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Steam adds support for the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

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Switch Pro Controller Steam
Use your Pro Controller to play your favorite Mac and PC games.
Photo: Valve

Steam has added official support for the Switch Pro Controller in its latest client beta.

Players no longer have to use fiddly third-party workarounds to enjoy Nintendo’s best controller in their favorite games. All of its buttons and even its motion controls are now fully supported.

Apple Watch is credited with saving New York man’s life

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Apple Watch alerts user of irregular heart rhythms in sleep
The Apple Watch's heart rate monitor has been a lifesaver for several wearers.
Photo: Apple

The Apple Watch may have saved a man’s life after its heart rate monitor led 32-year-old New York resident William Monzidelis to be diagnosed with an erupted ulcer.

The ensuing incident sounds terrifying — but also a remarkable illustration of how useful Apple’s wearable device can be.

Spotify has almost twice Apple Music’s number of paying subscribers

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Spotify
Big numbers, but is trouble brewing?
Photo: Spotify

Apple Music may have made enormous strides, but Spotify remains the king of streaming music. For now, at least.

In its first ever earnings report as a public company, Spotify says that it ended the quarter with 75 million paying customers — and a massive 170 million monthly active users, taken across all user types.

2018 iPhone might come with USB-C fast charge adapter

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apple_power_adapter_recall_2_1200
Say goodbye to the 5W iPhone adapter and hello to much faster charging.
Photo: Apple

iPhone fast charging is possible with the 2017 models, but it’s a seriously underutilized feature because the devices don’t come with the right adapters. But Apple is reportedly going to ship the 2018 iPhone models with the adapter and cable needed to get a 100% charge much quicker.

It’s one of the puzzles of last year’s devices. They support USB-C fast charging, but come with USB-A adapters that take much longer.

iPhone bucks global smartphone market downward trend

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IDC global smartphone market
A sequential chart shows Apple was briefly at the top of the global smartphone market, but not in Q1.
Photo: Cult of Mac/IDC

The total number of smartphones shiped worldwide in the first quarter of the year declined, but Apple was immune, experiencing a small increase. Its share of the global market grew as a result.

Arch-rival Samsung was hit though, seeing a small decrease year over year despite the launch of its new flagship models.

Apple resists government’s proposed iPhone ‘backdoor’

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GrayKey can bypass iPhone security
A computing pioneer suggested a way to make the iPhone safely unlockable by law enforcement. Apple isn't buying it.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple and other tech companies are fighting back against a newly proposed method for giving law enforcement access to encrypted smartphones, bypassing users’ passcodes.

The iPhone backdoor proposal comes from Ray Ozzie, who was once chief technical officer at Microsoft, and its chief software architect.

Learn to play a musical instrument with iOS

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learn to play
You don't have to build your own guitar, thank God.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Learning a musical instrument is hard. Really hard. It takes a long time to make anything that sounds like music, and yet still people put in the long hours and the hard work to become great at their chosen instrument.

There’s no way around practicing, but there is. lot you can do to make the practice easier, more effective, and much more fun, and all you need is there on your iPhone or iPad.

PodPocket is the rare AirPods accessory you’ll actually love [Review]

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PodPockets review: A great AirPods accessory.
PodPockets review: A great AirPods accessory.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

The AirPods case is a tiny miracle that looks like a dental floss container. Maybe you like that white plastic design, but to me it looks a little clinical. Not to mention the fact that when my wife inevitably gets a pair of AirPods, we’re going to be constantly confused about which little white charging case is hers and which is mine.

Who needs the bickering? For just under $20, you can wrap your lily-white case in a colorful silicone shell called a PodPocket that will eliminate all confusion in multi-AirPods abodes. That’s exactly what PodPockets do, but that’s not all they do. They also help keep your AirPods safe and sound.

Pro Tip: Use emoji labels in Safari’s Favorites bar

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emoji-bookmarks
Emoji bookmarks labels look great.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Pro Tip Cult of Mac bug Safari’s Favorites bar is the handiest part of the whole app. On Mac and iPad, it sits permanently at the top of the screen, ready for you to tap bookmarks and bookmarklets, either for fast access to a site, or to execute some neat JavaScript trick. But it can get cluttered up there.

By using Emojis instead of text to label your bookmarks, you can fit more of them in, and you can easily identify them by sight.

5 big things to expect from Google I/O 2018

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Google IO 2018
Google I/O starts today!
Photo: Google

Google I/O 2018 is right around the corner. You may not be all that excited for it if you only ever use Apple devices, but you should be. Google’s plans for the future of its platforms could well shape the future of all smartphones, wearables, and more.

They will also tell us how Google intends to keep up with and fight Apple’s latest devices, including iPhone X, which is quite literally changing the face of Android-powered devices.

Here are five big things we’re expecting from this year’s Google I/O keynote, which kicks off on Tuesday, May 8.

Save money on iTunes with CheapCharts [50 Essential iOS Apps #8]

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CheapCharts shows currently on sale movies
CheapCharts can save you you money on iTunes and the App Store
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: CheapCharts is best App Store sales app iTunes and the App Store are two of the best online stores for buying digital content like movies and books. They’re also really good at getting you (the customer) to spend money. CheapCharts for iOS is the perfect companion to the App Store and iTunes Store, helping you get apps and digital content at the best price possible.

Steve Jobs asked Louis Vuitton boss for advice on opening first Apple Stores

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Louis Vuitton
The Louis Vuitton Store at Champs-Elysées, Paris.
Photo: Jean-Louis Zimmermann/Flickr CC

As you might expect, Steve Jobs had a pretty darn impressive Rolodex — and he was willing to draw on it to seek advice whenever he needed it.

According to a new interview with Louis Vuitton chief Bernard Arnault, Jobs turned to him shortly after rejoining Apple to ask Arnault’s opinion on Apple-branded stores. The idea seemed crazy at the time, but Jobs saw how well it could work for luxury goods makers.

Newton kills the ‘Sent’ folder to make email as easy as instant messaging

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Newton True Inbox
Newton’s True Inbox reinvents the way you do email.
Photo: Newton

Awesome email app Newton has killed off the “Sent” folder to make email as easy as instant messaging.

When using Newton, your sent messages now appear right inside your inbox alongside everything else, making it easier than ever to keep track of your conversations. Here’s how you can start enjoying this new feature today.

iPhone suppliers rebound after Apple’s monster earnings

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Apple waives developer fees for nonprofits, others in 8 additional countries
A giant ecosystem of companies rely on Apple.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Reports about lower-than-expected demand from Apple’s suppliers was one of the reasons so many people were predicting doom for the iPhone X.

But now that Apple has announced its crazy strong earnings for the quarter, Apple’s suppliers are enjoying a welcome boost to their stock prices — with shares rising by more than 14 percent in one case.

Apple could be using shady tactics to cash in on iPhone battery replacements

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iPhone battery
Find new ways to make money? That doesn't sound like the world's most profitable company.
Photo: iFixit

Apple’s iPhone battery replacement initiative was supposed to be a way of Apple getting out of trouble, after news about its iPhone battery throttling was released last year.

But according to a new report, Apple is being a bit shady about its replacement policy by finding minor faults with iPhones that it charges users to correct before giving them their replacement batteries.

All-weather Apple Watch band is perfect for sports junkies

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The Nomad Rugged Strap puts a stylish twist on the Apple Watch sports band.
Check out that knurled pattern on the Nomad Rugged Strap, a stylish Apple Watch sports strap.
Photo: Nomad

Best List: Nomad Rugged Strap for Apple Watch

Nomad, maker of minimalist, practical accessories for Apple Watch and iPhone, now offers a strap that is not only designed for active wearers, but is really good-looking as well. And, at 40 bucks, it’s a super-sporty and stylish alternative to the higher-priced Nike Sport Bands by Apple.

With the intention of creating a silicone strap designed to “withstand the stresses of all forms of sport and exercise,” Nomad has succeeded — the Rugged Strap is a strong, lightweight, sweat- and water-resistant band that is also-super comfortable on the wrist. The best part is that it will take you from a hard workout to a night out, and will look great in both situations.

Read on to learn more about this band, which is perfect for year-round sports junkies. And check it out in our Watch Store.

Fitbit and Google work together to beat Apple Watch

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Fitbit Versa
Data from your Fitbit smart watch could be sent straight to your electronic medical record thanks to a collaboration between Fitbit and Google.
Photo: Fitbit

Fitbit wants Google’s help to turn its fitness trackers into health monitors. The wearables maker will use Google’s cloud solutions to tie directly to users’ electronic medical records.

The real goal, of course, is to help Fitbit be more competitive with arch-rival Apple Watch.

Why everyone was so wrong about iPhone X sales

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iPhone X standing
Everything you heard about iPhone X sales was wrong. In fact, it's Apple's most popular model.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Analysts have been extremely pessimistic about the iPhone X, with almost daily predictions that Apple’s top-of-the-line model was a flop. And they were all dead wrong. Tim Cook just said the iPhone X has been Apple’s best-selling model for every week since it launched, and that sales of all the company’s phones grew last quarter.

How did the analysts get it so wrong? Here’s what probably happened.

5 big revelations from Apple’s surprising Q2 earnings call

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Will Apple reach its own targets for Q2?
Apple stock is booming after today's report.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple blew analysts’ expectations out of the water this afternoon with its historic Q2 2018 earnings report that saw the company post the most revenue ever in the March quarter.

Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri were absolutely giddy during today’s call with investors. Everyone expected the iPhone X to be a bust, but even Apple was surprised by its success as it still dominates the iPhone sales charts. New products are on the horizon too as Apple’s executives teased new goodies coming down its pipeline:

These were the biggest takeaways from the call:

Live blog: Apple reveals if iPhone X really is the flop many predict

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Apple earnings
Wall Street is worried about Apple's Q2 results.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to reveal its second quarterly earnings report of 2018 this afternoon. If you’ve been listening to the analysts the last few months, you know that iPhone sales might take a dip.

Lagging iPhone X demand could cause Apple to bring in slightly less revenue than this quarter last year, unless Apple’s services or “other products” sectors picked up the slack. We’ll know for sure once Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri run through all the numbers with investors today at 2 p.m. Pacific.

As usual, Cult of Mac will be live-blogging the action with all the analysis and snark we can muster.

Come join the fun: