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Egypt in 4K shows why you should have an iPhone 11 Pro

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travel video with iPhone 11 Pro
Book a flight and travel light. The iPhone 11 Pro might be all you need.
Screenshot: Travel Shortfilms/YouTube

Still not persuaded that an upgrade to the iPhone 11 Pro is worth the money?

If you are a photographer or wanna-be filmmaker that still needs convincing, travel vlogger Harshit Vora makes a breath-taking argument with a montage of 4K clips from an eight-day trip to Egypt.

China develops a data-hungry app for tracking coronavirus

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The novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in China.
Can an app help stop the spread of coronavirus in China?
Photo: Apple

The Chinese government developed an app that lets users check whether they are at risk of infection from the novel coronavirus spreading across the country.

The location-aware “close contact detector” app reveals whether users have been close to another person suspected of having coronavirus. The data-hungry app serves as yet another illustration of China’s surveillance-heavy approach to controlling its citizens.

Apple restores banned BlueMail app but devs say fight is not over

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Mac App Store
The email app BlueMail finds itself on the outside of the "closed garden."
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Banned email app BlueMail is back in the Mac App Store, just one week after its developers tried to publicly rally other small companies to speak out against Apple’s App Store practices.

Ben and Dan Volach’s eight-month appeal of Apple’s ban ended Tuesday when the App Store relisted BlueMail. But the brothers say they will continue to fight Apple in court on claims the tech giant stole patented features of the app before booting it from the App Store.

Judge approves Sprint and T-Mobile megamerger

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t-mobile
Deal has sent stock rocketing upwards.
Photo: T-Mobile

T-Mobile’s $26 billion merger with Sprint has been given the go-ahead by a U.S. district judge, rocketing the companies’ stock prices upward.

Sprint increased 74% this morning, hitting $8.34. T-Mobile, meanwhile, increased 11% to $93.62. However, the deal won’t officially be done until the California Public Utilities Commission approves the merger.

Apple joins alliance dedicated to reducing world’s reliance on passwords

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Apple joins alliance dedicated to reducing world's reliance on passwords
This image quickly vanished from Twitter. But not the internet.
Photo: Roland Atoui/Twitter

Apple has signed up as a member to the FIDO Alliance, an organization whose mission is to develop and promote authentication standards for reducing the world’s reliance on passwords.

The news was made public in the form of a photo from a recent FIDO Alliance conference, describing Apple as a new member of the group. However, the tweet was rapidly deleted. Nonetheless, the FIDO website confirms that Apple is a board-level member.

Amazon still dominates smart speakers, leaving HomePod in the dust

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Apple debuts HomePod in India at its cheapest price yet
My colleague Charlie no longer has a HomePod. He kept the knitted cactus, though.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple’s HomePod may be two years old, but it may as well be a total newcomer based on its percentage of the overall U.S. smart speaker market.

According to a new report from eMarketer, Apple joins smart speaker brands like Harmon Kardon Invoke and Sonos One in the “other” category of speakers. In total, “other” smart speakers make up just 18.4% of the overall U.S. market. Meanwhile, Amazon hoovers up 70% of sales, followed by Google with 31.7% market share.

Mad Money host predicts big things for Apple through 2030

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International governments plan to rethink tax rules for the ‘digital age’
Jim Cramer is betting big on Apple.
Photo: Pixabay/Pexels CC

By any measure, Apple had an astonishingly successful decade between 2010 and 2020, becoming the world’s first publicly traded $1 trillion company in the process. But Apple’s next 10 years could be another monster decade for the company, Mad Money host Jim Cramer speculates.

Speaking on his 65th birthday Monday, Cramer said that, “I’m going to make another 10-year bet [on Apple]. I think they’re that good.”

T-Mobile and Sprint merger may finally be approved Tuesday

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T-Mobile CEO John Legere with the Phone BoothE.
Colorful T-Mobile CEO John Legere will hand over the reins to a successor.
Photo: T-Mobile

A verdict regarding the long-delayed megamerger between T-Mobile and Sprint is expected to be announced Tuesday, The New York Times claims.

The ruling would combine America’s third- and fourth-biggest wireless carriers to create one with a massive 100 million customers. It follows an “unusual suit” filed back in June by attorneys general from 13 states, alongside the District of Columbia. They are concerned that a merger would reduce competition in the industry, which could drive up cellphone bills.

Totallee starts taking preorders for ‘iPhone SE 2’ case

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Possibly the iPhone SE in in a Totallee case.
Is this the iPhone SE 2 in a Totallee case? Maybe, maybe not.
Photo: Totallee

Accessory maker Totallee is so confident it knows the exact dimensions of the upcoming iPhone SE 2 that it went ahead and started taking preorders for a case designed for it.

This takes some serious nerve, as this low-cost handset is still just a rumor. It isn’t expected to be announced before March.

Now everyone can try iCloud folder sharing

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iCloud folder sharing is in iPadOS 13.4 and iOS 13.4
iCloud folder sharing finally arrives in iPadOS 13.4, and iOS 13.4 too.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The wait is over for iCloud folder sharing… at least for everyone willing to install the initial iOS 13.4 public beta or its iPad equivalent. And there’s new Memoji stickers, tablet users can remap some keys, plus some other new features to experiment with.

Court denies Apple’s appeal in VirnetX patent-infringement case

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Apple wants patent trolls to stop ‘gaming the system’
The lesser-spotted patent troll.
Photo: Andrew Becraft/Flickr CC

Cupertino’s seemingly neverending legal battle with patent troll VirnetX Holding Corp. took another turn this week when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied Apple’s request to reconsider an original patent-infringement decision.

VirnetX and Apple have been fighting in courts for a decade over patents related to FaceTime and other secure communications. VirnetX, which doesn’t produce any products, previously won more than $503 million in damages, but courts subsequently threw out the award.

iPhone mount lets you use DSLR filters for cool effects

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Filter mount by Moondog Labs
The multi-camera filter mount will let the iPhone shooter use any 52 mm filter.
Photo: Moondog Labs

If the iPhone is the best camera because it’s always in your pocket, there are plenty of accessories that make your photos look even better once your phone is unholstered and on the hunt.

Moondog Labs has just such an add-on with a filter mount that goes right over the three-eyed iPhone 11 Pro.

Abode’s cheap DIY home security kit adds HomeKit

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Abode Smart Security Kit gets you started
The starter Abode Smart Security Kit now works with Apple’s home-automation system.
Photo: Abode

Abode’s do-it-yourself home security system just gained support for Apple HomeKit. With this software update, the Smart Security Kit can be controlled via Siri commands, and an iPhone or other Apple device will be notified when sensors detect a window or door is opened, or there’s movement in the house.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip looks more compelling than Galaxy Fold ever did

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Z flip
All the Z Flip details have been revealed ahead of its launch.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung is already putting out commercials for its new foldable phone before the device has even been announced.

With a big event scheduled in San Francisco tomorrow, Samsung ran a teaser ad for its new smartphone during the Oscars last night and we have to admit, this thing actually looks pretty neat.

Take a look at this futuristic clamshell:

Coronavirus could cut China’s smartphones sales in half this quarter

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iPhone sales are finally rebounding in China
iPhone sales were starting to pickup in China.
Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo

Smartphone sales in China could fall by as much as 50 percent in the first quarter thanks to a raging coronavirus that has shuttered retail outlets and silenced production facilities.

The coronavirus has struck at a time when Apple’s iPhone sales in China were rebounding in a country considered right now one of the world’s most competitive smartphone markets.

Apple manufacturer reopens factory — but fewer than 10% of employees turn up

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Coronavirus-related shutdowns continue to disrupt Chinese factories.
Foxconn is Apple's biggest contract manufacturer.
Photo: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr CC

Key iPhone manufacturer Foxconn continues to feel the effects of the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China. The company recently reopened its factory in the eastern central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, but fewer than 10% of its workforce returned to work, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government rejected Foxconn’s request to reopen its factory in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Jojo Rabbit screenwriter vents about ‘horrendous’ MacBook keyboard

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Jojo Rabbit screenwriter vents about 'horrendous' MacBook keyboard
Jojo Rabbit screenwriter is no fan of Apple's current keyboards.
Screenshot: Variety/Oscars

Actors love to have some political message to impart to viewers at award shows. At last night’s Oscars, Taika Waititi, winner of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit, voiced his own passionate plea — for Apple to change its MacBook keyboards.

“Apple needs to fix those keyboards,” he told reporters. “They are impossible to write on; they’ve gotten worse. It makes me want to go back to PCs. Because PC keyboards, the bounce-back for your fingers is way better … Those Apple keyboards are horrendous.”

Coronavirus forces Foxconn to keep closed all iPhone assembly plants in China

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Coronavirus-related shutdowns continue to disrupt Chinese factories.
Coronavirus-related shutdowns continue to disrupt Chinese factories.
Photo: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr CC

Foxconn reportedly won‘t be able to resume iPhone assembly on Monday. Its plants in China where Apple handsets are put together have been closed since before the Lunar New Year to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and the government has allegedly forbidden them to reopen next week, literally on pain of death.

You should check your Apple Watch trends now [Cult of Mac Magazine 335]

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Check your Apple Watch Activity Trends: Find out how to decipher the data hiding behind the Activity app's new tab.
Find out how to decipher the data hiding behind the Activity app's new tab.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

A new feature in the Activity app offers deep insights into progress you’re making on your personal fitness goals. Find out how to check your Activity Trends and decipher all that delicious workout data your Apple Watch is squirreling away.

You’ll find that how-to, along with new tips for Mac power users, in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. It also packs the week’s top Apple news, as well as a review of a new streaming service that basically turns your Mac into a powerful gaming PC. Download it now for a satisfying iPad read, or get the links to the week’s top stories below.

Big macOS leak hints at future switch to AMD chips

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Apple iMac 2019
The modern iMac is a stunner... and last on our list.
Photo: Apple

Could Apple be preparing to make a surprise switch to AMD processors in a future Mac? References to a number of new AMD microprocessors have been spotted in the latest macOS 10.15.4 beta, which rolled out to developers Wednesday.

The clues hidden in Mac code suggest Apple’s lengthy relationship with Intel could be on the rocks.

Expect to wait until March for some custom-made Macs

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16-inch-MacBook-Pro
Order a 16-inch MacBook Pro with more memory or storage and you won‘t see it for over a month.
Photo: Apple

Some Macs ordered today from the Apple Store with any set of features beyond the base configuration won’t arrive for over a month. For example, the wait for a made-to-order 16-inch MacBook Pro stretches into mid-March.

WhatsApp’s long-awaited dark mode finally on its way to iPhone

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WhatsApp-dark-mode
It's in beta testing now!
Photo: WhatsApp/Cult of Mac

Being blinded by WhatsApp’s bright white interface when replying to a late-night text will soon be a thing of the past. The messaging app’s long-awaited dark mode is finally on its way to iPhone.

Beta testers already have access to the new look, which means we should all be able to enjoy it soon.