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Apple is ‘very aware’ of concerns over high iPhone prices

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Which new iPhone is for you? It really comes down to size.
Apple knows the iPhone is getting too expensive.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple COO Jeff Williams says the company is “very aware” of concerns over the rising cost of the iPhone and Mac computers.

Williams, who delivered a brief speech at Elon University in North Carolina on Friday, also disputes analysts’ estimates of component costs for Apple’s products. (Results of a recent teardown suggested a 256GB iPhone XS Max can be manufactured for just $443.)

Yes, Tim Cook does read your ‘Dear Tim’ emails

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Tim Cook and Ivanka Trump
Your email might even help dictate Apple's future moves.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook reads what customers say in their emails to him — and sometimes their suggestions do trigger actual change in products.

That’s according to a new report which notes that these “Dear Tim” emails are often read by an assistant. The most relevant ones are then forwarded onto Cook. Where necessary, they are then pushed to employees in other departments.

Luxurious leather case gives iPad Pro with Apple keyboard the protection they need [Review]

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Picaso Lab iPad Pro with Apple Keyboard sleeve review
Carry your iPad Pro and its keyboard in this attractive leather sleeve.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Picaso Lab hand makes a professional-looking leather sleeve that goes around both the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the Smart Folio Keyboard. It offers much more protection to the tablet than just Apple’s keyboard case. And this sleeve looks far better than Apple’s folio.

Read on for our full review of this great-looking protective cover.

Aukey slim wall charger offers dual USB-A ports for easier iPhone power

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Aukey 24W Dual Port Wall Charger review
The two USB-A ports in Anker’s power adapter add up to 24W.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Aukey makes a USB-A dual-port charger that’s surprisingly small but puts out 24 watts. It takes advantage of Gallium Nitride for its svelte design.

I used the accessory with my iPhone XS Max for some real-world testing. Here’s how it stood up.

Don’t give up hope for a 5G iPhone this fall

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No matter what your AT&T iPhone says, everyone else says “5G E” is 4G.
It’s not impossible that a 5G iPhone will launch this fall. Right now, there’s just AT&T’s fake “5G E.”
Photo: Cult of Mac/@Siddavarapu

Intel says its 5G modem won’t be used in any phones until next year. This is Apple’s preferred modem maker but not it’s only option. 

The company is reportedly considering other sources to provide the necessary modem for a 5G iPhone possibly coming this fall.

How gesture controls could bring multi-touch to Mac [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 285]

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Gesture controls could replace 3D Touch and bring multi-touch to the Mac (finally!).
Gesture controls could replace 3D Touch and bring multi-touch to the Mac (finally!).
Cover: Graham Bower and Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

With gesture controls apparently about to become a thing, it’s time to look at how they could work on future iPhones and Macs. In this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine, we show how gesture controls could take the place of the dying 3D Touch. And, even better, how they could bring multi-touch to the Mac at long last.

Download the latest free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iOS. Or hit the links below to get the latest news, reviews and how-tos from our website.

How gesture controls could replace 3D Touch and bring multi-touch to the Mac [Opinion]

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Hovering your finger over an icon could bring up more options
Hovering your finger over an icon could bring up more options
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, LG looks set to unveil a revolutionary new smartphone with gesture controls. In a brief teaser video, the South Korean tech giant boldly promises the end of multi-touch — the way we’ve all been interacting with smartphones ever since the iPhone launched in 2007.

A gesture sensor could pick up hand movements in front of the device, rather than requiring physical interaction with the screen itself. So, for example, you could point at a button from a distance, rather than actually needing to tap the glass screen to select it.

In reality, I doubt that gestures will replace multi-touch anytime soon. However, I do think Apple could make intelligent use of this new tech. It could replace 3D Touch (which Apple looks set to scrap), and it could serve as a clever way to finally bring multi-touch to the Mac.

Galaxy S10+ tops iPhone XS in new camera rankings

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Galaxy S10+ camera
Can Samsung's top-rated camera system convince you to switch?
Photo: Samsung

The ink on all the press Samsung is getting for its new line of Galaxy smartphones is barely dry, but the camera on the S10+ already has received top marks from testing lab DxOMark.

One of five new Galaxy phones launched this week, the S10+ tied two Huawei handsets as the best-rated smartphones for mobile photographers.

Exciting concept shows what a folding iPhone could look like

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Folding iPhone 2
Would you like a folding smartphone from Apple?
Photo: Foldable.News

Samsung showed off its foldable smartphone this week, and while it’s clearly a first-generation model, it’s got a lot of people excited. Foldable phones have the potential to combine our phones and tablets in a way that offers a big display and a pocket-size form factor, all in one.

What would a foldable iPhone look like? With help from industrial designer Roy Gilsing, the folks over at Foldable.News have taken a swing at showing us.

Samsung could use sneaky trick to delay foldable iPhone

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Galaxy-Fold-inside
Could it be here any day now?
Photo: Samsung

Samsung has beaten Apple to the foldable smartphone, and it could have a sneaky trick up its sleeve to prevent the iPhone-maker from catching up quickly.

Analysts expect Samsung to hold off on selling its Infinity Flex displays to delay a foldable iPhone. It’s unlikely Apple would be able to source flexible OLED displays elsewhere.

Take a deep dive into SEO and digital marketing [Deals]

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Through 9 courses and 57 hours of content, learn what it takes to make your mark online.
Through 9 courses and 57 hours of content, learn what it takes to make your mark online.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The internet represents the some of the most exciting opportunities for business that the world has seen in decades. So whether you want to sell something or just be more effective in reaching an audience, it’s worth knowing the ropes.

Huge Apple hardware updates are on the horizon, this week on the The CultCast

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CultCast 376 MacBook Pro
Apple's about to update everything.

This week on The CultCast: a totally new 16” MacBook Pro; a new 6K cinema display; new Mac Pro; new AirPods; new iPads and iPhones; even a new iPod Touch… according to a new report, Apple’s about to make huge updates to their ENTIRE product line. This could be one of the best hardware releases in years.

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..

How to listen to the radio on your iPhone

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Radio is still remarkably rad.
Radio is still remarkably rad.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Yes, the radio.

Some phones, and some old iPods — the clip-on Nano, for example — have real radio receivers built in. They can pick up over-the-air AM and FM waves, and play them, just like you were in a car from the olden days. The iPhone and iPad, though, have never had working radio tuners. But thanks to internet streaming, it doesn’t matter. You can listen to live radio anywhere, using an app.

Today we’ll see one super-simple app that works a lot like an old radio, and another app that I don’t really like, but that does pretty much anything you could want in a radio-streaming app.

Next Mac Pro may use stackable design for ultimate customization

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The next Mac Pro might look a little something like this.
The next Mac Pro might look a little something like this.
Photo: OWC

Information supposedly leaking out of the design team for the next Mac Pro claims this desktop computer will totally and completely fulfil Apple’s promise to make it modular . Rather than a single unit it will allegedly consist of stackable components that can be easily swapped in and out as needed.

But not all the news is good. Apple promised that its next professional-grade desktop Mac would be out this year, but this unconfirmed report indicates it might not debut until 2020.

How to make a fantastic music video with your iPhone

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Fine-tune your music video clips.
Make music videos from your own Live Photos.
Photo: Cult of Mac

After messing around with the amazing Hyperspektiv app earlier this week, I thought it would be a great way to make music videos. Hyperspektiv glitches your videos and Live Photos, giving them incredible special effects. All you need to do is arrange the resulting clips, and add music.

You can do this in any video-editing app on your iPhone or iPad — iMovie for instance. But that requires lot of manual work to get the music synced up with the video clips. After a little searching, I found Quik, a video app from GoPro. It’s not ideal — it likes to upload your videos to its servers with little warning — but it also has one essential feature: Quik analyses any music you add, and automatically syncs the video clips to the beat.

First Macs with Apple chips could mean tumultuous 2020

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MacBook Internal makeup
A rumored switch from Intel to Apple processors could come to MacBook and macOS desktops as early as next year.
Photo: Apple

Moving macOS computers from Intel processors to ones Apple has created itself seems to be on schedule.  At least, that’s what Intel thinks, according to a recent report.

This is likely a part of bringing all the software that runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac together.

PolyPhase is like having Brian Eno in your iPad

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Who needs a whole band when you have PolyPhase?
Who needs a whole band when you have PolyPhase?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Instead of just firing up that ambient music playlists again today, why not try the PolyPhase app? It’s a “generative sequencer,” which is an accurate but uninteresting way of describing its purpose: to create great music, automatically.

PolyPhase is intended to be used as a creative tool. A music can manipulate its settings, and listen until she hears something worth saving and turning into a song. But the app is equally good as an ambient soundtrack generator. One that will never stop. Ever.

Can Apple keep cannibalizing its core creations? [Opinion]

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Galaxy-Fold-inside
Folding smartphones could threaten both iPhone and iPad sales.
Photo: Samsung

Apple built its world-dominating status by being brave. Not only did it create hit products, but it never worried about “cannibalizing” existing products to make way for the future.

Will that same strategy hold true at a time when Apple’s dominance is faltering? If the company is going to thrive through the next wave of tech, it’s going to take a whole lot of Dutch Cupertino courage.

Unlock your inner Pixar with an easy animation Mac app [Deals]

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Become an instant animator thanks to powerful but intuitive tools.
Become an instant animator thanks to powerful but intuitive tools.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Thanks to the internet, there are plenty of ways to express ourselves. From music, to blogging, vlogging, making memes and beyond, the list seems endless. So why is it that animation doesn’t come to mind? Maybe because it seems too hard, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

iPhone sales suffered worst quarter in 3 years in late 2018

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Would you pay $568 to AppleCare+ to replace a stolen iPhone XS?
What will Apple do in 2019?
Photo: Apple

Apple no longer discloses exact iPhone sales, and that might be for the best.

New data suggests the company’s smartphone business suffered its worst decline in nearly three years over the 2018 holiday period. Apple still managed to be the second-best seller, however.

Apple gives a glimpse inside its self-driving vehicle program

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Project Titan
Apple is putting tremendous effort into ensuring test autonomous vehicles are safe, safe, safe.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

A whitepaper describing the elaborate safety procedures used in Apple’s automated car development program seems intended to assure government regulators and the public that the company is making every effort to prevent accidents.

As a bonus, the document gives some insight into the automated vehicle Apple is creating.

Galaxy S10 vs. iPhone: Samsung gives us so many reasons to switch

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Galaxy S10+ camera
Can Samsung's top-rated camera system convince you to switch?
Photo: Samsung

Samsung just delivered a keynote packed with new devices, including an all-new Galaxy S10 lineup and the exciting Galaxy Flex, its first foldable smartphone. But are any of them worth considering for an iPhone fan?

We’ve compared all four of Samsung’s new devices with the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR to see how they stack up. Whether you want the best display, cameras, security, or performance, we can help you choose the right phone for you.

6 ways Samsung just leapfrogged Apple

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Samsung
Samsung's Unpacked event was actually pretty impressive.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung put Apple and the rest of the tech industry on notice today during its massive Unpacked event.

During the biggest tech event of 2019 so far, Samsung unveiled a slew of new smartphones, wearables, earbuds and more. Even though Samsung has a rep for copying Apple — and there was certainly a lot of that at Unpacked — the company is setting the tone for the rest of the industry. Samsung even leapfrogged Apple’s products in some ways.

Here are six things Apple should take note of.