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These MagSafe mounts take iPhone 12 photography up a notch

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Check out the lineup of Moment MagSafe mounts.
Moment put together a range of MagSafe-compatible mounts and cases for the iPhone 12 series.
Photo: Moment

Accessory-maker Moment unveiled a variety of mounts to help photographers make better use the very advanced cameras built into the iPhone 12 series. These employ the MagSafe magnetic-connection system built into Apple’s newest handsets.

There’s also a new lineup of MagSafe-compatible iPhone 12 cases from Moment.

Apple TV comes to Xbox consoles next week

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Apple TV and Xbox: together at last
A version of the Apple TV app will be ready when Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S debut next week.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Those who use a Microsoft Xbox as their entertainment center will soon be able to watch the Apple TV+ streaming video service. A version of the Apple TV software will be released for a range of Xbox consoles next Tuesday, including the newest ones.

How to see the MacBook clue in Apple’s November event invite

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An AR easter egg hints that the Apple November event will include a new MacBook.
Apple seems to be broadly hinting that a MacBook will be unveiled next week.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple put an augmented reality Easter egg into the invitation to its November product event. The AR object seems to hint that there’ll be at least one new MacBook on the docket.

The basic graphic in the event invite, which went out Monday, is the Apple logo surrounded by streaks of light. iPhone users can transfer that design to the real 3D world, and put it in motion. That motion looks a lot like a MacBook opening and closing.

Get ready for Apple Silicon Mac at ‘One More Thing’ event

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Apple Silicon Macs are likely too be the stars of the
Here come those Apple Silicon Macs.
Graphic: Apple

Apple sent out invites on Monday to an unprecedented third product launch event. This will almost certainly be the debut of Macs running Apple Silicon, the company’s own processors.

Titled “One More Thing,” the November event is scheduled for 10 a.m. PST on Tuesday, November 10.

Apple closing all 38 stores in England as country goes into new lockdown

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apple.store.regent.street.london.1
One of the many stores in England which will be closing temporarily.
Photo: Richard Shrum for Cult of Mac

Apple Stores will close again in England as the country goes into a second national lockdown, starting Thursday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the lockdown over the weekend as a result of a sharp spike in coronavirus cases. The lockdown — which will last a minimum of four weeks, but maybe longer — means that all non-essential stores will close. That includes Apple stores.

Apple ordered to pay more than $500 million in long-running patent battle

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iPhone with gavel.
Will this be the end of the road? Who knows!
Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm/Cult of Mac

Apple’s long-running battle with patent-holding entity VirnetX took another expensive turn Friday as Apple was ordered to pay $502.8 million for infringing on the company’s patents.

The verdict was decided by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Apple and VirnetX have been battling back and forth since 2010.

Apple: Cutting App Store fees will have ‘adverse’ effect on bottom line

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app-store
Apple makes the admission in new financial report.
Photo: Apple

In its latest 10-K annual report, detailing its 2020 financial reports, Apple warns investors that if it’s made to reduce the commission it charges in the App Store, this could have a “materially adverse” affect on Apple’s bottom line.

Apple includes the clause, which seemingly hasn’t been in previous 10-K reports, at a time when Apple’s commission is being challenged. A number of developers and politicians have suggested that Apple’s control of the App Store in unfair, and that it charges too much.

No, Sean Connery didn’t turn down an offer from Steve Jobs

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James Bond
Sadly there's no evidence of a meeting between Connery and Jobs.
Photo: UA

Over the weekend, the first (and arguably best) actor to play James Bond in a movie, Sean Connery, passed away at the age of 90.

Almost immediately, a story began doing the rounds online about the time, in 1998, when Connery told Steve Jobs that he flat-out refused to participate in an Apple ad. Why? Because Jobs was “a computer salesman” and Connery was “f*cking James Bond.”

It’s a great story. It’s also totally untrue.

How HomePod’s new Intercom feature works [Cult of Mac Magazine 373]

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The new Intercom feature turns HomePods (and other Apple gear) into ... an advanced intercom.
The new Intercom feature turns HomePods (and other Apple gear) into ... an advanced intercom.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new Intercom feature for HomePod (and HomePod mini) sounds really interesting and useful. Depending on what Apple gear you own, and what software versions you’re running, you might be able to give it a spin right now.

Our lead story this week will show you how to get Intercom set up (and why you’ll want to). But there’s also plenty of Apple news, rumors and recommendations. Highlights include our iPhone 12 review and a wrap from this week’s surprising financial update: 7 nuggets of truth from Apple’s latest earnings call.

It’s all in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on your iOS device, or get the headlines below in your browser.

Golden master means iOS 14.2 — with new emoji and Shazam — is almost here

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The iOS 14.2 golden master, along with the iPadOS equivalent, is available to developers.
iOS 14.2 is almost here! It’ll bring loads of new emoji and Shazam integration.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple on Friday gave developers access to iOS 14.2 golden master, along with the iPadOS equivalent. This is the last step before releasing these new versions to the public.

When available to all, iOS 14.2 will offer plenty of fun new emoji, as well as Shazam music recognition integrated into the Control Center.

Apple’s big plans for next-gen AirPods, plus our $100,000 AAPL investment update! [The CultCast]

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The CultCast 464: Big changes are coming to your beloved AirPods. Find out what in our free Apple podcast.
Big changes are coming to your beloved AirPods.
Photo: Cult of Mac/The CultCast

This week on The CultCast: Next-gen AirPods might bring massive changes — we’ll tell you what we know!Plus: The original HomePod remains absolutely outstanding, but the new Intercom feature needs work. And we’ve got another update on Erfon’s $100,000 AAPL stock investment!

The CultCast is now available in video! Or subscribe to our audio episodes if you don’t like our faces.

Save 15% on these luxury, handmade leather bands for Apple Watch

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Form Function Form bands for Apple Watch
An Apple Watch band made just for you.
Photo: Form Function Form

Treat yourself to one of the best Apple Watch upgrades money can buy: A luxury leather band made just for you by the fine folks at Form Function Form. You can now get 15% off the entire lineup in the Cult of Mac Store’s Halloween Sale.

This limited-time sale must end this weekend, so enjoy it while you can.

Apple Arcade’s South of the Circle is a playable novel of love and survival

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‘South of the Circle‘ debuted Friday on Apple Arcade
South of the Circle is as much an emotional journey as a real one.
Photo: Apple/State of Play Games

South of the Circle is a narrative adventure game that starts with a plane crash in Antarctica in 1964. Its animation style results from motion-captured performances from a cast of actors.

The story begins Friday on Apple Arcade, this company’s subscription gaming service.

Home improvement apps boom during lockdown

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Home improvement
With people stuck home, this is what they turned to.
Photo: KJ Styles/Unsplash CC

The app economy has done well during the coronavirus pandemic but some categories have done better than others. According to a new report by app analytics platform Sensor Tower, one category of app that has done exceptionally well are home improvement apps.

In the United States, first-time installs of the top home improvement apps doubled year-over-year between the months of March and September. Monthly active users also grew by 35% during that time.

Facebook CEO worries iOS 14 anti-tracking feature could hurt small businesses

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Mark Zuckerberg isn’t happy about an iOS 14 feature that will make it harder for developers and advertisers to track iPhone users — on the basis that the anti-tracking tech could hurt small businesses already struggling in the age of coronavirus.

In Thursday’s earnings call, the Facebook co-founder and CEO said that actions planned by Apple “could have a meaningful negative effect on small businesses and economic recovery in 2021 and beyond.”

Apple wins a technical Emmy for its breakthrough video compression format

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FireWire lands Apple its first Emmy.
No, it's not for any of the shows on Apple TV+.
Image: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has won another Emmy Award — but, no, it’s not for any of the great shows you’ll find on Apple TV+. Instead, on Thursday Apple was awarded an Engineering Emmy Award for its ProRes video codec, the high quality video compression format Apple developed — which is now standard issue in the movie business.

The award was given to Greg Wallace, director of video apps engineering at Apple. The awards show also featured a short video from Apple engineers Peter Chou and Mitchell Oslick. Check out the video below.

PSA: Season finale of Tehran debuts on Apple TV+, more

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Tehran season finale
What's on Apple TV+ today?
Photo: Apple

Apple’s celebrated spy drama Tehran reaches the end of the road Friday as the Apple TV+ airs its season finale.

The episode, titled “Five Hours Until the Bombing Run,” is one of three new shows on Apple TV+ this week. It means that, for the uninitiated, the entire series is now available for viewing. (Plus non-subscribers can tune in to watch the Halloween animated classic It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.)

7 nuggets of truth from Apple’s latest earnings call

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All-time high Mac sales power Apple to new heights, if not record earnings.
All-time high Mac sales power Apple to new heights.
Original photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash CC

COVID-19 both helped and hurt Apple earnings in the company’s most-recent financial quarter. CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri discussed the nitty-gritty details of the results Thursday. They also shared what’s really going on with Apple as it tries to keep releasing best-selling products in the middle of a pandemic that’s upended the world economy and ordinary people’s lives.

Here are seven things we learned from Apple’s Q4 2020 earnings call.

Huge Mac sales drive record-breaking earnings for Apple

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Apple Q4 2020 earnings: Mac sales (and services) drove revenues to record highs last quarter.
Mac sales (and services) drive Apple revenues to record highs once again.
Photo: Rachel Moenning/Unsplash CC

Apple pulled in more revenue last quarter than in any previous July-through-September period, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth came from sales of Mac and iPad, as well as revenue from services.

But iPhone revenue was down dramatically because of the delayed release of the iPhone 12 series. That hurt earnings significantly.

Beautiful video preview will get you howling for Wolfwalkers

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‘Wolfwalkers’ is headed for theaters and Apple TV+.
Wolfwalkers, from a highly-decorated animation studio, debuts on Apple TV+ in December.
Screenshot: Apple/Cartoon Saloon

To get audiences primed for Wolfwalkers, Apple debuted on Thursday a “Legendary Prologue” for what will be first animated movie on Apple TV+. It introduces viewers to a medieval world where humans can transform into wolves.

Watch the video preview now.

The best bacon-tossing game you’ll play this year gets a sizzling update

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Bacon 2
Now with 30 percent more bacon-tossing.
Photo: Chris Yarzab/Flickr CC

To put it mildly, 2020 hasn’t been the best year on record. It’s been a year that, at various times, makes you mad enough to throw things — like, err, bacon?

This oddball bacon-tossing concept is at the center of a game called *ahem* Bacon — The Game. Created by the excellent indie developer Philipp Stollenmayer (Sometimes You Die), it’s a strangely addicting game which I’ve played, off and on, for the past couple of years.

Today, Stollenmayer cranked up the crispiness by adding another 30 levels to the quirky game. If you’ve not played it before, this is a great time to give it a whirl. Or a toss.