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5 million people rush to preorder Pokémon Masters

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Pokémon Masters
Coming soon to an iPhone near you.
Photo: The Pokémon Company

The folks at The Pokémon Company are sure taking the “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” catchphrase to heart — at least when it comes to hooking preorders for its latest mobile game.

With two weeks to go until Pokémon Masters launches on iOS and Android, the game already racked up 5 million preorders.

Insider iPhone 11 leaks, plus the pros and cons of Apple Card! This week, on The CultCast

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CultCast 401
Some big changes may be coming to iPhone...
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: A Foxconn insider spills big iPhone 11 secrets. Plus: the pros and cons of Apple Card, and Apple’s new maps start rolling out across the country. And finally, a strange twist in the MoviePass story unveils the unbelievable shenanigans the company pulled to stayed in business — and they are far worse than we ever imagined!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain..

Huawei delays first foldable phone for a second time

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The Huawei Mate X folding phone
The wait for the Mate X continues.
Photo: Huawei

Huawei this week delayed its first foldable smartphone … again. The Chinese company says there is “no possibility” of the Mate X making its debut in September.

The exciting new handset was originally scheduled to launch in June. Huawei pushed back its launch and admitted it was taking a “cautious” approach after Samsung’s struggled with the Fold.

Apple sues company that lets users run iOS in a browser

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Company that ported iOS to browsers hits back at Apple
Company that ported iOS to browsers hits back at Apple
Image: Corellium

Apple is suing Corellium, a company founded by former iPhone jailbreakers whose product lets users run iOS firmware in a web browser.

“There is no basis for Corellium to be selling a product that allows the creation of avowedly perfect replicas of Apple’s devices to anyone willing to pay,” Apple’s lawyers argue in the suit.

2.4 million Americans depend on Apple for their jobs

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Finisar makes Face IS lasers
Employees at Finisar in Texas will soon start shipping to Apple lasers used in Face ID.
Photo: Apple

Directly or indirectly, Apple is responsible for 2.4 million American jobs. The company says 450,000 of these are at the thousands of US companies that supply components for Apple computers, phones and tablets.

iOS 13 inches closer to launch with new beta [Updated]

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Buggy iOS 13 made Apple rethink how it develops software
Apple has made great strides in debugging iOS 13.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple just seeded the seventh Developer beta of the next iOS and iPadOS version. This is the latest stage of a debugging process expected to end in September.

UPDATE: iOS 13 Public beta 6 just launched as well, so anyone who wants to try this new version can. The same goes for iPadOS Public beta 6.

Fake AI skies look amazing, but not everybody’s thrilled

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sky replacement tool in Luminar 4
Pick a sky that wasn't there when you took the photo.
Photo: Skylum

Imaging software company Skylum markets its photo editing tools as huge time savers. Just click a preset look or move a few slider bars and you have a beautifully styled final image within minutes.

Skylum was on message when it announced an upcoming AI tool for instantly replacing the sky. The company declared, “The days of spending a lot of time manually creating a complicated mask to replace skies in an image are over.”

Yet the debate over artificial intelligence’s role in photography is only beginning. In the week since Skylum announced and demoed AI Sky Replacement, photographers have spent considerable time in online forums drawing lines between ethics and creativity.

Apple Watch rules the wearables roost in North America

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Apple Watch Series 4 Infogram Watch Face
Apple Watch is dominating in the United States.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch continues to storm ahead of the competition in the North American wearables market. In the second quarter of 2019, it carved a 37.9% market share, according to new figures released by Canalys.

The market research firm claims that Apple shipped 2.9 million units during the quarter. That’s considerably more than those shipped by Fitbit, Samsung, Garmin, or others.

Apple racked up almost 6 patents per day in 2018

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Apple waveguides patent
Apple had quite the industrious year.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple was granted the equivalent of almost six patents per day in 2018, racking up more than 2,000 over the year.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ranks Apple No. 11 on a list of companies awarded the greatest number of patents. So, who beat Apple at the patent game in 2018?

Apple Music playlist transports you to the hottest Ibiza clubs

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Ibiza club
Drinks are a whole lot cheaper, though.
Photo: XXNU/Flickr CC

Apple Music boasts some 50 million songs in its catalog. That’s the equivalent of almost two miles if it was a heap of CD-based albums piled on on top of the other.

To help make sense of all of this, Apple hosts a wide variety of hand-selected playlists. Now, thanks to two of the hottest clubs in EDM capital Ibiza, they’ve gotten some more. It’s like a vacation in your pocket!

Apple readying up to 80 million iPhone 11 units for next month

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iPhone 11 Max on colorful background
Apple's got a whole heap of iPhones ready to unleash on customers.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Apple is readying 75 million 80 million iPhones ahead of next month’s iPhone 11 launch, says Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives.

Despite some of his gloomier peers “yelling fire in a crowded theater” about Apple, he’s confident about Apple’s future. That’s even with the ongoing U.S. vs. China trade tensions looming menacingly in the background.

Creators of Shantae 5 spill more details on Apple Arcade game

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Shantae screen
It's like Mario with more belly-dancing. Well, kind of.
Screenshot: WayForward

Shantae 5, the latest installment in the popular platform video game series, is an eagerly anticipated title for Apple Arcade.

Now the game’s developer has released some new information about the new outing. This includes its full name, plot, and new features. Check it out:

New York City is going to be seeing a lot more of Apple

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Apple Maps just got a New York update.
Apple loves the Big Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple is on the hunt for big new offices in Manhattan, aiming to increase its footprint in the New York City area.

According to a new report, Apple is searching for up to 750,000 square feet of office space. It has already looked at some of the most prestigious locations in the area. As of now, however, it’s not yet locked anything down.

Corning screen protector makes iPhone easier to use in sunlight

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OtterBox Amplify screen protector by Corning
Corning and OtterBox say their screen protector is 5x more scratch resistant than their rivals’.
Photo: Corning/OtterBox

Amplify screen protectors use scratch resistance technology developed by Corning, and the latest version also has this company’s proprietary DX tech to make an iPhone easier to see in bright sunlight.

It’s made by Corning and marketed by OtterBox.

Twist-O-Flex Apple Watch band a brilliant blast from the past

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speidel
Speidel's Twist-O-Flex stretches up to 5 inches, making it easy to get on and off your wrist. Perfect for him or her!
Photo: Speidel

Vintage watch enthusiasts, take heed. The classic Speidel Twist-O-Flex that was all the rage mid-century is now available for Apple Watch.

The twisty, stretchy stainless steel bands you remember dad wearing are now adapted for 21st-century smartwatch wearers — and they’re better than ever.

Check out this modern take on a classic favorite in our Watch Store.

See iOS 13’s best unannounced features [Video]

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

After spending time playing with the iPadOS 13 developer beta and iOS 13 beta , it’s clear there are tons of nice changes coming to Apple’s mobile platforms this fall.

Cupertino highlighted the biggest ones at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference. However, there’s a bunch of smaller stuff they didn’t tell us about. While there are hundreds of “under the hood” changes, these are the best iOS 13 features Apple didn’t announce.

Best unannounced iOS 13 features

Apple claims scary iPhone battery warning is for customer safety

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iPhone batteries
Be careful on who you let replace your iPhone battery.
Photo: iFixIt

Apple confirmed it added a new “feature” to iPhones last year that displays an ominous warning when users get their battery replaced by an unauthorized service provider.

The iPhone-maker drew heavy criticism from right-to-repair advocates last week when the news of the new battery warnings surfaced. Facing claims that it is trying to funnel customers toward more expensive battery repairs, Apple has finally come out with a statement insisting that the change was made with the safety of customers in mind, but not everyone’s buying it.

AT&T and T-Mobile join forces to fight robocalls and scammers

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spam-call
Suck it, spammers!
Photo: Icons8/Unsplash

AT&T and T-Mobile today confirmed an unlikely partnership for a wonderful cause. The rival carriers are joining forces to fight robocalls and scammers.

Both will deliver the FCC-recommended STIR/SHAKEN standards to digitally validate calls across their networks. It will make it easier for customers to filter out unwanted calls.

Breaking up tech giants could get ‘messy,’ warns FTC boss

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Anti-robocall bill is one step closer to being passed into law
But that's not to say it won't happen!
Photo: Pexels

The chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission isn’t opposed to the breakup of America’s tech giants. However, he acknowledges it would be very, very challenging.

“If you have to, you do it,” Joe Simons told Bloomberg. “It’s not ideal because it’s very messy. But if you have to you have to.”

2019 could be the year Apple fixes iPhone naming

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The camera bump is about to get bumpier in the iPhone XI.
We may about to wake up from Apple's iPhone naming nightmare.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Earlier this year, I complained that Apple’s iPhone naming strategy was broken. Now, thanks to a popular case maker, we may know Apple’s naming choice for the 2019 iPhones: the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

And you know what? If it’s accurate, Apple has remedied one of the most unnecessarily complex aspects of its most popular product line.