Cult of Mac Magazine: Apple says it will add $350 billion to U.S. economy and more!

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Apple says it will add over 20,000 new jobs in the next five years by hiring for new jobs at its existing campuses and the new one.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s big tax break is about to unleash an avalanche of spending from the iPhone-maker. In a public statement earlier this week, Apple revealed its plans to contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years now that the fee for repatriating its mountain of overseas cash has been significantly lowered.

In this week’s issue, you’ll find that story and more. Tim Cook has revealed that a future iOS 11 update will let users disable their iPhone’s throttling feature. Learn how to get the best battery life from your MacBook. It’s the last week to get your preorders in for Juuk’s new three-think Velo Apple Watch band! Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Cult of Mac Magazine, Issue 228

apple parkApple says it will add $350 billion to economy
Apple’s big tax break is about to unleash an avalanche of spending from the iPhone-maker. In a public statement this morning, Apple revealed its plans to contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years now that the fee for repatriating its mountain of overseas cash has been significantly lowered.

moneyApple employees get big bonus thanks to Trump
News of Apple’s payout to employees comes the same day the company revealed it will contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years, building a third campus and adding 20,000 new employees.

iphoneSoon you can disable iPhone’s throttling feature
With Apple facing mounting pressure, Tim Cook has revealed that a future iOS 11 update will let users disable the feature that was causing their iPhone to throttle performance. Cook said that, “We’re going to give people the visibility of the health of their battery so it’s very, very transparent. This hasn’t been done before.”

iphoneSeemingly innocent link causes big problems on Mac and iOS
Another strange bug has been discovered in Messages for Mac and iOS. Following a certain URL causes all kinds of issues on both platforms, including freezes, restarts, and even battery issues. You don’t even have to open the link to suffer the problems.

homepodFirst HomePod shipments en route to Apple before launch
Apple suppliers have begun shipping the first HomePod units ahead of the smart speaker’s much-anticipated launch. Just 1 million devices are on the way initially. However, Apple is expected to receive as many as 12 million by the end of this year.

ghostsHow to speed up your iPhone if Spectre slows it down
Spectre is the worst kind of security flaw. Not only do the partial fixes not even protect against attacks, but they also slow down your iPhone, or other device. But things aren’t quite as bad as they seem. You can take steps to speed up your iPhone once again, and one of the fixes not only makes the web faster, but also fixes Spectre’s biggest attack vector.

batteryHow to get the best battery life from a MacBook
Did you know that leaving your MacBook plugged in all the time is a sure way to ruin its battery? That instead you should use your notebook computer on battery power for an hour or two each day? That’s the advice from battery health app FruitJuice, which will help you to keep your battery in tip-top condition.

collageDeck out your Macbook with great add-ons
Once you’ve got your shiny new MacBook, it’s time to outfit it with the add-ons that’ll make it yours. We’ve gathered some of the best deals on add-ons: a neck-saving laptop stand, powerful drive repair software, a USB connection expansion, and more.

timestandSave $5 on Just Mobile’s Apple Watch stands
Now’s the time to take advantage of Just Mobile’s design-award-winning accessories for Apple Watch. For the next two weeks, the company is slashing their regularly priced stands and chargers for Apple Watch by $5. At already-modest prices, this is a steal. Show now.

juukNew Juuk Apple Watch bands ready for preorder!
The Velo is the latest style in Juuk’s lineup of steel bands. Redesigned and reengineered from the ground up, the Velo Apple Watch band features a three-row link design. This band comes in five different finishes — Midnight, Obsidian, Silver, Ruby and Cosmic Grey. Reserve one by preordering now for delivery at the end of January.

audiostretchAudioStretch slows down songs and videos
AudioStretch is a “music transcription tool.” It’s a universal iOS app that slows down music, and/or changes its pitch, so you can learn to play songs. We’ve covered another of these, Capo Touch, before on Cult of Mac, but AudioStretch is easier to use. Plus, a recent update added the ability for the music transcription app to work its magic on video.

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