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Take a look inside Apple’s new flagship store in Germany

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Apple's new store on Europe's busiest shopping street.
Apple's new store on Europe's busiest shopping street.
Photo: Macerkopf

The newest Apple store in Germany is ditching the Genius Bar, but it will have a boardroom.

Apple is set to open its second store in Cologne, Germany this weekend and early photos have already revealed some of the new features, like an area dedicated entirely to business that is becoming a staple at other flagship stores.

Samsung nearly tops Apple in J.D. Power smartphone rankings

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Samsung
The exploding Note 7 didn't hurt Samsung's status.
Photo: Jim Merithew / Cult of Mac

The gap between Apple and Samsung is narrower than it has ever been, according to J.D. Power’s 2017 smartphone satisfaction rankings that have the iPhone-maker in the lead by just one point.

Apple took the number one spot with a total score of 840. Meanwhile Samsung somehow crept up to the second spot with 839 points, even though it had a disastrous last half of 2016 with the exploding Note 7 fiasco.

WikiLeaks exposes CIA infections for Mac and iOS

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These are the sophisticated tools designed to exploit Apple vulnerabilities.
These are the sophisticated tools designed to exploit Apple vulnerabilities.
Photo: CIA.org

Just over two weeks after revealing the true extent of the Central Intelligence Agency’s hacking arsenal, WikiLeaks today released more information on its infections designed for Mac and iOS.

These are the tools the agency used to exploit vulnerabilities in Apple’s software and gain persistent access to target computers and mobile devices.

Zane Lowe says Apple is working on new Beats stations

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Zane Lowe
Beats 2, 3, 4, and 5 may be in the works.
Photo: Apple

Beats 1 DJ Zane Lowe says that Apple is “working on” new Beats radio stations, although won’t introduce them until, “they feel it’s right.”

While Lowe doesn’t provide more details, it’s one of the few things he addresses directly in an interview during which he sidesteps plenty of other questions — suggesting it’s something that Apple’s happy to be talked about to some extent.

Gear up for your next road trip [Deals]

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collage-2017-03-17
Keep your phone charged and your most important tools at hand with this bundle of road trip essentials.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Winter is coming to a close, and that means road trip season is on the horizon. Make sure you’re prepared for your next long distance drive with this gathering of essential gear at the Cult of Mac Store. From an emergency multi-tool that doubles as a phone charger, to a set of durable charging cables, a universal mobile phone mount, and a powerful, five-port portable battery, there’s something here to upgrade any outing. Read on for more details:

Apple dock could turn your iPhone into a MacBook

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Just take my money, Apple!
Just take my money, Apple!
Photo: Apple

Apple has created a dock that could turn a future iPhone or iPad into a MacBook.

The idea is explained in a patent application published on Thursday, which details an ultra-portable notebook into which an iOS device is placed to provide software and power.

Super Mario Run gets new playable characters, more free stages

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Super Mario Run on iOS
Nintendo's hit game just got a big update.
Photo: Apple

Haven’t played Super Mario Run since the first few weeks after its release? Nintendo is hoping to lure you back, as well as recruiting fresh players, with the 2.0 upgrade of its endless runner game.

The update beings new playable characters, new courses in Toad Rally, new buildings, greater ease of play, and assorted other changes and improvements.

Apple denies that millions of iCloud accounts have been hacked

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The CIA has a team of more than 5,000 hackers.
Hackers have threatened to remotely wipe devices belonging to millions of users.
Photo: Brian Klug/Flickr CC

Apple is denying reports that hackers have gained access to up to 559 million customer accounts, and are extorting the company by promising to remotely wipe devices of their data.

Hackers identifying themselves as the “Turkish Crime Family” this week demanded $75,000 in cryptocurrencies Bitcoin or Ethereum from Apple, or else $100,000 in iTunes gift cards. In exchange, they have said they will delete their alleged data cache.

Archivist seeks to preserve every Apple II program ever created

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Apple II software archive
Software swaps and hardware hacks at the 2016 KansasFest.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Jason Scott is an archivist and the enthusiasm for what he curates is the kind ascribed to 15th-century manuscripts or Jamestown colony artifacts – not software on obsolete floppy disks written for a 40-year-old computer system.

Scott is out to collect any original or copied software disks for the Apple II as if a language is in danger of dying with the people who speak it or possess some record of its existence.

Apple acquires popular iOS automation app Workflow

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Workflow is now an Apple app.
Workflow is now an Apple app.
Photo: Workflow

Apple has completed a deal to acquire Workflow, the popular utility app for iPhone and iPad.

It’s unclear exactly how much the Cupertino company paid, though it was reportedly “a solid payday” for the team behind the app, which includes former iPhone jailbreaker Ari Weinstein.

Week’s best Apple deals: The ‘no new iPad Pro’ edition

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Apple deals on MacBook, iPhone 5s, MacBook Pro, iTunes Gift Cardsåç
No new iPad Pro? No problem.
Photos: Apple

Bummed that you can’t shop for an updated iPad Pro? We’re surprised we haven’t seen immediate deep discounts on iPad Air 2 models, considering they are now discontinued and undercut by the faster new iPad.

Instead, we’ll console ourselves with amazing deals on MacBooks and iPhones, including the best price we’ve ever seen on the high-end MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.

Now’s the perfect time to sell your old iPad

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This girl is using her iPad, but you probably aren't
It might be time to say "goodbye" to your iPad (and "hello" to some cold, hard cash).
Photo: Unsplash

Today is the best day to sell your iPad. Why? Because with the new iPads coming this week, prices on older gear will soon drop.

If you’ve got an old iPad lying around, or even if you’re over your giant iPad Pro, sell your Apple tablet now before the bottom drops out — we’ll pay you for it through the Cult of Mac buyback program.

Win passes to opening night of the 10th annual Disposable Film Festival!

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Disposable Film Festival 2017 poster
Disposable Film Festival 2017 poster
Image: Disposable Film Festival

The 10th annual Disposable Film Festival, dubbed the “Oscars of online video,” runs March 30 to April 2 in San Francisco. The popular festival celebrates a decade of discovering and supporting the most visionary filmmakers of the digital age — artists who produce innovative stories at the intersection of art and technology.

Cult of Mac teamed up with the festival to give away a pair of free passes to the opening-night extravaganza. Enter below, and if you don’t win, don’t worry — everybody can get a discount!

Ultra-thin laptop stands, finger heaters and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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Crowdfund Roundup
Help turn these awesome ideas into reality!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Ever felt your hands are just too cold to type efficiently? We have an answer for that! It’s called Heatbuff, and it’s an infrared heater that sits behind your keyboard to keep your fingers toasty.

It’s just one of the awesome ideas in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We’ve also got a device that turns your smartphone into a tablet, an ultra-portable laptop stand, a battery pack that requires no cables, and more!

Developing data-driven mobile apps has never been easier

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Dropsource is designed to save you time and money when developing native mobile apps.
Dropsource is designed to save you time and money when developing native mobile apps.
Photo: Dropsource

This post is brought to you by Dropsource.

The gap between great app concept and actual working mobile app is wide. Whether your coding skills are limited, or your budget to hire an outside dev is lacking, developing data-driven mobile apps can prove prohibitive to many people with innovative ideas.

iPhone 6s was world’s most popular smartphone in 2016

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iPhone 6S
Apple's old iPhone is still a top-seller.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 7 may have got all the attention last year, but it turns out that the older iPhone 6s was actually the most popular smartphone in the world during 2016.

A new study from IHS Markit found that not only did the iPhone 6s outsell its newer sibling, it dominated Samsung’s lineup of newer Galaxy S7 phones too.

Get a comprehensive crash course in iOS coding [Deals]

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CoM - The 2017 iOS 10 Complete App Builder Bundle
This bundle of nine courses covers the gamut for anybody interested in learning or brushing up on iOS coding skills.
Photo:

If you’re want to learn the uber-lucrative skills involved in iOS development, it can be hard to know where to start. That makes something like The 2017 iOS 10 Complete App Builder Bundle a great opportunity. Not only is it a comprehensive and diverse place for beginners and seasoned coders alike to sharpen their skills, it’s a great value.

This bundle totals nine courses clocking in at more than 250 hours of instruction, and right now you can get the 2017 iOS 10 Complete App Builder Bundle for just $39.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Fight zombies en route to the Great White North in Death Road to Canada

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Screen Shot 2017-03-22 at 11.02.09
The walking dead, eh!
Photo: Death Road to Canada

Ever wished for a retro-styled zombie survival game built around a road trip in the Great White North? If so, you’ll almost certainly be excited to hear that the excellent Death Road to Canada has just landed on iOS. If you haven’t had such an oddly-specific dream, you’ll want to download this game anyway. Trust us, this is great stuff!

Check out the trailer below.

Siri and Alexa battle it out to be voice of Marriott hotels

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Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant
"OK Siri, check into my room!"
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Siri apparently has a new war on its hands: battling with Amazon’s Alexa over who gets to be the voice-controlled platform of choice in Marriott hotels.

According to a new report, Marriott International is currently testing devices from both companies at its Aloft hotel in Boston.

India won’t give in to Apple’s tax break demands

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India
Apple wants to dramatically improve its 2 percent share on the smartphone market in India.
Photo: Tim Cook/Twitter

Apple’s goal of snagging a sizable piece of the growing smartphone market in India may prove more expensive than hoped.

India’s Department of Revenue rebuffed Cupertino’s requests for 15 years’ worth of tax concessions to set up manufacturing facilities, according to published reports. The bad news comes a month before Apple is set to begin building the iPhone SE in that country.