| Cult of Mac

Super Mario Run and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy holidays. Almost.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s the week before Christmas and, if you’re tired of buying gifts, decorating trees, or complaining about the weather, why not download some of the week’s hottest App Store titles?

Check out our picks below. From the long-awaited Super Mario Run and beyond, these are the most notable app launches of the past seven days.

The new MacBook Pro may have some battery issues

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Luminar
Some owners of the new MacBook Pro report unexpectedly short battery life.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s innovative new MacBook Pro may come with a battery that is a magnet for problems.

Several owners of the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar have taken to Apple’s support forums and Twitter to complain that the battery inside the new machine doesn’t last nearly as long as advertised.

How to find out if your iPhone 6s battery is eligible for replacement

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The iPhone 6s has more junk in the trunk.
The iPhone 6s has more junk in the trunk.
Photo: Apple

Apple is offering iPhone 6s customers a free battery replacement for devices that unexpectedly shut down. The problem mostly affects iPhone 6s units made between September 2015 and October 2015.

If you’re not sure when your iPhone 6s was made, you can use a new tool created by Apple to find out if your device has a faulty battery.

Here’s how to check:

Video glitches plague new MacBook Pro

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Apple's new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar should be hitting store shelves by the end of the week.
You might want to hold off on buying the new MacBook Pro.
Photo: Apple

The new MacBook Pro may not have been worth the long wait for many customers that preordered.

Early owners of Apple’s new machine are reportedly encountering problems with the GPU that cause the display to glitch so bad the MacBook Pro becomes unusable at times.

Apple’s support site gets a much-needed makeover

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Get help faster and more easily with the new Apple Support site.
Get help faster and more easily with the new Apple Support site.
Photo: Apple

Apple released a redesigned support site for desktop and mobile Friday afternoon, using its official Twitter account to call it out.

Now you’ll spend lest time trying to figure out the support site itself, Apple hopes, and get to the help you need faster, whether you’re using your iPhone, iPad or your Mac.

Apple Support comes to your rescue on Twitter

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CcoA1y6UYAEfGf8.jpg-large
Apple's got your back.
Photo: Apple

If you’ve got a question for Apple — or simply want to pick up some new tips and tricks for your iOS device or Mac — Apple has launched a brand new Twitter account to help you.

Launched this morning, @AppleSupport has already sent out 137 tweets, covering everything from Apple IDs to downloading app updates, to its 21,200 users.

Apple publishes official workaround for Messages bug

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Unicode of Death 2015
Apple has offered a workaround for people who receive messages like this.
Screen: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

Chances are you’ve heard about the iOS bug that lets users send a string of text to another iPhone owner that causes their Messages app to crash and their iPhone to reboot.

Although Apple has yet to fix the Messages bug with a software update, it has published an official support document containing a temporary workaround for solving the problem.