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How to delete mysterious ‘other’ data from your iPhone and iPad

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There’s nothing more frustrating than a beautiful iPhone that has zero GB of storage left. Especially when you see that a lot of room is actually taken up by a mysterious “other” section that just seems to grow bigger over time.

In today’s handy video, I’m going to show you a few quick methods to clear your phone of unnecessary files, giving you more room for favorite albums, pictures and apps.

8 apps that will help you survive Snowmageddon 2015

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Winter is coming. Photo: Roey Ahram/Flickr
Winter is coming. Photo: Roey Ahram/Flickr

The biggest snowstorm to ever hit New York City is pounding the Northeast today, and it doesn’t look like the blizzard is going to let up any time soon.

More than 2 feet of snow are expected to hit the area. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has already canceled school for tomorrow and the state announced all highways will be closed by midnight tonight. But before you hole up with your loved ones for the next few days, make sure to download these eight apps that will help you make it out alive.

How to nuke pesky location data from your iPhone photos

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"You were in Vegas without me!?" Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

These days, any photo you shoot with your iPhone or other smartphone will typically contain location data (unless you have that feature turned off) to allow apps like iPhoto to place your images on a map.

Even photo-sharing services use this data, with some — like Flickr — posting it prominently on your photo pages (along with all the other EXIF data, like shutter speed and f-stop).

If you don’t want the location of your photos to be known, the Yosemite version of OS X’s Preview can take care of it for you. Let’s strip that location data before we post that photo to the Web, OK?

Fore! Apple Pay is teeing off on the PGA Tour this week

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Apple Pay is going everywhere in 2015. Photo: Apple
Apple Pay is coming to the golf course. Photo: Apple

Apple Pay has already invaded MLB stadiums and NBA games, but next up on the list of major sports to accept Apple’s contactless payments system will be golfers.

The city of Phoenix is gearing up to host the Super Bowl this week, but the PGA is hoping to steal a little thunder with the revelation this morning that Apple Pay will make its first ever debut on the golf course at the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open this week.

Apple to shutdown TestFlightapp.com by end of February

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Apple acquired TestFlight maker Burtsly last year and quickly added it to iOS in an effort to improve the iOS beta testing experience for both developers and testers. Now Apple plans to close the independent site TestFlightapp.com to Android users and everyone else, forcing iPhone and iPad owners to only test apps through the official TestFlight iOS app.

Xiaomi wants to swap your iPhone for its fancy new phablet

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Fancy swapping your iPhone for one of these? Photo: Xiaomi
Fancy swapping your iPhone for one of these? Photo: Xiaomi

Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker that’s found fame in the West thanks to its many Apple clones, is said to be preparing a trade-in program that will swap your iPhone for the newly-announced Mi Note phablet.

The program is designed to dissuade those with an older iPhone from upgrading to an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, or to encourage those who already have to make the switch.

Apple’s blowout holiday earnings will set new company record

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Tim Cook onstage at the 2014 WWDC. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
Tim Cook onstage at the 2014 WWDC. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

Apple is set to announce record-breaking earnings tomorrow for its 2014 holiday quarter. Apple projected making $63.5 billion to $66.5 billion in revenue, but Wall Street’s consensus is that the company will blow past its own guidance and report revenue closer to $68 billion.

That’s about $20 billion more than Google’s last three quarters of revenue combined.

Growth will likely be fueled by strong iPhone sales, although the Mac is also projected to reach record sales.

Star Trek phaser will boldly fetch big bucks at auction

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A phaser prop from the original Star Trek series will be auctioned off next month. Photo: Propworx
A phaser prop from the original Star Trek series will be auctioned off next month. Photo: Propworx

A rare phaser pistol from the original Star Trek television series is “set to stun” when it goes on the auction block next month in Los Angeles.

It is made of fiberglass and one of only two known phasers to have survived the 1960s television series, which starred William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy as the leaders of the starship Enterprise.

The phaser could fetch more than $60,000, according to the website Luxurylaunches.com when it hits the block Feb. 21 during a Star Trek auction by Propworx.

Apple now sells more iPhones in China than the U.S.

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Land of the rising sales. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

China may have been a bit late to the iPhone 6 party due to a drawn-out regulatory approval period, but it seems the wait was worth it — both for Chinese customers and Tim Cook’s wallet.

Ahead of what should be a blockbuster earnings call for Apple on January 27, UBS analysts are predicting that the holiday season will be the quarter in which China finally sold more iPhones than the U.S.

Even Steve Jobs would approve if the iPad Pro’s stylus looks like this

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Photo: Martin Hajek
Photo: Martin Hajek

Over the weekend, we showed you sexy new renders that showed the rumored new 12-inch MacBook Air and iPad Pro side-by-side. Designed by render artist extraordinaire Martin Hajek, it gave us our best look yet at what Apple’s next big products could look like.

But in the renders we saw, Hajek’s iPad Pro was missing at least one critical ingredient: the plus-size tablet’s rumored stylus accessory. Now Hajek’s back, giving us his notion of what a Jony Ive-designed stylus could look like.

Samsung allegedly nabs 75% of Apple’s A9 orders

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Ericsson wants to stop Apple selling iPhones in the United States. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The iPhone 6s could get by with a little help from Samsung. Photo: Jim Merithew

In public, the big smartphone competition may be between Apple and Samsung, but behind the scenes the faltering Samsung has another battle on its hands: with rival manufacturer TSMC over who gets to build the A9 processor for the next generation iPhone.

And while Samsung is decisively losing the battle to sell the most smartphones in the marketplace, the A9 chip orders could be one clash it is going to emerge victorious from!

Tweetbot for Mac disappears from the Mac App Store

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Tweetbot for Mac has been pulled from the Mac App Store. Photo: Tapbots
Tweetbot for Mac has been pulled from the Mac App Store. Photo: Tapbots

In 2013, Twitter introduced a new policy that was designed to prevent third-party Twitter clients from gaining too much popularity. The design to the Twitter API basically capped the number of API “tokens” a third-party developer have. Each token is tied to a user, so the effect is that if a third-party Twitter client gets too popular, Twitter will stop allowing new users of that app into the service.

Over the weekend, it appears that Tapbot’s third-party Twitter app, Tweetbot for Mac, finally ran up against its token limit… and as of right now, has been pulled from the Mac App Store.

New outdoor gear preps you for nature’s nastiness

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Outdoor Retailer's version of the Kodak Photo Spot is a eye-popping orange sleeping bag thingy for two. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

 

SALT LAKE CITY — Mother Nature’s got a million ways to make your life miserable. Luckily, the outdoor industry is filled with innovators, entrepreneurs and inspired inventors working incessantly to make your adventures more epic and less stressful.

The sheer number of companies hawking advanced snowshoes, crampons and things made of Merino wool proved a little mind-numbing last week at Outdoor Retailer 2015, the industry’s largest convention.

Everything from stitch-free puffy jackets to shoes made with Michelin tire technology were on display in the giant convention center, but we waded past the immense numbers of mannequins and bowls filled with enticing fresh fruit (rather than convention-standard Red Vines) to bring you a few of the more interesting gadgets, clothing items and even a new camera strap for your micro 4:3 camera.

Apple shows off stunning mural for its new Chongqing store

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Pretty spectacular, huh? Photo: Apple
You might even call it iGrabbing. Photo: Apple

Given that Tim Cook thinks China will soon overtake the U.S. as Apple’s biggest market, it’s no surprise that Apple is taking its expansion into China seriously.

Amidst plans to open 25 new retail stores in the country by 2016, Apple has just released a new video showing a new mural outside its upcoming second Apple store in Chongqing, set to open at 10am local time on January 31.

The mural was created as a collaboration between international photographer and former engineer Navid Baraty (best known for these spectacular vertigo-inducing cityscapes) and artist Yangyang Pan.

Put away your wallet, Apple’s got a new ‘Free on iTunes’ section

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As free as the wind blows, as free as the grass grows. Photo: Apple

 

Ever since Apple made the tactical error of giving everyone a free U2 album (#firstworldproblems), the company has been a tad on the, well, miserly side — with no Mac, iPad or iPhone discounts on Black Friday, and even the company’s customary 12 Days of Christmas giveaway canceled. Bah, humbug!

Clearly someone in Cupertino (head of retail Angela Ahrendts?) has woken up in a newly charitable mood, however, because Apple has just updated its iTunes Store app for both iOS and desktop with a new “Free on iTunes” curated section, which helps customers find content they can download without having to rack up any extra post-Christmas credit card bills.

New Apple partner IBM prepares for another round of layoffs

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Tim Cook announcing Apple's partnership with IBM CEO Ginni Rometty last summer. Photo: Apple
Tim Cook announcing Apple's partnership with IBM CEO Ginni Rometty last summer. Photo: Apple

Update: Downplaying reports about the size of its impending layoffs, IBM says it will let go of only “several thousand people,” not the much-larger number reported by Forbes. We’ve updated this story and its headline to reflect IBM’s statements.

Things aren’t going well for IBM. Six months into its partnership with Apple, Big Blue is reportedly preparing for the largest corporate layoff in history.

After nearly three years of quarterly revenue decline, IBM is preparing to ax a staggering 111,800 employees, according to Forbes. Saying it does not respond to “ridiculous” rumors, IBM says the layoffs will be much smaller than that. How the layoffs will affect the company’s business with Apple remains unclear.

Pay What You Want Madness! Save big on these bundles before they’re gone [Deals]

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CoM_PWYW Must Have Mac Bundle

Save in a big way with Pay What You Want bundles at Cult of Mac Deals. Pay What You Want bundles offer a convenient way to get elite level training, software, design assets and more at a price point of your choosing.

Plus, 10% of what you decide to pay will go to one of three important charities: Child’s Play, the World Wildlife Fund, or Creative Commons. These particular charities have been chosen because of the immense contribution they have made to the betterment of humanity around the globe.  Read on to explore the benefits of purchasing a Pay What You Want bundle at Cult of Mac Deals.

Apple Watch wins our wrists and we party with Patrick Stewart on The CultCast

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I got a pic with Patrick Stewart.  He was thrilled.
I got a pic with Patrick Stewart. He was thrilled.

This week: Why Apple Watch will win the wrist war, we snap a pic with Patrick Stewart but he’s not amused, the good and bad of a George Lucas-free Star Wars 7, Microsoft’s new HoloLens looks incredible, and we reveal some of our favorite apps and gear on an all-new Under Review.

Our thanks to Automatic for supporting this episode. Plug Automatic into your car’s data port, and their beautiful app will show you where you parked, learn how to save fuel with tips based on your actual driving, and even diagnose and turn off your car’s check engine light.

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Full show notes after the click.

You can now play Minesweeper in Notification Center!

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Screenshot: Cult of Mac
If you want Minesweeper in your Notification Center, better grab it fast. Screenshot: Cult of Mac

Although it’s a Windows game, I’ve never met anyone without a sweet spot for Minesweeper, the addictive little puzzle game that Microsoft debuted in Windows 3.1. Sadly, though, it never came to the Mac.

But if you love a good game of Minesweeper, we’ve got some great news. You can now play it right within Notification Center. Better act on it soon, though: Apple has a tendency to pull interesting iOS 8 widgets like this one.

Sexy new renders show the iPad Pro and 12-inch MacBook Air side-by-side

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Photo: Martin Hajek
Photo: Martin Hajek

The Apple Watch might be Cupertino’s most hotly anticipated product, but for my money, the two releases I’m most excited about this year are the 12-inch MacBook Air and the 12-inch iPad Pro. Outside of a few leaked images, though, we still have not seen either of these rumored devices in the flash.

Conceptual designer Martin Hajek is no stranger to turning rumors of upcoming Apple products into blisteringly sexy 3-D renders, and now he’s done it again with a series of renders showing the iPad Pro and 12-inch MacBook Air going head to head. Call it the battle of the 12-inchers, if you will!

Khan Academy, LastPass and other awesome apps of the week

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Funny-Or-Die-Weather

How about the weather with some sass? Thanks to Funny Or Die, there’s an app for that.

The app can show you 5-day forecasts, barometric pressure, wind speed, humidity, UV Index, moon phases, and tides, but let’s be honest: you could use any old weather app for that stuff. You want the jokes, and this app delivers.

(Powered by Weather Underground, in case you were wondering.)

Available on: iPhone

Price: Free

Download: App Store


Awesome Apps

Crazy calendar bug in iOS 8 is driving people nuts

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After four months, Apple has yet to fix a bad calendar bug in iOS 8.
After four months, Apple has yet to fix a bad calendar bug in iOS 8.

A weird bug in iOS 8’s Calendar app has been making people pull their hair out for months. When adding events using either a Google or Microsoft Exchange server, the time zone is randomly synced to Greenwich Mean Time.

Complaints started surfacing around iOS 8’s release last September, and the issue still persists.