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New USB-C hub gives iPad Pro the ports it needs

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Hyper's iPad Pro USB-C hub boasts no less than 6 ports.
Hyper's iPad Pro USB-C hub boasts no less than 6 ports.
Photo: Hyper

A six-port USB-C hub from Hyper was specially designed to clip to the side of the 2018 iPad Pro. It allows every type of wired accessory supported by Apple’s newest pro tablet to be accessed.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the HyperDrive 6-in-1 USB-C Hub launched today.

Editor’s Note: Be sure to read our hands-on HyperDrive iPad Pro review to learn more about this brilliant add-on.

Apple rolls out iOS 12.3 beta 6 for developers and the public [Updated]

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Apple TV app
The new TV app in iOS 12.3.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Apple today rolled out its sixth iOS 12.3 beta for registered developers. It comes just days after testers got their hands on a fifth release.

It’s unlikely we’ll see any significant changes in this update. But there’s lots to look forward to in iOS 12.3 — including a revamped TV app with support for Channels.

Update: A version of this latest beta for the public was just released as well.

Production begins on iPhone 11’s A13 processor

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iPhone XS teardown
It’s a safe assumption that the A13 processor will be faster than the A12 one in the iPhone XS.
Photo: iFixit

One of the most vital components of the 2019 iPhone is already being fabricated. The A13 chip is now in trial production by TSMC, the Taiwanese company that has produced every iPhone and iPad chip for years.

WhatsApp will soon stop working on iOS 7

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WhatsApp
You’ll need a new iPhone if you can’t update to iOS 8 or later.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

If you’re still rocking an older iPhone running iOS 7, you’re going to need to upgrade if you want to continue using WhatsApp.

The world’s biggest messaging service will soon stop working on iOS 7 devices. Other aging operating systems are going to get left out in the cold, too.

Military-grade iPad Pro case also protects your Smart Keyboard

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UAG iPad pro 2
The new Scout series offers military-grade drop protection.
Photo: UAG

If one of your prerequisites for an iPad case is that it’s hard-wearing enough to take whatever life throws at it, Urban Armor Gear promises to be your hook-up.

Urban Armor Gear’s new Scout series for iPad Pro offers rugged, lightweight mobile device cases designed to fit Apple’s iPad Pro devices. What’s more, it’s compatible with Apple’s Smart Keyboard, while also offering a place to store your Apple Pencil when not in use!

DeNA is busy working on a brand new Pokémon game for mobile

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Pokémon on iPhone
And only 10 months to wait!
Photo: Cult of Mac

It’s a good time to be a fan of Pokémon right now, and next year could be even better. That’s because DeNA, the developers who teamed with Nintendo for titles like Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Super Mario Run, has paired up with The Pokémon Company for a new mobile game.

Coming to mobile platforms in March 2020. Color us excited!

iOS 13 could cut off support for iPhone SE, among others

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holding iPhone with
According to a new report, iOS 13 won't support a number of popular devices.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Last year, iOS 12 gave a stay of execution to older devices by supporting exactly the same iGadgets as iOS 11. This year, owners of aging iPhones and iPads may not be quite so lucky.

According to a new rumor, iOS 13 will not support the iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. On the iPad side, it will cut off support for the iPad mini and original iPad Air.

WWDC 2019, revealed! This week on The CultCast

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CultCast 387
WWDC is right around the corner....

This week on The CultCast: WWDC 2019 is right around the corner, and a new report sheds light on everything Apple’s prepping to reveal. We discuss! Plus: The magic of Corning glass, and how making your iPhone just slightly thicker would make it indestructible. And we reveal how (and why) Jony Ive created the massive mystery rainbow stage now present at the heart of Apple Park.

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..

Apple Lisa documentary will tell the story of Cupertino’s most important ‘flop’

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Apple prototypes
In retrospect, the Lisa was pretty darn important for Apple.
Photo: CNBC

A new documentary called Before Macintosh: The Apple Lisa promises to tell the story of one of Apple’s most important flops.

Directed by computer historian (and Apple collector) David Greelish, the movie will feature interviews with key players in the machine’s development. It also will place the Lisa in its proper context — as one of the most influential computers of all time.

Rare Apple-1 with original documentation goes up for auction

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Apple-1 auction
It's your opportunity to own one of Apple's original computers.
Photo: Christie's

Want to own one of the very first computers Apple ever launched? You very well could, thanks to a Christie’s auction selling an Apple-1 personal computer, circa 1976.

This model comes complete with original instruction manuals, supporting hardware, and “additional ephemera.” However, with an asking price of up to $630,000, you may have to get a second mortgage or sell a vital organ to get hold of it!

Watch an adorable beluga whale rescue a phone from the ocean

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Beluga whale
Belugas are intelligent and sometimes friendly. They don’t often rescue people’s phones, though.
Photo: Wikipedia

A phone dropped in the sea is usually gone forever, but not when a friendly whale retrieves from the ocean floor. Video of exactly this happening in Norway has to be seen to be believed.

Even better, the beluga starring in the video is thought by some to be the Russian spy whale who made headlines last week.

With smartphone sales in free fall, iPhone still dominates

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iPhone XR battery life is the best of any iPhone on the market.
iPhone XR dominates N. American phone sales.
Photo: Kristal Chan/Cult of Mac

Apple’s most affordable 2018 handset is a real hit in N. America. There were more than twice as many iPhone XR units shipped during the first three months of this year in this region as its next nearest competitor.

Even so, Apple and the entire phone business had a very weak first quarter.

How (and why) Jony Ive built the mysterious rainbow Apple Stage

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The colorful Apple Stage really pops in the center of Apple Park.
The colorful Apple Stage really pops in the center of Apple Park's massive "spaceship" building.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

The mysterious, rainbow-colored stage erected inside Apple Park bears all the hallmarks of the company’s meticulous design, according to an Apple document provided to Cult of Mac.

It’s the latest creation by Jony Ive’s team — and it’s just as thoughtfully and intricately designed as you might imagine.

An article explaining the project to Apple employees sheds light on just how much thought, time and intense effort went into building the rainbow Apple Stage. And Jony Ive’s ruminations on the project show he and his collaborators put a lot of thought into it.

New Samsung smartphone camera sensor is a 64-megapixel monster

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Samsung 64-Mp smartphone camera sensor
How much detail can fit on a half-inch-square canvas? We'll find out.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung says it will begin mass production later this year on a 64-megapixel smartphone camera sensor, the most powerful salvo in the megapixel war among the smartphone companies.

A megapixel-packed half-inch sensor is only as good as the accompanying software and with highly regarded sensors in its current Galaxy smartphones, Samsung’s announcement today makes some rather exciting claims.

FCC bans China Mobile from US

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The FCC is currently shut down.
The FCC put a big stop sign in front of a Chinese telecommunications giant.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

China Mobile is blocked from offering phone service in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission just unanimously voted to prevent this company, which is owned by the Chinese government, from expanding to the U.S.

Jony Ive puts his mark on stately Carnegie Library Apple store

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Apple Carnegie Library
Old meets new in Apple Carnegie Library, which opens Saturday.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s newest store is more of a step back in time than the usual step into an all-glass box.

The tech giant proudly gave a sneak peek into its Washington D.C. outlet, a former Carnegie Library where Ive and Beaux-Arts styles blend for a refreshing feel to the Apple retail experience.

Of course, there’s a staircase.

Phones beat out consoles and PCs with gamers old and young

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The Elder Scrolls: Blades promises top-tier gaming on iOS.
The quality of iPhone gaming has improved dramatically in recent years. Consider The Elder Scrolls: Blades, for example.
Photo: Bethesda Softworks

More people play games on their phones than on any other type of computer, according to a new survey. And the number is much higher for women.

The survey breaks out where people prefer to play games by age and gender. And there’s a much wider spread of ages than many might guess.

Samsung will reveal new shipping date for Galaxy Fold this week

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Galaxy Fold specs
The Galaxy Fold has been a bit of a headache for Samsung.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s boss Koh Dong-jin says that his company will announce its conclusion about the future of the Galaxy Fold this week.

Samsung has reportedly “reviewed the defect” highlighted in early reviews, and will announce its rescheduled launch plan in the U.S “in a couple of days.”

Apple’s clever tax practices make it Ireland’s biggest company

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Guinness 1
And the winner is Guinne.. no, obviously it's Apple!
Photo: Scott Thompson/Flickr CC

Move over Guinness, hold the Jameson’s, and don’t even think about Kerrygold. When it comes to Ireland’s biggest company, no-one holds a candle to, err, Apple.

You know, that company headquartered in California, which builds products in China, and sells them everywhere on the planet.

Top iPhone apps for April bode well for Apple Arcade

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Apps April 1
A look at the dominant apps from last month.
Photo: Prioridata/Statista/Patently Apple

There’s a bit of myth that’s trotted out every now and then suggesting that gaming hasn’t really taken off in the App Store in the way some people hoped.

A look at the top 10 downloaded iPhone apps worldwide for the month of April tells a different story, however. It shows that seven of the top 10 iPhone apps were games. Altogether, these were downloaded a massive 74 million times in April alone.

Rome: Total War – Barbarian Invasion marches onto iPhone

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Rome Total War Barbarian Invasion 2
One of the deepest strategy games to make it onto iPhone yet.
Photo: Feral Interactive

Rome: Total War — Barbarian Invasion, a classic PC and Mac game that pits the Roman empire against barbarian hordes, has been tweaked to bring its incredibly immersive gameplay to the iPhone’s small screen.

Players get to experience the final years of the empire as a barbarian commander determined to bring down Rome’s power structure. Alternatively, they can play a Roman general looking to quash the rebellion once and for all. It’s all kinds of awesome!

Your iPhone could be ‘unbreakable,’ if it were just 1 mm thicker

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Corning's Silicon Valley research center
Corning's Silicon Valley research center.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Update: Corning sent an email to clarify some of the claims made in this post, which I’ve included in the body of the post and at the bottom.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Even though the latest iPhones are made from glass front and back, they would be “nearly unbreakable” if just a bit thicker.

That was the message from glass manufacturer Corning during an open house at its Silicon Valley research center Tuesday.

“If the glass on the latest smartphones was just a little bit thicker, it would be nearly unbreakable,” said Dave Young, a Corning marketing communications specialist, at the event.