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Apple Watch is water resistant, not waterproof

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Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

One of the smaller details Apple failed to mention during today’s keynote was its new watch’s tolerance of liquids. While the Apple Watch is designed to stay on your wrist all day, it’s not suited for all situations.

It turns out that the Apple Watch will be just fine with a little water, but don’t plan on wearing it while swimming.

Why the iPhone 6 looks like the best phone ever

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I suspect could well be the iPhone 6 is the best phone ever made. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web.
I suspect could well be the iPhone 6 is the best phone ever made. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

CUPERTINO, Calif. — The iPhone 6 is about the only phone that can make your iPhone 5 look fat and schlumpy.

The first thing you notice when you get your hands on one is that the iPhone 6 is pleasing to the touch: The aluminum feels great, the screen is big, bright and beautiful. This is the total package, possibly the best smartphone ever made, and definitely the best in class. I’m not ashamed to say I tried to sneak out of Apple’s demo tent with one.

iTunes 11.4 on OS X Mavericks adds support for iOS 8

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Apple has some new software to go along with its new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch announcements from this morning.  iTunes version 11.4 is now available for Mavericks as free update.

iTunes 11.4 adds support for iOS 8 ahead of the public release on September 17th. The release notes state that update adds the ability for users to sync favorite music, movies and other content on iOS 8 devices.  The update is available now in the Mac App Store, or via direct download on the viTunes website.

Hands-on: First impressions of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

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The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are bigger, faster and thinner than ever. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are bigger, faster and thinner than ever. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus take everyone’s favorite smartphone to the next level. They are bigger, faster and thinner than their predecessors, with better battery life to boot.

In the videos below, you’ll get Cult of Mac leader Leander Kahney’s first hands-on impressions, straight and unfiltered from the demo room after Apple’s big press event in Cupertino, California.

Apple Watch was conceived just after Steve Jobs’ death

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Original Apple Watch models
It's time for a showdown. Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook just took Apple into uncharted waters with a new product that could completely redefine the smart watch category, but when he took the stage, Tim says he Steve Jobs was on his mind.

Minutes after the keynote closed, Tim Cook met up with ABC News’ David Muir and said that he thinks Jobs was smiling down on the event, and would be incredibly proud to see what the company is doing today. Cook also talked a little bit about the development of the Apple Watch, revealing that it’s the first post-Jobs device Apple has released.

Watch the short interview below:

Once you get your hands on the Apple Watch, you’ll never let it go

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Apple Watch supply is finally catching up with demand.
Trust me, you'll want one. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

CUPERTINO, Calif. — The Apple Watch doesn’t look like it comes from some distant future, where cars drive themselves and we never have to go through airport security again. Instead, it’s clearly the best smartwatch Apple could design based on knowledge gleaned from today’s experts — including those in arcane arts like metallurgy and horology.

And you will absolutely want one.

It may not look like it yet, but after trying out the Apple Watch, I’m convinced it will become an essential piece of kit – as important as your iPhone.

The 10 most important things to know about the Apple Watch

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Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

Apple finally showed the world today what the media has been calling an “iWatch” for months. Apple Watch is the first new product category to come out of the company since the original iPad. It marks a “new era” for Apple, according to Tim Cook, and introducing it was even worthy of the “One more thing” tease made famous by Steve Jobs.

There’s a lot to digest about Apple’s first wearable, so we’ve made it easy for you. Here are the 10 most important things you need to know about the Apple Watch:

Sony’s flagship Xperias go head to head with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

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Sony added the Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z3 Compact to its smartphone lineup at IFA last week, and they’re the best devices the Japanese company has built so far. But are they good enough to take on Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus? Can a water-resistant form factor and PS4 Remote Play beat Touch ID and Cupertino’s speedy A8 processor?

Find out how the latest flagships from Apple and Sony stack up against each other below.

Can Apple’s new iPhones best Samsung’s smartest Galaxies?

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Apple’s new iPhones are a big improvement over their predecessors in almost every way. Both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus pack the larger, sharper displays loyal users have been begging for, as well as a faster A8 processor, twice as much RAM, and improved iSight cameras.

But how does the iPhone 6 stack up against the latest devices from Samsung? Check out our comparison below to see if Apple’s new baby has what it takes to beat the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note 4 in a specifications smackdown.

Poll: Which iPhone 6 will you buy on September 19th?

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We finally know all the detail of the iPhone 6, but there’s just one question remaining: Which one are you going to get? The iPhone 6 has all the features of its bigger brother, but is your pocket jonesing for the iPhone 6 Plus and its monstrous 5.5-inch screen?

Pre-orders don’t start until September 12th, but you can vote in our poll above and drop the reasons for your choice in the comments below while you wait for iPhone 6 launch day on September 19th.

Apple makes everything you own obsolete … again

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You're gonna want one of these. Probably both, though. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
You're gonna want one of these. Probably both, though. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

That like-new iPhone 5s in your pocket? Obsolete. How about that smartwatch or fitness band you’ve been carting around on your wrist for the past six months? Old news. If you whip out your leather wallet and try to pay with a rectangle of plastic — at least at the corporate stores Apple works with — chances are you’ll be looked at like an old fogey.

Apple has, once again, thoroughly owned the mobile category, expanding the ways we communicate, live and transact business in our daily lives.

This domination of the smartphone, smartwatch and mobile payment categories, as revealed in today’s big iPhone 6 and Apple Watch event, has us ready to hand over another load of cash to the Apple mothership, and gladly. As usual, there were some surprises — some awesome and some not so much — but here are the main takeaways.

The 7 biggest disappointments from today’s Apple event

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Big, bigger, and biggerer. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
Big, bigger, and biggerer. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

Tim Cook and company brought down the house at the Flint Center in Cupertino, and while investors haven’t reacted positively, Apple fanboys are still trying to recover from the hurricane of incredible new products Apple just announced.

The Apple Watch, big iPhones, Apple Pay and even some new software features were previewed at Apple’s first fashion-forward event. But there were a couple of disappointments hiding in the dark corners of the Flint Center as well. Like, where was the talk about the Apple Watch’s battery life? And why is there no sapphire glass on the iPhone 6?

Here are the biggest disappointments from today’s Apple keynote:

Apple Pay just killed your wallet

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Apple's partners went to extremes to keep news of Cupertino's mobile payments entry quiet.
Apple's partners went to extremes to keep news of Cupertino's mobile payments entry quiet.

The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have bigger screens, badder cameras and you can use them in place of your wallet.

Apple just took the wraps off Apple Pay, its much-rumored mobile payments service. CEO Tim Cook is so excited about it that he looped the demo over and over during the keynote. It’s being touted as an “easy, secure and private” way to get your caffe latte on the run.

One thing’s for sure: this is a massive shift in the payments industry.

RIP: Apple removes iPod Classic from website

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

The iPod Classic is dead.

After serving faithfully in the iPod lineup since 2009, the iPod Classic and its iconic click-wheel interface have finally gotten the ax. Along with redesigning the Apple website and adding an Apple Watch page, Apple has removed the iPod Classic from the iPod section of its site.

We knew this day was coming for years, and what better way to give the old iPod the boot than right as the sexy new smartwatch is walking through the doors at Apple’s campus.

Fare thee well, oh click wheel. Fare thee well.

Apple seeds iOS 8 GM to developers ahead of Sept 17th release

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

All the finishing touches have been added to iOS 8 ahead of its release later this month, leading Apple to seed the final GM beta to developers.

iOS 8 GM is now available to developers in the iOS Dev Center with the public release slated for September 17th, 2014 – two days before the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus hit Apple Store shelves. The new mobile operating system will be made available to iOS users for free, and is compatible with the iPhone 4s and greater, as well as the iPad 2 and greater.

Apple.com is back with new redesign and page for Apple Watch

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applewatch

Apple’s live broadcast of today’s keynote was one of the worst of all-time, but if you didn’t catch all the detail of the Apple Watch you can now head to Apple.com/watch to learn all the deets on Apple’s new wearable.

Apple Watch doesn’t launch until 2015 and there’s still no word on battery life, or how much the high end models will cost, but for now you can drool over its Sapphire display and six different wrist straps.

Along with the new Apple Watch page, the website has been redesigned with a sleek new menu bar that’s just as flat as iOS 7 and 8. The website is also responsive with a new mobile view on iPhone and iPad. Promotional pages for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are also available, but the Apple Store is still offline.

Apple powers up new U2 album exclusively on iTunes for free

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U2 rocks the Flint Center. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
U2 rocks the Flint Center. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

Apple just released U2’s new album, free to all iTunes users, onstage at the Flint Center in Cupertino this morning at the end of Apple Event.

After the two hour event, which unveiled both the new iPhone 6 models and the highly anticipated Apple Watch, Tim Cook introduced “one of the best artists of all time.”

U2 took the stage at the Flint Center in California and rocked the crowd of tech and fashion journalists. Then the two celebrities, one tech and one rock, released the new U2 album Songs of Innocence exclusively to iTunes through October 13 of this year.

Meet the new iPhones: bigger screens but thinner, faster, smarter and cheaper

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Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web

As expected, the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus offer more screen space, with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens respectively.

The exciting thing?

Apple has pulled off a major engineering miracle: they’re also thinner, faster and smarter than their older cousins — and you don’t have to be richer to get your hands on one. You’ll also be able to use these phones as wallets and health trackers, marking a huge advance in how smart our phones really are.

When Tim Cook started off the keynote by saying “Today, we are pleased to announce the biggest advancement in iPhone,” we were slightly wary of the hyperbole as journalists should be. But after getting a good look at the two new iPhones, we couldn’t agree with him more.

Enter to win a Canon EOS Rebel T3 package or an 11-inch MacBook Air [Deals]

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You know that feeling you get when you buy a fresh piece of tech? You hurry out of the store, race home with whatever you’ve bought, and feverishly unbox your newest acquisition and revel in its glory. It’s a pretty awesome feeling. Do you know what feels even better than that? Winning fresh tech in a contest!

Right now you can have that winning feeling by entering the The Rebel Photographer Giveaway and The 11 inch MacBook Air Giveaway at Cult of Mac Deals.

Liveblog: Get your iPhone 6 and iWatch fix with Cult of Mac

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iPhone6liveblog

Today Apple unveils the iPhone 6 and mythical iWatch, and Cult of Mac is on the ground in Cupertino, enthusiastically reporting all the action from The Flint Center. Leander will be at the event, elbowing his way to the front of the line for the keynote and hands-on sessions.

This liveblog post is where we’ll cover all the announcements and festivities in Cupertino. We’ll have full updates, analysis and entertainment—everything you could possibly want to know about Apple’s newest, most magical devices.

The event kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific, but we’ll be firing up the liveblog hours before to give you details from ground zero. What mysteries await us inside Apple’s mysterious white box? You’ll have to come back and find out.

Verizon’s Auto Share will let you rent (or rent out) any car with your iPhone

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gwoLjYIeIw

Available in many major cities, Zipcar is this wonderful service that allows you to rent a car by the hour with your smartphone. In my neighborhood, there are half-a-dozen Zipcars parked, just waiting to be scooped up for a quick Ikea run or jaunt to the grocery store. It makes owning a car largely superfluous, at least if you live in a city with good public transportation.

But even though I live in an area with a lot of Zipcars, it’s still hard to find one that is unused on a busy Saturday or Sunday afternoon. But now Verizon has a plan on how to compete with Zipcar, and it’s a doozy: they’re going to allow anyone turn their own car into a Zipcar, rentable by iPhone or other smartphones.

Apple is thinking about making this crazy virtual reality headset

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Screen Shot 2014-09-09 at 8.24.06 AM

Today, in what is being described as a “historic” event, Apple will take the stage in Cupertino and unveil at least three new products: the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6+, and (quite possibly) the iWatch, Apple’s revolutionary wearable.

But imagine if Apple had even more in store for us. Like what? Oh, say, this Apple patent for an Occulus Rift style virtual reality headset!