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Tim Cook meets with YouTubers to celebrate accessibility

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Screen Shot 2017-05-18 at 12.08.20
Apple is working hard to make sure its products can be used by everyone.
Photo: Apple

A cup of coffee with Tim Cook can cost thousands of dollars, but to mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day Apple’s CEO has made an exception.

To promote Apple’s stance on Accessibility, Apple invited three YouTubers with disabilities to its campus for a cup of joe and a casual chat with Tim Cook. In their brief interviews, they discuss everything from the challenge of getting Apple Watch algorithms to recognize wheelchair movement to Apple’s history as a company with values.

Check them out below.

92% of iPhone users will stick with Apple when upgrading

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iphone 8 display
iPhone 8 could arrive on time after all.
Photo: Martin Hajek

Even the biggest of iPhone fans would admit that the device has become somewhat boring in recent years, but that hasn’t had any impact on loyalty to the Apple brand.

According to a new study, a whopping 92 percent of iPhone owners who plan to upgrade within the next 12 months will choose another Apple smartphone. That’s the highest retention rate among any smartphone maker, and it suggests iPhone 8 will be huge.

Jimmy Iovine says free music streaming is screwing artists

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apple-music
Apple Music doesn't have a free tier.
Photo: Apple

Jimmy Iovine wants people to pay for music again and he’s got a plan that just might work: make free music streaming suck.

The Apple exec and music industry legend sat down for a new wide-ranging interview, during which Iovine lamanted that artists aren’t getting paid enough for their music anymore. And it’s mostly Spotify and YouTube’s fault.

Google Photos is getting some incredible new features

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Google Photos sharing
Sharing have never been easier.
Photo: Google

Google Assistant may have just made its way to iPhone, but it’s not even close to the most exciting thing to come out of Google I/O today.

That would be all of the incredible new features coming to Google Photos, including new sharing options, stunning Photo Books you can build in just a few taps, intelligent photo editing, and Google Lens integration.

Gmail for Android and iOS is getting Smart Reply

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Smart Reply in Google Inbox.
Smart Reply in Google Inbox.
Photo: Google

The official Gmail app for Android and iOS is getting Google’s impressive Smart Reply feature.

By taking advantage of machine learning, Smart Reply can help you power through outstanding emails in your inbox by suggesting suitable replies that are friendly and conversational.

New photos claim to reveal final design of ‘real iPhone 8’

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Is this what the iPhone 8 will look like?
Is this what the iPhone 8 will look like?
Photo: BGR

The internet has become awash with apparent iPhone 8 schematics and fan-made mockups in recent months, but these images claim to reveal the final design of a real device in all its glory.

The design looks familiar, proving previous leaks were right on the money, with glass panels flanking the front and back of the device, a redesigned iSight camera module, and a shiny metal frame that holds everything together.

Four Apple suppliers get dragged into Qualcomm conflict

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money
Apple apparently wants its manufacturers to withhold payments to Qualcomm.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Qualcomm has filed a complaint against manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and Compal as part of its ongoing conflict with Apple.

In a statement given today, Qualcomm noted that while iPhone makers Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and Compal don’t dispute “their contractual obligations to pay for the use of Qualcomm’s inventions, the manufacturers say they must follow Apple’s instructions not to pay.”

iPhone SE handsets made in India go on sale next week

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iPhone SE
Designed in California, made in India.
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

Apple manufacturing partner Wistron has started work producing iPhone SE models in India at its factory in Bangalore. The handsets are set to ship to customers later this month, most likely as soon as next week.

While no pricing has yet been announced, Apple is reportedly likely to charge significantly less than the $399 and $499 it sells the 32GB and 128GB iPhone SE models for in the United States. In an effort to grow its brand in India, pricing could be as low as $220.

Apple’s accessibility videos shine light on how its tools change lives

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Apple's "Designed for" videos focus on accessibility.
Photo: Apple

In keeping with its trend of highlighting regular users in its ads, Apple has debuted a new series of videos on its YouTube channel, showing how Apple’s Accessibility features can help users in their everyday lives.

The seven “Designed for” videos, each running under two minutes, highlight stories like a visually-impaired DJ who uses Apple’s award-winning VoiceOver feature, or a sport-playing teenager unable to use her natural voice, but able to communicate using the TouchChat app on her iPad.

Check them out below.

Apple Pay officially opens for business in Italy

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You could say Apple Pay has a pizza the Italian market. You probably shouldn't, though.
Photo: Apple

Apple Pay is officially open for business in Italy, with Visa and MasterCards issued by Boon, Carrefour, and UniCredit all able to used by customers. Additional banks are set to be added later on in 2017.

The Loog is a retrotastic three-string guitar with its own app

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loog guitar pro
The Loog is the perfect beginner guitar, and looks awesome too.
Photo: Loog

This is the Loog Pro, a three-string guitar suitable for kids, and also for awesome adults. The Pro, along with the new Loog Mini, are the sequels to existing Loogs, and bring a whole bunch of neat upgrades. Why are we writing about it here on Cult of Mac? Because it also comes with a free app to help you learn to play.

Steve Jobs wanted Jeff Goldblum to be ‘voice of Apple’

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Jeff Goldblum appeared in a 1998 ad for Apple.
Photo: Apple

Steve Jobs wanted The Fly and Jurassic Park actor Jeff Goldblum to be the “voice of Apple,” the actor claimed in a recent interview on the Today Show in Australia. “Steve Jobs called me up a few decades ago,” said Goldblum. “That was early on, and I did not know it was Steve Jobs.”

Sadly it didn’t exactly happen like that. It seems that, unlike life, Steve Jobs, uh, couldn’t find a way

Apple launches new ‘Today at Apple’ website for stores worldwide

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Apple's new website keeps you in the loop on classes in your area.
Apple's new website keeps you in the loop on classes in your area.
Photo: Apple

Apple is revamping its efforts to keep customers educated on all of its platforms today with the launch of a new website called ‘Today at Apple.’

The new sub site provides Apple fans with portal that shows all of the events, classes and other happenings at local Apple stores, giving users an easy way to sign up for the 4,000 sessions held across the globe each day.

Location-based stories are coming soon to Instagram

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Here's what Instagram location stories look like.
Here's what Instagram location stories look like.
Photo: Josh Constantine/TechCrunch

Instagram’s streak of sniping features from Snapchat isn’t about to stop with today’s new addition of Face Filters.

Location-based stories are set to be the next big feature Instagram adds to its toolset, only instead of just copying the way Snapchat curates stories, Instagram plans to tap into one of its ‘hidden gems’ to make stories a powerful tool for all users.

Apple may reveal three new MacBooks at WWDC

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15 inch MacBook Pro Silver
The new MacBooks will probably look the same on the outside.
Photo: Apple

Apple fans craving more powerful MacBooks may get their wish next month at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

The company is allegedly planning to unveil a new lineup of MacBooks, according to a report that claims the new machines will pack Intel’s new Kaby Lake processor to bring more speed than ever.

Apple Park originally looked like a penis and 5 other wild facts

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Apple hQ
Steve's original vision was a bit different than this.
Photo: Apple

Apple pulled back the curtain of its new spaceship campus in a new interview that highlights all sorts of crazy facts about what went into the new campus, including how it Steve Jobs originally wanted it to look like a penis.

Obviously, Penis Park got scraped in favor of Apple’s perfect circle. But the perfect campus might not have been a disaster if Steve Jobs’ hadn’t shown some early drawings to his son, according to Wired’s deep look into the campus that also reveals how Apple went out of its way to invent an all-new pizza box that keeps crusts fresh.

Apple could soon eliminate the iPad mini

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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

Still a fan of the iPad mini? Get one while you can, because a new rumor claims Apple is planning to eliminate the device from its iPad lineup in the near future.

The device was only refreshed (albeit halfheartedly) two months ago, but growing demand for Apple’s larger tablets and disappointing sales mean it won’t be around for long.

Instagram now offers Snapchat-style Face Filters

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Instagram isn't shy about ripping off Snapchat's best features.
Instagram isn't shy about ripping off Snapchat's best features.
Photo: Instagram

Instagram’s fight to stay ahead of Snapchat involves stealing its best features so that users have no reason to switch. That continues today with the introduction of Face Filters, which, just like Snapchat’s, apply things like glasses, hats, animal ears, and more to your selfies.

Why Apple Park is Steve Jobs’ final project

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Steve Jobs, creator of the iPad and created on the iPad.
Steve Jobs played a major part in developing Apple Park.
Photo: Jeremy Martin

Apple’s epic Apple Park campus is more or less complete, and it’s celebrated in a great new Wired cover story, written by one of the best Apple journalists out there.

In the article, Steven Levy — who has had the inside scoop on Apple since the 1980s, and written two great books (The Perfect Thing and Insanely Great) on the company — makes a great argument that Apple Park is nothing less than the final product of Steve Jobs himself.

Here’s why:

How iPhone 7 compares to a pro movie camera

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No, it's not a fair face off. But it's pretty intriguing.
Photo: Potato Jet

Apple loves to talk about the quality of its current-generation iPhone camera, but how does it stack up against a professional movie camera?

In a new video, L.A.-based filmmaker and YouTuber Potato Jet, shoots footage with both the iPhone 7 and the $82,100 Arri Alexa camera, the same camera favored by the likes of Steven Spielberg.

It’s a totally unfair contest, but a pretty intriguing video nonetheless. Check it out below.