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Millenials pick YouTube over Apple as top brand

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YouTube in Safari on iMac Pro
Apple lost to YouTube in a brand-ranking survey among millenials, but slipped only to second place.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

YouTube is labeled the new “most intimate brand” according to a survey of millennials. Apple took the title last year, but now drops to second place.

Other brands that did well include Netflix and Disney,  Android-maker Google came in at ninth place. Samsung didn’t make the top ten.

How Apple could fix the iPad home screen in iOS 13 [Opinion]

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Ipad home screen
It this really an appropriate home screen for the powerful 2018 iPad Pro?
Photo: Apple

According to rumors, iOS 13 will bring a redesigned home screen to the iPad. It’s about time. The grid of apps might have worked fine on the iPhone before the App Store, but after nine years of using the expanded version on the iPad, the joke is starting to get old.

So, if Apple is finally ready to make a home screen worthy of the iPad, we have a few suggestions.

Apple finally squashes nasty FaceTime eavesdropping bug

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2018 iPad Pro Animoji
You can safely FaceTime with friends again.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s fix for the huge FaceTime flaw that allowed people to eavesdrop on other iPhone and iPad users is finally here.

iOS 12.1.4 was released to the public this morning, bringing a crucial fix for the bug found by a 14-year-old boy who tried to contact Apple for 10 days before the company eventually clued in on the huge flaw.

iPhone could be key to Apple Car (and that’s just the start)

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Project Titan
Apple is invested heavily in self-driving tech.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

The iPhone could transform into a secure version of a key fob that not only unlocks your vehicle, but it could also summon a parked vehicle to come to you.

Apple drops a breadcrumb on the path to an autonomous vehicle future, offering a possible glimpse into its Project Titan with a patent application for a keyless entry system.

189 million iPhones are currently in use in the U.S.

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iPhone sales
There are a whole lot of iPhones in the U.S.
Photo: Apple

The days of crazy iPhone growth may be over, but the U.S. install base continues to tick upward — growing 14 percent relative to the December 2018 quarter.

According to new research published by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, Apple’s total U.S. install base (the number of active iPhones being used) currently stands at 189 million units. With the U.S. population in the vicinity of 325.7 million people, that’s more than one iPhone for every two people in the country.

Why iOS is the best way to play Fortnite on the go

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Fortnite on iPad with SteelSeries Nimbus
It's the end of the road for Legacy Look Controls.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

If you want to play Fortnite when you’re away from your console, do it on an iPhone or iPad. The mobile version of the game now offers the best portable experience by far.

The recent addition of controller support makes Fortnite better on Apple devices than it is on Nintendo Switch. Here’s why you’re missing out if you’re not playing it.

Apple’s awesome chip team is now designing iPhone modems

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Apple A4 chip
Johny Srouji’s team is in charge of modem development.
Photo: Apple

Apple has shifted to in-house modem chip engineering led by senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji, according to a new report.

The move all but confirms that Apple will develop its own cellular chips for future iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch models after years of sourcing them from Intel and Qualcomm.

India’s decision to defer manufacturing tariffs could help Apple

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Foxconn moving additional iPhone production to India as coronavirus disrupts work
Designed in California. Made in India.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

More and more Apple suppliers are considering building devices in India, and a new concession might make that possibility even more plausible.

According to a new report, India has deferred a plan which would have introduced tax on touch panel imports. These tariffs were supposed to be introduced in February, but have supposedly been delayed until at least April 2020. This follows lobbying from smartphone makers.

Some popular iOS apps recorded users’ screens for analytics

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iOS 11 iPad Pro
Report raises important privacy questions.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple came down hard on Facebook when it was found to be behind an iOS app that was gathering large amounts of user data. But it’s not the only app to gather information about what users are up to, and to feed this back to developers.

According to a new report, apps including those for Air Canada, Abercrombie & Fitch, Expedia, Singapore Airlines, Hotels.com, and others utilized analytics software that employed “session replay” technology to reveal how users interact with the apps.

Take a peek at Samsung’s AirPods rival ‘Galaxy Buds’

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Galaxy Buds 2
Samsung is ready to take on the AirPods.
Photo: Winfuture.de

Apple’s AirPods have been a massive smash hit since they launched a couple years back. It’s therefore unsurprising that rival companies would be keen to get themselves some of the sweet wireless cash — by launching their own wireless earbuds.

One of these companies, Samsung, is reportedly set to show off its own “Galaxy Buds” at its upcoming February 20 press event. And thanks to a leaked image, we have a good idea of what they’ll look like.

Cupertino mayor jokes about building border wall round Apple’s hometown

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Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
Predictably, the comments backfired.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Depending on who you are, jokes about “building a wall and making [insert name] pay for it” range from trollish to downright offensive. Apparently no-one told the mayor of Cupertino, however — since he invoked the Donald Trump meme during his recent state of the union speech.

Predictably, his quip about building a wall around Apple’s hometown city and making surrounding communities pay for it — as a way of solving local traffic problems — hasn’t exactly gone down a storm.

Safari dumps failed ‘Do Not Track’ privacy setting

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Do Not Track is gone, replaced with Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.
Do Not Track is gone, replaced with Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Safari’s “Do Not Track” setting was supposed to protect us from advertisers following us from website to website but it never worked like it was supposed to and Apple has given up on it.

Instead, the web browser has what Apple calls Intelligent Tracking Prevention.

Apple reclaims crown as most valuable public company

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Tim Cook earnings apple
Tim Cook likes his currency the old-fashioned way.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is back to being the world’s most valuable publicly traded company once again.

The company’s stock price has been rising steadily since Apple revealed its first earnings of 2019 last month. Worried investors ditched the stock at the beginning of the year due to slumping iPhone sales, but it just passed Amazon and Microsoft today, putting Apple back on top.

Quit or canned? Why is Angela Ahrendts leaving Apple? [Opinion]

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Ahrendts
Did Angela Ahrendts jump or was she pushed?
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

When Apple fires an executive, the company is rarely straightforward about the situation. Apple never puts out a press release stating plainly that the executive was canned. So Tuesday’s unexpected announcement that Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s head of retail, is leaving in April led many to suspect she was fired.

That’s because the announcement came as a surprise and seems rushed. She’s certainly not retiring or quitting to join another company. The press release phrase “new personal and professional pursuits” sounds like code for “canned.”

Watch for password phishing if your iPhone gets stolen

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GrayKey can bypass iPhone security
The thief who has your stolen iPhone will use surprisingly sophisticated means to trick your passwords out of you.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

If your iPhone is ever lost or stolen, be extra careful about scammers attempting trick your Apple ID password from you. iPhone thieves reportedly have an elaborate system set up to scam this information, as it’s needed to make a stolen device much more valuable.

7 painful truths about the 2018 MacBook Pro

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2018 MacBook Pro problems: The CultCast host Erfon Elijah's got a bone to pick with the new Apple laptop.
Uh oh. The CultCast host Erfon Elijah has a bone to pick with the new MacBook Pro. Or maybe seven bones.
Photo: Erfon Elijah

The 2018 MacBook Pro might be the most disappointing laptop Apple has come out with in years.

Despite being one of the lightest and most powerful Macs ever, The CultCast host Erfon Elijah finds the 2018 MacBook Pro fraught with problems. In his latest video, he goes through all the reasons — from the lack of ports to the crappy keyboard — why he thinks the new machine is far from perfect.

Let him count the ways the new MacBook Pro falls short.

How to send selfies with stickers

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Who wouldn’t want to receive this totally non-creepy stickered-up selfie?
Who wouldn’t want to receive this totally non-creepy stickered-up selfie?
Photo: Cult of Mac

You already know how to take a selfie. It’s probably the first thing you did when you got your iPhone up and running. But did you know you can take a selfie and add stickers? Right there in the Messages app?

Your friends are already hungry for another one of your awesome selfies. Imagine how fired up they’re going to be when they see those stickers.

I work on my iPad every day, and here’s what drives me nuts [Opinion]

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The new 2018 iPad Pro is a lust object you probably don’t need.
The iPad Pro is amazing, but it can drive you crazy.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

A few of us here at Cult of Mac work on iPads pretty much exclusively. Apple’s tablet proves more than capable of “real” work, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Far from it, in fact. The iPad Pro 2018 is a fantastic machine that invites you to use it for everything. But that only makes the frustration worse.

Today I’d like to talk about what really drives me nuts about the iPad.

Spotify CEO does not fear Apple’s massive cash pile

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Spotify
Spotify is dominating audio streaming.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Spotify is making a push to cement its self as the best audio platform in the world. The company revealed today that it acquired two podcasting companies and that it plans to spend big on original audio content.

Despite growing competition from Apple, Amazon and YouTube, Spotify is inching closer to having 100 million paid subscribers. In an interview on CNBC this morning, Spotify CEO Daniel Elk didn’t sound worried one bit about Apple and Amazon spending tons of cash to beat Spotify.

Tim Cook hypes up new retail boss in email to employees

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Apple’s new Senior Vice President of Retail + People Deirdre O’Brien with Tim Cook.
Apple’s new Senior Vice President of Retail + People Deirdre O’Brien with Tim Cook and her predecessor, Angela Ahrendts.
Photo: Apple

Apple‘s CEO told his employees that the company’s new head of retail sales is “one of Apple’s most passionate and experienced advocates for our customers and employees.” Tim Cook also highlighted Deirdre O’Brien’s previous experience with Apple retail operations.

These comments came in an email sent this morning to retail emplyees.  The full text of this is now available.

Apple teases Beats Studio3 headphones in a Neymar Jr. edition

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Beats Studio3 Neymar Jr. edition
They’re “coming soon” to the Apple Store.
Photo: Apple

Apple today added a Neymar Jr. Custom Edition of the Beats Studio3 wireless headphones to its online store.

The headphones, which celebrate the soccer star’s 27th birthday, feature a black and white design inspired by São Paulo street graffiti, where Neymar first started playing soccer.

Tamagotchi-style virtual pet Noa Noa! heads to App Store

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Noa Noa! 2
That warm feeling in your stomach is nostalgia.
Photo: Noodlecake Studios Inc.

The 1990s was a simpler time, back when Apple was an underdog computer company and kids were obsessed with keychain virtual pets like Tamagotchis.

Jump forward to 2019, and things have certainly changed. Sure, Apple’s a whole lot bigger than it was, but virtual pets have come a long way, too. Instead of regular virtual pets, upcoming iOS game Noa Noa! is a virtual pet simulator, in which you control a Tamagotchi-like device inside the game. In other words, it’s a virtual virtual pet simulator. Got it?