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Apple today argued against the European Union’s demands for standardized charging cables for smartphones and other devices.

New regulations being considered by the EU could force Apple to ditch the iPhone’s familiar Lightning connector for an industry-wide alternative. Apple said the move “stifles innovation” and hurt smartphone buyers.

“Apple stands for innovation and deeply cares about the customer experience,” Apple said in a statement to Cult of Mac. “We believe regulation that forces conformity across the type of connector built into all smartphones stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, and would harm consumers in Europe and the economy as a whole.”

Revelations that the FBI has access to a tool that can unlock data on secure iPhones are raising questions as to why the agency is demanding Apple help to create a “backdoor” to recover data on the iPhones of a Florida shooting suspect.

Belkin’s latest version of its Wemo smart plug with HomeKit support is significantly smaller than its predecessor, making it less obtrusive on wall sockets.

The company also unveiled at CES 2020 the Wemo Stage, a remote than can be used to launch HomeKit scenes with the punch of a button.

The holiday shopping season is behind us, but demand for AirPods Pro still exceeds supply. Orders placed on Apple.com won‘t ship before early February.

But those who live in a large metropolitan area have an option that could get them Apple’s new in-ear headphones much sooner.

A supposed “iPhone 12” dummy unit offers what may be our very first glimpse at next year’s big redesign.

It shows a device that looks a lot like an iPhone 11 Pro Max from the front, with a large, edge-to-edge display and notch. But it sports flat sides and sharper edges that are inspired by the iconic iPhone 4.

Some AirPods Pro owners report an unusual smell emanating from the plastic and rubber casings of Apple’s hot new earbuds. Of all things, they say they detect a whiff of … blueberries.

One expert tells Cult of Mac the aroma could be deliberate, or simply a result of chemical compounds in the plastics.

The 2019 Mac Pro is finally available to order, with prices starting at $5,999. That’s not cheap … until you compare it to the cost of a maxed-out model with all the bells and whistles.

Add every available upgrade and Apple’s newest machine suddenly skyrockets to an eye-watering $52,748.

That’s $12,848 more than a Tesla Cybertruck!

The Mac’s Dark Mode isn’t bad. It’s definitely a better view when quickly checking something on your Mac late in the evening. But unless you have it set to switch automatically, toggling Dark Mode on and off is a pain. So, with a shiny new MacBook Pro in front of me, I decided to put the Touch Bar to use.

Did you know you can add your own buttons to the Touch Bar? You can, and it’s totally rad.

Former design chief Jony Ive today disappeared from Apple’s leadership page after leaving Cupertino.

Ive joined Apple in 1992 and led its design team from 1996. He is credited for helping rescue the company from the brink of bankruptcy with a slew of iconic products.

It’s not quite the end of Ive’s relationship with Apple, however. His own design company, LoveFrom, will hold the iPhone-maker as one of its primary clients.

Disassembling the new 16-inch MacBook Pro finds plenty to like. There’s a keyboard that’s almost certainly more reliable, a revamped thermal system and a bigger battery.

On the other side of the coin, repair company iFixit did a teardown and gives this laptop a low, low rating for repairability.

Apple’s newly unveiled 16-inch MacBook Pro ditches the controversial butterfly keyboard and brings back the scissor switch Magic Keyboard.

In a new interview, Apple marketing SVP Phil Schiller talked about redesigning Apple’s notebook keyboard. And whether or not the non-butterfly keyboard will make it to other Apple laptops anytime soon.

Apple’s current line of MacBooks is probably its worst laptop lineup in years. The keyboards are so broken that even the newest MacBook Air is covered under Apple’s keyboard repair program. There are too few ports, and too much heat. And if you want to upgrade any internal parts? You’ll have to buy a new MacBook. But what are the best MacBook alternatives?

If you want to ditch the MacBook, you will find plenty of options. However, none of them offer one essential element: macOS. Switching to another operating system is like moving house and having to leave everything but your clothes behind. But there are workarounds even for that. Let’s check out the best alternatives to the MacBook in 2019.

Hot dang, Apple’s still got it. The new AirPods Pro are fantastic.

They’re truly great headphones, and every major new feature improves on the old AirPods in big and significant ways.

• The sound is fantastic — a big upgrade.
• Their active noise cancellation is as good as Bose and Sony headphones (and maybe even better). Finally, you can use AirPods on airplanes.
• Transparency mode is weird magic.
• Best of all are the new Force Sensor touch controls, which take a minute to get used to but are way better than tapping. They’re my favorite new feature, and I burst out laughing with delight when I got the hang of it.

I freakin’ love the new AirPods Pro!

iOS 13’s Dark Mode looks awesome, but it also can boost iPhone battery life. How much more time between charges will you really get using Dark Mode?

You can see the dramatic difference for yourself in a new test video.

Apple is expected to deliver pricier “AirPods Pro” with noise cancellation later this month, according to a new report.

Images of the buds were leaked by Apple in an iOS 13.2 beta earlier this month. They are expected to offer multiple listening modes and could cost around $100 more than the regular models.

The Apple Watch is an amazing fitness tracker, and a pretty good notification device. But it has other tricks — tricks that you maybe didn’t know about, or didn’t realize would be quite as useful as they are. One is the Camera app. The Apple Watch doesn’t have its own camera, but it does give you remote control of your iPhone’s camera.

This lets you trigger the camera’s shutter, or record a video, from anywhere in range of your iPhone’s Bluetooth radio. Why? Group self-portraits, without having to set the timer and run back to your friends in time to smile. Videos: I used the video camera function just this week to record my progress for my guitar teacher. Like I said, it might be more useful than you’d expect.

Here’s how to use the Apple Watch camera remote.

An Apple October event hasn’t yet been announced, but there’s such an impressive list of products that are supposedly ready to launch that the company seems to need a big venue to show them all off.

There’s an epic new Mac, a big MacBook, fresh iPads and plenty more, all reportedly coming soon.

In a head-to-head “torture test” challenge, the iPhone 11 Pro Max battery not only lasted longer than the ones in Apple’s other 2019 handsets — it beat Samsung’s new flagship model by a wide margin.

Apple put its largest battery ever in the new 6.5-inch iOS device, and it’s clearly paying off.

The iPhone 11 Pro brings what might just be the best camera ever to ship with a smartphone. Travel photographer Austin Mann, who took the iPhone 11 Pro for a spin this week, lavishes praise on the new Night mode.

It’s so good, in fact, that he thinks it will “completely change how everyone shoots on their iPhone.”

In an age when almost every detail of an Apple keynote leaks ahead of time, Tim Cook managed to pull some genuine surprises from the hat Tuesday. Taking the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple HQ, Cook and Co. announced at least three big things we weren’t expecting at all.

This in itself is a surprise. Even though Cook pledged that Apple is “doubling down” on secrecy, most of the big details about new Apple products typically trickle out ahead of time. Most of the main features of the 2019 iPhones already leaked. Every Apple blog and YouTube channel under the sun has been playing with detailed iPhone mockups and models for weeks.

Still, Cook’s surprise trifecta did not consist of insignificant things. All three were fairly big and meaty announcements — and there wasn’t a peep about them ahead of time. Here’s what took us by surprise during the “By Innovation Only” event.

A whole lot of innovation is in the offing for Apple’s biggest hardware event of the year. CEO Tim Cook recently promised that Apple will unleash its strongest product lineup ever, and next week’s “By Innovation Only” event could be just the tip of the iceberg.

Thanks to a glut of leaked info, we have a pretty solid idea about what new hardware to expect during the event. iPhones obviously will steal the spotlight, but Apple might unleash a few surprises as well.

This is what we think we’ll see during the 2019 iPhone keynote, which starts at 10 a.m. Pacific on September 10. Apple will live-stream it from the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.

Surprisingly, iOS 13.1 is already in beta. It looks like Apple’s release strategy this year is to freeze the current beta version of iOS 13.0 in order to get it ready for the new iPhones expected on September 10. Meanwhile, Apple continues to test the next version, adding back some features removed during the beta period — Shortcuts automations, for example.

So, what other new (or revived) features will you find in iOS 13.1 beta 1?

On the surface, Cupertino’s decision to spend massive piles of money on its upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service seems crazy.

Is this a company with too much money being suckered? Is it a huge display of hubris (as some say of Apple Park)? Or is it, just possibly, a clever strategy that could win Apple the streaming war?

Here’s why I think that third answer is the correct one. Dig a little deeper, and Apple’s spending spree looks nothing short of brilliant.

Some huge new details about this year’s iPhone 11 refresh have been spilled by an apparent Foxconn insider.

In a leaked email, the employee claims Apple will add a brand new color option to its smartphone lineup this fall. They also say that the back of this year’s devices will get a new, not-so-slippery finish.

Invitations to get an Apple Card are trickling out, but even before you make the first purchase with your shiny new credit card, you should reject its arbitration provision.

If you don’t, you give up the right to benefit from any class-action lawsuits brought against Goldman Sachs, the bank backing Apple Card.