Cash Your Stimulus Check Using This New ‘Venmo’ Feature

Venmo has added a new check-cashing feature to its app rolling out to select users on Monday. It can be used to cash printed, payroll, and U.S. government checks. The company is also waiving its 1% fee for stimulus checks for a limited time.

To be eligible to use Cash a Check, Venmo customers will need to have either Direct Deposit or a Venmo Debit Card enabled on their account, location services turned on, and a verified email address.

Customers who gain access to the feature will then be able take a picture of their endorsed check and send it to the Venmo app to review, much like they would if cashing a check in a mobile banking app.

New Weekly Fitness+ Series and Apple Music Playlists Now Live

Apple has added a number of “goal-setting workouts’ to Fitness+, MacRumors reported. It’s part of a new weekly series designed to help users stay motivated and on track with their training. More Music playlists have been added too.

A new introductory video can be found on the main Fitness+ page in the Fitness app, where trainer Kim highlights what’s new in the subscription service this week and points users to the new Ring in the New Year Limited Edition Activity Challenge that can be found on their Apple Watch… In the video, Kim picks out two workouts in particular that offer goal-setting motivations, including a 20-minute strength workout and a 10-minute HIIT workout, and should help users bag the Ring in the New Year Challenge award, which can be earned by closing all three rings for seven days in a row.

Ex-Apple Employees' Lidar Startup to Get Major Cash Injection

A Lidar sensor startup founded by two former Apple engineers, set for a $200 million investment by a Hong Kong-based hedge fund, Bloomberg News reported. The firm is also set to go public via a reverse merger.

Aeva — a company that’s yet to turn a profit — is valued at about $3 billion, the startup’s chief executive officer, Soroush Salehian, said in an interview. Aeva plans to use the extra cash to meet demand from consumer device companies and speed up some of its technological achievement milestones, he said. “We are seeing interest from a number of new customers, from auto and industrial and consumer applications,” Salehian said, adding the company is working on applications for mobile phones, tablets and consumer health. Salehian, who helped develop the Apple Watch during his almost five years as a product manager at the tech giant, says Aeva has an edge in consumer devices because its tech can be fit onto a chip small enough for tablets and smartphones, as well as the bulkier boxes used for automotive lidar.

 

Will Apple’s ‘Wolfwalkers’ Win a Best Animated Feature Oscar?

Brandon Zachary makes an argument that the “Wolfwalkers” animated movie on Apple TV+ should win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature instead of yet another Disney movie.

It’s a highly engaging film, and one that never loses steam throughout the runtime. Wolfwalkers is passionate in a way the more heady Soul isn’t, taking audiences on a massive journey that touches on the plight of young women in this era, as well as men who are trapped by duty; however, it shows how people can grow to be better humans.

Foldable iPhones Could be on The Way

Designs for two foldable iPhones have passed durability tests, according to reports picked up by TechRadar. Apple has also been granted a patent for hinge-mechanism.

As per United Daily News, these prototypes are just phone shells, which we’re assuming include the casings and the displays but not the various internal components. They’ve reportedly been tested out in China, at a factory run by Apple’s regular supplier Foxconn. One prototype is said to use a clamshell form factor, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip or the Motorola Razr. When opened up, the phone has one single and unbroken display, and then the top half folds down over the bottom half. Meanwhile, a new patent filing has been published, showing the hinge mechanism that Apple might be using on one of its foldable iPhone designs. It would actually enable the phone to fold both ways, inwards (like the Galaxy Z Fold 2) and outwards (like the Huawei Mate Xs).

Long Term Storage, Photos, & Cool Stuff Found — Mac Geek Gab 851

This week, John and Dave come together to answer your questions about long-term storage, Photos Libraries, Migrating to a new Mac and much, much more. Listen as your two favorite geeks drop the knowledge — and your Quick Tips and Cool Stuff Found — so that everyone can listen and learn at least five new things together! Join us and start the new year right!

Happy New Year, 2021!

2020 is no more! Huzzah and good riddance! The Mac Observer is taking New Year’s Day off, but we’ll be back with our regular daily new coverage, analysis, and podcasts on Monday, January 4th.

This iOS Shortcut Gives You Permanent Low Power Mode

iOS has a feature called Low Power Mode you can turn on to conserve your battery life. It automatically turns off once your battery capacity reaches 80% but you can keep it on with a shortcut. Or rather, an automation. It’s simple to do because it only uses one action. This is especially helpful for older iPhones whose battery life has shortened.

Using iOS Shortcuts to Quantify Your Self

Jackson Dame shared how he uses iOS shortcuts and an Apple Watch for lifelogging. I experimented with lifelogging back in 2014-2015, but I gave up after a while. Shortcuts would’ve made it a whole lot easier. Mr. Dame shares a list of all of the data he collects and what tools he uses to collect it, like Data Jar (love this app), Timelines, iA Writer, Charity, Microsoft Excel, and more.

Privacy-Focused Browser Now Has Native Support For M1 Macs

Brave now offers native support for M1 Macs, 9to5Mac reported. This should help the privacy-focused browser utilize the faster speeds offered by Apple’s own silicon. That said, it is built on the Chrome engine, which often brings with it high memory usage and reduced battery performance.

The company says the latest version also has a fix for problems playing videos from a couple of key sites. “Our last desktop browser update of the year (v1.18.77) features native support for M1 Macs, a localization fix for Brave Rewards, and fixes for playing videos on HBO Max and IMDb.” Brave blocks ad trackers by default, and claims to be faster by blocking most ads too.