Deciding to buy a new iPhone is always easier than figuring out what to do with the old smartphone its replacing. 280 million used smartphones are expected to be shoved back into closest and drawers by the end of 2014 rather than being recycled, but the folks at MindHelix have come up with a novel solution: turn it into a smart-home security robot named Rico.

Rico – a smarthome security device that tracks changes in your home – gives your old iClunker a second life by putting it’s processing power and sensors back to work, so that you can track all the data from various sources in your home, and make changes remotely.

The Rico Kickstarter project just launched this week, and while the little security bot can do a number of things on its own, like monitoring temperature, carbon monoxide, smoke, humidity and motion detection, the device becomes more powerful when you feed it your old smartphone eWaste.

Check out Rico in action in the video below:

In the timeless game of hating on Apple, Bill Gates is an O.G. When his kids ask for iPads and MacBooks, he shoves a Microsoft Surface in their stockings. But when it comes to Apple Pay, even the former CEO of Microsoft thinks his old rivals’ mobile payments solution is absolutely fantastic.

In an interview discussing his latest philanthropic endeavor – leveraging cellphones to make banking more affordable for the world’s poorest countries – Gates told Bloomberg TV that he sees Apple Pay bringing NFC payments to a critical mass for all devices in the near future.

“The fact that in any application I can buy something, that’s fantastic,” Gates gushed.  “The fact I don’t need a physical card anymore… and you’re going to be quite sure about who it is on the other end, that is a real contribution.”

Yeah, Bill. We’re impressed too. Check out the full interview below:

Apple went bigger than big for its unveiling of the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, but when it hits the stage with a new iPad later this month the event will reportedly be much more low key.

Apple is planning to unveil its latest update on Thursday, October 16, reports John Paczkowski at Recode, only instead of hosting an encore at the Flint Center, the event will be held at Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium in Cupertino.

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Facebook is set to follow Apple into the mobile health field according to a new report from Reuters.

Citing three people familiar with the matter, the report states that Facebook has been discussing the move with medical industry experts, and is currently in the early stages of assembling an R&D team for the creation of health-related mobile apps.

Samsung might be a company that likes to jump in early when it comes to attacking rival Apple, but it’s also more than happy to hang around to get the last laugh.

With the heat from Bendgate now dissipating, Samsung has released one more video trying to fan critics’ flames in the direction of Cupertino by showing just how strong the Galaxy Note 4 allegedly is.

Entitled “Galaxy Note 4 Endures the Gluteus Maximus,” the video demonstrates Samsung’s new flagship taking part in the kind of controlled bend tests seen in the recent Consumer Reports video — including taking the repeated weight of a 100kg person sitting on it several hundred times.

Apple is reportedly in early talks with music labels about “a new set of rights and features,” prior to the company’s Beats Music refresh next year.

No concrete details were provided about what these rights and features might involve, but Re/code claims Apple is gunning for lower content licensing fees, that would enable the company to charge under its current $10 price point.

A recent survey suggested that just 25% of music streamers spent more than $10 on music every three months.

Even with the recent improvements to iOS 8’s handling of photos you take with your iPhone, it’s still kind of a pain in the butt to sort through and delete the ones you don’t want to keep.

The developers behind Flic, a fantastic new photo app, decided they’d had enough and built a better app. This one works a lot like Tinder, a dating app that uses a swipe to sort potential dates.

If you’ve ever had to sort through a ton of photos on your iPhone, you’re going to love Flic. Getting through all your photos is speedy and efficient.

“I just went on my honeymoon,” developer Brandon Evans told Cult of Mac, “and I think I had 400 pictures to go through. It only took me, like two minutes to go through using Flic.”

Apple’s 5.5-inch “phablet” iPhone 6 Plus may still be in short supply, but according to supply chain sources it’s likely to wind up accounting for a whopping 60% of total iPhone 6 family shipments.

Prior to the iPhone 6 Plus’ official announcement, analysts were predicting the plus-sized iPhone 6 would make up a tiny fraction of the sales of its smaller sibling. Taiwan’s Topology Research Institute predicted that of the 80 million iPhone 6 family units it forecast would sell by the end of 2014, the iPhone 6 would account for 70 million, while the 6 Plus would sell only between 8 and 10 million units during that same timeframe.

I was pretty sure I would never need to look any further than my trusty Chrome bag when it came time to be out and about with my electronics. It was a simple system, really: Just chuck everything into the bag’s cavernous pocket, buckle it in and go. It was quick, and it worked — until I needed to actually get anything out of there.

See, for all its style and the novelty of its seat-belt strap, Chromes are really only meant to transport one or two larger packages. Because they’re messenger bags. You know, for messengers.

The MixBag takes a different approach: It’s smaller, but it has a pocket for everything you might possibly need to carry around.

Eric Schmidt has hit back at Tim Cook’s recent jibes at Google, claiming that “someone didn’t brief him correctly on Google’s policies.”

Schmidt was speaking as part of a CNN Money interview to promote his new book How Google Works. The Tim Cook comments in question concern Apple’s focus on keeping user data private.

During his recent two-part interview with Charlie Rose, Cook said that, “I think everyone has to ask, ‘How do companies make their money?’ Follow the money. And if they’re making money mainly by collecting gobs of personal data, I think you have a right to be worried and you should really understand what’s happening with that data.”

All Cult of Mac’s top news stories and features, compiled in one place to peruse easily on your iPad or iPhone. This week we’ve got all you need to know about iOS 8’s widgets and Family Sharing, some neat ways to stream movies and TV shows to your iOS device, and some great features on high-end wrappers for your Apple gadgets as well as the 12 best games on all important gaming platforms.

Dig into Cult of Mac Magazine October 3 Edition, Free on iTunes

Naturally, you hope your new iPhone will stay in mint condition until you’re ready to upgrade or resell. But the fact is, if you cringe at the possibility of a $200 repair bill for a broken screen, it’s time to think about getting an extended warranty.

You’ve got several options: AppleCare+ is available for purchase with new hardware, and mobile carriers and third-party warranty providers sell plans with different perks. You should also check out your personal insurance provider if you’ve got one. Some homeowner’s and renter’s policies offer protection plans for personal belongings, and you might already be covered. The deductibles tend to be steep, but it’s still worth giving your insurer a call to know your options.

Deciding on a warranty can be tricky, so we’ve done the hard work for you.

Who will play Steve Jobs in Sony’s upcoming biopic? That’s been the million dollar question ever since Aaron Sorkin finished the script.

Christian Bale was originally rumored alongside director David Fincher, but talks with both men fell apart. The latest name in the hat was Leonardo DiCaprio, but now he has reportedly backed out to take a break from acting in the near future.

Sony and Slumdog Millionare director Danny Boyle are still eying Bale as a potential candidate alongside some new names like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

If Apple’s 18-karat gold ‘Apple Watch Edition’ doesn’t look fancy enough for you, have no fear. Swiss watch designers and jewelers are already planning to bling out Apple’s unreleased timepiece with precious metals and fancy gems. And of course, the modifications will be ridiculously expensive.

Marc Newson is staying quiet on what he’s working on part-time with Jony Ive at Apple, but the famed designer is still promoting the work he’s doing outside of Apple, like the new beer machine he made for Heineken that looks just like a Mac Pro with a spout on top.

The Sub, a 41-centimeter tall machine shaped like a black metal beer cask -or a Mac Pro – can be filled with pressurized modules called Torps, that hold two liters of beer, and can be ordered to contain your favorite Heineken brand of brew. Newson says he’s a consistent beer drinker, but designed the new machine to be about more than just beer.

Apple killed the Camera Roll to the horror of many iPhotogs with the  release of iOS 8.1, but the first iOS 8.1 beta shows the company has had a change of heart is open to bringing it back, but not for everyone.

iOS 8.1 beta 1 allows users to resurrect the classic Camera Roll album after it was replaced by the Recently Added photo, but you actually have to turn off Apple’s new iCloud Photo Library service to activate it.

If you want to get Camera Roll back and don’t mind sticking with physical storage, here’s how to turn it on:

Today Twitter updated its painfully neglected Mac app with more features for sharing photos. The app’s first update in months brings the ability to share photos over DM and add/view up to four photos in a single tweet. Bug and performance fixes have also been included.

Apple announced its adding some extra benefits for all employees this year, and while everyone isn’t getting a free Apple Watch, the company has decided to lengthen parental leave, reimburse your college education, and match how much time you spend doing charitable work. Plus some stock perks for your family incase you die.

In a memo shared with Fortune, Apple’s head of HR, Denise Young Smith, said the wage range of new benefits were created to address all four generations in its workforce.

Apple has looked within its own ranks to find who will lead its “friendlier” PR approach, at least for now. Despite looking at outside candidates like former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, the company has settled on one of its own veterans as interim PR boss.

The Apple Watch is on track for a February release, according to supply chain sources in China. A February launch echoes an earlier report from The Information, which said Apple will be “lucky” to ship by Valentine’s Day.

While mass manufacturing of the Apple Watch hasn’t begun yet, there are already concerns that sapphire production won’t be able to meet initial demand. The constraints will likely result in making more expensive Apple Watch models harder to come by.

Careful now – Pixar’s upcoming film, Inside Out, takes place within the emotional centers of a pre-pubescent girl. There’s some crazy characters in there — including Joy, Sadness, Anger and Fear — and they’re all just so happy to meet you.

In this brand new, super-short trailer, we get a tiny peek at what’s in store from us from Pete Doctor, the director of both Monsters, Inc. and Up.

Check it out below.

The iPhone 6 comes armed with a fast new A8 processor, but some fanboys were disappointed to discover the new chip only sports 1GB, when most premium Android handsets are rolling 2GB deep with more GHz on the spec sheet than iPhone 6 can match.

iPhone 6 has performed admirably in GeekBench tests, but to see how Apple’s new phone compares in the real world, PhoneBuff created a multi-tasking obstacle course, where the iPhone and it’s competition had to jump from app to app in the fastest time possible.

HTC One (M8) and the Samsung Galaxy S5 both have 2GB of RAM, when it comes to everyday use the iPhone 6 doesn’t just beat the competition, it nearly runs a lap around the Galaxy S5.

Check out the action below:

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