Cult of Mac

Months of beta testing and waiting have finally culminated with today’s highly anticipated release of iOS 9, which brings users a smarter Siri, better multitasking on iPad, speedy UI improvements and all-around better performance.

Apple just made iOS 9 available to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. The new mobile OS, which promises to be significantly smaller than previous iOS upgrades, can be downloaded via an over-the-air update — but the smart move is probably to use iTunes. (After backing up all your data, naturally.)

We’re all going to be diving into the deep end with iOS 9. While many of the changes are subtle, there are a fair number of differences in both the visual style and the under-the-hood workings of Apple’s new mobile OS.

That means this a perfect time to take a deeper look at all the killer stuff you don’t want to miss. These iOS 9 tips will help you make the most of all the great new features.

Apple made two important changes to the way you install iOS 9 that will help out your storage space and probably your anxiety. If you’re like a lot of other people, you were pretty frustrated last year trying to install iOS 8. Your 16GB iPhone already has to store all your apps and photos, and it just seems downright greedy of Apple to ask you to install a software update that would take up even more space. This year’s update should be much smoother sailing.

Hackers have just given iPhone and iPad users a big reason to upgrade to iOS 9 due out later today: it fixes a serious AirDrop security vulnerability.

Mark Dowd, an Australian security researcher with Azimuth Security, revealed this morning that iOS 8.4.1 contains a critic security flaw in AirDrop that could allow an attacker to install malware on any device within range. Worst of all, even if a victim tried to reject the incoming AirDrop file, the bug lets attackers tweak the iOS settings so the exploit will still work.

Check out the lethal bug in action:

If you’ve been anxiously waiting to upgrade your Apple Watch to watchOS 2 today — well, sadly, you’re out of luck.

Despite announcing last week that watchOS 2 and iOS 9 would be released today, Apple has just dropped the bombshell that Apple Watch users won’t be upgrading their operating systems quite yet, thanks to the discovery of a critical bug.

When you back up your iPhone before upgrading to iOS 9, you have a couple of choices. You can use iCloud or iTunes.

For your best, most comprehensive backup, connect your iPhone (or iPad) to iTunes. Seriously, iTunes backs up almost everything — and it’s your best bet for downloading iOS 9 when the upgrade becomes available today.

Here’s how to do it.

AT&T is increasing its data cap to 22GB for customers who are still grandfathered into unlimited data plans. This is more than four times the 5GB cap previously offered to LTE subscribers, and more than seven times the 3GB cap offered to 3G subscribers.

Update: Apple has delayed deployment of watchOS 2, possibly for a day or more, after discovering a bug that’s taking longer to fix than expected.

Are you ready? It’s finally time to update your Apple Watch to watchOS 2. The software upgrade will let you run third-party apps right on the Watch without your iPhone, add nightstand mode and new watch faces (including your own photos), and much more.

If you’re ready to make it so, read on and get all these new features on your wrist today.

China seems to have a bit of a problem with certain members of the population trying to trade vital organs for Apple’s next-gen iPhone 6s.

Responding to this, a local sperm bank at Renji Hospital in Shanghai is offering donors the cash to buy Apple’s new handset in exchange for a sperm sample.

“No need to sell your kidneys – you can easily have a 6s,” the hospital writes in an online posting.

That’s advice worth living by!

For years, Pop Chart Lab’s Insanely Great History of Apple has been one of our go-to Christmas recommendations for the Mac fan in your life. Now those devious bastards have updated it with all of Apple’s latest and greatest products, right before the holiday.

iOS 9 won’t shock you with a bunch of whiz-bang new features or a drastic new look, but in many ways, Apple’s latest mobile operating system is more important than its two immediate predecessors. While iOS 7 and iOS 8 laid a foundation that embraced the future of mobile design, iOS 9 is making all those changes worth a damn.

Apple drops iOS 9 today, bringing a more intelligent UI, better built-in apps, a smarter Siri and much more. Our iOS 9 review shows how the new software makes everything you do on your iPhone or iPad easier — and far faster — than ever before.

Just a few days after they were offered the opportunity to buy a unit early, at least one developer has already received a new Apple TV dev kit in the mail.

Time’s a crazy thing: it’s different everywhere! So if you’re wondering when iOS 9 will drop tomorrow, well, it’ll probably be different from us depending on where you are.

Thankfully, just by consulting this chart, you can know exactly when you should start tapping the update button according to where you are in the world.

Behold! The iOS 9 Worldwide Release Time Chart!

Talk about finding a unique way to recycle your Apple packaging!

A newly-expecting mother recently broke the news about her pregnancy to the father by hiding the positive pregnancy test in an Apple Watch — prompting a spontaneous heart-warming reaction.

Seriously, the guy couldn’t have been any more chuffed if he had just been handed a $17,000 Apple Watch Edition.

Either that or he’s wondering where the Apple Watch itself went.

Indian Prime Minister and noted iPhone user Narendra Modi has requested to meet Tim Cook during his upcoming visit to the U.S. — reportedly to discuss the possibility of Apple investing in R&D and manufacturing in his country.

Modi arrives in New York on September 24 and 25, before heading to the West Coast on September 26 and 27.

Like everything else Apple does, its top-notch Apple University internal business training center doesn’t exactly scrimp when it comes to paying its employees.

According to a new report, Apple University faculty member James Phills — formerly a professor at Stanford University and Yale School of Management — makes upwards of $1.7 million per year teaching business skills to Apple employees.

Nice work if you can get it, right?

iOS 8 is about to join the big tech scrapyard in the sky, but before it’s replaced by iOS 9, Apple has posted one last set of adoption figure — showing that a whopping 87 percent of eligible users upgraded to Apple’s last-generation mobile OS.

The last universal remote we bought cost $20 from Walgreens. It was a big, ugly hunk of plastic, but it controlled the TV and VCR just fine.

These days, things have gotten a little more complicated. Now we have an HDTV, three set-top boxes, two game consoles and Sonos, as well a Nest thermostat and a bunch of Bluetooth-connected lightbulbs.

Logitech’s new Harmony Elite is a universal remote that controls all these devices and more. It’s price is listed at an eye-popping $350, but this is much more than a TV remote. It’s a smarthome hub for just about every connected device in your house, designed to give HomeKit and Siri a run for their money.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has probably never had to fend off a fondue fork aimed at his neck on live television. But he did so with a laugh Monday night while a guest of the CBS Late Show with new host Stephen Colbert.

Colbert was marveling at a new rose gold iPhone 6s when he thought to ask Cook, “Did you change the charging cable on this because if you did I will stab you in the neck with a fondue fork right now.”

Stephen Colbert’s Late Show is hosting Apple head Tim Cook in tonight’s episode, and it’s a pretty big opportunity to have the ear of one of the most powerful business leaders in the country. We’re sure that Colbert already has a list of questions he and his staff have prepared for Cook, but here are some we hope to see when the show airs later.

They’re not all good questions, mind you, but we’d still love to see them.

The new iPad mini 4, just announced last week, is good but probably not as good as it should be. In recent benchmark tests, it performs only slightly better than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus of 2014. It’s still nowhere near as fast as the current-generation iPad Air 2 and it’s only a tad faster than the iPad mini 2, which Apple is still selling for $269. Believe it or not, you’re still probably better off getting the two-year-old iPad mini instead.

The days of having a junk drawer full of stock iOS apps might finally be coming to an end.

On the way to a surprise appearance at the Fifth Ave Apple Store, BuzzFeed spent 20 minutes with Tim Cook, who revealed some iOS apps will come with a delete option soon. The Apple CEO also talked about the future of computing, 3D Touch, “Hey Siri” privacy concerns and more. Here are the most interesting tidbits from Cook’s drive-by interview:

Get ready to give your friend’s barrage of baby pics a big thumbs down on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg announced today in a townhall meeting that the social network is finally planning to bring a ‘dislike’ button Facebook.

Facebook users have been clamoring for a dislike or down vote button since the birth of the like button, and Zuckerberg says the company is nearly ready to give us one.

Since your Apple Watch must be tethered to your iPhone, they might as well match.

So Swiss designer Samuel Zeller has used his personal photography to make wallpaper to match both watch and phone, and it is available Wednesday with the launch of Apple Watch OS 2.

Whether you’re getting a new iPhone 6s or not, you’re going to want to upgrade to iOS 9 to take advantage of everything Apple’s new mobile operating system has to offer.

iOS 9 is ready to revolutionize your mobile life, but there are a few things you should do before making the leap. Here’s how to get your iPhone (or iPad) ready for its iOS 9 upgrade — the right way.