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Netflix gives thumbs up to skipping opening credits

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Netflix on a MacBook
You can now skip opening credits.
Photo: Netflix is killing star-ratings and title scenes

Binging your favorite TV shows on Netflix is about to get a lot better and a lot worse at the same time.

Netflix revealed that it plans to roll out two new features that will change the way you watch and review shows. Get ready to say goodbye to opening credits and five star reviews.

Chance the Rapper reveals how much Apple Music paid for Coloring Book

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Chance The Rapper performing at Wireless Festival Birmingham 2014.
Chance The Rapper performing at Wireless Festival Birmingham 2014.
Photo: Daniel Gregory/Flickr

Apple’s war with Spotify for exclusives can be a great thing for artists, according to three time Grammy winner Chance the Rapper.

In a series of tweets posted this morning, Chance the Rapper elaborated on his music with Apple Music and revealed how much the company paid him for exclusive access to his award-winning album Coloring Book.

Galaxy S8’s slo-mo video will blow iPhone 7 away

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Apple isn't the only one suffering in China.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

iPhone wasn’t first to shoot slow-motion video, but like a lot of things, it certainly popularized it. Now the feature can be found in every high-end smartphone, but none of them can shoot slo-mo video like the Galaxy S8 will.

According to a new report, Samsung’s next-generation smartphone camera will be capable of capturing an incredible 1,000 frames-per-second.

App Store finally gives indie games the spotlight they deserve

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Mac App Store
The email app BlueMail finds itself on the outside of the "closed garden."
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

After a big indie game promotion over the past week, Apple has given titles from independent developers their very own spot in the App Store. And it’s about time, too!

The new section will make it easier for shoppers to find new titles from smaller studios, while developers will benefit from greater coverage. It won’t be quite as easy for the latest releases to be drowned out by bigger titles from gaming giants.

Use this tripod to prop up your phone anywhere, anyhow [Deals]

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CoM - Gekkopod
This versatile tripod works with almost any device and goes anywhere.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Tripods can make photography easier and photos better, especially on mobile phones. If you’re looking for a tripod you can use take creative pictures in the field, and just to make Facetime calls at home without wearing out your arm, we’ve got what you’re looking for. The Gekkopod is solid, slim, and versatile, perfect for a variety of devices and uses. And right now at the Cult of Mac Store, you can get a Gekkopod Mobile Smartphone Mount for $19.95.

MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar hacked through Safari exploit

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MacBook Pro Touch Bar hacked
MacBook Pro's Touch Bar isn't as secure as we thought.
Photo: Niklas Baumstark

Hackers have been able to gain unauthorized access to the MacBook Pro’s fancy new Touch Bar by taking advantage of a hole in Safari.

The duo demonstrated the exploit at the Pwn2Own security conference taking place in Vancouver, Canada this week and bagged $28,000 for their efforts.

Apple will open two additional R&D centers in China this year

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Apple-Store-Shanghai
Shanghai will be home to one of them.
Photo: Apple

Apple has confirmed plans to open two additional research and development centers in China this year.

The centers in Shanghai and Suzhou will focus on developing technical experts for its local supply chain, and attracting graduates from universities like Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Shanghai Jiaotong University.

Spotify may block free users from listening to new music

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Spotify
You won't have to listen to music you don't like.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Spotify users who aren’t paying $9.99 a month for a Premium subscription could be prevented from listening to the hottest tracks.

A new report claims the Swedish music streaming company is nearing new deals with major music labels, which stipulate that top releases will initially be available only to paying users.

Developers lose interest in iMessage apps

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Messages iOS 10
iMessage got some huge upgrades in iOS 10.
Photo: Apple

The popularity of iMessage apps is already starting to diminish, less than a year after their debut.

iMessage apps have been the hottest new feature on iPhones since iOS 10 introduced them last year. But new data from analytics firm Sensor Tower shows that excitement for the new apps is already starting to fade among developers.

Apple drops new betas for iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4

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macOS Sierra is here!
A new macOS beta is here!
Photo: Apple

Just three days after seeding the last betas of iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4, Apple is back with yet another new build.

Signaling that a public release is just around the corner, the new updates come with a number of bug fixes and under the hood improvements to go with new features that were added in previous versions.

iOS 11 concept imagines an all-new lockscreen

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The iPhone's lockscreen could use some changes.
The iPhone's lockscreen could use some changes.
Photo: Matt Birchler

Apple is set to unveil big changes for the iPhone at WWDC 2017 and one feature that could definitely use some improvements is the lockscreen.

In a new concept design that imagines some potential lockscreen upgrades, Matt Birchler shows how a few very simple changes could make the lockscreen feel totally new.

Alexa brings awesome new powers to Amazon’s iPhone app

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It does almost everything you would expect Alexa to do.
It does almost everything you would expect Alexa to do.
Photo: Amazon

You can now ask Alexa to do your shopping, fetch information, and control your smart devices without a fancy Amazon speaker.

Starting today, the virtual assistant is being integrated into the Amazon shopping app for iPhone in the U.S., with support for thousands of skills. It can find products and track orders, play music and movies on Amazon Prime, and lots more.

iPhone 8 will strain world’s supply of OLED displays

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

Apple will acquire 14 percent of all OLED panels produced this year for the upcoming iPhone 8, according to a new report.

Cupertino, along with South Korean rival Samsung, will require so many that rival smartphone makers like Huawei will be forced to use alternative technologies due to an insufficient supply.

Protect your privacy online with a versatile VPN [Deals]

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CoM - VPNSecure- Lifetime Subscription
Stay anonymous and secure online without losing access to any of your favorite content thanks to this powerful VPN.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’re reading this, it’s a safe bet you go online. Unless of course you’ve discovered a new and exciting way to read digital articles without connecting to the internet…in which case, please get in touch with us. Otherwise, you’ll want to protect your connection to the web. And one of the best ways to do that is through a virtual private network, or VPN. A good VPN will keep your identity and activity anonymous, while bypassing common headaches like regional content restrictions. Right now, you can get premium VPN protection through VPNSecure for just $39 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Apple absent from new legal brief opposing Trump’s latest travel ban

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Yeah, we're pretty incredulous about your ideas, too, Mr. Trump.
The brief has been successful despite support from big companies.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

Apple’s name is notably absent from a new legal brief opposing President Donald Trump’s latest travel ban.

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and more than 60 other companies are also missing from the lawsuit that hopes to block a second, “watered-down version” of the controversial executive order.

Week’s best Apple deals: Get 4 hit iOS games for free

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Grab these free iOS games before the prices go up!
Grab these free iOS games before the prices go up!
Images: Fallen Tree Games, Frost3D, Spil Games, Perceptor

We’ve got a very specific focus this week: Four free iOS games you can find in the App Store. Three of them are puzzle games. And, best of all, they each cost nada. Save a few bucks and grab these deals before they go back up in price.

Siri glitch sends hooker hunters to bar with zero prostitutes

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Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant
Hey Siri, I need two hookers and an eight ball of cocaine.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s digital assistant is great at finding information for all sorts of things. But when it comes to hookers, Siri is the world’s worst pimp.

Thanks to a glitch with Siri, iPhone users in Toronto looking for prostitutes keep getting routed to an bar in Little Italy. There’s just one problem. The owner insists his bar is definitely not the place to find a call girl.

Back up your Windows Boot Camp partition the easy way

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Winclone 6 makes it even easier to back up and copy your Mac's Windows partition.
Winclone 6 makes it even easier to back up and copy your Mac's Windows partition.
Image: Twocanoes Software

This post is brought to you by Twocanoes Software, which is releasing the sixth version of its popular Mac utility Winclone.

One of the great things about owning a Mac is how easily you can run Windows. But while there’s no need to hack anything together, that doesn’t mean running Windows on a Mac isn’t tricky.

iOS 11 might make 200,000 apps obsolete

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iPhone 7 in hand
Some of your favorite old games might get booted from iOS.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s decision to drop support for 32-bit apps in iOS 11 later this year could kill about 187,000 apps, based on a new report that shows some old apps have been slow to catch up.

Analytics firm Sensor Tower estimates about 8% of all apps on the App Store will become obsolete. That small percentage may sound insignificant, but old games might be impacted the most.