Ste Smith - page 5

Portable battery chargers to power up smart devices are a dime a dozen, and often specific as to what they can charge. A power bank that could charge, say, anything from an iPhone to a MacBook or even a portable fan simultaneously — now we’re talking.

Welcome to the Omnicharge smart power bank. This portable pack of power can charge up to three devices at the same time — two via USB ports and one via the AC/DC port. Moreover, I’ll never need to worry about finding a power outlet for my laptop with this super-handy and powerful device.

Check out the video below for my full review:

Finding headphones for my two-year-old daughter was an exercise in safety and design. I wanted something that would not damage her ears, and she likes headphones that look like daddy’s.

The BT220 Studio Grade Children’s Bluetooth Headphones by Puro Sound Labs kept popping up in searches and had glowing reviews, so I decided they at least looked cool enough to consider.

Check out the video below for my full review.

The iOS 10 public beta is finally here! It’s never a great idea to install beta releases on a primary device, but many of us just can’t wait to get our hands on the latest features. Fortunately, if you update properly, there’s an easy route back if you decide it’s just not stable enough for you.

Our helpful step-by-step tutorial video that will walk you through the whole process!

If you’ve been thinking about downloading and installing the latest macOS Sierra public beta, but you’re worried it might be too difficult, Cult of Mac is here to help.

Although using beta releases on your primary computer isn’t recommended, a lot of people (including myself) just can’t wait until the public release later this fall to try out the latest features Apple has to offer.

We’ve gone ahead and installed the public beta to bring you this handy step-by-step tutorial video. Check it out below.

When Apple rolled out iOS 10 beta 2 earlier this week, I rushed to install it straight onto my trusty iPhone — and I had my camera ready to give you a hands-on look at everything that’s new.

Check out the video below to see Cult of Mac’s overview of some of the latest tweaks and updates in iOS 10 beta 2.

Despite a bevy of leaks, a ton of questions remain about the upcoming iPhone 7, the biggest of which is whether or not it will come with an exciting dual-lens camera.

One week it’s coming. The next it isn’t.

Maybe you’re thinking, why would you even want one anyway? Well, in today’s video, we’ll show you why a dual-lens camera would be an amazing upgrade for any iPhone (and we’ll even toss in some sexy, 3-D concepts of what a dual-lens iPhone might look like).

Check it out:

With all the recent rumors that Apple will build an electric car within the next few years, obviously Cupertino is going to be compared to the big electric car company of the moment, Tesla Motors.

Tesla sold more than 50,000 model S sedans in 2015, so I’m taking a look at four Apple Car lessons that Tim Cook and Jony Ive should learn from Tesla.

Check out the video below.

iOS 10 brings much-needed design overhauls for the Apple Music and Apple News apps.

The big iOS update, which is currently in beta but should hit iPhones and iPads this fall, brings huge changes to the Apple Music UI as well as minor improvements to navigation in the music app. To see all the changes in action, watch the Cult of Mac video below.

As soon as it was released, I rushed to install the new iOS 10 beta on my iPhone. The only problem is, new betas can be buggy. Really buggy.

If you made the same mistake and want to return to the stable and reliable iOS 9.3.2, there is a solution. In this week’s Quick Tips, I’m going to show you how to downgrade from iOS 10 to iOS 9.3.2. Check out the 60-second video below!

In my line of work, conducting interviews and attending press conferences, a fully charged iPhone is a necessity. I don’t want the constant worry of watching my phone’s battery slowly die down as I search for the nearest power outlet.

To alleviate the fear of an undercharged iPhone, battery packs and cases are must-haves. And, while I appreciate the convenience of an external battery pack, they are often too bulky. A battery case is another option as it will house my phone and battery pack in one handy spot — again resulting in added bulk, especially when my phone is fully charged and I don’t need the battery attached 24/7.

Why hasn’t anyone thought of combining the two? Accessory-maker Moshi has heeded the call with its iGlaze Ion battery case for the iPhone 6 and 6s.

Check out the video below for my full review.

WWDC 2016 brought a lot of exciting new software updates, and we’re working our way through hands-on demos with all of them. We’ve already covered iOS 10, macOS Sierra and tvOS 10 betas — and now it’s time for watchOS 3.

Apple’s latest operating system for the Apple Watch brings a lot of changes and improvements that fix the user experience. Watch the video below to see the new OS in action.

Along with macOS, iOS and watchOS Apple recently unveiled the latest system update to their Apple TV operating system: tvOS 10.

tvOS 10 brings some great new additions along with a new iOS remote app. To see the new Apple TV and remote app updates in action, check out the video below.

This post is brought to you by GraphicStock.

Having worked as a graphic designer years before my official role as a YouTuber, I know the importance of having ready-made graphics and photos at my disposal.

Lately I’ve been using GraphicStock, which is the place to go for all your illustration, vector and stock photo needs (and also a sponsor of Cult of Mac‘s YouTube videos). For a guided tour of GraphicStock, and to take full advantage of a free seven-day trial of the service, check out the video below.

The first macOS beta was released this week, so of course I downloaded it straight away on my Mac to bring you all a quick hands on video.

Although this is still the first beta, and many functions still don’t work as intended, it gives us our first glimpse at Apple’s next-gen desktop OS in action. Check out the macOS Sierra hands on video below.

I’ve made no secret in declaring my love for Libratone speakers, having covered the Zipp and Loop in the past.

So, when Libratone got in touch asking if I’d like to take a look at the latest iteration of the Libratone Zipp, of course I jumped at the chance.

Watch the video below to see my full thoughts!

I’ve already shown you what’s on my iPhone and given you a tour of my office, so now it’s time to find out what I carry with me when I’m on the road.

Video and photography are a big part of what I do here at Cult of Mac, and just because I’m away from my office doesn’t mean I’m not creating something for the YouTube channel or for the team’s articles.

Check out the full video tour below to find out what’s in my bag when I’m on the go!

A few weeks ago, I showed you how to turn text into a spoken iTunes track to allow you to read your favorite Cult of Mac articles on the move, while being offline.

But what if you just want to read your articles yourself, instead of having them read to you? Or how about printing out a webpage from your iPhone or iPad?

Well in my latest Quick Tips video, I’m going to show  you how to save webpages to iBooks, to read at a later time.

Check the video out below.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro was titled the ‘Ultimate PC replacement’ by Apple, and for a lot of people it is. But for myself, mainly working within the creative world designing graphics, editing videos and conjuring up visual effects — this isn’t really possible on the iPad Pro yet.

But I think I’ve found the solution in the form of Wacom’s latest tablet, the Cintiq Companion 2.

Check out my full video review below.

In a world full of smart and connected devices, a standard run-of-the-mill padlock just isn’t going to cut it for me. Thanks to Dog & Bone, though, I don’t have to settle.

This is the LockSmart Mini: a keyless, Bluetooth padlock taking the hassle out of remembering to keep those tiny little keys safe. And, saving me from trying to remember yet another four-digit passcode.

To see the lock in action and to check out my full review, see the video below.

Notes on iOS is an extremely useful app, and it got more useful with the addition of password protection in iOS 9.3. Keeping bank codes, addresses, passwords and more has never been more secure from outside threats. But that doesn’t mean it’s safe from you.

If you tend to tidy up apps and notes in a rush — as I do — you may end up deleting something you need or want. And if you haven’t finished with that note yet, that becomes a big problem. But it’s one that’s easy to fix.

In this week’s Quick Tips video, I’m going to show you how to recover deleted notes and restore all those personal details you’ve jotted down to their rightful place.

Check the video out below.

Have you ever noticed that Siri understands you less and less as the months go by? The digital assistant works great when you first set it up on a shiny new iPhone, but over time, it has a habit of becoming annoyingly inaccurate.

In this week’s Quick Tips video, I’m going to show you how to retrain Siri. By improving its recognition of your voice, you can make it work just as well as it once did.

Check the video out below.

JumPack Power Pack CPP 8000 by Cobra

If you’re anything like me, you carry a ton of gadgets. Keeping them all charged is a juggling act and, inevitably, there’s always one device I’ve neglected to keep juiced.

Coming to my rescue though, Cobra sent over a JumPack Power Pack to charge up all my devices. Plus, it comes with an extra trick up its sleeve.

Check out the full video review below.

I find myself using the text to speech function on Mac OS X far too much. Having my Mac read articles and emails out loud to me allows me to multitask and do other things — like edit awesome videos for Cult of Mac — without ignoring important messages.

But did you know you can even save those text to speech recording for listening at a later time?

In this week’s Quick Tips video, I’m going to show you how to turn text into a spoken track and save it into iTunes, allowing you to find save your favourite articles and listen to on your iPhone.

No matter the size of your Mac’s hard drive, there will come a time when you need to free up some space. Having a full hard drive can make your Mac feel sluggish, and running out of space can be terrifying.

Sifting through your archive of files may seem like a daunting task. But don’t fear — these three super-simple and effective Mac disk cleanup apps can help you out.

Check them out in the Cult of Mac video review below.

The iPhone is one of the most personal devices around, with so many apps out there that there’s near limitless scope for customizing the device with whatever tools we need to make it fit our requirements.

With that in mind, here are the apps that I’m currently running on my iPhone SE. Looking for some tips on what to download for Apple’s latest smartphone? Interested in a tour to see what your favorite Liverpudlian Cult of Mac team member has on his handset?

Whatever your reasons, check out my latest video below.