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Apple yanks Apple TV Remote app from App Store

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The Remote app is no more.
The Remote app is no more.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple quietly (or as quietly as Apple can do anything, which means it’s widely reported) removed the Apple TV Remote app from the App Store.

The app allowed owners to control their Apple TV without having to use the controversial Siri Remote that comes with the set-top box. It let users navigate Apple TV with touch gestures, quickly enter text using the keyboard, ask Siri to find things to watch, and more.

Here’s how the new, smaller iPhone box measures up to its predecessor

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Does anyone really need another iPhone charger?
Here's what removing the iPhone charger means for the box size.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

This year’s iPhone 12 and 12 Pro will be the first new iPhones not to come with EarPods or a charger in the box.

During Apple’s October keynote it said that removing these components lets it reduce carbon emissions from shipping by packing way more boxes onto shipping pallets. Now, thanks to a comparison posted by Apple analyst Neil Cybart, we have an idea what that means in terms of the overall box footprint.

Your iPhone will soon work on the moon

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A 4G moon cellular network. It’s really happening.
4G LTE on the Moon isn’t sci-fi. An iPhone could soon be able to make calls from the Lunar surface.
Photo: Alex Powell/Pexels cc

Nokia will build a 4G cellular network on the moon. It’ll allow future astronauts to make voice and video calls, but also transmit data and remotely control equipment.

The goal is to have the wireless network in place on Earth’s largest satellite by 2022. It’s part of NASA’s Artemis program, which has the goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the moon by the end of the decade.

iOS 14.1 and iPadOS 14.1 arrive to squash some bugs

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iOS 14.1 and iPadOS 14.1 arrive: Here come the bug fixes.
Here come the bug fixes.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Apple released iOS 14.1 and iPadOS 14.1 Tuesday, bringing bug fixes and a handful of other improvements to iPhones and iPads.

Support for 10-bit HDR video playback and editing seems like the main new feature. But the updates supposedly fix plenty of little problems that might be annoying people who updated to iOS 14. If your Home screen widgets, folders and icons don’t look quite right, you should probably grab iOS 14.1.

I want my Apple Music TV: Cupertino’s latest concept is fascinatingly retro

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MTV shirt
Is Apple reanimating the corpse of MTV?
Photo: Chris Benson/Unsplash CC

What’s old is apparently new. With Apple Music TV, the new streaming channel that plays music videos 24 hours a day, Cupertino created a 21st-century version of MTV that looks a lot like the 1980s.

The service — which is free to everyone in the United States, not just Apple Music subscribers — launched out of the blue Monday. More than a quarter century after the original MTV’s heyday, this is going to be fascinating to watch. Can it possibly work?

Artists, grab your Pencils! Adobe Illustrator for iPad is out.

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Adobe Illustrator for iPad will debut in late October 2020
Adobe Illustrator for iPad will let artists draw with an Apple Pencil.
Photo: Adobe

The wait is over for the iPad version of the Adobe Illustrator. After many years as a Mac application, this professional drawing tool launched Tuesday in the iPadOS App Store.

In addition, Adobe introduced an iPhone version of Fresco, the company’s drawing and painting application previously out for iPad.

iPhone 12 and 12 Pro first impressions: Apple does it again

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iPhone 12 Pro in Pacific blue
Coming soon to a pocket near you.
Photo: Apple

The first reviews of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro landed online Tuesday, and the devices’ marquee feature — 5G wireless connectivity — largely went unnoticed.

Most reviewers said they could not properly take advantage of the next-gen networking, which Apple heavily promoted during last week’s iPhone 12 launch event. This makes 5G more of a hypothetical selling point than something the reviewers could personally recommend. (That’s not surprising, considering the current state of 5G in the United States.)

That said, the first impressions focus on both phones’ impressive new designs — and pay special attention to the premium feel of the iPhone 12 Pro. The reviewers also highlight MagSafe, the new magnetic connection system for cases, chargers and other accessories that Apple added to this year’s iPhones.

Here’s a look at the first iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 reviews.

Airline crew arrested for smuggling $50 million in stolen iPads, iPhones

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Handcuffs
Ten Aeroflot crew members have been charged.
Photo: Bill Oxford/Unsplash CC

A band of Aeroflot Airlines crew members have been charged with smuggling $50 million worth of stolen electronic goods — including iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches — into Russia.

The plot was uncovered when crew members’ luggage was inspected. This resulted in the discovery of many of the devices in question. In total, 10 people have so far been charged, eight suspects arrested, and two are currently described as fugitives. A massive 113 visas of Aeroflot employees were also revoked.

Make the most of your videos on any device

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videoproc
This powerhouse video-processing tool makes clips look their best on any device or platform.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Uploading videos to social media or transferring them between devices, it’s easy to wonder what went wrong. Strange compression, weird resolution issues, and other problems can make even high-quality videos suddenly look like junk.

You can avoid those kinds of totally annoying hassles with a heavily discounted lifetime subscription to this video-processing app for Mac.

Apple’s location-tracking AirTags could come in 2 different sizes

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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 eagerly anticipated, location-tracking AirTags will come in two different sizes, claims reliable Apple leaker l0vetodream.

In a tweet sent out Tuesday, the leaker — who has a reliability score of 87.9 percent on the website AppleTrack — claimed that Apple will release AirTags in both large and small options. It’s not clear what the precise sizes would be or what, if anything, would be the different functionality between sizes.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and other Peanuts specials come to Apple TV+

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Promotional image for Charlie Brown Halloween special,
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is already streaming on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ is the new home for all things Peanuts. That includes rights to stream the classic Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving specials starring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the whole gang. In addition, new specials are in development just for this streaming service.

Many of the beloved classics will be available to all, not locked behind a paywall.

New Beats Flex earbuds offer AirPods features for just $49

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Beats Flex have many AirPods features for much less.
Beats Flex wireless earphones offer sophisticated Apple tech for just $49.
Photo: Apple

Some of the advanced features of Apple AirPods are in Beats Flex, wireless earphones that come in at a much lower price. Apple’s Beats division built in 12-hour battery life, a new acoustic driver and USB-C charging. All for $49.

Beats Flex are scheduled to reach customers’ hands on Wednesday.

iPhone 12 sees strong start with twice as many preorders as iPhone 11

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iPhone 12 Pro in Pacific blue
Up to 2 million preorders during the first 24 hours alone.
Photo: Apple

iPhone 12 has seen twice as many preorders as last year’s iPhone 11, while iPhone 12 Pro is proving more popular than iPhone 11 Pro, according to new estimates from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple’s newest smartphone lineup — the first with 5G connectivity — is thought to have attracted between 1.7 million and 2 million orders during the first 24 hours of availability.

Easily manage your iOS music and data without iTunes

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WALTR 2
Easily transfer music, videos, and other files between iOS devices with drag and drop, and without iTunes.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Our mobile devices were supposed to make life easier. But as time goes on, it gets harder to keep all our tunes, videos and other data where we want it. Part of the challenge is using iTunes — luckily, this tool offers an intuitive alternative.

Repair costs rise for iPhone 12’s Ceramic Shield display

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The iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 price is now the same for all the top US telecoms.
Fixing a broken iPhone 12 out of warranty isn't cheap.
Photo: Apple

iPhone 12 users will have to cough up more cash should they need to replace the handset’s new Ceramic Shield display. The price of a new screen has risen by $80 compared to that for last year’s iPhone 11.

However, it should be more difficult to break iPhone 12’s screen, thanks to tougher glass. And you do get a lot more for your money.

Improve your grammar and writing with machine learning

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whitesmoke
Gain access to a suite of web-based tools for improving your writing quality, for emails, reports, and anywhere else words are involved.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Becoming a better writer requires feedback. But not everyone has room in their life for writing workshops and deep dives into literature. If you want to improve your writing quickly and easily, you need this web-based tool that uses machine learning to polish your prose.

You’ll want to open Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You again and again [Apple TV+ review]

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Bruce Springsteen's Letter To You review: Upcoming Apple TV+ documentary offers a moving look at the songwriter's life and music.
The upcoming Apple TV+ documentary offers a moving look at Bruce Springsteen's life and music.
Photo: Apple TV+

Just in time for election day, America’s real president makes a stump speech that’s part biography and part self-mythologizing letter to an equally mythic version of the state he calls home. Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You, like a lot of the Boss’ later albums, isn’t exactly groundbreaking or inventive. However, there’s a good reason his homespun coastal Americana never goes out of fashion. Nobody gets America like Springsteen.

Upcoming Apple TV+ documentary Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You showcases the songs on his 20th album. While it won’t tell you anything you didn’t already suspect, you will find an incalculable kind of value in the songwriter’s company.

5 biggest takeaways from Apple’s iPhone 12 event [Cult of Mac Magazine 371]

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Let's run down all the week's big Apple news.
Let's run down all the week's big Apple news.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

New iPhones (both “regular” and mini, as well as Pro and Pro Max). A new, pint-size HomePod mini. And the triumphant return of MagSafe … this week’s “Hi, Speed” event delivered the goods.

Read up on all the new Apple gear, and find out why we’re totally psyched about the iPhone 12 mini (and a bit less so about 5G), in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on your iOS device.

Oh, and don’t worry — we’ve got plenty of post-show analysis (and some even fresher Apple news and rumors, too) …

Get a VPN, an ad blocker and more in one packed app

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Clario
Get VPN, malware, ad blocking and other essential digital security tools in one intuitive app.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

As more of our life moves online, security and privacy become more valuable. That’s why we’re big fans of virtual private networks, malware blockers and any other tools that make online life more secure. Luckily, you can get all that and more from one app.