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Spotify’s Social Listening feature will let you jam out with friends

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Spotify Connect
Screenshots of the upcoming Social Listening feature.
Photo: Jane Manchun Wong

Spotify is about to make it possible to listen along to music with your friends, no matter where you’re at.

The new feature, called Social Listening, will allow users to connect to friends and listen to the same thing they’re playing. You’ll also be able to add your own tracks to the queue and control playback from your phone.

Is your iPhone passcode on this list of pathetic PINs?

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GrayKey can bypass iPhone security
Don’t use generic passcodes.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Over 25% of phones can be cracked just by using one of the top 20 most used four digit PINs.

Cyber security expert Tarah Wheeler shared a list of the most popular PINs based on the findings of the folks at the SANS Institute, which is one of the largest cyber security organizations in the world. Some of the passcodes on the list aren’t surprising but there are a couple combinations that we didn’t expect to see.

Make sure your PIN didn’t make the list:

Teen creates DIY AirPods for just $4

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DIY AirPods
We’ve never seen AirPods like these.
Photo: Sam Cashbook

Forking over $200 for new AirPods that you’re probably just going to lose anyway seems like a bad investment. A 15-year old boy found a brilliant and cheap work around though that turns Apple’s wired EarPods into AirPods for just $4.

After seeing one of his friends get gifted a set of AirPods, Sam Cashbook decided to make his own. Using a cheap bone conduction headset he found on eBay, Cashbook managed to hot glue together his DIY AirPods.

They’re ugly, but they work:

WWDC surprises revealed: iTunes dead, brand new apps, more

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WWDC 2019
It’s going to be big!
Photo: Apple

A new report citing sources familiar with Apple’s plans has revealed a number of WWDC surprises ahead of Monday’s big keynote.

Fans can look forward to software updates that make Apple Watch less reliant on iPhone, and iPad more of a laptop replacement. And a number of brand new apps — one of which will kill off iTunes.

You can now access OmniFocus anywhere in your browser

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OmniFocus for the Web
OmniFocus for the Web is live.
Screenshot: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

OmniFocus is now available anywhere in your web browser.

The new web app makes it possible to access your tasks on Windows and other operating systems for the first time. It is designed to work alongside OmniFocus for Mac and iOS.

Sadly, it doesn’t allow you to use OmniFocus if you don’t own an Apple device at all.

One more thing? Catch our WWDC hardware predictions, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 390
Does Apple have any WWDC hardware reveals up its sleeve?

This week on The CultCast: Apple may be prepping the Mac Pro for its big reveal … don’t miss our WWDC 2019 hardware expectations! Plus: The pros and cons of the 2019 MacBook Pro … we discuss. And did you know all the best Get a Mac ads never actually aired? We’ll tell you the odd reason why. All that and soooo much more.

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..

Target recalls 90,000 Lightning cables that cause burns

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Target Lightning recall
Stop using these cables immediately.
Photo: Target

Target is recalling around 90,000 Lightning cables over concerns they could cause fires or electric shocks.

The “heyday” branded cables, which feature a nylon braided cable and metal connectors, “can become electrically charged,” according to a recall notice.

Target has so far received 14 reports of the cables “smoking, sparking or igniting.”

WWDC banners pop up in San Jose ahead of Monday’s keynote

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WWDC 2019 banner
WWDC kicks off on Monday, June 3.
Photo: David Lewis Thomas/9to5Mac

Apple has started erecting WWDC artwork around the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, ahead of Monday’s big developer event.

Banners featuring neon icons and other assets now hang from streetlights and transit stops downtown around the venue that will house this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Workers also started decorating the front of the convention center itself.

App Store’s cellular download limit increases on iPhone

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App Store
Apple apps no longer dominate App Store search results.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has finally increased the App Store’s cellular download limit on the iPhone — but not by much.

You can now download up to 200MB over a 3G or 4G connection. The limit was previously set at 150MB. You will still need to connect to a Wi-Fi network to download larger apps and games.

Order Powerbeats Pro in the U.K., France and Germany today

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Powerbeats Pro
They’ll start arriving in June.
Photo: Apple

You can now order Apple’s new Powerbeats Pro wireless headphones in the U.K., France, and Germany.

They’re only available in black for now, with other color options coming this summer, and it seems that stock is limited. You can expect delivery around June 6 if you’re fast enough.

Apple earns biggest Q1 market share for wearables

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AirPods art challenge
Apple is the Goliath of the wearables market.
Photo: @SCOTUSPlaces/Twitter

Apple’s lineup of wearables for this year’s first quarter earned the company the largest share of an exploding wearable devices market, according to a report from the International Data Corp.

Shipments of Apple Watches, AirPods and Beats headphones totaled 12.8 million for a 25.8 percent Q1 market share. While its share slipped a 1 percent, its year-over-year growth nearly topped 50 percent, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.

Global shipments reached 49.6 million, up 55 percent from the previous year.

All the major features to expect in macOS 10.15

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MacBook Pro coding
Apple is coding up some big upgrades for Mac this fall.
Photo: Apple

iOS 13 is expected to be the star of WWDC 2019, but this year’s conference could unleash some of the biggest changes for the Mac we’ve ever seen.

The rumor mill has been dishing out tons of details about macOS 10.15 in the lead up to WWDC 2019. We’ve already seen screenshots of some of the new apps and gotten some good details on how iOS apps are making their way onto the Mac. There’s still plenty of room for Apple to surprise us when it reveals the full details of macOS 10.15 on June 3, but here’s what we know about it so far.

DJ’s MacBook Pro catches fire in shocking video

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White panda
If this incident is any indication, White Panda’s next remix will be lit.
Photo: White Panda

Video of a MacBook Pro catching fire is getting a lot of views on Reddit and Twitter this morning showing a potentially deadly situation.

White Panda, a DJ from the U.S., posted video yesterday of his MacBook Pro a few minutes after the explosion happened. He claims it burst into flame while plugged into its charger.

Watch what happened:

Rabid bat bites man as it hid in iPad case

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bat hides in iPad and bites man
Roy Syvertson describes what he saw sticking out from the lid of his iPad case.
Screenshot: WBZ-TV/YouTube

A New Hampshire man opened his iPad last week to a new feature – a rabid bat that bit him.

The bat had wedged itself between the case and the device. Roy Syvertson, 86, of Exeter, had sat in an easy chair to read the news on his iPad when he felt a bite on his index finger.

Apple signs letter protesting U.K. anti-encryption proposal

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iMessages in iCloud is coming in iOS 11.3.
Apple has long fought on the side of privacy.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple has joined Google, WhatsApp and 44 other signatories in penning an open letter to the U.K.’s cybersecurity agency GCHQ. The open letter asks the agency to abandon plans for the so-called “ghost protocol.”

This would force encrypted message services to allow eavesdropping by silently adding “a law enforcement participant to a group chat or call.” In essence, it would make it possible to inject hidden participants into secure messaging services.

iOS 13 wish list: Giving health & fitness a workout

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Will Apple move workouts to iCloud so you can browse them on any device?
Will Apple move workouts to iCloud so you can browse them on any device?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

WWDC is less than a week away and there are already plenty of rumors doing the rounds on what new features Apple has in store for iOS and watchOS. Dark mode, a refreshed Reminders app and a new Find My app all look set to make an appearance.

But will Apple also be giving its operating systems a shot in the arm to improve their health and fitness as well? Here’s my top-ten wish list of announcements I’m hoping to hear during next week’s keynote. These features will get my pulse racing so fast it’ll trigger a heart rate warning on my Apple Watch.

This zombie invasion simulator makes you the plague master

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Infectonator 3: Apocalypse
Infectonator 3: Apocalypse pretty much does what it says on the tin.
Photo: Armor Games Studios

In some zombie games, you play as the zombies. Others make you play as the survivors. And in Infectonator 3: Apocalypse, you play as the plague.

It’s a fun — and grotesquely unique — spin on the genre that’s sure to appeal to gamers with a love of tasty, tasty brains. Now after a stint on PC, courtesy of Steam, it’s now spread to iOS, too. Check out the trailer below.

Excel for iPhone update turns photos into editable spreadsheets

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Microsoft Excel
One of Microsoft Office's coolest features.
Photo: Microsoft

An update for Microsoft Excel on the iPhone may not sound like the most exciting thing. But the update in question is actually pretty darn neat. That’s regardless of whether you regularly use spreadsheets or just fancy a neat tech demo.

The update lets you easily import spreadsheets by simply snapping a photo with your iPhone. The image you take of a paper-based spreadsheet is then recognized and turned into a fully functioning editable spreadsheet.

Apple’s hard at work on building its first Mexico City flagship store

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Mexico Apple Store
A look at the upcoming Mexico City Apple Store.
Photo: Apple Insider

Construction is well underway on Apple’s first Mexico City flagship retail store.

The upcoming Apple Store will be a standalone structure located in the Antara Fashion Hall at an upscale mall in Mexico City. Apple first committed to opening a Latin American flagship Apple Store back in 2017.

Apple Pay Express Transit en route to London

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay Express Transit is on its way to London, giving travelers a quick and easy way to pay for rides.

Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed it is working closely with Apple to enable the feature “in the coming months.” It promises more information will be available at a later date.