranty.
Microsoft today announced that it’s opening up its HoloLens platform to third-parties — and it has a crazy new ad to celebrate.
The three-minute clip showcases some of HoloLens’ insane capabilities, like turning an old warehouse into a shoe store, putting people from around the world in the same room, and taking you on sublime acid trips without the acid.
It looks like a dual-lens camera will be the most exciting upgrade for the iPhone 7 Plus this year, but you might be able to get one a month early from Samsung.
According to one report, the South Korean company is expected to deliver one inside the Galaxy Note 7 edge, which is due to make its debut in mid-August.
Two dating Mac geeks set a gift ground rule one Christmas: presents must be handmade.
Roberto Hoyos, with the ability to sew in his DNA, crafted seven throw pillows in the shape of the Mac OS X icons. The Apple fan couple is no longer an item — but the pillows are.
If you’ve ever found yourself up against the limits of your Macbook’s hard drive, raise the limit. The Nifty MiniDrive instantly adds 128GB of storage, fitting seamlessly with the contours of the MacBook, eliminating the need for bulky external hard drives. Right now you can get a Nifty MiniDrive for $33.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Apple today kicked off its latest back to school promotion, offering students big savings on wireless Beats headphones when they purchase a new Mac, iPhone, or iPad.
Eligible customers are also entitled to education pricing, which reduces the cost of their new device.
New cases designed for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus strengthen claims that the larger model with have a dual-lens camera system and a Smart Connector. In exchange for those upgrades, it seems Apple really will do away with the headphone jack.
SAN FRANCISCO — Look carefully at the cracks in the sidewalk around Apple’s new flagship store in San Francisco. They all line up with architectural elements of the store.
Some are continuous with the metal panels on the exterior walls. Some line up with the windows, and the huge glass panels that make up the 42-foot high front door. Some of the cracks are continuous with the stone floor tiles inside the store.
In turn, the joints in the floor line up with panels on the wall, which line up with the lighting panels on the ceiling.
In fact, most of the lines in the store — the edges of the glass balconies, cutouts in the middle of the tables, the edges of shelves and drawers — all line up with other elements of the store.
Some of these lines run continously from the sidewalk in front of the store all the way through to the tree-lined plaza in the back. It’s a bit crazy, when you examine it, and very, very difficult to pull off.
Mainland China is Apple’s second biggest market, and will one day be its first. The company is making a big push on the mainland, opening new stores and investing in home-grown companies. Why the interest? Because China is the new Japan — it’s where the future is happening. All this week we take a look at the cutting-edge apps that define mobile life on the mainland.
SHANGHAI CITY, China — “Where are we going to eat? Have you DianPing-ed it yet?” These are questions my friends and I often ask each other when we get together. This convenient app, backed by internet powerhouse Tencent Holdings, is a great tool that combines the functions of Groupon and Yelp.
Apple’s new Thunderbolt Display will ship with a built-in GPU that will provide entry-level and older Macs with enough power to drive its super sharp 5K resolution, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans.
Facebook is finally giving its Messenger emoji characters a much-needed overhaul.
Starting today, users will see all-new emoji designs with support for skin tone selection inside the official Messenger apps on all platforms.
Apple has begun inviting members of the press to its WWDC 2016 keynote on June 13.
The event kicks off at 10 a.m. PT in the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco, and it should deliver our first sneak peeks at iOS 10 and Apple’s next major upgrades for watchOS, tvOS, and OS X.