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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.

iPhone X Plus will get iPad-like landscape mode

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iphone x
The iPhone X Plus is set to launch this fall.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new big-screen iPhone launching later this year will come with some UI perks other 2018 iPhones can’t match.

Based on info found in the latest iOS 12 beta, the extra screen real estate on the iPhone X Plus (or whatever Apple calls it) will allow users to operate it in landscape mode with extra information, like the one found on the iPad.

Apple earnings: Can Cupertino’s latest surprise save the Street? [Live blog]

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Will Apple reach its own targets for Q2?
Apple's Q3 2018 earnings are expected to be the weakest of the year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s weakest earnings report of 2018 is set to be revealed today but it might also contain a few clues about the 2018 iPhone launch this fall.

Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri will talk to investors on an open call at 2 p.m. Pacific. Analysts don’t expect a huge boost in iPhone sales and revenue (in fact some are downright pessimistic). However, Apple could pull out a few surprises like it did the last two quarters.

Per usual, Cult of Mac will be here to live-blog all the action starting at 1:30 p.m. (That’s when the earnings report typically lands.) Come join the fun!

Apple surprises Wall Street with record-breaking Q3 profits

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European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
Apple is a money-making machine.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

While the rest of the tech industry’s earnings are in a slump, Apple just posted its biggest Q3 earnings report ever.

Investors were expecting Apple to post at least $51 bilion in revenue, but the iPhone-maker has come away with $53.3 billion in income, marking a 17% increase from last June quarter. iPhone sales came in at 41.3 million units sold for the quarter which has Apple CEO Tim Cook absolutely stoked.

How to use Do Not Disturb While Driving

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This car hasn't been disturbed while driving for quite some time.
This car hasn't been disturbed while driving for quite some time.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple’s Do Not Disturb While Driving feature has the potential to make you less of a menace on the road. Introduced in iOS 11, Do Not Disturb While Driving automatically switches your iPhone into Do Not Disturb mode when you hop in your car and drive off. While in this mode, iOS suppresses all notifications so you can pay attention to keeping that ton of metal, glass and cupholders from permanently ruining — or ending — the life of a pedestrian or cyclist.

But don’t worry! If you do receive one of those text messages that you previously thought were more important than the lives of your fellow commuters, the sender will get a reply telling them that you’re driving, and that you are now a better person.

All of this is customizable, of course, so let’s see how to set up Do Not Disturb While Driving.

Apple Music ad turns DJ Khaled’s toddler son into a star

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DJ Khaled
DJ Khaled and his son Assad starred in an Apple Music ad last year.
Photo: Apple/YouTube

Apple and DJ Khaled made a commercial of true cross-promotion genius. Khaled gets to plug his latest single No Brainer by plugging Apple Music. Siri, HomePod and iPhone X also each get a turn to shine.

But stealing the minute-and-half show was Khaled’s toddler son, Asahd, who, with help from the voice of comedian Kevin Hart, is caught with an iPhone X in a highchair nagging his attorney to aggressively negotiate for more money.

Grab Apple’s most stable iOS 12 public beta now

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iOS 12
iOS 12 public beta 4 lets you try out all the new iPhone and iPad features months before the full release, expected this fall.
Photo: Apple

You don’t have to wait to get the new features of iOS 12. You could install a pre-release version and start tinkering with Siri Shortcuts or Memoji now.

Apple just introduced iOS 12 public beta 4, hopefully the most stable version yet. There are both iPhone and iPad iterations.

Steve Jobs’ marketing guru slags Apple advertising as boring

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Author Ken Segall worked in advertising with Steve Jobs for more than a dozen years. His new book is called Think Simple.
Ken Segall worked in advertising with Steve Jobs for more than a dozen years. Now he'd like CEO Tim Cook to Think Different about marketing.
Photo: Doug Schneider Photography

Quick, what’s the advertising slogan Apple uses for the iPhone X? How about for the iPad? What was the theme of the last Apple ad you saw?

If you shrugged your shoulders at all these questions, then you’ll understand why a former Apple ad man sees problems with the company’s current advertising strategy.

Spect is a super-fast image browser for Mac

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Spect is an ultra-light image browser from Panic founder Steven Frank.
Spect is an ultra-light image browser from Panic founder Steven Frank.
Photo: Steven Frank

Spect is in the one-thing-well school, apps that focus on a single task and make that task as easy and fast as possible. And because Spect comes from Panic developer Steven Frank, it does its task very well indeed.

So what is Spect? It’s a Mac image browser app that lets you dump folders containing thousands of images onto it, and then speed through them, viewing, culling, selecting and deleting along the way.

Malicious ‘Apple Care’ phishing scam targets iCloud users

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Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The latest phishing scam targets iCloud users, trying to scare them into installing malicious software on their iOS devices.

Some users have received emails recently that push them to fake Apple Support websites. Once there, the sites prompt them to call “Apple Care” because their devices are supposedly “locked for illegal activity.” Here’s how to avoid the scam.

Grab excellent photo app Obscura 2 while you can

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The Obscura 2 photo app is worth the money. But why not get it for free while you can?
Obscura 2 is worth the money. But why not get it for free while you can?
Screenshots: Obscura

Obscura 2 is one of the best camera apps and a bargain at $4.99 if the iPhone is your primary camera.

Today, Apple and the developer of Obscura announced it is available to download at no charge through Sept. 25 via the Apple Store app.

Apple has a gambling and porn problem in China

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Apple Store
State-controlled media in China is piling on Apple right now.
Photo: Apple

As if the threat of the burgeoning trade war between the U.S. and China wasn’t enough, Apple has another problem in the world’s most populous country.

State-controlled media in China is accusing Apple of failing to act to block content that is pornographic, gambling-focused, or intended to promote the selling of counterfeit products. At least five news agencies in the country have jumped on the accusations.

Slumping Galaxy sales lead to weak Samsung earnings

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Samsung galaxy
The Galaxy S9 isn't selling as well as expected.
Photo: Samsung

Despite releasing a series of iPhone-bashing commercials, Samsung’s own smartphone sales are beginning to decline drastically. And investors are not pleased.

Samsung posted a second-quarter earnings report Monday that put an end to its streak of record-breaking financial results. While the company’s memory chip business is doing well, sales of its flagship Galaxy S9 smartphone and display panels are slipping after the company saw huge profit growth in 2017.

Panicky analyst warns investors off Apple

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CNBC
AAPL stock is currently trading slightly down at $189.92.
Photo: CNBC

Apple reports its quarterly earnings later today, and while most people are optimistic, one analyst is throwing out a warning.

Referring to the so-called FAANG stocks of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, analyst Larry McDonald warns that the tech giants have the potential to lose more than a third of their value. Is this the time to quit AAPL while you’re ahead? McDonald says you might want to get the hell out of Dodge.

5 key details to watch for in Apple’s Q3 2018 earnings report

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Tim Cook with money bag
Tim Cook may wow investors with a better-than-expected Q3 earnings report.
Photo: Apple

When Apple unveils its latest earnings report Tuesday, some analysts think the numbers may be even better than expected.

Q3 is usually Apple’s weakest quarter of the year as the iPhone sales cycle starts to come to an end. However, this week’s call may hold a number of surprises and hints about the 2018 iPhone lineup as Apple gives investors guidance on next quarter. As usual, Cult of Mac will liveblog the entire call with all the pithy analysis we can muster.

We’ll be watching for these key details in the report (and so should you).

HomePod voice calling feature confirmed in iOS 12 beta 5

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Siri display
Zzzzzzz.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

HomePod’s rumored voice calling feature has been all but confirmed in iOS 12 beta 5.

A new “Personal Requests” setup screen now displays an additional icon where the Phone app will sit, and reads “make phone calls” in its list of abilities. It indicates HomePod users will be able to initiate calls for the first time when iOS 12 makes its public debut this fall.

New videos reveal 2018 iPhones in all their glory

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2018 iPhones
Sadly, we've still got a couple of months to wait!
Photo: TigerMobiles

One day after Benjamin Geskin’s dummy photos of the forthcoming iPhone X Plus and new LCD iPhone hit the internet, a pair of videos showing Apple’s 2018 lineup have emerged, too.

Like Geskin’s iPhones pics, these ones depict mockups, rather than the real thing — but are still supposedly based on in-depth schematics from sources in Apple’s chain. Check out the videos below.

WhatsApp brings group video calling to Android and iOS

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WhatsApp group calls
Enjoy group calls on WhatsApp today.
Photo: WhatsApp

WhatsApp’s new group video calling feature is now available to users on Android and iOS.

Users can chat with up to three others simultaneously, regardless of their location. WhatsApp says the feature has been designed to work even over unreliable network connections, so you have no excuse not to stay in touch.

Fortnite’s latest update brings the boom!

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Fortnite Fly Explosives game mode
It’s your turn to make the rules.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite’s controversial guided missile is back in today’s big content update.

You can enjoy it in regular Battle Royale matches, as well as in the brand new Fly Explosives game mode, filled with jetpacks and explosive weapons. Slurp Juice issues have also been fixed in this release.

Apple lists good deeds to avoid Cupertino ‘head tax’

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Apple Park Close up
Apple has long been based in Cupertino, where Steve Jobs grew up.
Photo: Apple

Apple is the reason why most non-locals know the name Cupertino. Just in case free international advertising wasn’t enough, however, the company just sent a letter to the Cupertino City Council, outlining all the nice things Apple does to benefit its hometown.

Although it doesn’t mention it, the letter conveniently arrives on the eve of a discussion on whether to impose a “head tax” on Apple employees in the area.

MacOS is a hellstew of error messages, says new Chromebook ad

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Chromebook ad
Is this your experience of using macOS? Google suggests it is.
Photo: Google

Tensions between Google and Apple may have cooled since Steve Jobs declared “thermonuclear war” on the search giant, but that doesn’t mean hostilities have ceased altogether.

In its latest Chromebook commercial, Google fires shots at both Apple and fellow tech giant Microsoft. Both companies are mocked for the error messages their operating systems supposedly bombard customers with, and more. Chromebooks, on the other hand, represent, “a laptop you can count on.” Check the ad out below.

Apple adds a virtual reality expert to its growing team

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Get a top shelf VR experience without paying a top shelf price.
An Apple VR headset like this one might be in development.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The rumors of an Apple virtual reality headset just got a boost. The company hired the developer of a VR painting application. An app that can’t run on any device Apple currently offers.

It’s not easy to see why Apple would need the talents of the creator of Cyber Paint if it’s not prepping some kind of VR hardware.

iOS 12 beta hints at wireless AirPods charging case launch

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AirPower
The long-delayed wireless AirPods charging case could finally be out soon, along with the AirPower charging mat.
Photo: Apple

Last September, Apple unveiled an AirPods case that can be wirelessly charged. We’re still waiting for it almost a year later — but there’s fresh evidence that it’s coming soon.

Buried in the iOS 12 beta released today are a couple of images that seem to show this new case.

Save $200 on an iMac and/or $14 on AirPods [Deals & Steals]

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iMac
Save hundreds on a 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display!
Photo: Apple

In today’s edition of Deals & Steals, we show you where you can get a brand-new iMac for a phenomenal savings. And, in a similarly enticing Apple deal, you can save $14 on the rarely discounted AirPods.

On top of that, we dug up deals on a new GoPro Hero 4 action cam, an LED monitor and a pair of comfortable gaming headphones — all for insane prices!