News - page 371

A recent restoration project brought vintage Mac MP3 player Audion back from the edge of oblivion. You can get Audion, and its more than 800 wild and wooly custom user interfaces, for free.

If you’re interested in how software design has evolved, you’ll love this totally trippy flashback to the bad old days when we all crammed our hard drives full of downloaded MP3s.

If you’d rather deal with more pressing matters, we’ve got other new apps to showcase in this week’s roundup. EZ Estate will help you get your final affairs in order. A new RSS reader will make you fall in love with an otter. You can display your HomeKit scenes in iOS widgets and more.

Apple just added up to five months to current Apple TV+ free trials. If your free access to the streaming video service was about to expire, it’s instead been extended until the end of June.

And Apple is giving monthly rebates to those who paid for an annual subscription.

From CES product unveilings to juicy rumors, this week suffered zero shortage of new for Apple fans. You’ll find the cream of the crop in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. As always, it’s free — and it’s ready for consumption on your iOS device of choice.

I don’t want to slow you down on your way to the week’s top news stories. But if you use Safari (and you really should), don’t miss our new series of how-tos on getting the most out of Apple’s web browser. Those Safari Pro Tips are in the mag as well.

Or you can get it all, plus our reviews of the new Apple TV+ seasons of Servant and Dickinson, in your browser at the links below.

Apple is reportedly considering a for-pay podcast subscription service. It would join other Apple services offering premium content, like Apple TV+ and News+.

The news sent shares of rival Spotify down over 7% on Friday.

The iMac is about to get the dramatic redesign so many people have been hoping for, according to a highly reliable source. Smaller bezels and an M-series processor are highlights.

Apple is also reportedly planning a significant redesign of the Mac Pro desktop.

A powerful processor and 5G wireless networking will force Apple to build a cooling system into the 2022 iPhone, according to an analyst and trusted Apple prognosticator.

But the system Apple is reportedly investigating won’t be ready in time for the iPhone 13, expected this autumn.

Smartwatches such as Apple Watch could detect COVID-19 infections a week before the wearer feels sick or would test positive for the novel coronavirus, two medical studies suggest.

Since such devices can identify subtle changes in heart rate that might indicate an early infection, they could spot asymptomatic individuals, who make up a sizable proportion of COVID-19 cases.

If you don’t want your Apple Watch to look just like everyone else’s, pair it with a unique band unlike any other. Choose a Wood Mark strap from the Cult of Mac Store — made almost entirely out of wood — and enjoy 25% off the usual price for a limited time.

They’re wonderfully comfortable, long-lasting, and kind on the environment. This discount ends later today, so enjoy it while you can!

Apple’s MagSafe branding technically made a return last year with the iPhone 12. But the MagSafe fans most fondly recall — the neat magnetic charging system for the MacBook — is also gearing up to make a comeback.

According to a Friday report from Bloomberg, Apple is bringing back MagSafe for this year’s MacBook Pro refresh. The connector will reportedly be similar in design to the “elongated pill-shape” original MagSafe. It will provide faster charging for the MacBook.

Apple’s A14 chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is gearing up for “risk production” of its next-gen chips, Digitimes reported Friday.

The chips in question are TSMC’s 3-nanometer chips, expected to be the eventual successor to the current 5-nanometer chips. Risk production refers to the dress rehearsal process for manufacturing, in which things appear ready to go, but are not quite ready to go into mass production just yet.

According to reliable TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the next-gen MacBook Pro will come in 14- and 16-inch sizes, feature more ports and bring back the MagSafe charger in some form (!). And, of course,  the high-end laptops will run on new Apple Silicon chips.

But the first big MacBook Pro redesign in half a decade also do away with the Touch Bar, the controversial — and never entirely successful — innovation Apple debuted back in 2016.

2021 not scary enough for you? Apple TV+ is here to help. On Friday, Apple debuted the first episode of season two of Servant. The creepy psychological thriller series from Tony Basgallop and M. Night Shyamalan spooked audiences with its first season about the supernatural goings-on involving “baby” Jericho and nanny Leanne.

Check out the season 2 trailer below:

Apple premiered the first trailer for Cherry, a drama starring Tom Holland, on Thursday. Although best known for playing Spider-Man, Holland’s upcoming film is far grittier, telling the story of an Iraq war veteran with PTSD who spirals into drug addiction and bank robbery.

The movie is coming to theaters in February and Apple TV+ in the spring.

Watch the trailer now:

Take your Apple MagSafe on the go with the Scosche MagicMount MSC. Designed for in-car use, this mount comes in versions that attach to air vents, cup holders or windows.

The company also used CES 2021 to unveil fresh PowerVolt USB-C car and wall chargers.

Ridley Scott will reportedly direct an epic starring Joaquin Phoenix as French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Kitbag will be produced by Apple and shown on Apple TV+.

The Cult of Mac Store’s big January sale is almost over, but there’s still a bit of time to enjoy generous discounts on some of our hottest Apple Watch accessories. Shop now to save on gorgeous bands and bracelets from Goldenerre, and a stylish aluminum charging stand from HEDock.

Apple’s AirPods are still the market leader when it comes to wireless earbuds, but others are starting to catch up, claims new research from analysis firm Counterpoint.

According to data released Thursday, Apple now makes up 29% of the TWS (that’s “true wireless stereo hearables”) market. The biggest competitor in terms of shipments is Xiaomi, which represents 13% of the market, followed by Samsung with 5%. Other players include the likes of JBL, QCY, JLAB, and Sony.

Cupertino is so ferociously secretive about having its name mentioned by suppliers that Gorilla Glass maker Corning uses a pseudonym for Apple inside the company — despite having worked on the iPhone since the very first model in 2007.

We won’t definitively know how well the iPhone 12 is doing until Apple’s next earnings call January 27. But the signs are certainly looking good.

On Thursday, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the company that makes Apple’s A-series chips, reported better-than-expected earnings for the December quarter. This was apparently helped by “robust” demand for the iPhone 12.

Fancy four months of unlimited coffee at Panera Bread? Of course you do. And, thanks to Apple Pay, that’s exactly what you can get — provided you’re willing to sign up for a MyPanera+ Coffee subscription, that is.

Samsung was quick to mock Apple when it revealed that it was going to stop including power adapters with the iPhone. But a few months later, it seems the South Korean tech giant has reconsidered its stance, and realized that maybe Apple actually kind of had a good point.

At least, that’s according to images leaked by tipster Evan Blass, showing what he claims are promotional images for the Galaxy S21 and S21 Ultra. The new premium handsets boast a refreshed design, support for 5G — and no charger in the box.

There’s no reason to be skeptical about Apple’s plans for AirTags. Any iPhone, iPad or Mac user can see evidence that Apple is about to add support for item trackers to the Find Me application.

Social media app Parler will be restored to the App Store if it complies with Apple’s terms of service, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday.

In a CBS interview, Cook said the app “has some issues with moderation.” However, he said Apple’s “hope is that they do that and get back on the store.”

Apple manufacturer Foxconn is setting up an automotive arm, just as Cupertino is reportedly gearing up to build an Apple Car. This could make Foxconn a prime manufacturing partner, much in the same way that the Taiwanese company currently assembles iPhones and other devices for Apple.

Apple’s promised big announcement is a series of new projects within the company’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, designed to fight systemic racism and advance racial equity across the United States.

As part of a previously announced $100 million fund, Apple revealed Wednesday that it will support the launch of a new global innovation and learning hub for historically Black colleges and universities, open it’s first U.S. Developer Academy to support coding efforts in Detroit, and contribute venture capital funding for Black and other minority entrepreneurs.