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Take a peek at the concept art behind Apple’s iconic 1984 ad

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A still from the classic Apple
This is a shot from one of the most iconic ads of all time.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s “1984” Macintosh commercial isn’t just the most iconic Apple ad in history, but one of the greatest advertisements ever created anywhere.

Now, three-and-a-half decades after the ad aired, the original storyboard for the commercial has popped up online. It offers a glimpse at the process which led to Blade Runner director Ridley Scott’s masterful ad.

Microsoft is bringing Xbox Live to Android and iOS

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Xbox One controller Apple EarPods
Controller support is better than ever.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

Microsoft is gearing up to release a software development kit that will allow Android and iOS developers to integrate Xbox Live features into their games.

The SDK, which will be officially confirmed by Microsoft next month, will also be available to Nintendo Switch developers. It will make Microsoft the first console-maker to open up its platform to third-party systems.

Amazon Prime Video’s X-Ray feature comes to Apple TV

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apple tv
One for the movie and TV buffs out there!
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple TV now supports the X-Ray feature for Amazon Prime Video. X-Ray provides additional information on the movies and TV shows you’re watching by giving extra details on the cast, characters, and production.

If you’re the kind of person who likes a dose of trivia, or additional context, with your entertainment, this could be the feature for you.

Morgan Stanley thinks Services will help Apple hit $1 trillion again

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money
Services are a growing focus for Apple.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple shares have rebounded some from the company’s holiday season slump, but its $787.6 billion market cap has a way to go before it’s back at the $1 trillion level it hit last summer.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have a suggestion for turning things around, however. They think that Apple’s Services division could see Apple once again take its place in the exclusive trillionaires club.

What Apple’s past says about its future [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 282]

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Hey, that's no crystal ball ... Apple earnings offer a peek at Apple's future.
Hey, that's no crystal ball ...
Cover: Marty Cortinas/Cult of Mac

After enduring a rough quarter, Apple tells the world what went wrong. But even more interesting is what went right — and what that means for Apple’s future.

Get our take on what you really need to know from Apple’s latest earnings call, plus the rest of the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos. You’ll find it all in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine.

Brilliant concept brings 7-inch display to iPod Touch 7

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iPhone
The iPod Touch might finally get upgraded.
Photo: ConceptsiPhone

The iPod Touch might make a comeback in 2019 now thanks to some new renders we’ve got a glimpse of what it might look like.

Apple hasn’t released a new iPod Touch since 2015. Rumors indicate that an update could come out this year. Details are pretty scarce on what the new features could be, so the folks at ConceptsiPhone busted out a brilliant imagining some sleek new additions that would make it truly lust-worthy.

Get ready to drool:

After Trump call, Foxconn recommits to Wisconsin factory

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Foxconn Wisconsin
Foxconn workers in Shenzhen will not report next week until further notice.
Photo: Foxconn

How a Foxconn factory in Wisconsin takes shape depends on what day of the week it is.

Today, company CEO Terry Gou is committing to a “Gen 6 fab facility” in the dairy state after having a “personal conversation with President Donald Trump.

How many jobs will come with a Gen 6 fab facility or what exactly it will build is not known. A Gen 6 factory typically builds screens for smartphones, tablets and small televisions.

Apple caves to Kremlin pressure to store iCloud data in Russia

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Apple in Russia
A new Russian law means President Vladimr Putin could take a peek at the iCloud data of his citizens.
Photo: Caviar

Apple will comply with a Russian law that could force them to decrypt data on Russian customers at the government’s request.

The law took effect last year and requires the tech giant to store data on servers in Russia for up to six months. Apple acquiesced to a similar law last year in China, a smartphone market in which it has invested heavily.

Apple staffing up its streaming video service

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Apple TV service facing competition
The rumored Apple TV streaming service for Mac, iPhone, etc. needs people to run it. People who Apple might be hiring already.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple is hiring in its media group devoted to audiovisual media. After digging through the company’s job openings in recent months, an analyst believes these new employees are for the anticipated Apple TV streaming service.

This company has been paying to have TV shows and movies produced for months, but has so far kept quiet about its plans. That’s expected to change soon.

Apple‘s Heart Month incentives keep your ticker healthy

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heart health Apple
Celebrity fitness trainer Jeanette Jenkins co-created a Today at Apple session to bolster heart health.
Photo: Apple

Today is the first day of Heart Month, and Apple is going all in with a special Apple Watch activity challenge and health education sessions at Apple Stores in San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

Apple did not wait for February to help customers understand the health of their hearts. Last fall, the tech giant showcased the Apple Watch Series 4 with an electrocardiogram feature that some customers say alerted them to life-threatening heart conditions such as AFib.

Sell your old Apple devices and get paid fast!

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Apple gadgets
Trade in your old Apple gadgets and get a cheap upgrade.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Don’t miss out on cheap Apple devices in the post-holiday sales.

You can save a pretty penny on a sweet upgrade, whether you need a new iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac — and we’ll help you get the money you deserve for your old gear.

Cult of Mac typically pays more than other trade-in services for aging Apple gadgets, and we won’t leave you waiting weeks for your cash.

Facebook employees considered quitting after iOS apps shutdown

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Facebook employees
Facebook employees went through a tense 24 hours.
Photo: Facebook

Apple’s sudden shutdown of Facebook’s internal apps for iOS created enough chaos this week that some working for the social network company were openly talking about quitting, according to reports.

The Facebook employee apps show shuttle schedules, campus maps, and company calendars. Apple disabled all of them Wednesday after it learned Facebook ran a research app where iOS users could be rewarded for their data, a sideloaded app that violates Apple’s developer rules.

iOS 11 users can’t access the App Store or Apple Music

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iOS 11
Do you have problems with iOS 11?
Photo: Apple

Some iOS 11 users are having trouble accessing the App Store and Apple Music, according to online reports.

The services have been unusable for over a day for a number of users who are yet to upgrade to the latest software — despite being shown as online on Apple’s System Status page. There is a weird workaround that has proven useful for some, however.

Apple apologizes for FaceTime eavesdropping flaw; fix coming next week

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2018 iPad Pro Animoji
Apple's FaceTime bug allowed users to eavesdrop on others.
Photo: Apple

Apple has apologized for its FaceTime bug, and assured customers that an iOS software update is coming next week to fix it.

The FaceTime flaw allowed users to see and hear individuals before they answered a Group FaceTime call. Apple took the Group FaceTime servers offline after the news broke, but from the sound of things, it regrets how long it took to deal with the situation.

U.K. spy agency wants to listen in on encrypted chats

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iMessages in iCloud is coming in iOS 11.3.
Apple has been a strong proponent of encryption.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The U.K. government has an idea for getting around the thorny issue of tech companies creating a backdoor for encrypted services: just let government agents be able to listen in on encrypted communications.

That’s the so-called “ghost proposal” being put forward by officials from Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), a close surveillance partner of the U.S. National Security Agency. The proposal would make it possible to inject hidden participants into secure messaging services.

What’s next for iPhone, plus our favorite gadgets this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 373 iPhone XS
Where does iPhone go from here?

This week on The CultCast: A new report details what’s (probably) next for Apple’s 2019 and 2020 iPhones. Plus: Apple plans Netflix-for-games subscription service (with Alex E. Heath!); it’s not just you, everyone got way more spam calls in 2018. And we talk a new wireless charging brick for iPhone, a smart outlet with HomeKit support, and the super-smart HomeKit thermostat you’ve never heard of, in an all-new Under Review.

Our thanks to Dashlane for supporting this episode. Dashlane is the official password manager of Cult of Mac. It’s so good, even Leander Kahney’s mommy uses it. Use it for free for one device at Dashlane.com/CultofMac.

Apple passed on share buybacks while they were cheap

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European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
Apple stock tumbled at the end of last year. Apple didn't buy low, though.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

During good times, Apple’s record-breaking share buyback has been credited with helping with a stock market boom.

Something weird happened in December, however. When Apple’s stock price was tumbling from its record high, Apple stopped buying back shares. Clearly the whole “buy low, sell high” thing doesn’t always apply!

Nintendo is bringing Dr. Mario to mobile this summer

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Dr. Mario
He’s got the cure!
Photo: Nintendo

Nintendo has confirmed that Dr. Mario will be its next franchise to make the leap to mobile.

Dr. Mario World is scheduled for a worldwide release in “early summer” on Android and iOS. It will be developed by Nintendo, Line, and NHN Entertainment, and just like the rest of Nintendo’s mobile lineup, it will be free-to-play.

Rome: Total War for iOS gets 8 new playable factions and more

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Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War just got a big update for iOS.
Photo: Rome: Total War

I’m still blown away that the developers of Rome: Total War for iOS were able to take the classic PC strategy game and translate it almost perfectly to Apple’s touch-based mobile operating system.

Well, the game just got even better since its latest update adds 8 more playable functions, and numerous other updates. Check out more details below.

Apple restores functionality to Google and Facebook’s internal apps

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Apple broke Facebook and Google's internal apps this week.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Having apparently proved its point, Apple has restored its access to enterprise certificates for both Facebook and Google, essentially un-breaking their internal apps.

In a statement to the New York Times‘ Mike Isaac, Facebook confirmed that Facebook is currently “in the process” of returning its internal apps to working order. Google, meanwhile, confirmed to Bloomberg that it was, “working with Apple to fix a temporary disruption to some of our corporate iOS apps.”

Apple breaks Google’s internal apps for privacy violations

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Google
Apple is on a ban-spree!
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Google’s internal apps have been completely disabled from running on iPhone’s and iPads today by Apple.

The move comes one day after Facebook’s internal apps suffered the same fate when Apple revoked the social network’s enterprise certificates that allowed them to install apps without going through the App Store. Without the certificates, Google is unable to test beta builds of its iOS apps.