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How to iMessage a photo with just one tap

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Just one tap.
Just one tap.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

I got sick of having to tap a zillion buttons just to iMessage a photo to somebody, so I made a shortcut that lets me tap an icon on my Home screen, and sends my latest photo automatically to a preselected friend.

That’s it. You tap it, and the shortcut grabs the last photo you shot, and sends it. If that sounds like something you want, check it out.

Go green for less green with 20 percent off select bands [Watch Store]

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E3 Supply Co. Apple Watch Strap in Reverse Shell Cordovan Leather
Getting a new Apple Watch band is almost as good as guzzling green beer.
Photo: E3 Supply Co.

You don’t have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but you do need something green. We’ve made it easier to wear the green by discounting select products this Saturday and Sunday.

We’ve rounded up special bands in green from these great companies: Carterjett, Casetify, E3 Supply Co., Nyloon and Ullu. Save 20 percent on these Apple Watch bands at the Cult of Mac Watch Store this weekend! (As a special treat, all Ullu products are on sale!)

Don’t miss our ‘show time’ keynote predictions, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 379 MacBook Pro
Apple's streaming service may have an ace up its sleeve.

This week on The CultCast: Apple’s “it’s show time” event is just around the corner, and this is the first event ever that focuses purely on services. Is Apple’s streaming TV service going to suck? Don’t miss our “show time” keynote predications. Plus: Leander unveils the details on his new Tim Cook book, out April 16th!

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 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain..

How to print from your iPhone using AirPrint

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AirPrint is how printers should always have worked.
AirPrint is how printers should always have worked.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

There’s still something kinda magical-feeling about printing documents from your iPhone. Maybe someone sends you a long Word or Pages document that you prefer to read on paper. Or maybe you must sign a hard-copy version of a PDF and send it back via real paper mail.

You may be used to facing a task like this in your iPhone’s email app, and putting it off until you get to your Mac or PC. But chances are, if you own a fairly modern printer, you can just print right from the iPhone. In fact, once you get a taste for it, you’ll prefer printing from iOS. You will never need to deal with drivers, or pick up your 100-page print job only to find every sheet printed too small.

The answer is AirPrint. It’s how printers always should have worked.

iPhone turned into dust in the name of science

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University of Plymouth
iPhone to iPhone. Dust to dust.
Photo: University of Plymouth

Want to see what happens when an iPhone is placed into a high powered blender?

No, it’s not the kind of mindless destruction porn that often pops up on YouTube. Instead, it’s a serious scientific demonstration carried out by the U.K.’s University of Plymouth. The goal? To show exactly which chemical elements make up the pricey handsets we keep in our pockets. Check out the video below.

Tiny chargers show the big advantages of gallium nitride, aka GaN [Review]

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Anker PowerPort Atom PD 1 and RavPower PD Pioneer 45W review
Gallium nitride technology allows these chargers to be much smaller than more traditional alternatives.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Chargers are transitioning from silicon transistors to gallium nitride (GaN), enabling  these irritatingly bulky accessories to shrink in size. Anker and RavPower both make power adapters that put out more current than you’d expect for their svelte dimensions thanks to the magic of GaN.

We tested out both chargers that can be used to power up your MacBook, iPad or iPhone. Read on to see how they performed.

AirPods art challenge turns classic works on their ears

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AirPods art challenge
Apple is the Goliath of the wearables market.
Photo: @SCOTUSPlaces/Twitter

Vincent Van Gogh might have been kinder to his ear if only AirPods were around when he was alive and painting.

Art already gives us so much to ponder. As does Twitter, which a New York City creative agency used to call on followers to Photoshop Apple AirPods into famous works of art.

What to expect from Apple’s ‘show time’ event on March 25

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Apple Show time event
Apple is expected to launch a number of new services this spring.
Photo: Apple

The first Apple event of 2019 is nearly here. Tim Cook and friends are set to take the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater on March 25 to unveil the company’s newest goodies, only instead of unveiling some shiny new gadgets you can buy, Apple is supposedly going to bust out some services you can subscribe to.

The Apple rumor mill has been working in overdrive leading up the event, so we have a pretty solid idea of what we’ll see.

If you hate Apple keynote spoilers, stop reading now.

Make your own iPhone Safari download manager with Shortcuts

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Who doesn’t enjoy a well-managed download?
Who doesn’t enjoy a well-managed download?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

One of the biggest shortcomings of mobile Safari is downloading files. It’ll do it just fine, but it loads everything as if it were a web page. PDFs, ZIPs, MP3s: They all get loaded right there into the current page, whereupon you have to use the Open In… feature to save the file.

Perhaps even worse — you don’t have any idea how long the download is going to take. All you have to go on is the loading progress bar up in the URL bar, which creeps along and really only offers two states: “not done yet” and “done.”

Today we will fix that by whipping up a download manager using the Shortcuts app. Let’s go.

Best leather Apple Watch bands, from most affordable to luxurious

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Find the perfect leather Apple Watch band for your budget without compromising style or quality.
Find the perfect leather Apple Watch band for your budget without compromising style or quality.
Photo: Strapa

High-quality leather is a universal way to look and feel classy, timeless and powerful. Deck out your beloved Apple Watch in something it deserves, regardless of price point. Whether you’re buying on a budget or searching for the perfect splurge, your internet scouring ends here.

Check out our watch store guide to finding the perfect leather Apple Watch band for your budget.

How to stop reading the news on Twitter or Facebook

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Image-12-03-2019-09-49.595436c4d71c4bd0b269461aca230da1
News readers gather all the latest stories from your favorite sites in one place.
Photo: CocoaCake

How do you read the news? If you do it on Twitter, you’ll be used to missing things as they fly past on your ever-updating timeline. If you read the news on Facebook, you’re being fed articles picked according to Facebook’s own agendas. And if you read the news on regular websites, you spend forever visiting sites just to see if there’s been an update.

If only there was a better way. If only you could open an app and see, at a glance, all the new stories from your favorite websites. Wouldn’t that be something?

The good news is, there are many apps, and many services, that exist to bring you the updates to your favorite sites. They work like Google Reader used to — only way better.

Bust out in style with Bucardo’s vintage Apple pocket watches

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Transform your Apple Watch into a classic vintage pocket watch without compromising accessibility or function.
Transform your Apple Watch into a classic vintage pocket watch without compromising accessibility or function.
Photo: Bucardo

Bucardo is back on our radar with some seriously impressive designs and discounts for Apple Watch.

It’s nothing new in the world of fashion to recycle and resurrect the trends from our parents’ and even grandparents’ generations.

However, bygone era or not, some of these trends stick with us forever. Enter Bucardo’s pocket watch collection. Both playful and elegant, these designs strike nostalgia in our hearts.

Save huge and snag one of these exceptionally unique timepieces from our Watch Store today.

Gamevice controller for iPhone falls flat where it really counts [Review]

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Fortnite with iPhone XS in Gamevice controller
The Gamevice is good, but not great.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Mobile gaming has never been better, but you’re missing out if you’re playing the latest titles with touch controls. A good controller is a worthwhile purchase, but should you spend $75 on the Gamevice?

It looks great, boasts the best design of any iPhone controller, and never needs charging. It also works with almost any iPhone. The only problem? It disappoints where it matters most.

How to translate any PDF or sheet of paper

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If you can read it, you can translate it.
If you can read it, you can translate it.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

How do you translate a PDF? Maybe you scanned a page from a friend’s German cake recipes book. Or perhaps you’re living abroad and you have no idea what the police just made you sign. There are plenty of ways to translate PDFs and text, but most of them involve either A) Microsoft Word or B) uploading your private documents to a cloud service to be read.

Today we’ll see how to quickly scan a paper document, then translate its written text into English. You’ll be amazed at how fast it is.

Protect your iPhone with this super-slim, invisible, self-healing case

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Good news for everyone, this triple threat isn't too good to be true.
Protection that won't get in your way.
Photo: Just Mobile

With the Cult of Mac Watch Store’s new goodies from Just Mobile, we had to revisit TENC Air – the incredibly slim, apocalypse-proof, self-healing iPhone case from the same brand.

Yes, it is all those things and more.

Five months ago, we did our first review of TENC Air, and the results blew our minds. Subsequently, these bad boys started flying off our virtual shelves.

Fast forward to the present, and I’m still sporting my TENC case. Why?

Because this triple threat is the real deal, and what’s more is TENC truly stands the test of time (aka 1000s of parking lot iPhone drops since my first review).

Don’t believe us? Watch the video down below for yourself.

Sen. Warren targets App Store in bid to break up Apple

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App Store
The App Store should be a separate company, according to a high-profile presidential candidate.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for U.S. president has taken a hard line against big tech, and she has Apple in her sights. On Friday she proposed breaking up a number of large tech firms, and the iPhone-maker made the list.

Now she’s shared more details on why she thinks dividing Apple into at least two parts is necessary.

Apple whips its gigantic global supply chain into shape [Opinion]

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Apple supply chain worker inspecting glass
Apple is really cleaning up its supply chain under Tim Cook.
Photo: Apple

Over the years, Apple took heavy criticism for employing an offshore supply chain rife with abuse. The company is still stained by the rash of worker suicides in 2010 at Foxconn, its main supplier.

But as Apple’s latest Supplier Responsibility report shows, the company continues to make remarkable strides to improve conditions for workers and the environment.

How to save and print your iMessages and WhatsApps

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Get your freshly-printed WhatsApps here.
Get your freshly-printed WhatsApps here.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Yes, this sounds like a joke about the olde worlde CEO who has his secretary print his emails, then transcribe his dictated replies. But printing message threads can be pretty useful. Lawyers, for example, may want a printed record, or a PDF, of a message thread. And even regular humans might appreciate a well-formatted archive of their messages that can be easily searched and marked up.

You still can’t do this on your iDevice. However, thanks to the amazing iMazing Mac app, you can quickly create PDFs of your messages, and even print them. Onto paper.

The best way to see your Apple Watch is in living color [Watch Store]

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Strapa
A colorful band can really kick things up a notch.
Photo: Strapa

Sometimes you need to stick to basic black. Maybe your job requires you to have a low profile or wear a uniform. But now it’s the weekend, and it’s time to unleash some personality. One easy way to add some color to your life is to switch up the band for your Apple Watch.

The Cult of Mac Watch Store has several colorful Apple Watch bands available. Aside from the models highlighted below, there’s plenty of bold bands available, so check them out.

All the ways Apple locks us into iPhone [Opinion]

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iPhone survey
I wanted a Galaxy S10, but I'm stuck with iPhone.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

It’s not easy to give up your iPhone. Even if you’ve already decided you want to switch to another handset, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to let go. Apple has you locked in. And for some iPhone owners, there is no way out.

That’s because it’s not just your iPhone that you’d be saying goodbye to. Many other apps and services you use every day — some without even thinking about it — make switching to another platform nearly impossible.

Here are all the ways Apple makes it hard to jump ship and switch to Android.

iPhone SE 2 could be the savior Apple needs [Opinion]

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iPhone SE
Apple desperately needs an updated iPhone SE.
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

iPhone sales are down, especially in emerging markets. The reason is simple: Apple’s devices cost too darn much. And the solution is equally simple: Apple must make a new budget model. In short, it needs a successor to the iPhone SE to ensure short-term profits as well as long-term viability.

This device has to have a low, low price. Even if that means a phone so bare-bones that most Americans turn up their noses at it.

Apple’s first AR glasses to arrive in 2020 as iPhone accessory

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iOS 11.3 ARKit
Augmented reality will be even better with glasses.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s long-rumored augmented reality glasses will finally arrive in 2020, according to a trusted analyst.

The first-generation specs reportedly will function strictly as an iPhone accessory. They will depend on Apple’s smartphone for processing, rendering, location services and just about everything else. Mass-production of the Apple AR glasses could start later this year.