Apple's diving into virtual reality. Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple isn’t sitting idly on the sidelines when it comes to Virtual Reality.
The company hasn’t shown much interest in entering the VR market to take on Facebook, Sony, Google, HTC, and Samsung, but according to a new report, Apple has secretly formed a huge team of experts that are exploring product ideas.
Cook says that Apple is no tax dodger. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple soothsayers have been predicting doom and gloom for the iPhone-maker ever since Tim Cook dropped the company’s Q1 2016 earnings. iPhone sales are projected to decline. The iPad is still struggling. And even the Mac is taking a drop.
This is the end for Apple according to some Wall Street crazies, but they’re missing a key metric in Apple’s earnings report that shows the company still has a lot of growing to do thanks to it’s huge install base.
This smart outlet will make any plug in your house more intelligent. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Best List: Smart Outlet by Nyrius
I just walked into my living room and the lamp came on, welcoming me in from a cold, dark morning at the gym.
When I leave for lunch later, it’ll turn itself off.
The home of the future is here, and it’s easier than ever to create with the Nyrius Smart Outlet, a Bluetooth wall plug that lets you turn any device with a plug into a smart device.
This tiny drone can fly in packs with built-in 8-frequency technology. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Flying a tiny drone, especially for first-timers, can be a tense experience — trying to avoid flying into walls, trees, tables, one’s own head. While adding more drones to the mix is a lot of fun, it just multiplies the difficulty, that is unless you have this Ultra-Stealth Nano Drone. Among a bunch of cool features, it sports a system of eight frequency points allowing it to fly in packs, while keeping safe distance from its neighbors. It adds a whole new dimension to drone-ing, and right now it’s only $19.99.
The booq Daypack can carry quite a load. Photo: booq
Booq, makers of stylish, timeless and understated computer bags often named after snakes, is shedding some of its skin.
A new line of backpacks that debuted Thursday carries a simple name, Daypack. The line also carries color, unusual because booq typically likes to work mostly in gray and black.
Smack your weekend right in the face with these great new iOS games. Design: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac
It’s a new year and a new you, and your iOS device just might be crying out for some new gaming titles to keep you fat and happy while you manage all those resolutions.
Whether you enjoy a deeper role-playing and crafting adventure to keep you tapping well into the evening over a long weekend, a musical adventure that you can create yourself, a Mad- Max-inspired demolition derby, or a quick brain-booster puzzle or two to keep your wits about you, we’ve got the five best on offer right now.
In no particular order, here are the best new iOS games that we’ve culled from a long list on the App Store.
One of the stunning photos taken. Photo: Sephi Bergerson
Award-winning Israeli photographer Sephi Bergerson recently shot an Indian wedding in Udaipur using just his iPhone 6s Plus — and the results are spectacular!
In an accompanying video, Bergerson describes the way that using an iPhone has changed his photography. While he notes that it ultimately still comes down to the skill of the photographer (which is presumably why I’m yet to pick up any photography awards despite my many iPhone snaps), it’s fascinating to hear him discuss his craft.
Well, time to pack it in and find a new company to write about, I guess! Photo: Fox5
Apple’s currently “stumbling” — and it’s the fault of a “negative,” “strict,” and overly “harsh” corporate environment, claims U.K. newspaper The Guardian.
“At Apple, you’re gonna be working 60-80 hours a week and some VP will come yell at you at any moment,” one coder is quoted as saying. “That’s a very hostile work environment.”
Work phone, home phone, err... what's next? Photo: West Midlands PoliceWork phone, home phone, err… what’s next? Photo: West Midlands Police
As expensive miniature computers people carry around in their pockets, it’s no surprise that smartphones are regularly the targets of petty thieves.
But one particular thief outshone the rest when he recently (allegedly) managed to steal 38 different phones during a Libertines concert in the U.K., only to be arrested with them stuffed down his trousers.
A work phone and a personal phone I can understand, but explaining away the other 36 handsets was surely a bit of a challenge!
Current iPhones lack wireless charging. As Samsung was happy to point out. Photo: Samsung
Samsung has mocked the iPhone for its lack of wireless charging before, but Apple is reportedly looking to change the game with “cutting-edge” technology that would move its devices beyond the charging mats used by current smartphones and into true wireless charging.
And the tech could arrive as soon as 2017, with the launch of the iPhone 7s.
Get all your news, sans cable package, right on your Apple TV. Photo: Watchup
Watchup wants to replace standard TV news with a personalized multi-channel news aggregator that runs right on your Apple TV.
The developer promises that you’ll get a customized, on-demand news app right on your big TV, letting you lean back and learn what’s happening in the world.
All that without a cable subscription; sounds pretty great to me.
Your iPhone may be holding even more cards in its Wallet this year. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
One day, your iPhone or Apple Watch could actually start dispensing money.
It’ll be your own money coming out of an ATM, but it’s still cool.
Officials at Bank of America and Wells Fargo have dropped hints that they have their eyes on incorporating Apple Pay into near-field-communication-equipped teller machines. Neither company is prepared to say when or how widely this will happen, but considering they’re two of the largest banks in the United States, this could be a big deal.
Put a spotlight on your math facts. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
If you’ve got a quick bit of math to figure out on the go, why bother tapping into the Calculator app, which you’ve probably got stuffed in some sort of folder on your third page or so?
Even though we’ve been using Spotlight on the Mac for years now to figure out quick mathematical facts, it’s also included in the iOS version of Spotlight, making doing quick bits of math super easy.
Valentine's Day is just around the corner.... Photo: Apple
It’s almost that time of the year again when you get really stressed out because you totally forgot that it’s Valentine’s Day. Your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/husband/whatever is expecting something really great this year, and there’s just one problem: You don’t have any cash to buy something nice.
You look around and all you see are old iPhones and a first-generation iPad. Problem solved!
The previous record wasn't even half that amount. Photo: Snapchat
Tucked away in a recent Snapchat update for Android and iOS, users of the app will notice a new option that allows for the quick and easy sharing of a URL that links directly to their user profile. The link, which can then be copied or shared anywhere a link can be tapped or clicked, takes Snapchat users directly to the app on mobile, and then into the linking user’s profile.
Snapchat pushed updates to both of its primary applications, Android and iOS, a couple of days ago but made no mention of the new URLs.
The ASAP Dash claims it can get you power on the quick. Photo: ASAP
A new portable power supply says it can store enough juice for three full phone charges in just 15 minutes.
The ASAP Dash is looking for $30,000 on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. And if it works as well as it says it does, it could be a must-have gadget for people who find themselves consistently low on power..
Cupertino buys the education tech company LearnSprout. Photo: LearnSprout
Apple, which lost ground to the Google Chromebook last year in the K-12 market, has acquired the education software company LearnSprout, which develops programs for schools to track student performance.
The move could give Apple a stronger foothold in the education market because LearnSprout is in more than 2,500 schools in 42 states.
iOS isn't great at managing contacts by default, but as always, there's an app for that. Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor
Interact is a brand new contact-management app by Agile Tortoise, maker of popular notes app Drafts. It’s no secret that contact management on iPhone and iPad is lacking. Interact solves a lot of iOS’ shortcomings, adding the ability to edit and manage groups, send messages and attachments to entire groups, and even delete multiple contacts from iPhone and iPad at the same time. Here’s how:
Fish with AI beats recorded video loops any day. Photo: Aqua TV
A fairly popular group of apps for the Apple TV has been those that add a bit of scenic ambience to your living room. I’m talking live camera streams around the world or footage of gorgeous waterfalls. Even Apple’s own Aerial screensavers are stunning. One such app with a special twist is Aqua TV, which puts a customizable aquarium on your television screen. It’s beautiful to glance at in your peripheral vision, but also fun to build and personalize.
The successor to the iPhone 5c is nearly here. Photo: Apple
Apple may have been producing units of its upcoming 4-inch smartphone for nearly a year.
The rumored iPhone 5se may seem like a product that’s come out of nowhere, but a new report claims Apple finished development and production on it months ago. Cupertino’s just been waiting for the perfect time to reveal the smaller phone.
Satechi's aluminum monitor stand is a stylish fit to your Apple work station. Photo: Satechi
You already put your Apple computer on a pedestal. You might as well make that pedestal complimentary to Jony Ive’s design.
The tech accessories company Satechi on Thursday debuted a sleek aluminum monitor stand, perfect to give your iMac monitor or MacBook enough elevation to promote the good posture you otherwise ignore.
They’re still running! Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of MacSamsung will still be concerned about growth. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Smartphone shipments surpassed a record 1.43 billion units in 2015, according to the latest figures from IDC, and 22.7 percent of them carried the Samsung logo. Despite falling Galaxy sales, the South Korean company still shifted 93.3 million more devices than Apple.
These five software services will help you back up your data, secure your internet connection, stay productive, and lots more. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
In this day and age a few lines of code can make a meaningful difference in the way we live our lives and get things done. Case in point is the Software as a Service (SaaS) paradigm, a service that follows you and your computer or mobile device around to provide services like backups, access to virtual private networks, organizing and optimizing workflow, and lots more. We’ve found a bundle of some of the best SaaS’s in the game, and you can get access to the whole shebang for $59.
If your adapter looks like the one on the left, you may want to get it exchanged. Photo: Apple
If you’re the proud owner of a two-prong Apple AC wall plug adapter, as included in the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit, you may have a trip to the Apple Store in your immediate future.
That’s because Apple has announced a voluntary recall of adapters designed for use in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Continental Europe, New Zealand and South Korea, after certain models were found to break and put users at risk of electrical shocks.
Panoramic pictures are a snap with the Pano5+1. Photo: Rogeti
Sometimes a good idea can advance technology without an app or motherboard. Photographer Ruoguo Zhou proved that last year with a hunk of plastic called SLOPES, an indispensable accessory for GoPro users that cradles the camera and provides 20 different angles for shooting.
Zhou again applies simple geometry to plastic with his new device, the Pano5+1, a tripod (or water bottle) head that allows the GoPro shooter to create seamless spherical or cylindrical panorama photographs.