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10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the iPhone

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10-facts-iPhone
Get ready for some iPhone trivia!
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

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. And, whether you want to wow your Apple-loving in-laws over the holidays or just feel the need to fill your brain with some iPhone facts, we’ve got you covered.

Here are 10 things you (probably) don’t know about the iPhone.

Mac Pro’s new 8TB storage option costs more than a 5K iMac

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2019-Mac-Pro-insides
And a 16-inch MacBook Pro!
Photo: Apple

You can order Apple’s all-new Mac Pro with a whopping 8TB of storage.

Just like every other Mac Pro upgrade, however, it isn’t cheap. Maxing out your SSD space will cost you more than a high-end iMac with Retina 5K display — or even a brand-new 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Apple exploring satellite network to beam data directly to iPhones

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satellite
The iPhone maker seems serious to create a satellite network to beam data directly to devices like the iPhone and Apple Watch.
Photo: ESA

Apple is building a larger research group to investigate ways to transmit data directly to iPhones and other devices, Bloomberg reported Friday.

According to the report, Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly made the project a company priority.

It’s the hottest gifts, tech and stuff of 2019, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 419
It's time to reveal all our favorite stuff of the year!
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: From the hottest gift of 2019, to our favorite tech and travel locations, catch our picks for Best of the Year!

This episode supported by Squarespace

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.

AirPods Pro owners scratch and sniff … blueberries

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AirPods Pro blueberries
Some AirPods Pro owners smell blueberries when they open their new earbuds. An expert says that's not surprising.
Photo: Envato Elements

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.

How to breeze through the barrier with Apple Pay Express Transit

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You don't need to trigger Apple Pay to access the London Underground
You don't need to trigger Apple Pay to access the London Underground
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

If you thought using Apple Pay was already easy, prepare to be amazed. It’s even easier when you enable Express Transit mode. In New York City, Portland and London, you can now pass the ticket barrier with just a wave of your wrist. And even if your local transit authority doesn’t support Express Transit mode yet, it could be coming soon.

Wanna give it a try? Here’s everything you need to know.

Give the gift of luxury with these high-end Apple Watch bands

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OleksynPrannyk-red-Apple-Watch
A terrific Apple Watch upgrade.
Photo: OleksynPrannyk

The newest luxury leather bands from OleksynPrannyk are out ahead of the holidays, and they’re a wonderful gift for any Apple Watch owner.

Handmade in the U.S. from soft Italian leather, and available in a number of gorgeous color options, they’re a delight to wear and incredibly long-lasting. They’re also more affordable than they look.

Cubasis 3 is a total rewrite of a beloved music-making app

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Cubasis 3 is a complete rewrite.
Cubasis 3 is a complete rewrite.
Photo: Steinberg

Cubasis, the audio workstation app from Steinberg, just got rewritten as a brand new app. Cubasis 3 looks just like the old version, but is all-new, and includes support for the iPhone as well as the iPad. And hopefully, this rewrite also means that in the future, updates that adjust the user interface for new iOS features and screen sizes will be supported a lot faster. It took more than a year for Cubasis to support the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, for example.

So, what’s new in Cubasis 3?

The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition finally hits stores, so let’s party tonight [Book signing]

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Innovative design: The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition looks like a MacBook.
If you're in San Francisco, come out tonight for a book signing and sale.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Our new book about the Apple community, The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition, is finally available in book stores and on Amazon.

To celebrate, we’re throwing a book-signing party tonight at the publisher’s HQ in San Francisco — and all Cult of Mac readers are invited. Please join me and the book’s award-winning designer, Derek Yee, at the No Starch Press offices. There will be a big sale (and free Chinese food, too)!

How to add your own music to the Mac’s Music app

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catalina's music app tape
Adding music to Catalina's music app is as easy as using iTunes.
Photo: Namroud Gorguis on Unsplash

In macOS Catalina, iTunes has disappeared. It’s been replaced by the new Music app, which is a version of the iOS Music app. You could never call iTunes “beloved,” but it did its job, and had plenty of power hidden inside its confusing and bloated interface. The Apple Music app, on the other hand, is rather basic. But it still lets you do one thing that remains impossible on iOS: You can add your own music to your library. And yes, it will then sync that music to your iDevices. Let’s see how.

Does Apple’s Night Shift mode really work? New study questions its effectiveness.

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The Night Shift mode on Apple products may not be worth the hype. Using dim, cooler lights in the evening may be more beneficial to our sleep and health.
The Night Shift mode on Apple products may not live up to the hype.
Photo: Envato Elements

Blue light from iPhones or MacBook Pros might not be keeping people up at night as originally thought, according to new research.

The bottom line … the Night Shift mode on Apple products — meant to dial down the amount of blue light emitted by displays — may not be as effective as expected. Using dim, cooler lights in the evening, and bright, warmer lights in the day might prove more beneficial to our health.

Take your pick of 4 awesome productivity apps for Mac [Deals]

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Productivity App Main
Any one of these four apps will enhance your Mac's productivity.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Making your Mac more productive can be as easy as getting the right app. So we’ve rounded up four of the best deals on some great software, from a useful screen capture tool to a speed reading helper, an intuitive data syncing tool and a powerful PDF editor. Each one is already discounted, but you can save an extra 15% off when you use the promo code MERRYSAVE15 at checkout.

The best USB-C hubs for Mac and iPad 2019

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Best-USB-C-hubs-2019
There are plenty of good USB-C hubs, but here are Cult of Mac’s favorites.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Nothing expands the capabilities of your Mac or iPad Pro more than a good USB-C hub. Plug one in and you can connect to TVs and tons of other peripherals, including external storage.

There’s an immense variety of these, depending on whether you want portability or a huge number of ports. There are even hubs designed specifically to clip to the side of an iPad.

To help you find the best USB-C hubs, Cult of Mac compiled this list of our favorites.

Frozen Mac Touch Bar? Here’s how to fix it.

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To an iPad user, four USB-C ports are a luxury.
Fix a frozen Touch Bar.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Just like anything else on your MacBook Pro, the Touch Bar can freeze and become totally unresponsive. And, just like with every other frozen process on the Mac, there’s an easy way to fix it: You just have to force the Touch Bar to restart.

Today we’ll see how to fix a frozen Touch Bar so you can keep using the MacBook Pro’s best feature.

How to use Ableton Live or Logic Pro X on your iPad

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Ableton Live on the iPad
Yes, that's Ableton Live on the iPad.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Sidecar is the new iOS 13/macOS Catalina feature that lets you use an iPad as an extra display for your Mac. But it also lets you send any app off to your iPad. Then you can wander off and use that app on the iPad, pretty much independently, with the Apple Pencil.

This means you can use some high-level Mac music apps, like Logic Pro X and Ableton Live, on the iPad. There are a couple of catches, but it’s easy to use. In fact, Sidecar is so good that using Mac apps on the iPad like this is actually a viable, sensible option. It’s not just a neat trick that you’ll use once and then forget about.

Early Mac Pro benchmarks won’t blow you away

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Mac Pro cheese grater
You might be better off with iMac Pro instead.
Photo: Apple

Early benchmarks for the 2019 Mac Pro have now started surfacing online — and they might be a disappointment for some.

The scores achieved by entry-level and mid-tier machines are similar to those you will get from a 2017 iMac Pro. In fact, iMac Pro and even the budget Mac mini achieve significantly higher scores in some tests.

Use SmartDNS to dodge annoying content restrictions [Deals]

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KeepSolid SmartDNS
Watch your favorite shows anywhere, free of location restrictions with this easy-to-use DNS proxy app.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

When you travel, your TV shows might not be able to go with you. That’s because some content is legally only viewable in certain countries. So, if you’re not in the right country for that Netflix or Hulu show, you can’t watch it until you get home. But with KeepSolid SmartDNS, location-based content restrictions aren’t a problem.

Apple joins rivals to create open standard for smart home devices

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Abode Iota is a security system by itself
Building your smart home is about to get a whole lot easier.
Photo: Abode

Apple is teaming up with Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance to create a new open and royalty-free standard for smart home devices.

Project “Connected Home over IP” aims to increase compatibility among smart home gadgets and make development easier for device manufacturers. It should also simplify smart technology for consumers.

This is your best shot at snagging AirPods Pro today

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Apple reportedly adding another supplier for its ultra-popular AirPods Pro
AirPods Pro aren't easy to come by right now, but don't give up hope!
Photo: Apple

Even though AirPods Pro are basically sold out everywhere, there’s still a chance you could snag a pair today. And with a simple Siri trick, Apple makes it easy for you to snag 2019’s hottest gift.

If you absolutely want to get AirPods Pro by Christmas, and don’t want to pay a reseller a premium, here’s your best shot for finding a pair ASAP.

How to remove Memoji stickers from your keyboard in iOS

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Want to remove Memoji stickers from your keyboard? It's easy to switch them off.
Have Memoji stickers taken over your keyboard?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

iOS 13 introduced a new love/hate feature: Memoji stickers. Now, whenever you open the emoji keyboard on your iPhone or iPad, these stickers take up the leftmost space. That alone would be fine. However, the stickers also replace the panel showing your recently used emoji (or at least shifted that panel right).

If you don’t like the current state of affairs, don’t fret. You can quickly remove those pesky Memoji stickers from your keyboard.

Disable Turbo Boost to keep your MacBook cool

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disable Turbo Boost
Turbo Boost enabled.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Compared to an iPad, even the new 16-inch MacBook Pro runs pretty hot. In my first impressions post about the latest Apple laptop, I noted that the fans went crazy pretty much any time I switched it on. That has stopped now, thanks to two things: One is that my photo library is fully indexed, and the other is that I have disabled Turbo Boost.

But how?

Developers get their hands on first iOS 13.3.1, macOS 10.15.3 betas

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iOS 13 on an iPhone X
Have you upgraded yet?
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Apple today made its first iOS 13.3.1 and macOS 10.15.3 betas available to developers.

The minor updates don’t have patch notes yet. But they likely fix a serious flaw in Communication Limits, which can allow messages to be received from unauthorized contacts, among other bugs.

New betas are also available for HomePod, iPad, and Apple TV.

Mac Pro proves Apple can make repairable products when it wants to

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A 2019 Mac Pro after an iFixit tear down
The 2019 Mac Pro is remarkably easy to disassemble.
Photo: iFixit

Although Apple often draws criticism for making products that are difficult to repair, that’s not true of the 2019 Mac Pro.

After its tear-down, repair company iFixit gave this workstation high marks for repairability.

Meet the inventor who will untangle all our cords 

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Product line from Fuse
Your Apple charging cords need not be a tangled mess.
Photo: Fuse

Logan Bailey, an inventor of accessories that untangle Apple charging cords, was himself tied in knots.

There was no hiding it at the altar as he faced the woman he was about to marry. Bailey was stressed. Deep down, his bride-to-be knew why.