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Use the Biscuit ceramic wireless charger forever? So they say.

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The ceramic Biscuit charger is designed to be upgraded.
The ceramic Biscuit charger is designed to be upgraded.
Photo: Charles Duffy

A Kickstarter campaign promises a new iPhone wireless charger with a zirconia ceramic body and interior mechanics designed for easy repairs and upgrades. That means it bucks the “planned obsolescence” trend and begs longterm — and even permanent — use. The product’s name? Biscuit.

Summertime vibes in the south of Sweden, M1-style [Setups]

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Not summering on the Baltic Sea shoreline in the south of Sweden, are you?
Not summering on the Baltic Sea shoreline in the south of Sweden, are you?
Photo: [email protected]

Redditor N3oPuff drew some attention on the social media platform with a setup photo that flaunts mind-blowing gear not so much as it does natural beauty. It definitely brings to mind the old real estate maxim: “location, location, location.” But an M1 Mac mini always helps.

In fact, it could be the perfect Setup for a summer Friday.

mini-LED display might add luster to next iPad mini. Or might not. [Updated]

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Gorgeous mini-LED display could add luster to next iPad mini
An iPad mini with a mini-LED screen seems appropriate.
Concept: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The 2021 iPad mini will be Apple’s next tablet with a mini-LED display, according to information leaking from a component supplier. This type of screen looks better than the standard LCD used in many current iPads.

But an display industry expert claims there’s no truth to this report.

Even so, Apple allegedly won’t reserved the display tech for tablet much longer. mini-LED displays will also supposedly be used in upcoming MacBook Pro models.

High-flying Jetpack Joyride+ rockets onto Apple Arcade

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Jetpack Joyride+ debuted on Apple Arcade on Kuly 23
Pretend you got the jetpack you always wanted in Jetpack Joyride+ on Apple Arcade.
Photo: Halfbrick Studios

Jetpack Joyride+ launched on Apple Arcade Friday, allowing subscribers to play the classic game without the hassle of in-app purchases.

Strap on a jetpack and fly through an endless runner. Or ride a mechanical dragon or giant mech while wearing a crazy costume — the game offers all these modes.

Get charged up for a look inside Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack

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MagSafe Battery Pack teardown: ChargerLAB tore into Apple's new MagSafe Battery Pack. Literally.
ChargerLAB tore into Apple's new MagSafe Battery Pack. Literally.
Photo: ChargerLAB

YouTube channel ChargerLAB got its hands on Apple’s new MagSafe Battery Pack and gave it the teardown treatment to see what secrets it contains.

The video, which you can check out below, shows off the magnetic battery pack’s dual-cell design. It looks like it essentially contains twin iPhone batteries — providing a total power output of 11.13Wh, based on two 3.82 volt batteries (7.62 volts combined).

Mini-LED MacBook Air likely to arrive in mid-2022

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MacBook Air M1 2020
Expect a fancy screen upgrade for the MacBook Air.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new MacBook Air with 13.3-inch Mini-LED display will debut in mid-2022, says respected TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a new note to clients, seen by Cult of Mac.

Kuo had previously said that a MacBook Air with Mini-LED screen would arrive sometime next year. However, he had not narrowed this down to a particular time of the year. Kuo is one of the more accurate (although not infallible) Apple analysts/reporters. According to AppleTrack, he has an accuracy rating of 76.6%.

AirPods 3 may debut in September at iPhone 13 event

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Apple has big plans for the AirPods lineup.
New AirPods will reportedly borrow the design of the AirPods Pro.
Photo: Omid Armin/Unsplash CC

Apple’s AirPods 3, the third iteration of its standard issue wireless earbuds, could make their debut in September alongside the iPhone, Digitimes reported Friday.

According to the report, the new AirPods — which are rumored to receive a redesign in line with the AirPods Pro, minus the active noise cancelling feature — will “remain price-friendly.” The current AirPods launched in March 2019 at $159 with standard charging case or $199 with wireless charging case.

Ikea and Sonos turn wall art into a Symfonisk Wi-Fi speaker

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Ikea and Sonos cleverly disguised a Wi-Fi speaker in bland wall art.
Ikea and Sonos cleverly disguised a Wi-Fi speaker in bland wall art.
Photo: Ikea

Ikea and Sonos unveiled their latest collaboration recently — a Symfonisk Wi-Fi speaker embedded in a picture frame that blends into your home’s decor. But sorry, you won’t be slipping your oil painting of Steve Jobs in there. It’s not actually a picture frame.

PlayStation 5 owners can get 6 months of free Apple TV+

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PS5
Offer is open even if you've already paid for Apple TV+.
Photo: Sony

Sony is offering PlayStation 5 owners a free, six-month trial of Apple TV+. This comes one month after Apple reduced the one-year free Apple TV+ trial for people who buy a new Mac, iPad or iPhone down to three months only. The Sony deal is open even if you’re already paying for Apple TV+ on a monthly basis.

FTC votes unanimously in favor of the right to repair

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iFixit iPhone 8
Apple may have to start making its products easier to repair.
Photo: iFixit

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously Wednesday to increase right to repair regulation stopping businesses from making it difficult for customers to fix their own products. Apple has repeatedly lobbied against right to repair laws around the world.

Back in May, the FTC published a report for Congress in which they listed some of the ways that companies (including Apple) make products tough to repair. These include gluing components together and restricting software and parts needed for carrying out maintenance. President Biden then recently signed an executive order asking the FTC to create new rules to bar these practices.

This appears to be the start of this ruling become more official.

TikTok Boom tells how video-sharing app blew up the App Store [Q&A]

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TikTok continues to dominate the App Store in 2020.
TikTok has dominated the App Store for over a year.
Photo: Kon Karampelas/Unsplash CC

TikTok is big. Almost unfathomably enormous, actually. The product of Chinese parent company ByteDance, the social media video-sharing app has remained a fixture at the top of the App Store charts for more than a year now — with no sign of it losing that position any time soon.

Journalist Chris Stokel-Walker is the author of a new book, titled TikTok Boom: China’s Dynamite App and the Superpower Race for Social Media. It launches today in Europe and worldwide, with a US launch coming September 30.

Stokel-Walker spoke with Cult of Mac about what makes TikTok, well, tick, the app’s face-off with Donald Trump, and why it’s no longer exclusively an app for teens to show off their dance moves.

Twitter may have found a way to make itself a bit more savage

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Twitter may have found a way to make itself a bit more savage
Twitter asked some iPhone users to test upvoting and downvoting replies to tweets, instead of just liking some.
Photo: Twitter

Twitter is running an experiment that lets iPhone users downvote a reply to a tweet. It tests allowing users to actively show that they disagree with a response to a post on the social-networking service.

Twitter is often a venue for people to angrily argue politics, sports, entertainment, etc. Giving people the ability to downvote each other isn’t likely to calm the storm.

Money to burn? Buy the NFT of Steve Jobs’ weird teen job application

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Money to burn? Buy the NFT of Steve Jobs’ weird teen job application
A job application Steve Jobs filed out in 1973 is up for auction as an NFT, and as a real document, too.
Photo: stevejobsjobapplication.com

We’ll soon find out how the ongoing fascination with Steve Jobs will combine with the new fascination for NFTs. A handwritten job application the Apple cofounder filled out in 1973 is going up for auction both as a physical document and as a Non-Fungible Token.

Stop fat-shaming Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack

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Oh no. The Apple MagSafe Battery Pack fails to defy the laws of physics.
Oh no. Apple's new MagSafe Battery Pack fails to defy the laws of physics.
Image: Cult of Mac

Apple’s just-released MagSafe Battery Pack faced plenty of mockery for not being about as slim as a credit card, as some people apparently expected. This criticism clearly comes from people ignoring an inescapable fact: Batteries are always bulky.

Until there’s a revolutionary breakthrough in power storage tech, there’s no way to make an ultra-slim battery store a useful amount of power. Stop expecting it. And stop criticizing companies for not miraculously producing an impossible product.

M1 MacBook Air and iPad Air help make a music studio [Setups]

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Warning, jazz joke ahead:
Warning, jazz joke ahead: "Remember to always practice safe Sax," quipped a Redditor.
Photo: [email protected]

Redditor madeitinthewild makes beautiful music up in Canada. Or he makes music, anyway. Jazz music. You can tell by the assortment of saxophones next to his M1 MacBook Air- and iPad Air 4-based mini music studio. That, and he said so.

“Remember to always practice safe Sax,” came the obligatory jazz-joke comment.

“No way I live on the edge,” replied madeitinthewild, kinda true to his Reddit handle.

Apple plans for 5G iPhone SE to help phase out iPhone mini

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iPhone 12 mini
Apple's ditching the "mini" iPhone lineup.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple is looking to phase out the iPhone mini line in favor of its next-gen iPhone SE, a Wednesday report by Nikkei Asia suggests.

Apple debuted its first iPhone mini with last year’s iPhone 12 generation. However, sales have never materialized to match its bigger siblings like the regular iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. While Apple will release an iPhone 13 mini this year, expect that to be its last.

In its place? More emphasis on Apple’s other low-cost handset: The iPhone SE.

Netflix confirms it will take on Apple Arcade — and it won’t cost extra

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Netflix could get into gaming
Interested in a Netflix gaming service?
Image: Netflix/Cult of Mac

Netflix seemingly isn’t content to compete with Apple (spoiler: it’s winning) over streaming video subscription services only. The media giant has now confirmed that it is planning to launch an Apple Arcade rival — and at no extra cost to its subscribers.

In a letter to shareholders, Netflix noted that it is still “in the early stages of the initiative,” but that it views it as a major piece of the puzzle in terms of dominating the entertainment landscape.

iPhone 13 event rumored for September 14, Apple expectations sky high

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Apple_Keynote-Event_Phil-Schiller-iPhone-11-Pro_091019
Get ready for the next iPhone keynote!
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 12 has been a major success for Apple, but Wedbush analyst Dan Ives thinks the company’s expectations are even greater for the iPhone 13.

In a Wednesday note to clients, seen by Cult of Mac, Ives suggests Apple is gearing up to produce between 90 million and 100 million iPhone 13 units. That’s a 15% increase year-on-year over the iPhone 12, whose initial orders were for 80 million units.

The analyst also sheds light on when he thinks the iPhone 13 event will take place.