AirPods can be paired with any smartphone, just like other Bluetooth headphones. But you don’t get full functionality on third-party platforms. On Android, however, they just became a lot more useful.
You can now use AirPods to activate the Google Assistant — thanks to one simple app.
The most impressive feature of Google’s new Pixel Buds might not be their audio quality. As demonstrated during the Pixel 2 event today, they work as a real-time translation tool when combined with one of Google’s new phones.
“With Pixel Buds, I can use real-time Google Translate to have a natural conversation in 40 languages,” Google hardware product manager Juston Payne said during the event. “We’re letting you connect with the world around you in a more natural way, by rethinking how a headphone should work, connecting it to cloud-based machine learning and giving you access with the touch of a finger.”
The holiday season is always good for Apple, and this year is no exception. Along with the iPhone X’s possible record pre-orders and better-than-initially-thought iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sales, Apple’s suppliers are also enthused by rising sales for Apple’s AirPods and Apple Watches.
According to sources in Apple’s upstream supply chain, demand for both products has increased and Apple is placing more orders to match.
When Apple execs stepped onstage for September’s big iPhone X unveiling, they had precious few surprises up their sleeves. This year’s iPhone keynote became one of the most spoiled in history, thanks to major software leaks — and a pair of industrious young developers who dug into Apple’s code to pierce the veil of Apple’s vaunted secrecy apparatus.
In this week’s issue, you’ll find that stories and more. Find out why Control Center no longer turns off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Check out our roundups of the best new cases for your iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus as well as the best straps to outfit your new Apple Watch Series 3. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.
It used to be so simple: If you swiped open the iOS Control Center and tapped the Bluetooth icon, then Bluetooth would be toggled on or off. That was it, and the same went for Wi-Fi.
In iOS 11, tapping the same Bluetooth button doesn’t do that. Instead, the Control Center Bluetooth button disconnects your iPhone or iPad from connected Bluetooth accessories, leaving the actual Bluetooth radio on. What’s more, not all accessories get disconnected. Just what in the blazes is going on here?
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You’ve gone and done it. You sprang for a set of Apple’s hip new wireless AirPods. Now begins a new era of constant worry that you might lose one of the tiny (and expensive) earbuds. It doesn’t have to be that way, though.
iOS 11 is full of small tweaks that have a big impact. Today’s tip is one of those. In iOS 10, you can customize the double-tap shortcuts on your Apple AirPods to perform various actions — invoke Siri, or play/pause, for example. But the same shortcut would apply to both AirPods. In iOS 11, you can customize each AirPod independently. So, your left ear could be set to call Siri, and your right ear set to play and pause. That’s double the options, with just a software update!
Apple’s AirPods and Beats headphones are getting some fresh competition from one of the biggest audio companies in the game. And they’re getting a little help from Apple’s rival, Google.
Bose unveiled two new products today. One is its first ever foray into the world of truly wireless earbuds. The other is a pair of brand new noise-canceling headphones that are also designed to work with Google Assistant.
Apple’s new Wireless Charging Case for AirPods will go on sale this December, according to a report out of Europe, which sites Apple Switzerland. The device is expected to cost $69, which is the same amount you’ll pay to replace a standard case if you lose it.
Sports-centric wireless headphone maker Jaybird is ready to make a run at AirPods.
The company just fired the starting gun for Jaybird Run, a set of totally wireless earbuds aimed at runners and other sports fanatics. They’re bigger than AirPods, and differ in significant ways. But for runners and other athletes, they could offer keen competition for Cupertino’s wireless earbuds.
This week on The CultCast: We react to everything announced at Apple’s iPhone X press event! Plus, we’ll tell you all we now know about iPhone X, iPhone 8, the new Apple TV 4K, Apple Watch Series 3, the AirPods update, and the new AirPower charging mat. It’s a packed show. Better hit play, fam.
Apple’s first ever keynote at the Steve Jobs Theater was one for the ages as the company took the wraps off some of its most innovative products ever.
Tim Cook and his crew of executives delivered some exciting new technology today from an iPhone that unlocks just by looking at it, to an Apple Watch that isn’t dependent on an iPhone to make calls and texts. There was a lot to unpack in Apple’s two-hour long keynote, so we’ve broken down the highlights on all the new products.
Here are all the new goodies that came out today:
The biggest Apple keynote of 2017 is just a few short hours away. And according to the rumors, its going to be one of the most memorable tech events in years.
When Tim Cook and Co. take the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater on September 12, we expect them to unveil not one, not two, but three new iPhones. A bunch of other new hardware and software is also on the docket, making this an Apple keynote not to be missed.
Here’s everything Apple will likely reveal.
This post has been updated to include the latest info from the massive iOS 11 golden master leak.
Apple looks leakier than the White House these days. The latest unauthorized dump of info about upcoming Apple products comes in the form of a leaked golden master version of iOS 11.
Obtained late Friday by tech publications, the prematurely released final version of Apple’s mobile operating system reveals details about everything from the upcoming iPhones’ model names to dazzling new iOS wallpapers and details about the next Apple Watch.
Spoiler alert: If you want any surprises at all during next Tuesday’s Apple event, stop reading now.
Where do you put your AirPods when they’re not in your ears? Eric Migicovsky kept forgetting and when he did find them, he sometimes realized he had forgotten to charge them.
So he and a couple of friends came up with the PodCase, a relatively slim iPhone battery case that holds a set of AirPods and keeps them charged. The case can do away with the need to carry the AirPods charging case since the PodCase allows for one-cord charging for both phone and ear buds.
Apple has rolled out its tenth beta of tvOS 11 for registered developers ahead of a public release this fall.
The release comes just under one week after developers got their hands on beta 9, and it mostly includes bug fixes and performance improvements at this point.
The latest iOS 11 beta just revealed what it will be like to set up a HomePod, Apple’s new smart speaker coming later this year.
Pairing HomePod with your iPhone will be quite similar to the AirPods setup routine, based on leaked screenshots of the process. If the leak is accurate, you’ll only be able to set up the speaker using an iPhone or iPad.
Shipping times for AirPods have finally fallen below one month. In most countries, the wait has been reduced to just two to three weeks when ordering from the Apple online store, which is the lowest it has been since the earphones made their debut last December.
Apple HomePod manufacturer Inventec Appliances warns that the device will be in limited supply when it launches this December.
Analysts expect the company to ship just 500,000 units by the end of 2017. However, supplies are anticipated to improve in 2018, when Foxconn will help with manufacturing duties.
Jony Ive has revealed that the company’s iconic white earbuds were inspired by Star Wars stormtroopers.
In a new interview, in which he also talks at length about Apple Park, the Apple design chief describes how he had the dark side in mind while creating them for the iPod.
Apple is giving away free Beats headphones for its latest Back to School promotion.
Students and teachers who purchase a qualifying Mac at reduced education pricing will get a set of Beats Solo3 wireless headphones at no extra cost, while those who purchase a new iPad Pro will be treated to BeatsX.
Updated: May 11, 2017
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are Apple’s first iPhones to drop the headphone jack. And while you can keep using your old headphones by plugging them into the adapter that comes in the box, that gets old as soon as you discover you left the little dongle at home connected to a speaker, and you can’t listen to any music.
You’ve got two options. One, stick with a cable and buy some Lightning headphones. That’s fine, but then you can only use them with recent-vintage iOS devices, and you can’t charge your device while you use them. Or two, go wireless. That means Bluetooth, either the vanilla kind, or Apple’s augmented Bluetooth headphones, with the special W1 chip added to make pairing easier.
If you’ve been waiting (and waiting) to get your hands on a pair of AirPods, now’s your chance. Apple’s wireless headphones currently appear to be in stock at Verizon Wireless with fast, free shipping.
Grab ’em while they last!
This week on The CultCast: Apple’s secret Siri speaker is just around the corner — we’ll tell you everything (we think) we know about it. Plus: Why AirPods are the best product Apple’s made in years; and why Microsoft’s MacBook clone is actually great for Apple fans.
Finally, we’ll deconstruct and decode Tim Cook’s mysterious and quickly deleted accidental tweet, and you’ll be shocked at the truth!
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Apple Watch gets a lot of stick for being a “me-too” product, and people who don’t see the need for a smartwatch assume the business is a bust. There’s this crazy perception that Apple Watch is just not selling — but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Apple Watch, alongside other Apple wearables, is now raking in billions of dollars every year. The business is huge. So huge, in fact, that it would be a Fortune 500 company all by itself, outselling supposed smash hits like Microsoft’s Surface tablets and the Amazon Echo.
Here’s why Apple Watch isn’t the flop you think it is.