Top stories - page 241

As technology progresses, it seems that we all need more and more smart devices to power through our day productively: a smartwatch for better workouts, a laptop for better work production, wireless earbuds for better listening, and a smartphone for better communication. While all of these high-powered devices work hard to improve our lives, our reliance on them tends to drain their batteries — and sometimes, everything goes critical all at once.

Brydge recently rolled out a big update for select iPad keyboards that finally brings multitouch gesture support and some major improvements. Here’s how you can update yours to take advantage of the changes.

Woolnut’s slim leather cases look fantastic enough that you might not mourn covering up your beautiful iPhone. And when I put a blue one on my ridiculously huge iPhone 12 Pro Max, it did more than provide an acceptably luxurious layer of protection.

It actually made my phone feel better.

If you like to store music locally on your iPhone so you don’t need a data connection to listen to your favorite tracks while you’re on the go, you may find that, over time, your music takes up too much space.

You can prevent that from happening by optimizing music storage on your device so the songs you don’t listen to anymore are automatically deleted to make room for other content. We’ll show you how.

Twelve South’s excellent PowerPic charger for iPhone is now available at half its original price. Designed to look like a stylish photo frame with built-in wireless charging functionality, the PowerPic looks right at home on any desk or nightstand. Get yours today for just $39.99.

It’s not every day you come across a high school student running a successful tech-based business – never mind one whose 3D renderings are routinely seen by thousands of people. But that’s the case with 17-year-old New Yorker Ian Zelbo and his RendersbyIan.

His detailed and realistic renders of leaked tech products, including Macs, get loads of exposure on social media from his clients, the likes of Jon Prosser of @FrontPageTech and Sam Kohl of iupdate.

If the judge in the Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit decides to rule against the iPhone-maker, she may have already signaled the significant App Store change she would order to satisfy the game developer’s complaints.

The judge asked a question that shows she’s considering allowing developers to point customers to their own websites to make in-app purchases. Currently, these purchases must go through Apple’s payment system.

There is a talented individual behind the lens of every iconic movie poster and stunning magazine portrait. And surprisingly often, one of those individuals is either Michael Muller or Patrick Hoelck.

These longtime friends and photography colleagues are responsible for some of the most striking and globally recognized images, from Wolverine film posters to Rihanna album covers. Now, Muller and Hoelck are sharing the secrets of Hollywood-level professional photography in a 20-hour master class that’s now available for $99.

You can activate up to six preprogrammed HomeKit scenes or accessories with the push of a button on Belkin’s Wemo Stage Scene Controller. The palm-size remote sits on a table or hangs on a wall, and lets you easily control HomeKit accessories all over your home. No wiring involved.

I’m fully committed to Apple’s home-automation system, and Belkin’s latest HomeKit gadget fit neatly into my setup. Here’s why.

Nearly 80 years ago, a 3-year-old girl wanted to see a photo of her family vacation right after it was taken. But she couldn’t, because instant cameras weren’t invented yet.

That moment sparked the idea for the instant camera, invented by Edward Land and inspired by his daughter, Jennifer Land. Debuting in 1943, instant film cameras have long been a photographic staple for anyone who loves memorabilia and keepsake moments.

A portable mini photo printer

The digital age all but did away with many of the nostalgic wonders of the past. But the HP Sprocket Portable Instant Photo Printer is here to bring back this blast from the past with modern technology. This instant mini photo printer churns out beautiful, crystal-clear color prints from your electronic devices instantly through the Sprocket App. And it’s available now for just $79.99.

The first iPad Pro with an M-series processor is apparently going to be as fast as many had hoped. Benchmark tests for the upcoming tablet show that it’s almost as speedy as the Macs released in late 2020. And faster than any Intel-based MacBook ever.

The 2021 model is more than 50% faster than the iPad Pro Apple introduced in 2020.

Mujjo’s luxurious leather cases offer great protection without making your pricey iPhone feel cheap and tacky. Bag select models from the Cult of Mac Store today to enjoy 25% off the usual price.

This is a limited-time discount, so enjoy it while you can.

It’s finally possible to print a list from the Reminders app if you’re running Apple’s latest software updates on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. There’s no need to copy and paste your tasks somewhere else — just hit the print button.

We’ll show you where to find it.

Want to save hundreds of dollars on a powerful MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? Check out Woot’s latest sale on 2019 and 2020 refurbs. It’s available today only and stock is selling fast, so don’t miss out!

At the core of Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple is the assertion that the iPhone-maker has a monopoly. With testimony from an expert witness, the game developer has begun laying out its arguments to convince the judge why she should agree.

Essentially, it claims that switching from iPhone to another device is so difficult that Apple can treat its users as if they had no other options.

If you’re a digital content creator, you’ve definitely seen a dreaded message flash across your screen: This device is running low on storage space.

While your health probably sits somewhere at the top of the list of your priorities, it can prove difficult to find the motivation to get out of the house and go to the gym or whatever fitness class you wanted to take that day.

Apple Fitness+ is an option, but this one-year subscription to Studio Sweat onDemand is the perfect pick for anyone who has difficulty leaving the house to break a sweat — or who even just gets bored easily at the gym. And it’s available now for just $99.

Apple’s newest software updates give us the ability to quickly sort Reminders by date, priority or title. We’ll show you how you can use the feature to easily organize your to-do lists on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

iOS 14.5 lets you answer or reject incoming calls with your voice on iPhone — without the need to say “Hey Siri.” In this tutorial, we’ll cover which headphones are compatible and how to get the feature set up.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max whipped all other top-tier handsets in a rigorous battery test. Doxomark simulated using the handsets over several days, and also factored in how long they took to recharge. In the final score, Apple’s offering came out way ahead.

Apple plans to release a surprisingly thin MacBook Air in the same colors as the current iMacs, according to leaker Jon Prosser.

The redesign, as shown in renders produced by Ian Zelbo in collaboration with Prosser, abandons the MacBook Air’s classic tapered design. Prosser said the renders are based on images shared with him by a reliable source.

When you look at lots of computer setups people pimp out on social media, you see the same questions cropping up among the comments. One common query: What good are monitor light bars? And what are they for, exactly?

It came up again the other day when Redditor Strigga posted about their MacBook Pro-based setup. Almost at the same time, we saw it again in Maize-Calm’s post about finishing up a setup with, guess what, a light bar.

Whether you already have an established career as a designer or want to start dabbling as one to flex your skills as a creative, most employers agree: Being proficient in Adobe is a base requirement. Specifically, knowing how to leverage Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop is a must, whether you’re developing graphics for a website, building out a logo for a business or custom-printing your own work to sell.

We’ve got a mix of “new” new and “old” new in this week’s roundup of the best apps for iOS devices and Macs.

A new scoring app frees board game players from pesky pens and pencils, and a new avatar app gives users a futuristic way to establish and secure their online identities. Meanwhile, upgrades to well-known apps Brave (a fast web browser for privacy freaks) and Carrot Weather (a sarcastic weather app for masochists) gain interesting new features. Image-editing app Photo Sense and Luna Display also got big upgrades.

In recent years, millions of Americans have been perfecting “the art of the side hustle,” or an additional job that usually allows one to accumulate cash through a specialized skill. Side hustles may even be more common than you think. According to a 2019 Bankrate survey, 43% of full-time employees say they have a job outside of their primary work.

Whether it’s motivated by money or creativity, everyone has an opportunity to excel at their own side hustle. And if you’ve got an eye behind the camera, then photography is an easy choice as a fun and lucrative gig.