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Upcoming Steve Jobs auction a treasure trove for Apple fans

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Steve
Want to own a piece of Steve Jobs memorabilia? Of course you do.
Photo: Stanford University

A treasure trove of Steve Jobs-related goods is going under the hammer in an upcoming March auction titled, well, the Steve Jobs auction.

Organized by RR Auctions, the lot consists of various Apple-related items. These include a PowerBook signed by Jobs, an original Apple-1 computer, and an incredibly rare Apple II document signed by Jobs, previously belonging to Apple’s first industrial designer Jerry Manock.

Add a serious mobile charging hub to your car [Deals]

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ChargeHub Main
Become road-trip proof by adding between 3 and 6 ports to your car.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With mobile devices, the need for power follows us everywhere. There’s never enough outlets, so it’s good sense to ensure you can access one wherever you go, including on the go. These deals from ChargeHub offer enough outlets for everybody from three to six ports perfect for lots of passengers and long trips.

Apple made the No. 1 and No. 2 smartphones in the world last year

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iPhone XR portrait mode
iPhone XR was the year's most popular handset.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone XR was the world’s most popular smartphone last year, claims market research firm Omdia. The iPhone 11 followed in second place.

In its Smartphone Model Market Tracker report, released Tuesday, Omdia says Apple shipped 46.3 million iPhone XR handsets in 2019. That’s more than double the 23.1 million units it shipped in 2018 (although it was only released on October 26 that year.)

Last Jedi director reveals why you’ll never see a bad guy using an iPhone

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JLC-iPhone-Knives-Out
Jamie Lee Curtis (not a bad guy) using an iPhone in Knives Out.
Photo: Vanity Fair

Apple makes some of the coolest products in the technology industry, which is one of the reasons why you see them in so many movies. But have you ever noticed that only the good guys use Apple products?

That’s because Apple won’t let the bad guys use devices like iPhone on-screen, according to movie director Rian Johnson.

Apple supplier hires ‘SARS hero’ to help it battle back against coronavirus outbreak

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Foxconn employees accused of $43 million iPhone scam
Tim Cook meets with a Foxconn assembler during a previous trip to China.
Photo: Apple

Apple manufacturer Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, has hired a man dubbed the “SARS hero” by Chinese state media as part of its efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus.

83-year-old scientist Zhong Nanshan is credited with finding the right way to treat SARS, the severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by a novel coronavirus, which spread between late 2002 and mid-2003. Foxconn says that he will act as a consultant for its coronavirus prevention and rehabilitation efforts.

Subscription music services dominate, music downloads fall below $1 billion

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Music licensing company takes aim at Apple Music for illegal streaming
It's all about the music subscription services these days.
Photo: Stas Knop/Pexels CC

Music streaming subscription services grew 13% in the United States in 2019, while iTunes-style downloads continued to decline.

According to a new report by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), streaming accounted for 79% of the overall music industry in the U.S. Physical sales, such as CDs and vinyl accounted for 10%, while downloads experienced the biggest decline — making up just 8% of revenue.

NTSB criticizes Apple for role in fatal Tesla crash

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A Tesla Model X similar to this one crashed in 2018.
Sounds like the Tesla app could do with a bit of work.
Photo: Tesla

The National Transportation Safety Board criticized Tesla for a 2018 crash that killed the driver, but also said Apple played a role in the accident.

The driver was an Apple employee, and was using his iPhone with the car in Tesla’s Autopilot mode.

Apple Research app taps AirPods Pro for hearing study

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The Ear Tip Fit Test on iPhone.
AirPods Pro can be used for science. SCIENCE!
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple Research, an application that lets users take part in groundbreaking medical studies, scored an update today to let participants share data from their AirPods Pro with the Apple Hearing Study. A new version of the associated Apple Watch app also promises battery life improvements.

iPad Pro with triple-lens camera looks increasingly likely

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A Pad & Quill leather folio has an over-size camera opening.
This Pad & Quill leather folio is ready when/if Apple builds more lenses into the next iPad Pro’s rear-facing cameras.
Photo: Pad & Quill

A well-known accessory maker unveiled a case that’s apparently designed for a 2020 iPad Pro with a dual- or even triple-lens camera like the ones in the iPhone 11 series. There’s no such tablet, but rumors say one is coming soon.

Filmmaking app brings vintage vibes to your iPhone flicks

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Rtro video app for iPhone by Moment
Give your iPhone videos that retro look with Rtro.
Photo: Moment

Sometimes the story is best told with a home movie vibe straight out of a vintage 8 mm movie camera. That’s just not practical in the age of TikTok and Instagram, but there are plenty of smartphone apps to add a retro feel to your flicks.

The latest is actually called Rtro and it made its small-screen debut today when it became available for download in the App Store.

Add a one-tap web search button to your iPhone Home screen

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Add a custom search button to your Home screen on iPhone or iPad.
Super-charge your web searches with this customizable Home screen shortcut.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

This fantastic shortcut makes searching the web with your iPhone faster than ever. It places an icon on your Home screen, and you just tap it, type a search into the box that pops up, and hit enter. Your search will then open in Safari.

This customizable search shortcut proves speedier than pretty much any other method, including iOS’ built-in Spotlight search.

Apple AR headset concept improves detection of movement and positioning

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Taeyeon Kim
There’s little room on an AR headset for controls. Apple wants to make them virtual.
Photo: Taeyeon Kim

Interacting with an AR headset would be a breeze if it could project virtual controls into the real world. Apple developed a new method for using cameras to accurately track finger movements, enabling someone to toggle these augmented reality switches and buttons.

Apple asks shareholders to take coronavirus precautions ahead of annual meeting

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Steve-Jobs-Theater
The meeting takes place inside the Steve Jobs Theater on February 26.
Photo: Foster + Partners

Apple is asking attendees of its annual shareholder meeting, which takes place at the Steve Jobs Theater on Wednesday, February 26, to take extra precautions amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

The company is following official guidance in an effort to minimize the risk of COVID-19 being spread among visitors.

Jif peanut butter stirs debate over how to pronounce ‘GIF’

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Gif and Jif on the same peanut butter
Choose GIF
Photo: Jif

Jif peanut butter is sharing its label with the word Gif, a brilliant branding move that attempts to settle one of the most important questions of our time: Hard G or soft?

The “answer” is on the label of the limited-edition 40-ounce jars now listed on eBay for $9.99. Jif teamed up with GIF platform Giphy (sort of sounds like Skippy), to create the label in observance of National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day on March 1.

Apple considers adding another major OLED display-maker to its supply chain

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iPhone 12 might mix iPhone 11 and iPad Pro designs
Apple's going to need a lot more OLED displays.
Photo: Ben Geskin

China’s largest display maker is publicly confident it will meet Apple’s quality standards for its future needs of organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, displays and is preparing to possibly become another component provider.

A media report Tuesday gives further evidence Apple is expecting its needs for the state-of-the-art displays to grow beyond the supply of its current two providers.

In surprise to no one, virus hit January iPhone sales in China

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iPhone China locked
This iPhone in China is locked.
Photo: Kankanews

Sales of iPhones in China dropped 28 percent in the month of January as the deadly coronavirus began its rapid spread, according to new research.

February is likely to go on record as much worse. As the death toll from the virus rose, factories shut down, Apple closed all 42 of its China retail stores and the government doubled down on quarantines and travel restrictions.

Netatmo adds HomeKit Secure video support to its Smart indoor camera

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Netatmo adds support for Apple's HomeKit Secure Video standard to its Smart Indoor Camera.
Netatmo adds support for HomeKit Secure Video standard to its Smart Indoor Camera.
Photo: Netatmo

Smart home device-maker Netatmo added support Tuesday for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video standard to its Smart Indoor Camera.

The free and automatic update began rolling out today to users, according to an announcement by the French company. It should become available to install on all Netatmo Smart cameras over the next few days.

Apple plunged Facebook into chaos when it broke its internal apps, new book reveals

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Situation brought Facebook to a near-standstill for employees.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple triggered a “hot war” that compounded ongoing tensions with Facebook when it pulled the social media giant’s enterprise certificate last year. The decision, which temporarily broke all of Facebook’s internal apps, coincided almost exactly with Facebook’s earnings call.

“As [Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg] spoke [on the call], people on Facebook’s campus could not test new products and were canceling meetings because they could not get the shuttle,” writes author Steven Levy in his new book, Facebook: The Inside Story, which is published in hardcover today.

Disney+ is as cheap as Apple TV+ in the UK if you preorder today

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Disney-Plus
Who wouldn't want Disney+ at this price?
Photo: Disney

Disney+ is as affordable as Apple TV+ for subscribers in the United Kingdom if they preorder the service ahead of its debut next month. An annual subscription is available today for just £49.99 — £10 off the usual price.

That’s exactly the same price you’ll pay for a year of Apple TV+, but of course, Disney is offering you a lot more content.

Apple will sell ‘customer-installable’ wheel kit for latest Mac Pro

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2019-Mac-Pro-wheels
Only Apple can install the Mac Pro's wheels today.
Photo: Apple

Apple plans to sell a do-it-yourself wheel kit for its latest Mac Pro.

Only Apple or an Authorized Service Provider can add the wheels right now, which means you must take the machine in for service if you opted for feet when you first purchased it. A “customer-installable” kit is coming, though.