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Whip out iOS 9’s Wallet app from your lock screen

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Apple Pay iPhone
Yet another reason to use Apple Pay.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new Wallet app replaces Passbook in iOS 9, currently in public beta. Just like Passbook, when you wave your iPhone at an Apple Pay kiosk, it will only let you choose your default credit card and pay for the goods or services you bought.

In iOS 9 beta, you’ll also be able to choose any of your other provisioned credit cards from your Apple Pay account without even unlocking your iPhone or accessing the Wallet app.

Here’s how.

Marc Newson says auto industry is ‘at the bottom of a trough’

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Marc Newson is peeved at the auto industry but he loves vintage Ferraris.
Marc Newson is peeved at the auto industry but he loves vintage Ferraris.
Photo: Spanich Coches/Flickr

It’s an open secret that Apple is poised to take on the auto industry with its rumored electric car project, and according to Apple design guru Marc Newson, the automotive industry is stalled.

In a new interview, the Apple designer touches on a number of topics, ranging from his love of fountain pens to his current design pet peeve: boring cars.

Apple’s last iOS 8 update fine-tunes Apple Music

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A new iOS 8 update is here.
A new iOS 8 update is here.
Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

We’re eagerly anticipating iOS 9 next month, but Apple’s got a few more fixes to give us in iOS 8.4.1, which is likely the final mobile upgrade to iOS 8.

Apple released iOS 8.4.1 to the public this morning, bringing with it a number of performance enhancements and bug fixes, plus some nice updates for Apple Music and Beats 1.

Save up to 85% on our favorite backup solutions [Deals]

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SkyHub Cloud's lifetime subscription backs up all your data across 3 devices.
SkyHub Cloud's lifetime subscription backs up all your data across 3 devices.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’ve got data, you’ve got a good reason to keep it secure. That’s why we’ve gathered some of the best in the business of backup to guarantee the solution that meets your needs. But act quick, these deals won’t be around for long.

This power strip will take all devices and not overcharge

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Satechi's aluminum power strip provides one elegant charging home for your devices.
Satechi's aluminum power strip provides one elegant charging home for your devices.
Photo: Satechi

Each of our devices needs a mothership so to speak, that place where, at the end of a long day with the battery in the red, they can all return to one place and dock to recharge. This thought occurs to me every time I go to leave the house and must first round up my phone, iPad, computer and camera batteries from the various outlets I left them at the night before.

The accessories company Satechi has built the International Space Station of power strips.

Samsung’s answer to Apple Watch is coming Sept. 3

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samsungs-answer-to-apple-watch-is-coming-sept-3-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201508CMTM1lUWsAE5vFA-jpg
This is Samsung’s brand new smartwatch.
Photo: Samsung
This is Samsung's brand new smartwatch. Photo: Samsung
This is Samsung’s brand new smartwatch. Photo: Samsung

After announcing its new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ in New York City this morning, Samsung promised the next big thing is right around the corner.

The South Korean company was referring to its new Gear S2 smartwatch — its first with a round display — which will get its full reveal on September 3.

Boot Camp 6 brings Windows 10 to Mac

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Boot Camp now supports Windows 10.
Boot Camp now supports Windows 10.
Photo: Microsoft

Mac users can now use Windows 10 on their OS X machines, thanks to an update for Boot Camp released by Apple this morning.The new Boot Camp 6 update is still propagating through Apple’s servers, but some users have found the update is available on Windows partitions in BootCamp.

Samsung Pay goes head-to-head with Apple Pay this September

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samsung-pay-goes-head-to-head-with-apple-pay-this-september-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201508samsung-pay-jpg
Samsung Pay is finally on the way.
Photo: Samsung
Samsung Pay is finally on the way. Photo: Samsung
Samsung Pay is finally on the way. Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new phablets aren’t the only thing we got out of its Unpacked event in New York City today; the South Korean company also announced a launch date for its new mobile payments service. Samsung Pay will be coming to take on Apple Pay in the U.S. on September 28.

Your smartphone doesn’t have to be useless while it’s charging

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your-smartphone-doesnt-have-to-be-useless-while-its-charging-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201508TILT-in-use-01-jpg
The Tilt stand on Kickstarter lets you use your smartphone without removing it.
Photo: Tilt
TILT-in-use-01
The Tilt stand lets you use your smartphone without removing it. Photo: Tilt

It’s pretty difficult to use your smartphone while it’s standing vertically. That’s why when we place our phones on a dock or stand, we tend to neglect them until they’re done charging. Challenging this habit are the makers of the Tilt stand, who seem to think you should be able to use your phone while it’s getting juiced.

If Apple made a flip phone, it’d look something like this

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A dual-screen iPhone wouldn't be such a bad idea.
A dual-screen iPhone wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Photo: Martin Hajek

Apple started a smartphone revolution with the introduction of the original iPhone in 2007, but despite the rise of high-powered phones, people in Japan are still clinging to their flip phones.

The closest Apple ever got to making a flip phone was the disastrous Rokr the company developed in partnership with Motorola, so concept designer Martin Hajek decided to reimagine what it would look like if Apple made a flip phone just for the Japanese market. The concept Apple flip phone comes with two screens — one for typing and another for content — as well as an obligatory lanyard and three color options.

Take a closer look:

German efficiency: Deutsche Telekom is already taking iPhone 6s pre-orders

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The iPhone 6s hasn't even been announced yet, but you can already pre-order it in Germany.
Photo: @OnLeaks

Apple hasn’t yet officially announced the existence of the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and possibly iPhone 6c, but German provider Deutsche Telekom is already letting you place orders.

The carrier has set up a special “online reservation service” where would-be next-generation iPhone owners can get first dibs on the new handsets, set to be announced on September 9.

These trailblazers took selfies before selfies were a thing

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Robert Cornelius made photography history with the first known self-portrait taken in 1839.
Robert Cornelius made photography history with the first known self-portrait taken in 1839.
Photo: Library of Congress

There was no selfie stick, no hashtags and no sharing with his BFF. In fact, when Robert Cornelius took his historic selfie, he sat still as a stone for 15 minutes, then watched the photo slowly appear on a silver-plated sheet of copper as he breathed in dangerous mercury fumes.

That was instant gratification in 1839.

Cornelius, using a wooden box fitted with an opera glass, likely deserves credit for taking the world’s first selfie. He didn’t make the picture out of vanity, but as an experiment to test a silver-plating method for the daguerreotype photographic process, which had been introduced worldwide just three months before Cornelius’ self-portrait.

Gene Munster says new Apple TV is definitely maybe coming in September

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The Loch Ness monster of Apple rumors isn't completely dead yet.
Will new Apple TV finally surface in September?
Photo: Cult of Mac

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has been chomping at the bit about an Apple TV since 2011, but according to a new research note he sent to clients Thursday, Apple has a good chance of finally releasing its new television at the company’s reported September 9 event.

Seriously, this time. OK, maybe. Let’s call it 50/50.

Dubious iPhone 6s benchmarks show just 1GB of RAM

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iPhone 6
Questions are being raised about the iPhone 6s' RAM-ing speed.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Everyone is expecting the iPhone 6s to boast 2GB of RAM, but according to a dubious source claiming to be an Apple developer, we may all be wrong.

Switzerland-based Instagram user Fabien Wanner has posted what he claims to be a Geekbench 3 screenshot of the new device, revealing RAM of “just” 1 GB — the same as the current iPhone 6.

Apple takes aim at Facebook with photo-sharing patent

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Moments-Photographic
Facebook's Moments app in action.
Photo: Facebook

An Apple patent application describes a way of identifying people in digital images using face-recognition technology and then making it easy to send copies of the image to everyone in it.

The concept is highly reminiscent of Facebook’s Moments app, which identifies people and places in images and then allows users to easily share with friends, without having to post the pictures to Facebook.

Apple quietly asks a small group to return their Apple TVs

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Will the new Apple TV have exclusive shows and movies?
Will the new Apple TV have exclusive shows and movies?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

It looks like a small number of third-generation Apple TVs, the ones on sale right now, are being quietly recalled by Apple. There hasn’t been a public notice of an Apple TV recall, which could mean only a few units are defective.

If yours is among the faulty Apple TVs, chances are you’ll get an email offering to replace it — and Apple might even drop you an iTunes card for your troubles.

The future of video chat is totally touchy-feely

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the-future-of-video-chat-is-totally-touchy-feely-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201508haptic-touch-png
Haptic feedback is a major component in this new technology invented at the University of Tokyo.
Photo: Shinoda Lab
haptic-touch
Haptic feedback is a major component in this new technology invented at the University of Tokyo. Photo: Shinoda Lab

HaptoClone is a new creation from researchers in the Shinoda Lab at the University of Tokyo that can let you practically feel what isn’t actually in front of you. It at least gives you the illusion that you’re feeling it. The technology is trippy in theory, but in practice it very well may lead to a more personal level of communication through our smartphones and computers – or dare I say more intimate.

You may be tempted to swim with this new waterproof Apple Watch case

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The new waterproof case for the Apple Watch by Catalyst.
The new waterproof case for the Apple Watch by Catalyst.
Photo: Catalyst

While Apple doesn’t recommend submerging the Apple Watch in water, there have been a number of swimmers who say their watches have held up to workouts in the pool.

But since Apple probably won’t honor a warranty for a Watch that stopped after a shower, why risk it? Catalyst, whose waterproof iPhone cases come highly rated by customers and tech journalists, has introduced a line of waterproof cases for the Apple Watch.

Dropbox rolls out USB keys to keep your files safer

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More security with less hassle.
More security with less hassle.
Photo: Dropbox

Worried about the security of your Dropbox files, even if you use two-step verification? Dropbox has your back now with a new USB key-based system to ensure that you are the only one able to access your files in the Dropbox cloud.

“Today,” Dropbox writes on its website, “we’re adding Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) security keys as an additional method for two-step verification, giving you stronger authentication protection.”

Save your battery with iOS 9’s Low Power Mode

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Keep your iPhone humming for up to three hours until your next charge.
Keep your iPhone humming for up to three hours until your next charge.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

iOS 9 brings a bunch of battery-boosting features, most of which work right out of the box. But there’s one battery-saving feature you’ll have to enable yourself.

Called Low Power Mode, this new feature should prove super-useful when you need to eke out just a bit more time with your device — provided you’re not doing anything intense.

Picorama puts a cute face on tricky strategy gaming

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Picorama for iPad
Picorama's cute, but it will also mess you up.
Photo: MicroCosmos

I like strategy games as much as the next person, but they’re all missing something. Like maybe they could use a pink bunny that tickles opposing pieces to death, or a little, blue, tentacled … thing that can distract enemies with its soothing singing voice. And for good measure, maybe they could throw in a green guy who can fire deadly shots out of his head and an orange monster that eats lightning and fireballs.

Picorama has all those things, and it’s as weird, silly and fun as it sounds. But the iOS game’s innocent art and adorable characters belie a title that will quickly test your strategic and problem-solving skills and have you staring at your iPhone or iPad trying to plan your next move.