New icons uncovered in the latest iOS 11.2.5 developer build confirm that, yes, HomePod owners will be able to disable the microphone on Apple’s smart speaker should so they wish to do so.

Given Apple’s privacy-conscious policies, and the fact that rival speakers made by Amazon and Google allow the same to be done, it’s no surprise that Apple would make that an option on HomePod. Still, it could help ease fears among customers concerned about the risk of housing an “always listening” speaker in their homes.

Apple has teamed up with Malala Fund to support girls’ education around the world. The iPhone-maker will become the fund’s first Laureate partner and will help double the number of grants awarded by the Gulmakai Network.

Tim Cook will give the commencement address for Duke University’s graduating class on May 13, 2018.

Cook is a 1988 MBA graduate of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, as well as a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. Cook has previously given successful, inspirational and funny commencement addresses at MIT, Auburn University (which he attended before Duke), and George Washington University.

Check out the Duke University announcement video, featuring a whole lot of animojis, below.

California’s historic Hearst cattle ranch is being used as a hybrid solar farm to provide power for Apple — partly thanks to Steve Jobs.

The Hearst ranch takes up 150,000 acres, split across two properties, on the border of San Luis Obispo County in central California. The land has been used for raising cattle since 1865, but are now also being used as the home of a 2,900-acre solar farm, which is providing energy to power the Apple Park campus.

Apple debuted a new ad for the iPhone X over the weekend. The 30-second commercial advertises the iPhone X’s Portrait Lighting selfie feature, and includes narration from the iconic boxing heavyweight champion and social activist Muhammad Ali.

Check it out below.

A futuristic, sci-fi rhythm game called Cytus II is just of one of our picks for this week’s “Awesome Apps of the Week.”

In addition, we’ve got a great music transcription app, a frantic explosion-driven platformer, and… Microsoft Office? Check out our selections below.

Most fans of computer gaming will be familiar with the epic Civilization series. It’s a turn-based strategy game that challenges players to build and sustain a thriving global society. Spanning from the beginnings of human history all the way to the deep future, it’s a complex, satisfying game. If that doesn’t sound fun, trust us: it is.

This week on a very spicy edition of The CultCast: Tim Cook is thrilled with the new U.S. tax overhaul, and has some exciting plans to spend Apple’s massive fortune. Plus: Forget other smart speakers — we’ll tell you why we’re now even more excited for HomePod. And stick around for our favorite movies, shows and sausages in an all-new, very weird “What We’re Into!”

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off any hosting plan.

Endoscopic cameras aren’t just for surgeons and spies. A compact, flexible, high definition camera can also be a seriously handy (and fun) tool.

Apple’s big tax break is about to unleash an avalanche of spending from the iPhone-maker. In a public statement earlier this week, Apple revealed its plans to contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years now that the fee for repatriating its mountain of overseas cash has been significantly lowered.

In this week’s issue, you’ll find that story and more. Tim Cook has revealed that a future iOS 11 update will let users disable their iPhone’s throttling feature. Learn how to get the best battery life from your MacBook. It’s the last week to get your preorders in for Juuk’s new three-think Velo Apple Watch band! Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

WaterField Designs, maker of some of our favorite bags here at Cult of Mac, is back with the Atlas Executive Athletic Holdall. It’s a sports bag that, as the name suggests, holds it all — including your MacBook and iPad.

Apple’s data team just got a big talent boost after the company raided a local Silicon Valley consultant firm in hiring spree of data scientists.

Some of Silicon Valley Data Science’s key employees have reportedly joined Apple, giving the company more experts that can analyze data to make products even better.

Get ready to pour some Def Leppard into your Apple Music playlists.

The British rock band has finally released its full collection of albums on Apple Music and other streaming services after years of fighting against the format.

If you need a new phone, but not necessarily a brand new one, you can save some cash by going with a refurb. This week, we found a selection of refurbished iPhones — in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors (including that super-cool red iPhone 7).

And they’re all at wallet-pleasing prices.

Instagram Stories is getting another interesting new feature — and this time it wasn’t stolen from Snapchat. Users in a number of markets are noticing they now have the ability to post GIFs, which they can source from the built-in Giphy search engine.

Microsoft just rolled out a big update for Office 2016 on macOS, adding real-time collaboration that makes it easier to share the workload with colleagues. The feature is available in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint — and there are improvements for Outlook, too.

There are lots of wonderful things that rival smartphone makers could steal from the iPhone X, but its notch shouldn’t be one of them. It seems some Chinese vendors didn’t get that memo — as you can see from these photos of one iPhone clone with a notch of its own.

Giving someone your phone number is a real act of trust. Phone numbers offer any old weirdo the means to pester and stalk. So for those times when you need to be reachable by phone, it pays to have a secondary number.

Apple has topped Fortune’s annual list of the world’s admired companies for a record eleventh year in a row.

Other tech companies in the top 10 include Amazon (which retained its no. 2 position), Alphabet (at no. 3), and Microsoft (no. 7). Berkshire Hathaway, Starbucks, Disney, Southwest Airlines, FedEx, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. rounded off the rest of the list.

Italy is the latest country to throw its hat into the ring when it comes to investigating Apple for its purposeful slowing down of older iPhone devices.

In doing so, it joins countries including Brazil, South Korea, China and France, which have all questioned Apple about its iPhone-throttling software update. In a new twist, however, Italy is also investigating Apple rival Samsung.

A larger iPhone X Plus will likely arrive to boost weaker-than-anticipated demand for Apple’s latest smartphones this fall. One reliable analyst claims the device will boast a 6.5-inch display and will be accompanied by a more-affordable 6.1-inch model.

Apple today announced that it is expanding its “Everyone Can Code” initiative to 70 colleges and universities in Europe, bringing its syllabus focused on app-making with Swift to more users outside of the U.S.

The expansion covers educational institutes in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal.

Apple’s ongoing PR nightmare concerning the iPhone slowdown case could turn out to be a boon for “Right to Repair” advocates, backing bills that will force companies to supply the necessary parts to repair older devices.

Specifically, it would mean Apple offering customers more options by giving third-party repair shops the legal right to buy official spare parts, and access service manuals. The result could help bring down the cost of repairs for iPhones.

Tim Cook finally earned some praise from long-time foe Donald Trump today, thanks to Apple’s plan to contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years.

Trump went so far as to call Tim Cook “a great guy” during a speech at a factory in Pennsylvania today while talking about Apple’s investment into the U.S.

As much as Apple Pencil accessories seem like useless widgets desired to cash in on gullible buyers, the PencilSnap from Twelve South solves a real problem — how do you keep your Pencil together with your iPad? With a paper notebook, you either clip your pen to the cover (good), to the spine (nasty), or just leave it between the pages and jam the book closed around it (what are you? Some kind of monster?).

With the iPad you can’t do any of those. Instead, you’ll have to buy the PencilSnap to take care of it for you.