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Sen. Warren targets App Store in bid to break up Apple

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App Store
The App Store should be a separate company, according to a high-profile presidential candidate.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for U.S. president has taken a hard line against big tech, and she has Apple in her sights. On Friday she proposed breaking up a number of large tech firms, and the iPhone-maker made the list.

Now she’s shared more details on why she thinks dividing Apple into at least two parts is necessary.

Wireless earbuds, iPhone lenses and more in the best deals of the week [Deals]

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The top deals of the week include an awesome AirPods alternative, a powerful task manager, and more.
The top deals of the week include an awesome AirPods alternative and a powerful task manager.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Another week, another roundup of awesome deals on gear and gadgets. This round, we’ve got a truly attractive AirPods alternative, a powerful tool for blocking unwanted calls and texts, the ultimate time-management platform, and a set of camera lenses for your iPhone.

Snag one or all — at hefty discounts!

2019 iPad probably isn’t getting the new features you want

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New mages could be of the rumored iPad mini 5.
This leaked image is seemingly the best look we have so far of the 2019 iPad.
Photo: Mr-white

Details leaking out about the next iPad indicate that this will be an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary, device.

So far, it looks like Apple’s 2019 mid-size, budget tablet will have quite a bit in common with the 2018 iteration. 

Why we’re hopelessly hooked on iPhone [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 287]

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Admit it: You couldn't leave the Apple ecosystem even if you wanted to.
Admit it: You couldn't leave even if you wanted to.
Cover: Marty Cortinas/Cult of Mac

What keeps you locked into the Apple ecosystem? These killer features and services have us totally hooked on the iPhone. Honestly, we couldn’t quit Apple if we tried.

You’ll get our sober rundown of all the things we couldn’t live without if we switched to Android, plus the week’s best news, how-tos and reviews, in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine. Download your free issue for iOS. Or hit the links below to read the stories in your browser.

Bonus: Scroll down to the “week’s best reviews and recommendations” section for a link to enter our new iPhone XS Max and AirPods giveaway!

Add wireless charging to your car and your home [Deals]

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This pair of discounted devices bring wireless charging to your home, office, and car.
These discounted devices bring wireless charging to your home, office and car.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

One of the surest signs that we’re waltzing into the future is the ability to charge our devices wirelessly. If you’re looking to catch up with the times, we’ve got a pair of wireless chargers you should check out.

One is perfect for the home or office, the other for the car — and both are available at a nice discount.

Apple whips its gigantic global supply chain into shape [Opinion]

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Apple supply chain worker inspecting glass
Apple is really cleaning up its supply chain under Tim Cook.
Photo: Apple

Over the years, Apple took heavy criticism for employing an offshore supply chain rife with abuse. The company is still stained by the rash of worker suicides in 2010 at Foxconn, its main supplier.

But as Apple’s latest Supplier Responsibility report shows, the company continues to make remarkable strides to improve conditions for workers and the environment.

Apple Music recruits iconic artists to design its playlist covers

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apple-music
Some of the new artwork you'll see.
Photo: Apple Music

Apple has quietly hired some of the most iconic album cover artists in the industry to give Apple Music its own artwork.

The undertaking is part of Apple’s effort to give playlists a uniform presentation that speaks to the music. Artists who previously worked on designs for bands like AC/DC, Migos, Boston, Ted Nugent and Blue Öyster Cult have already created hundreds of new playlist artworks, with many more on the way.

How to save and print your iMessages and WhatsApps

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Get your freshly-printed WhatsApps here.
Get your freshly-printed WhatsApps here.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Yes, this sounds like a joke about the olde worlde CEO who has his secretary print his emails, then transcribe his dictated replies. But printing message threads can be pretty useful. Lawyers, for example, may want a printed record, or a PDF, of a message thread. And even regular humans might appreciate a well-formatted archive of their messages that can be easily searched and marked up.

You still can’t do this on your iDevice. However, thanks to the amazing iMazing Mac app, you can quickly create PDFs of your messages, and even print them. Onto paper.

Here’s how Apple’s celebrating International Women’s Day

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Apple female coders 1
Apple has teamed up with a nonprofit to help teach young women to code.
Photo: Apple

To coincide with International Women’s Day, Apple has partnered with the nonprofit “Girls Who Code.” The partnership aims to expand learning opportunities for young women.

To do this, Apple is providing its Swift-focused “Everyone Can Code” curriculum to club leaders across the U.S. to help expand the number of coding clubs. This will ultimately benefit up to 90,000 young women.

The best way to see your Apple Watch is in living color [Watch Store]

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Strapa
A colorful band can really kick things up a notch.
Photo: Strapa

Sometimes you need to stick to basic black. Maybe your job requires you to have a low profile or wear a uniform. But now it’s the weekend, and it’s time to unleash some personality. One easy way to add some color to your life is to switch up the band for your Apple Watch.

The Cult of Mac Watch Store has several colorful Apple Watch bands available. Aside from the models highlighted below, there’s plenty of bold bands available, so check them out.

Elizabeth Warren wants to break up Apple

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Elizabeth Warren chimes in on allegedly discriminatory Apple Card algorithm
Sen. Elizabeth Warren thinks the tech industry would be more competitive if some big companies were divided up.
Photo: elizabethwarren.com

Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has proposed breaking up some of the biggest names in tech, including Apple. She says these companies have “bulldozed competition.”

She turned most of her ire on Amazon, Facebook and Google, though.

Apple in dispute with political party over ‘confusing’ logo

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Apple logo dispute
Dueling apple logos are part of a trademark dispute in Norway.
Illustration: VG

A political party in Norway has an apple logo. It is bright red, topped with a brown stem and green leaf and frames a large letter F for Fremskrittspariet or Progress Party.

It has been the party logo for 30 years. However, recent tweaks to the design caught the eye of Apple Inc., prompting the tech giant to file a formal complaint with the Norwegian Patent Office.

All the ways Apple locks us into iPhone [Opinion]

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iPhone survey
I wanted a Galaxy S10, but I'm stuck with iPhone.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

It’s not easy to give up your iPhone. Even if you’ve already decided you want to switch to another handset, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to let go. Apple has you locked in. And for some iPhone owners, there is no way out.

That’s because it’s not just your iPhone that you’d be saying goodbye to. Many other apps and services you use every day — some without even thinking about it — make switching to another platform nearly impossible.

Here are all the ways Apple makes it hard to jump ship and switch to Android.

iPhone SE 2 could be the savior Apple needs [Opinion]

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iPhone SE
Apple desperately needs an updated iPhone SE.
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

iPhone sales are down, especially in emerging markets. The reason is simple: Apple’s devices cost too darn much. And the solution is equally simple: Apple must make a new budget model. In short, it needs a successor to the iPhone SE to ensure short-term profits as well as long-term viability.

This device has to have a low, low price. Even if that means a phone so bare-bones that most Americans turn up their noses at it.

Is Apple prepping a folding iPhone? This week, on The CultCast

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CultCast iPhone XS
Samsung's got a folding phone—is a folding iPhone next?

This week on The CultCast: Samsung has been sending Apple foldable screens… is a folding iPhone on the horizon? Plus: Apple may have quietly fixed MacBook Pro’s ‘stage light’ flaw; Apple prepping products that will “blow you away”; and Tim Cook receives a brand new nick name from none other than Donald J. Trump, and his reaction is legendary.

Our thanks to Shapr for supporting this episode. Whether you are looking for investors, a co-founder, a new job opportunity, or just inspiring conversations, Shapr can connect you to professionals who truly want to share tips and help.

Apple’s first AR glasses to arrive in 2020 as iPhone accessory

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iOS 11.3 ARKit
Augmented reality will be even better with glasses.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s long-rumored augmented reality glasses will finally arrive in 2020, according to a trusted analyst.

The first-generation specs reportedly will function strictly as an iPhone accessory. They will depend on Apple’s smartphone for processing, rendering, location services and just about everything else. Mass-production of the Apple AR glasses could start later this year.

AirPod alternatives last 50 hours and cost less than $60 [Deals]

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These wireless earbuds sport more than double the battery life of AirPods, but they're less than half the price.
These wireless earbuds sport more than double the battery life of AirPods, but they're less than half the price.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Seems like everywhere you go, you see people with the white ear fangs known as AirPods. Don’t expect that to change anytime soon – some analysts expect Apple to ship as many as 80 million earbuds next year, and up to 110 million in 2021.

Does your iPhone XS suffer from s-s-stuttering?

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iPhone XS Max
It's thought every handset has this problem.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max owners are reporting animation stutters after leaving their handsets idle for around 10 seconds.

The problem, which is most obvious when opening or closing apps and scrolling pages, has reportedly been present for several months now. It persists in the latest iOS 12.2 betas, which suggests Apple hasn’t yet found a fix.

Apple ‘faces pressure’ to deliver foldable iPhone fast

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Galaxy-Fold-inside
Could it be here any day now?
Photo: Samsung

Apple is said to be under pressure to deliver a foldable iPhone that can compete with upcoming devices from the likes of Samsung and Huawei.

Apple “cannot afford to ignore” the foldable phone trend, according to a new report. If the company doesn’t catch up quickly, industry observers warn Cupertino could lose its reputation as being “a leader of innovation.”

Apple Music sides with artists in battle for higher royalty payouts

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Apple Music
Apple decided not to fight the ruling to pay songwriters more.
Photo: Apple

Every major music streaming service is joining together to appeal a controversial ruling that increases payouts to songwriters. Everyone except Apple Music that is.

Spotify, Google, Pandora and Amazon have teamed up to fight the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to increase payouts to songwriters by 44%. Apple is the only major streamer not planning to fight the ruling, causing some artists to heap praise on the iPhone-maker for its stance.

Apple accuses Qualcomm of witness tampering in latest courtroom spat

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Qualcomm headquarters
Lawyers got heated in the courtroom today for the latest Apple v. Qualcomm patent battle.
Photo: Qualcomm

This week’s legal fight between Apple and Qualcomm reached a point generally only seen on TV courtroom dramas: the iPhone maker accused its rival of witness tampering.

The complaint comes after Apple’s star witness decided at the last minute not to testify.

DirectTV Now finally integrates with Apple TV app

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DirecTV Now lets you stream TV on your iPhone.
DirecTV Now lets you stream TV on your iPhone.
Photo: DirecTV Now.

AT&T revealed that it’s finally making it easier to watch DirecTV Now on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV by integrating it into the Apple TV app.

The new update gives DirecTV Now subscribers the ability to keep track of their watching progress for TV series and movies across multiple devices will also bringing custom recommendations on new stuff to watch.

How to create Dropbox-style links in iCloud Drive

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Cloud storage.
Cloud storage.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you keep your stuff in Dropbox, it’s easy to grab a link to a file or a folder. Then you can send that link to another person or store it in, say, your to-do list so you can quickly open it with a click. You can even grab the link inside the iOS Files app.

But if you use iCloud, this simple task is no longer simple. In typical Apple style, a clean UI comes at the expense of hiding almost everything behind multiple taps and cryptic pop-up boxes. But all is not lost. You can actually grab a link to any file stored in your iCloud Drive — and use it in any app you please.