With the new iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro announced, it was a big week for Apple. But it’s also been a good seven days for developers, with a slew of super-awesome apps arriving in the App Store for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.
Whether you’re looking for a great productivity tool for staying on top of task management, a fantastic port of an arcade classic, or the best weather app for Apple TV, check out our “app of the week” picks below.
What better way to spend your Sunday?
It doesn’t look like any camera you’ve ever seen, and that’s because it’s not. The Lytro makes images that can be refocused after they’re shot, even moved around in 3 dimensions. These “living” pictures have made the Lytro one of the most envy-worthy pieces of photo gear, and right now you can get one for just $369.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Word, Excel, Outlook, the many faces of Microsoft Office are familiar to anyone who works in a professional office. But being fluent is what counts when you want to get the gig, and this bundle of course will make sure you get there quickly. These lessons will also prep you for the certification exams that will prove your chops, and right now you can get them for just $29 at Cult of Mac Deals.
This week on The CultCast: Apple’s new iPhone SE is an insane value; the significant differences between the big and small iPad Pros; new rumors point to major MacBook Pro redesigns in June; future keynotes need more yak; and the cool features in the new tvOS 9.2 update.
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Once again, Apple has refreshed its iPhone and iPad line with some better (albeit smaller) iOS devices, the iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
If you’re looking for all the details on these two new gadgets, or just want to know which is the right iPad or iPhone for you, be sure to grab this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, which also includes all the cool things you can do with iOS 9.3, a look at Cupertino’s new Apple Watch pivot, and a deeper dive on the keynote itself.
Here are this week’s top stories.
We got our first look at a new line of straps for the Apple Watch this week. But if you’re a little bit handy and want a cool weekend project, you can make your own nylon Apple Watch band for about a tenth of the cost of buying one directly.
The new series of Woven Nylon bands that Apple showed off at its event on Monday were nice and all, but what if you didn’t see a color that struck you? One enterprising YouTuber posted a tutorial that shows how to get one in just about any style you want by repurposing some cheap, existing watch straps.
Check it out below.
The FBI aren’t the only people interested in postponing court proceedings this week — Apple just requested a hold in its ongoing case in Brooklyn over a criminal’s locked phone.
Magistrate Judge James Orenstein has already ruled in Apple’s favor, saying that the government could not compel the company to breach its own software. But the government is appealing that decision, and Apple would like to see if some recent developments in a similar case might render a new decision unnecessary.
Google Maps has rolled out something special for the premiere of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice this weekend: You can take a stroll around the film versions of Bruce Wayne’s house and Batman’s lair through Street View.
The tour contains a lot of surprises for long-time Batfans who have been keeping cold on the new film. For one thing, did you know that Batman is secretly Bruce Wayne? It’s crazy. Even stranger than that is the fact that while the film places Gotham City somewhere in New Jersey, Google Maps puts it on the border of a dog park in southern Michigan.
Tim Cook is a better leader than U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, but Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is the best of them all in a new poll ranking the leaders in business, government, philanthropy and the arts.
In a few weeks, my partner and I are heading to London and Iceland for a two-week vacation. While London definitely isn’t a first for us, Iceland is. This trip also marks another important first for me: It’s the very first time I’m leaving my DSLR at home. I’ll be relying solely on my iPhone 6s Plus for all my photos.
AT&T and Verizon usually get all the blame when it comes to throttling mobile data speeds, but in the case of Netflix, the service has revealed that it is to blame for lowering the video quality on mobile streaming videos.
Netflix says it has been limiting video speaks on AT&T, Verizon, and most other wireless carriers across the globe for the last five years, in order to “protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps” that would stop them from binging on all of the service’s shows.
I’m generally of the function-over-form sake when I choose an iPhone case, but this delightfully thin Rosewood iPhone case has me rethinking that.
It’s not just that it’s thin — it’s classy. The deep brown hues and real woodgrain transform my iPhone 6 Plus from an object of tech-envy into more of a naturally lust-worthy product.
Apple is making it cheaper to repair broken Apple Watch Sport units that are no longer under warranty.
In an updated support document covering Apple Watch warranty services and pricing, the company revealed the out-of-warranty service fee on the Sport model has dropped $30.
Phil Schiller says Apple is too busy “inventing the future” to “celebrate the past” by building a museum.
So if you are in search of history on the 40th anniversary of Apple’s founding, you might want to travel to Georgia. There, a guy named Lonnie Mimms has taken over an old CompUSA building and meticulously crafted a tangible timeline that would make Apple’s futurists — perhaps even Schiller — pause with nostalgia and pride.
Ruby on Rails is the language that powers most of the web apps you use every day. If you’re looking to get involved in web development, learning Ruby is a wise and lucrative move. BaseRail’s in-depth training teaches you to build working, deployable apps, offering critical hands-on experience that normally goes for thousands of dollars, but right now you can get it for $49 at Cult of Mac Deals.
iOS 9.3 has caused headaches for some iPad owners, who updated to the new operating system only to find their devices bricked. But Apple already has a fix out to help bring those older devices back to life.
Apple temporarily pulled the iOS 9.3 update from some devices yesterday. The company has since released a new build of the update specifically for iPad 2 users whose devices failed to install the update.
The official Apple Watch microsite has gained a new power this week: Now, you can check out every combination of faces, cases, and straps to get exactly the look you want.
An eagle-eyed reader tipped us off to the new feature, which has only been live since yesterday. It replaces the more basic and tedious Gallery that used to inhabit that page. And we’re glad; it was way overdue for a refresh for several reasons.
Pac-fans with Apple’s newest streaming box should be running to their TV App Store right now: Pac-Man Championship Edition DX has hit your living room today.
The TV version of the sequel to the mobile port of the console remix of the classic arcade title contains all of the content of the original, but now you can play it from the palm of your hand on the biggest screen in your house. It originally hit iOS back in July, and it might be one of the best uses of $4.99 that the App Store has to offer.
Alison Brie and that guy who got his arm chopped off in Game of Thrones are bringing their talents to Apple TV in a funny new ad called “The Kiss” that highlights Siri remote features.
Apple premiered the ad today, which puts the two as actors on a dramatic war movie set. Using Apple TV, Brie is intensely studying a kissing scene the two are trying to recreate. Just when it appears Nikolaj Coster-Waldau can’t take another second of over analyzing everything from the angle of their heads to how much tongue the kiss should contain, he comes up with a brilliant idea to loosen up the mood using Apple TV.
Check it out:
The next piece of original video content coming out of Cupertino is going to look more like a big iPhone ad than a TV show.
Apple revealed today that is working with Black Eyed Peas singer and failed tech visionary Will.i.am to create a new unscripted TV series that’s all about apps.
Apple’s new iPhone might be tiny, but its battery packs a mighty punch.
Early stress tests on the iPhone SE have revealed that battery life on the Apple’s new 4-inch device is actually better than the iPhone 6s as well as Samsung’s Galaxy S7.
There are lots of finance apps available for iPhone these days. Some of them make tasks that used to be painfully irritating easier than ever — like monitoring your credit report and viewing your credit scores. Even better, if you have the right combination of finance apps, you can regularly monitor all three of your credit scores for free, right from your iPhone. Here’s how!
As Apple fights to keep the FBI out of our smartphones, Google is making our emails even more secure.
The company today confirmed a number of new protections for Gmail users, including stronger encryption, better notifications, and more.
With this week’s release of tvOS 9.2 for Apple TV, the fourth-generation set-top box now works with Bluetooth keyboards. While the splash screen specifically calls out Apple wireless keyboards, the truth is that you might be able pair pretty much any Bluetooth external keyboard with your new Apple TV.
Here’s how. (And here’s how to upgrade to tvOS 9.2 if you haven’t already.)
Ordered yours yet? Following Apple’s “Let us loop you in” keynote earlier this week, the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is ready for purchase as are loads of new products to go with it. Here’s a quick look at some of the best cases and accessories for your new iPad Pro, either available right now or coming soon.