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iPhone may get even bigger in 2017 with 5.8-inch OLED screen

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Does iPhone really need to get bigger?
Does the iPhone really need to get bigger?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If the iPhone 6s Plus seems just a little bit too small in your monstrous hands, fret not dear giant friends: Apple may be planning to go even bigger with a super-sized iPhone 7s Pro.

Apple is looking to add a 5.8-inch OLED display to the iPhone in 2017 or 2018, according to a new rumor that claims Samsung is already on board to supply the screens.

ExxonMobil finally brings Apple Pay to the gas pump

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Apple Pay iPhone
Paying at the pump is about to get a lot easier.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Filling up your car with gasoline is about to get a lot quicker, now that the world’s biggest oil company is finally adding Apple Pay to its pumps.

Starting today, ExxonMobil is activating Apple Pay at more than 6,000 gas stations across the U.S., allowing customers to buy gas or a car wash without having to bust out their wallets.

Maintain your privacy on public Wi-Fi networks [Deals]

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Protect your connection when logging on over public Wi-Fi networks.
Protect your connection when logging on over public Wi-Fi networks.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Hopping on a public Wi-Fi network can make anybody feel vulnerable, and with good reason — there are plenty of risks of identity theft and other security threats lurking around unguarded web access points. This Wi-Fi Hotspot Protector is a great way to log on with peace of mind, detecting imminent security threats, encrypting all your online traffic, and more. Right now you can get a lifetime subscription for just $29.

Netflix’s hidden streaming menu will solve your buffering woes

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Netflix
Expect Netflix to stay in the no. 1 spot for the foreseeable future.
Photo: Global X / Flickr CC

It’s happened to all of us: We get to the thrilling conclusion of the latest Daredevil or Jessica Jones episode, and suddenly Netflix’s “buffering” logo appears, bringing our TV binge to an abrupt and unwelcome end.

Luckily, you can use Netflix’s hidden streaming menu to set your streaming speed to a lower tier, which should bypass the buffering foolishness. Here’s how to find it.

Steve Jobs movie finally gets some love

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Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs.
Another shot at glory?
Photo: François Duhamel/© 2015 Universal Studios

Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs movie bombed hard at the box office and failed to win anything at the Oscars, but the MTV Movie Awards are apparently a bit kinder than the Academy and the movie-going public. The Jobs semi-biopic just got nominated for the movie awards show’s Best True Story prize.

Kind of ironic, given Steve Jobs’ myriad inaccuracies, don’t you think?

5 tips to keep your iPhone on lockdown

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iphone_disabled
Secure your iPhone with these handy tips.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone security has dominated the news for the past couple of weeks, so it’s understandable if you’re worrying about your own iPhone.

Have no fear, though: here are some handy tips to help keep your iPhone secure, from both hackers and the FBI.

Today’s video will walk you through 5 easy-to-do tips that will make your iPhone more secure.

Hillary Clinton weighs in on Apple’s FBI standoff. Kind of.

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iPhone 6 Plus_8
Clinton had no-so strong words for followers of the current privacy debate.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Other than a lasting love of Wall Street, Hillary Clinton’s poll-driven opinions on hot-button issues change as often as most people change their underwear.

But saying whatever the popular opinion is poses a problem when, as with Apple’s current privacy vs. “national security” standoff with the government, people voters are undecided on the issue. What do you do when someone asks you about it on the campaign trail, then?

If you’re the possible future POTUS, you take the bull by the horns and, well, offer an opinion that’s about as inoffensively middle-of-the-road as a Coldplay song in a wallpaper commercial.

Justice Department hopes to overturn Apple’s privacy win in New York

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iPhone mobile encryption touch id
The government would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling iKids.
Photo: Olly Browning/Pixabay

The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to overturn a ruling protecting Apple from unlocking the iPhone at the center of a New York drug case. The recent ruling from a New York magistrate judge stated that the government can’t compel Apple to unlock an iPhone involved in a criminal investigation, using the All Writs Act.

So the decision must have been wrong, of course!

Tim Cook involved in secret meeting to stump Donald Trump

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20724666936_32e70d7b9a_k
This story is going to be a Hollywood movie in 20 years, isn't it?
Photo: Michael Vadon/Flickr CC

Donald Trump doesn’t seem to like Apple much, and apparently the feeling is mutual. A new report claims Tim Cook joined an exclusive group of billionaires, tech CEOs and politicians who flew to a private island resort over the weekend to talk about how best to stump Trump.

Am I the only one who thinks this sounds like the opening of a Tom Clancy thriller?

Woz takes up ‘Innovator in Residence’ post at High Point University

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InnovatorInResidence_Outlines
Apple's co-founder has a new role.
Photo: High Point University

Compared to his Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak has always seemed more of a bumbling academic type: the sort who would much rather be getting his fingers dirty in research labs than flying in a shiny Gulfstream jet to negotiate new iTunes terms with a music label.

Which is why Woz would appear to be a perfect fit for his newly-announced role as North Carolina-based private liberal art college High Point University’s latest “Innovator in Residence.”

What’s the betting that theses dedicated to why the Apple II was the best computer ever suddenly get a major boost in numbers?

Square payments reach Australia without Apple Pay

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Square personal payment
Square's point-of-sale system is headed to Australia, but Apple Pay is a didgeri-don't.
Photo: Square

Australian small-business owners can now avail themselves of Square’s personal-payment system, which should make their lives slightly easier. And they could use all the help they can get considering they live in a country whose ecosystem was apparently designed by a comic-book supervillain. But vendors who have been looking for a way to accept credit cards can now breathe a little easier — once they’ve checked their shoes for deadly, deadly spiders.

A notable omission, however, is that Square’s restricting its offerings in that country to the older reader, which only accepts magstripes and chip cards. So unfortunately, our friends down there will have to wait a little longer for Apple Pay.

Robotic assistant makes you glad Siri is just a voice

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Nadine robotic assistant
Robotic assistant Nadine has the kind of face we can imagine only half-covering a soulless, plastic endoskeleton after the explosion failed to kill her.
Photo: Nanyang Technical University

Anyone who’s been wringing their hands in anticipation of the day we’ll each have a physical, robotic assistant to schedule our days and keep us company should be careful what they wish for because the future is here, and it is creepy.

“Nadine” comes from scientists at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore, and its face looks very similar to its creator’s, Professor Nadia Thalmann. But its terrifying, pruny hands come from somewhere else, like the nightmares we had when we were eight and watched director David Cronenberg’s version of The Fly even though our parents specifically told us not to.

You can see Nadine in action in the video below.

Use a mouse on iPad without jailbreaking

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Add a mouse (and other peripherals) to your iPad or iPhone.
Add a mouse (and other peripherals) to your iPad or iPhone.
Photo: DoBox

The development team at DoBox wants to make your iPad even more useful. This wireless box will let you connect a mouse, a wired keyboard, or even a printer to your iOS device (or Mac) and let you turn your iPad into even more of a productivity workhorse.

Check out the video below.

Close up with Apple’s new spaceship campus Theatre

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The roof to Apple's theater looks like a UFO.
The roof to Apple's theater looks like a UFO.
Photo: Apple

Starting in 2017, all of Apple’s keynotes will be held in an amazing new theater in the heart of the spaceship campus, but you don’t have to wait until next year to see what it will look like.

Apple has given curious minds an early look at the 120,000-square-foot subterranean auditorium it has dubbed ‘The Theatre’. Once completed the venue will have a capacity of 1,000 seats below what the company believes is the world’s largest freestanding carbon-fiber roof ever made.

Rugged headphones are on-ear and on-point [Reviews]

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NAD VISO HP30 on-ear headphones offer RoomFeel technology.
NAD VISO HP30 on-ear headphones offer RoomFeel technology.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Best List: NAD VISO HP30 Headphones

I thought I knew myself pretty well by now. Boxer briefs instead of boxers or briefs. Surf before turf. Toilet paper over and not under. And over-the-ear headphones well before on-ear or in-ear.

But the NAD Viso HP30s have me questioning my allegiances to over-the-ear.

Apple seeds new betas for iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and OS X

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iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
Photo: Apple

Less than a week after dropping a big batch of new software on developers and public testers, Apple is back with a sixth beta build of iOS 9.3 as well as new betas for watchOS, tvOS, and OS X El Capitan.

The software updates bring a host of new features to developers and public testers the iPhone like NightShift mode, folders on Apple TV, multiple Apple Watch pairings on one iPhone, improved Apple News and Apple Music apps, and some great education features for iPad.

Here’s a preview of some of the new goodies:

There’s never been a better time to learn digital design [Deals]

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Learn the principles of responsive web design using HTML5, CSS3 and Bootstrap 3.
Learn the principles of responsive web design using HTML5, CSS3 and Bootstrap 3.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Underpinning the most effective businesses of today is great design. Whether its the way a product is engineered, the way a website operates, the way a game plays, or any other digitally rendered experience, learning the principles of digital design are critical skills that can improve and resume. Below you’ll find massively discounted bundles of invaluable knowledge on all facets of today’s design landscape, but get in on it now — these deals won’t last long.

Apple forced to pay $450 million after Supreme Court rejects e-book appeal

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Apple's eBook appeal is just getting started. Photo: Apple
Apple's e-book legal battle is finally over.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s nearly three year legal battle over charges that it conspired with publishers to raise the price of e-books is finally coming to end.

This morning the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Apple’s appeal, which leaves the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in place. Apple will finally have to pay $450 million as part of the settlement.

NYPD chief: iOS is a gift to ‘kidnappers, robbers and murderers’

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iPhone mobile encryption touch id
Public enemy no. 1?
Photo: Olly Browning/Pixabay

Making it sound like the 2016 version of a souped-up getaway car, NYPD counter-terrorism chief John Miller described iOS as the perfect tool for “kidnappers, robbers and murderers” in a recent interview — all due to its uncrackable privacy policy.

“You are actually providing aid to [felons] who have actually been recorded on the telephones in Riker’s Island telling their compatriots on the outside, ‘You gotta get iOS 8. It’s a gift from God,’ — and that’s a quote — ‘because the cops can’t crack it,’” he said — referring to Apple’s current privacy standoff with the FBI.

Smartphone fingerprint scanners fooled by inkjet printer

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smartphone-fingerprint-scanners-fooled-by-inkjet-printer-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201603inkjet-fingerprints-png
It’s as easy as that!
Photo: Michigan State University
inkjet fingerprint
It’s as easy as that! Photo: Michigan State University

Your fingerprint is supposed to be the most secure method of locking your smartphone, but that’s not the case if your device can be easily fooled. Researchers have been able to hack those from Samsung and Huawei using only an inkjet printer and conductive ink.

Not groovy: iPhone users receive undeletable emails from 1970

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disco
Received any emails from the '70s lately?
Photo: Ste Smith

A strange iOS glitch has some iPhone and iPad users complaining after they received undeletable emails dated January 1, 1970.

The emails in question are blank, with no subject or content — which means that sadly we’re not in line for scalper messages about tickets to the farewell concert of Diana Ross and The Supremes (which took place that month), or reminders about meetings we’re very, very late to.

FBI’s iPhone backdoor could cause companies to flee U.S.

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iPhone hack
There are plenty of ways the FBI's demands hurt the U.S.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

There’s no shortage of possible repercussions to Apple’s current standoff with the FBI, regarding whether or not the company should create a backdoor to help unlock iPhones involved with potential terrorist or criminal cases.

But while Apple (and others) have argued that this represents a damaging blow against privacy, a recently-filed amacus brief in support of Apple by former secure technology company Lavabit has a more direct example of how the FBI’s demands may hurt America: by driving tech companies offshore to avoid having their reputations damaged.

iPhone 6s destroys brand new Galaxy S7 in speed test

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iphone-6s-destroys-brand-new-galaxy-s7-edge-in-speed-test-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201602galaxy-s7-edge-leak-jpg
The S7 Edge shows that on-paper specs aren't everything!
Photo: Evan Blass
The S7 Edge shows that on-paper specs aren't everything! Photo: Evan Blass
The S7 Edge shows that on-paper specs aren’t everything! Photo: Evan Blass

Samsung’s new Galaxy S7 edge isn’t officially out until later this week, but according to some early out-of-the-box speed test comparisons it’s doesn’t fare too well against the six-month-old iPhone 6s Plus — despite having twice the RAM of Apple’s 2GB handset.

Check out the video below:

Craig Federighi on why FBI’s backdoor demands are so harmful

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Hair Force One wants everyone to become a coder.
Cray-Fed says the FBI wants us to return to a world of iOS 7-level security.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s battle with the FBI, over whether it should create a backdoor to allow for the hacking of iPhones, is one of the biggest stories in tech right now.

Over the weekend, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, took to the pages of the Washington Post for an impassioned op-ed about how hard Apple works to stay ahead of criminals and terrorists who want to infiltrate its systems — and why the FBI and Justice Department’s proposed solution to the problem is so “disappointing.”