Cult of Mac

The way we consume news is changing at a rapid pace, and both Apple and Twitter are trying to cater to readers’ need for speed and convenience.

iOS 9’s new Apple News app and the recently launched Twitter Moments both exist because millennials aren’t reading the newspaper every morning or watching news broadcasts in the evening. We get our news primarily from the Internet, often without having to click on articles or read hundreds of words for context.

Online media’s big push toward keeping news relevant and immediate caters to our ever-shrinking attention spans. For better or worse, we’ve gravitated toward bite-size information and entertaining listicles.

Twitter figured that out long ago. Apple still hasn’t.

The next stage of Apple Maps’ Transit roll-out is live today. The latest update includes public transportation in Boston and, more interestingly, select Amtrak train routes in the northeastern U.S.

OK, well it’s all pretty interesting. But, you know. Trains.

The iPhone 6s’ new Live Photos feature created a new media format, but there’s one major problem with the new moving pictures: You have to own an iPhone 6s to see them.

Most of your friends probably haven’t upgraded yet, which means those cool Live Photos you’ve snapped are only viewable by you. However, there is a way to transform your favorite Live Photo into a shareable GIF or video file, allowing everyone to see the movement in your picture, no matter what device they’re on.

Here’s how to do it:

Apple banned over 250 apps from the App Store that were using software to access users’ personal information. These apps managed to get through the App Store approval process with private APIs, which are against the rules. Apple took action shortly after news broke this morning that a security firm discovered these apps.

Apple doesn’t do a lot of explaining on the website about its watch bands. You get a gallery of styles with mentions of material and a price, all under the headline, “Thoughtfully Designed Bands.” Apparently, great thought goes into water exposure.

Avid Apple product deconstructor Greg Koenig recently put Apple’s quilted Venezia leather Loop band to a soak test for his blog, atomic delights. After four soaks, Koenig was impressed to find no visible damage.

Fingerprint scanners on Android devices have been hit-or-miss (mostly miss) in recent years, but they’re getting a whole lot better. There’s no better example of that than the new Nexus 5X, which is even faster at recognizing your print than the new Touch ID sensor in iPhone 6s.

Whether for presentations or driving your cat up the wall, laser pointers are as fun as they are useful. Given everything else an iPhone can do, it only makes sense that it also be able to shine a focused beam of light when and where you need one. The iPin Laser Pointer fits neatly inside your iPhone’s headphone jack, turning it into a red laser pointer. Batteries aren’t an issue, since the iPin sips power straight from the phone, and a built-in switch that means you can leave it in the jack when not in use. iPin also comes with a slideshow-controlling app, which together with the laser make this a great option for anyone who gives regular presentations.

The iPin Laser Pointer is a great upgrade for anyone, and right now you can get one for $42.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

El Capitan has a ton of neat new features, but no OS ever arrives completely error-free. This year’s OS X update is no different — leading some impatient online types to go so far as to label it “El Crapitan.”

Some of these problems have been solved. Others haven’t. But we’ve compiled a list of some of the most widespread complaints. Check out the hall of shame below.

Love Hultén has created a beautiful replica of the original 128k Macintosh made almost entirely out of American walnut. Known for his craftsmanship in building replicas and concepts of gaming consoles among other gadgets, Hultén has taken that love and applied it to one of Apple’s most beloved products to date. He calls it the Golden Apple.

Samsung is expected to follow Apple’s footsteps and build a pressure-sensitive display into next year’s Galaxy S7, according to recent reports — and now a new patent backs up those claims with proof that the South Korean company has been hard at work on a similar technology for over a year.

Older people are more likely to subscribe to Apple Music than their younger counterparts, claims a new survey by Jackdaw Research.

According to Jackdaw’s findings, 62 percent of survey respondents under the age of 35 have already canceled Apple’s streaming music service. However, an impressive 67 percent of respondents aged 35 and up have transitioned to paying subscribers after the three-month trial period.

Kyle Wiens thinks the iPad should be banned. It’s a “highly immoral” product, he says, because it can’t be opened and repaired when the battery dies. It’s a throwaway device, and he wants governments to prohibit it.

“It’s not designed to be long-lasting,” said Wiens, who is the co-founder and CEO of iFixit. “It’s like selling a car that has to be replaced when the tires wear out.”

Wiens is the Bernie Sanders of the electronics industry. He doesn’t just want reform — he wants revolution!

Here’s why.

A security firm claims to have discovered 256 apps that illicitly gather user email addresses, lists of installed apps, serial numbers and other identifying information.

Apple may be obsessed with user privacy, but these apps — which violate App Store policy and have been downloaded by an estimated 1 million people — somehow got by Cupertino’s gatekeepers.

Apple Bike, anyone? According to a new report, Apple’s continued recruitment of auto experts has resulted in the closure of an electric motorcycle startup.

Called Mission Motors, the company had drawn comparisons with Tesla — only to shut down back in May after Apple raided some of its top engineers.

At least two Mission employees joined Apple in 2012, while over the past year another dozen are reported to have started work with the company.

Steve Jobs screenwriter Aaron Sorkin says his “conscience is clear” over accusations that his movie doesn’t portray events as they actually happened.

People have been split over the Steve Jobs movie, with some (like Woz, John Sculley, and Andy Hertzfeld) saying it’s a great achievement, and others (Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Laurene Powell Jobs) arguing just the opposite — despite not necessarily having seen it.

Apple is continuing its Chinese Apple Store expansion by announcing the opening of its 21st Chinese retail store in the city of Dalian, China.

A port city known for its clean air, good food, and luxurious shopping, Dalian attracts visitors from China, Japan, and Korea. In other words, it’s the perfect location for a new Apple Store — which is why it’s no surprise that it will be among the biggest Apple brick-and-mortar retail outlets in the world.

How do weekends go by so quickly? It’s already halfway through the end-of-week break but — don’t worry — we’ve got the app hookup you need, whether you’re planning on a lazy game-playing Sunday, or a day of out-and-about photo-snapping action.

What have we picked as the best apps of the past seven days? Read on to find out.

A sure sign that solar energy is growing is in the small devices it’s showing up in. ZeroLemon’s SolarJuice 20,000 mAh Battery can power up anything that charges via a USB cable — iPhones, Android, and beyond — all with energy it soaks in from the great power outlet in the sky. This is a great way to ensure as long as you’re within reach of the sky, you’re always within reach of a charge, for just $49.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Best List: Nomad Apple Watch Strap

Let’s face it: The green plastic band I have for my Apple Watch Sport is useful and comfortable, but it’s not classy. I wear it to the gym with no reservations, but a night out on the town? Maybe if I were an adolescent.

When I strap Nomad’s new Italian leather replacement band to my wrist, however, I finally feel like a grownup. This is one beautiful Apple Watch strap.

It’s been nearly four years since Lytro started shipping their first pocket-sized light field camera. The technology has advanced since then, and the Lytro Illum represents its cutting edge. It still takes the stunning ‘living pictures’ of its predecessor — images based on the full light field that can be refocused and subtly repositioned after they’ve been shot — but right now you can get it for nearly half off the normal price, $699.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The pros and cons of Apple’s new 4K and 5K iMacs, plus, the new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2 — we’ve got our grubby hands on Apple’s new peripherals and we’re ready to share what we love (and what we don’t).

And stay tuned for CultCast 2nd Hour with guest Blake J. Harris, author of Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation, to be regaled with the story of the 90s video game war that pitted newcomer, Sega of America, against Nintendo, maker of Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, and the unstoppable force that was the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Around the world, Apple Watch is helping people make life-changing improvements to their health and fitness.

I recently asked Cult of Mac readers to share their experiences getting in shape with Apple Watch, and the response has been amazing. Here are some of the inspiring stories I received — and some great insights into how you can use an Apple Watch to smash your fitness goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison defeated Apple in its patent lawsuit today, after a U.S. jury ordered the iPhone maker to pay the university $234 million in damages for infringing on patented microchip technology in the iPhone and iPad.

Apple’s bill for the infringement is significantly less than the $862 million fine the company was originally facing. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) had high praise for the verdict, saying it was improtant to protect the school’s inventions.

Only found in the New York and San Francisco Apple retail stores, this new tactile table really shows off the new 3D Touch features of the just released iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

As you can see in the video below, Apple’s got its new iPhones displayed on a new table that replicates the ripples from the fish videos shown on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus devices on the table whenever customers push on the iPhones themselves.

It’s pretty slick – check it out.

A test to pit the two different iPhone 6s models against each other — one with a TSMC chip and the other with a Samsung chip — has officially debunked Chipgate. It turns out there are no discernible differences in battery life between the two.

Consumer Reports acquired an iPhone 6s with an A9 chip made from TSMC and another from Samsung. They made sure all settings were equal on both devices including the carrier, brightness settings, wireless connections, iOS version, running apps and more. Then they got to work.