selfie

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on selfie:

Snap Kardashian-worthy selfies with a clever iPhone accessory [Deals]

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This beauty-oriented iPhone accessory adds a fisheye camera with LED light ring, humidifier for skincare, and more.
This beauty-oriented iPhone accessory adds a fisheye camera with LED light ring, humidifier for skincare, and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If the iPhone gives our face a glow, it’s usually the creepy pale light cast by the screen. But with one clever accessory, you can turn your phone into a beauty station that also snaps extra gorgeous selfies.

Hundreds of people are dying from selfies

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iPhone X portrait lighting ad
Be careful where you selfie.
Photo: Apple

Think twice before you take your next selfie because it could be your last.

Selfie-related deaths are on the rise, according to a new study that found there were over 250 reported deaths from October 2011 to November 2017 that happened while the person was trying to snap a selfie.

Bored of selfies? New iPhone X app creates impressive 3D face scans

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Bellus3D
New app puts the iPhone X's 3D depth-sensing tech to good use.
Photo: Bellus3D

The 3D sensing technology behind Face ID is reportedly two years ahead of Apple’s rivals, and developers are keen to take advantage of it. A new app, created by the Silicon Valley computer vision company Bellus3D, uses Apple’s TrueDepth camera to create detailed three-dimensional selfies.

Called Bellus3D FaceApp, the iPhone X exclusive app is currently in beta. It offers users high resolution face scans of the kind that were only previously possible to achieve using expensive professional 3D scanners. Check out a demo video below.

Apple’s latest videos show off iPhone X’s portrait selfies

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Portrait Lighting in selfies. Humankind can now sit back and relax.
Portrait Lighting in selfies. Humankind can now sit back and relax.
Photo: Apple

Apple published a new set of videos today giving iPhone X owners some more tips on how to get the most out Apple’s most advanced camera ever.

The new videos show how to take advantage of the new Portrait mode selfies feature on the iPhone X and the best way to edit them. There’s also a new tutorial for Live Photos that shows you how to create a bounce photo which is a lot like Instagram’s boomerang feature.

Check ’em out:

iPhone X goes to Carnaval in latest Apple ad

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iPhone X
The iPhone X is ready to party in Apple's new commercial.
Photo: Apple

Apple has come out with a colorful new ad for the iPhone X that shows off the device’s amazing selfie camera at one of the most craziest parties in the world: Carnaval in Brazil.

The new ad is part of Apple’s push to make more regional ads. Apple made a similar ad for Carnaval last year that focused on Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Watch the fun new ad:

Up your mobile audio, photo and charging game [Deals]

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This roundup of gear and gadgets includes awesome audio, video, and charging goodies.

Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Feel like spicing up the digital dimensions of your life? If so, today is your lucky day. That’s because we’ve rounded up massive deals on top shelf accessories, from Bluetooth speakers and headphones, to an awesome digital camera and portable power pack. It’s all discounted by nearly half off or more. Plus, you can get an additional 15 percent off when you use the coupon code “SAVE15” at checkout. Read on for more details:

Upgrade your iPhone photography game, and more [Deals]

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From clip-on camera lights to double-sided phone mounts, these are the iPhone accessories you're looking for.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Your iPhone is a splendid device. But to make the most of its potential, you need the right accessories. That’s why we’ve rounded up a group of accessories that covers all the bases. We’ve got a double-sided magnetic phone mount, and trio of extra long, MFi-Certified Lightning cables. On top of that, we’ve got a clip-on light and a set of five lenses that’ll transform the way you take photos with your phone. Plus, most are discounted by more than 70 percent. Read on for more details:

Nab a special selfie light, 2TB of cloud storage and more [Week’s best deals]

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collage-2017-08-15
This week's best deals include a new way to take selfies, 2 TB of secure cloud storage, and lots more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Another week, another round of awesome new deals on gear and gadgets in the Cult of Mac Store. This go around, we’ve got a special lens for taking ultra slick selfies, and 2 terabytes of secure cloud storage for life. On top of that, there’s a powerful VPN subscription, and a special podium stand for your iPhone. Plus, everything’s discounted more than 60 percent. Read on for more details:

The Rock and Siri team up in new iPhone 7 ads

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siri in space
Siri can help you do everyday things. Like take a selfie in space.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s partnership with the Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson) has spawned three new ads for the iPhone 7 that showcase Siri’s talents at performing everyday tasks.

The Rock cooks up something smelly and takes his selfie talents to space in the colossal ads that are a follow up to the short film Apple released last month starring Johnson and Siri.

Check out all three sequel ads:

Apple drops more iPhone 7 photography tip videos

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Apple wants to help you shoot better photos.
Apple wants to help you shoot better photos.
Photo: Apple

Did you know that you can shoot video and take still photos on your iPhone at the same time?

If not, you definitely need to watch Apple’s latest series of iPhone 7 videos that offer tips on how to capture amazing photos with the camera that’s always with you. Apple posted four more videos today that go with the other photography tutorials that came out yesterday. Now you can learn more about selfies, better angles, golden hour and more.

Watch all four new videos:

Adobe teases app that makes bad selfies look good

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Your selfies are about to get an upgrade.
Your selfies are about to get an upgrade.
Photo: Adobe

Creating professional quality selfies is about to become a lot easier, if Adobe ever releases the amazing new app its research team just teased online.

Adobe published a new video today showing off what the future of selfie photography could hold once its powered by artificial intelligence. Powered by Adobe Sensei, the app demo shows how you can transform a bad portrait shot into something great by changing the perspective of a person’s face, add depth of field, and replicate styles of other photos in an instant.

Prepare to be amazed:

iPhone 7 Plus’ stunning Portrait Mode is ready for its close-up

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Portrait Mode turns ordinary pics into extraordinary photos.
Portrait Mode turns ordinary pics into extraordinary photos.
Photo: Apple

Apple launched a new ad campaign this week with two new short spots that showcase the superior shooting skills of the iPhone 7 Plus’ new Portrait Mode.

Both of the new ads highlight how to use Portrait Mode to elevate your pictures of people or pets to an all-new level. The new feature is technically still in beta, but it looks like Apple thinks it’s ready for its close-up.

These accessories will expand your idea of what’s possible with a selfie [Deals]

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Turn any surface into a phone mount, perfect for group shots.
Turn any surface into a phone mount, perfect for group shots.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The word ‘selfie’ might make you smile or it might make you roll your eyes, but there’s a lot more to it than just front-facing cameras and goofy looking sticks. We’ve gathered some great tools for taking a wide variety of shots in a variety of situations, whether you’re trying to get the perfect jumping shot, experimenting with points of view, get shots or video from inside a car, or just more space for storing all of those photos. Any one of these could change the way you take selfies, so take a look:

Adobe knows what stock photos will be hot, hot, hot in 2016

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Quirky, personal tech will continue to attract.
Quirky, personal tech will continue to attract.
Photo: BIZOO_N / Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock thinks it knows the future.

At least, the stock photography collective run by Adobe Systems, thinks that photos showing personalized technology (wearables and VR headsets), hipster aesthetics (Instagram, beards, and flannel, anyone?), and more stylish selfies will rule the roost in the coming year.

What’s that mean to you? Well, chances are you’ll see more of these kinds of images in your Facebook and Instagram feeds, and every day advertising life. If you’re a creative professional, you’ll want to stay up on the trending imagery as it evolves over the coming months.

Here’s a rundown of the trends Adobe Stock thinks are coming your way in 2016.

Beyonce’s stylist just created the most narcissistic iPhone case yet

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Screen Shot 2016-01-04 at 10.33.23
Putting the "I" in iPhone
Photo: Tytryone

From bizarre accessories approaching Zoolander levels of parody to thieves stupid enough to snap themselves at the scene of a crime, selfies were one of 2015’s most unfortunate trends.

Unfortunately it looks like they’ll be continuing into 2016, too, with Beyonce’s celebrity stylist Ty Hunter recently unveiling her own contribution to humanity’s downfall: the Ty-Lite protective case for iPhone 6 and 6s, which basically turns your handset into a light-up dressing room mirror.

Someone named a narcissistic iPhone accessory after themselves? Why am I not surprised?

Selfie-obsessed driver slams into tree

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Just don't, ok?
Just don't, ok?
Photo: Maine State Police

Enough with the constant need to take photos of ourselves, ok?

According to a report in the Bangor Daily News, 29-year-old Jordan Toner decided to lean in to a selfie taken by one of his seven passengers while driving along Deering Lake Road at about 1:30 pm this past Saturday.

Needless to say, it turned out badly, with Toner driving the 2014 Mazda CX5 off the road and into a tree.

Numbskull thief takes identifying selfie while robbing an iPhone

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Heading
May as well have sent a confession via iMessage.
Photo: Los Angeles Police Department

iPhone cameras are getting better and better all the time, with the upcoming iPhone 6s reportedly set to receive one of the bigger camera upgrades in recent memory.

While most of us are happy about this, we’re assuming the guy pictured above is cursing the day Apple decided to include a front-facing camera on its handsets — since it’s caught him in the act of robbing an iPhone, and now gives the police a perfect mugshot it can use for identification purposes.

Russia wants to stop your next selfie being your last

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In Soviet Russia, some selfies take people.
In Soviet Russia, some selfies take people.
Photo: Quartz

From electrocution while trying to get the perfect background, to accidentally shooting oneself while posing with a pistol, Russian selfies seem to be pretty dangerous things — with more than 100 leading to serious injuries in the country in the pas year alone.

With that kind of track record, it’s no wonder that Russia’s police force wants to do something about it — which they’ve apparently done by issuing a brochure packed with handy graphics showing how to take selfies without risking potentially fatal injuries.

Future iPhones could be unlocked with a selfie

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The new way to unlock your iPhone?
The new way to unlock your iPhone?
Photo: Apple/USPTO

Apple may have banned selfie sticks at WWDC, but the company was today granted a patent revealing how future iPhones could be unlocked by snapping a quick photo of yourself.

Entitled “Low threshold face recognition,” the patent describes a means of “reducing the impact of lighting conditions and biometric distortions” that can negatively affect facial recognition for a solution which “can be implemented on camera-equipped consumer portable appliances” — presumably such as the iPhone and iPad, although the second-generation (camera-equipped) Apple Watch 2 wouldn’t be out of the question, either.

This sleek camera drone captures selfies from the skies

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Just hurl it into the air and start moving. Photo: Lily Camera/The Verge

Forget about your run-of-the-mill selfie stick, the future of mobile photography could very well be a new easy-to-use, self-flying camera drone — which users launch into the air like a frisbee and which will then follow them around capturing gorgeous HD video as it does so.

Called the Lily Camera, the rugged and waterproof camera drone boasts a 12MP 1080p camera, is small and light enough to fit in a regular backpack, and functions by way of both GPS and the latest computer vision algorithms.

Check out a video demonstration below:

Apple patent puts a twist on facial recognition unlocking

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Photo: David Schiersner
You selfies may soon unlock (and lock) your iPhone. Photo: David Schiersner

Apple is looking to up its selfie game in a new patent awarded to the company by the United States Patent and Trademark Offices today. The new patent would allow iPhone and iPad users to unlock their devices by simply taking a selfie, rather than using Touch ID or a passcode.

Android phones have had facial unlocking features for year, and there have been iOS jailbreak hacks as well, but Apple’s patent comes with a twist – devices will also automatically lock when they don’t recognize your face.

World’s worst iPad thieves caught thanks to celebratory selfie

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#1 rule of stealing iPads: don't upload a selfie after. Photo: TheSmokingGun
A celebratory selfie undid these two iPad thieves. Photo: TheSmokingGun

Meet the world’s worst iPad thieves: Dillian Thompson (20) and Dorian Walker-Gaines (22). From “the money team.”

Houston police arrested these two geniuses after they uploaded a celebratory selfie video from Burger King to flaunt the cash they stole, along with an iPad, laptop and a couple other items left in someone’s unlocked car. The duo took a number of selfies and even uploaded a video to Facebook showing the $5,000 in C-notes they’d just stolen.

“This, my good people, is what we get from a good night’s hustle,” Dillian says in the video, completely oblivious to the wonders of iCloud and the felony theft charges that are about to follow.

Check out their video below: