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Spotify surges to 96 million paying subscribers

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Spotify app now playing screen
Spotify is almost doubling Apple in paying subscribers.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Spotify is closing in on 100 million paying users, hammering home its position as the No. 1 company in streaming music.

In its latest quarterly earnings, the streaming company revealed that it now has 96 million paying subscribers around the world. That’s up 8 million in three months, and 36 percent year-over-year. The company also made its first ever quarterly operating profit. But not all the news is good.

Juice up two MacBook Pros with one USB-C charger [Deals]

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This sleek battery has enough juice to charge four devices at once, including two laptops via USB-C.
This sleek battery has enough juice to charge four devices at once, including two laptops via USB-C.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Power is everything, especially when it comes to portable technology. So as we leave outlets behind, it pays to have a battery that can make up the difference. Luckily, batteries have been evolving along with the rest of the tech we use.

macOS Mojave flaw puts your Keychain passwords at risk

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macOS Keychain
Apple still won't cough up a reward.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

A new flaw discovered in macOS Mojave puts your sensitive Keychain data at risk.

One security researcher has demonstrated an exploit that could allow anyone to access saved usernames and passwords without administrator access. He won’t share the details with Apple, however, because there is no reward on offer.

Go behind the scenes of Apple’s Chinese New Year video

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Jia Zhangke
Jia Zhangke directing the recent Apple short film.
Photo: Apple

There’s no doubt that Apple is a master when it comes to producing compelling commercials for its products. One of the coolest things about these ads, however, is how often they don’t just feature Apple products on screen — but are actually created using Apple products, too.

That was the case with a recent short film, directed by Jia Zhangke, that Apple commissioned to celebrate the Chinese New Year. In a new video, Zhangke goes behind the scenes to show how it was achieved using his trusty iPhone XS.

Australian Apple Store customer blasts bad experience

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The screen really is beautiful.
Customer went into Apple Store to buy an iPad cover.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple Stores are known for their high level of service. An Australian dad begs to differ, however, based on his reported experience in a Sydney Apple Store recently.

Specifically, he claims that he was given a hard sell on using Apple Pay on his iPhone. Despite not wanting to use the service, he reports feeling patronized and — worse — as though the store was refusing to let him pay for his product in any other way.

U.S. House of Representatives wants answers about Apple’s FaceTime bug

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2018 iPad Pro Animoji
Apple has taken steps to rectify massive FaceTime bug.
Photo: Apple

The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has questions for Apple about its recent FaceTime bug — and why it took as long as it did to respond to the problem.

This follows similar concerns being voiced by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who said last week that her office is launching an investigation into Apple’s failure to warn customers about the FaceTime vulnerability.

Emojis coming to iOS will be more inclusive

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Here’s a handful of the emoji headed for your iPhone.
Here’s a handful of the emoji headed for your iPhone.
Photo: Unicode Consortium

If you’ve been frustrated because there’s not a sloth emoji, the Unicode Consortium has come to your rescue. It’s just announced lots of new emojis that will likely make their appearance in this fall’s iOS update.

These reflect the diversity in our society, including men and women in wheelchairs, people who are deaf, and people who are blind. 

Bring wireless charging to your desk and dashboard [Deals]

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Bring the futuristic convenience of wireless charging to your car, home or office.
Bring the futuristic convenience of wireless charging to your car, home or office.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Wireless charging is the way of the future, but you can have it today. Below you’ll find a pair of wireless chargers from Cresuer: one for the desk, and one for the dashboard. They both offer an affordable way to add modern convenience to your life, so read on for more details:

What you need to know about Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s new head of retail

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Deirdre O’Brien, a 30-year Apple veteran, will lead Apple’s Retail and People teams.
30-year Apple veteran Deirdre O’Brien will handle the company's retail push.
Photo: Apple

Apple tapped Deirdre O’Brien to be its new retail boss today in light of the news that Angela Ahrendts plans to leave the company.

While O’Brien may not be a household name to most Apple fans, she’s been with the company for more than three decades. From the days of Steve Jobs saving Apple from bankruptcy to watching Tim Cook leading the company to a first-ever $1 trillion valuation, O’Brien has seen huge changes during her tenure with the iPhone-maker. Now she’s set to be one of the most powerful people in Silicon Valley.

Here are six things you didn’t know about the new Apple retail boss.

Apple names new retail boss as Angela Ahrendts exits company

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Angela Ahrendts.
Angela Ahrendts at the iPhone X keynote.
Photo: Apple

Longtime Apple retail boss Angela Ahrendts is leaving the company after reshaping Apple’s online and retail strategies over the last five year.

Apple revealed today that it has named Deirdre O’Brien as the new senior vice president of Retail + People. Ahrendts, who was once looked at as a possible successor to Apple CEO Tim Cook, is leaving the company for new personal professional pursuits.

Tesla hits the road with sleek iPhone cases

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Tesla just started offering these two iPhone cases.
Tesla just started offering these two iPhone cases.
Photo: Tesla

Proud Tesla owners can pick up an iPhone case designed by the company that made their car.

A pair of these can be purchased on the new Tesla store on Amazon. There are some other products as well, like car models.

iPhone snaps top pics for Mobile Photography Awards

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Mobile Photography Awards
This street scene photographed by Nobuko Kmiya with an iPhone X won in the Darkness category.
Photo: Nobuko Kmiya

The winners of the eighth-annual Mobile Photography Awards were announced today and it is likely there are some members of the jury still losing sleep over the selections.

First place is awarded in 19 categories followed by a slew of honorable mentions most stunning enough to hold down top honors.

The jury slogged through more than 7,000 images from 65 countries.

Here’s how cool iOS 13’s dark mode could look

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There’s already a basic sort of dark mode in iOS, but there’s room for improvement.
There’s already a basic sort of dark mode in iOS, but there’s room for improvement.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A major new feature in iOS 13 is expected to be a system-wide dark mode, and a designer put together some concept renders of what this could offer.

This goes beyond just inverting pixel colors, which is already possible in iOS.

Apple’s 4 new Animoji are now available to public testers

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iOS12
iOS 12.2 is bringing a bunch of new features to iPhone and iPad.
Photo: Apple

The most fun new feature of iOS 12.2 is already available to members of Apple’s public beta testing program.

Apple seeded the second public beta of iOS 12.2 to public testers today, just one day after the new software was pushed out to developers. The new update includes a number of notable new features, including the addition of 4 new Animoji.

Android phones might finally catch up to Apple’s Face ID

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face id
The company that sells Apple a critical component for Face ID expects to have more customers this year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone’s multi-year lead in facial recognition could finally be nearing its end, as one of the third-party suppliers for the hardware in Face ID says it expects to start selling its 3D sensors to more companies this year.

Make TV shows and movies look great in iOS with iFlicks 3

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iFlicks makes your movies look awesome.
iFlicks makes your movies look awesome.
Photo: iFlicks

If you like to add movies and TV shows to your iTunes library, or to the Videos app on your iPhone and iPad, then you should be using iFlicks. iFlicks is an app that takes these plain video files and makes them beautiful. It adds artwork and metadata, and even converts them to a nice, iTunes- and iOS-friendly format. And now iFlicks 3 is out, with some great new features.

Insane concept gives iPhone 11 a crazy 360-degree display

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iPhone concept
Is it possible to have too much screen?
Photo: ConceptsiPhone

Do you ever wish that your entire iPhone was just one giant screen? With Apple continuously making displays bigger and bezels tinier, it seems inevitable that the iPhone will boast a display that wraps around the front and back.

The folks at ConceptsiPhone have come out with a wild iPhone 11 concept that envisions what an all-display iPhone would look like. Imagine all the new possibilities created for apps with a 360-degree display. Also, imagine how much Apple would charge to repair it.

This thing looks crazy:

Facebook Messenger now lets you unsend messages, but be quick!

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Facebook Messenger unsend
It’s about time!
Photo: Facebook

Facebook Messenger is finally giving users the ability to unsend messages.

The feature had previously been exclusive to Facebook executives, but now it’s rolling out to everyone in the latest version of the app. You’ll have to act fast to remove accidental messages, though — and don’t think that you’ll be able to completely hide your tracks.

Spoil your Valentine with Casetify’s sweet Apple Watch bands

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Whether you're crushing, dating, celebrating your partner, or just loving yourself, we've got gorgeous gifts for you and your valentine.
Whether you're crushing, dating, celebrating your partner, or just loving yourself, we've got gorgeous gifts for you and your valentine.
Photo: Casetify

Already splurged on the latest Apple Watch last Christmas? Valentine’s is the perfect opportunity to gift your special someone (or even yourself) a fresh new accessory without breaking the bank.

Cruise Casetify’s gorgeous designs and give big heart and love to anyone who’s lucky enough to unwrap these bands and wear them on their wrist. From stunning in stainless steel to sweet in Saffiano leather, pick the perfect present for you and your beau from the Cult of Mac Watch Store this Valentine’s Day.

Side Kick cable manager eliminates usual tangled mess

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Side Kick cable manager
If you miss the pop out tabs, Side Kick will bring order to your MacBook cord.
Photo: Fuse Reel

Logan Bailey will not rest until he has tamed every last tangled MacBook charging cord.

He made inroads in 2017 with the Side Winder, a reel that mounts the charging brick in the middle and pulls in both ends of the cord with a few twists.

Now, Bailey returns with the Side Kick, a square-shaped collapsible cable winder that sticks to the side of the charging brick. It comes to the rescue of new MacBook Pro users who are discovering Apple made changes to the charging cord.

Fortnite’s latest update brings bottle rockets and campfires

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Fortnite campfire
You can now light the campfires dotted around the Battle Royale map.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite’s 7.30 content update is live. This release brings brand new bottle rockets to Battle Royale, in addition to environmental campfires that you’ll find dotted around the map.

There’s also a new limited-time game mode to enjoy and a number of other nice changes.

Smart speaker market doubles in a year, but HomePod remains a bit player

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The HomePod -- a beautiful body with the brain of an idiot.
HomePod still lags behind its Google and Amazon rivals in sales.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

As the smart speaker market continues to pick up, Apple’s HomePod still lags behind devices from Amazon and Google. Both companies benefit from being earlier movers — and from offering products at a cheaper price point.

That’s the takeaway from a new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners that describes holiday trends for HomePod, Amazon Echo and Google Home.

These are some of the things which inspired the original iPhone

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2G iPhone on eBay
Apple clearly wanted to create something iconic.
Photo: jdinman1/eBay

Pop quiz: What do the original Mac, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, supersonic airplane Concorde, the Sony Walkman, and the Braun ET66 calculator have in common?

Give up? The answer is that they’re all cited as inspirations for designing the original iPhone back in 2007. The full list was recently shared by Imran Chaudhri, one of the software designers who helped create Apple’s breakthrough smartphone.