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Apple’s new Indian office is dedicated to fixing Maps

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Find out when your Mac is looking at your location data.
Apple's new office is entirely dedicated to Apple Maps.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook, Jeff Williams and other top Apple execs are on a packed tour of India right now, and to mark the occasion Apple has announced the opening of a new office in Indian tech hub Hyderabad that will focus on improving Apple Maps.

The office will create up to 4,000 jobs in the the region, and according to Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, “is testament to [the] proactive approach, quality infrastructure and … excellent talent base we have in the region.”

Google might want to rethink its Android naming game

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Google needs your help with names.
Google needs your help with names.
Photo: Google

Asking the public to name your product is one of the worst ideas in the world, just ask the captain of Boaty McBoatface.

Google is undeterred though and has decided to take name suggestions for the next version of Android, which for now is officially called ‘Google N-Word’. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Any names starting with ‘N’ are fair game, and while Google usually picks desert for its names, Twitter has some funner name ideas in mind.

Here are the best suggestions so far:

Garageband’s Chinese instruments are perfect for playing Game of Thrones theme

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Anyone can create the Game of Thrones song in Garageband.
Anyone can create the Game of Thrones song in Garageband.
Photo: HBO

HBO’s Game of Thrones is the hottest show on TV right thanks to Khaleesi and her dragons, now with the new Garageband update for China you can embrace your inner Westerbro create the entire GoT theme song in minutes.

Playing the theme song is actually amazingly easy now that Apple has added new instruments like the Pipa, Erhu, and Chinese Drum Kit that can more easily recreate the ancient sound much better than a Fender Stratocaster.

Apple superfan iPhonedo put together a quick guide on how to unlock the new Chinese instruments and create the Game of Thrones song in just minutes:

Android Wear 2.0 plays catch up with Apple Watch

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You can add third-party complications to your favorite face in Wear 2.0.
Photo: Google

Google today gave us a glimpse at its upcoming Android Wear 2.0 update, which is going to make your smartwatch even smarter. It’s the biggest update to the wearable platform so far, with brand new features and big improvements — some of which were snagged from Apple Watch.

Siri for Mac icons leak ahead of WWDC

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Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant
Siri is coming to Mac.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s digital assistant Siri is expected to finally arrive on Macs later this year with the next OS X update, and now it appears that we already know what the new icons will be.

Screenshots of the upcoming Siri for Mac features were leaked online today, revealing the multi-colored wave icon that will soon rest on your dock, along with a new menu bar icon for Siri.

This is what Siri will look like on the Mac:

Google Duo is FaceTime for everyone, only better

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Google Duo
Google Duo makes cross-platform video calling great.
Photo: Google

Google has its very own answer to iMessage in Allo, and now it’s taking on FaceTime, too. Google Duo is a brand new video calling platform that’s available to Android and iOS users, and it’s packing unique features you won’t find elsewhere.

Google says hello to Allo, goodbye to Hangouts

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"'Allo, guvna!" Google's new messaging app is obviously British.
Photo: Google

Watch out Facebook Messenger, Google is taking another stab at messaging with its newly revealed app called Allo.

Does the world really need another messaging app? Probably not. But Google is hoping that it has finally created the perfect mix of features that will make you ditch Snapchat and Facebook.

Google Home is the intelligent assistant that does it all

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Google Assistant will also power Google Home.
Google Home is coming later this year, and it looks amazing.
Photo: Google

Google is already helping you with everyday tasks on your smartphone, and now it’s coming to your home. With the new Google Home speaker, you get an intelligent digital assistant that’s there for you whenever you need it — and you’ll be amazed at what it can do.

Amazing tiny stereo is big on features [Reviews]

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Liberate your languishing CD collection with Sonoro's Cubo.
Liberate your languishing CD collection with Sonoro's Cubo.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

I’ve got a fat wallet-full of CDs that I never quite got around to ripping. Without a CD drive in my MacBook Pro, it was starting to look like I’d never hear them again unless I was driving in my car, which still comes equipped with a CD slot.

The Sonoro Cubo comes with a bunch of great features (like its phenomenal speaker system, built-in meditational audio and exceptional remote), but the killer feature is the addition of a CD slot. Now I can listen to any of the CDs I bought back in the 90s right in my living room without having to purchase a big stereo system.

Speck’s clever folding headset brings VR to iPhone

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Speck Pocket-VR
Pocket-VR makes taking your headset anywhere easier than ever!
Photo: Speck

It’s not easy to find a good VR headset for iPhone that’s easy to carry around. Google Cardboard will probably get crushed in your bag, and more robust models made out of plastic are just too bulky. But Speck has an awesome solution.

It’s called Pocket-VR, and it’s an iPhone-compatible virtual reality headset that folds up so small, you can easily fit it into your pants.

It’s all in the fingers for this ‘sick’ iPad drummer

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cult 2.0
The fast-flying fingers of iPad drummer extraordinaire Appleman.
Photo: Appleman

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugHe has been described as the “sickest drummer in metal right now” with the speed, muscle and snap to become a legend — a legend on the iPad, that is.

This self-styled musician and Apple fanboy from Japan has raised eyebrows for furiously finger tapping through a catalog of rock drum solos, using the virtual rock kit on Garageband with eye-popping dexterity with a well-viewed YouTube channel as his stage.

Watch today’s Google I/O keynote right here!

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Google-IO-banner
Will Google I/O give Apple anything to worry about?
Photo: Google

Google is kicking off its I/O developer conference at 10 a.m. PT today, and it’s going to give us a great look at some of the things Apple will be competing with over the next 12 months.

If you’re interested in keeping up, you can watch the whole thing live right here.

Win it Wednesday: This $1,000 gift card is your ticket to hackintosh [Deals]

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Newegg's $1,000 gift card giveaway is your last chance to build the machine of your dreams.
Newegg's $1,000 gift card giveaway is your last chance to build the machine of your dreams.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’re coming up against the hardware limitations of your Mac, or just can’t afford one that performs at the level you need, you could always just build the machine you need. Spend a little bit of time on Newegg, and you’ll see that there’s basically no component they don’t carry, and no machine you can imagine that can’t be built. Getting the best parts for your personal computer can be costly, but with the Newegg $1000 Gift Card Giveaway even the highest-performing machine suddenly seems within reach.

Tim Cook’s visit to India will be insanely busy

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Apple supplier is increasing its ability to build masses of iPhones in India
Tim Cook's got big plans while in India.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Tim Cook doesn’t get much downtime to enjoy being the king of all things Apple, does he?

Recently he was troubleshooting in China, and now Apple’s CEO has landed for a week-long stay in India, with five other senior Apple execs, during which time they will meet with top execs and politicians in the country, visit the location of Apple’s new tech development center, and much more.

Apple adds second supplier for iPhone 7 Plus

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iPhone 6 Plus_7
Apple is expanding its number of iPhone suppliers.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has reportedly added Wistron as a supplier for its upcoming next-gen iPhone 7 Plus: the 5.5-inch handset we’re expecting to arrive this September.

Although the companies in question haven’t officially confirmed it, Wistron and Foxconn are said to be sharing orders for the plus-sized phone, while Pegatron and Foxconn will split orders for the smaller-size 4.7-inch iPhone 7.

Apple engineers visit iTunes user to troubleshoot issues

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Apple-Music-Android
Apple is trying to solve its music issues.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Never let it be said that Apple doesn’t go above and beyond the call of duty in troubleshooting problems for its users in the name of achieving customer satisfaction.

After James Pinkstone, director of design service Vellum, posted a terrifying story on his company blog claiming that iTunes Match stole his files, Apple sprang into action — sending two engineers to his house to troubleshoot the problem.

The power of bad publicity, eh?

New Apple TV loses to Roku in U.S.

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apple tv and siri remote
The Apple TV had a surge of sales last year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The fourth generation Apple TV experienced the largest increase in unit sales last year among streaming media players but it hasn’t been good enough to supplant Roku as the top streamer in the U.S. 

Apple TV’s biggest weakness appears to be its price point. New research shows that smaller stick streamers made up half of last year’s sales and Apple’s competition reaped the rewards.

A guide to Apple Pay and its fiercest competitors

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Apple Pay iPhone
Yet another reason to use Apple Pay.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

When Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Apple Pay in October 2014, only about 2.7 percent of retailers that accepted credit cards had the technology to compatible with the mobile wallet. In 2015, only 0.2 percent of sales were made with mobile wallets, according to survey by research firm eMarketer. However, that same research firm predicts that by the end of 2016, nearly one in five smartphone users will use mobile payments.

After several years of various mobile wallets trying to gain momentum, three factors — all are related to the switch most retailers made last October to accept chip cards (also called EMV) — are predicted to drive a big shift towards mobile wallets. Updates at retailers to accept EMV cards also often include compatibility for near field communication (NFC), the tap-to-pay technology used by many mobile wallets.

Watch Tim Cook jam with one of China’s biggest pop stars

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Tim Cook is ready to rock you.
Tim Cook is ready to rock you.
Photo: Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook will probably never win a Grammy for his erhu skills but he can say that he got to have an erhu jam battle with one of Asia’s biggest popstars.

During his star-studded tour of China, Tim Cook met up with JJ Lin to play a new song on the new Garageband app that’s been updated to celebrate China’s musical history with over 300 musical samples, and new instruments like Chinese percussions, pipa and erhu.

Checkout Cook playing JJ Lin’s new song “The Key” on his iPad:

Apple suppliers bulk up for ‘complex’ iPhone 7

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android-users-defect-to-iphone-6s-at-unprecedented-rate-2-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201510iPhone-6s-camera-jpg
Foxconn is recruiting early for this year's iPhone.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple suppliers in Taiwan are already taking on new recruits in preparation for the iPhone 7. Local sources say that the design of this year’s device is more complex to build than previous models, so manufacturers are getting to work early.

Keep your online activities 100% secure forever [Deals]

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Photo:

If identity thieves and data snooping have you feeling uneasy when you get online, you should consider logging on with a virtual private network. By distributing your traffic among a set of globally distributed, secure servers, Celo’s VPN service anonymizes and encrypts your online activity in a way that adds significant security to your browsing, even on public Wi-Fi networks. And right now you can get a lifetime subscription to Celo’s VPN service for only $29.