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Proposed legislation might force Apple to sell App Store

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App Store
The App Store might have to become a separate company from Apple.
Photo: James Yarema/Unsplash CC

A bipartisan bill expected to be proposed in the U.S. congress would, if passed, have an enormous effect on Big Tech. The legislation, reportedly called the Ending Platform Monopolies Act, might force Apple to make the App Store a completely separate business not under its control.

Let there be lighted Zoom calls [Setups]

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You, too, can have a clean, well-lighted place for Zoom calls.
You, too, can have a clean, well-lighted place for Zoom calls.
Photo: UGenya806@Reddit

Redditor UGenya806, who works in marketing for San Francisco-based DocuSign in Germany, takes appearances on Zoom calls seriously. After all, their job has always been remote and will remain so, even when others return to offices following the COVID-19 pandemic.

UGenya806’s setup centers on an M1 Mac mini tethered to dual Dell 24-inch 4K monitors and a CalDigit TS3 Thunderbolt 3 Dock. The mini is connected wirelessly to a Magic Keyboard and a Magic Trackpad.

A stand-mounted MacBook Air rounds out the mix, but is usually used separately as a standalone machine, not with the peripherals.

Apple calls on devs to embrace super-speedy 5G connectivity

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Killian filed that 5G thing. I’m reading it now. Do you want me to hold it for tomorrow’s newsletter just in case?
"Up your 5G game," Apple says.
Photo: Apple

Apple is encouraging iPhone and iPad app developers to up their 5G game and embrace super-speedy connectivity.

In a new guide titled “Optimize your app for 5G,” Apple says “5G networking can provide even more opportunities to take advantage of high-bandwidth and low-latency connections in your app.”

It also outlines the benefits the technology can bring to things like games, streaming, machine learning, and augmented reality.

Here’s a scoop: Home Before Dark finally finds its stride [Apple TV+ review]

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Deric McCabe, Brooklynn Prince and Jibrail Nantambu need to be Home Before Dark
Deric McCabe, Brooklynn Prince and Jibrail Nantambu investigate a new mystery.
Photo: Apple TV+

Home Before Dark, the Apple TV+ show about a cute and cuddly girl reporter, returns for more incongruous drama and more bad parenting. The show got off to something of a generic start in its first season, sandwiched between popular styles and uncertain of its identity.

But in its second season, which debuts today, the show digs a little deeper into the setting and characters. As a result, the creative team produced something close to an essential season.

Eurasian Economic Commission publishes details of iPhone 13 models

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This concept image shows how the iPhone 13 notch might shrink.
Coming later this year.
Artists concept: Cult of Mac

Signs of the new iPhone 13 series showed up in a database belonging to the Eurasian Economic Commission this week. In all, seven new iPhones appeared under the model identifiers A2628, A2630, A2634, A2635, A2640, A2643 and A2645.

The EEC is frequently a good place to look for future Apple releases. All devices being released in Eastern Europe, Western Asia and Central Asia must be registered there if they use encryption technology. That includes the iPhone.

Xbox cloud gaming for Safari rolls out to everyone soon

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Xbox Cloud Gaming for iPad and iPhone
A public launch is scheduled "in the next few weeks."
Photo: Microsoft

The ability to play Xbox games in Safari on your iPhone and iPad will soon be available to everyone.

Microsoft this week confirmed its new cloud streaming web app, which has been in beta testing since April, will roll out “in the next few weeks.” What’s more, it’s soon going to get even more powerful.

Dave Bautista makes his entrance in the trailer for season 2 of See on Apple TV+

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See series two
He's here!
Photo: Apple

The trailer for season two of Apple TV+ series See gives us our first glimpse of new star Dave Bautista in the post-apocalyptic series. Bautista is best known for playing Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, as well as for his Batista-bombing escapades as a former heavyweight champ in WWE.

In See season two he plays Edo Voss, brother of Jason Momoa’s character Baba Voss. Check out the trailer below.

iOS and iPadOS 15 let devs hide sensitive info in lock screen widgets

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iOS 15 lets devs hide lock screen widgets
Keeping your data safe.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

iOS and iPadOS 15 give app developers the ability to hide sensitive information in lock screen widgets until a device has been unlocked.

The change is part of an upgrade to the WidgetKit framework, first introduced in iOS and iPadOS 14 last year, and will be particularly useful for things like banking and budgeting apps.

Trump administration subpoenaed Apple as part of White House leaks investigation

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Trump and Apple had something of a mixed relationship.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

When people talk about “Apple” and “leaks” in the same sentence, they’re usually referring to rumors about upcoming products. But the Justice Department of the Trump administration took the step of subpoenaing Apple in an effort to quell White House leaks during the Trump presidency.

Specifically, it sought to gain information from Apple regarding data from the accounts of at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, their aides, and family members — including one minor. The New York Times reports that the gag order on the subpoena only expired this year, allowing those investigated to know they had been under scrutiny.

Apple Design Awards highlight 2021’s best iPhone and iPad apps

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Apple Design Awards highlight 2021’s best iOS apps
The Apple Design Awards celebrate the best iOS and iPad apps in a range of categories.
Photo: Apple

The annual Apple Design Awards honor excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in iOS and iPadOS application and game design. A dozen winners were named Thursday in categories ranging from outstanding Interaction to apps that are just fun.

Linedock 16” adds everything to MacBook but the kitchen sink [Review]

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Linedock 16” review: 10-port USB hub, 2TB storage and 100Wh battery
Linedock 16” gives you a MacBook Pro+ with loads of additional ports, terabytes of storage and a huge battery.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Linedock 16” is for anyone who’s ever thought, “I wish my MacBook had more ports and a longer battery life. And more storage!” The docking station fits under your notebook and adds ten ports, a 99.9Wh battery and up to 2TB of storage.

I tested the version of Linedock for 16-inch MacBooks. It totally blew my socks off.

Apple hires exec who led BMW’s electric car division

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The BMW i3 electric vehicle could someday be joined on the road by an Apple car.
The head of development for the BMW i3 electric vehicle allegedly joined the Apple car project.
Photo: BMW

Ulrich Kranz, who once developed electric cars for auto-giant BMW, has reportedly been hired by Apple. He’ll become an important part of the Mac-maker’s ongoing efforts to create a self-driving Apple car.

Hands on: Safari in iPadOS 15 forces tabs on everyone

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Hands On: Safari in iPadOS 15 forces tabs on everyone
iPad users will find browser tabs unavoidable in the version of Safari in iPadOS 15.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The redesigned Safari web browser in iPadOS 15 makes tabs an inescapable part of browsing. The new system is more space efficient, but forces many people to change the way they use their iPad.

I work in Safari on iPad all day every day, so I used the first iPadOS 15 beta to test the modifications that are coming. Here’s what I like. And what I don’t.

iToolab UnlockGo removes various locks on Apple devices

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iToolab UnlockGo: For when you're locked out of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
UnlockGo: For when you're locked out of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
Image: iToolab

This device access feature is brought to you by iToolab UnlockGo.

Anybody can get locked out of their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. It’s not a good feeling. Fortunately, if you run into trouble with your device screen passcode on an Apple device, iToolab UnlockGo can bypass it.

Perhaps you forgot your Apple ID password. Or your device is disabled. Or maybe you bought a second-hand device with another Apple ID logged in.

Teen dev re-creates ‘nostalgic’ iOS 4 as standalone app called OldOS

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OldOS
What's old is new.
Photo: OldOS

The days of iOS 14 are numbered. Here in June 2021, it’s all about … err, iOS 4?

At least, that’s the case for Zane Kleinberg. While most of the Apple fanbase is focused on the newly announced iOS 15, teen developer Kleinberg painstakingly remade iOS 4 — which Apple released in 2010 — from the ground up as a standalone app. He calls it OldOS, and you can try it out for yourself today.

“What I’ve created [with] OldOS is iOS 4 beautifully rebuilt in SwiftUI,” the up-and-coming developer told Cult of Mac. “In essence, the app is something of an emulator, or perhaps, a second operating system that lives inside an app on your phone. It’s really designed to be a near-functioning, near-pixel-perfect re-creation of iOS 4.”

$13 turns your MagSafe Charger into a stand and grip for iPhone

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MagSafe Grip Stand for iPhone
Make MagSafe charging even better.
Photo: Elago

Make your MagSafe Charger even more useful by turning it into a stand and grip for your iPhone 12. Elago’s aptly named Grip Stand accessory, priced at just $12.99, makes your iPhone easier to hold onto and easier to see while it’s charging. Bag yours today from the Cult of Mac Store.

Also check out Elago’s new Charging Pad, which keeps your MagSafe Charger tidy and prevents it from moving around on your nightstand.

Apple’s fascinating eMate 300 dud gets a makeover as a Raspberry Pi

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eMate
If you had done this in 1997 it would have blown people's minds.
Screenshot: Billy The Kid/YouTube

The eMate 300, one of the most fascinating forgotten Apple products of the late 1990s, has received a second life as a Raspberry Pi laptop.

The personal data assistant, which Apple sold for less than a year between 1997 and 1998, was a sales dud at the time of its release. However, with its Jony Ive-designed curvaceous clamshell made out of translucent green plastic, it resembled the later iMac G3 and iBook computers that helped reestablish Apple as a computer manufacturer of note.

That makes it a machine worth celebrating. Now, thanks to the efforts of a YouTuber named Billy The Kid, it’s also a machine capable of running YouTube videos. Check out the video below.

New Apple Watch app lets companies reward healthy employees

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Apple Watch Series 6
Stay fit and keep your job. Well, not really.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple has teamed up with Globant, a consultancy that helps businesses prepare for a “digital and cognitive future,” to launch a new Earn Your Apple Watch program. Aimed at companies and their employees, the configurable white label app and reward program uses Apple Watch’s various activity tracking tech to boost employee wellness.

The app allows Apple Watch-wearing employees to earn rewards by completing monthly activity goals. Those rewards could be goods or services vouchers, larger vendor-specific purchases, or even discounts on a new Apple Watch. It’s a smart way of trying integrate Apple Watch into businesses that want to get their employees moving.

Manage all your Apple gear for $20 with iMazing iOS Device Manager

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iMazing iOS device manager is a necessity for iPhone owners.
This software is a necessity for iPhone owners.
Photo: iMazing

Ever try (and fail) to AirDrop content between your favorite Apple devices? It’s not always easy. Sometimes one, or both, devices refuse to connect, making it impossible to transfer content seamlessly between them. Otherwise, you’ll have to text, email or transfer content to yourself with a storage drive, which is a nuisance that should be avoided altogether.

If you’ve been daydreaming about building your own iOS app to solve this problem, not to worry: iMazing can do it for you.

Get an early taste of iOS 15 and macOS Monterey with new wallpapers

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macOS Monterey new wallpaper
There's only one for macOS, but it's a stunner.
Photo: Apple

We’re all itching to get our hands on Apple’s newest software updates. But due to many, many bugs, it’s a bad idea to install the developer betas right now. There is another way to freshen up your devices today.

The new wallpapers from iOS and iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey are available to download today, so you can already start using them on your iPhone, iPad and Mac in glorious high-resolution.