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Tim Cook might take Trump on tour of Texas Mac Pro factory

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Apple shares suffer biggest decline since August
Trump and Cook have had a complex relationship since 2016.
Photo: White House

Apple CEO Tim Cook and President Donald Trump will reportedly tour facilities in Austin, Texas, where the company makes its Mac Pro desktops.

The trip would be part of Trump’s ongoing efforts to highlight U.S. manufacturing. Last month, Trump toured the Louis Vuitton factory in Alvarado, Texas.

Apple Watch’s next Activity challenge will get you exercising on Thanksgiving

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Apple Watch's next Activity challenge will have exercising on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is coming.
Photo: Public Domain Pictures/Pixabay CC

Thanksgiving Day is a great time to sit around with family and chow down on delicious food. But you should remember to get your exercise in during the holiday. To offer a bit of added incentive, Apple issued a special Thanksgiving Day Challenge for Apple Watch owners.

Here’s how you can earn it.

Win this sweet accessory pack from the Cult of Mac Store [Giveaway]

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Elago-giveaway
For iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Elago Treat your favorite Apple devices to some of the sweetest accessories money can buy. Our latest giveaway offers up an awesome Elago bundle for iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch.

Three lucky winners will receive a 3-in-1 Charging Hub, an AirPods Wrist Fit, a Premium Silicone case for iPhone 11 and the wonderful W3 stand for Apple Watch.

Enter today to ensure you don’t miss out!

Before the MacBook’s fall: The greatest laptops Apple ever built

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Before the fall of MacBook: The greatest laptops Apple ever built
What's your favorite MacBook of all time?
Photo: Apple

The current MacBook Pro is the worst thing since unsliced bread — at least if you believe my colleague Charlie “glass is half empty” Sorrel. But while people might be happy to dump on Cupertino’s current laptop selection, Apple brought us some amazing laptops in its 40-plus year history.

Here are the inarguable top five Apple laptops of all time.

Ex head of HBO might bring the next Game of Thrones to Apple TV+

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apple tv
Having the former head of HBO making shows for Apple TV+ could be a big win.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Richard Plepler, who led HBO for almost three decades, is reportedly teaming up with Apple. He’s not joining the iPhone maker, but his production company will create content for Apple TV+.

If a deal goes through, the man who greenlit Game of Thrones would be developing shows for Apple.

Dongle-tangling: Use dark chaotic forces and never lose your headphone adapter again

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Dongle-tangling is the hottest thing since AirPods.
Dongle-tangling is the hottest thing since AirPods.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

You know how headphone cables always get tangled? In the past, I have put a cable down carefully, and picked it up just moments later, and the wires have already tied themselves into knots. And you know what else is super-annoying? Apple’s stupid USB-C and Lightning headphone adapters, the kind that you have to use if you want to plug headphones or cables recent into iPads and iPhones.

But what if there was a way to take both these annoyances, and combine them into something … slightly less annoying?!? That would be amazing, obviously. Today we will see how to use the powerful dark force of tangling to stop you from losing your headphone jack dongles.

Why Apple needs outside help to create hit products [Opinion]

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Apple Glasses
Apple may need a little help polishing its glasses
Concept: Taeyeon Kim

Recent rumors suggest that Apple is leaning on another company to help develop its highly anticipated augmented reality headset. At first, I thought that sounded crazy. Apple Glasses look set to be the company’s biggest new product launch since Apple Watch. Surely Cupertino would keep development of something that important in-house?

But when you look back over Apple’s history of joint ventures, it starts to make more sense. Apple tends to partner with third-parties in very specific circumstances — and Cupertino knows exactly what it’s doing.

iOS 13.3 takes another step toward release

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iPadOS 13.3 Developer beta
A second beta of iPadOS 13.3 and the iPhone equivalent just came out.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The beta process for iOS 13.3 and its iPad equivalent is moving along. Apple just seeded the second beta of each to developers. The final version, when it’s released to the general public, will help parents limit who their kids talk to with a big improvement to Screen Time.

In addition, there are new betas of watchOS 6.1.1 and tvOS 13.3.

Sell your old Apple devices now for bargain Black Friday upgrades

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iPhone 8 iPad Macbook
Cult of Mac can help you get the best price.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Retailers have already started slashing prices on some of Apple’s hottest products ahead of Black Friday. And Cult of Mac can help make your next upgrade even more affordable.

Simply sell your old iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac to us when you upgrade and you’ll receive a fat stack of cash toward its replacement.

We typically pay more than other buyback services and we make the entire process quick and simple. Get your quote today in just a couple of minutes.

How to share an Apple TV+ subscription with your family

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Share Apple TV+
Apple hopes the package will boost subscriber numbers.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple TV+ has turned out to be pretty good. Certainly, it’s a lot better than critics claimed. So, you may even want to share the shows with your family. And, thanks to Apple’s Family Sharing, this is not only possible, but easy.

You can all watch different shows at the same time, or you can just enjoy the lazy convenience of catching the latest episode of The Morning Show on whoever’s device is nearest. Let’s see how to share your Apple TV+ subscription with your family.

Mac makes IBM employees more productive and happier

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IBM
Once rivals, IBM later embraced the Mac, and now thousands of its employees are users.
Photo: Apple

Research by IBM found that its employees who use a Mac are more likely to exceed expectations on performance reviews than co-workers with PCs. Mac’s users also make larger high-value sales deals.

Long-time Mac users should find this delightfully ironic, as IBM helped popularize the PC back in the 1980s.

Apple TV+ exec leaves less than two weeks after launch

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Apple TV
Kim Rozenfeld is no longer a part of Apple's team.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ has lost its head of current scripted and unscripted programming less than two weeks after it made its big debut.

Kim Rozenfeld will continue working alongside Cupertino through his own company, Half Full Productions, as part of a new deal. Apple is expected to get first dibs on new content.

Why ‘sexist’ Apple Card is Cupertino’s worst nightmare

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Sexist Apple Card accusations are tech's latest example of biased algorithms
Apple Card was meant to be the solution, not part of the problem.
Photo: Apple

Cupertino pitched Apple Card as the greatest credit card in history. Instead, the card generated negative PR based on accusations that the algorithm used to decide credit limits is discriminatory.

Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak complained about the supposedly sexist algorithm. Woz said he received 10 times more credit than his wife, despite sharing bank accounts and assets. Here’s how Apple became the latest tech giant to be accused of algorithmic bias — and what that means.

Take a sneak peek at upcoming Apple Lisa documentary

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Take a sneak peek at upcoming Apple Lisa documentary
The Lisa was a crucial machine in Apple's history.
Photo: Auction Team Breker

A forthcoming documentary will tell the story of the Apple Lisa, quite possibly the most important “flop” in the company’s history.

Before Macintosh: The Apple Lisa is planned for release in early 2020. With that date approaching, computer historian and director David Greelish shared some early scenes and the poster with Cult of Mac. Check them out below.

These Go-Tough power accessories will probably outlast your iPhone [Deals]

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Score reinforced Go-Tough power banks and cables to travel-proof power for your devices.
Score reinforced power banks and cables to travel-proof power for your devices.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

We rely on our digital gear for almost every aspect of everyday life, and our devices rely on power. So if there’s a break in the chain, whether a dead battery or a bad cable, it can create a cascade of problems. That’s why we’ve rounded up three of the best super-tough charging accessories from Go-Tough. From rugged batteries to reinforced cables, they can take a licking and keep on … well, charging.

Most importantly, you can rely on them for a constant supply of precious power.

Truth Be Told premieres ahead of Apple TV+ debut next month

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Truth-Be-Told-premiere
Truth Be Told stars Octavia Spencer and Aaron Paul.
Photo: Apple

A brand-new Apple original this week premiered in Los Angeles, California, ahead of its Apple TV+ debut. Truth Be Told starring Octavia Spencer will be available for streaming on December 6.

The limited drama series, based on the novel Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber, follows a podcaster who is compelled to reopen the murder case that made her a national sensation.

Disney+ is live and ready to download from the App Store

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Disney+ is live and ready to download from the App Store
Disney+ has the potential to be a leviathan in the streaming game.
Image: Disney

The Disney+ app is officially available to download through the App Store. The subscription service features an extensive back catalog plus new shows, including the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian.

And, just like that, the streaming war just got a whole lot more intensive!

New 3D sensor in 2020 iPad Pro could accelerate Apple AR

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There are plenty of AR apps but few people have heard of them. An Apple veteran has been tasked with changing that.
Tablets are a good way to view augmented reality, and Apple’s next AR push could start with the 2020 iPad Pro.
Photo: Apple

An iPad Pro in development for next year will be the first with a 3D scanner capable of creating digital representations of real-world objects, according to an unconfirmed report. This will supposedly be used in augmented reality and virtual reality applications.

This scanner will next appear in the 2020 iPhone, and in AR/VR goggles and glasses in coming years.

16-inch MacBook Pro launch could be any day now

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16-inch MacBook Pro concept
An extra-large MacBook Pro could be out this week. Perhaps.
Concept: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Don’t give up hope for the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Multiple sources indicate that the launch Apple’s biggest laptop in years could be imminent.

Even if it wasn’t announced in October, as so many people expected.

A used 2015 Retina MacBook Pro might be the best MacBook you can buy today

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Old macbook
Why not buy an old MacBook instead of Apple’s flawed lineup?
Photo: Mark Solarski/Unsplash

Since I wrote about Apple’s ongoing MacBook disaster last week, and then offered a bunch of alternatives to the current MacBook lineup, several readers got in touch to ask which — if any — older MacBooks we’d recommend. I haven’t bought a MacBook in years, so I did a little research, and asked around the Cult of Mac crew.

So, let’s find out which is the best (old) MacBook you can buy today.

Tiny HyperJuice 4-port charger pumps out 100 watts

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

Sanho calls its newly-unveiled HyperJuice “the smallest 100W charger on the market.” Despite the svelte design, it has 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’s on Kickstarter now, available for well below the eventual regular price.

Tap your AirPods Pro case to check if it’s charged

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AirPods supplier confident of booming business through 2021
Tap the AirPods Pro battery case to show the charge status LED.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The AirPods Pro come in a Qi-enabled wireless charging case, which means you can just drop it onto a charging mat, grab them a while later, and everything is topped up and ready to go. But the LED indicator on the case blinks off soon after you start charging. What’s up? How do you find out if your AirPods are full yet?