In Apple’s Maps app, which debuted in iOS 6, you’ve always been able to set the volume of the voiced directions, choose whether you want to use mile or kilometer units, and set your Map Labels to Always English or not.

In iOS 7 beta, however, you’re now able to set your preferred direction type. Here’s how.

Leather never goes out of style.

For most of the twentieth century, it’s been a material that testifies to professionalism and distinction, and while Apple’s glass-and-aluminum products may be designed with timelessness in mind, this timelessness interfaces well with leather’s inherent timefulness: the way the oils in your hands and the way you touch it give it character over time.

SENA is a company specializing in premium leather cased for phones, tablets and other devices. We gave their Folio Case for the 11-inch MacBook Air a spin. Leather looks good against aluminum and glass, but how does it feel? That’s what we set to find out.

Anyone who’s ever worked from home knows that sometimes you just have to get out away from your home office and change things up. If you don’t like hanging out at coffee shops, or paying for a co-working space though, there’s a new iPhone app called Breather that offers short-term access to clean, classy office spaces with a desk, couch, and Wifi, for about $20 an hour. Basically, it’s like Zipcar only for office spaces.

The magic of the service is that, like Zipcar, there’s no hassle to get into your rented space. Once you’ve reserved a room you can just walk up to the door and it will unlock at the press of button. No secretary to give you a key. No ID needed or forms to sign. Everything happens on your iPhone.

Here is Breather’s promo video:

Since taking over as CEO of Yahoo last year, Marissa Mayer has pushed the company to make some huge improvements to its apps for iOS. So far we’ve been treated to stellar updates to Yahoo Weather, News and Flickr and the improvements keep coming as the company just published a nice update for its news app.

Yahoo News for iOS received an impressive redesign in April but today’s update cleans up some of the article navigation and adds better Yahoo! Mail integration, quicker sharing, and sponsored stories.

Here are all the new features:

iOS 7 received some mixed looks at first glance when it debuted on the iPhone. Maybe you hate Jony’s new icon grid or love it, but Chris Harris decided to see how the new interface faired on the old iPod Nano screen.

Even though the sixth gen iPod Nano doesn’t run full iOS, upgrading the layout to to the new grid wouldn’t look too bad. Here’s what Chris had to say about his mockup:

“I am not a ‘designer’ and I always choose clarity above style when I have my App Director hat on. Notice how the overly enlarged Safari circle, which some have called wrong, actually works really well in this particular situation.”

Source: Code Into Light

I have done a lot writing in my day, and there are times when I want to just let the words fly freely faster than I can possibly type them. When I’ve worked on my talks for seminars or wanted to work out some thoughts on a major piece of writing, I have given the reins to Dragon Dictate.

This Cult of Mac Deals offer has a huge savings on Dragon Dictate 3 for Mac – which has been an indispensable tool for me as a writer. You can get it for only $100 – that’s 50% off the regular price!

Apple is in the middle of negotiations to launch an iPhone 5S with LTE-Advanced technology on SK Telecom, according to an unnamed executive for the Korean carrier. The news comes just days after Samsung announced a new Galaxy S4 variant with LTE-Advanced, which is an upgraded version of LTE that promises faster data speeds.

French antitrust watchdog Autorite de la Concurrence raided Apple offices, wholesalers, and retail stores in France last week as part of an investigation into claims that the Cupertino company carries out anti-competitive practices against third-party retailers by offering consumers better deals through its own stores.

One of the coolest things about Messages is the cross-device functionality, in that you can send messages to and from your Mac and your iOS devices. I use it while at work to chat with folks who text me from their iPhone; it’s a really handy way to avoid using a tiny screen while at work, not to mention letting you keep your iPHone in a bag, instead of beeping or vibrating on your desk.

Now, though, you can send an iMessage in the Notification Center in OS X Mavericks beta. Here’s how.

HP famously gave up on its smartphone and tablet business back in 2011 when it announced that it would no longer be developing hardware powered by its webOS platform. But two years later, the company is planning to have another crack at it.

Yam Su Yin, HP’s Senior Director of Consumer PCs and Tablets, has confirmed that the company is already working on a new smartphone — one that will deliver a unique experience that you won’t get from its rivals.

Pure is an iPhone Flickr app which looks ready for iOS 7 already. As the name suggests, there’s a focus on plain and simple design, and the lack of button-shaped buttons makes even the cleanly-designed official Flickr app look cluttered. However, you mightn’t be switching to Pure just yet, as it lacks a fair bit of basic functionality.

Meet the DSPTCH case, the perfect vowel-free traveling companion for your iPad mini. It’s a simple envelope-style sleeve, only it has a bunch of unobtrusive straps and pockets on the outside to wrangle your on-the-road essentials.

Can it be jailbroken? That’s the first question a large number of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users ask when Apple releases a new iOS update — particularly when it’s a release as big as iOS 7. Apple attempts to block all the vulnerabilities that make jailbreaking possible with iOS updates, so there’s always a concern that the next will kill jailbreaking once and for all.

Thankfully, it doesn’t look like that will be the case with iOS 7, which has already been jailbroken.

You should probably have a smoke detector in every room, and you should also test it regularly, thus making a mockery of Nina Simone’s song Don’t Smoke in Bed. However, some of us live in apartments in which the landlord can’t even provide a toilet that flushes properly, and so the hope of him fitting smoke detectors is a distant one.

For us, the SENSE+ was invented.

Exif Manager for iPhone and iPad does one thing – it lets you view and sort your photos by various metadata attributes. Want to see all your pictures in descending order of shutter speed used? You can do that.

Apple has applied for the “iWatch” trademark in Japan following months of speculation that has claimed the company will launch its first smartwatch later this year. According to the June 3 filing with the Japan Patent Office, which was spotted by Bloomberg, the iWatch name will cover products including “a handheld computer or watch device.”

This is the SpoolStool, and it answers the question “why do I have to buy uncomfortable furniture and power adapters separately?”

I haven’t worn a watch in a while. I’m used to using my iPhone as a way to check the time when needed and I wasn’t a fan of having to have a watch that would be suitable for going to the beach and one for more formal occasions – or try to find one that would be versatile enough for both.

Then Modify Watches sent me one of their watches and my problem has essentially been solved. And right now they are offering Cult of Mac readers a 50% savings on a watch face and two bands – just $35.

There are really only two good options for following this year’s Tour de France on your iPad or iPhone, and neither of them have had their performance enhanced by drugs (we think).

Rumors about a coming smartwatch from Google were fortified this week when The Wall Street Journal reported that Google was, in fact, working on an Android-powered wristwatch, according to people familiar with the matter.

When the Journal starts talking about matters about which people are familiar, you can assume they’re reporting something more solid than rumor. We can move the Google smartwatch likelihood needle up to 95% at this point.

As a heavy user of Google services, I really want a great, Google-centric smartwatch.

But what would such a watch do?

I have a theory. And if my theory is correct, then we should be able to speculate about what the watch’s actual specifications, functionality and user interface will be.

First, the theory.

It’s looking very likely that the so-called “budget” iPhone will be announced in September. In reality, it will be less budget than mid-range, costing about $350 before contract subsidations. Even so, that should be enough for carriers to sell for $0 with a two-year contract, strengthening Apple’s presence in the market.

We’ve heard before that the budget iPhone would come in an iPod-style assortment of colors, and now new pictures purport to show exactly what the rear shell of the budget iPhone will look like.

I’ve been exploring for months what the ultimate mobile setup would be — my laptop, tablet, phone and other mobile devices — and now I’m starting to put it together.

There’s no way around it: The Apple, Android and Windows fanboys are all going to hate my conclusions and barbeque my decisions.

Why? Because you’re expected to take sides, for some reason. You’re supposed to be an Apple fanboy and get all your stuff from Apple. Or you’re supposed to be an Apple hater, and denounce everything that the company does.

Objectivity and reason get buried under the vitriol.

I’m not out to help Apple or Google. I’m out to help myself, and get the best mobile experience I possibly can.

My conclusion is that as of right now, no one company can provide the best overall mobile experience by itself anymore — not even Apple. And neither can Google, Samsung or any other company.

So let’s start with the opinions, conclusions and decisions that are going to make the haters hate. 

Have a great idea for an iPhone or iPad game, but don’t have the time or technical experience to code it? Maybe you’ve considered outsourcing, but don’t want to fork over thousands of dollars to a developer? If so, then this Cult of Mac Deals offer is just what you’ve been looking for.

We’re offering a complete e-learning course that’ll show you how to create iOS games from the ground up with absolutely no programming required. In this course you’ll learn how to make simple games using Stencyl (a free iOS game development platform) that you can make money from. And we’ve got this course available to Cult of Mac readers for only $79 – a savings of $420!

Look, I’m not gonna lie to you—we get weird on this week’s CultCast. But before the wheels fall off completely, we do work in some great Apple news stories and topics such as: why iPhone 5S could have two flashes; how the iOS game controller could change everything; new Thunderbolt displays on the way; the guy who sold the iPhone 4 prototype recounts the tale; iOS 7 gets shinier in beta 2; and Tim Cook gets a back massage with Erfon after brunch. Plus, if you’re wondering how to scan on iPhone 15, there’s a powerful tool that makes scanning documents seamless. Check out this guide on the best iPhone scanning app to learn more.

Have a few laughs and get caught up on this week’s best Apple stories! Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the audio adventure begin.

Show notes up next.

A new shot published by Letemsvetemapplem — which has a credible history with Apple leaks in the past — suggests that Apple might make a major change to the home button in iPhone 5S, replacing the icon that exists there now with a big, glowing Apple symbol.