Progress is reportedly going well at Apple’s chipmaker TSMC on development of the 2nm and later 1.4nm processors to power the 2025 through 2027 Mac and iPhone models.
Getting these chips into production is a critical part of keeping Apple at the forefront of technology.
You can scan and open a QR code directly from your iPhone camera or a picture — you don’t have to download a third-party app. Here are the three ways you can open them: inside the camera, using a shortcut in Control Center and directly from your photo library.
If you’re in a restaurant and you want to open their digital menu, or you’re setting up two-factor authentication using a code, you don’t want to fiddle with installing an app. This functionality is built right into your phone.
Keep reading or watch our short video.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After pulling the plug on an ambitious project — creating a self-driving car — Apple sets its sights on making … home robots?!? Say it ain’t so, Tim!
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
A collection of 100 wild-looking smartphone cases inspired by the upcoming solar eclipse is selling out fast. The one-of-a-kind solar eclipse iPhone cases, made by the craftspeople at Carved, will give your handset an out-of-this-world look.
“We’ve been working hard to capture the essence of this coming 2024 eclipse,” the company said Friday on its Facebook page. “In all the excitement we’ve made a very limited run of eclipse designs just for you!”
There are lots of questions about how to take solar eclipse photos with your iPhone. Firstly, can a solar eclipse harm your iPhone’s camera or lenses? Won’t the sun’s rays damage the camera?
Not according to Apple. Cupertino says it’s safe to photograph a total solar eclipse with your iPhone; but be sure to protect your eyes.
However, photographing the solar eclipse is hard without the right tools. To get a good picture of the solar eclipse with your iPhone, you’re going to need a 12-18x telephoto lens attachment, a solar filter and a tripod. Make sure you have everything you need before the big event on Monday.
Here’s how you can get prepared. Watch our new video or keep reading below.
Images of iPhone 16 “dummy” units have been published by a tipster with an established record. They show the redesigned camera hump reportedly coming to the two non-Pro models and other changes.
The pictures are the best look yet at the handsets Apple is expected to launch in autumn 2024.
★★★★☆
The SwitchEasy Orbit Universal Magnetic Stand is an incredibly handy little stand that’s sturdy and easy to use. It’s seamlessly blended into my daily iPhone habits — and unlike most products I review, everyone I show it to instantly wants one.
The handy stand props up your iPhone on a table, desk or kitchen counter. Its puck shape allows you to orient your phone vertically or horizontally. It collapses and folds flat, so you can carry it around.
You can also stick on double-sided tape and attach it to the back of your monitor as a camera mount for your iPhone.
I’ve been using it for a few months now at my desk and around the house. Here’s why I recommend it.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Now that Apple set a date for WWDC24, it’s time for the speculation to begin. Artificial intelligence undoubtedly will be on the agenda. But what will Apple’s AI push look like?
Join us for a whirlwind discussion.
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
March 29, 2012: Apple settles its “Antennagate” controversy by giving affected iPhone 4 owners the chance to claim a whopping $15 payout. The settlement covers customers who experienced problems with the phone dropping calls due to its cutting-edge design, but were unable to return their handsets (or didn’t want a free bumper from Apple to mitigate against the problem).
While it’s arguable whether a $15 payout was worth filing all the paperwork necessary to claim the cash, the Antennagate story — and the resulting class-action lawsuit — generated big headlines at the time.
Receiving calls from unknown numbers is a recurring theme that can often be quite aggravating to deal with, especially since most of them tend to be from pranksters and telemarketers. However, the fact remains that some calls may be important, which raises the question, how can you truly distinguish the real from the fake?
Add the iPhone 12 to the list of handsets that support the new Qi2 cross-platform wireless charging standard that’s based on MagSafe. Apparently, Apple gave the older phones support for the newest chargers without mentioning it.
More recent iPhone models already can use Qi2 accessories.
★★★★☆
The compact and slim Torras Ostand Power Bank is a second battery for your iPhone, providing 15-watt fast charging whenever and wherever you need it. It also serves as an iPhone stand and can charge other devices, like iPad, too.
Torras sent me a 5000mAh Ostand Power Bank to try. And it did not disappoint. Doing exactly what it claims to do, the device offers good value — especially while it’s discounted for the Amazon Big Spring Sale (see below).
If you stumble across a webpage or a link in a different language, you can instantly translate the website to English directly from Safari. Unlike Google Chrome, Safari even translates the text inside images using Live Text.
And, if you accidentally change the language of a website to one you don’t speak, you can turn this feature on to help you change it back. At Cult of Mac, we use the feature to translate rumors or blog posts often written in Chinese, Korean or Japanese, like this.
You don’t need to select the words paragraph by paragraph and copy them into Google Translate (or even Apple’s own Translate app). Get the entire page in English at the tap of a button. Here’s how to make the most out of this handy Safari feature.
Your iPhone doesn’t need to look like it came from 2012. You can easily swap out wallpapers and/or customize iPhone Home Screen layouts by adding widgets and folders (and by hiding unwanted apps from your view).
This guide will help set up your iPhone screen so it looks exactly how you want it to.
If your iPhone won’t install a software update, it’s more than just annoying. You must install the latest updates to get security patches, as well as the latest features.
You install software updates by opening Settings > General > Software Update. It should be a pretty smooth process, but occasionally, things go wrong. The error messages can be inscrutable and infuriatingly vague.
But there are a few things you can try. Here’s a step-by-step guide that will show you what to do.
The new “Why Upgrade” page on Apple’s website shows users of some older iOS models what features they’d get if they traded up to the latest iPhone 15 series.
The tool says “See what you’re missing“ in hopes of convincing shoppers that it’s time to move on from handsets introduced in 2019 or 2020.
The next time you buy a new iPhone, it could come out of the box with a fresh iOS software update, according to a new report. A new proprietary system called “Presto” will update it right in the packaging before you buy it at an Apple Store.
Normally, updating iOS is one of the first orders of business for new iPhone purchases. Now it won’t be necessary unless a new update comes out right after their purchase.
Apple will allow for greater iPhone Home Screen customization in iOS 18, including the ability to place app icons anywhere on the screen, according to a new report.
iPhone owners also supposedly will gain the flexibility to create blank rows and columns, though the icons will still snap to a grid.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest rumors indicate 2024 will bring big changes to the AirPods lineup. In fact, Apple’s ramping up for “the biggest AirPods launch to date.”
But even this fantastic news can’t cheer us up after the Department of Justice files a wide-ranging antitrust lawsuit against Apple. We recorded this episode of The CultCast right after news of the DOJ’s suit broke, and some of us are fuming!
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
You can quickly tag photos on your iPhone with the names of your friends, family members and pets so you can easily find pictures of them later on. The Photos app will detect pictures of people automatically — you just need to give them a name.
If you want to fine-tune the results, I’ll show you how to do that. And now in iOS 17, you can even tag pets (cats and dogs) in your photos.
The Department of Justice’s monumental Apple antitrust case appears weak.
Still, the civil lawsuit, filed Thursday, represents the biggest legal challenge to Apple’s power in the company’s 47-year history. If successful, the lawsuit could force Apple to fundamentally change the way it makes products and conducts business. A similar action against Microsoft in the 1990s significantly curtailed that company’s reach and power.
But the DOJ’s lawsuit against Apple appears to be based on old and outdated information, and Apple has already — or is about to — address most of the major concerns.
In iOS 17, the iPhone got a built-in text-to-speech feature called Live Speech. You can even use Live Speech with a digital version of your own voice called Personal Voice.
Apple devised Personal Voice for users “at risk of losing their ability to speak — such as those with a recent diagnosis of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or other conditions that can progressively impact speaking ability.” It was the subject of a touching and heartfelt video Apple made called “The Lost Voice.”
Here’s how to set up and use Live Speech.
Apple’s Safari web browser packs loads of privacy features that will keep your online activity hidden from ad networks, user tracking and data farms. But are you sure you have everything turned on? Some of Apple’s most important privacy-protecting features don’t come enabled by default.
In light of Google baking ever-more invasive user tracking into Chrome, there are even more reasons to use Safari instead. If you want to make the most out of the best and most secure mainstream browser, here’s how.
Apple could give the iPhone 17’s display a big anti-reflective update. A new rumor says the 2025 iPhone might feature a “super-hard anti-reflective layer,” which is also more scratch-resistant.
Seemingly, Apple will use a new layer of coating on the glass to reduce the reflection and increase scratch resistance.
Apple may have decided that 2026 is the right year to launch a folding iPhone.
Cupertino has been tinkering with prototype handsets with foldable displays for a long time. An analyst predicted Thursday that the company will finally have something to offer in a couple of years.