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To achieve maximum success, iOS game developers need an idea that’s both reassuringly familiar and strikingly new. That’s exactly what Stagehand delivers: The new platform game employs a clever twist on the popular endless-runner genre, with a sprinkle of ’90s classic Lemmings thrown in for good measure.

“Stagehand is a game that looks like a side-scrolling platformer, but instead of controlling the character, you move the stage,” developer Matt Comi told Cult of Mac. “We call it a ‘reverse platformer.’ The protagonist, Frank, runs and jumps all by himself. It’s the player’s job to make sure he doesn’t run into walls.”

Apple reportedly plans to pack a much bigger battery inside the new 4.7-inch iPhone set to be revealed later this year.

In his latest research report, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims the smaller iPhone will be the first device to feature a stacked logic board design to bring better battery performance.

It’s the iPhone’s tenth anniversary this year, which means there’s no chance Apple is going to deliver another incremental upgrade with an all too familiar design. We’re expecting big things from the so-called iPhone 8 — including a complete face-lift.

Here are our gorgeous concepts for the iPhone 8 based on everything we know so far.

Our Macs come out of the box full of capabilities, but there’s a lot more they can do. That means having the right apps. The 2017 Superstar Mac Bundle, containing a dozen apps, will add a wide variety of super useful features to your Mac. It includes apps for visual editing and blogging, trading stocks and taking more effective notes, to name just a few. The best part? Right now you can get the 2017 Superstar Mac Bundle for whatever you’re willing to pay.

At the most essential level, a running app should provide a reliable way to log your workouts: when, where, how fast and how far you run. Fancy features are all very well and good, but let’s be honest — if an app doesn’t get the basics right, it sucks.

Nike has been busy adding new bells and whistles to its Nike+ Run Club app recently. Which is great if you want stuff like photo sharing and news feeds. But all I want is to log my runs, and thanks to my Apple Watch Nike+, that critical function has become pretty unreliable.

Drones are getting more and more common, but they haven’t become any less cool. Sitting at the sweet spot between affordability and awesomeness is DJI, makers of the uber popular Phantom and Mavic drones. You’ve seen them before, they’re the drones that look like they flew straight from the future. Now you can get one of these two drones, among the best money can buy, for no money. Enter to win a DJI Phantom 4 Pro or Mavic for free at Cult of Mac Deals.

As a pioneer of personal computing, Apple’s first machines changed the way we looked at computers. In the years that followed, the company broke new ground with incredible innovations that its rivals couldn’t have dreamed of.

Things have been a little different over the past decade or so. Apple’s innovations haven’t been quite as forthcoming, and while some would say its rivals are catching up, others would argue that the PC industry as a whole has become somewhat boring.

So, why has personal computing gone stagnant? Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out!

You’ve got your car. You’ve got your iPhone. You want to use your iPhone in your car, but driving with a smartphone in your hand is supposedly dangerous — and can get pretty pricey if you get caught doing it in California and other states that mandate hands-free driving.

The Belkin Car Vent Mount is a low-cost, low-profile way to keep your phone within reach (and you on the right side of the law, depending on where you drive).

You don’t need a pricey gym membership to get in shape. With the CultFit Home Workout routine, you’ll use simple exercises, common household items and your iPhone (and Apple Watch if you’ve got one) to build muscle and increase flexibility.

It’s free, it’s easy and it takes only about 10 minutes a day. So what are you waiting for? Get started with the complete CultFit Home Workout using the four lessons below.

According to a reliable Apple analyst, the company will release three new iPhones this year — including a redesigned iPhone 8 (or iPhone X) and two iterative iPhone 7 updates.

All three models will reportedly boast new Apple wireless charging tech, rather than the feature being limited to a high-end OLED handset.

After spreading viruses among Windows PCs for years, malicious Microsoft Word documents are now infecting Macs.

The files contain a macro that silently executes in the background and downloads an application that can monitor webcams, steal passwords, read browser history and more.

Make Apple’s most personal device as unique as you are with a truly distinctive, statement-making strap worthy of a double take. The exotic Batik Strap for Apple Watch from Clessant is a refreshing take on an everyday accessory. No two are ever alike. And, you can get ahold of it now in Cult of Mac’s new Watch Store!

Alex Jason, the Maine teenager who used lawn-mowing money to build one of the most impressive collections of rare and historical Apple devices, recently packed it all in a 26-foot truck and made a heartbreaking trip to deliver it to a new owner.

The dream of creating a museum with the collection had hit a snag. Alex had the building and even an impressive board of directors that included Mac designer Jerry Manock. But raising capital to renovate the site proved near impossible in sparsely populated Maine.

Dozens of popular iOS apps are vulnerable to spilling your sensitive data through silent “man-in-the-middle” attacks, according to a reliable mobile security expert.

During testing, Will Strafach, one of the first to hack open the iOS platform, found 76 apps that were guilty of accepting invalid certificates that could be used to intercept data.

This week on The CultCast: Astounding facts and figures from Apple’s newest earnings report; Nintendo promises a bunch of new iOS games; how to get the best deal in cloud storage; affordable options for your first drone; the perfect minimalist strap for your mirrorless camera; and we pitch you our favorite gadgets in an all-new Fave N Raves!

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.

Apple impressed us all with its Q1 2017 earnings earlier this week. Is it the start of something spectacular?

iPhone sales beat expectations, and though things may look bad for the iPad business, there’s strong demand for Apple Watch, the Mac lineup is raking in more than ever, and services will be big enough to be its own Fortune 100 company by the end of the year.

Is Apple headed for another boom period? Or does it need more than just the iPhone 8 in 2017 to keep up this trend? Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over Apple’s year ahead.

Best List: Button-Stud Apple Watch Band by Form Function Form

Making Apple’s “most personal device ever” personal to you is super-serious business for one Florida purveyor of hand-made leather goods.

Echoing the individuality of Apple Watch, Form Function Form takes customization to new levels in the design of its one-of-a-kind Button-Stud Apple Watch Band. This ingenious leather strap has 21 different size options, one of which is sure to fit even the fleshiest of wrists. If it doesn’t, the company provides free size adjustments for the entirety of your life.

Hopping online means stepping into a situation where your every move can be seen and monitored. But by connecting through a virtual private network, you can vastly reduce your vulnerability using distributed, encrypted servers.

VPN.asia offers an easy and reliable way for even non-technical people to connect to the internet securely and anonymously. And right now, you can get a lifetime of VPN.asia access for just $39.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Tim Cook is living the Jetsons lifestyle — minus the jetpack and flying car — thanks to Siri and the growing number of HomeKit devices on the market.

The Apple CEO offered a rare glimpse into his private life Tuesday during Apple’s quarterly financial report, painting a picture of techno-utopian comfort and ease. It was Cook’s most personal world-beating earnings call ever, and it sent a message: Apple is serious about home automation.

Apple is quietly rolling out a new AirPods firmware update with version number 3.5.1. The update is installed automatically when AirPods are in their charging case and connected to an iOS device.

Apple managed to shock Wall Street today by beating its own expectations for Q1 2017, the most profitable quarter in the company’s history.

There was good news all around as iPhone sales, services and even the Mac all performed better than predicted. During today’s earnings call, Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri revealed some of the secret sauce that made Apple’s earnings one for the history books.

Here are the top takeaways from today’s call.

A number of U.S. states have banned the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar from law exams due to the predictive text feature that suggests words as you type. However, others will still allow it so long as predictive text is disabled.

Here’s how to turn off the feature on your machine.

Apple’s latest beta software for Apple Watch brings two new handy features in addition to the general bug fixes we expect to see with each release. Check out the video below to see watchOS 3.2 beta 1 in action.

For years, “the last mile” earned the title of broadband’s biggest boogeyman. Now that most of us benefit from having a fairly fat pipe to our houses, it’s more like the last 10 feet — Wi-Fi dead spots can drive you crazy.

The AmpliFi HD System, one of a new pack of mesh systems that pave the way to our trouble-free Wi-Fi future, solves the problem. With a charming little router and a couple of mesh points, AmpliFi HD makes it possible to get a strong Wi-Fi signal to your basement, your attic or that awkward back bedroom where you can never stream anything. It also eliminates the sort of nerdy pain points typically associated with setting up and managing a home Wi-Fi network.

I have a co-worker who bought a pair of Apple’s shiny white AirPods, turned a black Sharpie marker on them and has been cleaning ink out of his ears ever since.

A company called BlackPods, which says it has a proprietary coating system for Apple’s wireless earbuds, just announced its service this week in an email blast to tech journalists — though too late for my colleague, who now reports model paint worked no better than the Sharpie.