While millions of iPhone users have eagerly upgraded to iOS 9, a new race is on among researchers to find critical flaws in Apple’s software, and they’re throwing around more cash than ever to get hackers to find the holes.

A new security industry firm called Zerodium announced today that it will pay hackers $1 million for a single exploit that allows attackers to break into an iPhone or iPad running iOS 9. The company says its even willing to pay the bounty multiple times, as long as the exploits break through iOS 9’s security flaws a certain way.

Apple’s first major update for the Apple Watch arrived fashionably late today after being pulled last week due to a critical bug.

A mysterious new emoji has been added by Apple to iOS 9.1 and OS X El Capitan, but unlike the other emoji supported by Apple, this weird new pictogram wasn’t created by the Unicode Authority, and no one knows why it exists.

Apple plans to give emoji the middle finger when iOS 9.1 drops later this year, but it looks like the iPhone-maker has developed its own emoji called “eye in speech bubble,” and no one has any idea what it means.

Check it out:

A terabyte is a huge chunk of digital real estate, likely enough to keep your whole computer backed up for years. Mechanical hard drives don’t always last for years though, which is why adding a cloud-based backup is key to keeping your digital stuff safe. Right now’s a good time to do it — SkyHub is offering lifetime access to 1TB of cloud storage for just $49.99.

According to a rumor that’s sketchier than a rapid drawing done with an Apple Pencil, Apple is “serious” about equipping its 2018-era iPhones with OLED-based curved screens.

The South Korean news reports suggests that major Korean display-makers are currently showing off the cutting-edge displays to execs at Apple, and has found Apple to be enthusiastic about the prospect.

iOS 9 has only been out since last Wednesday, but already it’s smashing records — being named the fastest case of iOS adoption in history, with more than 50 percent of devices already using iOS 9.

Through the creation of its Find my iPhone feature, Apple has made it much easier to recover handsets when we misplace them.

However, one amusing iPhone owner decided to go one step further to ensure that he would be reunited with his iPhone should it stray from his hands during a night of drunken merriment — adding an hilarious iPhone lock screen message.

Just days after being told to stop ripping off Apple’s designs, Samsung is reportedly getting ready to “borrow” another of Cupertino’s ideas — this time with a program for leasing its Galaxy handsets to U.S. customers, much like Apple announced two weeks back with its iPhone Upgrade Program.

Apple debuted a new star-studded ad for Apple Music during last night’s 2015 Emmy Awards, featuring singer Mary J. Blige, Scandal actress Kerry Washington, and Hustle & Flow actress Taraji P. Henson.

The ad focuses on the curated playlists of Apple Music, which is a feature Apple has been focusing on to differentiate itself from rival music services.

You can check it out below:

Apple is removing hundreds of apps from the App Store after discovering that they contain a malicious program called XcodeGhost.

In the entire lifespan of the App Store, Apple has only previously found five malicious apps — making this easily the single biggest security lapse in App Store history.

Whether you’re a designer, animator, or any other kind of creative, your work requires skill, taste and, just as importantly, tools. Whether you’re making 3D architectural schematics, designing signage, or crafting a post-Internet seapunk masterpiece in MS Paint, we’ve assembled some of the best gear and lessons to empower your work at some of the lowest prices you’ll see. Check them out now, these deals will only be around for another day or two.

Summer’s slipping away and so are these deals on essential tech, toys, and lessons. From mini drones to universal charging stations to photography lessons, there’s something here for anyone and any budget. But with just a few days left, the time to act is now.

This week: we review the new and notable features of iOS 9, and some lesser-known features you should definitely be using. Plus: why you probably should’ve gotten the 128GB iPhone; a legit way to save 20% off your next Apple purchase; and what we love and don’t about iCloud storage.

And, we all love the sweeping musical scores that define our favorite movies and videos games, but have you ever wondered who creates them? Composer Gareth Coker, creator of the Ori and the Blind Forest score, joins us to talk about the process of creating a cinematic score from scratch, how music and technology are more intertwined than ever, and what it’s like to work as a modern day video game and movie composer.

Apple Watch has been on our wrists for just five months and yet it is already having an amazing impact on many people’s lives.

We want to find out how Cult of Mac readers are using Cupertino’s fitness tech to get in shape, so we’re inviting everyone to share their inspiring stories. Plus, we’ve set up a new Cult of Mac club on Strava so you can connect with other readers who are into fitness.

A new, slightly hidden feature in iOS 9 hopes to help keep your connection as strong as possible.

Apple’s latest version of its mobile firmware contains a lot of obvious changes (Passbook is now called Wallet, for example), but a lot of the biggest and best changes are buried away just waiting for you to discover them. One of these hidden gems is the Wi-Fi Assist feature, which might just solve one of the most annoying issues we saw in earlier versions of the operating system.

Here’s what it is and how it can help you.

A teen sought medical attention after his Apple Watch heart monitor gave him persistently high readings, and that decision saved him from an untimely death.

Paul Houle, a 17-year-old football player, bought Apple’s wearable a few days before he started pre-season training at Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass. After two practices in one day, he noticed that his heart rate was sitting around 145 beats per minute, even hours after he’d stopped exercising.

He wouldn’t know until later, but he was experiencing a potentially life-threatening condition.

Apple is still preparing shipments for next week’s public launch of the iPhone 6s, but the folks at Vogue managed to get an early unit to test out the phone’s new picture taking skills at New York Fashion Week.

The new 12 MP camera sensor does not disappoint, according to Kevin Lu who became the first photographer to snap pictures with the new phone. 

Here’s what Lu had to say about the new camera after hitting the runways with it:

I can’t stand the new lowercase keyboard in iOS 9. It’s a fairly useless change to begin with, as it doesn’t make anything easier.

Sure, it shows whether you’ve pressed the Shift key or not, but the new Shift key is also improved, making the lower-case option aesthetic rather than functional.

So, if you’re like me, here’s how to put that keyboard back to the way it “should” be.

Some users trying to upgrade to iOS 9 this week have run into a serious problem: After the download happens, they find themselves stuck on the “Slide to Upgrade” screen upon restart. This bug renders their iPhones unusable, which is about the least useful state for an iPhone to be in.

But Apple has noticed, and it’s offering a fix. Here’s what you do to fix the annoying Slide to Upgrade bug.

We’re excited about all the cool new “whiz-bang” features in iOS 9 as well as the hundreds of tiny little improvements that will make your iPhone and iPad much better to use.

This week, we’re sharing that joy with you as we take a deep dive into iOS 9’s killer new features, how to upgrade the right way, an abundance of tiny tricks you need to know, and some of the best apps already rocking iOS 9.

Take a look at Cult of Mac Magazine to fill your head with all this great content.

iOS 9 has been out for two days, and it’s already running on more than 20 percent of compatible devices, according to the latest data. In comparison, Google’s latest Android release, version 5.1 Lollipop, is running on just 5.1 percent of devices ten months after it made its public debut.

These figures highlight the staggering difference between updates on Android and iOS. But is it fair to compare adoption figures between these two platforms, and do users really care?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over this very topic!

Developer Marco Arment pulled his iOS 9 content blocker from the App Store two days after launching it. He says it “just doesn’t feel good” to be profiting from his app Peace while taking money away from advertisers and publishers. He’s even offering refunds to anyone who already bought Peace expecting updates and support down the line, which they now won’t be getting.

The busier my life gets, the more disorganized I become. I fumble for a notepad when I’m out and want to get someone’s phone number. I think of get short story ideas when I’m in the shower, and I have tons of books and movies I want to get (usually when I’m broke). Don’t get me started on shopping lists. Who has time to write those out?

My digital life is just as disorganized. There are web links to save, photos of stuff I want to share with friends, and notes I need to refer to while writing articles on the web. They’re each in their own separate apps or websites, making pulling everything together a pain.

Notes in iOS 9 solves this dilemma by allowing us all to keep all our photos, notes, shopping lists in the one place we’re most likely to find it: on our iPhones.

Better yet, you can dictate an idea for your next screenplay right out of the shower, then pick up your iPad when you get to work and resume it right there.

Here’s how to get the most out of your new Notes app, and never be disorganized again.

For the first time ever, Apple fans will soon be able to buy an Apple device directly from the company’s Cupertino headquarters.

Apple’s Company Store at 1 Infinite Loop is set to reopen this weekend, and along with selling special products like shirts, jackets, mugs, pens, the Company Store will now stock iPhones, iPads, and Macs for visitors to purchase.

Apple Pay is a bit closer to making its debut in China — thanks to a new company, Apple Technology Service (Shanghai) Ltd., which Apple has set up to operate in the Shanghai free-trade zone with the express purpose of running its mobile payment service.

Apple has reportedly seeded the new company with registered capital of $13.4 million, and names Apple’s VP and corporate treasurer Gary Joseph Wipfler as its legal representative and chairman.