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The 4-inch iPhone 6c: Coming in time for Valentine’s Day?

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An iPhone 6c concept.
An iPhone 6c concept.
Photo: iPhonesoft

There are many who claim that the iPhone 5c, Apple’s plastic-backed “budget” iPhone, was a disappointment, especially compared to the sales of iPhone 6/6s/Plus. Yet rumors continue to circulate that the iPhone 6c will be released next year.

Here’s another rumor to throw on that fire: Supply chain sources within Foxconn are allegedly saying the iPhone 6c is on track for a February 2016 debut.

iPhone 7 concept video isn’t as crazy as it looks

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Iphone 7 concept video parachute system
Don't worry -- the Parachute System has this under control.
Photo: Sonitdac (via YouTube)

A tongue-in-cheek (we assume) iPhone 7 concept video shows a feature that may be too awesome to ever actually exist.

YouTube user Sonitdac has discovered a way to keep the sure-to-be-expensive device safe from even the clumsiest of owners. They call it the “Parachute System,” and we really wish it were real. Not because it would be useful or practical but because it would be a ton of fun to play with.

Check it out in computer-generated action below.

Study examines Apple Watch quitters and their quibbles

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Not everybody who bought the Apple Watch is wearing it.
Not everybody who bought the Apple Watch is wearing it.
Photo: Apple

If you bought an Apple Watch that now collects dust on your dresser, you are not alone.

Web-based research firm Wristly, which found a 97 percent user satisfaction rate among early adopters, took equal interest in the unhappy 3 percent. What it found from 340 former Apple Watch users could provide valuable insights for Cupertino as it works on future generations of the smartwatch.

The reasons people gave up the watch include:

How to shield your kid from smartphone cyberbullies

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kids
It's never too soon to start teaching your kids to be safe online.
Photo: Marcus Kwan/Flickr CC

Gabriella van Rij thinks we all need to be kinder to each other — especially online. To that end, she’s leading a kindness movement aimed at eliminating the cyberbullying that can happen when kids get their mitts on the hottest gifts around: smartphones and tablets like the iPhone and iPad.

“The truth is,” says van Rij, “smartphones can be weapons in the wrong hands.”

Who says a car charger needs to look boring?

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Lust List Tylt car charger
The Ribbn lends a touch of style to your car-charging game.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Best List: Ribbn car charger by Tylt

Simple, elegant and fun, the Ribbn car charger is no-muss, no-fuss.

Offering up 4.8 amps, Tylt’s little Lightning charger plugs into a standard cigarette lighter socket and adds a bit of bright-blue bling to your car’s interior.

Microsoft delivers an unexpected gift to Apple Store employees

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Apple and Microsoft employees living in harmony.
Apple and Microsoft employees living in harmony.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft’s rivalry with Apple heated up this year when the company opened a flagship store on Fifth Ave in New York that looks a lot like an Apple Store. In the spirit of Christmas though, the company is calling for peace, and to show they mean it, they sent their employees caroling to the Fifth Ave Apple Store.

In Microsoft’s new holiday ad, employees selected across the country gather at the new Microsoft 5th Ave Store and join NYC’s children’s youth choir to spread some holiday cheer. Their march ends at the steps of the iconic Apple Store on Fifth Ave where they sing “Let There Be Peace on Earth” before being rewarded with a rousing round of high-fives from the Apple gang.

Watch the full ad below:

Apple Store logos turn red in support of World AIDS Day

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Apple Store in Hong Kong show support for World AIDS Day.
Apple Store in Hong Kong show support for World AIDS Day.
Photo: Lorraine Ng/Instagram

For the fifth year in a row, Apple Stores across the globe are showing their support for World AIDS Day today by turning their logos red.

The global event is used to raise awareness about the ongoing fight against AIDS and help fundraising efforts in the race to find a cure for the disease that has already killed 39 million people.

Pros and developers alike can benefit from these extended Cyber Monday deals [Deals]

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Add project management to your skillset and resume with this pair of essential courses.
Add project management to your skillset and resume with this pair of essential courses.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With all the hubbub around the post-Thanksgiving shopping, it’s nice when there’s a huge discount on something that is actually useful. These courses on project management and game design normally go for thousands of dollars, but right now they’re going for less than $50. It’s all part of a massive clearing out of eLearning bundles in Cult of Mac’s Cyber Monday extension sale, where you can get another 20% off all e-learning deals by entering coupon code CYBERMONDAY20 at checkout.

TSOLife is a place where your story can live long after you do

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Your memories become precious stories for future generations with TSOLife.
Your memories become precious stories for future generations with TSOLife.
Photo: TSOLIfe

David Sawyer knows two very interesting things about his grandfather: he ran track fast enough to qualify for the Olympics and he once saved two men drowning at sea while working on a lobster boat.

But the details that would make those two events precious stories for generations to come were never shared. When Sawyer’s grandfather died, it was as if he died twice.

Make light paintings on your iPhone with this amazing app

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Air Pencil is an amazing app that lets you recording light paintings in the air.
Air Pencil is an amazing app that lets you recording light paintings in the air.
Photo: AdTile

Light paintings are a fun technique, dating back to the 19th century and used by luminaries such as Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol. By waving a light source, like a flashlight, in front of a camera set for a long exposure, you can seemingly create static paintings of light in mid air.

Your iPhone is both a camera and a flashlight, but you usually need two of them to make a light painting. Now a new web app called Air Pencil is set to change that, allowing you to create incredible three-dimensional light paintings, no external camera required.

British Airways app takes off on Apple Watch

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As smartwatches grow in popularity, the Apple Watch will continue to be the hands-on - or wrist-on - favorite.
App usage is sky high right now.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s refusal to release any hard and fast Apple Watch figures (it has most likely sold in the region of 7 million) has led some people to dismiss the wearable as a failure, despite the company’s vague assertions otherwise.

Now British Airways has thrown out its own stats, noting that its Apple Watch app saw usage increase by a massive 386 percent between June and October, demonstrating that Apple Watch app usage is most definitely on the rise.

Apple is testing ‘at least’ five radically different iPhone 7 prototypes

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iPhone 6s
iPhone 6s is sticking around for now.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

What will the iPhone 7 look like? Even Apple doesn’t know. According to a new rumor out of China, Apple is currently experimenting with at least five distinct iPhone 7 models, each with a totally different combination of hardware, including a possible AMOLED screen, a USB Type-C connector instead of Lightning, and a fingerprint reader built into the display.

Apple’s Plus-size iPhones grow ever more popular

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The iPhone 6 Plus is already king of the phablets. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple's larger iPhones are becoming more popular than ever.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

The share of Apple’s iPhone Plus models is gradually growing compared to “regular size” iPhones, according to a new report.

Research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners notes that the percentage of iPhone customers who bought the larger iPhone 6s Plus in its first 30 days on sale increased to 37 percent, up significantly from the 25 percent who bought the iPhone 6 Plus.

Apple would be stupid to drop the iPhone headphone jack

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iPhone 6 headphone jack
Gone and almost forgotten.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

If Apple is really planning to kill the iPhone headphone jack in the model it reveals next year, it’s ditching 60 years of history.

Rumors that the next iPhone could do away with the industry-standard 3.5mm port in Apple’s relentless pursuit of thinness have been around for a while, but they’re seeing a resurgence thanks to a post on a Japanese blog. The article cites “a reliable source” that claims the Cupertino company will shave 1mm off the phone’s thickness by dropping the just-way-too-fat jack in favor of proprietary Lightning connectors.

But if Apple actually does this, it’s kind of a huge deal.

Apple launches Personal Pickup in six E.U. countries

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Members of the press were given a preview of the new Apple Store in Brussels, which official opens Saturday.
Apple is making its retail store services more consistent around the world.
Photo: Photo Bruno Dalimonte/macplus.net

Apple has expanded its Personal Pickup scheme — which allows customers to order products online and then pick them up in their nearest brick-and-mortar Apple Store — to six new countries in the European Union, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

OnePlus launches a new case for … iPhone?!

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oneplus-launches-a-new-case-for-iphone-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads2015122015-12-01-112229-jpg
The OnePlus iPhone case boasts a grippy finish.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

OnePlus is today launching a new smartphone case with its signature Sandstone finish — but it isn’t compatible with any of the company’s own devices. Instead, it’s made for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, and we love it!

Check out our hands-on gallery below.

Apple scores its strongest Black Friday sales in history

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Apple raked in more cash than ever over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Black Friday may have handed Apple its strongest Friday sales in history, thanks to third party retailers heavily featuring the company’s products in their own promotions.

According to a note sent out by analyst Trip Chowdhry from Global Equities, the Apple Watch is likely to emerge as the M.V.P. of the shopping holiday — as the result of retailers offering big discounts on the device, as well as free shipping and zero sales tax.

Apple pays $1,800 damages after retail store wiped pensioner’s iPhone

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Cydia-iPhone-5
The problem occurred on a 2012-era iPhone 5.
Photo: Cult of Mac

A 68-year-old O.A.P. has been awarded £1,200 ($1,800) in compensation after Apple Store employees accidentally deleted the photos and contacts on his iPhone.

Newly-married Deric White took his iPhone 5 to the Genius Bar at Apple’s flagship London retail store after it suffered a technical fault — only for staff to delete his data, which contained photos of his recent honeymoon and 15 years of contacts, without White having a backup. A judge ruled that Apple staff had been “negligent.”

Amazing infographic shows how many Nokia 5110 displays fit in an iPhone

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Screen Shot 2015-12-01 at 09.59.29
Each of those tiny green squares is a Nokia 5110 display.
Photo: GoCompare

Anyone who remembers the days of brick-like Nokia 5110 cellphones, where the “killer app” was the puzzle game Snake, will know that modern smartphones have come quite a way since then.

But on a pixel by pixel basis, how much better is the display of a current-generation iPhone 6s Plus compared to the Nokia 5110 of yesteryear? Check out the below infographic to find out.

How to make your iPhone run better in 10 seconds

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iPhone power off
Sure, you'll still use this screen. But you won't be staring at that apple forever.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

Pro_Tip_Cult_of_Mac We love our iPhones, but sometimes they act up. Apps slow down or crash, things don’t run as smoothly as we’d like, or things just get weird — and we don’t know why. Usually, the solution is to power off and restart the device, but if you inexplicably only have 10 seconds to sort out your iPhone’s issues, here’s a handy trick to help you out.

All you have to do is zap your phone’s RAM, and you don’t even have to leave your Home screen to do it.