Here's what on Apple TV+ this week (and what's coming soon.) Photo: Apple TV+
A new episode of Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso landed on the Apple streaming video service today. The preview for the episode, titled “Make Rebecca Great Again,” reads as follows:
“Rebecca celebrates her first anniversary as a divorcee as the team plays a match in Liverpool.”
Update: The Surface Duo is available to buy. Reviews haven’t been wholly positive, although most seem to agree there is plenty of promise for the future.
Microsoft’s folding, dual-screen Surface Duo is finally available for preorder. The Android device, which boasts two 5.6-inch displays, starts at $1,399. Orders will begin shipping on September 10.
An Apple One bundle might become an option to save money on Apple services. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
A rumor that Apple plans to offer discounts on bundles with iCloud, Apple Arcade and other services may have been confirmed Thursday. Mentions of the “Apple One” subscription bundle reportedly turned up in the code for Apple Music for Android.
Little critters face enormous challenges in the first trailer for Tiny World, a new nature documentary series coming to Apple TV+.
The trailer, released Thursday, shows small creatures on land, at sea and in the air as they struggle to survive in a world filled with threats both large and small. As is the way with all successful trailers, the eye-grabbing footage makes the tiny beings’ encounters look larger than life.
A Monster’s Expedition promises “an adorable and relaxing open world puzzle adventure.” Image: Draknek Limited
A Monster’s Expedition isn‘t the usual puzzle game. It sets itself apart by being an open world. The goal is to make play more relaxing because if someone gets stuck on a particular puzzle, they can head off in another direction. And, of course, there’s a cute little monster involved.
The game debuted Thursday on Apple Arcade, the Mac-maker’s subscription gaming service.
The lawyer who helped spearhead the successful U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft thinks today’s government is ill-prepared to take on companies like Apple, Google and Facebook.
According to Gary Reback, the U.S. government does not have enough litigators to prosecute antitrust cases against these tech giants.
Apple's gearing up for its next-gen iPhones. Photo: Apple
Eagle-eyed Redditors noticed that Apple set the launch trailer videos for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro to private on YouTube, likely in preparation for this year’s upcoming iPhones.
Award-winning PC classic World War II strategy game Company of Heroes is finally available for iPhone. The game originally launched on Windows PC in 2006, before arriving on iPad back in February 2020.
Thanks to today’s update, iPhone gamers can now join in the fun as well.
PUBG is having a great year. Screenshot: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
While Epic, the makers of battle royale game Fortnite, wage war against Apple, rival title PUBG Mobile goes from strength to strength in terms of player spending.
According to app analytics platform Sensor Tower, PUBG has just passed a major milestone: surpassing $3.5 billion in lifetime spending. Of that, $500 million comes in the past 72 days alone while people were stuck home during coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Reddit user @u/ilovenyc’s plant-themed setup is warm and inviting. The favorite part of @u/ilovenyc’s setup is a jaw-dropping, 49-inch Samsung CRG9 Curved Gaming Monitor, which is hooked up to a Mac mini. @u/ilovenyc (who prefers to remain autonomous) says it “never fails to put a smile on my face every time I sit down, whether to work or game.”
Next to the Mac mini, the cybersecurity expert has a PC rig for gaming. It has a AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core Desktop Processor with a NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 graphic card. They are encased in a ZXT H210 Mini-ITX PC Gaming Case.
From its massive glass dome to a “secret passage” with a stunning view, a virtual private tour posted by a YouTuber is the closest you’ll get to the real thing — at least for now. You’ve got to watch it! (And if you’re lucky enough to be in Singapore for opening day, be sure to check out the YouTuber’s pro tips for visitors.)
The Quatro Wireless Power Bank can recharge an Apple Watch on the go. Photo: Satechi
Satechi’s Quatro Wireless Power Bank stands out from the pack by including a built-in Apple Watch charger. It can also wirelessly power an iPhone. In addition, the 10,000 mAh external battery has USB-C and USB-A ports. That gives it a total of four ways to charge — hence the “quatro” name.
This was Apple’s original face shield. It has a new model now. Photo: Apple
Apple designed its own face mask because of course it did. A company long known for setting itself apart from the competition with superior design couldn’t use over-the-counter masks to protect employees and customers from COVID-19.
Instead, the team that ordinarily designs Macs and iPhones dreamed up their own face covering for Apple employees, including the people that work in Apple retail stores.
If the Tile network can’t find your lost item, you could get reimbursed for it. Photo: Tile
Clip a tile Bluetooth tracker to your luggage, lose it, and if the Tile network can’t find it, then the company will pay you up to $1,000 in reimbursment. The goal of the new Tile Premium Protect plan is to demonstrate how confident the maker of these trackers is in its network.
But the offer isn’t available to every Tile owner.
Facebook CEO has issues with App Store. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks Apple’s control of the App Store should be scrutinized. In an interview for Axios on HBO, the Facebook overlord said that Apple has “unilateral control of what gets on phones, in terms of apps.”
Zuck went on to say that this power meant that there are questions that should be asked about whether this is “enabling as robust of a competitive dynamic.”
Graphics sure have come a long way! Photo: Nintendo
Way back in the grungy dark days of 1992, when A Few Good Men was playing in theaters and Rage Against the Machine was busy blasting out of the boomboxes of flannel shirt-wearing youths, the original Super Mario Kart landed on SNES.
Jump forward to the present day and Mario Kart Tour, the iOS version of the popular Nintendo kart-racer, is paying nostalgic tribute to its glorious past with a new tour and characters. Check out the details below.
TikTok enjoyed a great month in August. From a downloads perspective, at least. Photo: Kon Karampelas/Unsplash CC
Despite the challenges it continues to face, TikTok was the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide on iOS and Google Play in August, a new report by app analytics platform Sensor Tower claims.
In total, TikTok was downloaded upward of 63.3 million times during the month. That is a slight increase of 1.6% from the same month last year. Indonesia and Brazil were the most popular growing markets for the app during the month.
Mass production on the 5-nanometer chips that will be used in the next-gen iPad Pro and the inaugural Apple Silicon Mac will supposedly kick off in the fourth quarter of 2020, Digitimes reported Wednesday.
According to the report, TSMC will be turning out around 5,000-6,000 Apple Silicon wafers per month. This is rumored to be the A14X chip, which is a more powerful version of the A14 expected with this year’s iPhone 12.
iOS 13.7 upgraded Apple's contact-tracing tools. Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac
Apple has stopped signing iOS 13.6.1, meaning that it is no longer possible to turn back to the earlier version if you have already upgraded to iOS 13.7.
Apple typically stops signing code for previous software versions soon after releasing their successor. That’s because every software update Apple creates is supposed to be faster, more stable, and — most importantly — more secure than the previous version.
It’s therefore in the best interest of users to stop them turning back.
In case you just can't get enough of Oprah's Book Club ... Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac
Oprah Winfrey’s famous book club is now an Apple podcast. The show, which launched Tuesday, bears a predictable name: Oprah’s Book Club. And the subject matter might sound familiar, too.
The eight-episode series features Winfrey talking with Isabel Wilkerson, author of Caste: The Origins of our Discontents. Winfrey called it essential reading when announcing it as her book club pick last month.
There is a lot of open desk space in this setup. Photo: Johan Loekito
Los Angeles-based designer Johan Loekito has three MacBooks on his desk. Yes, three!
It may sound bonkers to have three MacBooks on one desk but his hardware collection is more modest that it first appears. His main machine is a 2018 MacBook Pro and it’s a company laptop. He has a 2015 MacBook Pro for personal stuff, and a 2014 MacBook Air that is his partner’s.
The gloves just came off in Epic Games v. Apple. Graphic: Epic Games/Cult of Mac
The Epic Games v. Apple fight got a bit uglier on Tuesday. For the first time, the iPhone-maker asked that Epic Games pay damages for breach of contract. The two companies are arguing over whether Apple has the right to 30% of in-app purchases in the wildly-successful game Fortnite.
The iPhone 12 will reportedly offer a 6.7-inch option, but there’s more interest in the smallest version. Concept: ConceptsiPhone
A survey of current iPhone users found that 41% of them intend to upgrade to the iPhone 12 when it’s released this autumn.
What’s drawing in potential buyers the most is a faster connection via 5G. And there’s plenty of interest in the tiny 5.4-inch model. But survey respondents aren’t much interested in another rumored feature of the iPhone 12: a LiDAR scanner for augmented reality.
It’s now a breeze to watch Apple TV+ movies and shows on Visio SmartCast TVs. Photo: Vizio
Vizio SmartCast TVs now supports the Apple TV app. This makes it easier for users of these smart TVs in the US and Canada to watch Apple TV+, the company’s streaming video service.
To sweeten the deal, Apple is offering a free three-month subscription to users of these smart screens.
The logo for the September Apple Event is more than just a simple graphic. It’s an AR object. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Hidden in Tuesday’s invite to the September Apple event is a clue that might confirm rumors that the company will make a major push into augmented reality.
The graphic for the invite is an apple sketched out with blue swirls. iPhone and iPad users can put that design in motion, with it seemingly appearing in the real world.