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Apple Music Festival 2016 kicks off September 18

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Screen Shot 2016-08-22 at 18.59.28
Apple promises "10 exhilarating nights of live music."
Photo: Apple

The Apple Music Festival will return to the U.K. this September for “10 exhilarating nights of live music,” according to Apple.

No musical acts have been revealed yet for the festival, which will run from September 18 to September 30. But if previous years are anything to go by, 2016 promises to deliver a star-studded lineup — and Apple Music subscribers get to watch the whole thing for free online.

Everything we think we know about the iPhone 7

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blue iPhone 7 Plus
The iPhone 7 is getting some big upgrades.
Photo: PConline

The grand unveiling of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is still weeks away, but this year you don’t need to wait for Tim Cook to take the stage to find out all the new features.

Months of leaks have already given us a sneak peek at a lot of the big changes coming to the iPhone. And contrary to early reports that this year’s device will be boring, there’s actually a whole lot to get excited about.

Here’s what to expect from the iPhone 7, based on Cult of Mac’s analysis of everything we’ve seen from reliable leakers and the Apple rumor mill.

Bids for Apple-1 computer built by Steve Jobs pass $500,000

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Could this become the most expensive Apple-1 to ever sell at auction?
Photo: Charitybuzz

Online bids for an original Apple-1 computer, reportedly built by Steve Jobs, have passed $500,000.

The so-called “Celebration” Apple-1 comes with period correct power supply, original Apple-1 ACI cassette board, Apple-1 BASIC cassettes, original marketing material, and the most complete documentation set of the known Apple-1 boards. Only around 60 Apple-1 units are thought to still exist today.

Barbra Streisand calls Tim Cook to fix her biggest gripe with Siri

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Barbra Streisand
Singer Barbra Streisand and husband James Brolin.
Photo: Wikicommons

Getting iPhone bugs fixed is apparently super-easy if you’re a world-famous diva.

Barbra Streisand says she recently had a huge bone to pick with Apple over the way Siri pronounces her last name. So the singer did what only Barbra Streisand could do: She dialed Tim Cook’s personal phone number.

Apple increases health focus by buying medical AI startup

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Gliimpse is a machine learning health platform.
Photo: Gliimpse

In keeping with its mobile health ambitions, Apple has snapped up Gliimpse, a personal health data startup which uses machine learning technology to help users make sense of their medical records.

The company was founded in 2013 by former Apple employee-turned-serial-entrepeneur Anil Sethi. Apple reportedly acquired it earlier this year, although (no surprises here) it hasn’t publicly announced what it plans to do with it yet.

iPhone 7 leaks plus ‘revolutionary’ new iPads on The CultCast

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blue-iphone
New Apple gadgets, incoming!
Photo: PConline

This week on The CultCast: Leaks point to exciting upgrades coming to the smaller iPhone 7 — we’ll give you the scoop. Plus, get ready for iPhone 7, we have a launch date; Apple Watch 2 might be getting a sorely needed feature; new models and “revolutionary” upgrades are coming to the iPad line; and stick around for CultCast Choices, the game that pits one bad choice against another.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to build a website that looks beautiful on any device that visits at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off.

Could Tim Cook be doing a better job at Apple? [Friday Night Fights]

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Do you think Apple is in a good place under Tim Cook?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s been almost five years since Tim Cook was named Apple CEO, and during that time the company has seen some pretty incredible highs. But there have been some significant lows, too.

Friday Night Fights bug The recent fall in iPhone demand is perhaps the most significant setback, leading to Apple’s first quarterly decline in revenue in 13 years. Cupertino has also been criticized for releasing unpolished products and buggy software in recent years.

So, is Cook doing enough to keep Apple one step ahead of the competition, or does he need to do more? Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we discuss Cook’s first five year’s as Apple CEO.

Weary of your wearable? Sell it to us!

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broken wearables buyback
It's time to turn tour trashed wearables into cash.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Ever open the drawer and go, “Oh yeah. I own a Jawbone UP”? It’s easy to forget about an old fitness tracker or smartwatch you’ve got stashed away, but the Cult of Mac buyback program makes rediscovering an unused wearable more like finding a forgotten wad of cash.

We’ll give you the best price for your wearables, from shiny Apple Watches to older, well-worn products that most other buyback programs won’t accept. It’s a no-brainer to quickly and easily turn an old, unused wearable into cold, hard cash.

Apple busts out surprise iOS 10 beta 7

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iOS 10 lockscreen
Surprise! A new beta is here.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The last beta for iOS 10 just came out four days ago but Apple is wasting no time with the fixes by dropping a surprise seventh beta today.

Both developers and public testers can download iOS 10 beta 7 to their devices this morning, bringing a fresh batch of performance improvements along with critical bug fixes.

Apple joins government task force to kill robocalls

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Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
Apple is teaming up with top tech companies to end the scourge of robocalls.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

The scourge of robocalls may be coming to an end, thanks to a new task force comprised of over 30 top tech companies, including Apple.

The U.S. government has enlisted the help of Apple, AT&T, Alphabet, Verizon, Comcast and others to crack down on unsolicited, automated, prerecorded phone calls that have become the most frequent complaint the U.S. Federal Communications Commission receives from citizens.

Birdman’s label takes flight in first trailer for Cash Money doc

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Cash Money co-founder Birdman confirmed the deal this week.
Photo: Birdman/Instagram

Apple has released a trailer for its upcoming documentary The Cash Money Story about popular hip hop record label Cash Money Records, which will be available exclusively on Apple Music.

The story of the label which introduced hip hop fans to Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Young Money and Birdman, the documentary was teased earlier this week by Cash Money co-founder Birdman, who said he had struck a “power move” deal with Apple.

6 amazing features Apple must steal from the Galaxy Note 7

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The Galaxy Note 7 is going to take some beating. Here's where Apple should start.
Galaxy Note 7 is going to take some beating. Here's where Apple should start.
Photo: Samsung

With gorgeous curved glass, stellar specifications and cutting-edge features, Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 7 is raising the bar for smartphones.

Fans can’t wait to get their hands on the device, which makes its big U.S. debut today, and it’s easy to see why. Here are six features Apple needs to steal if it wants to compete with Samsung’s latest, greatest smartphone.

Frank Ocean debuts Endless visual album on Apple Music

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Frank Ocean Endless
45-minute 'visual album' now available on Apple Music.
Photo: Apple Music

Apple Music added to its impressive string of exclusives by releasing Endless, a 45-minute “visual album” by Frank Ocean.

The film, which is available now to subscribers of Apple’s streaming music service, is thought to be a tease for an upcoming album by the Grammy-winning singer that could be released this weekend.

Apple’s cost-cutting strategy draws ire of Chinese supply chain

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Foxconn employees accused of $43 million iPhone scam
Tim Cook meeting an iPhone manufacturer in China.
Photo: Apple

With iPhone demand slowing down, one of the ways in which Apple is hoping to increase earnings is by pushing its suppliers to work for less money — but it doesn’t seem to be going entirely to plan.

According to a new report, Apple is meeting resistance from manufacturers in its Taiwan-based supply chain as it requests that they lower quotes for iPhone 7 components by as much as 20 percent.

Apple Watch 2 will get GPS but no LTE

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Apple Watch
The next Apple Watch will still be dependent on the iPhone.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The next-generation Apple Watch won’t totally cut ties with the iPhone when it launches later this fall.

Although Apple plans to add a number of much-needed features to the Apple Watch 2, a new report claims the company hit roadblocks when trying to make a major change that would have added LTE or other cellular data connection capabilities to the device.

Leaked iPhone 7 camera hints at big improvements

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A black iPhone 7 would be killer.
iPhone 7 will have a killer camera.
Photo: Martin Hajek/Flickr

Leaked camera parts supposedly destined for this year’s 4.7-inch iPhone have revealed that Apple finally plans to add a feature found on its Plus-sized units the past two years.

While most of this years’ iPhone camera rumors have focused on the dual-lens module coming to the iPhone 7 Plus, a leaked iPhone 7 rear camera module hints at some big improvements coming to the smaller device.

T-Mobile is killing data plans to go ‘unlimited’

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t-mobile
Say goodbye to data plans. (With a couple of provisos.)
Photo: T-Mobile

T-Mobile has declared “the era of the data plan is over,” and that it is offering all users unlimited data from this point on.

Called T-Mobile ONE, the new setup announced by CEO John Legere offers customers a way to get rid of pesky data plans — with unlimited talk, text and 4G LTE smartphone data, all for the impressively low cost of $40 per line if you’re a family of (at least) four.