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2018 LG TVs will get AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support later this year

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LG 2018 TV sets
Coming soon to a TV near you. (Well, provided you own a 2018 LG TV that is!)
Photo: LG

AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support is headed to some of LG’s 2018 smart TVs by October, updated support documents read. This includes LCD models with SK and UK in the name, alongside OLED models with B8 through Z8 in their names.

AirPlay 2 means that TV owners can stream content from their iPhone, iPad and Mac straight to their TV sets. This could include movies and TV shows, podcasts, Apple Music, or just collections of photos. Meanwhile, HomeKit integration means that users can add their LG TV to control television functions such as power, volume, and source via voice or app.

Apple.com displays government COVID-19 advice in U.K. and France

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Apple-com-COVID-19
Official videos from the NHS and Santé public can now be seen on Apple's website.
Screenshot: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple’s websites for the U.K. and France were on Thursday updated to display COVID-19 advice from the government.

Large featured sections on their homepages remind visitors of the official advice related to the coronavirus pandemic. In the U.K., this includes the same National Health Service (NHS) video that can be found in the App Store.

Apple engineers guide iPhone manufacturing in China through FaceTime

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A Group FaceTime call on the Mac.
Apple hasn't been as directly hands-on as usual.
Photo: Apple

Apple engineers have used FaceTime-style video calling to guide Chinese colleagues through iPhone prototype assembly, a recent report by the Wall Street Journal notes.

The report helps answer one key question about how Apple is able to get iPhone prototypes assembled at a time when travel restrictions stop Apple employees from making their usual trips to China. Apple tested out the process in January.

App Store spending could almost double by 2024

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Money on Unsplash
And coronavirus pandemic isn't likely to hurt it, either.
Photo: Pepi Stojanovski/Unsplash

Customer spending on mobile apps could nearly double over the next five years, according to forecasting carried out by leading app analytics platform Sensor Tower Store Intelligence.

In research published Wednesday, the firm suggests spending on the iOS App Store and Google Play store will approach $171 billion by 2024. That’s 2x the amount that was spent in 2019, meaning around 20% year-on-year growth.

These MacBooks will hit Apple’s dreaded ‘vintage and obsolete’ list soon

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The new MacBook Air has more graphics power than it appears at first. Photo: Apple
Remember the 11-inch MacBook Air? Probably not.
Photo: Apple

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models that launched in 2013 and 2014 will reportedly be placed on Apple’s list of “vintage and obsolete products” at the end of April.

Despite what the name implies, this doesn’t mean these devices just became useless. Instead, it’s going to be harder to get them serviced.

YouTube wants to take on TikTok with upcoming ‘Shorts’ feature

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2020 is the year everyone wants to be TikTok famous.
Big tech is setting its sights on taking down TikTok.
Photo: Aaron Yoo/Flickr CC

TikTok, the popular video-sharing app that is especially popular among young people, is going to get some fresh competition from Google later this year.

Google is reportedly planning to create its own version of TikTok with a new Youtube feature called “Shorts” that will live inside the platform’s apps on Android and iOS.

Cloudflare’s Warp, a free and fast VPN for Mac, enters beta testing

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Cloudflare Warp for macOS
Warp for macOS, now in beta, promises a fast and free VPN.
Photo: Cloudflare

Cloudflare on Wednesday began beta testing a macOS version of Warp, its virtual private network currently offered only on iPhone. The VPN encrypts all internet traffic for the Mac it’s installed on, helping to protect the user’s privacy.

VPNs add security, but are often slow. Cloudflare promises its service is fast. And it’s free.

Amazon Prime Video finally embraces in-app purchases on iPhone and Apple TV

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primevideo
Amazon Prime Video is ready to play nice with Apple users.
Photo: Amazon

Amazon is making some huge changes to how it handles rentals and movie purchases for its Prime Video app on Apple devices.

Starting today, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV users can rent or buy movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime Video without being directed to a website first to avoid Apple’s tax on in-app purchases.

Grab these pricey creativity apps and use them for free during the pandemic

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Ableton and Logic Pro X free app trials: Nothing says
Nothing says "unbridled creative frenzy" like a mass of tangled cables.
Photo: Ableton

Being stuck at home with nothing to do but watch the world collapse around us is kind of a downer, but there are some upsides. One is that people are getting creative. Like, literally creative — making more music, writing and sharing videos. The other silver lining is that app-makers are offering big discounts and extended trials for some amazing apps.

For instance, Apple now offers a free, three-month trial of its music-production app, Logic Pro X. And Ableton just matched this offer with its Live Suite.

US deploys 500,000 iPhones for 2020 census

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iPhone 8 red
iPhone 8 is being put to work for the 2020 census.
Photo: Apple

Most Americans are used to celebrating April Fools’ Day on the first day of April, but there’s another hugely important holiday happening today that you probably don’t know about: Census Day.

The decennial holiday kicks off on April 1, which is an important reference date for the census as enumerators attempt to count how many people there are in the country and where they live. This time, census takers are turning to the iPhone 8 instead of pencil and paper to get the job done.

How to make private, at-home podcasts for family and friends

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home podcasts
You don't need any fancy gear to record and publish a podcast.
Photo: Jonathan Farber/Unsplash

You’re stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, and maybe you’re spending lots of time keeping up with family and friends. But here’s an idea: Why not make a podcast? Not that you should stop actually talking to the people you like and love, but as a home project, making a podcast is a lot of fun.

And if you’re a musician, or you have kids, you can do a lot more than just monologuing into your iPhone’s mic. You can talk, add music, interview other family members, and anything else you can think of. Then, your friends and family will have a cool show to look forward to every day, or however often you publish.

iOS 14 could add two-factor authentication to iCloud Keychain password manager

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setup iCloud keychain
iCloud Keychain password manager could be getting support for an advanced security feature.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The iCloud Keychain password manager built into iOS and macOS is reportedly getting support for two-factor authentication. This is a feature now only available in third-party password managers like Dashlane. It would make storing and using passwords more secure.

Meryl Steep takes us on a wild tour in first trailer for Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth

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notes-for-living-on-planet-earth
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth premieres April 17 on Apple TV+
Photo: Apple

Apple is gearing up to celebrate Earth Day 2020 later this month with an all-new animated film and the greatest actress of her generation, Meryl Streep, has lent her voice to the project as the narrator.

The first trailer for Apple’s Earth Day show, Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth, landed on YouTube this morning and it looks like it will be something kids and adults fall in love with. The only thing more soothing in the trailer than Meryl’s voice is the cozy animation style that strikes a balance between being super detailed and approachable at the same time.

Check it out:

Apple’s latest updates kill FaceTime on older iPhone, iPad models

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Group FaceTime is a great way to stay in touch with your family and friends during coronavirus quarantine.
It's not a good time to lose FaceTime.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s most recent software updates have reportedly broken FaceTime compatibility with older iPhone and iPad models, leaving many users unable to make voice or video calls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The issue affects devices running iOS 13.4 and macOS 10.15.4 when they attempt to connect with devices running iOS 9.3.5 or iOS 9.3.6 — or vice-versa. There is no fix for now.

Gorgeous concept integrates Dark Sky into Apple’s Weather app

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apple-weather
The iPhone's Weather app could use a big upgrade.
Photo: Parker Ortolani

Apple shocked us with its acquisition of the Dark Sky weather app and dev team yesterday leading many fans to wonder how the app and its tech will be integrated into iOS in the future. And thanks to Parker Ortolani’s quick Apple Weather concept, we already have a good idea of what that could look like.

It will likely take months or even a year for Dark Sky to be integrated into the iOS weather app, but Ortolani’s concept shows how the acquisition could dramatically alter the app’s UI. New elements like a Map Radar view and precise rain notifications could turn the weather app from an after-thought into a crucial tool for everyone.

Take a closer look at some of the features:

Add wireless charging to your AirPods with this $25 Elkson case [Review]

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Elkson wireless AirPods bumper case
Elkson's Bumper Case adds wireless charging to your 1st and 2nd generation AirPods.
Photo: Elkson

One of the nicest features of the latest AirPods is the ability to charge them wirelessly. Just plunk them on top of a Qi-compatible charger and you’re good to go. But what about the original AirPods, which didn’t come with a wireless charging case?

Well, now you can add Qi charging for just $25, thanks to Elkson’s Wireless Charging and Bumper Case.

T-Mobile completes long-awaited mega-merger with Sprint

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T-Mobile CEO John Legere with the Phone BoothE.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere is stepping down as big boss.
Photo: T-Mobile

The T-Mobile and Sprint merger is now officially complete, transforming the third and fourth-biggest wireless carriers in the U.S. into a more giant-sized rival to take on Verizon and AT&T.

The New T-Mobile, as it will be known, will be run by CEO Mike Sievert. Sievert takes over from T-Mobile boss John Legere, who has been chief executive of T-Mobile since 2012. Legere will remain on T-Mobile’s board until June.

Score lifetime access to a leading language app [Deals]

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Babbel App Image
Learn any of 14 languages and access more than 10,000 hours of high-quality language education online and off.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s always a good time to work on learning a new language. But during the coronavirus crisis, many of us have more down time than we’re probably used to. If you’ve been waiting to start practicing your French or Spanish or some other language, this massive deal on a top-rated subscription to Babbel is your cue to start.