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Some lucky folks already have their own HomePods

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New HomePod
Yep, consider us jealous!
Photo: Themrlinc/Instagram CC

The HomePod won’t ship until later this year, but two posts on social media show that people working on the device are already testing them in their homes.

One Twitter user has shared an image taken in Menlo Park, CA, depicting a Control Center screen, complete with HomePod icon. Another user, this time on Instagram, posted a black and white photo of a HomePod in what looks like his or her kitchen in Shanghai, China.

Apple loses spot as world’s second-largest smartphone maker

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Huawei
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is on the rise.
Photo: AndroidCentral

The title of world’s second-largest smartphone brand no longer belongs to Apple.

New research data from analytics firm Counterpoint shows that Chinese smartphone company Huawei consistently surpassed Apple in smartphone sales during June and July to take over the No. 2 spot. Samsung remains at the top of the heap.

Time photographer uses iPhone for stunning cover shots

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Time featured 46 women changing the world and photographed them using iPhones.
Time featured 46 women changing the world and photographed them using iPhones.
Photos: Luisa Dörr/Time

Luisa Dörr is not the first photographer to do a magazine cover shoot with her iPhone. But her 12 covers for Time magazine of women changing the world may be the most impressive to date.

Dörr photographed 46 influential women, from Oprah Winfrey and Serena Williams to Hillary Clinton and Selna Gomez, for the magazine, which published a piece called “Firsts,” featuring women who are changing the world.

How the movie Her inspired Apple to create a better Siri

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The iPhone's home button could be going away.
Siri is set to get some big upgrades with iOS 11.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

For its next act with Siri, Apple is taking some cues from one of the tech world’s biggest sources of inspiration: Hollywood.

With the release of iOS 11 later this month, Siri is set to get some big upgrades. The most notable will be the AI helper’s silky-smooth voice. And according to one Apple exec, the movie Her played a big role in helping the company figure out the changes they should make.

How to use the Mac’s mysterious startup keyboard combos

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startup keyboard combos
Holding down the right key when you start up your Mac can fix all kinds of problems.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If your Mac is sick, the first step is to restart it. But did you know that there are several tricks you can perform while your Mac is starting up?

Many of these are advanced Mac diagnostic tools, which shouldn’t be used unless you really know what you’re doing. But some not-so-secret startup keyboard combos will remove a stuck disk (if your Mac is old enough to even have a disk inside), let you boot your Mac from a USB drive, or to turn your entire computer into one big storage disk to connect to another computer.

Here’s how Google plans to fight iPhone 8

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Google Pixel
It's in talks to buy HTC, maker of the Pixel lineup.
Photo: Google

Google plans to step up its fight against the iPhone 8 by taking a leaf out of Apple’s playbook.

A new report claims the company is in talks to buy HTC’s struggling smartphone business, which would give it near complete control over future Pixel devices.

Clever iPhone battery case charges AirPods, too

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PodCase
Worried about losing your AirPods? Here, just in case.
Photo: Nova Technology

Where do you put your AirPods when they’re not in your ears? Eric Migicovsky kept forgetting and when he did find them, he sometimes realized he had forgotten to charge them.

So he and a couple of friends came up with the PodCase, a relatively slim iPhone battery case that holds a set of AirPods and keeps them charged. The case can do away with the need to carry the AirPods charging case since the PodCase allows for one-cord charging for both phone and ear buds.

Spotify and Hulu partner to offer $4.99 monthly subscriptions for students

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teamup
A great deal if you're a student!
Photo: Spotify/Hulu

Hulu and Spotify have teamed up to offer U.S. college students one heck of a deal. For $4.99 per month, the same cost as Spotify’s existing student plan, users now get access to Spotify Premium and Hulu’s “Limited Commercials” plan.

The offer is a great way of the companies staying competitive with the likes of Amazon and Apple, both of who offer their own $5 a month low-cost student plans.

This waterproof, flexible camera has many uses [Deals]

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Endoscopic Camera
This tough, high res, flexible camera is super useful for home maintenance, car repair, and lots more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

How many times have you wished you could climb into an engine to see what’s wrong with it? Or wondered what’s clogging your sink? Shrinking down and climbing inside a drain or an engine block is an unpleasant thought. So why not just to send an endoscopic camera in there to scope out the issue?

Here’s how you mod a headphone jack into iPhone 7

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iPhone 7 headphone jack
The best but most difficult iPhone mod to date.
Photo: Strange Parts

Apple won’t be bringing the headphone jack back to iPhone, so if it’s a feature you’re not prepared to lose anytime soon, you’re stuck with the iPhone 6s. Or are you?

One man, who recently built his own iPhone from scratch using components sourced in a Chinese tech market, has figured out a way to install a headphone jack in the iPhone 7. It’s the ultimate mod for music lovers.

You may have to wait until October to get your hands on the iPhone 8

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iPhone color
Like the look of the iPhone 8? You may have to wait to get your hands on it.
Photo: Ben Miller

The iPhone 8 may be set to debut at next week’s September 12 media event, but according to a new report the actual OLED handset itself won’t ship until October.

That is in contrast to the lower end LED iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus devices, which will ship one week after the September media event. In other words, if you want the best of Apple’s new handsets, you may have to be prepared to wait!

Trippy ARKit demo turns sound into 3D waveforms

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ArKIT demo
ARKit will land on the iPhone with iOS 11.
Photo: Zach Lieberman

A cool new ARKit demo shows how Apple’s new platform could be used to create a trippy and unique way of recording and visualizing sound.

The latest proof-of-concept video comes from code artist Zach Lieberman. The demo turns sound into a three-dimensional wave pattern, allowing musicians — or anyone else — to manipulate audio in a variety of ways.

Apple recruits more TV execs for original content efforts

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appletv
Apple is upping its focus on producing original programming.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is continuing to build up its TV unit with the recruiting of four new veteran television executives.

These include Kim Rozenfeld, former head of programming at Sony Pictures Television, ex-Sony development execs Max Aronson and Ali Woodruff, and former WGN America head of publicity Rita Cooper. All of them will play a role as Apple continues to expand its push toward creating original programming.

Apple signs cut-rate streaming deal with Warner Music Group

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apple-music
Grab the latest update from the Play Store now.
Photo: Apple

Apple has reportedly signed its first major music streaming deal since launching Apple Music in 2015.

Sources “familiar with the matter” say it has signed a new, cut-rate agreement with Warner Music Group, and is on the verge of reaching a similar deal with Sony Music Entertainment.

How to fix Home button lag on your iPhone

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The iPhone could get a new home button.
Here's how to fix the Home button delay on your iPhone!
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

The Home button on your iPhone has multiple purposes — unlocking your iPhone, bringing up the multitasking menu, returning to the home screen, invoking Siri, etc. Such frequent use can take a toll on the Home button’s responsiveness. Although it is designed to last, it can become laggy or less responsive over time. Surprisingly enough, a large number of Home button issues have more to do with the software rather than the actual hardware.

If you notice that your iPhone’s Home button isn’t as responsive as it used to be, here are a few tips you can use to fix the Home button lag.

Analyst: Blame Samsung for iPhone 8’s high price tag

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iPhone 7
Switching to OLED won't be cheap.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s upcoming premium iPhone is likely to be its most expensive model ever — and Samsung is partly to blame, according to a reliable Apple analyst.

In his latest research note, KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo explains to investors that Samsung currently holds a practical monopoly on the supply of OLED displays. The company is likely charging Apple a huge amount of money to make the switch from LCD modules to OLED. Apple fans probably won’t be happy with the final price tag.

How to use the most useful Finder keyboard shortcuts

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useful keyboard shortcuts
Ditch the trackpad and use the keyboard instead.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

You probably spend a lot of time in the macOS Finder. Much of it is likely spent pointing and clicking, using the trackpad pointer to duplicate files, or to click back to the folder you were in a moment ago.

But, like most Mac apps, the Finder offers a ton of useful keyboard shortcuts — to create new folders, navigate files and change what you see in the Finder window. If you learn a couple of them, you can spend a lot less time dithering with your mouse. You will also look like a cool TV or movie hacker if you click on the keyboard instead.

Today, we’ll look at the most useful day-to-day Finder keyboard shortcuts.

Apple seeds 10th iOS 11 beta to developers

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iPhone 7
A fresh new iOS 11 beta is available.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The development of iOS 11 seems to be nearly complete ahead of Apple’s big iPhone keynote next week.

Developers received the 10th beta build of iOS 11 this morning, coming just one week after Apple surprised developers by making the ninth beta build available for testing.

Apple will have to fight off new Surface devices next month

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Surface Book
Apple won't make a 2-in-1, but Microsoft has more up its sleeve.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple will have to fight off fresh competition from new Surface devices next month. Microsoft has confirmed it will be holding a keynote in London during its annual Future Decoded event, and sources familiar with its plans say we can expect at least one new device.

This app makes desktop sharing a lot easier [Deals]

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Droplr
Droplr makes sharing files, screenshots, videos, and more as easy as drag-and-drop.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Computers have made it common to work with coworkers in offices all over the world. That means file sharing has become a key part of professional productivity. When you don’t share a desk, you can still share the contents of your computer’s desktop.

Dropbox is probably the first name that comes to mind, but another you should consider is Droplr. It turns file sharing, screen captures, desktop videos, and other super useful collaborative tools into a simple drag-and-drop affair. And right now, you can get 4 years of Droplr for up to 3 users, for just $39.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Steve Jobs Theater is as special as any other Apple product

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The roof to Apple's theater looks like a UFO.
What, you don't think a building named after Steve wouldn't show obsessive levels of perfectionism?
Photo: Apple

Ahead of next week’s iPhone 8 keynote at Apple Park’s Steve Jobs Theater, a few more details have been shared about Apple’s brand new location for media events.

And they’re every bit as obsessively perfect as you’d expect a building named after Apple’s co-founder and former CEO would be.

From Cupertino with love: Apple could acquire James Bond franchise rights

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James Bond
Both Apple and Amazon are reportedly among the bidders.
Photo: Eon Pictures

Apple is in the running to secure movie (and possibly TV) distribution rights for the James Bond franchise, a new report claims.

While Warner Bros., Sony, Universal and Fox are the more likely candidates, Apple and fellow tech giant Amazon have also reportedly thrown their names into the hat. Jony Ive as 007, anyone?

Apple teases iOS 10 users with new iOS 11 features

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iPhone 7 iOS 11
A redesigned Control Center is one of many changes to look forward to in iOS 11.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has begun promoting new iOS 11 features to iOS 10 users ahead of the update’s public release.

The Tips app is issuing notifications that tease things like iOS 11’s redesigned Control Center, giving users a chance to preview them before the mobile operating system’s release in coming weeks.

India fights Apple over anti-spam app ban

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Apple supplier is increasing its ability to build masses of iPhones in India
Apple is at odds with the Indian government.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is running into big problems in India, concerning a clash with the government over its anti-spam iOS app.

The problem comes down to a Do Not Disturb app, which the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India wants Apple to distribute on the App Store. Apple, however, is refusing since it allows people to share spam call and text message logs with government agency, which Apple claims violates its privacy policies.