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Valve brings brand new Steam Chat app to mobile

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Steam Chat app for mobile
Download it today to stay in touch.
Photo: Valve

Valve now offers a standalone Steam Chat app for Android and iOS.

The free download lets gamers stay in touch with friends on the move. It boasts all the messaging features you’re used to in Steam, including group chat, customizable notifications, and more. But one thing’s missing.

Take your 11-inch iPad Pro offroad with Zagg’s rugged keyboard case

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Zagg Rugged Book
Zagg’s latest combines a rugged iPad Pro case with a clip-on keyboard.
Photo: Zagg

iPad Pros go everywhere, not just classrooms and offices. The Zagg Rugged Book Go was designed to protect this professional-grade iOS slate through somewhat harsher conditions.

After being unveiled at CES, Zagg’s latest keyboard folio is available now exclusively for the 11-inch version of Apple’s professional tablet.

Finally, a simple photo editor focused on drone aerial photography [Deals]

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AirMagic Photo Editor
Quickly and easily touch up those beautiful aerial drone shots with this Mac app.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Drones aren’t just fun toys anymore. Drones are changing…well, everything. Drones are delivering medical supplies in Africa, keeping school kids safe in Indiana and improving our understanding of tornado behavior in Texas.

And oh, the aerial photography. From shooting action sequences in “Game of Thrones” to changing the real estate game, it’s not enough just to capture aerial footage. That footage actually has to look brilliant too.

How to escape iPad autocorrect text-entry nightmares

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Escape the nightmare that is iOS autocorrect.
Escape the nightmare that is iOS autocorrect.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/ Cult of Mac

I love and hate typing on the iPad Pro’s on-screen keyboard. I love that it’s a proper keyboard, with a number row, and extra punctuation keys. But I hate that auto-correction is more of a comedy lexical lottery than an actual correction feature. So I finally decided to do something about it. I switched off autocorrect on my iPad, and here’s what happened.

Siri’s meek voice might make us think women are subservient

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Siri Alexa in voice report
Siri is unfailingly meek and polite. What does that say about how we expect young women to behave?
Photo: Apple

Siri, Alexa and all the other well-known voice assistants are female. A new study argues that ordering these artificial intelligences around reinforces the idea that women should be obedient and uncomplaining, especially as they always respond meekly to insults.

The study authors urge Apple and creators of similar products to make male or gender-neutral voices more prominent.

Apple celebrates Ramadan and 4K video on the iPhone XS

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Apple Ramadan
The meaning of Ramadan captured in 4K on the iPhone XS.
Screenshot: Apple/YouTube

Ramadan is a month of spiritual reflection for Muslims. Apple sought to honor the holiday with a 15-second “Shot on iPhone XS” spot featuring gorgeous video footage from two photographers from the Middle East.

Finding Balance is a series of sweeping landscapes around the United Arab Emirates. In each beautifully composed scene, people are reflected in water in the foreground to symbolize the self-reflection of the season.

All MacBooks with butterfly keyboards are now eligible for free repairs

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MacBook butterfly keyboard
Apple’s not ditching the MacBook butterfly keyboard yet.
Photo: Apple

Apple updated its Keyboard Service Program today to also include support for the 2018 MacBook Pro and 2018 MacBook Air.

The news comes on the heels of Apple’s unveiling of new MacBook Pros this morning with 8-core processors and butterfly keyboards with new materials. With the updated program, any MacBook with a butterfly keyboard is now eligible for service free of charge.

Fiery Feeds adds Instapaper-like universal read-later service

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Some illustrative fire.
Some illustrative fire.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Fiery Feeds is my favorite RSS reader app on iOS. It strikes the perfect balance between power, good looks, and ease of use. For instance, you can customize the entire look of the app with themes, you can set it to share stories to your chosen apps with a single swipe, and the whole thing is navigated with swipes. Version 2.2 just showed up, and it’s a biggie. Apart from some neat UI changes, Fiery Feeds now has iCloud syncing, and its own built-in Instapaper alternative.

Charge all your Apple devices with Zens Dual+Watch, now in white

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Zens Dual + Watch wireless charging mat in white.
Zens Dual + Watch wireless charging mat in white.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Zens’ popular Dual+Watch wireless charging pad is the one-stop charging system for all your Apple gadgets. It can charge three devices simultaneously, including your Apple Watch, iPhone and the new wireless AirPods.

The Dual+Watch mat is perfect for the bedside table or desk at work, and it now comes in white to match your AirPods.

Apple unleashes its fastest ever MacBook Pro

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2019 MacBook Pro Fortnite
It's not clear what is causing the problem.
Photo: Apple

Apple just brought Intel’s latest eighth- and ninth-generation chips to the MacBook Pro, making it the company’s fastest ever laptop.

The newest 8-core models deliver up to twice the performance of a quad-core MacBook Pro, and up to 40% more than a 6-core model. They also promise powerful graphics, a T2 Security Chip, super-fast SSDs, and “all-day” battery life.

Apple reportedly tried to buy Tesla for way over the odds

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Tesla
This Model 3 could have carried an Apple logo one day.
Photo: Tesla

Apple tried to buy Tesla for more than it is currently worth back in 2013, according to one analyst.

The iPhone-maker is said to have made a bid at around $240 a share. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had already tried to offload his company to Google when its future wasn’t looking so bright.

Everyone’s favorite sassy weather app gets huge update

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Lightning CARROT 2
CARROT Weather offers some features you won't find elsewhere.
Photo: Grailr LLC

I’ve long been a fan of Brian Mueller’s CARROT apps, which offer everything from fitness-tracking to calorie-counting tools with a sarcastic AI taskmaster keeping you in line. Today, Mueller has released the latest update for CARROT Weather — and it’s pretty darn packed.

Version 4.11 is centered around notifications and adds a plethora of features not available in any other weather app.

’Hundreds’ working to make Apple News+ best for magazines

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Apple News+
News+ has become a big focus for Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple has “hundreds” of people working to make Apple News+ the best place to read your favorite magazines.

The company has received lots of “great feedback” from many of its publishing partners, it revealed today. And some of them have special things planned for upcoming issues designed especially for Apple News+.

Cannes Lions hails Apple’s creative genius for advertising

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2019 Creative Marketer of the Year
Spike Jonze created Apple's most celebrated ad of 2018.
Photo: Apple

Apple has received virtually every award there is for advertising and marketing, but one announced this week caught the company by surprise.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity announced it would award Apple Creative Marketer of the Year for 2019, a first for the company.

Apple Watch’s ECG app likely to arrive in Canada very soon

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apple watch
Apple Watch's ECG has been a real life-saver.
Photo: Apple

The revolutionary ECG app for the Apple Watch Series 4 looks like it could arrive in Canada in the near future. According to the Health Canada database, Apple licenses for ECG and irregular heart rate rhythm notifications were approved on May 16.

That suggests that it won’t be too much longer before Apple rolls out this feature in the country.

Nintendo is ditching 2 of its biggest mobile games in Belgium

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Nintendo introduces 2 paid subscriptions for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Recent Nintendo games have embraced in-app purchases.
Photo: Nintendo

Two of Nintendo’s top mobile titles will vanish from the App Store on August 27. Well, in Belgium at least.

Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem Heroes have been big cash generators for Nintendo since launching on iOS. Unlike previous Nintendo titles like Super Mario Run, both these games rely on a freemium business model. And, in Belgium at least, they’re being punished for it.

Apple Pay goes live in two new markets and one big Australian bank

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple Pay continues to go from strength to strength.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay has continued its expansion by going live in Hungary and Luxembourg. This marks 38 markets in which Apple’s mobile payment service is now available.

It is Apple Pay’s first new launch since it went live in Iceland at the start of May. That’s not the only Apple Pay news, either.

Download the first Microsoft Edge preview for macOS

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Microsoft Edge for macOS
See what Microsoft is working on for macOS.
Screenshot: Cult of Mac

Microsoft has officially offered up its first Edge preview build for macOS.

The early release gives users a chance to see what Microsoft is working on for the Mac. It will be updated daily, so you’ll get to enjoy the changes and improvements as they happen (almost).

Brilliant 6-in-1 USB-C Hub makes iPad Pro even more useful [Review]

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Hyper HyperDrive iPad Pro review
Hyper’s USB-C hub clips securely to the side of an iPad Pro.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The USB-C port in Apple’s latest professional-grade tablet is a giant improvement, but a new accessory still manages to make it even more useful. The HyperDrive iPad Pro allows every type of wired accessory supported by this computer to be accessed. Even better, it’s designed to clip to the side of the slate for maximum ease of use.

Don’t miss our in-depth review of this USB-C hub developed especially for the latest iPad.