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Real prints come to life with this app and printer

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Point your phone at a LifePrint print and watch the moment in motion.
Point your phone at a LifePrint print and watch the moment in motion.
Photo: LifePrint

The newspaper that covers the wizarding world of Harry Potter publishes photos that move on the page. For us Muggles, there’s LifePrint, a pocket-sized printer that brings a similar magical to our still photos.

The LifePrint device lets you embed a video inside a printed photograph, using augmented reality and requiring the viewer to point their smartphone at the picture to bring it to life.

Wacom’s Bamboo Fineline stylus delivers precision on the cheap

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Bamboo Fineline Stylus 1
Wacom is phasing this model out, but it's still a great product.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

Best List: Bamboo Fineline 1 stylus by Wacom

Wacom is to graphics tablets what Kleenex is to facial tissues, so it’s no surprise that the company knows its way around a stylus. And the original version of the Bamboo Fineline is a great entry point for those looking to start drawing, sketching, and taking notes on their iPads.

Where the ease of mobile and the power of desktop photo editing meet

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Macphun's Creative Kit contains five powerful photo editing apps in one package, with extensions for Photoshop, Lightroom, Apple Photos, and more.
Macphun's Creative Kit contains five powerful photo editing apps in one package, with extensions for Photoshop, Lightroom, Apple Photos, and more.
Photo: Macphun

One thing that apps like Instagram and VSCO have mastered is making photo retouching on a mobile device (e.g. smartphone, ipad, etc.) a breeze. Simple sliders grouped in easily understandable categories and real-time results make the editing process a snap. It’s fun and easy to dial in the overall look of an image on your phone’s screen! However, with that convenience, comes limitations. For instance, if you want anything more precise than a slider you’ll have to open up a professional application like Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture.

Pro Tip: Bring your Mac to life with a custom video screen saver

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Now you can get any video you like up on your Mac's screen saver.
Now you can get any video you like up on your Mac's screen saver.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Pro Tip Cult of Mac bugIf you’re enamored of the beautiful aerial screen savers on your new Apple TV and want to do something similar on your Mac, you’re in luck.

SaveHollywood is a screen saver module that will work on any Mac running OS X 10.8 or later, and it lets you play any movie you want when your Mac enters screen saver mode.

Here’s how to get it set up.

A micro flier that proves drones are big fun no matter the size [Deals]

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The AERIUS Drone is as small as they come, but just as much fun as the big birds.
The AERIUS Drone is as small as they come, but just as much fun as the big birds.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Lots of us want a drone, but not all of us have the space for a giant four-rotored helicopter in our lives, let alone the cash. Thankfully, drones are a bunch of fun at any size, which the tiny AERIUS Drone proves in a big way. It’s one of the smallest fully functioning drones you can buy, perfect for indoor or outdoor use, and right now you can get your own for only $34.99.

The astonishing rise of iPhone sales in one amazing chart

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
There's money to be made in iPhones. In case you didn't know.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Ever wanted to see a chart depicting Apple’s perilous decline from the moment Tim Cook took over as CEO until now? Well, you’ll just have to keep on looking, because this particular infographic shows nothing of the sort.

Instead, this spectacular infographic visualizes the year-on-year growth of Apple’s iPhone business, from a “puny” 1.36 million units in 2007 to a whopping 231.22 million this year. Check it out below.

Apple could sell an updated iPhone 5s with better internals

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iphone 5s
Apple's next handset?
Photo: Apple

There have been plenty of reports about a possible new 4-inch iPhone in the works. A new report, however, claims that the device is essentially an “iPhone 5s Mark II,” and even runs through the supposed internal components of the handset.

Best of all, it’s reportedly ready for production and can be shipped any time from now.

This simple app will get you around those annoying location restrictions [Deals]

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Getflix is a one-stop app for bypassing those pesky regional restrictions while traveling.
Getflix is a one-stop app for bypassing those pesky regional restrictions while traveling.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

When you pay for premium streaming services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, you don’t want a trip out of the country to mean you have to leave your favorite shows at home. There are a lot of sneaky ways to get around the regional restrictions, but a simple, hassle-free way is Getflix. It’s a single app that keeps you in touch with your content wherever you go, and right now you can get a lifetime subscription for $39–use coupon code “EARLY10” to get additional 10% off.

Ultra-portable keyboard turns your iPad mini into a tiny, adorable Macbook

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Portable, gorgeous, and super-useful.
Portable, gorgeous, and super-useful.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Best List: iPad mini keyboard by Brydge

We all like to carry our gadgets around with us, but there are definitely times when you’ll want to be ultra portable and just take along, say, your iPad mini on vacation. Or, perhaps you want to get some writing done on the airplane:we all know the seat-back tray is way too small for a full laptop.

This ultra-portable Brydge keyboard is a fantastic match for the iPad mini, letting you be a bit more productive than you would without an actual keyboard. It’s designed to match whichever iPad mini you own, turning the whole thing into an adorably small Macbook-like laptop-style tablet.

Pro Tip: Max out your iPhone battery life with this extreme trick

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battery
This reminds me a lot of the iPhone throttling controversy.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

My iPhone 6 Plus is a battery hog. I routinely get around 12 hours off of one full charge. I carry around external battery packs to make sure I’m not short when it matters.

I’d do pretty much anything to increase the amount of battery I have left at the end of the day, including the following fairly extreme trick.

This spliff-holding iPhone case is anything but half-baked

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This iPhone case does doobie duty with a slide-out compartment for your stash.
This iPhone case does doobie duty with a slide-out compartment for your stash.
Photo: Richard Williams/YouTube

A good iPhone case protects your handset from the blunt force of a fall. Then there’s the case that protects the force of your blunts.

The iHit is a case for the iPhone 6 and 6s with a slide out odor-free compartment that can stash up to five pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes. It is the latest evolution of the iHit case, which started with a case for the iPhone 5 that had a spring-loaded chamber for a single joint.

A lifetime of lessons on Apple’s top mobile programming tools [Deals]

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Get access to a lifetime of lessons in key Apple languages for iOS 9, Xcode, and more.
Get access to a lifetime of lessons in key Apple languages for iOS 9, Xcode, and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

There’s plenty to learn about coding for iOS’s range of products. From Swift to WatchKit to Objective-C, there’s enough to learn to last a lifetime. Thankfully we’ve found a way to get a lifetime of access to iOS & Xcode Developer Training, which normally goes for almost $8,000, for just $79.

Give yourself the gift of understanding data ahead of Black Friday [Deals]

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Master one of the web's most powerful and useful tools for understanding and growing traffic with Google Analytics
Master one of the web's most powerful and useful tools for understanding and growing traffic with Google Analytics
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

What better reason to stay at home and avoid the holiday throngs than with this pair of early deals on lessons in data analytics? These lessons cover Google Analytics and Excel, and both are going for more than 90% off — it doesn’t take a great grip on numbers to know that’s a good deal.

Firefox for iOS, YouTube Music, and other awesome apps of the week

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appsoftheweek_1024
Having an 'appy weekend?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The weekend may be halfway over, but you know what isn’t? The imagination of app developers.

This week’s collection of awesome apps encompasses everything from new web browsers for your iOS device, to a great new music app, to two spectacular games. Check below for our picks of the most noteworthy downloadables of the past seven days.

You won’t regret it for a second!

iPad Pro Diary: The iOS ecosystem is much deeper than I knew

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iPad Pro
Have you picked up a cheap iPad Pro yet?
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

iPad Pro Diary, Day 2: I have a shameful confession to make. Even though I’ve been using an iPad and iPhone for years, I haven’t really been using them.

I do a few things that haven’t changed for donkeys. I read on the iPad all the time and send the odd email. I play songs on Sonos. I played Kingdom Rush a few times. I watched a Netflix video. That’s about it.

My iPhone I use more, but nothing heavy duty. Messaging, email, photos and maps. The odd phone call.

But now that I’m forcing myself to use the iPad Pro for work — to see if it really is a PC replacement — I’m discovering something unesxpected: That the iOS ecosytem is far deeper, more productive, and better integrated than I knew.

Not only is work easier on the iPad these days, it’s a lot more fun.

How to fix the Watch Sport in version 2 (Hint: GPS and Nike integration)

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Concept mockup: will Apple Watch 2 focus on runners needs?
Concept mockup: will Apple Watch 2 focus on runners needs?
Photo: Graham Bower / Cult of Mac

Rumor has it that Apple Watch will get an update next year. There is already plenty of speculation about what cool new features Cupertino will add.

Personally, I’m hoping that the new watch will focus on fitness, so I’ve created a mockup concept to show what I’d like to see in the next generation of Apple Watch. I call it the Apple Watch GPS, Nike edition.

Can iPad Pro really replace your Mac? We discuss (and argue), on The CultCast

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It may look like a Macbook, but can it replace one?
It may look like a Macbook, but can it replace one?
Photo: Apple

This week: can the new iPad Pro really replace your Mac? Apple seems to think so, but we’ve got a Pro in-hand and we’re not so sure. Plus: Apple may soon offer us all a simple way to pay each other; and stick around for another classic El Kahney rant—zombie edition—on an all new Stuff We’re Into.

Our thanks to Harry’s for supporting this episode. Harry’s super-sharp, German-made razors ship free right to your door and for way less than the drugstore razors. Learn more at Harrys.com and save $5 off your first order with code CultCast.

Get introduced to the headphones that need no introduction [Deals]

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Beats HD set the standard in consumer audio with crystal clear sound, rich bass, and a sleek build.
Beats HD set the standard in consumer audio with crystal clear sound, rich bass, and a sleek build.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Beats, like their creator Dr. Dre, have become synonymous with big sounds and big personality. They’re also known for coming at a premium price, which has kept a lot of people from properly pleasing their ears with Beats’ premium sound. Right now you can get in on the fun with a set of white refurbished, warranty-backed Beats Solo HD Headphones for just $99.99.

Review: Logitech’s Create keyboard case turns iPad Pro into a bona fide laptop

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11132015_Logitech_Create_iPad_Case_IMG_0618

The iPad Pro is being hailed as “a new kind of computer,” but as some have noted, it’s really the top half of a new kind of computer. Missing is the bottom half — the keyboard.

Apple has a solution for that — the $169 Smart Keyboard, which turns the iPad Pro into a laptop lookalike. But there’s a fantastic alternative: Logitech’s Create keyboard and case.

Logitech’s Create has several advantages over Apple’s Smart Keyboard. First, it’s a keyboard and a case that turns the Pro into a proper faux laptop (Apple’s keyboard is half a case that covers only the iPad’s screen). Logitech’s keyboard has fantastic chicklet keys, versus Apple’s hated low-travel flat keys; and it’s backlit, an essential requirement for any keyboard.

All in all, Logitech’s $150 backlit keyboard turns the iPad Pro into a MacBook — but a MacBook with cool extra features like Touch ID and a touch-sensitive screen.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Big, beautiful iPad Pro

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Size does matter.
Size does matter.
Cover Design: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

We’ve gotten our happy little hands on the gorgeous, huge new iPad Pro, and we’ve got first impressions of the next-gen post-PC Apple tablet right here.

Plus, some Mac-like keyboard shortcuts for your new friend, must-have iPad Pro apps for creative types, a review of The Room Three (a fantastic puzzler in the App Store), and a check-in with Pope Francis, who wants us all to spend time with each other at the dinner table.

So check out all that and a bunch more in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, the best slice of Apple news and info this side of Cupertino. Be sure to get your own copy today.

Here’s a quick preview of what’s inside:

Can TAG Heuer help Android Wear defeat Apple Watch?

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fnf_1024
Or is the TAG Heuer Connected destined to fail?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

When it comes to smartwatch sales, Apple Watch has well and truly embarrassed the entire Android Wear ecosystem, even though it hasn’t spent anywhere near as long on the market. But with Google’s platform getting a high-profile supporter this week, is it time for change?

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2TAG Heuer’s new Connected is the first smartwatch from a luxury watchmaker, giving consumers a high-end alternative to the Apple Watch. It has beautiful hardware, great specifications, and even comes with an upgrade program that lets buyers swap it for a traditional TAG watch when it’s no longer useful.

So, is this the device Android Wear needs to mount a threat against Apple’s popular wearable?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over that very question!

One of the most iconic game controllers is back and better than ever [Deals]

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SNES30 revives all that's great about the Super Nintendo controller plus a bunch of new features.
SNES30 revives all that's great about the Super Nintendo controller plus a bunch of new features.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

For gamers of a certain age, there are few things as familiar and full of memories as the look and feel of the Super Nintendo controller. Those golden days of gaming are 30 years in the past, but they’re not gone. In fact, they’re still here and better than ever with 8Bitdo’s SNES30 Bluetooth Game Controller, a classic in the remaking that you can get your hands on for $29.95.