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Apple users immune to Fortnite hack malware

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Fortnite mobile controller
You can now play at 120Hz on iPad Pro.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Fortnite’s staggering rise in popularity has inevitably attracted a large number of cheaters who use third-party hacks to gain an in-game advantage.

The hacks they’re using help them aim faster, fire their weapons quicker, and even slow down enemy players. They’re also spreading malware all over the web.

It’s thought tens of thousands of Fortnite players have been affected, but you have nothing to worry about if you play on Mac or iOS.

Heavy-handed promo of Scorpion stings Spotify

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Drake talks Apple Music at WWDC.
Spotify's promotion of Scorpion may be good for Drake, but it's upsetting some customers.
Photo: Apple

Spotify is taking some flack after getting carried away promoting the June 29 release of hip-hop artist Drake’s new album “Scorpion.” In an effort to commemorate the release by the streaming services most-played artist, Spotify spent the weekend highlighting the Canadian artist’s music. These highlights came through Drake-inspired playlists, banners, and the use of his image on playlists without his music.

‘Coffee Lake’ chips could give 2018 MacBook Pro a jolt

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The 2018 MacBook Pro is expected to look much like its predecessor.
Despite faster connections, display support hasn’t improved.
Photo: Apple

Apple is apparently planning to upgrade the MacBook Pro line to the latest generation of Intel processors. Benchmarks for a macOS laptop running a “Coffee Lake” chip showed up on Geekbench.

The eight-generation Core i7-8559U CPU in this device has a base frequency of 2.7GHz, but a maximum turbo speed of 4.5GHz. It has 4 cores and 8 threads, and was built with a 14nm process.

iOS 12 spills new evidence of future iPad with Face ID

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AvatarKit for iPad in iOS 12
Animoji is ready for iPad in iOS 12.
Photo: Steve Troughton-Smith

New evidence that confirms Apple is preparing a future iPad with Face ID has been spilled by the latest iOS 12 beta.

One developer has discovered that AvatarKit, the framework that powers Animoji, is now ready for iPad. It still requires a TrueDepth camera which can only be found in iPhone X for now, but it seems that will change when new iPads arrive this fall.

Amazon slashes a whopping $100 off Echo Show for Prime Day

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This is the best deal yet on Amazon Echo Show.
This is the best deal yet on Amazon Echo Show.
Photo: Amazon

Echo Show is Amazon’s finest Alexa device. It not only answers your queries, plays your music, and controls your smart devices like every other Echo speaker, but it also has a 7-inch touchscreen and built-in camera that let you do so much more.

It’s usually priced at $229, but from now through Prime Day on July 16, Amazon has slashed a whopping $100 off its price tag.

Fortnite’s Playground mode finally returns across all platforms

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Fortnite Playground mode
Practice your skills in Playground mode today.
Photo: Epic Games

Hurrah! Fortnite Battle Royale’s exciting new Playground mode has finally returned, and you can enjoy it now across all platforms.

Playground was removed shortly after making its initial debut last week as a result of technical troubles. Epic promised it would return this week and it has today confirmed the new limited-time game mode is now open to all.

HTC is falling to pieces thanks to Apple

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HTC Dream was the first Android phone.
HTC Dream was the first Android phone. But now its maker could be out of business in a year.
Photo: T-Mobile

HTC, once among Apple’s top rivals in the smartphone market, is laying off a quarter of its workforce. This is just the latest step in the slow collapse of the Taiwanese company.

This isn’t the result of some terrible misstep. There just doesn’t appear to be room in the current phone market for anyone but Apple, Samsung, and China-based phone-makers.

Comcast throttles Xfinity Mobile customers

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Xfinity Mobile is getting throttled.
Videos played over Xfinity Mobile will appear at a lower resolution, and tethering is getting slowed down.

Comcast put a limit on video resolution for its Xfinity Mobile subscribers. Going forward, the maximum will be 480p. 

In addition, subscribers to its unlimited data plan get throttled to 3G speeds when acting as a hotspot for another device.

How to undelete deleted photos on iOS

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Trashed a photo by mistake? Here's how to undelete it.
Trashed a photo by mistake? Here's how to undelete it.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

We’ve all done it. We’ve woken up after a big night out, and before we even rinse the sleep from our eyes, we reach over and delete last night’s photos on our iPhones. We even squint, or kind of half look at the screen as we do it, just so we don’t get a reminder of whatever the hell it was we got up to last night.

But wait. Later, after the hangover clears, you’re hunting around for the photo you took of that totally sweet guy’s phone number, the one he wrote on the napkin while you were checking out his awesome forearms. “I’ll lose that piece of paper,” you told him, and took a snap of it with your iPhone camera, just in case. And it turns out that this was a way smarter move than that fifth round of chili vodka shots, because you did lose that napkin number. Only now you’ve gone and deleted the photo too, you big dummy.

No problem. Undeleting a photo on iOS is as easy as agreeing to another drink that you don’t really want. Let’s see how to do it.

How to add bookmarks to your iPhone home screen

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These bookmark-metaphor photos are going a bit too far.
These bookmark-metaphor photos are going a bit too far.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you have a website you visit frequently — and who doesn’t? — then you might like to have quicker access to that site. You might appreciate an icon on your iPhone’s home screen that you can tap to launch that site, just like you’d launch an app.

Today we’ll see how to add a bookmark to your iPhone home screen. And if you already know how to do this, check out the post anyway. There are a couple of neat extra tricks in there.

Amazon may beat Apple to become first $1 trillion company

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$1 trillion value
Apple is heading toward a $1 trillion market cap. But could Amazon get there first?
Photo: Pierre Marcel/Flickr CC

Apple’s market value will eventually top $1 trillion, but Amazon is evolving more and more as if it will get there first.

The gap has rapidly narrowed between the two company’s market values. Apple, always believed to be the first company to reach $1 trillion, started out the year with stock valued 50 percent higher than Amazon’s. For a closer look at Apple’s financial journey, check out this detailed report on apple valuation over the years.

That gap is now just 10 percent.

iOS concept brings Touch Bar to the iPhone

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TouchBar concept
TouchBar on iOS doesn't make much sense.
Photo: Eyad Murshid

Apple’s Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro hasn’t been as big a hit as the company would have wished for, but it could make a comeback at an unlikely location: the iPhone.

A concept artist has imagined what it would look like if Apple brought the Touch Bar to iOS and while it may seem like an odd fit at first, it actually might be pretty useful.

Check it out:

iOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6 are nearly ready for release

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iOS 11
There are fresh beta versions of iOS and macOS. But they probably aren't the ones you're waiting for.
Photo: Apple

The wait is nearing the end for the next iPhone and Mac operating systems. However, these aren’t the big upgrades announced last month. Instead, iOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6 will fix bugs in the current versions.

Apple just released the fifth beta version of each of these. The full release can’t be far behind.

Fortnite’s Playground should return this week, but maybe not

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Fortnite shopping cart
Did you get a chance to try Playground mode?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Fortnite’s long-awaited Playground mode made its official debut last week, but it didn’t last long. Almost immediately after Playground went live, Epic Games was forced to close it down due to a host of technical problems.

Epic has promised that Playground will return this week, and in a new update published today, it says “recent tests look promising.” But we probably shouldn’t get our hopes up just yet.

2018 iPhone getting a big RAM boost

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2018 iPhone rumors 3D mockups
Benchmark scores for a prototype 2018 iPhone X Plus reveal the amount of RAM and the processor speed, plus an early look at the performance.
Photo: Mac Otakara

Someone testing a 2018 iPhone prototype inadvertently uploaded benchmark results for this device. Among the other details revealed is an indication that this will be the first iPhone with 4GB of RAM.

Naturally, the Geekbench results also include the performance. However, with the model still months away, scores are a bit underwhelming.

TickTick helps get your to-do list finished [50 Essential iOS Apps #33]

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Ticktick next week tasks
TickTick works as a Reminders replacement, or an advanced task manager.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: TickTick When Apple rolled out iOS 5 way back in 2011, one of the software’s highlights was a new app — Reminders — to help you keep track of tasks.

Since that time, Reminders hasn’t evolved much. However, the type of task manager people are looking for has changed dramatically. TickTick offers greater control, more granularity, and is an all-around better to-do list app.

Waiting for a triple-lens iPhone? This smartphone reportedly packs 9.

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multi-camera smartphones
Take a picture or nine with this smartphone prototype from Light.
Photo: Light via Photo Rumors

An iPhone with a third lens is in the pipeline, rumor has it. But why just three, when you can have a smartphone with nine lenses?

Light, maker of a futuristic camera with 16 lenses, reportedly plans to introduce a smartphone with five to nine lenses by the end of 2018.

Apple’s new USB-C fast charger for iPhone leaks out early

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iPhone 18W fast charger
Choose your iPhone fast charger carefully.
Photo: Chongdiantou

Pictures of Apple’s rumored USB-C iPhone fast charger have leaked out ahead of its official debut.

The images claim to show a prototype version of the 18-watt power adapter, which is expected to ship with Apple’s next-generation iPhone lineup later this year. Apple likely will include the USB-C charger with new iPads as well.

Apple could snub Qualcomm with new iPhone modem supplier

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Apple Watch
You’ll want this year’s iPhone for its cameras.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is considering a new iPhone modem supplier as it looks to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm.

The company is yet to decide whether it will add MediaTek to its supply chain for its next-generation iPhone lineup. But Apple is keen to limit its dealings with Qualcomm after a recent legal spat in which the latter attempted to ban iPhone imports into the United States.