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Everything Apple will announce at its March 21 keynote

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iPhone SE will be the star of Apple's March 21 keynote.
iPhone SE will be the star of Apple's March 21 keynote.
Photo: Martin Hajek

The invites are out and the rumors are in. Apple’s first event of 2016 is going down March 21, when the company will loop fans in on some shiny new products coming soon to Apple Stores.

Apple is expected to introduce a new 4-inch iPhone aimed at budget customers and people who want to be able to hold their smartphone with one hand, but a new 9.7-inch iPad that’s every bit as impressive as the iPad Pro could steal the show (along with some other new goodies).

Here’s what to expect from Apple’s big event.

Samsung’s answer to iPhone SE to be just as powerful as Galaxy S7

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samsungs-answer-to-iphone-se-to-be-just-as-powerful-as-galaxy-s7-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201603Galaxy-S7-close-up-front-jpg
Samsung's Galaxy S7 mini could be pretty special.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Galaxy S7 gold front
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 mini could be pretty special. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Samsung is already developing a Galaxy S7 mini that will go head-to-head with Apple’s upcoming iPhone SE, according to a new report — and it won’t be a disappointing version of its latest flagship like previous iterations of the Galaxy S mini series have been.

Instead, the new device is expected to pack exactly the same processor — and exactly the same punch — as its bigger brother.

How to keep creepers off your WhatsApp profile

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WhatsApp on iPhone
Don’t ignore the latest WhatsApp releases.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp is a messaging app popular with people all over the globe, but you probably don’t want it to turn into a tracking app for your stalker.

Plus, it probably has private information in it that you’d rather not have other people know about, right?

Here’s how to lock it all down so you can keep creepers off your WhatsApp profile.

Apple seeds yet another iOS 9.3 beta

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ios-9-3-notes
IOS 9.3.2 beta 2 is here.
Photo: Apple

It seems like iOS 9.3 has been in beta for years now, but Apple isn’t quite done fine-tuning its biggest software update of the year.

Apple released iOS 9.3 beta 7 to developers this afternoon, exactly a week after the last version was seeded to devs and public testers. iOS 9.3 adds new features such as Night Shift mode, multiple Apple Watch pairings on one iPhone, improved Apple News and Apple Music apps, and some great education features for iPad.

Developers can grab the new beta directly from the Apple Developer Center portal or via an over-the-air update if you have the previous beta installed.

Here’s a roundup of the new features to expect:

You can already buy an ‘iPhone SE’ in China

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Is that really the iPhone SE?
Is that really the iPhone SE?
Photo: Nick Beeep

The iPhone SE isn’t an official Apple product yet, but if you’re lucky enough to live in Shenzhen, China, you can already get your hands on a new 4-inch iPhone that looks like the love child of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s.

Small shops at the infamous Huaqiangbei market are selling the closest thing to a real iPhone SE. In a new video claiming to spot an alleged iPhone SE in the wild, a Chinese YouTuber shows just how easy it is to roam the corridors of China’s “Silicon Valley of Hardware” and buy the new iPhone before it’s even been announced.

See for yourself:

Check out John Oliver’s hilarious rant in favor of iPhone encryption

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Screen Shot 2016-03-14 at 12.00.45
Leave it to a comedian to do one of the best mainstream reports on iPhone encryption yet.
Photo: Last Week Tonight

John Oliver took on Apple’s continuing privacy standoff with the FBI during Sunday’s Last Week Tonight — describing how crucial encryption is when it comes to protecting important data such as, “our financial information, health records, dick pics, trade secrets, classified government records, [and] dick pics.”

And you know what? As well as being very funny, it’s actually one of the best mainstream news reports I’ve yet seen on the whole issue.

Check it out below.

Donald Trump’s Apple boycott disappears in a flurry of tweets

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Yeah, we're pretty incredulous about your ideas, too, Mr. Trump.
The brief has been successful despite support from big companies.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s bid to make America great again by boycotting its most valuable company has already failed.

Three weeks ago Trump called for a boycott of all Apple products because the company has refused to comply with a federal order to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone 5c, but it looks like his love for iPhone ultimately won.

This morning, Trump unleashed a flurry of tweets. Only instead of going with an Android, his itsy-bitsy hands embraced the iPhone once again:

Hasbro wants to turn your iPhone into a 3D scanner

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little_pony
Scanning your toys into the digital world would be hours of fun.
Photo: Cult of Mac/Ste Smith/Lisa Brewster

Toy-making giant Hasbro wants to bring its kiddy-friendly offerings into the twenty-first century with a nifty smartphone accessory, which would let people scan their favorite toys using their iPhone.

Unless their favorite toy happens to be an iPhone, that is. Hey, given Apple’s popularity among youngsters, stranger things have happened!

Oops! Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt spotted using an iPhone

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oops-alphabet-chairman-eric-schmidt-spotted-using-an-iphone-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201603Eric-Schmidt-iPhone-jpg
The iPhone camera app is clearly visible.
Photo: Osen
The iPhone camera app is clearly visible. Photo: Osen
The iPhone camera app is clearly visible. Photo: Osen

Eric Schmidt has been outspoken about his belief that Apple’s smartphones are nothing but a Samsung Galaxy clone, that user data is safer with Google than Apple, and that (slightly oddly) jumping ship from iOS to Android is not dissimilar to switching from PC to Mac.

So why wouldn’t Alphabet chairman and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt use an iPhone to document his recent trip to South Korea? Makes perfect sense to us!

Cola Messenger wants to streamline texting with ‘bubbles’

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Cola's bubbles want to take over your texting experience.
Cola's bubbles want to take over your texting experience.
Photo: Cola.

Most iPhone users spend more time texting than in any other app. Everything from scheduling meetings to finding out what your buddies want to eat tonight is done through texting, the only problem is the experience really hasn’t evolved since iOS was first introduced.

Cola is a new messenger app that wants to fix that by streamlining your communication with little bubbles that let you do stuff like create polls, make a to-do list, and much more so you can spend less time texting and more time enjoying life.

DOJ accuses Apple of deliberately making iPhone unhackable (no duh)

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Apple wants to keep everyone (even the feds) out of iOS.
Apple wants to keep everyone (even the feds) out of iOS.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a new motion in court today regarding its battle against Apple to compel the iPhone-maker to unlock the iPhone 5c that belonged to San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook.

In the new filing the feds argue that Apple has “deliberately raised technological barriers” on iOS to make it harder for the government and other attackers to hack Apple devices. They also claim that demanding Apple to unlock one iPhone won’t result in a security vulnerability for all users.

Everything we know about Apple’s new 4-inch iPhone

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That iPhone in your pocket is much more well-traveled than you are.
That iPhone in your pocket is much more well-traveled than you are.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is expected to unveil a brand new iPhone in a little over a week, only instead of going big, the first new iPhone of 2016 will be perfect for people with tiny hands and those who don’t want to spend a lot on a new smartphone.

The rumor mill has been serving up juicy bits of gossip on Apple’s upcoming handset for over a year, so as the big day approaches we have some pretty solid clues about the next iPhone’s design, hardware, price, name and much more.

Here are the probable answers to all your iPhone SE questions.

Why iPhone battery life will never last more than 1 day

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Your iPhone will always need to be recharged everyday.
Your iPhone will always need to be recharged everyday.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Every year Apple introduces a new iPhone, and every year I get my hopes up that this will finally be the model that can go two or three days without needing to be recharged. But according to a lithium-ion battery expert, the odds of Apple adding a power source capable of boosting iPhone battery life like that are practically zero.

Dee Strand, chief scientific officer at battery research firm Wildcat Discovery Technology, says the throughput on smartphone batteries is rapidly improving every year. The problem is, new features are bogging them down.

AmpMe’s new offline mode turns friends’ phones into a giant boombox

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No stereo? No problem. AmpMe app creates a sound system with all the phones at a party.
No stereo? No problem. AmpMe app creates a sound system with all the phones at a party.
Photo: AmpMe

AmpMe, the magical app that syncs multiple phones together to create one giant speaker, is getting a much needed update today that lets you take the party anywhere, even if you don’t have internet.

The Montreal-based startup revealed today that it has added a new ‘Offline Mode’ that will let users sync an unlimited number of phones together regardless of whether or not you have a data connection. And to make it easier to get the party started, the app has add a new ‘Auto-Join’ mode that makes it easier than ever to get the music listening party started.

Chinese couple sold 18-day old daughter for iPhone

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baby-iphone
Sorry, baby. Daddy needs an upgrade.
Photo: Tatsuo Yamashita/Flickr CC

A young man in China was found guilty of selling his 18-day old daughter in exchange for enough money to buy himself a new motorcycle and iPhone.

The 19 year-old man identified as ‘A Duan’ by local Chinese media reportedly found a buyer for his newborn through the popular messaging app QQ and negotiated the entire deal without the consent of the child’s biological mother.

iPhone may get even bigger in 2017 with 5.8-inch OLED screen

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Does iPhone really need to get bigger?
Does the iPhone really need to get bigger?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If the iPhone 6s Plus seems just a little bit too small in your monstrous hands, fret not dear giant friends: Apple may be planning to go even bigger with a super-sized iPhone 7s Pro.

Apple is looking to add a 5.8-inch OLED display to the iPhone in 2017 or 2018, according to a new rumor that claims Samsung is already on board to supply the screens.

ExxonMobil finally brings Apple Pay to the gas pump

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Apple Pay iPhone
Paying at the pump is about to get a lot easier.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Filling up your car with gasoline is about to get a lot quicker, now that the world’s biggest oil company is finally adding Apple Pay to its pumps.

Starting today, ExxonMobil is activating Apple Pay at more than 6,000 gas stations across the U.S., allowing customers to buy gas or a car wash without having to bust out their wallets.

5 tips to keep your iPhone on lockdown

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iphone_disabled
Secure your iPhone with these handy tips.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone security has dominated the news for the past couple of weeks, so it’s understandable if you’re worrying about your own iPhone.

Have no fear, though: here are some handy tips to help keep your iPhone secure, from both hackers and the FBI.

Today’s video will walk you through 5 easy-to-do tips that will make your iPhone more secure.

Justice Department hopes to overturn Apple’s privacy win in New York

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iPhone mobile encryption touch id
The government would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling iKids.
Photo: Olly Browning/Pixabay

The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to overturn a ruling protecting Apple from unlocking the iPhone at the center of a New York drug case. The recent ruling from a New York magistrate judge stated that the government can’t compel Apple to unlock an iPhone involved in a criminal investigation, using the All Writs Act.

So the decision must have been wrong, of course!

Use a mouse on iPad without jailbreaking

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Add a mouse (and other peripherals) to your iPad or iPhone.
Add a mouse (and other peripherals) to your iPad or iPhone.
Photo: DoBox

The development team at DoBox wants to make your iPad even more useful. This wireless box will let you connect a mouse, a wired keyboard, or even a printer to your iOS device (or Mac) and let you turn your iPad into even more of a productivity workhorse.

Check out the video below.

Apple seeds new betas for iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and OS X

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iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
Photo: Apple

Less than a week after dropping a big batch of new software on developers and public testers, Apple is back with a sixth beta build of iOS 9.3 as well as new betas for watchOS, tvOS, and OS X El Capitan.

The software updates bring a host of new features to developers and public testers the iPhone like NightShift mode, folders on Apple TV, multiple Apple Watch pairings on one iPhone, improved Apple News and Apple Music apps, and some great education features for iPad.

Here’s a preview of some of the new goodies:

NYPD chief: iOS is a gift to ‘kidnappers, robbers and murderers’

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iPhone mobile encryption touch id
Public enemy no. 1?
Photo: Olly Browning/Pixabay

Making it sound like the 2016 version of a souped-up getaway car, NYPD counter-terrorism chief John Miller described iOS as the perfect tool for “kidnappers, robbers and murderers” in a recent interview — all due to its uncrackable privacy policy.

“You are actually providing aid to [felons] who have actually been recorded on the telephones in Riker’s Island telling their compatriots on the outside, ‘You gotta get iOS 8. It’s a gift from God,’ — and that’s a quote — ‘because the cops can’t crack it,’” he said — referring to Apple’s current privacy standoff with the FBI.

Not groovy: iPhone users receive undeletable emails from 1970

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disco
Received any emails from the '70s lately?
Photo: Ste Smith

A strange iOS glitch has some iPhone and iPad users complaining after they received undeletable emails dated January 1, 1970.

The emails in question are blank, with no subject or content — which means that sadly we’re not in line for scalper messages about tickets to the farewell concert of Diana Ross and The Supremes (which took place that month), or reminders about meetings we’re very, very late to.

FBI’s iPhone backdoor could cause companies to flee U.S.

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iPhone hack
There are plenty of ways the FBI's demands hurt the U.S.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

There’s no shortage of possible repercussions to Apple’s current standoff with the FBI, regarding whether or not the company should create a backdoor to help unlock iPhones involved with potential terrorist or criminal cases.

But while Apple (and others) have argued that this represents a damaging blow against privacy, a recently-filed amacus brief in support of Apple by former secure technology company Lavabit has a more direct example of how the FBI’s demands may hurt America: by driving tech companies offshore to avoid having their reputations damaged.

Apple could receive hefty fines for not handing over data in France

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euros2
That's a whole lot of euros.
Photo: Godzimama

France’s lower house of parliament has passed an amendment which could see Apple charged heavy fines, and even handed out jail time, if it fails to hand over encrypted data as part of government investigations.

The amendment affects both tech and telecoms companies. The punishment could reach up to €350,000 ($385,000) and five years in jail, although a proposed amendment asking the French government to hand out fines of €1 million was rejected.