Marianne Schultz

Adding an accessory to your smart home setup is fairly straightforward, though there are a few areas where it's not entirely intuitive. Before you get started, it's helpful to locate the HomeKit Setup Code for the accessory you're adding. This is usually in 2 places: printed on an included user guide or the package, and on a sticker somewhere on the device itself. It will have a ‌HomeKit‌ icon...

Controlling individual devices with the Home app is easy enough manually or with Siri, but sometimes you need to change the state of several devices at once. Instead of making these changes one by one, the easiest way is to create a Scene. For example, creating a bedtime Scene could turn off all the lights in your home at once and set your thermostat to a more economical temperature.Here's...

More and more smart home products include compatibility with Apple's HomeKit framework, allowing easy and automated control through an iOS device or Mac. Yet there are some actions that require the presence of a home hub, a device that remains powered on and connected at your home that can relay the commands you give via Siri while you're away. Apple's HomePod can act as such a hub, offering...

If you share your home with family or roommates, it often makes sense to share access to HomeKit devices with them so they can control your connected lights, blinds, thermostats, etc. As long as they use an iPhone or iPad running iOS 10 or later or a Mac running macOS Mojave or later, Apple makes it easy for you to grant them access via their iCloud account. On an ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌, open the Home ...

If you want to get rid of a HomeKit device or remove it from your ‌HomeKit‌ setup, Apple has made doing so very easy. In the Home app on your iPhone or iPad: Press and hold the icon of the accessory you want to remove. Tap on Settings. Scroll to the bottom and tap on Remove Accessory. Removing a ‌HomeKit‌ device on Mac: Open the Home app and double click (or right-click) on the...

Like the home screen on your iPhone and iPad and the desktop on your Mac, you can customize the background of the Home app. The default image of a fence draped in red leafy vines is nice, but you may want an image with some personal meaning or a different aesthetic. Making a change is easy. In the Home app on an ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌: Click on the home icon in the top left corner. Scroll down to...

With new iPhone and Apple Watch models now on the shelves, you may be thinking of paving the way for an upgrade by selling your current device. We've partnered with MyPhones Unlimited, an Arkansas-based company that buys used iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and much more at competitive prices, to offer our readers a way to get cash in hand to make an upgrade happen. Entering the details for ...

With several of our recent giveaways focusing on Apple's new iPhone models that are launching today in the US and several other countries, today's giveaway goes back to the Mac. Rain Design is kindly offering its portable aluminum stands for the MacBook and MacBook Pro to ten lucky winners. Rain Design is offering 5 of each of its mBar pro and mBar pro+ folding aluminum laptop stands. The...

Rain Design, a maker of accessories for Apple products, released three laptop stands made of anodized aluminum to match Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro models earlier this year: the mBar, mBar Pro, and mBar Pro+. The mBar is a minimalist MacBook stand with fixed arms that's not meant to be portable, and the mBar Pro and Pro+ have folding arms for easy portability. A laptop stand can be a...

For this week's giveaway, Pad & Quill is generously offering a package of accessories with a total retail value of over $600 for one lucky winner. This prize package includes the company's Large Briefcase that can accommodate up to a 15-inch laptop and features full-grain American cowhide leather, parachute-grade nylon stitching, and a 25-year warranty. The Large Briefcase retails for $365...

In celebration of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories, is generously offering an 'Everyday Developer Carry Kit' package where one winner can choose a briefcase bag, iPad case, iPhone case, and an Apple Watch band from the company's entire product line-up. Pad & Quill offers several briefcase bag...

For this week's giveaway, Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories, is graciously offering its Woodline iPhone cases and Roll Top Leather Backpack as prizes to the lucky winners. The Woodline iPhone cases are made of real hardwood, which is polished and scratch-resistant, with a polymer core. The cases are thin, coming in at just .9 millimeter...

Automatic has partnered with us for our next giveaway, graciously offering one Automatic Adapter that provides information about your car's status and performance and your driving habits via a companion app. The Automatic adapter was first announced in early 2013 with recent updates last year bringing a second-generation adapter with additional functionality and the release of an SDK and App...

To provide gift ideas for our readers this holiday season, we here at MacRumors have written gift guides based on our own experiences with products we like and recommend to others. If you want to catch up, here are links to the guides published so far: Juli Clover, Joe Rossignol, and Mitchel Broussard. Here's my selection of gift suggestions based on products I own, use often, and recommend...

For this week's giveaway, we've partnered again with Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories. Pad & Quill is kindly offering prizes from its lines of leather watch bands and iPhone cases to the lucky winners. Pad & Quill's Lowry line of leather watch bands come in a cuff style and a standard band style. The Lowry Cuff is sized specifically...

For our next giveaway, we've partnered with Incase, the maker of sleek, modern accessories for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more. Incase is generously offering three items from its product line-up: the new Incase x Parabellum Apple Watch Travel Folio, an Icon backpack, and Portable Power 5400 battery pack. The Apple Watch Travel Folio is Incase's newest product that's made in partnership...

For our next giveaway, we've partnered again with Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories. Pad & Quill is graciously offering three bags from the company's new line-up of briefcases and backpacks, including the Leather Backpack (also available in a larger size), the Briefcase (also available in a larger size), and the Luxury Briefcase. The...

For our next giveaway, we've partnered with Ztylus, a maker of smartphone cases with interchangeable accessory attachments. Ztylus is graciously offering one limited edition Rose Gold Camera Kit for the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus that retails for $149.95. The Ztylus Rose Gold Camera Kit consists of a full-coverage case and a 4-in-1 lens attachment. The case itself has a textured leather...

For our next giveaway here at MacRumors, we've again partnered with Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories. Pad & Quill is graciously offering a package of two prizes for this giveaway – the winner will be able to choose one leather Valet Luxury Sleeve (for the 11-inch Macbook Air, 12-inch MacBook, or 13-inch MacBook Pro, or the 15-inch MacBook Pro)...

For our next giveaway, we've partnered with Automatic, maker of the Automatic Link car adapter and companion apps to monitor your car's performance and usage. The Automatic Link adapter and apps debuted in 2013 and the adapter currently retails for $99 while the companion iPhone app is free. [Direct Link] The Automatic Link plugs into a car's OBD-II diagnostic port and works with most gasoline ...