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Apple will open up iPhone’s NFC tech for Brexit app

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Square Terminal could help more businesses accept Apple Pay.
NFC tech hasn't previously been opened up to developers.
Photo: Square

Apple has reportedly agreed to open up its NFC capabilities on the iPhone for a U.K. government app. This Brexit app will help EU citizens apply for residency in the U.K. after it leaves the European Union.

The EU Exit app allows users to scan the chip inside their passports with their smartphone’s NFC reader. While this has been possible to do on Android phones, Apple has not previously allowed developer access to its NFC reading tech.

Fortnite 8.30 brings new Reboot Van, still disappoints

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Fortnite Reboot Van
You can now bring eliminated teammates back to the action.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite just returned from downtime as Epic Games rolled out its latest update. Version 8.30 introduces the new Reboot Van for the first time, alongside a long list of bug fixes and improvements.

The update is a disappointment to almost all Battle Royale fans, who were hoping a controversial change made in the version 8.20 release would be reverted this week.

Latest Apple Watch ad focuses on colorful swappable bands

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Apple Watch 1
Which Apple Watch do you use?
Photo: Apple

Several generations down the line, the Apple Watch has seemingly found its chief selling point as a life-saving health-focused wearable. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not room for a bit of fun, too.

While Apple has seemingly moved away from branding the Apple Watch as a fashion item, its latest ad focuses on aesthetics. Specifically, it highlights how easy it is to switch bands. Check it out below.

Apple Music in China caught censoring songs about Tiananmen Massacre

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iPhone sales are finally rebounding in China
iPhone sales were starting to pickup in China.
Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo

The 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre is coming up this June, but you won’t hear anything about it on Apple Music.

Chinese journalists recently discovered that Apple Music’s Chinese service censored a song that mentions the 1989 pro-democracy protests where thousands of people were killed. The topic is extremely controversial for the Chinese Communist Party and it appears that Apple is just fine with blotting it out if that’s the price of doing business in China.

Flaunt your MacBook Air in UAG’s translucent case

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You don’t have to hide your MacBook Air to protect it with the UAG Plyo.
You don’t have to hide your MacBook Air to protect it with the UAG Plyo.
Photo: Urban Armor Gear

Part of the appeal of owning a MacBook is showing it off, especially if you’ve personalized it. The Urban Armor Gear Plyo is a protective case made of translucent plastic so the exterior of this svelte notebook can still be seen.

Scosche’s new USB-C to Lightning cable packs fast 1-2 punch

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Scosche StrikeLine
The Strike Line charging cable delivers power quickly.
Photo: Scosche

Scosche Industries unfurled its first line of USB-C to Lightning power cables, which will bring a 1-2 data-power punch to iPhones and iPads.

Pair the new StrikeLine cable with Scosche’s USB-C PowerVolt charger and get a fully charged iOS device three times faster than a regular charger.

Sutter Sling Pouch declares war on pockets [Review]

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Watch out pockets — the Sutter Sling Pouch is gunning for your crown.
Watch out pockets — the Sutter Sling Pouch is gunning for your crown.
Photo: Nuria Gregori

The Sutter Sling Pouch is a gentleman’s handbag that’s just big enough for you to empty your pockets into. It is also the end of pockets as we know them. What kind of dumbo would stuff their pants full of keys, wallets, multitools, iPads, Kindles and other uncomfortable gear when they can just dump it in the Sutter Sling instead?

A dedicated dumbo, that’s what kind. Smart folks will join me in acknowledging this as a turning point in history: The death of pockets as we know them. When our climate-decimated society is dug up by the Indiana Joneses of the future, they will look at the patches sewn all over our human trousers, and wonder what the hell we thought we were up to.

iPhone users have some terrible driving habits

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distracted driving iPhone
Put the phone down and nobody gets hurt.
Photo: D'Vaughn Bell/Pexels

The iPhone user behind the wheel is twice as likely to post, chat and stream than those with an Android device, according to a website that compares car insurance quotes.

The Zebra surveyed more than 2,100 drivers about driving distractions, including device engagement, and broke down the numbers by operating system.

iOS 12.3 beta 2 enhances Apple TV app

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The Apple TV app gets a raft of new features in iOS 12.3.
The Apple TV app gets a raft of new features in iOS 12.3.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Both the general public and developers can now download the second beta of iOS 12.3. When the final version is available, it will bring significant improvements to the Apple TV app. The latest beta continues to add features.

A second public beta of macOS Mojave 10.14.5 also just debuted. This is a bug-fix release.

6 Apple Watch apps for an awesome six-pack

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Want a more defined core? Your Apple Watch can help.
Want a more defined core? Your Apple Watch can help.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

For many guys wanting to get in shape, a chiseled six-pack is the ultimate goal. But achieving that iconic washboard look is not easy. Especially as you get older.

Fortunately, your Apple Watch can help you along the way to achieving a tighter core. Apple’s Health app, Activity app and even the Breathe app have a role to play. Here’s how to get a six-pack with a little help from your iPhone and Apple Watch.

Apple drops $99 fee for Data Migration on new Macs

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iMac
It’s crazy that Apple had this fee in the first place.
Photo: Apple

One of Apple’s most expensive services for Macs is finally getting cheaper. In fact, in a rare move, Apple actually decided to give something out for free.

The company has dropped the price of its Data Migration fee to zero dollars after charging a $99 fee for year to customers that purchased a new Mac and needed help moving data over from their old Mac.

iPhone sales finally show signs of life in China

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China iPhone sales
Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with Apple Store employees in China.
Photo: Apple

The latest round of iPhone price cuts on China have accomplished their goal, according to an analyst with Wedbush. Demand for Apple handsets has increased in that country.

That’s very good news for the company, as CEO TIm Cook said early this year that slow sales in China were the entire reason Apple saw a revenue decease at the end of 2018.

Spotify’s fight against increased rates is good for Apple Music

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Apple Music
The #CancelSpotify movement is a win for Apple.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Spotify’s efforts to avoid paying higher rates is giving Apple Music a big advantage, according to a new report.

Apple is the only major music streaming company that isn’t appealing a decision to increase the rate paid to songwriters. As a result, Apple Music is getting all the love on social media.

How Apple’s Operations department works [Cook book outtakes]

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Two Apple operations workers in a factory
Apple's operations, which Tim Cook headed up, is one of the company's secret weapons.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook book outtakes: How Apple's Operations department works This post was going to be part of my new book, Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level, but was cut for length or continuity. Over the next week or so, we will be publishing several more sections that were cut, focusing mostly on geeky details of Apple’s manufacturing operations.

Apple is famous for design and marketing, but a large part of the company’s success is due to the incredibly complex and efficient manufacturing organization Tim Cook masterminded with Steve Jobs.

No matter how beautiful its products are, the company would go nowhere without a world-class manufacturing and distribution operation that can make millions of devices in the utmost secrecy, to the highest possible standards, and deliver them efficiently all over the globe.

It’s an operation unprecedented in the history of industry. When Jobs and Cook started in 1998, Apple was doing $6 billion in business annually. It now does that every 10 days.

Apple will soon require all macOS apps to be notarized

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iMac
Apple wants to make macOS as safe as possible.
Photo: Apple

Apple has confirmed that all macOS apps will need to be notarized to be accepted by Gatekeeper after its Mojave 10.14.5 update.

The requirement applies to new and updated apps and all software from developers who are new to distributing with Developer ID. In a future version of macOS, notarization will be required by default.

AirPods might not like busy city streets

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Earphones
Just don't blame Apple for it!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

AirPods are great. But that doesn’t mean that they’re without their problems as a replacement for your traditional wired headphones.

Some users on Twitter have been observing that their AirPods can be prone to cutting in and out, or occasionally producing static sounds. The reason? Bluetooth interference. This can come from having the signal blocked by physical barriers. It could also be due to using a frequency that’s too overcrowded.

Pixelmator Photo first impressions: An amazing iPad image editor [Review]

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Pixelmator Photo should be on every photographer’s iPad.
Pixelmator Photo should be on every photographer’s iPad.
Photo: Nuria Gregori

Pixelmator Photo, a new image-editing app for iPad, gives you tons of tools for tweaking your images. The app lets you apply filters, crop, trim and generally making your photos look great.

In this regard, Pixelmator Photo is like a zillion other photo apps for iOS. What sets it apart are a) the now-expected Pixelmator polish, and b) machine learning that powers pretty much everything.

I’ve taken the app, which launches today, for a quick spin, and it’s pretty great. The photo-editing space is so crowded with great apps, though, that we’re spoiled for choice. How does Pixelmator Photo match up?

Apple stock could do something it’s not managed for 8 years

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apple stock price
Apple stock has had a whirlwind year!
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

It can’t be said that Apple stock has had a boring last year. In twelve months, we’ve seen Apple hit $1 trillion in value. Then the stock tanked and AAPL entered the sinister-sounding “death cross.”

Now it’s rebounded and, if things continue to go well through today, it will achieve a feat it hasn’t managed since October 2010. That’s back when Steve Jobs was running Apple.

Classic Marathon trilogy gets updated for iOS 12

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First-person shooter Marathon gave Mac gamers something to be proud of.
First-person shooter Marathon gave Mac gamers something to be proud of.
Photo: Bungie

Marathon is a game which will be as familiar to long-time Mac owners as Doom. A sci-fi first-person shooter from the 1990s, it was a Macintosh exclusive which introduced numerous important FPS features. Bungie, the team which developed it, later went onto create the Halo series.

While Marathon has been available on iOS for several years, it hadn’t been updated in half a decade. Fortunately, that all changed recently.

This massively discounted Excel course offers a boost to any resume [Deals]

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Become an expert in Excel data analytics with this massively discounted lesson bundle.
Become an expert in Excel data analytics with this massively discounted lesson bundle.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Any list of the top three best apps for professionals to know is going to include Microsoft Excel. It’s perfect for working with data of all kinds, so it’s a lynchpin for businesses of all kinds and sizes. Here’s a chance to add Excel mastery to your resume for a song.

Image shot on iPhone 6 takes top prize in photography contest

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Colleen Wright
The winning moody pic in all its grandeur!
Photo: Friends of the Columbia Gorge/Colleen Wright

The iPhone 6 is a few years old now. However, its 2014-era, 8-megapixel camera is still enough to capture the hearts of judges in a photography contest.

That’s based on the recent Friends of the Columbia Gorge photography contest, held in Portland, Oregon. Despite the professional camera equipment used to shoot many of the entries, the Grand Prize was awarded to a moody image shot using an iPhone 6.

Apple could adopt mini LED backlighting for a giant iMac

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iMac
It's about time the iMac was redesigned.
Photo: Apple

Apple is expected to adopt mini LED backlighting technology this year to further improve color gamut, contrast ratio, and high dynamic range in its displays.

A brand new 31.6-inch iMac will be the first machine to offer the new display technology, sources claim. It will then make its way to the iPad and other Apple computers in 2020.

WhatsApp may finally be getting its own iPad app

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WhatsApp on iOS
WhatsApp will no longer be limited to iPhones.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp is one of the world’s most popular messaging apps. More than 1 billion people use it every single day. But until now it’s not been available on the iPad without using a WhatsApp Web workaround.

That may be about to change, however, as WhatsApp is reportedly working on an official iPad app. It’s about time!