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Apple Watch 2 will get GPS but no LTE

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Apple Watch
The next Apple Watch will still be dependent on the iPhone.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The next-generation Apple Watch won’t totally cut ties with the iPhone when it launches later this fall.

Although Apple plans to add a number of much-needed features to the Apple Watch 2, a new report claims the company hit roadblocks when trying to make a major change that would have added LTE or other cellular data connection capabilities to the device.

Leaked iPhone 7 camera hints at big improvements

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A black iPhone 7 would be killer.
iPhone 7 will have a killer camera.
Photo: Martin Hajek/Flickr

Leaked camera parts supposedly destined for this year’s 4.7-inch iPhone have revealed that Apple finally plans to add a feature found on its Plus-sized units the past two years.

While most of this years’ iPhone camera rumors have focused on the dual-lens module coming to the iPhone 7 Plus, a leaked iPhone 7 rear camera module hints at some big improvements coming to the smaller device.

How to use Universal Clipboard to copy on one device, paste on another

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macOS
Your iPhone and Mac now talk to each other even more closely.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The ability to seamlessly hand off web pages or emails from your Mac to your iPhone (or vice versa) has been around for a couple of years now. However, in macOS Sierra and iOS 10 it’s taken to the next level — courtesy of a Universal Clipboard feature which lets you easily copy and paste content between your Mac and iOS devices.

Here’s how to use the feature when running Apple’s next-gen iOS and macOS, which are currently in public beta and will be released this fall.

T-Mobile is killing data plans to go ‘unlimited’

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t-mobile
Say goodbye to data plans. (With a couple of provisos.)
Photo: T-Mobile

T-Mobile has declared “the era of the data plan is over,” and that it is offering all users unlimited data from this point on.

Called T-Mobile ONE, the new setup announced by CEO John Legere offers customers a way to get rid of pesky data plans — with unlimited talk, text and 4G LTE smartphone data, all for the impressively low cost of $40 per line if you’re a family of (at least) four.

A cheap, easy way to add 200GB of storage to your MacBook [Deals]

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Nifty Minidrive

We could all use an extra couple hundred gigs of space on our MacBook, but no one is excited about having a bulky and expensive external drive sticking out of their computer. Hence the appeal of Nifty’s MiniDrive, which seamlessly adds up to 200GB to your MacBook without altering the laptop’s sleek profile.

This is a great, reliable alternative to cloud-based storage or more bulky options like USB drives, and right now you can get one for just $33.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

iOS falls as Android’s market share skyrockets

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Your next iPhone may be powered by Intel.
iPhone sales are slowing, but it's not just about market share.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple may have fared better in its recent quarterly earnings than some were predicting, but iOS is still being obliterated by Android in overall marketshare worldwide.

How much so? According to new figures published by Gartner, Android is currently the mobile operating system found on a whopping 86.2 percent of handsets worldwide. In other words, based on this single metric, it’s not even close!

Sexy hardwood speakers easy on eyes and ears

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Grovemade's hardwood desktop speakers aims to improve the sound coming out of your Mac.
Grovemade's hardwood desktop speakers aims to improve the sound coming out of your Mac.
Photo: Grovemade

A small woodwork shop in Oregon has a fondness for Apple products and goes to great lengths to craft eye-appealing iPhone cases, iPad docks, and monitor stands.

Now, Portland-based Grovemade makes a play for the ears with horn-shaped hardwood desktop speakers that debuted this week.

Run Windows on Mac easier than ever with new Parallels Desktop 12

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Windows 10 on Mac
A performance boost in Parallels Desktop 12 means Windows 10 will run faster than ever on your Mac.
Screenshot: Parallels

Parallels Desktop, a go-to program for anybody wanting to run Windows on a Mac, just got more powerful and convenient to use. The Parallels Desktop 12 update, brings increased speed as well as a suite of handy new tools that simplify everyday tasks.

“This is the best Windows-on-Mac performance in the history of Parallels,” said John Uppendahl, Parallels’ vice president of communications, during a briefing about the new software, which will be available Thursday for subscribers and upgraders. (New users must wait until Aug. 23.)

Apple Pay is finally coming to Chick-fil-A

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Chick-fil-A registers are getting an upgrade.
Chick-fil-A registers are getting an upgrade.
Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr

Getting your chicken fix will no longer require a wallet at Chick-fil-A restaurants.

The company’s long-awaited Apple Pay rollout that was announced last year is finally coming to stores nationwide this week, allowing iPhone and Apple Watch owners to pay with a tap.

Week’s best Apple deals: Big discounts on Apple TV, MacBook Air and more

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Apple deals
If you don't need the absolute latest models, you can get some great deals on Apple gear this week.
Photos: Apple

Staples is offering the chance to stream high-def content at an unbeatable price, while Groupon cuts huge discounts off a wide range of Apple gear and accessories. You’ll find all these and more in this roundup of the week’s best Apple deals.

10 reasons to release your apps outside the Mac App Store

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DevMate
The Mac App Store isn't the only way you should distribute your apps.
Image: MacPaw

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

Like death and taxes, distributing your new app through the Mac App Store can seem inevitable. It’s widely considered the easiest way to get the widest exposure for an app, a centralized marketplace for software with a captive audience of buyers.

But ever more developers are looking beyond the Mac App Store (MAS) for distribution options that best serve their app. MacPaw, maker of DevMate, performed an interesting survey of developers to ask if they prefer MAS or another app store alternative, and why.

EMT slapped with lawsuit for hitting patient with iPad

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Cult of Mac's buyback program
Don't slap people with your iPad.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A Connecticut man has filed a lawsuit against an EMT after being hit on the head with an iPad while in the back of an ambulance. Robert Alix, who is seeking $15,000 in damages, also claims that he was beaten and told to “get a haircut and join the military.”

AT&T finally drops overage charges with new data plans

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Get ready to be throttled.
Get ready to be throttled.
Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr

AT&T customers soon won’t have to worry about going over their monthly data limit, thanks to a new set of plans the carrier is rolling out nationwide later this month.

Instead of cutting your data off once you go over, the new Mobile Share Advantage plans simply throttle your speeds down to a maximum of 128 kbps, making the carrier more competitive with the likes of T-Mobile.

How to use Siri to search, drag and drop images on macOS Sierra

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siri
Siri on Mac makes finding images a whole lot quicker.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The Mac debut of Siri on macOS Sierra opens up a ton of intriguing new use-cases in terms of functionality. One of the most useful? The ability to use Apple’s virtual assistant to search for photos either on the web or your own computer — and then drag them into directly into apps.

Here’s how to use the feature when running Apple’s next-gen macOS, which is currently in public beta and will be released this fall.

Target blames Apple for its own decline in sales

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target-hopes-for-bulls-eye-with-its-mobile-wallet-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads20151214206310981_090d141772_o-jpg
Target says its Apple sales fell 20 percent over the past quarter.
Photo: Target

Declining sales of Apple products is one of the factors Target has blamed for its disappointing second-quarter earnings.

During a conference call today, Target CEO Brian Cornell noted that Apple products fell 20 percent in sales at his company’s stores, resulting in a double-digit percentage sales decline in the retailer’s electronics division.

With eyesight failing, CEO hurries to make voice-enabled tech mainstream

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Chris Maury leads the charge towards smarter voice-enabled technology.
Chris Maury leads the charge towards smarter voice-enabled technology.
Photo: Conversant Labs

Cult of Mac 2.0 bug When Chris Maury tried helping an elderly blind woman use voice commands on an iPad, she thanked him but said, “I just wish Siri could read me the news.”

Maury understood her frustration. He, too, was losing his vision and could foresee a struggle to remain productive using the visual interfaces common on all computing devices.

Stock up on Apple-certified Lightning cables before yours breaks [Deals]

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Get these 3 Apple-certified Lightning cables and make sure you're never without one when you need it.
Get these 3 Apple-certified Lightning cables and make sure you're never without one when you need it.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The slim Lightning cables that come with our iPhones serve as their lifeline, but they sure are fragile. If you’ve had one for more than a few weeks, you’ve seen it get frayed, cut, scuffed, and generally put through the ringer. It’s only sensible to have a backup lying around, or three — right now you can get a trio of MFi-certified Lightning cables for a big discount, $21.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Only ‘special edition’ iPhones may get OLED displays at first

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The next iPhone will have a huge battery.
The OLED could be an iPhone 8 Plus exclusive.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Most people are pretty darn excited about the possibility of Apple adding an OLED display to the iPhone in the near future, but according to one analyst, the feature is likely to be rolled out slowly — arriving first of all as an “added bonus” for only select higher-end iPhones.

Legendary Apple store unloads treasure trove of vintage Macs

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Tekserve
Tekserve's Mac Museum shortly before it was auctioned off in 2016.
Photo: Roland Auctioneers

Apple fans in the Big Apple are misty eyed this week as a beloved repair shop gets ready to close its doors for good.

Tekseve, with a true genius bar of technicians unmatched by any modern Apple Store, has been forced out of its Manhattan location after nearly 30 years because of high rents and retail competition. Its collection of rare old Macs that were on display will be auctioned off next Tuesday.

Apple is producing an exclusive documentary about Cash Money Records

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Screen Shot 2016-08-17 at 11.54.04
Apple is all about that Cash Money.
Photo: Instagram

In its quest for more exclusive music content, Apple Music has signed an agreement with Cash Money Records: the record label which brought fan Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Young Money and Birdman.

According to the deal, which was described as a “power move” by co-founder Birdman on his Instagram, Apple will produce a documentary about the label — set to air exclusively on Apple Music.