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Why I’m returning my AirPods Pro

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Just a few cents-worth of silicone can ruin your new $250 earbuds.
Just a few cents' worth of silicone can ruin your new $250 earbuds.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Why am I returning my AirPods Pro just a day after receiving them? If the AirPods Pro don’t fit in your ears, then tough. There’s pretty much nothing you can do about it short of returning them to Apple.

However, if you’re prepared to wait, there might be some hope.

AirPods Pro are a steal — even at $249 [Review]

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AirPods Pro are so popular Apple is struggling to keep up with demand
AirPods Pro are so popular Apple is struggling to keep up with demand
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

It has taken me just over a day to realize AirPods Pro are the best accessory I’ve ever purchased from Apple. They sound terrific, work exceptionally well with other Apple products, and feel great.

They might be pricier than their siblings at $249. But with new features like active noise cancellation and Transparency mode, they’re worth every penny.

Here’s our full review of AirPods Pro.

How to use AirPods Pro Ear Tip Fit Test to make them sound their best

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Ear tip fit test airpods pro
The AirPods Pro come with three pairs of tips.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you ever sat with a pair of earbuds, and a handful of interchangeable silicone tips, and felt a sense of apathy and confusion creep over you, then you’re going to love the new AirPods Pro Ear Tip Fit Test. This clever new feature uses the AirPods Pro’s own microphones to test how well the variously sized silicone tips fit in your ears.

It works really well. The only problem is, the results could be bad news.

Why third-party lenses beat iPhone 11’s Ultra Wide camera

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Moment lens on iPhone
Don't retire that wide-angle lens attachment just yet.
Photo: Moment

Now that the iPhone 11 line brings an ultra-wide camera to the bump, there is some question on what to do with an extra-wide lens attachment you may have purchased from brands like Moment, Sandmarc or olloclip.

The short answer: Use it. For now, it’s the better option.

New evidence indicates Apple AirTags will land soon

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New evidence shows AirTags closer than ever to release
Are you excited about AirTags?
Photo: MacRumors

Newly leaked screenshots depict an updated AirTags section in the “Find My” app. Although they are referred to by their codename “B389,” the screenshots show how AirTags findability will work.

AirPods are the rumored item tracker tags which promise to help users to locate bags, keys, and assorted other valuables.

Biggest shockers from Apple’s record-smashing Q4 earnings

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Tim Cook with money bag
Surprise! Apple made an ungodly amount of money last quarter.
Photo: Apple

Apple shares are soaring in after-hours trading today thanks to yet another record-breaking earnings report.

Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri got on the phone with investors after the numbers came and provided some surprising details on how Apple hit a new high for Q4 revenue despite slowing iPhone sales. While everyone has been focusing on Apple’s booming services business, one of the company’s other product categories has transformed into its true growth engine.

16-inch MacBook Pro leaks again in macOS Catalina

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16-inch-MacBook-Pro-keyboard
Are you ready?
Photo: Apple

Another image of a new 16-inch MacBook Pro (above) has been leaked by macOS 10.15.1 Catalina.

The photo reveals a redesigned keyboard layout, with a Touch ID sensor separated from the Touch Bar. But it does not confirm rumors of a return for the dedicated escape key.

It’s also hard to tell whether this keyboard uses the dreaded butterfly switches that MacBook Pro fans want Apple to abolish. And we could be waiting a long time to find out.

AirPods Pro first impressions: Awesome audio worth every penny

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AirPods-Pro
The only thing scary about AirPods Pro is how good they are.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

The best-selling headphones in the world are now even better. AirPods Pro come with an all-new design that’s now sweat-resistant and capable of blocking out background noise for the first time.

They cost just $50 more than regular AirPods with a Wireless Charging Case. But they’re so much better. Here are our AirPods Pro first impressions.

The secret to Apple’s sales success [Live from Cupertino book excerpt]

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All great presentations begin with a Sharpie and then a Mac. A
All great presentations begin with a Sharpie (and then a Mac).
Photo: Michael Hageloh

Excerpted from Live from Cupertino: How Apple Used Words, Music, and Performance to Build the World’s Best Sales Machine by Michael Hageloh and Tim Vandehey.

Prologue: What were once devices are now habits

When I set out to write this book, one of my goals was to see if I could insult fifty million people in one sentence. Here goes. Years ago, before I was excommunicated from New York City and became a resident of Texas (a state so backward that someone in our town once asked my wife and me if being Jewish was like being Catholic), I lived in Florida, which is so appealing to the unbalanced that when I took the “Florida Challenge” (where you google “Florida man” and your birthday to see what kind of headlines pop up) for April 24, the first result read, “Florida man kisses venomous snake and is immediately bitten on the lips.”

Mission accomplished. Now, let’s move on.

Archive or delete: Understand iOS Mail’s most confusing setting

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Mail swipe options
Some confusing mail options.
Photo: Carol Jeng/Unsplash

You know how when you swipe an email on your iPhone or iPad, and depending on the direction you swipe, you get a bunch of options? Mark as read, move, archive — that kind of thing. But how do you customize these options? And how do you access the ridiculously well-hidden option to archive and/or delete?

Let’s find out.

First damning Apple TV+ reviews indicate an alarming lack of vision [Opinion]

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Apple TV+ could have 26 million paying subs by 2025; 2.6 million currently
Just what is the vision behind Apple TV+?
Photo: Apple

The first Apple TV+ reviews are out — and, broadly speaking, they’re not great. Critics generally slammed the marquee shows on the Apple TV+ slate. Anyone wanting to pull together a movie poster with positive pull-quotes would need to do some serious wading through bile to emerge with choice excerpts.

That’s a shame. And while it might seem easy to write off the bad reviews — based on the just the first few episodes of four shows, all shown to critics prior to the service’s launch — the poor reception might suggest deep-seated problems for Apple TV+. It sounds like a service that suffers from a lack of vision.

Find lost items anywhere in the world with GeoZilla GPS Tracker [Review]

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GeoZilla GPS Tracker
The tiny GeoZilla GPS Tracker can be found anywhere cell phones work.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The GeoZilla GPS Tracker can find your dog if he gets out of the yard, even if he takes a plane to Reno. Or it can locate your lost luggage if the airline accidentally ships it to Australia.

There are plenty of tracking tags that can discover your keys in your living room, but the GeoZilla GPS Tracker uses built-in cellular-wireless access so it can be found anywhere.

Read on to find out if this is the ultra-portable global tracker you’ve been hoping for.

How to change the dictation language on Apple Watch

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Apple Watch dictation
If you talk to your Apple Watch, you need to know this tip.
Photo: Israel Palacio/Unsplash

Maybe you like to keep your iPhone and Apple Watch in English, but you also like to dictate notes and messages in your mother tongue. Or perhaps you want to dictate your notes in English, but send iMessages to your family in Spanish. Or maybe your Apple Watch is just screwed up, and keeps trying to take dictation in a language you don’t speak.

Whatever the reason, it is easy to change the Apple Watch dictation language. Plus, you also can specify a different language for each and every app. Let’s see how.

16-inch MacBook Pro leaks! We talk about them, on The CultCast

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CultCast #411
A new leak shows the 16-inch MacBook Pro isn't quite what we expected...
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: The new 16-inch MacBook Pro just leaked, but its “new design” leaves a lot of people disappointed. Plus, we’ll tell you why 2020 could deliver Apple’s most impressive hardware in years. And stick around for our favorite new router, mouse, keyboard and iPhone 11 case in an all-new Under Review!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

You might never get to buy this amazing iPad keyboard [Review]

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Sentis Libra iPad keyboard with trackpad
An iPad Pro with Sentis Libra attached could be mistaken for a MacBook.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Sentis Libra gives an iPad Pro a keyboard and trackpad, allowing it to act as both a tablet and a laptop — something no MacBook can do.

However, rival keyboard maker Brydge accuses Sentis of using its patented design. Cult of Mac has both a Libra prototype and the most recent Brydge Pro, and we compare the two and let everyone judge whether the accusations made against this device stand up.

The Libra is undoubtedly great, including a highly-functional trackpad. So the real question is, who deserves credit for the design?

How to disable iOS 13’s link previews

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Link previews
The iPad version has a toggle directly over the preview image.
Photo: Cult of Mac

In iPadOS and iOS 13, long-pressing a link does two things simultaneously. It brings up a contextual menu with options for sharing and so on, and it loads a preview of the linked web page. Apple calls this a link preview.

But what if you don’t want a link preview? Maybe you’re on a cellular connection and you don’t want to waste data by loading pages you won’t read. Or maybe you only need the link, and never want to see the page. What if it’s a link to a huge image, or an MP3? Or perhaps it’s a link in an email, and you want to use the contextual menu to check the URL for scams. In this last case, there’s no way you want that link to load. It could prove disastrous.

The good news is that you can disable link previews in iOS 13 with a single tap.

Change these settings to make your Apple Watch battery last all day

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Keep your Apple Watch going all day long.
Keep your Apple Watch going all day long.
Photo: Alvaro Reyes/Unsplash

My Apple Watch Series 5 gets seriously good battery life. I can easily get 24 hours out of it, but I don’t really stress it by doing multiple daily workouts or by streaming audio directly to Bluetooth headphones. But what if your watch has trouble lasting the whole day? Or if you’re traveling, and not able to just stop and charge the watch whenever it needs a quick boost?

Today, we’ll check three settings that can prolong your Apple Watch battery life.

Gorgeous Apple Watch band makes canvas look better than ever

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Monowear-Urban-Canvas-Apple-Watch
The Urban Canvas is smart but stylish.
Photo: Monowear

No one considers canvas to be an obviously attractive material. Not unless you have an unhealthy relationship with tents. But pair it with leather and slap it on an Apple Watch and, boy, does it look good.

Case in point: Monowear’s terrific Urban Canvas band. It’s immensely durable, comfortable all day long, and surprisingly beautiful. And it costs just $38.

One month in, I’m hooked on Apple Arcade [Review]

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iPad browsing Apple Arcade games catalog with iPhone and Xbox Controller
I was sure I was going to cancel, but I'm actually enjoying Apple Arcade games quite a bit!
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

I don’t consider myself much of a gamer, but the idea of games always seems to appeal to me. That’s why, when Apple Arcade launched, I activated my subscription to test the waters. My hope was that I’d get some clarity before it cost me anything to try.

Now, a month has passed, and I’ve got some mixed feelings about the service. Should I keep paying for it? Are its 100-plus games worth the monthly fee? Can I play it when and where I want? Get the lowdown in my Apple Arcade review.

How to use iOS 13’s new ‘Remind me when messaging’ feature

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Remind when messaging
Remember things, when you need them.
Photo: Estée Janssens

The Reminders app got a total revamp in iOS 13, making it way quicker and easier to add due dates, alerts and location-based notifications to new reminders. But it also added one killer new feature: Remind me when messaging.

This lets you add a contact to the reminder, and the next time you’re messaging that person, a notification will pop up.