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Australian stores remove AirTags over safety fears

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AirTag pairs easily with iPhone, much like AirPods.
AirTags are tiny. So are their batteries.
Photo: Apple

A chain of office supply stores in Australia suspended sales of Apple’s AirTag over child-safety concerns.

Officeworks, which sells approximately 30,000 products in its 167 giant stores, confirmed that the “Apple AirTag range will temporarily be unavailable” for purchase. This is reportedly due to how easily the replaceable cell batteries can be removed from the location-tracking tags. And, presumably, swallowed.

Execs fretted over whether App Store ads were ‘at odds’ with Apple messaging

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TikTok continues to dominate the App Store in 2020.
Apple sells ads through the App Store.
Photo: Kon Karampelas/Unsplash CC

Many people may be surprised to hear that while Tim Cook has often taken thinly-veiled shots at the targeted ad-supported business model of some rivals, Apple does itself sell targeted ads.

Although there is a bit more nuance to that, it can look like a contradiction, or even a bit of hypocrisy, from the outside. As emails highlighted during the current Apple vs. Epic legal battle shows, Apple employees also grappled with whether or not Apple should offer ads in the App Store — and whether this opposed Apple’s messaging.

Read Epic Games’ reasonable idea for opening up the App Store

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App Store
The CEO of Epic Games had an idea for making the App Store more open. It’s likely to find some support.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Epic Games suggested a change to the iPhone App Store that, if Apple had followed it, might have prevented the lawsuit that landed the two tech giants in court this week.

The game developer recommended that Apple continue to police third-party software, looking for malware, privacy violations, etc. But once the iPhone-maker signed off on an app, it would be up to the developer how the software got distributed.

Not just you: Several Apple online services are having ‘issues’ [Updated]

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Not just you: Several Apple online services are having ‘issues’
Problems with multiple iCloud services are preventing some users from accessing them.
Photo: Cult of Mac/Mabel Amber/Pexels CC

Anyone having trouble with Apple’s Find My service, or signing into iCloud, can stop rebooting their devices trying to fix the problem. Apple itself reports that four of its online services are currently experiencing problems.

Update: Apple reports that all four previously malfunctioning services are now fixed.

This 3-pack of PlayStation Plus subscription codes costs just $90 right now

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PlayStation Plus
Get best-of-web pricing on three years of PlayStation Plus for yourself and/or your friends.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you and your friends are big PlayStation fans, you probably already know about PlayStation Plus — but you might not realize just how different it is from PlayStation Now. PlayStation Plus is actually made for users to reap the full benefits of the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

Snap up some cheap AAPL stock while it’s tanking

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AAPL shares took a nosedive on Tuesday
Apple’s stock price went down quite a bit.Perhaps now’s the time to buy
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple shares spent much of Tuesday down 4% in value. The AAPL selloff was part part of a general drop in tech stocks amidst fears of a rise in interest rates.

At one point during the day, the value of each AAPL stock had dropped about $5.30. That’s a decrease of roughly $88 billion in Apple’s $2.1 trillion market capitalization.

Update: Apple shares finished the day down 3.54%.

Ted Lasso and Stillwater score Peabody nominations for Apple TV+

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Bumbling coach Ted Lasso is back, and headed for Apple TV+.
Jason Sudeik stars in Ted Lasso, a fish-out-of-water comedy for Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple

Peabody Award nominations went out Tuesday to Apple comedy series Ted Lasso as well as the children’s program Stillwater.

The annual Peabodys honor excellence in broadcasting the same way Pulitzers recognize outstanding journalism. The awards “reflect the pressing social issues and the vibrant emerging voices of our day,” according to the National Association of Broadcasters.

Steve Jobs once called Facebook ‘Fecebooks’

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Steve Jobs once called Facebook ‘Fecebooks’
Typo? Or cutting insult? Apple’s former CEO once used the term “Fecebooks.”
Photo: Cult of Mac

Disagreements between Apple and Facebook have made headlines recently, but bad blood between the two companies dates back decades. In 2011, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs even called the social-networking service “Fecebooks.”

Quickly view available keyboard shortcuts in any iPad app [Pro tip]

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See iPad keyboard shortcuts
Speed up common tasks inside your favorite apps.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Pro-tip-4iPad has gotten better and better at working with external keyboards in recent years. You’ll now find great support for keyboard shortcuts in most of the apps you use regularly. But how do you quickly find out which keyboard shortcuts are available to you?

There’s an easy way in iPadOS — and it works inside any app.

Apple’s chipmaker could build up to 6 factories in Arizona

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TSMC 7nm processor
Plans have gotten more ambitious it seems.
Photo: TSMC

Apple M- and A-series chipmaker TSMC is reportedly planning to build more than just the one chipmaking factory currently announced for the United States.

According to Reuters, the company — which is the world’s leading edge semiconductor manufacturer — plans to build “several more” in the state of Arizona. TSMC’s original intentions to build a $12 billion chip factory in AZ were announced in May 2020.

Want an M1 iPad Pro? Turn you old model into fast upgrade cash today

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There’s more 2021 iPad Pro RAM than in any previous Apple tablet.
A quick way to make your 2021 iPad Pro upgrade more affordable.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s newest iPad Pro is on the way with a blazing-fast M1 chip, a Liquid Retina XDR display, and up to 16GB of RAM. Prices start at a rather steep $799, but Cult of Mac can help make yours more affordable.

Sell your old iPad to us today and we’ll cough up real cash that you can put toward a new model. We won’t leave you waiting for your money, and we typically pay more than other buyback services. Find out how much your old Apple devices are really worth in under a minute!

Researchers find no link between tech and teen mental health

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In December, Apple will offer free coding classes to teach kids and teens.
Teens spend plenty of time using tech. Is it hurting them?
Photo: Apple

A new study suggests that there is “little evidence” for the supposed link between technology and problems with mental health among teenagers.

The study, carried out by the Oxford Internet Institute, cross-referenced longitudinal viewing and usage habits with depression, behavioral problems, and even suicidal tendencies among 430,000 people between the ages of 10 and 15.

Scrivener can help you write the novel of your dreams, and it’s just $30 right now

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writing app
This award-winning app is beloved by writers everywhere.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Always dreamed of writing your own novel but don’t know where to begin? You’re not alone. Fiction writing can be intimidating, and it’s no coincidence that novice novelists often run into the same problems, like starting with a heavy exposition or lacking continuity in plot or setting.

Even if you’ve finally figured out how to flesh out your characters, there’s the actual writing part of it — that’s a whole other story.

Social audio app Clubhouse’s growth appears to stall

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Clubhouse
Clubhouse attracted a whole lot of buzz earlier this year.
Photo: Erin Kwon/Clubhouse CC

It’s not just teen-focused social media apps that face the fickle habits of their users. Clubhouse — the invite-only social audio app that pulled in enough celebrities, influencers and business professionals to make it the most buzz-worthy app of 2021 — seemingly faces the same challenge.

According to a report from Business Insider, Clubhouse is already hitting a hurdle when it comes to growth. After racking up 9.6 million installs in February, just 2.7 million people downloaded the app in March. That number fell to only 922,000 new users last month.

There’s no downgrading if you’ve already upgraded to iOS 14.5

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iOS 14.5 brings App Tracking Transparency, mask-friendly Face ID
Don't think about turning back.
Photo: Apple

Apple has stopped signing iOS 14.4.2 and iPadOS 14.4.2. That means that it’s no longer possible to downgrade if you’ve upgraded to iOS or iPadOS 14.5.

The eagerly anticipated iOS 14.5 was a big iOS update for Apple. It introduced the ability to unlock an iPhone using an Apple Watch while wearing a mask, along with the controversial App Tracking Transparency feature, new emojis and Siri voices, a Podcasts app update, and more.

Learn to hack, and use your new skills for good, with this low-priced bundle

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Hacking
This inexpensive bundle is perfect for any aspiring tech professional.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s no secret that the IT/software sector offers some of the highest-paying jobs around — and there aren’t enough qualified people to fill them. But within this sector, there’s a ton of variability. So it’s a good idea to specialize and gain expertise in a particular field.

For certified ethical hackers, the payoff can be huge. As long as you have the proper training and credentials, you can make an average of $83,000 per year — with the potential to make nearly $150,000.

Tom Hanks returns to Apple TV+ in sci-fi heart-warmer Finch

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‘Greyhound’ launches on Apple TV+ on July 10.
Everyone loves to love Tom Hanks, and he’s starring in his second Apple TV+ movie.
Photo: Apple

Screen legend Tom Hanks will reportedly soon star in a second Apple TV+ movie. Finch will be the story of a man, a robot and a dog.

It follows Hanks’ Oscar-nominated Greyhound, which ended up on Apple’s streaming video service last summer when the pandemic closed theaters.

iFixit shows how to add a hole to AirTag

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Drill an AirTag hole at your own risk.
If you’re willing to risk ruining an AirTag, you can drill a hole in it.
Photo: iFixit

There’s no direct way to attach Apple’s just-released AirTag to a set of keys because the item tracker doesn’t include a hole. But iFixit x-rayed the device and found three places a brave user could drill a hole.

Apple hastily adds security patches in macOS Big Sur 11.3.1, watchOS 7.4.1

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Apple Security Jacket
There are critical security patches for Mac and Apple Watch.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Mac users can now download macOS Big Sur 11.3.1, a security-themed update to the version released a week ago. It closes security holes that Apple knows were exploited by hackers.

Monday was a busy day for updates. Apple also released watchOS 7.4.1 with one of the same security fixes. And it introduced iOS 14.5.1 and iPadOS 14.5.1 to take care of an App Tracking Transparency bug, and fix security bugs.

iOS 14.5.1 update fixes App Tracking Transparency bug

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App Tracking Transparency is iOS 14.5's controversial new privacy-related feature.
Today's update fixes a bug that kept App Tracking Transparency from working properly for some users.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple rushed out iOS 14.5.1 on Monday, an update that fixes a bug in the App Tracking Transparency feature rolled out a week ago.

“This update fixes an issue with App Tracking Transparency where some users who previously disabled Allow Apps to Request to Track in Settings may not receive prompts from apps after re-enabling it,” Apple’s release notes said. “This update also provides important security updates and is recommended for all users.”

iPadOS 14.5.1, a version of the software for iPad users, also arrived Monday.