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Thinner, lighter 2019 iPhone will be made possible by Samsung

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iPhone X
Proprietary Samsung display technology could bring improvements to a 2019 iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A 2019 iPhone model reportedly will sport a display made by Samsung that has the touch panel integrated into the OLED, rather than layered on top. 

If true, the technology will make one of next year’s iOS handsets thinner and lighter, but not all of them.

Apple poaches new head of casting from Sony

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Tamara Hunter
Apple's new head of casting, Tamara Hunter.
Photo: The Headshot Truck LLC

Apple’s TV team just hired seasoned Hollywood executive to lead its casting efforts for its many TV shows currently in development. Tamara Hunter, the vice president of casting at Sony Pictures Entertainment, is reportedly leaving her post to join Apple as the head of casting.

Atlanta could get super-sized flagship Apple Store

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This could be the next Atlanta Apple Store.
This could be the next Atlanta Apple Store.
Photo: Schroeder Architects

The Apple Store in Atlanta’s Lenox Mall is apparently getting a big upgrade.

An illustration of a new store coming to this high-end mall has surfaced, and while it doesn’t yet have an Apple logo, the company’s familiar design is very much in evidence.

iCareFone: Make your backup, restore, transfer easier than ever

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iCareFone offers an easy, straightforward alternative to iTunes.
iCareFone offers an easy, straightforward alternative to iTunes.
Photo: Tenorshare

This post is presented by Tenorshare.

Using iTunes to manage your data is not the best part of owning an iPhone or iPad. Spend time with Cupertino’s flagship app, and you realize it’s tough to navigate, with cumbersome tools for managing data and backups. It leaves many of us wishing for more straightforward, focused control over our iOS devices and data.

Job listing hints at Apple-made modems coming to iPhone

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The Apple T2 chip could be the source of mysterious crashes afflicting two of Apple's newest computers.
Apple wants to bring its chip-designing skillset to modems.
Photo: IFIXIT

Qualcomm and Intel could both soon lose out on Apple’s wireless chip business completely.

After switching from Qualcomm modems to Intel modems (and causing a huge legal war in the process), Apple is reportedly looking to build more wireless chips on its own. The company is staffing up in San Diego and based on one job listing, the team is working on a cellular modem chip.

iPhone suppliers could leave China if trade tariff hits 25%

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iphone XS
Apple will look to avoid iPhone import levies above 10%.
Photo: Apple

iPhone suppliers will reportedly consider moving away from China is U.S. trade tariffs hit 25 percent.

Sources say they will remain even if the U.S. introduces a 10 percent tax on smartphones, but they could be forced to “reassess the situation” should the Trump administration impose a higher rate on imported goods.

Apple could launch paid Apple News tier as soon as spring 2019

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Texture will stop working on Windows soon
Apple purchased Texture back in early 2018.
Photo: Apple

Apple is planning to launch its own paid magazine and newspaper subscription service, which will serve as a premium part of the existing Apple News app.

It is based on Texture, the $9.99 a month magazine service Apple purchased back in March. As happened with the Beats Music technology that went into Apple Music, Apple will use its acquisition as the basis for its own branded product offering.

Fortnite’s new Infinity Blade causes chaos and Epic must take note

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Fortnite Infitnity Blade
The Infinity Blade won’t be quite as frustrating soon
Photo: Epic Games

Infinity Blade is back just days after being pulled from the App Store — but not as you might have expected. It’s now a crazy sword that can be found inside Fortnite Battle Royale.

The limited-time item was added in yesterday’s patch — the first since the introduction of season seven — and it gives a single player a huge advantage in each game. Unsurprisingly, it’s already causing chaos in competitive play.

Apple Music subscribers get holiday discount on HomePod

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Apple debuts HomePod in India at its cheapest price yet
The HomePod could be yours for a bit less this festive season.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple is offering promo codes to Apple Music customers, giving them money off the HomePod smart speaker in time for the holidays.

So far, users in the U.K. have reported receiving the offer for 50 British pounds ($63) off the full price of a HomePod. The offer runs through December 16, giving would-be purchasers until the end of the week to take advantage. It’s not clear how many markets Apple will offer the discount in.

Build beautiful websites without writing a single line of code [Deals]

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Whatever you need a website for, you can build it without any previous web design skills.
Whatever you need a website for, you can build it without any previous web design skills.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

There are plenty of reasons to build a website. Maybe you’ve got a personal brand to grow, products to sell, or just need a place to show off your ideas. But if you can’t code, don’t worry, you can still build beautiful, feature-rich websites.

Google CEO has to tell Congressman who makes the iPhone

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Google hearing 2
The iPhone: not made by Google.
Photo: C-Span

This year’s Facebook congressional hearing highlighted just how little many lawmakers know about the technology which dominates our lives.

That seemingly didn’t change during yesterday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing with Google CEO Sundar Pichai. At one point in proceedings 69-year-old Republican Congressman Steve King expressed his disappointment to Pichai that his 7-year-old daughter had been shown a photo of her grandfather with some unflattering language on her iPhone.

“Congressman, the iPhone is made by a different company,” Pichai said.

European regulators are keeping a close eye on Apple Pay

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Apple Pay Germany
Apple Pay recently went live in Germany.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook has admitted that Apple Pay hasn’t taken off quite as quickly as he would like. But that’s not stopping the European Commission from threatening that Apple’s mobile payments service could face challenges if it gets much more dominant.

Speaking this week, European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that, while at “first glance, we couldn’t see Apple being dominant,” it will face ongoing scrutiny regarding Apple Pay.

SEO matters, so track your site’s web ranking with this pro tool [Deals]

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Track your site's search ranking with SERPCloud Pro
Track your site's search ranking with SERPCloud Pro
Screenshot: Cult of Mac Deals

About 83 percent of big-time digital marketing companies responding to a Clutch survey said they think they’re doing a good job reaching their marketing goals. Yet, 44 percent said SEO was their “least popular” tool. But SEO drives search rankings. And since more than 90 percent of business decisions start with an online search, and first-page Google results get more than 90 percent of web traffic … well, we seem to have a contradiction here.

Apple Watch ECG already finding stealth heart problems

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Apple health care
Using the ECG on Apple Watch Series 4 is dead easy.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Ed Dentel has become the poster child for the new ECG function of the Apple Watch. He installed the recent update that allowed this wearable to check the electrical activity of his heart and it immediately told him he had a problem.

At first he thought the new technology was faulty. Instead, the fault was his heart.

Best gifts for Mac fans [Gift Guide 2018]

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Mac gift guide 2018
Buying for a Mac fan? Start here!
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

We’ve shown you the best gifts for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users, but what if the person you’re buying for is a long-time Apple fan whose first love was the Mac? Then you should start your shopping right here!

Gift guide 2018 bugThis guide is filled with awesome accessories and gadgets that every Mac addict will enjoy. We’ve handpicked only the best — things we’ve used, reviewed, and would recommend — so that you can be sure your hard-earned cash is being well spent.

Check out our gift guide selections for Mac users below.

How to stop apps from tracking your location

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Wherever you go, your iPhone is tracking youR location
Wherever you go, your iPhone is tracking you.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Your iPhone apps can track your location. You already know that, but maybe you tell yourself that that weather app just uses your current location to give you an accurate forecast, or that your bike-routing and tracking app is just keeping a count of miles and calories.

In reality, any one of these apps may be taking that location data and selling it. One way to handle this is to keep up to date with the privacy policies of any location-aware apps you use, but that’s too much work for most of us. Instead, why not just deny them access to your location? On iOS, that’s easy, and it works.

First public betas of iOS 12.1.2, macOS Mojave 10.14.3 squash some bugs

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iOS 12.1.2 public beta 1 can be installed on your iPhone now.
iOS 12.1.2 public beta 1 can be installed on your iPhone now.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

There’s always another version of iOS in the pipeline. Just a few days after iOS 12.1.1 brought improvements to FaceTime and Face ID, the public can now download the first beta of the upcoming replacement.

Apple is equally diligent about macOS updates. The initial beta version of macOS Mojave 10.14.3 also just debuted to the general public.

Top iPhone suppliers give Apple investors good news

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The iPhone XS Max is 25 percent larger than any previous iOS handset. So how is it as an iPad mini replacement?
2018 iPhone sales might be a lot stronger than Apple’s share price would indicate.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A pair of companies critical in producing the iPhone enjoyed very strong sales in November. While not definite, this is a clear hint that the recent pessimism about sales of Apple’s handsets is unjustified.

Apple’s share price has dropped about 25 percent in the past couple of months on previous equally vague but negative reports.

Mojave update hints at new AMD Vega GPUs coming to Mac

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2018 MacBook Pro
Bag a bargain MacBook Pro today only.
Photo: Apple

The most recent macOS Mojave update suggests we’ll soon see new AMD Vega GPUs coming to the Mac.

Apple recently introduced a refreshed MacBook Pro with faster Vega graphics chips, and it seems those GPU upgrades will continue in early 2019 for other machines in the company’s lineup.

Linea Sketch adds fantastic new Apple Pencil features

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Linea Sketch
Linea Sketch get a ton of great iPad-Pro ready-features.
Photo: Iconfactory

The iPad’s best simple drawing app just got a fantastic update for the new 2018 iPad Pro. Linea Sketch is a crowd favorite thanks to its clean design, its advanced-yet-simple-to-use features, and its great drawing and ink engine. And now it has been brushed up to take advantage of the new 2018 iPadPro and second-gen Apple Pencil.

Super Micro investigation reveals no Chinese spy chips

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chips
Bloomberg article made accusations about Chinese spy chips.
Photo: Intel

As promised, Super Micro Computer, the manufacturer of technology accused by Bloomberg of containing Chinese spy chips, has carried out an investigation of its hardware. And it’s apparently clean.

The company hired outside investigators to resolve the claims leveled against it. On Tuesday, it told customers that there was no evidence of malicious hardware on its current or older motherboards.