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Apple TV 4K is almost picture-perfect [Review]

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Apple TV Siri Remote
Sound sync woes will be a thing of the past.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple TV has finally caught up with the 4K revolution.

It may be late to the game, but Apple’s newest set-top box pulls out all the stops to be the best on the field. It’s packing incredibly powerful new hardware that leaves competitors in the dust, and a much-improved tvOS platform that is years ahead of its rivals.

It may seem pricey starting at $179, but with amazingly sharp videos and great apps and games all rolled into one, Apple TV 4K is well worth the upgrade.

Watch our Apple TV video review:

iOS 11 Drag and Drop is great, but not for everything

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drag drop iOS 11 dock
Drag-and-drop is a great. way to get things done, but not the only way.
Photo: Cult of Mac

iOS 11’s biggest new feature, for iPad users at least, is drag-and-drop support, which goes way beyond just letting you drag a file or snippet of text between apps. I’ve been using iOS 11 since the first beta last summer, and while drag-and-drop was neat, it didn’t really come into its own until third-party apps started supporting it.

Two things have surprised me. One: How useful drag-and-drop is inside a single app (which works on iPhone, too). And two: How bad drag-and-drop is for certain tasks.

How to capture FaceTime Live Photos

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facetime live view
FaceTime can capture LivePhotos and save them to your camera roll.
Photo: Cult of Mac

You know how when you’re on a FaceTime call with your parents, and your father holds his favorite recipe up to the camera, and you use the screenshot to capture a photo of it? Well, now there’s a proper, official way to capture images from FaceTime calls. Even better, they’re not just stills. The captures are Live Photos, so you can relive that goofy smile from your grandparent long after they’re gone.

Why Steve Jobs’ Playboy interview was his most revealing ever

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Jobs
This was one of the most in-depth interviews of Jobs' career.
Photo: Esther Dyson/Ann Yow-Dyson/Flickr CC

Playboy magazine may be more closely associated with bunnies than with bytes, but back in February 1985 it was home to one of the most revealing interviews of Steve Jobs’ career.

To mark the passing of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who died Wednesday at the age of 91, we revisit one of the most in-depth interviews Jobs ever gave, which was conducted at a particularly tumultuous time in his career.

How to zip files in iOS 11’s Files app

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zip files in iOS 11 hero
Zipped works on iPhone too, only without the drag-and-drop.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Zipping files just got a whole lot easier on the iPad thanks to iOS 11’s new Files app. Now, instead of having to fire up a third party app and somehow get your files in there, you can use drag-and-drop, or other methods, from right inside Files, and then save the results back to Files. Today we’ll take a look at two zipping apps which work with Files to zip files in iOS 11, both with different approaches: Kpressor, and Zipped.

Now’s your chance to win 5 full years of Netflix [Deals]

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Netflix 5YR Giveaway
Win five free years of all your favorite movies and TV shows delivered straight to your screens and mailbox.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Netflix needs no introduction. It’s one of the few services that everybody gets use out of, with movies and TV shows for anyone’s tastes. Basically, Netflix is a utility provider for home entertainment. And when was the last time you got five years of free utilities?

Well we can’t offer you a break on your gas bill, but here’s a chance to win five years of premium Netflix subscription for free.

Amazon unleashes 5 new Echo products with crazy price tags

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Amazon Echo Plus
Amazon's new Echo devices are ready to invade your home.
Photo: Amazon

Amazon revealed not one, not two, not three, not four, but five Echo-based products at a huge event today at its headquarters in Seattle.

The wave of gadgets, which also included a new TV dongle, is ready to take on Apple’s HomePod speaker and Apple TV 4K with some pretty impressive features. Even more impressive, though, are their incredibly low price tags. It makes you wonder how Apple possibly can compete.

Here’s all the stuff Amazon just revealed.

Meteorite makes for a heavenly iPhone X case

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iPhone case
To boldly go where no iPhone case has gone before.
Photo: Caviar

We’ve seen iPhone cases plated in gold, encrusted with precious gems and crafted from the skin of an ostrich. But one made from a meteorite is sure to make a strong impact.

Since you’re already spending more than a grand on the new iPhone X, another $4,100 will get you a case made with “authentic elements” from a meteor discovered in Russian in 1967. The case, available for pre-order now from the Russian luxury accessories company Caviar, which also offers slightly less expensive cases made from volcanic rock, mink fur, and amber.

The action cam that raised over $1 million on Indiegogo does it all [Deals]

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YoCam Versatile Waterproof HD Life Camera
YoCam is a versatile, waterproof camera that takes great shots almost anywhere.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Having a powerful camera in your pocket is really handy when a great photo moment happens. A beautiful skyline, a precious family moment, a funny looking cat. But one place where you can’t reach for the phone to take a snap is when you’re underwater.

iPhone 8 bumper cases, must-have charging accessories, and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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Dynamic Defender
A protective bumper that's actually protective.
Photo: Telephant Labs

Crowdfund Roundup bugBuying a bumper case is a great way to protect your iPhone while showcasing its good looks. But did you know that most bumper cases on the market have poor impact protection? The Dynamic Defender changes that with its unique shock-absorbing mechanism.

It’s just one of the awesome ideas in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We also have a MacBook charging accessory that should come bundled with every Apple notebook, and more!

This wireless box turns your iPhone into a portable recording studio

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Spire studio
The Spire Studio looks super easy to use.
Photo: iZotope

If you’re a musician, there are plenty of ways to get recordings into your iPhone or iPad. Almost everyone uses either the Voice Notes or Music Memos to capture ideas, and there is a small universe of music apps for iOS, along with hardware to connect your instruments or high-quality microphones. But the Spire Studio hopes to make things easier by combining new hardware with an app, to make capturing audio super-simple.

Why Control Center no longer turns off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in iOS 11

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Bluetooth in iOS 11
In iOS 11, AirPods (and other Apple accessories) remain connected, even when you hit the Bluetooth "off" switch.
Photo: Cult of Mac

It used to be so simple: If you swiped open the iOS Control Center and tapped the Bluetooth icon, then Bluetooth would be toggled on or off. That was it, and the same went for Wi-Fi.

In iOS 11, tapping the same Bluetooth button doesn’t do that. Instead, the Control Center Bluetooth button disconnects your iPhone or iPad from connected Bluetooth accessories, leaving the actual Bluetooth radio on. What’s more, not all accessories get disconnected. Just what in the blazes is going on here?

iPhone 8’s pricier components nibble away at Apple’s margins

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What’s it like to have your startup bought by Apple? Stressful
Apple still makes a killing on its new handsets. But a bit less than before.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Each iPhone 8 costs Apple approximately $288.08 to build, while iPhone 8 Plus handsets cost an estimated $295.44, according to a new breakdown by IHS Markit. On top of this, Apple pays around $7.36 in basic manufacturing costs per device.

The new handsets are slightly more expensive than Apple’s previous generation of iPhones, with the smaller iPhone 8 costing around $9.57 in components more than the iPhone 7 did upon release.

This thermal pouch works like a spacesuit for your iPhone [Deals]

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This space-age thermal pouch protects your iPhone from overheating
This space-age thermal pouch protects your iPhone from overheating
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

You don’t need to go to outer space to find damaging extremes of heat and cold. Just forgetting to cover your phone at the beach can fry it to the point where it goes into a coma, or worse. But just like people, a simple layer of thermal shielding can go a long way towards keeping our phones healthy.

Apple’s biggest spoilers: The devs who cracked the code on iPhone X

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Apple keynote spoiler, Steven Troughton-Smith.
One of the devs who helped crack Apple's code. Literally.
Steve Troughton Smith/Flickr

When Apple execs stepped onstage for September’s big iPhone X unveiling, they had precious few surprises up their sleeves. This year’s iPhone keynote became one of the most spoiled in history, thanks to major software leaks — and a pair of industrious young developers who dug into Apple’s code to pierce the veil of Apple’s vaunted secrecy apparatus.

Steven Troughton-Smith and Guilherme Rambo, who live thousands of miles apart in Ireland and Brazil, dutifully combed through the leaked code. Working separately but in parallel, they pieced together clues that allowed them to reverse-engineer Apple’s plans. Then they released their findings on Twitter, painting an incredibly accurate picture of the iPhone X in a drip-drip-drip of juicy, spoiler-filled tweets.

The end result? An Apple event upstaged by leaks, and by the hard work of two curious coders. Cult of Mac talked with Troughton-Smith and Rambo to find out how they uncovered some of Apple’s most closely kept secrets.

iPhone X battery size and RAM confirmed

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iphone x
iPhone X has a bigger battery than all its predecessors.
Photo: Apple

Details on the battery and RAM packed into iPhone X have been revealed ahead of its launch this November.

Apple has registered the device with Chinese regulator TENAA, and its filing confirms the specifics the company doesn’t normally share with the public.

iOS 11 lets you customize left and right AirPod double-tap shortcuts

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AirPods
iOS 11 brings independent left/right controls to AirPods.
Photo: Cult of Mac

iOS 11 is full of small tweaks that have a big impact. Today’s tip is one of those. In iOS 10, you can customize the double-tap shortcuts on your Apple AirPods to perform various actions — invoke Siri, or play/pause, for example. But the same shortcut would apply to both AirPods. In iOS 11, you can customize each AirPod independently. So, your left ear could be set to call Siri, and your right ear set to play and pause. That’s double the options, with just a software update!

How to upgrade to macOS High Sierra the right way

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Save $200 on a new iMac
Elevate your Mac to High Sierra.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s latest update for the Mac finally arrived today in the form of macOS High Sierra, bringing a host of improvements to Mac users. While the update doesn’t contain a ton of outward-facing changes, it’s definitely worth taking the time to upgrade if you want your Mac to be faster and more secure than ever.

Here’s how to do it.

macOS High Sierra is now available to the public

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macOS High Sierra
macOS High Sierra is ready for primetime.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The wait for macOS High Sierra is finally over.

Apple unleashed its huge update for the Mac this morning bringing a host of new features and UI changes to desktops after months of beta testing. Most of the update contains under-the-hood changes the makes machines faster and more stable, but there are plenty of new additions to love.

Dropbox is now baked into the iOS 11 Files App

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dropbox files
Dropbox is now just another folder on your iPad or iPhone.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Dropbox now shows up as a regular old folder in the new iOS 11 Files app. The latest update to the Dropbox iOS aa brings full integration with Files, making it work much more like it does on the Mac and PC. For instance, now you can drag a file from a Dropbox folder into an iCloud Drive folder, and it just works.

Apple Watch 3 reviews: LTE is big, but battery life suffers

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Apple Watch Series 3
Get yours for as little as $259.
Photo: Apple

Early reviews of the Apple Watch Series 3 are now dropping ahead of its official debut on Friday, September 22. If you’re still in two minds about whether you should upgrade, they should help you make that all-important decision.

The general consensus is that LTE is a great addition to Apple’s wearable lineup. Just don’t expect a drastically different experience, and prepare yourself for some early teething troubles.