This year’s iPhone upgrade might have been a little dull, but we saw plenty of exciting accessories for Apple’s iconic smartphone in 2016.
From awesome new AirPods to ultraportable virtual reality headsets, they all helped make iPhone 7 more exciting. Here are our favorite iPhone accessories of the year.
The holidays and the year are almost over, but the great new deals at the Cult of Mac Store show no sign of stopping. This week, we’ve got a portable bluetooth speaker that also brings the bass, a critically acclaimed space sim, a set of sleek Bluetooth earbuds, and a mobile phone tripod that folds up to the size of a credit card. Read on for more details:
2016 sent Apple for a wild ride full of fantastic new products, crazy controversies and tons of extra drama with its rivals.
Tim Cook and his colleagues probably can’t wait to jump into 2017. But before we start looking toward Apple’s future, let’s take a quick look back at all the stories that made 2016 a year Apple fans will never forget.
Getting an iPhone means every moment is a chance to snap great looking pictures. But as all photographers know, a great set of lenses is even more important than a great camera. With this set of 5 detachable lenses, you can instantly upgrade the photos your iPhone takes. And right now you can get the whole set of lenses for just $23.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
When it comes to games, Apple trails behind Microsoft and the broader PC market. Though Cupertino’s hardware often sports cutting-edge specs, the fact is that gaming was never really the intended use for Apple machines.
Why this is, and whether it should prevent top titles from gracing Mac screens, is enough for its own article. Luckily, things are changing: From sprawling strategy games to genre-bending first-person titles, 2016 gave Apple fans a harvest of great titles for Mac and iOS alike.
This week on The CultCast: It’s our epic final episode of 2016! We’ll wrap up the year with our hands-on review of the hotness themselves, Apple’s AirPods. Then … is Apple’s “Golden Era” drawing to a close? We discuss. And finally, ya’ll know we review a lot of products during the year — we’ll reveal our absolute favorite gadgets of 2016!
Apple manufacturing partner Inventec is planning to expand its AirPods production capacity to meet strong demand from consumers.
Impressive sales of the hot new wireless earphones over the holiday period are expected to give the Taiwanese firm a boost in revenue, but its plants are already working overtime to deliver Apple’s orders.
Apple pissed off a lot of people in 2016. In hindsight, some of Cupertino’s moves look clumsy, and others seem truly clueless, but Tim Cook and Co. also made some brilliant moves during this turbulent year.
Let’s go to our happy place and relive the smartest moves made by Apple in 2016.
A new nefarious text message has been discovered that has the power to completely crash iPhones, even those running the latest version of iOS 10.
Instead of using infected links or weird text like previous iMessage hacks, this new one allows attackers to disable a person’s Messages app by simply sending a large contact file. When iPhone users tap on the file, it’s so big and complicated that it overloads the CPU and crashes the app.
Watch the hack in action:
Hopping onto the internet means being open to a range of cyber headaches, from identity theft to government snooping and even just annoying location restrictions on streaming media. One of the best steps you can take to avoid these problems is to connect via a virtual private network, or VPN. And right now with NoLimitVPN, you can get three years of a high speed, secure VPN for just $39.99.
Samsung is planning to take on Apple’s fancy new AirPods with its own wireless earbuds that will launch alongside the Galaxy S8, according to a new report.
It’s thought Samsung is unlikely to follow Apple’s decision to drop the 3.5mm headphone jack, but it will still push wireless alternatives as they become increasingly popular.
Accessory makers churned out some awesome new gadgets for the iPad in 2016. From cases to Star Wars toys, loads of new gear came along to boost the capabilities of the world’s favorite tablets.
Whether for the Pro line or the less-powerful Air or mini models, these are the best iPad accessories of 2016.
A new jailbreak for iOS 10.1.1 has been released in beta form.
“Yalu” is the first jailbreak to support the iPhone 7 and you can get your hands on it now, but users are advised to wait for more stable releases.
2016 hasn’t been Apple’s best year by a long shot. While the company is still making money hand over fist and has seen its Services division go from strength to strength, Apple also consistently stumbled for the first time in years.
While we remain loyal to the Apple brand, here are our picks for the year’s biggest disappointments.
We’ve all seen the mess a room can become with all the power cables and power strips our electronics share with our lamps, TVs and other stuff. Lucky for us, GorillaPower has come out with a centralized charger that cuts the clutter, and keeps all your essential electronics juiced up. This sleek, space saving hub can handle as many as 7 devices at once, and right now you can get it for just $59.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
More iPhones and iPads were activated over the festive season than any other company’s handsets and tablets, according to data published by analytics firm Flurry.
Analyzing data about phone and app activation throughout the week leading up to Christmas day and the start of Chanukah, Flurry found that 44 percent of all new activations were for Apple devices — more than twice the number of nearest rival, Samsung.
Apple Watch owners will be rewarded with a special achievement medal for completing the New Year Challenge. Users will have four attempts to complete the challenge, which starts on January 2 and runs through to the end of the month.
Next year’s Plus-size iPhone might come with a slightly different dual-lens camera, according to the latest rumors out of Asia.
Citing supply chain sources, the new rumor claims Apple will reposition the secondary telephoto lens on the iPhone so that it sits below the traditional wide-angle lens.
Hard drives, like bodies, can develop issues that need expert help. Whether accidents on the part of the user or just run-of-the-mill file corruption, Disk Drill Pro 3 offers a powerful and simple tool for recovering what would otherwise be lost. It’s a single click disk recovery, and right now you can get a lifetime license of Disk Drill Pro 3 for just $34.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
The standard Apple USB interface for wall outlets is compact and nice looking, but it’s not much use if you aren’t around a wall. NomadPlus doesn’t replace the outlet, but enhances it, adding a 1800mAh backup battery and the ability to charge on the go. It’s like carrying a wall outlet around in your bag, but less weird. And now is your last chance you can get a NomadPlug for just $18.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
If you find yourself at a loose end today, perhaps after overindulging on the eggnog and looking to sit down for a few minutes, why not check out our picks for the top apps of the last week?
Whether you own an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or MacBook, we’re confident you’ll find something to enjoy on our list!
No matter how well you take care of an Android phone, the time will come for it to count its last electric sheep. Selling a smartphone, even a functioning one, can be a hassle — and less than rewarding when dealing with the typical Android buyback program or Craigslist buyer.
If you’ve got a Samsung, LG or HTC phone, even one that’s gone completely kaput, Cult of Mac’s buyback program makes it easy to trade it in for the best price.
Working with teammates on their own computers, it sure helps to be able to get whatever’s on your screen onto theirs. CloudApp makes that easy.
It’s an all-inclusive platform for capturing, annotating and sharing everything from screenshots and GIFs to screen video recordings, all via super-quick links and integration with a hundreds of productivity services. It’s used by the likes of Slack, HBO, Facebook, The New York Times, Tumblr, GitHub and many more, and right now you can get a year of CloudApp for your team for a mere $30.
Covering Cupertino is more than just statistics and rumors about upcoming products. There’s plenty of weird Apple news, whether it be a Chinese billionaire buying iPhones for his pet dog or the revelation that, in some alternate universe, Tim Cook could become vice president of the United States.
With that in mind, here are the weirdest Apple news stories of 2016.
Space sims — like flight sims — maintain a niche following. The game genre mixes the fun of flight with the extreme physics involved in sending things to freaking space. Mac (and PC) game Kerbal Space Program manages to scratch the rocket science itch while also being genuinely entertaining and accessible.
This great take on the space simulator is winning praise all over the gaming world and boasts an active community of modders and enthusiasts. Right now you can get a Steam ticket for Kerbal Space Program $13.59.