Christmas is just around the corner, and many of you are in the process of getting the Christmas tree up, or maybe it’s already been done! But what about the Christmas lights? There are some cool lights out there that you can control with your smartphone through an app, and they definitely add a touch of pizazz to your Christmas traditions.

Highly customizable

Twinkly LED String Lights

Staff favorite

Twinkly LED lights can be wrapped around your tree and display custom designs. There are preloaded shapes, or you can make your own custom design with the app.

$133 at Amazon

Play with the lights

Lumenplay Starter Set

Lumenplay comes with 24 starter bulbs that you can use indoors or outdoors. The app lets you change the color of the lights or use a color theme, put on mini light shows, and can remotely turn the lights on and off.

$17 at Amazon

Smart but affordable

Brizled Bluetooth LED Christmas Lights

You get 200 mini lights on a 65-foot string, which should be plenty …

Checkm8 is a bootrom-level security exploit that can be used against every iPhone from the 4S to the X. It was announced late last week by axi0mX — axi0mX… axi0m10… dammit, Apple! — and ever since we’ve seen everything from fear, uncertainty, and doubt, to supremely good reporting on what it is, what it isn’t, and most importantly, what it means for all of us.

So, let’s try to sort it all out.

Now, before we dive in, I’m not an infosec expert nor do I play one on the internet. Checkm8 is absolutely serious but very specific and in some ways very limited. It’s certainly helpful for jailbreakers and researchers that it exists, probably neutral good for bad actors, and bad for Apple and a black eye for iOS security that’ll no doubt drive them even harder to lock things down even better, again.

But, for the average user, the threat level today probably isn’t any different than it was a week ago. I’m going to sum up why as best and as accurately as I can, bu…

Cuphead has sold 5 million copies and in celebration, the game is 20% off on all platforms for the next week.

What you need to know

Cuphead first released on Xbox One and PC on September 29, 2017.
Since then, it’s sold very well and was ported to the Nintendo Switch.
Today, Studio MDHR announced that Cuphead has sold 5 million copies. In celebration, Cuphead is now 20% off on all platforms for a week.
You can get Cuphead for $20 on Amazon.
Cuphead continues to sell well, as the developers at Studio MDHR announced on Twitter today that Cuphead has sold 5 million copies since its release exactly two years ago. You can see the announcement and some nifty artwork below:

Cuphead turns two today, and we’re so humbled to announce: it has officially gone five-times platinum!!Starting now, the game is 20% off on all platforms for a full week. And stay tuned, because we have 5 days of fun and giveaways planned to celebrate 5 million copies sold! pic.twitter.com/oe7uTzY62Y— Studio MD…

The iMore show brings you everything you need to know about the week in iPhone, iPad, Watch, TV, Mac, and Apple!

iPadOS 13.1 has arrived along with iOS 13.1! Lory Gil, Rene Ritchie, and Georgia Dow share their experiences with the new features along with come favorite games available in Apple Arcade. They also answer a couple listener questions, and chat about the upcoming macOS Catalina. There’s also a cool patent for light logo notifications on MacBook. Finally, an iPhone 6s survived 15 months at the bottom of a lake!

Listen now

Subscribe in iTunes: Audio
Subscribe in RSS: Audio

Download directly: Audio

Watch now

Show notes

iPadOS 13.1
tvOS 13
iOS 13.1
macOS Catalina next week?
Wouldn’t a MacBook with light up logo for notifications be cool?
iPhone 6s survives being lost underwater for 15 months
Sponsors

Thrifter.com: All the best deals from Amazon, Best Buy, and more, fussily curated and constantly updated.
Hosts

Lory Gil
Rene Ritchie
Georgia Dow
Be part of the sh…

What you need to know

Apple Watch Series 5 went on sale on September 20th.
Some owners are experiencing poor battery life.
The issue seems limited to GPS+Cellular watches.
But only with the GPS+Cellular models.

Apple Watch Series 5 has been around for a little over a week and generally the response has been positive. But while the always-on display has been a big hit, battery life hasn’t. At least for some people. Specifically, those who are wearing a GPS+Cellular model.

Backing up for a moment, here’s the issue. Over the last week we’ve seen various people taking to Twitter to complain that they are experiencing poor battery life from their brand new Apple Watch. Some, like Marques ”MKBHD” blamed the always-on display. And that’s a reasonable assumption to make when you’re comparing to an older Apple Watch.

Gave it a 2-week shot, but I’m finally gonna have to turn off the always-on display on Apple Watch Series 5. It nukes through battery about 30% faster with it on and I…

For the jailbreaking community, the recently-released bootrom exploit is gonna be a lot of fun.

You may have heard earlier this week that a new unpatchable exploit was released that works on all iPhones from 4S to X and is unpatchable. What this means to most people is practically nothing. The expolit does not make it possible for someone to remotely hack your iPhone, steal your data, or otherwise hurt you if you personally don’t jailbreak your iPhone.

What this means for the jailbreak community at large is that, no matter how many software updates Apple releases with bug patches and vulnerability fixes, iPhones with an A5 through A11 chip can potentially be jailbroken permanently. No more running older operating systems in order to keep a jailbroken phone. No more scrambling to try to find a new software exploit.

Ars Technica interviewed the developer of Checkm8, axi0mX, and has a great deep dive into the process and limitations of the exploit.

Basically, Checkm8 is a bootrom ex…

If you’re looking for a computer to satisfy your creative endeavors, few options are as powerful and versatile as the Apple iMac. It packs plenty of processing power and a vibrant display all in one sleek package. Unfortunately, the iMac, just like any other Apple product, is crazy expensive. Luckily, you can get your very own Mac for just $379, or a fraction of the price.

This deal is for a certified Apple Refurb iMac with a 21.5-inch widescreen display, an Intel Core i3-2100 and 4GB of memory, which provides you with more than enough processing power for daily use and multimedia.  It also comes with 250GB of SATA storage for all of your apps, pictures, music, and more. Finally, the iMac contains an ATI Radeon HD 6570M, a powerful graphics card that’ll let you do graphical work and play high-end games in stunning detail.

Not only is the iMac stunning to look at and easy to use, but it also delivers all the horsepower you need to get the job done. You buy…

Men like to exercise a certain way (just as women do) and there may be certain aspects of fitness that men like to track more than others. If you’re looking for a Fitbit or looking for one to buy your guy, then these are your best choices!

Best for joggers

Fitbit Charge 3

Staff Favorite

The Charge 3 comes with Fitbit’s built-in PurePulse technology, which monitors and reports your heart rate while you’re on the go. It can also monitor you’re sleep, so feel free to take that post-jog afternoon nap. Charge 3 has a tap-activated OLED display that will show you the time of day and call notifications as they come through.

$120 at Fitbit

Best for weightlifting and sports

Fitbit Versa 2

If you are out getting your swell on or hitting the baseball diamond, you needs a Fitbit that can keep up with you. The newest Fitbit is essentially a fitness-focused smartwatch, with a baked-in heart rate monitor, and five-day battery life. It has over 15 exercise modes, which let you track spec…

macOS Catalina is coming soon as a public update to a Mac near you. Get ready for the update so it will go as smooth as possible.

Maybe you’ve been testing macOS Catalina in beta for months. Maybe you wanted to be surprised with all the new features on launch day. Rumored to launch at the end of the week, macOS Catalina is releasing as a public update soon. Get your Mac ready for the big update by checking off everything you need to prepare for a smooth transition.

Step 1: Make sure your Mac is compatible with macOS Catalina

macOS Catalina is compatible with the following laptop and desktop computers:

MacBook (2015 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (All models)
Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)
Step 2: Check your app updates

Outdated apps on Mac are just as much of a problem as outdated apps on iPhone, sometimes more if you use your Mac for work. Check with app developers via thei…