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Samsung snags top smartphone spot from Apple

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iPhone SE couldn't stop a Samsung takeover.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
iPhone SE with Galaxy S7
iPhone SE couldn’t stop a Samsung takeover. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Android

Glowing reviews for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge have been translated into stellar sales for Samsung.

The South Korean company’s latest handsets have been so successful this year that they’ve helped it overtake Apple to become number one smartphone maker in the U.S.

News junkies get a new way to mainline headlines

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HEADING
Photo: Lumi

The developers behind Lumi News, both a curation service and new mobile app, want to change the way you get your news. Instead of asking you to pick topics for your news from a long list, like Apple News or Flipboard does, Lumi uses the magic of background algorithms to offer you news stories that actually match your news reading habits.

The service uses Twitter and Facebook to discover your browsing preferences and then presents you with news stories, one at a time, asking you to swipe left (no) or right (yes) like a dating app to help refine what it sends to you. It’s like Tinder for news hounds.

Defend the planet with indie music in Loud on Planet X [Reviews]

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Blast aliens while you dance a little on Planet X.
Blast aliens while you dance a little on Planet X.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

I’ve been smashing aliens with multiple eyes for a good while now, and the fantastic indie-flavored soundtrack of Loud on Planet X has invaded my brain.

A mashup of rhythm games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero with lane-based tower defense games like Plants vs. Zombies, Loud on Planet X will scratch that music game itch, getting you to tap your way to victory while getting to play as your favorite indie band, like Tegan and Sara, CHVRCHES, Lights, Purity Ring, and Little Dragon, just to name a few.

Drake’s Views racks up 250 million streams on Apple Music

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Apple Music and Drake
Let's hear it for high-res Drake tracks.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s big bet on Drake is paying off huge for both sides and shattering records in the process.

Drake’s new album Views is only available on Apple Music, but it’s already been streamed over 250 million times in its first week and his album sales are on pace to be the biggest release by a male artist since Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience.

Beige is back with this retro-inspired iMac

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Yes, that's a brand new iMac in beige.
Photo: ColorWare

The boring beige computers Apple offered all the way up until the late ’90s would never get Jony Ive’s stamp of approval today. But fortunately for those who love retro, Apple’s latest iMac is now available with a beige paint job (and a bigger price tag).

Prague Apple Museum offers intimate look at Steve Jobs

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The Apple Museum in Prague pays homage to innovation and Apple founder Steve Jobs.
The Apple Museum in Prague pays homage to innovation and Apple founder Steve Jobs.
Photo: Apple Museum, Prague

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugHow far would you travel to see a collection of rare Apple devices, or the clothes Steve Jobs’ wore when introducing the iPad to the world?

Hopefully, the Czech Republic is not too far for you.

The newly opened Apple Museum in Prague is home to products and memorabilia from eight different private collectors. Its inventory might make the visitor think he’s strolling through some corporate archive in Cupertino.

Give me some skin! Standing desk company introduces customization

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This standing desk cover will make you feel like you are working in a field of sunflowers.
This standing desk cover will make you feel like you are working in a field of sunflowers.
Photo: Evodesk

We can customize our iMac desktops with a favorite photo. Why not the desk itself?

Evodesk, in addition to getting us to stand up for our work, now offers graphic inspiration with a durable second skin that envelops the desk with a wide selection of photos and patterns to keep creatives happy and productive.

App developers: Sharpen your skills with 90% off coding courses [Deals]

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Whether you're a seasoned app developer or still learning, this course in Swift and iOS 9 is for you.
Whether you're a seasoned app developer or still learning, this course in Swift and iOS 9 is for you.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’re working toward app-making mastery, you need to stay on top of the key languages and frameworks for iOS. For first-time coders and seasoned developers alike, we’ve got three kick-ass courses offering hands-on experience with Xcode, Swift and Objective-C, plus other fundamentals that will hone your chops and up your marketability.

Oh, and another thing — each of these courses is discounted by at least 90 percent.

Netflix now gives you control over video quality on iOS

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Netflix iPhone
Want HD over data? Now you can!
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

After throttling our video quality automatically to ensure we didn’t burn through our data in two episodes of Breaking Bad, Netflix is finally giving users control over the video quality they get when using a data connection.

The latest version of its iOS app adds four playback options — plus handy 3D Touch shortcuts that make it faster to access content from the home screen.

App Store search is completely busted

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iPhone SE next gen
The App Store is broken.
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

It’s not just you. Finding major apps in the App Store has become practically impossible this morning for iPhone and iPad users, according to numerous reports on Twitter.

Apple has acknowledged that there is currently an problem with the App Store for all users. The glitch replaces search results for apps like Twitter, Instagram and Spotify with third-party apps from the same category.

Apple ‘abuses’ Cupertino, says new mayor

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money
Cupertino's new mayor thinks Apple should pay more taxes.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is by far Cupertino’s biggest and most recognizable employer, but the city’s new mayor has accused the tech giant of not pulling its weight when it comes to taxes.

Mayor Barry Chang, who’s only been on the job since December, is wasting no time in pursuit of his mission to get Apple to pay more taxes. He’s slated the local council for apparently cozying up to Apple, and even gotten himself booted out of Apple’s HQ on one occasion after turning up uninvited.

Apple Online Store gets new accessibility section

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You can now get your accessibility gadgets from Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple has added a new section to its online store where shoppers can find a range of accessibility gadgets. It is split up into vision, physical and motor skills, and learning and literacy categories, and features products for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Liam can’t recycle every iPhone, even with 29 arms

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Apple's new robot, Liam, is a recycling machine, but so are we...
Photo: Apple/YouTube

Liam, Apple’s robot that deconstructs iPhones to mine the valuable resources inside them, is certainly cool — but he’s still not the recycling machine we deserve (or need).

Just like any Apple product, Liam was designed to work well. But how much good does the robot, which took three years to develop and build, actually do?

How to turn text into a spoken iTunes track

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Text to Audio
Save text as an audio file with this handy tip!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

I find myself using the text to speech function on Mac OS X far too much. Having my Mac read articles and emails out loud to me allows me to multitask and do other things — like edit awesome videos for Cult of Mac — without ignoring important messages.

But did you know you can even save those text to speech recording for listening at a later time?

In this week’s Quick Tips video, I’m going to show you how to turn text into a spoken track and save it into iTunes, allowing you to find save your favourite articles and listen to on your iPhone.

Siri’s creators will debut next-gen AI assistant next week

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HAL 9000 is the spiritual antecedent of CARROT. Photo:
We're getting closer to HAL 9000 every day.
Photo: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Siri has been gradually getting better since its debut in 2011, but some of its original creators are set to introduce its successor, Viv, next week — and, by all accounts, Siri better watch her back!

Having operated in stealth mode for more than a year, Viv’s arrival hopes to represent a significant step forward in artificial intelligence as AI assistants take on more of an active role in running our lives.

Apple’s next acquisition? It would be great to think so.

LAPD hacked iPhone 5s as part of murder investigation

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Investigators have managed to unlock the iPhone 5s.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

After the FBI successfully hacked the iPhone 5c as part of the San Bernardino shooting case, newly-released court papers show that Los Angeles police investigators have obtained a method of unlocking its higher-end sibling, the iPhone 5s.

The iPhone 5s belonged to the dead wife of former The Shield actor Michael Jace, who was killed at the couple’s South L.A. home in 2014. The keycode security bypass took place last month, and was achieved with the help of an unnamed “forensic cellphone expert.”

iPhone owners plagued by another iCloud phishing scam

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icloud_fake
Watch out for messages like this!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone owners in the U.K. have complained about being targeted with a phishing scam trying to trick them into revealing personal information by claiming that there is a problem with their iCloud account.

The scam message appears to come from an official Apple account called “iSupport,” and says that specific iCloud accounts have been deactivated and that users should head to an external website to confirm their user details and “reactivate [their] account.”

Apple will fight China over iPhone trademark dispute

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There's more than one 'iPhone' in China.
What, this isn't what you think of when your hear the name iPhone?
Photo: iphone.vc

Apple has confirmed that it will, unsurprisingly, fight against the Beijing Higher People’s Court’s decision to strip the company of its exclusive iPhone trademark — by allowing a Chinese company to sell leather purses, handbags, wallets, and smartphone cases bearing the iPhone name.

Because when you think iPhone you automatically think high-end leather goods, right?

iPhone enjoys massive growth in India in 2016

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Apple supplier is increasing its ability to build masses of iPhones in India
The iPhone is big in India!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Right now, Apple has less than 2 percent of the fast-growing Indian market. However, the company is unlikely to remain a bit-player for too long, with a new report stating that Apple shipments in the country grew 56 percent in the first three months of 2016 — making it one of the country’s fastest-growing vendors.

Instagram’s upcoming business profiles look like Facebook pages

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Instagram is getting more business friendly.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Instagram is about to start looking a lot more like Facebook, thanks to new business profiles pages that are in the testing phase.

Images of the new profiles have leaked onto the internet and they appear to be similar to Facebook’s brand pages, giving visitors more information on how to locate a business. It seems the days of publicly displaying your email and phone number on Instagram are coming to an end.

No data, no problem: How to use Google Maps offline

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Get your Google Maps to work everywhere.
Get your Google Maps to work everywhere.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac (original image: Jordan McQueen/Unsplash CC)

When you’re out in the sticks somewhere, you might get to a place where there’s no signal. How will you ever find your way home (or to the next party) without your trusty Google Maps app?

Well, with a little foresight, you can make sure Google Maps continues to be useful, even when you’re not within range of cellular data. Here’s how to use Google Maps offline to make sure you never get lost again when your smartphone goes offline.

Note: This tip will work with Android and iOS versions of Google Maps.

Whimsical Slime Rancher is now bigger, better, and slimier

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Glowing graphics and quirky fun will make Slime Rancher a new favorite.
Glowing graphics and quirky fun will make Slime Rancher a new favorite.
Photo: Monomi Park

Slime Rancher, the insanely fun first-person “slimer” from Monomi, is now 50 percent bigger with more slimes and game modes than ever before.

Currently on Steam’s Early Access for Mac and PC, Slime Rancher is a colorful, whimsical game that will capture your heart and game-playing time.

Check out the new trailer for the new Indigo Quarry update to this fun Mac game and see if it doesn’t make you go, “d’awww.”

YouTube might beat Apple to reinventing TV

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youtube-will-show-hdr-video-on-your-fancy-new-tv-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201601LG-HDR-YouTube-png
YouTube Unplugged to stream your favorite cable channels.
Photo: Cult of Mac

If you bought an Apple TV in anticipation of Apple’s rumored TV streaming service, it seems you may have been barking up the wrong tree.

YouTube could beat Apple to reinventing the cable experience, according to a new report. Its new “Unplugged” service will let viewers pay a monthly subscription fee for a bundle of cable TV channels, which will be available for streaming on-demand.

Win It Wednesday: Enter to win 10 years of Netflix Premium [Deals]

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Try to imagine all the movies and shows you'll be able to get over the next decade. Or enter this contest so you won't have to imagine.
Try to imagine all the movies and shows you'll be able to get over the next decade. Or enter this contest so you won't have to imagine.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Considering how common it is to so many of our lives, it’s hard to believe Netflix didn’t even exist 10 years ago. Browsing movies and TV shows at home was hard to imagine before Netflix, but now many of us can’t imagine entertaining ourselves without it.

See if you can imagine this, though: 10 years of Netflix Premium for free. That’s exactly what we’re offering in the first Win It Wednesday, the new weekly giveaway from Cult of Mac Deals. All you have to do is enter now, no strings attached.