The latest iPhone app from Google lets you enjoy YouTube videos with your friends no matter where they are.
Uptime, designed by the companyâs Area 120 startup incubator, is a group messaging client that allows you to share, watch, and talk about your favorite clips in real time.
Weâve been keeping busy gathering the best new deals on gear and gadgets, and this week was a good one. On offer this week is a powerful firewall for any homeâs WiFi-connected devices, a set of slick covers for your webcams, a tool for unlocking the potential of PDFs, and a trio of Corelâs cutting edge creative apps plus more than ten hours of training. Read on for more details:
If you use your computer before going to bed, you owe it to your eyes to turn on Night Shift on your Mac. The feature, which adjusts the color of your display to the warmer end of the light spectrum after sundown, eases eye strain and can make falling asleep easier.
Night Shift dials down the amount of blue light emitted by your display. Studies have shown that exposure to blue light, which makes images look bright and crisp, can have adverse effects during nighttime use of electronics: Getting too much blue light after dark can make it more difficult to drift off to sleep.
The CIA just made it easier to hack your Camera Roll nudies. Photo: Nvidia
This week on The CultCast: The CIA loses control of its iPhone-hacking arsenal, and computer crooks turn your gadgets against you. Plus: Why iPhone 8 may arrive later than you hoped; our favorite Apple AirPort replacement routers; and we discuss the non-Apple gear weâre currently obsessing over in an all-new and aptly named âWhat Weâre Into.â
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Itâs simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.
We've got a lifetime of coding courses, VPN access, futuristic Bluetooth earbuds, and more in this week's best deals. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
March went off with a bang at the Cult of Mac Store, where weâve gathered a bunch of great deals on gear and gadgets. From a lifetime of development courses and VPN access to a set of futuristic Bluetooth earbuds and two full terabytes of cloud storage for next to nothing, youâll want to check these deals out. Read on for more details:
The hidden floating keyboard in action. Photo: Steve Troughton-Smith
Appleâs latest iOS 10.3 betas feature a floating QuickType keyboard for iPad, but itâs hidden away and inaccessible for now. Hereâs how you can try it out before it is officially unlocked using the free Swift Playgrounds app.
Get three years of access to a growing, royalty-free library of over 600,000 high-quality design assets. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
One of the skills a designer must have is the ability to put various pieces together into something cohesive. Problem is, those various assets can cost a lot of money. And if youâre not a full-time professional designer, or youâre simply strapped for cash, an asset library can be the tool that lets you complete your creative work.
Will Facebook and Instagram follow suit? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
As part of its ongoing effort to make micro-blogging a less offensive experience, Twitter has begun censoring profiles that post âpotentially sensitiveâ content.
Users that publish offensive tweets and images will have their profiles grayed out, forcing visitors to push a button to see censored content.
Apple delegates have officially opposed the so-called âright to repairâ bill in Nebraska that would make it easier for consumers to repair its products.
Should the bill be passed, Apple could be forced to give users and third-party repairers access to its components and service manuals. Company representative Steve Kester warned Nebraska would become a âMecca for bad actors.â
Wikileaks' "Vault 7" data dump allegedly reveals CIA hacking tools used to compromise iPhones, Android phones and other devices. Image: Gordon Johnson/Pixabay
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has vowed to give technology firms like Apple access to the CIAâs âcyberweaponsâ arsenal so they can develop fixes that make our devices more secure.
Earlier this week, thousands of leaked documents and files revealed the full extent of the CIAâs cyber attacks on smartphones, computers and even smart TVs. WikiLeaks says the spy agency has lost control of it all in a âhistoric act of devastating incompetence.â
The Moshi Arcus backpack wants to shoulder the weight of all you carry for a day's work or travel. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
Red flags go up for me when a shoulder bag or backpack is described as having a âminimalistâ design. Minimalist is code for âwonât carry all my crap.â
However, in the case of the new Moshi Arcus multifunction backpack, the minimalism actually conceals an ample and well-thought-out space. A surprising number of pockets in various sizes accommodate all the tools of a daily carry.
"There is no such thing as absolute privacy in America," says FBI director James Comey. Photo: CNN
FBI director James Comey has warned that we should not expect âabsolute privacyâ in America. His comments come just days after a WikiLeaks dump revealed the CIAâs incredible arsenal of malware and viruses used to spy on iPhones and other smart devices.
Speaking at a Boston College conference on cybersecurity this week, Comey said that while the government cannot invade our privacy without good reason, âthere is no place outside of judicial reach.â
Looking to upgrade your audio game? Whatever your jam, we've got you covered. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
With all our devices, it seems like there are nearly as many ways to listen to sounds as there are sounds themselves. Thatâs why weâve gathered up these deals on four of the best ways to enjoy your tunes, shows, podcasts or anything else that tickles your ears.
In this Cult of Mac Deals roundup, weâve got top-shelf on-ear headphones, nearly invisible in-ear buds, a set of workout-ready Bluetooth earbuds and a headset that transmits sound through bone conduction (seriously).
Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
If youâve ever tried to learn a new language, youâll know itâs a hard and incredibly time-consuming process. Itâs not much easier for virtual assistants like Siri.
Here are the mind-blowing steps Apple goes through to teach Siri new languages and dialects that help it stay one step ahead of the competition.
A no-frills Apple fitness tracker could get new users hooked on the Activity app. Image: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
The Activity app is one of Appleâs most important and powerful products. Its three brightly colored rings are changing peopleâs lives around the world, inspiring individuals to make healthier choices throughout their day.
The trouble is, if you want to use the Activity app, your only option right now is to buy an Apple Watch â and Apple Watches are expensive.
With this kind of game-changing product, Apple usually wants to reach as big an audience as possible. Take the iPod, for example. It was too expensive for some consumers. so Apple released a no-frills, sub-$99 version called the iPod Shuffle. Could a similar strategy work for the Activity app? An affordable activity band from Apple could be a Fitbit killer.
We hope the next iPhone is this beautiful. Photo: AlHasan Husni
The rumored âFunction Barâ will make a beautiful addition to the upcoming iPhone 8 if it looks anything like the concept created by designer AlHasan Husni.
In the stunning new artwork, Husni imagines how the Function Bar at the bottom of the new iPhone will work. Not only could it make unlocking the iPhone even faster, it could add a whole new set of swipe functions to bring up certain features.
Imagination Technologies, the company behind the PowerVR graphics technology used in iPhone and iPad, has unleashed its powerful new Furion architecture.
Itâs the first major upgrade since the introduction of Rogue, the architecture currently used in iPhone 7, and itâs capable of powering 4K smartphone and tablet displays with four times the resolution of 1080p.
The iPad needs support for multiple users. Photo: Jacek ZiÄba
Now that we know the date for Appleâs Worldwide Developers Conference, itâs officially time to start dreaming of new features that should be added to iOS 11.
Concept designer Jacek ZiÄba kicked off the dreamfest with one of the coolest iOS concept videos weâve seen in a while. Check it out:
The best upgrade you can give your iPhone's camera is a new set of lenses, and we've got some of the best you'll ever find. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Your iPhone has a great camera. But as any photographer will tell you, the lenses you use are just as important as the camera itself. That makes these lens kits for iPhone a must-see. From a quickly deployable 4-in-1 ârevolverâ lens, to a simple and slim clip-on with two lenses, a 3-piece set of detachable lenses and and a legit telescopic lens, weâve got what you need to up your mobile photography game. Read on for more details:
Don't get your heart set on OLED just yet. Photo: iDropNews
Weâve all been calling it the iPhone 8 for months, but according to a new report out of Japan, Appleâs tenth anniversary smartphone will be named âiPhone Edition.â
The device is expected to be announced alongside the âiPhone 7sâ and âiPhone 7s Plus,â but weâll have to wait longer to actually get our hands on it. Whatâs more, sources claim that the OLED upgrade weâve been looking forward to isnât a sure thing yet.
Cupertino says it is working to address any identified holes that werenât already patched, and the company reminds fans that the software built for iPhone boasts the best data security available to consumers.
The first iSetups episode shows off three Mac setups. Photo: Cult of Mac
If youâre a computer scientist, you can never have too many Macs. Just ask Richard Crossley, a Ph.D. candidate currently studying âoptimization in high-performance computing to achieve maximum resource efficiency.â
It probably shouldnât come as too big of a surprise that Crossleyâs got a pretty vast Mac collection. Check out his system, as well as other impressive Mac setups, in this weekâs episode of iSetups. Itâs Cult of Macâs new monthly show highlighting the best Mac setups submitted by viewers â plus tips and tricks for how to improve them.
The CIA has been hoarding zero day exploits. Photo: US Gov.
WikiLeakâs trove of CIA cyber documents is being hyped as one of the biggest leaks since Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA. But according to one of the worldâs top jailbreakers, you shouldnât believe the hype.
Cyber security expert Will Strafach, who gained notoriety under the name Chronic for finding zero-day exploits used for jailbreaking, says iOS users donât need to be worried.
Help turn these awesome ideas into reality! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
If you still feel like smartwatches have no use, how about one thatâs designed for on-the-go gaming? Gameband is built to be the most powerful wearable you can buy, with long-lasting battery life and expandable storage.
Itâs just one of the awesome projects included in this weekâs Crowdfund Roundup. Weâve also got a beautiful mechanical keyboard inspired by traditional typewriters, headphones that help you concentrate, and more!
The CIA's new headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Although Googleâs Android dominates the worldwide smartphone market, the CIA concentrated on Appleâs iOS because of its popularity among global elites, WikiLeaks reports.
The huge trove of leaked CIA documents, codenamed âVault 7â and released Tuesday by WikiLeaks, reveals that the CIA formed a special unit called the Mobile Development Branch (MDB) to infect smartphones. And within that unit, Appleâs iOS was a prime target.