Google is kicking off its I/O developer conference at 10 a.m. PT today, and it’s going to give us a great look at some of the things Apple will be competing with over the next 12 months.
If you’re interested in keeping up, you can watch the whole thing live right here.
Apple Music’s existing interface is quaking in its boots. In just one month, it could be given its marching orders as Apple looks to make way for a fancy new design that hopes to attract even more subscribers to its streaming service.
But does Apple Music really need a major revamp?
Some say its user interface is already familiar if you’re a long time iOS user — and even if you’re not, it’s arguably still prettier than those offered by rival streaming services. But others say it’s just not friendly enough, and too tricky to learn.
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over Apple Music’s rumored redesign!
Apple Music has a not-unimpressive 13 million subscribers right now, but Apple is looking to expand the number of customers willing to spend money on the service by targeting a group that has historically been one of the company’s strongest customer bases: students.
With that in mind, Apple today launched a new Apple Music ‘student’ pricing plan which slashes the per month cost in half ($9.99 down to $4.99 in the United States) for anyone in higher education.
Bidding for Tim Cook’s latest Charity Buzz lunch auction has finally closed, and unless you were willing to part with some huge stacks of money, you had absolutely no chance of winning.
Cook’s latest auction didn’t shatter his previous record of $610,000 raised for the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, but it got pretty close.
Apple’s most recent keynotes have been a little… boring. Even die-hard fans have been left disappointed by the lack of action and surprises, but with WWDC 2016 right around the corner, many have high hopes that Apple’s about to buck that trend.
Apple’s keynote will offer our first sneak peeks at iOS 10 and the next big upgrades to OS X, watchOS, and tvOS — plus possible refreshes for Apple Watch and various Macs. Will these things make up for the lack of excitement?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we talk about (argue over) all things WWDC!
Since there is still much to learn about the upcoming iOS 10 debut presumably at WWDC this year, Federico Vittici of MacStories and concept designer Sam Beckett took it upon themselves to bring their dreams to life. They worked together to design an incredible concept video that fulfills Vittici’s wishes for the next version of iOS. The video is nothing short of stunning and their implementation of his (completely reasonable) feature requests will have you absolutely drooling.
Sad that Tim Cook didn’t unveil a sleek new MacBook Pro yesterday?
You’re not alone, but you won’t have to wait much longer to throw down some money on a new ultra-thin MacBook, according to the latest rumor from Asia.
If you’ve grown bored of Instagram’s filters, there’s a new option for giving your iPhone photos a little touch of magic.
New image-editing app Glaze is a one-stop-shop for photo tweakers that lets you jazz up still images, videos and — for iPhone 6s users — Live Photos, too.
“When I was looking around for an app to create, I couldn’t find a single image app which was comprehensive across all content types,” says Glaze creator Ryan Stephen. “This was my response.”
Perhaps most impressive of all? Stephen is a 16-year-old from Portland, Oregon, whose self-taught coding skills landed him a place at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference — on Apple’s dime.
Apple TV does apps, and you could be the next breakout star of the App Store with these new educational videos straight from the mothership.
Apple’s providing developers with 11 new video tech talks to help you understand how it all works, in hopes that even more developers and designers will choose Apple TV for their next project.
Apple is reported to be working on new MacBook Air models to launch at the 2016 WWDC event, most likely to be held in June.
Citing sources in the supply chain, the report claims that Apple may ditch the smaller size 11-inch MacBook Air, but add a 15-inch model, much as it currently offers with the MacBook Pro.
Apple is making it easier than ever for developers to find the precise instructions they need to build apps. A new tool allows devs to search for keywords within Worldwide Developers Conference videos — and then jump right to the time when the words were said.
Few things could excuse a kid from skipping his middle school graduation. Connor Chung had a note from Apple.
It explained he would be needed in San Francisco for the WWDC. Once there, he would meet important people like Tim Cook, take part in brainstorming sessions with developers and engineers and lay the groundwork for an Apple Watch app that would be among the first in iTunes on the day OS 2 launched.
Apple’s second OS X 10.11 El Capitan beta is now available to download for registered developers. The release comes just two weeks after Apple previewed the big update at WWDC and made its first beta available for testing.
This week: our favorite features announced at the WWDC ’15 keynote; why we have high hopes for Beats 1 radio on Apple Music; Phil Schiller discusses some of Apple’s more controversial product decisions in a surprising new interview; and, though it’s all cheers for consumers, we’ll tell you why some developers dread Apple’s yearly WWDC announcements.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Build a beautiful new website quick with Squarespace’s drag-n-drop interface. Start a free trial and save 10% off your first purchase with code “CultCast”.
Show notes ahead, and they’re delicious.
The Worldwide Developers Conference brings new opportunities and new threats for indie developers. If you’re lucky, Apple introduces an API that could enhance your app. If you’re unlucky, Apple launches a new feature that renders your app obsolete.
One thing is certain: Whatever Apple announces at the annual conference will mean a lot more work for indie developers just to stay in the game. And since developers can’t charge for updates on the App Store, most of that work will go unrewarded.
Why does the latest iPhone still ship with just 16GB of storage as standard? Why does the new MacBook have only one USB port? Why does Apple make devices thinner and thinner rather than adding bigger batteries?
At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco this week, marketing chief Phil Schiller sat down with The Talk Show to address some of these questions.
Apple may have announced iOS 9 at WWDC yesterday, but it hasn’t forgotten about its iOS 8.4 beta. A fourth release is now available to developers ahead of this month’s public rollout.
By Brandon Shaw
Dear Apple,
I wanted to love Apple Music, I really did. It had all the potential in the world, and with all the hype surrounding the WWDC keynote, I watched with cautious optimism. Ultimately, though, I was disappointed. Here’s why.
Every other year Apple releases an “S” version of the iPhone. Later this year, we’ll see the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. The “S” models generally deliver modest improvements — better cameras, better networking, faster chips. But the basic design remains the same. The “S” suffix means the same, but better.
And so it goes with this Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. In terms of announcements of import, WWDC 2015’s kickoff was an “S” upgrade. It built on the spectacular announcements of last year, but didn’t break huge new ground.
And that’s OK. “S” upgrades are often underrated.
Please, please, please let Apple’s Beats 1 radio station be good.
Of all the announcements at Monday’s WWDC keynote, that’s the one I personally am most excited about. When it launches June 30, Beats 1 will be a 24-hour global radio station run by three DJs from three different cities around the world.
I’m a music junkie. I listen to music radio all the time, especially Radio 1, the BBC’s flagship radio station in London. To be honest, a lot of it sucks, but a lot of it doesn’t. It allows me — an expat Limey living in California — to keep tabs on Britain’s awesome musical culture.
And that’s what I’m hoping for — that Apple’s billions will privately fund a radio station that’s like the BBC’s publicly funded Radio 1 — on a global scale.
Apple hinted at such ambitions in the launch video played during Monday’s keynote. Done right, it could be the great music discovery mechanism the entire music industry’s been looking for.
With upgrades to iOS, OS X, Apple Pay and watchOS, Apple is ready to take its massively successful platforms to the next level.
Find out what’s in store for the Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch as Apple builds on previous greatness — plus get an earful of a new little project called Apple Music — as revealed today at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
Apple is going to kill off its Newsstand app for iOS and replace it with a Flipboard-style news reader, according to a new report. The new service will be free, and it is expected to feature sample content from partners like The New York Times, ESPN, and Conde Nast.
Apple officially only streams its WWDC keynote to its own platforms and devices — iOS, OS X, and Apple TV. But you can easily tune in on Windows PCs and tablets, Android smartphones, and other devices.
So if you don’t have an Apple device handy, but you still want to watch WWDC, here’s how.
Apple is expected to announce its long-awaited music streaming service during the WWDC keynote later today, and despite tough competition from the likes of Spotify, the company has incredibly ambitious plans to sign up 100 million subscribers.
Download the latest Cult of Mac Magazine to find out what we’re all expecting from next week’s WWDC 2015, why we’re waiting for HomeKit’s killer app, what Kahney’s Korner has to say about the big Jony Ive promotion, a bit on our epic journey from hacked Facebook page to recovery, and check out an ‘Apple Watch Song’ fanboy anthem for the ages.
All that, plus product reviews, helpful tips, and more in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine.