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Microsoft challenges iPad with $399 Surface Go

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Microsoft Surface Go with optional accessories.
Microsoft Surface Go with Surface Pen ($99), Surface Cover ($99) and Surface Mouse ($49.99).
Photo: Microsoft

The iPad Pro and Microsoft’s Surface Pro are serious competitors, but until now Redmond didn’t have anything to take on the $329 iPad. That changed with the reveal of the Surface Go.

This device is $70 more than Apple’s offering and includes a screen just a hair larger. Let’s take a look at how all of their specs compare.

iPhone 8 replacement to get iPhone X style edge-to-edge screen

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Microsoft Edge on iPhone
This kind of display won't be exclusive to Apple's top-end iPhone.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Last year, only Apple’s OLED iPhone X was the recipient of the edge-to-edge infinite display. Owners of the regular iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, meanwhile, had to endure the indignity of the old fashioned iPhone design, complete with bezel.

That appears set to change with the 2018-era iPhone refresh, however. And a new report reveals the technology that will make it all possible.

Name your price for a deep dive into UI/UX design [Deals]

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PWYW UI UX
Design websites that are engaging with this 45 hour bundle
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Creating engaging sites, apps, and content are big business. Whether you’re looking to get a new gig or launch your own project, user interface and user interaction design skills are super valuable.

So this massive set of courses is a can’t-miss deal, yours for whatever you want to pay.

Apple’s USB-blocking update is already counter-blocked

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There may already be a way around Apple's USB Restricted Mode
There may already be a way around Apple's USB Restricted Mode.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Yesterday, Apple’s iOS 11.4.1 update secured the USB Lightning port on iPhones and iPads. And already there is a workaround, allowing cops and criminals to retain access to the port, and then use their hacking tools to extract your private data.

macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 brings AirPlay 2 to iTunes

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wwdc 2017
MacOS High Sierra is still being updated. In fact, there's a new version out now.
Photo: Apple

Apple isn’t quite done with macOS High Sierra, even though most people’s attention is on the replacement, macOS Mojave. What’s likely the final update to the old version, macOS 10.13.6, is now available for download.

The main purpose of this release seems to be bug fixes, but the release notes do mention one new feature.

Hackers and cops hate Apple’s iOS 11.4.1 update

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iPhone hacking is more difficulty with iOS 11.4.1
iPhone hacking is more difficulty if a new "USB Accessories" setting in iOS 11.4.1 is left off.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

The iOS version debuting today partially deactivates the Lightning port after an iPhone hasn’t been used for an hour. This makes iPhone hacking more difficult, for both criminals and law enforcement.

Previously, this feature was available in iOS betas. iOS 11.4.1 is the first time it’s been in a public version.

Super-fast WiGig could be in future iPhone

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A WiGig iPhone might happen in 2020.
A WiGig iPhone might happen in 2020. This standard is fast but short range.
Photo: Wireless Gigabit Alliance/Cult of Mac

Apple appears to be planning to put WiGig in future iPhones. This a version of Wi-Fi that’s more than five times faster than 802.11ac.

An Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modem has reportedly been turned down by Apple because it lacked WiGig. This certainly implies that the iPhone maker will go looking for a modem that does include this feature.

Pro Tip: Reject Robocalls at the squeeze of a hardware button

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Reject robocalls on with a double-tap of the power button.
Reject robocalls on with a double-tap on the power button.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Pro Tip Cult of Mac bug Did you know that, if you have your iPhone set to share incoming calls with your Mac, your iPad, and/or Apple Watch, then the iPhone won’t let you reject incoming calls? The red telephone icon isn’t there. You have to either answer the call, or scramble to another device in order to bump the call without picking up first.

But there’s a great hidden trick that lets you reject any call from your iPhone, without even touching the screen.

Here’s how much each country makes off the iPhone 7

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iPhone-7
The major components for the iPhone 7 come from a variety of counties. Most at of the profit still goes to the U.S.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone is made in China, so most of the profit stays over there, right? Actually, everything in that sentence is wrong.

A new study finds that China makes less than $9 from each iPhone 7. Some of the rest goes to other Asian countries, but the lion’s share is earned by Apple and other U.S. companies.

Artist re-creates Childish Gambino’s ‘This Is America’ video on vintage Mac

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This Is America recreation
Donald Glover looks even cooler in pixel form.
Photo: Wahyu Ichwandardi

Donald Glover’s video for “This Is America” is one of most talked-about music videos of the year, but one brilliant animator is adding an extra dose of old-school cool by painstakingly re-creating it on a vintage Mac and software from the ’80s.

New York City illustrator Wahyu Ichwandardi (aka @pinot) is animating the entire “This Is America” video pixel by pixel. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but he’s currently 375 frames deep — and it looks incredible.

Watch the first minute of the video:

Vintage Apple inspires line of toy robots

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Classicbot
This toy Classic is ready to travel with a Font Suitcase and pet mouse.
Photo: Classicbot

Philip Lee is an ad man, a great admirer of vintage Macs and a lifelong collector of toy robots. From those three pieces of Lee’s life comes Classicbot, a line of designer toys that turns historic replica Apple hardware and desktop icons into adorable characters.

His first, the Classic, looks like the original Macintosh computer except with a friendly face, arms and legs. There’s even a cute mouse, a Font Suitcase that fits in the toy bot’s hand and a cardboard box reminiscent of the original packaging.

Understand your sleep patterns with Pillow [50 Essential iOS Apps #35]

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Pillow on Apple Watch report
Pillow users your Apple Watch or iPhone for sleep tracking and reporting your sleep quality.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: pillow sleep tracker appDo you ever wake up feeling exhausted, even though you are sure you slept well the night before? Or do you find yourself getting that 2:30 feeling a few hours early without any clear explanation? With the Pillow sleep app for iPhone and Apple Watch, you can get detailed analysis of your nightly slumber. Even better, you can gain insight into your body’s ideal sleep and wake times.

Save massively on a whopping 3TB of cloud storage

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Zoolz 3Tb
Backup all of your summer photos with Zoolz Cloud Storage
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Cloud storage is super convenient, and often super expensive. When you get into the realms of terabytes, which is necessary for serious backups, the prices can be downright prohibitive. Improving storage capacity shouldn’t mean emptying your wallet

Hilarious new iPhone X ad imagines life as a quiz show

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Apple's new iPhone X ad shows the struggle we go through trying to remember passwords.
Apple's new iPhone X ad shows the struggle we go through trying to remember passwords.
Screenshot: Apple

Imagine you’re on a game show and the trivia answer you need to win is… the password you created for your online banking account.

This isn’t an elaborate form of hacking, it’s a funny new Apple advertisement that points out that Face ID saves us from ever having to remember passwords.

Your iPhone or iPad probably indicates you’re well off

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pad&quill
Just by looking at her with an iPad tells you there's a good chance she's well off.
Photo: Pad & Quill

Researchers investigating differences between groups of Americans have an interesting observation: owning an iOS device is the best indicator that someone is in one of the top income brackets. Even better than using Grey Poupon.

They are trying to discover whether rich and poor, white and minority, men and women have less in common now than they did in the past. Studying the products they buy is part of this process.

Steve Jobs envisioned the App Store in 1983

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Steve Jobs on the cover of Time magazine in 1982.
Steve Jobs on the cover of Time magazine in 1982.
Photo: Time magazine

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was a visionary. That’s a phrase that gets tossed around a lot, but in Jobs’ case we have solid evidence.

Speaking at a conference in the early 1980s, a decade before the Internet became a household name, he described something we do everyday: buy software online.

How to use a blank home screen on iPad, and why you’ll love it

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Look at this blank home screen. Just look at it.
Look at this blank home screen. Just look at it.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

What’s on your main iPad home screen? Is it organized so that you can find your most-used apps quickly? Or have you decided to arrange the icons by color? Or divided up the grid by adding a row of blank spaces? Those are pretty neat ideas, but today I’m going to suggest you do something even more radical. How about keeping your home screen entirely blank? No icons, no folders, nothing. Just the Dock, Spotlight search, and an easier-to-use iPad.

Swipe on the iOS Copy/Paste menu to see hidden extra actions

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Instead of tapping those arrows, you should swipe the whole menu.
Instead of tapping those arrows, you should swipe the whole menu.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Are you still tapping the little arrows to scroll through the sections on your iPhone’s tiny copy/paste menu? Forget about that nonsense. This is 2018, the year of living dangerously, so may as well join in with the world. Did you know that you can just swipe that menu? You’ll never have to tap a tiny arrow ever again.

Microsoft Andromeda folding iPad competitor possibly killed off

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Microsoft Andromeda is a rumored dual-screen folding computer.
This render shows the Microsoft Andromeda, a rumored dual-screen folding Windows computer.
Photo: David Breyer

Don’t expect to see the rumored folding Windows computer any time soon. In fact, Microsoft might have cancelled the device code named Andromeda.

This would have been small enough to be pocketable, but then unfold to become a tablet about the size of an iPad mini.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Why you should be rowing with Apple Watch, and more!

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cover
If running and swimming with Apple Watch don’t rock your boat, you should give rowing a try. It combines all the benefits of cardio and strength training, and you get to do it in a boat.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: If running and swimming with Apple Watch don’t rock your boat, you should give rowing a try. It combines all the benefits of cardio and strength training. Whether you get in a boat or use a rowing machine, it’s a great way to get in shape.

You’ll find that story and more in this issue. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Save 80 percent on a top-shelf VPN [Deals]

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Get two years of powerful VPN protection for a fraction of the usual price.
Get two years of powerful VPN protection for a fraction of the usual price.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’ve visited this site before, first of all, thanks. Second, you probably know that we endorse getting online through a virtual private network (VPN). It’s a scary place out there on the web, and using a VPN helps protect your privacy and data.

Cash App makes splitting the check easy [50 Essential iOS Apps #34]

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Cash app with cash money
Cash app makes paying back your friend as easy as using cash.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Cash App There are tons of ways to give money to a friend or family member. You could mail a check, hand them a stack of cash, or send it digitally. With the Cash App, sending money to someone is as easy as entering an amount, dropping in their $cashtag, and hitting send. While this is very similar to Apple Pay Cash, the Cash App packs a few extra perks that make it awesome.

Weak Galaxy S9 demand cuts into Samsung profits

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Samsung Galaxy S9
This guy is running away from the Galaxy S9, like a lot of other people.
Photo: Samsung

A few months ago, Apple surprised everyone by announcing its latest smartphone was a huge hit, resulting in better than expected earnings and a big jump in company shares. That didn’t happen to Samsung.

Instead, the Korean company missed analysts’ profit expectations, partially because of sluggish demand for the Galaxy S9.

The games in Fortnite Playground mode end next week

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Fortnite Playground mode
Say goodbye to Fortnite's Playground LTM. It will close in less than a week.
Photo: Epic Games

Looking for something to do this weekend? Been meaning to try Fortnite‘s Playground mode on your Mac or iPad? You should combine those because this training level is getting pulled down in a few days.

The good news is Epic Games already has big plans for the next version.