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iOS 12 defeats law enforcement’s GrayKey iPhone unlocker

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GrayKey can bypass iPhone security
GrayKey can still unlock iPhones but can no longer unencrypted their contents.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple has apparently won a victory in preserving the privacy of iPhone users. Previously, even if an iOS device was secured with a password, police could use the GrayKey unlocking tool to access the contents. But that changed with iOS 12. 

This hacking tool reportedly became nearly useless with the release of Apple’s latest operating system.

‘Russian Paris Hilton’ could pay for using iPhone while repping Samsung

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Samsung's paid spokesmodel in Russia caught using an iPhone on TV.
Samsung's paid spokesmodel in Russia caught using an iPhone on TV. (It's blurry, but the notch is there.)
Photo: The Mirror

Although many Android phone makers pay celebrities millions to endorse their products, some people just can’t stop using an iPhone. The latest case in point is Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian politician, TV host, socialite, and the face of Samsung in her home country.

Which is why she’s in trouble for using an iPhone X during a recent televised interview.

Google follows Apple with free 4K movie upgrades for customers

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Google 4K 1
Apple introduced the same deal one year ago.
Photo: Google

It’s not exaggeration to call Apple a trendsetter. When Cupertino does something, then other companies will invariably follow. As a result, it’s no surprise that Google has just announced that customers in the U.S. and Canada will receive free 4K upgrades of titles they have previously bought on Google Play Movies.

Italy fines Apple $11.4 million for throttling older iPhones

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France fines Apple $27 million for intention iPhone 'throttling' controversy
Samsung had to pay up as well.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Italy’s antitrust watchdog has fined Apple 10 million euros ($11.4 million) for slowing down iPhones with aging batteries. The country also hit Samsung with a fine of 5 million euros ($5.7 million) for issuing software updates to artificially slow down its mobile phones.

Apple’s got slapped with an extra 5 million euros for failing to give customers clear information about maintaining and replacing iPhone batteries.

New Macs spill in online database

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Apple Mac mini
Next week's Apple event should be one for the Mac fans.
Photo: Apple

New Macs are expected at Apple’s upcoming October 30 event — and the Eurasian Economic Competition database is the unlikely place that may have just confirmed that.

The online database has been updated with three new filings for desktop computers running macOS 10.14. These most likely refer to rumored upgrades of the iMac and Mac mini. Apple last updated the Mac mini four years ago on October 16, 2014.

Tim Cook wants U.S. to adopt tougher, EU-style data privacy regulations

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There are lots of things that make Apple so great, Cook says.
Tim Cook is no fan of tech giants which hoover up user data.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook has upped the ante in the privacy conversation by calling for the United States to adopt “comprehensive” privacy laws similar to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union.

GDPR is a unifying regulation concerning data protection and privacy for individuals in the European Union and European Economic Area. It was introduced in May 2018, tightening up on Europe’s already strict data regulations. Now Cook wants to bring it to the U.S.

Update: Video of Tim Cook’s speech added.

Brilliant farming RPG Stardew Valley arrives on iOS

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Stardew Valley
You could say the game's outstanding in its field. You know, like a farmer. Out standing.
Photo: Chucklefish Limited

Looking for a fun game to get you through the rest of the week? You’re in luck if so, since massively popular farming RPG Stardew Valley just landed in the App Store, optimized for iPhone and iPad.

And it’s every bit as great as you’d hope. Check out the trailer below.

Apple TV streaming service coming to 100+ countries

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A reboot of Amazong Stories is one of the many shows coming to the Apple TV service.
A reboot of Amazong Stories is one of the many shows coming to the Apple TV service.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The streaming TV service Apple is almost certainly developing won’t be just for Americans. A new report indicates the company will make its content available in over 100 countries around the world.

After years of silence, details of this streaming service are starting to leak out, and this is just the latest good news for Apple fans.

Apple is bringing Steve Carell back to TV

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The Office
This sounds like the perfect role for Carell.
Photo: NBC Universal

Steve Carell is finally making his return back to the small screen after reportedly signing a deal to join one of Apple’s new TV shows.

Apple struck a deal with Carell to star alongside Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon for its comedy TV series about a struggling morning TV show. The role will be Carell’s first since starring in The Office.

Group FaceTime for Mac is nearly ready for launch

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Group FaceTime Mac
The most significant improvement coming in macOS 10.14.1 is Group FaceTime.
Photo: Apple

Beta testing for macOS 10.14.1 began the day after the launch of its predecessor, macOS Mojave. A month later, the release of this new version could be drawing close.

Developers just got their hands on the fifth beta. Which might be the last.

Standing in line is now the only option to get an iPhone XR on Friday

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iPhone XR
There's no reward for procrastination when pre-ordering an iPhone XR.
Photo: Apple

If you haven’t already preordered an iPhone XR, the only way to get one on its release date is to head to a nearby Apple Store and hope they have one in stock.

Preorders for these colorful new handsets started last Friday, and until now devices were arriving on Oct. 26. Not any more.

App Store search ads could be worth billions by 2020

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App Store
The App Store has undergone major renovations.
Photo: Apple

Analysts are predicting big things for Apple’s App Store business ahead of the company’s Q4 2018 earnings report coming on November 1.

Search ads from the App Store could generate over $500 million in revenue during all of 2018, according to Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi. Even better, Sacconahi thinks the App Store ad business could be worth a whopping $2 billion by the end of 2020.

Why I wish I’d bought the iPhone XR instead of the iPhone XS

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iPhone X-R-llent.
iPhone X-R-llent.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone XS might be Apple’s best phone yet, but the iPhone XR will probably be Cupertino’s best-seller ever. It could even beat out the record-breaking iPhone 6, which proved so successful it skewed Apple’s sales numbers for years after its launch.

Why? Because the XR is cooler, cheaper and bigger than the top-of-the line iPhone XS, and nobody who buys it will care about the other differences. I almost wish I’d waited and bought one of these instead of the iPhone XS.

The iPad mini might not be dead after all

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iPad mini
The new iPad mini is more affordable when you sell your old one.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Apple is allegedly making a new iPad mini, according to one of the most reliable Apple analysts around. And new AirPods might be on the way, too.

TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors today that he expects Apple to release two new iPad Pros at the October event in New York City. Even more surprising is Kuo’s claim that an iPad mini is in the works.

Apple refuses to give up on AirPower wireless charger

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AirPower
The AirPower multi-device charger is really very late, but it's apparently still coming.
Photo: Apple

Over a year ago, Apple announced AirPower, an accessory that’ll wirelessly charge three devices at once.  It has yet to be released, but there’s definite evidence the project hasn’t been abandoned.

The documentation for the new iPhone XR makes a clear mention of this unreleased product.

Update: A respected analyst predicts that AirPower will be released, but might not make Apple’s current deadline.

Apple teams up with French school to teach Swift coding

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Swift Crypto will help more developers than ever to build secure applications
Apple is spreading its Swift curriculum around the world.
Photo: Apple

Apple is teaming up with a French digital vocational school Simplon to teach Swift coding to learners. Swift is the language used for developing iOS apps.

“Proud to announce our new training program in partnership with France’s [Simplon], teaching the basics of coding with Swift,” Tim Cook wrote in a tweet. “Learning to code unlocks a world of creativity and potential.”

Today in Apple history: OS 9 is ‘classic Mac’ operating system’s last stand

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Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 brought welcome new features.
Photo: Developers-Club

October 23: Today in Apple history: OS 9 is 'classic Mac' operating system's last stand October 23, 1999: Apple releases Mac OS 9, the last version of the classic Mac operating system before the company will make the leap to OS X a couple years later.

It does not veer far from OS 8 in terms of look and feel. However, OS 9 adds a few nifty features that make it well worth the upgrade.

Apple opens new Beats 1 studio in New York City

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Beats 1 will be the first channel to announce MTV's 2015 VMA nominees.
Are you a Beats 1 listener?
Photo: Apple

Apple has opened a New York studio for its Beats 1 radio station. The new office is located in Manhattan’s Union Square. It joins other broadcasting studios in London and Los Angeles.

“I want this space to represent the sound and energy of New York, and how multicultural this city is,” said Ebro Darden, who hosts a hip hop music-based radio show on Beats 1. Zane Lowe, one of the first DJs to join Beats 1, described it as a “huge moment” for the station. “We are fully functioning in one of the greatest cities in the world now,” he said.

Amazon and Super Micro also want retraction of spy chip story

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Tim Cook
Tim Cook previously asked Bloomberg to retract story.
Photo: Apple

The CEO of Amazon Web Services and the CEO of Super Micro have joined Apple CEO Tim Cook is asking Bloomberg to retract its recent spy chip story.

All three companies were named in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article claiming that Chinese spy chips had been embedded into hardware supplied by Super Micro. Since the story first broke, Super Micro lost more than half its value in a single day. Unsurprisingly, it’s not happy about it. And clearly neither is Amazon.

Apple hustles through iOS 12.1 beta process

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The wait for iOS 12.1 public beta 5 was so short you could have napped through it.
The wait for iOS 12.1 public beta 5 was so short you could have napped through it.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The fifth beta version of iOS 12 was released exclusively to developers this morning. But it turns out everyone else didn’t have to wait very long because the public beta is already available.

In past beta cycles, Apple has made the public wait as much as a week to get a new pre-release version after developers could access it. The iOS 12.1 beta process is much more fast and loose.

Serious GasBuddy bug locks up iPhones [Updated]

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GasBuddy makes it easy to see where refueling will cost you less.
Ordinarily, GasBuddy shows you nearby fuel prices. Right now, it might lock up your iPhone.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Avoid using the latest version of the GasBuddy app on your iPhone. The developer admits it is causing problems and has temporarily withdrawn it from the App Store until a fix can be released.

UPDATE: A fixed version of GasBuddy is available on the App Store. Users of this service should install this new version immediately.

GasBuddy lists crowdsourced gasoline prices. It’s free and useful enough to make our list of 50 essential iOS apps.

Muse used iPad artist for spacey cover of new album

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An iPad Pro is the canvas for the artwork for Muse's Simulation Theory album.
An iPad Pro is the canvas for the artwork for Muse's Simulation Theory album.
Photo: Kyle Lambert

Too many people assume that it takes a MacBook Pro or something similar to create serious digital art, while an iPad is more of a toy. The best response to that is a new video showing album artwork for Muse’s new Simulation Theory album being created with an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil.

Echo sells better but HomePod sells smarter

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HomePod market share
The new HomePod could offer a neat new feature.
Photo: Apple

Amazon’s line up of Echo speakers accounts for 63 percent of all smart speakers in use, while Apple’s late-to-market offering, the HomePod, has just a 4 percent share of the market.

While the results of a quarterly consumer survey, published today in a report by Strategy Analytics, seem daunting for Apple, the numbers reflect only one side of the story.