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:

If you’ve ever been hacked and had your identity stolen, then you already know the importance of protecting yourself online. If you haven’t been the victim of identity theft, don’t allow yourself to become one.

For a very limited time only, you can get 3 years of protection from online hackers with the VPN Unlimited Premium Plan at 70% off, just $19, at Cult of Mac Deals.

Tim Cook may have laughed at Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White’s “iRing” prediction, but someone at Microsoft was clearly scratching their chin, intrigued at the idea.

That’s based on a recently published patent application from Microsoft showing how the company has investigated a finger ring as a possible future wearable device. Microsoft’s impressive-sounding wireless ring could be used as an input device either to control a cursor on a mobile device such as a tablet, smartphone, or even a head-up display like Google Glass.

Forget those ridiculous rumors that the huge quantities of smuggled handsets had all but killed iPhone 6 interest in China! According to new reports coming out of China, both retailers and carriers have taken in a massive 2 million reservations just six hours after putting the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus on earlier-than-expected pre-order.

It was previously announced that customers would be able to place orders for the iPhone on Friday, October 10, with the devices finally going on sale one week later on October 17.

However, that edict appears to have been ignored, since all three major Chinese carriers — including China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom — are already taking orders.

Things go from bad to worse for Angry Birds developer Rovio. Having seen its CEO step down in August, now the Finnish studio has announced that job cuts are on the cards — to the tune of up to 130 people.

In a blog post, outgoing head honcho Mikael Hed claimed that these cuts were part of an effort to simplify the company after a period of ambitious growth that is considered no longer sustainable.

Pioneer Electronics has released a firmware update making Apple’s CarPlay technology live on five 2014 NEX in-dash multimedia receivers. In doing so it becomes the first company to officially support CarPlay’s vehicle integration feature — and means you won’t need a new Ferrari or Benz to use iOS in your vehicle.

Users with an iPhone 5, 5s, 5c, 6 or 6 Plus can utilize Siri to both makes and receive calls, compose and read text messages, access Apple Maps, and listen to music libraries, podcasts, and iTunes Radio.

As the makers of some of the most attractive (and high-end) smartphones around, Apple devices are ripe for theft. With that in mind, the good folks at Cupertino have just added a new iCloud tool which lets users work out whether the used iPhone they’re about to lay down their hard-earned money for has been locked by its real owner.

All you need to do it is to visit this link and enter the device’s IMEI or serial number, at which point you’ll be informed of the device’s Activation Lock feature — thereby saving you from buying a device that’s already been locked.

iOS 8’s new Family Sharing feature makes it easier than ever for your entire family to share purchases on iTunes, iBooks and the App Store.

Family Sharing is about more than just sneaking copies of apps off your siblings’ accounts, though: It can bring harmony to your entire digital life by sharing photos, creating a family calendar and even keeping track of each others’ locations.

With minimal effort, you can sync up to six accounts. Here’s how to maximize Family Sharing’s potential.