Mobile menu toggle

How Intel’s Skylake processors will supercharge your MacBook

By

Intel-Kaby-Lake
Intel's Skylake chips are coming to your MacBook.
Photo: Intel

This year’s MacBook and MacBook Pro upgrades are expected to bring Intel’s latest Skylake processors. Delivering more than just speed improvements, the new chips will bring far greater performance, graphics and battery life to Apple’s notebook lineup for 2016.

Here’s what makes those Skylake processors so special — and how they’ll supercharge that new Mac you’ll soon be drooling over.

Samsung to pounce on falling iPhone demand with cheaper Galaxy S7

By

samsung-to-pounce-on-falling-iphone-demand-with-cheaper-galaxy-s7-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201602galaxy-s7-edge-leak-jpg
Despite a larger screen, the S7 edge could be cheaper than its predecessor.
Photo: Evan Blass
Despite a larger screen, the S7 edge could be cheaper than its predecessor! Photo: Evan Blass
Despite a larger screen, the S7 edge could be cheaper than its predecessor. Photo: Evan Blass

Samsung hopes to reverse declining Galaxy sales and tackle the iPhone head-on by making its upcoming Galaxy S7 more affordable.

The leaked price list below claims the entry-level option with 32GB of storage will start at just €699.99 ($787) in Europe — a full €50 ($56) less than a 16GB iPhone 6s.

Long-lost video shows Steve Jobs launching his biggest failure

By

Steve Jobs during the NeXT years.
Steve Jobs during the NeXT years.
Photo: Doug Menuez

Only a handful of products Steve Jobs introduced to the world became flops, but three years after he was kicked out of Apple, the tech visionary unveiled his biggest failure ever: the NeXT computer.

Video footage of Jobs’ first major public appearance since he left Apple in 1985 was lost to the world until researchers for Aaron Sorkin’s movie came across two videotapes of the NeXT’s gala unveiling at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall in 1988.

Google’s secret next gen VR headsets, revealed

By

Creating 360-degree photos for Google Cardboard is now super easy.
Creating 360-degree photos for Google Cardboard is now super easy.
Photo: Google
Google is experimenting with its next-gen VR headsets. Photo: Google
Google is experimenting with its next-gen VR headsets. Photo: Google

So far, Google’s experiments in virtual reality have mostly been done through Cardboard, the search giant’s super-cheap device that can convert any smartphone into a VR rig.

But Cardboard isn’t the limit to Google’s ambitions, with the Wall Street Journal today reporting that the company is developing a standalone virtual reality headset.

CBS says Apple TV talks didn’t go anywhere

By

Apple TV might get exclusive TV shows.
Apple oddly hasn't reached out in a while.
Photo: Apple/YouTube

CBS CEO Les Moonves had plenty to say about the Apple TV last year, but this year for some reason he said that CBS hasn’t been talking with Apple very much at all. Apparently the two companies used to talk pretty frequently about bringing CBS to Apple TV’s rumored streaming television service, but negotiations haven’t gotten anywhere yet.

“We had conversations awhile back, and we haven’t had recent conversations with them,” Moonves said to CNNMoney.

How to impress Snapchat friends with a two-filter combo

By

Here's more snap for your chat.
Here's more snap for your chat.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Snapchat lets you filter your snaps with a color, the temperature, or the name of the city you’re in (geofilters), but did you know you could create a snap with more than one of these cool things?

It’s relatively simple, but (as with many things with the popular app) it’s not super easy to find in the weird interface that Snapchat uses.

Here’s how to impress Snapchat friends with a two-filter combo.

How to track your water intake with your iPhone and Apple Watch

By

Water intake is vitally important to your overall health. Here's the best way to track it right from your iPhone, or your Apple Watch.
Water intake is vitally important to your overall health. Here's the best way to track it right from your iPhone, or your Apple Watch.
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnailDrinking enough water each day is important, yet it’s something a lot of people don’t do. Last year I committed myself to making sure I drank an adequate amount of water each day. To hold myself accountable I went on a hunt to find a way to easily track water intake on iPhone, and if possible, Apple Watch too.

Pandora is considering selling itself

By

Pandora is finally catching up.
Pandora is finally catching up.
Photo: Pandora

One of Apple Music’s biggest competitors is looking to sellout.

Pandora, the music streaming service with more users than Spotify and Apple Music, has reportedly been meeting with private parties regarding a possible sale of the company after experiencing its slowest amount of growth ever last year.

Foursquare wants to be the Uber of food and booze

By

foursquare-wants-to-be-the-uber-of-food-and-booze-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads2016024432186135_aab5cf58fd_o-jpg
Foursquare and Delivery.com want to liquor you up.
Photo: Nan Palmero/Flickr CC
foursquare-button-stickers-logo
Foursquare and Delivery.com want to liquor you up. Photo: Nan Palmero/Flickr CC

It’s not often we hear any major new features coming to Foursquare lately, but the service just announced something pretty huge. It has partnered with Delivery.com to allow users to order food, groceries and even liquor right from the app to get sent straight to their homes.

‘Motor noises’ complaint at Apple’s auto campus fuels speculation

By

Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Apple's electric car is making a lot of noise.
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Apple is supposedly revving up the engines on its electric car project, and it’s waking up the neighbors in the process.

At least one resident who lives near Apple’s top-secret automotive campus in Sunnyvale, California, has filed a complaint with the city for what the person describes as really loud “motor noises” coming from the Apple campus late at night — even though electric cars are mostly silent.

Hardcore Henry gives first-person view of movie fighting action

By

Just before the bad guys show up.
Just before the bad guys show up.
Photo: STX Entertainment

A guy wakes up with no memory of who he is — or who the beautiful scientist outfitting him with a cyborg body is. She tells him his name is Henry and that she’s his wife. Then the bad guys break in and steal her.

Sounds like a video game, right? It’s actually the trippy trailer for a new live-action sci-fi movie called Hardcore Henry. The buzzy indie film was shot using a first-person perspective that puts you in Henry’s shoes — it’s like you’re trapped in a violent videogame, with a super-strong robot hand and other cyborg embellishments.

Tiny ActionCam is perfect for cheap thrillseekers

By

A capable, budget-friendly action camera.
A capable, budget-friendly action camera.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

I waited for a GoPro-type video camera that won’t the break the bank, and happily discovered Vivitar’s DVR 786HD ActionCam fits the bill.

It’s tiny, capable and totally scratches my itch for an easy-to-use video camera to wean me off using up my iPhone’s battery to capture longer videos.

I found one of these ActionCams for around $75 or so on Amazon, and while it doesn’t offer all the extreme insanity of a GoPro, it’s a pretty nifty little camera on its own.

This iPhone date bug will permanently brick your device

By

iPhone 6S
Do not wind back the clock to the 70's on your iPhone.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

There are many ways iPhone users can unintentionally brick their devices, but YouTuber Zach Straley may have just discovered the quickest way to turn your beautiful iPhone into a worthless slab of metal, glass, and silicone.

Simply set your iPhone’s date to January 1, 1970 and your device will become nothing better than a paperweight. The bug was supposedly found by a Chinese iPhone users who was trying to solve a date issue with iOS 9.3 beta 3. Not even a DFU restore will bring the device back to life once you set the time back to 1970 and reboot.

Straley posted a video of the bug in action. Needless to say, don’t try this at home:

Apple Watch could set your iPhone to just the right volume

By

Apple Watch
Apple's clever patent turns the watch into a volume knob.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The Apple Watch could soon turn into an automatically adjusting volume control for your iPhone.

In a new patent filed by Apple with the USPTO, the iPhone-maker has found a way to ensure all your iPhone notifications get played at just the right volume level by using ambient audio samples from Apple Watch.

Final Batman v Superman trailer packs intense bat-on-god action

By

Batman might stand a chance.
Batman might stand a chance.
Photo: Warner Brothers.

Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent have had enough with the pleasantries. In the final trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it’s an all out war.

Warner Brothers has given fans their final glimpse of new movie footage before it hits theaters next month. Batman gets the biggest role in the new trailer that shows Superman won’t have an easy fight against Gotham’s Dark Knight. There are also some new shots of Wonder Woman, Alfred, and of course Lex Luther.

Check it out:

Smartwatches don’t have to cost stupid money [Deals]

By

The Martian is a smartwatch with all the features you want but at a price you can afford.
The Martian is a smartwatch with all the features you want but at a price you can afford.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you wear a watch, it’s probably not a smart one. That’s probably because the current generation of smartwatches are prohibitively expensive, and the cheap ones aren’t worth the plastic they’re printed on. Martian Notifier Smartwatch shows that’s not how it has to be, it’s a slick, feature rich wrist piece that you can get for just $35.99.

Tidal hosts a Kanye hypefest and Apple Music isn’t invited

By

New Kanye West joint  set for Tidal, not Apple.
New Kanye West joint set for Tidal, not Apple.
Photo: Tidal

Kanye West takes to streaming service Tidal tomorrow to unveil the latest Yeezy hype: a third line of clothing (Yeezy, Season 3) and a new album, so far titled T.L.O.P.

He’ll put on a show at Madison Square Garden, and even if you’re not a Tidal subscriber, you can check out the new threads and listen to the new tracks starting Thursday February 11 at 4:00 pm Eastern right on Tidal’s home page.

Originally, West was set to show his stuff in various theaters around the world (huh?), but this makes a bit more sense.

Siri might suffocate the southern drawl

By

Siri Texas
King of the Hill's inscrutable Texan, Boomhauer, may not get a whole lot of use out of Siri.
Screenshot: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

Misunderstandings and repeated requests are among the hurdles that everyone who uses Siri — or any digital assistant, for that matter — have to deal with to run things with their voice, but some groups have it even harder than others.

If I want to make the smartbulb in my bedroom lamp turn white, for example, Siri always interprets “Make the Bedroom white” as “Make the Bedroom light,” and I can’t even imagine why I would be saying that. I can say, “Make the Bedroom green” or any other color, and it will work. But in order to get that direct-sunlight jam happening, I have to be more specific, like, “Make the bedroom light white.” And that’s not the worst problem to have with miraculous future-tech, but it is kind of hard to say.

But it could be worse; I could belong to one of the groups that have difficulty having even the most basic of interactions with Siri. And their problems don’t stem the program’s occasional deafness but rather its inherent incompatibility with how they speak.

We’re talking about Texans, y’all.