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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.

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.

How to make music with an iPad and a ‘classic’ Swedish synth

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These two will make beautiful music together.
A perfect music-making combo.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

At first glance, the decade-old OP-1 synthesizer from Swedish musical instrument makers Teenage Engineering looks about as standalone as it gets.

The tiny device couples a short, piano-style keyboard with a screen. And it contains a drum machine, several synthesizers, a sampler, a handful of sequencers, a virtual four-track tape recorder and even an FM radio. You can create entire tracks on it with no other gear, or you can hook it up to electric guitars and microphones and bring the outside world in.

But it also pairs surprisingly well with an iPad. You can record audio back and forth, but things go much deeper than that. You also can use the OP-1’s hardware keyboard to play instruments on the iPad, and use iPad MIDI apps to control the synthesizers on the OP-1.

Making music with an iPad and a synth

If you own both pieces of gear already, hopefully this how-to will give you some new ideas about making music with an iPad. But if you only own an iPad, this in-depth article will provide tips for using your tablet with other music gear.

And if you know nothing about the OP-1, or about Teenage Engineering’s work in general, you’ll learn why the company is kind of the Apple of the synth world. Teenage Engineering is known for its incredible interface design — and for having a quirky personality similar to 1984-era Apple, when the brand-new Mac was making waves.

Sell your old iPad and bag a bargain upgrade today

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The new camera dumps all over the one in the first-gen iPad Pro.
It’s a great time to upgrade your iPad.
Photo: Andrea Nepori

Amazon and Best Buy are now offering some of the biggest discounts we’ve seen on Apple’s latest iPad Pro lineup. And you can make yours even more affordable by selling your old model when you upgrade.

Cult of Mac offers real cash for your old Apple devices, and we typically pay more than anyone else. What’s more, it’s incredibly quick and simple, and we will even buy back battered tech in need of repair.

Is Apple’s modular Mac Pro doomed to flop?

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Mac pro
The new Mac Pro will bring in the bags for Apple.
Photo: Erfon Elijah

Two whole years ago, Apple promised pro users that it would completely revamp the Mac Pro. Apple teased that it’s making a modular system that will have the flexibility professionals need.

With Worldwide Developers Conference 2019 on the horizon, our first glimpse of the modular Mac Pro could be less than two months away, but The CultCast host Erfon Elijah is ready to douse your hopes of getting a new dream machine this year.

In his latest video, Erfon goes over all the reasons why the modular Mac Pro sounds amazing in theory but could be a giant dud. From a design that looks like some IHOP flapjacks to pricing concerns, there’s some good evidence to be skeptical about the new computer, especially when you consider Apple’s recent track record with its “Pro” machines.

Watch Erfon count down the reasons why the next Mac Pro might flop.

10 hidden Activity app features that will take your fitness to the next level

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Discover the secrets of the Apple Activity app.
Discover the secrets of the Activity app.
Photo illustration: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

At first glance, the iPhone Activity app seems pretty simple. It’s basically just a calendar to keep track of your daily Activity Rings. But if you know where to look, you’ll find a surprising number of pro features buried beneath that slick, simple interface.

So check out our top 10 iPhone Activity app tips and discover some indispensable stats that will help take your fitness to the next level.

Apple might turn iPads into second Mac screens

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Luna DIsplay is great for people who travel with a Mac and an iPad.
macOS 10.15 might have a feature that’s already available from Luna Display.
Photo: Astro HQ

Turning a tablet into an external display for a laptop isn’t a new idea, but Apple is reportedly going “all in” by building this feature into the next version of macOS.

The iPad will supposedly  function as a touchscreen for Mac software, which should catch the eye of digital artists.

Huawei confirms it has had no contact with Apple over 5G chips

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The iPhone XS Max screen delivers more of that OLED awesomeness.
iPhone 11 will do little to reverse falling shipments.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Huawei says it has had no contact with Apple regarding the supply of 5G chips for a future iPhone lineup.

The Chinese smartphone-maker has previously stated it would be willing to work with its rival on a 5G iPhone. However, Apple has not been in touch — despite its struggle to obtain chips elsewhere.