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News - page 348

Lawsuit over much-maligned MacBook butterfly keyboard gets class-action status

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MacBook butterfly keyboard
A new petition accuses the MacBook 'butterfly' keyboard of failing when a single speck gets in the wrong place.
Photo: Apple

A Federal judge granted class-action status to a lawsuit accusing Apple of putting defective keyboards in various MacBook models made between 2015 and 2019. These laptops all use the butterfly keyboard design which uses a key mechanism that is allegedly prone to sticking.

Apple defends speedy App Store review process

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App Store
Apple is "surprised" to hear about the complaints.
Photo: James Yarema/Unsplash CC

Since the very start of the App Store, some developers have criticized Apple for being opaque with its decision-making. Apple, it seems, doesn’t agree with these claims.

In a response to formal complaints made to Australia’s antitrust watchdog by Epic Games and others, Apple defends its reviews process. Far from being slow and tough to deal with, Apple argues that it works quickly, and provides all the information it needs to in a swift and open manner.

Sometimes breaking a new product results in a huge upgrade [Setups]

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Lynch's nice, neat setup helps with iOS development and YouTube content creation.
Lynch's nice, neat setup helps with iOS development and YouTube content creation.
Photo: Stewart Lynch

Canadian iOS developer and YouTuber Stewart Lynch got lucky when he broke the USB-C port connector on his brand new 27-inch LG monitor the first day he had it. Huge-upgrade lucky.

Lynch, who hails from North Vancouver, British Columbia, took the stricken display, under warranty, to a repair shop.

“About a week later LG called me and said they did not have any 27-inch monitors in stock so they offered me a 38-inch upgrade at no cost,” Lynch told Cult of Mac. “I took it and sold my dual monitor arm that was holding the 27- and 24-inch monitors and went with the setup I have now.”

iPhone 13 may boast 1TB storage, LiDAR on all models

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iPhone 13 might sport a 120Hz display.
This year's iPhone could be a big update for Apple.
Concept: ConceptsiPhone

The iPhone 13 will boast a maximum storage capacity that’s double that of the iPhone 12, claim Wedbush analysts Strecker Backe and Daniel Ives in a new note to clients, seen by Cult of Mac.

Unlike the iPhone 12, which tops out at 512GB, the iPhone 13 could offer up to 1TB. That’s also 62 times the storage of the original iPhone, which topped out at 16GB.

HomePod mini features ‘secret’ sensor that’s waiting to be activated

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First HomePod mini reviews: Better late than never
Apple recently pulled the plug on the full-size HomePod to focus on its smaller sibling.
Photo: Apple

The HomePod mini has a hidden capability that Apple has yet to put into action: a sensor that measures both temperature and humidity.

According to Bloomberg, the sensor could be used to trigger smart home actions, such as turning a fan on or off depending on the temperature. It’s not clear why Apple has not yet activated the sensor so customers can utilize the feature — or when it might do so.

iPhone 12 series could be Apple’s bestselling iPhones of all time

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A fix is coming for the iPhone 12 green screen glitch.
The iPhone 12 has been a massive hit for Apple.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 12 is on course to give Apple its best-ever year for iPhone sales, according to Wedbush analysts Strecker Backe and Daniel Ives. In a new note to clients seen by Cult of Mac, they predict Apple could sell between 240 million and 250 million iPhones this year.

That would “easily eclipse” Apple’s previous record, set in fiscal 2015, in which it sold 231 million iPhones. That year’s super-sized lineup — the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus — remain the top-selling models in history. However, it looks like that record could soon fall.

Ted Lasso nets pair of prizes at 2021 Writers Guild of America Awards

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Ted Lasso
Lasso shoots and scores.
Photo: Apple TV+

Ted Lasso is the gift that keeps giving when it comes to racking up awards for Apple. On Sunday, the hit Apple TV+ comedy — about a hapless football coach who journeys to England to ply his trade with a soccer team — was honored with a pair of 2021 Writers Guild of America Awards.

Ted Lasso won both the Best New Series and Best Comedy Series prizes, adding a couple more accolades to the impressive collection the popular show has racked up since debuting.

R.I.P HomePod [Cult of Mac Magazine 393]

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R.I.P. HomePod.
Apple buries another beloved product.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Pour one out for our homie, the HomePod.

Apple recently pulled the plug on its sweet-sounding smart speaker, and the move is definitely not music to our ears. In fact, it calls into question Apple’s strategy of releasing — and then rudely abandoning — expensive, niche products. Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel on that.

Find out why we hope that never happens again in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it to enjoy on iPhone or iPad, or get the stories below in your browser.

Revive your dying AirPods on the cheap with Podswap

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Revive dying AirPods for less with the PodSwap receycling service.
AirPods get a new life and you get a fresh pair on the cheap thanks to the PodSwap recycling service.
Photo: Podswap

Podswap takes AirPods nearing the end of their useful life and replaces them with a fresh pair. And the recycling service costs considerably less than Apple charges to replace these wireless earbuds.

Plus, anyone using the service can take comfort knowing that their old AirPods will be recycled, not thrown away.

And so it ends: iMac Pro disappears from Apple’s website

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iMac Pro is gone with the wind.
It’s no longer possible to buy a new iMac Pro from the online Apple Store.
Photo: Apple

Two weeks after Apple discontinued the iMac Pro, the company pulled the powerful all-in-one desktop from its website Friday.

The computer hadn’t been updated in three years and there have been no reports of a new version in the works. This may be the last iMac Pro … just as it was the first.

Grammarly’s free app warns you before sending rude texts

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Grammarly tone detector is now available for iPhone or iPad
The Grammarly tone detector for iPhone or iPad lets you know how your writing is likely to be perceived.
Graphic: Grammarly

Never again send a text or email you think is fine but enrages a coworker or your spouse. Use the tone detector Grammarly just added to its iPhone keyboard app to learn what impression your messages will make on readers. The app alerts you if something you’ve typed sounds rude or hostile before you hit send.

Tim Cook tackles COVID-19 and racial justice in pandemic essay

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“The Big Night In” was raising funds for charity, and Tim Cook dropped by the help.
Tim Cook has penned a new editorial for the Wall Street Journal.
Photo: BBC TV

Apple CEO Tim Cook reflects on COVID-19 and how it heightened racial injustice in the United States in an op-ed he wrote for The Wall Street Journal.

Cook’s opinion piece, published Thursday, is titled “The Urgency of Racial Justice.” It’s just one of several — written by big names like actor Tom Hanks and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson — published in the Journal’s “What I’ve Learned From the Pandemic Year” package.

Retro screen and audio play nice with new M1 MacBook Air [Setups]

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Goulielmos' retro screen and audio gear work fine with his MacBook Air.
Goulielmos' retro screen and audio gear work fine with his MacBook Air.
Photo: Alex Goulielmos

Alex Goulielmos, based in Piraeus, Greece, works as a software engineer for a maritime shipping company. He keeps it steady as she goes with his WFH setup, figuring, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Or don’t go buying expensive new gear to replace it, anyway.

Good thing his recently acquired and “very snappy” MacBook Air works just fine with a 12-year-old Apple Cinema Display and audio equipment that dates back to the turn of this century. His new M1-powered laptop replaced a 2017 MacBook. But the monitor and audio gear may go on forever.

Apple TV+ delivers the shivers with Calls debut and Servant season finale

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Calls
New on Apple TV+ today.
Photo: Apple

Thriller fans should brace for an Apple TV+ binge-a-thon this week. They can watch all nine episodes of creepy new show Calls, which debuted on Apple TV+ Friday,  or take in the first two full seasons of M. Night Shyamalan’s gripping Servant.

The Servant season finale arrived today alongside a new episode of alt-history space race show For All Mankind.

Forget swiping, Apple’s AR headset will react to what users are looking at

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Hololens
Microsoft's HoloLens are currently the mixed reality glasses to beat.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple’s upcoming augmented reality head-mounted display will be controlled by eye-tracking technology, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says in a note sent to clients Friday.

Instead of using hand controls, the technology will be able to detect wearers’ eye movements and blinking, then instantly compute the required information so it can be seen on the device’s micro-OLED display.

Wireless charging stand fixes AirPods Max’s biggest flaw

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Fix a glaring limitation of AirPods Max with the Max Stand
Max Stand seems like something Apple should have thought of itself.
Photo: Floating Pixels

AirPods Max offers many premium features, but not wireless charging. A small German design studio dreamed up a fix. The Max Stand from Floating Pixels not only holds Apple’s new over-the-ears headphones upright, it also adds wireless charging.

Free Astropad Studio beta turns iPad into second screen for Windows PCs

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Astropad Studio on Windows lets your iPad become a drawing pad for Windows apps.
Astropad Studio on Windows is available as a free public beta. It makes an iPad into a PC’s second screen.
Photo: Astropad

Astropad released a free public beta of the Windows version of its software that turns an iPad into a second screen for a laptop or desktop. With the beta, users can test out mirroring their favorite apps on the tablet, including using an Apple Pencil to draw in Windows software.

Maya Rudolph stars as a poor billionaire in upcoming Apple TV+ series

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Money on Unsplash
An Apple TV+ series in development will star Maya Rudolph as a newly-divorced woman who has to somehow struggle along with billions of dollars.
Photo: Pepi Stojanovski/Unsplash

SNL alum Maya Rudolph will star in a half-hour comedy series on Apple TV+. The show is being created by Emmy winners Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard.

It’ll be part of a growing collection of comedies on Apple’s streaming video service.

This iPhone charger kills 99.99% of bacteria with UV light

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iPhone charger that kills bacteria
Get yours today to save 17%.
Photo: Limited77

Worried your iPhone might be picking up all kinds of nasty germs while you’re out and about? Sterilize with ultraviolet (UV) light while it charges with this 2-in-1 stand from Limited77 — now on sale for a limited time.

The device promises to kill 99.99% of bacteria, and packs a removable sterilization stick that you can use to clean almost anything. Order yours today from the Cult of Mac Store to save 17%.

Apple’s rumored March event may have been a ploy to catch leakers

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Chess
Apple's playing 4D chess while most of us are playing checkers.
Photo: Unsplash/GR Stocks CC

The misinformation about Apple’s March April special event may have been an attempt by Cupertino to catch out the people leaking information about the company’s plans.

That’s according to Jon Prosser, one of several reporters who shared March 23 as the date of Apple’s next special event. Prosser was so sure of it he even said he’d shave off his eyebrows if he was wrong. Well, he was wrong. But it all may have been a cunning plan from Apple.

WhatsApp will stop working on iPhones running iOS 9

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WhatsApp-dark-mode
Make sure you'll be able to continue using WhatsApp.
Photo: WhatsApp/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp has updated its app requirements, meaning that all users must now run at least iOS 10, as released in 2016.

That means that iPhone 4s users can no longer run the popular messaging app. Instead, anyone who wants to use WhatsApp must have an iPhone 5 or later. Otherwise WhatsApp will stop working.