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Can Google convince iPhone fans to jump ship for the new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL?We show how Google’s Pixel lineup compares to iPhone 8 and the upcoming iPhone X.

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, you’ll find that story and more. Check out the serious internal upgrades packed into iPhone 8 Plus, and Google’s new mini speaker. We’ve got some great Mac apps for photo editors, a roundup of the best chargers and stands for Apple Watch Series 3 and a review of the iconic Speidel Twist-O-Flex band. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Apple took a lot of heat for ditching the headphone jack with iPhone 7. Many labeled the omission a huge mistake, and some even went as far as to say it would leave sales in the gutter. But just over a year on, other big names are following suit.

It seems Cupertino was right again.

Apple Watch could be about to lose one of its biggest rivals.

The future of the Android Wear platform looks bleak today after Google removed all traces of wearable devices from its online store. Its focus on the platform seems to have fizzled out since it became clear that only Apple could sell smartwatches in large numbers.

Google’s new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL might be a little disappointing to some Android fans, but they’re still stellar smartphones. Both sport attractive designs that pack the best hardware available, including excellent cameras, and the speedy Snapdragon 835 chipset.

But can they convince iPhone fans to jump ship? Here’s how the new Pixel lineup compares to iPhone 8 and the upcoming iPhone X.

Are you the type of person who wants to log every single moment of life, but hate taking your camera out every few minutes just to take photos and videos? Well, Google has got the perfect new product for you.

It’s called Clips. The tiny little device is a camera. Only instead of packing a display and forcing you to click the shutter button, Clips does all the work of capturing moments for you thanks to the power of AI.

The most impressive feature of Google’s new Pixel Buds might not be their audio quality. As demonstrated during the Pixel 2 event today, they work as a real-time translation tool when combined with one of Google’s new phones.

“With Pixel Buds, I can use real-time Google Translate to have a natural conversation in 40 languages,” Google hardware product manager Juston Payne said during the event. “We’re letting you connect with the world around you in a more natural way, by rethinking how a headphone should work, connecting it to cloud-based machine learning and giving you access with the touch of a finger.”

Google’s new Home Max smart speaker wants to hit Apple’s upcoming HomePod where it hurts: in the ears and in the brains.

Home Max promises high-end audio, thanks to “premium hardware” and Google’s perpetual strong suit — artificial intelligence.

Google’s newest smartphone lineup just got its official unveiling. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are a decent upgrade over their predecessors, with improved designs and better internals.

But they certainly don’t give Apple or the iPhone anything to worry about.

Google’s Chrome OS platform is finally exciting, thanks to the new Pixelbook.

It sports a premium design that’s incredible thin and light, and powerful hardware that you won’t find in another Chromebook. It’s also compatible with the new Pixelbook Pen, which makes light work of annotating documents, finding information, and more.

Getting acquainted with the powerful Google Assistant is now more affordable than ever before, thanks to the new Home Mini speaker.

It has all the power of the regular Google Home, but it’s smaller and much more affordable to take on devices like the Echo Dot. You can pre-order yours today ahead of its official launch on October 17.

Google’s popular Pixel smartphones turn 1 today. To celebrate the birthday, the company plans to unveil two new models that will compete with iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be confirmed during a special event that kicks off at 9 a.m. Pacific today. You can watch the whole thing live right here.

Apple is allowing select publishers to test Google DoubleClick ads on its News platform, according to a new report.

It’s said to be part of a plan to make the News app more lucrative for publishing partners, with many disappointed with its existing monetization opportunities.

Google mocked the iPhone 7’s missing headphone jack in its marketing material for the original Pixel smartphone — but it won’t be doing the same for the Pixel 2.

Just like Apple, the company has decided to remove the aging port from its latest handsets. A new leak reveals that the lineup will rely solely on USB-C for wired connectivity.

The Food and Drug Administration is making it easier for Apple and other tech companies to get health-related products out to the public faster.

Apple will be part of a new pilot program aimed at rapidly advancing the development of digital health applications. If the program works as intended, it could mean we’ll see new Apple Watch applications and other Apple-made health accessories a lot sooner.

Apple just gave Microsoft’s search engine Bing a huge blow today by replacing it with Google on iOS and macOS.

The company previously used Bing search results as the default when users made a search query via Siri on iPhones or from Spotlight on Macs. Bing will still be around in some capacity, but it appears that the company has given in and turned back to using Google.

Apple’s AirPods and Beats headphones are getting some fresh competition from one of the biggest audio companies in the game. And they’re getting a little help from Apple’s rival, Google.

Bose unveiled two new products today. One is its first ever foray into the world of truly wireless earbuds. The other is a pair of brand new noise-canceling headphones that are also designed to work with Google Assistant.

Google plans to step up its fight against the iPhone 8 by taking a leaf out of Apple’s playbook.

A new report claims the company is in talks to buy HTC’s struggling smartphone business, which would give it near complete control over future Pixel devices.

Apple’s effort to build its own self-driving car has hit some more speed bumps in recent weeks.

Some of the best minds working on Apple’s Project Titan team have reportedly left the iPhone-maker to join one of the hottest autonomous vehicle start-ups in Silicon Valley.

Google’s web-hostile AMP scheme makes copies of web pages, shrinks them, and serves them instead of the original when you click on a Google search result. It renders your content in non-standard HTML, and removes the original link to the article’s source. Whenever you share the page you’re reading, it forces you to share a the Google AMP URL instead of the original.

Unless you’re using an iPhone, that is. In iOS 11, Mobile Safari strips AMP from any links you share. And iPhones running iOS 10 will load the non-AMP version (i.e. the original version) of a page if you press a link with 3D Touch.

The smart speaker market is suddenly starting to look a lot more crowded.

Sonos has been making some of our favorite wireless speakers for years but it appears that the company is planning to challenge Apple, Amazon, Google and Samsung with its own smart speaker that will also be powered via voice.

Google has expanded the reach of the Google Assistant on iOS.

Until today, the feature was only available to iPhone and iPad users in the U.S. — but now you can access it in a number of new countries throughout Europe, including the U.K.

The gap between Apple TV and Roku continues to widen — only not in Apple’s favor.

According to the latest research data, Apple TV is getting absolutely dominated in the streaming set-top box race. As top rival Roku inches closer toward taking over half the market, Apple TV still struggles to crack into the top three streamers. And the future isn’t looking too bright.

Google just became an even more useful place for pollen allergy sufferers. You can now view a five-day pollen forecast right inside your search results when using a mobile device to find pollen or allergy information.

Google could pay Apple as much as $3 billion this year in order to remain the default search engine on iOS devices, a new report claims.

The claim comes from Bernstein analyst A.M. Sacconaghi Jr. If true, it would represent a sizable increase from the $1 billion that Apple was paid by Google for the same reason back in 2014.

Google has updated its Gmail app for iOS to introduce anti-phishing security checks. The app automatically detects suspicious links in your emails, then warns you that they might be dangerous when you tap them.