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Apple eyes Pittsburgh office expansion

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pittsburg
These could become Apple's new offices in Pittsburgh.
Photo: Wally Gobetz/Flickr

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania might be the next U.S. city that Apple plans to expand its footprint in.

According to a new report from local newspaper, Apple is reportedly in talks with real estate developers to move into the free 90,000 square-feet at the historic Pittsburgh Athletic Association building on Fifth Avenue in Oakland.

Apple Pay with Express Transit en route to San Diego, Philadelphia and other cities

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Apple-Pay-Express-Transit-London
Paying for your journeys just got a lot faster.
Photo: Apple

One of the best features of Apple Pay is finally starting to roll out to more public transit systems in the U.S. next year.

After being adopted by Washington D.C. and New York City this year, Apple Pay with Express Transit mode will reportedly be adopted by Philadelphia and San Diego next year, with other major cities planning to support it out by 2023.

AI-driven Select Subject tool added to Photoshop on iPad

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Adobe Photoshop for iPad got a significant update today
Photoshop for iPad now has Select Subject powered by Artificial intelligence.
Photo: Adobe/Cult of Mac

A promised update to Photoshop on iPad debuted today. A notable new feature employs artificial intelligence to enable users to easily select the subjects of images. The latest version also makes accessing cloud storage much faster.

This is the first in a planned series of improvements for the iPad version of this professional image-editing software

Instagram’s AI will now warn you before posting offensive captions

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Instagram lawsuit
Instagram is trying to make caption less toxic.
Photo: Pixabay

In an effort to combat online bullying, Instagram is rolling out a new feature today that warns users when their captions might be considered offensive.

The new feature gives users the chance to pause and reconsider their words before posting, but it doesn’t completely prevent people from posting inappropriate captions.

This is what you can expect to see:

Mac Pros bought in Europe are assembled in China, new users find

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Apple CEO Tim Cook talked Mac Pro with President Trump
Apple’s CEO took Pres. Trump on a tour of the US Mac Pro assembly plant.
Screenshot: White House

The 2019 Mac Pro is famously assembled in the United States. Apple CEO Tim Cook took President Trump on a tour of the plant in Texas where these powerful computers are put together.

But the situation is reportedly quite different if you place an order in Europe.

Annual sub makes Apple Arcade an even sweeter deal

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Save money on Apple Arcade with an annual subscription
Apple Arcade now offers an annual subscription for $50.
Photo: Apple/RosieReality

Priced at $4.99 per month for more than 100 games, Apple Arcade is already a great deal. But an annual subscription makes it even more wallet-friendly.

Apple recently added the option, bringing Apple Arcade in line with Apple Music and Apple TV+ which already offer cheaper annual subscriptions. According to the new pricing, Apple Arcade will set you back $49.99 per year. That works out at $4.19 per month.

Steve Jobs’ estate triumphs in battle over SteveJobs.com

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Steve Jobs’ estate triumphs in battle over SteveJobs.com
This guy is not available for consulting.
Photo: Kazuhiro Shiozawa/Flickr CC

It only took 20 years, but Steve Jobs’ estate finally owns the rights to SteveJobs.com. It won its claim after claiming the previous owner was “cybersquatting” by holding onto the trademark, but doing nothing (good) with it.

The previous owner of the website was a South Korean man. He claimed that he has been going by the name of Steve Jobs Kim since 1999.

Apple teams with ABC News for 2020 election coverage

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Apple-News-ABC-News
Apple News goes all-out for 2020 election.
Photo: Apple

Apple News and ABC News will join forces to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

ABC videos, live-streams, and more will be available inside the Apple News app — alongside data and analysis from FiveThirtyEight. It all kicks off with the Democratic primary debate on February 7, 2020.

Time magazine picks 3 Apple products as best gadgets of the decade

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quotes on Apple
iPad obviously makes the list (but Apple Pencil doesn't).
Photo: Apple

Time magazine’s pick of the “10 best gadgets of the 2010s” is out, and perhaps unsurprisingly, three of them are Apple products.

iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods were all chosen as some of the “most important and influential gadgets” of the decade. Other products include the Nintendo Switch, Tesla Model S, and the Amazon Echo.

Activist shareholders push Apple on why it booted Hong Kong protest app

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Activist shareholders push Apple on why it booted Hong Kong protest app
Apple banned the HKmap.live app earlier this year.
Photo: Fredrik Rubensson/Flickr CC

Activist shareholders will use Apple’s annual meeting in 2020 to push Apple on why it removed a mapping app used by protesters in Hong Kong.

Beijing reportedly pressured Apple to remove the app from the App Store. At the time, Tim Cook defended Apple’s decision to pull the app after saying it had received “credible information” that the app was being used to help commit violence against individuals and property.

Apple accused of exploiting underage labor in the Congo

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Apple accused of exploiting underage labor in the Congo
Underage labor was used for mining in the Congo.
Photo: Jeff Keyzer/Flickr CC

A lawsuit from plaintiffs from the Democratic Republic of Congo claims that Apple is among the companies willfully exploiting the use of underage labor for cobalt mining for lithium-ion batteries.

It claims that “young children” are being forced to work full time dangerous mining jobs. They are “regularly maimed and killed” by hazards such as tunnel collapses.

All about that crazy new Mac Pro! [Cult of Mac Magazine 327]

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It's a Mac. For pros? What else is there to say? (Plenty, actually.)
It's a Mac. For pros. What else is there to say? (Plenty, actually.)
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

The 2019 Mac Pro: It’s a powerhouse workstation that looks like a cheese grater. And it’s the most upgradeable Apple computer in years. But you’ll pay for all that computing muscle: It starts at $5,999 and pairs with a Pro Display XDR, which starts at $4,999. Maxed-out, this monster costs an eye-watering $53,000. Even adding wheels costs $400. Still, it’s not the most expensive Mac ever — not by a long shot!

Find out more in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. You’ll also get — for free! — the rest of this week’s top Apple news stories, plus plenty of reviews and how-tos. Grab it now (or get the stories in your browser below).

Also, don’t miss your shot at winning one of 10 copies of Leander Kahney and David Pierini’s new book, The Cult of Mac, Second Edition. Enter our giveaway now! (The book’s also available now for preorder, just in case you don’t win.)

Sandmarc’s top-notch lenses now fit the iPhone 11 line

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Sandmarc lenses and cases for the iPhone 11 line
Sandmarc makes the case for its lenses paired with the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro.
Photo: Sandmarc

Sandmarc, a top producer of high-quality smartphone lenses, now has a line of mounting cases for its lenses to fit on the iPhone 11 series.

Many smartphone lens makers had to rethink their mount designs after Apple rolled out new iPhones with square camera bumps. The two Pro models have three cameras in the module and companies got busy making new mounts and cases.

Amazon adds Apple Podcasts on Echo speakers

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Echo
You can now play Apple Podcasts on Amazon Echo devices and link your Apple ID for easier control.
Photo: Amazon

Amazon has added support for Apple Podcasts on Amazon Echo devices, enabling users to stream more than 800,000 shows.

Users can link their Apple ID to the Alexa app, giving them the ability to not only play, but pause and resume podcasts where they left off.

AT&T opens 5G network to consumers in 10 cities

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AT&T logo
AT&T just began offering low-band 5G to consumers.
Photo: Luismt94/Wikipedia CC

Starting today, AT&T consumers in 10 cities can connect to this telecom’s 5G network. While faster than 4G, this is low-band 5G, a slower form though with greater range than mmWave.

At this time, only one handset supports this service.

iPad magician uses fan art for Christmas-themed tricks

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iPad magician Simon Pierro
Merry Christmas from the iPad magician.
Screenshot: Simon Pierro/YouTube

Instead of writing to Santa Claus, a 10-year-old boy named Aiden sent a message to iPad magician Simon Pierro asking for a few Christmas-themed magic tricks in a YouTube video.

Pierro not only came through with Aiden’s request, but he also used the kid’s drawing of Olaf, the snowman character from Disney’s Frozen, in his unique iPad magic.

Tim Cook’s tasty street food odyssey continues in Thailand

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Tim Cook’s tasty street food odyssey continues in Thailand
The crab omelette's good and Apple's worth $1.2 trillion. Could life get better?
Photo: Tim Cook/Twitter

Tim Cook’s street food tour of East Asia continues. Earlier this week, Cook enjoyed a traditional breakfast in Singapore’s Tiong Bahru Market. Now he’s hopped over to Thailand, where he chowed down on some “five star” crab omelette in Bangkok with food bloggers Yota and Jira.

Oh, and visited some developers and Apple users, too. But, you know, that crab omelette!

Apple offers free genetic tests for its employees

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Apple is now offering genetic tests for its employees
And all employees got before was a discount on the new iPhone!
Photo: MIKI Yoshihito/Flickr CC

Apple is offering its employees free genetic testing for diseases, courtesy of a deal with California genomic testing lab Color Genomics.

Cupertino offers these tests through AC Wellness, the company’s employee health clinics. The hope is that genetic testing could help employees understand potential health problems they face — and take steps to reduce risk.

Trump’s China deal may stop Apple hiking prices of iPhones and iPads

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Trump’s China deal may stop Apple hiking prices of iPhones and iPads
That's good news for Apple and its customers.
Photo: White House

Apple has been given a welcome reprieve on tariffs for the iPhone, iPad and Mac after President Donald Trump agreed to a limited trade deal with China on Thursday.

The phase one agreement means rolling back existing tariff rates on Chinese goods and canceling new tariff rates that would have gone into effect Sunday.

Apple promises to fix big bug in iOS 13’s new parental controls feature

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iOS-13-Communication-Limits
Communication Limits doesn't work as intended.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

iOS 13.3 dropped this week, bringing a brand-new parental controls feature called Communication Limits. But it comes with a serious flaw that allows kids to bypass any rules set by adults.

Apple says a workaround is available, and it is working on a fix that will be included in a future software update.

The new Mac Pro proves Apple’s still got it! Plus, our best of the year picks, on The CultCast

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CultCast 418
Apple's back, and the Mac Pro proves it.
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: The Mac Pro isn’t just a beauty, it’s also a beast. We cover our first impressions, plus discuss some of the insane upgrades available for Apple’s new powerhouse Mac. Plus, we reveal more of our favorite tech, shows, movies and more in our Best of the Year picks, part 2!

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