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Going online via a VPN is the smart thing to do [Deals]

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TigerVPN
TigerVPN protects your browsing with military grade encryption, on almost any device.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The internet is a scary place. And that’s not just because of the weird comments and content you might run into. It’s also a place that;s filled with identity thieves, hackers, and other dangers. Add to that the annoyance of regional content restrictions, and using a virtual private network to connect becomes a must.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Best Apple Watch Running App, Everything new with Siri, and more!

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cult of mac magazine
All this week on Cult of Mac, Graham Bower's been reviewing the best running apps for Apple Watch. And, now we bring them to you!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We’ve got a jam-packed issue this week including a rundown of six running apps for Apple Watch. See which one comes out on top!

In this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine, you’ll find that story and more. Get the latest on iPhone 8’s Touch ID. Find out everything new with Siri in iOS 11 update. And discover five apps that keep you safe while traveling. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Writing assistants, unlimited phone plans, and more [Week’s best deals]

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collage-2017-07-21
Writing assistants, meditation apps, lifetime phone plans and more are all part of this week's best deals.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Here at the Cult of Mac Store, we delight in finding great new deals on tools and tech every week. This go around, we’ve got a gravity-operated mobile car mount, and a super useful writing assistant. Additionally, we’ve got an app to guide you in meditating (really), and a phone plan year of unlimited talk and text. Discounts run from a third to as much as 90 percent off, red on for more details:

Why Apple’s making an iPhone Pro, this week on The CultCast

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It's time to make the iPhone exciting again.
It's time to make the iPhone exciting again.
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: Why Apple’s making an iPhone Pro, a tech-packed cutting-edge phone that will showcase what Cupertino is capable of. Plus: Genius Bar jackpot! (Or, why Apple sometimes replaces your old, broken gear for a brand new model.) And stick around for a super-powerful electric long board, a HomeKit-enabled ceiling fan, and a pro-level keyboard case for your iPad Pro in an all-new Under Review.

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 percent off any hosting plan.

Can facial recognition replace Touch ID? [Friday Night Fights]

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iPhone facial recognition
Unlocking your iPhone could be as easy as looking at it.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Recent iPhone 8 rumors have left the future of Touch ID unclear. Some indicate it will remain, but in a new position, while others warn that Apple plans to replace it with iris scanning and facial recognition.

Friday Night Fights bugThese aren’t entirely new technologies; other manufacturers have been offering them for years with mixed results. But can Apple deliver a solution that’s simple, fast, and secure enough to replace the fingerprint scanner?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over whether the iPhone can bid farewell to Touch ID.

Apple onboard with India for high-speed trains

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Apple train tech India
India's government hopes Apple can help make the country's trains run faster.
Photo: Ankur Yadav/Flickr CC

Apple is eager to get business in India on a fast track – plans that include partnering with the government on high-speed rail.

Apple reportedly is among a group of technology firms that will help India’s railways increase train speeds up to as much as 600 kilometers per hour.

iOS 11 automatically ignores flaky Wi-Fi connections

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Flaky Wi-fi
You should already have this switched off.
Photo: Cult of Mac

With iOS 11, your iPhone gets smart enough to realize when a Wi-Fi connection is flaky, and gives up trying to join it. This might be most useful if you’re one of those people who keeps your Ask Join Networks setting activated, but it should help anyone who uses their iPhone in multiple places — i.e. everyone ever.

Customization is key with OleksynPrannyk’s tailor-made bands for Apple Watch [Review]

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double tour
Outfit your Apple Watch Series 4 with our best bands guide!
Photo: OleksynPrannyk

A wristwatch is so much more than a means to tell time these days. It’s also the opportunity to accessorize and bump up one’s style with a unique, wonderfully constructed strap.

Heeding the call to individual style is OleksynPrannyk’s made-to-order and ultra-sharp Double Tour Apple Watch Band — the reasonably priced alternative to the ridiculously priced Hermès band. The Double Tour and all of OleksynPrannyk’s bands are completely customizable with more than five adapter colors and 14 thread colors from which to choose.

Best yet, the entire collection is available now in Cult of Mac’s Watch Store. Trust me, you will love this band.

iPhone 4s sparked house fire, lawsuit claims

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iPhone 4s
A lawsuit claims the battery of an iPhone 4s is responsible for a house fire.
Photo: Apple

The insurance company for a Wisconsin man is suing Apple claiming his iPhone 4s caused a house fire last year that left significant property damage.

The lawsuit, filed recently by Xai Thao and State Farm insurance company, blamed a faulty lithium ion battery in the handset for causing the fire. Thao says the iPhone 4s contained the original factory battery.

Tips to help you relive your great vacation [Tech Travel Tips]

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Vacation photo
You vacation photos are useless if you forget about them.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

tech travel tips It used to be that when you got back from vacation, you’d drop your film off at the lab and cross your fingers. You hoped you’d get some half-decent photos back a week later, while memories of that cool restaurant you liked faded with your tan.

Now we share our photos with friends and family while we’re still on the beach, then forget about them. But we can, and probably should, make a little effort to preserve our vacation memories. And — you guessed it — there are apps for that.

PDFs can be as easy to edit as a Word file [Deals]

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PDF Expert 2.2
This popular app lets you edit PDFs like any other text document.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

PDFs. If you work in a digital workplace, you’re dealing with this ubiquitous document format. It’s no wonder why: in addition to making written content look great, they’re flexible and convenient. That is, until you try to edit one.

How ARKit will deliver the future of maps

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Augmented
This is one way not to get lost.
Photo: Andrew Hart

From crowdsourced traffic data on Waze to Apple’s innovative “Flyover” feature for Apple Maps, our smartphones have introduced a number of clever map-related technologies that make it easier to get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible.

A new demo of Apple’s ARKit augmented reality reality by independent iOS developer Andrew Hart showcases how augmented reality could help take our navigation to the next level. Check it out below.

A faulty first-gen Apple Watch could get you a free upgrade

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Apple Watch
Apple Watch Series 3 will look exactly the same as its predecessors.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you have a first-generation Apple Watch that’s faulty, you could bag a free upgrade when you take it to the Apple store.

Employees and Authorized Service Providers in some countries have been given authorization to replace original models with Apple Watch Series 1 units, but only certain variants are eligible.

Apple’s biggest rivals back fight against Qualcomm

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Red iPhone in hand
Other tech companies aren't happy that Qualcomm's trying to ban the iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has some serious backup in its battle against Qualcomm, as a lobbying group representing some of tech’s heaviest hitters (including a handful of Apple’s biggest historic enemies) have called on regulators to reject Qualcomm’s bid to ban the importing of iPhones.

Some of the names in said group? Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Samsung — all of whom have filed official comments in support of Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Apple may have already picked its iPhone 9 battery supplier

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battery1
Apple's got LG in its sights. In a good way.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 8 isn’t even out yet, and already the tech world is focused on who might be supplying the various components for next year’s iPhone 9 (or iPhone 8s, depending on whether Apple returns to its traditional naming formula!)

A new report claims that South Korean tech company LG has secured the exclusive contract to provide Apple with its iPhone 9 batteries, having committed to making a big investment in production facilities in 2018.

Apple reportedly working with Chinese firm on electric car battery

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apple car
A rendering of an Apple car with a different kind of bumper
Photo: Motor1

Apple may be working on a car after all. A partnership between Apple and China’s biggest battery manufacturer is all about developing an electric car battery, according to a new report.

Apple was long rumored to be working on an autonomous vehicle under the code name Project Titan. But recent signals from Cupertino made it look like the tech company was downshifting its automotive ambitions, focusing on software rather than building an actual electric car.

How to ask Siri when a nearby store is open

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ask siri
Siri knows all about the opening times of local businesses.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Is it too late on a Saturday night to hit the hardware store for that essential dingus you need for Sunday’s DIY project? Has the local supermarket closed already, or do you still have time to buy some more beer? Does the Kanaan restaurant (“Best Humos in Berlin”) even open today? Just ask Siri.

You may be used to firing up Google Maps, searching for the store or restaurant you’re interested in, then tapping around in the app to get to the opening times. But did you know that Siri can also tell you if a local business is open, or when it will be?

Clever origami stand won’t fold under weight of your devices

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FODI
This origami-inspired stand will prop up your tech life.
Photo: FODI

There are people in the world with the title professional origami artist. Just the thought puts a crease in your forehead.

To answer your question, Yes, there is value in people knowing the art of folding paper. Let a product called FODI convince you by being one of the most indispensable tech accessories you could carry.

This premium video converter doesn’t cost a dime

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Want to get convert video from one format to another? VideoSolo Free Video Converter makes it easy.
Want to convert video from one format to another? VideoSolo Free Video Converter makes it easy.
Photo: VideoSolo

This post is brought to you by VideoSolo.

Sometimes it seems like there are as many video formats as there are devices to play them on. Whether you’re creating or consuming video content, getting the right format and resolution for a particular device can make a big difference. It can also take some pricey software. Don’t want to spend a bundle? VideoSolo Free Video Converter is a quality converter for Mac and Windows that also happens to be free.

Great travel apps to make your trip easy and fun [Tech Travel Tips]

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Rome vacation travel apps
Travel isn't all about visiting amazing places. Sometimes it's about using apps on your phone, too.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

tech travel tips You already have all the travel gadgets you need for a successful and relaxed trip. Today we’re going to look at travel apps. Specifically, apps that make your trip better and easier, like great city guides.

We’ll also showcase apps that work around limitations you face while traveling, like a lack of bandwidth. Let’s get started!

Samsung might get aced out of big iPhone chip deal

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iPhone 7 back
TSMC may be the company behind Apple's A12 iPhone chips.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is likely to hang on to Apple’s A-series iPhone chip orders in 2018, a new report claims.

The report contrasts with one published earlier this week, suggesting that Samsung would be taking over the role of A12 chip manufacturing, on account of its investment in “extreme UV lithography machines,” some of the the most advanced chip-making equipment around.