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Toasty touchscreen gloves keep you warm and fully connected

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Baby it's cold outside; use these gloves.
Baby it's cold outside; use these gloves.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Best List: Double Layered Knit Touchscreen Gloves by Mujjo

It’s almost winter, and if you reside in an area with a climate like mine, you know you’ll be carrying gloves with you no matter where you go. When you live someplace like Anchorage, Alaska, even a quick trip outside to the trash bin requires that you cover up.

And yet, we live in a touchscreen world. I have my iPhone with me all the time, and I use it to stay connected to my kids and family members as I move around the winter wonderland. Pulling off a glove every time I want to play a song or answer a text is time-consuming and sometimes dangerous.

If that’s something you worry about, Mujjo’s got you covered, quite literally, with these new double-layered touchscreen gloves.

New iPhone app helps you form your dream band

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The app made by a musician for musicians may just help get you discovered.
The app made by a musician for musicians may just help get you discovered.
Photo: Encore Music/iTunes

Alex Gorokhovskiy is like a lot of musicians – broke and in search of compatible bandmates. But instead of investing in recording demos or outfitting his own group, he’s spending on everyone else who has ever wanted to play music and be in a band.

Gorokhovskiy created the social media app Encore Music, which is a kind of place for musicians to gather. But to call it a social media platform, understates the potential business value of the app.

The Cult of Mac gift list, optimized for maximum cool at minimum cost [Deals]

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Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

‘Tis the season to freak out over what to get for the tech savvy folks in our lives. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the vast variety of gadgets and gear on offer these days, especially if you’re on a budget, which is why we’ve put together this list of five deals on some of the coolest gifts out there. From USB-powered guitars to VR headsets and upgraded SNES controllers, pick up one or grab the whole list — there’s something here for everyone.

Samsung on the up again as iPhone’s share falls in key markets

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Apple and Samsung return to court
Apple and Samsung are battling it out again.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Is Samsung back? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Is Samsung back? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Samsung saw its market share grow last quarter for the first time in 2015, as Android continues to dominate the market worldwide. Google’s platform also saw growth throughout Europe’s “big five” markets, while Apple’s fell for the first time in over a year.

Apple reveals its ‘best of 2015’ picks for iTunes and App Store

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IMG_2959
What did Apple pick this year?
Photo: Apple

2015 is almost over, and Apple has released its list of its favorite apps, games, and pop culture artefacts which landed in the App Store and on iTunes over the past twelve months.

Alongside expected categories like best iPhone and iPad app, the list also includes newer categories including best apps for iPad Pro, watchOS and tvOS — and even a few (slightly suspect) picks for best movie, album and the like.

Apple now sells Lightning headphones that are super-expensive

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Screen Shot 2015-12-09 at 14.03.01
The Audeze EL-8 Titanium headphones are great quality. But they'll cost ya!
Photo: Apple

For a company which keeps its future plans on the down-low, Apple sure is serious about getting us to believe the rumors that it’s ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack for future generations of iPhone.

At least, that’s going by the fact that Apple has just started selling $800 Audeze EL-8 Titanium headphones — at both its online Apple Store and select brick-and-mortar retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada.

5 Apple accessories every bit as crappy as the iPhone battery case

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Smart case
Help! My iPhone 6s has eaten my iPhone 4.
Photo: Apple

The consensus view of Apple’s newly launched hunchback iPhone battery case is that it should ideally be hidden from human view, spending its life in isolation ringing bells in Notre Dame.

Immediately upon release, the Internet filled with loud, angry protesters saying this kind of thing would never have happened in Steve Jobs’ day (and accusing Jony Ive of snoozing on the job). While I’m definitely no fan of Apple’s $99 Smart Battery Case, this isn’t the first time the company has released a less-than-stellar piece of design work amidst its usually gorgeous offerings.

Check out the list below for five of the worst pieces of design to come out of Cupertino since … well, yesterday, actually.

Apple’s plan to deliver live TV service is ‘on hold’

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tvOS just got another new update.
Apple TV won't quite be living up to its true potential just yet.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has reportedly suspended plans to add an Internet-based live television service for Apple TV, maintaining its focus on providing media from other companies.

A person familiar with negotiations claims that Apple’s plan to sell a $30-$40 monthly package of exclusive television stations has run into problems — based on the amount of money content creators are asking for for programming.

Steve Jobs team won’t let bad box office kill Oscar campaign

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Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs movie is coming to Netflix
Universal is chasing an award for their efforts.
Photo: François Duhamel/©2015 Universal Studios

Steve Jobs may have flopped at the box office, but the team responsible for it are still confident that they can make up for the dismal lack of earnings with an Oscar.

According to a new report, Aaron Sorkin, Jeff Daniels (who plays John Sculley) and director Danny Boyle recently attended an “intimate brunch and Q&A” with a roomful of Academy voters at the St. Regis hotel.

Apple TV ad shows just how big the small screen has become

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The future of television is Apple TV.
The future of television is Apple TV.
Photo: Apple

Apple is pushing its new iteration of Apple TV hard, hoping to move it beyond a “hobby” into a must-have set top box for every living room and television set possible.

Apple’s new ad, “The Future of Television,” is a visual collage of just about everything you can do with the Apple TV, including watching television shows and movies, playing games, and listening to music.

Check it out.

Insane drone video shows one way to cook a turkey (maybe)

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Turkey drone video
"They're doing what, now?"
Photo: Dorinel Nedelcu/Pixabay

A new drone video is setting the Internet — and a turkey, and maybe even a forest — on fire.

It features an extreme version of cooking that might result in a perfectly roasted holiday bird. Or it might just be a charred mess. We’re guessing on the latter, but it’s somehow fascinating to behold.

Check out the latest weapon in the war on poultry below.

Grammar haters score a win in text-messaging study

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Text messages punctuation
You aren't helping, Lindsay.
Screenshot: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

I try to maintain grammatical integrity no matter what I’m typing. But a new study suggests that people may not appreciate that while text messaging, and it’s not just because they think I’m showing off how much gooder I can word.

The researchers concluded that texts that end in proper and correct periods come off as insincere.

$2,000 Phantom speakers will soon haunt Apple Store shelves

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From the Apple house to your own.
From the Apple house to your own.
Photo: Romain Salzman/Devialet

Devialet’s Phantom speaker is a ultra deluxe bit of audio gear, and Apple’s about to favor it with some serious retail real estate as the Cupertino-based company places the company from France’s product front and center in select Apple Stores.

If you head to one of them, you’ll see the Phantom starting Wednesday, December 9.

The wireless Phantom has a crazy 3000 watts of distortion-free sound, claims its maker, and starts at a cool $1,990, which makes it a perfect match for Apple’s retail stores, which aim to showcase high-quality items that are worth their high-end price.

Bob Ross tribute shows the joy of painting on iPad Pro

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iPad Pro painting
Welcome to the world of happy little digital trees.
Photo: iPhonedo (via YouTube)

A tribute to late public-television legend Bob Ross shows you the joy of painting on the iPad Pro, and it’s not so much about happy little trees as it is really thinking about those bushes.

YouTube user iPhonedo, who may want to rethink his wig choices, gives a Rossian demonstration of basic techniques using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to create beautiful landscapes. It’s about planning layers, thinking about light, and bushes. We can’t impress upon you enough how important bushes are. Bushes are so important that the video gets kinda weird.

Check it out below.

These hand-crafted T-shirts are for Apple geeks who like super-soft cotton

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Limited handmade A-Shirts from Peru.
Limited handmade A-Shirts from Peru.
Photo: A-Shirt

Cyril Pavillard has a resume that reads like most tech entrepreneurs. Start a company, enjoy success, sell for profit, repeat.

So what is he doing in the Apple T-shirt business? One, he wants to appeal to Apple fans all over the world with his line of A-Shirts bearing designs that pay homage to great Cupertino products and geniuses. Pavillard, himself, is completely gaga over Apple.

The second reason is more altruistic.

Hate Apple’s new iPhone battery case? Don’t buy it

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Ugh.
Apple's new iPhone case isn't pretty, but no one's forcing you to buy one.
Photo: Apple

Yes, Apple launched a new battery case for iPhone 6s today, and yes, it’s butt-ugly.

All battery cases are, but because this one has an Apple logo on it, the Internet is getting all bent out of shape over just how ugly it is. There’s one thing nobody is mentioning, though: You don’t have to buy one if you don’t like it — and no one really cares what you think.

None more black: LG’s OLED displays show that nothing is really something

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Black colors and contrast: A regular LCD TV versus an LG OLED TV.
Black colors and contrast: A regular LCD TV versus an LG OLED TV.
Photo: LG Electronics

This post is brought to you by LG Electronics.

When it comes to TVs, more is the new black. As the visual fidelity of film and television gets ever more refined, the visual subtleties and dynamics can be lost by TVs that aren’t able to produce a true black tone. It’s a benchmark of a monitor’s quality along with contrast ratio, and no TV can produce a more complete black than LG’s latest generation of OLED monitors.

Apple TV’s first big update adds Siri search for Apple Music

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tvOS just got another new update.
tvOS just got another new update.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The latest iteration of Apple TV’s operating system, tvOS 9.1, is out of beta and ready for the big screen.

The new update includes support for searching Apple Music with your voice, via the fantastic Siri Remote, so you no longer have to type in long artist names with the weird keyboard line that Apple offers you.