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Add a one-tap web search button to your iPhone Home screen

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Add a custom search button to your Home screen on iPhone or iPad.
Super-charge your web searches with this customizable Home screen shortcut.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

This fantastic shortcut makes searching the web with your iPhone faster than ever. It places an icon on your Home screen, and you just tap it, type a search into the box that pops up, and hit enter. Your search will then open in Safari.

This customizable search shortcut proves speedier than pretty much any other method, including iOS’ built-in Spotlight search.

How to add attachments from the Files app in Gmail for iOS

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Gmail iOS iPhone X
Google has been giving Gmail for iOS a lot of love lately.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Gmail is finally adding the ability to add attachments to emails straight from the Files app for iOS, giving users another crucial productivity tool.

Until now, the only way to send stuff from your Files app via Gmail was by using the sharing tool inside the Files app and creating a new email with it. Now users can reply to emails inside of Gmail for iOS and add attachments from Files without having to jump between apps. We’ll give you a quick rundown on how to use the nifty feature that’s starting to roll out to users globally.

Bernie Sanders tops list for most donations from Apple employees

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Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at an event in Des Moines, Iowa.
Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at an event in Des Moines, Iowa.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

Big Tech employees are feeling the Bern as the U.S. presidential primary season shifts into full gear. New fundraising data disclosed this week reveals that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has raised more money from the country’s top tech companies than any other presidential candidate.

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter employees donated nearly $270,000 to Sanders’ bid to take the White House, with nearly half of that money coming from Google. Check out the full breakdown by company:

Nvidia GeForce Now magically makes your Mac a beefy gaming PC [Review]

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Nvidia-GeForce-Now-MacBook-Pro
BioShock Infinite looks gorgeous on a MacBook Pro.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Nvidia GeForce Now is ready to stream the latest PC games to your Mac. It sells us a dream that sounds too good to be true, a future that macOS fans gave up wishing for a long time ago. And most importantly, it actually delivers it.

I’ve been playing games on GeForce Now for several days (I love my job!) so that I can tell you whether it’s worth your hard-earned cash. And although I’ve run into a few teething troubles that I can’t ignore, I’ve been blown away by what it can do.

Google Maps celebrates 15th birthday with new look on iPhone

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Google-Maps-15-birthday
Try it today on iPhone.
Photo: Google

Everyone’s favorite mapping service turns 15 on Thursday, and there are gifts in store to celebrate. The latest Google Maps update for iOS brings a revamped icon and brand-new features.

Users can look forward to a fresh new interface that makes exploring and commuting a little bit easier.

Apple has paid out nearly double the amount to developers than Google has

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What’s it like to have your startup bought by Apple? Stressful
If you want to make money off apps, iOS is where the money is at.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Google’s Android operating system may have the biggest market share in the world, but if you’re a developer making apps, iOS is clearly where all the money is to be made.

In its latest quarterly earnings report, Google shared some surprising new numbers with investors, including the fact that the company has paid out $80 billion to Android developers to date. That may sound like a lot, but it’s just over half of what iOS developers have been paid so far.

Apple chip supplier insists coronavirus won’t affect production

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A10 Fusion
Apple isn't out of the woods yet, though.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s primary mobile chip supplier insists the coronavirus epidemic will not affect production.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) this week said it is on track to deliver orders as usual, according to one report. But Apple certainly isn’t out of woods yet.

Shrewd millennial investors make Apple their top stock pick

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Apple waives developer fees for nonprofits, others in 8 additional countries
AAPL shares have been boomin the last 12 months.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Millennials don’t just love Apple for the iPhone. Turns out AAPL is also their favorite stock.

A recent survey of over 734,000 portfolios from US-based investors with an average age of 31 found that Apple and Amazon are the two most popular stocks with young investors by a long shot.

Google now lets you use iPhone as a physical security key

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Google
Your iPhone is now a physical 2FA key.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Google is finally letting iPhone owners use their device as a physical two-factor authorization security key for Google services thanks to a new update to the Google Smart Lock app for iOS.

The new feature uses the iPhone’s Secure Enclave to store private keys. Now, instead of having a 2FA code texted to you, Google can send it over Bluetooth, making your accounts less vulnerable to phishing attempts and other hacks.

Apple asked to provide iPhone evidence in college campus attack investigation

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Foxconn moving additional iPhone production to India as coronavirus disrupts work
Apple is one of the tech companies named in petition.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is among the parties named in a notice issued by the Delhi High Court, regarding evidence concerning a recent assault on a campus at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Apple is being asked to hand over user data that may include messages, pictures, video, and more. In other words, this sounds like another potential privacy headache for Apple.

Sonos claims Google and Amazon stole its smart speaker tech

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Sonos Move
Sonos was the first to make great smart speakers. Now everyone's copying.
Photo: Sonos

Sonos, the smart speaker company that (usually) plays nice with pretty much every other tech company, is fighting back against Google and Amazon for allegedly stealing some of its secret sauce.

Two lawsuits were filed by Sonos this week against Google that accuses the search engine giant of infringing on five of its patents. Sonos claims Amazon is guilty of the same thing but the company decided to only sue Google because it can’t take on two tech giants at once.

Apple joins rivals to create open standard for smart home devices

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Abode Iota is a security system by itself
Building your smart home is about to get a whole lot easier.
Photo: Abode

Apple is teaming up with Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance to create a new open and royalty-free standard for smart home devices.

Project “Connected Home over IP” aims to increase compatibility among smart home gadgets and make development easier for device manufacturers. It should also simplify smart technology for consumers.

iPhone 11 Pro eliminated in first round of blind camera test

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iPhone-11-vs-OnePlus
Yes, it got just 30% of the votes.
Photo: MKBHD

iPhone 11 packs Apple’s most impressive cameras to date. They’re some of the best available in any phone today. So you might be surprised to find they were just eliminated in round one of a blind camera test.

A photo taken on iPhone 11 Pro secured just 30% of the votes when up against a snap from the OnePlus 7T Pro — a handset that costs $400 less.

Time magazine picks 3 Apple products as best gadgets of the decade

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quotes on Apple
iPad obviously makes the list (but Apple Pencil doesn't).
Photo: Apple

Time magazine’s pick of the “10 best gadgets of the 2010s” is out, and perhaps unsurprisingly, three of them are Apple products.

iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods were all chosen as some of the “most important and influential gadgets” of the decade. Other products include the Nintendo Switch, Tesla Model S, and the Amazon Echo.

Google Maps for iOS finally gets Incognito Mode

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Google Maps Feb 18 update
Google Maps is finally starting to care more about privacy.
Photo: Google

Google added new privacy protection features to the iOS version of Google Maps today, including Incognito Mode. The new feature, which has been available on Google Maps for Android for a while, makes it so that your searches and other navigation data isn’t saved to your Google Account.

Here’s how to toggle it on and off:

Chrome extension brings ‘Likes’ back to Instagram, sort of

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Instagram lawsuit
A Chrome extension can bring your hidden "Likes" out in the open.
Photo: Pixabay

The “Like”-minded Instagram influencer didn’t have to wait long to get a work-around to the social media app’s experiment with hiding the number of “Likes” on posts.

A company known as Socialinsider has created a free Google Chrome browser extension called “The Return of the Likes.”

Apple spends ‘billions’ overhauling Apple Maps app

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Apple has spent 'billions' overhauling its Apple Maps app
Apple threw around some big cash to take on Google.
Photo: 401(K) 2012/Flickr CC

Apple says it spent unspecified “billions” on its updated Apple Maps app.

Cupertino’s revelation about the Apple Maps expenditures came amid answers to questions from the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which is currently carrying out antitrust probes into Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook.

Massive Android flaw left Camera app vulnerable to hijackers

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Pixel 3a
Here's another reason to ditch Android.
Photo: Google

Security researchers revealed a huge vulnerability in Google’s Android operating system that could have allowed hackers to access users’ photos and camera without their knowledge.

The camera app vulnerability was potentially on hundreds of millions of Android phones and tablets. Tech security firm Checkmarx highlighted the dangers of the flaw by creating a proof-of-concept weather app that can record phone calls, snap photos and pictures and send all the data to a remote server.

Google Chrome could start shaming slow websites

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Chrome dark mode Mac
Speedy sites will get a "reward."
Photo: Cult of Mac

Google Chrome may soon start giving slow websites a badge of shame.

The move, which will also “reward” sites that load quickly, is aimed at encouraging developers to deliver a high-quality experience for all users, Google says.

The best alternatives to Apple’s disastrous MacBooks

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Macbook alternatives: The Surface Book comes with a 100%-working keyboard.
Unlike MacBooks, the Surface Book comes with a 100%-working keyboard.
Photo: Clint Patterson/Unsplash

Apple’s current line of MacBooks is probably its worst laptop lineup in years. The keyboards are so broken that even the newest MacBook Air is covered under Apple’s keyboard repair program. There are too few ports, and too much heat. And if you want to upgrade any internal parts? You’ll have to buy a new MacBook. But what are the best MacBook alternatives?

If you want to ditch the MacBook, you will find plenty of options. However, none of them offer one essential element: macOS. Switching to another operating system is like moving house and having to leave everything but your clothes behind. But there are workarounds even for that. Let’s check out the best alternatives to the MacBook in 2019.

Google splashes $2.1 billion on Fitbit to fight Apple Watch

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Fitbit
Fitbit will soon be a Google company.
Photo: Fitbit

Google has confirmed plans to buy Fitbit as it looks to step up its fight against Apple Watch. The deal, worth approximately $2.1 billion, will bring new Made by Google wearables to market.

“Together, we aim to spur innovation in wearables and build helpful products to benefit more people around the world,” Google said.

Apple steps up smart home fight against Amazon and Google

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The HomePod -- a beautiful body with the brain of an idiot.
Apple wants to make a bigger mark on your home.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple is ramping up its smart home efforts in a bid to better compete against Amazon and Google, according to a new report.

Cupertino is said to be hiring for a team that will be focused on revamping HomeKit software and devices. It also wants to encourage more third-party manufacturers to support its platform.

Android fans slam Google Pixel 4’s bad battery life

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Google-Pixel-4
It's not a good year for Google Pixel.
Photo: Google

Google’s latest Pixel smartphones might be able to compete with iPhone 11 in camera performance. But when it comes to battery life, they have no hope of keeping up.

Android fans are slamming the Pixel 4 lineup for its poor stamina in between charges. Even if you cough up extra for the XL model, you’ll get battery life that’s “just OK.”

Fossil’s Wear OS watch is the first to take calls from your iPhone

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Fossil-iPhone
Take that, Apple Watch!
Photo: Fossil/Apple

Apple Watch is no longer the only option if you want a smartwatch that can handle calls through your iPhone. An update to Fossil’s Gen 5 brings the same functionality to Wear OS for the first time.

But it probably won’t end up on other Wear OS watches.