Mobile menu toggle

Finnish company gives iPhone the Midas touch

By

Think your iPhone 7 looks like all the others? These gilded 7s, which includes one to mark the Year of the Rooster, were designed to appeal to the Chinese market.
Think your iPhone 7 looks like all the others? These gilded 7s, which includes one to mark the Year of the Rooster, were designed to appeal to the Chinese market.
Photo: Legend

Martti Virta knew he wanted to create a luxury brand. He just needed an everyday object he could reimagine with opulence.

The Helsinki entrepreneur knew little about the artisanal processes to make gold and jewels adhere to a surface but admired how the famed S.T. Dupont of Paris did so with fountain pens and lighters in pioneering the “Art of Living Well.”

Virta settled on the iPhone as his popular status symbol, but it proved a difficult surface to coat with gold.

4 biggest surprises from Apple’s totally unsurprising update

By

Will we get more than the iPhone 7 next week?
None of today's announcements were keynote-worthy.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s “surprise” announcement of new products and software wasn’t all that surprising if you’ve been keeping up with the latest rumors.

Today’s updates were practically announced yesterday when the company said its store would be down in the morning for “maintenance.” Despite all the rumors of new iPads and RED iPhones that have been out for weeks, Apple still managed to sneak in a few surprises that were both good and bad.

We’re eagerly awaiting Apple’s rumored April keynote, but here’s the biggest, most surprising news from today’s teaser.

U.S. bans laptops and tablets on flights from 10 airports

By

Emirates
Emirates is one of the airlines affected by the ban.
Photo: Emirates

The U.S. has confirmed a ban on laptops, tablets and other large electronics on flights from 10 international airports throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

These devices can be carried in checked baggage, but they’re no longer allowed in the passenger cabin. The U.K. is set to announce a similar ban shortly.

Fix all your devices with this loaded DIY toolkit [Deals]

By

CoM - iFixit Essential Electronics Toolkit
Don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't fix. This toolkit gives you everything you'll need to start repairing your own electronics.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Most of your devices weren’t designed to be fixed. In fact, manufacturers would much prefer that you pay to have all your gadgets repaired or — even better — replaced. That’s why you’ll never find an Apple-produced repair guide for your iPhone.

But you have a right to fix anything you own, no matter how many specialized screws a company decides to use. iFixit’s mission is to empower you to fix your own gadgets, and with the company’s Essential Electronics Toolkit, you can save time and money by keeping your devices running. And right now you can get the iFixit Essential Electronics Toolkit for just $19.95 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Apple Watch gets new straps for spring 2017

By

apple watch bands
Apple Watch Series 3 needs to be special.
Photo: Apple

Apple refreshed its Apple Watch band lineup just in time for spring fashion freaks.

The collection consists of woven nylon, sport, Nike Sport and Hermès bands in fancy new color options — all of which are available to purchase today.

Apple’s new Clips app muscles in on fun social video sharing

By

clips
Clips will launch in early April.
Photo: Apple

Apple has announced the upcoming launch of a new app designed to make it fun and easy for people to create and share “expressive videos” on their iPhone and iPads.

Called Clips, the social app will work by combining video clips, photos and music into videos that can be shared with friends through the Messages app, or using Instagram, Facebook and other popular social networks.

Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad is more affordable than ever

By

ipad
An iPad refresh could be right around the corner.
Photo: Apple

Apple today introduced a new 9.7-inch iPad that’s more affordable than ever before.

The device looks almost identical to the iPad Air 2 that it is replacing in Apple’s tablet lineup, but it starts at just $329 with 32GB of storage, Wi-Fi connectivity, and an A9 processor.

iPhone 7 is finally available in red

By

iPhone
The PRODUCT(RED) iPhone has arrived.
Photo: Apple

After years of waiting, Apple is finally giving us a new iPhone color option.

The company today unveiled a special edition (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which will be available to order at 8:01 a.m. Pacific on Friday, March 24.

Superscreen turns almost any phone into a tablet

By

And it's affordable!
And it's affordable!
Photo: Transcendent Designs

Your iPhone is packing all the power it needs to be a tablet; it’s just lacking the big screen. But a team of designers and inventors from California are hoping to change that.

Superscreen harnesses the power of your smartphone and wirelessly turns it into a tablet. It has its own speakers and headphone jack, built-in Bluetooth connectivity, and it uses 70 percent less battery life than your phone itself.

iPhone chipmaker will decide on U.S. plant in 2018

By

TSMC and Apple: productive partnership
TSMC is one of Apple's biggest partners.
Photo: Apple/TSMC

Apple’s favorite chipmaker in Asia may be ready to move to the United States next year.

TSMC — the world’s largest contract chipmaker, and sole supplier of the A10 Fusion processor that powers the iPhone 7 — says it is weighing the benefits of setting up shop in the U.S. under President Donald Trump.

How to pick the perfect frame on iPhone Live Photos

By

Live Photos are magical.
Live Photos are magical.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone’s Live Photos feature is one of the funnest innovations Apple’s brought to photography. There’s just one annoying problem with the moving pictures: you can’t choose which frame it uses for the final image.

Thanks to a third-party app there’s finally a way to do just that, making Live Photos more versatile than ever.

Apple store ‘maintenance’ means get your credit card ready

By

x
The new iPad Pro may feature smaller bezels.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The Apple online store will go down for scheduled “maintenance” tomorrow morning, and while it’s offline, you might want to get your credit card ready.

Recent rumors have promised Apple will launch new products this week. There are no plans for a big keynote, but there’s still a chance the Apple store will return with some sweet surprises.

ResearchKit powers WebMD’s ambitious pregnancy study

By

Screen Shot 2017-03-20 at 16.20.51
ResearchKit is being used for a major new large-scale study into pregnancy.
Photo: WebMD

ResearchKit has another useful trick up its sleeve: monitoring pregnancies.

WebMD has just relaunched its iOS Pregnancy app — and this time it’s integrated ResearchKit technology for a long term research study into the factors which lead to positive pregnancy outcomes.

Pokémon Yellow is reborn on Apple Watch

By

Don't expect to see this on your own Apple Watch just yet.
Don't expect to see this on your own Apple Watch just yet.
Photo: Gabriel O’Flaherty-Chan

Pokémon fans, prepare yourself for the coolest Apple Watch hack to date.

One of the most popular titles from the original Pokémon series has been reborn on watchOS. This Game Boy Color emulator hack dismisses the idea that Apple’s wearable is no good for gaming by running fan-favorite Pokémon Yellow.

Use this Apple editors’ choice app to hack your PDFs [Deals]

By

CoM - PDF Expert 2.2 for Mac
This award winning app can unlock PDFs in ways you might not have thought possible.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If your workplace is even a little bit digital, you deal with PDFs. The ubiquitous file format is clear and user-friendly, but if you ever want to make edits or do more than just read them, PDFs can quickly start to feel like they’re padlocked.

PDF Expert 2.2 changes that, offering a set of powerful but easy-to-use tools for getting under the hood of your PDFs. And right now you can get this award-winning app for just $29.99 through Cult of Mac Deals.