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10 essential apps for your new iPhone 6s

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iphone-6s-3d-touch
Okay, you have the phone. Now what?
Photo: Apple

If you’ve braved a line (or just waited impatiently for your mail or a delivery from your local courier) and finally have your hands on an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus of your very own, you may be wondering what do do with your new precious. Sure, you could call all your friends and tell them you’re speaking to them through your shiny new gadget, like I did with my Apple Watch.

And I’m here to tell you that everyone loves that.

But you’re probably looking for some cool apps to play around with, and it may be hard to know where to start — especially if this is your first iPhone. So here are a bunch of apps that should be at the top of your list.

All of the Apple Design Award winners (and why they won)

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Apple Design Award winners WWDC 2015
Here are your 12 winners of this year's Apple Design Awards.
Photo: Apple

The Apple Design Award winners are in, and they showcase the cutting edge of game and app design.

At a ceremony Monday at the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple handed out 12 awards to the best apps of the past year. Games scored half of the nods, with some really cool productivity, finance and utility apps also taking honors.

Here are all of this year’s winning apps — and why they won.

Vainglory’s biggest update yet brings character skins to the MOBA-fest

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Six new hero skins are here! Photo: Super Evil Megacorp
Six new hero skins are here! Photo: Super Evil Megacorp

If you’re like us, you’ve been playing the crap out of the amazingly addictive online arena game, Vainglory, since it came out for the iPad and iPhone, ganking enemies from the safety of the bushes, releasing the Kraken, and pushing down the lane to smash the opposing team’s base crystal to win the game.

While the development team at Super Evil Megacorp has released updates in the past, they’ve just dropped the most major update yet: the introduction of a character skin system to customize the look of your heroes as they dash across the map, wreaking havoc and crushing the enemy team.

There are six new heroes with two tiers of customization out in the update today, with a ton more to come.

Here’s how it’s going to work.

How to keep iOS gaming sessions from being interrupted

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Stop getting interrupted when you're gaming. Photo: Rob LeFebvre
Stop getting interrupted when you're gaming. Photo: Rob LeFebvre

I’ve been playing Vainglory quite a bit lately, and the one thing that really distracts me and actually impacts my gameplay (when on my iPad 3) is notifications. They can make the game stutter, which wreaks havok on my ability to gank an enemy Joule from the bushes with my Krul.

Seriously, it’s annoying.

I turned on Do Not Disturb last week to try and get rid of these badges that annoy, but it never worked: I still got notifications from Facebook, Messages and other appss. I did some digging to find out why.

ICYMI: Oddly uplifting – This Apple co-founder sold his stake for $800

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More great stories and features from your buddies right here at Cult of Mac. Cover Design: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
More great stories and features from your buddies right here at Cult of Mac. Cover Design: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

This week: the oddly uplifting tale of Apple co-founder Ron Wayne, who sold his stake in the company for $800. Plus, road-ready gifts for bicyclists, killer Vainglory strategy guide, and awesome iOS 8 widgets you won’t want to miss. That and more in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine!

Dig into Cult of Mac Magazine December 5 Edition, Free on iTunes

Ultimate guide to dominating your enemies in Vainglory

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You really need to download Vainglory and get your fingers into battle. Photo: Superevil Megacorp

Chances are, the first time you try your hand at Vainglory you’ll get ganked almost immediately by a crystal-toting Glaive.

If you’d rather avoid that ignominious end, you’ll want to read our guide to all things Vainglory. It’s loaded with tips and tricks on how to kick ass in this excellent iOS game, an Apple favorite that showcases the awesome fun possible in the multiplayer online battle arena genre.

You’ll find basic and advanced gameplay tips, plus a special top 10 list for every hero in the game, right from the developers themselves.

Pretty soon you’ll be the one pwning your enemies with nonchalant ease, just like Scarf Guy.

ICYMI: Gaming’s most innovative players, Apple Watch secrets, and more!

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Gaming, Apple Watch, Black Friday. what more do you need? Cover Design: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Gaming, Apple Watch, Black Friday. what more do you need? Cover Design: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Hey, guess what? It’s yet another fantastic round up of great stories from Cult of Mac, so time for another special Newsstand issue just for you!

We’ve got all of the best news stories and features compiled in one place to easily read on your iPad or iPhone, like: New innovations in gaming include hot upcoming game Subterfuge, currently available MOBA Vainglory, and a new ex-Pixar-employee-led studio, plus news on the Apple Watch, some amazing gift guides, and a Black Friday special report that you won’t want to miss.

Dig into Cult of Mac Magazine November 21 Edition, Free on iTunes

How Super Evil Megacorp became Apple’s favorite game makers

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Vainglory take
Vainglory helped show off the graphical capabilities of the iPhone 6 to the fullest.

Of all the people to appear onstage at Tuesday’s Apple keynote, U.S. game developers Super Evil Megacorp were among the most memorable — thanks partly to co-founder Tommy Krul’s decision to wear a fetching infinity scarf.

What followed were Internet memes, parody Twitter accounts — and a whole lot of buzz for Vainglory, the team’s hyper-competitive multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game that was called into action to help show off the graphical prowess of the iPhone 6.

As an example of the ever-thinning gap between console and iOS games, Vainglory knocked the demo out of the park, leaving fans salivating at the prospect of next-gen gaming on Apple’s new handset.

It also left people wondering about the origins of the fantastically named Super Evil Megacorp.

Vainglory trailer justifies demo time during yesterday’s iPhone 6 event

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(Picture: )
(Picture: Super Evil Megacorp)

During yesterday’s unveiling of the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, awesomely-named developers Super Evil Megacorp took to the stage to show off the iPhone 6’s impressive graphical capabilities through a demo of their forthcoming iOS game Vainglory.

Despite the presence of “scarf guy” (one of the demoing developers wearing an infinite scarf that’s already become an Internet meme), Super Evil Megacorp was able to claw back viewer attention for their “unapologetically core MOBA” (that’s multiplayer online battle arena to the noobs out there) developed by veterans from the likes of Blizzard and Riot.

And no wonder: the game looks fantastic, built on Super Evil’s E.V.I.L engine, and boasting full Metal support from day one. The game’s rolling out globally from next month, but for now excited gamers can check out the trailer after the jump: