Google Assistant is ready to do battle with Siri on its home turf.

iPhone users can now get their hands on the dedicated Google Assistant app for iOS, but don’t expect it to offer everything you get on Android.

The official Gmail app for Android and iOS is getting Google’s impressive Smart Reply feature.

By taking advantage of machine learning, Smart Reply can help you power through outstanding emails in your inbox by suggesting suitable replies that are friendly and conversational.

The internet has become awash with apparent iPhone 8 schematics and fan-made mockups in recent months, but these images claim to reveal the final design of a real device in all its glory.

The design looks familiar, proving previous leaks were right on the money, with glass panels flanking the front and back of the device, a redesigned iSight camera module, and a shiny metal frame that holds everything together.

The coming internet of things is going to require a lot of, well, things. If you’ve got an interest in building physical devices that run on digital DNA, the best place to start is with Arduino. With their simple electronics platform, you can bring almost anything your mind imagines into the real world. From games, gadgets and toys to sensors, robotics and way beyond, Arduino is the ideal canvas for any mechanically-inclined creative. If you’re interested and not sure where to start, or a seasoned builder looking to sharpen your skills, you’ll want to see this pair of can’t-miss deals on a top shelf Arduino board and a set of eight instructional e-books. Read on for more details:

Qualcomm has filed a complaint against manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and Compal as part of its ongoing conflict with Apple.

In a statement given today, Qualcomm noted that while iPhone makers Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and Compal don’t dispute “their contractual obligations to pay for the use of Qualcomm’s inventions, the manufacturers say they must follow Apple’s instructions not to pay.”

Apple’s first iOS 10.3.3 beta, rolled out to registered developers on Tuesday, hints at a 12.9-inch iPad Pro refresh is imminent. The device could get its unveiling next month at WWDC, alongside iOS 11 and the rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

Apple manufacturing partner Wistron has started work producing iPhone SE models in India at its factory in Bangalore. The handsets are set to ship to customers later this month, most likely as soon as next week.

While no pricing has yet been announced, Apple is reportedly likely to charge significantly less than the $399 and $499 it sells the 32GB and 128GB iPhone SE models for in the United States. In an effort to grow its brand in India, pricing could be as low as $220.

Because all accessories needed to be categorized, the Pictar One is an iPhone camera grip.

But the word grip kind of sells it short when you learn just how the Pictar One works to make the iPhone camera feel and shoot more like a DSLR.

In keeping with its trend of highlighting regular users in its ads, Apple has debuted a new series of videos on its YouTube channel, showing how Apple’s Accessibility features can help users in their everyday lives.

The seven “Designed for” videos, each running under two minutes, highlight stories like a visually-impaired DJ who uses Apple’s award-winning VoiceOver feature, or a sport-playing teenager unable to use her natural voice, but able to communicate using the TouchChat app on her iPad.

Check them out below.

Apple Pay is officially open for business in Italy, with Visa and MasterCards issued by Boon, Carrefour, and UniCredit all able to used by customers. Additional banks are set to be added later on in 2017.

This is the Loog Pro, a three-string guitar suitable for kids, and also for awesome adults. The Pro, along with the new Loog Mini, are the sequels to existing Loogs, and bring a whole bunch of neat upgrades. Why are we writing about it here on Cult of Mac? Because it also comes with a free app to help you learn to play.

Steve Jobs wanted The Fly and Jurassic Park actor Jeff Goldblum to be the “voice of Apple,” the actor claimed in a recent interview on the Today Show in Australia. “Steve Jobs called me up a few decades ago,” said Goldblum. “That was early on, and I did not know it was Steve Jobs.”

Sadly it didn’t exactly happen like that. It seems that, unlike life, Steve Jobs, uh, couldn’t find a way…

This post is brought to you by Digiarty Software, maker of MacX DVD Ripper Pro.

If you’ve got stacks of movies and other discs that you want to watch on your iPhone, you need DVD rip software that makes the conversion process easy and fast. No matter what kind of DVDs you’ve got stashed in your closet, the latest version of MacX DVD Ripper Pro will get the job done — and you can try it for free.

The iPad might be designed for touch, but it’s also surprisingly good with an external hardware keyboard, and includes excellent support for keyboard shortcuts. What’s more, it shares many keyboard shortcuts with the Mac, so if you have these already ingrained in your muscle-memory, they’ll carry right across. Let’s take a look at five of the most useful keyboard shortcuts for the iPad (and iPhone).

Bidding on the charity auction to eat lunch with Tim Cook finally closed today with the winning bid pulling in more money than any of Cook’s previous auctions.

At launch, 3-D Touch was seen as a bit of a gimmick. A very neat gimmick, but perhaps not a useful one. Over time, though, it has become as natural as using your finger to jab at an icon on the screen. And no part of 3-D Touch is as crazy useful as text selection. That may sound a little dull, but if you ever got frustrated trying to place the iPhone’s “cursor” precisely between some letters in order to correct a typo, you will L-O-V-E love this tip.

Apple is revamping its efforts to keep customers educated on all of its platforms today with the launch of a new website called ‘Today at Apple.’

The new sub site provides Apple fans with portal that shows all of the events, classes and other happenings at local Apple stores, giving users an easy way to sign up for the 4,000 sessions held across the globe each day.

Instagram’s streak of sniping features from Snapchat isn’t about to stop with today’s new addition of Face Filters.

Location-based stories are set to be the next big feature Instagram adds to its toolset, only instead of just copying the way Snapchat curates stories, Instagram plans to tap into one of its ‘hidden gems’ to make stories a powerful tool for all users.

Apple fans craving more powerful MacBooks may get their wish next month at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

The company is allegedly planning to unveil a new lineup of MacBooks, according to a report that claims the new machines will pack Intel’s new Kaby Lake processor to bring more speed than ever.

Apple today rolled out new betas for iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and macOS — just one day after releasing public updates.

The new releases are only available to registered developers for now, and they’re focused on improving stability and security.

What you are looking at is not a paper decal. This is the kind of delayed wow factor the Belgian company Bambooti can expect with its latest collection of MacBook Pro covers and iPhone cases.

They’re made with stone.

Apple pulled back the curtain of its new spaceship campus in a new interview that highlights all sorts of crazy facts about what went into the new campus, including how it Steve Jobs originally wanted it to look like a penis.

Obviously, Penis Park got scraped in favor of Apple’s perfect circle. But the perfect campus might not have been a disaster if Steve Jobs’ hadn’t shown some early drawings to his son, according to Wired’s deep look into the campus that also reveals how Apple went out of its way to invent an all-new pizza box that keeps crusts fresh.

Still a fan of the iPad mini? Get one while you can, because a new rumor claims Apple is planning to eliminate the device from its iPad lineup in the near future.

The device was only refreshed (albeit halfheartedly) two months ago, but growing demand for Apple’s larger tablets and disappointing sales mean it won’t be around for long.

Instagram’s fight to stay ahead of Snapchat involves stealing its best features so that users have no reason to switch. That continues today with the introduction of Face Filters, which, just like Snapchat’s, apply things like glasses, hats, animal ears, and more to your selfies.

Here at Cult of Mac, we’re big fans of virtual private networks (VPNs). They offer an encrypted, anonymous channel into the internet, and are an essential way to stay secure online. VPNs come in all shapes and sizes, but not all of them can also increase your connection speeds and extend your battery life. That’s just what Disconnect does, on top of being a great tracker blocker that guards against malware, ads, and data snoops on all your mobile browsers. And right now, you can get a lifetime premium subscription to Disconnect for just $49 at Cult of Mac Deals.