Cult of Mac

Most of us have heard nightmare stories of friends who traveled abroad only to come home with a horrific cellphone bill. Either they forgot to put their device in Airplane Mode, or didn’t consider an international plan. Those types of mistakes have cost people hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in international fees for phone calls and data usage abroad.

Stories like these are becoming less common, however, as technology improves. One of the best and most recent advancements are new plans that make it easier for folks to travel to another country and still be able to use their current phone.

We tell you about three options for using your phone while traveling abroad, so you can keep in touch with friends and family back home — and not spend too much in the process.

Less than two weeks after making its debut, Pokémon Go is already the most popular mobile game in U.S. history, earning developer Niantic millions of dollars every day. Apple takes a 30 percent cut of that, but is it doing enough to make gaming great on its own platforms?

It’s hard to argue gaming could be better on iPhone and iPad — though we could use better gaming accessories — but platforms like tvOS and macOS seem somewhat neglected. With Mac sales finally falling, should Apple do more to appeal to gamers?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we throw virtual hands over gaming on Apple devices.

Star Wars has given fans a behind the scenes of the upcoming movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which is due out later this year.

As part of the Star Wars 2016, director Gareth Edwards and Kathleen Kennedy and unveiled a new clip detailing the making of the new film that looks like an massive war film set at one of the most beautiful locations in a galaxy far far away. Star Wars nerds can get an early look at many of the new aliens, droids and troopers that are set to land in theaters later this year.

Check it out:

Katy Perry’s new single, her first since 2014, is out today — and you’ll find it only on Apple Music and iTunes. “Rise,” which will be used as the anthem for NBC’s coverage of the Rio Olympics this summer, is exclusive to Apple’s services at launch.

It’s a great time to be a gamer, with countless new titles coming out regularly from developers big and small alike. That also makes it hard to keep up, which is why Steamcrate is such a great service for hungry gamers. For one low price they deliver 10 new games to your computer every month, from indie releases to flagship titles, to keep forever. Right now you can sign up for a full year of Steamcrate for just $139.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

3D Touch gestures could be coming to your iPad Pro this fall with iOS 10. Developers testing Apple’s second beta have discovered a new deep press action for Apple Pencil, which lets you quickly clear all alerts in Notification Center.

Razer, the company famous for its awesome gaming notebooks and accessories, today launched a seriously cool keyboard case for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Not only does it look good, but it’s the world’s first mechanical keyboard for a mobile device. It’s also going to cost you.

With Pokémon Go mania running wild, did you really think the worst that might happen was some would-be Ash Ketchum stumbling across a dead body?

If so, your concerns are mild compared to those of people in China. Although the game isn’t actually available there, rumors on Chinese social media claim that the game could be an attempt by Google and Nintendo to uncover details of secret military bases in the country.

Pokémon Go players have been busy laying lures at Pokéstops across the globe for the past week, but T-Mobile CEO John Legere just baited his own trap to draw in new customers.

Starting on July 19th, T-Mobile will offer all Pokémon Go players free data when playing the game for the entire year, giving you no excuse to not catch ’em all.

The first video of the allegedly headphone-jack-free iPhone 7 has finally found its way into the Apple rumor mill.

A video of two alleged iPhone 7 rear shells was posted on Chinese social networking site Weibo today, showcasing the simplified design Apple supposedly plans to unveil in September. The controversial decision to kill the headphone jack would free up room for a second speaker and hopefully a larger battery.

Check out the video:

France will soon host a new Apple research center, according to local reports that claim the iPhone maker plans to lease a new R&D facility in Grenoble.

Apple’s worst-kept secret right now is its next-generation iPhone, which has today leaked out again ahead of its official unveiling this fall. New images of the iPhone 7 give us a closer look at its larger camera lens and four color options.

Silicon Valley is uniting against presumed GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in an open letter today that calls out the candidate for his “anger, bigotry, fear of new ideas and new people, and a fundamental belief that America is weak and in decline.”

The letter is signed by some of the biggest names in the tech industry, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mark Pincus at Zinga, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, Vint Cerf and dozens of others.

Finding headphones for my two-year-old daughter was an exercise in safety and design. I wanted something that would not damage her ears, and she likes headphones that look like daddy’s.

The BT220 Studio Grade Children’s Bluetooth Headphones by Puro Sound Labs kept popping up in searches and had glowing reviews, so I decided they at least looked cool enough to consider.

Check out the video below for my full review.

This year’s iPhone upgrade won’t bring a new design, a sharper OLED display, or wireless charging. It probably won’t bring any significant improvement in performance over the iPhone 6s, either, according to these early A10 processor benchmarks.

The iPhone comes in handy on a long bike ride. You could record video of your trip, use GPS to find your way and track things like mileage and calories burned.

The rider just has to choose which function to use. A startup called Bycle has an answer to the question why not all of them?

Not sure if you heard, but the next iPhone is coming sans-earphone jack. That means if you’re planning on getting an iPhone 7, you’ll have to wave bye bye to your earbuds, unless you’ve got these magnetic Bluetooth 4.1 wireless headphones. They’re designed to stay put and keep you connected to your favorite music playback device without any cords. Right now you can get them for $24.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Pokémon Go has finally arrived in the U.K. just a day after starting its European invasion in Germany. The game has been a huge success so far despite its limited reach, and now holds the record for most popular mobile game in U.S. history.

To celebrate Bastille Day, the start of 1789’s French Revolution, Apple has changed the homepage of its Apple France website to show a picture of the French Tricolor flag.

The twist? In a neat touch, Apple has tied the tribute into its acclaimed “Shot on iPhone” campaign by making the flag out of a variety of blue, white and red-filtered photographs taken by French iPhone owners.

July 14, 2008: Apple crows that its newly opened App Store hit a massive 10 million downloads in its first 72 hours.

“The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days,” Steve Jobs said in a statement issued eight years ago today. “Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly.”

Apple’s new iPhone lineup this fall may not contain the most exciting updates ever, but it may pack an under-rated feature fans have been begging for years: better battery life.

Apple’s tax drama in Europe will finally come to a close later this fall.

The iPhone-maker has come under scrutiny from the European Union due to its tax deal with Ireland that safe guards Apple from paying taxes on billions of dollars in profits. Ireland’s finance minister revealed that he has no idea which way the decision will go, but he was told it’s coming soon.

Pokémon Go will soon lure you into local businesses when you want to stock up on supplies or battle gym leaders. The game’s creator has confirmed sponsored locations are coming soon to ensure the game rakes in even more cash.

Facebook Messenger is now even more awesome on iPhone 6s.

Thanks to the app’s latest update, you can now take advantage of useful 3D Touch gestures that let you Peek and Pop into all your ongoing conversations — and into all the media shared within them.

If you’ve noticed a serious lack of actual news in your Facebook News Feed since the beginning of July, you’re not alone.

The social network recently made big changes to its News Feed algorithm to emphasize posts from friends and family, and fewer posts from the sites and pages you’ve liked. The end result has transformed many users’ feeds into an endlessly scrollable collection of baby pics, birthday posts and political drama no one wants to touch.

Thankfully, there’s a way to take back some control of your page so that important posts from news sites show up more frequently.