If you’ve opted for the best in smartwatches and smartphones (I’m talking about the Apple watch and iPhone, of course), you shouldn’t be charging them on your windowsill or coffee table. The Griffin Watchstand Charging Station gives you a single, sleek place to charge both. Give your prized peripherals a place of privilege for just $49.99.
Tiny ActionCam is perfect for cheap thrillseekers
I waited for a GoPro-type video camera that won’t the break the bank, and happily discovered Vivitar’s DVR 786HD ActionCam fits the bill.
It’s tiny, capable and totally scratches my itch for an easy-to-use video camera to wean me off using up my iPhone’s battery to capture longer videos.
I found one of these ActionCams for around $75 or so on Amazon, and while it doesn’t offer all the extreme insanity of a GoPro, it’s a pretty nifty little camera on its own.
Apple’s rumored March event: Catch our hardware expectations on The CultCast
This week: New hardware, incoming! We’ll tell you our hardware expectations for Apple’s rumored March 2016 event, and there’s a lot to discuss. Plus: Why the next iPad Air could be the best one yet; iPhone 7 may have far fewer features than expected; and, is Apple making a move into virtual reality?
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to build a website that looks beautiful on any device that visits at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off.
Super-thin iPad Pro cover lets you stash Apple Pencil
Best List: CoverBuddy iPad Pro case by SwitchEasy
Keeping track of my Apple Pencil is a royal pain. Either I’ve got to slip it into a bag like an actual writing implement, carry it around in my pocket, or get one of those cases for my iPad Pro that adds a ton of bulk just to include a fabric loop to strap the Pencil in.
Not so the CoverBuddy case, an ultra-thin plastic sheath for the rear of the iPad Pro that includes something I wouldn’t expect from such a thin, light case: a secure spot for the Apple Pencil.
It’s simply the best minimalist pencil-holding cover I’ve seen yet.
Best video editing apps for iPhone and iPad
Long gone are the days where video editing has to take hours and involve your Mac. Thanks to the iPhone and iPad, I’ve put together some awesome, professional-looking video. Depending on what your needs are, and how much control you want over the process, these are currently the best video editing apps I’ve found for iPhone and iPad.
How I quickly fixed a weird Siri Remote problem
I’ve been suffering with this strange issue for about a week: my Apple TV’s Siri Remote’s Menu button stopped working.
All the other buttons–Home, Siri, Volume and Play–worked, so it didn’t seem like a huge deal at first. But then I was digging around in the Settings app and realized that the Menu button is indispensible for one thing: moving backward in an app. Without it, I was stuck in the Settings pane that I had clicked through to; there was no getting back to the main Settings page.
Here’s what I did to get the Siri Remote’s Menu button working again.
Welcome to the Cult of Mac Watch Store
The Cult of Mac Watch Store just opened for business, offering a carefully curated selection of Apple Watch accessories — just in time for all your holiday shopping needs.
Whether you’re looking for luxe leather and steel bands or clutter-killing stands, our shiny new online store showcases nothing but the best Apple Watch accessories. You’ll find quality goods that let you put your personal stamp on your Apple Watch, all at fair prices.
Everything you need to know about CES 2016
It’s been a busy week here at Cult of Mac as we all scrambled to get as much news as possible out of CES, the big electronics show that’s been chugging right along in Las Vegas. It’s one of the biggest trade shows in the world, so we had plenty of news to go around.
We had people on the show floor discussing everything gadgety — including the finer points of rejuvenating one’s vagina — and we had people at home trying to ignore how hilarious that was for long enough to crank out the rest of the news. While the stories were plentiful, our handy hub here ensures you don’t have to click around too much to get everything worth knowing from the show.
Here’s the huge collection of all of our coverage from CES 2016.
Apple scoops up A.I. startup that analyzes users’ emotions
Apple’s latest acquisition is of a small artificial intelligence company called Emotient. The startup has technology that analyzes people’s emotions through their facial expressions.
Apple “buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” Apple’s spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal. That’s the typical statement Apple gives when snatching up small companies.
It’s not clear yet what Apple has in mind for Emotient, but we sure can speculate.
10 superb iOS and Mac apps we loved in 2015
Witnessing the ingenuity of app developers both small and large is a real highlight of my job writing about the Apple ecosystem. In that regard, 2015 didn’t disappoint: Some tremendous new apps got unleashed this year on both iOS and OS X.
Here are Cult of Mac’s picks for the absolute best apps of the year for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
This concept turns the iPhone 7’s touchscreen into an infinity edge pool
There have been plenty of rumors about Apple creating bezel-less iPhones over the years, and as many concept videos turning those rumors into sci-fi CGI.
This concept’s different, though, in that it’s actually plausible. Meet the iPhone 7 Edge, a concept that takes the concept of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and applies it to the next iPhone.
The 10 best new Mac games of 2015
Mac games aren’t as numerous as iOS games, but they tend to be a bit more expensive, making impulse purchases a rare thing. How do you know which ones to spend your money on?
If you’re looking to stuff your stocking with the finest of games for our favorite platform, look no further. We play them all so you don’t have to, and we tell you which are the best ones to grab.
These are Cult of Mac’s picks for best new Mac games of 2015.
watchOS 2.1 is out with lots of language support and bug fixes
Apple Watch owners received a new software update this morning in the form of watchOS 2.1.
The new update comes over a month after watchOS 2.0.1 was made available to the public and contains a number of bug fixes and performance improvements to go with expanded system language support.
Who says a car charger needs to look boring?
Best List: Ribbn car charger by Tylt
Simple, elegant and fun, the Ribbn car charger is no-muss, no-fuss.
Offering up 4.8 amps, Tylt’s little Lightning charger plugs into a standard cigarette lighter socket and adds a bit of bright-blue bling to your car’s interior.
OnePlus launches a new case for … iPhone?!
OnePlus is today launching a new smartphone case with its signature Sandstone finish — but it isn’t compatible with any of the company’s own devices. Instead, it’s made for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, and we love it!
Check out our hands-on gallery below.
Fossil’s first smartwatch is here in time for the holidays
Fossil’s first Android Wear watch, the stunning Q Founder, has finally arrived. The device ships with a bunch of exclusive Fossil faces, and it can be ordered from Fossil’s online store now for $295.
How to fix the Watch Sport in version 2 (Hint: GPS and Nike integration)
Rumor has it that Apple Watch will get an update next year. There is already plenty of speculation about what cool new features Cupertino will add.
Personally, I’m hoping that the new watch will focus on fitness, so I’ve created a mockup concept to show what I’d like to see in the next generation of Apple Watch. I call it the Apple Watch GPS, Nike edition.
The Room Three improves an already near-perfect puzzle series
We didn’t think it was possible to improve on the amazing second installment of The Room, but developer Fireproof Games has delivered.
The third entry in the puzzle series, The Room Three, takes everything we already loved about the franchise’s Myst-style puzzles and mysterious, Lovecraftian horrors and makes it bigger and smarter. And then it throws in a new character, the most coherent and engaging plot yet, and multiple endings, which it didn’t even need to do, but all of it is great.
Up yours, Unicorn Burrito: Unleash iOS 9.1’s awesome new emojis
This week’s update to iOS 9.1 did more than just squash some bugs and tweak the Shift key. It also added a ton of new emojis to your built-in keyboard. If you want to put a number on it, iOS 9.1 adds 184 new, tiny pictures to spice up your text messages.
It may be hard to keep track of which ones are new, so we gathered up the newcomers for your convenience — along with where to find them.
Facebook’s sneaky app is draining your iPhone battery
iPhone users who have been suffering from worse battery life since upgrading to iOS 9 may want to try deleting Facebook’s iOS app.
The social network confirmed reports that surfaced earlier this week claiming the iOS app uses a heavy amount of resources in the background to run processes. The big problem with the battery drain is that it occurs even if iPhone owners have background app refresh disabled. It’s actually worse with the setting turned off. because Facebook is sneakily creating channels to continue refreshing its app in the background, even when users tell it not to.
Satechi adds USB to make power strips sexy again
Best List: Satechi Aluminum Power Strip with USB
It’s true: Power strips are the least-sexy of gadgets to talk about. This Satechi Aluminum Power Strip with USB, however, is as gorgeous as it gets in this admittedly prosaic product category.
The best reason to upgrade to iPhone 6s Plus: optical image stabilization
If you want to record the smoothest 4K video with an iPhone, skip the 6s and go with the 6s Plus.
The two new iPhones appear to be identical in almost every way except screen size, but in a new 4K video comparing the digital stabilization of the iPhone 6s against the optical/digital stabilization on the iPhone 6s Plus, the new camera on Apple’s bigger-than-big iPhone is clearly superior.
Check it out for yourself: