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Forensics firm claims it can break into every iPhone

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GrayKey can bypass iPhone security
Don’t expect locking your iPhone to keep police from accessing it.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A company staffed with white-hat hackers apparently made a breakthrough in unlocking iPhones and iPads. Cellebrite says it is offering law enforcement agencies access to every bit of data on any iOS device.

Mind games: How Apple sells us on high prices [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 301]

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Did you fall for Apple's psychological trick?
Did you fall for it?
Photo: meo/Pexels CC; Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

If the sky-high price of Apple’s new Pro Display XDR didn’t slap you silly, you probably fell for a clever psychological trick Cupertino often uses. (Either that or you know the actual cost of high-end reference monitors.)

Get the lowdown on Apple’s pricing mind game in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iOS. Or read on to get the rest of the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos in your browser. We’re serving up a heaping helping of iOS 13 insight along with some fresh product reviews.

Get a certified refurbished iMac for $800 off the MSRP [Deals]

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Don't break the bank with this 21.5-inch refurb Apple iMac.
This 21.5-inch refurb iMac won't break the bank.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Macs are remarkably future-proof. After years of use, assuming they’ve been well cared for, they can still hang with the latest in the line. And if you refurbish them, there’s no telling how long their useful life can be, so getting a refurb is a great way to score a solid machine at a crazy-low price.

Take this certified refurbished 2011 iMac, right now, you can get one for just $379.

How Apple tricks our brains into accepting high prices

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This genius psychological tactic makes Apple's high prices seem totally reasonable.
This genius psychological tactic makes Apple's high prices seem totally reasonable.
Photo: meo/Pexels CC

During the WWDC 2019 keynote, most of Apple’s latest creations drew enthusiastic applause, with one notable exception. The price of Apple’s new Pro Display XDR elicited a somewhat cooler response. But considering just how expensive the monitor is, the fact that it got any applause at all was pretty remarkable.

This is not the first time Apple has had to convince us to pony up for an eye-watering sticker price. Cupertino pulls from a well-established playbook for its keynotes, often employing behavioral science techniques to help soften the blow. (To our brains at least, if not to our wallets).

This low-key powerful portable battery charger packs 8,000mAh [Deals]

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QiStone

Now that iPhones are firmly on board the wireless charging train, it’s easier than ever to have full recharging capabilities at all times, all without carrying an octopus’ nest of wires, connectors and adapters. At first glance, the QiStone2 Wireless Portable Charger actually does look like a stone. However, it’s a stone packing 8,000 mAh of power, capable of two to three full wireless recharges of your typical smartphone while you’re out in the world.

Apple shows Google how to do Street View with style

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Head to head
Apple's new Look Around feature will launch with iOS 13.
Photo: Reüel van der Steege

Apple’s a few years behind Google with its Street View-style feature called Look Around, announced at WWDC 2019. It may have been worth waiting for, however — at least, based on a new side-by-side comparison.

Assembled by Reüel van der Steege, the demo showcases the impressively smooth Look Around, next to Google’s jerkier alternative. Both parts of the side-by-side demo depict the same road in Hawaii.

Adonit Note is the affordable stylus your iPad needs [Review]

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Adonit Note review
Adonit Note costs half and much, looks twice as good as Apple Pencil.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

More than artists want to draw on their iPad, and Adonit has just introduced a stylus for the rest of us. This lightweight accessory offers most of the features of the Apple Pencil, while costing far, far less.

We fully tested the Adonit Note iPad stylus, so be sure to read our review.

Sell your old Mac and bag a bargain upgrade today

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We've rounded up four top-shelf productivity apps for Mac, each discounted by more than half.
With big discounts on new Macs, it’s a great time to upgrade.
Photo: Cult of Mac

There are some incredible discounts to be had on some of the best Apple machines right now, like $780 off the 27-inch iMac, $400 off the 21.5-inch iMac, and $100 off the newest MacBook Air.

And yours could be even cheaper when you raise some upgrade cash with Cult of Mac.

We’ll pay real money for your old Mac, and we make the whole process quick and easy. What’s more, we typically cough up more than other buyback services. Get a quote today to find out how much your old Mac is really worth.

Everything you need to know about external hard drives and iPadOS

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Hook up any and all USB storage devices to your iPad.
Hook up any and all USB storage devices to your iPad.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

External storage support is one of the best new features in iPadOS 13. Even if you opted for the maximum iPad Pro storage capacity, you may often want to grab some movies from a hard drive, or save some songs and photos to a thumb drive to hand to a friend.

But how exactly does external storage work in iOS? Can you drag files between connected volumes? Can you even mount more than one drive at once? What about FAT32? Or HFS Plus? And do you have to eject them? Let’s find out.

Apple Pencil and QuickPath floating keyboard revolutionize iPad typing

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What can't the iPad do in iPadOS?
What can't the iPad do in iPadOS?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Were you ever drawing a diagram in the Notes app, and then realized you needed to type a note? Did you then find yourself frustrated at having to drop the Apple Pencil and type on the huge, half-screen QWERTY keyboard?

With iPadOS 13, Apple has removed that frustration. You still can’t do Newton-style handwriting and have it turn into text. But you can shrink the keyboard to a tiny floating panel, and use the Apple Pencil to swipe-type on it.

Mystery MacBooks pop up in Eurasian database

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The days when you could get a 17-inch MacBook Pro like this one could be returning.
A rumored replacement for 2012’s 17-inch MacBook Pro might have just appeared in a regulatory body’s database.
Photo: Apple

Much-anticipated additional 2019 MacBooks have apparently just shown up in a Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) database.

There are seven variations listed, one of which could be the super-size model a trusted analyst says is on the way.

DIYer converts grater into working Mac Pro alternative

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working cheese-grater Mac
The iCanWait Mac Pro alternative is a proven multi-tasking machine.
Photo: Tom Owad/Applefritter

Every day since Apple introduced the new Mac Pro, social media has served up endless cheese grater jokes.

But only one has converted an actual tin grater into a working Mac. Well, kind of.

Get wireless Bluetooth headphones with a price as great as their sound [Deals]

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Sinji Headphones

If you’re in the market for a set of headphones, you want them to sound great, regardless of how much you plan to pay. So if you find a pair that delivers premium quality sound at a steeply discounted price, that deal should get a serious look. For your serious consideration, the Sinji Bluetooth Headphones offer top-notch audio coupled with portability and convenience, all accessible easily with Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity.

Pick up a pair of Qi wireless charging stations [Deals]

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Qi Wireless Fast Charging Duo
With this pair of wireless chargers, you can skip the clutter at home and on the go.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

As sophisticated as modern mobile devices are, when it comes to charging they can still be a tangled mess. Wireless charging changes that, allowing clutter-free, fast charging So why not jump at the chance to charge wirelessly at home and on the go?

Apple TV’s surging popularity might surprise you

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Apple TV at home
Millions of people sit down in front of an Apple TV every night, and that number is expected to grow and grow.
Photo: Apple

Because Apple TVs aren’t used in public, it’s easy to underestimate how many of them are. A market-analysis firm says that 21 percent of US households regularly use an Apple set-top box.

And the number of households with access to the underlying streaming technology is expected to grow dramatically now that third-party TV makers can integrate it into their products.

Dual wireless charger takes the fuss out of juicing up [Review]

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Choetech Dual Wireless Fast Charger
Is a five-coil wireless charger bananas?
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

You wanted an AirPower, but Apple failed you. While the Choetech Dual Wireless Fast Charger does not pack all the advanced features of Apple’s infamous vaporware, this five-coil wireless charger does deliver several welcome advantages over standard Qi chargers.

And these come at a fraction of the price Cupertino probably planned to extract from your overburdened wallet. If you want to charge two devices at once, this could be the charger for you.

Memos app makes the text in your photo library searchable

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Memos recognizes pretty much everything.
Memos recognizes pretty much everything.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Memos is a new iOS app that scans your entire photo library, looking for text. That text could be a shop sign in a vacation photo, a paragraph from a magazine page you snapped, or the entirety of a screenshot of a newspaper article. It could be a Wi-Fi password jotted onto a scrap of paper, or a logo on a t-shirt label.

The app is far from perfect, but it’s already amazing.

Swimmer breaks a record with AirPods in her ears

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Swimmer races with AirPods
Delfina Pignatiello was so pumped up for her race, she forgot to take out her AirPods before the starter's pistol.
Screenshot: Fernando Cicutti/Twitter

Apple recommends keeping AirPods out of the water. But an Argentine swimmer evidently forgot she had them in her ears when she proceeded to break her own record during an international race in France.

Despite finishing second in the 800-meter freestyle, Delfina Pignatiello broke her own national record with a time of 8:24.33. Her AirPods were in her ears tucked under her swim cap the whole way.

Ikea ad teases Apple for Mac Pro cheese grater design

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Mac Pro cheese grater
The new Mac Pro's price tag grates on some people's nerves.
Photo: Apple

The cheese grater jokes will eventually die down, so Ikea’s Bulgaria stores this week quickly joined the fun of teasing Apple for its new Mac Pro.

The Ikea ads feature, of course, a four-sided metal grater against a white backdrop under the headline, “Designed for apples.” But the joke doesn’t stop there.

2019 iPhone could finally take on Google Pixel’s amazing Night Sight

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Pixel 3 Night Sight
The Pixel 3 destroys iPhone in low-light performance.
Photo: Google

Apple is developing its very own Night Sight feature for the next-generation iPhone lineup, according to a new report.

Google’s Pixel handsets have been well and truly beating rivals on low-light camera performance for years now. But it is claimed Apple has a similar feature up its sleeve called “Night Mode” — and we should see it this year.

Wooden iPhone charging stations make any workspace classier [Deals]

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Oakywood Rounup
This roundup of wooden charging stations and stands makes a classy addition to any desktop.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

No matter how many posters or tchotchkes you get, the modern workspace can look pretty bleak. One way to add some life to your desk is to update the necessaries, like charging stations for your iPhone. These wood charging stations from Oakywood do just that, in a variety of designs that make any desktop warmer and more inviting, so we’ve rounded up four of the best. Most discounted by over a third, read on for more details: