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iPhone X dethroned as world’s top-selling smartphone

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iPhone X laying down
The iPhone X isn't top dog any more. It remains Apple best seller though.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s flagship handset has passed its peak popularity. That’s not surprising, given that the iPhone X hit the market more than six months ago. Still, it once could boast of being the world’s best-selling smartphone.

The Galaxy S9+ took its place at the head of the pack. Samsung’s top-of-the-line model debuted early this spring.

Exploding Samsung phone destroys woman’s car

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Galaxy Note 7 that exploded while charging.
Oh no, not again!?
Photo: Mr NiBaidu

Samsung’s explosive reputation could be flaring up again, based on a new report that the company’s smartphone caused one woman’s car to catch fire and explode.

The Detroit woman says she was driving in her car with a Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S8 in her cupholders when suddenly one of the devices burst into flame. It took just a few minutes for the fire to completely destroy her car, and she says she’s lucky to be alive.

Look at the damage:

Tag stars strain to hit high notes in new Carpool Karaoke teaser

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We all know Ed Helms can sing, but what about his Tag castmates? Find out in the new Carpool Karaoke teaser.
We all know Ed Helms can sing, but what about his castmates?
Photo: Apple

Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms and Jon Hamm are ready to sing your socks off in the latest episode of Carpool Karaoke.

The trio, who star together in the upcoming film Tag, bring their vocal talents to Apple’s musical TV show for an all-new episode. Apple released a teaser this morning, and it looks like it could be one of the funniest Carpool Karaoke episodes yet.

Just watch as Hamm tries to hit the high notes!

Pocket iPhone dolly lets you capture cinematic shots

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MUWI
The MUWI dolly adds a steadying motion to your iPhone videos.
Photo: MUWI

Few if any dollies – the wheeled rigging filmmakers use to capture smooth horizontal camera shots – fit in a back pocket. A cute little cart called MUWI does and is ready to roll on the set of your next iPhone flick.

Four rotary legs with tiny wheels fold out from its oval-shaped dolly base and a retractable holder unfurls from the top to cradle your iPhone. It can also hold other small cameras, including GoPros, point-and-shooters and some of the lighter DSLR and mirrorless cameras.

Apple busts out new betas for its old software

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iPhone X home screen
A new iOS beta is out!
Photo: Apple

iOS 12 and macOS Mojave are all the rage after WWDC 2018, but Apple’s not quite done working on iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra.

Developers received a fresh batch of beta updates this morning, including the second builds of iOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6, both of which bring a host of bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements.

iOS 12 UI tweaks let you interact with apps as they’re opening

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iOS 12
This iOS 12 tweak will save you so much time over time.
Photo: Apple

Apple is giving the iPhone a more fluid UI with some tiny tweaks in iOS 12 designed to shave tenths of seconds off each interaction.

You may not even notice the changes once iOS 12 launches to the public, but in a session at WWDC last week, Apple revealed how you can now perform actions without waiting for UI animations to finish. It sounds like an insignificant update, but once you see it in action you’ll be swooning for iOS 12’s release.

Prepare to be wowed:

iOS 11.4 is killing battery life on some iPhones

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iPhone X Notch
How's battery life on your iPhone with iOS 11.4?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple rolled out iOS 11.4 in late May, finally delivering AirPlay 2 and stereo support for HomePod. If you haven’t already updated, you might want to avoid it for now.

Some iPhone users are reporting battery life problems after installing Apple’s latest release. It seems the issue affects everything from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone X.

Snapchat adds ability to delete messages after they’re sent

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Snapchat delete
Get rid of risky messages before they're seen.
Photo: Snapchat

Snapchat is making it easier to deal with messaging regret by giving us the ability to delete chats after they’ve been sent.

The new “Delete Chat” feature is available for both group and one-to-one conversations. It can be used to recall text as well as voice notes, stickers, photos, and videos.

Samsung wants retrial in patent infringement lawsuit with Apple

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apple-asks-supreme-court-to-reject-samsungs-unexceptional-appeal-2-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201602Galaxy-S6-edge-iPhone-6s-jpg
The Samsung patent infringement lawsuit isn't over, as the Android phone maker still tries to wiggle out of its punishment.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Last month, a jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $539M for infringing on its patents. Now, the Korean company wants that decision thrown out.

It again says it should pay a far, far smaller amount for stealing many of the design elements of the iPhone.

Qualcomm feud could cost Apple billions

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Qualcomm patents
Apple doesn't want to pay twice for Qualcomm chips.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A complicated, multibillion-dollar intellectual property battle between Apple and chipmaker Qualcomm will soon move through courts and hearing rooms across the globe.

More than 50 lawsuits have been filed in six countries, however, the outcome from upcoming hearings in the U.S. China and Germany could prod the feuding tech companies to negotiate a settlement, according to a Bloomberg report.

Apple doesn’t want you mining bitcoin on your iPhone

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Antana/Flickr CC
Apple has shared more details about its cryptocurrency policy.
Photo: Antana/Flickr CC

You can no longer use your iPhone for mining bitcoins — or not through Apple’s official channels, at least.

Revised wording in the App Store review guidelines notes that Apple is banning apps which “run unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining.” In a dedicated cryptocurrency section, the company goes on to break down in more detail what is — and, crucially, is not — permissible.

Stunning mobile RPG Elder Scrolls: Blades is coming to iOS this year

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Bethesda
This is going to look spectacular on iPhone X.
Photo: Bethesda

Bethesda has revealed that The Elder Scrolls: Blades, a new free-to-play RPG set in the Elder Scrolls universe, is coming to iPads and iPhones later in 2018.

A preview of the game was shown at E3 over the weekend, showcasing its astonishing graphics, massive open world, and entertaining gameplay. “You have to see this running on an iPhone X,” the company representative gushed in an on-stage demo. Check out the unveiling below.

Apple Music hires another hip-hop expert from the BBC

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Screenshot shows Beats 1 radio on Apple Music on an iPhone.
Ryan Newman was formerly editor of 1Xtra, the BBC's main hip-hop and grime radio station.
Photo: Apple

Apple recently hired Ryan Newman, a key player from the BBC’s main hip-hop and grime radio station, 1Xtra.

It’s not clear exactly what role Newman will perform at Apple Music. However, he was one of the brains behind shaping and implementing 1Xtra’s musical direction. He could perform a similar job at Apple.

Next-gen Apple Watch could use solid-state haptic buttons

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Apple Watch goal
Wave goodbye to physical buttons!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The next-gen Apple Watches have so far avoided physical redesigns in favor of under-the-hood improvements. That could change this year, however, according to a new report.

Sources in Apple’s supply chain claim that the Apple Watch Series 4 will replace the current physical buttons on the device for solid state buttons with haptic feedback. While the device will retain the same button configuration as existing Apple Watches, these buttons won’t physically click as before.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Apple’s most important WWDC 2018 revelations and more!

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magazine
In this week's Cult of Mac Magazine: Even though Apple didn’t have any new physical toys to show off, Tim Cook and company still managed to pull out some big surprises at this year's WWDC.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: Apple’s WWDC 2018 keynote lasted nearly 130 minutes and was jam-packed with new software goodies for developers and regular old Apple fanboys.

Apple is doubling down on its software game. And even though they didn’t have any new physical toys to show off, Tim Cook and company still managed to pull out some big surprises.

What’s new in iOS 12, macOS Mojave, watchOS 5, tvOS 12 and ARKit 2.0? You’ll find these stories and more in this issue. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Get a hands-on look at watchOS 5’s new Apple Watch features

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watchOS 5
We've had time to play with the developer beta of watchOS 5, here's what's new.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

WWDC 2018 bug Cult of Mac Even if you already saw the WWDC 2018 keynote where Apple showed off watchOS 5, there are tons of features that got brushed over — and some did not get mentioned at all.

As is our duty, we installed the first developer beta of watchOS 5 and gave it a full run-through so we can show you all the new features in action. Check out the video below.

iPad magician’s tricks freak out monkeys

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Simon Pierro
Simon Pierro pulls a banana out of his iPad and shares it with a friend.
Photo: Simon Pierro/YouTube

iPad magician Simon Pierro is used to civilized audiences when he performs mesmerizing tricks on his Apple tablet.

But on a recent trip to the Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud, Bali, the long-tailed crowds that gathered curiously around Pierro’s iPad reacted quite aggressively as he made bananas and peanuts suddenly appear on his screen.

Apple Music adds new ‘Coming Soon’ section

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Apple Music
Apple Music was mysteriously absent from the WWDC 2018 keynote.
Photo: Apple

Staying on top of your favorite bands’ new albums just got a little bit easier, thanks to an Apple Music update that adds a “Coming Soon” section to the iOS app.

Apple began rolling out the new feature, which showcases new music expected to be released in the coming weeks, to Apple Music users today. Here’s where to find it – and how to use it.

tvOS 12 brilliantly fixes the biggest password pain on Apple TV

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Apple TV
Apple TV uses Siri remote to prompt nearby iPhones for passwords.
Photo: Imgur

Apple TV is about to get a lot more friendly when it comes to inputting passwords and PINs.

Entering passwords on Apple TV has been one of the biggest pain-points on its entire existence. But starting with tvOS 12, Apple is giving its box the ability to prompt all nearby iPhones to enter a password, even if you’ve never connected to that Apple TV.

Here’s how it works:

iOS 12 is scary good at learning your schedule

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iOS 12
Siri Shortcuts in iOS 12 are super-useful.
Photo: Apple

Apple fans that have been complaining for years that Siri is dumb might be a little creeped out by how much better the digital assistant is in iOS 12.

With the new Siri suggestions Apple introduced this week, your iPhone will now be able to prompt you about events you haven’t even told it about. One developer posted his experience of Siri learning about a lunch just through iMessage.

Prepare to be impressed:

Amazing numbers from WWDC 2018

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wwdc 20 million developers
Did you know that 20 million people are building apps for Apple devices?
Photo: Apple

With so much to digest during Apple’s big WWDC keynote on Monday, it was easy to miss some of the finer details.

You might be aware of every new feature coming to iOS 12 this fall. You might have memorized the changes to macOS, too. But did you know that more than 20 million people are now building apps for Apple devices, or that 10 billion Siri requests are processed every month?

Here are some fascinating numbers you probably missed during WWDC.