Apple has rolled out its fifth update for the Safari Technology Preview, making a long list of improvements to things like JavaScript, CSS, and the Web Inspector. The release also bolsters security and stability.
Our favorite PDF app gets Apple Pencil support, more
Readdle’s excellent PDF Expert app, the best PDF management app on iOS, is now even greater thanks to Apple Pencil support, and a new transfer tool that makes moving files to and from your Mac easier than ever.
Google Translate for iOS now works when you’re offline
When you’re lost in a foreign country without a data connection, Google Translate can now help you get directions from a local. Its latest update for iPhone and iPad adds the ability to get offline translation in 52 different languages.
Instagram’s gorgeous new logo comes with revamped iPhone app
Instagram is rolling out a brand new user interface on iPhone that ditches bright colors to make your photos look even prettier… but no one really cares about that. The real news is the brand new logo that comes with it.
Filled with beautifully bright colors like a sweet acid trip, it’s the first new logo Instagram has had since it launched five years ago, and it replaces the familiar retro camera, which was starting to look a little long in the tooth.
Netflix now gives you control over video quality on iOS
After throttling our video quality automatically to ensure we didn’t burn through our data in two episodes of Breaking Bad, Netflix is finally giving users control over the video quality they get when using a data connection.
The latest version of its iOS app adds four playback options — plus handy 3D Touch shortcuts that make it faster to access content from the home screen.
Spotify just got a lot easier to navigate
Spotify is ditching its hamburger button for a more familiar navigation bar on iOS, making it quicker and easier to access your music and features like Spotify Radio.
Users in some countries — including the U.S. — can enjoy the changes today.
Apple Music on Android gains support for music videos and family membership
Apple has released a major update for Apple Music for Android that adds support for music videos to the app. The app, however, continues to remain in beta.
Instagram gets personal with ‘Videos You Might Like’
Instagram gets personal in hopes of helping you find interesting shared videos much more easily with a new feature in the Explore area of its popular photo sharing service.
Called “Videos You Might Like,” the new personalized channel can be found in the Explore grid within the mobile app. Now you can spend less time slogging through the junk and get right to the good stuff.
iPhone and iPad Pro go small, Apple Watch pivots and iOS 9.3 is a must-try
Once again, Apple has refreshed its iPhone and iPad line with some better (albeit smaller) iOS devices, the iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
If you’re looking for all the details on these two new gadgets, or just want to know which is the right iPad or iPhone for you, be sure to grab this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, which also includes all the cool things you can do with iOS 9.3, a look at Cupertino’s new Apple Watch pivot, and a deeper dive on the keynote itself.
Here are this week’s top stories.
How to update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 9.3
iOS 9.3 is perhaps the biggest “dot” upgrade Apple has created for its mobile platform. Apple usually doesn’t show off incremental iOS upgrades at its carefully staged keynotes, but iOS 9.3 clocked some time at Monday’s iPhone SE event, and you should update right now.
If nothing else, you’ll get some great new features like Night Shift to make your mobile digital life just a bit better. Here’s how to get iOS 9.3 on your iPhone or iPad.
Cool new things you can do after your iOS 9.3 update
iOS 9.3 is out now for everyone, and the upgrade delivers some great new features that make Apple’s mobile platform better than ever.
With sweet additions like password-protected Notes, sleep-saving Night Shift and data-friendly Wi-Fi Assist, iOS 9.3 might be Apple’s biggest “dot” release yet.
Here’s a quick rundown of all the coolest things you can do once you’ve downloaded the iOS 9.3 update, which Apple released Monday.
How to organize your Apple TV with folders
The latest Apple TV has 5,000 apps and every one I’ve installed on my Home screen is a pain in the ass to find.
That is, until now. Apple just introduced tvOS 9.2, which brings the organizing power of folders to your 4th Generation Apple TV, and boy are we excited.
Here’s how to organize all those media and gaming apps on your Apple TV with folders.
How to update the software on your Apple TV
The fourth-generation Apple TV is ready for a new update to tvOS (9.2), bringing Siri dictation to the whole system, including search, user names and passwords. It’s also got a new Folder system like iOS does, which will let you organize your Home screen to your heart’s content, and it will support Apple wireless keyboards and your iCloud Photo Library on the big screen.
If you want to update your Apple TV right now and get all these great new features, just follow the directions below.
How to update the software on your Apple Watch
Now that Apple’s little keynote is over, the tech company from Cupertino is pulling the switch on a ton of new OS updates, including watchOS, the system that powers your Apple Watch.
If you want to upgrade to the latest OS now, watchOS 2.2, here’s what you need to do.
Recent OS X security update breaks Ethernet for most Macs
Did your Mac’s Ethernet port mysteriously stop working recently? If so, you could have fallen afoul of a nasty bug that was introduced in a recent OS X security update. Here’s how to fix it.
El Capitan 10.11.2 update improves Mac stability and security
Apple has dropped a big new update on Mac users today with the release of OS X El Capitan 10.11.2.
This is the second big update for El Capitan since the desktop operating system was made public two months ago. OS X 10.11.2 brings with it a number of stability and security improvements for Mac, including fixes for Wi-Fi, AirDrop, Bluetooth, Mail, and Live Photos.
Here’s a full list of the changes:
Google Calendar now supports reminders on Android and iOS
Google Calendar is bringing your appointments and to-do list together with a new update that adds support for reminders. Calendar will display your tasks and to-dos alongside meetings and events so they’re harder to forget, and sync them across Inbox, Gmail, Google Keep, and Google Now.
Google Maps update brings offline navigation and search
Google Maps is getting offline navigation to ensure you never get stranded in a strange place when your data connection disappears. Users can download entire areas onto their smartphone, then get turn-by-turn directions even while they’re offline.
Google’s Inbox app gets handy ‘Smart Reply’ tool
Google’s Inbox app is getting a handy “Smart Reply” tool that’ll suggests short, simple responses to your emails when a quickly reply is all that’s required. The tool hopes to help you wade through your busy inbox a whole lot faster.
Gmail now lets you block contacts, unsubscribe from mailing lists
Google has added two awesome new features to Gmail that every email client should provide: the option to block contacts you don’t want to hear from, and the ability to instantly unsubscribe from mailing lists you no longer with to be a part of.
Instagram won’t force you to be square anymore
Instagram is no longer a photo sharing service just for squares. The company today announced that it will finally support portrait and landscape photos and videos with its latest updates on Android and iOS.
1Password breaks free into the real world with the Apple Watch
Today, 1Password developer AgileBits announced that their popular iOS password management app, 1Password, has been updated to the Apple Watch. But 1Password could even be cooler in the updates that follow.
Apple asks developers to submit their apps for Yosemite
Apple has begun contacting developers to tell them that it’s time to submit their apps for OS X Yosemite ahead of its public release later this fall. The email encourages the use of new Yosemite functions like app extensions — as well as Swift, Apple’s “innovative” new programming language.
Apple pulls iOS 8.0.1 update that fixed HealthKit but broke Touch ID, cell service
Update: iOS 8.0.1 upgraders are reporting problems with Touch ID and cellular connectivity after installing Apple’s update. You should wait before taking the plunge. If you’ve already installed iOS 8.0.1, here’s how to downgrade to iOS 8.
Apple has pulled an iOS 8.0.1 update that fixed problems with HealthKit and various other features after iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users discovered the update broke Touch ID and blocked cellular connectivity.
The iOS 8.0.1 update was also supposed to improve Reachability on the iPhone 6, but it has already been removed while Apple addresses the nest of new bugs it unleashed.
Apple TV update adds Beats Music, new icons, iOS 8 features
Apple TV updated Wednesday morning, giving the main screen a whole new look and adding Beats Music as a “channel.”
The icons for Music, Computers and TV Shows all have a new, almost pastel look, while all the icons seem a bit flatter, like iOS 8. The fonts seem thinner, as well, reflecting the overall new design ethos of iOS and OS X.
You can also connect to iCloud Photo and Family Sharing options, new iOS 8 features that also went live today for iPhone and iPad devices.