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Colorful custom AirPods will make you see green

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Caviar AirPods in black
You don’t have to settle for white AirPods if you have plenty of green.
Photo: AirPods

If you’ve been hoping for a pair of AirPods in black or red then this is your lucky day. And you’re even luckier if for some reason you’ve been hoping to pay a whole lot of money for them.

Luxury brand Caviar now has the Apple’s wireless earbuds in new colors but these go for more than three times the standard price.

Hollywood stars tapped to attend Apple’s March event

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Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon is playing a huge role in Apple's original content creation.
Photo: HBO

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood are coming to Silicon Valley for Apple’s first big event of 2019.

Apple is rumored to be planning a late March keynote where a slew of new services will be unveiled. To help with its pitch to customers, Apple reportedly asked some of the stars from its original TV shows to join the festivities.

Use this quick tweak to fix the iPhone XS’ flat photos

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Punchy pomegranate, no auto-enhance required.
Punchy pomegranate, no auto-enhance required.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The iPhone XS’ camera is amazing, but put an unedited shot next to an unedited photo from the older iPhone X, or one of Google’s Pixel phones, and it looks a little flat. To “fix” this, you can tap the auto-enhancing Magic Wand tool on the edit screen, but this takes things too far in the opposite direction, making faces as orange as Florida bodybuilders.

I actually prefer the less-gaudy images from the XS, but sometimes they need a little extra pop. And the good news is, you don’t have to spend lots of time editing. There’s one slider built into the Photos app that will fix things up right away.

Brilliant iOS 13 concept packs 40 features Apple should steal

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iOS 13
Always-on lock screen complications would be great!
Photo: AppleiDesigner

There are 110 days left until Apple takes the wraps off iOS 13, but if the company is still looking for a few more features to cram in, look no further than AppleiDesigner’s new concept.

With over 40 new features packed into a two-minute video, this iOS 13 concept has a little something for everyone. Dark mode, picture-in-picture on iPhone, an AR-powered Camera app, split view on iPhone and redesigned apps and more all make an appearance. There are also tons of new iPad features that could make Apple’s tablet a true PC replacement.

Get ready to drool over all the new goodies:

Tim Cook joins Trump’s workforce advisory panel

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Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook has joined a Trump Administration panel focusing on worker education.
Photo: Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Apple’s CEO is one of 25 members of the new American Workforce Policy Advisory Board which will advise President Trump on issues affecting workers.

Tim Cook and the president have a surprisingly congenial relationship considering they differ on some fundamental issues.

OP-Z pocket synthesizer uses the iPhone as its screen

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It’s tiny, yet more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
It’s tiny, yet more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
Photo: Teenage Engineering

This is Teenage Engineering’s amazing OP-Z, a tiny, TV-remote-size synthesizer and sequencer that has no screen, and yet manages to pack in a range of features that make users of “real” music hardware and software jealous. And if you do prefer working on a screen, you can hook it up to your iPhone via Bluetooth and use that.

SEC charges ex-Apple lawyer with insider trading

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Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined
Former Apple lawyer Gene Levoff used confidential Apple earnings data to make millions.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s former lawyer who was in charge of preventing employees from insider trading has been charged with insider trading himself.

The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Gene Levoff, former senior director of corporate law and corporate secretary at Apple, of using inside information to buy and sell tens of millions of dollars worth of Apple shares in order to make a profit or avoid losses.

How iOS makes it easier to manage your subscriptions

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Streaming services like Apple Music dominate the US music market
Apple's making it simpler to check your recurring iOS subscriptions.
Photo: Apple

Unlike some companies, Apple doesn’t want to sucker you into subscriptions by making it really hard to cancel them.

In fact, the latest iOS update makes it easier than ever to manage your recurring app subscriptions. Here’s how to dive in and take control of your iOS subscriptions.

GTA: Vice City looks better than ever on iPhone and iPad Pro

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GTA 2
Travel back to Vice City in style.
Photo: Rockstar Games

Amazingly, it’s more than 16 years since the legendary Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas landed on PlayStation 2. (That’s the same length of time that had elapsed, on its launch in 2002, since the game’s 1986 setting.)

Almost two decades later, the game is as much fun as it ever was. And now, thanks to an iOS update, its iPhone and iPad port looks better than ever.

Apple will investigate Saudi app that let men track wives and daughters

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Saudi government app
Government app can be used to restrict the travel of women in the country.
Screenshot: iTunes

Tim Cook says he will investigate a Saudi government app that lets men receive updates on the location of their wives and daughters.

Speaking on National Public Radio, Cook said he was not personally aware of the app. However, he noted that, “obviously we’ll take a look at it if [the complaints about it are accurate].”

Apple products have a repair shop problem in India

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Apple supplier is increasing its ability to build masses of iPhones in India
Apple has to rely on third-party repair shops in the country.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has another potential problem in India: the sub-par repair options available for its products.

According to a new report, Apple’s authorized repair shops in the country are disappointing to say the least. That’s especially bad for a company which is well known for providing some of the best customer service around.

Apple Store celebrates Heart Month with new health events

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Apple Watch Meidcare
That includes a life-saving ECG app.
Photo: Apple

Select Apple Stores around the United States are hosting new health events throughout February to celebrate American Heart Month.

The first took place at Apple Union Square in San Francisco on Monday and featured Apple vice president Dr. Sumbul Desai, fitness trainer Jeanette Jenkins, and president of the American Heart Association, Robert Harrington.

Apple’s self-driving car project isn’t quite ready for prime time

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Here's how Apple Car might eliminate blind spots
Apple Car still needs some improvement.
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Apple’s autonomous car project is certainly exciting for Apple fans. It’s likely to be a while longer before the company is ready to officially launch what it’s been working on, however.

That’s according to a new “Disengagement Report” which covers the period December 2017 through November 2018. It refers to instances in which self-driving vehicles being tested on California roads had to pass control back to the human driver behind the wheel.

Nearly 1 in 4 young adults in U.S. now own a smartwatch

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Apple
The Apple Watch is the 'clear market leader,' too.
Photo: Apple

Among the all-important 18-34 year old age demographic, almost one quarter of U.S. adults reportedly own a smartwatch. And the Apple Watch is likely to be the device they own.

According to The NPD Group, U.S. smartwatch unit sales increased 61 percent during the 12-month period concluding in November 2018. The amount of money raked in was also, unsurprisingly, up — by almost $5 billion.

Apple soaks Google to sit in Safari’s sweet spot

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Google
Google pays a hefty sum to stay the default Safari search engine, making a real contribution to Apple’s bottom line.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

With sales of iPhones plateauing, money from its Services sector is playing an increasing role in Apple’s bottom line. There’s a significant source of this type of revenue many might not expect: arch-rival Google.

As part of its advertising business, Google pays Apple a huge sum every year to stay the default search engine in the Safari web browser. And it’s expected to grow.

This cheap Lightning-to-USB-C cable is better than Apple’s [Review]

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Anker PowerLine II USB-C Cable with Lightning Connector
There’s no reason to get Apple’s Lightning-to-USB-C cable when Anker’s is at least as good for less money.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Anker is taking pre-orders for a Lightning-to-USB-C cable that costs much less than Apple’s version. We tested this new accessory to see how quickly it can charge an iPhone to be sure it’s a reasonable copy and not just a cheap knockoff.

Read on to see how well the Anker Powerline II USB-C cable stood up to our tests.

Apple’s greedy terms for new service reportedly spook publishers

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Apple News
Apple wants a giant piece of publishers’ action
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly taking a hard line with publishers during its negotiations for a proposed news subscription service.

Aiming to become the “Netflix of news,” Apple’s as-yet-unannounced service would give customers unlimited access to articles from popular publishers for just $10 per month. However, news organizations are reportedly balking at Apple’s proposed revenue split, which sounds downright greedy.

How to delete unwanted music downloads on iPhone

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Enjoy this music-related image.
Enjoy this music-related image.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Problem: Your iPhone is full of downloaded music. There’s probably a lot of it that you don’t need taking up space on there, but deleting it is a pain. The solution? As ever, it’s hidden inside the Settings app. There’s a dedicated page just to solve this exact problem, listing your downloaded music and making it easy to delete. Let’s check it out.

Apple takes heat over Saudi app that tracks women

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Saudi government app
A Saudi man can use a government app to restrict the travel of his wife or daughter.
Screenshot: iTunes

A U.S. senator is asking Apple and Google to pull an app in Saudi Arabia that men use to track and restrict the movements of women.

Sen. Ron Wyden wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google boss Sundar Pichai asking them to “immediately remove” the app Absher, from their app stores.