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Minecraft on iOS is getting cross-platform multiplayer

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Minecraft
You'll be able to team with friends on console!
Photo: Microsoft

Minecraft: Pocket Edition is getting support for cross-platform multiplayer, giving iOS users the ability to team up with friends on other devices — including consoles.

The latest systems from Nintendo and Microsoft will be compatible, alongside computers running Windows 10, but Sony is yet to pledge support for its own hardware.

Missed WWDC? You can catch up now on YouTube

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Don't miss out on WWDC 2017!
Don't miss out on WWDC 2017!
Photo: Apple

If you missed Apple’s big WWDC keynote last week, you can catch up now on YouTube.

The entire event runs for just under two hours and 20 minutes, but the beauty of watching it later means you can skip forward to the most exciting announcements.

Taiwan’s first Apple Store will grace one of world’s tallest buildings

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Screen Shot 2017-06-12 at 11.34.47
New Apple store is rumored to open by the end of this month.
Photo: Tim Cook

Tim Cook has confirmed that Apple is set to open its debut Apple store in Taiwan. “Here comes Apple Taipei 101, our first store in Taiwan,” Cook wrote on Twitter.

The store will be located in Taiwan’s iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper, the iconic supertall skyscraper in Xinyi District, Taipei, which was the world’s tallest building until it was overtaken by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2009.

Check out Apple’s WWDC 2017 in sketchnotes

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What an action-packed week of WWDC
What an action-packed week of WWDC
Photo: Andy McNally

What an amazing week it was at this year’s Apple WWDC, which returned to San Jose, California.  It was a week packed with events, announcements, developers, Apple Fans, and sketchnotes.  Take a look back at the week in sketchnotes.

Monument Valley 2, Halide, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Monument Valley 2, an M.C. Escher-inspired mobile gaming masterpiece, is just one of the brilliant titles we’ve picked out for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

We’ve also got a great task manager, an ancient Egypt-themed strategy game, and a superb camera app. Check out our picks below.

This pocket drone is your HD eye in the sky [Deals]

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JetJat
This mini drone makes HD FPV flight a total breeze.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

One of the coolest parts of owning a drone is the opportunity to fly from a first person view, or FPV straight from your iPhone When thinking about the drones that can shoot HD video and allow for FPV, you probably imagine one of the massive platforms that come with price tags too big to consider. That’s what makes this nano drone exciting.

A visual overview of Apple’s essential design principles

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Apple design places a premium on simplicity in an effort to provide
Apple design places a premium on simplicity in an effort to provide "a delightful experience."
Photo: Andy McNally/Cult of Mac

Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines have been the core of the company’s design philosophy ever since the Macintosh in 1978. Apple design evangelist Mike Stern gave an overview of the ever-evolving guidelines during a Wednesday session at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

The session, entitled “Essential Design Principles,” is one of my favorites, in large part because I’m a designer myself. I’ve distilled the essential Apple design principles he talked about in the sketchnotes above.

Enable the hidden dark mode in iOS 11 and save your eyes

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iOS 11's Smart Invert feature brings a stunning dark mode
iOS 11's Smart Invert feature brings a stunning dark mode
Photo: Cult of Mac

Some users have been longing for an iOS “dark mode” for quite a while. With iOS 11, Apple is introducing a new Smart Invert feature that replicates the dark mode functionality, though it’s not quite there yet. It builds upon iOS’ classic Invert Colors mode but excludes some images, media and apps that use dark color styles.

Here’s how you can try out the hidden dark mode in iOS 11 right now.

Optimize your Wi-Fi, fix bad typing habits and more [Week’s Best Deals]

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collage-2017-06-06
This week's best deals include a time saving typing assistant, a Wi-Fi optimizer, and lots more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s finally starting to get hot out there, but few things are as hot as the new deals in the Cult of Mac Store. The best of this week’s batch include a game-changing tool for mapping and optimizing Wi-Fi connections, and an app that’ll save you time by shortcutting your typing habits. There’s also a massive certification bundle covering all of Microsoft Office, and a top shelf Bluetooth speaker. Everything is discounted by 60 percent or more, read on for more details:

Cult of Mac Magazine: WWDC 2017 wrap-up, Hands-on with iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, and more!

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What did you think of this year's announcements at WWDC?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, we cover all of Apple’s biggest updates and announcements unveiled at last week’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. Apple is back in a big way!

Check out hands-on videos featuring all the brilliant new features of iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra. Plus, everything you need to know about iOS 11’s new Files app and so much more.

Click iTunes for a free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine. Here are this week’s top stories.

Hands on: Does watchOS 4 give Apple Watch what it needs?

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Apple Watch
watchOS 4 is available to developers, take an early look at what's new with our video!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Along with new versions of iOS and macOS, Apple unveiled its next major update for the Apple Watch at WWDC. The first watchOS 4 beta is now available to developers, and we’ve been trying out all its new features and improvements.

Check out the video below to see watchOS 4 in action.

Apple earns an A+ for WWDC 2017’s farewell beer bash

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Fall Out Boy WWDC 2017
The Chicago band Fall Out Boy played to an enthusiastic crowd at WWDC 2017.
Photo: Kenny Batista/Cult of Mac

This week, student Kenny Batista is writing a diary from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California. Kenny won a coveted WWDC Scholarship, which includes food, lodging and VIP access.

SAN JOSE, California — Apple threw us a bash party at WWDC where Fall Out Boy came to perform, and it was a blast!

The crowd even got pretty rowdy during Fall Out Boy’s performance, as you can see in the video below.

Jony Ive wants to design a soap dispenser

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Apple Design Boss Jony Ive has some low-tech ambitions.
Photo: Apple

After developing some of the most iconic tech products of the last two decades, Apple’s design boss Jony Ive has some astonishingly low-tech ambitions when it comes to the future.

During a recent interview at a conference organized by the Norman Foster Foundation, Jony Ive gave a surprising answer when what futuristic product he would like to design next.

“A soap dispenser,” Ive replied.

See Swift 4’s hot new features in sketchnotes

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What's new in Swift 4 sketchnote
Here's the latest on Swift 4, the latest version of Apple's programming language, done up in sketchnotes.
Photo: Andy McNally/Cult of Mac

On Tuesday, Apple gave one of it’s most important presentations of the week: the new version of Swift, it’s popular multi-platform programming language.

It was a big session because it gave all of the developers at WWDC a quick overview of the new features and pointed them to sessions that dove deeper on certain topics.

Above is my sketchnote from the session. I always feel over my head in the Swift talks, but I feel like the improvements will make Swift more accessible to developers like me, who are just getting started.

Is Apple back to its best following WWDC 2017? [Friday Night Fights]

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Are you pleased with what you saw at WWDC 2017?
Are you pleased with what you saw at WWDC 2017?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

This year’s WWDC keynote was an early Christmas for Apple fans. It delivered the big updates to iOS, macOS, and watchOS we were eagerly anticipating; a 10.5-inch iPad Pro; updated Macs with Intel Kaby Lake processors, plus nice surprises like the iMac Pro and HomePod.

Friday Night Fights bugBut is this Apple back at its best, or do we need more out of Cupertino? Are fancy software updates enough to breathe new life into boring hardware? Is Apple’s new push into virtual reality and machine learning too little, too late?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over a bumper WWDC!

Apple yanks controversial Planet of the Apps ad from Twitter

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Planet of the Apps
Not a high point for Apple.
Photo: Apple

The debut of Apple’s first original TV series, Planet of the Apps is getting off to a rocky start. Early reviews have been profoundly negative and the show’s ad campaign certainly isn’t winning over any new fans.

Apple’s Twitter account for Planet of the Apps sent out a new ad today that caused an uproar among fans who slammed it for being anti-family and promoting workaholism. The ad features one of the show’s app developers bragging about how he rarely sees his kids. It was quickly pulled but not before someone snapped a screenshot.

Take a look at the tone-deaf ad:

See Tim Cook deliver inspiring MIT commencement speech

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Apple CEO Tim Cook before giving the 2017 MIT Commencement Speech.
Apple CEO Tim Cook before giving the 2017 MIT Commencement Speech.
Photo: TIME

Apple CEO Tim Cook warned MIT’s graduating class of the dangers society faces as a result of rapidly advancing technology during his commencement speech this morning.

Cook challenged the 2017 graduates to measure their impact on humanity on the lives they touch, rather than the likes you get on social media.

New iPad Pro ads tout power and the Pencil

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Apple Pencil wwdc 2017
The iPad Pro ads just keep on coming.
Photo: Apple

Apple has rolled out yet another pair of iPad Pro ads, this time focusing on power and what makes Apple Pencil so spectacular.

The 16-second clips continue the “Real Problems” campaign, which sees common complaints solved by Apple’s tablet.

Stanford telemedicine star joins Apple’s digital health team

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Health
Apple's into health in a big way.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has hired Dr. Sumbul Desai, formerly executive director of Stanford Medicine’s Center for Digital Health, as part of its ongoing work into mobile wellness and health technology.

Dr. Desai will work part-time in a senior role on Apple’s health team, but will continue to see patients at Stanford.

iPhone 8 will lack blazing-fast data due to Qualcomm fight

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The iPhone 8 won't be cheap.
The iPhone 8 won't be cheap.
Photo: iDropNews

Apple’s next-generation iPhone won’t offer the same super-speedy gigabit LTE speeds as rival smartphones, according to a new report.

Qualcomm is the only company currently offering modems that support gigabit LTE, but thanks to a recent fallout with Apple, it will not be the sole modem supplier for iPhone 8.

Monument Valley 2 is a monumental achievement [Review]

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Monument Valley 2 review
Are you ready for a return to Monument Valley?
Photo: Luke Dormehl/Cult of Mac

When I interviewed the creators of smash hit puzzle game Monument Valley back in 2014, producer Dan Gray told me, “Already we’re having people ask us when Monument Valley 2 comes out, which is pretty crazy.”

Well, ask and ye shall receive — albeit three long years later. Arriving as a surprise release on iOS this month, Monument Valley 2 brings more of the M.C. Escher-inspired puzzle action that fans have been craving since the original game arrived in the App Store.

How does it fare? Put it this way: If you loved the original, you should fire up Apple Pay right now and set aside a few hours for more of the same.

Dino-themed MMORPG Durango is stomping its way to the App Store

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Done right, this could be one of the most ambitious iOS games in history.
Photo: Durango

Ever since a misspent youth playing Turok and watching Jurassic Park, I’ve been a sucker for dinosaur-themed entertainment.

Fortunately, it seems that my love of Apple, mobile gaming, and prehistoric monster reptiles may soon converge in one glorious app, as dinosaur-themed survival MMORPG Durango is set to stalk its way into the App Store. Check out the trailer below.

Samsung will make 80 million OLED displays for iPhone 8 in 2017

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iphone 8 display
iPhone 8 could arrive on time after all.
Photo: Martin Hajek

Samsung will manufacture 80 million AMOLED displays for the iPhone 8 during the second half of 2017, according to a new report.

Sources in Apple’s supply chain claim that other manufacturers have also begun mass-producing components for the company’s next-generation handsets — though iPhone 8 may not hit peak production until mid-September.

WWDC diary: how a day of furious networking might pay off

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WWDC scholar Kenny Batista at Apple
WWDC student scholar Kenny Batista has been networking like crazy to get an internship at Apple.
Photo: Kenny Batista/Cult of Mac

This week, student Kenny Batista is writing a diary from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California. Kenny won a coveted WWDC Scholarship, which includes food, lodging and VIP access.

SAN JOSE, California — Today at WWDC was all about networking. I’m working my way into an internship at Apple, and it’s going pretty well. I managed to impress an Apple engineer with an idea that I think they might already be working on!