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Batteries Widget for Mac keeps tabs on your devices’ battery levels

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Batteries widget for mac
A batteries widget. For you Mac.
Photo: Rony Fadel

See if you can guess what the new Batteries Widget for Mac app does. That’s right. It adds an iOS-style battery widget to the Mac’s Today panel, in the Notification Center. Anytime your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch is on the same Wi-Fi network as your Mac, its battery level will show up in the widget.

You will get low-battery notifications when your devices start to run out of juice. Plus, the app shows battery levels for trackpads, AirPods and so on.

Tim Cook now chairs advisory board for Chinese economics school

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Cook named panel chairman at Chinese U
Tim Cook on his first day chairing an advisory panel on economics for China's top university.
Screenshot: QJQ/Twitter

The agenda for Apple CEO Tim Cook’s trip to China last week included more than a meeting with the country’s top market regulator.

One day after the meeting, Cook became the new chairman of an advisory board for the economics school at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Trick or treat? 16-inch MacBooks could arrive before Halloween

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16-inch MacBook Pro concept
A 16-inch MacBook Pro, which might look something like this, could be arrive soon.
Concept Art: Viktor Kádár

The 16-inch MacBook Pro has reportedly begun shipping in volume, indicating the much-anticipated Apple laptop could arrive later this month

October has just 10 days remaining and rumors about a 16-MacBook have kept us guessing for most of this year. Some reports said to expect an October announcement. Others said it would be delayed until 2020.

iPad sketch app Paper adds brilliant creative templates [Review]

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These exquisitely designed digital journals in Paper by WeTransfer will get anyone’s creative juices flowing.
These exquisitely designed digital journals will get anyone’s creative juices flowing.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Looking for some fun stuff to do with your Apple Pencil? Then you should definitely check out today’s update to Paper by WeTransfer, which introduces a new Paper Store.

Despite its name, the Paper Store doesn’t actually sell paper. Instead it offers a range of 28 digital journals created by brilliant designers and illustrators. These journals are filled with creative prompts, exercises and drawing tutorials that will get your creative juices flowing. And they’re a whole lot of fun to use.

Doodling has never been so easy or productive.

2020 will deliver Apple’s ‘most impressive hardware’ in years

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Apple Glasses
Next year could bring Apple's long-rumored AR glasses.
Concept: Taeyeon Kim

2020 will be the year Apple unveils its “most impressive hardware in some time,” according to a new report.

Alongside big upgrades for iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac, Cupertino also is expected to deliver its first augmented reality glasses. And they could kick-start an AR revolution.

Yelp uses Apple Watch compass to make finding things easier

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Yelp uses Apple Watch compass to make finding things easier
Yelp's watchOS app just got better.
Photo: Yelp

Yelp has updated its Apple Watch app to make use of the Apple Watch Series 5’s in-built compass feature.

The compass is now able to point users in the direction of local businesses. Depending on where you’re facing, the app will tell users have far they are from places they may want to visit.

Future smartphone case is designed to look (and act) just like human skin

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Future smartphone case is designed to look (and act) just like human skin
Get ready for some strange looks when you answer your phone in public.
Photo: Marc Teyssier

Had enough of your regular smartphone protective case? Soon, you might be able to go full David Cronenberg body horror and get your hands on one that looks like it’s fashioned out of human skin.

Okay, so that gross description of the work of researchers at Telecom Paris is only partially accurate. Yes, it’s a design that is going to freak out a few people. However, there’s also some pretty nifty tech involved. Here’s what it can do.

The future is now with this portable language translator [Deals]

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CM translator
This slim, lightweight device translates 42 languages and lasts 24 hours on a single charge.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

From Star Trek to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, one of the signs of the future is a portable device that instantly translates languages. Well, it’s 2019, so we should expect things to feel properly futuristic.

Right on cue, we’ve now got access to an ultra-light, sleek, portable translator. And unlike the Babel fish, you don’t even need to stick it in your ear.

Apple TV+ shows are about ‘quality,’ not demographics

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New episodes of The Morning Show, See, and For All Mankind are up
Apple is taking a different approach to commissioning than Netflix.
Photo: Apple

Apple isn’t just taking on Netflix’s business with Apple TV+; it’s also challenging its philosophy for commissioning shows.

In a new article for Wired, Apple TV+ boss Zack Van Amburg says that the company is going on gut instinct for its new shows. That’s vastly different to Netflix’s famously data-driven approach to commissioning.

How iOS’s brilliant Security Code AutoFill came to be

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How iOS's brilliant Security Code AutoFill came to be
Who didn't smile when they saw this feature in action for the first time?
Photo: Apple

iOS’s Security Code AutoFill is one of those useful features that just delights you whenever you see it in operation. Autofilling security code verification boxes with the codes you receive in texts from places like banks, it’s a brilliantly innovative concept.

This weekend, an Apple engineer took to Twitter to share some information on its origins.

Seize this chance to win a free iPhone 11, AirPods and charging pad [Deals]

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The iPhone 11 256GB + AirPods & Charging Pad Giveaway
This is a rare opportunity to win the latest iPhone along with a brand-new set of AirPods and a special-edition wireless charging pad.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s as reliable as the seasons. As sure as the weather getting colder or the leaves turning yellow and orange, mouths begin to water when a new iPhone model rolls around. The iPhone 11 is no exception, marking a serious upgrade for an already top-tier device.

Of course, it also carries a top-tier price. That makes this chance to win an iPhone 11 — along with a set of AirPods and a wireless charging pad — even more irresistible.

Apple AR is here. Did you notice? [Cult of Mac Magazine 319]

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Apple AR is here: Cult of Mac Magazine 319
The era of Apple augmented reality already dawned. Are you ready for what's next?
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Who needs Apple AR glasses? The era of Apple augmented reality is already here. You just might not have noticed it. Here’s a look at where we are — and where we might be headed.

Get that glimpse of the present/future, along with Apple how-tos and product reviews (including our take on one of the best metal Apple Watch bands yet), in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Grab your free download from the iOS App Store. Or hit the links below to read this week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos in your browser.

Plus, don’t miss your chance to enter our Apple Watch Series 5 giveaway. It ends soon!

Get more gigs with classes that boost your digital skills [Deals]

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photo-1513258496099-48168024aec0 (1)
Save 80% on a massive resource of expert-taught courses covering all kinds of digital skills.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The landscape facing the digital professional is constantly shifting, which poses challenges but also opportunities. Expanding your skills, pivoting careers — even just running a side hustle — requires skill and perspective.

That can take time to learn, if you even know where to start, and guidance is key. Signing up with StackSkills Premium offers an invaluable resource for charting your professional course and staying ahead of the curve.

This virtually unbreakable 3-in-1 charging hub does it all

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Elago-charging-hub
Lightweight, portable, and virtually unbreakable.
Photo: Elago

If you need a charging hub that you can take with you everywhere, you want one that’s going to survive every trip. And you want one that charges all your devices simultaneously.

What you really want is the Elago 3-in-1 charging hub. It tops up your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods — and it’s virtually unbreakable. It’s also a steal at just $30 with free shipping.

Apple takes heat from all sides after pulling Hong Kong map app

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apple keynote
Tim Cook is feeling heat for Apple's decision to pull Hong Kong map app.
Photo: Apple

U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle united to strongly criticize Apple over last week’s decision to pull a live map app used by protestors in Hong Kong.

The bipartisan group, which included Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook voicing “strong concern” over Apple’s decision to remove HKmap.live from the App Store.

iPhone 11 Pro pix of Northern Lights will blow you away

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zach honig's photo of northern lights shot on iphone
Zach Honig's photo of the Aurora Borealis will make iPhone 11 owners flock to the Arctic Circle.
Photo: Zach Honig/The Points Guy

Travel blogger Zach Honig hiked into a remote part of Alaska with a tripod and Sony camera to capture the Northern Lights.

But his best photos came from his new iPhone 11 Pro Max – without a tripod.

Apple signs Fargo writer for multiyear TV+ deal

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Apple spent more than $20 million advertising Apple TV+ last month
Here’s what’s on Apple TV+ right now
Photo: Apple

Apple signed Fargo writer and producer Monica Beletsky to a multiyear Apple TV+ deal. She reportedly will develop a new series exclusively for the upcoming streaming service.

Beletsky is also working on two films for Hello Sunshine, the production company owned by Reese Witherspoon, who stars in Apple’s exclusive news-biz drama The Morning Show.

Here’s your first glimpse of that 16-inch MacBook Pro. Or not.

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beta icon of MacBook Pro
A French blog is reporting this image as proof that Apple is about to roll out a 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Screenshot: MacGeneration

Behold, the rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro. Now, here’s your grain of salt.

A French blog this morning published what it called a rendering for a new Mac laptop that was discovered hidden in a macOS Catalina beta.

Skeptics, from Twitter to tech news sites, quickly tamped down any excitement by pointing out the icon’s similarities to the current 15-inch model.