Rob LeFebvre - page 4

With the iPad lineup now verging on unwieldy, it’s harder than ever to decide which Apple tablet to buy. Which iPad is best for you? That’s going to depend on your needs, desires and budget — but your iPad buyer’s guide can help!

Do you go for the massive appeal of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro or opt for the smaller-but-newer (and slightly gimped) 9.7-inch iPad Pro? Will a tiny iPad mini suit you, or should you opt for an iPad Air 2, which is still a very capable, thin tablet?

All good questions! We’re here to help you answer them with this handy iPad comparison, just in time for when the new iPad Pro goes on sale Thursday, March 24 (most likely at 12:01 a.m. Pacific, according to Apple Support).

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.

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.

Best List: Noke padlock

Padlocks are essential for sheds, locker rooms and bicycles, but damn do I continue to forget my combination or lose my key.

Noke (the “e” is long, for “no key”) has this problem solved for iPhone-toting folks like me with its fantastic, easy-to-use smartlock that will never ask you for a combination again. Heck, even if your iPhone is missing, you can use Noke’s special key fob that ensures you’ll never be locked out from your gym clothes (or lawnmower) again.

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.

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.

Now that Apple’s little keynote is over, the tech company from Cupertino is pulling the switch on a ton of new OS updates, including watchOS, the system that powers your Apple Watch.

If you want to upgrade to the latest OS now, watchOS 2.2, here’s what you need to do.

Whether you’re recycling your iPhone in order to upgrade to the latest iPhone SE, or you favor Apple products because they’re the best on the market, you can feel good about your choice thanks to Apple’s environmental and medical initiatives.

Cupertino’s favorite tech company dropped four gorgeous videos into its low-key keynote today that showcase Liam, a radical recycling robot, and ResearchKit, which is helping connect people and medical researchers in unprecedented numbers. These two videos, below, along with Apple’s historical 40 years in 40 seconds and the new iPad Pro, are as beautiful as you’d expect from the company that continues to make righteous choices while it makes loads of cash.

Evolution, not revolution, was the tone of today’s low-key Apple event. Smaller is better, says Apple, with two big product “reveals” that show off compact new devices with impressive internals.

While most of the announcements today have already been discussed and dissected, like the 4-inch iPhone SE, new Apple Watch bands and a smaller 9.7-inch iPad Pro, there were a couple of surprises.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Apple’s oddly low-key “Let us loop you in” event.

Monday, March 21, will be a big day for Apple, with possible reveals of a budget 4-inch iPhone SE, a 9.7-inch iPad Pro and maybe even some new Apple Watch bands ahead of the second iteration of Apple’s wrist computer.

Want to watch the Apple event live? Here’s how you do it on any of your Apple devices (and even a PC).

Note: Monday’s Apple event starts at 10 a.m. Pacific. Cult of Mac’s liveblog will start serving up color commentary an hour before that, so don’t be late!

Apple’s set to bring the noise at an exciting new keynote event March 21, full of iPad Air 3 and iPhone SE news, and we’re sure you’re ready to hear it.

While you wait for Apple’s big event, though, we’ve gathered together all the things we think you need to know about the upcoming Apple-fest and put them into this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine.

Enjoy the noise, and check out this week’s top stories.

We’d play this game in a heartbeat, especially if it can bust video games into our living rooms in such a realistic way.

Putting on a typical virtual reality (VR) headset like an Oculus Rift can be disorienting at first, as VR tends to shut you out of the real world and into a, well, virtual one. Augmented reality, like you might find with Google Glass, for example, tends to place the digital world into the real one.

This Sulon Q looks like a VR rig, but lets you see the real world through it, with some digital overlay to make the fantasy of a video game look like it’s in the same place as you are.

In the video below, you’ll see a demo of a Jack and the Beanstalk game which starts out in the Sulon offices, but then things get fantastic fast as the giant beanstalk finds its way upward to the sky.

Check it out and thrill along with us.

Chances are, you’ve lost your iPhone a time or two, even in your own home. I’ve found myself stalking around the living room, kitchen, and even bathroom trying to remember just where I left that darn iOS device.

Tile, the popular “find your stuff” tracker, has a trick you can use to find your lost iPhone, even if you’ve put the iPhone on silent.

Here’s how.

Apple is looking to decrease its reliance on data infrastructure that it currently outsources to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

Dubbed “Project McQueen,” the new project is meant to speed up Apple’s cloud services, like moving photos and videos onto your iOS devices.

Talking to your iPhone is commonplace these days, but getting Siri on your MacBook or iMac might seem like something out of a near-future like the one shown in Her by Spike Jones.

Siri on the desktop might not be as far out as it seems, though, if a new partnership between speech recognition company Sensory and Intel works out.

When it comes to the Messages app, saving all your iMessages can be a good thing, letting you go back in time and see the delightful conversations you’ve had with your loved ones or even just checking to see where you’re supposed to meet up on Friday.

Of course, there might be a few of them, however, that you’re not super keen on saving. You may not want to get rid of an entire iMessage conversation thread, but there might be bits of it you’d rather forget.

Here’s how to get rid of parts of your iMessages while saving only your most treasured iMessages in OS X.

Getting up and down from the couch just to pause a television show is so 1970s.

If you want to watch iTunes videos, for example, via your Mac on your big-screen TV, AirParrot 2 is a fantastic choice. Even better, it’s got a new companion app on iOS, AirParrot Remote, that will let you control your Mac while you do so.

Because nothing says awesome like sending your Mac screen to the TV and running it all via your iPhone, right?

Researchers have just discovered a new malware threat for iOS devices that uses Apple’s own FairPlay DRM system as a delivery vector.

Dubbed “AceDeciever” by the researchers, the malware in question can technically infect any type of iOS device, jailbroken or not, if a user downloads a third-party app.

Best List: Yeelight by ipegtop

Most smartbulbs I’ve tried only let me use my iPhone to change the color of the bulb and to turn it off and on. I’ve never found one bright enough to read by, either, making me wonder if it’s even possible with the current technology.

The Yeelight is my answer: It’s a fantastic, app-controlled, touch-enabled smartlamp that’s colorful enough to set a fun mood while also being bright enough to use for my before-bed reading ritual.

Bottom line, this one’s a winner.

I’ve gotten so used to the sidebar in OS X that I’m at a loss when it disappears on me when using my Mac.

If you’re the same way, here’s how to find it again, in both the Finder and in any Open or Save dialog boxes.

Apple Watch was never designed to be a singular product, according to Jony Ive, but a whole fashionable system in its own right. Not just in a functional sense, either, as part of an Apple tech ecosystem.

In an interview with Mashable’s Christina Warren, Ive points out the form that enriches the Apple Watch function.

“I think we found that by being able to change the strap,” said Ive, “not just change the color but the design — and the designs change profoundly — that we could start to introduce a new look in combination with different watch faces and user interfaces.”

WhatsApp is a messaging app popular with people all over the globe, but you probably don’t want it to turn into a tracking app for your stalker.

Plus, it probably has private information in it that you’d rather not have other people know about, right?

Here’s how to lock it all down so you can keep creepers off your WhatsApp profile.

If you’ve been itching to design the next big app in your spare time, Adobe’s just made it easier with a free trial of its user interface (UI) design tool, Experience Design (XD) CC for Mac.

Previously known as Project Comet, Adobe XD is a full-fledged design tool that lets you prototype mobile or web apps fast, and you can download a free preview right now.

Bruce Springsteen once lamented that there were “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On),” and it’s only gotten worse. How do you find something good to watch in an era where Amazon, iTunes, HBO/Showtime, and a ton of network-specific apps and online sites threaten to overwhelm your screens, big and small?

It’s not as easy as you’d think, either, especially if you have more than one person controlling the remote.

I’ve gotten less happy to let Netflix choose what I watch these days and have tried to found new ways to see hidden treasures that might not end up on the main home screen.

Here are our suggestions on how to find the buried treasure on Netflix.

Snapchat is one of those essential social networking apps that makes a ton of sense to early adopters (read: young folks) and not much sense at all to those who arrive later to the party.

As obfuscated as most of Snapchat’s features are, it takes a bit of guidance if you want to go beyond simply snapping a shot and sending it to a buddy. These four easy Snapchat tips will turn you into a master.