Mobile menu toggle

Newsstand - page 204

Behold the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

By

iPhone 6s has Live Photos.
iPhone 6s has Live Photos.
Photo: Apple

Apple is packing the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus with more features than ever — and introducing a new input method called 3D Touch that uses pressure sensitivity to unlock an entirely new paradigm of touch controls.

A bunch of incredible new features, including a new display with a Taptic Engine, led Tim Cook to call the new devices the best smartphones ever made as he showed them off to the world.

“No product is more about innovation than the iPhone,” said Cook as he unveiled the iPhone 6s line today at a special event in San Francisco. “We have changed everything about these new iPhones.”

Why the new Apple TV will make you want to turn on and tune in

By

Want. Now.
The future of TV, anyone?
Photo: Apple

Don’t you dare call Apple TV a hobby anymore!

Apple today unveiled its refreshed set-top box — boasting a futuristic new remote control, Siri integration, App Store, and much, much more. Tim Cook called it the “future of television,” and having watched the demo, it’s tough to disagree with him.

Check below for everything you need to know about the newly-“must have” Apple TV.

Jot Dash is the iPad stylus you never knew you needed

By

The new Jot Dash stylus works anywhere your finger does.
The new Jot Dash stylus works anywhere your finger does.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

SAN FRANCISCO — You’d think stylus maker Adonit would be terrified by rumors that Apple is about to release a plus-size iPad Pro with its very own writing accessory, but nothing could be further from the truth.

According to Ian Shirey, Adonit’s chief strategy officer, facing competition from Apple would be the sweetest vindication of all for his company’s devices. “For Apple to tell the world a stylus is OK would be great,” Shirey said during a visit to the Cult of Mac offices to show off Adonit’s latest creation, the Jot Dash, an midrange stylus that works with iOS and Android devices.

Why the iPad desperately needs a stylus

By

The iPad needs a boost when it comes to content creation. An Apple stylus is just the tool to help.
The iPad needs a boost when it comes to content creation. An Apple stylus is just the tool to help.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The case has clearly been made that a stylus should never be a device’s main method of input. Fingers prevail for everyday uses, especially revolving around content consumption. But isn’t it possible that in some cases an iPad stylus might enhance the experience?

Drastically new Apple TV and our Apple event expectations on The CultCast

By

Get ready for the Apple TV of the future.
Get ready for the Apple TV of the future.
Photo: ofcom.org

This week: come September 9th, we’ll have a new iPhone 6S, sure, but how does an iPad Pro and a drastically new Apple TV sound? We’ll tell you what to expect from Apple’s Sept. 9th event, because this event is fixin’ to be a doozie.

Our thanks to Softlayer for supporting this episode. Your applications and compute workloads are different from everyone else’s, so you deserve cloud resources that meet your unique needs. Get $500 of cloud infrastructure by visiting softlayer.com/Podcast.

Why Apple’s Active Calories don’t add up (and how you can change that)

By

In Apple's fitness apps, active calories are not the same as Move ring calories.
In Apple's fitness apps, active calories are not the same as Move ring calories.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Have you ever noticed that some of your workout data is missing from the Health app on your iPhone?

Apple’s Health app is designed to provide a central hub for all your fitness apps to save and share their data. You might assume this means all your Active Calories are added together, regardless of which app you use to log them. But the truth is not that simple — although you can tweak some hidden settings to customize what you see.

Everything we think we know about the new Apple TV

By

The new Apple TV is about to be unveiled.
Apple is about to take the wraps off the new Apple TV.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

We’ve been waiting years for Apple to wow us with a new Apple TV that embraces gaming, controls the home and is super-easy to use — and that appears to be just what we’re going to get.

Thanks to a steady stream of leaks from the rumor mill, we already have a pretty solid idea what Apple will show us next week when it finally unveils the new Apple TV. It’s been years in the making — here’s what to expect.

Multitask like a boss on your iPad with iOS 9’s Slide Over

By

Checking out Maps while browsing the web.
Checking out Maps while browsing the web.
Screen: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Our digital lives are busy. We send iMessages while we’re browsing the web, type in phone numbers and addresses while FaceTiming, and bounce between apps on our Macs constantly.

Now, with iOS 9 and a modern iPad, you can quickly browse the web, respond to a text message, or jot something down in a note, then slide that app away so you can focus on your original app.

This feature, called Slide Over, is going to make using your iPad a lot more fun and useful.

Here’s how to make it happen, assuming you have an iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, or iPad mini 3.

Don’t Starve brings hunger game to iPhone

By

Those beefalo look pretty worried.
Those beefalo look pretty worried.
Photo: Klei Entertainment

Seriously, try not to starve. That’s the entire point of Klei Entertainment’s runaway hit game Don’t Starve, a test of survival set in a darkly humorous, Edward Gorey-esque world filled with vicious hounds, creeping spiders, herds of stampeding Beefalo and slimy fish men.

Now you can get in on the action on iPhone, as the desktop game just became a universal app called Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition.

Spoiler alert: All the juicy details on iPhone 6s

By

It's time to get ready for your iOS 9 upgrade.
Here's everything we know about the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Although the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus aren’t expected to bring major design changes to Apple’s world-beating smartphone lineup, a bevy of hardware upgrades will make the new models faster and easier to use.

Even though we’re almost a week away from Apple’s 2015 iPhone unveiling, we pretty much know all the key features that are coming. Here’s everything we think know about the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, which will undoubtedly become most popular iPhones ever.

Apple admits there’s ‘homework to be done’ with Apple Music

By

Tired of Apple Music's playlists? Try something even more indie.
Apple Music needs plenty of revision if it's going to pass finals.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

In a rare showing, Apple has acknowledged that there is still “a bit of homework to be done” when it comes to improving one of its products — in this case, Apple Music.

The company’s streaming music service has seen mixed success since its launch back in June, with reports of falling listenership and even a public slating from a well-known pro-Apple pundit.

Recently Apple Music’s senior director upped and left the company, with no word on whether it was his or Apple’s decision to step down.

Your very own Star Wars BB-8 droid is not so far, far away

By

BB-8, the cute little droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is now available as an app-enabled companion.
BB-8, the cute little droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is now available as an app-enabled companion.
Photo: Sphero

The editing on Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t finished yet but one of the characters already promises to be the hot toy of the Christmas season.

BB-8, the roly-poly little droid seen spinning across the screen in trailers for the highly anticipated movie, is now an app-controlled toy with an adaptive personality that responds to voice commands.

From hobby to hero: The history of Apple TV

By

Apple TV
Apple TV was a hobby for years. Until it wasn't.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple just keeps trying to crack the lucrative nut known as your living room. From a gimmicky Macintosh TV in the 1990s to a “hobby” Apple TV in the mid-2000s, Cupertino keeps trying to come up with ultimate digital hub for our homes.

So far, Apple has failed to deliver a magical device that will tame all our televisions. Here’s a brief history of Apple’s TV efforts — a two-decade push aimed at ensconcing an Apple machine at the center of our domestic universe — ahead of next week’s likely Apple TV refresh.

5 ways to turn your old iPhone into money

By

iphone back
Your old iPhone is far from worthless.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

If the rumor mill has it right, new iPhones are right around the corner. But that doesn’t mean you should relegate your current model to the junk drawer once you trade up: You can turn your old iPhone into money in one of several ways.

Apple rejects Cecil the Lion app where you shoot the poachers

By

Apple's rejection of the app is bound to stir up old debates about policing the App Store.
It was inevitable that this would happen wasn't it?
Photo: Cecil's Revenge

Apple’s App Store policing is being called into question again after the company rejected a Cecil the Lion-inspired game in which animals turn guns on poachers.

Cecil’s Revenge features a safari truck of cheerful-looking wildlife firing at various caricatures of hunters, ranging from old-timey colonialists with rifles to cartoon Africans with guns.

How to boost iOS 9 security with 6-digit passcode

By

Password Six

Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

We’ve all been using a passcode to secure our iPhones and iPads since forever, right? You’ve had the option to use an alphanumeric passcode since iOS 7, but if you chose to use a simple numeric code, you were limited to four digits.

Not anymore! Apple added the ability to use a six-digit passcode in iOS 9, and this quick settings tweak will make your iPhone or iPad far more secure.

Best List: Go-to gear for life’s little challenges

By

Each month, Lust List rounds up the gear that makes it so we can't feel our faces. This time around we're loving hot music machines, cool photo accessories and more.

S1-A Bicycle Jersey by Search and State

Earlier this summer, Search and State released its version of the ugly-ass Hawaiian shirt in the form of a bicycle jersey. I stared at it for weeks wondering if I could pull off the look while riding in the Oakland hills. While I contemplated my fashion boldness, Search and State apparently sold every last one of those jerseys. I decided I need to get my hands on one of the company's tamer garments to see what the Midtown Manhattan manufacturers have going on.

What they are doing is making beautiful bicycle attire in the heart of what was once New York's garment center. The $140 S1-A bicycle jersey is impeccably sewn and has an understated appearance even the most fashion-challenged can deal with. Nice choice on the zipper, too. — Jim Merithew

Buy from: Search and State

Each month, Lust List rounds up the gear that makes it so we can't feel our faces. This time around we're loving hot music machines, cool photo accessories and more.

S1-A Bicycle Jersey by Search and State

Earlier this summer, Search and State released its version of the ugly-ass Hawaiian shirt in the form of a bicycle jersey. I stared at it for weeks wondering if I could pull off the look while riding in the Oakland hills. While I contemplated my fashion boldness, Search and State apparently sold every last one of those jerseys. I decided I need to get my hands on one of the company's tamer garments to see what the Midtown Manhattan manufacturers have going on.

What they are doing is making beautiful bicycle attire in the heart of what was once New York's garment center. The $140 S1-A bicycle jersey is impeccably sewn and has an understated appearance even the most fashion-challenged can deal with. Nice choice on the zipper, too. — Jim Merithew

Buy from: Search and State


Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Steve Jobs narrates this awesome drone footage of Apple’s ‘spaceship’

By

icqowhtanjplgruc
Apple's new campus is looking sweeter than ever.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Apple’s eagerly-anticipated $5 billion “spaceship” Apple campus is coming along nicely, according to a new drone video shot by Silicon Valley-based photographer/videographer Duncan Sinfield.

Using a DJI Inspire 1 drone to fly over the construction site, Sinfield’s skilfully-edited video not only includes annotated descriptions of what viewers are seeing, but also progress comparisons with footage from early August, and even a nifty voiceover from none other than Steve Jobs — taken from his Cupertino City Council pitch in 2011.

Check it out below.

Never forget: How to disconnect from Bluetooth in iOS 9

By

You can save yourself from headaches with this subtle new iOS 9 feature.
You can save yourself from headaches with this subtle new iOS 9 feature.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Finally! Apple has added a small yet incredibly useful feature to the way iOS 9 handles Bluetooth devices.

In the past, you’d have to drop into the Bluetooth settings, tap on an offending Bluetooth device, and tell your iPhone or iPad to Forget the device, just to re-pair it or use the built in speakers. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve spent doing that, especially when I get a call while connected to a speakerphone-capable audio device; I have a lot of Bluetooth speakers.

Now however, Apple’s added a little extra so you can disconnect from a Bluetooth device instead of Forget it entirely, making it much easier to, say, stop using a specific speaker and return to your iPhone’s built-in speaker.

Here’s how.

Stress-busting app will engross your inner child

By

recolor - 1
Who knew coloring could be so restful, even for adults?
Photo: Recolor

One way I can often determine if an app is worth my time is by putting it through a specific test. If I get so sucked into an app that I forget I’m actually supposed to be gathering thoughts to write up a review, it’s because that app is generally pretty awesome. I had this somewhat rare experience with Recolor, a new coloring book app for adults on iOS.

Amazon Prime bests Netflix by adding offline video

By

amazon-prime-bests-netflix-by-adding-offline-video-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads2015092015-09-01-150220-jpg
Prime Video now works offline.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Prime Video now works offline. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Prime Video now works offline. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Amazon Prime Video today took a massive step toward beating Netflix by adding offline video to its growing list of advantages. The feature allows users to download movies and TV shows and enjoy them without a data connection while they’re on the go.