Mobile menu toggle

Now you can carry a wall outlet in your pocket [Deals]

By

The ChargeTech Portable Power Outlet means you'll never be without an outlet for your laptop, phone or tablet.
The ChargeTech Portable Power Outlet means you'll never be without an outlet for your laptop, phone or tablet.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’ve ever tried to charge your laptop at the airport, you know that wall outlets are in demand like never before. ChargeTech’s portable power outlet means you’ll never be far from an outlet even if they’re all taken up or there’s not a wall around. It’s a game changer for anyone who needs a charge when they travel or go about their day, and you can get one now for only $139.99.

Best Black Friday TV ads (so far): Massive price drop on a 70-incher

By

Big screen TVs coming your way this Black Friday!
Big screen TVs coming your way this Black Friday!
Photo: DealNews

Many, many more Black Friday ads have come out since our last roundup, so we’re back with a new batch of top TV picks for 2015. Walmart and Target are currently leading the pack with screens both big and small, but who will ultimately take the top spot? Be sure to bookmark this page; you never know when a new ad will knock one of these off the list!

How to undo accidental time skips on Siri Remote

By

Siri Remote menu button
Apple would have called it the "Fix all of your mistakes" button, but "Menu" was easier to print.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

The new Apple TV’s Siri Remote is great, except for all of those times that it isn’t.

We’ve run afoul of the remote’s touchpad a few times; it’s fine for navigating (and less fine for entering passwords), but sometimes it does its job too well. For example, we can’t even count the number of times we’ve been watching a movie and accidentally nudged the pad, sending our show scrubbing all willy-nilly into the past or future.

It’s pretty annoying, but luckily, Apple thought so, too, so it gave us a couple ways to fix that mistake when it happens. The company could have just disabled the touchpad while things were playing, but we’re not engineers.

These two fixes are the next best options.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Quirky product reviews + Mac and iOS Pro Tips + Black Friday

By

CoM

It’s one week away from Black Friday, and in addition to our killer live blog with up-to-the-minute deals, we’ve got a new magazine with all sorts of quirky products that our loving reviewers have taken the time to get to know.

We’ve got a funky clip-on lampshade for your iPhone, a Pro Tip to max out your iPhone battery, a conceptual piece on how Apple could fix the next version of its wristband, a secret messaging app that pulls in 1 million downloads every day, and (of course) our weekly gabfest about all things Apple, The Cultcast.

Here’s the rundown of what we’ve got for you in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine.

Review: Sonos Play:5 speaker is a rumbling, room-shaking rabble-rouser

By

The new Play:5 speaker is a great update to Sonos' top-of-the-line box.
The new Play:5 speaker is a great update to Sonos' top-of-the-line box.
Photo: Traci Dauphin/Cult of Mac

The flagship speaker from Sonos has been revamped, redesigned and relaunched. The result is awesome.

The new Play:5 is a big, beefy speaker that sounds absolutely wonderful. It’s available in stores today, and although it’s not cheap, I’d recommend you go out and get one. Or two. Stereo is even better.

Is there a class divide between iPhone and Android?

By

fnf_1024
The war wages on!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The war between iPhone and Android will wage on for years to come, but in this week’s Friday Night Fight, we’re not going to be bickering about which is best. At least not in terms of design, features, flexibility — and the other things normally discussed during a platform war.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2Instead, we’re battling it out over the supposed class divide — the notion that the wealthy only buy iPhones, and the poor only buy Android because they can’t afford that Apple logo. It’s going to be a fun one!

So, join us below for one of our hottest Friday Night Fights yet, and be sure to weigh in at the end!

The secret messaging app getting millions of downloads

By

SOMA Messenger is gaining popularity around the world for free and secure communication.
SOMA Messenger is gaining popularity around the world for free and secure communication.
Photo: Instanza Inc.

Harvard classmates Lei Guo and Oliver Hayen created what could have been just another messaging app. They knew they had something unique, as every app development team claims, so they put it in the hands of 2,000 people and hit launch.

Within 30 days, their app SOMA Messenger had 10 million users and has been growing since. They’d love to brag about who is using it, except they can’t because of security measures built into the app that prevents even them from knowing SOMA’s users.

These comprehensive coding lessons are priced to move [Deals]

By

Become a master of a wide range of coding techniques and languages with this massively discounted lesson bundle.
Become a master of a wide range of coding techniques and languages with this massively discounted lesson bundle.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

This doorbuster of a deal will give you a wide range of essential coding knowledge that can pay for itself by pumping up your resume. With 8 Courses and over 74 hours of training, you can gain the major coding languages and skills that you’ve been waiting to learn. This body of knowledge normally runs for over $1,000, but right now you can get the whole shebang for $59.

Use the coupon code ‘DOORBUSTER’ at checkout to save an extra 15%.

Slowing handset sales triggers Samsung firing spree

By

slowing-handset-sales-triggers-samsung-firing-spree-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201506apple-samsung-iphone-galaxy-patent-war1-jpg
When it comes to profits Apple's definitely on top right now.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr CC
apple-samsung-iphone-galaxy-patent-war
Apple’s definitely on top right now. Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr CC

You know the way that Apple’s heroically struggling to build a new “spaceship” HQ capable of housing its army of brilliant worker ants who design the iPhone? Well, Samsung has an easier solution for its phone division: just fire a load of people.

New statistics published courtesy of Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service underline the degree to which Samsung’s smartphone business is struggling — with 5,000 employees booted out of the door over the past year, while 30 percent of execs are expected to follow them in the next month.

iFixIt: This Android phone beats the iPhone when it comes to repairability

By

fairphone-teardown-1

Apple’s computers and devices may be at the top of the review charts, but one way in which they almost never do very well is in iFixit’s repairability ratings. With hard-to-crack cases held together by copious amounts of solder and glue, it’s practically impossible to repair your own iPhone, iPad, or Mac by yourself. Apple routinely gets ranks of 1, 2, or 3 on iFixit’s “Out of 10” repairability scale.

But smartphones don’t need to be unrepairable. iFixIt just gave a smartphone a perfect 10 on its repairability scale. And surprise! It’s an Android device.

Apple forces you to buy only approved Apple Watch wireless chargers

By

Screen Shot 2015-11-18 at 14.09.19
Want to do this? It'll cost you.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s official charging pad may be a not-too-cheap $79, but if you want to wirelessly charge your smartwatch, Apple’s not leaving you a whole lot of options.

That’s because, despite the wide range of Qi chargers around, Apple has made it so that its watch will only work with a select few which have received the Cupertino stamp of approval.

Apple’s spaceship campus is big enough to hold Disneyland

By

635725762176383328-DL-H-02
Well, they're both working to build Tomorrowland.
Photo: Disney

Boasting a 100,000-square-foot fitness center, 11,000 parking spaces, 2,000 bike parking spaces, 2.8 million square feet of office space, and a 100,000-square-foot lab thrown in for good measure, Apple’s “spaceship” Campus 2 is pretty darned massive.

Struggling to wrap your head around that? Then consider that it’s big enough to house pretty much the entirety of Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. And we’ve got the (mocked-up) photos to prove it.

Jimmy Iovine apologizes for sexist comments about Apple Music

By

Apple's Eddy Cue and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine sit in Walt Mossberg's famous red chairs to dish on Apple's Beats acquisition.
Jimmy Iovine is in damage control mode.
Photo: Pete Mall/Re/code

Like an over-the-air update to fix a faulty piece of software, Apple sprang into action following Jimmy Iovine’s Thursday interview with CBS This Morning — with Iovine apologizing for his sexist comments about women’s inability to find music because… you know, women.

“I could have chosen my words better,” the Apple Music boss, Beats guru and Interscope Records co-founder said in a statement.

Jimmy Iovine explains Apple Music ads in worst way possible

By

Iovine
Jimmy Iovine’s days at Apple are numbered.
Photo: Apple

Apple Music head Jimmy Iovine has won today’s “Yes, they really said that” award after an appearance on CBS This Morning.

Iovine was there talking up the latest ad for Apple Music, which features singer Mary J. Blige, actress Kerry Washington, and singer/actress Taraji P. Henson just kinda hanging out with knives and salsa dancing. This one follows the also-great original spot from September, but Iovine didn’t necessarily explain the origin of the woman-centric campaign (Selma director Ava DuVernay helmed both of them) as well as he could have.

Explore the galaxy, gather supplies, and don’t die in gorgeous new mobile game

By

Last Horizon 01
Earth ain't the kind of place to raise your kids in Last Horizon.
Photo: Pixeljam

Last Horizon, which is out now for Mac, iOS (reviewed version), PC, and Android is a beautifully simple game: You leave your obliterated planet in a single rocket, heading out for a new home and gathering supplies along the way. It has two controls: turning and firing your thrusters. But it’s a lot more than that.

From that simple framework and its colorful, minimalist art style, a story emerges of hope, exploration, danger, fear, doubt, and, ultimately, triumph.

But it’s outer space, so you have to make sure that the thousands of things that will kill you don’t.

Budget-friendly smartbulb wants everyone to have cool lights

By

Qube Smartbulb
The Qube Smartbulb is taking on more expensive lighting like Philips Hue.
Photo: Qube

I love my Philips Hue smart-lighting kit, but every time I’ve just randomly turned my living-room lights different colors in front of another person, they’ve asked the same question:

“How much did you pay for this?”

And then I just kind of mumble something because while the system has added convenience and versatility to my apartment, I’m still not super comfortable admitting that I plan on paying $60 for a light bulb. Instead, I just say, “It was for work,” and leave it.

But Qube, a new smart-lighting system that launches in April, wants to avoid that kind of awkwardness with bulbs that cost way less than its competitors but offer just as many opportunities for just the weirdest ambience you can design.

Transform your regular desk into a healthier standing one with this sturdy add-on

By

Testing in a the real world is always best.
Testing in a the real world is always best.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Best List: Sit-Stand Desktop Workstation by Ergotron

I’ve got a love/hate relationship with standing desks. While I love the health benefits of standing, I seriously cannot stand at my desk all day every day. It needs to be easily adjustable.

Also, not all of us have the space for yet another desk in our homes or offices. Most of us have a regular, plain old desk. If you’re looking for a standing solution – you can convert that plain desk super easily with this Sit-Stand Desktop Workstation. It’s a heavy-duty, solid piece of work, and it sits right on top your regular desk. There’s room to strap on a monitor or two, or even just place your Macbook on top with an external keyboard and mouse below.

This Amazon Hack Will Make Online Shopping So Much Easier

By

Amazon

Photo: Torley/Flickr CC

Let’s face it: Online shopping is amazing. Given the choice of shopping from home while relaxing in their PJs or fighting crowds and dodging overbearing salespeople, we bet most people will choose to shop online.

But shopping online has some drawbacks as well. Mainly, those drawbacks come in the form of having to sift through multiple colors and sizes of clothes and shoes to find the perfect piece at the perfect price. When prices vary depending on the size and color combination that you select, it can be difficult to assess an item at a glance.

Goodbye! Adele’s new album won’t debut on Apple Music after all

By

Adele won't say
Adele won't say "Hello" to Apple Music.

Spotify and Apple Music subscribers won’t be able to stream Adele’s highly anticipated album “25” when it is publicly released tomorrow.

The album is sure to be one of the biggest sellers of the year, but according to a report from the New York Times, Adele’s people have informed companies that “25” will not be made available for streaming.

Got the sniffles? Uber is delivering flu-shots on demand

By

House calls are making a comeback.
House calls are making a comeback.
Photo: Uber

Winter is here, which also means flu season is getting ready to knock you out. Finding time to get immunized may not be on the top of your To Do List, but Uber is making it ridiculously easy to get your flu shot with it’s new UberHealth option that will bring a registered nurse to your front door.

The special promotion is only in effect today from 11AM – 3PM, with over 35 cities participating. Uber will deliver wellness packs for $10, and give users the option to request a free Fluzone vaccine for you and nine other people.

Here’s how it works:

You won’t have to remove your iPhone case to use these lenses

By

The Iris lens series uses a mount that does not require you to remove your smartphone case.
The Iris lens series uses a mount that does not require you to remove your smartphone case.
Photo: Photojojo

Lens attachments for your iPhone can bring a fresh point of view to your photos but there are drawbacks. Some force you to remove the phone’s protective case to properly fit the lens. Others require a sticky mounting plate.

The mount for the Iris lenses by Photojojo looks like a little girl’s ponytail holder with a silicon housing holding one of three pop-in lenses that is attached to an elastic cord stretching and securing snuggly to diagonal corners of your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy.