Cult of Mac

If you visit this site often, you know we’re big fans of virtual private networks, or VPNs. By creating an encrypted tunnel for you data, they’re a great, practical way to stay protected and anonymous online. And now’s a great time to find out why we dig VPNs, because you can sign up for one at a massive discount of 94 percent. Right now, you can get a lifetime subscription to VPN Unlimited for just $39 at Cult of Mac.

Apple might have just gotten to the Touch Bar with its new MacBook Pro, but according to a new report, Microsoft was working on similar adaptive keyboard technology as early as 1999.

To put that into context, that would be around the time that Apple first shipped its iMac G3 and way before the company started to embrace multitouch technology with the iPhone.

For some, Beats are the only headphone option to consider, because they have that intangible “cool factor” other brands lack. If you’re in the market for your first pair of wireless Beats, we’re here to help.

Our new App Business section is brought to you by MacPaw, maker of proven Mac apps.

Sometimes you’ve got to think small to hit it big. For DigiDNA, a Swiss development team that makes popular software for managing iOS devices, that means functioning more like a tight rock ‘n’ roll band than a sprawling orchestra.

In the early ’90s, Pixar was in the middle of creating its first movie, Toy Story, but the company was in disarray. It was bleeding cash and floundering around looking for a business model.

To help turn it around, Steve Jobs hired Lawrence Levy, a former corporate lawyer, to help figure out how to make Pixar a real business.

In this week’s episode of Kahney’s Korner, I talk to Levy about how exactly he and Jobs made Pixar into one of the most successful movie studios in history.

Apple’s latest MacBook Pro is a stunning feat of engineering, but it isn’t without its fair share of compromises. These shortcomings get showcased in the parody ad below, which pulls no punches when highlighting all of the $1,799 notebook’s nasty flaws.

iPhones fell to just 12 percent of worldwide marketshare in Q3, claims a new report from Strategy Analytics — totting up the figures for what it claims was the fastest growth period for smartphones in one year.

Android phones, on the other hand, captured a record 88 percent of global smartphones shipments during the three month period. As for BlackBerry and Microsoft Windows Phone? Best not to ask, really!

Already bored of Pokémon GO? So are millions of others, it seems — but Niantic has tricks up its sleeve to get you back. With an update that’s coming “soon,” Pokémon GO will get daily and weekly bonuses that will encourage you to keep playing.

If you know any self-styled power users, you’ve probably been told (too many times) how useful it is to learn your Mac’s keyboard shortcuts. They can save you a lot of time, sure, but Keyboard Maestro blows the out-of-the box shortcuts away. It won the Macworld Editor’s Choice Award for Productivity Software by offering an easy way to create a vast array of custom macro shortcuts. And today is your last chance to get it for just $19.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

U.S. department store chain Kohl’s will start selling the Apple Watch at 400 of its 1,100 stores, beginning November 15.

The news comes shortly after rival chain Macy’s announced that it will start selling the Apple Watch at 180 of its stores. Interestingly, Kohl’s will differ from many other retailers by not selling the Apple Watch in its electronics section, but instead in its activewear and wellness category.

This presidential election has produced a clear loser and it is not who you think. Journalism, with an already low approval rating, has lost even more support from a public not sure what to trust in the cacophony of media voices.

One university professor has started an internet conversation with a tool that aims to educate media consumers on the influences of media bias, which can be destructive with a single word or phrase inadvertently used in a sentence.

Apple is using a “secret office” in Cambridge, in the U.K., to make Siri smarter, claims a new report.

Located approximately five minutes walk from the city’s train station, the fewer-than-30-person office shows no outward sign of being an Apple office. It includes a number of employees from VocalIQ, a Cambridge University spinoff, which was acquired by Apple in 2015 for as much as $100 million.

Got your eye on one of Apple’s latest super-sexy MacBooks? Wipe the drool from your chin, and sell your old MacBook to us — even if it fell off a bridge.

You could go through the sketchy and time-consuming process of selling your computer on Craigslist, but good luck if it’s in less than mint condition. We’ve got a better way to make sure you get what you deserve for your old computer.

In most cases, Cult of Mac’s Apple gear buyback program offers more for used or broken devices than Gazelle, Walmart, Best Buy or even Apple itself.

We’ve got the very first discounts on the new MacBook Pro, plus deals on older iPhones and Apple Watches (in case you don’t feel like dropping $2,000 today).

You’ll find these bargains and more in this week’s best Apple deals.

Turning your dumb old house into a Jetsons-style smart home of the future just got a little bit easier, with Elgato’s introduction of a super-cheap motion sensor.

The HomeKit-connected device, called Eve Motion, lets users pair it with other smart appliances and gadgets to automate workflows. You can then use Eve Motion to trigger a series of tasks, like turning on the lights when it detects that you walk into a room.

Apple’s new ad for the iPhone 7 will have you missing the warmth of summer.

The funny new ad shows off the iPhone 7’s new stereo speakers and waterproofing in a scene that follows an old man at the pool. Titled “Dive.” the ad leads up to a dramatic conclusion when the old man reaches the high dive while blasting tunes.

Check out the new iPhone 7 ad, which debuted on Apple’s YouTube channel today:

Apple’s new Touch Bar looks like the coolest innovation since trackpads, but there’s just one problem: You must buy a brand new MacBook Pro to get it.

It seems inevitable that Apple will eventually bring the Touch Bar to all Macs, so a concept artist created a mockup of what that may look like. It looks like a Touch Bar on a new Magic Keyboard would be even more incredible than on the MacBook Pro.

Take a closer look:

Apple’s stalling autonomous car project caused the company to shift its attention to augmented reality, according to analyst Ming Chi Kuo, who says the company is racing ahead of the competition when it comes to AR.

In a new note to investors, the KGI Securities analyst says Apple’s decision to develop a self-driving platform instead of an entire electric car makes sense. The company will use augmented reality to provide an incredible experience, he predicts.

Almost all of Apple’s own applications will support the MacBook Pro’s new Touch Bar when it starts shipping in a couple of weeks, but not Logic Pro X. Instead, users will have to wait until early 2017 for compatibility, according to a new report.

Apple’s pulled some memorable marketing stunts over the years, particularly in its early days when it was still the underdog fighting against much larger opponents.

With the rest of Silicon Valley desperate to have some of that Cupertino fairy dust, cloud-based team collaboration chatroom Slack published an open letter to Microsoft in today’s New York Times — paying homage to an audacious 1981 publicity stunt by Apple at the expense of IBM.

With a sharp screen, a fast processor and 4GB of RAM, the new LeEco Le Pro3 is a bold shot across the bow of Apple and other premium smartphone makers.

While the hardware nudges the phone toward the high end of the spectrum, the rock-bottom pricing should send shivers through Cupertino. At just $399 — or $299 if you get in on LeEco’s generous instant rebate, which starts today — the Le Pro3 is a steal when compared to the iPhone 7 Plus.

Android gets a lot of stick for being insecure, but it’s not always deserved. According to Adrian Ludwig, director of Android security, Google’s new Pixel smartphones running the latest version of Android are just as secure as the iPhone.

There are Bluetooth speakers that are shaped like bottles. Then there’s the Bluetooth speaker that needs a bottle to work.

The Cork Speaker attaches right where you might think – at the opening of a bottle – and directs audio into the empty space so that it projects a deep and resonating sound.

If you’re disappointed that the Apple Watch doesn’t boast a built-in camera, you may be interested to hear about a new watch band available for pre-order today.

Called CMRA, the third-party Apple Watch strap boasts a pair of HD camera with the ability for users to carry out “seamless photo and video capture” directly from their wrists.

When you’re out in the world trying to take high quality photos with your smartphone, a tripod is invaluable. What you want is a portable phone mount that can get any angle and withstand the test of time and travel, and that’s what the ARMOR-X tripod was built for. It’s built to take photos anywhere and from any angle, even on rugged surfaces like rocks, and it’s built to last. And right now you can get one for $19.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.