Instagram has accidentally leaked that it’s planning to launch a thunder strike against Snapchat with a new “one tap photo messaging” app of its own called Bolt.

A banner announcing the new messaging app was accidentally posted for some users on Android to see last night, but was taken down about 15 minutes after it appeared. The Free link button on the banner directed users to the Google Play Store, but the page was not available.

Rumors that Apple might bring fun faces to the iWatch thanks to a partnership with Swatch have already been shot down, after the Swiss watchmaker denied a report claiming it and other watchmakers were helping Apple create a diverse lineup of smartwatches.

A report from Venture beat on Wednesday claimed Swatch, Timex and possibly others, were secretly helping Apple make a whole set of iWatches for all tastes geek to chic, but it appears that Apple is definitely making the iWatch all on its own.

More than ever before, we are dependent on the Internet for our business and social efforts.  With that in mind, knowing how to code these days is pretty important. If you don’t know how to code you leave control of your web presence in someone else’s hands or, worse, your website just won’t measure up to that of your competition.

Take control of your web presence with The Beginner Web Dev Hacker Bundle at 86% off, just $69, from Cult of Mac Deals.

If you’ve never really understood why Apple decided to make the iPhone’s signal bars circular in iOS 7 (I haven’t, either), then you’ll be pleased to know that you’ll soon have the ability to change it, thanks to an upcoming tweak for jailbroken iPhones called Meter.

I was pretty pumped about UpWord Notes when it came out back in February, and it’s still the first place I go when I need to jot something down. Meanwhile, my iPhone’s onboard Notes app just languishes in a folder marked “Trash” because I can’t delete it.

Developer Lau Brothers is dropping Version 2.0 of UpWord Notes on us today, and it includes several new features that make the app even more fun and useful.

Oyster, the all-you-can-read e-book subscription service that finally made its debut on Android earlier this month, is now even more accessible. From today, Oyster users can enjoy titles in a web browser on almost any device — including your Mac or PC.

BlueAnt’s Pump wireless headphones caught my eye at Mobile World Congress. Sports gear that also looks cool? Count me in!

I’ve been giving theses waterproof Bluetooth headphones a workout since they arrived last week, and I love them. That’s not to say they’re perfect – they’re not. But they have a job to do, and they get on and do it.

Merek Davis is not a coder. The developer never even made an app before 2013. Yet on his first iOS at-bat, he hit an App Store grand slam with Mextures, his photo-editing app that quickly became one of the top photo apps of the year.

Mextures is like Photoshop for your iPhone, only easier to use. The app’s editing tools and formulas let you tweak and re-tweak pics, adding light leaks, textures and color gradients that can turn even your crappiest pics into something majestic.

It’s a bona fide hit, with some of the most-followed names on Instagram using Davis’ creation. But it almost never happened.

BlackBerry users have been warned that calling the emergency services will not charge their phone battery after some were fooled by bogus information that was circulated online. British Police have reminded users that unnecessary calls waste resources and could put lives in danger.

We’ve been waiting all year for Apple to finally reveal its long-rumored wearable creation, but if the big iWatch event ever does happen this year, we might be getting a lot more smartwatches than expected.

Swatch and other watch makers will supposedly team up with Apple to bring a variety of stylish iWatches to consumers, according to a rumor from VentureBeat, that claims Cupertino wants to partner with companies in the watch business to expand the smart watches’ appeal.

Apple’s big plan for mobile payments could debut as early as the iPhone 6 this fall, according to a new report from The Information. While the company has been in talks with major players in the payments industry for a while, its efforts haven’t made it into the light of day yet.

The mobile “wallet” would allow the user to pay in the real world using just their iPhone, and Apple already has the security feature in place to make it all work seamlessly.

When surfing the web or using one of your favorite applications, chances are your iPhone is burning through mobile data. Unless you have unlimited data on your wireless plan, this can quickly become a costly habit. Luckily, it’s easy to control your data on iOS no matter who your carrier is.

In today’s video, we show you how to manage data on your device so you can avoid a hefty bill.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

Eddy Cue thinks 2014 will be the best product pipeline Apple’s had in 25 years, and according to the company’s latest filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cupertino is certainly pouring enough money into R&D to back him up.

Apple increased spending in research and development 36 percent year-over-year in Q3, with an extra $425 million being funneled into R&D in the last quarter alone.

The most important camera upgrade on the iPhone 6 won’t be on in the back, it’ll be the front-facing selfie-cam, and Sony says it’s ready to spend $345 million to make sure it has enough image sensors for future iPhones, iPads, and other tablets and smartphones.

Sony, Apple’s image sensor supplier for the iPhone and iPad, announced today that it is increasing its production capabilities of image sensors for smartphones and tablets by completing work on a factory it purchased from Renesas Electronics in northwestern Japan.

More than ever before, our connected world is a mobile one. What good is having a strong web presence if it isn’t optimized for use with mobile devices? That’s where having your own app comes into play. It allows your audience to connect with you in a personalized way.

Now, you too can build breath taking apps with two awesome offers. For a limited time, you can pre-order The Complete iOS 8 Course With Swift for $79 and The 8 For 8 Design Bundle for $24.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

The Complete iOS 8 + Swift Developers Course (Pre-Order)

Samsung gets a lot of stick for its commercials — mostly because they almost always make cheap stabs at Apple and other rivals. But the South Korean company does have the ability to produce great ads every so often, and its latest, featuring pro surfer (and iPhone user) Kelly Slater, is downright awesome.

Just in time for Comic-Con International, iOS game Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff is rolling out an appropriately themed update, adding a whole new storyline and cameos from a bevy of geek-chic celebrities.

The new plot line concerns (surprise, surprise!) a comic convention that comes to Quahog. Chaos naturally ensues, and Stewie somehow gets transformed into the evil octopus monster seen in the above picture. To fight him, Quahog enlists the help of an all-star celeb cast including Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, Stan Lee, Ron Perlman, George Takei, Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion.

With their help, the Griffins and supporting characters are turned into real superheroes, who can use their new-found powers to save the day and restore order to the town.

If you’re a fan of Marvel Comics (and, frankly, who isn’t?) you’ll likely be pleased as punch to hear of the publisher’s latest offer.

To celebrate Comic-Con International, Marvel is opening up its online archive — consisting of more than 15,000 books that date back as far as the Golden and Silver ages — for the princely sum of one dollar.

Listen up, Mac users! Apple is gearing up to release its first public beta of OS X Yosemite tomorrow, July 24, giving those without a developer account the opportunity to get their hands on it for the first time. Only the first 1 million people who sign up will gain access to the pre-release software, however, so if you haven’t already, submit your details today.

The console-quality, Zelda-inspired game Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas was one of the best original games in ages when it hit iOS late last year.

Based on the amazing feedback that game deservedly scooped up, developers FDG Entertainment and Cornfox & Bros. have just dropped a brand new victory lap trailer hyping what looks to be an epic “Game of the Year Edition” update the team is currently working on.

Earlier this week, forensic data scientist Jonathan Zdziarski made a bold claim: iOS may be vulnerable to government snooping by design. According to Zdziarski, iOS had multiple backdoors installed that made any device running the OS “almost always at risk of spilling all data,” which in turn made for some “tasty attack points for .gov and criminals.”

Apple, of course, denied having ever worked with the government to install any backdoors. But that didn’t change the fact that these unsecured services do exist, and worse, have gone entirely undocumented. But thankfully, Apple has rectified at least that last problem, penning a new support document that explains what each of Zdziarski’s snoopsome services actually does.

One of the best things Apple offers for newbie customers is the ability to go into brick-and-mortar retail stores for training sessions.

Looking to improve this service — or at least to speed up the ability for users to make the appropriate reservations — Apple has made changes to its “Learn” webpage, adding an interactive map of its stores along with revised session details.

The changes also integrate workshops such as Youth Programs and One to One training into the existing Concierge reservation system.

As someone who’s never witnessed any paranormal activity, I’d probably crap myself should I ever come across a ghost in real life. Luckily I’ve got the Blackwell adventure games to give me a tidy little taste of the supernatural.

The episodic game series introduces you to the spirit world through the eyes of Rosangela Blackwell, for whom dealing with specters comes as no surprise, thanks to her family’s long history of strange and unexplained happenings. Her story unfolds over five games that were originally released on PC (and ported to Mac). The first three games in the series, recently ported smoothly and successfully to iOS, introduce us to a brilliantly told story driven by dialogue and character interaction, with many problem-solving elements.

Beats may have been acquired by Apple for $3 billion earlier this year, but that doesn’t mean that the trendy headphone maker is ready to adopt the white Jony Ive-favored minimalism of Apple just yet.

While Apple continues to work on its Cupertino “Mothership” headquarters, an article from Fast Company sheds some light on the new Beats campus being renovated from two industrial buildings in Culver City, Los Angeles.

Featuring reception areas, conference rooms, and offices in one building, and a cafeteria, gym, and double-height workshop for R&D in the other, the article describes the design as featuring “architectural gestures that go from pop to cinematic to downright arty.”

One thing it’s not, though, is reminiscent of Apple.