Cult of Mac

If you’ve got an iPhone, you have one of the best mobile cameras out there. But having a good camera and a good eye isn’t enough to make the most of your iPhone’s photo potential. That’s why we’ve rounded up these deals on tools for taking your mobile image-making to the next level. We’ve got phone and tablet stands that fold into the size of a credit card, a hand-held stabilizer, a grippy tripod mount, and case that includes a wide-angle lens upgrade. Read on for more details:

Pokémon GO is getting a massive update this summer that will introduce a number of new features to make the game more accessible, more social, and more exciting.

Players can look forward to revamped gyms that give out gym badges, multiplayer raid battles, and lots more.

Attempts to force tech companies in the U.K. to hand over encrypted messages could be scuttled by EU proposals.

European members of parliament for the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee have tabled laws banning countries from seeking to break encrypted messages. It would also force tech companies which don’t use strong encryption for communications to do so.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Apple CEO Tim Cook and the heads of other companies at the White House today to discuss ways the government can cut waste and improve its services.

During a conference call Friday, the Trump administration described an “economic opportunity” to save up to $1 trillion over the course of a decade by reducing government IT costs, better using government spending power, cutting fraud and more.

iOS 11’s Apple Pay Cash feature will support peer-to-peer payments, but PayPal’s CEO wants people to know that its similar Venmo app hasn’t been “Sherlocked.”

That refers to an app or service that is developed by a third-party, only for Apple to start providing exactly the same functionality in a system update. It’s a devastating move that can have a disastrous impact on companies.

Here’s why PayPal’s CEO doesn’t think Venmo will fall into the same trap.

Morse Code Messege Generator might misspell its own name, but it’s an intriguing remix of the increasingly-similar messaging app formula: letting you translate messages into Morse Code and then send them using your iPhone’s camera flash.

That’s just one of the brilliant titles we’ve picked out for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup. We’ve also got a fantastic Metroidvania-style game, an excellent AI-infused photo editing app update, and a nifty way to keep your iOS backups under control. Check out our picks below.

At this point, if you’re not browsing the web through a VPN, you’re doing it wrong. The internet is a scary place after all, full of snoops, data thieves, and headaches like location restrictions on streaming content. One of the first steps to take in protecting against these things is a virtual private network.

It’s getting hot out there. But it’s still nowhere near as hot as the new deals coming into the Cult of Mac Store. This week we’ve added an app that’ll change how you work with PDFs, and a set of future-ready Bluetooth earbuds. There’s also a comprehensive set of courses in Apple’s Swift coding language, and an app that turns your phone into a mindfulness tool. Most are discounted by half or more, read on for more details:

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, we review the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which was unveiled at last week’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Also, get a first look at the new iPad in our featured unboxing video.

Check out leaked photos of alleged big changes coming to iPhone 8. Rumors say it will feature an all-glass design in the front and back in order to support wireless charging.

Discover five new ways to extend your MacBook battery life, and get a hands-on look at the new features coming to watchOS 4.

And, save 20 percent off select, name-brand leather bands for Apple Watch through this Sunday at our Watch Store! Featured brands include: Jack Foster, Arrow & Board, E3 Supply Co., Form Function Form and OleksynPrannyk. Use code FATHERSDAY2017 at checkout.

Click iTunes for a free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine. Here are this week’s top stories.

This week on The CultCast: Early reviews for the new iPad Pro and HomePod show Apple’s done it again. Plus: Someone in the Apple supply chain just accidentally leaked some of iPhone 8’s marquee features; speed tests show a big CPU boost in the new MacBook Pro; Apple finally offers us iCloud Storage sharing; our favorite unannounced iOS 11 features; and we’ll tell you what we like (and don’t) about the apps and gadgets we’re currently testing 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.

GarageBand’s most recent update for macOS adds a few neat new Mac-only features, but perhaps its biggest addition is for iPad users. Now the Mac version of GarageBand can sync a cut-down version of any song with the iPad or iPhone, allowing you to add new tracks, then sync them back with the master project back on your Mac. It’s a feature that only came to Logic in January of this year.

This is big, because it lets musicians use the full power of the Mac GarageBand in their studio or bedroom, and still add tracks to that project from a phone. You could, for instance, take a mix with you to band practice, lay down some new tracks on your iPhone, then sync them back.

Setting up a new iOS device is pretty easy, but it’s about to get even easier thanks to iOS 11’s new Automatic Setup feature, which lets you hold your old device near your new one to transfer across essential info.

All you need to set up a new iOS device are your iCloud login details, and the password for your WiFi network. But even that can be a bit of a pain, especially if you use a super-secure passwords that you store in something like 1Password. In order to get to your passwords, you need to install 1Password. But in order to install 1Password, you need to input your iCloud ID and your WiFi login. Automatic Setup will put an end to that.

The launch of the iPhone 8 may not happen until October of this year, based on the comments of one of Apple’s suppliers that is making a key component for the new device.

Apple allegedly plans to take its augmented reality tech to the next level by adding lasers to the iPhone 8. One of the companies that is likely supplying Apple with the parts, Finisar, dropped some details during its latest earnings call that hints when fans can finally expected to see the iPhone 8.

Backing up your iOS devices can be a pain — but not if you have iMazing Mini, a smart yet simple new tool from DigiDNA that makes backups a breeze.

It not only gives you more control over your data, but it can perform backups wirelessly on a schedule that suits you. It also has a whole bunch of other awesome features, and it’s completely free — without any pesky ads.

Smartphones have basically become a synonym for distraction. With so many people staring into their glowing rectangles, it’s hard to believe they could help someone become more present in the moment. Turns out it might actually be true.

Do you a) like Eddy Cue, b) want a sneak peak of Apple’s spectacular new Apple Park campus, and c) have a truckload of money to spend?

If the answer to this is “all of the above” then you might be interested to hear of a new Charitybuzz’s latest auction — offering a lunch date with Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services.

Amazon is coughing up a whopping $13.7 billion in cash to acquire Whole Foods Market.

The two companies will merge but Whole Foods stores will continue to operate independently, with co-founder John Mackey retaining his role as CEO. The move instantly gives Amazon almost as many stores as Apple.

As part of its renewed focus on original programming, Apple has hired two Sony Pictures Television presidents, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, for positions overseeing worldwide video-related work for the company.

“Jamie and Zack are two of the most talented TV executives in the world and have been instrumental in making this the golden age of television,” said Eddy Cue, who the two new recruits will report to. “We have exciting plans in store for customers and can’t wait for them to bring their expertise to Apple — there is much more to come.”

In love with your new iPad Pro? You can thank Microsoft for that.

Microsoft executive Ryan Gavin claims Apple’s latest take on tablets wouldn’t have happened without the Surface Pro. It is a “clear example” that the company is following Microsoft’s move into ultraportable 2-in-1 machines.

Microsoft has beaten Apple to delivering a wireless keyboard with biometric security.

Its new Modern Keyboard is built out of aluminum to be slim and strong and features a hidden fingerprint scanner that makes login passwords a thing of the past. It’s also compatible with your Mac.

One of the fascinating tidbits of Apple history that emerged online this week was the story that Phil Schiller was insistent that the original iPhone ship with a physical keyboard.

Only problem is, no-one seems to know whether it’s true or not. Former Apple exec Tony Fadell claimed it is. Schiller denied it. Now Fadell has denied it, too, but the author he told the story to is sticking by what he was told. What a mess!

We know you’re starting to come down off your WWDC high. To ease your transition, check out a rare offer on the latest Apple Watch, and the best price we’ve ever seen for an iPad mini 4. Find out where to snag these big bargains and more are in this week’s roundup of best Apple deals.

Apple is stepping up its video game by hiring one of the key employees from YouTube that helped the service become the world’s biggest video streaming platform.

Vijay Karunamurthy, who worked at YouTube in its early years and then went on to co-found the food rating app Nom, has reportedly joined Apple, though the company is staying tight-lipped on what he’s working on.

IBM is expanding its efforts to be the go-to company for mobile enterprise software by opening up new Garages that will serve as hubs for the quick design and deployment of MobileFirst apps.

Apple and IBM created the MobileFirst partnership three years ago as a way to push iPhone and iPads into the enterprise markets by coupling them with software built by IBM. With the expansion of new Garages, more international business will have access to the companies’ business tools.

When Macphun entered the imaging software game, it wanted to make products as powerful as Photoshop, Aperture or Lightroom yet with fewer clicks to well-styled photos.

Today, Macphun released an update to its all-in-one editing app Luminar that can make a photo beautiful in still fewer steps.

How does one sound?