Apple was awarded a patent for bump transfer of data between iPhones. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The next iPhone you get may come with super-fast data speeds that are 100 times faster than Wi-Fi. Based on references found in iOS 9.1’s code, it appears that Apple is testing Li-Fi capabilities on the iPhone that use light pulses instead of radio waves to transmit data.
Hidden inside iOS 9’s system library cache file there’s a specific mention of “LifiCapability.” The reference was first spotted by 19 year-old developer Chase Fromm on Twitter:
Dead battery? Get cranking with the AMPWare case. Photo: AMPWare
Now more than ever, we are able to manage our anxiety over a dead iPhone battery. There are plenty external power banks and battery cases on the market, but even those need to be charged.
The AMPWare Case revives a dead battery much like your great grandfather started his horseless buggy – with a hand crank.
Apple is investigating battery issues for the iPhone 6s. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
If you have an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus that’s not properly showing how much battery you have left, there’s good news and bad news. Bad news first? Apple doesn’t exactly know what’s causing the problem. Good news: They’re looking into it, and there’s a temporary fix.
In the not-so-distant future, car drives YOU! Illustration: GraphicaArtis/Getty Images
This week on The CultCast: super-sized drones, app-controlled robot bartenders, smart coffee mugs and the coolest of gadgets from CES 2016. Plus, don’t miss our picks for the absolutely, positively, you-should-install-them-today, most essential Mac and iOS apps.
Our thanks to Harry’s for supporting this episode. Harry’s super-sharp, German-made razors ship free right to your door and for way less than drugstore razors. Learn more at Harrys.com and save $5 off your first order with code CultCast.
The iPhone 6s is only four months old, but Apple watchers already are looking to the future and imagining what delights the iPhone 7 may hold in store.
A new concept design created mixes the present iPhone 6s design with a curvaceous back piece straight out of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs era, complete with beautifully rounded edges. Check out a concept video below.
What would ads for iPhone look like if it came out in 1985? Photo: Apple
Apple’s marketing team creates gorgeous ads that show every minuscule detail of new iPhones, but what would the images look like if they were produced using the original Macintosh and MacPaint?
Some redditor with way too much time on his or her hands decided to dig out an old Mac and find out, and the results are actually pretty fantastic.
The magic buttons on this Logitech keyboard make connecting to three different devices as simple as 1, 2, 3. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Best List: K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard by Logitech
Not one, not two, but three devices, all commanded by a single keyboard.
Three Bluetooth presets on one thoughtfully designed, battery operated, portable input device.
I’ve been using the Logitech K380 for a little while and I still can’t get my head around why someone would need to hook up a keyboard to three different devices at the same time. However, if you do, this keyboard is a no-brainer.
"Yes, I'd like to buy $16k worth of iPhones please." Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Two New York criminals managed to buy $16,000 worth of iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches using fake driver’s licenses and credit cards, before their purchases were flagged as being suspicious.
Jorge Escotto, 23, and Joshua Gonzales, 25, were arrested and charged with identity theft and receiving stolen property after the spending spree — much of which appears to have taken place in Verizon stores.
Nine years later, the original iPhone is still pretty great at rendering the modern web... except when it isn't. Photo: Medium
When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone nine years ago this month, he made a big point about iOS Safari, the first desktop-class mobile browser. He said — and proceeded to prove — that Mobile Safari could render the web with no compromises.
But that was a decade ago. The web’s moved on. So how does today’s web look on an original iPhone?
Nine-year-old Olivia Retter (right) got a chemical burn from her iPhone case. Ouch. Photo: Daily Mail
Olivia Retter purchased a New Look iPhone case for her iPhone 5c. Sadly, the permanent scar the 9-year-old girl got from it wasn’t quite the “new look” she was going for.
Rap Genius is partnering with Spotify. Photo: Spotify
Understanding what your favorite rapper is saying is finally going to get a lot easer, if you’re a Spotify user.
Spotify revealed a new feature going out to users, starting today, that allows you to look a song’s lyrics, as well as the meaning behind them. Songs will be compiled into a weekly ‘Behind the Lyris’ playlist that utilizes Genius’ collection of rhyme translations.
Instagram's user base just keeps growing. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Ever wonder what life would be like if you were Instafamous with millions of followers blasting your pics with likes?
Seeing your feed blow up with thousands of likes moments after posting is usually reserved for people named Kardashian, but that’s just another day in the office for the creator of the Instagram profile 433. The football feed has amassed over 8 million followers thanks to its fantastic curation of the most epic football content on the web.
Demy de Zeeuw uploaded a video showing what an iPhone’s push notifications look like when you have that many eyeballs eager to double-tap your pics right after posting.
Ain't that just the way that sales go down, down, down, down. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple has never reported a decline in iPhone sales. That may be about to change, however, with seven top Apple analysts all predicting that the company is either experiencing — or on the verge of experiencing — a drop in the number of iPhones being bought.
ExoLens, which partnered with ZEISS for a pro line of iPhone lenses last year, will soon offer a protective case for the iPhone 7 to accommodate the lenses. Photo: ExoLens
Zeiss has been known for decades as one of the finest lensmakers for DSLRS and other cameras, but in 2016 the company is going small, with its first-ever lineup of lenses created just for the iPhone.
The first set of external lenses for the iPhone 6s include a telephoto, a wide-angle, and zoomable macro option that are poised to become one of the best options available for iPhotographers once they’re finally available in mid-2016.
The iPhone D, pre-cracked and still with you when you wake up hungover. Photo: Above Average/YouTube
Rumors abound about a second-generation Apple Watch and a future iPhone without headphone jacks. Now comes news of an iPhone D — “the iPhone for drunk assholes.”
If that did not immediately register as a joke, you are probably someone who needs an iPhone D. The troupe behind YouTube comedy channel Above Average imagines a world where Apple actually cares whether you drop your phone in the toilet or drunk-dial an ex-girlfriend.
The $300,000 personal drone, for the hard to shop for 1-percenter in your life. Photo: AOL
This week on Cult of Mac’ podcast: Super-sized drones, app-controlled robot bartenders, smart coffee mugs and the coolest of gadgets from CES 2016. Plus, don’t miss our picks for the absolutely, positively, you-should-install-them-today, most essential Mac and iOS apps.
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Should it address falling iPhone sales first and focus on making iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus the best smartphones money can buy? Should it put more effort into making iPad the tablet it once was? Or is it time for something new?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over all this and more!
Make sure you get your iMessages no matter where you are. Photo: Rob LeFebvre
I’ve always loved being able to pick up an iMessage conversation that I started on my iPhone right on my Mac, and vice versa.
Unfortunately, I’ve been having an iMessage issue for the last few months — I can have conversations via Messages on my Mac and conversations via Messages on my iPhone, but my iMessages have stopped synchronizing across my devices.
You can now jog your iPhone back to full power. Photo: Ampy
LAS VEGAS — Your body is an amazing energy creation machine but you’re not even using it to its full potential. All the walking, running, biking and other movements you make throughout the day all create kinetic energy, and now you can finally harness it to charge the most important gadgets in your life with Ampy.
Ampy is a wearable battery pack that can be charged via USB, but its superpower is the ability to recharge using motion thanks to a couple of magnets that bounce up and down inside coils. One hour of moderate exercise (jogging or riding a bike) will add up to five hours of standby battery life to your iPhone, or about 1 hour of regular usage. It’s not something you’ll want to use everyday, but it’s perfect for when you’re going on a hike, or experience a power outage.
The device comes with a strap and carrying band so you can place it on your arm or leg depending on what exercises you’re doing. It features a curved profile, making it a great fit for jean pockets, jackets, or anything other object that moves a lot. Priced at $100 the device comes with an accompanying iOS app so you can track how much power you’re generating. A slimmer, more power efficient model is on the way later this year.
We'll miss you, headphone jack. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
You can try arguing that Apple’s doing what it’s always done by allegedly eliminating the (quite literally) century-old 3.5mm jack from the upcoming iPhone 7 — but 204,305 people are going to disagree with you.
BeastGrip lets you attach pretty much anything to your iPhone. Photo: BeastGrip
The iPhone camera is great at photos and videos, but if you want to take your shots to the next level, you need some extra gear. BeastGrip is the easy-to-use solution that enables photogs to attach all sorts of components like stabilizers, mics, lights, and DSLR lenses to the iPhone to make a custom, pro-quality camera rig.
Every aspect of BeastGrip’s modular system can be expanded to fit practically any piece of photography hardware you throw at it. Whether you’re shooting on an iPhone, Android, or Windows device, simply loosen some screws, slide in a new segment, and you’re ready to capture professional quality video from your smartphone.
Flexibility is BeatGrip’s biggest selling point. The body alone costs $115, but you can also buy a kit with the company’s DOF adapter that lets you mount Canon or Nikon DSLR lenses to your iPhone, giving you much better depth-of-field for really unique camera phone shots.
An iPhone 7 concept gets rid of the ugly antenna lines too. Photo: Eric Huismann
The upcoming iPhone 7 is almost certainly ditching the headphone jack at this point. What at first seemed like a ridiculous stretch is now shaping up to be the most credible rumor about the next-gen iPhone so far.
The latest whispers indicate that, while the headphone jack is out, wireless charging and a waterproof design are finally in.
This is what happens when you put all your eggs in one Apple basket. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
More evidence is piling up suggesting that iPhone sales may be weakening, with multiple Apple suppliers reporting lower revenues as a direct result of “weak iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales.”
Are you predicting big things from Apple next year? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
2016 has not exactly been a spectacular year for Apple. There have been some nice highlights, like major changes to the MacBook Pro lineup and the wildly successful AirPods, but it hasn’t really been a year to remember for fans or investors.
Will 2017 be different? We know the next-generation iPhone will be big, but does Apple have more up its sleeve that will help turn around its fortunes and make the next year a spectacular one?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over Apple in 2017.
Stack even more awesome on your iPhone with these audio accessories. Photo: Stacked
Stacked, the wireless charging case that charges your iPhone with a series of stackable power banks, is expanding it’s line of useful, connected devices to help simplify your life and fill it with music.
The company is showing off it’s two new audio accessories at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas. The Audio Dock and Boost Speaker connect to your iPhone via the magnetic system of the Stacked power case, reducing wires and making sure you never forget your external speaker at work again.