The best HomeKit accessories

Cody Lee ∙ Updated July 10, 2018

In 2014, Apple announced a new connected devices platform called HomeKit, with the hopes of making smart home technology easier and more accessible. It sounds complex, but the gist of it is you can control HomeKit-compatible appliances with your iPhone or Siri.

To make it easier to find the best HomeKit-compatible accessories, we've put together a list of some of our favorites. We made our selections based on a handful of factors including price, features, user feedback and of course our own personal experience with the products.

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iCloud was storing deleted browsing histories, but Apple fixed the issue

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

A Russian forensics firm named Elcomsoft has discovered that Apple was storing users' Safari browsing histories in iCloud going back more than a year, possibly much longer. This was happening even after users had asked for any deleted records to be wiped from their iCloud-connected devices. Soon after Elcomsoft announced a way to extract deleted browsing histories from iCloud, Apple applied a server-side fix to stop the retrievals and apparently purged all records older than two weeks.

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Solution to 7-day signing for Yalu may be coming: avoid other methods!

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ February 9, 2017

Those of you who have jailbroken in recent times, with either yalu1011, yalu102, Home Depot, or Pangu 9.2-9.3.3, can't have failed to notice a new feature of these tools which jailbreakers never had to contend with before.

I'm not referring to the semi-untether here, but rather to the installing of a profile on your device which signs the jailbreak app for a certain amount of time. iOS 10 jailbreakers particularly have felt the irritation of this limitation, but all that may be about to change, based on some tentative words from Cydia creator Jay Freeman (Saurik).

At the same time, other workarounds for the seven-day signing limit have started surfacing; these are almost all a bad idea, and should be avoided.

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All BeatsX purchases come with three free months of Apple Music

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

Apple's W1-equipped BeatsX earphones with a new flexible neckband design should be available to purchase this Friday in Black or White along with a pair of new color options: Gray and Blue. A few hands-on videos have gone live ahead of the official launch.

Comparing BeatsX to AirPods, YouTuber Jonathan Morrison has discovered that all purchases of BeatsX come with a code that customers can redeem for three free months of Apple Music (on top of Apple Music's existing three-month free trial).

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KGI: all 2017 iPhones to have wireless charging, iPhone 8’s 3D Touch pricier to build

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted in a new note to clients, obtained by MacRumors, that all new models of iPhone introduced this year would feature wireless charging. In addition, the report cautions that production costs of iPhone 8's enhanced 3D Touch module might rise between 30 and 50 percent.

A report yesterday by FastCo stated Apple would pass any increased production costs stemming from iPhone 8's OLED screen and other hardware advances onto the consumer, speculating that the final sale price of iPhone 8 could pass $1,000 in US.

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New malware uses auto-running macros in Word documents to infect your Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

Taking advantage of a primitive Windows technique relying on automatically-running macros embedded in Microsoft Word documents, a new type of Mac malware attack has been discovered recently. As first noted in a research compiled by Objective-See, the technique used may be crude but once an unsuspecting user opens an infected Word document and chooses to run the macros, the malware installs itself silently on the target Mac and immediately attempts to download a hazardous payload.

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You can now check detailed weather forecast on Facebook

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

You can now safely delete those weather apps on your iPhone as Facebook just launched a brand new weather forecast section in its iPhone and iPad app and on the web, powered by Weather.com.

An updated version of its earlier weather greetings in News Feed, this latest feature addition indicates that the social networking behemoth continues to seek out new ways to increase user engagement and boost the stickiness of its platform.

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​Setapp lets you rent 60+ Mac apps for a flat monthly fee – try it for free [sponsored]

Sponsored Post ∙ Updated June 7, 2017

MacPaw recently launched a subscription service for popular Mac indie apps, called Setapp. Describes as an “unstore” alternative to Mac App Store, Setapp is more like Netflix for software where you pay a flat monthly fee of $9.99 for full access to a growing list of 60+ Mac apps like RapidWeaver, Marked 2, Ulysses, iMazing, iStat Menus, Toast Titanium, CodeRunner, Blogo, Pagico and more.

Every app offered through Setapp is free of advertising and In-App Purchases and you get instant unlimited access to their latest versions and any updates. Even if you loathe subscriptions, Setapp's free trial lets you try each and every app offered in the set for an entire month, without any restrictions and completely free of charge.

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Tim Cook visits Downing Street, talks Brexit and more with UK Prime Minister Theresa May

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

Hot on the heels of his days-long European tour that saw him receive an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow after visiting various locations including Marseille, Paris, Vreden and Berlin, Apple CEO Tim Cook meet the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Theresa May this morning at 10am local time. May and Cook discussed the company's presence in the country in the aftermath of Brexit.

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Video: Tim Cook receives honorary degree from University of Glasgow, chats with students

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

As announced last week, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has received an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow, in the United Kingdom. Following the official ceremony last night, Cook sat down for a fireside chat with students. Just prior to the session, he stopped at the Glasgow Apple Store and talked to customers.

The Apple CEO discussed a range of topics, including immigration, Apple Pencil, the legacy of Steve Jobs and more. A full video of Cook’s appearance at the University of Glasgow is now available for you to enjoy.

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macOS Sierra 10.12.4 now available to public beta testers

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 2 with Night Shift Mode and other improvements is now available to public beta testers, two days after the software was seeded to Apple's registered developers.

Public beta testers can deploy the latest beta of Sierra over the air via the Software Update mechanism provided they have installed an appropriate configuration profile through Apple's Beta Software Program website.

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