Many parts of the world are starting to emerge from coronavirus lockdown, with stores opening up and social distancing measures relaxing. But don’t expect to take off your mask to go into an Apple Store — whatever local advice suggests. This seemingly goes for both customers and retail employees.

According to Bloomberg, Apple will keep masks and other safety provisions in place for its stores as the company continues to “evaluate health and safety” measures. This comes shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaccinated individuals don’t need to wear a face mask in the majority of public settings.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Cincinnati seized “tens of thousands of earbuds” that appear to be AirPods knockoffs. Three large shipments of “fake AirPods” from China were discovered, bound for an address in Dayton, Kentucky.

Each case had a declared value of $5,280, and contained 12,000 earbuds. Had they been legit AirPods, the total 36,000 units would have been valued at $7.16 million at retail price.

Apple is teasing a special announcement regarding Apple Music is “coming soon,” possibly referring to a new Apple Music HiFi lossless audio tier. And Apple believes it’s going to send shockwaves through the industry.

The “coming soon” tease can be seen in the Browse section of Apple Music. There is a short animation showing the Apple Music logo spinning around, getting closer and closer to the camera as it does, with multiple copies appearing as it does.

A message accompanying the video notes that users should, “Get ready – music is about to change forever.”

Space: the final frontier. And kinda sorta the theme of this week’s roundup of new and updated apps.

We’ve got an app that brings Star Trek, NASA and Tetris faces to Apple Watch. A free iOS game that will get arcade fans flashing back to Asteroids. And an audio app for women that blends erotica, meditation and ASMR for a trip deep into inner space.

I’m not sure how Godzilla and Kong fit into the space theme, but they crash onto the scene as well. (If only we had SpaceGodzilla.) Three … two … one …

People say smart homes are the future, and it becomes more and more true each year. In 2019, an estimated 27% of the U.S. population owned a smart home device, but that’s only the beginning for this growing trend. According to research, U.S. smart home sales are projected to reach “more than $47 billion by 2024, which would be approximately three times as much as the revenues in 2017.”

Remember Asteroids? Well, PewPew Live is like that arcade classic on steroids. (So… as-steroids?) Zoom through space and blow up everything in fast-paced action.

There hasn’t been a new game added to Apple Arcade in over a month, so if you’re looking for something fresh, take PewPew Live for a spin. And it’s free!

Some people think porting the Mac’s operating system to the iPad makes sense. We don’t. Find out why that would be a horrible nightmare in Cult of Mac Magazine‘s cover story this week.

Also, don’t miss our Q&A with Ian Zelbo, the 17-year-old New Yorker who’s been blasting out eye-catching concept art based on the latest Apple leaks. The high schooler behind RendersbyIan tells what gear he uses and reveals some of his rendering secrets in our Setups post.

Then, of course, you’ll want to check out Zelbo’s colorful MacBook Air renders and the rest of the week’s juiciest Apple news, rumors, how-tos and reviews.

If there are certain spots in your house with spotty Wi-Fi, you’re not just imagining it. Connections sometimes works less efficiently or not at all in certain corners of any dwelling. Don’t let crummy tech ruin a great music streaming session, or an important workday, anymore.

Cable clutter is the worst. It makes it difficult to organize the gadgets you rely on the most. Plus, it can take a while to individually sort out which cord you need for the device that’s low on battery. Not to mention, it doesn’t really help with creating an organized and clean desk space, which can help you stay more productive for longer periods of time.

This 3-in-1 Apple Watch & Lightning Charger Cable is a cord that can do it all. With it, you can simultaneously charge your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch — without struggling to find the right cord for each.

Former president Trump’s plan to create a National Garden of American Heroes has been cancelled by the Biden Administration. It would have created an open-air space with statues of a wide variety of Americans, including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Trump created the garden by executive order, and President Biden completely cancelled it Friday with another executive order. No reason was given.

Original article from January 18, 2021

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is one of hundreds of people who’ll have a statue in the National Garden of American Heroes that President Trump ordered be created.

The list includes a wide variety of men and women from history, including politicians, generals, explorers, inventors, writers, actors and more.

This week, Cult of Mac is giving away two fantastic metal Apple Watch bands from Juuk, a high-end watch strap company. We’re giving away two aluminum Qruno straps in cosmic grey.

If you are looking for a high-quality metal band to match the Apple Watch’s high-grade design, enter this giveaway.

The reports of Beats’ death are (reportedly) greatly exaggerated. Rather than phasing out the brand, as had been rumored, Apple put Scott Croyle, the former head of product design at phone-maker HTC, in charge of crafting new Beats headphones, according to an unconfirmed report.

After Apple warned users of implanted medical devices to avoid iPhone 12 and MagSafe accessories, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighed in to say that the danger to pacemakers and defibrillators from magnets built into electronic devices is low.

Thanks to a last-minute call to a new ally, things seem to be looking up for the Foxes in this week’s episode of The Mosquito Coast. Or have they left the frying pan and stepped into the fire?

Time will tell, but it seems likely that Allie Fox will find some way to slip out of the noose if that’s what waiting for him. Director Rupert Wyatt is back behind the camera for an exciting new episode of Apple TV+ drama.

Bag the best Beats headphones money can buy at their lowest price to date. Woot is offering brand-new Studio3 units, with noise cancellation and real-time audio calibration, for just $189.99 for a limited time only. That’s a generous 46% off the usual selling price.

Get yours before they’re all gone!

Redditor jondajaba recently finished putting together a computer setup and asked in a post for recommendations on what’s missing that he might add. Naturally, setup mavens far and wide who live and breathe this stuff replied with plenty of advice.

Apple could shrink this year’s iPhone “notch” thanks to a 40% to 50% smaller VCSEL chip in the Face ID sensor, Digitimes reported Friday. According to the report, the smaller die size could show up as soon as the “new iPhone and iPad devices to be rolled out later in 2021.”

Thanks to the rise of online education, learning new skills outside of the boundaries of traditional schooling is more accessible than ever. Whether you want to learn an entirely new trade or stay competitive sharpening your existing skills, we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to learning new things online. In a time when we all stay home a lot more, digital education bundles are all the rage, and this one’s no different.

In a letter to the judiciary subcommittee investigating antitrust complaints against Apple, the company takes aim at companies like Spotify, Tinder and Tile.

All three companies previously criticized Apple’s dominance of the App Store. But Cupertino says they are simply airing “grievances related to business disputes” rather than making legitimate arguments about competition-related issues.

Amazon is currently offering some hugely generous discounts — some of the biggest we’ve seen anywhere so far — on the 2020 iPad Pro. You can save up to $199.01 on many models, but only if you act fast.

Bag yours before the deals disappear!

It’s Friday, which means it’s “new shows on Apple TV+ day.” This week, there are two new episodes available on Apple’s streaming TV service — with fresh installments of The Mosquito Coast and Mythic Quest.

Here’s what you can expect from this week’s episodes.

If you don’t use Apple Pay yet, Apple’s latest set of offers may help convince you to give Cupertino’s mobile payments solution a try. Especially if your wardrobe is in dire need of an upgrade after more than a year of most folks being stuck home.

As part of a “Springtime savings” offer, Apple is offering Apple Pay users discounts at stores ranging from California clothing brand PacSun to sunglasses company Costa Del Mar to sporty apparel company Under Armour.

New AirPods could be on their way next Tuesday, a sketchy rumor shared by AppleTrack suggests. The rumor comes from a YouTuber named Luke Miani, who doesn’t have a record when it comes to Apple rumors.

AppleTrack, which tracks the validity of Apple rumors, says it has heard “privately” that Apple is set to release new AirPods in the coming weeks. According to the report, Apple will make the announcement on May 18 in a press release.

Many homes and offices have a collection of iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods that need charging every night. Rather than a collection of these cluttered together, the RapidX Modula5 system offers wireless chargers that magnetically snap together and run off a single cable.

I used Modula5 in my multi-device home. Here’s why I like it.

Apple’s smart decision to build an M1 processor into the 2021 iPad Pro renewed calls to port macOS to the tablet. “Put macOS on the iPad, you cowards,” read one particularly misguided headline.

Doing so would be a mistake so severe it would damage sales of both iPad and Mac. It would take years to clean up the mess.

No matter that Macs and iPads run on the same chip. macOS isn’t designed for a touchscreen. Apple would need to redesign the operating system to run on a tablet, and devs would need to alter third-party applications, too. And that would anger people using non-touchscreen laptops and desktops.

Plus, people happy with the iPad now wouldn’t like the change either.