Tablet shipments in Q2 still declining despite Apple’s growth with iPad
9to5Mac Happy Hour 184: iPad Pro design leaks, upcoming HomePod features and AAPL earnings

This week Benjamin and Zac talk about traveling and data caps on carrier plans, the resolution to Apple’s MacBook Pro throttling issue (and possibly the keyboard problem), Macotakara’s report on the upcoming iPad Pro losing its headphone jack, Face ID only working in portrait orientation, and moving its Smart Connector, a leaked CAD image that may back up that report, iGen’s report on upcoming HomePod features including multiple timers and phone call features, Apple’s latest earnings report, and more.
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Apple reveals ambitious restoration plan for downtown LA’s Tower Theatre

After years of rumors and speculation, Apple has spoken publicly for the first time about their plans to restore the historic Tower Theatre in downtown Los Angeles into a flagship retail location, screening renderings of the space and discussing their goals for the project.
T-Mobile tops customer satisfaction survey, Sprint comes in last ahead of merger

J.D. Power is out today with its latest survey on satisfaction of customer care for wireless carriers. T-Mobile handily took top honors, but ironically, Sprint came in last place as the two are in the middle of a merger deal.
Square now lets other apps easily accept payments with new Reader SDK

Square is opening up its payment processing tools to developers for the first time now thanks to its new Square Reader SDK. Square’s new software development kit lets third-party apps integrate with Square Reader hardware so vendors can accept payments in their own apps while still benefiting from Square’s card readers.
9to5Toys Lunch Break: $250 off Apple Watch Series 3, GoPro HERO4 Black $197, Aluminum MacBook Stand $39, more

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Compared: Razer Core X with RX Vega 64 vs Blackmagic eGPU [Video]

Now that new quad-core and hexa-core MacBook Pro models are here, I’ve been eager to see how they pair up with an AMD Vega 64-powered eGPU setup. Specifically, I’d like to see how such a setup compares with the recently released Blackmagic eGPU.
Using the Razer Core X, an enclosure I rated as the best overall external graphics chassis for Mac users, I ran a variety of benchmark tests with both the 13-inch and 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro. What did I learn? Watch the video for the details. more…
Review: Humu Augmented Audio Cushion, a pricy way to immerse yourself in sound

I love music, and am perfectly happy to pay for good-quality audio – but $279 for a speaker which delivers only ok audio quality doesn’t sound like a great deal.
However, music isn’t what the Humu Augmented Audio Cushion is all about …
Apple becomes first company to hit $1 trillion market cap … according to Apple’s own Stocks app

Apple has succeeded in becoming the first public company to hit a trillion dollars … although it depends who you ask. Due to a discrepancy in the count of total available shares, Yahoo is reporting that Apple has already hit the $1tn mark.
Google Finance reports Apple is at around 942 billion. With the updated share count, Apple stock has to cross the $207 level to reach the milestone.
Comment: Apple’s ambitious target for Services growth may have unintended consequences

Apple CEO Tim Cook set a goal last year for Apple to double its income from Services. He said in this week’s earnings call that the company was ahead of the game in this ambition.
But important as it is for Apple to boost its Services income at a time when hardware sales are relatively flat, the company’s enthusiasm for this target could well have some unintended consequences …
