Apple's next Thunderbolt Display won't just be super sharp. Photo: Apple
Apple’s new Thunderbolt Display will ship with a built-in GPU that will provide entry-level and older Macs with enough power to drive its super sharp 5K resolution, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans.
Apple will have to wait until next year for iPhone growth to return. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple is confident the iPhone will bounce back from its current slump in demand, but new forecasts suggest shipments will get worse before they get better. Researchers don’t expect growth to return until 2017 when Apple introduces bigger upgrades.
Coach is busting out some fancy Apple Watch bands. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Move over Hermes. There’s a new high-end fashion brand that is ready to capitalize on the Apple Watch and its leather bands will be launching soon.
Coach has secretly listed its first Apple Watch bands on its website. An official unveiling of the luxury leather bands is still in the works, but based on the early listings it appears that the bands will come at a relatively cheap price point.
Apple has begun inviting members of the press to its WWDC 2016 keynote on June 13.
The event kicks off at 10 a.m. PT in the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco, and it should deliver our first sneak peeks at iOS 10 and Apple’s next major upgrades for watchOS, tvOS, and OS X.
When the Moog strikes, Parry Gripp writes funny songs about anything. Photo: Dana E. Ross
Parry Gripp was the lead vocalist of a promising pop punk band that had a record deal and stardom just around the corner.
Success never came and just as Parry Gripp was set to give up, a new career in music rose from the ashes — by accident — thanks to the iPhone and Apple.
The technology company was not only fodder for Gripp’s brand of absurd novelty music he was creating but, through iTunes, Apple provided a way for him to publish his music and start to make a living.
Apple has beaten Samsung in the American Customer Satisfaction Index for 2016 — but only just. While both companies scored exactly the same in 2015, Apple managed to grab an extra point to claim first place all for itself this year.
Could the real iPhone 8 look a little something like this? Photo: TechDesigns
Samsung gets a lot of hate for copying Apple’s first iPhones, but boy how the tables could turn in 2017. According to yet another report, the iPhone 8’s new OLED display will be curved on both sides — just like the Galaxy S7 edge’s.
China's WeChat is a messaging app tha offers just about everything, from text messaging to instant payments. It's a monster, with mote than 1 billion registered users. Photo: Virginia Werner/Cult of Mac
Mainland China is Apple’s second biggest market, and will one day be its first. The company is making a big push on the mainland, opening new stores and investing in home-grown companies. Why the interest? Because China is the new Japan — it’s where the future is happening. All this week we take a look at the cutting-edge apps that define mobile life on the mainland.
SHANGHAI CITY, China — Now that I use WeChat, I don’t need much else when it comes to social media apps. In fact, WeChat has almost entirely replaced text messaging in China. I am able to link up with other WeChat users through their username without providing a telephone number, so it is a great platform for communicating with new acquaintances or people I am working with.
I have hundreds of WeChat contacts, but only a handful of telephone numbers in my iPhone. The app also recently introduced group video messaging and has an extensive WeChat Wallet service (similar to Zhifubao) available to Chinese bank account holders.
Messenger is finally getting encryption. Photo: Facebook
Facebook plans to tighten security on its popular Messenger platform this summer, but it won’t be turned on for all users by default.
Messenger will add a new end-to-end encryption feature that prevents hackers and the government from being able to read your text messages. Facebook won’t be able to read your messages either though, and that will seriously hurt its ability to make bots great if you decide to opt-in to better security.
This MacBook Pro chassis is unlike any other. Photo: Cult of Mac
Leaked photos of what is claimed to be Apple’s next-generation MacBook Pro all but confirm it will ship with a new OLED touchpad above its keyboard. The images sent to Cult of Mac also hint at four USB-C connectors.
The Aura is spectacular inside and out. Photo: Digital Storm
Apple doesn’t have gamers in mind when choosing components for its latest Macs, but PC maker Digital Storm has proven that it’s possible to build a beastly gaming rig into the iMac’s gorgeous all-in-one form factor.
Check out the company’s stunning new Aura PC, which puts NVIDIA’s latest GTX 1080 graphics card behind a 34-inch curved display.
Apple moves in early next year. Photo: Jerry Gonzo
Construction on Apple’s new campus isn’t expected to be completed until the end of the year, but the spaceship is starting to come into shape in the latest flyover video that shows some buildings have already been completed.
Tim Cook’s beautiful pile of dirt keeps growing in Matthew Roberts’ latest drone footage of the new campus that takes a look at the massive 11,000 vehicle car garage that is nearly finished, as well as a new plaza that’s being constructed near the underground theater entrance.
Find out what's hot in your favorite genre. Photo: Apple
Apple just added another bunch of playlists to Apple Music that will help you discover new music from your favorite genres. They’re called “Breaking,” and they’re filled with over two hours of the hottest tracks.
Caltech says MacBooks and other products violate its WiFi patents. Photo: Apple
The super-fast WiFi on your iPhone may be the result of patent violations, according to a new lawsuit filed by the California Institute of Technology that claims Apple violated four of its patents.
Eddy Cue had the best seats in the house to watch the Warrior's comeback. Photo: SF Chronicle/Twitter
The Golden State Warriors completed one of the biggest comebacks in NBA playoff history last night when they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, and perhaps no one in the arena was as amped as Apple VP Eddy Cue.
You see, Eddy Cue loves basketball. He’s such a big hoops fan that he’s made a habit of getting spotted with some of the game’s biggest stars in the biggest moments. So it should be no surprise that when the Warriors’ local paper announced the team’s win this morning Cue was right on the front page with Steph Curry.
Screw Nintendo's proprietary connectors! Photo: Gametech Direct
Don’t you just hate having to pack a whole bunch of different cables when you go traveling? Here’s a tiny little adapter that can help by making your Nintendo 3DS compatible with Lightning, allowing you to charge it with your iPhone’s cable.
There’s no room for a 3.5mm headphone jack in Apple’s next-generation iPhones, according to recent leaks — but that doesn’t mean all your existing headphones are no good.
Accessory makers are already building all kinds of dongles that will make your favorite cans iPhone 7 ready.
We may see a lot more 'S' upgrades in the future. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Many iPhone fans don’t like waiting two years for major refreshes, but it could be about to get a lot worse. According to one report, Apple is switching its big upgrades to a three-year cycle, which is why this year’s iPhone 7 will look just like its predecessors.
Everyone accepts Zhifubao, China's answer to Paypal, even street vendors. Photo: Virginia Werner/Cult of Mac
Mainland China is Apple’s second biggest market, and will one day be its first. Apple is making a big push on the mainland, opening new stores and investing in home-grown companies. Why the interest? Because China is the new Japan — it’s where the future is happening. All this week we take a look at the cutting-edge apps that define mobile life on the mainland.
SHANGHAI CITY, China — The common question when conducting any kind of financial transaction in China is: “Cash or Zhifubao?” I have used Alipay in a wide variety of settings — paying for products online or meals at restaurants, sending rent money to my landlord, or squaring up with a taxi driver. It was easy to set up, after I spent all of 15 minutes creating a Chinese bank account at my local branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
New Apple hardware in March? Reports say yes, indeed. Image: Erfon Elijah/Cult of Mac
This week, on The CultCast: Macbook Pro’s about to get its biggest refresh ever; Apple’s plans to rival Amazon’s Echo; more great stories from the Cult of Mac; the state of gaming in OS X, iOS, and tvOS; Apple gets serious about iCar charging stations; and we set aside our agendas to discuss YOUR topics in an all-new As You Wish.
Our thanks to Freshbooks for supporting this episode. FreshBooks is the easy-to-use invoicing software designed to help small business owners get organized, save time invoicing and get paid faster. Get started now with a 30-day free trial.
Check out Apple’s plans for the iCar as it prepares the groundwork for its charging infrastructure.
Learn more of what’s in store for the iCar in this week’s jam-packed Cult of Mac Magazine. Plus, Foxconn manages to replaces half its workers with robots.