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72-hour sale features great gear for iPhone photographers

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Moment sale
All the items you need to make that iPhone video masterpiece can be found at one sale through Thursday.
Photo: Moment

Smartphone lens maker Moment is hosting a 72-hour sale with 150 accessories from 14 brands, a one-stop-shop if you’re looking for a special gift for your favorite mobile photographer.

You can even book a trip to places like Japan, Norway, and Kyrgyzstan.

All items, including Moment lenses, camera bags from leading brands and steady rigs for video shooters, are 20 percent off with the code 72hoursale. The Moment sale began this morning for Cyber Monday and ends Thursday at 8 a.m.

Apple will help build retail apps for luxury goods company

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GUCCIYorkdale 2
Apple-made apps are coming to a luxury store near you.
Photo: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine CC

Apple is reportedly teaming up with luxury good business Kering — the company which owns brands Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, and others — to create a set of custom apps for use in store.

Details on the new apps are scarce, but they will reportedly be used to help sales assistants to scan inventories. They will also provide more control over the company’s e-commerce activities.

No, Microsoft didn’t overtake Apple as most valuable tech giant

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money
But that does't mean it can't happen in the near future.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A number of news outlets reported over the weekend that Microsoft briefly overtook Apple as the most valuable U.S. company. This followed several weeks of precipitous declines for Apple, which has seen billions of dollars wiped off its market cap.

In fact, Apple continues to lead Microsoft with a valuation of $817.6 billion to Microsoft’s $791 billion. The incorrect reports were caused by confusion about Apple’s number of outstanding shares, used to calculate market cap. Microsoft is definitely getting closer, though!

Falling iPhone orders may cause TSMC problems in 2019

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Gather_Round_A12Bionic 2
TSMC manufactures Apple's next-gen A12 Bionic chip.
Photo: Apple

A cutback in chip orders for Apple’s new iPhones is cited as one reason supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will post disappointing earnings for the first quarter of 2019.

According to a new report, the company expects to report a 14-16 percent sequential decline in revenue for Q1 2019. It comes shortly after another major Apple supplier spoke out about a “very difficult” year ahead.

Not so big in Japan? iPhone XR gets a local price drop

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iPhone sales
The iPhone XR may not be quite the massive hit many expected.
Photo: Apple

As rumored, Apple has slashed the price of the iPhone XR in Japan in an attempt to get more units into customers’ hands.

The lower price tag is courtesy of NTT Docomo, the country’s main mobile carrier. As of today, customers signing up for a 24-month contract can save around $100 on the cost of the device over its lifespan. The total reduction is from 36,000 yen down to 24,000 yen — plus mandatory contract fees.

Light up Black Friday Cyber Monday with big deals on Apple Watch bands [Watch Store]

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Save 20-50% off Apple Watch bands and accessories in our big Black Friday sale.
Save 20-50% off Apple Watch bands and accessories in our big Black Friday sale.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Once the friends and family have polished off the leftover turkey, it’s time for the fun part of Thanksgiving weekend — shopping and saving money. The Cult of Mac Watch Store has you covered through Cyber Monday with up to 50 percent off your favorite Apple Watch bands, chargers and accessories.

You’ll find deep discounts on some of our most popular brands for Apple Watch accessories, including E3 Supply, Ottm, Rilee & Lo and Survival Straps (just to name a few). The sale ends Monday at midnight Pacific, so take advantage of these limited-time discounts while they last.

Start swimming with Apple Watch [Cult of Mac Magazine]

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What are you waiting for? Time to jump in and start swimming with Apple Watch!
What are you waiting for? Time to jump in!
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

A trip to the pool — with your Apple Watch on your wrist — is the perfect way to burn off those Thanksgiving carbs. Our quick guide to swimming with Apple Watch will give you key pointers to maximize your watery workout.

If you’re not into that, you’ll still find plenty of Apple news, how-tos and reviews in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Grab your free subscription on iTunes now. Or, if you like, read on for the week’s best posts — plus your last chance to win an iPhone XR!

Snow way! Fortnite leak all but confirms winter makeover

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Fortnite winter
Winter is coming to Battle Royale.
Photo: Epic Games/Cult of Mac

If you are a snow lover and love to take your snowboard binding and glide on a snowy hill, then this news is definitely going to make you happy as the new files discovered in Fortnite’s latest update all but confirm a snowy map makeover to be on the way.

An approaching storm cloud appeared in Battle Royale earlier this week, leading fans to speculate about a white Christmas. Now it’s looking increasingly likely that the game’s first real winter will arrive with season seven.

And our iPhone XS Max/Casetify giveaway winner is …

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iPhone XS Max giveaway winner: Congratulations to Isamar Mejia (and thanks to Casetify)!
Congratulations to Isamar Mejia (and thanks to Casetify)!
Images courtesy Isamar Mejia, Casetify

Isamar Mejia says she was shocked when she found out she won an iPhone XS Max and a massive Casetify case bundle in Cult of Mac’s latest giveaway.

“At first I thought I was dreaming,” she said in an email. “I had to refresh my email at least a hundred times! It sounds silly but I waited until the next day to see if it’s still there because I thought it was a scam but soon found out it was real! I am super-excited to get the phone!”

Read on for your chance to be a winner, too. We’re giving away an iPhone XR — but you better hurry and enter, because the giveaway ends soon!

Apple recruits new creatives for its in-house ad efforts

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From The Rock to 'Your Verse': Apple's best ads of the 2010s
Apple wants to keep on churning out brilliant advertising.
Photo: Apple

Apple has reportedly “poached” two teams of creatives from the U.K. advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO to join its own in-house efforts.

The pairings of Mike Crowe and Rob Messeter, and Caio Giannella and Diego de Oliveira are both relocating from London to Cupertino to work on the iPhone brand and overall Apple brand respectively.

Apple will defend App Store pricing in court next week

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Apple pays $467k for doing business with blacklisted app developer
This is the latest chapter in a long-running case involving Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple rakes in billions of dollars from the App Store. However, its future ability to do so could be challenged if a federal court rules against the company.

On Monday, Apple will defend its app pricing structure in a federal appeals court. The case involves whether customers buy apps directly from Apple, or whether Apple is more like a middleman connecting app makers with users.

MacBook Pro gets smokin’ fast Vega GPUs, and Apple’s super-secret return and exchange program, on The CultCast

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CultCast 363 MacBook Pro
If you're mad Apple released new GPUs after your 2018 MacBook Pro purchase, you may have an option you haven't considered.
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: Did you know about Apple’s super-secret special return and exchange policy? We’ll tell you what it is, and how to use it if you’re unhappy with your Apple purchase but outside your 14-day return window. Plus: A quest to trade up — the stories of three MacBook Pro owners trying to get Apple to trade in their newly purchased 2018 MacBook Pros for models with the brand new, smoking-fast Vega 20 GPUs. And finally, and most importantly: Happy Thanksgiving!

Our thanks to Gantri for supporting this episode. Gantri’s 3D-printed lights are both beautiful and affordable. Check them out in AR at gantri.com/cultcast, and use code CultCast at checkout for $20 off.

Steve Jobs Theater wins award for ‘structural artistry’

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Steve Jobs Theater
Steve Jobs theater, a true and fitting monument.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

The Steve Jobs Theater has earned an award for Structural Artistry from The Institute of Structural Engineers.

Located on the Apple Park campus and opened last September, the theater received recognition for being the largest structure in the world solely supported by glass, and for the way in which pipes and other systems have been integrated into its roof.

Google reached peak iPhone in 2012, but Apple won’t be losing sleep

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iPhone 5 1
Google results are revealing, but they don't tell everything.
Photo: Apple

Both global and U.S. search interest in the iPhone peaked in September 2012, around the time of the iPhone 5 launch, Google Trends reveals.

The stat is pointed out in a new Bloomberg report, titled, “iPhone Interest Drops Off.” But while we don’t doubt Google’s results, search terms and overall interest are not exactly the same thing.

CSR Racing 2 lets you restore and race top classic cars

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CSRRacing 3
This update is one for the car lovers.
Photo: NaturalMotion

CSR Racing 2, one of the best and most popular racing games on iOS, just received a great update. The new “Legends” refresh adds 15 new cars from the 1960s through the modern today, including the iconic McLaren F1.

Check out the trailer and new features list below.

Cult of Mac’s gift guides make holiday shopping simple

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CoM Holiday Gift Guides
Start your shopping right here!
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that buying for other people is a pain. If they haven’t told you exactly what they want for the holidays, where do you even start? What if you end up getting a gift that they hate?

Gift guide 2018 bugBut it doesn’t have to be difficult. Cult of Mac’s handy gift guides will help you find the perfect present for the Apple fan in your life. We’ve hand-picked the best gadgets and accessories for lovers of the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.

What’s more, everything we’ve selected can be purchased online, so you don’t even have to leave the house to get your shopping done.

Chill and escape Thanksgiving with Chillscape

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I don’t know about you, but I’m so frickin’ relaxed right now Chillscape
I don’t know about you, but I’m so frickin’ relaxed right now.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Is your family driving you nuts this Thanksgiving weekend? Of course it is. That’s what families are for. So when you need relief from the endless offers of snacks and drinks, the catty remarks about the fact that you’re “still” child-free, or your nephews’ and nieces’ constant pestering to let them play with your new iPad Pro, while simultaneously ridiculing your attempts at flossing, you might turn to Chillscape to calm yourself back TF down.

Is this just fantasy? Queen’s Brian May hates Apple’s USB-C cables

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Queen
Brian May is speaking up for USB-C haters everywhere.
Photo: Raph_PH/Wikipedia CC

It may sound like a crazy Mad Lib, but it’s not: Queen guitarist Brian May really has taken to Instagram to pen a lengthy rant about Apple’s UBC-C connector.

May dramatically declares that “This is one of the reasons my love for Apple is turning to hatred.” And, from the look of the comments, it seems that quite a few people agree with him.

Apple makes retailers cough up for iPhone display models

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iPhone sales
Apple makes retailers jump through hoops to sell iPhones.
Photo: Apple

A group of Korean smartphone retailers are upset at Apple for forcing them to purchase in-store tester iPhones. This differs from the usual practice of manufacturers, who will provide free display smartphones and pick them up later.

Apple, it seems, thinks different.

iPhone X to live on as Apple restarts production

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The 2018 iPhone models aren't going to have an in-display Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
The iPhone X could be making a comeback.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The iPhone X had one of the shortest lifespans of any iPhone Apple has ever made, being cancelled when Apple introduced its next-gen handsets back in September. However, according to a new report, Apple is restarting production on last year’s iPhone model in certain markets.

And it may all have to do with a lack of demand for some of the newer iPhones.

Kids in the U.K. get field trips to… the Apple Store?

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Year of Engineering
It's for a good reason, though!
Image: Year of Engineering

Apple is offering students in the U.K. the chance to learn more about coding, engineering and design — courtesy of Field Trip events as part of the UK’s government’s “Year of Engineering.”

The events offer around 1,700 students, aged 5 to 18, the chance to go “behind the scenes” at Apple Stores around the country. Apple is running around 100 of these Field Trip events, during which students will shown how to create various digital projects. These relate to topics from coding to the solar system.

Apple could take on Fire TV Stick with its own streaming dongle

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Amazon Fire TV Stick
Amazon's Fire TV Stick offers streaming content at a low price.
Photo: Amazon

Apple has spent upwards of $1 billion creating original TV shows, but as of yet it hasn’t revealed exactly how it plans to get these in front of users. One idea? That it could release a streaming dongle, similar to Google’s Chromecast and Amazon’s Fire TV Stick.

This could be a lower cost entry point into the streaming TV market — since both Amazon and Google’s offerings cost under $50, compared to $180 for the Apple TV.

‘Research’ labels iPhone users in China as the ‘invisible poor’

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China iPhone sales
Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with Apple Store employees in China.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone is a coveted totem of status in most parts of the world. In the United Arab Emirates, the wealthy elite buys them two at a time.

But to carry an iPhone in China means you’re less educated and trying to hide dire financial straits. The well-off prefer Huawei or Xiaomi smartphones.

This according to research conducted by the Shanghai firm Mobdata, which looked at income and education backgrounds of smartphone users.