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The antitrust arguments that could hobble the tech giants

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Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
Apple could be the potential recipient of an antitrust investigation.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim has laid out some of the potential antitrust arguments that could be made against tech giants.

Delrahim’s office is reportedly in charge of investigating Google parent company Alphabet, as well as a potential investigation into Apple.

Enjoy your favorite tunes on a retro-style Bluetooth speaker [Deals]

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LuguLake Handheld Multi-Functional Retro Bluetooth Speaker
This retro Bluetooth speaker adds a touch of noir style and modern audio features to your desktop.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Streaming and wireless music are wonders of the modern world. But the devices we use to play that music often look like bad examples of modern art or a prop from a Paul Verhoeven film.

Unlike those atrocities, this retro-style, future-ready Bluetooth speaker serves up a refreshing mix of form and function.

UAG Scout brings serious drop protection to iPad Pro with Apple keyboard [Review]

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UAG Scout for iPad Pro
The UAG Scout shields both a 2018 iPad Pro and an Apple Smart Keyboard Folio.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Some third-party case makers have begun treating the iPad Pro with a Smart Keyboard Folio attached as a single device. Urban Armor Gear is the latest to introduce a lightweight protective case that goes around both, adding drop protection and an Apple Pencil holder.

Don’t miss our hands-on review of the UAG Scout Series, which is available for the most recent 12.9- and 11-inch iPad Pro.

Update April 27, 2020: UAG released a version of the Scout modified for the larger camera hump in the 2020 iPad Pro.

iPhone XS resale value makes Galaxy S10 look pathetic

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Long-term iPhone XR demand could eventually lead to greater sales than the iPhone XS.
Almost a year later, used iPhone XS and XR units are still worth most of what what paid for them.
Photo: Apple

The 2018 iPhone models drew criticism for their high prices, but new data shows that they have held their value. The same can not be said for Samsung’s rival flagship phone.

The Galaxy S10 line lost more resale value in the first month than the iPhone XS and XR did in the 9 months after their release, according to a phone resale company.

Developers get their hands on Apple’s latest betas

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iOS 12.1 could be out for iPhone and iPad by the end of this month.
Go get them now!
Photo: Apple

Apple has today seeded a bunch of new beta updates to registered developers.

A fourth iOS 12.4 release, the third tvOS 12.4 and watchOS 5.3 releases, and a second macOS 10.14.6 release are available now. Sadly, there are no new iOS 13, iPadOS, or watchOS 6 betas just yet.

iOS 13’s NFC triggers bring Shortcuts to the real world

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With NFC shortcuts in iOS 13, this speaker could become a trigger to play your favorite podcast.
This speaker could become a trigger to play your favorite podcast.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The iOS 13 Shortcuts app brings plenty of radical changes — automatic scheduled and location-based shortcuts, for example — but one super-neat new feature will make a world of difference. Now, if you have a compatible iPhone, you can combine NFC tags with Shortcuts. That is, you can run any shortcut just by tapping your iPhone onto an NFC sticker.

Seriously. Pretty wild, right? You could tap your iPhone onto a sticker atop a speaker in your kitchen, and it would start playing the radio, for instance. Let’s check out how NFC shortcuts will work.

iPadOS makes Apple Pencil much faster and better [Opinion]

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Apple Pencil in iPadOS 13 decreased latency
At WWDC, Apple VP Craig Federighi revealed one of the ways iPadOS 13 improves the Apple Pencil.
Screenshot: Apple

Without changing the hardware, iPadOS 13 manages to decrease the latency of the Apple Pencil. And that’s just the start: there are also new features for non-artists to take advantage of this active stylus.

Check out our first impressions of using an Apple Pencil with the initial beta of Apple’s next operating system.

Apple will fix iPhone 8 Plus Portrait mode bug today

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iPhone Depth Control
iOS 12.3.2 will bring depth back to your Portrait photos.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple will roll out a new software update today to fix a Portrait mode bug on the iPhone 8 Plus.

iOS 12.3.2, which comes just two weeks after the release of iOS 12.3.1, is another minor update for most iPhone and iPad users. For those with an iPhone 8 Plus, however, it will bring depth back to Portrait photos.

All the new gestures coming to iPad in iPadOS

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Haptic feedback could make iPhone displays feel like rocks or fur
New gestures in iPadOS give you something to do with your hands.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

After an action packed WWDC, we’ve finally had a few days to see what Apple has in the works for iOS in 2019. One of the big surprises for us was the introduction of iPadOS – an iPad specific fork of iOS 13.

With the addition of iPadOS, Apple has started to formalized the differences between iPhone and iPad as it comes to interacting with the OS. One of the big differences is in gestures and multitasking. Many of the gestures on iPad are remaining mostly the same, but there are a few news ones to take note of.

Apple.com says new Mac Pro, XDR Display will launch in September

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Mac-Pro-September
Is it correct?
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple’s next-generation Mac Pro and stunning XDR Display will arrive this September, according to Apple.com.

Apple didn’t confirm launch dates for either product during its WWDC reveals — but it did say they would be available this fall. Now it’s website lists a more specific date, but it’s unclear if this is just an error for now.

Your summer pool party needs Urbanears’ portable Bluetooth speaker [Review]

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Urbanears Rålis review
Urbanears Rålis would be a welcome guest at your next pool party.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

No outdoor party is complete without music, and that requires a sound system that can be heard over plenty of other noise. The new Rålis from Urbanears delivers more than just the necessary volume: it sounds outstanding.

Check out our review of this high-end portable speaker.

iTunes isn’t dead. It’s alive and better than ever [Opinion]

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Apple Music in macOS Catalina
iTunes is being replaced with Apple Music and several other apps.
Photo: Apple

Headlines this week trumpeted the death of iTunes. While these stories made good clickbait, they understandably caused concern for those who used this application to build up extensive music and video libraries. You may be one of the people left wondering what’s going to happen to decades of purchases.

Relax, your music and video collection isn’t going anywhere. It’s actually getting easier to access.

Nailed it! Why WWDC 2019 was one for the ages [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 300]

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Cult of Mac Magazine No. 300 cover
That was one awesome WWDC!
Cover: Marty Cortinas/Cult of Mac

The warp-speed WWDC 2019 keynote truly delivered the goods. Tim Cook and his lieutenants took the wraps off tons of exciting new features coming in iOS 13, iPadOS, macOS Catalina, watchOS 6 and tvOS 13.

And then, in a hardware shocker, Apple even showed off an insanely powerful new Mac Pro.

Relive Apple’s epic presentation — and get our take on what it all means — 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.

5 new iOS 13 features you haven’t heard about yet

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iOS 13 has almost too many features to cover -- but that won't stop us trying.
iOS 13 has almost too many features to cover -- but that won't stop us trying.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

iPadOS and iOS 13 have gotten so many new features and tweaks, it’s hard to know where to start. We will continue to cover everything in-depth over the coming weeks and months, but here’s a little glimpse at some of the best new features in the newest version of iOS.

External drive support is iPadOS’ best new feature [Opinion]

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iPad Pro with thumb drive
With the right adapter, an a tablet running iPadOS 13 can access USB-A drives and SD cards.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Mouse support has drawn more attention, but giving iPad Pro full access to external drives is the biggest improvement in iPadOS 13. It will make using a tablet easier and cheaper for professionals and average users alike.

With adapters, it’s now possible to access everything from hard drives to microSD cards. This feature is a real gamechanger.

Catch our reactions to Apple’s legendary WWDC keynote, this week on The CultCast

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cultcast 391
WWDCs don't get more exciting than this.

This week on The CultCast: Our WWDC 2019 reactions! Apple keynotes don’t get more legendary than this one. Plus: Crazy cryptographic tech powers Apple’s new Find My app, and our favorite features of iOS 13, macOS Catalina, tvOS and watchOS.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. 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..

Why SwiftUI might be the biggest thing to come out of WWDC

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Why SwiftUI is actually a big deal.
SwiftUI is actually a pretty big deal.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2019 bug Apple lavished attention on all its platforms at WWDC this year. We even got a first look at the all-new Mac Pro. But another announcement, which didn’t grab so many headlines, may prove to be the most important thing to come out of this year’s developer conference: SwiftUI.

SwiftUI promises to fundamentally change the way developers create apps for Apple products. And you don’t need to be a techie to appreciate why it’s such a big deal.

iOS 13 brings multi-cam capture to latest iPhones and iPads

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iOS-13-multi-cam-capture
You’ll be able to record with front- and rear-facing cameras for the first time.
Photo: Apple

iOS 13 and iPadOS will give recent iPhone and iPad users the ability to capture images and videos with their front- and rear-facing cameras simultaneously.

Apple says it is also possible to take advantage of multiple microphones to “shape” the sound that is captured. It encourages developers to leverage the new capabilities to bring picture-in-picture and spacial audio to their apps.

Quickly revive 3 devices with one wireless charging hub [Deals]

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AirDock 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station
De-clutter your desk and juice up 3 devices at once with this powerful charging hub.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Our lives are getting crowded with wireless devices, from phones to watches to wireless earbuds. Unfortunately, we’re not getting extra outlets in our walls, and no one wants a desk covered with wireless charging pads. So this 3-in-1 wireless charging station can help keep things convenient and tidy.