Apple is offering a bunch of free audiobooks narrated by celebrities, including Kate Beckinsale and Kelsey Grammer.

The giveaway is an effort to promote Apple Books, which saw a big overhaul with iOS 12 — but audiobook fans will probably feel Apple could have done better.

Netflix was the biggest earner in non-game apps in the App Store this year. According to data from app analytics company Sensor Tower, the streaming-video powerhouse raked in a massive $790.2 million on iOS during 2018 — or, at least, through November 30.

Here are the other companies that carved out spaces in the top 10 non-game app list.

When Apple first introduced Face ID with the iPhone X, many were concerned that facial recognition would make it easier to hack into phones.

Fortunately, Apple’s approach to Face ID has largely allayed people’s fears. But just how secure is the facial recognition biometric technology adopted by Apple and its rivals? A Forbes reporter (and his 3D printed head model) recently demonstrated just how the iPhone stacks up against Android rivals.

Apple Pay and electronic IDs are removing the need for a wallet, but why wait? Try a Dodocase that holds your phone as well as your drivers license, credit cards, etc.

We went hands on with three of this company’s leather iPhone wallet cases so we can report how they stand up to real-world use.

This week we dim the lights (with HomeRun), fire up the music (with Djay 3.0) and settle in with a nice long read (Instapaper). Also, Nanostudio 2, which I couldn’t fit into that cozy scene, is awesome nonetheless.

When it comes to charging, wired is tired, and wireless is…better. And as Qi-compatible chargers catch on, they’re available for way more than just your desktop. So we’ve rounded up 3 of the coolest wireless charging gadgets you’ll find, all at big discounts. Read on for more info:

Drones are super-cool, super-fun — and often, super-expensive. For many of us, they can seem forever out of reach, and probably too complicated to learn. Not so with this feature-loaded, uber-portable, and very affordable camera drone.

The iPad Pro is pro enough for almost anything, but one thing it still can’t handle is making a Skype or FaceTime call and recording it at the same time. This is a total pain for podcasters who like to travel light. Luckily, there’s a neat workaround.

Find out how to podcast from the road 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.

If you’ve ever made calls or used data across international borders without checking on your service plan specifics first, that’s likely a mistake you won’t make again. It’s called international roaming — and when your U.S. SIM card connects with a mobile network in a foreign nation, you usually start accruing new charges. Those fees typically start at just a couple bucks, but they can go through the roof quickly if you aren’t careful.

If you’ve ever considered breaking into an Apple Store with a U-Haul truck, don’t bother: it won’t work.

A couple of guys tried it in Berkeley, California last night and got away with exactly no Apple merchandise.

Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang have scored a new contract with Apple.

The iPhone-maker has reportedly struck a deal with DHX Media that will give Apple exclusive access to new Peanuts content, including TV shows and other original programming.

Amazon’s Alexa speakers can finally connect to your Apple Music account.

Support for Apple Music on the Amazon Echo was rolled out today, giving iPhone and iPad owners the option to pump out their favorite jams without signing up for an Apple Music competitor like Spotify Premium.

Getting the new Apple Music integration up and running is ridiculously easy, but we’ll walk you through the entire process.

You lock your house, right? And your car? It’s equally important to lock your data with a secure password. But year after year people insist on using the same easily-guessed passcodes.

The list of “Worst Passwords of 2018” is out, and if your favorite is on there you really need to change it to something more secure.

Even amid the three-quarters of a million residents of Winnipeg, Canada, Rocky Bergen felt alone when it came to his love of vintage computers.

But thanks to his papercraft models of classic machines like the Apple II, Bergen has connected with folks in places as far away as Italy and Sweden.

Fortnite’s newest item, which has seen a lot of criticism since being added to Battle Royale this week, is getting a big nerf.

Developer Epic Games has confirmed it is taking away the ability to harvest resources and build structures while carrying the Infinity Blade. It promises to continue monitoring the Blade’s effectiveness after the changes and “make adjustments as necessary.”

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is one of the more reliable Apple watchers out there. And he doesn’t have good news for the company.

In his latest note to clients, Kuo slashes his estimate on the number of iPhones Apple is likely to sell in the coming months. Compared to the 50 million iPhones Apple sold in Q1 2018, Kuo thinks the company will sell just 38 to 42 million units.

These days, everybody is a storyteller. But if you want to be effective spinning yarns in the 21st century, you need the right tools. So this roundup of six powerful Mac apps is a must-see for any modern storyteller.

Just a few years back, Japan Display was talking about building a $1.4 billion factory to create iPhone displays for Apple. Jump forward to 2018 and the company is having to reimagine its future for a world in which smartphone growth isn’t guaranteed.

According to a new report, Japan Display has responded by focusing on smart sensors. Compared to one year ago, the firm has shifted one-third of its research staff to sensor development. These would be focused on everything from sleep tracking to assorted healthcare applications.

This week on The CultCast: It’s all our favorite gadgets of 2018! Well, not all, but lots of them. We didn’t have time to get through them all but we tried real hard. Plus: Apple is finally gearing up to overhaul the AMD GPUs in the Mac lineup. And the legit way to purchase a base iMac Pro for just $3,900.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off your first hosting plan or domain.

One of Australia’s largest banks has said that it has listened to its customers and is about to start offering Apple Pay support. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (abbreviated to CommBank) doesn’t give an exact launch date, but a tweet suggests that it’s coming soon.

This is significant due to the fact that CommBank is part of Australia’s “Big Four” largest banks, which previously struggled to come to terms with Apple over mobile payments.

Apple is rushing to release an iOS update in China to resolve potential infringement of Qualcomm patents. The news follows a report stating that a Chinese sales ban of certain iPhone models would cost Apple millions of dollars a day.

“Early next week we will deliver a software update for iPhone users in China addressing the minor functionality of the two patents at issue in the case,” Apple said in a statement.

When Raspberry Pi rolled out in 2012, people immediately hailed the low-cost, credit card-size microcomputer as a fun new toy for kids and tech tinkerers. Since then, forward-thinking Pi users adapted this “toy” into a surprisingly powerful piece of tech. Users create everything from home media networks to robotics to fully automatic timesavers.

Tumblr’s exile from the iOS App Store is over, but the company behind it had to kick all forms of pornography off the platform to be allowed to return.

While that decision is controversial, it did mean that this blogging app can be again be downloaded to iPhone and iPad. 

This post is presented by Indice, maker of the Apollo app.

The photos you take are only as good as the lighting. That’s true no matter whether you’re using a top-of-the-line DSLR or an iPhone. The difference is, with an iPhone, you can change the lighting after you’ve taken the picture. That’s thanks to Apollo, an iOS app that uses the iPhone’s depth data to totally reimagine the lighting conditions in your photos.

The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) published a draft privacy bill this morning that proposes making it harder for companies to track people’s location or collect biometric information about them. 

Apple is a top donor to the CDT, and the company has taken a strong stance on protecting user’s privacy.