Articles about Apple

Apple has failed in an attempt to block a class action lawsuit being brought against it by a customer who claimed the company concealed the problematic nature of the butterfly keyboard design used in MacBooks.

The proposed lawsuit not only alleges that Apple concealed the fact that MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air keyboards were prone to failure, but also that design defects left customers out of pocket because of Apple's failure to provide an effective fix.

Continue reading →

Apple laptops are very good computers -- they even make solid makeshift desktops when you connect a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. While Apple's wireless Bluetooth keyboard is very good, it is also quite expensive. Apple charges a staggering $129 for the white model with number pad. Hilariously, it charges a $20 premium if you want the space gray color! Oh, Apple...

Today, Satechi launches a beautiful Apple-like wireless keyboard for macOS that features the coveted space gray color. It even charges with USB-C rather than Lightning. Best of all, Satechi's keyboard costs nearly half that of the Apple equivalent! Since the Mac mini doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse, this new product should be a good choice for Apple's diminutive desktop too.

Continue reading →

When it first came out in 2005, the diminutive Mac mini was a game-changing computer. Sure, it was woefully under-powered, but never before could you buy a Mac for $499. It truly allowed any consumer to jump into the Apple desktop world -- something previously reserved for those with large bank accounts.

While the newest Mac mini (introduced in 2018) is still small and fairly affordable, the $499 starting price is long gone. Instead, it now costs a minimum of $799 to get a Mac. Sigh. Sadly, even with a higher price, one of the most glaring issues to plague the Mac mini in 2005 is still an issue 14 years later -- there are no front ports! Apple chose to hide all the connectors on the rear -- the company often chooses form over function. Thankfully, the new 2-in-1 Mac mini stand and hub from Satechi solves this problem while retaining the elegant design.

Continue reading →

Apple has sent out invitations to a surprise event to be held on December 2 in New York City. It has the tagline "Loved by millions. Created by the best".

The event is billed by Apple as a "special event honoring our favorite apps and games of 2019". It is more usual for end of year app picks to be simply highlighted in the App Store so, while it is unlikely that we'll see any new hardware unveiled, it's possible the bigger staging will be used to reveal just when the new Mac Pro will be released.

Continue reading →

Apple has finally launched its 16-inch MacBook Pro after a seemingly endless string of rumors and speculation.

Besides the size of the 6K screen, there are several notable features of this new "pro notebook" -- six speakers and three microphones for professional sound, and a Magic Keyboard with scissor keys. Pricing for the laptop starts at $2,399, but a fully loaded model will set you back an incredible $6,099.

Continue reading →

Walmart stores are fairly ubiquitous in the USA. The retailer sells pretty much everything too. For instance, in one outing, you can buy tires, a gallon of milk, and a pair of shoes. Are the stores the most clean or well organized? No, not at all. In fact, a trip to Walmart can feel like a journey to hell, but overall, they provide a passable shopping experience.

Believe it or not, some people do their food shopping at Walmart too, as many of the stores have full grocery sections, including fresh produce. While in Florida on vacation earlier this year, I even encountered a dedicated Walmart grocery store --- it only sold food. Walmart even lets you do your grocery shopping online (pickup or delivery), including by voice, thanks to its Voice Order feature. To make this feature better, Walmart has now added Siri support. Yes, you can use the voice assistant on your Apple device to add items to your online Walmart grocery cart.

Continue reading →

The latest version of macOS  -- 10.15 Catalina -- was released just a month ago, and introduced some big changes, including the break-up of iTunes, and dropping support for 32-bit apps, which unfortunately meant some popular third-party software stopped working.

It might not happen any time soon, but if Apple does eventually make the jump to macOS 11, it’s fair to say the operating system will get a fairly major overhaul at that point. If you’d like to see how it should look, we’ve got this stunning video to wow you.

Continue reading →

New York's Department of Financial Services is starting an investigation into Goldman Sachs because of concerns of gender discrimination when assigning credit limits to Apple Card users.

Goldman Sachs is the financial body behind Apple's credit card, and concerns have been voiced that the company is offering men higher credit limits than their wives -- even the women in question have a higher credit rating. Among those surprised at the discrepancy is Steve Wozniak who reported that he was offered ten times the limit of his wife.

Continue reading →

Apple is working to fix an issue that makes it possible to read portions of encrypted email in macOS after an IT specialist discovered a flaw in the way Mail's messages are handled by Siri. The problem affects macOS versions from Sierra to Catalina.

It is important to note that there are a number of criteria that have to be met for the issue to rear its head, but the fact that it is possible at all is still a concern. For a company that has just been shouting about its privacy policies, the timing is less than ideal -- particularly as Apple has been aware of the problem since July.

Continue reading →

Apple Watch is extremely popular with iPhone users, so you might think that they all also own Apple TV for their streaming needs. Well, while I am sure many do, not all iPhone users are heavily invested in Apple's ecosystem -- it can be quite the expensive affair. For instance, Mac computers are much more expensive than Windows machines with similar specifications. Also, the Apple TV media box is much costlier than Amazon Fire TV or Roku. In other words, there are iPhone users that also own Apple Watch, but use non-Apple devices in their lives too.

If you are an Apple Watch user that also owns a Roku device, I have great news. Starting today, you can control your media box using the wearable on your wrist. Yes, the Apple Watch can effectively be turned into a remote control for interacting with Roku.

Continue reading →

Apple's iPads are all wonderful devices. Whether you buy an iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, or iPad Pro, you are guaranteed a top-notch tablet experience. Believe it or not, they can even serve as decent makeshift laptops too -- when you add a keyboard case. This is particularly true nowadays as Apple has forked iOS into iPadOS for its tablets. The operating system is now better focused for both the tablet and laptop experiences. iPadOS 13 even added rudimentary mouse support, but it really isn't a fully matured option -- yet.

If you need a keyboard case for your iPad, you can always go with Apple's own option, but in-the-know consumers will likely turn to another company -- Logitech. Yes, that company's keyboard case offerings, including the Slim Folio, have historically been very well received. Today, Logitech launches that popular product for the 3rd generation of iPad Air.

Continue reading →

All of the big names in technology have faced questions and criticism over privacy. Apple is no different, and with an updated privacy website it seeks to distance itself from the controversy-addled likes of Facebook and Google.

The company has refreshed its privacy portal to provide a one-stop-shop for everything it feels people might want to know about the way it collects and handles data. While there are no changes to privacy policies, the updated site aims to present information in a more accessible and transparent format.

Continue reading →

Apple only released Catalina three weeks ago, and already there is a fairly significant update available -- macOS Catalina 10.15.1.

With this release, Apple adds support for the newly announced AirPods Pro as well as fixing a number of bugs. There are also new HomeKit options, enhanced privacy in Siri, and the arrival of more than 70 new or updated emoji, including gender-neutral options.

Continue reading →

Despite being wildly popular (largely for fashion purposes) Apple AirPods are a terrible product. Yeah, they have some nice technology inside, and they sound pretty good, but holy cow, they are extremely uncomfortable. Seriously, how can a company worth many billions of dollars not come up with a better design than a rock-hard piece of plastic that you shove in your ears?

Well, today, Apple announces that it has finally fixed the AirPods. No, it is not revising the product, but instead, it is launching a more comfortable version. Called "AirPods Pro," these new wireless earbuds are apparently designed for professional music listeners. Nah, I am being facetious -- they are designed for all users -- but the "Pro" branding is absurd. But thankfully, they do have replaceable ear tips, allowing the user to find the best fit. In other words, the one-size-fits-all approach taken with regular AirPods was, in fact, stupid. AirPods Pro offer more than just increased comfort, however -- noise cancellation is the real selling point here.

Continue reading →

Apple has issued a warning to owners of some iPhones and iPads, advising them to update their operating system within the next two weeks. The company warns that devices that do not upgrade iOS will experience problems with GPS and incorrect date and times -- which in turn could cause problems with iCloud, email and other services.

The cut-off date is 12:00 a.m. UTC on November 3, 2019 and Apple is eager for users to upgrade as soon as possible as when the date rolls around it may not be possible for affected devices to receive OTA updates.

Continue reading →