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Thefts of smartphones in my hometown — London, U.K. — are at crazy-high levels.

The London cops reported more than 114,000 phone thefts last year, in a city of more than 9 million people.

A lot of the thefts are grab-and-go style robberies, as well as your run-of-the-mill muggings.

But of late, phone thieves have become somewhat discerning. There are several, quite hilarious reports of thieves actually returning smartphones to their victims if they are of a certain brand. Spoiler alert: It’s not Apple!

Also in today’s newsletter:

Not a week goes by that some member of my family doesn’t text everyone for the Netflix password or the Hulu login. But there’s a much better way. I just implemented this myself, and the “what’s the password?” texts have fallen off dramatically.
Talking of sharing: Google just updated Android to play nice with AirDrop, making it easier than ever to share pictures or files between the platforms.
Setapp AI+ (from our friends at MacPaw) is a great service that lets you build a daily workflow with powerful apps utilizing the latest AI models. Check it out.
Black Friday’s just next week, and Apple has unveiled its annual discount. But TLDR: It sucks, and there are better ways to get BF savings.
The brand-new AirPods Pro 3 just hit their lowest price to date. It’s not a huge discount, and it’s anyone’s guess whether they will go lower for Black Friday. They’re great, btw, and worth every penny, discounted or not.
Apple Music's Artist of the Year has just been announced, and he’s off the charts — in more ways than one.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

London's iPhone-loving thieves 'don't want no Samsung' for a reason

In a surprising twist in the smartphone wars, iPhone-craving thieves reject low-value Android devices on the mean streets of London.

Why you might want to pass on Apple's Black Friday deals

An Apple Store shopping event kicks off on Black Friday, but you should probably shop elsewhere. Here's why.

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AirPods Pro 3 deal cuts Apple's best earbuds to lowest price ever

Apple's high-end, noise-canceling earbuds already provide incredible value, and this AirPods Pro 3 deal makes them even more affordable.

File-sharing breakthrough: Android Quick Share now works with Apple AirDrop

Google updated its Quick Share feature to allow wireless file transfers between Android and iPhone users.

Apple Music's Artist of the Year really is off the charts

After his recent creative output and massive streaming success, Apple honors hip-hop innovator Tyler, The Creator.

^{A message from}^{the Cult of Mac Deals team}

Price drop: $25 lifetime subscription gives you access to ChatGPT, Mistral AI and more

Get an AI tool that brings top AI models like ChatGPT, Mistral AI and more together in one interface. Enter 1minAI, the all-in-one AI tool.

Stop texting passwords! There’s a safe, easy way to share them on iPhone.

You can share passwords on iPhone automatically with your entire family, so you don’t need to let everyone know every time a password changes.

Today in Apple history: iTunes bags its first exclusive movie, which promptly fades into oblivion

On November 20, 2007, iTunes movie distribution began when "Purple Violets" became the first feature film to launch on Apple's platform.

Cult of Mac’s buyback program

We pay top dollar for used Apple gear

Sell your old iPhone, iPad, MacBook and more through Cult of Mac. Free shipping, fast payment!

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Tweets of the day

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Wallpaper of the day

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One more thing ...

❝

The older I get, the more I see how much motivations matter. The Zune was crappy because the people at Microsoft don’t really love music or art the way we do. We won because we personally love music.

— Steve Jobs, 2011.

Today’s poll

What's your best defense against smartphone thieves?

Results from yesterday’s poll: How often do you need to clear storage?

Best reader comments

Subscribe to The Weekender — Get the week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.