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The ultimate utility software roundup for digital creatives [Deals]

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collage-2017-05-23
From converting media to transferring giant files, staying on task and more, these are Mac apps any digital professional can use.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Like the content they create, today’s digital creative takes many forms. Whether designing a website or a game, whether editing photos or lines of code, there are some things we all have in common. This bundle of Mac apps offers tools for converting media files of all kind, a powerful file transfer protocol for moving data from place to place, a game-changing productivity tool for completing complex projects, and a digital assistant for studying better and taking rich notes.

No matter what you do at the screen, these Mac apps can help you do it better. And they’re all going for half off or even more. Read on for more details:

iPhone 8 chip maker confirms fingerprint-scanning display

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Touch ID
Touch ID is making a move!
Photo: Apple

Whatever problems Apple may have been having embedding Touch ID into the iPhone 8’s display, it appears that it’s solved them!

According to a new report — citing Apple chip supplier TSMC — the next-gen iPhone will boast an optical fingerprint sensor to enable authentication directly by touching the screen.

The next great Android phone will have a 360-degree camera

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Essential is looking to disrupt the Android market.
Essential is looking to disrupt the Android market.
Photo: Andy Rubin

Essential inc, the new tech company founded by the godfather of Android, Andy Rubin, is set to unveil its first product at the end of this month.

A new Twitter account created by the company teased the announcement today with its first ever tweet to hype what many anticipate to be a new Android smartphone. Rubin shot followers a teaser in March, but now Essential is busting out its own glimpses of the smartphone that may include a 360-degree camera.

How to hack Photos’ search to find lost images

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find photos location
It's easy to narrow down a search, even if you can't quite remember where or when you took the photo.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Search is open of Photos’ apps best features, but when do you ever really use it? Never, I’d say, but that’s about to change. Search is only useful when there’s something you’re looking for. While it’s fun to see all the photos you took of cats, or guitars, or whatever, search’s real power comes when you’re looking for something specific. That is, when you’re looking for than one photo you need to show your dining companions right now. Let’s see some tricks on how to do that.

Think Thank bags have every photog in mind

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This backpack has some wheels.
This backpack has some wheels.
Photo: Think Tank

You could say Think Thank thought of every kind of photographer with the release of two upgraded lines of camera bags.

The globe-trekker needing a mother load of gear can rely on the new StreetWalker Rolling Backpack. The discreet street shooter with a single body and lens may select the contoured TurnStyle 5 V2.0.

Apple’s WWDC 2017 keynote will be live streamed

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Don't miss out on WWDC 2017!
Don't miss out on WWDC 2017!
Photo: Apple

Didn’t get one of the rare tickets to Apple’s 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference? Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to watch most of the action from your couch at home.

Apple confirmed today that it’s big keynote on June 5 will be available to view via live streaming. Fans can tune in by watching the event on Apple TV, or through Safari on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad. You can even watch from a PC with Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.

iPhone gets reincarnated in Apple’s new Earth Day ad

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L.I.A.M. works his magic in the new Apple ad.
L.I.A.M. works his magic in the new Apple ad.
Photo: Apple

Earth Day 2017 festivities ended over a month ago, but that’s not stopping Apple from busting out another one of the quirky cartoon videos it made for the holiday.

Apple published a new Earth Day video today that highlights the problems it faces in regards to recycling materials from old iPhones. The ad explains how iPhone parts get a second life after Apple’s robot Liam has stripped them all away.

5 affordable accessories that complement your red iPhone

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iPhone 7
Refresh your red iPhone with these awesome products.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Interest in the (PRODUCT)Red iPhone has died down since its release back in March, and the novelty has likely worn off already for those of you who picked one up. Now it’s time to make it interesting again!

We’ve put together a list of five brilliant red products, all under $30, to compliment the red iPhone and reinvigorate your love for its unique color. Check out the video along with details for all the accessories we’ve featured below.

Catch the latest Pokémon game on Android and iOS

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Can you train your Magikarp to be the best?
Can you train your Magikarp to be the best?
Photo: The Pokémon Company

The Pokémon Company just launched its latest game on Android and iOS, and it’s all about Magikarp.

Called Magikarp Jump, it sees you training a Magikarp to do about the only thing a Magikarp is good for: Jumping!

Can you get yours to jump the highest?

Readdle adds drag and drop between all its iPad apps

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Drag and drop at your fingertips!
Drag and drop at your fingertips!
Photo: Readdle

Readdle just rolled out big updates that give users the ability to drag and drop content between its entire lineup of awesome productivity apps on iPad. It’s never been easier to multitask and manage your most important files on the go.

The company has also updated Documents 6 to turn it into a “Finder on iOS.”

Expand and charge your iDevice all at once [Deals]

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iKlips miReader 4K
Back up, expand and charge your iDevices all at once with this handy Lightning-connected hub.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

No matter how much storage you spring for in your iPhone or iPad, there’s always use for more. The unfortunate thing about mobile devices is that they’re not exactly easy to upgrade, and you certainly can’t swap out the hard drive for a bigger one. Something you can do though is plug in something like the iKlips miReader 4K, which expands capacity and adds new connection options all at once. With its Lightning connector and micro USB connectors, and a micro SD slot, you can massively expand capacity and share files between a variety of devices, whether Mac, Windows, even cloud drives. And right now you can get an iKlips miReader 4K for just $46.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Can Google Assistant beat Siri on iPhone? Let’s find out!

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Virtual Assistant
Which is better? Google Assistant or Siri... check out the battle in today's video.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Google Assistant for iOS was released at Google’s latest I/O event. Having never tried it (being an Apple fanboy and all) I thought it was only fair to put the two virtual assistants head to head.

There’s still a lot Google needs to fix such as being able to open apps other than it’s own. But check out the head to head battle in my video below.

Qualcomm asks a court to force iPhone makers to pay up

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What’s it like to have your startup bought by Apple? Stressful
Qualcomm says Apple is playing dirty.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Qualcomm has asked a court to force iPhone suppliers to keep paying it royalty payments while it is in the middle of its standoff with Apple.

The tech giant has updated one of its lawsuits to include what it claims is additional evidence about Apple instructing third-party suppliers not to pay money they owe to Qualcomm. Qualcomm suggests that this is an underhanded tactic on Apple’s part to force it to settle sooner.

Jony Ive becomes Chancellor at London’s Royal College of Art

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Jony Ive gets animated as he talks about Apple Watch. Photo: Vogue
"No running in study hall!"
Photo: Vogue

Jony Ive will take over from Sir James Dyson as the new Chancellor at London’s Royal College of Art, assuming the post in July 2017.

The five-year, unpaid position doesn’t take Ive away from Apple, although it will require him to take occasional meetings and help govern. And give him a few added trips to his home turf, too!

Jony Ive talks Silicon Valley’s culture in BBC interview

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Jony Ive
Jony Ive agrees that diversity is one of Apple's biggest strengths.
Photo: Vanity Fair/YouTube

Jony Ive was interviewed on the BBC’s Today program on BBC Radio 4 today, during which he talked about the importance of design, and Apple’s push to embrace diversity.

“At Apple, we’ve been very clear about how important it is that we have a diverse pool of talent that we can hire from,” Ive said. He also described the way that Silicon Valley’s cultural diversity, comprising people from all over the world, is what makes it special.

Study finds Apple Watch is most accurate wearable at measuring heart rate

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Apple Watch sensors
Has your Apple Watch's sensor panel popped off?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

When it comes to measuring heart rate and calories burned, not all fitness trackers are created equal, based on the findings of a scientific study that pitted the top wearables on the market against each other.

The in-depth study conducted by researchers at Stanford University was published today, revealing that Apple Watch is the most accurate wrist-worn tracker on the market, but it’s still far from perfect.

How to use Instagram’s new Hashtag and Location stories

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Instagram location stories
Instagram now has Stories based on location and on hashtags.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Instagram just added two new ways to explore photos that aren’t from the folks you follow: Hashtag Stories and Location Stories. These gather photos by place or subject, whereupon you can browse by tapping through them. If you see a picture you like, you can then then explore the area (or hashtag) further.

Apple drops first trailer for upcoming Bad Boy documentary

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Nas makes an appearance in Diddy's documentary.
Nas makes an appearance in Diddy's documentary.
Photo: Apple Music

The first trailer for Apple’s new documentary Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story has finally landed, giving a glimpse into the film that chronicles the rise of Sean “Diddy” Combs and his record label, Bad Boy Entertainment.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop explores the history of Bad Boy via a series of in-depth interviews with icons such as Nas, Mary J Blige, Puff Daddy, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and even Apple’s own Jimmy Iovine.

Check it out:

DJI goes tiny with new easy-to-fly Spark drone

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The Spark is so tiny!
The Spark is so tiny!
Photo: DJI

The drone geniuses at DJI are making it easier than ever to get into aerial photography with the unveiling of the company’s smallest drone ever called Spark.

DJI unveiled the new Spark drone at an event in NYC this morning where the tiny flying camera impressed watchers with some innovative new features like the ability to be controlled without using a remote.

Watch it in action:

Underwater drones, intelligent camera assistants and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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A drone that's just like a fish.
A drone that's just like a fish.
Photo: BIKI

Crowdfund Roundup bugWouldn’t it be great if you could capture stunning videos of sea life up to 196-feet deep without even getting your feet wet? You can with BIKI, the world’s first underwater drone for deep sea video recording.

It’s just one of the awesome ideas in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We also have ultra-strong Kevlar Lightning cables, a modern cassette tape that’s also a standalone music player, an intelligent camera assistant that ensures you get a perfect shot every time, and more!