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Huawei’s new 16-inch MagicBook Pro is a MacBook fan’s dream

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Huawei-MagicBook-Pro-1
But it’s nowhere near as fast.
Photo: Huawei

Huawei has beaten Apple to delivering a 16-inch notebook with an edge-to-edge display.

The Chinese company’s new MagicBook Pro delivers the design MacBook fans have been dreaming of — months ahead of Apple. But it isn’t really a “Pro” machine.

StayGo hub offers all the ports your Mac is missing [Review]

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Twelve South StayGo review
The StayGo is an 8-port USB-C hub designed to be used in the office or on the road.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

TwelveSouth has a hub for those who remember the days when MacBooks came with USB-A, Ethernet, and video ports. This uses a single USB-C port to bring back six legacy ports.

On top of that, the StayGo comes with a 1-meter cable for use on your desktop, plus a short built-in cable for plugging in on the road.

Is this the hub your Mac needs? Read on to find out.

BMW will charge outrageous annual fee for CarPlay

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CarPlay-dashboard-iOS-13
My cheap Kia came with CarPlay as standard.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

BMW has decided that it will charge customers an annual fee if they want to enjoy CarPlay in its newest vehicles.

It is the first car-maker to turn Apple’s platform into a subscription service. Most now include CarPlay as standard, or as an optional feature that lasts as long as the vehicle.

How to fake True Tone on older Macs

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Make your Mac match its surroundings.
Make your Mac match its surroundings.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Owners of recent MacBooks Pro and Air can enjoy True Tone, a great technology that uses an ambient light sensor to match the color of the Mac’s display to its surroundings. True Tone mimics a white sheet of paper, which reflects the ambient light. The goal is to avoid a cold-blue screen when you’re in a nice, warmly lit room.

True Tone is a wonderful feature, and really makes everything look better. But it’s only available on new Macs. Today we’ll see how you can fake it on older computers.

Improved Taptic Engine could replace 3D Touch in iPhone 11

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3D Touch
The handy but not vital tricks that come with 3D Touch are reportedly going away.
Photo: Apple

Evidence continues to grow that the iPhone 11 will lack 3D Touch, and will instead include a smarter version of Haptic Touch — a fancy name for long-pressing on the screen.

Previous unconfirmed reports indicated Apple would kill 3D Touch to lower the cost of the 2019 models.

Easily remove or replace anything in your digital photos [Deals]

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InPixio Photo Clip 9 Editor
Easily remove or rearrange the contents of your photos with this powerful, intuitive editor.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

In the age of always-on digital cameras, it’s easy to get photobombed. That could be a person, an object or a background element that you’d rather didn’t make it into the frame. This simple app makes it so you don’t need a graphic editing suite to fix it.

Hands on with iPhone 11: What to expect from 2019 iPhones [Video]

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iPhone 11 R and 11 Max on fence post
These iPhone 11 dummies should be a lot like the real thing.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

It seems like it’s impossible to make it through the summer without leaks about upcoming iPhones. From iPhone 11 supply chain leaks to iPhone XI case-maker models, 2019 is no different.

With so many holes in the supply chain, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect this year. Thanks to sources online, we’ve got dummy iPhone XI, XI Max, and XIr models to give us a taste of this year’s iPhone lineup. (We still don’t know the exact model names, though.)

How to save gigabytes of data while traveling

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Nothing says
Nothing says "freedom" and "pioneer spirit" like a creepy abandoned canoe.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Summer! That time of year where you stay in somebody else’s home via Airbnb, crank up their air conditioning and wear a sweater in the house, even though it’s 90 degrees outside. Aka the season where you leave the limitless comfort of your home Wi-Fi, to venture out into the world using just a restricted cellular plan.

Summer revives that old pioneering spirit of hardship, the bare essentials of living, and of making do with whatever you have. And just like the original English and Spanish invaders of the modern-day United States, you’ll have to do without the comforts of on-demand GPS and automatic app updates.

Today we’ll see how you can stretch your meager data allowance while traveling.

Overcast adds fantastic new podcast recommendations feature

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News, iPhone apps, iPad apps, podcasts
News, iPhone apps, iPad apps, podcasts
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Overcast, the podcast app of choice for lovers of good design, powerful-yet-straightforward features, and the color orange, just added a brand-new recommendations feature.

Previously, Overcast used a Twitter-based recommendation engine. But developer Marco Arment says almost nobody used it. Now, he’s replaced it with recommendations based on users’ personal listening habits, and the result is amazing. I already added a few new podcast subscriptions based on its suggestions.

Jeff Williams might be Apple’s next Tim Cook

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Apple COO Jeff Williams
Williams is next in line for the CEO’s office.
Photo: Apple

Apple operations chief Jeff Williams is the most important person at the company after CEO Tim Cook, according to a new report.

Williams, who has also taken over Apple’s design studio following the departure of Jony Ive, is thought to be first in line to replace Cook when the time is right.

“He’s very much in the mold of the current chief executive: a paragon of operational efficiency and even temper,” said several current and former colleagues.

Apple Watch may get microLED display, better battery life in 2020

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new Apple customers
Apple Watch could be better than ever next year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch is expected to come with brand new display technology as soon as next year, according to a new report.

Apple is said to be in advanced talks with display makers over bringing microLED screens to its popular wearable. One advantage of the switch will be longer battery life in between charges.

2020 iPhone could get blazing-fast display upgrade

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iPhone XS gaming
The first iPhone with ProMotion?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The 2020 iPhone lineup could bring a huge display upgrade that will put it on par with iPad Pro in terms of refresh rate.

One leaker says Apple is “considering” 120Hz panels for next year’s handsets. It would be the first time its ProMotion technology has graced an OLED screen since its debut in 2017.

CarPlay in iOS 13, the perfect road trip companion [Video]

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CarPlay Dashboard in iOS 13
The new CarPlay Dashboard puts everything you need on your... dashboard.
Photo: Apple

We’ve already extolled our excitement over CarPlay changes coming in iOS 13. But now that the beta season is well underway, we’ve had the chance to go fully hands on.

After taking it on a road trip, using it while commuting, and exploring the new features, this is our hands-on look at CarPlay in iOS 13.

Save up to 98% on Mac apps, backup tools and more [Deals]

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Best Deals of the Week
The best deals of this week include massive bundles of Mac Apps, digital marketing lessons, terabytes of backup, and lots more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

This week, the Cult of Mac Store got some massive new deals on useful apps, instruction and digital tools. Below you’ll find a bundle of 10 Mac apps, to a tool for converting websites to searchable text, 10 terabytes of backup storage, and more. Deals range from 50% to 98% off, so read on for more details:

To the moon! iPhone vs. Apollo Guidance Computer [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 306]

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A single iPhone dwarfs the Apollo Guidance Computer's processing power.
A single iPhone dwarfs the Apollo Guidance Computer's processing power.
Photo: NASA. Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Fifty years after the Apollo moon mission, the leaps in mankind’s computing power continue to amaze. For instance, did you know an iPhone could manage 120 million moon missions at once?

Get the story behind that astonishing stat, plus the latest on CarPlay, FaceApp and the likely design of this year’s new iPhones, in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. It’s jam-packed with all the Apple news, reviews and how-tos you can fit into your weekend. (Prefer to read in your browser? Get the headlines below.)

Our best deals on awesome Apple Watch accessories

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Watch-Store-deals
Savings you won’t want to miss!
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Treat yourself to some new Apple Watch bands and accessories and enjoy some big discounts on the Cult of Mac Watch Store.

We have gorgeous aluminum link bracelets, premium charging stands that work with Apple Watch and iPhone, and speedy wireless charging pads all on sale for a limited time.

Check them out right here and see how much you can save.

Apple Card might come to Canada soon

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Apple Card
Perhaps Canada will be the second country to get Apple Card.
Photo: Apple

Canadians should start polishing up their credit ratings, as they soon may be able to apply for a shiny new Apple Card.

The US launch of this credit card will happen in the coming weeks. Canada might not be far behind.

How to save all open tabs to a folder in iOS 13 Safari

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Safari's new download manager in iOS 13.
Safari is full of new tricks in iPadOS.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you currently use a third-party bookmark manager, you might be able to ditch it when you upgrade your iPhone or iPad to iOS 13. The main new feature is that you can now save all your open tabs into a bookmark folder, then reopen all the links in that folder with one tap. But that’s not all. Thanks to iPadOS’ new contextual menus, the built-in bookmarks got way easier to use.

Instagram’s hidden ‘likes’ put some influencers on edge

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Instagram screenshot showing likes
Instagram may kick the "likes" count for good.
Photo: Instagram

Australia’s leading Instagram influencers expressed a range of feelings this week over the photo-sharing app’s experiment with hiding “likes.”

Some fear it starts the clock counting down toward the end of their moment of fame.

Mophie’s newest iPhone battery case is surprisingly svelte [Review]

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Mophie Juice Pack Air review
The Juice Pack Air expands your iPhone’s battery life without also expanding your pocket.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The latest Juice Pack Air from Mophie proves iPhone battery cases don’t have to be bulky. This one is relatively slender, while still extending the time between recharges a considerable amount. There’s even room for a Lightning port as well as wireless charging.

Find out what it’s like to use this accessory designed for the 2018 iPhone models in our hands-on review.

CarPlay’s simple Calendar app has one killer feature

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Calendar-CarPlay-iOS-13
It doesn’t look like much, but it’s surprisingly useful.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple’s Calendar app finally comes to CarPlay in iOS 13. It might not look like much, but it makes getting to meetings and events super-simple.

Here’s how the Calendar app works — and how you’ll use its killer feature.