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Fix dangerous Safari bug with these updates for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch

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iOS 14.4.2 iPadOS 14.4.2 and watchOS 7.3.3 are all avaiulable now.
iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch users should install new system software updates immediately.
Graphic: Cult of Mac

Apple has a fix for a serious bug in the mobile version of its Safari web browser. Hackers have reportedly already used it, which makes a high-priority of installing iOS 14.4.2, iPadOS 14.4.2 and watchOS 7.3.3. All three hit Apple servers Friday morning.

Travel the roads to solve the mystery of a perplexing Hitchhiker on Apple Arcade

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Versus Evil ’Hitchhiker’ road onto Apple Arcade on Friday
Versus Evil’s Hitchhiker is a mystery story and game in one.
Photo: Versus Evil

Hitchhiker asks players to travel the highways exploring the unknown while also confronting new dangers. It’s sort of a mystery novel in the form of a game. But unlike a book, choices you make when speaking to people you meet affect how it all comes out.

The game launched Friday on Apple Arcade.

‘Magic’ peripherals and M1 Mac mini take dual curved screens to the max [Setups]

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Dual curved displays and Apple keyboard, trackpad and mouse make the setup for Russ Hicks.
Dual curved displays and magic Apple peripherals make this setup sing.
Photo: Russ Hicks

With the recent arrival of a dual-monitor stand, Oxford, England-based Russ Hicks completed an overhaul of the setup that powers the one-man business he has run for 25 years: Genesis Marketing Services.

He specializes in printing equipment suppliers and packaging services. And his business now runs on a Mac mini M1 and dual curved screens.

Multiple sclerosis has made Hicks’ work more challenging recently, but Apple products have helped him deal with it.

Location-tracking AirTags could cost just $39

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AirTags are allegedly being released next month because AirPods Studio won’t be.
After more than a year of rumors, AirTags might soon see the light of day.
Concept: Jon Prosser

Apple’s location-tracking AirTags could retail for $39, and measure a diminutive 32mm x 32mm x 6mm, making them smaller than the rival Tile Pro item trackers.

Apple leaker Max Weinbach shared the information in a new video from EverythingApplePro. The video notes that the information comes from a “retail source,” and that, while the price is “an estimate,” it is likely that AirTags will retail for approximately this figure.

Interestingly, there’s no mention in the video of a rumored two sizes of AirTags. This is something that Apple leaker l0vetodream suggested last year. That earlier report also suggested that the AirTags keychain will be sold separately.

Want an M1 MacBook Air? Sell your old Mac for upgrade cash today

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Your old MacBook Air might be worth a pretty penny.
Your old MacBook Air might be worth a pretty penny.
Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash CC

Apple’s newest MacBook Air is its fastest, most impressive to date. And now is a great time to buy one, with some retailers offering the biggest discounts we’ve seen so far. What’s more, we can help make your upgrade even more affordable.

Sell your old Mac to Cult of Mac today and you’ll get a nice stack of cash to put toward a new model. We typically pay more than anyone else, and we’re fast!

Next-gen AirPods unlikely to arrive until much later this year

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AirPods 2021
A glimpse at the new AirPods?
Photo: 52audio

A new report claims that Apple’s next-gen AirPods won’t arrive until the third quarter of 2021. This backs up a recent report from renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who recently said that the AirPods 3 are unlikely to launch until Q3 2021.

Prior to this, AirPods 3 had been heavily rumored as being part of Apple’s next product event — originally rumored for March, but then pushed back to April.

Protect all your online activity forever for just $40 with this premium VPN

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VPN
This advanced VPN will keep your online activity shrouded in secrecy.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With all the people using the internet for work and entertainment, you think you’d be a near-invisible dot amongst the masses. But the truth is, your identity freely floats along with the web as you do, completing any number of transactions tacked onto an IP address specific to you.

Luckily, there is a way to make internet browsing safe and secure on any connection you choose, whether it’s public or private, forever. All you need is a lifetime subscription to KeepSolid VPN Unlimited.

For All Mankind rolls out red carpet for the Russkies [Apple TV+ review]

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U.S. astronauts like Danielle Poole (played by Krys Marshall) meet their Soviet counterparts.
U.S. astronauts like Danielle Poole (played by Krys Marshall) prep to meet their Soviet counterparts.
Photo: Apple TV+

The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! Don’t bother they’re here … Apple TV+’s For All Mankind gears up for its historic moon handshake in typically laidback fashion in this week’s episode.

The commies are here to collaborate on a space mission meant to bring civilizations together. They’re of course mirthless, shifty cads because that’s just how Russians are written in fiction like this.

Until, of course, they get to eat red meat and drink American whiskey. Then they’re all smiles! Glad to know these jokes haven’t changed at all since the Iron Curtain went up.

iPhone 13 may boast a stunning matte black color option

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iPhone 13
The new iPhone could ditch the graphite color option for matte black.
Photo: EverythingApplePro

Apple could ditch the gray “graphite” option seen in the iPhone 12 Pro for a new matte black color with the iPhone 13, claims Apple tipster Max Weinbach.

In a video posted to the EverythingApplePro YouTube channel Friday, Weinbach shared mockups of the new premium black finish. This would be similar to the black color option available for the regular iPhone 12, but in a high-end matte finish.

It reportedly also will boast a new anti-fingerprint coating to ensure the handset looks its best at all times.

Apple Watch Explorer Edition could bring new ruggedized design

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Casio G-Shock
New Apple Watch could offer a design reminiscent of Casio's G-Shock watches.
Photo: Alexandru-Bogdan Ghita/Unsplash CC

Apple is considering whether to launch a more ruggedized Apple Watch aimed at athletes and people doing outdoor activities in extreme environments, Bloomberg reported Friday.

This device could potentially be launched as early as this year or 2022. Inside Apple, the project is referred to as the “Explorer Edition” Apple Watch. It would offer the same basic functionality as the regular Apple Watch, but with added rubberized impact-resistance and protection — similar to Casio’s G-Shock line of watches.

Man buys iPhone 7 online, receives table instead

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iPhone table man
And you thought the iPhone 12 Pro Max was big.
Photo: เอาไปแบ่งกันดู/Facebook

We’ve all been there. You eagerly place an order for a new iPhone online, then eagerly wait by the door for its arrival, only to have your fun ruined when it turns out that your new iPhone is, in fact, a table.

OK, so we’ve not all been there. But an unnamed Thai man apparently has, after he bought what he thought was a cheap iPhone 7 that turned out to be a novelty desk.

Bag the Netgear Orbi whole home Wi-Fi system for under $200

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Netgear Orbi
This sale ends today — don't miss out!
Photo: Netgear

Take control of your Wi-Fi network and improve connectivity all around your home with the Netgear Orbi mesh Wi-Fi system. It provides the best connectivity money can buy, and it couldn’t be easier to manage.

Get your Orbi three-pack for under $200 — around half its usual price. This deal is good for today only, so don’t miss out!

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

Apple goes on AI shopping spree to make Siri smarter

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Siri Lights
A slew of AI-related acquisitions might make Siri less of a nimrod. Which is important considering it’s built into so many products, like HomePods.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple reportedly bought more companies developing artificial intelligence technology over the past five years than anyone else. A prime goal is to make the Siri voice assistant smarter, according to GlobalData, the market-research firm that compiled a list of AI-related acquisitions by many companies.

How to get Apple Arcade games as soon as they launch

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How to get Apple Arcade games as soon as they launch
Here’s how to make upcoming Apple Arcade games automatically install themselves.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The App Store lists Apple Arcade games that’ll debut soon. If one of these upcoming titles looks interesting, subscribers to Apple’s game service can set it to automatically install as soon as the app becomes available. No waiting… it’ll be on your iPhone or other Apple device as soon as possible.

Here’s how.

Apple and Google may be buddies now, but war over search is inevitable

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As the world shifts from web browsers to apps, tensions may rise between Apple and Google over search.
The future of search isn't browsers.
Photo: Solen Feyissa/Unsplash CC

According to a recent complaint filed with a U.K. antitrust regulator, Apple and Google are working a bit too closely for comfort. The complaint alleges “collusion at a very senior level” of both companies when it comes to search engines.

But make no mistake: While things certainly cooled down since the days when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs threatened to go to “thermonuclear war” against Google, the two companies remain on a collision course. And the conflict will come over the exact same issue they’re currently allegedly colluding on.

It’s all about the future of search as we know it.

iPhone survives month in frozen Canadian lake

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Don't be a afraid of the water ip68
An iPhone emerged fully functional from the bottom of a Canadian lake.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Canadian Angie Carriere dropped her iPhone into a lake while she was ice fishing. A month later, she retrieved off the bottom of the still-frozen lake. And it works.

Watch a video showing the amazing rescue.

Racial justice play 12 Angry Men… and Women streams free on Apple TV

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Apple Central World 3
This is the first time a play has been staged at the Steve Jobs Theater.
Photo: Apple

For the first time ever, the Steve Jobs Theater is about to become a, well, proper theater through the airing of a play filmed at the Apple Park venue usually used for Apple keynote events.

The play, 12 Angry Men… and Women, is based on the book 12 Angry Men: True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today. It will be available to watch for free via the Apple TV app from Friday, March 26 through April 22.

Apple says it doesn’t have a monopoly on iOS apps because the web exists

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App Store image
Apple is defending its dominance of the App Store.
Photo: James Yarema/Unsplash CC

One of the big criticisms leveled at Apple over its control of the App Store is that it doesn’t allow ways of side-loading apps. That is to say that, if you want an app on iOS, it’s Apple’s way or the highway.

Apple, however, disagrees. In a response made as part of the Australian consumer watchdog’s probe into the App Store, Apple argues that this is not true at all — because people can create web apps or the internet.

Oprah will interview youngest Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman on Apple TV+

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Oprah Winfrey
Interview will debut Friday.
Photo: Apple

Oprah Winfrey will interview National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman on her show The Oprah Conversation this Friday. The 23-year-old inaugural poet, author, and activist wrote the poem “The Hill We Climb,” delivered at the inauguration of President Biden and VP Kamala Harris.

“Amanda Gorman is a young woman who stepped into a moment in history with enormous grace and dignity,” said Winfrey in a statement. “I was enthralled by her youthful spirit from the first moment we met, and very much looked forward to hearing her unpack all that has happened to her the past few months.”

Advance your knowledge with this library of 12-minute book summaries

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12min
This app gives you access to hundreds of condensed books, in audio and written formats.
Photo: 12min

Do some quick research into the habits of the most successful people in the world and you’ll see a running theme: Everyone from CEOs to motivational speakers lists reading as important. But with a packed schedule, how can even the busiest people manage to power through their reading lists?

One solution is a lifetime subscription to the 12min Micro Book Library, which delivers digestible summaries of books in less than 15 minutes. It runs on iOS or Android, and it’s available at a steep discount right now.

Bag AirPods Pro for just $159.99 today only

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AirPods Pro with black background discounts
Or save $39 on renewed models.
Photo: Apple

UPDATE: You’ve missed Best Buy’s deal on AirPods Pro now, but Woot is today offering the same deal on “grade A” AirPods Pro refurbs for one day only. Don’t miss it!

UPDATE 2: Woot has sold out of AirPods Pro refurbs now, too. But it is still offering regular AirPods (second-generation) at an all-time low of $99.99.

Best Buy’s 24-hour Flash Sale offers certified-refurbished AirPods Pro units for just $159.99 today only. That’s a whopping $90 discount and the lowest price we’ve seen on AirPods Pro so far.

Bag yours now before they all sell out!

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

Apple named in discrimination lawsuit by female engineer

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iPhone with gavel.
Apple has lost an early stage of the discrimination suit.
Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm/Cult of Mac

Apple has long talked up the strides it’s making when it comes to being an inclusive workplace. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t examples of this not being the case.

As reported by Bloomberg Thursday, Apple has lost the early round of a discrimination lawsuit brought against the company by a female engineer from India. She alleges that her two male managers, one from India and the other from Pakistan, treated her as a subservient.