Streaming music has come a long way! According to a new report, the number of people now paying a monthly music streaming subscription in the U.S. is around 51 million. That’s close to double the number at the end of 2016!

In total, last year, streaming music services accounted for 65 percent of the recorded music revenue in the U.S. Spotify and Apple Music combined dominate “at least 80 percent” of the domestic music streaming market, and other platforms — including ones belonging to big names like Amazon and Google — are already, “falling surprisingly far behind.”

We all know adulting is hard, and staying on top of day-to-day tasks is a big task unto itself. Paper and pen are great for staying organized and capturing ideas. But we live in the digital age, so it pays to have digital tools.

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: New iPhones (loads of ’em). New Apple Watches that could save your life. While some big leaks spoiled this week’s Gather Round event, we still got some surprises.

And now we’ve got plenty to talk about, starting with head-to-head comparisons: iPhone XS vs. iPhone XR and Apple Watch Series 4 vs. Series 3.

You’ll find these stories and much more. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Last week’s Apple event marked one year to the day since Apple showed off its AirPower wireless charging mat for the first time. Since then, however, Apple hasn’t mentioned anything more about the technology — and now all signs of it have been scrubbed from the company’s website.

According to a new report, the problem Apple is facing is based around heat management issues, although there have also been other hardware and software issues, too. As a result, it’s unlikely that the product will arrive this year — and Apple may even wind up using the AirPower concept and trademark for a new redesigned product in 2019.

One of Apple’s pre-eminent historians, tech journalist Steven Levy, dropped an Apple history treasure trove over the weekend.

Published by Wired, the oral history of Apple’s Infinite Loop campus features contributions from a whole lot of Apple employees, both past and present. Want to hear Eddy Cue talk Steve Jobs’ pizza preferences? Or how Tim Cook crossed the picket line on Day One of his job at Apple? Here are some of my favorite highlights:

The iPhone XR is likely to be the most popular new iPhone this year, followed by the iPhone XS Plus, and, in last place, the iPhone XS. That’s according to highly respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo also noted that pre-orders for the Apple Watch Series 4, which in my view was the standout new product at last week’s Apple event, were “better than expected.”

Apple Watch Series 4 orders open midnight September 13 (tonight!) with shipping beginning on September 21.

In the meantime, grab yourself a strap or two befitting Apple’s fourth-generation smartwatch. The 40mm band works with the 38mm straps; the 44mm band works with the 42mm straps. You’re going to love the Series 4 and Cult of Mac’s lineup of best bands to outfit it. 

This week we kick back with a kick drum synth, post some selfies on Sunlit, and shoot some hoops (or whatever the kids call it) with HomeCourt.

Whenever a new iPhone or iPad is released, Apple gets criticized for how hard it is to work on. Special tools are required and everything is glued together. Replacing your own screen or battery is nigh impossible.

But it turns out the company is doing you a favor. Because iPhone repair is surprisingly dangerous.

The internet is a boon for business, but only if you know how to use it. So we’ve rounded up four courses covering the how’s and why’s of marketing online. Courses cover the basics of e-commerce and building a business plan, starting a dropshipping business and more. There’s plenty for the aspiring online entrepreneur, and all at super deep discounts.

Apple touted support for using multiple SIM cards at once in its new top-tier iPhones during their announcement. But there’s a problem the company “forgot” to mention: this feature won’t be available when the iPhone XS and XS Max reach customers’ hands next week.

This is just one of several features in Apple’s 2018 product lineup that aren’t coming as soon as expected.

We’ve all been conditioned to look with envy at a set of Beats headphones. But that’s mostly marketing, and the allure of expensive toys. Turns out it’s possible to get comparable sound quality for a fraction the cost.

September 15, 1988: Apple releases the Apple IIc Plus, the sixth and final model in the Apple II computer series. It’s a great machine, with impressive capabilities, but suffers from poor marketing and support.

With the Mac around, Cupertino simply doesn’t seem interested in the Apple computer anymore.

Apple is the headline in two new studies. One seems alarming as it shows Apple’s share in the smartwatch market has declined by 14 percent.

But the second study shows Apple as the biggest money maker in the smartphone market by a long shot. Thanks to iPhone X, Apple held 62 percent of the market share in Q2. Its closest rival, Samsung, has suffered double-digit sales losses and is a distant second at 17 percent.

Purchased digital content has been around since before the launch of the iTunes Store back in 2003, but things were much different then. Devices weren’t constantly connected, and streaming wasn’t the primary way to access your “purchased” (or subscription) content, and most things came in the form of physical media (VHS tapes, DVDs, CDs, or 8-Tracks). Now that things are streamed, stored in the cloud, and available across all our devices, digital content ownership is much more complicated than simply buying a movie, book, or album and having it indefinitely.

Apple unleashed more new iPhones this fall than ever before which means there’s a ton of little details to learn. You could dive deep into our iPhone XS and iPhone XR comparison guide to figure out which one is best for you, but if you don’t have time for that, Apple has made a short video covering all the new features.

In under a minute you can know everything there is to know about dual SIMs, dual cameras, big displays, depth control, Face ID and more amazing features packed into the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

Prepare to be wowed:

Apple is on a mission to help save the world’s disappearing mangrove forests.

Mangrove forests suck up a huge amount of carbon dioxide from the air. Half of all mangrove forests on Earth have been lost since 1940, but Apple is making a big investment to help save one particular forest in Colombia in an effort to curb climate change.

You’ve just pre-ordered your new iPhone, and you’re wondering what to do with the old one. Selling it is a pain, and the trade-in prices on your two-year-old model are too low to bother with. So how about handing that old iPhone off to a family member, or a friend? But before you just switch it off and drop it into a bag, there are a few things you should prepare. Here’s how.

The iPhone XR won’t be available in stores until next month, but you can already grab the colorful new wallpapers for your old iPhone right now.

Unlike the oil wallpapers on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, some of the wallpapers for the iPhone XR come with multiple bubbles and match the color schemes of Apple’s new device. Just open this page on your iPhone, long press on each image and save them to your camera roll so you can turn them into a wallpaper.

Download all 12 right here:

The default wallpaper for the new iPhone XS models is undoubtedly beautiful. But that’s clearly not why Apple chose it. It can’t be a coincidence that the black region of the image is perfectly placed to hide the screen cutout.

Apple isn’t denying the existence of the notch in the two most expensive of the 2018 iPhones, but it’s certainly trying to de-emphasize it.

As the entire world is watching hurricane Florence approaching the Carolinas, Apple is already reaching into its wallet to help with the relief efforts.

A kitchenware company and an app for tracking shots on a basketball court couldn’t be more different. Yet, somehow the two wound up with nearly identical logos.

Such is the case for HomeCourt, whose shining moment Wednesday at the Steve Jobs Theatre got upstaged on social media after Australian company Hutch Kitchen pointed out the similarities.

President Trump reportedly ordered tariffs on $200 billion more Chinese goods yesterday. After these were first proposed several weeks ago, Apple warned that they’ll likely increase the cost of many of its products.

The list of affected devices includes some of Apple’s most popular offerings.

Let’s not beat around the bush — the new iPhone names are a mess. “iPhone XS Max” sounds like a body spray for teenagers and the “XR” in iPhone XR means … well, not very much at all.

Today’s iPhones are an explosion of confused branding.

But the 2018 iPhones definitely aren’t the first time Apple products bore baffling, awkward or just plain rubbish names. Brace yourself for a repulsive refresher as we recount the worst Apple product names of all time.

Apple Watch Series 4 is now available to preorder ahead of its official launch on September 21. It’s packed with new features, but considerably more expensive than its predecessors, with prices starting at $399.

Last year’s Apple Watch Series 3 is also still available. It’s not quite as impressive as the latest model, but it’s now more affordable at $279.

Which one should you buy? Find out right here in our 2018 Apple Watch comparison.