Apple has released OS X 10.10 Yosemite, iOS 8.1, and Apple Pay.
Bose speakers and headphones have long been a staple of Apple retail, but Apple has now removed Bose products from its online store. It’s anticipated that Apple will soon remove Bose products from its physical stores as well. This may have been planned from the time Apple acquired Beats Electronics, but many believe it’s linked to an exclusive sponsorship deal Bose has signed with the NFL, which bars players from wearing Beats headphones on camera. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was fined $10,000 by the NFL for wearing Beats headphones during a press conference.
A cherished Apple tradition has returned, as Ars Technica has published John Siracusa’s book-length review of OS X 10.10 Yosemite. This is Siracusa’s fifteenth year of reviewing Mac OS X releases, which began with his review of Mac OS X DP2 in 1999. While reviews are somewhat less relevant in this day and age of free software updates, Siracusa’s reviews are always worth a look for their attention to detail.
Developer Marco Arment is considering selling his 2013 Mac Pro and buying a new iMac with Retina 5K display and has written an extensive comparison to explain why. For single-threaded tasks, the iMac actually has a faster CPU, and it isn’t much slower at multi-threaded tasks than the Mac Pro. Plus, the iMac’s 5K Retina display is superior to anything you can use with the Mac Pro, and that will probably be true for some time. Overall, Arment thinks the Mac Pro is an increasingly niche product that is no longer best for his needs.
Apple has launched a stunning new iMac with a 5K Retina display, and has finally updated the long-neglected Mac mini.
Managing Editor Josh Centers joined The Tech Night Owl podcast to discuss iOS 8 in advance of his upcoming book, “iOS 8: A Take Control Crash Course.” Josh discusses what’s slowing iOS 8 adoption, how Apple can improve third-party keyboards, and what he expects to see from Apple’s next event.
Are you a serious photographer who’s frustrated by the limitations of the iPhone’s camera? A new app opens up more of its potential, but it can’t work magic.
After two years, Glenn Fleishman is closing down his publication, The Magazine. In talking to Cult of Mac, Glenn outlined nine hard-learned lessons that prospective publishers would be wise to read. Some of The Magazine’s challenges were set in stone from the beginning: in particular, being reliant on Apple’s Newsstand feature, which changed for the worse in iOS 7, limited exposure.
Activation Lock discourages iPhone theft, and Apple is now providing a new tool to see if it’s enabled on a device. Josh Centers explains how Activation Lock works, and how to see if it could be a problem when you’re buying a used iOS device.
How has a strange, glitchy indie game become a smash hit? Josh Centers tries to figure it out.
Another sign of Apple’s push into the fashion world: Vogue has published an in-depth profile of Jony Ive, Apple’s SVP of Design. Interestingly, Vogue got to look at the Apple Watch weeks before it was announced. The magazine article details Ive’s upbringing, education, and his design philosophies. “I think what we sincerely try to do is create objects and products and ideas that are new and innovative,” Ive said, “but at the same time there is a slightly peculiar familiarity to them.”
Confused by third-party keyboards in iOS 8? Josh Centers explains how they work, how to set them up, and how Apple can improve them before sharing his favorite replacement and utility keyboards.
Until Android Wear and the Apple Watch announcements, Pebble was the hottest smartwatch company on the scene. Now, with big-name competition, Pebble is slashing the price of the original Pebble by $50 (to $99) and the Pebble Steel by $30 (to $199). The company is also adding background sleep and activity tracking to its smartwatches. Its new marketing campaign pokes fun at Apple’s SVP of Design, Jony Ive, saying “Breathe, Jony. It’s just a watch. Chill.”
The glass Apple Store cube at the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue isn’t just a New York City landmark — it’s as iconic as any product Apple has released, if not more so. But what you may not know is that the actual store, underground, was an unused basement for 40 years. New York Magazine tells the story of how Steve Jobs and real estate developer Harry Macklowe worked together to turn an unwanted basement into one of retail’s greatest success stories.
Much has been made of claims that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are prone to bending in people’s pockets. Consumer Reports, which drew attention to antenna issues in the iPhone 4, put both phones to a “three-point flexural test,” the same test that Apple uses. While Apple reportedly tests with only 55 pounds of force, Consumer Reports found that the iPhone 6 didn’t deform until it reached 70 pounds of force, and the iPhone 6 Plus held up even better, deforming at 90 pounds of force. While the iPhone 5 is much tougher, deforming at 130 pounds, the iPhone 6 still exceeds even Apple’s own standards.