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Best apps to tackle your New Year’s resolutions

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Best New Year’s Resolution Apps
Unless your resolution is to give up your iPhone, these apps are perfect for starting the new year right!
Photo: Tru Katsadne. Graphic: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Every year, people make a pledge to themselves to improve in some way. New Year’s resolutions typically come in the form of personal wellness and fitness, productivity or kicking a bad habit. Sometimes they can be more general.

Whatever your goal is for the new year, there’s probably an app to help. These are some of the best apps to help you on your journey to a better you in 2019.

Forget the gym, meet your 2019 fitness goals at home [Deals]

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Staying healthy can be tough, so Fitterclub makes customized nutrition plans and workout routines that are accessible anywhere you go.
Staying healthy can be tough, so Fitterclub makes customized nutrition plans and workout routines that are accessible anywhere you go.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s easy to say you’re going to spend the new year getting into better shape. But once January 1st rolls around, you’ll actually have to get off the couch and step out the door. We all want to meet our resolutions, so why not skip the part about stepping out the door?

How to make a slick App Store wish list with Shortcuts

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Don’t keep your App Store wishlist on paper.
Don’t keep your App Store wishlist on paper.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

You know what the New Year means? New devices, and the need for new apps to fill them. Only you’re all spent out, and instead of buying you an iTunes voucher, Auntie and Uncle got you yet another country-themed doll like you used to collect when you were a kid1.

The answer is an App Store Wish List. And in order to save you money that you don;t have, were going to make our own with the Shortcuts app.

Today we’ll make two shortcuts. One will add any app to a list in Reminders. The second will take that list, and show you a beautiful list of links and prices, right there in the Today view. Just tap on an app to see it in the App Store, and maybe even buy it.

Five iPad Pro myths, debunked

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IPad Pro one week review
The new iPad Pro is Apple’s best ever portable computer.
Photo: Andrea Nepori

I love the new iPad Pro, but if you’re planning on buying one, you may be misinformed. There’s a lot of nonsense about Apple’s best portable computer ever all over the internet, and today we’ll set some of it straight. Here are five iPad Pro myths that just aren’t true.

iPhone owner considers legal action after alleged explosion

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iPhone XS Max explodes
This isn’t what your iPhone XS Max should look like after 3 weeks.
Photo: J. Hillard/iDrop News

An Ohio man is contemplating legal action against Apple after his 3-week-old iPhone XS Max allegedly exploded in his pocket.

J. Hillard reports that his iPhone XS Max started emitting a strange smell before he felt a “large amount of heat” in his pocket. He eventually got a new device from Apple — as well as burns on his buttocks.

Turn your old Apple devices into quick cash

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Apple devices
Don’t let your old Mac drag you down. Cult of Mac can help you upgrade on the cheap.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you were lucky enough to get new Apple devices for the holidays, it’s time to turn your old ones into cash — and fast!

Your old iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac could be worth a small fortune — and Cult of Mac wants to buy it! We typically pay more than other trade-in services, and we won’t leave you waiting ages for your money.

Prepare for the new year with the best apps of 2018 [Deals]

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Jump at these massive deals on some of the very best Mac apps of 2018.
Jump at these massive deals on some of the very best Mac apps of 2018.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Apple fans, ring in the new year with the best of last year’s apps and software for Mac. We’ve rounded up some incredible deals on powerhouse applications, from a powerful PDF editor to an efficiency-enhancing macro manager, a professional disk recovery tool and lots more. Even better, these apps are discounted by an average of 75 percent, so read on for more details.

Ranking all the major hardware Apple released in 2018 [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 277]

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Cult of Mac Magazine No. 277
Ranking Apple's hardware releases in 2018.
Cover: Marty Cortinas/Cult of Mac

It’s been one heck of a busy year for Apple, and we’ve got the devices to prove it! Truth be told, despite Apple’s fluctuating share price, this has been one of the company’s best years in a while for hardware. What was the cream of the 2018 Apple crop? Here’s how we rank Apple’s major new product launches for 2018.

Find the best goods from 2018 and learn how to set up all your new hardware in the latest free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Get it now on iTunes, or keep reading for the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos.

Get better pictures out of your iPhone. These three discounted accessories can help [Deals]

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iPhone Photography
Start taking better pictures on your iPhone with these accessories
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Every year, Apple unveils a new iPhone model, often with new hyper-gee-whiz camera advancements that make it the…((ahem))…greatest smartphone camera of all time!

While hyperbole is baked into such announcements, even camera experts admit a high-end smartphone camera can under many circumstances produce images that are at least on par with shots from a DSLR. Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some accessories that can help make your iPhone images just a touch better.

There’s still time to score the best iPhone gear of 2018 [Deals]

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We've rounded up the best iPhone accessories of 2018, all available at massive discounts.
We've rounded up the best iPhone accessories of 2018, all available at massive discounts.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

There are just hours left in 2018, which could be good news or bad news depending on how you look at it. But one thing that’s definitely great is the opportunity to look back at the best gear of the year. So we’ve rounded up some of the best deals on accessories for iPhone, from wireless charging hubs to ultra durable charging cables, camera upgrades and more. Most are discounted by half or more, so read on for details:

How to use Files app to replace your lame notes app

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No, not that kind of file.
No, not that kind of file.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

After trying out the millionth notes/scrapbooking app for the iPad, I realized that I should ditch apps altogether and just use the built-in Files app. It might be severely limited as an actual file browser, but Files has some big advantages over scrapbooking apps. It makes everything available to Spotlight searches, for one, and it doesn’t create duplicates of your files, because you’re always working with the originals.

Another huge advantage is that marking up PDFs with the Apple Pencil is instant. With all other PDF editors I’ve tried, you have to tap to enter a markup mode. In Files, you just start writing on the PDF. And that’s just the beginning.

Let’s see how it all works.

Apple floods the streets with color in new iPhone XR ad

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88412492-4119-4A3A-A1B8-0F7F2FD5058F
This is certainly one of Apple’s most colorful ads of 2018.
Photo: Apple

There are only a few days left in 2018 but Apple just dropped one of its best ads of the year to promote the iPhone XR.

The new ad, titled “Color Flood,” featured a motley gang of hundreds of parkour runners in colored jumpsuits mobbing through a desolate city. Music for the ad is provided by Cosmo Sheldrake’s song “Come Along.”

Check it out:

Larry Ellison, one of Steve Jobs’ best friends, is joining Tesla’s board

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Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison is the ultra-successful founder of Oracle.
Photo: Oracle Corporate Communications

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, the close friend of Steve Jobs who Jobs’ kids called “our rich friend,” has joined Tesla as a member of its board.

Ellison was the first person Jobs sought to join Apple’s board of directors after Jobs resumed control of Apple in the 1990s. He stayed until the early 2000s. Interestingly, in recent years Tesla and Apple have been considered rivals more often due to both of their work in building tech-heavy car projects.

Here’s a home smart lock that’s 10 times stronger than your deadbolt [Deals]

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Haven Connect
Keep your home safe with this smarthome deadbolt solution.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals.

For decades, a strong, well-made deadbolt was the standout method of securing a door against intruders. Yet even in the age of smart-enabled door locks, keypads and other high-tech security alternatives, your protection still inevitably comes down to the actual physical strength of the door you’re defending. Codes and thumbprints and retina scans are only so effective against focused brute force, right?

Carjacking victim uses ‘Find my iPhone’ to get back stolen vehicle

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Find My iPhone
This has turned out to be one heck of a handy iPhone feature for many.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

There’s no shortage of people getting stolen iPhones back, courtesy of Apple’s “Find my iPhone” feature. However, a person from Nashville, Tennessee recently improved on this — by using the geotag-locating feature to also get back his stolen car.

Siri’s Hebrew voice is suing Apple

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HomePod siri
Apple has another lawsuit on its hands.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The female broadcaster and voice artist whose voice is used for the Hebrew version of Siri is reportedly suing Apple. Galit Gura-Eini, who has also provided the local voice for Waze, claims that Apple used her voice without permission.

Her lawsuit also claims that people have used the Siri voice to make her voice say various sexual, racist, or violent things.

Fortnite dev pulled in reported $3 billion profit in 2018

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Fortnite Steady Storm game mode
It seems that Fortnite is quite the money spinner.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite may be free-to-play, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a well-oiled money-printing machine. According to a new report, developer Epic Games raked in an incredible $3 billion in profit this year, largely on the back of the 2018 smash hit game.

Replace your home-screen app icons with actions

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Home screen actions
It’s easy to make you home screen more useful.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The iPad’s home screen is a waste of space. The 4X5 grid of icons looks absurd on the 13-inch iPad Pro. In fact, the fact that you’re limited to a grid of app icons is itself absurd. Where are the live readouts from your weather app or stock ticker? Where are the actions to send a message direct to your spouse/boss without opening an app first?

Worse, because the iPad doesn’t have 3D Touch, you can’t do anything useful with those icons other than launch the app1.

Today we’ll fix that. Using a combination of shortcuts, you can add actions to your home screen, instead of apps. For instance, you can create a grid of custom icons which can email a contact, create a new blank file in your text app of choice, create a quick reminder, and so on. Check it out.

iPhone photos got better in 2018 thanks to these gadgets

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Year in Review Best iPhone Photography Accessories

Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac Year in Review 2018
Apple’s camera team set the bar higher still with three new iPhones in 2018. But even Apple’s best gets better if paired with good mobile photography accessories.

The brands devoted to smartphone shooters don’t exactly have an easy mission. They have to enhance the iPhone photo or video experience without compromising one of its greatest features – portability.

How to cancel iOS app subscriptions

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It used to be a lot harder to cancel subscriptions.
It used to be a lot harder to cancel subscriptions.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Did you get a new iPhone or iPad for Christmas? Maybe you got all excited and signed up for a few subscriptions? And now, perhaps, you’re worried that when the free trial periods end, you’ll be stuck paying for them, and that they’ll be as impossible to cancel as an unused gym membership. No problem! Canceling subscriptions on iOS is almost as easy as signing up to them.

Ranking all the major hardware Apple released in 2018 [Year in Review]

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Year in Review Every Apple Product 2018
What was your favorite device Apple released this year?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac Year in Review 2018 It’s been one heck of a busy year for Apple, and we’ve got the devices to prove it! Truth be told, despite Apple’s shrinking share price, this has been one of the company’s best years in a while for hardware.

What was the cream of the 2018 Apple crop? Here’s how we rank Apple’s major new product launches for 2018.

Apple’s former marketing director says he returned a bent iPad

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iPad Pro 2018 one week review
For what it's worth, our iPad Pro arrived unscathed.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple’s former Senior Marketing Director Michael Gartenberg has chimed in on the company’s latest “bendgate,” this time related to its iPad Pro. In a recent tweet, Gartenberg said that he returned his iPad Pro after spotting a noticeable bend.

“Perhaps it was within Apple tolerances but Apple tolerances shouldn’t allow for a clear noticeble bend,” he wrote. “Much as monitors with noticeble dead pixels aren’t acceptable either.”