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US customs seize shipment of knockoff AirPods from China

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Seized AirPods knockoffs
Knockoffs were discovered by Pittsburgh Customs and Border Protection officers.
Photo: Pittsburgh Customs and Border Protection

Pittsburgh Customs and Border Protection officers seized a shipment of counterfeit AirPods and lightning charging cables over the weekend. The unauthorized knockoffs were part of a much larger collection of thousands of counterfeit goods — including 4,212 fake Roku remotes.

iOS 13.5.5 beta hints at possible Apple services bundle

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Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+
Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and Apple News+ could all be part of 'Apple Prime.'
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple seemingly hasn’t abandoned its possible plans for an “Apple Prime” service that combines all its subscriptions into one single package. In a report published late Wednesday, 9to5Mac discovered references in the iOS 13.5.5 beta code to a “bundle offer” and “bundle subscription” that didn’t previously exist.

The idea could be to offer a services bundle combination of Apple Music, Apple News+, Apple TV+ and, potentially, Apple Arcade, at a lower price than buying each individually. Whether it happens, of course, is another matter entirely.

Tim Cook asks people to ‘stand together’ against racism in open letter

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Tim Cook called for Ohio State University grads to embrace hope in a fearful time during his virtual commencement address.
Tim Cook's letter addresses "deeply rooted discrimination" in America.
Photo: Ohio State University

With the United States reeling after the videotaped death of George Floyd while in police custody, Apple CEO Tim Cook penned an open letter imploring people to “stand together” and acknowledge the reality of racism and “deeply rooted discrimination” in the country.

The letter, titled “Speaking up on racism,” comes after more than a week of protests and rioting. It appears at the top of Apple’s homepage today. You can read the whole thing below.

Developers get their mitts on first watchOS 6.2.8 beta

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watchOS 6.2.8 beta is out
watchOS 6.2.8 Developer Beta 1 starts the testing process for the next Apple Watch update.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple on Wednesday gave developers their very first look at watchOS 6.2.8. When it moves past the beta stage, this update squash some bugs. It’s not yet known if there will be any new features.

This beta version will not be released to the public. Average users will have the await for the final version.

Lawsuit accusing Apple of concealing slowing 2018 iPhone demand gets go-ahead

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2018 interview with Tim Cook suggests Apple was working on iCloud backup encryption
A shareholder lawsuit accuses Apple and CEO Tim Cook of making “materially false and misleading” statements about iPhone XS demand.
Photo: Apple

Apple must defend in court bullish statements made by CEO Tim Cook and other executives about 2018 iPhone demand. iPhone sales were actually slowing at the time, leading to a drop in the company’s share price.

A judge ruled Tuesday that a shareholder lawsuit accusing the company of deliberately misleading investors can go ahead.

2021 iPad Pro will have 5G, A14X processor and mini-LED display, leakers claim

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2018 iPad Pro
The next iPad Pro could be a big update for Apple!
Photo: Apple

Apple’s next iPad Pro could be one of the most exciting iPad refreshes in ages — with 5G cellular, an A14X processor and a mini-LED display, according to increasingly reliable Apple tipsters L0vetodream and @choco-bit. (Yes, despite the odd Twitter handles, both have impressive reputations when it comes to sharing details of next-gen Apple products.)

Eve Cam with HomeKit Secure Video now available for preorder

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Eve Cam HomeKit
Smart cam will keep an eye on your home when you're not around.
Photo: Eve Cam

Eve Cam, a smart camera made exclusively for Apple HomeKit Secure Video, is available for pre-order starting today. It will ship later this month beginning Tuesday, June 23.

The $149.95 smart camera offers a simple way for users to keep an eye on their home when they’re away, whether that’s monitoring pets or watching out for intruders.

Coronavirus delays plan to support Apple Pay throughout New York metro system

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple Pay makes commuting hassle-free.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Plans to offer Apple Pay and other contactless payment options across the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s new OMNY fare payment system in New York have reportedly been delayed due to coronavirus, claims the Wall Street Journal in a report published Tuesday.

The publication says that completion of the scheme, which currently offers contactless payments at around half of the 472 subway stations, along with Staten Island bus routes, has been delayed by about two months. It was originally expected to be live across the board by October.

Hacker who shared Apple employee details on Twitter avoids jail

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hacker
Hacker's lawyer argued that they had been enticed by Apple's bug bounty.
Photo: Clint Patterson

An Australian hacker who pleaded guilty to accessing confidential employee information from Apple and sharing it on Twitter has avoided a jail sentence.

24-year-old Abe Crannaford’s lawyer had argued that, by offering a bug bounty for hackers able to find weaknesses in its software, Apple encourages people to dig into its products to find weaknesses. However, the magistrate did not entirely accept the argument.

Next iPad Air could ditch Lightning for USB-C connector

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2020 iPad Air Concept with Apple Pencil 2
This proposed 2020 iPad Air concept is mostly a scaled-down iPad Pro.
Photo: svetapple.sk

The fourth-generation iPad Air will reportedly come with a USB-C connector instead of the Lightning connector of previous models, claims a Mac Otakara report, citing sources in the Chinese supply chain.

USB-C is a data and charging port that first landed on iPad with the iPad Pro in 2018. However, since then it has remained only on that series of iPads, rather than being adopted for other models. That could be about to change, however. At least, kind of.

Get ready for Apple Watch’s World Environment Day Activity Challenge

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Next Apple Watch Activity challenge will take place on Veterans Day
Are you ready for the next Apple Watch challenge?
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Because of coronavirus-induced lockdown, Apple didn’t hold an Apple Watch Activity Challenge on Earth Day in May as it has for the three previous years.

Instead, Apple is hosting an Earth-themed exercise challenge this month to coincide with World Environment Day. Here’s what you need to know to complete it.

iPadOS 14 expected to add new uses for Apple Pencil

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Sketching with an Apple Pencil is the merest tip of the iceberg of Apple’s suggestions for making your iPad Pro more useful.
Get ready for Apple Pencil to become useful for more than artists and students.
Screenshot: Apple

iPadOS 14 reportedly will bring multiple new features to Apple Pencil. On Tuesday came word that Safari will offer new markup tools for webpages.

An earlier report indicated the next iPadOS version could finally bring handwriting recognition to Apple tablets.

Safari might translate webpages automatically in iOS 14

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Hong Kong police arrest smugglers with $1 million of iPhones and other devices
If Safari can easily translate webpages, you might never see this again.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Soon you’ll visit a webpage in an unfamiliar language and see it automatically translated to one you can read with the iPhone Safari web browser. This reportedly will be a feature of iOS 14.

No third-party app will be needed. And the translation will supposedly take place directly on the handset, not a remote server.

Apple Pencil might come back in black

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A black Apple Pencil might finally be released.
Apple Pencil looks good in black.
Artist’s Concept: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

To paraphrase an old joke, you can have the Apple Pencil in any color you want as long as that color is white. But an unconfirmed report indicates that’ll change soon. A version of this iPad active stylus in black is supposedly in the offing.

Peloton’s new Apple TV app brings workouts to your big screen

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A Peloton Apple TV app debuted Tuesday
The Peloton Apple TV app offers a range of exercise classes without leaving your home.
Photo: Peloton

Peloton on Tuesday released a version of its exercise app for Apple TV. With a subscription, users of this app can tune in to classes on stretching, cycling, yoga and more.

All of this is available from home. That’s surely a boon for those unwilling to go to a gym.

From just fine to simply divine: Ranking every iMac design

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On this day in 1998, the world says
What was your favorite iMac of all time?
Photo: Apple

Over the past two decades, the iMac repeatedly set a high bar when it came to desktop design. But which iMac design reigns as the greatest of all time? And which, conversely, proves the least inspiring?

Cult of Mac gives you the authoritative (and totally subjective) ranking of the best iMac designs.

Call of Duty: Mobile Season 7 on hold due to current political climate

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Call of Duty: Mobile racks up amazing 100m downloads in first week
Activision says this wasn't the right time to release update.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Activision has pushed back the launch of Call of Duty: Mobile Season 7. The game upgrade was originally scheduled to launch for iPhone and iPad this week on June 4.

Call of Duty launched worldwide on mobile last October. It has proven immensely popular, racking up 100 million downloads in its first week on the market alone. This made it the best launch in mobile gaming history. The new season is set to include a variety of new maps, weapons, and other improvements.

However, due to the present political environment, triggered by the killing of unarmed Black man George Floyd by police, Activision says that this “not the time” to release Season 7.