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The Move Goal on your Apple Watch is a tricky beast. Set it too low, and it’s just not challenging enough. Set too high and it’ll be demotivating. So how do you pick the perfect Move Goal on Apple Watch?

Add that to a new dummy iPhone 12 that may be a sneak peek at next year’s device, and timely advice on setting up a new iPhone or erasing Apple devices before returning them to a store. It’s all in this week’s free Cult of Mac Magazine, along with reviews of a retro keyboard-speaker-combo and the week’s best new apps.

Download your free issue now to enjoy it on your iPad, or read the stories in any browser below.

When you go online, your privacy and security is far from guaranteed. In fact, there are plenty of snoops, thieves, and content regulators waiting to pounce on your activity. So we recommend using a VPN anytime you connect to the internet, and this one offers the best bang for your buck.

The 2020 iPad Pro is expected this spring, and professional leaker OnLeaks created a video of this upcoming tablet based on rumors and unconfirmed reports.

Watch it now:

Did you get a MacBook, iPhone, or iPad this holiday season? Are you going to return it? The good news is that, even if the gift was purchased back in November, you can still return it thanks to Apple’s generous holiday return policy. But if you’ve already set things up and used the iDevice of the Mac, then you need to wipe your data off before you return it. Here’s how.

If you were lucky enough to get new Apple devices for the holidays, it’s time to start thinking about what you’ll do with your old ones. They’re likely still worth a pretty penny, and Cult of Mac can help you get the best price.

We’ll buy back any old iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac. We’ll even take your dirty old AirPods — and broken devices in need of repair. What’s more, we typically pay more than other trade-in services.

Cult of Mac pays real cash and we won’t leave you waiting weeks for your money. Get a quote today to find out how much your old Apple devices are really worth.

Now that iOS 13 is out, developers have a whole new set of tools and norms to play with. So if you’re looking to build apps, you’re going to have to get familiar. With this bundle of four comprehensive courses, you can get caught up at your own pace.

This week on The CultCast: Apple is entering the space game with their own fleet of satellites… but why? We discuss. Plus, we wrap up 2019 with our final picks for Best of the Year!

This episode supported by

Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Rejecting the idea of flexible screens, an artist at Caviar dreamed up an iPhone concept with a detachable secondary display instead. This allows for real multitasking, or the handset to be snapped into a tablet or netbook.

Not stoping there, the artist created a concept video with multiple other innovative iPhone designs that might debut in next decade.

Watch it now:

Oh man! You just got your amazing new iPad Pro, tore it out of the box, and wondered how you tricked somebody into  dropping $130 on that tiny white Apple Pencil. Now it’s time to get things set up. Thankfully, this is an easy process, especially if you already use an iPhone or iPad with iCloud.

So easy, in fact, that there are just a few things you need to do to move from your old iPad to a new one, or to migrate from an iPhone. And setting up a new iPad Pro from scratch isn’t much harder — gone are the days of manually copying passwords just to get to the home screen.

Still, following these iPad Pro setup and customization tips will make sure you get the most out of your new machine. Let’s get started.

Learning a new language is like getting a passport for your mind. Even if you stay at home, it opens up books, poetry, TV shows, and conversations that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Learning a language is also a lifetime pursuit, so this leading language app offers a lifetime of access.

Christmas is here, so we’re giving the gift of great deals on essential digital tools. Below you’ll find discounts as high as 97% off for cloud storage, VPN protection, powerful tools for iOS management and more. Even better, you can also save an extra 15% when you use the promo code HAPPYHOLIDAYS at checkout.

This weekend, you’re “enjoying” some extended time with your family. After you’ve fixed their devices, and taught them that the battery of their iPhone lasts way longer if they don’t leave the damn screen on the whole time, you might decide to swap some photos. You may grab the your old childhood snaps off your mother’s iPad, or photos of the family recipe book off your father’s iPhone. There are a few ways to do this — slow, fast and faster, wired or wireless. Let’s see how to transfer photos between iPhones and iPads, and how to share the best holiday photos with everyone.

Still some Christmas stockings that need stuffing? Since everybody uses digital devices, almost anyone can use a good charger. So ahead of Christmas, we’ve rounded up four great deals on versatile portable chargers. They’re all discounted, but you can save an extra 15% with the promo code HAPPYHOLIDAYS at checkout.

Apple is now offering customers free two-hour delivery on eligible hardware “in most major metros.”

The offer is available until 4 p.m. local time today, December 24. It’s ideal for picking up last-minute gifts … if you don’t mind splashing out.

Christmas time means packing up your daily troubles, forgetting work for a week, and heading home to… troubleshoot your parents’ broken computers and gadgets? Oh man, is it that time of year again already? That’s the problem with being the family’s only geek – you get handed all the geek jobs. However, you can turn this to your advantage, and make it a lot easier, by going in prepared. Check out our Holiday Troubleshooting Guide right here.

The Apple Watch Activity app sets us three daily goals, for standing, exercise and movement. The first two are the same for everyone: Stand for a minute during at least 12 hours of the day, and do at least 30 minutes of exercise. But the Move goal is different.

For it, you must choose an appropriate goal for yourself, and that can prove a little tricky. Set it too high and it’ll be demotivating. Too low, and it’s just not challenging enough.

So how do you pick the perfect Move goal on Apple Watch?

Apple is giving App Store customers free digital treats over the holidays.

Users in Australia, where it is now Christmas Eve, are waking up to a new App Store story that promises “a new surprise every day” from December 24 to December 29.

“Come back daily to discover which treat we have waiting for you,” Apple says.

Books a key part of human culture, and an essential way of staying informed. Unfortunately, many of us have limited time for reading, so getting through a book is an accomplishment that can take weeks or longer. Luckily, you can get a lot out of a book without reading the whole thing, and that’s what BookNotes offers.

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.

This week we make music on our iPhones, create drums on our Macs, travel through history with action-packed Solitaire Time Warp, and enhance images.

Even if you’re a die-hard Apple fan, there’s still plenty you most likely don’t know about the company’s most popular product. Get ready to wow all of your Apple-loving in-laws over the holidays with 10 things you (probably) don’t know about the iPhone.

Beyond the iPhone trivia, we’ve got a bumper crop of Apple tips and how-tos in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Things like how to find AirPods Pro in time for Christmas, how to add music to your Mac in a post-iTunes world and more. Download your free issue now to enjoy it on your iPad, or read the stories in any browser below.

Being attached to our computers doesn’t have to mean literally being attached. Whether for phones or tablets, a portable wireless keyboard offers tons of extra flexibility and accuracy.

That’s exactly what you’ll find in these four great deals on our favorite Bluetooth keyboards. Each is already significantly discounted, but using the promo code MERRYSAVE15 at checkout takes an extra 15% off.

Apple Shortcuts are an easy and powerful tool to automate actions on iOS devices. A new ‘how-to’ from the people at Take Control Books walks users through setting up and building customized shortcuts with step-by-step ‘recipes’.

In macOS Catalina, iTunes has been replaced by separate apps, but none of those new apps takes on the tasks of syncing your music, books, photos and other data to your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. That responsibility now falls upon the Finder.

So, does this means you can plug in your iPad and drag and drop all your apps’ files between it and your Mac? Of course not. In fact, apart from this functionality now being in the Finder, not much has changed at all.

As your loved ones gather for the holidays, have some family fun with Apple Arcade. A new video shows off games that can be enjoyed no matter your age.

Watch it now: