Cult of Mac

Apple says that it is disappointed to be targeted in two new antitrust investigations by the European Union. The two antitrust investigations, into both the App Store and Apple Pay, were announced Tuesday.

“It’s disappointing the European Commission is advancing baseless complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free ride, and don’t want to play by the same rules as everyone else,” Apple told Reuters in a statement. “We don’t think that’s right — we want to maintain a level playing field where anyone with determination and a great idea can succeed.”

According to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, Apple has overcome whatever delays it faced in manufacturing the iPhone 12 and, as of now, the devices should debut in September as planned. Shipping would take place early the next month.

While that’s marginally later than last year’s launch date, it suggests that Apple has managed to claw back its schedule after coronavirus rocked the supply chain earlier this year.

Apple faces another antitrust complaint in the European Union, this time from Japanese tech company Rakuten. The anti-competition complaint relates to Apple’s e-book business, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

In response, the EU opened an official investigation into the App Store. On Tuesday, EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the government will scrutinize Cupertino’s business practices. “We need to ensure that Apple’s rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books,” Vestager said. “I have therefore decided to take a close look at Apple’s App Store rules and their compliance with EU competition rules.”

Amazon’s amazing discounts are back on the 10.2-inch iPad for a limited time only. You can save a generous $99.01 on a 128GB model, while the 32GB option is a steal at under $250. But be quick — these sell out fast!

The Apple App Store ecosystem contributed over half a trillion dollars to the global economy in 2019, according to a study commissioned by Apple.

This total encompasses far more than just what iPhone or Mac users pay for software. It includes transactions done through these apps, from grocery deliveries to streaming services.

Apple inadvertently confirmed rumors that iPhones will soon function as car keys. Buried in the privacy information for Apple Wallet in the iOS 13.6 Beta is a lengthy description of the upcoming feature.

Called “Adding and Managing Car Keys,” the verbiage details how wireless keys can be added to Wallet and how they can be shared.

This Apple device access post is presented by iMobie, maker of AnyUnlock.

It was bound to happen sometime, or maybe many times. You got locked out of your Apple device. Or you lack access to your iTunes backup. Or you want to reset your Screen Time or Restrictions passcode.

Here’s the good news about any of these little crises: Getting back in without resetting and erasing your data is a snap with iMobie’s AnyUnlock app. You can do it with no technical knowledge.

The Apple Developer app is the one-stop-shop for all the information devs need, but until now there’ve only been versions for iPhone and iPad. On Monday, the company finally brought out a version for Mac. This guide to the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference comes a week before WWDC kicks off.

And while this event will be entirely online, Apple is sending out press invites anyway.

Summer is just starting but Apple is already thinking back-to-school. College students and teachers can save up to $200 on a MacBook or iMac. Or up to $100 on iPads. And get a pair of AirPods gets thrown in for free.

In previous years, Apple’s back-to-school promo always included Beats headphones. This is the first time AirPods have been part of the deal instead.

If you use Gmail inside Mail on macOS, you may have noticed an extremely frustrating bug that can cause the app to randomly shove itself in your face. It’s particularly annoying when you’re using another app in full screen mode.

You don’t have to suffer that anymore. In this how-to, we’ll show you an easy fix that permanently prevents unwanted Mail popups from occurring.

Apple has updated its 16-inch MacBook Pro buying options by offering the new Radeon Pro 5600M mobile GPU. This joins the existing Radeon Pro 5300M and 5500M GPU options for the MacBook Pro.

Kitting out the new MacBook Pro with a AMD Radeon Pro 5600M GPU with 8GB of HBM2 memory adds $700 onto the base model MacBook Pro. According to Apple, it will improve performance by up to 75% compared to the 5500M configuration. Is that worth it? It absolutely depends on how much of a pro user you are!

Apple just introduced a bunch of pretty new color options for Powerbeats Pro — and Amazon is already slashing $50 off the usual price. Get yours today for just $199.95 before the discount disappears.

Apple has expanded its 0% Apple Card financing option for products, including the Mac, iPad, AirPods Pro, AirPods, and Apple Pencil. (No Apple Watch, though!)

The company previously launched a 0% Apple Card financing option for iPhone in December. However, this is the first time that Apple has expanded this to cover other Apple products. Tim Cook suggested that Apple would be expanding the program during Apple’s most recent earnings call.

Sports merchandise online store Fanatics is offering customers in the U.S. a 20% on selected goods so long as they buy them using Apple Pay. The special offer, the latest example of Apple partnering with a retailer for an Apple Pay promotion, is being marketed as a Father’s Day special offer.

Father’s Day 2020 falls on Sunday, June 21. The offer, however, is valid only through 11.59pm EST on June 19. That means that you’ll need to get a bit organized, rather than just settling for the “buy dad a last minute gift the night before” act.

You might think Excel is a spreadsheet application. But in reality, it’s a multipurpose, powerful tool for crunching numbers and teasing insights out of data. So if you know how to use Excel, you instantly make yourself more useful and valuable, and these lessons can help.

Apple’s “foldable” iPhone will use dual displays to get around the foldable screen problem that plagues other folding phones like Samsung’s beleaguered Galaxy Fold, claims Apple leaker Jon Prosser.

“The current prototype has two separate display panels on a hinge,” Prosser wrote in a tweet Monday. He claims the foldable iPhone prototype boasts “round, stainless steel edges like current iPhone 11 design” and features no notch. Instead, there is a “tiny forehead” on the outer display that houses the Face ID sensors.

In another piece of possible evidence that this year’s iPhone 12 handsets will feature ToF (time-of-flight) camera sensors, a report published Monday claims that component makers in the Apple supply chain are gearing up their production for mass-manufacturing.

Time-of-flight camera sensors typically work by emitting a laser pulse which is used to bounce off objects. By measuring how long it takes for the laser to hit the object and return to the sensor, you can work out how far away it is. This makes it possible to create detailed 3D maps of spaces. That could help Apple in both improving its iPhone camera tech and augmented reality ambitions.

When it comes to how much content you get for your dollar, Amazon Prime Video is the best value VOD (video-on-demand) service and Apple TV+ is the worst, claims movie and TV search engine Reelgood.

At a time when new streaming services are launching all the time, the company ran the numbers to compare the likes of Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, and Apple TV+. Unsurprisingly, Apple TV+ doesn’t fare too well.

Images which showed up on Twitter over the weekend depict what may be the new iPhone 12 series of handsets with both physical molds and CAD drawings.

As expected, this includes four different versions, rumored to include a 5.4-inch handset, two 6.1-inch versions, and a giant 6.7-inch edition. More importantly, though, the images showcase the handsets’ reported redesign — with flatter edges like the iPhone 4 or newer iPad Pro models.

The Rock Space AC1200 Dual Band Wi-Fi Repeater is just right for anyone working or taking classes at home and struggling with a weak Wi-Fi signal. Plug this accessory into any wall socket and it’ll expand your wireless network’s usable area. It offers both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, it supports one-button setup with WPS, and you can connect to it via Ethernet.

I tested this Wi-Fi range extender in my own home, and share how well it stands up to daily use.

There’s no such thing as too much storage, or too many backup options. For data security, cloud storage is a must, but it’s really expensive. Not so with this amazing deal on 10TB of secure cloud storage for about 99 cents per terabyte.

Giving HealthKit an iCloud injection would make Apple’s health-tracking framework much more powerful. Will this be the year Apple takes HealthKit to the next level?

Find out why it should be, in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. You can download it now from the iOS App Store. Grab it now and get the week’s top Apple news, including some juicy new bits about what’s coming next from Cupertino’s product pipeline.

P.S. Don’t miss the big Father’s Day Sale in the Cult of Mac Store.

It’s easy to commit to learning a new language. Actually following through is harder, so why not take advantage of every assist you can get? Luckily, with the help of advanced technology, learning a new language is easier than ever.

This Windows upgrade post is presented by CdkeySales.

In a summer sale, CdkeySales.com offers Cult of Mac readers a genuine Windows 10 Pro OEM key for just $14.26. That’s a substantial savings over what you’d have to pay Microsoft for a key. Further, you can get Office 2019 for $32.84 (prices listed here and below were accurate as of press time). Once you enter our special discount code at purchase and get your key, you can install your new software on any PC.

Apple’s first ARM-based computer will be a very slim and light MacBook, according to a leaker claiming inside information and sources in Apple’s supply chain. The Mac-makers move away from Intel chips will begin with a 12-inch MacBook that supposedly will include the controversial butterfly keyboard.