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‘Small-batch’ bag company rolls out backpack with big space

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The Bolt laptop backpack gives a busy person the right stuff.
The Bolt laptop backpack gives a busy person the right stuff.
Photo: WaterField Designs

The description “small batch” is often associated with bourbon and cigars. With those words come an expectation of a higher quality derived from artisanal techniques, not possible with mass production.

WaterField Designs refers to itself as “small batch” and the company’s bags and cases, especially for Apple computing products, fit nicely in the company of a fine cigar or whiskey. Its latest product, the Bolt Laptop Backpack, stands apart from its oft-sporty-looking backpack brethren.

Win a chance to wire up your smart home with Amazon’s Alexa [Deals]

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Enter to win a suite of smart home products, centered around Amazon Echo.
Enter to win a suite of smart home products, centered around Amazon Echo.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Making your home ‘smart’ means more than giving it a computerized brain — it takes a whole central nervous system. That’s exactly what this giveaway offers. It includes four devices that will transform how you interact with your house — from controlling your appliances and lighting, to the thermostat and even answering the door — all centered around Amazon’s hands-free hub, Echo, controllable via their digital assistant, Alexa.

Lightning EarPods pictured again ahead of iPhone 7

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Leaked EarPods with Lightning
Apple's new EarPods or third-party fakes?
Photo: Weibo

New EarPods equipped with a Lightning connector have again been pictured ahead of the iPhone 7’s launch this fall. It’s thought Apple’s next-generation devices won’t have 3.5mm headphone jacks like all their predecessors, but these EarPods could ease the pain of that loss.

Pokémon Go starts its European takeover

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Pokémon Go comes with monstrous security risks.
Countries? Gotta catch 'em all.
Photo: Niantic Labs

Unexpectedly massive smash hit Pokémon Go has made its European debut — arriving in Germany as part of a Europe-wide rollout, which suggests a wider expansion to other European countries over the coming days.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals [Liveblog]

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Amazon Prime Day deals
Step right up and get your Prime Day deals.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Amazon’s Prime Day is here, delivering big sales on tons of items. Cult of Mac is rounding up the best picks, and you can get in on the hot, hot shopping action right now — even if you’re not an Amazon Prime member.

Samsung shows us why the iPhone needs an OLED display

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Samsung believes the future is OLED.
Samsung believes the future is OLED.
Photo: Samsung

Apple prides itself on delivering the best LCD displays you’ll find in a smartphone, but they pale in comparison to the OLED screens offered by its rivals. Samsung proves that — and shows us why the iPhone needs an OLED display — in the awesome comparison video below.

Apple Watch tops all wearables in customer satisfaction rankings

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Apple Watch
Apple Watch has a better satisfaction score than any wearable.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The first watch from Apple is starting to rack up awards as quickly as its first smartphone did when it launched.

In its annual survey for fitness band device satisfaction, J.D. Power found that Apple Watch has a higher rating among customers than any other smartwatch, making it the most beloved wearable in the world.

Pokémon Go update fixes Google security issues

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Pokemon GO
It's now safe to catch 'em all.
Photo: Niantic Labs

Catching Pokémon on your iPhone just got a lot safer thanks to the first-ever update to Pokémon Go.

Developer Niantic Labs pushed out a fix today that resolves the security issue that gave Pokémon Go full access to some players’ Google accounts without their knowledge, or providing a way to revoke access without losing progress in the game.

Libratone’s new wireless speaker is the One you want on the go [Reviews]

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Libratone One Click portable bluetooth speaker
Meet the Libratone ONE Click.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Libratone makes speakers so gorgeous they look like they belong in a museum more than in my home. The company’s latest wireless speaker is so damn cool I’m tempted to take it with me everywhere.

The new ONE Click speaker from Libratone’s new portable lineup packs more features than any wireless speaker I’ve ever used while coming in a form factor that is adaptable to so many different uses it’ll make your head spin.

Fun new iOS app is like karaoke for movie fans

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Actor Edward Kerr brings stardom - or just fun - to the small screen with his iOS app ROLR.
Actor Edward Kerr brings stardom - or just fun - to the small screen with his iOS app ROLR.
Photo: ROLR

A star of silver and television screens wants to help others become stars of the small screen – their iPhone screens that is – with an iOS app that lets users act out their favorite movie scenes.

Actor Edward Kerr on Tuesday rolled out ROLR, a new video collaboration app he created to help people connect around the world through a universal love of films. An in-app teleprompter feeds you your lines from scenes from a selection of classic films, you record your part and then invite members of ROLR community to be your co-stars.

How to install iOS 10 public beta the right way

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PublicBeta
Try out Apple's latest OS before anyone else.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iOS 10 public beta is finally here! It’s never a great idea to install beta releases on a primary device, but many of us just can’t wait to get our hands on the latest features. Fortunately, if you update properly, there’s an easy route back if you decide it’s just not stable enough for you.

Our helpful step-by-step tutorial video that will walk you through the whole process!

If Spider-Man had an iPhone, this is the case he’d use [Deals]

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Anti-Gravity iPhone 6:6S Case
Nano-suction technology lets this case stick almost anywhere.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With a great iPhone comes great responsibility — after all, dropping it can cost lots of money and cause a serious headache. That’s why we buy cases to protect our prized devices, but you can add another level of security and flexibility with the Anti-Gravity iPhone 6/6s Case, which turns any surface into a gripping surface. And right now you can get this wall-clinging case for $29.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Today in Apple history: iTunes sells its 100 millionth song

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itunes_dof
This was a massive milestone for paid music downloads at the time.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

July 12 July 12, 2004: Apple boasts that the iTunes Music Store has sold its 100,000,000th song, and marks the occasion with a generous gift for the lucky downloader.

The song in question is Zero 7’s “Somersault (Dangermouse remix),” purchased by Kevin Britten from Hays, Kansas. The 20-year-old receives a personal phone call from Apple CEO Steve Jobs congratulating him. Britten also gets a 17-inch PowerBook, a 40GB iPod and a gift certificate for a massive 10,000 (!) iTunes songs.

Apple donates $1 million to help Chinese flood victims

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China
Tim Cook meeting with China's vice premier.
Photo: Apple

Apple has donated $1 million to the efforts of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), following China’s worst flood in years.

“Our thoughts are with all those devastated by the flooding along the Yangtze River,” Tim Cook wrote in a note on Chinese social networking site Weibo, which he first joined back in May 2015.

How to install the macOS Sierra public beta the right way

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macOS Sierra
Install macOS safely with this handy how-to video.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you’ve been thinking about downloading and installing the latest macOS Sierra public beta, but you’re worried it might be too difficult, Cult of Mac is here to help.

Although using beta releases on your primary computer isn’t recommended, a lot of people (including myself) just can’t wait until the public release later this fall to try out the latest features Apple has to offer.

We’ve gone ahead and installed the public beta to bring you this handy step-by-step tutorial video. Check it out below.

How to play Pokémon Go no matter where you live

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Pokemon GO
Don't wait for Pokémon Go to reach you!
Photo: Niantic Labs

Pokémon Go is still available in just a small number of countries right now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to miss out on all the hype. You can download the hit game today, wherever you live, by creating a U.S. iTunes account. Here’s how!

Pokémon Go catches all your Google data (here’s how to stop it)

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Pokémon Go comes with monstrous security risks.
Pokémon Go comes with monstrous security risks.
Photo: The Pokemon Company

Pokémon hunters that have been running around the city trying to catch ’em all are putting themselves in danger and it has nothing to do with battling a level 50 Charizard.

By signing up to play Pokémon Go through Google, many iOS users have unknowingly exposed all of their emails, chats, calendars, documents and more to the game’s developer and third-parties.

‘Leaked’ Google smartwatches look absolutely boring

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Learn to draw like Leonardo with Apple Watch Digital Touch Sketches
Apple Watch's design is lightyears ahead of Google.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

The design of Google’s first-ever Nexus smartwatches may have just been revealed months ahead of schedule thanks to a new leaked image that claims to show the company’s wearable.

Google is planning to take on Apple Watch later this year with not one, but two smartwatches powered by its new Assistant technology. However, if this leak is the real deal, it doesn’t look like Apple has much to be worried about.

The first Google wearables look totally drab:

Dark mode might get even darker in macOS Sierra

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You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
Apple is working on a better dark mode for macOS Sierra.
Photo: Apple

iOS 10 might not be not be the only Apple operating system set to get a darker coat of paint later this year.

After scouring through Apple’s first two betas of macOS Sierra, an OS X developer has discovered that Apple has hidden the ability to activate Dark Mode in a broader way on the Mac — and it’s making it easier for third-party developers to take advantage of the new feature.

Time’s running out on these killer productivity upgrades for your Mac [Deals]

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Dragon's latest version comes with all new features for easily and instantly converting speech to text.
Dragon's latest version comes with all new features for easily and instantly converting speech to text.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Recently we’ve received a long list of amazing Mac apps at equally amazing discounts, but they’re about to slip away. This is your last chance to save half off (and more) on Dragon’s latest dictation software, Parallels for running Windows and Linux on your Mac, Prizmo for converting text images into editable files, and Roxio’s latest version of Toast for the ultimate in file conversions of nearly any type. If you’re looking to expand your Mac’s functionality, get on these deals now: