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DJI’s new Mavic Mini is the perfect drone for everyone

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DJI
The Mavic Mini is ready for liftoff.
Photo: DJI

DJI unleashed its smallest and lightest drone on the world this morning and it just might be the cutest drone ever.

The Mavic Mini is so light it’s one of the first (if not the first) mass-market drones that does not have to be registered with the FAA. Don’t be fooled by its tiny size. This little drone can capture some serious cinematic footage and it’s so cheap it won’t hurt your bank account.

If you’ve been thinking of getting your first drone, this is the one for you:

Retroactive app lets you run Aperture, iTunes in macOS Catalina

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screenshot of Retroactive from GitHub
It's OK to update to macOS Catalina. Retroactive will modify Aperture, iTunes and iPhones with the new OS.
Screenshot: Retroactive/GitHub

Apple told us it was time to move on when it killed two of its most popular apps, Aperture for photographers and iTunes, a music storage system that launched many DJ careers.

But an open-source app, aptly named Retroactive, brings new life to those beloved programs so that they can run in macOS Catalina.

2020 iPhones will boast world’s most advanced 5G chips

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2020 could be Apple's greatest year so far
Apple's got some big plans for next year's iPhones.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple will be deploying the world’s “most advanced” 5G mobile processors when it debuts its first 5G iPhones next year, a new report claims.

Apple is lagging behind rivals such as Samsung, Huawei and even smaller companies like Oppo and Xiaomi in launching its first 5G handset. However, the report claims that Apple’s ready to pull the stops out to make its next iPhone special. And it’s hoping for sales to match.

Next Apple Watch Activity challenge will take place on Veterans Day

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Next Apple Watch Activity challenge will take place on Veterans Day
Show your appreciation for Veterans by treating your body with some darn respect!
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Apple is gearing up to celebrate Veterans Day with a new Apple Watch Activity challenge, scheduled for Monday, November 11.

To earn the Veterans Day badge, you’ll need to complete a workout of 11 minutes or more that day. The challenge is open to users in the United States, although you may want to check to see if it’s available if you live in a non-U.S. country. (Not that it should stop you working out, of course!)

Brilliant BentoStack organizer now packs a USB-C hub, wireless charging

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Brilliant BentoStack organizer now packs a USB-C hub, wireless charging
It's the solution you've been waiting on.
Photo: Function101

In the market for a Type-C Hub, accessory organizer, power bank and wireless charger for your MacBook Pro and iPad Pro? Of course you are!

The BentoStack PowerHub promises to eliminate desktop clutter with a stackable solution to give you everything you need to use your devices on the go. And it’s all packed into a design inspired by (what else?) a compact Japanese lunch box. Check it out.

Apple’s Jason Momoa series See will ‘definitely’ get second season

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See featurette asks how Apple TV+ show crafted a world without sight
"I'll just repeat the question. Have I got a second series?"
Photo: Apple

The preview episodes of See, Apple’s would-be Game of Thrones fantasy series with Jason Momoa, didn’t exactly take reviewers by storm. Hailed by the Hollywood Reporter as “rarely better than so-so” and the Telegraph as evoking “unintentional laughter,” this show sounds like it’s got a long way to go before it’ll start scooping up major awards as Apple hopes.

One thing it will be getting, however, is a second season — as star Alfre Woodard confirmed to the U.K.’s Radio Times.

Students will get Apple TV+ as part of their $4.99 Apple Music subscription

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Streaming services like Apple Music dominate the US music market
That's another reason for students to sign up to Apple Music.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s launched its first bundle deal for Apple TV+ — but you’ll have to be a student to take advantage of it.

On Dickinson star Hailee Steinfeld’s Instagram page, the singer/actress noted that Apple Music subscribers on Apple’s $4.99 Student plan will receive Apple TV+ in addition to Apple’s streaming music service.

Antitrust investigators want to know if retailers were compelled to use Apple Pay

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Antitrust investigators want to know if retailers were compelled to use Apple Pay
Could Apple Pay be breaking the law?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

European antitrust regulators are asking online retailers if they are contractually obligated to use Apple Pay over rival services.

The European Commission suggests it has information that Apple could have restricted online payments for goods and services using rival payment solutions. This would be in breach of EU antitrust rules.

Samsung teases new clamshell folding phone concept

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Samsung
Samsung's new concept phone doesn't have a name yet.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung is doubling down on its efforts to make smartphones with a folding display a thing.

During Samsung’s annual developers conference this morning, the company unveiled a new folding phone concept that’s drastically different than the Galaxy Fold. Instead of folding from a regular-sized smartphone into a tablet, the new concept folds into a clamshell, kind of like a futuristic version of Motorola’s Razr phone.

Take a look:

Double the resolution of your iPhone photos with this trick

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photography Usman Dawood
It's OK to be a little shaky.
Screenshot: Sonder Creative/YouTube

A relatively simple technique can double the resolution of an iPhone image. Shockingly, the trick is best executed with shaky hands.

What sounds counterintuitive will make sense when you see the steps in the video at the end of this post. It shows how a little hand movement helps make a sharper image.

The secret to Apple’s sales success [Live from Cupertino book excerpt]

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All great presentations begin with a Sharpie and then a Mac. A
All great presentations begin with a Sharpie (and then a Mac).
Photo: Michael Hageloh

Excerpted from Live from Cupertino: How Apple Used Words, Music, and Performance to Build the World’s Best Sales Machine by Michael Hageloh and Tim Vandehey.

Prologue: What were once devices are now habits

When I set out to write this book, one of my goals was to see if I could insult fifty million people in one sentence. Here goes. Years ago, before I was excommunicated from New York City and became a resident of Texas (a state so backward that someone in our town once asked my wife and me if being Jewish was like being Catholic), I lived in Florida, which is so appealing to the unbalanced that when I took the “Florida Challenge” (where you google “Florida man” and your birthday to see what kind of headlines pop up) for April 24, the first result read, “Florida man kisses venomous snake and is immediately bitten on the lips.”

Mission accomplished. Now, let’s move on.

The AirPods Pro fix almost everything wrong with the originals [Opinion]

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AR AirPods Pro
Even AR AirPods Pro look great!
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Here’s a short list of things that are wrong with regular AirPods:

  • They don’t fit in the ears properly.
  • They don’t seal out environmental noise.
  • Those grilles get gunked up with earwax really easily.
  • They lack a volume control.

The new AirPods Pro fix all of these problems, apart from the last point on the list. And to be honest, it’s so easy to change the volume by squeezing your iPhone through your pocket, or by using an Apple Watch, that the lack of a volume control isn’t that big of a deal.

The original AirPods (and the faster, updated version) might be the most-loved new Apple product in recent years, and the AirPods Pro improve on them in almost every way. So, are the AirPods Pro perfect? Maybe …

Apple TV+ pursues lofty goal: Exploring human relationships

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Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, Apple’s two heads of worldwide video programming
Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht got the tough job of building Apple TV+ from nothing.
Photo: Apple

The first slate of Apple TV+ shows would seem to have little in common — they range from a teen comedy to a sci-fi epic — but the company’s top entertainment programming execs say they are all about relationships.

They also worked hard to make this new streaming service fit with the rest of Apple.

Haptic feedback could make iPhone or iPad displays feel like rocks or fur

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Haptic feedback could make iPhone displays feel like rocks or fur
Who needs boring old glass?
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Imagine being able to touch your iPad or iPhone screen and feeling like you’re touching metal, wood, or fur — despite the fact it’s just a flat glass display. Impossible, surely? Not if a new haptic feedback patent Apple has filed comes to pass.

This haptic feedback technology could complete the sensory AR experience Apple is aiming for. Slap on some AirPods and summon up some ARKit visuals, and you’d have truly immersive augmented reality.

Apple pulls iOS 13.2 update that bricked some HomePods [Updated]

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HomePod Volume Controls closeup
You might want to think twice about rushing to update your HomePod.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

For some HomePod owners, the latest software update really was a killer upgrade. Loads of irritated people say the update bricked their HomePods.

New HomePod features like voice recognition for multiple users and the ability to send messages and make calls might sound awesome. But having your smart speaker go belly up sucks out loud. If you previously turned on automatic HomePod updates, you might want to flip the switch and wait until Apple gets to the bottom of the problem.

Update: Apple pulled Monday’s HomePod update after owners reported unresponsive devices. If you managed to successfully update your HomePod, you should be careful. An updated Apple support document warns that you should not reset your smart speaker for any reason. You also should not attempt to remove your HomePod from the Home app.

iPhone 11 continues to shine while iPhone 11 Pro Max sales flatten out

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iPhone 11 continues to shine while iPhone 11 Pro Max sales flatten out
The iPhone 11 is a hit.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly going all-in on OLED displays with the 2020 iPhones. But despite the big advances OLED represent, it seems that many users aren’t yet ready to part ways with their LCD screens.

At least, that’s one takeaway from a new report which claims that Apple is putting in more orders for the LCD iPhone 11, while sales of the higher-end iPhone 11 Pro Max remain flat.

Sorry, binge-watchers: Apple won’t debut every episode of The Morning Show at once

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Snobby critics hate Apple TV+ but viewers can't get enough
Apple isn't taking the Netflix approach to releasing shows.
Photo: Apple

Apple is seemingly taking a mixed approach to the way it will debut new Apple TV+ shows. According to the company, it will release three episodes of The Morning Show, one of its flagship series, when the service launches on November 1. After that, new episodes will debut every Friday.

That’s a change from Netflix’s approach of dumping every episode of a new season at once. It’s also a change from Apple’s plan for Dickinson, which star Hailee Steinfeld recently revealed will debut all 10 episodes straight out of the gate.