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Apple’s handled its PR wrong in FBI standoff, says Steve Jobs’ ex-publicist

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Silicon Valley PR vet Andy Cunningham honed her skills at Apple.
Andy Cunningham played a key role in Steve Jobs' life for many years.
Photo: Andy Cunningham

Apple hasn’t done enough to publicly present its side of the current privacy standoff with the FBI, concerning whether or not it should build an iPhone backdoor, claims Andrea “Andy” Cunningham, Steve Jobs’ former publicist.

“I think [Steve] would’ve spent more time framing the issue for the [public] than I think [Apple under Tim Cook has] done so far,” Cunningham says.

For Google’s iPhone keyboard, search will be key

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iPad keyboard
That's great and all, but couldn't it be swipier?
Screenshot: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

The world’s biggest search engine is planning a new way to get its software onto Apple products, The Verge is reporting. It’s a Google iPhone keyboard that developers hope will trump the stock iOS one.

Third-party keyboards are nothing new, but very few actually have a shot at replacing Apple’s as the go-to typing tool either because of pointless features or shoddy design. But we think that if anyone’s going to give it a running start, it’s Google.

YouTube adds iPad multitasking so you can get less done

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YouTube Split View Slide Over
Oh, this can't be good for our productivity.
Screenshot: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

This is either bad news for your workload or great news for your procrastination, but as of today, YouTube’s iOS app has full support for two of the iPad’s multitasking features.

Now, you can run the video app alongside other, probably more useful things. You can even control YouTube while you’re working on other stuff without having to close either program. It’s a brilliant way to not get anything done, ever.

Here’s how it works.

Cool new things you can do after your iOS 9.3 update

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iOS 9.3 Beta 4

Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 9.3 is out now for everyone, and the upgrade delivers some great new features that make Apple’s mobile platform better than ever.

With sweet additions like password-protected Notes, sleep-saving Night Shift and data-friendly Wi-Fi Assist, iOS 9.3 might be Apple’s biggest “dot” release yet.

Here’s a quick rundown of all the coolest things you can do once you’ve downloaded the iOS 9.3 update, which Apple released Monday.

Where is Android’s answer to iPhone SE?

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where-is-androids-answer-to-iphone-se-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201603iPhone-SE-png
With iPhone SE, Apple delivers something Android doesn't.
Photo: Apple

Die-hard Android fans probably had little interest in Apple’s keynote Monday, but believe it or not, plenty will be interested in the new iPhone SE.

With high-end specifications and a 4-inch display, it’s a compact smartphone for those who want the latest features without a supersized screen — and there’s nothing like it on Android.

How to change where screenshots are saved on your Mac

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Tired of screenshots cluttering your Mac's desktop? Here's how to change where they're saved!
Tired of screenshots cluttering your Mac's desktop? Here's how to change where they're saved!
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnail I take a lot of screenshots on my Mac. This typically results in my desktop being cluttered with files I don’t really need to be there once I’m done with them.

That’s why I decided to change the location where my Mac screenshots are stored. My desktop is now clean and I still have quick access via a folder on my desktop. Here’s how you can do the same.

Will you buy the new iPhone SE? [Reader Poll]

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Scalpers will give you a discount on the iPhone SE.
The iPhone SE comes with a low, low price.
Photo: Apple

I was wrong. I can admit that now.

When I first wrote about the rumors that Apple would launch a new, improved 4-inch iPhone way back in 2014, I was skeptical that there was enough of a market to make Apple rush back to the 4-inch form factor so soon after abandoning it with the 4.7- and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Readers immediately wrote to correct me: They (or, often, their wives, girlfriends or children) wanted nothing more than a small iPhone they could easily clutch in the palm of their hands. Well, we got exactly that!

So, now that the iPhone SE has been announced, how do you feel about it?

How to clock in for the Night Shift in iOS 9.3

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iOS 9.3 Night Shift
Here's how to turn the lights down and settle in for the Night Shift.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Yesterday, the launch of iOS 9.3 added Night Shift to Apple’s mobile devices. It’s a really cool feature that might help make you healthier. Jailbreakers have enjoyed an app with the same functionality for years, but now it’s legitimate and poses less of a risk of completely jacking up your iPhone or iPad.

Night Shift gives you the option of warming up the light your display emits so that you get less harsh, blue rays before bed. The idea is that your screen’s usual output tricks your body into thinking that it’s still daytime, and that can make it harder to fall and stay asleep. So if you’re used to checking some e-mails or reading some news before you conk out, it might help you rest easier.

Here’s how to activate Night Shift’s soothing beams.

Bluetooth smartlock is beyond low-key [Reviews]

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Never lose a key or forget a combination again.
Never lose a key or forget a combination again.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Best List: Noke padlock

Padlocks are essential for sheds, locker rooms and bicycles, but damn do I continue to forget my combination or lose my key.

Noke (the “e” is long, for “no key”) has this problem solved for iPhone-toting folks like me with its fantastic, easy-to-use smartlock that will never ask you for a combination again. Heck, even if your iPhone is missing, you can use Noke’s special key fob that ensures you’ll never be locked out from your gym clothes (or lawnmower) again.

New iPad Pro is slower than 12.9-inch model

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Size does matter, says Phil Schiller.
Size does matter, says Phil Schiller.
Photo: Apple

The new iPad Pro packs Apple’s fastest chip ever, but it turns out the tablet is actually slower than the 12.9-inch version.

Both iPad Pros use the A9x processor. However, when Phil Schiller was gushing about the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s “grunt” during Monday’s iPhone SE keynote, he didn’t mention that Apple underclocked the new processor and reduced its horsepower.

Can Samsung’s new Galaxy S7 convert a hardcore iPhone fan?

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iOS and Android are killing off the competition.
Two giants going head to head.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Two giants going head to head. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Android
Two giants going head to head. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Android

After unboxing and filming the review for the Samsung Galaxy S7, I realized that I had never used Android as a daily driver. I had always sided with iOS in any “fanboy” debates, and I had never given the little green robot a chance.

To change this, I set myself the challenge of using Android and the S7 for a week as my primary smartphone. Check out the video down below to see how it worked out.

Watch Apple’s iPhone SE keynote in just 90 seconds

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A size for every hand.
Our 90 second video is even faster than the new SE.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s iPhone SE keynote was one of the company’s shortest events ever. Apple struggled to cram enough interesting stuff to keep us awake during the 64-minute snoozefest that was just as much about recycling, renewable energy and protecting Chinese yaks as it was about the new 4-inch iPhone, a smaller iPad Pro and nylon Apple Watch bands.

We’ve boiled the event down to just the highlights so you can watch the entire keynote in a mere 90 seconds.

Enjoy:

Now’s the time to update your resume for the modern marketplace [Deals]

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Enhance your resume my preparing for this key certification in project management.
Enhance your resume my preparing for this key certification in project management.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The robots haven’t taken our jobs yet, but as we wait for that glorious (or terrible) day it’s getting more and more important to keep up with an increasingly competitive professional marketplace. Luckily, there are a lot of great resources for learning the new skills of today’s trades, and we’ve gathered a handful of the best. From project management to coding and data analysis, there’s not a resume that can’t benefit from these courses.

Google gives Chromecast platform a much better name

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google-gives-chromecast-platform-a-much-better-name-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201603Screen-Shot-2016-03-22-at-151624-png
Chromecast is now Google Cast.
Photo: Google
Chromecast is now Google Cast. Photo: Google
Chromecast is now Google Cast. Photo: Google

Google’s Chromecast platform has been given a brand new name: Google Cast.

The new name makes more sense given the platform’s ability to stream more than just Chrome tabs, but the Chromecast dongle lineup will retain the old moniker for now.

Apple could acquire PowerVR maker to bring GPU design in-house

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A9xchip
Apple hopes to take GPU design into its own hands
Photo: Chipworks

Apple is reportedly in “advanced talks” to acquire Imagination Technologies, the British chip design company which creates the PowerVR graphics chips Apple uses for its iOS devices.

If it is able to acquire the company, it would mean that Apple would be able to bring GPU design in-house, much as it has done with its internally-developed ARM-based CPU cores.

Apple’s ‘privacy czars’ stop devs from getting their hands on your data

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Apple FBI encryption
Apple takes privacy pretty darn seriously.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Are you a third-party dev, advertiser, or Apple employee hoping to use targeted ads or personalized recommenders based on Apple customer data? There’s an app for that. Good luck with that!

That’s according to a new report, which states that Apple has an internal committee consisting of three expert “privacy czars,” who have have to sign off on any and all collection of Apple user data.

And if you thought the App Store review process could drag on, you’ve got another thing coming: debates over individual uses of data at Apple can, in some cases, continue for upwards of one year.

Why the tiny iPhone SE will be a gigantic hit for Apple

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iPhone SE pricing
Say goodbye to "peak iPhone" and hello to the iPhone SE.
Photo: Apple

Bigger isn’t always better. With the iPhone SE, Apple has designed a tiny smartphone that’s destined to become a gigantic hit.

The device, unveiled during Apple’s “Let us loop you in” event Monday, looks like a totally amazeballs iPhone — and it comes with an Android-low price. Here’s why this little dynamo will take the world by storm.

What Apple product launches say about Tim Cook’s leadership

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Tim Cook Apple March 21 event
Under Tim Cook's leadership, Apple is innovating in a new way.
Photo: Apple

A cynic would call it greenwashing, but the most surprising thing about Tim Cook’s “Loop you in” event was what it said about how he’s running Apple.

When Steve Jobs was around, Apple’s product events were about the products, and little else. Yeah, Jobs would often start with corporate issues, but he usually boasted about how the company was absolutely crushing it.

By contrast, the first 25 minutes of Monday’s event — almost half of the hour-long presentation — focused on things only tangentially related to Apple products. Cook and his lieutenants discussed government snooping, privacy, recycling, the environment, renewable energy, creating platforms for sustaining customers’ health — and even protecting Chinese yaks.

Jobs used to touch on issues like these, but under Cook, they’ve taken center stage. Cook has turned Apple’s product events into showcases for corporate responsibility.

Create detailed 3D models with this amazing CAD app for iPad Pro

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Create detailed 3D models with this amazing CAD app for iPad Pro.
Onshape is revolutionizing CAD modeling as we know it.
Photo: Onshape

Apple is always talking about how many professions increasingly rely on the iPad for work, and developers Onshape have just added another: Computer-Aided Design (CAD) modelers.

Onshape’s new app lets iPad Pro owners carry out the compute-intensive calculations and graphics for 3D solid modeling from their supercharged tablet, using their trusty Apple Pencil.

The Intel founder Steve Jobs said he’d be happy to work for dies at 79

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andrew-grove_2
Rest in peace to a genuine Silicon Valley legend.
Photo: Intel

In some sad news, Andy Grove, a.k.a. one of the founders and former CEOs of Intel, passed away yesterday at the age of 79.

The Budapest-born Grove was a mentor to many people in Silicon Valley, including Steve Jobs, who once noted that he was one of the only people Jobs would willingly work for. Grove famously arrived in the United States with less than $20 and rose to turn Intel from a startup into one of the world’s largest and highest valued semiconductor chip makers.

In a Twitter tribute, Tim Cook wrote that Grove, “was one of the giants of the technology world. He loved our country and epitomized America at its best.”

Apple says Android Marshmallow is as squidgy as its name suggests

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apple-says-android-marshmallow-is-as-squidgy-as-its-name-suggests-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201510android-marshmallow-jpg
Surprise! Android update rates pale in comparison to iOS.
Photo: Google

It seems there is little that Apple enjoys more than poking Google with a big stick, and the company’s been at it again, reminding everyone that just 2 percent of devices running Android are updated to the latest Marshmallow release.

During its big iPhone and iPad event this morning, Apple trotted out execs to peddle its wares, but the company just couldn’t help taking a swipe at the competition.

U.S. government cancels iPhone hearing with Apple

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Tim Cook
Apple's hearing vs the FBI just got cancelled.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The Department of Justice is putting its battle against Apple on hold.

In a new court filing published today, the U.S. government has asked a federal court to vacate the hearing set for Tuesday between Apple and the FBI on whether the company can be legally compelled to write software that would assist the FBI in hacking the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone.

So did the feds finally see the error of their ways when it comes to weakenening iOS security? Not quite. But the government says it may have found a way to hack terrorist Syed Farook’s iPhone 5c without Apple’s assistance.

The funniest reactions to today’s Apple event

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Liam
Yes, Liam. We are looking at you.
Photo: Apple

The Internet’s reaction to — and riffing on — today’s Apple event is more entertaining than the presentation was. We aren’t even sure some people even waited for the company to be done breaking all of that news we were already aware of. We know we started doodling at some points. I drew a scary dragon.

Still, it’s fun to see what people can do with even the most sedate of Apple events, and it’s also nice to take a break from pasting our old posts into WordPress minus the phrase “according to rumors.” We aren’t actually doing that; don’t worry. We’re professionals here.

Professionals who can draw some badass dragons.