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Get an enhanced Dock replacement for your Mac at half off [Deals]

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Swap our your Mac Dock with uBar 4, a Mac Dock alternative used by engineers at Facebook, Google and elsewhere.
Swap our your Mac Dock with this alternative, used by engineers at Facebook, Google and elsewhere.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

One thing all Mac users have in common is the Dock. Or so we thought. This customizable dock replacement is the favorite of engineers at Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other tech heavy hitters. And now it can be yours — at half off the usual price!

iPhone falls ‘flat’ as Chinese smartphones dominate sales

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iPhone data privacy
Data privacy comes with the price.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

The iPhone turned in a “flat” third quarter while Chinese brands Huawei and Xiaomi droves sales in their home country to grow their shares of the global smartphone market.

The smartphone market grew by 1.4 percent to reach 389 units. Take Huawei and Xiaomi out of the equation, and global sales would have declined by 5.2 percent, according to the research firm Gartner, Inc.

Dodgy apps use Touch ID/Face ID to rip off users

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Touch ID on iPhone
Don’t let an app ask for your identity with Touch ID or Face ID unless you know what it’s doing.
Photo: Apple

A pair of fitness applications were found to be tricking users into authorizing financial transactions. They have been removed from the App Store, but stand as examples of something to watch out for.

If third-party software asks for you to identify yourself with Touch ID or Face ID, carefully consider whether there’s a good reason before doing so.

Tumblr bans all porn after getting removed from App Store

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Tumblr
Porn is getting the boot from Tumblr.
Photo: Tumblr

Tumblr made the shocking announcement today that it is kicking all forms of pornography off its platform and Apple’s strict rules could be to blame.

Starting on December 17, Tumblr will no longer allow porn on its site. Tumblr says the change has come after several months of serious thought on who it wants to be, but its recent ban from the App Store is probably the biggest reason why.

Create professional-grade graphics on your iPad and iPhone

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The latest version of Vectornator makes it a more powerful and intuitive app for mobile graphic design.
The latest version of Vectornator makes it an even more powerful and intuitive tool for mobile graphic design.
Image: Linearity

This post is presented by Linearity.

Graphic design, one of today’s busiest creative industries, can seem inaccessible if you don’t have expensive software and education. Vectornator, a free app that brings professional-grade tools to iOS devices, aims to make graphic design easy for everyone.

Why HomePod’s ‘Hey Siri’ will blow you away

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Siri speaker
The HomePod's ability to hear at full volume is one of the most impressive feats.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple pulled back the curtain on some of the most complicated features of its HomePod smart speaker this morning with a new blog post that details the machine learning tech that goes into its ‘Hey Siri’ detection.

One of the biggest challenges with making a smart speaker is not only figuring out what to listen for but also what sounds to discard in the process. Apple’s engineers have come up with a number of interesting methods to make Siri work even when you’re blasting tunes our of the HomePod’s speakers.

Hear the Grammy nominations first on Apple Music

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Apple Music will reveal Grammy nominations before the Academy does.
Apple Music will reveal Grammy nominations before the Academy does.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Recording Academy is trying something unusual with this year’s Grammy Awards: nominations for some of the categories will be announced via Apple Music.

If you’re very eager to find out which artists are  up for Grammies this year, you can get up early Friday morning and tune in via your iPhone, Mac, or iPad.

Lower price is most popular Apple Watch feature

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Series 3 price
The 40mm Series 4 Apple Watch compared to the 42mm Series 3 Apple Watch.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Apple continues to put more of its smartwatches on the wrists of customers thanks largely these days to a reduced price on its Series 3 model.

Apple sold more than 4 million Apple Watches in the third quarter, a 54 percent increase in year-over-year growth.

Epic sends out icy teaser for Fortnite season 7

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Fortnite season 7
Wrap up warm because it’s going to be a cold one.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite’s seventh season is just a few days away and fans are ready for another round of big changes to Battle Royale.

We’re all hoping for a snowy map makeover for the holidays, and Epic Games has all but confirmed we’ll get it with its first season seven teaser.

Samsung slips up with another tweet from iPhone

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Samsung Galaxy Note 9
Oops! They did it again!
Photo: Samsung

Samsung has been caught tweeting from an iPhone … again.

The South Korean company used an Apple device to publish a message promoting the Galaxy Note 9’s edge-to-edge display. The monumental gaffe led to the temporary but complete deactivation of the Samsung Mobile Nigeria account.

Apple’s first 5G iPhone won’t arrive until at least 2020

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iPhone 5G
Apple's in no rush to be the first 5G smartphone maker to market.
Photo illustration: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Anyone hoping for a 5G iPhone in 2019 is going to be sorely disappointed, a new report claims. That’s because Apple is supposedly holding off plans to launch a handset on the ultra-fast 5G network until 2020 at the earliest.

That likely means that rivals like Samsung will be able to win more customers, short term, by rushing to beat Apple to the punch. However, for anyone who has followed Apple for a while, this move is no surprise.

Handwritten Steve Jobs Apple-1 spec sheet up for auction

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man in the machine
Steve Jobs as a young man.
Photo: Magnolia Pictures/Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine

Steve Jobs was renowned for being hands-on when it came to overseeing Apple’s iconic ad campaigns. But if you really want an Apple ad that had Jobs’ writing all over it, you need to start scouring your personal savings.

That’s because a handwritten document describing the spec of the Apple-1 — Apple’s first ever computer — is coming up for auction this month. In it, Jobs’ describes the computer’s printed circuit board, which was being sold for $75, as a “real deal.”

Apple and Qualcomm will face off in court in April

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Qualcomm headquarters
This is set to be a major legal battle in 2019.
Photo: Qualcomm

A trial date has been announced for the long-brewing Qualcomm vs. Apple lawsuit. According to a new report, it will take place on April 15, 2019.

While Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf recently suggested that the two companies are “on the doorstep of a resolution,” Apple’s attorney insists that this is not the case. “There have been unfortunate articles lately that the parties are close to a settlement, and that is not true,” attorney William Isaacson said. “There haven’t been talks in months.”

iPhone will be spared from China tariffs — for now

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Both China and the U.S. are hitting pause on the growing tariff war.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

President Trump says that the U.S. and China have come to an agreement to hit pause on the escalating trade war between the two countries.

Trump’s comments follow on from the G-20 summit in Argentina, in which he met with Xi Jinping, president of the People’s Republic of China. The 90-day delay on tariffs will cause a sigh of relief for executives at Apple, since the iPhone was recently threatened with additional tariffs.

Attendees of the Ellen Show given a free iPhone XR

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Ellen iPhone 2
"And you get an iPhone! And you get an iPhone! And YOU get an iPhone!"
Photo: Ellen Show

Apple is literally giving away free units of its iPhone XR handsets.

Okay, so that’s not quite as bad as it sounds, but it’s the free gift which met attendees of the latest edition of the Ellen Show. In an Oprah-like stunt, host Ellen DeGeneres and actress Julia Roberts announced to the crowd that they were all being given a freebie iPhone.

Updated AirPods will supposedly land in early 2019

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Apple AirPods
And, you guessed it, they're going to be even more expensive.
Photo: Apple

Upgraded AirPods are on the way in early 2019, with a total redesign scheduled for 2020. At least, that’s according to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a new note to clients.

Kuo claims that the big improvement for next year’s AirPods will be the addition of wireless charging support. This is most likely the wireless charging case that Apple first announced back in September 2017, alongside its still MIA AirPower charging mat.

Apple Store purchases this week generate donations to AIDS treatment

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Apple calls attention to World AIDS Day with red logos in its retail stores.
Apple calls attention to World AIDS Day with red logos in its retail stores.
Photo: Apple

Apple is a company with a social conscience, and it’s using its high profile to bring attention to the fight against HIV/AIDS.  As part of this, Apple logos at its retail locations around the word went red to observe World AIDS Day.

But that’s just the start. From today through Dec. 7, checking out with Apple Pay in the Apple Store will donate $1 to fighting this epidemic.

iPad Pro spawns jealousy and regret [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 273]

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iPad Pro jealousy and regret in Cult of Mac Magazine No. 273.
You know you want it.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

The new iPad Pro packs enough power to challenge the Mac. It also costs enough to cause some serious contemplation for anybody worried about pocketbook pain.

We tackle the subject from several sides in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Get your free issue on iTunes now. Or keep reading for the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos.

Apple approves India’s controversial Do Not Disturb app

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Foxconn moving additional iPhone production to India as coronavirus disrupts work
Apple and India’s government worked out their differences on an iOS app before iPhone was banned from that country.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple today made an anti-spam application developed by the Indian government available on that country’s version of its App Store. The software is designed to help prevent an avalanche of commercial phone calls and texts, but Apple had previously expressed concerns that it revealed too much information about users to the government.

The version of TRAI DND – Do Not Disturb just approved appears to deal with Apple’s concerns.

Japan’s decotora trucks skirt-skirt into new ‘Shot on iPhone’ ad

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Dectora
Dectora trucks are unlike any car in the world.
Photo: Apple

Apple puts the iPhone’s low-light shooting capabilities on full display in a new “Shot on iPhone” ad that gives viewers a glimpse inside Japan’s decotora truck craze.

The incredible new video follows Kazuya Sekino, creator of Lady Misaki, a decorated truck with hundreds of LED lights. Apple’s trippy two-minute ad showcases the art of Japan’s many decotora trucks. It also highlights all the good things they do for the community.

Get ready to go for a ride!

NYC plans to make AirDropping dick pics a crime

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AirDrop
‘Fast Share’ will roll out later this year.
Photo: Apple

My friend Tyler is a world traveler. Tyler has a favorite game he likes to play on his iPhone. When he’s in a busy area like an airport, he likes to AirDrop a picture of his naked ass next to a waterfall to unspecting iPhone users.

The photo is fairly harmless and usually draws some laughs. But the next time Tyler flies through New York City, his favorite game could earn him some jailtime thanks to a newly proposed law that would make it illegal to send sexually explicit images to anyone that doesn’t want to received them (which is pretty much everyone).