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Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on CNBC:

Ex-employees dish on why Instagram ‘Likes’ are dying

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Instagram's Twitter announcement on hiding likes
Instagram's announcement on hiding "Likes."
Screenshot: Instagram/Twitter

In hiding the number of “Likes” a post gets on Instagram, parent company Facebook is actually hiding another motivation for the grand experiment – making you post more.

Instagram said the hidden “Likes” test was one part of a strategy to reduce cyber-bullying. Removing the count would create a kinder, gentler experience and allow users to connect without the social pressure of feeling liked.

Apple News+ subscriber growth is stuck in neutral

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Some publishers report that Apple News+ isn't a 'huge boon' for business
Apple News+ hasn't been as big a hit as Apple hoped.
Photo: Apple

Apple News+ has been struggling to ramp up its subscriber numbers since launching in March, according to a new report that claims growth has been stuck in neutral for months.

News came out this morning that Apple is considering bundling services like Apple Music, Apple News+ and Apple TV+ together for a monthly fee. At this point, the company might need to do that to get more people onto the Apple News+ platform in order to make it worthwhile for publishers.

Tim Cook talks Facebook versus Sign in with Apple in new interview

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Sign in with Apple
"Sign in with Apple" is a new privacy feature in iOS 13.
Photo: Alfred Ng

Sign in with Apple might be the most underrated feature to come out of the WWDC 2019 keynote. A lot of analysts, including Cult of Mac founder Leander Kahkney, think it’s a big shot at Facebook. The social media giant has become one of the iPhone-maker’s favorite companies to hate on recently, but Apple CEO Tim Cook says the new feature isn’t targeting Facebook.

Trump’s tariffs may increase iPhone prices by 14%

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Apple shares suffer biggest decline since August
Apple shares suffer biggest decline since August
Photo: White House

Apple may soon be forced to raise iPhone prices if Donald Trump’s latest round of proposed tariffs on Chinese imports goes into effect.

Trump wants to slap tariffs on the remaining $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. The Office of U.S. Trade Representative began the approval process this week. Those tariffs could go into effect by June 24 and if that happens, some analysts predict Apple will raise iPhone prices by 14% or more to offset the costs.

Tim Cook explains why Apple isn’t a tech company anymore

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Tim Cook and Co. bring the hardware heat at The Brooklyn Academy of Music during the
Apple is now a consumer company.
Photo: Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook sounded absolutely ecstatic to count Warren Buffett as one of his company’s investors during an interview at Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders meeting this morning.

Cook made a cameo in the company’s opening video — that also introduced Apple’s new Buffett-themed game — and sat down with CNBC to talk about his relationship with Warren, Apple’s culture, privacy and more.

Warren Buffett is skeptical of Apple’s entertainment play

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Buffett
Warren Buffet is Apple's biggest investor.
Photo: CNBC

Mega-investor Warren Buffett doesn’t sound too confident in Apple’s ability to dominate the entertainment industry.

The Oracle of Omaha said in a recent interview that there are so many big players trying to grab eyeballs in the streaming industry that he wouldn’t want to play that game himself. Even though he’s not gung ho on Apple’s TV service, he also doesn’t sound worried if Apple doesn’t knock it out of the park.

Spotify CEO does not fear Apple’s massive cash pile

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Spotify
Spotify is dominating audio streaming.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Spotify is making a push to cement its self as the best audio platform in the world. The company revealed today that it acquired two podcasting companies and that it plans to spend big on original audio content.

Despite growing competition from Apple, Amazon and YouTube, Spotify is inching closer to having 100 million paid subscribers. In an interview on CNBC this morning, Spotify CEO Daniel Elk didn’t sound worried one bit about Apple and Amazon spending tons of cash to beat Spotify.

Tim Cook: New services coming to Apple in 2019

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Tim Cook
Unsurprisingly, he won't spill the beans on what they are.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook teased new services that will be coming to Apple users this year. Responding to questions about falling iPhone sales during a CNBC interview, Cook stressed the way that Apple’s services division has grown significantly in the past several years.

“The services are on a tear,” Cook said. “On services, you will see us announce new services this year. There will more things coming.”

Tim Cook claims Apple’s long-term health has ‘never been better’

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Tim Cook and Ivanka Trump
Tim Cook's year is off to a rocky start.
Photo: Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to make an appearance on CNBC investing show Mad Money later today to defend Apple in light of recent setbacks.

The company warned last week that iPhone upgrades for the last quarter were lower than expected. After investors received the guidance on lower revenue for Q1 2019, Apple shares continued their downward slide, which has been pretty much nonstop since the company posted its Q4 2019 results.

Tim Cook explains declining iPhone sales on CNBC

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Tim Cook talks diversity, sustainability, and coming out as gay
Tim Cook probably wasn't in quite such a jubilant mood yesterday.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook elaborated on some of the reasons for Apple’s declining iPhone sales during an interview with CNBC Fast Money’s Josh Lipton.

Cook said that the shortfall on Apple’s part is entirely related to the iPhone, and primarily its performance (or lack thereof) in Greater China. However, he also touched on several other issues — including the challenges of Apple’s battery replacement program.

Bulletproof privacy makes price of iPhone worth it

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data privacy
Apple CEO Tim Cook discusses his company's data privacy philosophy on VICE News Tonight.
Screenshot: VICE News Tonight/You Tube

Android users can pat themselves on the back for paying less for a smartphone. Apple fans can rest easy knowing the steeper price they paid for their iPhones came with better data privacy.

This was a point Roger McNamee, an Apple investor and co-founder of the private equity firm Elevation Partners, delivered Wednesday during a discussion on CNBC about where the big tech companies stand on privacy.

On Apple’s trillion-dollar day, Guy Kawasaki wishes he was there

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Guy Kawasaki
Apple reaching a $1 trillion value gives Guy Kawasaki a lot to think about.
Photo: Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki made history with Apple. So you would expect he would have a lot to say today when stock prices surged high enough to make his old employer the first trillion dollar company.

For one thing, the marketing guru behind the success of the Macintosh computer wishes he hadn’t turned down an offer from founder Steve Jobs to return to Apple.

Tim Cook spotted testing glucose tracking on Apple Watch

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Tim Cook takes home $125 million for Apple’s best year since 2009
What's Tim hiding up his sleeves?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The next major breakthrough for Apple Watch is currently being tested by none other than Apple CEO and fitness freak Tim Cook.

A new report claims that Cook has been spotted walking around Apple’s corporate headquarters wearing a special Apple Watch attachment that could be a game-changer for people with diabetes.

Warren Buffett stays high on Apple despite iPhone slump

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Buffett
Warren Buffet is Apple's biggest investor.
Photo: CNBC

Apple’s big pause in iPhone sales leading up to this year’s new models isn’t worrying one of the company’s biggest investors.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett says he loves what Apple is doing with its buyback program for investors and even though sales are slow, the stock is still a great buy.

Top Apple analyst says Wall Street underestimates iPhone 8

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iphone
We hope the next iPhone is this beautiful.
Photo: AlHasan Husni

Sales of the upcoming iPhone 8 could be even bigger than most people are expecting, according to Morgan Stanley’s top Apple analyst, Katy Huberty.

In a recent interview, the Wall Street analyst said that the new iPhone will have so many innovative new features is will trigger an avalanche of upgrades that will likely shatter Apple’s old records.

Tim Cook calls AirPods a ‘runaway success’

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airpods
Getting your hands on AirPods is almost impossible.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook was all smiles during a brief appearance at the New York Stock Exchange this morning. While taking a quick tour of the floor with his nephew, Cook revealed that AirPods are so popular Apple can’t make them fast enough.

How to watch Clinton vs. Trump debate on Apple TV and iOS

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No matter who wins, we all lose.
No matter who wins, we all lose.
Photo: DonkeyHotey/Flickr

The first debate between U.S. presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is set to kick off tonight at Hofstra University in New York — and you can catch all the action on any Apple device.

Apple updated its “Watch the Debate Live” section today on both App Stores for iOS and Apple TV, giving users multiple places to catch what is expected to be the most-watched political debate in history.

Here’s how to livestream it:

Why Apple stock is far from dead

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iphone stocks app
Apple shares have been taking a beating!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

AAPL stock fell to a new 52-week low last week, signaling its longest loss streak in 18 years, but portfolio managers aren’t close to throwing in the towel on Apple just yet. In fact, this could turn out to be the equivalent of a Black Friday sale for anyone wanting to get their hands on some massively undervalued stock!

“Things aren’t as bad as everybody thinks,” said Dan Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust, speaking on CNBC‘s “Squawk on the Street.” “[Apple has] a tremendous amount of room to grow.”

iPhone SE is a hit in China (but scalpers are worried)

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Scalpers will give you a discount on the iPhone SE.
Scalpers will give you a discount on the iPhone SE.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone SE may look tiny, but it’s already become a big hit in China.

Apple’s new iPhone doesn’t hit stores until March 31st, however, pre-orders for the iPhone SE have already topped 3.4 million in China according to early estimates that show the iPhone SE will be much better received than the iPhone 5c.

Apple TV adds CNBC and Fox Now channels

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cnbcappletv

Apple added two new channels to Apple TV for customers in the U.S. on Tuesday, along with a few other additions for countries around the world.

Starting today, Apple TV users can access the new CNBC and Fox Now channels to watch on-demand video content from the company’s top programs like Cosmos & 24 on the Fox end, and uhhhh, American Greed and Restaurant Startups on CNBC.