The Wall Street Journal

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on The Wall Street Journal:

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs flips out over iPad tweet

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The first-gen iPad in all its glory.
Steve Jobs did not like losing control of the iPad narrative.
Photo: Apple

February 8: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs flips out over iPad tweet February 8, 2010: Steve Jobs reportedly flips out over a tweet sent from an iPad by an editor at The Wall Street Journal.

The reason? Apple showed the iPad to top staffers at the news outlet months ahead of its official release. While Jobs already had unveiled the device to the public a couple of weeks before, the suggestion that people outside Apple gained early access to the tablet was apparently enough to upset the CEO.

The tweet quickly disappeared.

Apple poised to launch wellness-focused journaling app

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iPhone on top of journal with text
Rumors suggest Apple is looking to take a bite out of the third-party journaling app market
Photo: Debby Ledet, Unsplash

Apple’s continued march towards owning your personal wellness is set to continue in iOS 17 according to a new (paywalled) Wall Street Journal report. According to the report, a journaling app to document your thoughts, feelings, and daily activities is likely on the way. The app will purportedly also provide insights into how the people you are around influence your mood.

Inside Apple’s failed negotiations with NYT and WaPo

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Apple News+ trial
Some aren't happy with Apple's tactics.
Photo: Apple

Apple put a ton of pressure on The New York Times and Washington Post to join Apple News+ before the new service was unveiled at a media event last week.

Details have surfaced of Apple’s negotiations with the two major publishers, revealing Apple media boss Eddy Cue was adamant about getting the two papers on board. Both companies declined Apple’s offer, but the New York Times’ COO hinted that the newspaper of record could possibly join the service in the future.

Wall Street Journal reportedly signs on for Apple News subscription service

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Apple News
The Wall Street Journal would be a great launch partner for the service.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The Wall Street Journal has reportedly agreed to participate in Apple’s paid news subscription service. Apple should offer details on the new service during the “It’s show time” media event.

News of the WSJ’s participation comes shortly after reports that The New York Times and Washington Post both opted out.

Some of your favorite iOS apps are feeding your data to Facebook

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Oh look, another Facebook controversy.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Deleting your Facebook account isn’t enough to stop some apps from sending deeply personal information about you to the social network.

The Wall Street Journal found a wide range of apps that send personal information to Facebook even if you don’t have an account. Health apps and real estate apps were discovered sending a lot of information to Facebook and the type of data might surprise you.

Apple in talks with major newspapers for subscription service

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Texture
Texture might add daily news.
Photo: Apple

Apple is trying to get three of the biggest newspapers in the U.S. to join forces for a new subscription service.

The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have all allegedly been in talks with Apple this summer. Apple is proposing that the newspapers join its digital magazine service, Texture.

HomePod meta review: Superb sound, stupid Siri

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The HomePod was a no-show in 2017.
HomePod is finally here.
Photo: Apple

In the first reviews for Apple’s new HomePod speaker, everyone totally raves about the smart speaker’s pristine sound quality. Siri, on the other hand, doesn’t sound so brilliant.

Apple seeded a few review units to major outlets ahead of this Friday’s HomePod launch. The embargo lifted this morning, and the early reviews reveal a few surprising tidbits about the HomePod.

Here’s what people are saying:

Apple’s cash pile heads for $250 billion milestone

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s second quarterly earnings report of 2017 will likely reveal the company now has over a quarter of a trillion dollars of cash stashed in the bank.

The iPhone-maker has so much cash its reserves exceed the foreign-currency reserves of the U.K. and Canada combined. During the last quarter of 2017, Apple’s money-making machine was earning $3.6 million per hour.

Apple yanks The New York Times apps in China

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China iPhone sales
Apple's relationship with China is complicated.
Photo: Apple

iPhone users in China are no longer able to download the app for the most popular newspaper publisher in the U.S.

Chinese government officials reportedly demanded that Apple remove all of The New York Times apps from the App Store in China, blocking access to one of the few channels the paper has to reach readers in mainland China.

Audio glitches keep Apple from shipping AirPods

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AirPods may miss Christmas while Apple works out audio problems.
Photo: Apple

People griped when Apple launched the iPhone 7 without an earphone jack and asked the world to get excited about AirPods, the company’s cordless earphones designed for the brave new “wireless future.”

Apparently, cutting the cord hasn’t been so easy for Apple, either.

The AirPods, skewered on social media within seconds of being introduced at Apple’s product launch in September, remain in a holding pattern because of audio glitches — and could miss the crucial 2016 holiday shopping season entirely.

Spectacular without surprises: What critics think of iPhone 6s

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how-iphone-6s-stacks-up-against-android-rivals-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201509Screen-Shot-2015-09-09-at-203842-png
Check out our iPhone 6s metareview.
Photo: Apple

It’s been two weeks since Apple announced its latest iPhones, and the first reviews are in — letting the rest of the world know what we can expect to find this Friday (or possibly before, if you’re an AT&T customer.)

So what do reviewers think? Mainly that 3D Touch is the way of the future, that Apple should concentrate on battery life, and that the iPhone 6s may just be Apple’s greatest handset yet… although the iPhone 7 will be better.

Yep, it’s a mixture of insane expectations coming into contact with an iPhone that was only ever going to be a marginal improvement on last year’s best-selling iPhone 6.

Check out the highlights below:

Jony Ive Makes WSJ’s ‘Books of The Year’ List

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article

It’s the time of the year for lists: naughty, nice, best of, trends, Thirteen Surprising Bathroom Habits Of Tech Innovators. Stuff like that.

All those listicles can make your eyes water, even though you can’t stop yourself from clicking through to Ten Loudest Grunters in Women’s Tennis, I know I can’t.

But it was with great pleasure that I spotted Cult of Mac publisher Leander Kahney’s Jony Ive made it into the venerable Wall Street Journal’s Books of the Year section.

Dior Designer Covets Gold iPhone – And Doesn’t Have One Yet, Either

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Dior designer Camille Miceli in the Wall Street Journal.
Dior designer Camille Miceli in the Wall Street Journal.

Even a designer at fashion house Christian Dior can’t get her hands on a gold iPhone.

Camille Miceli, Dior’s artistic director of accessories, loves her iPhone. According to a Q&A with the Wall Street Journal, she spends every morning reading daily “Le Monde” on it in bed. (Oh la la!)

Though we harbored doubts before the debut that it was the epitome of tacky, Apple’s golden iPhone 5S mines current fashion trends – the color has been glimmering more on store shelves by a whopping 88 percent.

Ending Soon! Speed Reading For Business Course [Deals]

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CoM - Speed Reading

I’ve madea a point of trying to read more books this year than ever before. The fact that I can have books on my iPad, e-reader, and even on my phone (along with good old-fashioned paper books), I’ve got more to read now than ever before and that’s a good thing. But with all of that reading material it would sure be nice to up my reading speed.

That’s what this Cult of Mac Deals offer aims to do. In fact, with this Speed Reading Course, Udemy guarantees you will read at least 33% faster – or you have 30 days to get your money back! And you can get this course for only $49 for a limited time!

Speed Read Your Way Through Your Documents, Books, And Emails [Deals]

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CoM - Speed Reading

I’ve madea a point of trying to read more books this year than ever before. The fact that I can have books on my iPad, e-reader, and even on my phone (along with good old-fashioned paper books), I’ve got more to read now than ever before and that’s a good thing. But with all of that reading material it would sure be nice to up my reading speed.

That’s what this Cult of Mac Deals offer aims to do. In fact, with this Speed Reading Course, Udemy guarantees you will read at least 33% faster – or you have 30 days to get your money back! And you can get this course for only $49 for a limited time!

Google Putting Finishing Touches On Official Google Maps App For iPhone [Report]

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googlemaps

Google is putting the finishing touches on its standalone Maps app for iOS, according to a new report today from The Wall Street Journal. A beta version of the app has reportedly been distributed to select testers within and outside Google as the search giant gets ready to submit the final version to Apple’s App Store.

Since Apple introduced its own Maps app in iOS 6, there has been much speculation surrounding Google’s plans for its own mapping service on the iPhone. Unless Apple says no, Google Maps should be arriving in the App Store soon.

Apple Plans To Invade The Mobile Payment Industry One Step At A Time [Report]

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One day your iPhone and wallet will be one.
One day your iPhone and wallet will be one.

We’ve all been waiting with bated breath for Apple to take the mobile payment industry by storm and bring it to the mass consumer market. For years, there have been whispers that Apple is working on its own approach to reinventing mobile payments, including the possibility of a NFC-equipped iPhone. When Apple unveiled Passbook in iOS 6 last month, the company announced its first real foray into mobile payments by partnering with select companies for handling virtual goods like coupons and airline tickets.

According to a new report on The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s Passbook is only a shadow of things to come. The company is “deliberately” working on its own mobile payment system, and while the rest of its competitors scramble to test the waters, Apple is sitting back and developing the right strategy.

New Lineup Of Retina Display MacBook Pros With Ivy Bridge Chips Set For WWDC Release

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MacBook-Pro-family

Rumors surrounding Apple’s new lineup of MacBook Pros have been picking up steam over the last couple weeks, with several reports over the last several days revealing more and more details surrounding the next-gen notebooks.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple will announce its new MacBook Pros at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) on June 11th. The new MacBook Pros will feature super hi-res ‘Retina’ displays, Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors, and solid-state drives. We can also expect more announcements at WWDC regarding OS X Mountain Lion, iCloud, and iOS 6.

Behind The Scenes At The Apple Store: 100% Loyalty and Positivity, 0% Room For Corporate Advancement [Details]

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will-the-real-macrep-stand-up

Want to know what it’s like to work at the Apple Store? How to get hired, what training you’ll receive, how much you’ll be paid, even the choice of words you’ll be forced to use when you let a customer down? A new subscriber only report from the Wall Street Journal has all the juicy details. Here’s the most interesting bits.