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A big Friends reunion will help HBO Max fight Apple TV+

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Friends
It's happening!
Photo: Warner Bros.

HBO Max is on its way to take on the likes of Apple TV+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime — and it’s going to come out fighting. A new report reveals the service is close to securing a big Friends reunion.

Yes, the return we’ve all been waiting for, but never really believed would happen, is close. It is said to be an hour-long special that will feature all six stars from the hit show.

It won’t exactly be the Friends reunion you’ve been dreaming of, however.

Apple gives developers the ability to distribute custom apps to schools

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Apple-in-school
Apple devices are now even more useful in schools.
Photo: Apple

Apple School Manager now gives developers the ability to distribute custom apps to schools for the first time.

The change will allow app-makers to better meet the individual needs of educational institutions, Apple said. It paves the way for new software that offers specific functionality for certain organizations.

All 9 episodes of Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet are live on Apple TV+

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All 9 episodes of Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet are live on Apple TV+
Apple's first comedy series is available for your viewing pleasure.
Photo: Apple

Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, Apple’s gamer comedy series from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiastars Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, has debuted on Apple TV+.

In a break from Apple’s approach with some previous shows like The Morning Show and Servant, all nine episodes of the show are available to binge-watch now. The show, which is Apple TV+’s first true comedy series, follows the makers of a fictitious MMORPG game setting out to create their first-ever game expansion.

Latest Apple Pay promo offers free movie rental when you spend $10 with Postmates

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Latest Apple Pay promo offers free movie rental when you spent $10 with Postmates
Dinner and a movie, anyone?
Photo: Postmates/Apple

If you buy the dinner, Apple will throw in the movie. At least, that’s what the latest Apple Pay promotion is offering. It’s giving any Apple Pay customers in the US a free movie rental in the TV app if they spend $10 or more with delivery service Postmates.

Postmates offers meal delivery, alongside everyday groceries. As its website states, “Whether you need a gallon of milk or a handle of vodka, we get it.” Now thanks to the Apple Pay deal you can enjoy any of the above with the $5.99 movie rental of your choice.

Nvidia GeForce Now magically makes your Mac a beefy gaming PC [Review]

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Nvidia-GeForce-Now-MacBook-Pro
BioShock Infinite looks gorgeous on a MacBook Pro.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Nvidia GeForce Now is ready to stream the latest PC games to your Mac. It sells us a dream that sounds too good to be true, a future that macOS fans gave up wishing for a long time ago. And most importantly, it actually delivers it.

I’ve been playing games on GeForce Now for several days (I love my job!) so that I can tell you whether it’s worth your hard-earned cash. And although I’ve run into a few teething troubles that I can’t ignore, I’ve been blown away by what it can do.

Unfollow frenzy: Instagram makes it simple to weed out your feed

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Instagram lawsuit
It's time to clean up your Instagram list.
Photo: Pixabay

Pruning the list of accounts you follow on Instagram just got a lot easier with the addition of a new feature coming to the photo and video sharing social network today.

Instagram’s Twitter account revealed the new feature this morning showing how you can see which accounts you interact with the least and then manage your following list from there.

This is what it looks like:

One Switch gives you a single toggle to control everything useful on your Mac

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One Switch: One switch for your Mac's menu bar.
One Switch: One switch for your Mac's menu bar.
Image: Fireball

One Switch isn’t a new app, but it does look like one of the handiest Mac apps for anyone who follows our Cult of Mac how-tos. The app puts a drop-down list in your Mac’s menu bar, offering instant access to all kinds of great hacks and tweaks, from toggling Dark Mode to connecting AirPods.

Free Apple TV+ trial hasn’t enticed large number of subscribers: survey

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Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is spending big to attract paid subscribers.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ may be “off to a rousing start” in the eyes of CEO Tim Cook, but a new survey suggests those who have tried the streaming service don’t share his enthusiasm.

Only 28% signed up for the $4.99 monthly subscription after their free trial expired, according to the website Flixed, which helps people cut the cable by offering insights on the growing number of streaming services. Flixed also found most respondents “liked Apple TV+ less” than Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.

Coronavirus in China could exacerbate AirPods supply problems

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They AirPods Pro fit in their case like nothing ever happened.
New AirPods Pro orders aren't shipping until March.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple’s current AirPods Pro supply woes could soon get much worse, thanks to the new coronavirus spreading throughout China.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Apple ordered suppliers to produce 45 million AirPods units to catch up with the huge demand. Then, manufacturers shut down production lines through February 10 due to the fast-spreading virus. Now a new report cautions that suppliers might not have enough components to fulfill Apple’s order when production resumes.

Unmount noisy hard drives to stop them driving you crazy

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A hard drive, fully
A hard drive, fully "unmounted."
Photo: Vincent Botta/Unsplash

If the main disk in your Mac is a spinning hard drive, you should probably upgrade to a solid state drive. Swapping in an SSD is the cheapest way to make your old computer feel like a brand-new Mac. But for backups, and for lesser-used internal storage in a Mac Pro or iMac, a hard drive still gives you the best value. You will pay far less per megabyte of storage.

The problem is that hard drives are noisy as well as slow. If you’re used to enjoying the silence of an SSD-based computer environment, then those whirrs, whines clicks and pops will drive you nuts. Which is why you should unmount your noisy hard drives. That way they’re still available to the apps that need them, but otherwise they’re sleeping.

LG confirms Dolby Atmos coming to Apple TV app, AirPlay 2 on its Smart TVs this year

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LG UM6X UHD in room
LG confirms Dolby Atmos coming to its TVs via Apple TV app and AirPlay.
Photo: LG

TV maker LG has confirmed it will add Dolby Atmos support to 2018, 2019 and newer 2020 models of selected televisions this year for both the Apple TV app and AirPlay 2.

In a published report Thursday, a company representative told FlatpanelsHD that support for Dolby Atmos will be delivered “later this year.”

iOS 13.4 beta code hints at new Apple TV device

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Apple TV Siri Remote
Apple TV is due for an upgrade.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

An updated Apple TV 4K could soon roll out of Apple’s product pipeline, based on references to an unreleased product discovered in the latest iOS beta.

9to5Mac unearthed clues in iOS 13.4 beta 1 that signal a new Apple TV 4K is currently in development. Considering the company hasn’t released new Apple TV hardware since fall 2017, the wait for a new set-top box may not be much longer.

Mophie‘s fast-charging powerbanks debut at Apple stores

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The Mophie Powerstation lineup for 2020.
The latest Mophie external batteries charge an iPhone at the fastest speed possible.
Photo: Mophie/Zagg

The Apple Store today began offering three external batteries from Mophie. All have Lightning ports, and two include an integrated Lightning cable that provides 18W of power, making fast iPhone recharges on the go a breeze. The top-of the-line new Powerstation model also adds built-in wireless charging.

Apple Watch saves life: How an alert saved his life

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photo of Texas native and Apple Watch user Brady Ogle
Brady Ogle loves his Apple Watch for many reasons.
Photo: Brady Ogle

Brady Ogle knew something was wrong with his body. It took the Apple Watch to confirm it.

24 hours after New Year’s Day, Ogle reported for work like any other workday at an AT&T store in Granbury, Texas, just south of Dallas. For the preceding three months, the 30-year-old hadn’t been feeling well. He visited his doctor but was told he might be suffering from a mild case of indigestion and to simply manage it from home with a proper diet.

Still, his symptoms kept preying on his mind. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

Apple TV+ could hit 26 million paying subs by 2025; likely 2.6 million currently

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Apple TV+ could have 26 million paying subs by 2025; 2.6 million currently
Apple TV+ debuted back in November.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ will have almost 26 million paying subscribers by 2025, a new report claims. That’s just a fraction of the 126 million subs that rival streaming service Disney+ is likely to have at that point in time.

Both services launched within two weeks of each other in November 2019. While Apple hasn’t revealed any TV+ subscription numbers, Disney CEO Bob Iger says Disney+ already has 28.6 million subs. That’s more than Digital TV Research thinks Apple TV+ will have five years from now.

Peek-a-View lets you safely limit the photos someone can see [Review]

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Peek-a-View lets you limit a photo album to be view-only.
Peek-a-View lets you limit a photo album to be view-only.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

If you’ve ever found yourself showing other people pictures on your phone, you’ve probably also been trying to micromanage what they can and can’t see. And, if you’re a parent of a young kid, it’s likely that you’ve let your child look through a photo album on your device. In that case, you’ve certainly been worried about their ability to delete or accidentally modify an image.

There are ways to limit what a person — or child — can or can’t get to on your device through the Guided Access settings in iOS. But nothing is as simple as using a new iOS app called Peek-a-View to lock down your photos.

Tumble Wrestling wants to lay the smackdown on other iOS games

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Tumble Wrestling wants to lay the smackdown on other iOS games
If you smell what the, err, Block Solid is cooking.
Photo: Tumble Wrestling

There’s a new challenger hoping to seize the title of best wrestling game on iOS — a quirky, physics-based fighting game called Tumble Wrestling.

Part retro flashback to pro wrestling games on the NES and part Super Smash Bros., the game lets players compete to knock opponents out of the ring with a barrage of grappling moves.

One carrier is already accepting ‘iPhone 9’ preorders

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iPhone-9-KT-preorders
But does it mean anything?
Photo: MySmartPrice

At least one carrier in South Korea has already started accepted preorders for the rumored “iPhone 9.”

Korea Telecom (KT) has plastered posters and banners all over one store that suggest a new Apple handset will arrive immenently. But the picture it is using to depict the device looks awfully familiar.

Coronavirus could have a surprisingly positive impact on App Store revenue

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Coronavirus could have a surprisingly positive impact on App Store revenue
At least, according to one Morgan Stanley analyst.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The spread of the new coronavirus is bad news, but a particularly bullish analyst thinks there’s an upside — for Apple’s bottom line.

In a note to clients, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty suggests that the spread of coronavirus within China will give people more time to buy apps from the App Store.

FBI director says Feds still can’t unlock iPhone in Pensacola shooting case

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FBI director says Feds still can't unlock iPhone in Pensacola shooting case
FBI wants Apple to help it unlock handset.
Photo: Dave Newman/Flickr CC

FBI director Christopher Wray says that the Feds are still unable to access the encrypted data on an iPhone belonging to the shooter responsible for killing three Americans at a Pensacola, Florida naval base in late 2019.

The FBI says that it has reconstructed the phone after it was damaged. But it still can’t access the information on the handset itself.

Health records firm Epic worried policy supported by Apple will hurt patients

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Health records firm worried policy supported by Apple will hurt patients
Apple has supported efforts to streamline health records.
Photo: Apple

Health records company Epic Systems and around 60 hospital chains are pushing back against proposed government policy making it easier for patients to share medical records data with apps. Apple has supported the policy.

Epic sent a letter of opposition, signed by its supporters, to the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Epic’s letter argues the health records sharing push will be “overly burdensome” and “will endanger patient privacy.”