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Mysterious MacBook coins might have simple explanation

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Some MacBook users have reported finding coins when taking apart their machines.
Some MacBook users have reported finding coins when taking apart their machines.
Photo: Greg Kilpatrick/YouTube

You love your MacBook Pro and think it can do just about anything, even make change.

That is literally true for some MacBook users, who have been reporting on tech forums of the odd placement of a random quarter or penny in their machine’s SuperDrive, discovered when the bottom plate was removed.

Why Consumer Reports’ MacBook Pro battery tests were wrong

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MacBook
The new MacBook Pro has great battery life.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The new MacBook Pro is set to receive a “recommended” rating from Consumer Reports after working with Apple to discover why tests showed the laptops suffered from unreliable battery performance.

The culprits? A hidden Safari setting and “an obscure and intermittent” bug.

Tony Fadell nearly lost an original iPhone prototype at the airport

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Fadell
Nest CEO Tony Fadell had a very, very bad day.
Photo: Nest

Remember that massive news news story from 2010, when an Apple engineer accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype in a bar in Redwood City, only for it to wind up in the hands of Gizmodo?

Well, a much, much bigger story could have happened a few years earlier — when then-Senior Vice President of Apple’s iPod Division Tony Fadell came close to losing an original iPhone prototype at an airport, prior to it being publicly unveiled.

Now that’s got to be a bad day at the office!

Cloud storage, mind maps and other productivity tools [New Year Deals]

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Get a full terabyte for cloud storage for life.
Get a full terabyte for cloud storage for life.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With the new year come countless resolutions to do more and better work. That’s why we’ve rounded up some of the best deals on productivity services in the Cult of Mac Store. We’ve got a lifetime of cloud storage, a time-saving virtual assistant, a Gmail-powered task manager, and a tool for mapping your thoughts and ideas. They’ll all bring your day-to-day workflow to a new level. Read on for more details:

Apple is still the most environmentally friendly tech company in the world

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Screen Shot 2017-01-10 at 14.47.41
Tim Cook isn't hiding his school report so his parents don't see it!
Photo: Greenpeace

It feels like another lifetime when Apple was scoring dead last on Greenpeace’s report on environmentally friendly data centers and the greenest Apple got was putting out an iMac G3 in “lime” or “sage” colors.

Like a one-time rebel who now sits up front in class, today’s Apple is one of the most sustainable and eco-friendly tech companies around — and Greenpeace’s latest clean energy index has the stats to prove it!

How to use Apple Pay on your Mac with macOS Sierra

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Antitrust investigators want to know if retailers were compelled to use Apple Pay
Get ready to start spending on your Mac! (Even more, we mean.)
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

With macOS Sierra, Apple Pay finally comes to Macs so you can use the mobile payment service to buy stuff online. The feature works best on the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, but don’t worry Pad if you own an older Apple computer: You can still use Apple Pay if you’ve got a 2012 or newer Mac, as long as you have the latest software and an iPhone or Apple Watch with Apple Pay enabled.

To get started, just follow our handy guide on how to use Apple Pay on Mac. You’ll be spending money online in no time!

Apple to switch up its manufacturing process for iPhone 8

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iPhone 7 black
Apple's making big changes for an all-new iPhone 8.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple will adopt a new manufacturing process to deliver an all-new form factor for iPhone 8, according to a new report. The next-generation Apple smartphone will use a stainless steel forging process for its metal frame as opposed to traditional CNC machining.

Apple’s Carpool Karaoke show will roll with a new host each episode

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Carpool Karaoke
Missy and Michelle be puttin' it down in Carpool Karaoke.
Photo: CBS Studios

Instead of having a single host, Apple’s upcoming TV show Carpool Karaoke will put someone new in the driver’s seat each episode.

The company also plans to add more interview elements to the show, which was created by Late Late Show host James Corden. The show will pair different musicians and celebrities for each of the first 16 episodes during Season 1.

Apple drops first new beta updates of 2017

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iOS 10 is awesome — but is it enough?
A new iOS 10 beta is here.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The first big batch of beta updates of 2017 have finally arrived from Apple, bringing developers a slew of bug fixes and performance improvements on the Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV.

Apple’s betas come nearly three weeks after the last batch of updates. The new software updates includes the third betas for iOS 10.2.1, macOS 10.12.3, tvOS 10.1.1 and watchOS 3.1.3.

Promising 2017 makes Apple ‘top pick’ for investors

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iPhone 8 concept
iPhone 8 is expected to be a huge success for Apple this year.
Photo: iDropNews

Analysts have labeled Apple a “top pick” for investors in 2017.

Morgan Stanley predicts Apple will have a successful year due to a variety of factors, including the much-anticipated iPhone 8, a potential 11-point deduction in tax rate, and consumer loyalty in China where iPhone sales are expected to grow 20 percent.

This pocket-size power plant can charge your phone 9 times [Deals]

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The Zendure A8 carries enough juice to refill your phone up to 9 times, and will hold a charge for 6 months.
The Zendure A8 carries enough juice to refill your phone up to 9 times, and will hold a charge for 6 months.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

These days it’s more than just our cell phones that run out of charge at the wrong moment. Forget portable batteries, this high-capacity power bank is like carrying around a wall outlet in your bag, perfect for any device. The Zendure A8 is one of the fastest charging power sources you can buy, easily able to charge your phone between 7 and 9 times on a single charge, or up to four devices simultaneously. And right now you can get a Zendure A8 for just $64.95 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Sun-baked iPhone 7 Plus ad focuses on Portrait Mode

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Screen Shot 2017-01-09 at 15.39.03 1
Shooting in portrait is no longer for n00bs.
Photo: Apple

Apple dropped a charming new iPhone ad over the weekend, showing off the Portrait mode available on Apple’s phablet-size iPhone 7 Plus.

Called “Take Mine,” the ad tells the story of a young woman who arrives in a Greek village to visit her grandma, only to quickly become an in-demand portrait photographer for the locals. Upbeat, warm, and showing off the iPhone 7’s impressive tech without a hard sales pitch, it’s a definite winner.

Check it out below:

Apple pulls iOS app that helped locate lost AirPods

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Finder-for-AirPods
"Finder for AirPods" has been pulled by Apple.
Photo: Deucks

Apple has pulled a third-party app that helped users locate lost AirPods.

“Finder for AirPods” first landed on the App Store last week and used a Bluetooth signal to track down missing earpieces. But just days later, it’s gone, with Apple telling its creator that it is “not appropriate for the App Store.”

Tim Cook on iPhone birthday: ‘We’re just getting started’

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iPhone
The iPhone turns 10 today!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Today marks ten years since Steve Jobs first unveiled the original iPhone (check out our handy iPhone history here) and, according to Tim Cook, “the best is yet to come.”

Cook’s comment was made as part of a press release, put out by Apple to celebrate the event. “iPhone is an essential part of our customers’ lives, and today more than ever it is redefining the way we communicate, entertain, work and live,” he noted, adding that the iPhone has “set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade — and we are just getting started.”

Apple to deliver 3 new iPads this spring, but no new mini

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iPad Pro
The iPad lineup could look a lot different this spring.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is expected to unveil three new iPad devices this spring, but none of them will cater to fans of the iPad mini.

According to one reliable analyst, the company is focusing its efforts on updating the 9.7-inch iPad and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and on introducing a new model with a 10- to 10.5-inch display.

Make this the year you master UX design [Deals]

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Get the full picture on UI/UX design with this bundle of six comprehensive lessons.
Get the full picture on UI/UX design with this bundle of six comprehensive lessons.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

2016 is over, mercifully. But don’t let 2017 come to a close without developing some new skills. If you work in or develop apps, one of the most valuable things to understand is user interface and interaction design. Clocking in at over 39 hours of lesson materials, this bundle of six courses is a great way to learn. And right now you can sign up now for UI/UX Bootcamp for just $39 at Cult of Mac Deals.

This is the iPod-style UI originally built for iPhone

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Good thing Apple didn't ship this.
Good thing Apple didn't ship this.
Photo: Sonny Dickson

The original iPhone nearly came with a digital click wheel that mimicked the iPod’s interface, according to video of an alleged prototype running the software that has not previously been made public.

Former Apple engineers confirmed in the past that Apple created a click-wheel-based solution for the iPhone’s software during the early stages of development, but until now, no one outside Apple had seen what it looked like.

Turn your iPhone into a universal remote and more [Week’s Best Deals]

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This suite of disk utility tools can recover lost data and maintain a healthy drive on almost any device.
This suite of disk utility tools can recover lost data and maintain a healthy drive on almost any device.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

2017 is off and running, and there’s already a strong crop of brand new deals that top the Cult of Mac Store. This week we’ve got a comprehensive disk utility, a comprehensive bundle of lessons in iOS development, a single place to charge and organize up to 5 devices, and a coin-sized module for turning your iOS device into a universal remote. Read on for more details:

The worst gadgets of CES 2017, this week on The CultCast

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Bluetooth hair brushes, smart refrigerators, dancing robots—welcome to CES 2017.
Bluetooth hair brushes, smart refrigerators, dancing robots—welcome to CES 2017.
Photo: Engadget

CES2017 This week on The CultCast: We run you through the most ridiculous gizmos at CES 2017 — stuff that nobody on earth actually needs. Then we spice things up with our most hotly anticipated tech of 2017.

And finally, we’re gonna be real with you guys…. Apple had a rough 2016. But that’s all behind us now. It’s a new year. It’s a fresh start. We discuss what Apple needs to get right in 2017.

Best HomeKit-compatible smart home devices from CES 2017

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ces_homekit
HomeKit devices are spawning fast.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

CES2017 The jury’s still out on whether HomeKit will really take over our homes and all the smart devices in them, but new HomeKit-compatible devices continue to pop up all the time. At CES 2017 in Las Vegas this week, vendors showed off a bunch of them, from light switches to security cameras.

Here’s our roundup of the best.

Does Apple Watch Series 3 need a major overhaul? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Will you buy another Apple Watch that looks like this?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The next-generation Apple Watch will be another incremental upgrade focused on performance and battery life improvements, according to recent rumors. But almost three years after the original model made its debut, should we be expecting more?

Friday Night Fights bugMany Apple Watch fans have been hoping for a slimmer form factor, while earlier rumors promised features like cellular connectivity and even a FaceTime camera. Would you buy another Apple Watch that looks the same but lasts longer in between charges?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we discuss whether Apple Watch Series 3 needs a major overhaul.