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How to find out if your iPhone 6s battery is eligible for replacement

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The iPhone 6s has more junk in the trunk.
The iPhone 6s has more junk in the trunk.
Photo: Apple

Apple is offering iPhone 6s customers a free battery replacement for devices that unexpectedly shut down. The problem mostly affects iPhone 6s units made between September 2015 and October 2015.

If you’re not sure when your iPhone 6s was made, you can use a new tool created by Apple to find out if your device has a faulty battery.

Here’s how to check:

Affordable slow-mo camera lets you stop a speeding bullet

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High-speed video capture usually requires high-spending. But this fast and furious camera can be yours for less than $3,000.
High-speed video capture usually requires high-spending. But this fast and furious camera can be yours for less than $3,000.
Photo: Kron Technologies

David Kronstein fell in love with the capture of high-speed video while a teenager watching Mythbusters. He wanted one of those expensive cameras so bad and thought he had a shot at one in 2006 when an Olympus i-Speed 2 started at a bid of $150 on eBay.

When the bidding surpassed his college budget, Kronstein said, “Screw it, I’ll build one.”

Ten years later, he not only built the camera, he is making it available to average consumers at a tenth of the usual price. (High-speed cameras used in laboratories and TV production studios average around $25,000.)

Limited editions of popular iOS games will make you see RED

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red
What's black and white and (Red) all over?
Photo: Apple

The App Store looks a whole lot like that elevator scene from The Shining today. That’s because it’s gone red to mark Apple’s commitment to World AIDS Day and the Product (RED) charitable campaign.

It’s not just the color that has changed for the day, though. Apple is also offering a plethora of exclusive content that will disappear from the App Store after December 6.

Someday you might get that round Apple Watch you crave

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You spin me right round, Jony, right round!
Photo: Aicion

Could future Apple Watches ditch the rectangular form factor of current models and opt instead for a round watch design, similar to the Pebble Time Round?

A pair of patent applications filed today suggest this is something Apple is considering. Titled “Electronic device having display with curved edges,” the twin applications make no secret about what they contain.

The question is whether Apple will follow through with them.

Get lifelong cloud storage for less than a hard drive [Deals]

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Get a lifetime of secure and convenient cloud storage to round out your data backup.
Get a lifetime of secure and convenient cloud storage to round out your data backup.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It is not practical (or all that smart) to keep all your data on a single device. Even external hard drives can give up the ghost before you’ve backed the up, making cloud storage a necessary part of any sensible data plan. Cloud storage can usually be pretty expensive, but pCloud is offering a deal that’s tough to refuse. Right now you can get half a terabyte of cloud storage for life for $59.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Beloved Tiny Wings takes to the skies on Apple TV

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With split-screen multiplayer!
Photo: Andreas Illiger

Tiny Wings, one of the most addictive games you’ll ever play on iOS, is now available on the fourth-generation Apple TV. It costs just $2.99, and it comes with a new two-player game mode that lets you battle it out with a friend for the first time.

Apple Pay is now available to customers in Spain

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Apple Pay is in its thirteenth country.
Photo: Apple

Apple Pay has arrived in yet another country, with Spain’s Banco Santander bank now offering its customers the ability to use Apple’s mobile payments solution.

“Apple Pay shows we are committed to collaborate and to bring innovation and new technology to our customers to make their payments easier, faster and more secure,” Rami Aboukhair, country head of Santander Spain, said in a statement. “We are convinced our customers will love it.”

Steam holiday sale kicks off December 22

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Steam-holiday
It's that time of the year again!
Photo: Cult of Mac

Christmas is a great time to pick up cheap games for Mac and PC on Steam, with big discounts on the latest titles and timeless classics. According to a new leak, this year’s sale will kick off on Thursday, December 22.

Apple will use drones to make Maps better

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Apple Maps reservation OpenTable
Drones could be key to improving Apple Maps.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple plans to use a combination of drones, indoor mapping and other smart tech to improve its Apple Maps service, claims a new report.

Employing drones could help Apple catch up with industry leader Google. The search giant has routinely outpaced Apple on mapping technology ever since Cupertino entered the space with its (initially disastrous) Apple Maps in 2012.

Apple may be cutting iPhone 7 orders as demand falls

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iPhone 7 back
Interest in the iPhone 7 is already falling.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly cutting iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus orders less than three months after their debut due to falling demand.

Momentum has fallen “significantly” in China and other markets, according to sources in Apple’s supply chain, and component makers are already shifting their focus to iPhone 8.

Fitbit said to be planning $40 million Pebble acquisition

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Pebble might be dead, but your watch isn't.
Can Fitbit breathe new life into Pebble?
Photo: Pebble

Fitness band maker Fitbit is said to be in the process of acquiring Pebble, the company that kickstarted the smartwatch generation. Sources say the acquisition will cost between $35 million and $40 million, and will include the entire Pebble portfolio — including its intellectual property.

People love Apple’s doomed AirPort more than any other router

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Apple's routers are #1.
Apple's routers are #1.
Photo: Apple

Apple sure seems to be doing routers right. At least according to the more than 3,000 customers polled in J.D. Power’s 2016 Wireless Router Satisfaction Report.

Apple came out as the top-rated router manufacturer in Overall Satisfaction, which would be great news for the AirPort team — if Apple hadn’t just disbanded it.

Week’s best Apple deals: Best prices yet on Apple TV and more

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Apple deals
Cure your post-Black Friday hangover with great deals on Apple TV and more.
Photos: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac, Apple, DirecTV

Congratulations — you survived Black Friday! We were thrilled to see some new highs (and lows) from retailers. But if you missed out on the savings, fear not: Plenty of discounts are still going strong.

In this week’s roundup of the best Apple deals, you’ll see all-time price lows on Apple TV, MacBooks, iPads, iPhones and more. These hot deals either match or beat prices we’ve seen in the last week.

3 surge-protected outlets and 4 USB ports in one strip [Deals]

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Kinkoo multi-outlet surge protector
Get three standard and four USB outlets in one compact strip.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The more devices we get, the more crowded and complicated the power situation becomes. Wall outlets can quickly become a tangle of wires, plugs and adapters, which is more than unsightly — it’s unsafe.

Kinkoo’s multi-outlet surge protector helps clean up and coordinate your charging needs at home and on the go, with three standard outlets, three standard USB charging ports, and a USB-C port, all in one durable, surge-protected power strip that’s less than 8 inches long.

How to watch Netflix offline

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The new Netflix app reveals your internet speeds.
Finally, watching Stranger Things on the subway is a reality.
Photo: Photo: Shardayyy/Flickr CC

If you’ve been dying to watch Netflix offline, your life just got better. An update to the official Netflix app lets you download TV shows and movies so you can view them without munching through your data allowance.

Anyone who’s dreamed about watching Stranger Things or The Crown on the subway to work, or at 35,000 feet, this is your lucky day! Here’s how to get in on the action.

iPhone app gives digital shooters a taste of film

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FB
This app may inspire you to grab an old camera and shoot a roll of film.
Photo: Filmborn screenshot/Mastin Labs

What is the best way to convince a global community of mostly digital photographers that they should pick up an old camera and shoot film? Put film on the iPhone.

That is exactly what Seattle-based Mastin Labs has done with its new film emulation app for iOS, Filmborn.

Woz’s wacky music festival is the focus of new documentary

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Steve Wozniak wax sculpture fake eyes
Remember that time Woz was a concert promoter?
Photo: Madame Tussauds

Before there was the Apple Music Festival, there was the US Festival: a sprawling, Woodstock-style music event hosted by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Boasting performances ranging from the Grateful Dead and the Ramones to The Kinks and Fleetwood Mac, the story behind the epic, money-losing concert is set to be told in a new documentary called The US Generation.

Apple marks World AIDS Day with new products and donations scheme

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Apple Store in Hong Kong show support for World AIDS Day.
Apple stores around the world go red for World AID Day
Photo: Lorraine Ng/Instagram

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day, and — as it has for the past decade — Apple is taking a stand as part of the Product (Red) campaign.

To mark the occasion, Apple is turning its logo red in Apple stores around the world, debuting several new products, selling limited edition content in the App Store, and matching customer purchases with donations to help fund the global fight against HIV.

iPads linked to bullying in schools, claims British politician

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Is there a link between bullying and iPads in class?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Bullying in schools? Blame iPads, claims U.K. politician Edward Timpson, the Minister for Children and Families.

Speaking to the House of Lords Communications Committee, Timpson said that iPads are “forming too much” of kids’ school days, and as a result are being increasingly used inappropriately for “bullying and harassment.”

Apple Music’s student plan reaches 25 more countries

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Apple Music
Apple Music costs a lot less for students.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Music’s student plan is now available in 25 additional countries around the world. The plan gives college and university students around 50 percent off a single-user account, cutting the cost to $4.99 a month in the U.S. and €4.99 in Europe.

iTunes Connect will shut down for Christmas

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iPhone 7
Get your apps ready for Christmas.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

App developers hoping to cash in on the Christmas downloading season better get their new builds and updates submitted to Apple soon.

Apple warned today that it will shutter iTunes Connect during the holidays so employees can have some time off.