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News - page 518

Developers get their hands on first iOS 13.3.1, macOS 10.15.3 betas

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iOS 13 on an iPhone X
Have you upgraded yet?
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Apple today made its first iOS 13.3.1 and macOS 10.15.3 betas available to developers.

The minor updates don’t have patch notes yet. But they likely fix a serious flaw in Communication Limits, which can allow messages to be received from unauthorized contacts, among other bugs.

New betas are also available for HomePod, iPad, and Apple TV.

Trippy puzzler Manifold Garden lands on Apple Arcade

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manifold garden
You've never played a game quite like this.
Photo:

Apple Arcade recently added yet another title to its massive library of games and it’s one of the trippiest games we’ve played.

Manifold Garden puts players in an Escheresque world where repeating geometry is used to make you question the very laws of physics. Your task is to solve puzzles to restore vegetation to the barren landscape. The weird geography makes you feel like you just took a high dose of LSD making all the puzzles that much harder.

Check out the trippy teaser:

With AirPods Pro sold out, resellers seek huge markups

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AirPods Pro on eBay come at a premium.
Anyone who must have a pair of AirPods Pro next week should be ready to pay extra for them.
Screenshot: eBay/Cult of Mac

Virtually every retailer already sold out of Apple’s new AirPods Pro, and resellers are offering these popular earbuds at hefty premiums.

Unfortunately, paying a big markup is probably the only way to get this accessory before Christmas or Hanukkah.

IDC: Apple’s wearables business will explode through 2023

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Apple’s wearables business will explode through 2023
Wearables are a gold-rated business for Apple.
Photo: Caviar

The “earwear” product category, made up of devices like the AirPods, is set to explode in the next few years. According to a new report by the International Data Corporation, the market for hearables will increase from 139.4 million units this year to 273.7 million in 2023.

The firm doesn’t break down projected sales by brand. However, with Apple’s market-leading status thanks to AirPods, it’s likely that Cupertino will do exceptionally well.

A single WhatsApp message can destroy your group chats

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WhatsApp group notifications
The WhatsApp dream might one day come true.
Photo: WhatsApp

Security researchers have discovered that a single text message can destroy your group chats inside WhatsApp.

The flaw, present on both Android and iOS, causes WhatsApp to crash and forces users to reinstall the app. Affected group chats must be deleted to prevent the “crash-loop” from happening again.

But there’s good news: WhatsApp has already fixed the issue, so all you need to do is update to the latest version of the app.

Steve Jobs’ brief for iPad: A piece of glass for emailing on the toilet

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Steve Jobs’ brief for iPad: A piece of glass for emailing on the toilet
The iPad's natural home, apparently.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Steve Jobs’ on-stage iPad pitch to customers saw him relaxing in a luxury chair. His brief to Apple engineers actually building the iPad? “I want a single piece of glass I can use to read email on the toilet.”

That’s according to Imran Chaudhri, a 21-year Apple veteran, now chairman and president of Humane. Chaudhri was responding to a recent article about the iPad’s origins which appeared in the New York Times.

iPhone 11 Pro eliminated in first round of blind camera test

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iPhone-11-vs-OnePlus
Yes, it got just 30% of the votes.
Photo: MKBHD

iPhone 11 packs Apple’s most impressive cameras to date. They’re some of the best available in any phone today. So you might be surprised to find they were just eliminated in round one of a blind camera test.

A photo taken on iPhone 11 Pro secured just 30% of the votes when up against a snap from the OnePlus 7T Pro — a handset that costs $400 less.

Apple TV app debuts on Amazon Fire smart TVs in U.S.

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Fire TV Edition Smart TVs
A month since its debut on Amazon Fire Stick devices, the Apple TV App is now available on Fire TV Edition Smart TVs in the U.S.
Photo: Amazon

The Apple TV App is now available on Fire TV Edition Smart TVs in the U.S., slowly increasing its availability on various third-party streaming players and televisions.

The addition includes built-in Alexa voice-command support to ask for AppleTV+ programs and to open the Apple TV app.

Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Facebook had a great decade. At least as far as downloads are concerned.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Facebook owns the top 4 most downloaded apps of the last decade, analytics firm App Annie reports.

The app analytics platform runs down its list of the most downloaded and highest grossing apps of the past decade. This covers both iOS and Android. While Facebook may have had a tough time PR-wise recently, there’s no doubting its levels of downloads dominance.

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:

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.)