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Tim Cook will testify in Washington antitrust hearing on July 27

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Tim Cook goes to Washington
Tim Cook will join the CEOs of Amazon, Facebook, and Google during hearing.
Screenshot: Apple

Tim Cook’s testimony in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee antitrust investigation committee will take place on July 27 at midday EST. The hearing, which will be live-streamed, will be accompanied by similar testimonies from Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.

The title of the investigatory hearings is “Online Platforms and Market Power” with a focus on “Examining the Dominance of Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Apple.”

Wemo’s mini HomeKit smart plug is right around the corner

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Wemo WiFi Smart Plug hardly takes up any room.
A redesigned Wemo WiFi Smart Plug brings HomeKit support to regular appliances later in July.
Photo: Belkin

Belkin began taking pre-orders on Monday for a much smaller version of the Wemo WiFi Smart Plug. Like the original, it supports Apple’s HomeKit home automation system. But in a design that doesn’t crowd the wall socket.

Apple TV+ ventures Where the Wild Things Are in deal with Maurice Sendak Foundation

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Apple TV+ could create a ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ series. Maybe.
The Maurice Sendak Foundation owned the rights to Where the Wild Things Are. And they just made a deal with Apple TV+.
Photo: The Maurice Sendak Foundation

Apple TV+ and The Maurice Sendak Foundation have teamed up to develop new shows based on the many works of Maurice Sendak, a world-renown author and illustrator of children’s books. Whether this means a series based on Where the Wild Things Are is in the works is anyone’s guess, though.

Give your videos that sweet cinematic bokeh with Focos Live

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Focos Live lets iPhone users film bokeh video.
Don’t wait for the iPhone 12. Focos Live lets iPhone users film bokeh video today.
Photo: Xiaodong Wang/Cult of Mac

iPhones can automatically blur the backgrounds of still images but not video. Enter Focos Live, a recently released application that brings to iPhone video the effect Apple calls Portrait mode (and everyone else calls “bokeh”). The effect gives photographers the ability to unfocus the background to draw attention to what’s going on in the foreground.

Greatness Code proves Apple TV+ is in the relationship business [Apple TV+ review]

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Greatness Code
What is the code for greatness? No one in the documentary series Greatness Code is going to tell you.
Photo: Apple TV+

There’s a reason this review only has one image in it: Apple TV+ doesn’t have any more press pictures for this show. Why? Because why should it? This paper-thin passel of hagiographies isn’t worth promoting.

Greatness Code, which debuts July 10, isn’t a show so much as it’s an investment in the big star athletes being interviewed. To say no to the project would have meant scuttling potential relationships with some of the biggest names in sports. But to admit it’s worth your time seems a bridge too far.

Greyhound is a totally Tom Hanks war movie [Apple TV+ review]

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Greyhound review Apple TV+: Tom Hanks World War II movie: Tom Hanks wrote this nuts-and-bolts movie about naval warfare.
Tom Hanks wrote this nuts-and-bolts movie about naval warfare.
Photo: Apple TV+

Tom Hanks is here to rescue a cargo convoy from the Nazis — and presumably you from your free time. His new movie, Greyhound, is being released straight to Apple TV+ this Friday after COVID-19 scuttled the film’s theatrical release. This means there’s nothing between you and some old-school, flag-waving thrills.

In fact, Greyhound is the very definition of old school. There’s no fuss, no muss: just a man, his crew and some German U-boats hiding out in the gray fog of World War II, ready to pounce on American soldiers.

This tiny 4-port charger pumps 100 watts to all your gear

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Sanho HyperJuice with MacBook, iPad, and more.
Sanho HyperJuice can charge all your Apple gear at once.
Photo: Sanho

Sanho’s HyperJuice wall charger that debuted Monday isn’t much bigger than a credit card but still has room for a pair of USB-C ports that can put out 100W, dual USB-A ports that max out at 18W, and swappable power prongs.

It uses Gallium Nitride (GaN), a new semiconductor material that’s more efficient than traditional silicon used in current chargers. It lets Sanho create this ultra-portable wall charger.

Little Voice has a mechanical heart and an auto-tuned soul [Apple TV+ review]

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Sean Teale and Brittany O'Grady star in the contrived musical romance Little Voice.
Sean Teale and Brittany O'Grady star in musical romance Little Voice.
Photo: Apple TV+

The latest lightweight Apple TV+ crowdpleaser comes from producer J.J. Abrams, songwriter Sara Bareilles and writer Jessie Nelson. Little Voice, which debuts on Apple’s streaming service on July 10, hits every single beat you expect — and none you don’t.

There’s little chance you won’t experience precisely the emotional journey and reaction you’re anticipating just from looking at the show’s promotional materials.

If you wanna watch a scrappy, model-beautiful singer finally find her voice with help from a supportive and kooky family of zany outsiders, and then live her dream of being a star, then yeah, come on in.

Pokémon Go turns 4 today, passes $3.6 billion in player spending

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birthday
Happy birthday, folks!
Photo: Niantic

Pokémon Go turns 4 today and, while it might not be the shiny new toy of the App Store anymore, it’s not showing signs of slowing down, either.

The AR Poké-spotting game just passed $3.6 billion in global player spending, according to leading app analytics platform Sensor Tower. Of that, almost $1.7 billion — or 46.4% of the total revenue — came from the App Store.

These steel-jacketed Lightning and USB-C cables resist fraying and tangling [Deals]

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Evercable: Score the world's strongest phone cable, with 4.3 foot length, fast charging and data-transfer speeds.
Score what just might be the world's strongest phone cable, in either Lightning or USB-C.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Mobile devices depend on Lightning and USB cables to stay charged and synced, so it’s a bummer that those cables are so prone to fraying and breaking. Even in perfect shape, standard Apple cables tend to last just a few months. Not so with these Iron Man-worthy cables from Evercable.

Tom Hanks thinks having his new movie debut on Apple TV+ is an ‘absolute heartbreak’

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Tom Hanks in Greyhound
Hanks talks about his "Apple overlords" in new interview.
Photo: Apple TV+

Tom Hanks made a few not-so-flattering comments about the “Apple overlords” in an interview about his new World War II movie Greyhound. The film, which was originally supposed to launch in theaters, was pulled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, it will premiere on Apple TV+ this Friday.

In an interview with The Guardian, Hanks describes the shift to Apple TV+ as “an absolute heartbreak.” He also spills the beans on one of Apple’s slightly unusual requests for his press interviews.

Online Today at Apple sessions will help develop London-based music artists

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Made in LDN Today at Apple
Apple is helping find the music superstars of tomorrow. (So long as they live in London, that is!)
Photo: Apple

Apple’s “Made in LDN” Today at Apple program will kick off later this month, after Today at Apple sessions were canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Because of the continuing effects of coronavirus, the sessions will take place online, rather than in Apple Stores.

The Made in LDN sessions are aimed at teaching skills to young musical artists, aged 16-25, in London. They will run from July 27 through August 28. Registration kicks off today.

Inside an indie dev’s ‘overnight success’ [Cult of Mac Magazine 356]

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It took 10 years of work to create StaffPad, an iPad music app that won an Apple Design Award.
It took 10 years of work to create StaffPad, the iPad music app that won an Apple Design Award.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

David William Hearn, co-creator of revolutionary iPad music notation app StaffPad, reveals the decade-long quest that earned the app an Apple Design Award.

You’ll find that story, plus the usual roundup of iPhone and Mac news and rumors, in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. It’s packed with Apple how-tos and reviews, too. Download it to read the slick iOS mag on your iPad, or hit the links below to get the stories in your browser.

P.S. Don’t miss our Fourth of July sale in the Cult of Mac Store.

A setup journey of epic magnitude starts with a single step [Setups]

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MacBook Pro Setup
It took three years to assemble this rig.
Photo: @carlosazaustre

It took web designer Carlos Azaustre a span of three years to piece together his setup. Everything was carefully chosen.

To start off, the Madrid-based front-end engineer has the Samsung 34-inch UltraWide Monitor. He previously had a 24-inch FullHD Monitor but after a few years of wear-and-tear he decided it was time to make a change. So he splurged and went with the Samsung UltraWide. He runs his rig off of a 13-inch 2013 MacBook Pro which sits upon an AmazonBasics Laptop Desk Stand.

Apple survey is latest hint that iPhone 12 might not come with charger

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Does anyone really need another iPhone charger?
Many iPhone users already have multiple wall chargers, some still in the wrapping. The iPhone 12 might not include one.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Adding weight to recent reports that the iPhone 12 will ship without a charger in the box, Apple supposedly sent a survey to someone who recently traded in a handset to ask if he’s still using the wall charger. The responses from him and others could help the company decide whether it should leave out this accessory.

How to downgrade to iOS 13 after installing the iOS 14 beta

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How to use widgets in iOS 14
Not ready for iOS 14? Here's how to go back.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

If you caved and installed the iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 betas on your iPhone and iPad, and now you’re running into problems, you’ll be pleased to know you can downgrade to iOS 13.

It’s a relatively simple process that shouldn’t take you long, and as long as you’ve backed up, you won’t lose too much data data. We’ll walk you through the process in this step-by-step guide.

Why people are already mad about iPhone 12, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 442: AirPods with health sensors
The internet's angry about a possible iPhone change, but we're totally fine with it.
Image: The CultCast

This week on The CultCast: With iPhone 12 right around the corner, a new rumor says it will be missing one key feature, and the internet is not happy. Plus: It’s a CultCast exclusive! We’ll tell you how Cupertino might be planning to bring the Apple Store right to your home. And we discuss our favorite new shows and Mary Jane” accessories in an all-new What We’re Into.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Apple chipmaker may be prepping 80 million A14 chips for iPhone 12 debut

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Apple chipmaker racing ahead with its next next-gen nanometer process
The A14 could be a game-changer for Apple.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple chipmaker TSMC is reportedly preparing 80 million A14 chips for the next-gen iPhone 12, claims regular Apple leaker l0vetodream.

Interestingly, this follows a recent report suggesting that certain iPhone orders have been cut in half. If accurate, it suggests that Apple has some very high hopes for the iPhone 12.

Apple supplier resolves customs dispute on China and India border

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Foxconn moving additional iPhone production to India as coronavirus disrupts work
Tensions between China and India have been ramping up.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple contract manufacturer Foxconn has successfully resolved an issue that was stopping its component shipments from China being imported to India, amid tensions between the two nations.

Customs officials were holding shipments from China following violent incidents at the Himalayan border, which is shared by China and India. This was reportedly causing problems for Foxconn, which carries out iPhone manufacturing (among other things) in both countries.