| Cult of Mac

Would you buy a drone just to take selfies? Now you can.

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The Pixy drone can be your flying camera.
The Pixy drone can be your flying camera.
Photo: Pixy

If you take selfie photos constantly, maybe you’re ready to move beyond smartphone camera timers and selfie sticks for your pics. Is it time to start dabbling in aerial photography?

Sure, why not. Especially if Snapchat’s second-ever piece of hardware finds an audience when it goes on sale.

Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, unveiled a drone called “Pixy” last week. It said the little flying camera is designed for taking selfies.

What Apple’s got up its sleeve for 2022 [The CultCast]

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What Apple's got up its sleeve for 2022 [The CultCast]
This is where Apple's puck is going next year. Probably.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: It sounds like Apple has some really big plans for 2022. We’re psyched about some things, skeptical about others, but definitely shining up our Apple Cards.

Also on The CultCast:

  • Snap Spectacles, as modeled by Alex E. Heath.
  • Anxiously awaiting the end of the “notch.”
  • AppleCare+ getting a fear-based boost?
  • More of our Gear of the Year picks.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.

Instagram steals from Snapchat for new Threads app

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Threads
Instagram has yet another standalone app.
Photo: Instagram

Facebook-owned Instagram launched a new standalone app today that pretty much steals some of Snapchat’s key features.

Threads, rolling out globally to iOS today, is built around Instagram’s Close Friends feature, giving you a quicker way to message the people you care about on Insta the most.

Facebook eyes 2023 launch for smart glasses project

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Facebook messaging apps
Zuckerberg has reportedly asked that the project be made a priority.
Photo: Facebook

Apple’s long-rumored AR glasses project could get some competition from the world’s biggest social network company.

Facebook is reportedly developing its own augmented reality glasses. The social network recently struck a partnership with Ray-Ban parent company Luxottica to speed the product along, according to a new report.

Snapchat’s 3D Camera Mode lands exclusively on iPhones with Face ID

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snap
Snapchat just added another dimension to photos.
Photo: Snap

Snapchat just added another cool feature to distinguish it from Instagram but you’ll need to have one of the newest iPhones to use it.

A new 3D Camera Mode is rolling out to users today, allowing you to create and share images that have a 3D depth effect as you tilt your display in different directions. It’s the same feature that debuted on the newest version of Snap’s Spectacles, only now you can create them from your iPhone.

Take a look at all the possibilities 3D Camera Mode unlocks:

Snap’s Spectacles 3 are an ugly reminder why smart glasses aren’t ready

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Snap 3 glasses
This is as good as Spectacles 3 are ever going to look. For better or worse.
Photo: Snap

Despite Apple’s focus on ARKit and augmented reality, it’s yet to release the AR headset it is supposedly working on.

Tim Cook has previously said Apple will only do it when it can do so in “a quality way.” Snapchat’s newly unveiled Spectacles 3 may be a reminder as to why Apple is hanging back.

Snapchat jumps into original content with 5-minute daily scripted shows

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Snap Originals 1
Snap is launching a whole bunch of original shows.
Photo: Snap

Apple’s not the only tech company hopping on the original content bandwagon in 2018. Snapchat company Snap is launching new shows in partnership with Hollywood production companies. And they’re coming as soon as today.

Called “Snap Originals,” they won’t be full-length shows like Apple is busy commissioning, though. In keeping with the short-term hook that made Snapchat popular, the company is cranking out five-minute episodes shot vertically for viewing on mobile devices.

Snapchat’s AR Lenses finally arrive on iPhone X

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Snapchat
Snap's iPhone X Lenses adhere more closely to the face.
Photo: Snap

The iPhone X’s exclusive AR Snapchat Lenses were first shown off at the iPhone X keynote last year. Jump forward seven months and Snap has finally gotten around to releasing them.

Available only to owners of Apple’s flagship handset, the Lenses work using Apple’s TrueDepth front-facing camera, technology which is reportedly two years ahead of the competition.