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The ultimate runner’s review of Apple Watch Series 2

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Is Apple Watch Series 2 the perfect running partner?
Is Apple Watch Series 2 the perfect running partner?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

With the launch of a GPS watch, and a renewed Nike partnership, Apple is getting serious about targeting runners. So is Apple Watch Series 2 the perfect running partner that Cupertino promises?

As an avid runner myself, I was keen to find out. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been training for the TCS New York City Marathon, and I took my Apple Watch Series 2 with me every step of the way — right up to the finish line in Central Park last week. Here’s how it measured up.

World’s first HomeKit community springs up in San Jose

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HomeKit is now getting packaged into new homes.
HomeKit is now getting packaged into new homes.
Photo: KB Home

Apple’s HomeKit platform is set to power an entire community currently under construction in San Jose.

Real estate development firm KB Home revealed today that its new community, Promenade at Communications Hill, will be the first ever in the US to have HomeKit technology built-in, providing a seamless experience from the foundation up.

Should Apple license macOS for third-party Mac Pros? [Friday Night Fights]

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Wouldn't you like a powerful PC running macOS?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has finished unveiling its product lineup for 2016, and yet again it appears to have forgotten about the Mac Pro. The high-end desktop will be three years old next month, and although it might look pretty on the outside, it’s way past its best on the inside.

Friday Night Fights bugApple won’t tell us why the Mac Pro isn’t a priority anymore, but its focus is clearly elsewhere. This is a problem for creative professionals who rely on the extra power the machine provides. For some, the iMac just isn’t beefy enough.

Some believe Apple should license macOS to third-party computer makers that are willing to cater to the pros Apple is ignoring. It’s a move Apple would never make, but is it a good idea?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over whether Apple should let rival PC vendors build macOS machines!

How to delete Safari extensions on macOS Sierra

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Extensions featured-2
Get rid of certain extensions for good!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Extensions can be very useful on Safari for Mac, adding functionality, and — in Apple’s words — letting users, “explore the web the way you want.” But how do you get rid of them once they’re installed?

If you have issues with extensions causing crashes, glitches, or you just don’t plain want them anymore, here’s our easy guide to removing them.

How industrial design is changing the tech industry [Kahney’s Korner Podcast]

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Belkin's design director Oliver Seil says designers are basically psychologists.
Belkin's design director Oliver Seil says designers are basically psychologists.
Photo: Oliver Seil/Belkin

For many ugly years, manufacturers considered industrial design an afterthought. They would outsource the task to a contractor or neglect it altogether, in an effort to get products out quickly and cheaply.

The result: hideous-looking products that didn’t work well or proved difficult to use.

Nowadays, companies like Apple are changing the game when it comes to incorporating industrial design and user experience into product engineering.

On this episode of Kahney’s Korner, I talk with Oliver Seil, senior design director with Belkin International’s Innovation and Design Group. Seil is Belkin’s Jony Ive, the top designer who overseas the company’s diverse array of products.

Belkin specializes in mobile accessories, from power packs and iPhone cases to WeMo home automation products

macOS bug gives MacBook Pros a fake graphics upgrade

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Is your MacBook Pro reporting the right graphics?
Photo: MacRumors

A bug in macOS Sierra is incorrectly telling some users that their MacBook Pro just got a nice graphics upgrade.

Some 15-inch units are packing Intel Iris Pro 580 graphics, according to the built-in System Information report. But in actual fact, they have Intel Iris Pro 530 graphics instead.

Claim lifetime ownership of your terabyte in the cloud for a special price [Deals]

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Zoolz is offering two forms of high capacity cloud storage for a single super low price
Zoolz is offering two forms of high capacity cloud storage for a single super low price
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

These days, having a mixed storage strategy is the only sensible way to consider your data ‘backed up’. The cloud needs to be part of the equation, and if the high cost of secure cloud storage has kept your storage on the ground, we’ve got good news. As of today, Zoolz is offering a terabyte of secure cloud storage for life at 10 bucks less off an already massive discount. Right now you can get a lifetime of Zoolz for just $29 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Jony Ive’s design book is much more than an ego trip

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Designed by Apple in California book
Apple's Industrial Design team has published a book of its work over two decades: Designed by Apple in California.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Increasingly, some Apple fans think Jony Ive has lost it.

He’s killing ports and headphone jacks left and right. The latest MacBooks value form over function. He’s designing gold watches for the 1 percent.

And now his glossy new photo book, Designed by Apple in California, looks like a $300, linen-bound ego trip.

Indie rockers Airplane Mode get their spark from Apple

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These guys rock — and design great apps. Bassist Joe Cieplinski, left, and lead guitar and vocalist, Dave Wiskus, of the band Airplane Mode.
These guys rock — and design great apps. Bassist Joe Cieplinski, left, and lead guitar and vocalist, Dave Wiskus, of the band Airplane Mode.
Photo: Airplane Mode

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugThe indie rock band Airplane Mode does indeed get its name from the feature on an iPhone that shuts off wireless transmission.

The name and the resumes of three of the band’s musicians — well-established iOS designers — have led more than a few people to assume they have found a source of cute parody music about Apple culture.

In fact, you won’t find any iPhones, iMacs or odes to Steve Jobs in the lyrics of the tight, hard-charging synth-driven music. However, the band’s roots in Apple culture permeate everything else, from its use of technology and understanding of social engagement to its start-up energy.

And there is one other way: Airplane Mode is making money.

Retailers expect AirPods to ship this month

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x
AirPods could finally be arriving soon.
Photo: Apple

Some rumors have warned that we might have to wait until the new year for AirPods to arrive, but a number of retailers expect them to arrive much sooner. According to one, they’ll start shipping before the end of the month.

iOS bug exposes photos and messages on locked iPhones

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photos in ios 10
It's shockingly easy to get into someone's photos.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Hackers have discovered a new method to unlock photos and messages on any iPhone, thanks to an iOS security flaw that utilizes Siri and VoiceOver.

iPhones running iOS 8 software and newer are vulnerable to the flaw, which was discovered by EverythingApplePro and iDeviceHelp. The group revealed the hack in a new video that shows you don’t need any coding experience or special hardware to pull it off. All you need is a few minutes alone with a victims iPhone and some help from Siri.

Roxio Toast price tag gets sliced as of today [Deals]

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Starting today, save even more on the best tool for screen capture, burning digital media and editing videos.
Starting today, save even more on the best tool for screen capture, burning digital media and editing videos.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you work with digital media, you’ve caught a whiff of Toast. It’s one of the premier software tools for converting and working with digital media of all kinds, whether video or audio, for online or physical playback. And now the 15th and most powerful version of Toast Titanium has dropped in price from a previous discount of 50 percent. As today’s deal of the day, you can get Toast Titanium 15 for $35 at Cult of Mac Deals.

These 3 great Mac apps will power up your productivity [Deals]

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These three MacX apps add a suite of tools and capacities for working with media of all kinds.
These three MacX apps add a suite of tools and capacities for working with media of all kinds.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s amazing the difference an app can make for the productive potential of your Mac. This power trio of apps from MacX adds a wide set of tools and utilities for for ripping DVDs, converting videos, and managing files on your drive. And right now you can get the whole shebang for $19.95 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Read on for more details:

Super smart remotes, glass iPhone cases and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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Crowdfund Roundup
Help turn these awesome ideas into reality!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

You can find some incredible new gadgets on Kickstarter and Indiegogo that often go unnoticed. We’re rounding up some of the best every week to help them get the funding they need to become a reality.

This week, we have a super smart remote that controls almost everything, a tempered glass case for iPhone 7, a robot that teaches kids to code without computers, and more!

Boost your iPhone storage with Lexar’s tiny devices [Review]

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Lexar makes a microSD reader and JumpDrive that backs up your iPhone data and frees its memory.
Lexar makes a microSD reader and JumpDrive that backs up your iPhone data and frees its memory.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

We take for granted how much of our lives are stored on our iPhones until, of course, that day arrives when a notification pops up to say the device’s memory is full.

Lexar has a couple of nifty little devices to quickly store photos, videos, music and documents, and free up the memory on your iPhone.

New price for the day on rugged Bluetooth buds [Deals]

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com-freshebuds-pro-magnetic-bluetooth-earbuds
FRESHeBUDS upgrades their already popular Bluetooth earbuds with better sound, water resistance, longer battery life, and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Soon we’re all going to be wearing Bluetooth buds, so you might as well get a set that lasts. FRESHeBUDS are among the most popular makers of wireless earbuds, but with their new Pro model they’ve upped the game, adding things like improved sweat and water resistance and enhanced battery life. And today, there’s a drop in the price that makes them even more worth your attention, right now you can get a set of FRESHeBUDS Pro for $29.95 at Cult of Mac Deals.

WhatsApp finally gets video calling

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WhatsApp
WhatsApp's 1 billion users can now video chat.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

We’ve been waiting for WhatsApp to offer video calling since the feature first leaked out last December — and now the wait is finally over.

The app’s latest update, which is available on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, lets you video chat with other WhatsApp users for free.

Samsung could finally rip off 3D Touch for Galaxy S8

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blackberry-ceo-apples-privacy-stance-is-unethical-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads2015113D-Touch-iPhone-6s-jpg
Is Samsung finally ready to catch up with 3D Touch?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Samsung has a history of ripping off new iPhone features soon after they’re introduced by Apple, but the South Korean company is yet to adopt 3D Touch. According to new rumors, that will change next spring with the Galaxy S8.

This Bluetooth speaker is built tough for travel [Deals]

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This Bluetooth speaker is made to move, with water-resistant coating and a protective metal grill.
This Bluetooth speaker is made to move, with water-resistant coating and a protective metal grill.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Sometime you want to kick out the jams in a location that’s not safe for typical electronics. The G-Tube can help: It’s an ultra-portable, water-resistant speaker encased in a rugged housing that makes it perfect for carrying in your pocket, clipping to your backpack, strapping to your bike, or even rocking out in the shower.

It’s big sound in a tiny, tough, portable package, and right now you can pick up a G-Tube Bluetooth speaker for just $31.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.