Super-popular iOS strategy game Clash of Clans has received a major update — most notably adding a slew of new Hero abilities.

Version 5.172 also features numerous gameplay enhancements involving flyers, freezers, boosts, clan co-leaders and gem overgrowth. On top of that, there are various interface improvements, balance tweaks, performance improvements, and the usual unspecified bug fixes.

President Barack Obama may not be able to use an iPhone for security reasons, but that doesn’t mean he can’t praise the work Apple is doing.

In his State of the Union address to the American people Tuesday, Obama credited a number of technology companies — Apple included — for helping with his ConnectED program, which aims to improve Internet access at schools across the U.S.

The Evasi0n7 jailbreak opened iOS 7 up for all kinds of tweaks ,ranging from lock screen launchers to mods that let you use Touch ID in place of your Home button.

Eclipse is almost certainly the most instantly noticeable tweak so far, however — taking the bright colors that are standard with the iOS UI and replacing them with a darker palette of colors and shades to give your iPhone a suitably moody “night mode”.

Felix’s FlipStand is like a better version of Apple’s Smart Cover. It covers the screen and leaves the rear case mostly naked, but instead of using a flimsy folding action to give limited viewing angles when used as a stand, the FlipStand is almost infinitely adjustable between zero and ninety degrees, and holds the iPad steady like a kickstand.

Most iPad drawing apps take a rather old-fashioned approach. They try to mimic paper and pencil, or paint and canvas, and of course they never get it quite right, even with pressure-sensitive styluses and fancy paint engines. Archipad takes a different approach: it recognizes that you’re drawing on a computer screen and embraces that fact, letting you draw to scale, in 3-D and with perfect lines, all my using a finger or stylus.

Regardless of whether you think Apple’s falling share prices are justified or the result of bozos who don’t understand how Apple works, one person is seemingly happy with the immediate response to Apple’s recent financial quarter: Carl Icahn.

If you want an SLR-style mirrorless camera, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 is the camera to beat. But if you don’t want to spend $1,000 on the Micro Four Thirds body, then you can now opt for the OM-D E-M10, a $700 body which uses lots of it’s big brother’s parts.

Apple’s new retail chief (and possible future CEO) Angela Ahrendts has been announced as the recipient of a DBE in the coming weeks — making the American businesswoman a Dame of the British Empire.

While the award was confirmed in October, the information was released quietly and not promoted by either Ahrendts or the British Government.

What if you could print your iPhone photos and have them sent to your door, without paying a penny? Sound impossible, right? But that’s exactly what new Kickstarter-hopeful startup Flag is planning to do. The catch? An ad, printed on the back of each picture.

Evernote’s elephant logo is curiously appropriate. Not because it never forgets your notes, but because the service is slow, lumbering and hard to control. Now, thanks to a complete redesign of the backend servers, one aspect has improved. Sync is now, according to Evernote CEO Phil Libin, four times faster.

If you’re anything like this writer, one of the main impediments making you think twice about purchasing a Google Glass headset is the fact that you already wear prescription glasses.

To solve this problem, Google has now unveiled its long-awaited (and rumored) Google Glass units for prescription glasses wearers: the so-called Google Glass Titanium Collection, which replaces the headband currently used for Google Glass with more traditional frames (including the option of some nifty sunglasses).

We’ve seen more than enough iPhone cases with slots for credit cards, ID or cash. But the Push wallet phone case is the first one we’ve seen with a secret compartment that hides those valuables completely out of sight.

We’ve seen more than enough iPhone cases with slots for credit cards, ID or cash. But the Push wallet phone case is the first one we’ve seen with a secret compartment that hides those valuables completely out of sight.

Ever wished there was a way to make Pandora (or iTunes Radio) play little snippets of news, tailored to your tastes, just like it does with music? Free app Swell Radio does just that, and does it perfectly.

Every single day, iPhone and iPad owners ask Siri millions of questions. Each and every one of those questions must be analyzed by Apple using computer-intensive natural language processing, translating it into a form that a computer can understand.

That takes a lot of computer horsepower. But how much?

Over the last couple of years, Google has been trying to turn its mobile Chrome browser into a sort of meta-operating system in its own right, by allowing Macs and PCs to run dedicated cross-compatible ‘apps’ right within Chrome. It’s actually a cool idea, but because of Apple’s closed iOS ecosystem, it’s been functionality that iPhone and iPad owners can’t take advantage of. But no longer. Google has just brought Chrome apps to iOS.

For years, Apple has been saying its set-top box, the Apple TV, was a mere “hobby,” and Apple.com reflected that distinction, listing the Apple TV as an accessory instead of a product worthy of its own Apple Store section.

Well, no longer. Today, Apple upgraded the Apple TV to the status of full product line on Apple.com alongside the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. There’s now a dedicated Apple TV section, as well as a section for Apple TV accessories, Community Q&A and more.

It’s hard to think this timing is a coincidence, given the fact that a new Apple TV update with a focus on gaming is expected soon. Apple’s about to double down on the living room, methinks, and this is just the first sign.

While accusations about NSA backdoors to Apple devices have been doing the rounds for a while now, yesterday’s revelations about spying agencies using so-called “leaky apps” to capture user data has reignited the debate. Below is a Q&A covering everything we’ve learned so far:

Q) What is a leaky app?

A) An app that transmits private user information across the Internet. While apps have come under fire for collecting private user information before, the current outcry follows revelations leaked by Edward Snowden, suggesting that leaky apps have been the focus of spying organizations such as the NSA and its UK counterpart, GCHQ (Government Communications HQ). The NSA has cumulatively spent more than $1 billion in its phone targeting efforts. A 2010 NSA presentation cites poor secured apps as a “golden nugget” for gathering user information — including, but not limited to, address books and friend lists.

Today Moshi announced the SenseCover, one of the most unique iPhone cases I’ve come across in a long time. By using touch-sensitive plates on the front of the case, the SenseCover allows you to answer incoming calls and turn off alarms without opening the front flap.

Apple TV got an extra shot of adrenaline this morning with the addition of Red Bull TV to the device’s channel listings.

As the first branded-content channel to be added to Apple TV, the channel  offers viewers action-sports videos produced by energy-drink maker, along with live programming, films, shows and other clips that are available on the Red Bull TV website and iPhone app.

A reader sent this in. Pretty much sums up the two main spins on Apple you see in the media.

Thanks: Chris

Cult of Mac has long had a thing for standup desks – for years, publisher Leander Kahney has written posts great and small at an Ikea kitchen table propped up on canisters. His DIY version outlines the basic problem: a desk where you can stand up is useful, but they tend to be pricey.

We’ve reviewed NewHeights, for example, which will set you back over $1,300, so we were eager to try an option with variable height that didn’t break the bank.

Enter the Varidesk.

For the last few weeks, I have had a little pebble-shaped gadget sat out on the wall of my balcony. It’s the Tempo, a Bluetooth thermometer which keeps the last 24 hour’s temperatures in memory, and passes them to your iDevice on demand. It’s also pretty tough, as we’ll see…

Having just crawled out of its smackdown from Google, Rap Genius is back with a new app for iOS that gives you access the site’s breakdowns and explanations on all those pop songs you just don’t understand.

The Genius app lets you swim in the all the annotations for song lyrics, poems, and news articles provided by the Rap Genius community. Once you install the app it scans your iTunes Library to prep all your song lyrics. There’s also a Shazam like function that can find lyrics for any song that’s playing around you.

The app is only available on iPhone with no word on an iPad version or upcoming support for Android, but you can grab it for free on iTunes starting today.

Here are the full release notes:

Last week Steven Troughton-Smith treated us to the first screenshots of iOS in the Car, an upcoming feature that integrates your iPhone with a vehicle’s in-dash system. Now the developer’s digging though iOS 7.0.3 has  resulted in a video of iOS in the Car in use on an iOS Simulator.

According to Steve’s findings, iOS in the Car supports multiple resolutions and touchscreens to allow for different hardware buttons, wheels and touchpad. Right now it only works with certain whitelisted Apple apps as there’s no public API for developers yet, and rather than including an onscreen keyboard the UI only accepts voice recognition input. 

Check out the video below: