With a game this great, even non-puzzler fans will have a good time. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
I’m not a fan of abstract puzzle games, which makes it quite a surprise how much I’m enjoying twofold inc., a fairly abstract puzzle game that challenges you to match colors with a bit of math.
Did I mention I don’t like math games, either? What gives?
When the stock email isn't enough anymore, give these mail app alternatives a try. Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor
Traditional email isn’t for everyone, and neither is the built-in Mail app for iPhone. If your email needs are minimal, the Mail app works just fine. However, if you live and breathe mail, you’ll want something that helps you triage faster. These are currently the best mails apps available for iPhone.
Get your Apple Watch ready for your new iPhone. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The iPhone might not be the only device getting an incremental upgrade at Apple’s next keynote, which is rumored to take place March 15.
In a note to investors this morning, Apple analyst Gene Munster claims Apple Watch may get a slight hardware upgrade this spring that will include a better processor, improved battery life and other new internal components.
Crack! This one's got to go back to Apple. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Suing the world’s most powerful company and its army of lawyers over a cracked Apple Watch screen may sound like a great lesson in futility, but one man just walked away a winner after taking Apple to court in Great Britain.
iPad Air 3 will pick up some tricks from the iPad Pro. Photo: Apple
The grand unveiling of Apple’s newest iPad and iPhone is reportedly just over a month away.
Although the iPhone-maker usually waits until fall to reveal its latest and greatest iOS devices, a new report claims Apple has set its sights on March 15 as the date for its first big keynote of 2016.
iPad Air 3 will be the smartest iPad yet. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The iPad Air 3 is poised to be the biggest upgrade the iPad lineup has ever seen, but all those new features might come with a price of extra thickness.
An alleged schematic of the iPad Air 3 has been leaked that shows the upcoming device’s exact dimensions. The schematic also appears to confirm that the iPad Air 3 will use the Smart Connector found on the iPad Pro.
Apple is reportedly testing dual-lens cameras from three different companies. Photo: Computerbild.de
This week on The CultCast: A souped-up iPad Air 3 coming in March; “iPhone 5se” would be a terrible name for a 4-inch iPhone; the iPhone 7 Plus PLUS is for those who demand only the best mobile camera; and why Apple is pumping the brakes on their electric car.
Our thanks for supporting this episode goes to FreshBooks, the easy-to-use invoicing software designed to help small business owners get organized, save time invoicing and get paid faster. Get started with a free trial at Freshbooks.com/cultcast.
The Health app can become a dashboard for your body, offering all your key stats at a glance. Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
Despite its heart-shaped icon, Health is an unloved app. It tends to gets relegated to a junk folder, along with other un-deletable Apple cruft, like the Stocks app.
But when you get past its garish colors and clunky user interface, Apple’s Health app turns out to be genuinely useful — if you customize the dashboard to match your personal fitness goals.
This enlarged portrait shows a difference in quality from the iPhone 5s, left, and a dual-camera system created by LinX Imaging. Photo: LinX Imaging
If the pictures “Shot on the iPhone 6” were impressive, a dual-camera iPhone 7 could have the photography world again licking its chops.
Just how much further the technical quality could go with smartphone images is a future found in the work of an Israeli company called LinX Imaging, which happened to get purchased by Apple last year.
Smack your weekend right in the face with these great new iOS games. Design: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac
It’s a new year and a new you, and your iOS device just might be crying out for some new gaming titles to keep you fat and happy while you manage all those resolutions.
Whether you enjoy a deeper role-playing and crafting adventure to keep you tapping well into the evening over a long weekend, a musical adventure that you can create yourself, a Mad- Max-inspired demolition derby, or a quick brain-booster puzzle or two to keep your wits about you, we’ve got the five best on offer right now.
In no particular order, here are the best new iOS games that we’ve culled from a long list on the App Store.
Put a spotlight on your math facts. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
If you’ve got a quick bit of math to figure out on the go, why bother tapping into the Calculator app, which you’ve probably got stuffed in some sort of folder on your third page or so?
Even though we’ve been using Spotlight on the Mac for years now to figure out quick mathematical facts, it’s also included in the iOS version of Spotlight, making doing quick bits of math super easy.
Valentine's Day is just around the corner.... Photo: Apple
It’s almost that time of the year again when you get really stressed out because you totally forgot that it’s Valentine’s Day. Your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/husband/whatever is expecting something really great this year, and there’s just one problem: You don’t have any cash to buy something nice.
You look around and all you see are old iPhones and a first-generation iPad. Problem solved!
iOS isn't great at managing contacts by default, but as always, there's an app for that. Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor
Interact is a brand new contact-management app by Agile Tortoise, maker of popular notes app Drafts. It’s no secret that contact management on iPhone and iPad is lacking. Interact solves a lot of iOS’ shortcomings, adding the ability to edit and manage groups, send messages and attachments to entire groups, and even delete multiple contacts from iPhone and iPad at the same time. Here’s how:
The Lumiére lamp is one of the coolest lights we've ever seen. Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac
I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic when I say that the Lumiére lamp is the coolest one I’ve ever used. And I have a light on my nightstand that’s shaped like Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber, so you know it’s real.
The Lumiére wins out, however, due to its unique, clever design and flexibility. And I don’t just mean that the actual lamp bends and holds different shapes — which it does — but this is a single light that can do just about anything you need a light to do. It will fit in with any room in your house, and you might just end up taking it with you when you get up to do something. And that’ll be easy because it’s wireless and super portable.
It’s a really good device, is what I’m getting at.
Logitech's Create iPad Pro keyboard receives its first firmware update in a most unusual manner. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
A Twitter user has shared surprising details of the first firmware update for Logitech’s Create iPad Pro keyboard, which he was prompted to install after grabbing the iOS 9.3 beta 2 seed.
The Logitech update appears to fix a nagging keyboard lag experienced by some users, but that’s not even the coolest part: It looks like the iOS beta pushed the firmware update to the Logitech Create through the iPad Pro’s Smart Connector.
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye! Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
You know how it is — you get invited to a multi-person chat via iMessage with people you sort of know and it gets all kinds of awkward and annoying as the group blows up your iPhone with a ton of messages you really don’t want to pay attention to.
What’s a popular girl or guy like you to do? There are a couple of ways to get out of those iMessage group conversations so you can finally relax.
The iPad Air will reportedly be updated in March. Photo: Apple
It appears we won’t have to wait much longer to see what the next-generation iPad Air will look like.
Apple plans to unveil the iPad Air 3 at a special event in March, according to a new report, which claims new Apple Watch hardware will also get some stage time during the keynote.
Four apps that make checking the weather on your iPhone quick and easy. Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor
I don’t like spending a lot of time inside weather apps. Instead, I’d rather just swipe down and view current and impending conditions within the Today view section of Notification Center.
That’s why, when looking at weather apps to try, one of my criteria is that whatever one I choose, it comes complete with widget support. Depending on what kind of weather data you need, these weather apps currently have the best weather widgets for iPhone.
MyFox's wireless home security hardware works well but will cost you a pretty penny. Photo: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac
A few years ago, home security systems were a luxury for the rich and famous (or at least the well-off). They could be super-expensive, clunky, and usually had to be installed by a team of security specialists.
But times are changing. As the market becomes flooded with smart home-security systems, they get better and better. A great example: wireless security systems by MyFox.
Twist the night away with this headphone amp's gigantic dial. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Best List: The Element headphone amplifier by JDS Labs
“Take the conn, Jimmy.”
“Aye aye, Captain.”
Every single time I lay my hands on The Element’s giant, super-precise dial of sonic control, that Star Trek scene rolls through my head. Which is a little weird for me, since Captain Kirk and I have the same name, but I overlook this small snag as I dial in the perfect volume on my JDS Labs headphone amplifier.
Good news for iOS users who prefer Chrome: Google’s browser is now as fast as mobile Safari.
Chrome has switched to the WKWebView engine, which first became a feature in 2014 with iOS 8, allowing third-party browsers access to the same rendering engine as Safari.
Pay what you want to get 8 productiviy-boosting apps for your Mac. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
You love your Mac, but you can always make it even more lovely. These eight apps will boost your favorite computer’s safety and your productivity across a wide swath of uses, from data recovery to Android management to unlocking PDFs and beyond. The best part, you can pay whatever you want for the whole thing, and a portion of every dollar you drop will go towards the important work of Save the Children.
Apple could release four different iPhone variants this year. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Ever since it unveiled the iPhone 5s and 5c in 2013, Apple has split its iPhone launch lineup in two each year. According to well-connected KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, Apple may further subdivide its iPhones — with not one but two iPhone 7 Plus variants set to arrive this September.
In a Wednesday note to investors, Kuo claims that Apple will launch one 5.5-inch handset with the regular iSight camera, while a second, rarer version will sport a dual-camera design for higher-definition images.
"Hey, Siri? Let's spit hot fire." Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Siri’s latest trick has it setting the tempo for the Internet’s beatboxing magic.
Apple’s digital assistant may not be the best beatboxer on its own, but it can provide the backdrop for some more talented people. And those people have found a way to get Siri to lay it down so that they can spit hot fire and record it for our entertainment.