Shopping for the gamer in your life can be more difficult than beating your way to the end of Battletoads or collecting all 121 stars in Super Mario Galaxy.
To make the holiday shopping season a little simpler, Cult of Mac searched far and wide for the best gaming gear, trying out all the major platforms and accessories.
What follows is our roundup of the finest gamer gifts, from consoles and handhelds to peripherals. And we’ve even tossed in a few must-play game recommendations.
Cupertino has its chic Apple Watch, Redmond has its Microsoft Band, and now Intel has unveiled its own female-friendly take on the wearable phenomenon with a $495 smart bracelet — which will allow users to receive and respond to text messages, emails and other notifications.
Called the MICA, the fashion-conscious bracelet boasts a sapphire 1.6-inch, 256 x 160 OLED curved screen on the inside of the wrist. As with the Apple Watch there are multiple styles available — ranging from black and white water snake skin, Chinese pearls, Madagascan lapis stones, South African tiger’s eye, and Russian obsidian.
Nokia’s decision to sell its smartphone business to Microsoft and leave Windows Phone behind was an excellent choice, it seems. The Finnish firm today announced its first piece of hardware following the sale, and it’s a stunning iPad mini clone called the N1 that’s powered by Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The only time Apple publicly acknowledges the jailbreak community is when, semi-tauntingly, it lists the people responsible for finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in iOS that have now been patched.
In the aftermath of its just-released iOS 8.1.1 update, Apple adds a mention to its security logs of the China-based PanguTeam, who discovered three vulnerabilities fixed in the latest update of Apple’s mobile OS.
Although tech watchers have known about Apple Pay for some time now, for a large percentage of the general public the concept of NFC transactions is still new — and potentially scary.
Hoping to change that perception, Eddy Cue made an appearance on KTLA’s Tech Report yesterday, where he took host Rich DeMuro on a “shopping spree” to show off Apple’s “new way to pay.”
Want to see one of Apple’s top executives buy oatmeal and Frozen toys using his iPhone? Well, now you can.
One way you can tell a technology is becoming mainstream is when it starts to have brushes with the law. We saw it in the 1980s with the first computer hacker trials, more recently with the appearance of Google Glass, and now with fitness trackers — courtesy of a personal injury suit taking place in Canada.
In what is thought to be the first ever case of data from a wearable device being used in court, a female Calgary plaintiff is using information gathered by her Fitbit device to demonstrate that her activity levels have dropped dramatically following an accident.
The data is being analyzed by a third-party analytics firm called Vivametrica, which will make its findings known to the court.
The iPad is great for making music, but the lack of physical keys can be a drag for keyboardists. That shortcoming prompted Adam Kumpf to hack together a miniature piano attachment for the tablet using nothing more than wooden clothespins, aluminum foil, a few pieces of stiff cardboard and some rubber bands
Total cost? Less than $5.
Despite his creation’s humble DIY origins, Kumpf thinks the idea of iPad add-ons has the potential to take touchscreens to the next level.
“There’s an innate desire that users have to go beyond what the screen can usually do,” the 31-year-old MIT graduate tells Cult of Mac. “I strongly believe that there’s a world of accessories relating to capacitive touchscreens that’s just waiting to be explored.”
Apple didn’t give the iPhone 6 camera a big update this cycle, but next year could be a revolutionary leap forward for iPhotographers if Apple upgrades to the new sensor its camera supplier just unveiled.
Sony announced today that its Exmor RS IMX230 camera sensor will be ready to ship in April 2015, and along with packing a 21MP CMOS sensor, it could bring DSLR-quality auto-focusing and 4K video recording to your next iPhone.
Take a look at this crazy comparison image:
The holidays are approaching fast. Make gift giving easy by shopping at Cult of Mac Deals.
For the music lover on your list, check out these four awesome devices that he or she would love to receive. Each audio device is available with deep discounts for a limited time.
Snapchat has become the go-to method for sending naughty nudes to your friends, but with a big update released today, the app is hoping you’ll start using it to send something a little more valueable: money.
Snapchat announced today that it’s partnering with Square to bring Snapcash to its ephemeral messaging platform, giving the ability to wirelessly transfer money directly from a bank account. And all it takes is a single snap.
The company even made a whacky 60’s style commercial to promote the new feature:
Have you been plagued with intermittent Wi-Fi dropping issues ever since you upgraded to OS X Yosemite? Have no fear, Apple’s fix is finally here to get your Mac back on track, with the official OS X 10.10.1 update.
Apple released OS X 10.10.1 to the public today with a couple of bug fixes, one of which will hopefully cure the Wi-Fi connectivity woes many users have reported on Apple’s support forums.
The Yosemite update comes after Apple also released iOS 8.1.1 today, to fix bugs on the iPhone 4s and iPad 2. Apple’s OS X 10.10.1 release also improves Microsoft Exchange server reliability, as well as Back to My Mac connections between two remove computers. The free update is available now in the Mac App Store.
Apple has released iOS 8.1.1 to the general public today after weeks of beta testing the update for its mobile. The update is the first software release since iOS 8.1 last month, and brings some minor tweaks to the Health app, as well as bug fixes for the iPad and iPhone 4s.
iOS 8.1.1 is available as an over-the-air update or via iTunes, and while it doesn’t contain any major new features, a number of performance enhancements have been added. Apple has also released an update for Apple TV 3 version 7.0.2. Major features aren’t included in the update, but
Here are the download links:
Super Evil Megacorp stole the show during Apple’s iPhone 6 keynote in September thanks to ‘Scarf Guy’ and the kick-ass MOBA he was demoing called Vainglory. Now they’re ready to steal your afternoon by making their highly anticipated game available in the U.S.
We’ve been dying to enter the battle of Vainglory ever since we got our first look behind the scenes of the game, and now after months of waiting, the online battle that’s designed to push your iPhone 6 to its graphical limit is finally ready for all the destruction you and your foes can handle.
Apple has apparently put its faith in Samsung to build the A-series application processors for its next generation iPhones and iPads, according to a new report coming out of Korea.
As of recently, Samsung was competing with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build the chips, which carry a contract said to be worth “billions of dollars.”
Unlike conventional memory chips, application processors reportedly count as logic chips and are said to carry much higher margins. From 2016, Samsung will supply 80% of the APs used in Apple devices, while TSMC will provide the remaining 20%.
Many would-be game designers never make their games a reality because they don’t possess the artistic chops to create the graphics their game depends upon. But not being able to draw didn’t stop Ivan Grachyov, a computer science student at Moscow State University, and the resulting game might just be the next Flappy Bird.
The Russian designer’s creation? Emoji Cosmos, a game made of nothing but emoji!
Making neon signs is a sadly dying craft, but there’s no better way to learn about the beauty of the art than this video, showing a master neon craftsman create a replica of our favorite shape on Earth: the Apple logo!
Update: Uber and Spotify have confirmed a partnership that will let Spotify Premium subscribers become backseat DJs in Uber cars in 10 cities. The service starts Friday in London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Nashville, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney and Toronto.
“The integration couldn’t be easier,” the companies said in a press release. “Simply connect your Spotify account via the Uber app, request a ride, and when you get matched up with a Spotify-enabled Uber, select music that suits your mood. Your tunes will be playing when your Uber arrives, and you can change it up at any time.”
Ever since Apple bought Beats for $3 billion back in May, Cupertino has slowly but surely been integrating the headphone maker’s products and services into the official Apple portfolio. It’s added Beats Music to the Apple TV, officially listed it as an Apple app on the App Store, and rolled out a Beats by Dre section at Apple Stores.
Now it looks like Beats by Dre headphones will officially be an Apple product in the biggest way that counts: You’ll soon be able to get them repaired or replaced at your local Genius Bar.
Apple has announced that its China App Store, the second biggest in the world, is now accepting UnionPay as a payment option for customers.
As the most popular payment card in China — with over 4.5 billion cards issued to date — the move will make it simpler and more convenient for Apple users in China to purchase apps, since customers can now easily link their Apple ID with a UnionPay debit or credit card.
“The ability to buy apps and make purchases using UnionPay cards has been one of the most requested features from our customers in China,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, is quoted as saying in Apple’s statement. “China is already our second largest market for app downloads, and now we’re providing users with an incredibly convenient way to purchase their favorite apps with just one-tap.”
New York’s Times Square is about to get one of the world’s largest advertising video screen billboards — and Google is its debut customer.
The screen is an epic eight stories high, runs an entire block, and is made up of a mind-blowing 24 million pixels. According to reports, Google snapped up the ad space the moment it became available and paid for an exclusive, long-term deal. The search giant will take over the screen on November 24, with an as-yet unrevealed campaign that runs through the New Year.
It’s not currently known exactly how much Google shelled out, but according to the owners of the megascreen, ad space costs an enormous $2.5 million for four weeks, making this one of the most expensive outdoor ads in the world.
With a cutesy, one-eyed protagonist named Zak and colorful graphics aplenty, upcoming game Flyhunter Origins looks like it could be a big-screen animated movie.
That’s not too shocking, since the game was developed by Steel Wool Games, a San Francisco Bay Area-based startup composed of Pixar employees past and present. But while the story of a space janitor who becomes wrapped up in an intergalactic insect-catching adventure sounds like it could come from the next Brad Bird movie, what the team has crafted is a compelling 2-D platformer that owes as much to Super Mario Bros. as it does to Toy Story.
“What we admired about those early games is what they did with very limited technology,” says Andrew Dayton, a 20-year veteran of computer visual effects, whose day job sees him working as senior technical director at Pixar. “Back then you couldn’t hide bad gameplay with pretty pictures. Playability was everything for us.”
Although it’s never been in either Apple or Nintendo’s graces, GBA4iOS has long been one of our favorite apps on iOS. An excellent Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance emulator for the iPhone and iPad, GBA4iOS was long available to install on iOS 7 and above, no jailbreak required.
That all changed with iOS 8.1, though. To install itself without going through the App Store, GBA4iOS required users to set back their date by at least one day, but Apple patched it out. It was a huge bummer, but guess what? GBA4iOS is back, it works on iOS 8.1, and there’s still no jailbreak required!
When the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were announced, many Android fans laughed at the “pitiful” 1GB of RAM of Apple’s flagship smartphone, when Android flagships tended to ship with 2GB and sometimes more.
But specs don’t always — or even most of the time — tell the whole story. As it turns out, an iPhone 6 with 1GB of RAM runs much faster than a similarly specced Android smartphone with 2GB of RAM. And it all has to do with the fundamental difference in the way iOS and Android handle apps.
Between Pirates of Silicon Valley and Jobs, there have already been two Steve Jobs biopics. How is Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming joint going to be able to differentiate itself from them? Apparently, by casting Steve Jobs’ estranged daughter as the film’s protagonist.
It’s time to highlight the best stuff that was offered this week at Cult of Mac Deals.
As always, if you don’t see anything you like below, go to the Cult of Mac Deals page and you are sure to find something that is more your scene.