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Major U.S. banks aim at killing ATM cards

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
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.

Skip the calculator and use iOS Spotlight for all your math needs

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Put a spotlight on your math facts.
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.

Here’s how to use it.

Get easy Valentine’s Day cash

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The Apple Watch turns a wearer's heartbeat into something very vivid and visual.
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!

Sharing your Snapchat username just got snappier

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The previous record wasn't even half that amount.
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.

Super-fast charger promises power in 5 minutes

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ASAP Dash
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..

Apple buys education software startup LearnSprout

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Cupertino buys the education tech company LearnSprout.
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.

How to delete multiple contacts and manage groups on iPhone and iPad

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iOS isn't great at managing contacts by default, but as always, there's an app for that.
iOS isn't great at managing contacts by default, but as always, there's an app for that.
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnailInteract 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:

Aquarium app fills your Apple TV with A.I. fish

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aqua-apple-tv-aquarium-4
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.

iPhone 5se may have been finished and ready to ship for months

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The successor to the iPhone 5c is nearly here.
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.

Aluminum stand puts Apple monitors on fitting pedestal

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Satechi's aluminum monitor stand is a stylish fit to your Apple work station.
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.

Samsung obliterates Apple again in smartphone shipments

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iPhone with Samsung
They’re still running!
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Samsung will still be concerned about growth. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Samsung 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.

So many software services, so little time [Deals]

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These five software services will help you back up your data, secure your internet connection, stay productive, and lots more.
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.

Shocking! Apple recalls faulty AC wall adapters

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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.

Gadget helps GoPro users create jaw-dropping panoramas

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Panoramic pictures are a snap with the Pano5+1.
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.

Gorgeous, flexible lamp saves your eyesight with style

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Lumiere lamp by Retina Light
The Lumiére lamp is one of the coolest lights we've ever seen.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic when I say that the Lumiére lamp is the coolest one I’ve ever used. And I have a light on my nightstand that’s shaped like Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber, so you know it’s real.

The Lumiére wins out, however, due to its unique, clever design and flexibility. And I don’t just mean that the actual lamp bends and holds different shapes — which it does — but this is a single light that can do just about anything you need a light to do. It will fit in with any room in your house, and you might just end up taking it with you when you get up to do something. And that’ll be easy because it’s wireless and super portable.

It’s a really good device, is what I’m getting at.

Apple’s CFO says the company should pay ‘zero’ extra tax in Europe

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money
Apple's Chief Financial Officer thinks Apple doesn't owe the E.U. one extra cent.
Photo: Ste Smith

Despite the noise being made about big multinationals using loopholes to avoid paying tax, Apple’s Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri has made it clear how much he thinks Apple owes as part of the European Union’s ongoing investigation.

“My estimate is zero,” he told the Financial Times. “I mean, if there is a fair outcome of the investigation, it should be zero.”

Don’t spend it all at once, E.U.!

Angela Ahrendts spills the secret behind Apple’s success

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Angela Ahrendts' strategies are paying off in a big, bad way.
Photo: Apple

Apple Store retail guru Angela Ahrendts says that the secret behind Apple’s success is its culture, telling an interviewer that, “The company was built to change people’s lives.”

The dedication to keeping not just customers, but also employees, feeling like they’re part of a greater mission is paying off in a big way, too — with Ahrendts noting that last year Apple Stores had their highest employee retention rate in history, with 81 percent of people staying put.

iPad Air 3 may bring even sharper 4K display

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iPad Air 2
The iPad Air 3 could almost double the resolution of its predecessor.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The iPad Air 3 may boast a 4K display, as well as up to 4GB of RAM and improved battery life.

Given that the current iPad Air has a resolution of 2048 x 1536, a 4K display would come close to doubling its predecessor’s image quality.

Apple expected to ship 20 million Macs in 2016

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Apple iMac
The rest of the PC industry may be shrinking, but Apple thinks different.
Photo: Apple

The rest of the PC industry may be crashing, but Apple expects Mac sales to remain relatively stable in 2016 — with sources in the supply chain claiming that Mac-series product shipments are likely to remain around the 20 million unit mark this year.

iPad Pro can update accessories’ firmware via Smart Connector

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Logitech's Create case turns iPad Pro into workhorse.
Logitech's Create iPad Pro keyboard receives its first firmware update in a most unusual manner.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

A Twitter user has shared surprising details of the first firmware update for Logitech’s Create iPad Pro keyboard, which he was prompted to install after grabbing the iOS 9.3 beta 2 seed.

The Logitech update appears to fix a nagging keyboard lag experienced by some users, but that’s not even the coolest part: It looks like the iOS beta pushed the firmware update to the Logitech Create through the iPad Pro’s Smart Connector.

How to escape those awkward iMessage group convos

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So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

You know how it is — you get invited to a multi-person chat via iMessage with people you sort of know and it gets all kinds of awkward and annoying as the group blows up your iPhone with a ton of messages you really don’t want to pay attention to.

What’s a popular girl or guy like you to do? There are a couple of ways to get out of those iMessage group conversations so you can finally relax.

Apple might unveil Pencil-ready iPad Air 3 in March

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The iPad Air will reportedly be updated in March.
Photo: Apple

It appears we won’t have to wait much longer to see what the next-generation iPad Air will look like.

Apple plans to unveil the iPad Air 3 at a special event in March, according to a new report, which claims new Apple Watch hardware will also get some stage time during the keynote.

Best weather widgets for iPhone

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Four apps that make checking the weather on your iPhone quick and easy.
Four apps that make checking the weather on your iPhone quick and easy.
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnailI don’t like spending a lot of time inside weather apps. Instead, I’d rather just swipe down and view current and impending conditions within the Today view section of Notification Center.

That’s why, when looking at weather apps to try, one of my criteria is that whatever one I choose, it comes complete with widget support. Depending on what kind of weather data you need, these weather apps currently have the best weather widgets for iPhone.