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This is what the Samsung Galaxy S8 looks like

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Say hello to the Galaxy S8.
Say hello to the Galaxy S8.
Photo: Evan Blass/Twitter

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has been fully exposed ahead of its grand unveiling later this month.

Thanks to notorious smartphone leaker Evan Blass, we now have have our first solid look at what Samsung’s next iPhone rival will look like. Blass tweeted a marketing image for the upcoming handset, and the Apple fan in me has to admit — it looks pretty damn good.

How to maximize your MacBook trade-in

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Even a broken MacBook is worth something -- if you take the right steps and find the right buyback program.
Even a broken MacBook is worth something.
Photo: MyPhones Unlimited

Because there are fewer MacBooks than iPhones on the market, and the laptops are more difficult to repair, buyback programs typically shortchange you when it comes to Apple computers.

But there are three easy tricks that will help you maximize your profit when you trade your old MacBook for cash. (You’ll also want to choose your buyback company wisely, but don’t worry — we’ve got a hot tip for that as well.)

This sleek battery packs serious punch [Deals]

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CoM - ZeroLemon ToughJuice QC 2.0 5-Port Power Bank
This single, slim battery packs enough power to juice up almost anything, from an iPhone to a MacBook.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you travel with any number of devices, you know that a backup battery can prevent being powerless at just the wrong time. But carrying a bunch of batteries doesn’t exactly make for traveling light. That’s why you should look into a single slim battery like ToughJuice from ZeroLemon. It can bring a charge to a number of devices, from iPhones to MacBooks. And right now, at less than half price, you can get a 30,000mAh ToughJuice for $59.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Hidden features give wallet its Fantom name

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The Fantom Wallet by Ansix Designs stays slim even as you pack it with cards and cash.
The Fantom Wallet by Ansix Designs stays slim even as you pack it with cards and cash.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

There’s a reason so many wallet projects flock to Kickstarter. A lot of people carry wallets — and everyone seems to be irritated by at least one feature that doesn’t work for them.

A group of mechanical engineers out of Canada think they have come up with a design that’s sure to satisfy any wallet user trying to avoid pocket bulk and identity theft. The Fantom, the latest wallet design to come to Kickstarter — as of Wednesday morning, anyway — shuns traditional materials and forms for a futuristic case that holds credit cards, cash, coins and yet somehow remains slim.

Apple’s biggest assembly partner wants Toshiba’s chip business

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iPhone sales drive Apple’s biggest supplier to big profits
Foxconn could cement its position as Apple's biggest supplier.
Photo: CBS

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou has said the company is “very serious” about acquiring Toshiba’s memory chip business.

If this happens, it would cement Foxconn as potentially Apple’s single biggest manufacturer, with it having already purchased a controlling interest in iPhone display maker Sharp, in addition to building iPhones and iPads for the company.

iPhone’s high ‘failure rate’ gives Android the edge on reliability

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iOS and Android are killing off the competition.
Unstable apps are the biggest issue on iOS.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS might be the “world’s most advanced mobile operating system,” according to Apple, but it isn’t the most reliable, according to a new study.

New data shows that iPhone’s “performance issues and high failure rates” over the last year make Android more stable. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s are said to be two of the worst-performing Apple handsets.

YouTube is launching a TV streaming service for $35 a month

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YouTube wants to takeover your TV.
YouTube wants to takeover your TV.
Photo: YouTube

Cord cutters just got another option for getting their TV fix over the internet.

Google-owned YouTube revealed today that is launching a new streaming TV service that will offer customers a bundle of channels from broadcast and cable networks for $35. But it might not come with all the channels you want.

Apple trashes printers in new iPad Pro ad

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No printer, no problem.
No printer, no problem.
Photo: Apple

Apple wants you to replace your printer with an iPad Pro.

In the company’s latest ad touting the iPad Pro as the perfect laptop replacement, Apple takes aim at the hassles of having to use a printer.

Created in the same vein as Apple’s last batch of iPad Pro commercials, the new ad features a real tweet complaining about having to print personal stuff at work. Apple’s solution is simple: get an iPad.

It’s not just you, iCloud is down now for some users

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icloud-music-library-itunes-match
iCloud is down.
Photo: Apple

Are you having a hard time backing up files to iCloud or listening to songs on Apple Music? You’re not alone.

It appears that Apple’s iCloud services are currently impacted by a major Amazon web services outage that has crippled the internet on the East Coast. It’s unclear what is causing the problem but Apple says only 0.04 percent of users are effected by “slower than normal performance.”

Here are all the Apple services that are down:

Developers get fourth beta of tvOS 10.2

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apple tv and siri remote
New beta software is out for Apple TV.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple seeded a new beta build of tvOS 10.2 to developers today, bringing a number of bug fixes and performance improvements to the Apple TV.

The new tvOS beta update comes just over a week after Apple released the last beta for tvOS 10.2. Because of the tricky installations requirements the beta is not available to public testers.

Tim Cook: Pro users remain incredibly important to Apple

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Apple HQ
This is the last shareholders meeting at Apple's old campus.
Photo: Ryan B/Flickr

Apple hosted its annual shareholders meeting today at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino where a number of new proposals were presented by investors before Tim Cook took questions from the audience.

During his Q&A session, Tim Cook discussed how Apple plans to fight for net neutrality. He also assured shareholders that Apple plans to come out with new products that appeal to professionals and creatives, but insisted that the Mac and iPad aren’t destined for a merger.

Should Apple swap Lightning for USB-C with iPhone 8? [Poll]

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This kevlar-encased Lightning cable is built to last.
USB-C has its pros and cons.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple is rumored to be making major changes for iPhone 8, like doing away with Touch ID in favor of a mini Touch Bar. Another big move, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal today, could be a switch from Lightning to USB-C.

An iPhone with USB-C instead of Lightning would have its pros and cons. But which would you prefer? Let us know in the poll below.

Apple’s AR ambitions may be bigger than we thought

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Apple is diving into AR.
Augmented reality could arrive with the iPhone 8.
Photo: Metaio

Apple “may have over 1,000 engineers working on a project in Israel that could be related” to augmented reality, claims UBS analyst Steven Milunovich in a new note to clients.

Because of this, Milunovich suggests that Apple is viewing AR as one of the next big areas of tech innovation. One possible application could be, “moderate 3D mapping” which might arrive as soon as this year’s iPhone upgrade — along with an AR software development kit.

Samsung chief faces possible 20 years behind bars for bribery

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samsung-steals-iphones-upgrade-program-for-galaxy-s7-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads2016024_vr-homepage-desktop-size-a-letterbox-v1-jpg
Bribery case goes all the way up to the highest levels of South Korean politics.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung Vice-Chairman Lee Jae-yong has been charged with bribery, embezzlement, hiding assets overseas, and perjury by South Korean prosecutors.

Lee — who is the heir apparent to the Samsung Group and only son of Samsung’s incapacitated chairman — was arrested on February 17 for his role in a scandal involving the country’s impeached president Park Geun-hye. Today was the last day of the investigation that Lee was able to be charged following his arrest.

Bill Gates says he didn’t copy Steve Jobs

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https---blueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com-uploads-card-image-397526-14cc227c-5195-4fef-a37e-f5984d8d1711
Gates answered fans' questions on Reddit.
Photo: Bill Gates

Among questions on his favorite sandwiches (“Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger”) and whether he can still jump over a chair (probably not), Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates got asked whether his company had copied Steve Jobs during a Reddit Q&A on Monday.

Gates denied copying Cupertino — but reminded everybody that Microsoft and Apple both borrowed liberally from another Silicon Valley pioneer.

Goodbye Lightning? 2017 iPhones may rely on USB-C connector

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iPhone 6 Plus_8
Apple may be bringing UBC-C to iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

This year’s iPhones may boast USB-C connectors, claims a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

If true, this would bring next-gen iPhones in line with the company’s push to embrace the industry-standard connector — as seen with recent MacBooks, which ditched legacy connectors in favor of a single USB-C port for both power and data transfers.

Mozilla buys Pocket in first ever acquisition

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pocket_dribble2
But don't worry; Pocket is going nowhere!
Photo: Pocket

Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox web browser, just snapped up Pocket in its first ever acquisition.

Pocket will remain an independent subsidiary and promises to continue delivering the service fans know and love. However, the Mozilla takeover will allow it to add “fuel to the rocketship” and build an even greater product.

MacBook Pro destroyed by exploding battery

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exploding-MacBook-Pro
The machine was hot enough to melt its owner's fingers.
Photo: Daniel Dourvaris

iPhone fanboys will have you believe that exploding batteries are exclusive to Samsung Galaxy smartphones, but that’s not true.

Even Apple devices go bang from time to time — like this 2015 Retina MacBook Pro, which was completely destroyed when its battery catastrophically failed and caught fire.

Leaked Galaxy S8 video reveals Samsung’s new iPhone rival

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These are Samsung's new phones.
These are Samsung's new phones.
Photo: SlashLeaks

While Samsung isn’t expected to unveil the Galaxy S8 until the end of March, a supposedly leaked video purports to show exactly what the upcoming phone looks like.

The video appears to show both the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the larger S8+. Both devices seen in the video sport curved edge-to-edge displays. Samsung replaced physical buttons on the front with virtual ones, but the 3.5mm headphone jack is still there.

How indie devs at Smile won 100,000 happy customers

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Greg Scown, CEO of Smile
Smile CEO Greg Scown leads the team that created popular Mac apps TextExpander and PDFpen.
Photo courtesy Smile

Our App Business section is brought to you by MacPaw, maker of proven Mac apps.

Smile, the indie development team behind super-popular productivity apps TextExpander and PDFpen, cut its teeth writing software for technology that barely exists anymore. But thanks to a user-focused attitude and a wholehearted embrace of the third-party tools that power modern offices, the company has been able to keep ahead of the curve as technology changes.

Apple seeds new betas for iOS, macOS and watchOS

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iOS
iOS 10.3 is full of new features.
Photo: Ste Smith

Developers received two new beta builds from Apple today for iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2 and macOS 10.12.4, just one week after the last versions were released.

The new builds for iOS 10.3 beta 4 and macOS 10.12.4 beta 4 can be downloaded by registered developers directly from the Apple’s dev portal. iOS 10.3 beta 4 can be installed directly to your iPad or iPhone if you have the previous build on your device.

iOS widgets: 6 of the best to replace Apple’s own

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These apps' iOS widgets will give your iPhone superpowers.
These apps' iOS widgets will give your iPhone superpowers.
Photo: Gilles Lambert/Unsplash CC

iOS widgets are a great way to check in on your day. Apple gave us its own take on widgets with the core apps built into iOS 10, but you can do better.

If you’ve never taken a look at some of the great third-party iOS widgets available, you’re missing out. Here are six of our favorite iOS widgets to replace the stock Apple widgets. (If you don’t know how to add widgets, go to the bottom of this post for instructions on adding and using them.)