| Cult of Mac

Facebook cancels F8 conference due to coronavirus, putting WWDC 2020 in question

By

Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Coronavirus killed Facebook's big event.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The coronavirus killed another major tech event today as Facebook revealed the in-person component of its annual F8 developers’ conference is canceled due to concerns around the coronavirus COVID-19.

Facebook’s move comes close to the time when Apple normally announces the dates for its Worldwide Developers Conference. The iPhone-maker revealed WWDC 2019 dates on March 14 last year, but with more and more tech events getting shut down, it could change Apple’s plans for its biggest conference of the year.

What you need to know about Dark Mode on iOS 13

By

Dark Mode on iPadOS
Dark Mode is available in iPadOS too.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone finally joined the dark side with the new Dark Mode feature introduced in iOS 13. Apple delighted fans who have been clamoring for the feature for years — and it appears the wait has been worth it.

After using Dark Mode, I don’t think I’ll be going back to the bright white iOS interface anytime soon. Apple poured a bunch of thought into Dark Mode so that it does more than just make everything black.

Apple asks Trump administration to spare Mac Pro parts from tariffs

By

Macpro
The Mac Pro is an expensive beast.
Photo: Apple

Apple submitted multiple requests to the Trump administration asking that the government exclude Mac Pro parts from a 25% import tariff.

Production of the Mac Pro moved to China this year as Apple moves on from the “trash can” Mac Pro design manufactured in Austin, Texas. In nearly all 15 of its filings, Apple says there are no other sources for the proprietary, Apple-designed components.

iPhone getting a built-in doggy detector and kitty catcher

By

Apple Vision Framework
Apple’s Vision Framework is a sophisticated machine-learning method to identify Fluffy.
Screenshot: Apple

Coming to iPhone and Mac is a tool that examines images looking for cats and dogs. But the goal isn’t an app that allows people to walk around with an iPhone identifying the species of random critters. As fun as that might be, Apple is using machine learning to provide developers a powerful tool for identifying object of any type in images.

How Apple tricks our brains into accepting high prices

By

This genius psychological tactic makes Apple's high prices seem totally reasonable.
This genius psychological tactic makes Apple's high prices seem totally reasonable.
Photo: meo/Pexels CC

During the WWDC 2019 keynote, most of Apple’s latest creations drew enthusiastic applause, with one notable exception. The price of Apple’s new Pro Display XDR elicited a somewhat cooler response. But considering just how expensive the monitor is, the fact that it got any applause at all was pretty remarkable.

This is not the first time Apple has had to convince us to pony up for an eye-watering sticker price. Cupertino pulls from a well-established playbook for its keynotes, often employing behavioral science techniques to help soften the blow. (To our brains at least, if not to our wallets).

Nailed it! Why WWDC 2019 was one for the ages [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 300]

By

Cult of Mac Magazine No. 300 cover
That was one awesome WWDC!
Cover: Marty Cortinas/Cult of Mac

The warp-speed WWDC 2019 keynote truly delivered the goods. Tim Cook and his lieutenants took the wraps off tons of exciting new features coming in iOS 13, iPadOS, macOS Catalina, watchOS 6 and tvOS 13.

And then, in a hardware shocker, Apple even showed off an insanely powerful new Mac Pro.

Relive Apple’s epic presentation — and get our take on what it all means — in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iOS. Or read on to get the rest of the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos in your browser.

Deleting unused apps is even easier in iOS 13

By

App delete
There’s a new way to delete apps in iOS 13.
Photo: Cult of Mac

You know how when you go to the updates section in the App Store and you see that it’s taking forever for one app to download even though you never use it?

The days of that happening are finally going to be over once iOS 13. An unmentioned feature in iOS 13 lets users delete apps right from the App Store section so you don’t have to go hunt down the app icon.

Check it out in action:

Catch our reactions to Apple’s legendary WWDC keynote, this week on The CultCast

By

cultcast 391
WWDCs don't get more exciting than this.

This week on The CultCast: Our WWDC 2019 reactions! Apple keynotes don’t get more legendary than this one. Plus: Crazy cryptographic tech powers Apple’s new Find My app, and our favorite features of iOS 13, macOS Catalina, tvOS and watchOS.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain..

Why SwiftUI might be the biggest thing to come out of WWDC

By

Why SwiftUI is actually a big deal.
SwiftUI is actually a pretty big deal.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2019 bug Apple lavished attention on all its platforms at WWDC this year. We even got a first look at the all-new Mac Pro. But another announcement, which didn’t grab so many headlines, may prove to be the most important thing to come out of this year’s developer conference: SwiftUI.

SwiftUI promises to fundamentally change the way developers create apps for Apple products. And you don’t need to be a techie to appreciate why it’s such a big deal.

Craig Federighi predicts macOS Catalina’s Project Catalyst will benefit iPad too

By

Craig Federighi Apple SVP of Software Engineering
Apple’s software chief expects those who develop apps for Mac or iPad to start creating software for both.
Photo: Apple

Project Catalyst enables developers to easily port their iPad applications to Mac. It’s an important part of macOS Catalina, and is expected to bring a rush of new software to Apple’s laptops and desktops. But the company’s head of Software Engineering says the iPad will gain as well.

Rather than developers specializing in Mac or iPad, as is typical now, Craig Federighi sees devs using Catalyst to create great new software for both platforms.