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Office 2019 will force procrastinating Mac owners to upgrade

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Focus Mode in Word from Office 2019 for Mac
Microsoft Word 2019 requires running a somewhat recent version of macOS.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft clearly expects Office 365 for Mac users to keep their computers at least generally up to date. The company requires users to run macOS Sierra or a newer version to have access to additional features coming next month.

Subscribers who are running 11.12 Sierra or its replacement 11.13 High Sierra in September will get an upgrade from the Office 2016 client to Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac.

Turn your old Apple Watch into real cash in time for an upgrade

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watchOS 4 is great and all, but what's coming in watchOS 5?
A new Apple Watch doesn’t have to break the bank.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

This year’s Apple Watch refresh could be the biggest yet. With rumors surrounding a new design and a larger edge-to-edge display, every smartwatch wearer is going to want to upgrade.

To help you pay for yours, you can turn your old Apple Watch into real cash. And we can show you where you’ll find the best price!

EU may finally allow Apple to buy Shazam

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Shazam iPhone
The wait for Apple to acquire a popular music-identification app is almost over.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple has been trying to buy Shazam since last December, but the deal has been held up for months by regulators in the EU. That’s reportedly just about to change.

It’s likely Apple wants this music-identification app as part of its ongoing battle with Spotify.

Photo fakery in smartphone ads shows genius of ‘Shot on iPhone’

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Shot on iPhone
A picture and three words are advertising gold.
Photo courtesy of Jen Pollack Bianco

Within a week’s time, two of the Apple’s biggest rivals got caught using misleading photos in ad campaigns that promoted the quality of their smartphones’ built-in cameras.

The embarrassing screwups of Samsung and Huawei showcase the simple brilliance of Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign.

Mystery iPhone spotted in Apple code hints at surprising refresh

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iOS 11 Beta 4
It's a great time to buy older Apple devices.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is expected to introduce three new smartphones this fall — all of which will include some of the best features of iPhone X. But it seems it could have another surprising refresh up its sleeve.

One developer has discovered references to an unreleased device that closely resembles the iPhone 7.

Cavalier Maverick may be the most stylish smart speaker yet [Review]

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Cavalier
Feast your eyes on this beauty!
Photo: Cavalier

Boasting superior sound quality and a high-quality finish that ditches metal and plastic for distressed leather and fabrics, Cavalier Maverick is one of the best smart speakers we’ve tried.

It’s a third-party Amazon Alexa, offering the same functionality as an Echo, but in a far more premium package. And with a pretty neat mobile twist, too.

Beware the vulnerabilities in this popular macOS mail app

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Airmail 3 on macOS
Airmail 3 could leave you open to attack.
Photo: Airmail

Airmail 3, a popular email client for macOS, ships with big security vulnerabilities that could put users’ personal data at risk.

Researchers uncovered an exploit that allows attackers to steal users’ emails and attachments simply by convincing them to open a message. Here’s how it works.

Tim Cook could find himself $120 million richer this Friday

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Tim Cook
Tim Cook will have another reason to smile this week.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Tim Cook is set to rake in around $120 million in Apple stock this week, thanks to another year well done as Apple CEO.

Cook will receive a maximum of $560,000 shares on Friday. This is split into two separate awards: 280,000 shares for his continuing service as Apple’s chief executive, and another 280,000 on condition that Apple’s stock market return over the past three years exceeds two-thirds of the other stocks in the S&P 500.

iPhone owner charged after punching employee over ‘faulty’ Face ID

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Michael Cohen Face ID
Shocking incident took place in Bangkok, Thailand.
Photo: Apple

A 23-year-old iPhone X customer in Bangkok has apologized after a shocking video of him punching a female retail store employee in the face went viral on social media.

The customer, called Kritpan Kitjit, supposedly became enraged after claiming his iPhone X’s Face ID feature did not work correctly. Kitjit demanded a replacement handset, but was denied due to the fact that the complaint didn’t hold up to inspection.

App Store revenue could take big hit if developers fight Apple’s cut

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Apple waives developer fees for nonprofits, others in 8 additional countries
Apple's App Store cash cow may not last forever.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The App Store is a big money spinner for Apple, but that could change if more developers, helped by regulatory intervention, push back against the commission that Apple currently takes.

In a note to clients, Macquarie Research analyst Ben Schachter suggests that this could cost Apple up to $16 billion annually. This follows news that Netflix is currently experimenting with a way to circumvent the cash it has to pay Apple.

Microsoft confirms plan to kill Office Sway app for iOS

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Microsoft Office Sway on iOS
Bid goodbye to Office Sway for iOS.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft has confirmed plans to discontinue its Office Sway app for iOS.

The service will no longer work on iPhone and iPad as of December 17, 2018. Sway will be removed from the App Store two months earlier. You will still be able to access the service through your web browser, however.

Apple TV veteran leaves the company to join ‘social broadcasting’ startup

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Apple TV exec
Jen Folse presenting at an Apple event in September 2015.
Screenshot: Apple

Jen Folse, the former Apple TV executive who is best known to Apple followers for her on-stage presentations at Apple events, has left the company for the startup Caffeine.

Caffeine is a social broadcasting platform for gaming, entertainment, and other artistic content. Folse will take the role as new Vice President of Product, helping to company to create its product roadmap, among other things.

Apple HR couldn’t care less if you have a college degree

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Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
You can get hired at Apple even without a fancy piece of paper telling people you got a lot of book learning.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

The traditional life plan includes four years of college then a good job. But not everyone takes this path, and sometimes the lack of a college degree keeps some people from getting a job they are otherwise qualified for. But not at Apple.

Following a non-traditional career path is no problem getting hired at Apple. And that goes for positions beyond working at its retail stores.

Tim Cook gives almost $5 million of Apple shares to charity

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Tim Cook earnings apple
Tim Cook has pledged to give all his money away.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Tim Cook has long talked about how he plans to give his entire fortune to charity — and a recent SEC filing shows that he’s living up to his word.

Recently, Apple’s CEO gave 23,215 Apple shares to an unspecified charity. At the current AAPL trading price, that’s almost $5 million.

Apple apparently gives up owning its own flagship stores in India

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apple-store-fifth-avenue-nyc-new-york
Apple India seemingly can't open its own a flagship store like the one in NYC, so it's forced to turn to franchisees to do it.
Photo: Simone Lovati/Flickr CC

It’s going to be years before Apple India can hope to open flagship retail stores. So the company is allowing local franchisees to open huge Apple stores in major cities to take their place.

India puts stringent requirements on companies who want to open retail stores, and so far Apple hasn’t met them.

Say goodbye to Back to My Mac in macOS Mojave

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Apple Remote Desktop is one of the applications that replaces Back to My Mac.
Apple Remote Desktop is one of the applications that replaces Back to My Mac.
Photo: Apple

There’s bad news for anyone who’s still a fan of Back to My Mac: Apple is killing off this suite of remote-access applications.

The good news is that Apple’s doing so because all the functionality has been supplanted by newer options. 

Indiepaper, an open alternative to Instapaper and Pocket

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This book is definitely meant to be read later -- it's not even written yet.
This book is definitely meant to be read later -- it's not even written yet.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Instapaper and Pocket are the big two read-later services. The former locked out European users for months and months earlier this year, and the latter is, well, it’s fine I guess. Both of them do a great job of letting you save articles from the web and read them later in a clean, text-and-images-only format.

But what if you want something controlled just by you? A read-later service that doesn’t mine your saved articles to make recommendations — one that just turns your read-later list into nicely formatted, text-only articles. Then you should try Indiepaper. Let’s check it out right now.

Apple lands TV series on one team’s effort to stop climate change

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Apple series
New York Times writer Nathaniel Rich
Photo: Democracy Now!/YouTube

Apple is adding a highly anticipated climate change drama series to a burgeoning roster of original television content that may one day rival Netflix.

Apple reportedly fought off aggressive competition to produce a TV series based on Nathaniel Rich’s New York Times Sunday Magazine story entitled “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change.”

Ditch costly phone plans with this international calling app

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With KeepCalling, it's easy to make affordable international calls from your smartphone, landline or even a pay phone.
With KeepCalling, it's easy to make affordable international calls from your smartphone, landline or even a pay phone.
Photo: KeepCalling

This post is presented by KeepCalling.

With cellphones, international calling got more complicated. Depending on your provider and your plan, dialing up your friend or loved one abroad could be free — or painfully pricey.

Instead of dropping coin for an international plan, you can pay as needed with an international calling app like KeepCalling. It offers a cost-effective alternative to expensive cellular plans, phone cards and online calling cards. Plus, its high-quality connections come free of extra charges and maintenance fees.

iOS App Dock could migrate to the iPhone’s edges

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Phone side screens.could take the place of physical buttons and switches. And there'll be app icons and notifications on the edges, too.
Phone side screens.could take the place of physical buttons and switches. And there'll be app icons and notifications on the edges, too.
Photo: Apple

Apple is considering bending an iPhone display around the sides of the device, making additional room for buttons and status notifications.

This isn’t a new concept, as rival devices have does something similar for years. But Apple filed a patent for these side-screens just 9 months ago, so it’s clearly still interested in the idea.

iPhone sales could take hit in one of the most Apple-mad countries

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iPhone Japan
Japan loves its iPhones. But a proposed law could make some consumers consider cheaper Android handsets.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Japanese government is considering a move to block carriers from bundling the cost of smartphones into monthly services fees. This comes after regulators last month said Apple violated anti-trust laws by forcing carriers to subsidize iPhones.

Apple has dominated the Japanese smartphone market for the last five years. The flagship iPhone X is the most expensive smartphone on the market at more than $1,000, but customers feel little to no pinch in the pocketbook as the cost becomes part of a fixed contract with monthly service fees.

Dark Sky weather app gets a complete redesign

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Some weather.
Some weather.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Another day, another new weather app. Dark Sky was already a big favorite, thanks to its hyper-local forecasts that tell you when it will rain outside your door, down to the minute.

Well, the app just got updated to version 6.0. According to the Dark Sky developers, it’s a completely new app — an update in name only. Let’s take a look.