Newsstand - page 141

Zipping files is easy on the Mac. You just right-click on one or more selected files in the Finder, then click Create Archive. The files get turned into an easy-to-handle .zip file.

On iOS, it’s a bit trickier. Even in iOS 11’s new Files app, you’ll find no built-in support for zipping files into a single package (or for unzipping them). To zip files in iOS, I use Readdle’s excellent Documents app. Lots of one-shot iOS apps will also do the job, but I like Documents because it’s also where all my documents live.

Apple is expected to make its flagship iPhone even bigger this year, so what do you do if you prefer smaller devices? You could check out the Soyes 7S, a super-cute iPhone 7 Plus clone that has a miniature 2.54-inch display.

I’ve never been one to wear a camera bag with the shoulder strap going across my body. I put all the burden on my right shoulder and, as time wore on, I wore out my shoulder.

The TurnStyle V2.0 sling bag by Think Tank Photo changed the way I carry my camera gear. For one, I now carry it more comfortably.

In 2017, coding is one of the most lucrative skill sets you can learn. Maybe you want to develop games, or websites, build mobile apps or just cool digital tools and toys. Whatever your ideas, you’re going to need an education.

AirDrop, Apple’s built-in sharing feature, lets you beam pretty much anything between any Apple devices. You can use it to share photos, videos, URLS, documents, snippets of text — in short, anything that can be shared using the standard “sharing arrow” icon is fair game for AirDrop.

AirDrop really should be your first choice for sharing, because it doesn’t use the internet to send the files. It connects you and the recipient directly to each other using Wi-Fi, and makes the transfer that way. This makes AirDrop secure and lightning-fast. It also mean it works as well on the top of a mountain as it does in a busy office.

Ulysses, one of the best writing apps on the Mac and iOS, just switched to subscription pricing. It’ll now cost you $5 per month, or $40 per year. This is fantastic news for Ulysses users. It means the app will generate enough income to support itself. And it minimizes the risk of the developers abandoning the app when the flow of new users dries to a trickle.

Yet despite this good news, the internet lost it mind after yesterday’s announcement of the pricing change. Currently the Ulysses blog is only serving a single post, the one detailing the change, because the traffic has been enough to collapse the servers. What happened?

The latest rumors about the next-generation Apple Watch indicate it might come with LTE cellular data in a slick new design. But Apple Watch already offers data connectivity via iPhone, and Cupertino’s marketing tends to focus on benefits, not features. So how will Apple craft a new product story around built-in cellular?

My guess is it will all be about replacing the need for a very old technology: pockets. Apple Watch Series 3 will move all the contents of our pockets into the cloud.

In a tiny workshop in Austin, Texas, one of my all-time-favorite leather straps for Apple Watch is made carefully by hand. The Triple Tour Band by Arrow & Board is a “split” version of the ubiquitous Double Tour strap — popularized by the beautiful albeit monstrously-priced Hermès version.

This week on The CultCast: What does Apple have in store for the next generation of  Watch? We round up the current rumors and reveal our Series 3 wish list. Then: Could Face ID actually replace Touch ID on iPhone 8? We have concerns. Plus: Proof that a 4K Apple TV is right around the corner; more incredible demos of ARKit; and we share our favorite new shows, movies and board games in an all-new What We’re Into!

Our thanks to EERO for supporting this episode. The EERO router system will blanket your home in hyper-fast, reliable Wi-Fi, and you can score free overnight shipping with code CULTCAST at checkout.

Sick of those annoying bars that follow you around certain websites, urging you to share a story on Facebook? A new iOS app called Unobstruct lets you banish those “dickbars” forever.

The creator of the $1 app says he hopes it sends a clear message to web designers: Nobody wants these weapons of messy distraction.

When you think portable audio, Bluetooth box or pill-shaped Bluetooth speaker probably comes to mind. Although these popular personal audio devices are great, they’re hardly immersive. But when you turn one speaker into two, you can take immersive stereo sound on the road.

Bidding goodbye to the iPhone’s physical Home button won’t be easy, but there are some advantages to going virtual for iPhone 8.

Not only will it allow for a larger edge-to-edge display, but it also means you’ll be able customize the virtual button. Apple code suggests we’ll have the option to resize it and hide it away if we don’t want it to be displayed on screen at all times.

The Files app is iOS 11’s Finder. You can use it to browse the files in your iCloud Drive, along with files and folders in your Dropbox, and inside other apps that open up their file systems to iOS. Apple has also added some keyboard shortcuts to the Files app. This lets you carry out many common tasks without touching the screen when you have a hardware keyboard attached.

Most of the new keyboard shortcuts are great, and show how serious Apple is about the new user-accessible iOS file system. But some serious limitations mean you’ll still need to reach up and tap the screen to do the most basic things.

Often, our eye is drawn to something because of its color. But sometimes we’re attracted by a pattern, or perhaps color even detracts from an image (like a row of cars in front of a beatific white building). At those times, we should shoot black-and-white images, which emphasize pattern, texture and shape.

The iPhone — with its giant screen, its great camera and its huge library of photo apps — is fantastic for shooting B&W pictures. Let’s take a look at how to shoot amazing black-and-white photos with your iPhone.

The iPhone 8 has been spotted again ahead of its official debut this fall. This time, it’s in a super-sharp case render that provides a high-res look at its gorgeous edge-to-edge display.

Just like clockwork, two weeks after the release of iOS 11 beta 4, Apple has graced developers with iOS 11 beta 5. As per usual, we went straight ahead and installed it to dig around and see what’s new. Among our finds were new camera settings and a pretty cool feature for FaceTime.

Check out all of the new tweaks and changes in action in our video below.

Since last fall, your Mac and your iOS devices have shared a Universal Clipboard. That is, you can copy on one device and paste on another. It’s seamless, and incredibly useful. For instance, you could copy a shipment tracking number in Mail on your Mac, then paste it into the tracking app on your iPhone. Or you could take a screenshot on your iPhone, then paste it into a blog post you’re writing on your iPad.

Universal Clipboard is so easy to use, you might have used it already without even realizing. Here’s how it works.

An apparent iPhone 8 photo straight out of Foxconn has confirmed one of our biggest fears for Touch ID: It will be relocated to the back of the device.

Apple has been working to embed its fingerprint scanner into the iPhone’s display, but it seems the technology won’t be ready in time for this year’s big refresh.

Thanks to secrets discovered in Apple’s own firmware, we already know a lot about the iPhone 8. Now an apparent X-ray of the device has all but confirmed even more of its hottest features ahead of its official debut this fall.

This week on The CultCast: Apple accidentally leaked major details about the iPhone 8 and HomePod — we’ll tell you everything we’ve learned. Plus: Leaked audio files show off the HomePod’s cool UI sounds; we reveal exclusive new audio of the HomePod’s boot-up noise; and we wrap with our reviews of the best internet-connected security cameras and the hawt new flagship Olympus OM-D EM-1 mirrorless camera in an all-new Under Review.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.

This coming Tuesday Apple is set to debut its newest original TV show Carpool Karaoke: The Series, but with Planet of the Apps being such a dud, some of us at Cult of Mac are questioning whether Apple has anything to gain by making mediocre TV shows.

During Apple’s Q3 earnings call this week, Tim Cook said Apple will continue to explore original content for Apple Music. Can Apple actually make great TV shows, or is it losing focus on what’s more important?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we discuss Apple’s media ambitions:

Nobody likes having to type a password every time they need to sign in to a website or service. iCloud Keychain is Apple’s take on simplifying password management across the Mac, iPhone and iPad. It securely stores your user names, passwords, and credit and debit card details, then auto-fills fields when required. It can also generate strong passwords and sync Wi-Fi credentials.

If you’re deep into the Apple ecosystem, it might be a good idea to start using this handy feature. Before we dive in to use it, let’s have a look at all the features of iCloud Keychain.

Apple’s HomePod might have revealed another huge new iPhone feature after developers did some more digging into the beta software for the upcoming smart speaker.

The software appears to reference an unannounced “SmartCamera” feature built into iOS 11 or the yet-to-be-released 2017 iPhone. And it could totally change the way we snap photos.

If you’ve been having problems with your iPhone or iPad screen not acting quite as responsive as usual, don’t panic: You can try out plenty of quick and easy tricks before heading to your closest Genius Bar.

Get five tips for fixing an unresponsive iPhone screen in our how-to video:

Best List: Commuter Satchel by Toffee

After years of depositing my MacBook into an oversize, freebie laptop bag, it was time. Time to forego the ugly, embrace the new and, most importantly, get some real protection for my Mac.

The Commuter Satchel by Toffee arrived at the request of one of my colleagues. He, too, recognized the deplorable excuse of a laptop bag I was lugging around.

I can’t emphasize how much I love this sleek and stylish satchel.