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Get Apple Watch Series 5 at a $50 discount

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Apple-Watch-Series-5-colors
Don't pay full price when you can bag a big discount.
Photo: Apple

You might want to avoid the Apple Store if you plan on picking up a brand new Apple Watch Series 5 this week. Amazon is already offering a $50 discount on some models for a limited time.

Prices start at just $384.99 (down from $399) for a 40mm devices with GPS.

Amazon wants to challenge CarPlay and Android Auto

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Connect the Amazon Echo Dot to your existing speaker system, and you bingo! -- your speakers just got smarts.
Amazon wants to move Alexa from the home into our cars.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Amazon is trying to move in on Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto by convincing carmakers to bake in Alexa as an in-car infotainment technology.

According to a new report, Amazon is scaling up its Echo Auto ambitions. It has already convinced BMW and Audi to adopt the tech. It is now supposedly trying to get other automakers to sign up as well.

Apple sued for alleged lack of transparency over iCloud data

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iCloud
Apple isn't completely clear about where your data ends up.
Photo: Apple

A class-action lawsuit filed this week takes aim at Apple for storing some iCloud data on third-party servers.

The company is accused of breaching consumer trust to sell iCloud subscriptions. It states iCloud data will be “stored by Apple,” but offloads some of it to Amazon and other companies.

Foxconn takes heat for using teens to build Amazon devices

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Amazon Echo
Foxconn has another problem with underage workers.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Frequent Apple contract manufacturer Foxconn recruited kids as young as 16 to work on its production lines, leaked documents show. The company reportedly pushed the teenagers to work nights and overtime as part of the job.

On this occasion, however, Apple isn’t the company under fire. The recruits (classed as “interns”) were working on the Amazon production line. They were building devices like the Echo smart speakers.

Brilliant Amazon deal encourages students to avoid Apple Music

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Amazon Echo
Sign up today for just $0.99 a month.
Photo: Amazon

Amazon is making on-demand music more affordable than ever for students.

Its brilliant new deal provides access to Music Unlimited for just $0.99 a month. Students enjoy exactly the same service as other Music Unlimited subscribers for a fraction of the cost.

Apple’s big spend on Intel modems is pocket change in Silicon Valley [Opinion]

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Samsung wants to follow Apple in building a giant services business
Samsung wants to follow Apple in building a giant services business
Photo: Mathieu Turle/Unsplash CC

The $1 billion Apple spent on Intel’s modem business is the second-largest acquisition in the company’s 42-year history.

Still, while a huge amount of money by most normal standards, rival tech giants regularly dwarf Apple’s big spend on Intel. For a variety of reasons, Apple just doesn’t roll that way.

U.S. launches huge antitrust investigation into major tech companies

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Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
Are Apple and other tech companies too big?
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Stock prices of the major U.S. stock companies all took a tumble in after-hours trading today after the U.S. Justice Department revealed that it is launching a broad antitrust investigation into tech companies.

The department has not said which companies will be investigated specifically but it’s pretty likely that Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook will be swept up in the case.

Apple shaded by Nintendo Switch in Prime Day searches

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The Nintendo Switch's flexible Joy-Con controllers work just fine with a Mac (but not an iPhone).
Nintendo’s newest console was by far the hottest product.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple products seem to have dropped off shoppers’ wish lists this Prime Day.

Despite big discounts on Apple Watch, AirPods and Beats headphones, only one Apple product made it into the top 10 searches in the U.S. The Nintendo Switch claimed the top spot by a good margin.

Amazon Prime Video app finally adds Chromecast support

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Chromecast and iPad
Google’s Chromecast just became more useful for Amazon Prime subscribers.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple fans are no longer caught in a long-running tiff between Amazon and Google. The Amazon Prime Video iOS app has been updated with support for Google’s inexpensive Chromecast player.

HomePod is finally on its way to Japan

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HomePod market share
The new HomePod could offer a neat new feature.
Photo: Apple

Apple is gearing up to launch HomePod in Japan — more than two years after the device got its first unveiling.

Smart speaker shoppers will be able to pick one up in the coming weeks for 32,800 yen (approx. $301). HomePod will then be available in a total of 11 countries.

Frustrated HomePod owners aren’t happy with latest AirPods ad

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AirPods-bounce-ad
It can be a real pain.
Photo: Apple

HomePod owners are becoming increasingly frustrated with the latest AirPods ad. The full version of the “Bounce” commercial keeps triggering “Hey Siri” on Apple’s pricey smart speaker.

Some say they end up hearing the “crappiest” music, while others say their HomePod randomly calls out “I’m here.”

Taylor Swift will headline special gig for … Amazon Prime Day?

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Prime-Day-Concert-2019
You can tune in for free if you’re a Prime subscriber.
Photo: Amazon

Amazon is going all-out for Prime Day 2019. Not only will the event run for 48 hours, offering massive discounts on more than a million products, but it will also feature a music concert with some huge acts.

Shoppers will get to enjoy performances from Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Becky G, and more. And it’s completely free for Prime subscribers.

Amazon Prime Day 2019 runs for 48 hours, promises to be best yet

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Prime-Day-2018
More than 1 million products will be on sale.
Photo: Amazon

Amazon just confirmed the details of Prime Day 2019 — and it sounds like it’s going to be a corker.

This year’s event will run for a full 48 hours, making it the longest Prime Day so far. It also promises to be the best yet, with big discounts to be had on more than 1 million products across almost every category.

Kindle Oasis 3 makes reading at night more comfortable

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Amazon kindle oasis bath
You could achieve the same effect with a nicotine-stained ziplock bag.
Photo: Amazon

One new feature in the upcoming Kindle Oasis will make a huge difference to many people. The new model adds a Night Shift-style display capable of shifting color to match the warmer light of evening.

Other than that, the new Kindle Oasis is almost exactly the same as the current model. But this great new addition means no more cold blue pages when you’re reading in bed at night.

Apple allegedly leases huge new office building in Seattle

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333 Dexter Avenue
This is the building Apple might move into.
Photo: Kilroy Realty

Watch out Amazon. Apple is moving into your neighborhood.

The iPhone-maker reportedly is set to lease a large office complex building in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood that is also the home Amazon’s HQ.

Amazon beats Apple and Google to be named most valuable brand

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Amazon Music
Unlimited potential? Yep, that seems to sum it up!
Photo: Amazon

Amazon has overtaken Apple in terms of market cap, and now it’s overtaken it in terms of brand value as well.

At least, that’s according to Kantar’s latest BrandZ list of the world’s most valuable brands — which shows an amazing leap ahead by Jeff Bezos’s retail titan.

Amazon’s newest Echo Show costs less than $90

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Echo-Show-5
Preorder yours today.
Photo: Amazon

Amazon just introduced a brand new Echo Show 5 that will cost you less than $90.

The more compact model can do everything its big brother does, and it’s ideal for desks and bedside tables. You can preorder yours today ahead of its launch in June.

Alexa Guard turns Echo speakers into home security monitors

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Echo Dot
Look out for the free Echo update.
Photo: Amazon

Your Amazon Echo speaker can now keep an eye on your home while you’re away.

A new feature called Alexa Guard lets your speaker listen for signs of danger while you’re out. If your speaker has a built-in camera, it will also provide a direct video feed into your home.

Amazon workers purloin $100,000 worth of Apple Watches

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The Apple Watch display is perfect for nocturnal runners
Hey bub, wanna buy an Apple Watch that, uh, fell off a truck?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Hundreds of Apple Watches were reportedly stolen from an Amazon warehouse. And the thieves didn’t have to break in to carry out their caper — they worked there.

Subscription services help push Microsoft into vaunted $1 trillion club

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Microsoft Office
Office subscriptions have been a massive boost for Microsoft.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple’s old frenemy Microsoft officially joined the $1 trillion club yesterday, taking its place alongside Apple and Amazon as public companies which have passed the $1 trillion market cap.

While its closing price brought it back down to $990 billion, it still finished the day ahead of Apple $968 billion. This came after Microsoft reported that revenue grew 14% in the last quarter.

Amazon could one-up Apple Music with new high-fidelity music tier

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Amazon Music
Amazon already has its own standard music streaming service.
Photo: Amazon

Amazon is reportedly in talks with some of the world’s largest music rights holders to launch a high-fidelity streaming service, costing around $15 per month.

Rumored to launch by the end of 2019, the service would offer a superior bit rate than many rivals. “It’s a better bit rate, better than CD quality,” a source told Music Business Worldwide. “Amazon is working on it as we speak: they’re currently scoping out how much catalog they can get from everyone and how they’ll ingest it.”

Apple actually reducing dependence on Amazon cloud services

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This isn't actually Apple's data center, but it's close.
Apple is increasingly using its own data centers, rather than outsourcing iCloud storage to rival companies.
Photo: Pexels

Although a recent report indicated that Apple is spending about $30 million a month for Amazon’s cloud services, new information indicates that’s a considerable reduction from the past.

This is a result of Apple’s growing collection of data centers around the world.

Amazon cloud services take a big bite out of Apple’s budget

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Some Apple services depend on Amazon’s AWS.
Some Apple services depend on Amazon’s AWS.
Photo: Amazon/Apple

As Apple increasingly turns its focus toward bringing in revenue from services and not just hardware, it’s depending on a rival to help provide some of the necessary infrastructure. The company reportedly spends $30 million a month for Amazon’s web services.

Apple and Amazon could hook up for health care

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Apple health care
Apple Watch ECG is one of the ways this company is getting into health monitoring.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Apple has made it clear it sees health monitoring as an important part of its business. And now analysts from Morgan Stanley are urging the company combine its efforts with Haven, a partnership of Amazon and others hoping to improve health care while also making it more affordable.

But it’s not clear how Apple would benefit from any such collaboration.