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Apple Watch Series 5: Big little changes [Review]

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Apple Watch Series 5 info graph face with little alien
Apple Watch could soon help you get better sleep.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

During the past week with Apple Watch Series 5, I’ve been testing the device. Once again, I took a new watch on my family vacation to Disney World, using it whenever possible to make my life easier.

So does the Series 5, with its always-on display, live up to the hype? And is it worth the upgrade if you’re on an older version? Watch our video review, or read our full Apple Watch Series 5 review, to find out if the new watch is right for you.

Stunning Apple II Kickstarter case gives you a new look at a classic machine

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Apple II transparent case Kickstarter 1
What a gorgeous Apple II case.
Photo: MacEffects/Kickstarter

The Apple II may be more than 40 years old, but Apple’s first mass market personal computer still has plenty of fans. Now those fans can get hold of a brand new injection-molded case for the iconic Steve Wozniak-designed computer. All thanks to a new Kickstarter campaign.

Boasting a transparent design, the case will let you get a closer look at this legendary computer than ever!

Apple chipmaker countersues rival for infringing on patents

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Apple chipmaker racing ahead with its next next-gen nanometer process
TSMC is the company behind Apple's A-series chips.
Photo: Apple

Apple chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is counter-suing smaller chipmaking rival GlobalFoundries in the U.S., Germany, and Singapore. TSMC says that GlobalFoundries infringed on 25 of its patents.

TSMC is the world’s largest contact chipmaker. It creates the A-series chips used in Apple devices, such as the iPhone 11’s A13 processor. It is looking for “substantial monetary damages” from GlobalFoundries.

Real Call of Duty finally blasts onto iOS

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Call of Duty: Mobile racks up amazing 100m downloads in first week
It may be back, but probably not.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

The first true Call of Duty game has finally landed on mobile, seven months after its initial unveiling.

Activision’s newest title features the staple online multiplayer with various game modes, as well as its own battle royale. It’s free to download now from the App Store — and it’s a lot of fun!

Apple will announce its final 2019 earnings on October 30

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Apple has spent 'billions' overhauling its Apple Maps app
Earnings will cover the three months leading up to the launch of the iPhone 11.
Photo: 401(K) 2012/Flickr CC

Apple will reveal its next quarterly earnings report at the end of October. According to Apple’s updated Investor Relations webpage, the Q4 2019 earnings report will land on October 30.

This will cover the fiscal fourth quarter of 2019 — the three months leading up to the iPhone 11 release.

These $12 AirPods knockoffs don’t actually play any music

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$12 AirPods jewellery
The AirPods have a longer stem so they can receive even, err, less sound.
Photo: Asos

Would you buy a pair of AirPods knockoffs that don’t actually play any sound? It sounds crazy (and, frankly, it is), but that’s exactly what one company is selling; cashing in on the fashionable status of Apple’s wireless earbuds.

Fashion e-tailer Asos is selling the $12 “faux headphone earpiece in silver tone” as a piece of jewellery. Because it’s 2019 and this is what people do.

Apple denied tariff exemption on 5 Mac Pro components

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MacPro
5 out of 15 of Apple's exemption requests were denied.
Photo: Apple

The U.S. federal government denied Apple’s request to be exempt from the 25% tariffs that affected some components of the new Mac Pro.

Apple revealed last week that it will make the Mac Pro at its plant in Austin, Texas which some observers thought might be key to getting relief from Trump’s tariffs. The U.S. Trade Representative posted its decision today saying Apple didn’t show that the tariffs would cause severe economic harm to the U.S.

Apple Watch gets tweaked by watchOS 6.0.1

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watchOS 6 new features
Grab the latest Apple Watch update now.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s wearable just received its first update since the debut on watchOS 6 earlier this month. This offers a handful of bug fixes for the most recent Apple Watch models, and unspecified performance improvements are also promised.

Save hundreds on the newest iPads for a limited time [Deals & Steals]

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DS-Sep-30-19
Bag a bargain iPad today!
Photos: Apple

It’s a great time to treat yourself to a new iPad, with $29 off the brand-new 10.2-inch model and up to $199 off the newest iPad Pro on Amazon. And these are just some of the awesome offers you’ll find in today’s Deals & Steals roundup.

There’s also a rare discount on Apple’s official Leather Case for the iPhone 11 Pro, and up to $30 off the latest AirPods. Plus, you can find a whopping 40% off the brilliant Belkin Boost Up charging pad for iPhone, and sweet savings on Apple Watch 4.

Brits and Aussies can enjoy hundreds of publications with Apple News+

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Apple News+ in Australia
Another email you didn't want.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s subscription news service just debuted in the UK and Australia, with access to a range of local and international newspapers and magazines for a single monthly fee.

News+ includes offerings like The Times (UK) and The Daily Telegraph (AU). There’s Cosmopolitan UK, Australian Men’s Health and many more.

How to use iPhone 11’s flash-killing Night Mode

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Maybe the iPhone 11 can finally take a night photo like this.
Maybe the iPhone 11 can finally take a night photo like this.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Night Mode is one of the iPhone 11’s two big new camera features (the other is the Ultra Wide lens). Night Mode captures lots and lots of images, and then uses the iPhone’s A13 Bionic processor to combine them, pulling out details not available in a single low-light shot.

It’s the computational-photography mad science equivalent of putting your regular camera on a tripod and opening up the shutter for a few seconds to let more light in. Only you don’t need the tripod, and the images should almost always end up sharp.

Here’s how to use iPhone 11’s Night Mode.

iWork iOS apps get the feature we’ve been dying for

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iWork
Apple gave all of its iWork apps some love today.
Photo: Apple

Apple put out a big update for its iWork suite of iOS apps this morning, bringing a bunch of new features to the iPhone and iPad apps, including Dark Mode.

The update for Numbers 5.2, Pages 5.2 and Keynote 5.2 are available for free from the App Store, inside you’ll find some new font features, support for multiple windows, the ability to add HVEC-movies, and the option to access files from a USB drive or external hard drive.

iOS 13.1.2 is already out with big bug fixes

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iPad Pro with iPadOS 13.1.2
Apple is bombarding people with iPad and iPhone updates. Here’s iPadOS 13.1.2.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iOS 13 brought big changes and version 13.1 added some more, but Apple sure isn’t resting on its laurels — the company quickly rushed out iOS 13.1.2 and iPadOS 13.1.2. Anyone greedy for more new features is in for a disappointment, as this is entirely a bug-fix update.

This marks the fourth new iOS version in two weeks, and the third iPadOS version since Tuesday.

Hands-on with the new Apple Watch Series 5 compass

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Apple Watch compass
The Milanese Loop's magnet doesn't seem to trouble the compass.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

WatchOS 6 introduces a new Compass app (only for the Apple Watch Series 5), along with a couple of Compass complications. It works pretty much exactly like you’d expect, only with a few neat extras. You can access it from the All Apps screen, or by tapping the Compass complication on one of your Apple Watch faces. Let’s take a look.

Tim Cook crows about iPhone 11’s ‘very strong start’

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iPhone 11 camera lenses
Tim Cook says he couldn’t be happier about iPhone 11 sales. And J.P. Morgan is upbeat, too.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 11 reached customer’s hands just over a week ago, and Apple CEO Tim Cook told a German newspaper that the latest iPhone enjoyed a “very strong start.”

To add to the good news for Apple, analysts J.P. Morgan revised upward its estimate of how many iPhones will sell before the end of this year.

The combination touched off a mini rally in Apple’s share price, pushing the company’s market capitalization back up over $1 trillion.

The nasty change to Fortnite matchmaking Epic is keeping quiet

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Fortnite on iPad with SteelSeries Nimbus
It's the end of the road for Legacy Look Controls.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Fortnite finally offers skill-based matchmaking — and that’s good news for everyone. But it comes with a nasty change Epic Games didn’t mention when it first revealed the overhaul.

Here’s why lots of longtime fans are finding Battle Royale unbearable after last week’s version 10.40 update.

Apple Watch alerts 30-year-old dad about dangerous heart condition

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Apple Watch alerts user of irregular heart rhythms in sleep
Apple Watch may have saved another person's life.
Photo: Apple

A 30-year-old British dad and “fitness fanatic” was recently alerted to an irregular heart beat by his Apple Watch.

Chris Mint’s physician told him that it was unlikely that he was suffering from atrial fibrillation. However, using a five-minute ECG test on his Apple Watch convinced his doc otherwise.

Apple debuts upgraded maps in New York City

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Apple Maps just got a New York update.
Didn't Apple tell us it loves New York?
Photo: Apple

Apple Maps users in the Big Apple just got a sizable update to their service. As part of Apple’s quest to challenge Google’s mapping services, Apple Maps now offers far more local detail in New York City. That includes extra details about buildings, roads and footpaths, parks, and more.

Thanks to iOS 13, users can also take advantage of the 360-degree, Google Street View-style “Look Around” feature.

Netflix has a plan to win over new subscribers in an age of Apple TV+

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Netflix has a plan to win over new subscribers in an age of Apple TV+
The world of streaming content is about to get more crowded.
Photo: Netflix

Disney+ and Apple TV+ may not have made their debut yet, but their influence is already showing up in the market place. Netflix, the established guard of streaming content, recently launched a new strategy to hook subscribers.

For one of its new shows, Netflix is offering the first episode for free — even if you’re not a Netflix subscriber.

Dig into a gold mine of books, audio books, articles and more from your iPhone [Deals]

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Scribd
Save 25% or more on 6 month and year-long access to a million books, audiobooks, articles, and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The world is awash in great writing and journalism, from books to articles on the internet. That leaves a ton of stuff to sort through. So having it all in one place makes it easier to find the best content, and saves lots of time.

Scribd offers access to a vast library of content straight from any device, via the app or a web browser.

2020 iPad Pro could pack brand-new display technology

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2018 iPad Pro display
Mini-LED screens could make iPad Pro even greater.
Photo: Apple

You might want to think twice about upgrading your iPad Pro this year. A new report claims Apple could deliver a more significant refresh with brand-new display technology as early as 2020.

The same technology, which is expected to use approximately 10,000 tiny LEDs, could also appear in a new MacBook around the same time, according to one reliable analyst.

Thieves steal dozens of iPhones from Apple Store in Canada

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Chinook Apple Store
Apple Store was robbed Saturday night.
Photo: Apple

A group of thieves robbed an Apple Store in Canada over the weekend, making off with dozens of iPhones.

The incident took place at the Apple Store in Calgary’s Chinook Center on Saturday night. The thieves were captured on surveillance video. However, they were able to get away with the stolen handsets.