This Siri Shortcut will send an iMessage to a friend, spouse or other contact telling them how long it will be until you get to their location. Once set up, all you need to do is say something simple (and easy to remember) like “Home soon.”

This shortcut uses a brand-new feature in Shortcuts beta 2.0 that allows the sending of messages in the background, without having to confirm them first. It’s a small but powerful addition. Once Apple irons out the kinks, this feature could make a huge difference in how useful Siri Shortcuts will be day to day.

Group FaceTime, one of the hot new features promised for iOS 12, won’t be available when the operating system debuts this fall. Apple now says it will push back the Group FaceTime launch until later this year. The company gave no reason for the delay.

Apple becoming the world’s first trillion dollar company has put it in the crosshairs of consumer advocates, including Ralph Nader. He heavily criticized the company for a $100 billion stock buyback, instead of using the money to pay employees more, improve recycling efforts, increase R&D, or making other productive investments.

Nader is angered that businesses like Apple have spent so much of the Republican tax cuts put in place last year on stock buybacks, rather than the “productive investment and jobs” they promised. 

The Apple’s Photos app offers a very good set of editing tools. On both Mac and iOS, you can pick filters or perform a quick fix with the auto feature. You can also really dig in with some tools that are easily as comprehensive as anything on iOS.

These tools rival many desktop photo apps, but sometimes you want to do something extra-fancy. Maybe you have a favorite filters app. Or you want to combine two photos side by side in one frame or overlay one picture on another. Or use an app that lets you remove distractions in the frame, like power lines, cars or trash. Then you need to turn to Photos extensions.

One of Apple’s manufacturing partners will enjoy a significant boost in the fourth quarter of 2018 as a result of the company’s new, “inexpensive notebooks.”

Quanta Computer has just been overtaken by Compal as the world’s top laptop manufacturer, but it will catch up this year as Apple prepares to deliver what will likely be a new MacBook Air.

Stig Pedersen’s upgraded “iPhone” does not have a touchscreen. It does, however, have a fingerboard, frets, pickups and two strings.

That’s because Pedersen’s iPhone bass is really more of an upgrade on the bass guitar. But it does have an iPhone feautre not found on most basses – a front-facing camera that records video of fans.

Google’s claim that it allows users to completely turn off all location tracking is completely false, according to research conducted by the Associated Press.

Whether you’re using an iPhone or Android device, the AP found that many Google services store your location data, even if you’ve used a privacy setting that is supposed to prevent Google from grabbing your data.

Research shows that keeping a journal is great for your mind. It allows you to clear your thoughts or think through problems in different ways. Finding a good way to journal is easy with the Day One app. Designed to provide a feature-rich, modern journaling experience, Day One gives you the ability to keep track of, write about, or create a virtual archive of almost anything you want.

If you live in the UK and are a fan of the BBC, Spotify has some good news for you — since it’s just added “thousands of episodes” of BBC content to its app.

“The BBC is one of the largest content creators in the UK, and have worked with the biggest and best audio talent in the world,” said James Cator, Spotify’s Head of Podcast Partnerships, in a statement. “To have a comprehensive audio catalogue in the UK, the BBC are essential, so adding the BBC to our rapidly-expanding catalogue of podcasts was a natural partnership.”

An iPhone user from South Carolina is suing Apple because he alleges that his handset exploded in his pocket two years ago.

The incident occurred in fall 2016, when concerns about lithium-ion batteries exploding were being widely reported — largely due to Samsung’s disastrous Note 7. The iPhone explosion supposedly injured the plaintiff enough that he had to be airlifted to a burn center in nearby Georgia.

Google could miss out on a $50 million payday this year alone as a result of Epic Games’ decision not to distribute Fortnite for Android through the Play Store.

Android users must download the game directly from Epic‘s own website instead. This allows the company to sidestep Google’s 30 percent cut of all revenue.

There are plenty of uses for customer-facing videos, whether to show off new products or give tutorials. Not everybody has the editing chops to create solid video content, though, so this simple tool makes a great addition to any team’s toolbox.

Apple plays down its financial milestones these days, and there’s a good reason for that: tax.

According to a new report, Apple is one of a few companies which are “particularly aggressive” in downplaying the value of the property they own for tax purposes. Specifically, Apple thinks it’s been overtaxed on the buildings, land, lab equipment, and other expenses — and it wants to reclaim millions of dollars as a result.

If you’ve already completed your Fortnite challenges for season five, week five, you’re probably itching to find out what Epic Games has in store for us in week six. Thanks to a recent leak, now you know.

Many of this week’s challenges will be variations of previous tasks. But there are a couple of intriguing new additions.

If you love Apple’s Sport Loops for Apple Watch, we’ve got a fantastic alternative that costs 10 bucks less and features a new design element to Apple’s version.

Enter the Watchpop Loop for Apple Watch, German-company Bluestein’s stylish answer to those seeking the look and performance of Apple’s Sports Loop. Watchpop’s version has all the same bells and whistles, yet offers a fun line of black bands (and, one white!) flanked by colored edging.

Did you know that Adobe’s Lightroom CC for iPhone has a fantastic camera built in? Or that you can now listen to any audio file in the Castro podcast app, just by dropping it into an iCloud folder? Or that you can make a catchy song in your iPad’s web browser using Hookpad 2? Well, now you do.

These are the awesome apps making waves this week.

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: How does Apple’s upcoming mobile operating system compare to the new Android platform? We give you a blow-by-blow comparison of all the best (and worst) features.

You’ll find that top story and much more. See why you should use Do Not Disturb at Bedtime 24/7. Plus: Learn how to connect an external keyboard to your iPad. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Podcasts have exploded into one of the most vibrant and powerful media forms. It’s hard to think of a format that is as accessible for content creators and consumers alike. So if you’ve had an idea for a podcast, there’s no reason not to make it happen.

External batteries are widely available but surprisingly few of them are really designed with Apple users in mind. That’s because all too many require a microUSB cable to get power. The mophie Powerstation Plus XL is a rare exception.

It’s recharged through a built-in Lightning port. The new accessory has a Lighting connector on a built-in cable too. If that wasn’t enough, it can be wirelessly recharged.

When you put your music on, most of us want the outside world to stay out. You also want great sound quality, long life and wireless convenience. And guess what: We’ve found all that in one set of over-ear Bluetooth headphones.

Philips wants to cover your home from the inside to the outside with its new lineup of smart lightbulbs that debuted today.

The new collection includes the smart vanity mirror that leaked last month and has a ton of new lights that are perfect for your bathroom, living room, bedroom, den or even the backyard.

Samsung continues its “Ingenious” negative marketing campaign against the iPhone. The latest ad shows a customer confused that the Apple Pencil can’t be used on the iPhone.

While Samsung’s ad makes a point that quite a few iPhone users agree with, another statement made is more than a bit deceptive.

Take a look at the ad:

Twitter is like that part of town where City Hall just lets anyone open up a bar or a restaurant. It’s lively, and it’s where everyone hangs out, but you certainly don’t want to take the wrong side street late at night. Maybe you’re ready to leave Twitter, thanks to its continued censorship of unknown individuals and simultaneous encouragement of hate speech and lies by more famous people and organizations.

If you’re serious about ditching Twitter, then you probably want to delete your tweets. Twitter feeds off “engagement.” If you delete your tweets, you leave nothing to engage with (although their “content” has probably been mined clean already). If you delete your tweets, and change your Twitter bio to say you’ve quit, this sends a stronger message than just slipping out the side door. It also helps stop someone else from pretending to be you.

Apple’s latest TV ads are fast-paced and colorful. But a study by a market-research firm finds that Baby Boomers feel these ads aren’t aimed at them.

The analysts theorize this is because Apple isn’t trying to advertise the iPhone to anyone but young people.

Android 9 Pie has landed on Google Pixel devices just a month before Apple rolls out iOS 12. Both come with a long list of new features and improvements, but is one better than the other?

Here’s how Android 9 and iOS 12 compare.