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Apple and other tech giants battle Chinese intellectual property theft

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Apple Store
Apple has faced challenges growing its brand in China.
Photo: Apple

Chinese companies copying Silicon Valley tech giants, and thereby infringing on intellectual property rights, is something that has been an issue for years.

It seems that U.S. tech companies are striking back, however, with a trade group that represents companies including Apple, Google, and IBM speaking out against Chinese regulators at an International Trade Commission hearing this week.

OnePlus is dominating Apple in key emerging markets

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iPhone in India
iPhone's high price tag puts it out of reach.
Photo: CC: Aasif Iqbal J/Flickr

Smartphone sales are exploding in emerging markets like China and India. Apple has been trying to take advantage of that for years, and it insists it is succeeding. But in reality, other manufacturers are dominating the premium smartphone segment.

According to the latest data, OnePlus handsets accounted for 57 percent of all premium handsets sold in India during the second quarter of 2017.

This dongle fixes the jackless iPhone 7 for good

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amazon lightning iphone 7 dongle
Amazon is getting in on the iPhone dongle game.
Photo: Amazon

Apple’s obsession with lopping ports off its devices has spawned a whole industry of dangling dongles. Every time Apple removes hole to slim down an iPhone or a MacBook, or to make space for a bigger battery, somebody else fills that gap with an external widget that does the exact same thing, only messier and more expensive.

The latest in this dongle parade is the AmazonBasics Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Audio Adapter with Remote and Lightning Charging Port, a product whose name tells you almost everything you need to know.

Don’t fall for free iPhone scams on social media

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Free iPhone scam
No, Apple won't give you a free iPhone for likes.
Photo: ZeroFOX

iPhone 8 is now on sale and iPhone X is right around the corner, so every Apple fan wants to upgrade. Scammers are taking advantage of this by promising free handsets on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, but believing what you read could prove dangerous.

Apple and LG team up for foldable iPhone

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Foldable smartphone
Apple is serious about creating a foldable iPhone. Above, is a drawing for a patent Apple was granted last year.
Photo: Apple

LG is reportedly in business with Apple to develop a foldable iPhone.

A South Korean news site, citing unnamed industry sources, said LG has two separate teams working on key components for a flexible handset that could debut by 2020.

Qualcomm’s massive antitrust fine is good news for Apple

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Qualcomm patents
Apple and Qualcomm have been battling throughout 2017.
Photo: Qualcomm

Qualcomm has suffered another blow in its battle with Apple after being fined a record $773 million by Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission for alleged antitrust violations over a period of at least seven years.

Specifically, the fine involves Qualcomm’s collection of NT$400 billion ($13.2 billion) in licensing fees from local companies. The Taiwanese regulator hammered Qualcomm’s monopolistic market status for not providing products to clients who won’t agree to its terms and conditions.

Woz: Aspects of Steve Jobs’ personality were ‘very Trumpish’

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Steve Jobs had one or two things in common with our current President, Steve Wozniak says.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

Aspects of Steve Jobs’ personality strike former Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak as, “very Trumpish,” Woz reportedly told an audience Tuesday night at Carnegie Music Hall as part of the American Middle East Institute’s 10th Conference.

Specifically, Woz seems to have been referring to Jobs cheating Woz out of some of the money for an early project the two collaborated on at Atari, his failure to listen, and tendency to say nasty things to people.

Why you shouldn’t trust Apple ID prompts in third-party apps

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Not all Apple ID prompts are created equal.
Not all Apple ID prompts are created equal.
Photo: Jan Vašek/Pixabay CC

It’s not uncommon to see a random popup that asks you to “Sign In to iTunes Store” on iOS. They sometimes appear unexpectedly, but they’re usually genuine. However, one developer is warning users not to enter their password when the popup appears in third-party apps.

There is a chance that the app’s developer is phishing for your Apple ID password. Luckily, there’s an easy trick to distinguish legit popups from phishing attempts.

T-Mobile tattoo lands Arizona man free iPhone 8

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free iPhone 8
Philip Harrison got a free iPhone 8 from T-Mobile for this permanent advertising inked on his arm.
Photo: Philip Harrison/Twitter

There’s a story behind every tattoo, but there may be only one where the story includes a free iPhone.

Philip Harrison of Phoenix, Arizona called out to T-Mobile CEO John Legere on Twitter, saying he’d get the cellphone carrier’s logo tattooed on his arm if the company sends him a free iPhone 8.

Apple is now selling its latest MacBook Pro at a discount

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MacBook
Online Apple store is now selling refurbished 2017 MacBook Pros.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has updated its online Apple store to start offering refurbished 15-inch MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar, marking the first time this year’s Touch Bar-equipped models have been available to buy refurbished. The laptops were first launched back in June.

How does Apple Watch’s innovative eSIM work?

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Apple watch series 3
The Apple Watch's cellular connectivity is the big new feature. But how does it work?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch Series 3 is Apple’s best smartwatch yet. It’s faster, packed full of new features in watchOS 4, and it boasts amazing new cellular connectivity (if you pay more for the LTE model). This is all made possible with a built-in antenna, a UMTS radio, and an eSIM. But how does it work?

Check out the video below to find out.

Simple Android app lets AirPods activate Google Assistant

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AirPods in ear
AirPods now work even better on Android.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

AirPods can be paired with any smartphone, just like other Bluetooth headphones. But you don’t get full functionality on third-party platforms. On Android, however, they just became a lot more useful.

You can now use AirPods to activate the Google Assistant — thanks to one simple app.

The great lengths Apple goes to for eco-friendly packaging

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EarPods
Apple's EarPods packaging is some of its most environmentally friendly.
Photo: Apple

Apple has taken big steps toward making its products more sustainable. As part of that mission, it just released a new “Paper and Packaging Strategy” white paper, which lays out the various measures the company is taking to lower the environmental impact its packaging has on the world.

Tim Cook: Don’t expect a standalone AR headset anytime soon

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Tim Cook
ARKit is as big as the App Store and Multitouch, Tim Cook says.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s augmented technology platform ARKit is going to be as big as the App Store and multitouch, but the technology’s not yet there to make a standalone AR headset.

Those are the biggest takeaways from a wide-ranging interview Apple CEO Tim Cook gave to the U.K.’s Independent newspaper as part of his trip to Europe this week. The interview also covered his love of the military, and why Apple shouldn’t stay silent on issues it disagrees with.

Wells Fargo brings Apple Pay to 5,000 ATMs

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Wells Fargo is embracing Apple Pay at its ATMs.
Wells Fargo is embracing Apple Pay at its ATMs.
Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr CC

One of the largest banks in the U.S. is embracing Apple Pay and contactless payments by finally adding it to its ATMs across the country.

Wells Fargo revealed today that more than 5,000 of its ATMs have been upgraded recently to support Apple Pay, allowing customers to get cash without having to carry around a physical debit or credit card.

Apple taps Steven Spielberg for original sci-fi show

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Steven Spielberg takes the stage at Comic-Con International in 2017.
Apple is reportedly ready to whip up some new amazing stories with Steven Spielberg.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

Apple is set to make its biggest push into original content yet by inking a deal with one of the biggest directors in Hollywood history.

Steven Spielberg and Apple reportedly will create new episodes of Amazing Stories. The science fiction anthology series originally ran in the 1980s on NBC, but will be relaunched with all-new episodes.

Titanium pens, aquarium robots and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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The Model A
The ultimate universal VR headset.
Photo: The Model A

Crowdfund Roundup bugThe Model A is the first universal virtual reality headset for your smartphone that you won’t want to ditch within hours of buying it. It’s designed to be lightweight and comfortable to wear, and has a high-fidelity audio system built right in.

It’s just one of the awesome ideas in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We also have the world’s best pen machined out of titanium, a gadget that keeps all your devices secure online, the ultimate camping companion, and more!

Trump administration will weigh in on Apple antitrust case

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App Store
The Supreme Court's ruling could have a huge impact on the App Store.
Photo: Apple

The highest court in the U.S. is debating whether or not it should hear an appeal from Apple on a class-action lawsuit that it lost in a lower court.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court asked the Trump administration’s Justice Department for its opinion on the case. Apple is accused of charging illegally high commissions on the sale of apps in its App Store, but the group suing Apple isn’t developers, it’s a bunch of consumers who purchased the apps.

Today in fake news: Google buys Apple

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An image of the Google beta logo with the rainbow Apple logo in place of the first O
For a brief moment, there was a report of Google buying Apple.
Photo: Google/Apple

It’s the kind of headline The Onion would write, except this one came from the Dow Jones Newswire: Google, Apple join to create tech giant

The breaking fake news Tuesday morning was eventually retracted by Dow Jones which blamed the report on a “technical error.”

Almost two-thirds of Americans own an Apple product

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Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
Breaking news: People sure do love Apple.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

64 percent of Americans own Apple products, with the average U.S. household owning more than two, a new poll claims.

The survey, carried out by CNBC, suggests that Apple ownership is a trait shared by every income group, age demographic, race, sex, and region of the United States, although the ownership rate falls below 50 percent for those on incomes under $30,000, retirees, and women over the age of 50.

Trump tax policy could make Apple a $1 trillion company

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What’s it like to have your startup bought by Apple? Stressful
Apple could soon be the world's first $1 trillion company.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Tim Cook may not always have seen eye to eye with President Donald Trump, but if a Trump policy could help push Apple toward a trillion dollar market cap that would surely help undo some of the bad blood.

This is exactly the scenario presented by analysts at RBC Capital Markets, who claim that Apple would stand to gain in a big way from the Trump administration’s planned U.S. tax changes — particularly tax deduction caps for interest expenses, tax rates on foreign profits, and a lowered repatriation tax.