iPhone 5 - page 2

Last chance to save big on a tiny, tough Lightning cable that goes anywhere [Deals]

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Titan's MFi-certified Loop is a superb way to keep a charging cable on hand when and wherever you need it.
Titan's MFi-certified Loop is a superb way to keep a charging cable on hand when and wherever you need it.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

These days, the charging cable for our mobile devices is almost as important to keep on our person as the house keys. Titan Loop is a great way to keep both on hand, a lightweight, steel-sheathed lightning cable that can also fold into a loop that attaches to anything else you regularly carry around with you. For a very short time, Titan Loops are still available for $19.95 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Xiaomi exec says all smartphones look like the iPhone

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Fancy swapping your iPhone for one of these? Photo: Xiaomi
Look, things just look like other things.

Xiaomi executive Hugo Barra doesn’t put much stock in what he calls the “copycat melodrama” surrounding the company’s products, which bear more than a passing resemblance to Apple’s hardware.

Barra gave his thoughts on the matter to Bloomberg’s Emily Chang. He says that the criticism is not so much because Xiaomi’s stuff looks like Apple’s stuff but rather because “every smartphone these days kinda looks like every other smartphone.”

You can see the whole clip below.

Half of everything brings out the saw in this divorce

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You want the iPhone 5?. Your half coming right up.
Gif: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

It’s hard to say whether one man’s eBay page indicates he’s bitter about his divorce or has taken the division of property too literally.

A German man used saws to divide possessions shared with his estrange wife, giving her half and selling his half on eBay.

Everything, from an iPhone and MacBook Pro to dining room chairs, the mailbox, a teddy bear and their car, was subject to his interpretation of splitting things 50-50.

Dropped iPhone 5 films its watery descent to the ocean floor

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Water way to test your iPhone!
Water way to test your iPhone!
Photo: LifeProof

An iPhone 5 user from San Diego almost lost his Apple handset after accidentally dropping it into the sea.

“My brother tried throwing my phone to me,” Gregory Papadin told British newspaper The Mirror. “It ended up going straight under water and sank to bottom of the ocean floor.”

Papadin says the underwater pressure proved too much for him and his brother to swim down and retrieve the phone, but the captain of the ship he was renting was able to dive in and get it — to discover that the phone had not only managed to survive the episode, but actually film its own watery descent.

Check out the video below:

Battle between iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 comes to a boil

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With strong reviews and positive word of mouth behind both the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S6, the battle between the two flagship devices is what the smartphone-watching world deserves.

But there’s one more question that precisely nobody’s been asking up until now: Which one would survive longer in a tub of boiling water?

Yep, as wacky stress tests go, you can forget about accusations of bending — this one takes the cake.

Apple extends its iPhone 5 battery replacement program until 2016

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Is this a familiar sight for your iPhone 5?
Is this a familiar sight for your iPhone 5?

Battery life is one of the most discussed aspects of the iPhone, but some handsets have it worse than others.

If you bought an iPhone 5 in the six month window between September 2012 and January 2013, you could be eligible for a free replacement due to a battery fault.

Apple first launched its iPhone 5 Battery Replacement Program back in August 2014, and has now extended it past its original deadline of March 1, 2015 to January next year. That means that if you’re one of the affected customers, and you’ve not yet done anything about it, you’ve still got a bit longer to do so.

One of Sundance’s hottest films was shot on an iPhone 5s

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Tangerine has been a breakout hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The indie flick is drawing crowds thanks to a plot that features transgender prostitutes, Hollywood, meth addicts, pimps, and beat cops. But the craziest thing about director Sean Baker’s film is that instead of using a professional camera rig, he shot it all on the iPhone 5s.

Get bent: The shocking history of bent smartphones

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Apple's new aluminum will kill Bendgate.
Apple's new aluminum will kill Bendgate.
Photo: Unbox Therapy

Bend-Gate is slowly taking over the Internet this morning as Apple fans discover the startling fact that when pressure is applied to an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus frame, it bends – just like every other smartphone ever made of metal.

The bending problem has been reported by a number of iPhone 6 owners who pocketed their big iPhone 6 only to retrieve it later with a significant curve in the frame. Some sites are deeming the new iPhones “more fragile than expected,” but the truth is we’ve seen this problem almost every year.

In fact, last year ran we an article titled “iPhone 5s Bending in People’s Pockets.” Any phone made of metal is still subject to the laws of physics, but to reiterate that this isn’t exactly a problem exclusive to the iPhone 6, here’s a look at other Android and Apple phones that have bending problems.

Apple not replacing all batteries on iPhone 5 defective list

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iPhone
Apple isn't replacing all iPhone 5 devices suffering from short battery life.
Photo: Apple

Earlier this week it was announced that Apple was replacing certain iPhone 5 models, sold between September 2012 and January 2013, due to a problem related to the devices’ battery life.

According to certain customers, however, things are not quite as straightforward as they may seem.

Some users, who fulfilled the criteria in terms of their iPhone 5 serial number, were still denied the free device replacement after Apple added additional tests. One iPhone user in Queensland, Australia said that she was told by an Apple Store employee that while the battery was “borderline” defective (it allegedly ran for only a couple of hours after charging) it was “not close enough” to warrant a free replacement. The customer was then asked for $99 in order for the Apple staffer to install a new battery.

Burning iPhone forces plane to make emergency evacuation

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burntiPhone
Perfectly burnt iPhone. Photo: Carlos Sancho Flickr

The TSA has started treating smartphones with dead batteries like potential bombs, but after an iPhone mishap on one plane caused an emergency evacuation, maybe they should be more worried about all the iPhones with a full charge too.

Panic broke out on a flight bound for Prague this weekend after an iPhone 5 caught fire in a passenger’s bag, causing the entire plane to be evacuated back to the main terminal.

The Straitjacket is my new favorite iPhone case

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Loop's Straitjacket case will keep your iPhone crazy-safe. Photos: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Loop's Straitjacket case will keep your iPhone crazy-safe. Photos: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Loop Attachment is famous for making some of the best silicone cases you can buy for iOS devices, but the company’s latest effort for the iPhone 5/5s is a little different. It looks a lot like Loop’s Mummy lineup and carries over some of those cases’ greatest strengths, but it’s made from a mixture of rigid polycarbonate and soft polyurethane.

It’s called the Straitjacket, and it aims to provide your iPhone with excellent impact protection without completely covering its aluminum chassis and iconic Apple logo. It doubles as a credit card holder; provides full access to all buttons, ports and switches; and comes in a number of pretty colors.

What’s more, it’s the best Loop case yet for the iPhone.

How to fix your iPhone’s camera by acting like the Fonz

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In famous ’70s sitcom Happy Days, Henry Winkler’s unflappably cool greaser, Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, has a superpower, described on Wikipedia as “an almost magical ability to manipulate technology with just a nudge, bump or a snap of his fingers for things such as starting a car, turning on lights, coaxing free sodas from a vending machine, or changing the song selection on a jukebox.”

It turns out that if you’re having camera issues with your iPhone 5, fixing it might be as simple as channeling the Fonz: Just try thwacking it.

CAZLET: A premium wallet case that provides instant access to your iPhone

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The CAZLET from KYNEZ is an iPhone wallet case like no other. It’s the only one I know of that provides military-grade protection for your beloved smartphone, and it’s one of the few that allows you to use your device — and almost all of its features and functions — without having to open the wallet up.

CAZLET by KYNEZ
Category: Wallet case
Works With: iPhone 5 & iPhone 5s
Price: $65

CAZLET’s design leaves your iPhone’s display exposed yet protected, so as soon as you pull it out of your pocket, your device is ready to be used. It’s made from gorgeous leather sourced from boutique tanneries in France and Southern Germany, and it boasts some nifty features you don’t normally get with smartphone wallet cases — including dedicated pockets for a spare nanoSIM and SIM eject tool.

KYNEZ also offers a number of add-ons that you can buy separately, including a coin pocket, a card band, a hand strap, and an ID sleeve. The wallet itself comes with a $65 price tag, which I think is very reasonable. Let me tell you why.

Apple offers to replace faulty iPhone 5 on/off buttons for free

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Does your iPhone 5 suffer from a dodgy power button? If so, Apple will repair it free of charge, according to a new announcement made by the company.

“Apple has determined that the sleep/wake button mechanism on a small percentage of iPhone 5 models may stop working or work intermittently,” Apple states. “iPhone 5 models manufactured through March 2013 may be affected by this issue.”

iPhone users experiencing the problem can visit Apple’s website, enter their phone’s serial number and — hey presto! — see if their device is one of the faulty ones Apple is referring to.

Wirelessly charge your iPhone 5 with the WiQiQi i5 charger [Deals]

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Charging cords get caught or tripped on all the time. It’s time to eliminate the tangled mess and start charging with a hassle free wireless alternative – and the WiQiQi wireless charger offers a new era of powering up your iPhone.

And this tiny little powerhouse – the receiver is smaller than a credit card – is available from Cult of Mac Deals for a very limited time at the low price of $54.99!

Linkase Pro LTE Case Claims To Boost The iPhone’s Cell Data Signal

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Like its predecessor, the new prototype Linkase Pro LTE iPhone case supposedly boosts your iPhone’s ability to connect to the Internet. But where the previous version was claimed to strengthen the iPhone’s wifi radio, this new LTE version is supposed to boost, you guessed it, your iPhone’s LTE data radio. Absolute Technology, the company behind the case, also claims it will add 20 percent to your battery life due to less power wasted while trying to send and receive data.

The Vaultskin Windsor Wallet Sleeve: Give Your iPhone 5s The Luxury It Deserves [Deals]

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This Cult of Mac Deals offering has the following qualities: It’s a protective phone case, it’s a wallet, it’s killing two birds with one stone and looking classier than Burt Reynolds in a crushed-velvet suit while doing it. So if you like luxury and functionality in one sleek package, this deal is going to be for you.

The Windsor iPhone 5/5s Sleeve Case is made from genuine Italian leather and a luxurious micro-suede lining to keep your phone looking good while staying protected. It’s also a wallet that can hold 8 cards, so if you’re looking for sleek protection and space-saving functionality, this is it. And it’s just $39.99 through this Cult of Mac Deals special offer!

Thule’s Snap-On iPhone 5s Case Is Molded For Extra Grip & Protection [Review]

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Thule’s Gauntlet case for the iPhone 5s is a slim, stylish snap-on cover that offers plenty of protection. Just like its big brother, a thin folio that will effectively protect an iPad Air, the Gauntlet employs a molded texture for grip and durability.

Gauntlet by Thule
Category: Cases
Works With: iPhone 5 & iPhone 5s
Price: $27

The iPhone case provides plenty of access to all buttons, ports and cameras. It comes in black, turquoise or pink, and it will protect your device without making it too big and bulky.

One of the Gauntlet’s best features, however, is its slender price tag. Available from MyBanana, it costs less than £16 ($27) — and it’s worth every penny.

These Wooden Accents For The iPhone 5 Are Gorgeously Mid-Century

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Everyone at Cult of Mac knows I’m a sucker for wood-paneling all of my gadgets. I wood-paneled my iPhone 4s, my iPhone 5, my iPad, my iPad mini, and even my MacBook Air.

I have to say, though, that as understated as they are, I love Richard Clarkson’s wood-panels for the iPhone 5 most of all. They replace the tiny glass accents on the upper and lower parts of the iPhone 5 with little wood slivers in a variety of accents that looks amazingly understated and lovely.

Currently only available for the iPhone 5, Clarkson’s wooden replacement accents cost $38 a pair. There’s cheaper and easier to apply options, but we love this none the less.

Source: Richard Clarkson

Meison Morgan’s Handmade iPhone 5s Case Is A Beauty [Review]

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About a month ago, I reviewed a beautiful iPad mini case from U.K.-based BUKcase that was designed to make the device look like a simple book-bound notebook. Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been testing a handmade iPhone 5s case from Meison Morgan, courtesy of MyBanana, that has the same aim.

Meison Morgan by Meison Morgan
Category: Cases
Works With: iPhone 5 & iPhone 5s
Price: €30/$46

Manufactured in Greece using the same bookbinding process that traditional notebook makers use, this case offers not only good looks, but also all-round protection that promises to withstand the test of time.

It’s available in black and denim (blue), and it’s super affordable at €30 ($46).