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iPhone just hit its highest ever share of the U.S. phone market

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iPhone X standing
iPhone X market share reportedly isn't suffering in the U.S.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple smartphone market share has reportedly risen from 37 percent to 44 percent in the U.S., representing its highest point in history on Apple’s home turf.

According to research from Counterpoint’s Market Pulse program, Apple shipped a record 22 million iPhones in the 2017 holiday quarter, representing the first time the company has ever achieved this. While iPhone X may be weaker than expected worldwide, the report claims that this lower demand is not the case in the U.S.

Is iPhone X demand really weaker than anticipated?

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iPhone X
Ready to ditch your iPhone X already? There's still time to get a great price!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Demand for iPhone X has nosedived since the holidays, according to recent reports, which wiped $46 billion off Apple’s market value in under a week. But is that really true? Was Apple really anticipating sales of 40 million units in the second quarter of 2018?

Let’s take a more realistic look.

Team-based shooter Hero Hunters blasts its way into the App Store

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Hero Hunter
A fun team-based blast-em-up that will have you ducking for cover!
Photo: Hothead Games Inc.

Looking for some good cover-based, team-oriented third person blasting action to help you get through the remaining three days until the weekend? No problem: one such game, titled Hero Hunters, just stormed its way into the App Store.

And it looks pretty darn great! Check out the action packed trailer below.

Trump praises Apple during first State of the Union address

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Trump and Apple seem to be on the same side for once.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

During last night’s State of the Union address, President Donald Trump singled out Apple as a company that benefitted from Republican tax cuts — and is now giving back as a result.

“Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses — many of them thousands of dollars per worker,” Trump said. “Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in America, and hire another 20,000 workers. This is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream.”

Bias Mini Guitar amp is controlled by your iPhone

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bias mini guitar
This slimline, portable amp can sound like any other amp, ever.
Photo: Positive Grid

iOS is getting to be a serious platform for musicians. Lots of musicians already know that, but now some amazing hardware is appearing that takes advantage of the little devices. The latest is Positive Grid’s Bias Mini, for guitar and bass, 300-watt guitar amplifier that takes its sounds from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac app.

Apple faces DoJ probe over throttled iPhones

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iphone battery
$29 for a battery replacement isn't too bad.
Photo: iFixit

Investigators at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into whether or not Apple violated securities laws when it disclosed that it throttles CPU speeds on some iPhones.

Apple revealed at the beginning of the year that it intentionally lowers the speed on iPhones with older batteries to prevent unwanted crashes. Customers in numerous counties have filed lawsuits against the iPhone maker. Now it appears that the feds are getting ready to weigh in.

Apple exec Eddy Cue joins SXSW 2018 speaker lineup

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Eddy Cue
Apple VP Eddy Cue runs Apple's media business.
Photo: CNBC

The 2018 SXSW Conference is adding a fresh crop of faces to its speaker lineup this year, including one of Apple’s most popular executives.

Apple media boss Eddy Cue is set to make an appearance at the annual conference that’s a celebration of music, tech, movies and TV. All of which are areas Apple is planning to dominate in 2018.

Strong holiday sales ‘vindicate’ iPhone X’s fat price tag

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iphone x
There are mixed messages about the iPhone X's success.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone X is being cast as a failure for Apple in some parts of the press, but according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, the flagship iPhone was in the three top-selling phones across Europe, Japan, Australia, and the United States in the month of December.

Apple’s high price for the handset? Vindicated.

Microsoft OneDrive now supports iOS 11’s Files, drag and drop

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OneDrive
OneDrive is better in iOS 11.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft OneDrive has been updated to make the most of new features in iOS 11. The earlier update that had been done on the desktop version was purported to be better than NoSQL on Microsoft Azure. But both are simply two platforms that cannot be matched. The note-taking app now supports Apple Files, as well as drag and drop on iPad Pro. It also sports a fancy new look.

Why it sucks when fitness apps don’t share your workout data with Apple

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Who owns your workout data?
Who owns your workout data?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

The workout data I log with my Apple Watch belongs to me. It‘s not Apple’s — nor is it Nike’s, Strava’s or anyone else’s, for that matter. It is mine. I paid for it with my own blood, sweat and tears. (OK, it’s mostly sweat, but there were some tears along the way, too.) Over the years, I’ve logged more than 18,000 miles of running data and it is something I’m pretty proud of.

So it really bugs me when mega-corporations try to corral my activity data into their fancy walled gardens, like they think they own it. Apple used to be just as guilty of this as all the other workout rustlers. But the folks in Cupertino did a major pivot in iOS 11. They decided to actually put users in control of our workout data. Apple made it easy for apps to share workout route maps with each other via HealthKit.

The trouble is, none of the major fitness apps are playing ball, and that sucks. Luckily, some indie devs are doing the right thing.

Apple’s value drops $46 billion amid falling iPhone X demand

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iPhone X standing
The iPhone X wasn't such a flop after all.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s market value has fallen $46 billion in a week amid reports that iPhone X isn’t selling.

A growing number of analysts and news outlets have claimed that Apple is cutting production due to weaker-than-expected demand for its flagship device. The Wall Street Journal is the latest to corroborate the claims.

Headshot ZD for iOS lets you blast zombies back to the grave

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zombie
It's good old fashioned zombie-blasting fun!
Photo: Nanoo Company

If you’re a fan of action-packed post-apocalyptic zombie games (and, let’s face it, who isn’t?), it’s your lucky day! That’s because Nanoo Company’s Headshot ZD: Survivor vs. Zombies Doomsday just launched in the iOS App Store today.

Check out the awesome retro-style trailer below — if you dare.

Apple delays big new iOS features to focus on stability in 2018

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iPhone X wireless charging
Apple's putting reliability over big new features.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is changing up its plans for this year’s mobile software, a new report claims.

As a result of a recent string of criticisms concerning security and quality issues (outlined by my colleague Killian Bell here), Apple will now reportedly delay some of the big iOS features it had planned to 2019.

Apple’s Worldwide Video team has a new exec to oversee comedy series

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Kristen Wiig slayed us in Bridesmaids.
Kristen Wiig made us laugh in Bridesmaids.
Photo: Universal Pictures

Apple has hired Dana Tuinier, a former creative executive for the Paramount Network and Fox, to help develop original comedy shows for its Worldwide Video unit.

Tuinier will be reporting to Apple’s head of development Matt Cherniss. Among her first jobs will be working on Apple’s recently acquired comedy series, starring Kristen Wiig. The series is inspired by Curtis Sittenfeld’s short story collection “You Think It, I’ll Say It,” and will consist of 10 half-hour episodes.

iRig Stomp I/O turns your iPad into a guitar effects pedalboard

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iRig Stomp IO
Try not to stomp on the iPad.
Photo: IK Multimedia

The new iRig Stomp I/O is a one-stop box for using your iPhone, iPad or even Mac with a musical instrument. You place it on the floor, drop your iDevice onto the provided shelf space, connect it to an amplifier, mixer or speakers, and you’re away.

The idea is that you can hook up a guitar or microphone and use it with any of the music apps on your device, and control it all with foot pedals.

iPhone X goes to Carnaval in latest Apple ad

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iPhone X
The iPhone X is ready to party in Apple's new commercial.
Photo: Apple

Apple has come out with a colorful new ad for the iPhone X that shows off the device’s amazing selfie camera at one of the most craziest parties in the world: Carnaval in Brazil.

The new ad is part of Apple’s push to make more regional ads. Apple made a similar ad for Carnaval last year that focused on Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Watch the fun new ad:

HomePod version of Siri comes with big limitations

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HomePod
The HomePod version of Siri is a lot dumber than the iPhone version.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new HomePod speaker might be the dumbest smart-speaker on the market.

Based on early reviews and leaked info, it appears that Apple has seriously crippled Siri on the new HomePod speaker and removed some features, making it vastly different than the version of Siri that lives on your iPhone.

Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle mixes brainteasers with bloody murder

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Friday the 13th
It's what all the kids are playing at Camp Crystal Lake.
Photo: Blue Wizard Digital

There are some incredibly creative games in the App Store, but never did we think we’d live to see the day in which a cartoony sliding blocks puzzler is mashed together with the hyper-violent Friday the 13th series of slasher movies.

Best of all? It totally works. Trust us, the hockey mask-wearing Jason Voorhees hasn’t been this much zany fun since 2001’s Jason X movie.

Apple and Samsung massively increased chip spending in 2017

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chips
Apple spent $38.754 billion on chips last year.
Photo: Intel

Apple ramped up its spending on semiconductors by more than a quarter in 2017, a new report from Gartner claims.

In the past 12 months, Apple spent a massive $38.754 billion on chips, making it second only to Samsung in terms of semiconductor spend. In 2016, Apple spent “just” $30.39 billion — or 27.5 percent less.