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Siri eavesdropping controversy underlines why Apple must be more transparent [Opinion]

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Siri
Apple backed down after a privacy backlash this week.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple wants you to know that, at least for now, it has stopped listening to Siri queries made by users. It’s the right move to make. But it’s the unnecessary result of a backlash Apple brought upon itself.

The Siri eavesdropping controversy perfectly illustrates why Apple needs to be more transparent with users — even if that means sacrificing some ease of use.

Apple Card is even better than we realized

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Apple Card’s ‘elite card’ status is hitting retailers in the wallet
There are reportedly benefits to the Apple credit card we haven’t heard about before.
Photo: Apple

The credit card Apple will launch in a few weeks will reportedly make it cheaper for users to make large purchases. Plus, there’s good news for iPad users with an Apple Card.

How to add Low Power Mode (and other handy things) to iOS Control Center

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Take control of your iPhone's Control Center.
Take control of your iPhone's Control Center.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The Control Center on your iPhone or iPad comes with a bunch of preset icons so you can quickly open the Camera app, toggle Do Not Disturb and do plenty of other tricks. But you also can customize it, adding your choice of one-swipe shortcuts. You can even set the order of the icons.

Today we’ll see how to add Low Power Mode, and take a look at the other options available.

Trump tariffs could drop iPhone sales 20%

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iPhone 11R and 11 Max on wooden railing
Demand for the iPhone 11 could drop significantly if Apple raises its cost to offset new import taxes imposed by Pres. Trump.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

No matter what President Trump keeps insisting, his upcoming tariffs on all Apple products will be paid for either by the company or by Americans who buy iPhones, iPads and Macs.

A market-analysis firm warns that If Apple chooses to pass the cost of these import taxes onto its customers, sales of iPhone could drop 20%.

Verizon cuts the price of unlimited data plans

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Verizon
It’s about to cost less to use one of Verizon’s unlimited data plans.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Verizon Wireless just did something telecoms almost never do: It lowered the cost of wireless service. This is part of the carrier’s renaming and changing of what it includes in all its unlimited plans.

Apple’s reseller deal with Amazon draws FTC scrutiny

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Apple logo
An Apple-Amazon deal may have hurt sellers of refurbished, discounted products.
Photo: Apple

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating a business deal between Amazon and Apple that may have hurt several independent sellers of refurbished Apple products.

Apple struck a deal last year to sell products on Amazon as a way to combat counterfeits and block dubious sellers.

Apple could introduce cellular 5G MacBooks in 2020

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MacBook butterfly keyboard
Would you be excited about a possible cellular MacBook?
Photo: Apple

iPhones may not be the only 5G-enabled product Apple introduces next year. According to a new report, Apple is planning its first ever cellular MacBooks for launch during the second half of 2020.

The cellular laptops will use the super speedy new mobile connectivity standard. They will supposedly use a ceramic, rather than metal, antenna component to improve reception and transmission performance.

Apple’s working on something BIG… this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 399
Apple's recent earnings report was full of delicious surprises.
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: Apple’s working on something BIG, and their massive increase in R&D spending proves it. Plus: we discuss all the surprises Apple unveiled in their recent earnings report, and it was another record breaker. And if you think your conversations with Siri are private, think again! Apple’s been caught reviewing your most personal sound bytes. And a new Moviepass competitor has emerged with a very interesting offer, but is it worth the price? All that and more!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain..

Suppliers report receiving low orders from Apple for iPhone 11

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The iPhone XS Max screen delivers more of that OLED awesomeness.
Apple may not be banking on this year's iPhone turning sales around.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

As always happens this time of year, Apple is gearing up to mass-produce its iPhones ahead of September’s launch.

However, a new report — citing “industry source” — says that momentum for touch panels and other components have been weak so far. If true, the report of “low order visibility” suggests that Apple’s not viewing 2019 as the year iPhone sales turn around.

Apple hires more designers and developers, fewer suits

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Jony Ive pays for thousands of orchards to be planted at schools
It’s going to take dozens of people to replace Jony Ive. Fortunately, Apple is hiring them.
Photo: Apple

Jony Ive told the world in June he’s ready to stop being Apple’s Chief Design Officer but it seems likely he told his employers months before that. New research shows Apple went on a hiring spree in its design department early this year.

At the same time, the company has apparently been following a general “fewer suits, more hoodies” hiring strategy.

Latest macOS Catalina beta lets you dump iTunes (if you dare)

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macOS Catalina
macOS left the desert of Mojave for the island of Catalina.
Photo: Apple

Anyone who’s fed up with iTunes can put the latest pre-release version of macOS Catalina on their Mac now and start using the new Apple Music, Apple Podcast and Apple TV apps instead. Of course, today’s public beta, the fourth in the series, comes with a long list of known problems so it might not be worth the hassle.

New Mac ad challenges students to ‘test the impossible’

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Applead
Students around the world are doing more than ever outside the classroom.
Photo: Apple

Apple is hoping to inject some inspiration into the lives of college students around the country with a new ad celebrating the return to school this month.

The fantastic new Behind the Mac ad celebrates the creation of art by telling students that they have no idea what they’re doing. And this is great.

Prepare to be inspired:

How to make Mac screen recordings

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Old toilet seat iBook
Some Macs may be too old for screen recording, but not many.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

As a Mac user, you already know how to take a quick screenshot with the ⌘⇧3 and ⌘⇧4 shortcuts. But did you know that you can also capture a video recording of your screen? If you’re running macOS Mojave, making a Mac screen recording proves as easy as hitting a shortcut, just like grabbing a screenshot. Older Macs can do it, too, albeit with a little more futzing.

Trump slaps 10% tariff on iPhone imports from China

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Trump may have just raised the price of the 2019 iPhone.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

The iPhone is about to be caught in President Trump’s trade war with China. A month from today, the US will begin charging a 10% tax to import iPhone, iPad, and other devices. They are part of $300 billion dollars worth of imports getting new tariffs.

Trump’s decision caused a 2.0% drop in Apple’s share price.

Remix Billie Eilish in newest Today at Apple session

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billieelish
Billie Elish's Lab is available in Apple stores.
Photo: Apple

Move over Madonna. Apple is bringing in pop teen sensation Billie Eilish for the second session of its Remix Music lab.

Eilish, whose song “Bad Boy” has been tearing up the music charts all summer. Now you’ll be able to visit an Apple store to learn about her song “You Should See Me in a Crown” and learn how to remix it.

10.2-inch iPad may launch as soon as September

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iPad
New iPads are on the way.
Photo: Apple

iPad lovers may not have to wait much longer for the next big update to Apple’s most affordable tablet.

According to a new report out of Asia, Apple’s new 10.2-inch iPad — the expected successor to the current 9.7-inch iPad — could launch as soon as the end of September.

3D Touch a folder to see only apps with notifications

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Perhaps the greatest 3D Touch trick ever.
Perhaps the greatest 3D Touch trick ever.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

You’re going to L-O-V-E this tip. You know how sometimes you see a folder on your iPhone’s home screen, and there’s a red notification badge on the folder itself? That badge is a summary of all the unread notifications of the apps inside the folder. Of course, at this point you just ignore it, because you don’t want to swipe through the pages of never-used apps inside the folder, just to see which apps have unread alerts.

But what if there was a way to quickly see which apps in that folder have outstanding notifications. Well, there is! And you’re going to kick yourself when you see how easy it is.

Samsung follows Apple’s lead by dumping headset jack

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Samsung USB-C to 3.5mm adapter
Samsung users will soon become familiar with this adapter.
Photo: Samsung

The writing is on the wall: Samsung is about to stop building 3.5mm headset jacks into its handsets. There’s nearly overwhelming evidence that the soon-to-be-released Galaxy Note 10 will ask users to plug headphones into the data/charging port.

Apple made this change years ago.

Apple’s installed base will soon pass 1.5 billion devices

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Classic MacBook, iPad and iPhone
Even older MacBooks, iPads and iPhones boost Apple’s revenue.
Photo: Apple

The total number of all Apple computers in active use is growing strongly, and is about to pass the 1.5 billion mark. This includes Macs, iPhones, and iPads.

That said, most of the total are iPhones. An industry analyst predicts there will be a billion of these in active use by early next year.

More than 200 apps won’t work with macOS Catalina

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Catalina looks pretty good, but should you install the public beta already?
macOS Catalina is coming soon.
Photo: Apple

You are ready to embrace macOS Catalina. Then start saying your goodbyes to a list of 235 apps that won’t work with Catalina.

A third-party software developer running a beta version of Catalina discovered the list. Developer betas help software designers determine whether their apps will work with an operating system update before it launches.

AirDrop flaw makes it possible to gather strangers’ phone numbers

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That's not a great look for AirDrop!
That's not a great look for AirDrop!
Image: Hexway

A Bluetooth LE security flaw could let malicious actors discover people’s iPhone numbers using Apple’s file-sharing AirDrop feature.

An attacker would need to create a phone number database for a specific region. Using a special script, they then could collect information on users who tried to AirDrop a file.