Computer engineer Hunter Scott wrote a Python script to enter virtually every Twitter contest started over the span of nine months. The bot ended up entering him in about 165,000 different “RT to win” contests and more importantly, he won close to 1,000. On average, he won four contests per day every day.
If you’ve been itching to get your hands on Apple’s latest public beta for iOS 9, you’re in luck. With new proactive features for Siri, public transit directions in Maps, and a supercharged notes app, not to mention new multitasking and keyboard features for newer iPads, iOS 9 is looking pretty great.
Plus, now that we’re getting closer to the actual Fall release, the iOS 9 beta (release 5) is probably more stable than it was when it first released to the public in July. Of course, all beta software can mess up your iPhone, so don’t apply it unless you’re willing to put up with possible glitches and maybe even a bricked iPhone.
If you’re good with that, though, here’s how to get the iOS 9 beta onto your iPhone (or iPad) right now.
Jay Blahnik has been one of Apple’s key hires in getting the Apple Watch and now in one of his first extensive interviews since joining the company, Apple’s fitness guru has revealed how his teams of experts tried to differentiate the Apple Watch in the hugely competitive new wearables market.
When it came down to making Apple Watch, it wasn’t just about making something that looks good that also tracks your steps and calories. Blahnik tells Outside that Apple’s goal was to silence the noise by ignoring the fitness trends and focusing in on the three things that mattered the most.
Here are seven key things we learned from the interview:
Apple isn’t going to repeat its Bendgate error for a second year, according to a video posted by Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, aka the man who famously bent an iPhone 6 Plus with his bare hands.
Hilsenteger got hold of an iPhone 6s backplate, courtesy of renowned Apple leaker Sonny Dickson, and compared it to the original iPhone 6. As he points out, Apple has made key changes to the iPhone design with the aim of learning from its past mistakes.
Check out his video below:
Is there a better sign that the future has arrived than meeting with friends at a park to play with flying robots? Another such sign might be that you can now get one of those robots for the price of a dinner date. The SKEYE Mini Drone is about to launch, at a whopping 34% off for anyone who pre-orders — just $64.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Your iPhone can help you find a good brunch place, with reviews on Yelp that indicate a restaurant’s best dishes. But there really isn’t any real-time help, except maybe calling or taking your chances and just showing up, to find out if you and your friends can get a table at a local hot spot.
A company called Density has developed a door-frame sensor that monitors the coming and going of people and then reports to an iPhone app whether your favorite place is full. It collects data on people’s movement at various hours of the day and recommends windows of time when you can get right in.
American Express has announced that it is first major credit card company to allow corporate card holders to pay using Apple Pay.
Describing it as a way to help companies to “streamline their payments systems and simplify their processes,” the announcement means that AmEx card users can now add eligible corporate cards to Apply Pay.
A new video showing what appears to be an assembled display component for the upcoming iPhone 6s once again hints at the arrival of Force Touch for the next-gen handset.
Posted by European repair firm MacManiack, the video shows the iPhone 6s having a front-facing FaceTime camera and proximity sensor in the same place as the current iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. However, a few changes have been made — and MacManiack thinks they may relate to Apple’s next pressure-sensitive iPhone technology.
New graphic novel Steve Jobs: Insanely Great recounts the late Apple leader’s life through 225 pages of gorgeously geeky illustrations, taking readers through his work at Apple, Pixar and NeXT as well as his time away from business.
Apple debuted the latest ad in its “If it’s not an iPhone, it’s not an iPhone” series over the weekend — showing off the iPhone’s superior ability to both take still images and record video.
Check it out below:
The iPad mini 3 was disappointing in its lack of improvements, but according to a leaked CAD drawing from the usually reliable @OnLeaks, the iPad mini 4 is going to take a step in the right direction by offering a radically thinner design.
Check out a video showing a mock-up of the new device below:
With the Apple TV ready for a radical refresh, it’s time to start thinking about what you’ll do with your old set-top box once you upgrade to the latest and greatest model.
You’ll find cool projects for your old Apple TV in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iPhone and iPad. You’ll also get updates on new iMacs and an opinion piece on why the end of smartphone subsidies is actually good for Apple.
It’s the weekend, which means (we hope) taking a day off from the usual grind to relax, mow your lawn, have a lie-in, and check out the hottest apps to hit the App Store over the past seven days.
And, man, have we got some good picks this week — from Apple Watch email clients to excellent comedic weather apps!
Check them out below:
Too often, we either pay too much for a set of headphones that doesn’t quite meet our needs, or just spring for the cheapo brands sold next to the bubble gum. That’s why we’ve assembled a collection of premium ear-pleasers that’ll meet any preference or budget. Looking for waterproof and workout ready? Wireless and noise canceling? Durable but with studio-quality audio? You’ll find it here, and at a nice discount.
For all the ways we use our mobile devices, there are just as many ways for the battery to die and ruin our day. That’s why we’ve gathered the leaders of the battery pack, with options for toughness, multiple devices, even solar power, check below to find a portable energy source for every situation and need.
As a fitness tracker, Apple Watch is currently little more than a fancy pedometer. It only tracks distance and calories — the quantity, not the quality, of your movement. That’s a problem because fitness is about more than burning calories.
However, an interesting patent from Apple — plus a new technology claimed to be “Siri for understanding human movement” — suggests that Apple Watch could soon be adding weightlifting to its repertoire. Which would be good news for gym-goers and CrossFitters everywhere.
iPhone 6s rumor season is in full swing, but we won’t have to wait much longer until Apple reveals the real deal.
A fall iPhone 6s launch event is being planned for September 9, according to a new report that also reveals other products that will share the stage with Apple’s new smartphone.
Following the lead of other carriers, Verizon Wireless is killing subsidized phones and will streamline its data plans. New subscribers will no longer have the option to get a new iPhone subsidized when signing up for a two-year contract.
With the iPhone 6s launch likely two months away, this might sound like bad news for Apple, a company that has gotten fat off carrier-subsidized iPhones over the last eight years. But the death of subsidized iPhones could be a really good thing for Apple.
For better or worse and depending on your political leanings, Donald Trump is said to have won Thursday night’s debate for the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump also scored a bit of a victory on social media. Whether celebrated or reviled, he was talked about more than the other candidates. Compare the buzz to the professional wrestling term known as heat. Heat can mean cheers for the heroes, but also represent the boos for the heels. Heat in any form is the measure of popularity.
Is it the kind of heat you can warm to or is it just hot air? Either way, the commentary on Twitter and Instagram is entertaining and with a record 24 million viewers watching the debate, the Teflon Don will take all the heat he can get.
After the discovery of several dangerous flaws in a few short weeks, Android’s security — or lack thereof — has been big news. Google has acted quickly to eliminate the Stagefright flaw that left 95% of Android devices vulnerable to attack, but others have since wormed their way out of the woodwork.
Now fans are asking how these flaws made their way into public Android releases, compromising the security of more than 1 billion users worldwide. Could Google be doing more to prevent it? And are its hardware partners doing all they can to patch holes in their own software?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we fight it out over these questions and more!
Apple’s iPad Air 2 represents the peak of sleek and powerful tablets, basically the only way to improve it would be to remove the price tag. Well, consider it improved: With just your email address, you’ll be entered to win a free iPad Air 2, and you even get to choose the color. Take a moment to let the words ‘free’ and ‘iPad’ sink in, but don’t take too long — the chance to enter is only up for a limited time at Cult of Mac Deals.
Cult of Mac’s Photo Famous series introduces you to the groundbreaking photographers featured in Apple’s “Shot on iPhone 6” ad campaign.
Mobile photography’s most mobile photographer was on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia and didn’t want to be weighted down.
Jen Pollack Bianco traveled with her usual DSLR equipment — all 26 pounds of it — but when the time came to go on an elephant safari, she left the heavy gear behind. This was a bold choice, considering such encounters rarely happen more than once in a lifetime.
The travel blogger carried her new iPhone 6 and the camera inside proved it could handle a charging elephant.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Looks like the radically improved Apple TV we’ve be waiting for lands in September — we’ll tell you what to expect. Plus: Apple is not going to be your next wireless carrier; more Beats Radio stations are in the works; and don’t miss our picks for the “best of the worst” Apple accessories.
Could Apple carry its Apple Music human curation obsession over to its much-rumored Apple TV refresh?
During Jimmy Iovine’s new interview with Wired about Apple Music, Iovine — unprompted — chose television as another example of a place Apple could incorporate its belief in humans trumping algorithms when it comes to recommendations.
Iovine said that:
Once Apple Music finds its groove there’s going to be no way for rivals to compete with the service, according to Beats co-founder and Apple exec Jimmy Iovine.
“Curation is a big thing to us, and no one is going to be able to catch us or do it better,” Iovine says in a new interview, in which he stresses Apple Music’s not-so-secret weapon — human focus.
#FightingWords.