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European Commission may not appeal Apple’s tax verdict victory after all

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iPhone with gavel.
Court case concerned Apple's $14.8 billion tax bill.
Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm/Cult of Mac

The European Commission has yet to appeal its loss to Apple in the landmark multi-billion dollar tax bill case. And it may not do so at all.

The EC lost lost its court case about Apple’s $14.8 billion tax bill in July. At the time, it was widely assumed that the EC would appeal the case. However, with the deadline looming on Friday it has yet to do so.

Done with Netflix? Watch more than 5,000 movies of all genres on any device

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FlixFling
Watch over 5,000 movies, including hard-to-find gems, of all different genres on a variety of devices, with no ads.

Staying home means streaming a lot more shows and movies. That means running down the list of content available on streaming video services like Netflix and Amazon. Luckily, there are other options — and they’re more affordable, too.

Apple’s smallest iPhone 12 could be called ‘iPhone 12 mini’

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These iPhone 12 dummy units show what the real handset might look like.
The smallest could be the iPhone 12 mini.
Photo: Marques Brownlee

For the first time ever, Apple will adopt its “mini” branding for the iPhone, claims Apple leaker L0vetodream. According to the tipster, Apple will use the name “iPhone 12 mini” for the smallest of four models coming this year.

The other ones would be called “iPhone 12,” “iPhone 12 Pro” and “iPhone 12 Pro Max.”

Trump will let TikTok keep ticking in US

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U.S. investigations of TikTok gather steam.
There are still questions about ownership, though.
Photo: Kon Karampelas/Unsplash CC

President Trump has given his blessing for TikTok to remain in the U.S. after approving a deal involving Walmart and Oracle taking a financial stake in the company.

However, CNBC reports that Trump’s claims that TikTok’s North American operations have “nothing to do with China” are incorrect. In fact, a new report claims that Beijing-based ByteDance retains an 80% stake in the company.

Apple has lost more than $500 billion in market cap so far this month

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Money on Unsplash
That's a whole lot of cash.
Photo: Pepi Stojanovski/Unsplash

Apple has lost more than $500 billion in market cap since the start of this month, CNBC reported over the weekend.

To put that figure in perspective, it’s slightly more than the market cap it took Apple its first 36 years of existence to climb to. (Apple only passed $500 billion in 2012, the year after Tim Cook took over as CEO.)

The Morning Show’s Billy Crudup takes home Emmy for best supporting actor in a drama

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Take a bow, Billy Crudup! The Morning Show wins its first Primetime Emmy. Billy Crudup for best supporting actor in a drama series.
Take a bow, Billy Crudup!

Apple TV+’s The Morning Show took home one Emmy award at Sunday night’s 72nd Emmys. Actor Billy Crudup won the category of “best supporting actor in a drama series” for his performance as eccentric network executive Cory Ellison.

Crudup saw off competition from Succession, Better Call Saul, The Handmaid’s Tale, Westworld and, err, The Morning Show (fellow actor Mark Duplass, who plays Charlie Black). This is Apple TV+’s first Primetime Emmy Award.

Convert any DVD to MP4, ISO image for free with MacX DVD Ripper Pro

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Rip DVD content to many formats with MacX DVD Ripper Pro.
Rip DVDs in almost any condition to many formats with MacX DVD Ripper Pro.
Photo: Digiarty

This DVD copy and backup post is presented by Digiarty.

Many of us would love to say we long ago converted our stacks of DVDs to digital file formats, but … not so much. If you must know, our old DVDs are stashed in a closet. If you’re in the same boat, you might try MacX DVD Ripper Pro, a super-fast backup and ripping tool for Mac. It can handle discs in almost any condition and convert them to many formats for you to store and play on various devices while freeing up precious shelf or closet space. Even better, for a limited time you can even get it for free in the MacX DVD Ripper Pro giveaway.

Master iOS 14’s best new features [Cult of Mac Magazine 367]

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Now that you've upgraded, it's time to take advantage of all the new iOS 14 features.
Now that you've upgraded, it's time to take advantage of all the new features.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

If you downloaded iOS 14 — and you really should — you probably know it’s packed with tons of new features. Find out how to make the most of all the latest additions with our roundup of iOS 14 tips and how-tos.

And, naturally, we’ve got plenty of coverage of this week’s big “Time Flies” event. Get the scoop on the new Apple Watches, iPads and Apple services in the latest edition of Cult of Mac Magazine. It’s free, and it’s a blast to read on your iPad or iPhone.

You’ll also get the rest of our Apple how-tos and product reviews. And, if you don’t want to download the mag (did I mention that it’s free?), you can get the week’s top stories in your browser below.

Save on iPhone video accessories during this limited-time sale

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MAIN - iPhone Photo Video
Grab these deals on smartphone camera gimbals, LED light rings, lenses and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

In 2020, video has become an essential part of everyday life, from Zoom calls to vlogging to learning the latest TikTok dance. If you want your video to truly shine, you need some extra gear. These four great accessories will help you get more from your iPhone or Mac camera.

What those strange new green and orange dots on iPhone and iPad mean

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What green and orange dots mean on iPhone and iPad with iOS 14
They're there for a reason and you should look out for them.
Image: Cult of Mac

If you’ve already updated to iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, you might be wondering why green or orange dots sometimes appear in the corner of your screen on iPhone and iPad. It’s not the result of a strange bug.

Instead, those dots are there to help protect your privacy. When they appear, it means certain features on your device are in use, and it’s important to look out for them. Here’s why.

Convert any video to 1,000 formats with Wondershare UniConverter

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Wondershare UniConverter updated
Wondershare UniConverter, now in Version 12, lets you work with a multitude of media formats.
Photo: Wondershare

This video conversion post is presented by Wondershare UniConverter.

Whether you love to make videos or just watch and share them, if you want them to be seen in virtually any format on practically any device, you need a good video-conversion tool. It might be time to try Wondershare UniConverter, which can convert any video to more than 1,000 different formats. Try the Mac-dedicated version for a taste of how easy and quick video conversion can be.

EU may force Apple to open contactless payment tech to rival services

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Square Terminal could help more businesses accept Apple Pay.
At least, if the European Union laws are as expected.
Photo: Square

Apple Pay may wind up being just one of several mobile payments services available on the iPhone if the European Union gets its way, Bloomberg reported Friday.

The report claims that the EU is weighing up new rules that would compel companies like Apple to open up the NFC (Near Field Communication) tech in its smartphones and watches to rival players. That could mean that Apple Pay isn’t the only option for customers who want to pay for products with their Apple device.

Marble Knights rolls onto Apple Arcade

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‘Marble Knights’ brings rolling fun to Apple Arcade
Marble Knights mixes game genres, and supports multiplayer action.
Photo: WayForward/Apple

The latest addition to Apple’s gaming service is a rare multi-player title. Marble Knights lets up to four people at once roll together through a sword-swinging adventure.

TikTok faces App Store ban in US starting this Sunday

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U.S. investigations of TikTok gather steam.
Unless the Oracle deal is signed-off by President Trump, that is.
Photo: Kon Karampelas/Unsplash CC

Unless a last-minute deal is agreed, President Trump is going to ban ultra-popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat from the U.S. starting Sunday, the Department of Commerce announced Friday.

TikTok is consistently the most downloaded non-gaming app in the world. In the U.S., it currently has around 100 million monthly users. WeChat, while nowhere near as big in the U.S., is China’s most important app and widely used by many Chinese-Americans to communicate with friends and family back home.

Apple continues to rethink supply chain to get around US-China tensions

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Apple's relationship with Foxconn on the rocks
Tim Cook speaking with a person on the iPhone production line.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s division of its supply chain into one part aimed at the China market and the other aimed at the rest of the world continues apace. The goal? Helping Apple get around rumbling trade tensions between the United States and China.

According to a Friday report from Digitimes, Apple is giving more orders to Chinese firms Luxshare Precision and BYD for the Apple Watch Series 6 and Wi-Fi iPad series, respectively.

Apple TV+ series See resumes production next month

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See featurette asks how Apple TV+ show crafted a world without sight
See was one of the first Apple TV+ shows.
Photo: Apple

The Jason Mamoa-starring Apple TV+ post-apocalyptic drama series See will resume shooting its second season next month, according to a report from Deadline.

Season two of the show will reportedly resume filing on October 14 in Toronto. Filming will continue (unless there’s another COVID-prompted shutdown) through March 2021.

PSA: Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s Long Way Up debuts on Apple TV+

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‘Long Way Up’ premiers on Apple TV+ on September 18
Long Way Up is just a couple of guys out for a 13,000 mile ride.
Photo: Apple

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman travel across South and Central America on electric Harley-Davidson motorcycles in new Apple TV+ series Long Way Up.

Apple debuted the first three episodes of the road-tripping series Friday, with subsequent episodes being released every Friday.

This is The Orville special-effects quarantine battlestation

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Mac Pro setup
A setup built for a pro.
Photo: Brandon Fayette

Brandon Fayette is VFX supervisor for The Orville, Hulu’s hilarious Star Trek-esque sci-fi comedy show from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. Since screen space is vital to Fayette, he runs a triple-monitor rig.

The headliner is a Dell 49-inch UltraSharp Monitor. Its 32:9 aspect ratio means that he needs to find a wide panoramic pic for his screen saver. Next to the UltraSharp, Fayette uses a Wacom Cintiq 27QHD 27-inch monitor. This uber-precise monitor boasts a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, which is four times the pixel density of a standard HDTV.

Fayette’s third monitor is an Eizo CG277-BK 27-inch ColorEdge Professional Monitor. With its amazing image quality, it was specifically designed for professional colorists.

How to use some of the best new features in iOS 14

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How to use the best features in iOS 14
Learn how to use widgets, the App Drawer, and more.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

iOS 14 is finally out and packed full of awesome new features that make being an iPhone user even greater. We’ve got real Home screen widgets, a useful new App Drawer, Picture in Picture, and more!

If you were able to avoid the iOS 14 beta and all these things are still brand-new to you, you might be wondering how some of them work. Well, don’t worry — Cult of Mac has how-to guides on all of them.

Find out how to use some of the best new features in iOS 14 right here.

Deciding between iPad Air 4 and iPad Pro could be a real struggle

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iPad Air 4 vs. 2020 iPad Pro vs. iPad 8
Apple’s current lineup of tablets offers a lot of overlap in features.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

The newly announced iPad Air 4 is going to make choosing a tablet harder. It borrows so many features from the 2020 iPad Pro models that many who might have gone for one of Apple’s professional tablets should choose this new model instead. But certainly not everyone.

Here’s how these devices compare, with the newly-unveiled iPad 8 thrown in for good measure.