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Violent protests over COVID-19 controls and pay erupt at world’s largest iPhone plant

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Protesters and police clashed Tuesday and Wednesday at Foxconn's plant in Zhengzhou, China
Protesters and police clashed Tuesday and Wednesday at Foxconn's plant in Zhengzhou, China
Photo illustration: Cult of Mac

Protests over unpaid bonuses, anti-COVID-19 controls and even food quality led police to clash with hundreds of workers at the world’s largest iPhone factory in China, reports indicated Wednesday.

Social media videos and witnesses in Zhengzhou, where Foxconn operates a giant factory nicknamed “iPhone City,” said police beat and detained protesters.

Charge 3 Apple devices at once with this innovative charger

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Triple your wireless charging power with this deal to be thankful for.
A deal to be thankful for: MagStack's 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

As Apple expands its ecosystem with wireless charging (we’re still waiting patiently for iPad MagSafe charging), upgrading your charging game is critical. The MagStack is a MagSafe-compatible wireless charging station that’s portable enough to take with you anywhere (and can even serve as a stand).

You can grab one for just $39.99 during our Thankful Deals event. That’s the best price on the web!

During our pre-Thanksgiving promotion, we’re dropping prices on bestsellers that are low-priced, heavily discounted, earned excellent reviews, rarely go on sale or a combination of the four. No coupon is necessary to claim this price, but the event ends November 23 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

Echo 3 is a deeply strange military thriller [Apple TV+ recap] ★★☆☆

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Echo 3 recap Apple TV+: New series Echo 3 takes Apple TV+ to a weird new battlefront.★★☆☆
Echo 3 takes Apple TV+ to a weird new battlefront.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewNew Apple TV+ series Echo 3 follows two very different military men who venture to South America to rescue a mutual loved one during a clandestine war.

Written and produced by Mark Boal, the mind behind Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker, the series is deeply strange, if certainly memorable. And it shows Apple TV+ heading in a new, possibly suspect, direction.

Manage who enters your home from your iPhone with this $90 smart lock

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This smart door lock has five star reviews across the board - and you can grab 25% off today.
Make your door smart with this top-rated smart lock, less than $90 today.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Smart locks can give your house an extra layer of security and allow you to control who enters your home. If you’re looking for a top-rated smart door lock, consider the Bosma Aegis. It can turn any existing deadbolt into a smart lock, and it’s on sale for $89.99 (regularly $119).

It’s part of our Thankful Deals promotion, during which we’re releasing early Black Friday price drops on a curated selection of bestselling items, each handpicked for their low price points, high discounts, excellent reviews or rarity. But you’ll have to be quick! The sale ends on November 23 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, but supplies might run out even before that!

Show your iPhone 14’s guts with bold new schematic wallpaper

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Show off your iPhone 14's innards in the form of a schematic wallpaper.
Show off your iPhone 14's innards in the form of a schematic wallpaper.
Photo: Basic Apple Guy

Mac maven Basic Apple Guy just rolled out a project he said he’s been slaving over since late September — a set of detailed and layered iPhone 14 schematics you can download and use as display wallpaper in your choice of colors on your handset.

It’s kind of like displaying an X-Ray of your iPhone on the device itself. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus schematics are out Tuesday with the ones for iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max following on Wednesday.

Driver calls SUV’s deadly plunge into Boston-area Apple Store accidental [Updated]

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This is Apple Derby Street prior to the incident.
This is Apple Derby Street prior to the incident, in which an SUV smashed through the facade and pinned several people at the back of the store.
Photo: Apple

A man driving a black SUV crashed through the glass facade of an Apple Store near Boston on Monday morning, killing one person and injuring 19, including four critically, according to reports.

Updates: The driver, identified as 53-year-old Bradley Rein, was arrested Monday night and charged with reckless homicide by motor vehicle, according to Boston.com. The number of injured in the crash rose to 19 from the initially reported 16. Rein pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and said his foot had become stuck to the accerlator, causing the crash. He was held on $100,000 bail.

Kevin Bradley, a 65-year-old from New Jersey who Apple said was “supporting recent construction at the store,” was killed in the crash.

Affordable Edifier wireless ANC headphones get the basics right [Review] ★★★★☆

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Want solid headphones without breaking the bank? Consider Edifier's W820NB.★★★★☆
Want solid headphones without breaking the bank? Consider Edifier's W820NB.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

The Chinese company Edifier has been putting out affordable high-quality audio equipment for more than 25 years. I often find it hits the “high-value” button with many of its products, offering great sound and solid features at relatively low prices. The company seems to stake out that same territory with its W820NB ANC Bluetooth Stereo Headphones.

Edifier sent me a pair of the cans to try out. While they’re not likely to blow anybody away, they get the job done well, with quality sound, strong active noise cancellation and long battery life.

If you want good sound at a good price, they could be for you. But if you’re an exacting audiophile or on the hunt for luxury appointments, look elsewhere.

Mondo drops ‘innie’ and ‘outie’ vinyl soundtracks for Severance

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Get your work done? Now you can have your dance-party reward.
Get your work done? Now you can have your dance-party reward, courtesy of Mondo.
Photo: Mondo

Collectibles seller Mondo will release a soundtrack Wednesday for Apple TV+’s Severance season 1 in two versions, both on vinyl: Innie Edition and Outie Edition.

On the show — sort of a dark-comedy psycho-thriller — a Lumon Industries employee who has undergone the Severance brain surgery is an “innie” at work and an “outie” away from work, and neither has any awareness of the other.

Does the season 1 soundtrack match that weirdness? Now’s your chance to give it a focused listen on your turntable.

Get a fantastic Black Friday deal on secure Private Internet Access VPN

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Private Internet Access gives you the secure VPN you need for safe web surfing.
Private Internet Access gives you the secure VPN you need for safe web surfing.
Photo: Private Internet Access

An encrypted virtual private network is one of the best ways to keep your online activities completely private. Plus, a VPN also can open up access to restricted content all over the world.

SPONSORED
This post is brought to you by Private Internet Access.
Right now, you can score an amazing Black Friday deal on a leading service, Private Internet Access — 83% off the two-year plan! Read on for more about the deal Cult of Mac readers can get, and what makes PIA such a great choice.

Pick up a powerful, 800-lumen utility flashlight for just $20

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Get 33% off this pocket-sized flashlight before Thanksgiving.
Overcome dwindling daylight with an early Black Friday price on this mini flashlight.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Here’s an easy way to brighten the dark winter days ahead. Pick up an 8-in-1 Maglight Mini for only $19.99 (regularly $29) — no coupon necessary.

Packed with 800-lumen LEDs, the Maglight Mini can provide plenty of illumination, whether you’re sitting in a dimly lit room or scampering about in the wilderness testing your iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature.

This bestselling book-summary library makes self-improvement simple

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Lets be thankful for this unbeatable deal on an app that makes reading and self help timely.
Get the best deal you'll find online on this motivational, educational app that boils books down to their essentials.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Self-improvement is a lot like cooking. If you rush it and go in too hot, you’ll probably burn out. Instead, you should take your time working on yourself with guidance from some fantastic works of nonfiction that have been boiled down to their most essential lessons.

Book-summary app Headway offers bite-size, personalized learning that you can work through at a manageable pace. It’s the season to give thanks, and part of that will be thanking yourself for not rushing your growth. You can get lifetime access to Headway for only $59.99. And up until November 23 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, you can get an additional 20% off with code HEADWAY.

Tesla sneaks Apple Music integration into museum exhibit

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Tesla's interface in the museum exhibit showed Apple Music integration.
Tesla's interface in the museum exhibit showed Apple Music integration.
Photo: [email protected]

It looks like a software update might soon bring Apple Music to Tesla vehicles’ built-in systems at long last. And this modern possibility comes to us from, of all places, a museum exhibit.

Folks spotted Apple Music integrated with Tesla prototype vehicles on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, and the tweets followed.

iPhone 14 Pro tops 5G speed tests in US, UK and Germany

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iPhone 14 Pro models topped or placed highly for 5G speeds in many countries.
iPhone 14 Pro models topped or placed highly for 5G speeds in many countries.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

A new analysis of smartphone speeds in 10 countries shows iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are the fastest 5G mobile devices in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany.

Ookla’s study, released Monday, listed the top five fastest “popular” 5G devices by market share in each country. iPhone 14 and 13 series models appeared in many of the lists, but failed to place in some Asian markets.

Noting the performance variations by network and country, Ookla said the analysis “provides a snapshot of what you might typically expect.”

Apple Watch Ultra gets a rare $60 discount for Black Friday

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Apple Watch Ultra review roundup: For extremophiles
This is the Black Friday Apple Watch Ultra deal you have been waiting for.
Photo: Apple

The Apple Watch Ultra has dropped to its lowest price for Black Friday. You can grab the watch with an Alpine Loop wristband for $739, down from its $799 MSRP.

The rugged titanium case and multi-day battery life make the Apple Watch Ultra ideal for fitness and outdoor enthusiasts.

Keep the iPad front and center or ditch it? [Setups]

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Would you keep the iPad Pro in the middle of the setup like that?
Would you keep the iPad Pro in the middle of the setup like that?
Photo: [email protected]

Some people like a lot screens in their computer setup, others like to be glued to one and one only. In today’s featured computer setup, the user wrestles with the question of whether to keep his iPad Pro front and center, right in front of the external display, or just leave it out. Meanwhile, a MacBook Pro sits off to the side in clamshell mode.

Because the user asked for opinions on social media, he got them. Lots of them. But it proved to be a tricky question to answer definitively.

Rounded corners and edges plus titanium case rumored for iPhone 15

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iPhone 15's corners and edges might be rounded, not squared off.
iPhone 15's corners and edges might be rounded, not squared off.
Photo: [email protected]

A leaker with a pretty good track record for accuracy said Sunday the upcoming iPhone 15 series will feature rounded corners and edges, plus a titanium case. Rounded corners would harken way back to earlier iPhones and a titanium case would be a first for Apple handsets.

The rumors came from ShrimpApplePro, who gets it right a fair amount of the time when predicting what Apple will do.

Grab an AirTag 4-pack for less than $75 before this deal disappears [Updated]

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AirTag deal: Get four AirTags for less than $20 each with this hot deal.
Get four AirTags for less than $20 each with this hot deal.
Photo: Đức Trịnh/Unsplash License

Apple’s AirTags just dropped to a pre-Black Friday low of $74.98 for a four-pack on Amazon. If you’ve been waiting for your chance to snag some of the remarkably handy tracking tags, this is it!

But, as with all Amazon deals, there’s no way of predicting how long this deal will last. If you want to get in on the AirTag action, you’d better grab this deal ASAP.

Vancouver’s reimagined Apple Pacific Centre doubles in size

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The reimagined Asia Pacific Centre is double the size of the original store.
The reimagined Asia Pacific Centre is double the size of the original store.
Photo: Apple

A reimagined Apple Pacific Centre doubles the store’s original size and adds some new features, like 32-foot floor-to-ceiling glass panels, a “living wall” with 144 native plant species and one of the tallest staircases among Apple Stores worldwide.

The store, in Vancouver, British Columbia, reopened Friday after its massive makeover. Take a peek inside!

SwiftKey for iPhone is back on the App Store

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SwiftKey works great on the giant iPhone 6 Plus.
Microsoft brings back SwiftKey for iPhone.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

In an unexpected development, SwiftKey is back on the App Store just a month after Microsoft removed the virtual keyboard app.

The move comes following customer feedback about the discontinuation of SwiftKey for iOS.

We slashed the price on this Japanese kitchen knife set to $90

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This set of forged Japanese knives is a pretty knife gift for the chef in your life, especially at just $89.99.
Sharpen the look and feel of your kitchen with this set of razor Japanese chef knives for $89.99.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Want to buy your favorite chef a gift that’s a cut above the rest? A set of high-quality chef knives could be the missing ingredient in their kitchen, and this set of Seido Japanese Chef Knives even comes with its own gift box. Plus, these high-carbon kitchen knives are price dropped to $89.99 for a limited time.

Emergency SOS! Apple’s building a metaverse! [The CultCast]

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The CultCast Apple podcast: When Apple finally rolls out its mixed-reality headset, will it be a winner?
When Apple finally rolls out its mixed-reality headset, will it be a winner or a head-spinner?
Graphic: Minh Pham/Unsplash License

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Maybe, just maybe, Apple can make a metaverse competitor that won’t leave us ready to heave. Stranger things have happened, but we’re not so sure the long-rumored Apple mixed-reality headset will be right for us.

Also on The CultCast:

  • Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature looks pretty cool and potentially lifesaving. Be sure to try the demo before you find yourself stranded on a mountaintop.
  • We’re endlessly searching for a Black Friday deal on AirTags. (Editor’s note: Oh, wait, here’s one now: Grab an AirTag 4-pack for less than $80 before this deal disappears.)
  • iPhone 4K video — it’s a scam!
  • Erfon’s missing AirPods Max story takes a strange twist.
  • You won’t believe how much somebody paid for an ancient pair of Steve Jobs’ stinky Birkenstocks.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

A road-trip companion, a new kind of shopping and a tribute to Apple Stores [Awesome Apps]

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iphone on desk with headphones
The never-ending stream of apps truly never ends. And we’ve found a few more that might be worth your time.
Photo: Unsplash

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, there’s a good chance you’ll have some down time on the way. Whether you’re planning a trip to see family, doing some shopping, or just want to flex your Apple knowledge, this week we have some Awesome Apps to infuse some tech into your holiday week.

This golf simulator is the ultimate gift for golfers, and it’s on sale for $79 off 

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This is the ultimate gift for golf lovers… and today it’s less than $200.
Grab this awesome golf simulator for less than $200 today and score a hole in one this holiday season.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

What do you give the golf lover who has everything? How about the luxury of perfecting their swing from anywhere? Make their holiday season with a great at-home golf simulator. For a limited time, you can get the Phigolf Premium Swing Trainer Bundle on sale for $199.99 or 28% off.

This training bundle will prep you for a high-paying IT job

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Get this IT training bundle for just $49 while we've got them.
Black Friday came early this year, so now's your chance to grab this massive IT course bundle for 99% off.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Aspiring IT and computer science professionals should consider earning professional certifications as part of their education and training. Want to prepare for the challenging exams ahead? Check out the Complete 2023 CompTIA Certification Course Super Bundle, which is on sale ahead of Black Friday for $49 — no coupon necessary.

UPDF: Fast, efficient and easy-to-use PDF editor, now at 53% off

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Get a great deal on UPDF, an app that makes it easy to work with PDFs on any device: macOS, iOS, Windows and Android.
Get a great deal on UPDF, an app that makes it easy to work with PDFs on any device: macOS, iOS, Windows and Android.
Image: Superace

PDF files are a fact of life online. All sorts of information, forms, contracts, applications and more come in the format, which is fixed to preserve formatting and resist having just anyone make changes. So you need special software to fill in, edit and sign a PDF, which can be a hassle.

That’s where UPDF comes in. It’s a versatile and easy-to-use PDF editor that’ll have you filling in and signing PDF files in no time, or even making more substantial changes, like reordering pages and converting files to other formats.

Even better, you can use UPDF on any platform for no additional cost. Cult of Mac readers can get UPDF at 53% off. Grab this deal (at the end of the article) and you will have an all-in-one PDF editor that works onMac, iOS, Windows and Android.