Apple and Google are set to face-off as direct competitors in the smartphone wars later this year, according to a new report that claims the search-engine giant is finally preparing to make its own smartphone hardware.

Google has offered a “pure” Android experience for years with its lineup of Nexus phones made by the likes Motorola, LG and Huawei. However, it appears that the company is ready to tighten its control of the Android platform by going toe-to-toe with iPhone by making its own handset.

iOS 10 is coming, and as with anything worthy of a base number it’s bringing a host of foundational changes. Messages is getting enhanced with a bevy of new features, Siri can now work with apps from the App Store, the Home app brings the Internet of Things one step closer to reality. Photos, texting, shopping, navigating, basically everything is being revamped or reinvented, meaning developers have their work cut out for them. This bundle of lessons is one way to make sure you’re ahead of the game and ready when iOS 10 drops, nearly 200 hours of training for just $29.

A French TV station turned to iPhones to keep a popular talk show alive during a recent power outage. Much of On n’est pas couché was shot using Apple’s smartphones and limited lighting, but the footage still made it into the final broadcast.

A new rumor claims that Apple won’t be launching the iPhone 7 in a new “deep blue” color, as previously suggested, but rather a far darker gray which will replace the existing space gray color the company offers.

The color is reportedly a shade of “formal black,” which will be substantially different to the rose gold, gold and silver iPhone options currently available.

Apple once again showed its support for gay rights over the weekend by participating in San Francisco’s LGBT Pride festival. Numerous Apple employees, including Tim Cook, took part — and Apple even distributed custom limited edition rainbow Apple Watch bands to people on the Cupertino payroll who registered for the event.

June 27, 1997: The worst financial year in Apple history comes to an end. During the quarter, Apple lost $56 million — effectively bringing an end to then-CEO Gil Amelio‘s 500 days running the company.

The $56 million loss contributes to an overall Apple loss of $1.6 billion during Amelio’s reign. It effectively wipes out every cent of profit Cupertino had earned since fiscal 1991. In other words — ouch!

It’s the weekend again, and what better way to spend the remaining hours of Sunday than by checking out the best new apps — and major app updates — to hit the App Store? From a stunning real-time feed of Earth from space to a tremendous Rube Goldberg-style puzzler, you’re almost certain to find something of interest in this week’s picks.

Check them out below.

Fresh off the deals press, we’ve got some great new goodies for you to check out. This week, you can save big on a set of uber-tough aluminum Bluetooth earbuds, a year of access to a top online publishing platform, a lifetime of access to a virtual private network, and a feature-rich home security camera. Give these deals a gander:

This week’s Cult of Mac Magazine has loads in store for your weekend wind-down. Following our coverage of WWDC 2016 the previous week, we’ve got more iPhone 7 rumors for you including the possibility of a dual-lense camera.

And, discover the news changes and design overhauls iOS 10 brings to the Apple Music and Apple News apps. Plus, screaming terrific deals on the G-BOOM Bluetooth speaker, and the opportunity to get five years of unlimited cloud storage for just $29 per month.

Finally, the CultCast expounds on all those iPhone 7 leaks!

All this, and much much more, in Cult of Mac Magazine, free for you right now.

Here are this week’s top stories.

Another week, another batch of great deals. This time around we’re looking at 5 years of unlimited cloud backup, a lifetime of virtual private network access, a 10-foot long Lightning cable and a bluetooth boom box that really bumps. Take a look for more details:

This week, on The CultCast: everything we think we know about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7! Plus: price leaks indicate we may get an iPhone 7 “Pro”; the one feature Android phones have that we envy; and we’ll tell you what we like and don’t about the gadgets we’re reviewing—it’s an all-new Under Review.

Our thanks to CultCloth for supporting this episode. If you’re obsessive about keeping your iPhone, iPad, Mac, DSLR, glasses, and other gadgets in sparkling clean condition, you’ll love ‘em. Use code “CultCast” at checkout to score a free 8×8 CleanCloth.

Now that all the excitement we had for WWDC has died down, it’s probably time we took a break from iOS 10, macOS Sierra, and all the other things you haven’t been able to avoid over the past couple of weeks. So for this week’s Friday Night Fight, we’re looking at Apple’s history.

We’re focusing on which product has been Apple’s most important throughout the years. Was it the Macintosh that changed personal computing? The iPod that put thousands of songs in your pocket? The iPhone that revolutionized mobile devices?

Join us as we battle it out over Apple’s best ever releases — and which one was most significant!

Having problem with downloading apps off the App Store?

You’re not alone. It appears that Apple’s servers are experiencing an outage based on user reports from Twitter that indicate the problem has been on going for over an hour.

Apple may have discontinued its aging Thunderbolt Display, but it hasn’t given up on making external monitors altogether. Sources say the company is still hard at work on a new model that will have its own GPU built-in.

This post is brought to you by Jamf Now.

Work has gone mobile, and businesses large and small must now keep up with the growing number of devices used by their employees to get the job done. Maybe you’re a contractor keeping track of repair crews from a field office Mac, or a store owner with iPhone-enabled inventory runners. Or maybe you run a coffee shop using iPads to process sales.

There are many reasons you might want a mobile-enabled workforce, and a lot of ways to go about setting one up, but many of them are quite expensive.

Apple is getting deeper into the AI game with iOS 10, which will require users to share some data with Apple so it can make intelligent suggestions, but the company says it will be totally optional.

Starting in iOS 10, Apple plans to use differential data as a way to track users and make Siri better at predicting what you want, while not being a major creeper at the same time. The company hasn’t been very clear about exactly what data it will be collecting, but according to a new report, we now know you will have to opt-in to the service.

A worrying flaw uncovered in Google Chrome makes it even easier for pirates to download movies and TV shows from the web. Google was made aware of the issue a month ago, but the company is yet to release an update that fixes it.

Summer’s here, but it’ll be gone before you know it. We’ve got some great gear and gadgets to make sure you get the most juice out of your iPhone before the fall. We’ve got water-resistant earbuds, a sturdy car mount, a set of iPhone camera lenses and a proper Bluetooth boombox. Take a look, and get your iPhone summer-ready:

After making its debut in November 2015, Adele’s third studio album 25 is now available for listening on Apple Music — in addition to Spotify, Amazon Prime, and Tidal.

It’s not just the iPhone that’s supposedly getting a change in its display next year. According to a new report, Apple is currently developing microLED panels for a future Apple Watch, replacing the OLED panels used in the current model.

Netflix is working to bring offline viewing to its smartphone and tablet apps by the end of 2016, according to sources familiar with its plans.

The feature will allow subscribers to save episodes of their favorite shows and feature length movies to their devices and then enjoy them later without a data connection.

On June 24, 2013, an Apple I — the first ever computer built by Apple Computer, Inc. — was listed for auction by international auction house Christie’s.

Thought to be one of the first 25 units to be built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in the late 1970s, the unit featured no Apple logo, but rather a signature from Woz, who designed the machine. It sold for an impressive $390,000, ranking it among the most expensive computers ever sold.

Apple’s only stand-alone monitor for Mac Minis and MacBooks is officially dead.

The company revealed today to news outlets that the Thunderbolt Display is no longer in production, after going five years without an update.

It’s the cheapest Apple Watch we’ve ever seen by far … you just have to buy an iPhone to get the astonishing $49 price tag. That screaming deal, a great student discount on a MacBook Pro, and more are in this week’s roundup of the best Apple bargains.

Just over a month after launching its own live video service, BitTorrent is getting into music. Legal music, that is. Its new BitTorrent Now app for iOS and Apple TV brings you the latest tracks and videos from independent artists as soon as they’re available.