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These bone-conduction smart glasses make headphones unnecessary [Review]

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Lucyd Loud review
For some people, Lucyd Loud smart glasses are a better option than AirPods.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Headphones are so ubiquitous we often don’t think about their disadvantages. Lucyd created a pair of smart glasses that let you listen to music or podcasts while still allowing you to hear what’s going on around you. This Bluetooth accessory also lets you access Siri from your iPhone, as well as make and receive calls.

Don’t miss our hands-on review of the Lucyd Loud tech frames.

FCC wants to ban China Mobile from US

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FCC chairman Ajit Pai isn’t down with China Mobile coming to the United States.
FCC chairman Ajit Pai isn’t down with China Mobile coming to the United States.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

The largest mobile phone network operator in the world will likely be banned from doing business in the USA.

China Mobile, which has over 900 million subscribers in mainland China, has been blocked from offering services in the United States, according to the latest proposal by the Federal Communications Commission.

Facebook Assistant is taking on Siri and Alexa [Updated]

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Facebook Portal
The Facebook Portal smart display is getting a digital assistant with artificial intelligence.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook is going into the voice-driven digital assistant race. Its AI tech will go into the line of Facebook Messenger-driven smart displays this social networking/advertising company launched last fall, as well as other future devices.

How to find that great song you heard on TV last night

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Somebody’s been doing some really hard listening here.
Somebody’s been doing some really hard listening here.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If I’m watching a TV show and a great song comes on, I usually try to find my iPhone in time to shazam it. I almost always fail, as 1) TV shows don’t tend to play entire songs without people talking over them and 2) I can never find my phone in time. Or rather I’m too lazy to look for it.

A similar thing happens for movies, only I promise myself that I’ll check the credits at the end, and I seldom do.

My dad, old-school guy that he is, likes to call up the TV company and ask them. Maybe I’ll do that when I’m retired, if there are still TV companies with phone numbers.

But did you know that there’s an almost 100% foolproof way to find that awesome track that played in that TV show you saw last night? It’s called Tunefind, and it’s great.

Samsung’s folding smartphones break on Day 1

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Galaxy Fold front
The Galaxy Fold has some major problems.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new Galaxy Fold smartphone has a serious problem with its folding display.

Multiple early reviewers are reporting that the display has broken after just one or two days of use. It appears that the hinge on some units is defective, causing the screen to be unusable.

Check out these tweets of the carnage:

Microsoft unveils monstrously expensive Surface Hub 2S

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Microsoft
The Surface Hub 2S is yuuuuuge!
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft unveiled its vision for the future of collaborative computing today and if your business wants in on the action, it won’t be cheap.

The Windows-maker’s newest PC is giant touchscreen that can be wheeled around from meeting room to meeting room, allowing everyone in the office to work together on one display. There’s a 50-inch model that is set to come out in June, but the company also teased an ungodly 85-inch version of the Microsoft Surface Hub 2 that will come down the pipeline in the future.

You can now use Apple Pay inside Uber Eats

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Uber Eats Apple Pay
Ordering food just got even easier.
Photo: Uber Eats

It’s now easier than ever to pay for Uber Eats orders, thanks to the arrival of Apple Pay.

The food delivery service has finally adopted Apple’s mobile payments platform in almost 20 countries. It makes completing a transaction as easy as tapping your finger or scanning your face.

Revamped Find My iPhone app may get Tile-like item tracker

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Tile will speak out against Apple in Congress antitrust hearing
A Tile tracking tag can be used find lost items. Apple is reportedly designing a rival.
Photo: Tile

Find My iPhone and Find My Friends are currently separate applications, but Apple is reportedly going to merge them in future versions of iOS and mac OS, and add useful features.

In addition, the company is supposedly developing its own tracker tag that will apparently compete with Tile.

You’ll still have to wait until 2020 for an iPhone with 5G

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iPhone XS crazy performance means speed at your fingertips.
Apple can
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has settled it’s long-running legal dispute with Qualcomm. It almost certainly means that Qualcomm will again supply modem chips for the iPhone. But we won’t see a 5G iPhone any sooner.

A new report warns that Apple will still struggle to catch up with rivals like Samsung, which have already launched 5G handsets, and that the first iPhone with 5G still won’t arrive before 2020.

Grab this stylish, Qi-compatible leather AirPods case for a steal

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Not only do they perfectly fit into AirSnap, but even in-case the charging status light is still visible.
AirPods fit perfectly into the AirSnap case, and the charging light remains visible.
Photo: Twelve South

AirSnap is back on our radar with a new 10% discount. As part of our Watch Store’s limited-time deals and discounts, over the next few days we’ll be offering price slashes on some of your favorite products and tech accessories.

A clear customer favorite, AirSnap is a super-tough, ultra-stylish leather case for AirPods. Compatible with Qi charging pads and your new wireless charging AirPods case (pictured above), this compact, portable case became a megahit in the Cult of Mac Watch Store.

Snap these up fast for a real deal before they sell out.

Qualcomm CEO won’t dish the dirt on how much Apple agreed to pay up

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
We don't know how much much cash was spent, but it was probably enough to buy a decent island.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple and Qualcomm may have made up again, but the two parties aren’t going to spill the beans regarding exactly how much their financial settlement involved.

Speaking on CNBC today, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said that he wouldn’t discuss the payment Apple agreed to in the settlement. However, he did note that the two companies are excited about working together once again.

Apple seeks next-gen Lidar sensors for possible Apple Car

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Coming soon to a road near you? Maybe.
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Apple is reportedly in talks with Lidar makers regarding sensors that could be used for its Apple Car initiative.

A commonly used surveying tool, Lidar measures distances between objects. It works by firing a pulsed laser light, then measuring how long it takes to bounce back. While not exclusively used in self-driving cars, that’s the application the technology is most synonymous with.

Skip the long reads with hundreds of book summaries [Deals]

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This service offers comprehensive summaries of the important books you don't have time to get to.
This service offers comprehensive summaries of the important books you don't have time to get to.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Reading is one of the best things we can do to stay informed and keep our minds sharp. But it’s also one thing for which there’s never enough time. Instead of stressing over the books you can’t get to, this service gives the gist so you’re not in the dark.

Producer of canceled Steve Jobs musical faces $6 million lawsuit

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walt-mossberg-steve-jobs
Musical would have told the story of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates' rivalry.
Photo: Joi Ito/Flickr CC

An abandoned 2016 musical about the rivalry between Steve Jobs and frenemy Bill Gates has resulted in the producer being sued for $6 million.

The musical’s producer allegedly told investors he had funding from Microsoft for the project. In fact, the musical was $1 million in debt at the time. It was ultimately canceled just two weeks before it was due to open.

Apple could give iPhone 8 an SE-style overhaul

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iphone 8
Would you be onboard for a new iPhone 8?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Plans for an iPhone SE 2 may have gone the way of the dodo, but Apple may not have abandoned its iPhone SE philosophy of squeezing new components into an old iPhone form factor.

According to a new report, Apple plans to release a new version of the iPhone 8 with new, up-to-date internals. While users probably won’t get Face ID, they may get an A13 processor, redesigned printing circuit board, and more.

Fortnite 8.40 rolls out with new weapons, planes, and more

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Fortnite Air Royale
Take to the skies in Air Royale.
Photo: Epic Games

Planes have returned to Fortnite — but you won’t have to combat them in regular Battle Royale matches.

This week’s update brings a brand new Air Royale game mode, as well as new weapons and lots of big improvements. There’s also a new tournament with a $1 million prize pool.

Indian government wants Apple to boot TikTok out of the App Store

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TikTok 1
TikTok has come under fire in India.
Photo: TikTok

Update: Apple and Google have both removed TikTok as requested. While the app is no longer available for download, those who have previously downloaded it can continue using it.

TikTok, the popular — albeit controversial — Chinese video-sharing app, has run into problems in India. The country’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has reportedly asked Apple and Google to remove the app from their respective app stores.

The issue will be heard in the Supreme Court on April 22, but the app could potentially vanish from stores before then.

5G iPhone now virtually certain in 2020 [Opinion]

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2020 could be Apple's greatest year so far
While a 5G iPhone won’t come as soon as we might hope, the wait won‘t be as long as we might fear.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Most people probably shrugged their shoulders at the news Apple and Qualcomm ended their long, bitter legal war. But this is actually going to benefit every iPhone user.

It means that Apple is almost guaranteed to introduce a handset with super-fast 5G next year. Before now, there was some question about whether that was possible.

What the critics are saying about the first Tim Cook biography

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thumbnail for tim cook promo
Have you read the new Tim Cook book yet?
Photo: Kristal Chan/Cult of Mac

The first-ever biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook hits bookstores today, and it’s written by none other than Cult of Mac founder, Leander Kahney.

I haven’t heard from Leander in god knows how long while he’s been writing this book. But based on the early reviews, it appears like it was all worth it. No one has written a full book about Cook until now. Leander’s book, Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level, details how Cook took on Steve Jobs’ mantle. While nearly any other human would have crumbled under that pressure, Cook thrived.

Early reviews for the book have been coming in all week, and so far they’re pretty positive. Here are some of the highlights.

Unlock all your PDFs with one powerful app [Deals]

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This app makes PDFs as easy to edit as any Word document.
This app makes PDFs as easy to edit as any Word document.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you work on a computer, you deal with PDFs. The universal document format is great for sending and consuming written and visual content of all kinds, from simple reports or tax files to entire books. But try to edit one, and you’ll likely hit a wall.

Netflix can’t wait to compete against Apple and Disney

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Apple TV
Kim Rozenfeld is no longer a part of Apple's team.
Photo: Apple

Netflix doesn’t seem worried at all that Apple and Disney are launching their own competitive streaming services by the end of 2019.

In its latest report to investors, Netflix cited Disney and Apple as its biggest upcoming competition, but instead of fearing the two companies’ platforms, Netflix swears its actually excited about the competition.

Apple and Qualcomm end their long legal war

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Qualcomm patents
It’s finally over!
Photo: Qualcomm

The legal war between Apple and Qualcomm is finally over.

In a surprise announcement, the two companies revealed that they have agreed to drop all litigation against each other, bringing an end to a dispute over royalities and patent infringements that spanned multiple countries.

MacBook Air display mysteriously brightens after macOS update

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MacBook Air 2018
If your MacBook Air seems a little brighter recently, you’re not imagining it.
Photo: Apple

Installing the latest macOS version on a 2018 MacBook Air increases the maximum screen brightness.

Apple’s own description of this notebook indicates that the highest potential brightness level is now 400 nits. That’s much higher than with this laptop launched.