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Apple must pay $145.1 million for infringing on patents

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Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined
Apple has battled WiLan in court before.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has been ordered to pay out $145.1 million in damages for infringing on patents held by the Canadian patent licensing company WiLan.

A federal jury in San Diego, California ruled that the iPhone infringed on two WiLan patents. These “8,457,145” and “8,537,757” patents relate to wireless communications tech — specifically bandwidth request protocols in a wireless communication system and adaptive call admission control.

The Primus Apple Watch band debuts in bold, Italian leather [Review]

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strapa
Makers of the popular Crocodilus Apple Watch band, Strapa continues its trend toward quality with its latest release — the Primus. Shown above with Matte Black hardware. 
Photo: Strapa

The company we know as Strapple (a company featured in Cult of Mac’s Watch Store) sounded a bit too much like the maker of Apple Watch. The tiny brand speedily changed its name to Strapa and doubled-down with the release of one of its most striking Apple Watch bands yet — the Primus.

Strapa explains Apple’s (minor) involvement in its sudden name change and site relaunch. During this transition, this company continues to make some of the best leather bands we’ve worn. The Primus Apple Watch Band is the latest in Strapa’s lineup.

Steve Jobs’ daughter talks about her big secret

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Lisa
Lisa, photographed in 2005.
Photo: Lisa Brennan-Jobs/Wikipedia CC

Lisa Brennan Jobs, the oldest daughter of Steve Jobs, is coming out with her first book next month. Part of the story grapples with their complicated relationship. (He denied being her father at first.)

In an excerpt from her book, Small Fry, posted today, Lisa Brennan Jobs gives glimpses into some of her dad’s last months. She also talks about how it affected her psyche when he named the Lisa computer after her but didn’t admit it to her until she was 27.

Apple shares gain $55 billion after glowing quarterly report

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money
Apple share price increased more than a dollar or two following a very strong quarterly earnings report.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Investors rushed to buy Apple stock today, pushing the share price up almost 6 percent. That added a whopping $55 billion to the company’s market capitalization.

Apple is still a bit short of the much-hyped $1 trillion valuation, but moved noticeably closer today.

Samsung takes on iPad Pro with Galaxy Tab S4

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The Galaxy Tab S4 is clearly designed to take on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.
The Galaxy Tab S4 is clearly designed to take on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro. So we compared the two.
Screenshot: Samsung

Samsung just unveiled the first high-end Android tablet in years: With a 10.5-inch screen and a $649.99 price, the Galaxy Tab S4 takes aim squarely at the iPad Pro. As with Apple’s tablet, there’s an optional keyboard ($150) to turn this Android model into a 2-in-1 laptop.

We compare the two to highlight the differences.

Here’s when to expect Apple’s 2018 iPhone event

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iPhone X
The 2018 iPhone lineup could be prettier than ever.
Photo: Martin Hajek

Apple’s biggest keynote of the year is quickly approaching and, while the company hasn’t revealed the date, we have a pretty good idea of when exactly the 2018 iPhone lineup will be revealed.

After analyzing the dates of Apple’s previous unveilings and the 2018 calendar, it seems pretty likely the keynote will fall during the second week of September.

How to use the iPhone camera’s built-in manual controls

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Manual control can be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Manual control can be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

For most photos, the iPhone camera proves perfectly adequate. You just hold up your phone, point it, and shoot. The exposure and focus are almost always correct, or at least correct enough. But on occasion, you need to take control.

For instance, maybe that beautiful dark blue sky keeps getting washed out because the iPhone insists on correctly exposing the face of the human in the foreground, when you’d prefer to see the person in silhouette. (Or vice versa.) Or perhaps the iPhone insists on focusing on that tree in the foreground, instead of the person half-hidden behind it?

Both of these can be fixed using the manual controls built right into the iPhone’s own Camera app. They’re pretty well-hidden, so you might never have even noticed them. But rest assured, they are there — and they are very easy to use!

Oscar-nominated filmmaker says smartphone killed photography

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Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders wants to find a new term for the type of photography done with an iPhone.
Photo: BBC

So many people are taking so many pictures thanks to the iPhone. And yet, renowned filmmaker and photographer Wim Wenders says photography is “more dead than ever.”

“The trouble with iPhone pictures is nobody sees them,” Wenders said in a recent BBC video interview during an exhibit of his Polaroid photos. “Even the people who take them don’t look at them anymore, and they certainly don’t make prints.”

The Mac needs this amazing new font menu right now

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Sam William Smith's new font menu design is simple, and perfect.
Sam William Smith's new font menu design is simple, and perfect.
Photo: Sam William Smith

If you do any work with fonts on the Mac whatsoever, you will have run up against the font picker. It’s a piece of design that dates back to when the Mac only came with a black-and-white screen, and yet it’s still the only way to select a font on an Apple computer. That wouldn’t be so bad if it was a good design, but it’s not. The macOS font picker is little more than a drop-down menu. Worse, it’s a drop-down menu that changes every time you use it.

You can use the Mac’s font panel in some apps, but even then you’re faced with long and confusing lists.

Sam William Smith, a designer from Glasgow, Scotland, decided to do something about this. He completely redesigned the Mac font menu, and it’s great.

Buy two Casetify Apple Watch bands, get 20% off [Summer Sale]

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Casetify
Take your pick of any two Casetify Apple Watch bands and get 20% off! Includes Stainless Steel, Woven Nylon and Saffiano Leather bands.
Photo: Casetify

Now’s the perfect opportunity to up your Apple Watch style game and swap out that old strap for something fresh. Enter Casetify’s collection of fun and super stylish Apple Watch bands in Stainless Steel Mesh, Woven Nylon and the artist-inspired line of Saffiano Leather bands.

Browse the full lineup of Casetify bands in our Watch Store, and remember to use code CULTOF20 at checkout for 20 percent off when you purchase two Casestify Apple Watch bands through Aug, 31, 2018.

Sorry, Android. You can’t have more than two notches

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Apple Watch
The iPhone X screen cutout could be renamed the Android notch because so many devices running Google's OS are including one. Enough that new rules prevent overuse.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The “notch” in the iPhone X drew heavy criticism when this device was first announced, but makers of Android phones have been quick to embrace it. So quick that Google felt compelled to step in and limit the number of screen cutouts allowed.

Phone designers were apparently going overboard if Google had prevent them from putting in three or more.

Apple won’t pay Cupertino ‘head tax’ after all

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Apple waives developer fees for nonprofits, others in 8 additional countries
It's not like Apple has the cash to spare!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple won’t have to pay additional taxes to the city of Cupertino based on the company’s number of local employees, city officials have decided.

Some Cupertino City Council members planned to give voters the opportunity to decide whether Apple, and other large local businesses, should pay a “head tax.” Apple would have paid around $9.4 million annually to the city. However, those plans have now been scrapped.

Clue helps you understand your period. [50 Essential iOS Apps #44]

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Clue app current cycle screen
Clue helps you understand your body's reproductive cycle.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: clue appFor the last few years, health has been a key focus area for Apple. Fitness tracking, sleep tracking, nutrition tracking, mindfulness and even reproductive health have made their way into the Health app. Unfortunately, when it comes to your sexual wellbeing, Apple’s offering is pretty minimal. With Clue: Period and Ovulation Tracker, you can track a wide range of physical and mental details and gain useful insights into patterns and abnormalities in your natural cycle.

France bans smartphones and tablets from schools

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What to expect from Apple education event 2018.
Just don't take your iPhone with you!
Photo: Apple

Think smartphones are an unavoidable part of daily school life if you’re a teen? Think again. Well, if you live in France, at least.

Under new legislation, French students are banned from using either smartphone or tablets during the school day. The new laws were part of President Emmanuel Macron’s election promises.

Fortnite challenges leak out early for season 5, week 4

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Fortnite
Listen out for the sound improvements this week.
Photo: Epic Games

We’re just one day away from another round of challenges in Fortnite Battle Royale. But you don’t have to wait to find out what you’ll be doing this week, because week four’s challenges for season five have leaked out early.

Here’s how you’ll earn another 50 Battle Stars.

iOS 12 beta 5 spills Apple’s dual-SIM plans for new iPhone

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iPhone X home screen
iOS 14's Home screen could be very different.
Photo: Apple

A recent rumor claimed Apple will add dual-SIM functionality to at least one of the handsets in this year’s iPhone lineup. Now its latest developer update has all but confirms those claims.

Code discovered in iOS 12 beta 5 reveals Apple is already making preparations for a secondary SIM card slot in some iOS devices. It seems two traditional SIM cards will be supported, rather than a traditional SIM combined with embedded Apple SIM technology.

Apple and Qualcomm could work together again in 2019

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Qualcomm patents
Qualcomm is a major player in 5G technology.
Photo: Qualcomm

Apple and Qualcomm have been feuding for the past year-and-a-half, but they may make peace in time for the upcoming 5G era.

According to a new report, sources in the supply chain think the companies will patch up their relationship next year, due to the fact that it would be too risky for Apple to bet on 5G smartphone production adopting non-Qualcomm chips. Qulacomm is one of the leaders when it comes to 5G chip technology.

You won’t believe how many people are using Apple beta software

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notification centre iOS 12
Have you upgraded early to iOS 12?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple warns us that its beta releases should not be installed on our primary devices. Until just a few years ago, it only allowed registered developers to download them. But that doesn’t stop keen Apple fans from updating early to get their hands on its latest features.

You won’t believe how many people are already running the next versions of macOS, iOS, tvOS, watchOS months before their public debut.

Apple Pay expands its reach to CVS, 7-11 and Germany

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay will expand its reach to new retailers in the U.S. and a new market in Europe this year.

Apple has confirmed that its popular mobile payments service will soon be supported by CVS and 7-11, while Mac and iOS users will be able to use it in Germany this fall.

Pocket City is the iOS city-building sim you’ve dreamed of

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Pocket City
Well, that's the rest of our week sorted then!
Photo: Bobby Li

There are few game franchises I poured more time and energy into as a kid than SimCity. From the mid-1990s, the classic metropolis-building strategy games were guaranteed a place on whichever computer I owned at the time.

Jump forward to 2018, and the not-dissimilar Pocket City has just landed in the App Store. And if you’re a fan of Will Wright’s construction classic, this loving tribute will certainly appeal. Check out the trailer below.

Huawei steals Apple’s crown as No. 2 smartphone maker

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Chinese company Huawei wants the media buzz that would come with releasing the world's first foldable phone.
This is the first quarter since 2010 that Apple hasn't been in the no. 1 or 2 spots.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns / Flickr CC

Apple just smashed expectations yet again with another monster quarterly earnings report. But that’s not enough to stop Huawei from stealing Apple’s crown as the world’s second-largest smartphone maker, based on number of handsets shipped.

The figures come from analysts at IDC, who note that Apple shipped a total of 342 million iPhones in the quarter, compared to Huawei’s 54.2 million units. Market leader Samsung shipped a massive 71.5 million units during that same period.

The biggest takeaways from Apple’s dominant Q3 earnings results

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Apple is made of money.
Apple is made of money.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple beat Wall Street’s expectations today with its Q3 2018 earnings report. Even though iPhone sales were barely up 1% the company still posted better-than-expected revenues as sales of Apple Watch, services and AirPods picked up the slack leading to Apple’s best Q3 results ever.

Prices of Apple shares skyrocketed closer to the illustrious $204 mark that will make the iPhone-maker the first ever trillion dollar company once the results posted and Tim Cook seemed extremely confident and relaxed on his call with investors this afternoon. While the rest of tech stocks are starting to sink, Apple is as steady ever.

Apple R&D dumps billions into Cupertino’s secret projects

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Apple research and development
Apple research and development spends oodles of cash on secret projects.
Photo: Pexels

Apple’s spending on research and development of new products keeps growing. The company’s R&D spending  increased by hundreds of millions in the second quarter of this year, totaling more than ever before.

But where is all this money going? Some of its R&D projected are obvious, but others the company tries to keep secret.