update - page 6

Instagram’s gorgeous new logo comes with revamped iPhone app

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It's about time!
Photo: Instagram

Instagram is rolling out a brand new user interface on iPhone that ditches bright colors to make your photos look even prettier… but no one really cares about that. The real news is the brand new logo that comes with it.

Filled with beautifully bright colors like a sweet acid trip, it’s the first new logo Instagram has had since it launched five years ago, and it replaces the familiar retro camera, which was starting to look a little long in the tooth.

Netflix now gives you control over video quality on iOS

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Netflix iPhone
Want HD over data? Now you can!
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

After throttling our video quality automatically to ensure we didn’t burn through our data in two episodes of Breaking Bad, Netflix is finally giving users control over the video quality they get when using a data connection.

The latest version of its iOS app adds four playback options — plus handy 3D Touch shortcuts that make it faster to access content from the home screen.

Spotify just got a lot easier to navigate

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Spotify
Meet Spotify's new nav bar.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Spotify is ditching its hamburger button for a more familiar navigation bar on iOS, making it quicker and easier to access your music and features like Spotify Radio.

Users in some countries — including the U.S. — can enjoy the changes today.

Instagram gets personal with ‘Videos You Might Like’

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Find more of what you like in new Instagram video section.
Find more of what you like in new Instagram video section.
Photo: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

Instagram gets personal in hopes of helping you find interesting shared videos much more easily with a new feature in the Explore area of its popular photo sharing service.

Called “Videos You Might Like,” the new personalized channel can be found in the Explore grid within the mobile app. Now you can spend less time slogging through the junk and get right to the good stuff.

iPhone and iPad Pro go small, Apple Watch pivots and iOS 9.3 is a must-try

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Size does matter, in fact.
Size does matter, in fact.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Once again, Apple has refreshed its iPhone and iPad line with some better (albeit smaller) iOS devices, the iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

If you’re looking for all the details on these two new gadgets, or just want to know which is the right iPad or iPhone for you, be sure to grab this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, which also includes all the cool things you can do with iOS 9.3, a look at Cupertino’s new Apple Watch pivot, and a deeper dive on the keynote itself.

Here are this week’s top stories.

How to update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 9.3

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Get your iOS device up to date fast and easy.
Get your iOS device up to date fast and easy.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

iOS 9.3 is perhaps the biggest “dot” upgrade Apple has created for its mobile platform. Apple usually doesn’t show off incremental iOS upgrades at its carefully staged keynotes, but iOS 9.3 clocked some time at Monday’s iPhone SE event, and you should update right now.

If nothing else, you’ll get some great new features like Night Shift to make your mobile digital life just a bit better. Here’s how to get iOS 9.3 on your iPhone or iPad.

Cool new things you can do after your iOS 9.3 update

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iOS 9.3 Beta 4

Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 9.3 is out now for everyone, and the upgrade delivers some great new features that make Apple’s mobile platform better than ever.

With sweet additions like password-protected Notes, sleep-saving Night Shift and data-friendly Wi-Fi Assist, iOS 9.3 might be Apple’s biggest “dot” release yet.

Here’s a quick rundown of all the coolest things you can do once you’ve downloaded the iOS 9.3 update, which Apple released Monday.

How to organize your Apple TV with folders

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Get your OCD on with folders on Apple TV.
Get your OCD on with folders on Apple TV.
Photo: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

The latest Apple TV has 5,000 apps and every one I’ve installed on my Home screen is a pain in the ass to find.

That is, until now. Apple just introduced tvOS 9.2, which brings the organizing power of folders to your 4th Generation Apple TV, and boy are we excited.

Here’s how to organize all those media and gaming apps on your Apple TV with folders.

How to update the software on your Apple TV

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appletv
Apple TV's new app could give us the interface we've dreamed of.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The fourth-generation Apple TV is ready for a new update to tvOS (9.2), bringing Siri dictation to the whole system, including search, user names and passwords. It’s also got a new Folder system like iOS does, which will let you organize your Home screen to your heart’s content, and it will support Apple wireless keyboards and your iCloud Photo Library on the big screen.

If you want to update your Apple TV right now and get all these great new features, just follow the directions below.

El Capitan 10.11.2 update improves Mac stability and security

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A new beta is out for OS X El Capitan.
A new beta is out for OS X El Capitan.
Photo: Apple

Apple has dropped a big new update on Mac users today with the release of OS X El Capitan 10.11.2.

This is the second big update for El Capitan since the desktop operating system was made public two months ago. OS X 10.11.2 brings with it a number of stability and security improvements for Mac, including fixes for Wi-Fi, AirDrop, Bluetooth, Mail, and Live Photos.

Here’s a full list of the changes:

Gmail now lets you block contacts, unsubscribe from mailing lists

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gmail-now-lets-you-block-contacts-unsubscribe-from-mailing-lists-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201509Unsub-gif
Blocking contacts in Gmail is simple.
Photo: Google
Blocking contacts in Gmail is simple. GIF: Google
Blocking contacts in Gmail is simple. GIF: Google

Google has added two awesome new features to Gmail that every email client should provide: the option to block contacts you don’t want to hear from, and the ability to instantly unsubscribe from mailing lists you no longer with to be a part of.

Apple asks developers to submit their apps for Yosemite

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Screenshot: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Screenshot: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has begun contacting developers to tell them that it’s time to submit their apps for OS X Yosemite ahead of its public release later this fall. The email encourages the use of new Yosemite functions like app extensions — as well as Swift, Apple’s “innovative” new programming language.

Apple pulls iOS 8.0.1 update that fixed HealthKit but broke Touch ID, cell service

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Download iOS 8.0.1 now. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac.
Download iOS 8.0.1 now. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac.

Update: iOS 8.0.1 upgraders are reporting problems with Touch ID and cellular connectivity after installing Apple’s update. You should wait before taking the plunge. If you’ve already installed iOS 8.0.1, here’s how to downgrade to iOS 8.

Apple has pulled an iOS 8.0.1 update that fixed problems with HealthKit and various other features after iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users discovered the update broke Touch ID and blocked cellular connectivity.

The iOS 8.0.1 update was also supposed to improve Reachability on the iPhone 6, but it has already been removed while Apple addresses the nest of new bugs it unleashed.

Apple TV update adds Beats Music, new icons, iOS 8 features

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Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Apple TV updated Wednesday morning, giving the main screen a whole new look and adding Beats Music as a “channel.”

The icons for Music, Computers and TV Shows all have a new, almost pastel look, while all the icons seem a bit flatter, like iOS 8. The fonts seem thinner, as well, reflecting the overall new design ethos of iOS and OS X.

You can also connect to iCloud Photo and Family Sharing options, new iOS 8 features that also went live today for iPhone and iPad devices.