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Google Maps’ iOS app just got Uber useful

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Google-Maps-Uber
Google Maps has some nice new tricks on iOS.
Photo: Google/Uber

Google has finally updated its iOS app to include the Uber connectivity that Android users have had for like a week now.

It’s not just Uber, but that’s definitely the biggest ride-sharing company to get support in the new version. Users in Brazil, India, the UK, Spain, and Germany can also use their local call-a-car service of choice.

How to choose the best iPhone for you

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New options for all of us.
New options for all of us.
Photo: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone line just got more expansive, with the new, smaller-yet-powerful iPhone SE dropping into the fray to compliment the bigger and still powerful iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus handsets.

So how do you choose the best iPhone? That depends on your own needs, of course, but we’re here to help you figure it all out with our iPhone buyer’s guide.

Smaller iPad Pro is even bigger on features

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iPad Pro prices
Prices aren't the only major difference between iPad Pros.
Photo: Apple

Size isn’t the only thing that counts when you’re weighing your iPad Pro options.

Sure, it’s a major consideration. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro that Apple showed off earlier this week has the same dimensions of the less sprawling iPad Air 2, and it weighs just under a pound. That’s about two-thirds the weight of the original Pro, and people trading up from an iPad Air won’t need to look at new cases or bags to carry the thing around in.

But that’s all surface stuff, and the two iPad Pros have a lot of differences behind — and even inside — their screens.

Apple Pay is expanding to mobile websites

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Apple Pay
Apple Pay is everywhere.
Photo: Apple

Using Apple Pay to buy items has been limited to physical retail stores and apps, but Apple is reportedly planning to rollout the service soon to mobile websites, putting it in closer competition with PayPal and other platforms.

The mobile website version of Apple Pay will allegedly be ready in time for the 2016 holiday shopping season. Once launched, the mobile version will allow shoppers to complete purchases using their fingerprint rather than entering credit card info on websites.

How to decide which iPad is best for you

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Which one is best for you?
Which iPad model is best for you?
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

With the iPad lineup now verging on unwieldy, it’s harder than ever to decide which Apple tablet to buy. Which iPad is best for you? That’s going to depend on your needs, desires and budget — but your iPad buyer’s guide can help!

Do you go for the massive appeal of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro or opt for the smaller-but-newer (and slightly gimped) 9.7-inch iPad Pro? Will a tiny iPad mini suit you, or should you opt for an iPad Air 2, which is still a very capable, thin tablet?

All good questions! We’re here to help you answer them with this handy iPad comparison, just in time for when the new iPad Pro goes on sale Thursday, March 24 (most likely at 12:01 a.m. Pacific, according to Apple Support).

Apple’s full iPhone SE keynote is now on YouTube

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Size does matter, says Phil Schiller.
Size does matter, says Phil Schiller.
Photo: Apple

If you didn’t have time to catch up pn Apple’s event on Monday, you can relive all the glory anytime you want, now that the company has posted the entire iPhone SE keynote on YouTube.

The 63 minute event contains everything from yak-friendly solar farms in China to all the details on the smaller iPad Pro that isn’t quite as fast as its bigger sibling. Apple’s recent event wasn’t as exciting as previous product unveiling, but it will probably be the last one ever hosted at the company’s Cupertino campus.

Watch the full event below:

How to control your home media with 3D Touch and Launch Center Pro

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Want faster access to home audio? Here's how with the help of Launch Center Pro and 3D Touch!
Want faster access to home audio? Here's how with the help of Launch Center Pro and 3D Touch!
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnailWhile some apps haven’t quite figured out best use cases for 3D Touch yet, a handful of apps have gotten it right. One of those apps is Launch Center Pro, which lets you choose what apps you get access to through 3D Touch actions.

I’ve chosen to take advantage of this by using Launch Center Pro to launch my most-used media apps: Rdio (RIP, now replaced), Sonos, Music.app and Pandora. By doing this, I’ve freed up four additional spaces on my first Home screen for other apps.

Google Photos now smartly sorts your snaps automatically

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Your vacation snaps can now be viewed on the big screen.
Smarter albums now available in Google Photos.
Photo: Google
Google Photos smart albums
Smarter albums now available in Google Photos. Photo: Google

Taking lots of photos when you’re doing some fun is great, but sorting them when you go home is not. But now you don’t have to.

Use Google Photos and it takes care of organization for you, with smart albums that are made up of your best images from every event.

Apple Music partners with Vice for music documentary series

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Vice is diving deep into Reservation Rap.
Vice is diving deep into Reservation Rap.
Photo: Vice

Apple is teaming up with Vice for a new six-part documentary that will stream exclusively on Apple Music.

The Score will spotlight music scenes from around the world that are lot more diverse and rich than your typical five-day outdoor EDM rave. The first episode called “Reservation Rap” debuts this week and covers Minnesota Red Lake Reservation’s unique hip-hop style created by the Ojibwa tribe.

Watch members of the third largest indigenous tribe in North America spit some bars:

FBI teams up with Israeli firm to hack San Bernardino iPhone

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Your iPhone will always need to be recharged everyday.
The FBI finally found someone who can unlock the iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The mysterious party that is assisting the FBI in its quest to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone 5c may have finally been revealed today, and contrary to previous theories, it’s not the NSA.

Cellebrite, an Israeli tech firm specializing in mobile forensic software, has reportedly offered to help the FBI unlock the iPhone. Citing industry sources, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper says if Cellebrite succeeds, the FBI will no longer need Apple’s help with the case.

Apple TV app lets you see the weather without opening it [Reviews]

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forecast-bar-apple-tv-2
Think Dark Sky for your Apple TV.
Photo: Forecast Bar

For several months on my new Apple TV I’ve been searching for a decent weather app that doesn’t cost too much, and truth be told I really haven’t been able to find any. My go-to weather app has been Carrot Weather for quite some time, but I don’t love the interface on a big television screen. So I was eager to try out Forecast Bar for Apple TV, which offers some standout features and lots of forecast detail.

We reviewed Forecast Bar for Mac back in September and declared it the closest thing possible to getting Dark Sky on your Mac, and it still is. Dark Sky, known for its down-to-the-minute precipitation forecasts, has become a favorite weather app on iOS and Android. So let’s see if Forecast Bar for Apple TV is the closest thing to getting Dark Sky on the big screen.

Android Pay takes its battle against Apple Pay to the U.K.

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android-pay-takes-its-battle-against-apple-pay-to-the-u-k-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201509Android-Pay-png
Android Pay is expanding its reach.
Photo: Google
Android Pay is expanding its reach. Photo: Google
Android Pay is expanding its reach. Photo: Google

Android Pay, Google’s answer to Apple Pay, is finally expanding to new markets.

Google has announced that the service will be making its debut in the United Kingdom “in the next few months,” and it will launch with support from a long list of banks and retailers.

Learning to code for mobile means getting your hands dirty [Deals]

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This bundle of video lessons will get you fluent in key tools and techniques for iOS 9 development.
This bundle of video lessons will get you fluent in key tools and techniques for iOS 9 development.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

So you want to code for iOS 9. If you’re serious about it, you’ll have to be ready to dig in with both hands, to get a grip on the concepts, techniques and languages of mobile development. That’s exactly what this in-depth course offers in covering development for iOS 9 and Swift 2. With 77 video lectures walking you through actual coding, and clocking in at over 15 hours, this is an ideal opportunity to get your coding chops together, for just $19.99.

Your guide to all the latest iOS, tvOS and watchOS features

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Apple tv, iPhone and Apple Watch
See all of Apple's latest software in action
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Along with the iPhone SE and new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, Apple unleashed a slew of new software updates this week, bringing all-new features to your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV.

Find out what’s awaiting you in the new Apple updates, as well as how to update all your Apple devices, in a series of Cult of Mac videos you can watch below.

How to update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 9.3

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Get your iOS device up to date fast and easy.
Get your iOS device up to date fast and easy.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

iOS 9.3 is perhaps the biggest “dot” upgrade Apple has created for its mobile platform. Apple usually doesn’t show off incremental iOS upgrades at its carefully staged keynotes, but iOS 9.3 clocked some time at Monday’s iPhone SE event, and you should update right now.

If nothing else, you’ll get some great new features like Night Shift to make your mobile digital life just a bit better. Here’s how to get iOS 9.3 on your iPhone or iPad.

Apple debuts eco-friendly iOS wallpapers to promote its recycling mission

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One of Apple's funky new iOS 9 wallpapers.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

To help promote Apple’s ongoing Renew program — which encourages users to recycle their old Apple devices — Cupertino today released three new iOS 9 wallpapers to promote its mission.

Designed by graphic artist Anthony Burrill, the wallpapers are entitled “Nature in Balance,” “Nature in Harmony,” and “Nature in Us,” and are available to download in sizes customized for iPad mini, iPad Air, iPad Pro, and iPhone.

Gorgeous puzzler Mekorama could be this year’s Monument Valley

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Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 10.50.14
I cannot wait for this to arrive on iOS.
Photo: Martin Magni

As anyone who has read my coverage of the superb iOS game Monument Valley will know, I’m a huge sucker for beautiful puzzle games.

Well, it seems that 2016’s going to be a good year for me (and plenty of likeminded gamers), since a new trailer showing off an upcoming iOS game called Mekorama, built by the developer behind the very engaging Odd Bot Out, has just been released. And, boy, does it look great!

Check it out below.

Have you entered the 2016 iPhone Photography Awards yet?

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Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 09.46.02
Better get snapping!
Photo: IPPAwards

Are you a budding photographer, who owns (or has access to) an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch? If so, you may be interested in entering this year’s IPPAwards, a.k.a. The iPhone Photography Awards.

Entrants are competing for the prestigious IPPA Photographer of the Year Award title, along with a assortment of other prizes.

John McAfee: Apple won’t like FBI’s iPhone ‘universal master key’

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Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 08.37.43
John McAfee has previously offered to help decrypt information on the San Bernardino iPhone.
Photo: CNBC

Cybersecurity legend John McAfee has denied suggestions that he’s helping the FBI to crack the iPhone at the center of the San Bernardino shooting case, but hinted that he knows which party is involved. And, according to McAfee, it’s not good news for Apple.

“Apple and Tim Cook are not going to be happy with what the FBI has come up with,” he told CNBC in an interview. “It’s not worse than a universal master key, but it’s much much easier to get into a phone with it.”

Apple’s handled its PR wrong in FBI standoff, says Steve Jobs’ ex-publicist

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Silicon Valley PR vet Andy Cunningham honed her skills at Apple.
Andy Cunningham played a key role in Steve Jobs' life for many years.
Photo: Andy Cunningham

Apple hasn’t done enough to publicly present its side of the current privacy standoff with the FBI, concerning whether or not it should build an iPhone backdoor, claims Andrea “Andy” Cunningham, Steve Jobs’ former publicist.

“I think [Steve] would’ve spent more time framing the issue for the [public] than I think [Apple under Tim Cook has] done so far,” Cunningham says.

For Google’s iPhone keyboard, search will be key

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iPad keyboard
That's great and all, but couldn't it be swipier?
Screenshot: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

The world’s biggest search engine is planning a new way to get its software onto Apple products, The Verge is reporting. It’s a Google iPhone keyboard that developers hope will trump the stock iOS one.

Third-party keyboards are nothing new, but very few actually have a shot at replacing Apple’s as the go-to typing tool either because of pointless features or shoddy design. But we think that if anyone’s going to give it a running start, it’s Google.

YouTube adds iPad multitasking so you can get less done

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YouTube Split View Slide Over
Oh, this can't be good for our productivity.
Screenshot: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

This is either bad news for your workload or great news for your procrastination, but as of today, YouTube’s iOS app has full support for two of the iPad’s multitasking features.

Now, you can run the video app alongside other, probably more useful things. You can even control YouTube while you’re working on other stuff without having to close either program. It’s a brilliant way to not get anything done, ever.

Here’s how it works.

Cool new things you can do after your iOS 9.3 update

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iOS 9.3 Beta 4

Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 9.3 is out now for everyone, and the upgrade delivers some great new features that make Apple’s mobile platform better than ever.

With sweet additions like password-protected Notes, sleep-saving Night Shift and data-friendly Wi-Fi Assist, iOS 9.3 might be Apple’s biggest “dot” release yet.

Here’s a quick rundown of all the coolest things you can do once you’ve downloaded the iOS 9.3 update, which Apple released Monday.