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Carry your summer tunes in style with these awesome earbuds [Deals]

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Just in time for summer, we've rounded up the best deals on ultra portable earbuds.
Just in time for summer, we've rounded up the best deals on ultra portable earbuds.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

There are lots of ways to listen to your music on the go. In fact, there might be too many. So we’ve rounded up a trio of awesome earbud options for personal audio, just in time for summer, and at some insanely discounted prices. Everything is discounted by half off or more, read on for more details:

Apple’s mapping minivans will make their way to Japan this summer

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Apple's Car
Apple has been mapping its way around the world.
Photo: diggapple/Twitter

Apple is set to begin using its Apple Maps minivans to collect mapping data in Japan later this year, the company has revealed.

Apple is due to begin carrying out surveys of Tokyo and Urayasu between June and October, marking the eleventh country that Apple has used its vehicles to collect data in. Previously, Apple’s map vehicles have collected data in Croatia, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the U.K., and, of course, the United States.

The sad state of the Mac, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast MacBook Pro
It's been over a year since most Macs have been updated.
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: it’s been over a year since Apple has updated virtually any of their Macs. Just what in the heck in going on? We discuss. Plus: why all your online purchases will soon be taxed; Instagram takes on YouTube with new IGTV app; MoviePass is about to change for the worse, AGAIN; America’s largest theater chain just put the final nails in the MoviePass coffin; and things get weird in an all-new what we’re into!

Our thanks to Linked-In for supporting this episode. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters… go to LinkedIn.com/cultcast and get a $50 credit toward your first job post.

Huge changes are coming to Fortnite, and that’s okay

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Fortnite iOS 14
Everyone should welcome skill-based matchmaking.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Forget everything you know about how to win in Fortnite Battle Royale.

Epic Games has confirmed that it plans to make huge changes to the game that could completely change the way you play. Master builders will suffer most, while new players will have a greater chance of winning matches.

Victory won’t be so dependent on shotgun skill and building the biggest bases. And that’s okay.

Supreme Court ruling means online shopping could get pricier

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iMac Pro
Buying products online may not remain significantly cheaper for long.
Photo: Apple/Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you buy your products online, you could soon find that they get a bit more expensive — due to a Supreme Court ruling that states can now require internet retailers to collect sales taxes. This decision ends 50 years of legal battles banning states from imposing sales taxes on purchases sold by out-of-state retailers.

“Our state is losing millions for education, health care and infrastructure, and our citizens are harmed by an uneven playing field,” said Marty Jackley, South Dakota’s attorney general, summing up the argument in favor of the decision.

Apple challenges Qualcomm patents as legal battle rages on

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Qualcomm patents
Apple to Qualcomm: "I wish I knew how to quit you." But the companies continue to do business even as they drag each other to court.
Photo: Qualcomm

“Coopetition” best describes the relationship between Apple and Qualcomm. Wireless modems made by Qualcomm are used in iPhones even as the two companies are locked in a years-long patent dispute over billions of dollars.

The fight reached a new phase today as Apple challenged four Qualcomm patents, arguing they shouldn’t have been awarded in the first place.

iPhone might soon offer handwriting recognition

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iPad and iPhone handwriting recognition is a real possibility
Apple is investigating including handwriting recognition in the iPhone and iPad.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple is actively working on a handwriting recognition system. This raises the distinct possibility that you might someday enter text by writing words on your iPhone or iPad screen, rather than tapping out letters on a virtual keyboard.

Some will remember that Apple’s tried something similar before and it didn’t go well.

Spike Jonze’s amazing HomePod ad wins Cannes advertising award

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From The Rock to 'Your Verse': Apple's best ads of the 2010s
This is the second major award for the 'Welcome Home" ad Spike Jonze created for the HomePod.
Photo: Apple

A Grand Prix in the Cannes Entertainment awards went to “Welcome Home,” a long-form ad for the HomePod created by Spike Jonze. The goal of the “Lions”  is to reward education or advertising excellent enough to qualify as art..

Watch the brilliant 5-minute ad below:

YouTube influencers carefully watching IGTV

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IGTV YouTube
Pia Muehlenbeck used her YouTube Channel to promote her first IGTV post.
Photo: Kane and Pia/YouTube

Fashion influencer Pia Muehlenbeck wore a red dress chosen by her social media fans for a sunny day in Santa Monica to make her first video for the new IGTV.

Once shooting finished, she posted it on YouTube.

YouTube has seen competitors come and go and none have been able to threaten its standing as the dominant video platform. But it has not faced a media company with the might to seriously cut into its ad revenues or lure away some of its most prominent talent like Instagram.

How to install custom fonts on your iPhone or iPad

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You can add any typeface to the apps on your iPhone or iPad.
You can add any typeface to the apps on your iPhone or iPad.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Most of use just use the fonts that come supplied with the iOS apps we use every day. If you use Pages, you get a ton of built-in typeface options. But what if you use a notes app by a smaller developer that hasn’t licensed a bunch of fonts for their app? What if you have a favorite font, or even a font you designed yourself, that you want to use on your iPhone or iPad? Or maybe you opened up a Microsoft Word document in Pages and got the dreaded “missing font” warning?

Then there’s good news, because you can quite easily install fonts on your system, and they can be used by any app that supports them.

AT&T’s WatchTV service adds 30 TV channels to unlimited data

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AT&T's WatchTV combines streaming TV channels with unlimited data.
AT&T's WatchTV service combines entertainment with unlimited data.
Photo: AT&T

AT&T wants to stand out in the wireless market by combining streaming TV with unlimited data. Two newly-announced WatchTV options add dozens of TV channels and thousands of on-demand TV shows to the carrier’s unlimited data plans.

This move comes in the wake of the $85B AT&T/Time Warner merger, giving the carrier far greater access to video content that can be streamed to your iPhone or iPad almost anywhere.

HomePod is still hopeless, and it’s (mostly) Siri’s fault

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Apple debuts HomePod in India at its cheapest price yet
Are you excited at the prospect of a new HomePod?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

HomePods went on sale in Europe this week, and I ordered one. It arrived the very next day. I tried it out, and then sent it back to Apple the day after that. Why? Because it’s a half-finished product. Siri is just as glitchy and annoying on HomePod as elsewhere. It doesn’t work properly with a Mac. And it’s not even a very good speaker.

iOS 11.4 causes camera woes

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A black screen is one of the iOS 11.4 camera problems users are reporting.
A black screen in the native app is one of the iOS 11.4 camera problems users are reporting.
Screenshot: Wizard Design/Twitter

Everyone’s attention is on iOS 12, but Apple still has a team working on a “bug fix” update to iOS 11.4. Among the reasons for this is the complaints from numerous iPhone users that this version causes their camera to malfunction in various ways.

This is on top of the battery problems with iOS 11.4 that have been widely reported.

Tim Cook talks taxes and failed Irish data center in new interview

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brand intimacy
Apple CEO Tim Cook likes to get close to the fans.
Photo: Tim Cook/Twitter

Apple CEO Tim Cook made a quick stop in Ireland this week where he promised the country he’s interested in it for more than its sweet tax rate.

The company’s relationship with Ireland has been rocky the last year. Apple scrapped plans to build a billion-dollar data center and lost its tax deal, but Cook says he’s still as committed to the country as ever.

AirPower to arrive in September after design problems are solved

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AirPower
Will we finally get a release date for AirPower?
Photo: Apple

Apple will finally deliver its AirPower charger in September after solving “a series of technical hurdles,” according to a new report.

Overheating is one problem company engineers have had to contend with. Another is AirPower’s complex circuitry, which is necessary to allow compatible devices to be placed anywhere on the mat for charging.

Apple chip supplier invests $25 billion to help develop next-gen processors

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chips
TSMC is likely to produce Apple's A-series chips for at least a while longer.
Photo: Intel

Apple supplier TSMC will reportedly invest a massive $25 billion in 5 nanometer node technology in its quest to fabricate next-generation chips which could help power iOS devices.

No timeframe was announced for the investment. Since the company is supposedly currently fabricating 7nm chips for the 2018 iPhone, this will hopefully help TSMC hold onto its status as Apple’s A-series chipmaker for at least a while longer.

New sneakers? Apple Pay can save you money on Adidas products

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Apple Pay
You can save money on products bought through the Adidas app.
Photo: Apple

For its latest Apple Pay weekly promotion, Apple is giving customers 15 percent off purchases made in the Adidas iOS app — provided it’s bought using Apple’s mobile payment service, of course!

The promotion runs from today through June 28. The Adidas app can be downloaded, free of charge, from the App Store.

Governments start crackdown on smartphone use in schools

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iPhone X standing
There's growing concern about the effects of mobile devices on young people.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The government of southeastern Australian state, New South Wales, has said that it plans to carry out a comprehensive review of smartphone use in schools. This will look at the effects of smartphones on kids in school, both in and out classrooms.

Why is that significant? Because, building on the growing concern about smartphone addiction, it represents a developing trend focused on cracking down on the use of phones. And New South Wales isn’t the only place doing this.

Apple Pay gets you cheaper, faster service at summer festivals

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Apple Pay iPhone
Yet another reason to use Apple Pay.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you aren’t already using Apple Pay, you should be. Not only does it make shopping easier, but it can also save you money on all kinds of purchases every week. And now, Apple Pay users are getting faster service on discounted food and drink at concerts and festivals.

Apple Pay “fast lanes” have started popping up at concessions stands, helping users avoid the lengthy lines.

Cupertino postpones vote on ‘head tax’ on Apple employees

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Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
Cupertino decided to not raise additional taxes this year on employees working at Apple Park.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Cupertino’s city government decided to ask voters next year whether it should charge businesses a tax on every worker. Apple is the city’s largest employer, so most of the cost would have fallen on the iPhone maker.

The original plan, while vague, was to use the additional revenue to create more affordable housing options and improve Cupertino’s transit system.

Facebook finally going to charge you for some content

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Facebook subscription fees are coming.
Declutter My Home is one of a handful of Facebook groups that get to test charging subscription fees.
Photo: Facebook

A pilot project allows people who run Facebook groups to charge subscription fees for the content they create. During the testing process, this is an option for a limited number of group admins.

The fees can range from $4.99 to $29.99 a month. Facebook isn’t taking a share of the revenue.

This Steve Jobs business card is a pricey addition to your Rolodex

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Steve Jobs business card
A Steve Jobs Apple business card and three sheets of letterhead is for sale on eBay.
Photo: MG Service/eBay

It’s hard to imagine Steve Jobs ever needing to pass out business cards. But even for titans of industry, business cards were standard issue and if you happened to have one from Jobs, its worth a few bucks.

A seller on eBay is hoping to get $9,000 for a couple of Jobs business cards and a few sheets of his Apple letterhead stationary.