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Apple must wait until 2016 for tax break verdict

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Yep, Apple's pretty darn valuable.
Apple could have to pay back billions as a result of tax probe.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Having previously said that he expected to receive the European Commission’s verdict on Apple’s Irish tax arrangements by Christmas, Ireland’s Finance Minister Michael Noonan now claims that an announcement is likely to be delayed util next year.

The delay in the long-running investigation is the result of regulators asking for additional information from the Irish government, which will take several weeks to gather.

Colorful Apple TV billboard ads are pleasingly old school

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It's certainly eye-catching.
Photo: SMPTE Connect/Instagram

If any more proof was needed that Apple TV is no longer being considered a “hobby,” check out the massive new billboard ad campaign that has been rolling out for the new fourth-generation Apple TV refresh.

Cleverly playing on a color bars motif which references both the old school Apple logo (with colors fastidiously picked out by Steve Jobs, to boot!) and a television test pattern, the billboards can be seen in both landscape and portrait orientation around the U.S.

Apple Pay may arrive in China by February

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Apple Pay iPhone
It seems that Apple's wait may almost be over.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Tim Cook has described his desire to bring Apple Pay to China as “top of the list” in terms of priorities — and now it seems like he may finally be on the verge of hitting his goal.

According to a new report, it is hoped that Apple Pay will launch in China by early February, after Apple struck deals with China’s four biggest state-run banks.

WordPress.com gets a new look and new Mac app

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Wordpress is now native on Mac.
Wordpress is now native on Mac.
Photo: Wordpress

WordPress.com received a huge redesign today that has been 18 months in the making, and there’s a great new Mac app that’s coming with it.

The new native Mac app is powered with the same tech running WordPress.com. In fact, it’s pretty much the web app wrapped as an OS X, which isn’t all that bad because it creates a seamless experience that lets you focus on just the content, whether you’re using an iPhone, a browser, or the Mac app.

Check out all the new features in the intro video below:

The absolute best deals: Thanksgiving vs. Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

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Confused at all the different retail promotions lately? Here's how to tell them apart (and find the best deals).
Confused at all the different retail promotions lately? Here's how to tell them apart (and find the best deals).
Photo: DealNews

Black Friday is held up as the ultimate shopping day, but Thanksgiving actually offers more awesome deals. Of course, there are great sales to be found throughout the Black Friday season, with Cyber Monday deals adding their fair share of savings to the mix.

However, if you’re looking for a specific type of product, it’s hard to know whether Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday will give you the best chance to score that bargain.

Because most shoppers will be looking for deals on these three days specifically, we gathered data from the past four years of Thanksgivings, Black Fridays, and Cyber Mondays to determine which day offered the best sales on any given product category. From TVs to toys to tablets, we’ve got the skinny on when you’re most likely to find a killer price low on anything.

But before we get to the results, let’s discuss the amorphous blob of time that Black Friday has become.

Mysterious ‘snake’ Apple Watch error? Here’s what it means

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Apple Watch error
Okay, so this isn't what the error message actually looks like. But it might as well be.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

Seven months after its launch, we appear to be seeing a previously unheard-of Apple Watch error, but we think we’ve figured out what it means.

Wall Street Journal tech editor Joanna Stern brought the issue to attention on her Twitter account; the screen kind of looks like her Apple Watch had suddenly decided to play a round of retro game Snake. But the actual issue isn’t nearly as fun.

Yes, sharpening your Apple Pencil is a stupid idea

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The Apple Pencil makes drawing on an iPad Pro incredibly precise.
The Apple Pencil is surprisingly tough.
Photo: Apple

Destructive YouTuber TechRax is like the Tyler Durden id to our tech-loving superego — constantly wanting to destroy something beautiful because, you know, who hasn’t briefly wondered what would happen if you stuck your iPhone in a lava lamp or if you used to magnets to crush a $10,000 Apple Watch Edition?

TechRax’s latest stunt? Shoving an Apple Pencil in an electric pencil sharpener. Check it out below.

Google shoots first with Star Wars virtual reality series

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google-shoots-first-with-star-wars-virtual-reality-series-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201511ATFW_image-1536x864-184826374286-jpg
Google goes Jar Jar for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Photo: Disney
Google goes Jar Jar for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Photo: Disney

Google has teamed up with Disney and Verizon to develop a new virtual reality series in celebration of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The story ties directly into the new movie, and Google Cardboard owners can enjoy it on December 2 — but there’s more to check out today!

How to make your Mac look like Fallout 4

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Terminal never looked so post-apocalyptic.
Terminal never looked so post-apocalyptic.
Photo: Cathode

If you’re like me, you’re playing Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 4 a lot lately. And that probably means you’ve stumbled across a lot of retro CRT monitors that have quasi-Unix systems running on them.

OS X? It’s also a quasi-Unix system. It runs off of a Unix base, which is accessible through the Terminal app.

And if you want Terminal to look like Fallout 4? Just download this app.

Disney president says Jobs would have been ‘appalled’ by Sorkin’s biopic

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Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs movie is coming to Netflix
Ed Catmull doesn't think the real Steve Jobs would've been pleased.
Photo: François Duhamel/Universal Studios

The real Steve Jobs would have been “appalled” at being the subject of a movie biopic like Steve Jobs, claims Pixar and Walt Disney Animation president Ed Catmull in a new interview.

Check out Catmull’s comments about the unfortunate box office bomb below.

Apple set to open its fifth retail store in Beijing

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Chaoyang Joy City4
The site of Apple's newest retail store in China.
Photo: JRP

Apple’s string of brick-and-mortar Apple Store openings in China is set to continue with the upcoming opening of its new Chaoyang Joy City shopping mall store in Beijing.

Apple’s fifth Beijing store will open its doors next weekend, Sunday November 29 at 10am local time.

Kind taxi driver travels two hours to return lost iPhone

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iPhone 6s
It's nice to hear about acts of kindness like this.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

A self-driving Apple Car may not yet be a reality, but that didn’t stop a Bangkok taxi driver from travelling two hours to return a passenger’s lost iPhone, which they had left in the back of his taxi cab.

“On my birthday on Wednesday just before midnight, [the driver] showed up at my hotel to return my phone. He’s a badass good guy,” said grateful iPhone owner Fraser Morton, after being reunited with his handset.

iPad-compatible smart scale gets a tasty new update

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promo_scale_app_logo
The weight for a major update is over! (I apologize for the awful pun.)
Photo: SITU

Attention, foodies and nutrition-istas! Successful Kickstarter SITU, a smart scale for iPad, has just added a couple of neat new features for its iOS app — while also getting a reduction in prices ahead of Black Friday.

Given that ex-Apple employee creator Michael Grothaus credits Cult of Mac readers with making the invention a reality, how could we not cover it?

Weighing the options for monitoring your body fat

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Withings Smart Body Analyzer (left) vs. DEXA, the
Withings Smart Body Analyzer (left) vs. DEXA, the "gold standard" for body fat analysis (right)
Photo: Graham Bower / Cult of Mac

If you want to lose weight, your Apple Watch can help you sustain healthy habits, but it can’t actually monitor your progress. For that you need to step onto scales.

Any scale will measure your weight, but that is only part of the story. Whether you are dieting or bulking up, it is just as important to keep track of your body fat. The trouble is, this is notoriously hard to measure accurately. As I discovered when I bought a new Withings Smart Body Analyzer, if you think you already know your body fat percentage, you are probably way off.

Catch the best Mac, iPhone, PS4, Xbox and Wii U Black Friday deals on The CultCast

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Ready to punch, kick, and bite your way to this year's best deals?
Ready to punch, kick, and bite your way to this year's best deals?
Photo: Jingle All The Way

This week: get your mace and taser ready for Black Friday! We share some of the best deals on MacBooks, iPhones, Playstation 4s, Xbox One’s, Wii U’s and more. Plus: why your Mac store apps could be corrupted (and what to do about it); RDIO bites the dust; and the iPad Mini 4 proves far better than we originally thought.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Build a beautiful website quick at Squarespace.com, and enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off.

Apple gives users a guided tour of Apple Pay

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Apple Pay iPhone
Apple Pay finally an option for digital purchases.
Photo: Apple

They year of Apple Pay is nearly over, but the company is continuing to make its contactless payments push with a new guided tour video for iPhone users.

The new video details how iPhone owners can use Touch ID to verify payments both at physical payment terminals, as well as via shopping apps on iOS. There’s also a walk through on how to manage and setup new cards through the Wallet app.

Take the full tour below:

Best Black Friday TV ads (so far): Massive price drop on a 70-incher

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Big screen TVs coming your way this Black Friday!
Big screen TVs coming your way this Black Friday!
Photo: DealNews

Many, many more Black Friday ads have come out since our last roundup, so we’re back with a new batch of top TV picks for 2015. Walmart and Target are currently leading the pack with screens both big and small, but who will ultimately take the top spot? Be sure to bookmark this page; you never know when a new ad will knock one of these off the list!

Cult of Mac Magazine: Quirky product reviews + Mac and iOS Pro Tips + Black Friday

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CoM

It’s one week away from Black Friday, and in addition to our killer live blog with up-to-the-minute deals, we’ve got a new magazine with all sorts of quirky products that our loving reviewers have taken the time to get to know.

We’ve got a funky clip-on lampshade for your iPhone, a Pro Tip to max out your iPhone battery, a conceptual piece on how Apple could fix the next version of its wristband, a secret messaging app that pulls in 1 million downloads every day, and (of course) our weekly gabfest about all things Apple, The Cultcast.

Here’s the rundown of what we’ve got for you in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine.

Is there a class divide between iPhone and Android?

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fnf_1024
The war wages on!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The war between iPhone and Android will wage on for years to come, but in this week’s Friday Night Fight, we’re not going to be bickering about which is best. At least not in terms of design, features, flexibility — and the other things normally discussed during a platform war.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2Instead, we’re battling it out over the supposed class divide — the notion that the wealthy only buy iPhones, and the poor only buy Android because they can’t afford that Apple logo. It’s going to be a fun one!

So, join us below for one of our hottest Friday Night Fights yet, and be sure to weigh in at the end!

The secret messaging app getting millions of downloads

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SOMA Messenger is gaining popularity around the world for free and secure communication.
SOMA Messenger is gaining popularity around the world for free and secure communication.
Photo: Instanza Inc.

Harvard classmates Lei Guo and Oliver Hayen created what could have been just another messaging app. They knew they had something unique, as every app development team claims, so they put it in the hands of 2,000 people and hit launch.

Within 30 days, their app SOMA Messenger had 10 million users and has been growing since. They’d love to brag about who is using it, except they can’t because of security measures built into the app that prevents even them from knowing SOMA’s users.