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We might know exactly when iPhone 12 will arrive

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An iPhone 12 concept video shows off lots of color options.
If you want an iPhone 12 Pro, you might be waiting longer than you'd like.
Photo: Terquosive Labs

Apple will hold an iPhone 12 event the week of October 12, with the device shipping a week later, according to up-and-coming leaker Jon Prosser. The iPhone 12 Pro would land the following month, he said.

Without citing a source (obviously), he tweeted his “new, adjusted Apple dates” Wednesday afternoon.

Apple updates iOS, iPadOS and macOS to fix some very particular problems

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iOS 13.6 Developer Beta 2 replaces version 13.5.5
Today brings minor updates for iPhone, iPad and Mac users.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple released updates for iOS, iPadOS and macOS on Wednesday that fix a variety of small problems. These aren’t big changes, but if you’ve got one of the problems outlined in the release notes, they should prove quite welcome indeed.

Here’s how Apple describes today’s updates — iOS 13.6.1 (and the iPad equivalent) and macOS Catalina 10.15.6 supplemental update:

Focusing on major movies could prime Apple TV+ for success [Opinion]

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It's the perfect time for Apple TV+ to makes its move with movies.
It's the perfect time for Apple TV+ to makes its move with movies.
Photo: riviera 2005/Flickr CC

The deal to bring legendary director Martin Scorsese’s future films to Apple TV+ sounds like a gift for movie fans who subscribe to the streaming service.

But signing Scorsese and other top filmmakers could turn out to be a shrewd and self-serving move that benefits Apple, too. Focusing on films crafted by the world’s top directors could differentiate the fledgling Apple TV+ from dominant rivals like Netflix. And it looks like Apple might be timing the market perfectly.

Wall Street Journal won’t bail on Apple News

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The Wall Street Journal is staying put with Apple News
The Wall Street Journal sees multiple benefits from being part of Apple News.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

In the wake of The New York Times quitting Apple News, the head of News Corp. says that The Wall Street Journal isn’t leaving the news service that’s built into iOS and macOS.

Star-studded Harriet the Spy tiptoes toward Apple TV+

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An animated ‘Harriet the Spy’ heads for Apple TV+
An animated series based Harriet the Spy is being produced for Apple TV+.
Photo: Penguin Random House

Apple ordered an animated version of the children’s classic Harriet the Spy. It’ll star Golden Globe and SAG Award nominee Beanie Feldstein and Emmy winner Jane Lynch. The series will be produced by The Jim Henson Company.

Here’s how Trump could take down TikTok in US

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U.S. investigations of TikTok gather steam.
Scope of POTUS's TikTok ban could be massive.
Photo: Kon Karampelas/Unsplash CC

The plan for implementing President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting TikTok reportedly would take a two-pronged approach that could cripple the wildly popular app in the United States.

The executive order could ban TikTok from Apple’s and Google’s app stores, effectively stopping the video-sharing app’s wildfire growth. (The app has “reportedly been downloaded over 175 million times in the United States and over one billion times globally,” according to Trump’s executive order.) The move also could financially strangle the Chinese-owned app by forbidding U.S. companies from buying advertising on it.

These details emerged in a White House document outlining the plan that was seen by Reuters.

Apple’s biggest supplier splits its manufacturing to avoid being hit with tariffs

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Apple's relationship with Foxconn on the rocks
Tim Cook meets with a person working on the production line building iPhones.
Photo: Apple

Apple manufacturer Foxconn said Wednesday that it plans to split its supply chain in two. One segment will service the China market, while the other will focus on the United States.

Foxconn chairman Young Liu said the manufacturing giant now operates 30% of its capacity outside China, up from 25% last June. In recent years, the company began moving manufacturing to other regions such as Southeast Asia to avoid possible tariffs on Chinese goods headed to the United States.

It’s now even easier to pay with Apple Card on Apple’s Online Store

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Apple Card’s ‘elite card’ status is hitting retailers in the wallet
What could make Apple happier than Apple customers buying Apple goods on its Apple Online Store with Apple Card?
Photo: Apple

Paying for your Apple Online Store purchases is easier than ever if you’re an Apple Card user. Starting Tuesday, Apple added the ability the pay for items with a dedicated one-click Apple Card option.

To pay with Apple Card, simply select the Apple Card option when you’re ask to complete your purchase.

Cameras rule in this picture-perfect workspace [Setups]

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This camera-focused setup is easy on the eyes.
This camera-centric setup is easy on the eyes.
Photo: Brandon Remler

This standup setup is definitely ready for its close-up. Artfully outfitted by Fujifilm North America salesman Brandon Remler, it sports a pair of laptops. But the real focus falls on Remler’s array of cameras, both film and digital.

“I do primarily use digital,” Remler told Cult of Mac in an email. “I did film for 20 years and it has a great feel and experience.  Now moved on to Fujifilm GFX system. Gfx100 or Gfx50 — as well as our other Fujifilm x series (have one of everything so it’s not fair ;-).”

Adonit’s new iPad stylus doubles as a mouse

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Adonit Note-M combines a mouse and a stylus into one.
Why carry just an iPad stylus when the Adonit Note-M is also a mouse?
Photo: Adonit

You can use a stylus with your iPad, or a mouse. Or you could try the newly unveiled Adonit Note-M, which is both.

One end of this accessory acts as a stylus on the iPad display. Flip it around, and a motion sensor on the other end lets the Note-M function as a mouse on almost any surface.

Apple TV+ signs first-look deal with Martin Scorsese

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Martin Scorsese is the latest star to land at Apple TV+, this time thanks to a deal with his Sikelia Productions.
Martin Scorsese is the latest star to land at Apple TV+.
Photo: Thomas Hawk/Flickr CC

The next Goodfellas or Taxi Driver might be an Apple Original. Cupertino signed Martin Scorcese’s Sikelia Productions to a first-look deal that will see him direct and produce films and TV shows for Apple TV+.

It’s the latest high-profile pact signed by Apple execs as they seek to corner the market on the world’s most talented visual creators. The company continues to hustle, buying big-name properties and signing directors, actors, producers and other top Hollywood talent to exclusive deals.

Apple previously signed multiyear deals with Ridley Scott, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alfonso Cuarón, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Idris Elba. Snagging Scorsese adds another top-shelf visual storyteller to the mix.

iPhone clock may have struck a major blow against Kanye West’s presidential dreams

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Kanye West's new album Ye drops today on Apple Music (and elsewhere).
Kanye West wants to be the next president of the United States.
Photo: Mark Azali/Flickr CC

Noted Apple fan Kanye West is blaming the iPhone’s clock for his failure to turn in the correct nomination signatures on time in Wisconsin for his U.S. presidential bid.

State laws say the papers had to be filed “not later” than 5 p.m. local time on Monday. Unfortunately, West’s campaign submitted them 14 seconds after the 5 p.m. deadline. West’s lawyer argues that, because it was before 5:01 p.m., the paperwork should still be admitted.

Setapp, the app subscription service, lands on iOS with 8 awesome titles

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Setapp comes to iOS
A catalog of amazing apps, one small monthly fee.
Photo: Setapp

Setapp, the brilliant app subscription service from MacPaw, has finally landed on iOS. The service offers eight titles at launch, including task-management app 2Do and wonderful writing tool Ulysses.

A small monthly fee gets you complete, unlimited access to every app in the catalog, with more being added on a regular basis. And if you’re already a Setapp subscriber, you may get the iOS apps for free.

COVID-19 forces temporary closure of Montreal Apple Store

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Apple Sainte-Catherine closes due to COVID-19. Here's the store during happier, less socially distanced times.
The Apple Sainte-Catherine store during happier, less socially distanced times.
Photo: Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose/Flickr CC

The Apple Sainte-Catherine store in Montreal will be closed “until further notice” due to COVID-19 conditions.

“We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible,” Apple said. The company would not confirm whether there was a positive case of COVID-19 at the store

Google was the No. 1 developer in the App Store last month

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Google
Google was a big winner on iOS in July.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

As the company behind Android, Google is frequently positioned as one of Apple’s biggest enemy when it comes to smartphones. But it’s actually doing incredibly well thanks to iOS — as a new Sensor Tower report makes clear.

Published Monday, the report notes that Google was the no. 1 mobile publisher in the App Store for July 2020, based on total number of installs. Google’s top apps include YouTube, Google Hangouts, Gmail, Google Calendar, and others.

Celebrate Elon Musk’s SpaceX Mars ambitions with custom iPhone 12 Pro

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Musk on Mars phone
All yours for around $5,000.
Photo: Caviar

The iPhone 12 isn’t out yet, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has yet to fulfill his ambition of landing on Mars — but Russian luxury firm Caviar is getting ahead of the game.

This week, it announced a new limited series of 19 “Musk Be On Mars” iPhone 12 Pro handsets. Rather than being blinged out with gold and diamonds like previous Caviar iPhones, these special-edition units will feature “a piece from the SpaceX spaceship that was in space,” bas relief of the Dragon spacecraft, and a laser-engraved Musk signature.

All yours for a starting price of $4,990.

Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac takes Windows to macOS Big Sur

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Running Windows on a Mac with Parallels Desktop just got better. Again.
Running Windows on a Mac just got better. Again.
Image: Parallels

Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac launched Tuesday, bringing new features and performance enhancements that mean the virtualization software delivers the “ultimate Windows-on-Mac experience,” the company said.

The update also preps the popular software for the upcoming release of macOS Big Sur. That required a major effort from Parallels’ engineers.

“We had to re-engineer all of the (kernel extensions) that we would need from scratch to work with the new macOS kext that’s integrated into the product,” said John Uppendahl, Parallels’ VP of global communications, during an online briefing about the software. “And to give you context, that alone took 25 man-years of engineering work.”

Tim Cook joins the billionaires’ club

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Tim Cook earnings apple
Tim Cook’s net worth has gone up, up, up!
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The CEO of Apple reportedly passed a huge milestone: He’s now a billionaire. Tim Cook’s net worth has risen significantly, partially as a result of Apple stock more than doubling in value in the past 12 months.

But Cook is not likely to stay a billionaire. And not for the reason you might think.

Why the new iMac is still a great buy, even without Apple Silicon

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2020 iMac: The new iMac looks just like the old one (only faster).
The 2020 iMac is certainly worth your cash.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s newest iMac is by far the fastest yet, with huge increases in both CPU and GPU performance. It also ships with improved speakers and microphones. And yet, it seems a lot of Apple fans don’t care.

The reason? The new iMac is powered by Intel processors, like all its predecessors since 2006, instead of Apple Silicon. Since Apple revealed its plan to switch to its own custom chips at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Intel processors just don’t hold the same appeal.

But there are some great reasons to continue buying Intel-powered Macs in 2020. Here are a few.