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Mother saves daughter’s life with Find My Friends app

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Find My Friends
Keep your iPhone close by.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

When 17-year-old Macy Smith was late coming home and didn’t answer her phone, her mother knew something was wrong. But she was able to track the girl down thanks to the Find My Friends application on her daughter’s iPhone, even though Smith was trapped in a wrecked car at the bottom of an embankment.

Expect multiple 5G iPhones in 2020

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2020 could be Apple's greatest year so far
2020 could be Apple's greatest year so far
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple may be waiting a bit longer than some of its rivals to go 5G, but it will reportedly jump into this cutting-edge networking standard in a big way next year. There will be two 5G iPhone models introduced in 2020, according to a respected analyst.

Robots fight back in hilarious Boston Dynamics parody video

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Bosstown Dynamics
One step closer to terminator mode.
Photo: Corridor Digital

Boston Dynamics has been freaking us out for years with its videos of robots performing tasks with near human-like precision. So far all the robots have been completely subservient to their human masters, but a hilarious new parody video shows what happens when Boston Dynamic’s robots learn how to fight back.

Get ready for the robot uprising:

Lumafusion 2 adds 6-track video and external monitor support

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LumaFusion 2 works with external screens.
LumaFusion 2 works with external screens.
Photo: Luma Touch

LumaFusion is probably the best video-editing app on the iPad. It’s so capable that you can use it to edit movies at a professional level, and plenty of people do. And now you can buy LumaFusion 2, an updated version with more power, and some great new features, including support for working on an external screen, and six tracks of 4K video.

Adobe Fresco will make iPad painting more realistic than ever

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example of painting in Adobe Fresco
An artist's self-portrait made in Adobe Fresco.
Illustration: Jin Jin Sun

Spontaneous creativity is built into the centuries-old painting style known as fresco.

It is also the fitting name of Adobe’s developing drawing and painting program for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil artists who must quickly begin to create when inspiration strikes.

Adobe Fresco, a fraction of its power previewed by Adobe last year under the name Project Gemini, is on target for release this fall, according to a post on the Adobe blog.

iOS 13 and iPadOS beta 2 now available to devs

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Dark Mode
You can start testing now if you're a registered developer.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s second iOS 13 and iPadOS betas are now available to registered developers. They come exactly two weeks after the first beta builds and should eliminate some of the teething troubles testers have experienced so far.

Aspire is ditching its entire catalog of 32-bit Mac games

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Call-of-Duty-Black-Ops
Black Ops is one of many titles getting dropped.
Photo: Activision

Aspyr has confirmed plans to ditch its entire catalog of 32-bit games developed for Mac.

The news comes just a few weeks after Apple announced macOS Catalina — the first version of its operating system that won’t support 32-bit apps. A number of big titles will get the boot, including Call of Duty, Civilization, and Sims.

Registrations open up for Apple’s kids camp

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Apple Camp 2019
A three-day crash course in Apple's most creative tools.
Photo: Apple

Apple has opened up registrations for its annual Apple Camp in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, among other countries.

The camps are aimed at kids, who want to learn to use Apple devices in a fun, educational way. They take place over a three-day period, consisting of sessions of lasting 90 minutes each. Kids must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Get access to livestreams of your favorite music festivals [Deals]

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SlackerRadio
LiveXLive makes it possible to livestream concerts or festivals, and listen to albums, radio stations and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Streaming is the new normal, but live performance remains the most powerful way to experience music. Unfortunately, most of us can’t make it to the best concerts and festivals happening around the world. So why not just stream those too?

iOS 13 will read NFC tags in ID cards and passports in Germany

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German-ID-card-NFC
It’s already possible if you use Android.
Photo: Bundesministerium des Innern, für Bau und Heimat

iPhone users will be able to scan German ID cards, passports, and more when iOS 13 rolls out this fall, according to local authorities.

The functionality will allow digital versions of those documents to be carried on an iOS device so that they are always accessible. Recent reports have confirmed users in Japan will be able to do the same with national ID cards.

Cook’s Stanford speech pays homage to Jobs’ legendary address

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Steve
Steve Jobs delivered his own iconic commencement address in 2005.
Photo: Stanford University

During his stint as Apple CEO, Tim Cook has repeatedly credited his predecessor, Steve Jobs. But he’s also worked to make Apple into a company that doesn’t slavishly follow the path laid out by Jobs. This is most clearly seen by Cook’s doubling down on privacy, and push to embrace social causes such as LGBT rights.

That mixture was on display Sunday, when Cook delivered a commencement speech at Stanford University. In doing so, he paid homage to the legendary June 2005 Stanford address delivered by Steve, while putting his own stamp on things.

Here’s how:

Struggling Apple display maker loses key investors

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iPhone XR test
Japan Display makes LCD displays for the iPhone XR.
Photo: Apple

Struggling Apple display maker Japan Display has received some bad news. TPK Holdings, a panel maker that also works with Apple, revealed that it won’t invest a proposed $230 million after all.

Japan Display has been on the search for companies willing to throw it a lifeline. TPK was part of a hoped-for $723 million bailout.

Apple Watch’s new Noise app is unbelievably accurate

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Apple Watch Noise app
The new Noise app helps you maintain healthy hearing.
Photo: Apple

One of the new health features baked into watchOS 6 is a Noise app that will tell you when the environment around you is too loud. But just how accurately can a wearable device with a tiny microphone measure noise?

You’ll be surprised. A comparison with an actual decibel meter proves Apple Watch does an unbelievably good job.

Apple chases Oscars with slate of original movies

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Hollywood sign
Apple has big plans for Hollywood.
Photo: Tom Benson/Flickr CC

Apple’s followed Netflix into developing its own original TV shows. Now it wants to follow it by making its own movies, too.

According to a new report, Apple plans to finance six original small-budget movies per year. Each project would be made for $5 million to $30 million, which is pretty much a micro-budget by Hollywood standards. However, Apple wants to appeal to prestige talent with the goal of making Oscar-winning movies.

Save big on wireless charging, VPN protection and more [Week’s Best Deals]

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Top Deals of the Week (1)
Save over half on wireless charging docks, Bluetooth headphones, VPN protection and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With WWDC, E3 and more, this has been a banner week for technology. So we decided to round up some of the best deals on gear and gadgets in the Cult of Mac Store. We’ve got 3-in-1 wireless charging docks, VPN subscriptions, portable batteries, and sleek Bluetooth headphones. Most are discounted by more than half, read on for more details:

Forensics firm claims it can break into every iPhone

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GrayKey can bypass iPhone security
Don’t expect locking your iPhone to keep police from accessing it.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A company staffed with white-hat hackers apparently made a breakthrough in unlocking iPhones and iPads. Cellebrite says it is offering law enforcement agencies access to every bit of data on any iOS device.

Twitter for Mac will be way better than just an iPad port

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Twitter for Mac
Twitter for Mac will have features not in the iPad version.
Photo: Twitter/Cult of Mac

Twitter recently promised to bring its iPad application to macOS, and the now the company says this will have Mac-specific features, like support for multiple, resizable windows

The re-release of this social-networking software one of the fruits of Project Catalyst, which enables iPad applications to be ported to Mac with relative ease.

Mind games: How Apple sells us on high prices [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 301]

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Did you fall for Apple's psychological trick?
Did you fall for it?
Photo: meo/Pexels CC; Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

If the sky-high price of Apple’s new Pro Display XDR didn’t slap you silly, you probably fell for a clever psychological trick Cupertino often uses. (Either that or you know the actual cost of high-end reference monitors.)

Get the lowdown on Apple’s pricing mind game in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iOS. Or read on to get the rest of the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos in your browser. We’re serving up a heaping helping of iOS 13 insight along with some fresh product reviews.

Get a certified refurbished iMac for $800 off the MSRP [Deals]

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Don't break the bank with this 21.5-inch refurb Apple iMac.
This 21.5-inch refurb iMac won't break the bank.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Macs are remarkably future-proof. After years of use, assuming they’ve been well cared for, they can still hang with the latest in the line. And if you refurbish them, there’s no telling how long their useful life can be, so getting a refurb is a great way to score a solid machine at a crazy-low price.

Take this certified refurbished 2011 iMac, right now, you can get one for just $379.

Activ5 pocket-size gym muscles into the Apple store

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Activebody’s Activ5
Activ5 and your iPhone can help build strength through isometric exercises.
Photo: Activebody

Activebody’s Activ5 is a palm-size accessory for isometric-based workouts. Along with companion iPhone and Apple Watch apps, it lets users exercise anywhere.

Apple approves of this workout gear enough to put Activ5 in its stores.